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NAPRESIDENT The much talkePresident. The corruption chargand Members oupon States to nes of the Lok

JAPANESE PShinzo Abe, Japhe Republic ntensify defencheadway in wrdeal. As part oannounced a loMetro project.expansion of th$15 billion to $5

NEW DELHI The 12th editioJanuary, 2014Diaspora: Connand EnvironmeMIC), was the

The PBD is theenhancing netwas the day to cGandhi, the grestruggle and ch

KOREAN PREPark Geun-hye,woman presidepacts in wide-rawere inked belations.

INDIA BECOndia has comp

second time inmmunisation aOrganisation (Wandom sample

PRESIDENT Abdulla Yamehe cooperationacility to Maldiv

                                

ATIOAPPROVES ed-about LokpaBill provides fges against puof Parliament. make within a

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PM VISITS INpanese Prime MDay Parade.ce and maritimrapping up theof growing tra

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           2 

EXIM BANK TO PROVIDE CREDIT TO VIETNAM Export-Import Bank has agreed to provide a Line of Credit of $ 19.50 million to Vietnam for financing eligible goods, machinery, equipment, works and services including consultancy services from India for the purpose of financing two projects in Vietnam. Line of credit allows borrowers to draw on the credit as and when required. SUPER JUMBO A-380 LANDS IN INDIA Govt. has allowed super jumbo A-380 aircraft to fly into India. The move may benefit Indian tourism, but may harm Indian carriers as the fares offered by foreign airlines having A-380 aircraft will be much lower. A-380 has capacity to accommodate over 850 passengers in economy class configuration and 555 passengers in three-class configuration. GLOBAL CEOs VIEW INDIA POORLY A survey of 1,344 CEOs, across 68 countries conducted by global audit giant Pricewaterhouse Coopers asking them to select the three countries that would contribute largely to their overall growth, India fared slightly poorer than last year as only 7 per cent of CEOs reposed their trust in India, compared with 10 per cent last year. ‘JEEVAN RAKSHA PADAKS’ ANNOUNCED Govt has announced Jeevan Raksha Padak for 37 people for their meritorious act of bravery in saving human lives. They are of three types - Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and Jeevan Rakhsa Padak.

NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL AT LUDHIANA The 18th National Youth Festival held in Ludhiana from January 12 to 16. The festival is held on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on January 12, which is observed as the National Youth Day. The theme of the Festival this year is 'Youth for Drugs Free World'.

JAINS – THE SIXTH MINORITY COMMUNITY The Jain community of around 50 lakh people has been accorded minority status by the central government under section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. This will enable them to avail of special benefits in government schemes and programmes. The Jains is the sixth community to have minority status after Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis.

WORLD’S LONGEST PLATFORM AT GORAKHPUR A newly built railway platform at Gorakhpur has been declared as the longest railway platform in the world, spanning 1,355.40metre. Till now, the record was held by the 1,072.5 metre long platform at Kharagpur in W. Bengal. INDIA LOW ON NUCLEAR SAFETY In the Nuclear Materials Security Index 2014 released by the US-based think-tank Nuclear Threat Initiative, India has been ranked 23rd , below its two nuclear-armed neighbours – Pakistan and China – in the list of 25 countries with a weak nuclear material security in the world. India received 41 out of 100 points, against 64 by China and 46 by Pakistan.

INDIA LOW ON ECONOMIC FREEDOM The Index of Economic Freedom-2014 ranks India 120th globally and 25th among 43 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, mentioning that India continues to suffer from low, but improving levels of economic freedom. The Index rates 186 countries in 10 categories of economic performance such as rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government and open markets. Hong Kong and Singapore finished first and second in the rankings for the 20th straight year. ‘NIRBHEEK’- PISTOL FOR WOMEN Over a year after the brutal Delhi gang rape incident, the Indian Ordnance Factory has come out with “Nirbheek”, a .32 bore light-weight (500gram) revolver designed especially for women to defend themselves from assault. INDIA LAST IN PROTECTION OF IPRs A report by the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) of the US Chamber of Commerce has placed India at the bottom of 25 countries in terms of protection and enforcement of intellectual property practices. The list is topped by the USA. INDIA 155TH IN ENVIRONMENT PERFROMANCE India has been ranked at a low 155th position in a list of 178 countries compiled by the 2014 Environmental Performance Index that places countries on how well they perform on high-priority environmental issues. The list is topped by Switzerland. JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL The seventh edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, a mega annual gathering of litterateurs started on 17th January in Jaipur with a keynote speech by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.   The festival saw about 240 authors in 175 sessions.  VOTE-ON-ACCOUNT ON FEB 17 As the nation prepares to seek fresh mandate, regular budget for the year 2014-15 will not be presented as scheduled in February end. Instead, Finance Minister will present the vote-on-account for 2014-15 on February 17 in the Lok Sabha. Similarly, an interim railway budget will be presented on February 12.

VOTE-ON-ACCOUNT vs. BUDGET This year, a vote-on-account would be presented instead of a full budget because general elections will be conducted in May. Since the present government would not have enough time in hand to vote for a full budget before the commencement of the new financial year, a vote-on-account would ensure that sufficient funds are at the disposal of the government to allow it to run the administration of the country until a new government takes over. WHAT IS VOTE-ON-ACCOUNT Vote-on-account deals only with the expenditure side of the government's budget. The government gives an estimate of funds it requires to meet the expenditure that it incurs during the first three to four months of an election financial year until a new government is in place.

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vities for the yeaN1 Avian Influenrted in the last 3eed to strengthgy cooperation es as a grant t

n (ESP). ngress 2013 and, Nov. 4-7.

M STAJANUARDAY MEAL Sst ever rankinf their performeal scheme by Punjab- 76.

              5 

ATION efecation and a nationwide Poo to Loo’. e in India are

SFERS t has sought nd suggested nterference. this purpose

TY’ perity Index' 42 countries

by London-um Institute,

by five 6th spot, way neighbouring

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topped by is of various ness, getting ns, tax rules

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unachal Pradrdamom, a sou

SS – MARCH 2014

S IN SJSRY Png & Urban Poest State for per SJSRY (Swa012-13. Under

provided bank f

S TOP TOURIas become firs

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              6 

ER 2013 ILDINGS to renovate

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have assured vernment for hit areas.

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, considering

sit in 2014 in travel guide

Nagaland to f Nagaland.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           7 

GOVERNMENT

INITIATIVES JANUARY 2014

RASHTRIYA KISHOR SWASTHYA KARYAKRAM Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (National Adolescent Health Programme) to comprehensively address the health needs of the nearly 243 million children forming over 21 per cent of India’s population. It envisages that every village with 1,000 persons will select peer educators and train them to discuss issues of adolescent health — from nutrition and gender-based violence to substance abuse and mental health — with their friends from the community. The programme defines an adolescent as a person within 10-19 years of age, in urban and rural areas, includes both girls and boys, married and unmarried, poor and affluent, whether they are in school or out of school. WAQF DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Following the recommendations of the Sachchar Committee, Govt has set up the National Waqf Development Corporation Limited for the development of Waqf properties for the community welfare, jointly with the State Waqf Boards. “Waqf” means the permanent dedication of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim law — auspicious, religious or charitable, by a person professing Islam. The donar is called “Wakif”. Such property cannot be alienated, mortgaged or transferred without the prior permission of the Waqf Board. INDIA INCLUSIVE INNOVATION FUND Govt. has launched the India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF), with the initial corpus of Rs 500 crore. The ministry of small and medium enterprises would provide Rs 100 crore and the rest would come from banks and FIIs. The fund will invest in innovative, sustainable and profitable ventures that also address social needs in areas of healthcare, food, nutrition, agriculture and education. PAN CARDS TO HAVE ‘ADDRESS’ ALSO The procedure for PAN card allotment will undergo a change with effect from 03.02.2014 as now in addition to submitting self-attested copies of Proof of Identity and Date of Birth; applicants will have to submit Proof of Address also. They will also be required show original of these documents for verification of copies. NREGA TO INCLUDE SANITATION PROJECTS With a view to address the widespread problem of open defection, Govt. has decided to widen the scope of its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to include works relating to rural sanitation in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan (NBA). This interlinking is aimed at accelerating sanitation coverage in rural areas and providing privacy and dignity particularly to women.

NUHM LAUNCHED IN BANGALORE The ambitious National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), aimed at providing adequate and efficient urban public health delivery system for the urban poor, was launched in Bangalore. It will cover 779 urban areas with over 50,000 population by March 2015 across the country. The central government will share 80 per cent of the cost to implement the programme. MBBS SEATS UP BY 10,000 The government has decided to increase the number of MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) seats in the country by 10,000 by upgrading existing state and central government medical colleges.   NEW SYSTEM FOR DECIDING TRPs The Union Cabinet has approved a new comprehensive regulatory framework for TV rating agencies for release of TRPs (Television Rating Points). The guidelines propose to make it mandatory for rating agencies to have a sample size of not less than 50,000 households for audience measurement as against 9,500 at present. The visual media seeks advertisements and their rates on the basis of TRPs. CABINET APPROVES RAIL TARIFF AUTHORITY Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority, RTA to advise the Railway Ministry on fares. The RTA will recommend fare revision taking into account input cost and volatile market condition. However, the recommendations will not be mandatory for railways as only the Railway Board can fix the tariff. INDEX LAUNCHED FOR HOUSING ACTIVITY Govt. has launched the Housing Start Up Index (HSUI) to measure level of house construction activity. The HSUI is a joint initiative of the National Building Organisation and the Reserve Bank. It tracks the number of houses being constructed every year across the country. 150 DAYS IN NREGA FOR TRIBALS The Ministry of Rural Development has agreed to provide an additional 50 days of employment beyond the stipulated 100 days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for some 14 lakh Scheduled Tribes (ST) households living in forest areas who have received land rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. NEW AGENCY FOR WIND POWER Ministry for New and Renewable Energy is making efforts for setting up a National Offshore Wind Energy Agency to explore the potential of generating power through wind energy. The agency will explore wind generation potential in the offshore areas of the country.

MINIMUM PENSION TO BE Rs 1000 The government has approved a proposal to pay formal sector workers a minimum monthly pension of Rs 1,000, benefiting over 27 lakh pensioners. Those who get less than Rs 1,000 a month include 22 lakh member pensioners and 5 lakh widows as on March 31, 2013. There are total about 44 lakh pensioners.

GEN

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SS – MARCH 2014

FOR YOUTHadopted a new

articipation in ment and politics and govYP-2014) woulde. The policy

in India, agper cent of

making the cou

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development,disseminate thby women. 

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ss the problemhe country. ThMinister’s Natio2010, will be imo phases at an

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DECEMBUS FOR JAC

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power youth toof education,

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ABILITIES BUnion Cabinet bilities Bill, rabilities (PWD)

disabled will ational instituti

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ny other such g

BINET PASSEUnion Cabine

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Crop Insurancge of all the loshtriya Fasal Berging the Pie, Pilot ModifPilot Coconut

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ontinue in thenow been senview. on project to mat least one

OVEMBEEW NREGA W

has appointra Dev, Vice-CDevelopment Rld lead to motma Gandhi Naega). Wagese CPI-agricultuase year of 198d

FOR STATEgovernments toce Programmeoanee farmersBima Karyakramlot Weather fied National Palm Insuranc

DISASTER Rational Institutehtra on the n the personne

and state forc

              8 

RATION se to 40,000 December in er states with s and cadres.

state forces h out Naxals

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Persons with ve per cent. government

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tary Bill for h state would radesh. The e bifurcated nt to Andhra

make people individual in

ER 2013 WAGES ted a new Chancellor of Research, to ore generous ational Rural s under the ure labourers 86-87 and is,

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NERAL AWARENE

ASHTRIYA Ue Cabinet Come Rashtriya ntrally Sponson higher educantity and diste country. Prasaar Bha

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ECONO

BI PROJECTe Reserve Banl below 5 per anufacturing see next financialowth was at 4.6

DP MAY GROoody's Analyticat India’s GDPnge through 2015. The uptu

arted to lift fromturn in the inve

B PROJECTkey World Banported that Ind, after hitting awn from last ycovery in globvestment," therecasts faced dw months that vival of busines

MF PERKS UPe Internationaowth forecast om earlier estionsoon and imp

P SHRINKS ctory productiotput contractearper than Octstive demand a

ORE SECTORutput of core inovember compate of growth wctors — coal, ment, electricitr cent in Octob

SS – MARCH 2014

UCHCHATARmmittee on EcoUchchatar Shred Scheme (Ccation system tribution of Un

arati to launcecially for Aruna

OMIC IN

S GROWTH nk says that gr

cent in 2013-ector, but likelyl year.  In the f6 per cent.  

OW PAST 5%cs, a division oP growth will b014, before heurn will be ledm mid-2013, aestment cycle.

TS 4.8% GROnk report - Glodia’s economy a 11-year low year's 5%. "Grbal demand ane report saidownside risks fcould potentia

ss confidence a

P GROWTH al Monetary Fufor the currenmate of 3.8 pproved exports

BY 2.1 PER on in Novemb

ed to a six-mtober's decline and sluggish inv

R UP BY 1.7 nfrastructure inared to the samwas 5.8 per cecrude oil, oil

ty and fertiliseber.

4                               

R SHIKSHA Aonomic Affairshiksha AbhiyaCSS) for reform

by improvingiversities and c

ch a separatenachal Pradesh

NDICAJANUA

AT BELOW rowth of GDP -14 in absencey to recover to first half of 201

% - MOODYof Moody's Cobe in the 5 toeading north ofd initially by eand then later

OWTH THISobal Economic

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te TV channeand Sikkim.

ATORSARY 2014

5% is expected to

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13-14, the GDP

’S orporation sayso 5.5 per centf 6 per cent inexports, whichin 2014, by an

S YEAR Prospects, has6.2% in 2014-e current year,will be led by

se in domesticed that theseral election in ae the sustainedt.

4% raised India's4 per cent, upks to a norma

further as the2.1 per cent,

nt, due to weakity.

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actor costs.

                                

Y 3.49 PER Cper cent in Dece imports fell trade deficit on November.  

36.6 PER CEstment (FDI) October to $1

r ago. Total FDrrent fiscal yeaar’s $14.79 bills decreased byweek ended

conomic Situatrt projected Inent for this yea

DEY 4.8% IN 2

ThfastheSepdueof

and exports. Thexpanded by 4of this fiscal anlast fiscal.

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NOS GROWTH al Council of Ared country's gcurrent fiscal services sector

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of $10.14 billio

ENT inflows into In1.23 billion coDI inflows in thar were $12.6 ion for the sam

by $1.20 billionJanuary 17, t

tion and Prosndia’s growth ar.

ECEMBE2ND QR e economy ster pace of 4.8e second quaptember 30the to improved agriculture d

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ER GROWTHpected growths of the view towered to arotly. During therew by only 5 pt half (April-Se

ust 4.6 per cent

as projected tFY 14 which wi

OVEMBERATE

Applied Economgrowth rate to

due to slowdrs.

WTH AT 3.4%conomic Co-opIndian economal year. Thesare not strictly

t measure econ

              9 

a year ago to nt to $36.49 on compared

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ER 2013

grew at a 8 per cent in rter (ending

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hat India is ll improve to

ER 2013

mic Research o 4.8-5.3 per down in key

% peration and my will grow ese estimates y comparable nomic output

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NERAL AWARENE

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MRITSAR-KOinning off a mne, the Union

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tar Pradesh, Bi

NDIA’s INTEdia, Bangladesvelop a joint tulti-modal tranways, joint tworks. The couth west Chinawell as Dhaka

EW SET OF RBI has comeocedures and avestors hit by vestment (monat all transactioaft or other baBI has been erations during

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4X7 TRADE Fter a 16-montade talks by anade activity ovement of couing more busarket access (N

SS – MARCH 2014

INDIA OF LOarked slowdowgovernment's

ms, global ratina likely downto reverse Ind

’s current cred.

OLKATA INDmassive infrasCabinet has

Industrial Corrpment Corpora

be developed inhe Eastern DedIt would compren states of Puhar, Jharkhand

RNATIONALsh, China andtrade corridor

nsport, such aspower projecorridor will runa) to Kolkata, land Chittagon

REGULATIOe out with a a framework foirregularities inney-pooling) sons should beanking channeempowered to

g investigations

MULTIBRANestment Promos proposal to

n joint venture ket Ltd, with aut Rs 680 crorest global retailehe government September last y

FROM WAGAth gap, India nnouncing a seat the Atta

ontainer cargo,iness visas and

NDMA) program

4                               

OWER RATIwn in India’s re

debt dynamicsng agency Stanngrade in 201dia's low growtdit rating at B

JANUADUSTRIAL Cstructure and approved sett

ridor (AKIC) anation (AKICDC)n a band of 1dicated Freightrise a belt of aunjab, Haryanad and West Ben

L TRADE CO Myanmar hathat will inclu

s road, rail, wcts and telecn from Kunminlinking Mandalag in Banglades

NS FROM SEstricter set

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ND RETAIL tion Board hasenter the Indiawith Tata Gro

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eries of steps, ri-Wagah bor, opening of bd having a non

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ARY 2014CORRIDOR

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           12 

PATEL PANEL FOR ‘CPI’ AS POLICY ANCHOR The Urjit Patel (Dy. Governor, RBI) committee on monetary policy framework has proposed setting up of a monetary policy committee (MPC) that will be headed by the RBI governor and should be accountable for achieving inflation target set by it. The target should be to bring the retail inflation rate down at 4 per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent. Committee also recommended that retail inflation should be measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and not by the wholesale prices. NEW NORMS FOR BANK GOLD LOANS RBI has advised banks that amount of loans sanctioned by them against pledge of gold jewellery should not exceed 75 per cent of the value of the gold. The gold will have to be valued at the average of the closing price of 22 carat gold for the preceding 30 days as quoted by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. GOLD LOAN TERMS RELAXED The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to permit bullet payment of gold loans of up to Rs.1 lakh provided the period of the loan does not exceeds 12 months. Bullet repayment means a lump-sum payment for the entire loan amount paid at the time of maturity. RBI SEEKS MORE POWER FOR KEY RATES The Reserve Bank has asked the government to amend laws to empower the central bank with powers to regulate benchmark rates. The move comes in the wake of the Libor scandal in Europe where regulators have penalized leading banks for 'fixing' the benchmark London Interbank Offered Rate by providing misleading quotes.   RBI ALLOWS MORE RUPEE PAYMENTS Reserve Bank has allowed payments from abroad in Indian rupees to utility service providers, tax payments, and EMI payments in India with a view to expand the scope of cross-border inward remittances.  Cross-border inward remittance is a Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA) where remittances are received in India through exchange houses situated in gulf countries, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. INFLATION BONDS FROM RBI Reserve bank has announced issuance of Inflation Indexed National Savings Certificates (IINSC) to offer an inflation savvy investment option to primarily individuals and HUFs. These are 10 year Bonds with floating interest rate that will be equal to the inflation rate as per CPI plus 1.50% p.a. The interest will not be paid but will be compounded every 6 months. A limit of Rs 5 lakh per applicant per annum has been kept to exclude high value applicants. DEPOSITOR EDUCATION & AWARENESS FUND The Reserve Bank has decided to establish a fund to be called ‘Depositor Education and Awareness Fund’ by taking over amount lying in unclaimed deposit accounts. The Fund would be used for promotion of depositors’ interests. An ‘unclaimed deposit account is one where there are no operations for ten years or more.

SBI JOINS ’YOUTUBE’, TWITTER State Bank of India has strengthened its social media presence with the launch of its channel on popular video sharing website Youtube and said it will also be launching its handle on the micro-blogging site Twitter soon. Youtube channel will help it connect with the young and technologically savvy customers.   Sbi  has  already  launched  a dedicated Facebook page in November.

NEW PROVISIONING NORMS FOR BANKS RBI has directed that from April 1, Banks will have to follow new rules for setting incremental provisioning and capital requirements for their exposures to entities with unhedged foreign currency exposures. The provisioning requirements will be calculated as per the ratio of likely loss due to foreign exchange movement to a company's earnings before interest and depreciation (EBID).

PROTECTION AGAINST ONLINE FRAUD As per the revised code approved by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) in December, 2013, bank customers who have been victims of electronic / online fraud will have to be compensated for such loss unless the bank can prove that the fraud occurred due to negligence on part of the customer. POST OFFICES TO GET ATMs India Post will install as many as 3,000 ATMs and 1.35 lakh micro-ATMs at the post offices across the country by September 2015. The postal department has 1.55 lakh post offices, of which 90% are in villages, offering savings account to people across the country.

CCS CAN COLLECT THIRD PARTY CHEQUES RBI has allowed Banks to consider collecting account payee cheques drawn for an amount not exceeding Rs 50,000 in the accounts of co-operative credit societies provided the payees of such cheques are the constituents of these societies. As per RBI norms, banks are not allowed to credit account payee cheques to the account of any person other than the payee named therein.

RBI has constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of P. J. Nayak (former Chairman of Axis Bank) to review governance of boards of banks.

Govt. has revised its target upwards for opening new bank branches to 10,000 a year, from  7000  a  year  at present.

Axis Bank has become the first domestic private sector bank to have a branch in China.

Prizm Payment Services has launched ‘Money Spot’, a chain of 10, 000 white label ATMs, under licence from the RBI.

DECEMBER 2013 BANK BUSINESS SHOWS GOOD GROWTH Bank deposits grew 17 per cent year-on-year to Rs.75.24 trillion on December 13, 2013, from Rs.64.31 trillion in the same period last year, due to higher mobilisation, driven by the RBI’s special swap window for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Banks) or FCNR (B) deposits. Advances during the same time increased by 14.9 per cent to Rs. 57.01 trillion from Rs. 49.61 last year.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           13 

CURRENCY ARRANGEMENT WITH NEPAL Nepal and India have agreed in principle to allow circulation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denomination Indian bank notes within Nepalese territory, ending a ban in place for over a decade.  

Doha Bank became the first Qatari bank to get the license from RBI to start operations in India, with first branch in Mumbai.

M3 money supply rose by annualised 15.1 percent as on December 13 to Rs 92.06 trillion.

Govt approved the enhancement of the bilateral currency swap arrangement between the RBI and Bank of Japan to $ 50 billion, up from $ 15 billion at present.

NOVEMBER 2013 BHARTIYA MAHILA BANK STARTS On the 96th birthday of late Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the first branch of the first all-woman bank - ‘Bhartiya Mahila Bank’ in Mumbai. Headed by Usha Ananthasubramaniam, the bank will have initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore with seven branches in major cities to start with. The bank will have unique products designed for women and devote special attention to the funding needs of over 60 lakh self-help groups. The bank will also cater to limited number of male customers. LOAN TO WOMEN SHGs @ 7% The Reserve Bank has directed public sector banks to provide credit to women self help groups at a rate of 7 percent per annum so as to get the benefit of interest subvention scheme under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (Aajeevika) scheme. ‘MEDIUM’ UNITS UNDER PRIORITY SECTOR The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to treat loans given to medium manufacturing enterprises after Nov. 13 as priority sector advance, in its efforts to provide enhanced liquidity support to the medium and small enterprises. A medium manufacturing enterprise is one where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore. BANKS MAY PAY MONTHLY INTEREST As all commercial banks are now on core banking platforms, RBI has decided to give banks the option to pay interest on savings deposits and term deposits at intervals shorter than quarterly intervals i.e. monthly or fortnightly intervals. Presently, banks are not allowed to pay interest on savings and term deposits at less than quarterly intervals. RBI SIGNS MOU WITH AUSTRALIA-NZ LAND The Reserve Bank has signed cooperation agreement with central banks of Australia and New Zealand for exchange of information. The MoUs provide a formal, yet legally non-binding, channel for information exchange between the Central Banks of two countries. TAKEOVER ALLOWED TO FOREIGN BANKS The Reserve Bank has permitted wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) of foreign banks to acquire domestic private sector

banks as well as set up branches anywhere in the country. It also allowed foreign bank subsidiary to list on local stock exchanges. However, foreign bank subsidiary will not be allowed to hold more than 74 per cent equity in the private banks they may acquire. NRI REMITTANCES UP BY 27% Between January and September this year, remittances by non-resident Indians (NRIs) saw a 27 per cent jump at $ 6.5 billion (Rs 39,991.9 crore in present valuations) as against 7 per cent growth during the same period last year. ‘M-PESA’ FROM VODAFONE AND ICICI Telecom major Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched mobile money transfer and payment service 'M-Pesa' in Assam and other North Eastern states. Using their 'M-Pesa' account, customers, at their convenience, can deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets, transfer money to any mobile phone / bank account in the country. BANKS TO CHARGE FOR SMS ON USAGE BASIS The RBI has asked banks to charge customers for transaction SMS alerts on the basis of usage, instead of present practice of imposing a fixed fee, to ensure equity and fair deal to customers. BANKS TO USE ‘AADHAAR’ FOR CARDS In order to ensure security in card- based payment transactions taking place at point of sale (PoS) terminals or at ATMs, the Reserve Bank has advised banks that they may adopt Aadhaar as additional authentication or move to EMV (Euro pay MasterCard Visa) chip and pin technology. Banks will have to issue chip-based cards by November 30.

The Reserve Bank has directed all regional rural banks to follow the minimum 9% capital adequacy rule from this year, marking the end of their transitory phase.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE

& TECHNOLOGY

JANUARY 2014 MEGA NAVAL MEET MILAN 2014 AT ANDAMAN A total of 16 navies from the Indian Ocean region are participating in 'MILAN 2014', the biennial international naval exercise conducted by the Indian Navy in Andaman & Nicobar Islands between February 5 and 9 for promoting friendship, understanding between participating navies. ICGS ‘ABHINAV’ JOINS COAST GUARD Indian Coast Guard Ship Abhinav, the third in a series of 20 Fast Patrol Vessels being built by the Cochin Shipyard, has been inducted in to service at Kochi base of Indian Coast Guard on Kerala coast. INS ARIHANT READY FOR SEA TRIALS India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant is now ready for sea trials. During the trials, all systems, including its ballistic missiles, will be tested before the submarine is finally commissioned into the Navy.

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           16 

‘MAVEN’ – NASA’s MISSION TO MARS NASA has launched its latest orbiter to Mars –‘MAVEN’ (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) to hunt for clues about why the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere. MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS HIT RECORD HIGH In an annual report on greenhouse gases, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) grew more rapidly reaching a record high in 2012, compared to average rise over the past decade. As a result, the warming effect on the climate has increased by almost a third since 1990. ATM LAUNCHED FOR ‘BITCOINS’ The world's first publicly accessible ATM machine which can exchange digital currency - bitcoins - for any official currency has been launched in Canada jointly by two firms Bitcoiniacs and Robocoin.

INTERNATIONAL

JANUARY 2014 USA REELS UNDER EXTREME COLD WAVE The coldest, most dangerous blast of polar air in decades-‘polar vortex’ gripped the US Midwest and adjoining East and South eastern Canada. Temperatures crashed down to -30 to -40 degree C, causing very heavy widespread snow and deadly freezing conditions since the start of the year, claiming several lives. Icy roads and strong blizzards created travel chaos, with thousands of flights canceled or delayed. US GOES IN FOR STIMULUS TAPERING In view of improving job prospects and surge in housing activity, the U.S. Federal Reserve has announced the commencement of the tapering of its massive asset purchase programme, widely known as quantitative easing (QE). The programme involved massive purchases of long term maturity bonds, $85 billion every month to expand money supply to stimulate and support the economy. The latest move reduces such purchases by $10 billion to $75 billion, starting from January, 2014. WEF MEET HELD AT DAVOS 44th annual meeting of World Economic Forum – WEF held at Davos, Switzerland was attended by over 2,500 participants from almost 100 countries, including 1,500 business leaders. This year's theme was ‘The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics & Business'.   CHINA’s GDP GROWS AT 7.7% China's economy, the world’s second-largest, has shown signs of stabilizing as 2013's growth rate matched that for 2012. The GDP growth rate for the quarter ending December 31, 2013 was pegged at 7.7%. Though it was lower than 7.8% in the previous quarter, yet it was still higher than the government's target rate of 7.5%.

FACEBOOK TO START ‘TRENDING’ Popular social networking site Facebook will roll out a new feature called ‘Trending’ — akin to a tool on Twitter — for its users to know the most popular topics being discussed on the site. The list will appear near the top of the right-hand column of the news feed. LABOUR AND FAMILY REFORMS IN CHINA China has formally abolished its controversial labour camps “re-education” system and loosened family planning restrictions from ‘one’ child norm to ‘two’ child norm. Under the re-education through labour system, accused can be held for up to four years without a trial. This year, around 1.6 lakh people were held in some 260 labour camps.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to make military service compulsory for all adult males aged between 18 and 30, but kept it optional for women.

Latvia has become 18th country to adopt Euro as its currency. Its earlier currency was ‘Latvian Lats’.

Greece takes over the Presidency of the European Union Council. (not the presidentship)

DECEMBER 2013

JORDAN ENTERS UN SECURITY COUNCIL Jordan has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for filling a seat that fell vacant after Saudi Arabia declined to join the Council to protest the world body’s failure to end the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. YUAN REPLACES EURO IN POPULARITY China’s Yuan currency, also called Renminbi – RMB, has overtaken the Euro to become the second-most used currency in trade and finance in world. Market share of Yuan usage grew to 8.66 per cent in October, still much behind the leading currency US dollar which has a share of 81.08 per cent. COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH AT –93.2C A remote region in East Antarctica has set a new record for the coldest place on earth, with temperatures dipping to a bone-chilling minus 93.2 degrees Celsius. The coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth is northeastern Siberia, where temperatures in the towns of Verkhoyansk and Oimekon dropped to a bone-chilling -67.8 C in 1933.

The Roots of Education are Bitter,

But the Fruit is Sweet.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           17 

NOVEMBER 2013 IRAN AGREES WITH WEST ON NUCLEAR ISSUE After prolonged negotiations, Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities as per a deal signed at Geneva with the P5+1 group (the U.S, the U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany). The deal will last for six months, opening way for a permanent agreement.

THE DEAL: Iran agreed to halt enrichment of Uranium to medium-grade (20%) purity, (which can be further enriched to weapons-grade level relatively easily), and give better access to UN inspectors. In return, the main sanctions on oil and banking that have crippled the Iranian economy will be lifted, leading to the eventual normalisation of relations between Iran and the U.S. for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

COMMONWEALTH MEET HELD AT COLOMBO 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 was held at Colombo, Sri Lanka (15-17 Nov) with the participation of 67 leaders from the Commonwealth nations. The Summit was inaugurated by Prince Charles of England as the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Head of Commonwealth. The theme for CHOGM 2013 was “Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development”. Shri Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India did not participate in the Summit.

WARSAW CLIMATE MEET 2013 The Warsaw Climate Change Conference 2013 concluded on Nov. 23 at Warsaw, Poland under the aegis of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). The conference has two parts – COP-19 (Conference of Parties) and CMP-9 (COP Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol). No major decisions could be taken at this meet due to lack of concurrence of the participating countries.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT IS NO. 1 IN WORLD Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the top spot on Forbes’ ranking of “The World’s Most Powerful People” as he continues to solidify control over Russia and the international stage. President Barack Obama slipped to second place, from the number one spot, followed by General Secretary, Communist Party of China Xi Jinping.

‘APPLE’ IS THE TOPMOST BRAND IT giant Apple has topped the 'World's Most Valuable Brand List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine with a brand value of $104.3 billion followed by Microsoft, Coca-Cola, IBM and Google, among the top five.

FIRST EUROPE - ASIA RAIL LINK The world's deepest underwater railway tunnel was opened under the Bosphorus strait, Turkey, connecting two continents – Asia and Europe, by rail for the first time. Almost a mile of the 8.5-mile (13.6km) tunnel linking two parts of Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, is immersed under 56 metres (184ft) of water. The project is named The Marmaray link, by combining the Sea of Marmara with "ray," meaning rail in Turkish.

BRICS International Competition Conference held in New Delhi to discuss various issues and challenges in competition enforcement in BRICS countries.

The 13th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) held on November 1 in Perth, Australia.

US Congress in Washington celebrated its first ever Diwali festival amidst chanting of Vedic mantras by a Hindu priest and lighting of the traditional "diyas".

The Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organized in Sydney, Australia by the High Commission of India and the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

Global Islamic Economic Summit held at Dubai

PERSONS IN NEWS JANUARY 2014

ANAND SINHA: Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India was in news as he retired from the service. He was looking after the new bank license process. ANEES SALIM: Kerala-based writer won The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013 for his novel Vanity Bagh for consistent writing and humour and imagination. The Prize recognises the contribution of Indian writers to literary culture. CYRUS MISTRY: Mumbai-based author-journalist won the prestigious $50,000 DSC prize for South Asian literature for his book Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer narrating  the  painful lives of members of the small Zoroastrian community of corpse carriers. The Prize was given at the Jaipur Literature Festival. SACHIN TENDULKAR: Legendary cricketer was placed fifth on a list of 30 most admired persons on the planet compiled by by YouGov for The Times by surveying almost 14,000 people. The list was topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. GEN. BIKRAM SINGH: Indian Army Chief took over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), a body of three service chiefs with the senior-most among them heading it. ASHA KHEMKA: A Bihar born eminent educationist has been awarded one of Britain's highest civilian award-Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), making her the first from the community to earn the honour in past 83 years.  The Damehood is in recognition of her services to the deprived areas of the West Midlands as Principal of West Nottinghamshire College for last 8 years.   MEERA CHANDRASEKHAR: An Indian-American university professor of physics and astronomy has been honoured with the top US teaching award “Baylor University's 2014 Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching”. The award carries the single largest monetary reward of $250,000.

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           19 

DECEMBER 2013 J N CHOUDHURY: Director General, National Security Guard (NSG)

ARVIND RANJAN: Director General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

SUSHMA SINGH: Chief Information Commissioner at Central Information Commission

SUMIT BOSE: Union Finance Secretary

S. JAISHANKAR: India’s new Ambassador to USA

5 NEW CHIEF MINISTERS ARVIND KEJRIWAL: New Delhi

VASUNDHARA RAJE: Rajasthan  

SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN: Madhya Pradesh

DR. RAMAN SINGH: Chhattisgarh

PU LALTHANHAWLA: Mizoram

VK DUGGAL: Governor of Manipur

C. V. R. RAJENDRAN: Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Bank

MOHAN V TANKSALE: Chief Executive, Indian Banks' Association (IBA)

ABDUL BASIT: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India.

NOVEMBER 2013 SIDHARTH BIRLA: President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci)

AJIT PRAKASH SHAH: Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India.

ABDULLA YAMEEN: President of the Maldives, from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

IMOMALI RAKHMON: President of Tajikistan

LT. GEN. RAHEEL SHARIF: Chief of Pakistan army

AWARDS & HONOURS

JANUARY 2014

PADMA AWARDS - 2014 Instituted in 1954, Padma Awards are announced every year on eve of Republic Day in all fields of human excellence. The total number of awards to be given in a year (excluding posthumous awards and award to foreigners) should not be more than 120. The decoration comprises a medal and a certificate and no cash reward. PADMA VIBHUSHAN – 2 only Name Field State Dr. Raghunath A Mashelkar

Science & Engineering

Maharashtra

B. K. S Iyengar Yoga Maharashtra

PADMA BHUSHAN – TOTAL 24 Kamala Haasan, Art-Cinema, Tamil Nadu

Justice Dalveer Bhandari

Public Affairs, Judge in ICJ

Delhi

Anita Desai Literature and Education, Novelist

Delhi

Ruskin Bond Literature and Education, Novelist

Uttarakhand

Pullela Gopichand Sports-Badminton Andhra Pradesh

Leander Paes Sports-Tennis Maharashtra Late Justice J S

Verma Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh

Prof Anisuzzaman Literature and Education, writer

Bangladesh

Prof Lloyd I Rudolph

Literature and Education

USA

Prof Susanne H Rudolph

Literature and Education

USA

PADMA SHRI - TOTAL 101

Yuvraj Singh Sports, Cricketer Haryana Bansi Kaul Art-Theatre J & K

Sudarsan Pattnaik Art-Sand artist Odisha Paresh Rawal Art-Cinema Maharashtra Santosh Sivan Art- Cinema Tamil Nadu Vidya Balan Art-Cinema Maharashtra

Ashok Chakradhar Lit. and Education Delhi Anjum Chopra Sports- Cricket Delhi Sunil Dabas Sports- Kabbadi Haryana

Mamta Sodha Sports- Mountaineering

Haryana

59th FILMFARE AWARDS 2014

Best Actor: Farhan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Best Actress: Deepika Padukone (Goliyon Ki Raslila Ram

Leela) Best Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Bhaag Milkha

Bhaag) Best Film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag THE HINDU PRIZE for Best Fiction 2013: Anees Salim for his novel Vanity Bagh

DSC PRIZE for South Asian literature-2014: Cyrus Mistry for his book Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer

There is No Friend as Loyal

as a Book...!!

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           20 

71ST GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS These awards are given annually by Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in California, USA for recognizing the excellence in the field of cinema and TV. Best film-Drama: 12 Years a Slave by Steve

McQueen

Best musical/ American Hustle by David O. comedy film Russell

Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Mexico) for his spectacular 3D space drama – Gravity.

56TH GRAMMY AWARDS-2014

(At Los Angeles, California, USA) Record of the Year: Get Lucky by French musical group-Daft Punk featuring singer Pharrell Williams Album of the Year: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk Song of the Year: Royals by Joel Little and Lorde

Best Pop Solo Performance: Royals by Lorde

Best World Music Album: shared by - Live: Singing for Peace Around the World by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Savor Flamenco by Gypsy Kings.

MARCONI PRIZE-2014: A. Joseph Paulraj, USA, for his work in developing high speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems.

FIFA Ballon d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal (best footballer of the year in world)

DECEMBER 2013 BANKER OF THE YEAR-2013: Aditya Puri, Managing Director, HDFC Bank. The award is given by the financial daily Business Standard

Dayawati Modi Stree Shakti Samman: Rashmi Singh, Executive Director of the National Mission for Empowerment of Women

Stree Shakti Science Samman: Jata S Tyagi, professor at AIIMS

MISS INTERNATIONAL 2013: Bea Rose Santiago, of Philippines, in Tokyo

MISS EARTH 2013: Alyz Henrich of Venezuela in Muntinlupa, Philippines

NOVEMBER 2013 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013: Angela Merkel, German Chancellor for the work done by her for promotion of global economic stability, her commitment to universal peace and disarmament and her leadership role in strengthening productive and mutually beneficial relations with India and other developing countries.

GOLDEN ELEPHANT AWARD 18th International Children's Film Festival concluded on 20 November 2013 in Hyderabad. A Dutch Film named Kauwboy, directed by Boudewijn Koole won the Golden Elephant Award for best film in the 'International Live Action' category.

The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star: Dr. Sreedharan, former Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for his successful implementation of Delhi Metro Project. The award is conferred by the govt of Japan.

‘Golden Gateway of India’: Best film award at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival, won by the Mexican film 'La Jaula De Oro' (The Golden Cage) directed by Diego Quemada-Diaz

Guru Debaprasad Award: Geeta Chandran, renowned Bharatnatyam exponent for her outstanding contribution in the field of dance

SOUL OF INDIA AWARD: Ashok Amritraj, producer of 109 Hollywood films, for his outstanding achievements in the film industry.

HRIDAYNATH MANGESHKAR AWARD: Amitabh Bachchan for his contribution to the film industry.

MISS UNIVERSE 2013: Gabriela Isler from Venezuela in Moscow, Russia.

MISS ASIA PACIFIC 2013: Srishti Rana, India, at Busan, South Korea.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

JANUARY 2014 India at Turning Point: The Road to Good Governance by T.S.R. Subramanian Vanity Bagh by Anees Salim Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry Insurgent by Veronica Roth Wheat Belly by William Davis

DECEMBER 2013 Prophet of Love by Farrukh Dhondy From a Minister’s Journal by F S Aijazuddin India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy by VP Malik Doctor Sleep by Stephen King India at Risk: Mistakes, Misconception and Misadventures of Security Policy by Jaswant Singh Barons of Banking: Glimpses of Indian Banking History by Bakhtiyar K Dadabhoy

NOVEMBER 2013 Goat Days by Benyamin Book of Destruction by Anand (P. Sachidanandan) The Good Lord Bird by James Mc Bride, winner of The National Book Award-2013, USA. The Wildings by Nilanjana Roy The Shadow of the Crescent Moon by Fatima Bhutto Gandhi-A Spiritual Biography by Arvind Sharma

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           21 

OBITUARY

JANUARY 2014 SUCHITRA SEN: Legendary Bengali actor, Padmashri awardee, known for her outstanding performances in several Bengali and a few Hindi films like ‘Aandhi’, ‘Devdas’. Known as ‘Greta Garbo’ of Indian Cinema. Dr. SYEDNA MOHAMMED BURHANUDDIN: 52nd Dai al-Mutlaq (spiritual head) of the world wide Dawoodi Bohra community, a sub group within the Mustaali, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. AKKINENI NAGESWARA RAO: Veteran actor of Telugu cinema, popular as ‘ANR’, Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, the 91-year-old acted in more than 250 Telugu films, including a few in Tamil. SUNANDA PUSHKAR: High profile socialite and wife of Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor KARL SLYM: Managing Director of Tata Motors Ltd, died after falling from a high floor of a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. ARIEL SHARON: Former Israeli Prime Minister, one of the most influential figures in Israel’s history, a military commander and political leader. PAUL TORDAY: British novelist, famous for his debut novel "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"

DECEMBER 2013 NELSON MANDELA: South Africa’s first elected African president (1994-99) and a global anti-apartheid icon who got South Africa freed from the clutches of its European (white) rulers in 1994 through a public election. He served over 27 years (1962-1990) in prison. Was honoured with ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1990 for espousing Gandhian values and with Noble Peace Prize in 1994.

Mr Mandela is popularly called ‘Madiba’ as a sign of both respect and affection. Madiba was the name of the first Chief of the Thembu clan to which Mr Mandela belongs.

FAROOQ SHEIKH: Veteran actor of Hindi Cinema

SIS RAM OLA: Union Labour and Employment Minister

NOVEMBER 2013 RAJENDRA YADAV: Eminent Hindi short story writer and novelist; editor of literary magazine ‘Hans’

K P SAXENA: Noted Hindi satirist and Padma Shri awardee

TARLA DALAL: Noted food writer and celebrity chef from Mumbai, Padma Shri awardee, wrote over 100 cookery books

RESHMA: Legendary Pakistani folk singer who mesmerised music lovers with soulful rendition of songs like Lambi Judai and Dama Dam Mast Kalandar.

FREDERICK SANGER: British biochemist, the “father of genomics” and the only person to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry twice – 1958 for his work related to insulin and 1980 for his work on DNA sequencing.

PLACES IN NEWS

JANUARY 2014 GORAKHPUR: village in Fatehabad district of Haryana was in news as foundation stone was laid there for a 2,800 megawatt nuclear power plant- Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna. KARBI ANGLONG: A hilly district in Central Assam was in news as it witnessed widespread violent clashes between the ethnic insurgent Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF). As a result thousands of Karbi and Rengma tribals were forced to leave their homes and take shelter in local refugee camps. SOUTH SUDAN: The country has been hit by unrest since Dec. 15, when fighting among loyal and rebel presidential guards in the capital city Juba later spiraled across the country. Anti govt forces are being led by the former Vice-President Riek Machar and his men from Nuer tribe. Currently, battle is on for control of Bor - a major town in eastern Sudan. VOLGOGRAD: the Russian city was in news as it witnessed two ghastly terror attacks by suicide bombers, killing over thirty persons and seriously wounding several others. The surge in terror attacks comes a little over a month ahead of Winter Olympic Games to be held in Sochi in Russia.

DECEMBER 2013 ENGLAND: Gales and rain caused heavy damage in UK and disruption to transport and the power network. More than 6,000 UK homes remain without electricity - with some of those who have been cut off since Christmas Eve expressing anger at the situation.

NOVEMBER 2013 MOUNT SINABUNG: name of the volcano that erupted violently in Karo in western Indonesia, spewing volcanic ash up to 8 km into the air, forcing thousands to flee. HAIYAN: A category-5 super typhoon, the strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land smashed into the Philippines on 8th Nov. killing over 5,000 and rendering over 125,000 people homeless, causing widespread unprecedented destruction.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           22 

SPORTS WORLD

JANUARY 2014 75th Senior National table tennis championships: Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das bagged the men’s and women’s titles respectively at Patna. 62nd Senior National Volleyball Championship: Tamil Nadu and Railways bagged the men's and women's titles respectively, at Moradabad, UP. Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton championship held at Lucknow, UP. Results: Men’s singles: Xue Song of China; Women’s singles: Saina Nehwal, India 6th All India Inter-university Fencing Championship: won by the Punjabi University, Patiala, at Patiala, Punjab. The 61st Senior National Kabaddi Championship held at Patna, Bihar.  Evans Ruto of Kenya won the 11th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. Dinknesh Mekash of Ethiopia won the women’s race. Lusofonia Games-2014 was held at Goa from Jan. 18 to 29. It is a multinational multi sports event where sportspersons from Portuguese speaking countries participate. Aditya Joshi: Young shuttler (17) from Madhya Pradesh has become the first male junior badminton player from India to be ranked top in the world by the World Badminton Federation (WBF). His victory in the national junior championship held at Chandigarh last month made way for his top ranking.  Shiva Keshavan won the silver in the 16th Luge Asia Cup, held in Nagano, Japan. A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Mithali Raj retained as captain of Indian women cricket team M S Dhoni became the first Indian wicketkeeper and the fourth in world to effect 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals when he caught a Ross Taylor nick in the opening ODI against New Zealand in Napier, New Zealand. TAX EXEMPTION TO SPORTSPERSONS Central Board of Direct Taxes-CBDT has announced that Indian sportspersons who win medals at Olympics, Commonwealth and Asian Games will be exempted from paying Income Tax on cash or other rewards given by the government.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN Tennis Cup, Melbourne, Australia Men: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated Rafa Nadal of Spain Women: Li Na of China defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia; the oldest woman (31) ever to win the title. ATP Chennai Open Tennis: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won the title beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Malaysian Open 2014(badminton): Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won the men’s title in, beating Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia. Women’s title was lifted by China's Li Xuerui beating teammate Wang Shixian. Hero Hockey World League: Netherlands beats New Zealand to win the championship held at New Delhi. Corey Anderson: New Zealand all-rounder scored the quickest century ever in international cricket, taking just 36 balls against West Indies at Queenstown, New Zealand to break the record of Pakistan's Shahid Afridi (in 1996). Sambo, the Russian martial art has earned recognition of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for inclusion in the Asian Games. Sambo is a self-defence technique without weapons which is a loose combination of wrestling and judo, developed by the Russian Army Fuleco-the Armadillo, name of the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil in June, 2014.

DECEMBER 2013

The Indian Kabaddi players beat Pakistan to win the fourth edition of the World Cup Kabaddi tournament at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana. In Women’s category too, Indian team lifted the cup beating New Zealand Mahesh Mangaonkar became the first Indian squash player to win the IMET Open, the PSA World Tour Challenger 5 event, in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das, Indian archers won the silver and bronze medal respectively, in the men's recurve section at the Indoor Archery World Cup in Singapore. P V Sindhu, Indian ace shuttler won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title beating Canada's Michelle Li in Macau. Gaganjeet Bhullar lifted the $750,000 Indonesia Open Golf Cup held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hosting rights for FIFA World Cup-2017 (Under-17) have been awarded to India. TOUR de INDIA LISTED BY UCI The Tour de India 2013, the world's biggest cycling event, has been listed in the international calendar of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale). The races took place on Dec 15, 17 and 22 in Mumbai, Jaipur and Delhi, respectively. The event was won by Mohd. Nor Umardi of Malayasia

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SS – MARCH 2014

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           26 

LOKPAL AND LOK AYUKTAS ACT, 2013

OBJECTIVE It is a law enacted to check corruption. As per this law an independent ‘watchdog’ body will be created, which will be able to work without interference of the government. It will have the power to institute and investigate cases of corruption in functioning in any government department. It aims to set up institution of Lokpal at the Centre. It also provides for appointment of Lokayuktas in states within 365 days of notification of this act. JURISDICTION The Lok Pal will have the power to look into complaints against prime minister, union minister, member of parliament, officers from amongst the public servants as defined in prevention of corruption act. The societies and organisations funded by the government will also be under its purview. Effective Date The Act has becomes effective from 16th day of January, 2014. LOKPAL – STRUCTURE Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members, of which 50 per cent shall be judicial members. Fifty per cent of members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women. Selection of Lokpal and members of its members: The selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be through a selection committee consisting of i. Prime Minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha ii. Speaker of Lok Sabha iii. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha iv. Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court

judge nominated by CJI v. Eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India on the basis of recommendations of the first four members of the selection committee. COMPLAINT It means an allegation that a public servant has committed an offence punishable under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. (Lokpal will not enquire inquire into or investigate into any complaint, if the same is made after expiry of seven years of the date of incident.) ENQUIRY The Lokpal on receipt of a complaint can order— (a) preliminary inquiry against any public servant by its Inquiry Wing or any agency (including the Delhi Special Police Establishment) to ascertain whether there exists a prima facie case for proceeding in the matter; or (b) investigation by any agency (including the Delhi Special Police Establishment) when there exists a prima facie case.

In case the Lokpal decides to proceed with preliminary enquiry against government employee, it shall refer the complaint to Central vigilance Commission.

ENQUIRY AGAINST PRIME MINISTER The Lokpal can also institute inquiry against the prime minister provided it is approved by two-thirds of the full bench of the Lokpal. This enquiry has to be held in-camera. TIME PERIOD FOR ENQUIRY & INVESTIGATION Clear timeline has been provided in the act to complete the process of preliminary enquiry and investigation. Preliminary enquiry has to be completed within three months which is extendable by three months and the investigation has to be completed in six months. It also provides that Lokpal shall provide to every person against whom a complaint has been made, before it, legal assistance to defend his case before the Lokpal, if such assistance is requested for. PROSECUTION The Lokpal shall have a prosecution wing which shall file cases in Special Courts in accordance with the findings of investigation report and take all necessary steps in respect of the prosecution of public servants in relation to any offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. PUNISHMENT Any offence committed under this act shall be punishable under Prevention of Corruption Act,1988. SPECIAL COURTS The cases against the public servants and political persons can be instituted in the Special Courts to be constituted by Central Government. The act provides that the Central Government shall constitute as many Special Courts as recommended by Lokpal to hear and decide the cases arising out of Prevention of Corruption Act,1988. Lokpal and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Hitherto, the CBI functioning under the government and the interference in its working has come under severe criticism from Supreme Court of India. For independence of the CBI, a directorate of prosecution will be formed. In the new bill, appointment of the director of prosecution will be on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commissioner. It also provides that transfer of officers of CBI investigating cases referred to by Lokpal will be only with the approval of Lokpal. The Lokpal will also have superintendence over cases referred by it to CBI. PENALTY AGAINST FALSE & FRIVOLOUS COMPLAINT The act provides for stringent punishment to whosoever makes a false and frivolous complaint. The said person can be punished with imprisonment up to one year and with a fine of up to Rs.1 lakh. If the person is convicted for filing a false complaint under this Act, such person shall be liable to pay compensation to the public servant against whom he made the complaint in addition to legal expenses for contesting the case by public servant, as may be determined by the Special Court.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           27 

STATUS OF COMPLAINTS The status of all complaints pending or disposed of shall be displayed on the website of the Lokpal.

LAWS TO SUPPLEMENT LOKPAL Even the present law enacted by legislature is incomplete without the following bills which are pending with our lawmakers:

a) Whistle-blowers Protection Bill, 2011 Whistle Blower Protection Bill will provide protection to anyone who seek to expose corruption or fraud in working of the government. b) Right to Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services Bill Right to Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services Bill will enable the public to get the government services in a time bound manner. The law will create a Citizen Charter which will fix the time frame in which the public servants will have to provide the services mentioned therein to the public at large. The experience in certain states like Punjab and Bihar had a salutary effect on the administration apart from providing relief to the public. Under this charter, the citizen may be able to file a complaint if the goods or services are not made available in the time provided in the charter. c) Foreign Bribery Bill and Private Sector Corruption Apart from corruption in the government sector, corruption in Private sector is equally pervasive. The government intends to bring in Foreign Bribery Bill and Private Sector Corruption law to check corruption in this sector as well. However, the government must provide for protection to honest civil servants, who may not be threatened with having acting in good faith.

INADEQUACIES OF THE LOKPAL The Lokpal envisages a system to enquire and investigate cases of ‘corruption’ against bureaucrats as well as politicians. But it does not have the authority to start any proceedings ‘suo moto’. The Lokpal will refer the cases to special courts and the court will have to decide the case within one year. However, the experience shows that this never happens and the accused keeps on getting the hearings postponed on one pretext or the other. The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 also provided for day to day hearing of the case, but it has not resulted in faster decision making.

WILL IT ‘REALLY’ END CORRUPTION The big question that we face today is will the enactment of new law mean that India will be free of corruption. The answer we all know is ‘NO’. Yes it will be a deterrent, but howsoever, strict laws we may envisage, the lure of easy money is too lucrative and very difficult to be given up. The case study of China is an example. It is a society where the rules are strict and punishments harsh; but still, as per Transparency International, it is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It shows that what is required is not harsh law but ‘rule of law’ and not ‘rule of men’. As long as the bureaucrats and the politicians have the discretionary power in their hands, the rule of law cannot be established. What we need is a more open society where the rules are clear and unambiguous so that there is little scope for discretion and hence corruption.

GYANM COLLEGE OF COMPETITIONS

SHINING STARS OF SOLAN BRANCH

Results Speak Louder Than Words

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           28 

THE NEW LAND ACQUISITION LAW

With the passing of the new Land Acquisition Bill by the Parliament, a new chapter on the subject of land acquisition has begun in our country. Way back in 1894, Britishers passed the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for enabling the Government to acquire land easily for meeting the needs of industrialisation and in order to assist the promoters of industry and business, incidentally allowing entrepreneurs to possess cheap land in plenty. The Act suffered from various shortcomings including silence on the issue of resettlement and rehabilitation of those displaced by land acquisition Large scale infrastructure development and setting up of Special Economic Zones in the recent past led to widespread violent agitations by farmers in States such as West Bengal, Orissa and Karnataka, claiming several precious lives. These developments necessitated a thorough review of the archaic land laws. Rising to the occasion, the Central Government introduced a new revised Land Acquisition Bill in Parliament in the year 2011. The bill had to undergo many changes and had to embrace all aspects of acquisition, payment of fair amount of compensation and even rehabilitation of the owners relating to large areas of land acquired/ proposed to be acquired for development of roads, highways, construction of dams/ irrigation projects etc. The new law — Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2013 was finally passed by the Parliament in September, 2013 and came in to effect from January 1, 2014. The Act aims to provide just and fair compensation to those whose land is acquired/taken away for constructing roads, buildings or factories etc. SALIENT FEATURES OF THE NEW ACT

It stipulates mandatory consent of at least 70% of affected people for acquiring land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and of 80% for acquiring land for private companies. (could be raised to 100 per cent by respective State Governments).

Compensation up to four times the market value of land in rural areas and two times in urban areas.

The landlords cannot be asked to vacate the land until the entire compensation is awarded to them. Provides for leasing of land to developers, instead of sale, so that the ownership will remain with the original land holders and they can also have a regular income by way of lease rent; the terms of lease to be laid down by the State Government according to type of land, location, market rates etc.

Original owners of land sold after September 5, 2011 (when the bill was originated) to get 40 per cent of benefits laid down if the land is acquired within three years from the date on which the bill becomes an Act. (It can be raised to 50 per cent and acquisition up to five years).

The private companies will have to provide for rehabilitation and resettlement if land acquired through private negotiations is more than 50 and 100 acres in urban and rural areas, respectively.

In the case of acquisition for urbanisation purposes, 20% of the developed land will be reserved and offered to the original owners at a price equal to the cost of acquisition and development.

If the government, after acquiring the land sells it to a third party at a higher price, then 40% of the appreciated value will be shared with the original owners. This has been increased from 20%.

Acquisition of multi-crop agricultural land to be limited to five per cent in a district.

Provides for preventing future changes in the schedules of the Bill to dilute provisions of rehabilitation and resettlement benefits.

Now, state governments will have to set up at least six bodies, including the state-level Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Authority, to hear disputes arising out of projects where land acquisition has been initiated by the state or its agencies.

SHORTCOMINGS IN THE ACT Like all other acts, this law too, has certain limitations as

mentioned below: Does not provide for sufficient protection for small land

holders and marginal farmers. ‘Land for land’ principle is not applicable in all cases. There is strong possibility that the revised higher

compensation may lead to steep increase in prices of land for housing projects as two-thirds of cost usually goes for the land, especially in urban areas.

The Act may discourage expansion of industry as the cost for setting up industrial establishments will go up by 300 to 400 per cent, and this remains to be taken care of.

It may also create road bumps for foreign investors as they may fight shy of coming to India, as higher land cost for the projects will be the dissuading factor.

Provision for rehabilitation will also add to the project cost, adding to burden to the promoter or it may have to wait till the projects come up and generate surpluses.

DOUBT AREAS Despite several amendments and changes, there are still some areas that need to be looked in to. Consider the following:

Government’s powers to acquire land are still more or less unquestionable.

No specific ceiling for area that could be acquired by government or could be purchased directly by private entrepreneurs

Lack of sufficient clarity regarding public purpose Limitations for taking back the acquired land that

remains unused No guidelines or provision for optimum utilisation of land

compensation amount Despite the contradictions, the present legislation is seen

as a step in the right direction as it still ensures adequate security for land owners and fair compensation for their land.

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(August – October 2013) For details please visit our website: www.gyanm.in

NATIONAL NEWS

OCTOBER 2013 Prime Minister visited Russia to hold bilateral talks with

the Russian President Vladimer Putin India and China signed the Border Defence Cooperation

Agreement on visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

President visited Turkey; conferred honorary 'Doctorate’ in Political Science by the Istanbul University

Prime Minister visited Brunei to attend ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit

Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Latin American countries Peru and Cuba to strengthen India's relations with them.

India ranks 163rd in Global Hunger Index Panjab University, Chandigarh, ranked India’s no. 1

higher educational institution in the Times Higher Education's Top 400 World University Rankings

India has been placed at a low 78th slot on a global Human Capital Index

India has signed agreements with seven countries, who pledged their commitment to the ambitious Nalanda University project.

The Supreme Court has directed govt to ensure reservation of three per cent of their jobs for the disabled

The proposed highway - from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand, via Myanmar is expected to be operational soon

India has been ranked 101 out of 136 countries on a Global Gender Gap Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

Latest Census data shows that over 65 million people lived in slums in 2011.

President visits Belgium and had a meeting with their Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo at Brussels.

World Bank to provide $360 million loan for modernisation of irrigation and drainage systems in Uttar Pradesh.

Union Finance Minister and RBI governor visit USA to attend the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank at Washington.

15th Mumbai film festival held from October 17 to 24 at Mumbai.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Prime Minister visited U.S.A. to address the 66th session of UN General Assembly.

Supreme Court has ruled that the voter has the right to negative voting by rejecting all the candidates in fray by exercising the option of None of the Above (NOTA).

As per the annual Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14, India has slipped to 60th position in terms of its competitiveness globally.

A new global corruption risk index ranked India as the 69th most graft-prone nation out of 197 countries

The National Green Tribunal has banned digging of earth without prior environment clearance across the country for making bricks and roads

Government has notified the landmark National Food Security Act 2013, giving a legal right on highly subsidised foodgrains to 67 per cent of the country's population.

The third edition of the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit, SMDS-III was held at Kohima, Nagaland.

A stamp released in the memory of freedom fighter and veteran journalist, founder of news paper ‘Punjab Kesari’ - Lala Jagat Narain.

The Rajya Sabha passed a Bill to create a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) which will replace the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts.

World's largest solar power plant to generate 4,000 mw from sunlight is being set up near the Sambhar lake in Rajasthan.

Raghuram Rajan panel has developed a 'Multi Dimensional Index (MDI)' for identifying backwardness of states and devolving funds for their development.

The MDI ranks Odisha as India’s most backward state, followed by Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Government has approved three highway projects in Assam under Special Accelerated Road Development programme.

The first North East Festival was held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi

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'THE GOOD ROAD': Gyan Correa's National award- winning Gujarati film nominated for 2014 Oscar Awards in USA.

India's population estimated at 123 crore as of March 1, 2012, which includes 27 crore BPL people

India signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the Baltic country Latvia

Asian Development Bank to provide $400 million to improve water and sanitation system in Kolkata.  

AUGUST 2013

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister visited India. The World Bank and ADB to provide $ 400 million for

reconstruction and rehabilitation of disaster-hit Uttarakhand.

Filing of RTI applications for all central government ministries and departments has been made online with launch of website www.rtionline.gov.in

India has bypassed Japan to become the world’s third largest Internet user after China and the United States

The government has decided to extend Tourist Visa on Arrival facility at four more airports of the country - Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi.

NEWS FROM STATES

SEPTEMBER 2013 Bihar govt has asked Gram Sabhas to observe ‘Bitiya

Janmotsav’ (celebration of birth of girl children) to spread awareness about gender issues.

Tripura has emerged as most literate state in India with 94.65 per cent literacy against Kerala’s 93.91 per cent.

AUGUST 2013 The Assam govt. has decided to provide free cycles to

girl students of class 9 and 10 in all govt. schools.

GOVT INITIATIVES OCTOBER 2013

National Financial Reporting Authority set up to lay down accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies

Skilled labour in sericulture included in works eligible under the employment guarantee scheme - MNREGA.

The minimum support price (MSP) for wheat raised by Rs 50 per quintal to Rs 1,400 for 2013-14 crop year

All post offices to come under the core banking solution system to cover more people of rural areas with banking

Wind and solar farms to be set up in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in the first phase of the Rs 43,000-crore Green Energy Corridors Project

Govt has allowed portability of LPG connections from one dealer/company to another and also launched the 5 kg LPG cylinder at cash and carry basis.

SEPTEMBER 2013 Parliament passed the Pension Fund Regulatory and

Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011, to create a regulator for the sector and allow 26 per cent FDI.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) became the first regulator in the world to start an insurance repository system.

Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH) and National Bamboo Mission (NBM) have been merged with National Horticultural Mission.

Govt has notified that the controversial General Anti Avoidance Rules will come into effect from 01-04-16

Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation set up to engage corporates for help to counter Naxal influence.

The Lok Sabha passed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011.

AUGUST 2013

Parliament has passed the new Companies Act 2013 with following highlights: • A single person can now start a company, to be

called One Person Company (OPC) • Max. number of persons permitted to form a pvt.

limited company raised to 200, from 50 at present. • The limit of the max number of companies in which

a person may be appointed as auditor fixed at 20. • Companies with market capitalisation of more

than Rs. 500 crore to spend 2 per cent of their annual net profits on corporate social responsibility

National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme to provide skill training to at least one person from each rural household that completes 100 days of work under NREGP

The government has set up a Tax Administration Reform Commission under Parthasarathy Shome, to review the application of tax policies and tax laws

National Monsoon Mission launched for an improved prediction of monsoon rainfall.  

Country's first ‘only for women’ university to set up at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, named ‘Indira Gandhi National University for Women’.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

SEPTEMBER 2013 According to the Central Statistical Office (CSO),

India's economy grew at 4.4% in the first quarter of the current fiscal, its slowest pace in over four years

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Share of agriculture and allied sectors in India's GDP has declined to 13.7 per cent in 2012-13

AUGUST 2013

The share of exports in GDP has dipped marginally to 17.3 per cent in 2012-13 as against 17.6% in 2011-12

ECONOMY

OCTOBER 2013 Four Indian businesswomen led by ICICI

Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar have made to Fortune magazine's global list of top-50 women business leaders.

Tata’s join hand with Singapore Airlines to form 'Tata SIA Airlines Limited'.

Govt approves Jet Airways' proposed sale of 24 per cent equity to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways

India has agreed to start a transmission line for exporting 500 MW of electricity from West Bengal to Bangladesh.

India finalised $512-million joint venture deal with Sri Lanka for the construction of two coal fired power projects

Reliance Industries Ltd. has become the first company in the country to achieve sales of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore in a quarter.

Australian Trade Commission and YES Bank have signed a MoU to raise the productivity and exports of India’s food and agricultural sector. 

The new Companies Law requires companies to spend at least 2 per cent of its net profits on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Sikkim has recorded steepest fall of 22% in poverty level in the country, between 2004-05 and 2011-12, reaching to 8.19%

Odisha emerged as best investment destination for new projects attracting 27% share of all-India investments.

ADB to grant Rs. 2,100 crore to Karnataka to develop and upgrade eight city clusters around Bangalore

India to invest USD 4.3 billion in World Bank bonds to help the country secure additional funding from the multilateral agency for infrastructure projects.

The Finance Ministry has taken over commodity futures markets regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) from the Consumers Affairs Ministry. 

AUGUST 2013 AREA NORMS REVISED FOR SEZ’s

Type of SEZ Earlier area in hectares

Revised area in

hectares

Multi-product SEZ's 1000 500 Single product SEZ's 100 50 Multi-services SEZ’s 100 50

SEZ only for electronics hardware, agro based food processing, biotechnology, handicrafts

10

RBI has increased the ceiling for FDI in Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) from 49% to 74%

The government has approved setting up of 12 mega food parks in the 12th Plan to boost the food processing sector. 

Production target for food grains set at 259 million tonnes for the year 2013-14. The state of Uttar Pradesh has highest production target of nearly 490 MT

Nagpur orange, tribal Warli art of Maharashtra, Dharmavaram saris of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala’s Kaipad rice have been grante Geographical Indications

The textiles exports target for 2013-14 has been raised to $ 43 billion, from $ 32 billion in the last year.

BANKING

OCTOBER 2013 Govt to pump in Rs 2,000 crore in SBI and Rs 1,800

crore each in IDBI Bank and Central Bank part of the Rs 14,000 crore capital infusion plan for the current fiscal.

NABARD Warehousing Scheme launched to advance loans to public and private sector for construction of Cold Stores, Warehouses, Silos etc.

National Payments Corporation of India has launched Aadhaar-based remittances for bank account holders.

To make the more attractive for senior citizens, the government has decided to exempt annuity instalments earned by mortgager.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Dr. Raghuram Govind Rajan took over as the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 04.

RBI has directed banks to stop zero per cent or discounted interest rate schemes as they tend to befool the consumers into believing that bank funding comes for free.

RBI had notified eKYC as an 'officially valid document' under anti-money laundering laws.

RBI has allowed banks to open branches, including in Tier 1 centres (cities with population of one lakh and above), without its prior permission.

RBI has asked banks to close accounts of those customers who use their credit or debit card for online forex trading transactions as such these are prohibited.

Reserve Bank has allowed to carry Indian currency up to Rs. 10,000 per person, outside India or to bring into India (other than to Nepal and Bhutan)

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The Reserve Bank has allowed cash withdrawals of up to Rs 1,000 a day from point of sale terminals, through prepaid cards, including gift cards issued by banks.

The Reserve Bank has decided to subsidise the hedging costs of foreign currency swaps for banks offering deposits to overseas non-resident Indians (NRIs)

Bimal Jalan Committee set up by RBI to screen the 26 applications received for new bank licenses.

Urjit Patel Committee formed to strengthen the framework of monetary policy to avoid friction between the RBI and the Finance Ministry.

AUGUST 2013 RBI has extended the deadline for clearing non CTS

cheques till 31st December, 2013. The Reserve Bank has asked banks to not to scribble or

write on any part of the banknotes.   Govt has confirmed that Aadhaar card is a valid and

complete proof for complying with know your customer (KYC) norms for opening a bank account.

RBI increased the interest subvention on pre and post shipment export credit to 3% from August 1, 2013.

RBI imposed penalties of Rs. 50 lakhs to two crore on Allahabad Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank and Indian Bank for violating KYC norms.

State Bank of India plans to deploy over 1.25 lakh point-of-sale (PoS) terminals in the next 18 months at various merchant outlets and counters at branches

Reserve Bank transferred over Rs 33,000 crore to the Govt as its surplus profit for the year 2012-13.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

OCTOBER 2013 The first home-made Hawk MK 132 aircraft by Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited has been inducted in Indian Navy. INS Sunayna: Indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol

Vessel (NOPV) –commissioned in Indian Navy. ‘INDRA 2013’: The first ever India-Russia joint military

exercise began on October 19 at the Mahajan field firing range near the Indo-Pak border in the Thar Desert.

‘Hand in Hand 2013’: Joint military exercises of India and China in Chengdu region in South west China.

Prithvi-II: Nuclear weapons capable surface-to-surface missile was successfully test-fired for a range of 300 km from Chandipur in Odisha.

Juno: NASA's spacecraft is making a quick pass by Earth to get gravity boost to slingshot itself towards Jupiter.

SEPTEMBER 2013 India and Nepal began Joint military exercises "Exercise

Surya Kiran-V" in general combat and mountain warfare in Pithoragarh, Uttrakhand.

India tested Agni-V nuclear- capable surface to surface long-range ballistic missile with a strike range of more than 5000 kms.

India’s advanced multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7, launched from Kourou, French Guiana to be used exclusively for defence forces.

India has been granted 'Authorising Nation' status under the international Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement

Samudra Ratnakar-the Rs.600-crore research vessel acquired by the Geological Survey of India (GSI)

Google Inc has launched its latest algorithm "Hummingbird” to match the queries in long sentences with that of documents on the Internet.

NASA has launched an unmanned spacecraft The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or Ladee to study the mysteries of Moon's atmosphere.

Voyager 1 spacecraft of US space agency NASA, launched some 36years ago, has become the first man-made object to venture into interstellar space.

Global IT giant Microsoft of USA has taken over the mobile phone business of Nokia Corporation of Finland in a deal of about $ 7.17 billion.

AUGUST 2013 India has activated the atomic reactor on its first

indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant  INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier

launched in waters at Cochin Shipyard Limited. The US has accepted India’s request to supply 145

state-of-the-art 155mm towed Howitzers guns INS Sindhurakshak, Indian submarine that sank due to

two massive explosions, killing all the 18 mariners.

INTERNATIONAL

OCTOBER 2013 The economic ‘shut down’ faced by the US government

ended on 16th October as the Congress agreed to increase the current debt ceiling of $ 16.7 trillion.

Following a UN resolution, experts have started the process of destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal.

Switzerland has become 58th country to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, saying good bye to its banking secrecy laws.

The China has launched “Green Fence” campaign aimed at enforcing standards for waste imports to avoid unusable or unsafe/dangerous consignments.

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World Toilet Summit held in Sukarta, Indonesia 5th South Asian Conference on Sanitation held at

Kathmandu, Nepal Two day international Rhino conference held at Bandar

Lampung, Indonesia.

SEPTEMBER 2013

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group has decided to create a $100-billion Currency Reserve Fund (CRF).

Afghanistan has decided to reserve a special seat for Sikh / Hindu Afghan nationals in the Lower House of Parliament - Wolesi Jirga, in the next 2015 elections.

Japan switched off its last operating nuclear reactor for an inspection, with no date scheduled for a restart amid strong public hostility towards atomic power.

A joint meeting of ministers of finance and ministers of labour from G20 member states was held in St. Petersburg, Russia.

AUGUST 2013 Over 1300 men, women and children were killed in

Syria in the world's most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s.

The Washington Post, the 80 year old iconic newspaper of USA has been sold for $250 million to Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder of Amazon.com

PERSONS IN NEWS

OCTOBER 2013 SHYAM BENEGAL: Veteran director has been nominated to head the accomplished jury for the Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) to be held in Brisbane, Australia. ROBERTO AZEVEDO: Director General of World Trade Organisation – WTO visited India. C. V. WIGNESWARAN: Sri Lanka’s first ‘elected’ Tamil Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the first ever provincial elections held after clearance of LTTE.

SEPTEMBER 2013

BO XILAI: A former powerful member of China’s Politburo was in news as he was awarded life imprisonment by the court on charges of bribery, graft and abuse of power. NINA DAVULURI: Indian-origin beauty, winner of Miss New York title, became the first non American origin contestant to win the prestigious Miss America pageant. JHUMPA LAHIRI: Indian-American author from New York was in news as she made it to this year's Man Booker Prize shortlist for her new novel 'The Lowland'. 

ZUBIN MEHTA: World renowned music maestro conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra during the Ehasas-e-Kashmir concert at Shalimar Garden, Srinagar (J&K).

AUGUST 2013 BASHAR AL ASSAD: President of Syria was in news as he was alleged to have used chemical weapons against civilians near capital city of Damascus, killing over 1300 persons, mostly children in their sleep.

APPOINTMENTS

OCTOBER 2013 USHA ANANTHASUBRAMANIAN: First CEO of the first all women bank – Bhartiya Mahila Bank.

B ASHOK: CMD of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)

MULATU TESHOME: President of Ethiopia

ILHAM ALIYEV: President of Azerbaijan

IBNE ABBAS: Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India

RANJAN MATHAI: India's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

JANET YELLEN: Chairperson of the Federal Reserve System of USA. It is equivalent of RBI in India. She is the first women to head Federal Reserve.

SEPTEMBER 2013

MS. DEEPAK SANDHU: Chief Information Commissioner (First women to head Central Information Commission) JUSTICE SHIVA KIRTI SINGH: Judge, Supreme Court of India JUSTICE C. NAGAPPAN: Judge, Supreme Court of India DINESH K. SARRAF: Chairman and Managing Director, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). RAJEEV RISHI: Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India.  ANGELA MERKEL: Chancellor (Prime Minister) of Germany (third time), from Christian Democratic Union Party ERNA SOLBERG: Prime Minister of Norway TONY ABBOTT: Prime Minister of Australia (from Conservative party)

AUGUST 2013 RAGHURAM G RAJAN: Governor, Reserve Bank of India   DILIP TRIVEDI: Director General, Central Reserve Police Force-CRPF

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IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA: President of Mali HASSAN ROUHANI: President of Iran

AWARDS & HONOURS

OCTOBER 2013 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration: M.S. Swaminathan, Eminent agriculture scientist. The prize carries a cash award of Rs. 5 lac. MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2013: Eleanor Catton for her novel, The Luminaries. The 28-year old author from New Zealand is the youngest ever winner of this prize. SAKHAROV Human Rights Prize: Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist for girl’s education. The prize is given by the European Parliament.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development-2012: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, first democratically elected women Head of any African country. Honoured for ensuring the return of peace and democracy, security and order in Liberia MOORTIDEVI AWARD-2012: Haraprasad Das, eminent Oriya writer, for 'Vamsha, a poetic recreation of the Mahabharata in contemporary idiom. DEUTSCHE BANK PRIZE FOR FINANCIAL ECONOMICS: Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India,in recognition of his ground-breaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies. CLINTON GLOBAL CITIZENS AWARDS: Bunker Roy and Malala Yousafzai. Roy is the founder of the Barefoot College, which has been providing solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years. MEGAN YOUNG: Miss World 2013, of Philippines, at Bali, Indonesia. PUNJABI FILM 'QISSA' directed by Anup Singh has won Best Asian Film Award at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

ABHINAV TIWARI'S "OASS", a movie on human trafficking, was named the best film at the Ladakh International Film Festival.

BOOKER PRIZE GOES GLOBAL The Man Booker Prize, described as the “the most important and influential award for literary fiction in the English speaking world” will now be open from 2014 to writers in English from any part of the world provided their books have been published in the United Kingdom. Thus far the Booker Prize was for literary fiction by authors only from the Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe.

AUGUST 2013

RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD: Ronjan Sodhi, two-time world champion in double trap shooting.

Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award: Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan

Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship: Shailendra Kumar Mandal

OBITUARY

OCTOBER 2013

MANNA DEY: The "king of melody", Golden Voice of Bengal, legendary playback singer of Indian cinema. RAVURI BHARADHWAJA: Eminent Telugu novelist, short story writer, poet critic and 2012 Jnanpith award winner DR. MOHAN DHARIA: Freedom fighter, ex Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. TOM CLANCY: One of the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time in USA, known for his best seller thrillers - The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games. ALVARO MUTIS: A noted Colombian poet, essayist and novelist from Mexico, influential throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

SEPTEMBER 2013 ROMESH BHANDARI: Former UP Governor and ex-Foreign Secretary of India SUSHMITA BANERJEE: Noted Bengali author who was killed in Afghanistan by militants. She had come into the limelight for her books narrating her experiences in Kabul (read ‘with Taliban’) RAY DOLBY: An inventor and audio pioneer from USA who founded Dolby Laboratories, known for Dolby Stereo Sound systems and 50 other patents in his name. DAVID FROST: Veteran British journalist and broadcaster, who won fame around the world for his TV interviews with the former U.S. President, Richard Nixon and several other statesmen of the world. KEN NORTON: Former world heavyweight boxing champion, considered one of the greatest fighter of his era, was best known for beating Muhammad Ali in 1973.

AUGUST 2013 DESH PREM AZAD: First cricket coach to receive prestigious Dronacharya award. Known for producing cricket stars like Kapil Dev, Ashok Malhotra, Yograj Singh and Chetan Sharma.

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PLACES IN NEWS

OCTOBER 2013 PHAILIN: Name of the cyclone that hit the coastal areas of Andhra and Odisha. However, due to excellent preparations done by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Metrological Department (IMD) and local administration, damages were reduced to bare minimum. RATANGARH, DATIA: The place in Madhya Pradesh was in news as a gruesome stampede took place there claiming over 120 lives and injuring another 100 persons. The stampede was triggered by rumours that the river bridge which the devotees were crossing to reach a nearby Durga temple, was about to collapse. BHAKRA DAM- one of the highest gravity dams in world, located on river Satluj at Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, completes 50 years of its dedication to nation. AL-MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL: World’s largest airport, located in Dubai, commenced operations. It has annual capacity of handling 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo.

SEPTEMBER 2013

KAESONG: North and South Korea have agreed to reopen their joint industrial park at Kaesong, five months after it was shut during soaring military tensions. Located 10 kilometers inside North Korea, it was established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. AWARAN: A district in Balochistan province of Pakistan was the epicentre of a severe earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that caused widespread devastation, claiming hundreds of lives. ST. PETERSBURG: The second biggest city in Russia was the venue for meeting of Heads of nations of G-20 group of countries. DAOCHENG YADING AIRPORT: World's highest-altitude civilian airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level in Daocheng County in Sichuan province neighbouring Tibet, has started its operations. SUPER TYPHOON USAGI: the most powerful storm of the year brought torrential rain and strong winds to the Philippines and Taiwan on Sep. 21, causing widespread devastation before moving towards Hong Kong.  

AUGUST 2013

NIYAMGIRI HILLS: Area in district Rayagada in Odisha was in news as all the 12 gram sabhas there unanimously decided to not to allow bauxite mining for Vedanta Aluminum, a multi crore FDI project.

KHIRSARA: A village, 85 km from Bhuj town, Gujarat was in news as a large numbers of artifacts belonging to Harrappan era were discovered from there.

SPORTS WORLD

OCTOBER 2013 Sachin Tendulkar reached the coveted landmark of 50,000 runs across all formats of cricket. He achieved the feat at Feroze Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi playing for Mumbai Indians against Trinidad & Tobago in Champions League Twenty20. Mumbai Indians created history by becoming the first team to win the Champions League (cricket) twice, beating Rajasthan Royals in the finals played at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi.

Bhavina Hashmukhbhai Patel became the first Indian to win a silver medal at the 2013 ITTF Asian Table Tennis championship held in Beijing, China. Virat Kohli scored the fastest ever century by an Indian batsman in ODI, off 52 balls, playing against Australia at Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur. Sanjeev Rajput: won the gold in men’s 50-metre free rifle prone event in the Asian Air Gun shooting championship in Tehran, Iran. Mohit Mayur and Prerna Bhambri win the men’s and women’s title, respectively, in Fenesta National tennis championship held at New Delhi. Rohan Bopanna along with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, won the men’s doubles title at the Japan Open Tennis held at Tokyo, Japan. Indian Open Snooker Tournament: Ding Junhui of China won the title beating Aditya Mehta in the finals held at New Delhi. Duleep trophy (cricket): South zone and North zone were declared joint winners of the in the final played at Kochi, Kerala. Terry Walsh: Ace hockey player from Australia appointed as the chief coach of Indian men's hockey team CHINA OPEN TENNIS CUP Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat Rafael Nadal of Spain to win the China Open Tennis Cup held at Beijing, China. Women’s singles title was won by Serena Williams, defeating Jelena Jankovic. Sania Mirza alongwith Cara Black won the women’s doubles title. Afghanistan has qualified for the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time. Total 14 teams will compete for the cup to be hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          36 

Sebastian Vettel: The Red Bull driver from Germany won the fourth successive Formula one championship of this season at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida, UP. Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine won the world heavyweight boxing title beating Russian Alexander Povetkin at the final bout held at Moscow, Russia.

Sohag Gazi: Allrounder from Bangladesh became the first cricketer in 136 year old history of cricket to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the same Test. He achieved the feat while playing against New Zealand at Chitagong, Bangladesh. He scored unbeaten 101 and claimed six wickets for 77 runs. The World Boxing Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan

SEPTEMBER 2013

India wins Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey tournament held at Johar Bahru, Malaysia, beating Malaysia National Junior Athletics Championship at Kochi, Kerala.

India lost Asia Cup Hockey final at Ipoh, Malaysia, just by one goal to South Korea, scoring 3 goals against 4 by South Korea. However, India has qualified for the 2014 Hockey World Cup to be held at The Hague, Netherlands. Amit Kumar, ace wrestler from India, won silver medal and Bajrang won the bronze at the World Wrestling Championships at Budapest, Hungary.   

Sandeep Tulsi Yadav: The Indian Grappler created history by winning India’s first-ever wrestling medal in the Greco-Roman category of the senior World Wrestling Championships held at Budapest, Hungary.  

Swaran Singh (Punjab) wins gold medal in Asian Rowing Championship held at Luan, China Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi won the bronze medal in the World Junior Chess Championship held in Kocaeli, Turkey. Durand Cup Football Tournament: Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting created history by winning the prestigious cup after a gap of 73 years, defeating ONGC 2-1 in the final played at Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi.  

S. Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan have been banned for life from playing official cricket by the Disciplinary Committee of the BCCI for their involvement in spot-fixing during certain matches of the Indian Premier League this summer.  

WRESTLING BACK IN OLYMPICS: After a seven-month exile, wrestling has been welcomed back into the Olympic programme defeating baseball/softball and squash for a spot in the 2020 Summer Games to be held in Tokyo.  

THOMAS BACH: Elected President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), from Germany. He is an ex Olympic champion of fencing.  

2020 Olympic Games to be held at Tokyo, Japan. 1964 Olympics were also held at Tokyo. 2016 Olympics are to be held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  

Japan beats Korea to win the Eighth Women’s Hockey Asia Cup held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India won bronze in this championship.  

Wilson Kipsang of Kenya set a new world record of 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds at the Berlin Marathon, slashing earlier world record by 15 seconds Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated world number one Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to win the US Open men's singles title at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York, USA. Serena Williams (USA) beats Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, to win the women's singles final of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament, in New York, USA. Leander Paes. alongwith his Czech partner Radek Stepanek, won the US Open 2013 men’s doubles crown. Afghanistan beats India to win SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Football Championship held at Kathmandu, Nepal.  Gareth Bale, the ace footballer from UK created a new record by becoming the expensive most player in the history of football. He has been contracted by the Spanish club Real Madrid for an exorbitant sum of 100 million Euros (Rs.872.6 crore). Diana Nyad, the 64 year old US lady swimmer created a world record of longest distance swimming by completing a historic 110-mile (177 kms) swim between Havana, Cuba and Key West, Florida, in 52 hr. 54 min. 18.6 sec, without the protection of a shark cage. The BWF Japan Open Super Series Badminton tournament held in Tokyo.

Sebastiaan Bowier: 23-year-old Dutch cyclist has pedalled his way to a world record, hitting a speed of more than 133.78 kph in a desert track in USA.

AUGUST 2013

Indian women's recurve team (archery) won the gold medal in the World Cup Archery (Stage IV) at Wroclaw, Poland, beating the South Korean team. Indian girls created history by winning country's first ever bronze medal in the junior women hockey World Cup as they pipped England at Monchengladbach, Germany. P V Sindhu, India's rising shuttler made history by becoming the first Indian woman singles player to win a medal at the World Badminton Championships by winning the bronze medal after beating Shixian Wang of China at Guangzhou, China

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          37 

Aditya Mehta became the first Indian to win the quadrennial World Games Snooker Gold Medal at Cali, Columbia, defeating China’s Liang Wenbo.   Venkat Rahul Ragala: India's weightlifter clinched a gold medal in the 77 kg category in Asian Youth Games held at Nanjing, China. Lt Col. Sudhakar Jayant of Indian Army won gold medal at the IWF World Masters wightlifting championships, held in Turin, Italy. Indian cricket team continues to top in ODI format since February this year.

India beat Nepal to lift the South Asian Football Federation Under-16 Championship title at Kathmandu. The International Sepak Takraw Super Series 2013 held at New Delhi. The Lusofonia Games held in Goa in Oct - Nov 2013. These are the Portuguese Commonwealth Games

Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district has set a national record by organizing Half Marathon of 21 kilometers at the height of 10050 feet at Keylong. The race was won by Baljinder Singh from Punjab. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been appointed the brand ambassador to promote world’s largest football league Barclays English Premier League football in India.  40th National Women's Premier Chess Championship held at Kolkata. Sardara Singh selected as Captain of Indian Hockey team International Association of Athletics Federations

WORLD ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013,

MOSCOW, RUSSIA.

Usain Bolt, the iconic sprinter from Jamaica, equaled the world record of winning eight gold medals at international level, as he secured three golds the World Athletics Championships in Moscow, Russia. The only three other athletes to achieve this fete are track stars from USA - Allyson Felix, Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson.

Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce: First women sprinter (from Jamaica) to win both individual 100 meter / 200 meter and 4 x 100 m relay

Mo Farah(UK): He won the gold in 500 meter and 10,000 meter race

Yelena Isinbayeva: The Russian pole vaulter won fthe world championship for the third time.

Lin Dan (China) won the men’s singles title at the World Badminton Championship held at Guangzhou, China. Women’s singles title was won by Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

BOOK AUTHOR The Luminaries Eleanor Catton My Brief History A Memoir by Stephen

Hawking The Map and the Territory Alan Greenspan My Journey: Transforming

Dreams into Action A.P.J. Kalam

The Bone Season Samantha Shannon Never Go Back Lee Child

The Husband’s Secret Liane Moriarty The Racketeer John Grisham

Harvest Jim Crace Backlash Lynda La Plante

The Communist Cookbook Sharmishta Roy ChowdhuryPunjab: A History from

Aurangzeb to Mountbatten Rajmohan Gandhi

Indian Tax Administration: A Dialogue

Parthasarthi Shome

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

J. K. Rowling. Famous film company Warner Brothers are making a film on this

book. Making Peace with the Earth Vandana Shiva

Cuckoo’s Calling JK Rowling (under the pseudonym Robert

Galbraith) The Kashmir Dispute:

1947-2012 AG Noorani

You’re Hired Sandeep Goyal Bad Monkey Carl Hiaasen

The New Digital Age Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

May We Be Forgiven A M Homes Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman

Cobalt Blue Sachin Kundalkar Our Moon Has Blood Clots Rahul Pandita

The Childhood of Jesus J.M. Coetzee Faith & Freedom: Gandhi in

History Mushirul Hasan

The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson The Girl With No Name Marina Chapman. It is an

incredible true story of a child raised by monkeys

The Path To Power Margaret Thatcher Cell Phone Nation Robin Jeffrey & Assa Doron

Legacy Sudha Menon What Young India Wants Chetan Bhagat

Aziz’s Notebook Chowra Makaremi Walking with Lions: Tales from a Diplomatic Past

Natwar Singh

Wild Cheryl Strayed Oath of the Vayuputras Amish Tripathi

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               40 

“OPERATION” is written as “CXFBWYQCL”, how is “SEPARATION” coded? 1) EJXEBEYQCL 2) JFQYWBCXQL 3) JFXWBWYQCL 4) QCLYWBFXJE

21) B is D’s mother and C is D’s brother. H is E’s

daughter whose wife is D. How is C related to E? 1) Father – in – law 2) Brother – in – law 3) Uncle 4) Brother

22) E is the sister of B. A is the father of C. B is the

son of C. How is A related to E? 1) Grandfather 2) Granddaughter 3) Father 4) Great–Grandfather

23) A is B’s brother. C is D’s father. E is B’s mother.

A and D are brothers. How is E related to C? 1) Sister 2) Sister – in – law 3) Niece 4) Wife

24) Sheila walks from A to B which is 2km away,

turns right at 90° and walks for 3km to point C, turns right at 90° and walks to D which is 8km away, turns 90° right and goes 3km to point K. Then once again she turns right 90° and walks 4km to point F. How far is it from A to F? 1) 2km 2) 4km 3) 6km 4) 8km

25) Mohan starts from point A and walks 1km

towards South, turns left and walks 1 km. Then he turns left again and walks 1 km. Now he is facing which direction? 1) East 2) West 3) North 4) South-west

26) Sohan started from point X and travelled

forward 8km to point Y, then turned towards right and travelled 5km to point Z, then turned right and travelled 7km to point A and then turned towards right and travelled 5km to B. What is the distance between points B and X? 1) 1 km 2) 2 km 3) 3 km 4) 4 km

27) If 9th of a month falls on the day preceding

Sunday, on what day will 1st of the month fall? 1) Friday 2) Saturday 3) Sunday 4) Monday

28) Anil reached a place on Friday. He came to know

that he was three days earlier than the scheduled day. If he had reached there on the following Sunday, how many days late/early he would have been? 1) One day earlier 2) One day late 3) Two days late 4) Two days earlier

29) If day before yesterday was Friday, what will be

the third day after the day – after – tomorrow?

1) Thursday 2) Friday 3) Saturday 4) Sunday

30) Mr. & Mrs. Gopal have three daughters and each

daughter has one brother. How many persons are there in the family? 1) 5 2) 6 3) 7 4) 8

31) In a group of friends, two men have wives, one

is a bachelor, another’s wife is dead, and two are divorcees. They take four children with them to a picnic. How many have gone to the picnic? 1) 12 2) 10 3) 14 4) 13

32) Read the following information carefully and

answer the questions given below: 1) A, B, C, D, E and F are members of a club. 2) There is one married couple in the group. 3) D is the only married female in the group. 4) A and C are two ladies. 5) F is brother of A and is not married. 6) E is the sister of F. How many female members are there in the club? 1) 2 2) 3 3) 4 4) 5

33) P, Q & R are educated, P, R & S are hard working, R, S & T are employed, P, Q, S & T are polite. Who is educated, hardworking, polite but not employed? 1) P 2) Q 3) R 4) T

Directions (34–35): In a code language the following alphabets are coded in a particular way: X C Y O M G I R Q V 8 4 1 6 2 0 9 3 5 7 Which group of alphabets can be decoded from the following? 34) 608175

1) OGXYCV 2) OGXYMR 3) OGXYVQ 4) OXMRYI

35) 710926

1) VYGIXC 2) VYGIMV 3) VYGIOM 4) VYGIMO

Directions (36-38): In a code language the following alphabets are coded in a particular way: V U N L J E A T K P 1 5 8 6 3 4 7 2 9 0 36) Which group of alphabets can be decoded from

the following? 762539 1) ALTJUK 2) ALTUKJ

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               41 

3) ALTVJK 4) ALTUJK 37) R T S U V A B C D E 8 5 2 0 6 7 9 1 3 4

Which word can be decoded from the following? 647319 1) VEADCB 2) VBADCE 3) BAVUED 4) DRSUVA

38) R T S U V A B C D E 8 5 2 0 6 7 9 1 3 4

Which groups of alphabets can be decoded from the following group of numbers? 531602 1) TCDUVS 2) CTDUVS 3) TDVCUS 4) TDCVUS

Directions (39 – 40): Below are given letters A to Z. Under each capital letter a small letter is written which is to be used as a code for the capital letters. A B C D E F G H I J K L M f g k v w a o l z s u b h N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z p r t c i x m y d j n q e In each of the following questions a group of a six capital letters is given and its code equivalent is given in one of the columns (1), (2), (3) or (4). Study the group of letters given in each question and with the help of code given above, choose the code equivalent from amongst (1), (2), (3) or (4) as your answer. 39) GSUWVM

1) ckdqaz, mcfywp, osagbi, jikwzs, zrvlyh, giofv 2) whiukf, biljqm, adrtiy, volsfy, reicxd, mbuoaz 3) ulkpad, foiznj, vsmgfo, apixyt, amidak, fjpaxf 4) zomyak, ycpath, lowvxr, oxyjdh, kphvsr, iyzuwo

40) TLKGFD

1) ckdqaz, mcfywv, osagbi, jikwzs, zrblyh, gionfv 2) whiukf, biljam, adrtiy, volsyf, reicxd, mbuoav 3) ulkpad, foiznj, vsmgfo, apixyt, vmidax, fjpaxt 4) zomyak, ycpath, lowvxr, oxyjdh, kpsvhr, tyzuwo

41) Among 5 boys, Vasant is taller than Manmohar,

but not as tall as Raju. Jayant is taller than Dutta but shorter than Manmohar. Who is the tallest in the group? 1) Manmohar 2) Vasant 3) Jayant 4) Raju

42) B is twice as old as A but twice younger than F. C is half the age of A but is twice older than D. Who is the second oldest? 1) B 2) F 3) D 4) C

Directions (43-44): A word is represented by only one set of numbers as given in any one of the alternatives. The sets of numbers given in the alternatives are represented by two classes of alphabets as in the 2 matrices given below. The columns and rows of matrices are numbered. Identify the set for the following words: 43) POSE MATRIX-I

0 1 2 3 4 0 D E F I N 1 I N D E F 2 E F I N D 3 N D E F I 4 F I N D E

MATRIX-II

5 6 7 8 9 5 O P R S T 6 S T O P R 7 P R S T O 8 T O P R S 9 R S T O P (1) 87, 55, 89, 43 (2) 68, 98, 58, 21 (3) 75, 86, 67, 14 (4) 56, 67, 77, 01

44) DIRT MATRIX-I

0 1 2 3 4 0 D E F I N 1 I N D E F 2 E F I N D 3 N D E F I 4 F I N D E

MATRIX-II

5 6 7 8 9 5 O P R S T 6 S T O P R 7 P R S T O 8 T O P R S 9 R S T O P (1) 00, 10, 76, 86 (2) 43, 34, 88, 79 (3) 24, 34, 57, 66 (4) 00, 01, 76, 86

45) A cube, painted yellow on all faces is cut into 27

small cubes of equal size. How many small cubes are painted on one face only? 1) 1 2) 6 3) 8 4) 12

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               42 

46) All surfaces of a cube are coloured. If a number of smaller cubes are taken out from it, each side is ¼ the size of the original cube’s side, indicate the number of cubes with only one side painted. 1) 60 2) 32 3) 24 4) 16

Directions (47-48): Which one of the answer figure shall complete the given question figure. 47) Main Figure

Answer Choice

48) Main Figure

Answer Choice

Directions (49-50): Which of the following choices is the exact mirror image of the main figure? (Please note that the mirror is present on the left side of the main figure)

49) Main figure

Answer Figures

50) Main figure

Answer Figures

  

Directions (51-52): Choose the correct water image of the given words /numbers from amongst the alternatives: 51) QUARREL 1) 2) 3) 4) 52) monday 1) yadnom 2) 3) 4)

Directions (53-54): A square transparent sheet with a pattern is given in fig X. Find out from amongst the alternatives as to how the pattern would appear when the transparent sheet is folded along the dotted line.

53)

54)

Directions (55-56): From the given answer figures, select the one in which the question figure is hidden / embedded. 55) Question Figure

Answer Figures:

OO

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2 3x 1 4

2 3x 1 4

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               43 

56) Question Figure

Answer Figures

Directions (57-58): A sheet has been folded in a manner and punched. You have to choose from the alternatives how it will look when unfolded.

Problem Figure Paper Cutting

57)

58)

Directions (59 – 60): How many triangles are there in the following figures?

59)

(1) 20 (2) 24 (3) 28 (4) 32

60)

(1) 18 (2) 17

(3) 16 (4) 15

Directions (61 - 62): The following questions are based on the following figure, study the figure carefully and answer the questions.

61) Which symbol indicates leader but not a singer or an Indian?

(1) g (2) c (3) b (4) f

62) Which symbol is an Indian, a singer but not a leader?

(1) a (2) b (3) c (4) d

63) Three positions of a cube are given. Based on them find out which number is opposite to number 2 in the given cube?

(1) 2 (2) 5 (3) 1 (4) 6

64) The following diagram depicts various views of a cube. Each face has some number, where as in cube 4, one face is blank. From the answer choices select the number that should come in the blank space.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (1) 1 (2) 5 (3) 6 (4) 3

Directions (65-66): A series of figures is given which can be grouped into classes. Select the group into which the figures can be classified from the given responses. 65)

(1) 1,3,9 ; 2,6,7 ; 4,5,8

(2)

(3)

(1)

(4)

(2) (3)(1) (4)

ab

c e

f

g

d

Leader

Singer

Indian

263 1

4 54

5 1?

4 2

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               44 

(2) 1,3,9 ; 2,7,8 ; 4,5,6 (3) 1,3,9 ; 4,5,7 ; 2,6,8

(4) 1,3,5 ; 2,4,9 ; 6,7,8 66)

(1) 1,4,6 ; 3,5 ; 2,7,8 (2) 2,5,8 ; 1,3,8 ; 4,6

(3) 3,7 ; 1,4,5 ; 2,5,8 (4) 2,5,8 ; 1,6 ; 4, 7

 

Direction (67–71): In each of the following questions select the diagram out of the four that best represents the relationship among the given words.

(1) (2) (3) (4) 67) Pen, Books, Novels 68) Doctor, Police, Female 69) Mammal, Man, Cow 70) Hen, Horse, Animal 71) Daughter, Wife, Women  72) If 12(158)14 and 12(182)16,then 14(?) 16

(1) 214 (2) 194 (3) 184 (4) 164

73) If 20 + 3 = 15 and 15 + 4 = 30, then 12 + 6 = ? (1) 27 (2) 60 (3) 9 (4) 36

74) If 7 + 5 = 144 and 3 + 2 = 25, then 9 + 7 = ? (1) 49 (2) 256 (3) 81 (4) 121

75) If 5 x 7 = 5; 12 x 3 = 6; 8 x 9 = 2, what is the value of 6 x 8 = ? (1) 5 (2) 6 (3) 8 (4) 2

76) If 841 = 3, 633 = 5, 425 = 7 then 217 = ? (1) 6 (2) 7 (3) 8 (4) 9

77) If A = 51 (714) 14;

B = 61 (915) 15; C = 71 (1136) 16;

Then D = 81 (?) 17 (1) 1377 (2) 1378 (3) 1356 (4) 1346

78) If A = 14(290)15 and B = 16 (330)17 then C =

18 (?) 19 (1) 300 (2) 270 (3) 170 (4) 370

79) Complete the series

2(18)209, _____, 4(36)409, 5(45)509

(1) 3(27)309 (2) 2(42)309 (3) 3(56)409 (4) 3(64)409

80) If 324 x 289 = 35, 441 x 484 = 43, 625 x 400 =

45, find the value of 256 x 729. (1) 33 (2) 35 (3) 43 (4) 34

81) If 94 + 16 = 42, 89 + 23 = 78, then 63 + 45 = ?

(1) 18 (2) 28 (3) 38 (4) 48

82) If 9 * 7 = 32, 13 * 7 = 120, 17 * 9 = 208, then

19 * 11=? (1) 150 (2) 180 (3) 210 (4) 240

 83) Looking into a mirror, a clock shows 9:30 as the

time. The actual time is : 1) 2:30 2) 3:30 3) 4:30 4) 6:30

84) When seen through a mirror, a clock shows 8 :

30. The correct time is : 1) 2:30 2) 3:30 3) 5:30 4) 8:30

85) A clock seen through a mirror shows quarter

past three. What is the correct time shown by the clock? 1) 9 : 45 2) 9 : 15 3) 8 : 45 4) 3 : 15

 Directions (86-88): Find the mirror image of following words / numbers from amongst the given alternatives. 86) COLON 1) 2)

3) 4)

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               45 

87) 789 1) 2687 2) 3) 4) 88) 247593 1) 395742 2)

3) 4)  Directions (89-91): Choose the correct water image of the given words /numbers from amongst the given alternatives: 89) monday

1) yadnom 2) 3) 4) 90) 627 1) 2) 3) 4) 91) DISC 1) 2)

3) 4)  Directions (92-96): In each question below are given two/three statements followed by conclusions. You have to take the two given statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance with the commonly known facts and then decide which of the given conclusions logically follows from the two given statements, disregarding commonly known facts.

Give answer: - 1) If only conclusion I follows. 2) If only conclusion II follows. 3) If either I or II follows. 4) If neither I nor II follows.

92) Statements: All milk are pudding. All pudding are toffees.

Conclusions: I. All milk are toffees. II. All toffees are pudding. 93) Statements: All elephant are kings. Some kings are lions.

Conclusions: I. Some elephant are lions. II. Some lions are kings. 94) Statements: Some stone are diamonds. Some diamonds are ornaments.

Conclusions: I. Some diamonds are stone. II. Some ornaments are stone. 95) Statements: All books are pen. No pen is pencil.

Conclusions: I. No book is pencil. II. All pens are book.

96) Statements: Some professors are intelligent. Some intelligent are poets.

Conclusions: I. Some professors are poets. II. Some intelligent are professor. Directions (97 – 100): In the following questions, three out of the four alternatives are same in a certain way and so form a group. Find the odd one that does not belong to the group. 97) (1) Unicorn (2) Rhino (3) Fox (4) Antelope 98) (1) A (2) D

(3) F (4) K 99) (1) 22 – 3 (2) 28 – 4 (3) 36 – 5 (4) 43 – 6 100) (1) White : Dirty (2) Easy : Difficult (3) Brave : Coward (4) End : Beginning    

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE  

Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A. 1  4  2  2  3  1  4  3  5  1 6  3  7  2  8  2  9  1  10  2 11  2  12  3  13  1  14  4  15  3 16  3  17  1  18  3  19  4  20  3 21  2  22  1  23  4  24  1  25  3 26  1  27  1  28  1  29  2  30  2 31  1  32  3  33  1  34  3  35  4 36  4  37  1  38  4  39  4  40  2 41  4  42  1  43  4  44  3  45  2 46  3  47  3  48  4  49  2  50  1 51  1  52  4  53  2  54  2  55  1 56  1  57  1  58  2  59  3  60  2 61  4  62  4  63  4  64  4  65  1 66  1  67  1  68  4  69  3  70  3 71  4  72  1  73  1  74  2  75  3 76  4  77  1  78  4  79  1  80  3 81  3  82  4  83  1  84  2  85  3 86  1  87  2  88  3  89  4  90  1 91  1  92  1  93  2  94  1  95  1 96  2  97  1  98  1  99  2  100  1 

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               46 

NUMERICAL APTITUDE 1) Find the number of divisors of 1728.

1) 18 2) 30 3) 28 4) 20

2) Find the number of divisors of 1080 excluding

the divisors, which are perfect squares. 1) 28 2) 29 3) 30 4) 31

3) Find the number of divisors of 544 excluding 1

and 544. 1) 12 2) 18 3) 11 4) 10

4) Find the number of divisors of 544 which are

greater than 3. 1) 15 2) 10 3) 12 4) None of these

5) Find the sum of divisors of 544 excluding 1 and

544. 1) 1089 2) 545 3) 589 4) 1134

6) If 32x += , then the value of x

1x + is :

(1) 3 (2) 6

(3) 62 (4) 6

7) If 3x1

x =+ , the value of 5

5

x1

x + is:

(1) 122 (2) 118 (3) 123 (4) 120

8) If 23

x = , then the value of x1x1 −++ will

be:

(1) 3

1 (2) 32

(3) 3 (4) 2

9) The Value of )3(x)81(

)9(x)81(2.4

7.26.3is:

(1) 3 (2) 6 (3) 9 (4) 8.2

10) If 6.......6 66 +++ is equal to:

(1) 2 (2) 5 (3) 4 (4) 3

11) Find the average of the first hundred natural numbers. 1) 50.5 2) 48.6 3) 40.8 4) 55.6

12) Find the average of all even numbers up to 100.

1) 51 2) 60 3) 58.8 4) 55.6

13) Find the average of first 50 even numbers.

1) 51 2) 60 3) 56 4) 59

14) Find the average of all odd numbers up to 100.

1) 59 2) 50 3) 36 4) 69

15) The average of certain consecutive odd numbers

is 60. Find their sum. 1) 2151 2) 3600 3) 5460 4) 2286

16) The age of Ronit’s father is 4 times his son’s

age. If 5 years ago father’s age was 7 times of the age of his son at that time, what is Ronit’s father’s present age? 1) 92years 2) 80 years 3) 40 years 4) 55 years

17) The age of Deepak is four times the age of

Suresh. After ten years the age of Deepak’s age will be only twice the age of Suresh. Find the present age of Suresh. 1) 6 years 2) 14 years 3) 20 years 4) 5 years

18) 10 years ago Chandu’s mother was 4 times

older than Chandu. After 10 years, the mother will be twice older than Chandu. The present age of Chandu is: 1) 12years 2) 7 years 3) 20 years 4) 28 years

19) 14 years ago Ram was 4 times the age of Sam.

If the present age of Ram is twice the age of Sam, what will be the total of their present ages? 1)54 years 2) 63 years 3) 69 years 4) 42 years

20) At present the age of the father is 3 times the

age of his son, 9 years hence the fathers’ age would be twice that of his son. What is the sum of the present ages of father and his son? 1) 36 years 2) 39 years 3) 35 years 4) 49 years

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               47 

21) The greatest number which on dividing 1657 and 2037 leaves remainders 6 and 5 respectively, is: 1) 143 2)127 3) 225 4) 295

22) Which of the following has the maximum

number of divisors? 1) 109 2)115 3) 176 4)192

23) The L.C.M. of two numbers is 48. The numbers

are in the ratio 2 : 3. Then sum of the numbers is: 1)  36 2) 44 3) 40 4) 56

24) If the sum of two numbers is 55 and the H.C.F.

and L.C.M. of these numbers are 5 and 120 respectively, then the sum of the reciprocals of the numbers is equal to: 1) 55/709 2) 709/55 3) 11/120 4) 120/11

25) The greatest possible length which can be used

to measure exactly the lengths 7 m, 3 m 85 cm, 12 m 95 cm exactly is: 1) 18 cm 2) 45 cm 3) 35 cm 4) 32 cm

26) A sum of money is to be distributed among A, B, C, D in the proportion of 5:2:4:3. If C gets Rs. 1000 more than D.What is B's share? 1) Rs. 500 2) Rs. 1500 3) Rs. 2000 4) None of these

27) A and B together have Rs. 1210. If 4/15 of A's

amount is equal to 2/5 of B's amount, how much amount does B have?

1) Rs. 460 2) Rs. 484 3) Rs. 550 4) Rs. 664

28) A sum of Rs.312 was divided among 100 boys

and girls in such a way that each boy gets Rs.3.60 and each girl Rs.2.40, the number of girls is 1) 35 2) 40 3) 45 4) 50

29) In a mixture of 60 litres, the ratio of milk and

water is 2:1. If the this ratio is to be 1:2, then the quantity of water to be further added is: 1) 20 litres 2) 30 litres 3) 40 litres 4) 60 litres

30) Two numbers are respectively 20% and 50%

more than a third number. The ratio of the two numbers is: 1) 2:5 2) 3:5

3) 4:5 4) 5:4 31) In what proportion must wheat at Rs. 3.20 per

kg be mixed with wheat at Rs. 3.70 per kg, so that the mixture be worth Rs. 3.35 a kg? 1) 9:5 2) 7:4 3) 7:3 4) 3:1

32) Shubam purchased 30 kg of rice at the rate of

Rs. 17.50 per kg and another 30 kg rice at a certain rate. He mixed the two and sold the entire quantity at the rate of Rs. 18.60 per kg and made 20 percent overall profit. At what price per kg did he purchase the lot of another 30 kg rice? 1) Rs. 12.50 2) Rs. 14.50 3) Rs. 11.50 4) Rs. 13.50

33) A mixture of a certain quantity of milk with 25

litres of water is worth Rs. 2 per litre. If pure milk be worth Rs. 12 per litre, how much milk is there in the mixture? 1) 5 litres 2) 3 litres 3) 8 litres 4) 2 litres

34) In what proportion must water be mixed with

spirit to gain 16% by selling it at cost price? 1) 4:25 2) 4:13 3) 11:6 4) 25:4

35) In what proportion must water be mixed with

spirit to gain 25% by selling it at cost price? 1) 4:3 2) 3:4 3) 3:2 4) 1:4

36) A boat rowed down a river at 21 km/hr and rowed up the river at 9 km/hr. What is the speed of the river? 1) 4 km/ hr 2) 5 km/hr 3) 6 km/hr 4) 6.5 km/hr

37) A swimmer can swim upstream at 14 km/hr and

downstream at 6 km/hr. What is the speed of the swimmer in still water? 1) 10 km/hr 2) 9.5 km/hr 3) 11 km/hr 4) 12 km/hr

38) The speed of a boat in still water is 4 km/hr

while its speed against the current is 2 km/hr. What is the speed of the current? 1) 3 km/hr 2) 3.5 km/hr 3) 2.5 km/hr 4) None of these

39) The speed of a boatman in the direction of

current is 15 km/hr while the speed of the current is 1.5 km/hr. What is the speed of the boatman against the current? 1) 11 km/hr 2) 12 km/hr 3) 16.30 km/hr 4) 14.75 km/hr

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               48 

40) If the speed of a boat in still water is 7 km/hr and its speed against the current is 2.5 km/hr, then what is its speed in the direction of the current? 1) 14.5 km/hr 2) 13 km/hr 3) 14 km/hr 4) 11.5 km/hr

41) A man and a woman together fill a cistern with water. The man pours 4 litres of water every 3 minutes and the woman pours 3 litres every 4 minutes. How much time will it take to fill 100 litres of water in the cistern? 1) 32 minutes 2) 56 minutes 3) 48 minutes 4) 52 minutes

42) 12 pumps working 6 hours a day can empty a

completely filled reservoir in 15 days. How many such pumps working 9 hours a day will empty the same reservoir in 12 days? 1) 12 2) 8 3) 10 4) 15

43) A tap takes 36 hours extra to fill a tank due to a

leakage equivalent to half of its inflow. The inflow can fill the tank in how many hours? 1) 32 2) 28 3) 36 4) 18

44) Two pipes can fill a cistern in 3 hours and 4

hours respectively and a waste pipe can empty it in 2 hours. If all the three pipes are kept open, then the cistern will be filled in 1) 15 hours 2) 10 hours 3) 16 hours 4) 12 hours

45) A cistern has two pipes. One can fill it with

water in 8 hours and the other can empty it in 5 hours. In how many hours will the cistern be emptied if both the pipes are opened together,

when 43

of the cistern is already full of water?

1) 1331

hours 2) 10 hours

3) 6 hours 4) 331

hours

46) If 50% of (x-y) = 30% of (x+y), then what per

cent of x is y?

1) 25% 2) 3331

%

3) 62.5% 4) 37.5% 47) Given that 10% of Sunny’s income = 15% of

Tom’s income = 20% of Thomos income. If sum of their incomes is Rs. 7800, then Tom’s income is : 1) Rs. 3600 2) Rs. 3000

3) Rs. 2400 4) Rs. 1800 48) If the radius of a circle is increased by 50%, its

area will be increased by 1) 125% 2) 100% 3) 75% 4) 50%

49) If a number x is 10% less than another number

y and y is 10% more than 125, then x is equal to 1) 150 2) 143 3) 140.55 4) 123.75

50) Nitin’s salary is first increased by 20%, then it is

decreased by 20%. Change in his salary is 1) 4% decrease 2) 4% increase 3) 6% decrease 4) Neither decrease nor increase

51) The ratio of cost price and selling price of an article is 8 : 9. The profit percent is 1) 20 .45 2) 32.25 3) 12.5 4) 37.5

52) A marchant sells a commodity at Rs. 1470 and

earns 1632

% profit. Find the cost price of that

commodity 1) Rs. 1260 2) Rs. 1360 3) Rs. 1175 4) Rs. 1100

53) When an object is sold at Rs. 770, the loss is 12

21

%. Find the cost price of the object?

1) Rs. 780 2) Rs. 825 3) Rs. 880 4) Rs. 950

54) Nandu purchased an article and sold it for Rs.

2817.50 and earned 15 percent profit on the cost price. What was the cost price of the article? 1) Rs. 2,500 2) Rs. 2,450 3) Rs. 2,750 4) Rs. 3,315

55) The owner of a cell phone shop charges his

customers 23% more than the cost price. If a customer paid Rs. 7,011 for a cell phone, then what was the cost price of the cell phone? 1) Rs. 5,235 2) Rs. 6,850 3) Rs. 6,900 4) Rs. 5,700

56) Walking at a rate of 4kmph a man covers certain distance in 2hr 45 min. Running at a speed of 16.5 kmph the man will cover the same distance in:

1) 12 min 2) 25 min 3) 40 min 4) 60 min

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               49 

57) Excluding stoppages, the speed of a bus is 54 kmph and including stoppages, it is 45 kmph. For how many minutes does the bus stop per hour?

1) 4 2) 6 3) 8 4) 10 58) 2 trains starting at the same time from 2

stations 200km apart and going in opposite direction cross each other at a distance of 110km from one of the stations. What is the ratio of their speeds?

1) 11 : 9 2) 7 : 3 3) 18 : 4 4) None of these 59) A train covers a distance in 50 min, if it runs at a

speed of 48kmph on an average. The speed at which the train must run to reduce the time of journey to 40min will be.

1) 45 kmph 2) 60 kmph 3) 75 kmph 4) None of these 60) Sachin can cover a distance in 1hr 24min by

covering 2/3 of the distance at 4 kmph and the rest at 5kmph.The total distance is:

1) 5 km 2) 6 km 3) 7 km 4) 8 km 61) A train 110 m in length runs through a station at

the rate of 36 km per hour. How long will it take to pass a given point? 1) 11 sec 2) 18 sec 3) 14 sec 4) 15 sec

62) A train 540 m long is running with a speed of

72km/hr. In what time will it pass a tunnel 160 m long? 1) 48 sec 2) 39 sec 3) 35 sec 4) 50 sec

63) A train 200 m long is running with a speed of 72

km/hr. In what time will it pass a platform 160 m long? 1) 18 sec 2) 12 sec 3) 28 sec 4) 24 sec

64) Two trains 70 m and 80 m long respectively run

at the rates of 68 and 40 km an hour respectively on parallel rails in opposite directions. How long do they take to pass each other? 1) 5 sec 2) 6 sec 3) 7 sec 4) 8 sec

65) A train 110 metres long travels at 60 km/hr.

How long does it take to cross another train 170 metres long, running at 54 km/hr in the same direction? 1) 2 min 33 sec 2) 2 min 48 sec 3) 3 min 14 sec 4) 2 min 54 sec

66) Rohit and Ronit invested Rs. 30,000 and Rs.

40,000 respectively in a business for one year. If they earned Rs. 7, 700 at the end of one year, then find Ronit’s profit. 1) Rs. 4,200 2) Rs. 3,700 3) Rs. 4,400 4) Rs. 4,900

67) Timmy and Jimmy invested Rs. 20,000 and Rs.

10,000 respectively in a business for one year. If they earned Rs. 2,700 at the end of one year, then find Timmy’s profit. 1) Rs. 1,775 2) Rs. 1,025 3) Rs. 1,800 4) Rs. 1,000

68) Jatin and Vipul invested Rs. 36,000 and Rs.

40,000 to start a firm. Vipul withdrew after nine months. If they earned a profit of Rs. 55,000 at the end of the year, then find Jatin’s share. 1) Rs. 21.000 2) Rs. 30,000 3) RS. 23,000 4) Rs. 42,000

69) Gautam and Rahane invested Rs. 18,000 and

Rs. 11,000 to start a firm. Gautam withdrew after nine months. If they earned a profit of Rs. 49,000 at the end of one year, then find Rahane’s share. 1) Rs. 22,000 2) Rs. 29,000 3) Rs. 31,000 4) Rs. 15,000

70) Yuvi and Binny invest Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 25,000

respectively to start a business. Binny withdraws after 10 months and Yuvi gets Rs. 12,000 as his share after one year. Find Binny’s share. 1) Rs. 22,500 2) Rs. 17,500 3) Rs. 10,000 4) Rs. 12,500

71) 12 women can complete one-third of the work in 8 days. In how many days can 16 women complete that work? 1) 18 days 2) 12 days 3) 14 days 4) Can’t be determined

72) 22 Men can complete a job in 16 days. In how

many days will 32 men complete that job? 1) 14 days 2) 12 days 3) 16 days 4) None of these

73) 16 men can complete a piece of work in 7 days.

In how many days will 28 men complete the same work? 1) 6 days 2) 8 days 3) 3 days 4) 4 days

74) 18 women can complete a work in 12 days and

12 men can complete the same work in 9 days. In how many days will 8 men and 8 women complete that work?

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               50 

1) 9 days 2) 6 days 3) 12 days 4) 8 days

75) 24 men can complete a piece of work in 15

days. In how many days will 18 men complete that work? 1) 16 days 2) 20 days 3) 22 days 4) 25 days

76) A sum of Rs. 4000 is lent for 5 years at the rate of 15% per annum. Find the simple interest. 1) Rs. 3000 2) Rs. 2500 3) Rs. 3500 4) Rs. 2000

77) If the simple interest on Rs. 625 increases by

Rs. 25, when the time increases by 2 years. Find the rate per cent per annum. 1) 2% 2) 4% 3) 3% 4) 1%

78) A man deposits Rs. 1350 in a bank at 5% per

annum and Rs. 1150 in another bank at 6% per annum. Find the rate of interest for the whole sum. 1) 8.40% 2) 8% 3) 5.46% 4) 12.5%

79) The simple interest on a sum of money is 94

of

the principal, and the number of years is equal to the rate percent per annum. Find the rate percent.

1) 632

% 2) 553

%

3) 732

4) 631

%

80) If the simple interest on Rs. 1350 be more than

the interest on Rs. 1250 by Rs. 20 in 2 years, find the rate percent per annum. 1) 8% 2) 10% 3) 4% 4) 12%

81) Mr.Gupta invested an amount of Rs. 10,000 at compound interest at 10 percent per annum for a period of three years. How much amount will Mr.Gupta get after 3 years? 1) Rs. 13440 2) Rs. 13210 3) Rs. 12970 4) Rs. 13310

82) Sushma invested an amount of Rs. 16000 for

two years at compound interest and received an amount of Rs. 17640 on maturity. What was the rate of interest?

1) 4 pcpa 2) 5 pcpa 3) 7 pcpa 4) 3 pcpa

83) Find the amount at Rs. 1000 for 1 year at 5

percent per annum, if compound interest is paid half-yearly will amount to. 1) Rs. 1050 (Approx) 2) Rs. 1053 (Approx) 3) Rs. 1150 (Approx) 4) Rs. 1075 (Approx)

84) Find the amount at Rs. 6400 for 1 year and 6

months at 5%p.a. if compound interest is calculated half yearly would amount to. 1) Rs. 6882.10 2) Rs. 6892.10 3) Rs. 6982.10 4) Rs. 7282.05

85) Find the compound interest on Rs. 10000 for 9

months at 4% p.a. Interest is payable quarterly. 1) Rs. 303 (Approx) 2) Rs. 323 (Approx) 3) Rs. 295 (Approx) 4) Rs. 310 (Approx)

86) If in any triangle ABC, the base angles at B and C are bisected by BO and CO respectively. Then ∠BOC is

(1)2A

2+

π (2)

2A

−π

(3) ( )

2A−π

(4) A2+

π

87) Two sides of a triangle are of length 4 cm and 10

cm. If the length of the third side is 'a' cm, then (1) a> 5 (2) 6 ≤ a≤ 12 (3) a < 6 (4) 6 < a < 14

88) In ∆ABC, AD is the median and AD = 21

BC. If `

∠BAD = 30°, then the measure of ∠ACB is: (1) 90° (2) 45° (3) 30° (4) 60° 89) If G is the centroid and AD, BE, CF are three

medians of ∆ABC with area 72 cm2, then the area of ∆BDG is :

(1) 12 cm2 (2) 16 cm2 (3) 24 cm2 (4) 8 cm2 90) The three medians AD, BE and CF of ∆ABC

intersect at point G. If the area of ∆ABC is 60 sq.cm., then the area of the quadrilateral BDGF is :

(1) 10 sq.cm (2) 15 sq.cm (3) 20 sq.cm (4) 30 sq.cm 91) When a pendulum of length 50 cm oscillates, it

produces an arc of 16 cm. The angle so formed in degree measure is (approx):

(1) 18°25' (2) 18°35' (3) 18°20' (4) 18°08'

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               51 

92) A rail road curve is to be laid out on a circle. What radius should be used if the track is to change direction by 25° in a distance of 40 metres?

(1) 91.64 meters (2) 90.46 metres (3) 89.64 metres (4) 93.64 metres

93) Two angles of a triangle are 21

radian and 31

radian. The measure of the third angle in degree (taking π =22/7) is:

(1) 132111

º (2)132112

°

(3) 132113

º (4) 132º

94) By decreasing 15° of each angle of a triangle, the

ratios of its angles are 2:3:5, The radian measure of greatest angle is,becomes.

(1) 2411π

(2) 12π

(3)24π

(4)245π

95) If cot A + cosec A = 3 and A is an acute angle, then the value of cos A is:

(1) 54

(2) 1

(3)21

(4)43

96) The perimeter of an isosceles, right-angled

triangle is 2p unit. The area of the same triangle is: (1) (3 - 2 √2 ) p2 sq.unit (2) (2 + √2) p2 sq.unit (3) (2 - √2) p2 sq.unit (4) (3 - √2 ) p2 sq.unit

97) The area of the largest triangle that can be

inscribed in a semi circle of radius x in square units is:

(1) 4x (2) x (3) 2x (4) 3x 98) The length of the common chord of two circles

of radii 15 cm and 20 cm whose centers are 25 cm apart is (in cm):

(1) 20 (2) 30 (3) 40 (4) 15 99) Area of the trapezium formed by x-axis; y- axis

and the lines 3x +4y = 12 and 6x +6y = 60 is: (1) 37.5 sq.unit (2) 31.5 sq.unit (3) 48 sq.unit (4) 36.5 sq.unit

100) The length of the side of a square is 14cm. Find out the ratio of the radii of the inscribed and circumscribed circles of the square.

(1) √2 : 1 (2) 1 : √2 (3) √2 : 3 (4) 2 : 1

101) ABCD is a rhombus whose side AB=4 cm and ∠ABC = 120°, then the length of diagonal BD is equal to :

(1) 1 cm (2) 2 cm (3) 3 cm (4) 4 cm 102) O is the circum centre of the triangle ABC with

circumradius 13 cm, let BC = 24 cm and OD is perpendicular to BC. Then the length of OD is.

(1)7cm (2) 3cm (3) 4 cm (4) 5 cm 103) AB is the diameter of a circle with centre O. CD

is a chord equal to the radius of the circle. AC and BD are produced to meet at P. Then the measure of ∠APB is :

(1) 120° (2) 30° (3) 60° (4) 90° 104)R and r are the radii of two circles (R>r).If the

distance between the centres of the two circles be d, then length of common tangent to two circles is :

(1) 22 dr − (2) )rR(d 22 −−

(3) 22 d)rR( −− (4) )dR( 22 − 105) P is a point outside a circle and is 13 cm away

from its centre, A secant drawn from the point P intersects the circle at points A and B in such a way that PA = 9 cm and AB = 7 cm. The radius of the circle is :

(1) 5.5 cm (2) 5 cm (3) 4 cm (4) 4.5 cm 106)ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral. Sides AB and DC,

when produced meet at the point P and sides AD and BC when produced meet at the point Q. If ∠ADC = 85° and ∠BPC = 40°, then ∠CQD is equal to

(1) 30° (2) 40° (3) 55° (4) 85° 107)Two circles of radii 8 cm and 2 cm respectively

touch each other externally at a point A. PQ is the direct common tangent of those two circles of centres O1 and O2 respectively. Then length of PQ is equal to:

(1) 2 cm (2) 3 cm (3) 4 cm (4) 8 cm 108)A, B, C are three points on a circle. The tangent

at A meets BC when produced at T, ∠BTA = 40°, ∠CAT = 44°. The angle subtended by BC at the centre of the circle is:

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               52 

(1) 84° (2) 92° (3) 96° (4) 104° 109) PQ is a direct common tangent to two circles of

radii r1 and r2 touching each other externally at A. Then the value of PQ2 is

(1) r1r2 (2) 2r1r2

(3) 3r1r2 (4) 4r1r2

110)

BC is the chord of a circle with centre O. A is a point on major arc BC as shown in the above figure. What is the value of ∠BAC + ∠OBC?

(1) 120° (2) 60° (3) 90° (4) 180° 111) The value of tan 4°.tan 43°.tan 47°.tan 86° is (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 1 (4) 4

112) If )º900(,2cottancottan

≤≤=−+ θ

θθθθ

, then the

value of sin θ is

(1) 3

2 (2)

23

(3) 21

(4) 1

113)sin2 5° + sin2 10° + sin2 15° +………+ sin2 85° +

sin2 90° is equal to:

  (1) 21

7         (2) 21

8  

(3) 9 (4) 21

9

114) If tan 2θ . tan 4θ = 1, then the value of tan 3θ is:

  (1)  3         (2) 0 

(3) 1 (4) 3

1

115)The value of tan1°. tan2°. tan3°, tan4° ……

tan87°. tan88°. tan89° is:

  (1) 3

1        (2)  3  

(3) 1 (4) undefined 116) The value of

º79tanº59tanº45tanº31tanº11tan2cos51º

ºsin39+

)º69sinº21(sin3 22 +− is (1) 2 (2)-1 (3) 1 (4) 0

117) If 3coscot

cos22

2

=θ−θ

θ and

0° < θ < 90° then the value of θ is : (1) 30° (2) 45° (3) 60° (4) None of these 118) If A = tan 11° tan 29°, B = 2 cot 61 ° cot 79°, then: (1) A=2B (2) A=–2B (3) 2A = B (4) 2A = – B 119)If tan (2θ + 45°) = cot 3θ where (2θ + 45°) and

3θ are acute angles, then the value of θ is: (1) 5° (2) 9° (3) 12° (4) 15°

ANSWER KEY

Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.1  3  2  1  3  4  4  2  5  3 6  2  7  3  8  3  9  3  10  4 11  1  12  1  13  1  14  2  15  2 16  3  17  4  18  3  19  2  20  1 21  2  22  4  23  3  24  3  25  3 26  3  27  2  28  2  29  4  30  3 31  3  32  4  33  1  34  1  35  4 36  3  37  1  38  4  39  2  40  4 41  3  42  3  43  4  44  4  45  2 46  1  47  3  48  1  49  4  50  1 51  3  52  1  53  3  54  2  55  4 56  3  57  4  58  1  59  2  60  2 61  1  62  3  63  1  64  1  65  2 66  3  67  3  68  2  69  1  70  4 71  1  72  4  73  4  74  1  75  2 76  1  77  1  78  3  79  1  80  2 81  4  82  2  83  1  84  2  85  1 86  1  87  4  88  4  89  1  90  3 91  3  92  1  93  3  94  1  95  1 96  1  97  2  98  2  99  2  100  2 

101 4 102 4 103 3 104 2 105 2

106 1 107 4 108 4 109 4 110 3

111 3 112 2 113 4 114 3 115 3

116 4 117 3 118 3 119 2

O

B C

O

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               53 

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 1) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility is

available at: 1) International Monetary Fund (IMF) 2) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) / World Bank 3) International Development Association (IDA) 4) Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

2) IMF was established to meet which of the

following objectives? a. Promoting international monetary co-operation b. Expanding international trade c. Lessening the disequilibrium in balance of trade d. Avoiding competitive exchange depreciations Codes: 1) a, b and c 2) a, c and d 3) b and d 4) All of these

3) ‘World Bank’ is also known as:

1) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 2) International Bank for Rehabilitation and Development 3) International Bank for Refinance and Development 4) International Bank for Research and Development

4) The capital of IMF is made up by contribution of

the: 1) credit 2) deficit financing 3) member nations 4) borrowings

5) World Bank helps countries with loans for the

purpose of: 1) Reconstruction and development 2) Stimulating private investment 3) Tackling foreign exchange crises 4) Meeting deficits in government budget

6) S.D.R. stands for:

1) Special Drawing Rights 2) State Drawing Rights 3) Special Dollar Rights 4) Specific Dollar Rights

7) ‘The Doing Business Report’ is prepared by

which of the following organizations every year? 1) World Bank 2) Asian Development Bank (ADB) 3) International Monetary Fund (IMF) 4) World Trade Organization (WTO)

8) The head office of the Asian Development Bank

(ADB) is in: 1) Manila 2) Jakarta 3) Honolulu 4) Nairobi

9) ‘The Doing Business Report’, an international publication is published every year by which of the following organization (s)? a. World Bank b. WTO c. RBI 1) Only a 2) Only b 3) Only c 4) Both a and b

10) The IMF and the World Bank were conceived as

institutions to: 1) Strengthen international economic co-operation and to help create a more stable and prosperous global economy 2) IMF promotes international monetary operation 3) The World Bank promotes long term economic development and poverty reduction 4) All of these

11) Where is the headquarters of International

Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) located? 1) Geneva 2) Washington D.C. 3) London 4) Paris

12) The term ‘Paper Gold’ means:

1) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the IMF 2) Special accommodation facility of the World Bank 3) Currencies still on Gold standard 4) Deficit Financing

13) In which year was the World Bank formed?

1) 1945 2) 1956 3) 1960 4) 1988

14) Which of the following organizations are agencies of the United Nations?

a. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) b. International Finance Corporation (IFC) c. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) d. International Monetary Fund (IMF) 1) a and b 2) b and c 3) c and d 4) All of these

15) ‘World Development Report’ is annual publication of:

1) International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) / World Bank 2) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 3) World Trade Organisation (WTO) 4) International Monetary Fund (IMF)

16) Capital information in an economy depends on:

1) Total income 2) Total demand 3) Total savings 4) Total production

17) Price cost is equal to:

1) Variable cost plus administrative cost 2) Variable cost plus fixed cost 3) Variable cost only 4) Fixed cost only

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               54 

18) An expenditure that has been made and cannot be recovered is called: 1) Variable cost 2) Opportunity cost 3) Sunk cost 4) Operational cost

19) Who propounded the ‘market law’?

1) Adam Smith 2) J.B. Say 3) T. R. Malthus 4) David Ricardo

20) Who among the following is NOT a classical

economist? 1) David Ricardo 2) John Stuart Mill 3) Thomas Malthus 4) John Maynard Keynes

21) Prof. Amartya Sen was awarded Nobel Prize for

his contribution to the field of: 1) Food and famines 2) Welfare economics 3) Indian economy 4) Poverty

22) The Nobel Prize in which field is NOT paid out of

the endowment set up by Dr. Alfred Nobel? 1) Peace 2) Medicine 3) Chemistry 4) Economics

23) What is needed for creating demand?

1) Production 2) Price 3) Income 4) Import

24) Who said, ‘Economics is the Science of Wealth’?

1) Adam Smith 2) Robbin 3) J.S. Mill 4) Keynes

25) Production function expresses:

1) technological relationship between physical inputs and output 2) financial relationship between physical inputs and output 3) relationship between finance and technology 4) relationship between factors of production

26) Which one of the following seas is without a

coastline? 1) White Sea 2) Sargasso Sea 3) Sea of Okhotsk 4) Tasman Sea

27) Which one of the following countries does not

border Mediterranean Sea? 1) Malta 2) Libya 3) Italy 4) Bulgaria

28) A ship met with an accident at 35° N. The ship

was sailing in the 1) Baltic Sea 2) Black Sea 3) Mediterranean Sea 4) Red Sea

29) Sargasso sea is located in

1) North Pacific Ocean 2) North Atlantic Ocean 3) North Sea 4) South Atlantic Ocean

30) The greatest known ocean depth (which lies in the Pacific Ocean is) – 1) 8890 m 2) 9653 m 3) 10589 m 4) 11033 m

31) The Caspian Sea, the largest inland sea or lake

in the world, is located – 1) wholly in the Continent of Europe 2) wholly in the Continent of Asia 3) partly in Europe and partly in Asia 4) partly in Africa and partly in Asia

32) Which is the largest sea in the world?

1) Caspian Sea 2) South China Sea 3) Mediterranean Sea 4) North Sea

33) Which is the largest Gulf in the World?

1) The Gulf of Cambay 2) The Gulf of Mexico 3) The Parisian Gulf 4) The Strait of Hormuz

34) The North Pole is always in the light

1) from September 23 to March 21 2) from March 21 to September 23 3) from June 21 to December 22 4) on June 21

35) The tropic of cancer does not pass through

1) India 2) Egypt 3) Mexico 4) Iran

36) Igneous rocks are formed from molten rock

material. Which one of the following is not an igneous rock? 1) Granite 2) Quartz 3) Feldspar 4) Slate

37) The most abundant constituents of earth’s crust

are 1) Igneous rocks 2) Sedimentary rocks 3) Metamorphic rocks 4) Granite

38) What is the usual altitude of plains?

1) Sea level 2) Less than 500 metres above sea level 3) Less than 600 metres above sea level 4) Less than 800 metres above sea level

39) Which one of the following parts of the world

does not receive rainfall through-out the year? 1) North America 2) Europe 3) Western coats of the middle latitudes 4) Polar regions

40) Assertion (A): Seas near the equator receive rainfall

throughout the year. Reason (R): High temperature and high humidity near the equator causes convectional rain in most afternoons. Codes: 1) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               55 

2) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A 3) A is true but R is false 4) A is false but R is true

41) Which canal links Baltic Sea with North Sea?

1) Stalin Canal 2) Grand Canal 3) Kiel Canal 4) St Lawrence Canal

42) The canal joining Baltic Sea to North Sea is –

1) Kiel Canal 2) Suez Canal 3) Panama Canal 4) Bass Strait

43) Dead sea is situated in which one of the

following– 1) A Rift Valley 2) An Intermontane Plateau 3) Intermontane Plains 4) Canyons

44) The largest ocean is –

1) Atlantic Ocean 2) Indian Ocean 3) arctic Ocean 4) Pacific Ocean

45) The busiest most ocean route of the world is –

1) North Pacific ocean Route 2) North Atlantic Ocean Route 3) South Atlantic Ocean Route 4) Indian Ocean Route

46) The velocity of winds is related to

1) revolution of the earth 2) rotation of the earth 3) temperature 4) pressure gradient

47) Consider the following countries:

a. Australia b. Namibia c. Brazil d. Chile Through which of the above does the Tropic of Capricorn pass? 1) a only 2) a, b and d 3) a, b and c 4) All of these

48) Elephant Pass, which is frequently in the news,

is mentioned in the context of the affairs of which one of the following? 1) Bangladesh 2) India 3) Nepal 4) Sri Lanka

49) Which of the following busiest sea trade route?

1) Suez canal 2) Cape of Good Hope 3) Strait of Hormuz 4) Panama canal

50) The ‘Dark Continent’ is

1) Africa 2) South America 3) Australia 4) Asia

51) Separation of the judiciary from the executive

has been provided in one of the following parts of the Indian constitution?

1) The Preamble 2) The Fundamental Rights 3) The Directive Principles of state policy

4) The Seventh Schedule 52) Under the directive principles of state policy

upto what age of children they are expected to be provided free and compulsory education?

1) 14 years 2) 15 years 3) 16 years 4) 18 years 53) Which part of the Indian Constitution deals with

the directive principles of the state policy? 1) Part I 2) Part III 3) Part IV 4) Part V 54) Which directive principle bears the direct impact

of Gandhi’s moral philosophy? 1) Equal pay for equal work 2) Provision of free legal aid and advice 3) Prohibition of the slaughter of cows 4) Protection of the moments of historical importance 55) In which one of the following is promotion of

international peace and security mentioned in the Constitution of India?

1) Preamble to the Constitution 2) Directive Principles of state policy 3) Fundamental Duties 4) The Ninth Schedule 56) The article of the Constitution of India which

deal with directive principles of state policy are: 1) 26 to 41 2) 30 to 45 3) 36 to 51 4) 40 to 55 57) By which amendment act of the constitution of

India were the directive principles of the state policy given precedence over the fundamental right wherever they come into conflict?

1) 40th 2) 42nd 3) 44th 4) 46th 58) Who appoints the Governor of Jammu and

Kashmir? 1) The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir

2) The Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir

3) The Prime Minister of India 4) The President of India 59) Panchayati Raj system in India is laid down

under – 1) Fundamental Rights 2) Fundamental Duties 3) Directive Principles of state policy 4) Election commission act 60) Equal pay for equal work has been ensured in

the Indian constitution as one of the – 1) Fundamental Rights 2) Directive Principles of state policy 3) Fundamental Duties 4) Economic Rights

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               56 

61) The Vice-President is the ex-officio chairman of the –

1) Rajya Sabha 2) Lok Sabha 3) Planning Commission 4) National Development Council 62) In case the President wishes to resign, to whom

is he to address his resignation letter? 1) Chief Justice of India 2) Secretary of Lok Sabha 3) Vice-President 4) Prime Minister 63) Who held the office of the Vice – President of

India for two consecutive terms? 1) Dr. Radhakrishnan 2) Mr. R. Venkataraman 3) Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma 4) Mr. V.V. Giri 64) Consider the following statements:

a. No formal impeachment is required for the removal of the Vice-President b. Dispute regarding election of the Vice-President is referred to the Election commission.

Which of these statements is/are correct? 1) Only a 2) Only b 3) Both a and b 4) neither a nor b 65) The Union Executive of India consists of –

1) The President, Vice – President and the Council of Ministers only

2) The President and the Council of Ministers only 3) The President, the Vice-President, the Council of Ministers and Lok Sabha Speaker 4) The President, the Prime Minister Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha Speaker

66) Which one of the following statements

regarding the Vice-President of India officiating as President is correct? 1) He shall continue to be chairman of the council of states 2) He shall cease to be the chairman of the council of states 3) He shall nominate the next-senior - most member of the house to be the chairman of the council of states

4) None of the above 67) Consider the following statements –

a. The Vice - President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both house of Parliament. b. When the Vice-President discharges the functions of the President, he would be entitled to the same emoluments, allowances and privileges to which the President if entitled under the Constitution.

Which of these statements are correct? 1) Only a 2) Only b 3) Both a and b 4) Neither a nor b 68) Consider the following statements regarding the

Vice President of India:

a. The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of all the members of the both houses of the Parliament. b. The Constitution is silent about a person who is the duties of the Vice-President during the period of vacancy

Which of these statements is/are correct? 1) only a 2) only b 3) both a and b 4) Neither a nor b 69) Which one of the following statement is NOT

correct? 1) The Vice-President of India holds office for a period of five

years 2) The Vice-President of India can be removed by a single

majority of votes passed in the Rajya Sabha only 3) The Vice-President of India continues to be in office even after the expiry of his term till his successor takes over. 4) The Supreme court of India has to look into all disputes with

regard to the election of the Vice-President of India 70) Consider the following Vice-Presidents of India– a) V.V. Giri b) G.S. Pathak c) B.D. Jatti d) M. Hidayatullah

Which one of the following is the correct chronology of their tenures?

1) a-b-c-d 2) b-a-c-d 3) b-a-d-c 4) a-b-d-c 71) Who is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha? 1) The President 2) The Vice-President 3) The Prime Minister 4) The speaker 72) Which of the following statements about the

Vice-President of India are NOT correct? a. In order to be Vice-President a person must be qualified for

election as a member of the House of the people b. A member of the state legislative can seek election to that office c. The term of the office of the Vice-President is the same as that of the President

d. He can be removed through a formal impeachment . Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:

Codes: 1) a and b 2) b and c 3) a and d 4) c and d 73) The proposal relating to dismissal of the Vice-

President can be presented in – 1) Any house of the Parliament 2) The Rajya Sabha 3) The Lok Sabha 4) None of these

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               57 

74) Which of the following Vice-Presidents was NOT appointed as President of the country?

1) Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah 2) R. Venkatraman 3) Krishan Kant 4) Dr. Zakir Hussain 75) The resolution for removing the Vice-President

of India can be moved in the: 1) Lok Sabha alone 2) Either House of Parliament 3) Joint sitting of Parliament 4) Joint sitting of Parliament 76) H.C. Oersted established relation between

magnetism and …..(in 1820) 1) potential 2) potential difference 3) electricity 4) charge 77) MRI stands for: 1) Magnetic resonance interference 2) Magnetic resonance imaging 3) Magnetic Rescanning imaging 4) None of these 78) Magnitude of magnetic field produced around a

conductor depends upon: 1) voltage 2) current 3) thickness of conductor 4) length of conductor 79) How many magnetic poles are there in a current

carrying solenoid? 1) two 2) four 3) one 4) six 80) ……… and ……. Are the two alloys used to make

permanent magnets : 1) Alnico, duralumin 2) Nipermag, titanium 3) Nipermag, Alnico 4) Titanium, duralumin 81) When we move away from a magnetized wire,

magnitude of magnetic field………. 1) increases 2) decreases 3) remains same 4) is doubled 82) What is unit of magnitude of magnetic field? 1) Faraday 2) Tesla 3) Newton 4) newton/m 83) Current that does not change its direction after

equal intervals of time is called: 1) Direct current 2) indirect current 3) Alternating current 4) static electricity 84) In Fleming’s left hand rule, middle finger

represents direction of: 1) magnetic field 2) motion of conductor 3) induced current 4) flowing current

85) Fleming’s Right hand rule is used in: 1) A. C. generator 2) Electric motor

3) D.C. generator 4) (1) and (3) 86) In right hand rule, thumb represents the

direction of: 1) motion of conductor 2) magnetic field 3) induced current 4) flowing current 87) In A..C generator and D.C. generator, main

difference is in: 1) coils 2) speeds 3) rings 4) magnets 88) On increasing number of turns, magnetic field of

a solenoid: 1) decreases 2) increases 3) no effect 4) none of these 89) Which will be more magnetized after keeping

inside solenoid? 1) steel rod 1) iron nails 3) iron core 4) copper rod 90) Which magnet is used to lift heavy goods? 1) U-shape magnet 2) bar magnet 3) electromagnet 4) simple magnet 91) What is effect of heating on a magnet? 1) magnetism will increase

2) magnetism will decrease 3) no effect 4) None of these 92) Which magnet is more powerful? 1) U-shape magnet 2) Bar magnet 3) Electromagnet 4) Simple magnet 93) Magnetic compass acts on the principle of: 1) magnetism 2) electromagnet 3) electric fuse 4) None of these 94) Electric supply in homes and factories is: 1) 220 V and 400 V 2) 400 V and 220 V 3) 220 V and 440 V 4) 440 V and 220 V 95) Which shock is more dangerous? 1) A.C. 2) D.C. 3) Both a and b 4) None of these 96) Two circuits used in homes are of: 1) 10A, 10A 2) 12A, 8A 3) 14A, 6A 4) 15A, 5A 97) For high power rating appliances, circuit having

……… current is used. 1) 5A 2) 10A 3) 15A 4) 20A 98) In Fleming’s right hand rule, direction of

induced current is given by: 1) thumb 2) middle finger 3) first finger 4) none of these

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               58 

99) For a direct current generator to make contact

with brushes ……. are used: 1) solid rings 2) split rings 3) D.C. Commutator 4) brushes 100) To reverse direction of current in a motor ……..

is used: 1) sliding commutator 2) solid commutator 3) solid rings

4) split ring commutator 101) The local name Mohenjodaro is:

1) Mound of the living 2) Mound of the Great 3) Mound of the Dead 4) It extended up to the Narmada Valley

102) What is Redcliff Line? 1) Indo-Pakistan boundary line 2) Indo-China boundary Line 3) America – Canada Boundary Line 4) Russia – Finland Boundary LINE 103) The battle of Mahabharata is believed to have

been fought at Kurukshetra for - 1) 14 days 2) 16 days 3)18 days 4) 20 days 104) The hymns of Rigveda are the work of – 1) One author 2) four author 3) Seven author 4) Many authors 105) Panini, the first Garmmarian of Sankrit

language in India, lived during the – 1) 2nd Century BC 2) 6th-5th century BC 3) 2nd century AD 4) 5th-6th century AD 106) The word “Aryan” means – 1) of good family 2) cultivator 3) Pastoral society 4) Brahmachari 107) Who was the founder of Nanda Dynasty? 1) Bimbisar 2) Mahapadmananda 3) Ajatasatru 4) Dhanananda 108) Buddha means – 1) the enlightened one 2) the religious preacher 3) the genius 4) the powerful 109) To which dynasty did Ashoka belong? 1) Vardhana 2) Maurya 3) Kushan 4) Gupta 110) During the reign of which of the following

dynasties did Kalidasa flourish? 1) Mauryas 2) Sungas 3) Guptas 4) Vardhanas 111) Mrichhakatika was written by – 1) Vikramaditya 2) Sudraka 3) Kalhana 4) Banabhatta

112) “Kumarsambhavan” an epic was composed by : 1) Banabhatta 2) Chandbardai 3) Harisen 4) Kalidasa 113) Fahein and Huen-Tsang visited the kingdom of –

1) Chandragupta Maurya and Harsha respectively. 2) Harsha and Chandragupta Vikramaditya respectively. 3) Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Krishnadeva respectively 4) Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Harsha respectively.

114) Who fought the battle of Waihind (1009 AD)? 1) Anandpala and Muhammad Ghazanavi 2) Jayapala and Muhmmad Ghori 3) Prithviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori 4) Jaichandra and Bakhtiyar Khalji 115) The Lodi Dynasty was founded by – 1) Ibrahim Lodi 2) Sikander Lodi 3) Bahlol Lodi 4) Khizr Khan 116) Who among the following Bahmani rulers built

the famous Gold Gumbaj at Bijapur? 1) Muhammad Adil Shah 2) Mahmud Gawan 3) Yusuf Adil Shah 4) Ismail Adil Shah 117) The world famous Thakht – I – Taus (the

peacock throne) was kept in which of the following Mughal buildings?

1) The Diwan – i – Khas at Fatehpur Sikri 2) Agra Fort 3) The Rang Mahal at the Red fort at Delhi 4) The Diwan – I – Khas at the red fort at Delhi 118) Where did Babur Die? 1) Agra 2) Kabul 3) Lahore 4) Delhi 119) Which Governor General is associated with

Doctrine of Lapse? 1) Lord Ripon 2) Lord Dalhousie 3) Lord Bentick 4) Lord Curzon 120) Which of the following reform movements was

the first to be started in the 19th century? 1) Prarthana samaj 2) Brahmo Samaj 3) Arya Samaj 4) Ram Krishna Mission 121) Who founded the Brahmo Samaj ? 1) Debendranath Tagore 2) Keshavchandra Sen 3) Raja Ram Mohan Roy 4) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar 122) Who was the leader of Champaran Indigo

Movement? 1) Mahatma Gandhi 2) Birsa Munda 3) Baba Ramchandra 4) Ram Singh

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               59 

123) At which congress session did Dadabhai Naoroji

announce that Swaraj was the goal of India’s political efforts? 1) 1886 Calcutta session 2) 1893 Lahore session 3) 1905 Benaras session 4) 1906 Calcutta session

124) Which one of the following movement started

from Dandi March? 1) Swadesh Movement

2) Non-co-operation movement 3) Civil disobedience movement 4) Quit India movement

125) Who was the responsible for the introduction of

the vernacular press act? 1) Lord Mayo 2) Lord Lytton 3) Lord Ripon 4) Lord Curzon

ANSWER KEY Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.1 1 2 1 3 1 4 3 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 1 10 4

11 2 12 1 13 1 14 4 15 1 16 3 17 1 18 3 19 2 20 4 21 2 22 4 23 2 24 1 25 1 26 2 27 4 28 3 29 2 30 4 31 3 32 2 33 2 34 4 35 4 36 4 37 1 38 2 39 4 40 1 41 3 42 1 43 1 44 4 45 2 46 4 47 4 48 4 49 3 50 1 51 3 52 1 53 3 54 2 55 2 56 3 57 2 58 4 59 3 60 2 61 1 62 3 63 1 64 2 65 1 66 2 67 3 68 3 69 2 70 1 71 2 72 3 73 2 74 3 75 4 76 3 77 2 78 2 79 1 80 3 81 2 82 2 83 1 84 4 85 4 86 1 87 3 88 2 89 3 90 3 91 2 92 3 93 1 94 3 95 3 96 4 97 3 98 2 99 2 100 4

101 3 102 1 103 3 104 4 105 2 106 1 107 2 108 1 109 2 110 3 111 2 112 4 113 4 114 1 115 3 116 1 117 4 118 1 119 2 120 2 121 3 122 1 123 1 124 3 125 2

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Directions (1-10): Some of the sentences have errors and some have none. Find out which part of a sentence has an error and blacken the rectangle corresponding to the appropriate letter (a, b, c). If there is no error, blacken the rectangle corresponding to (d) in the answer sheet. 1) Many a student (1) / have passed (2) / the I. I. T.

examination. (3) / No error (4) 2) On the time (1) / of the opening ceremony of the

theatre (2) / a large crowd had assembled. (3) / No error (4)

3) Americans are accustomed to (1) / drinking coffee (2) / with their meals. (3) / No error (4)

4) He asked (1) / whether either of the brothers (2) /

were at home. (3) / No error (4) 5) After the teacher had told the boys (1) / how to

pronounce the word (2) / all of them in one voice repeated the word again. (3) / No error (4)

6) It was me who was (1) / responsible for (2) / making

all the arrangements for the successful completion of his studies. (3) / No error (4)

7) I wonder (1) / why are you tinkering with the wire (2)

/ you might get a shock. (3) / No error (4) 8) No sooner she had realized (1) / her blunder than she

began (2) / to take corrective measures. (3) / No error (4)

9) Let’s spend a few minutes (1) / in the park, (2) / can

we? (3) / No error (4) 10) You’d better (1) / gone now, (2) / or you’ll be late. (3)

/ No error (4) 11) The families (1) / are living Gulmohar Park (2) / for the

last two decades. (3) / No error (4) 12) Two lakhs of people (1) / attended the meeting (2) /

held in Parade ground. (3) / No error (4) 13) There is a Bach’s violin concerto (1) / on the radio (2)

/ at 6 p.m. this evening. (3) / No error (4) 14) Lay your books aside and (1) / lay down to rest (2) /

for a while. (3) / No error (4) 15) We went (1) / with Guptas to a (2) / movie called

‘Deewar’. (3) / No error (4) Directions (16-20): Sentences are given with blanks to be filled in with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               60 

by blackening the appropriate rectangle in the answer sheet. 16) The court has absolved him …………… the

charges levelled against him. 1) of 2) with 3) in 4) from

17) All civilized nations now believe in ……………

treatment of prisoners. 1) human 2) humane 3) humanitarian 4) humiliating

18) Irregular supply of electricity can …………… in

wastage of electricity. 1) cause 2) result 3) affect 4) effect

19) His father introduced him at an …………… age

to the game of cricket. 1) inquisitive 2) insensible 3) impressionable 4) impressive

20) You are welcome to partake …………… their

light refreshment. 1) in 2) for 3) at 4) of

Directions (21-25): Choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word and mark it in the answer sheet. 21) DILIGENT

1) Confident 2) Hardworking 3) Lazy 4) Shy

22) STEADFAST

1) Staunch 2) Feeble 3) Faint 4) Wavering

23) As a writer, he is very conceited about his work.

1) Proud 2) Honest 3) Modest 4) Modern

24) His punishment will be a deterrent to others.

1) Detriment 2) Determinant 3) Encouragement 4) Enrichment

25) SPURIOUS

1) Truthful 2) Authentic 3) Credible 4) Original

Directions (26-30): Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word and mark it in the answer sheet. 26) SOLECISM

1) Wise saying 2) Witty quip 3) Clever argument 4) Grammatical error

27) CORROBORATE

1) Collaborate 2) Substantiate

3) Co-operate 4) Correlate 28) DELIRIOUS

1) Delicious 2) Pleasing 3) Desperate 4) Excited

29) LICENTIOUS

1) Immoral 2) Intellectual 3) Moral 4) Without licence

30) SQUANDER

1) Expensive 2) Waste 3) Litter 4) Economical

Directions (31-35): Groups of four words are given. In each group, one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word and mark your answer in the answer sheet. 31) 1) Enterpreneur 2) Entreprenure

3) Entrepreneur 4) Enterprenure 32) 1) Promiscuous 2) Promescuous 3) Promiscuos 4) Promiscous 33) 1) Onomatopoeia 2) Onomotopoei

3) Onomatopoia 4) Onamotipoei 34) 1) Bureacracy 2) Bereaucracy 3) Buereacracy 4) Bureaucracy 35) 1) Millionair 2) Millionnaire 3) Millionaire 4) Milionaire Directions (36-45): Four alternatives are given for the idiom/phrase underlined in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the idiom/phrase and mark it in the answer sheet. 36) To cast aspersion

1) To act as the pillar of support 2) To raise aspirations 3) To make unpleasant remarks 4) To dissolve all the differences

37) On the cards

1) Impossible 2) Shocking 3) Evident 4) Anticipated

38) Dark horse

1) An extremely corrupt person 2) A notorious criminal 3) An extremely rich person 4) An unexpected winner

39) To turn over a new leaf

1) To change for the better 2) To start writing a new book 3) To work on a novel idea 4) To clear the garden

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               61 

40) To keep up one’s appearances 1) To make public appearances now and then 2) To maintain one’s looks and appearance 3) To keep up an outward show of prosperity 4) To make it appear that one is not concerned

41) Take to one’s heels

1) To measure up to one’s standard 2) To shake in one’s shoes 3) To run away 4) To run slowly

42) Off and on

1) Repeatedly 2) Always 3) Occasionally 4) Never

43) To take with a grain of salt

1) To make more palatable 2) To take a small quantity of 3) To make something meaningful 4) To accept with misgiving

44) To talk through one’s hat

1) To talk carefully 2) To talk softly 3) To talk nonsense 4) To talk secretively

45) Ins and outs

1) Entrances and exits 2) Details and complexities 3) Passages and pathways 4) Rules and regulations

 Directions (46-55): The 1st and the last sentences of the passage are numbered 1 and 6. The rest of the passage is split into four parts and named P, Q, R and S. These four parts are not given in their proper order. Read the sentence and find out which of the four combinations is correct. Then find the correct answer and indicate it in the answer sheet. 46) 1. The second-named motive

P. the aiming at Q. lies firmly fixed R. ambition, or in milder terms S. recognition and consideration 6. in the human nature. 1) RPQS 2) RPSQ 3) PRQS 4) SPRQ

47) 1. The works of William Shakespeare

P. have provided us Q. that have become R. such common expressions S. with a number of phrases 6. that few realize their source. 1) RQSP 2) SQRP 3) PSQR 4) QPSR

48) 1. The ever spiralling costs

P. to take another look

Q. at the plant remedies R. of modern synthetic drugs S. may force Western medicine 6. used by the Third World Countries. 1) QRSP 2) PSRQ 3) QPSR 4) RSPQ

49) 1. Many people

P. from those Q. spend money in R. that their natural S. ways quite different 6. tastes would enjoin. 1) PSQR 2) QSPR 3) QPRS 4) RPQS

50) 1. John had some relatively new clothes he had

outgrown. P. But his mother took them out and kept them neatly folded in the cupboard again. Q. He threw them into the waste basket. R. So John put the clothing into the family’s bag of items to donate to charity. S. His mother found them and put them back in his cupboard. 6. John finally put the items in his mother’s mending basket and never saw them again. 1) RSPQ 2) QRSP 3) QSRP 4) RQSP

51) 1. An overall picture

P. literary situation Q. of the present R. major languages S. in some of the 6. is discussed here. 1) QPSR 2) SRQP 3) PQSR 4) QSRP

52) 1. When a boy grows into a young man, he finds

himself in a new and strange world. P. The relationship remains, but its nature changes. Q. The emotional ties that he had with them are now loosened. R. The old pattern of his life in which his parents were the nucleus around which his life revolved now undergoes a change. S. He finds in himself an emotional void which he must somehow fill. 6. At this stage of life he is like a body without a soul or a flower without fragrance. 1) PRQS 2) RSQP 3) SRPQ 4) RQPS

53) 1. It is useful to distinguish

P. basic research Q. pure science, which involves R. an d applied science S. between two forms of science 6. which involves technology. 1) SRQP 2) SQPR 3) RQPS 4) PRQS

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               62 

54) 1. In London there is a popular public park called Hydel Park. P. He may succeed in attracting an audience. Q. Anyone who wants to make a speech can do so in Speaker’s Corner. R. In this park, there is a place known as ‘Speaker’s Corner’. S. On Sunday afternoons, we can find many such people there. 6. They will be standing on soapboxes and speaking away on various subjects. 1) RPQS 2) QPRS 3) RQPS 4) QPSR

55) 1. It is shocking to read that many more cigarette

brands are going to be marketed in India. P. Aren’t these two at cross- purposes? Q. On one hand, the government declares ‘no-smoking’ zones. R. The proposal appears to be awaiting the Government’s approval. S. On the other, it entertains unhealthy proposals like this. 6. There is a need for review of Government policy. 1) RQSP 2) RPQS 3) QSPR 4) PQSR

 Directions (56-65): Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/ sentence and indicate it by blackening the appropriate rectangle in the answer sheet. 56) One who is unable to pay debts

1) Debtor 2) Indebted 3) Borrower 4) Insolvent

57) A roundabout way of speaking

1) Loose-tongued 2) Loquacious 3) Circumlocution 4) Talkative

58) An order requiring a person to attend a court

1) Courtship 2) Agreement 3) Subpoena 4) Command

59) An imaginary name assumed by an author for

disguise 1) Facsimile 2) Surname 3) Alias 4) Pseudonym

60) Murder of brother

1) Homicide 2) Infanticide 3) Patricide 4) Fratricide

61) An extreme fear of being in a small confined

place 1) Hydrophobia 2) Paraphernalia 3) Claustrophobia 4) Progeria

62) An inscription on a tomb

1) Epitaph 2) Crypt 3) Obituary 4) Legacy

63) Allowance due to a wife from her husband on separation 1) Patrimony 2) Antimony 3) Parsimony 4) Alimony

64) Practice of employing spies in war

1) Esplanade 2) Espionage 3) Espadrille 4) Estrangement

65) A fixed territory in which authority can be

exercised 1) Jurisdiction 2) Judiciary 3) Jurisprudence 4) Juristic

Directions (66-75): A part of the sentence is underlined. Below are given alternatives to the underlined part at (a), (b) and (c) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed your answer is (d). 66) The false appearance of the building erected for the

function was blown away in the storm. 1) Exterior 2) Façade 3) Skeleton 4) No improvement

67) I will be with you in one quarter of an hour.

1) a quarter of one hour 2) a quarter of an hour 3) a quarter of hour 4) No improvement

68) She has decided to canvas for the Conservative Party.

1) advertise 2) canvass 3) canvassing 4) No improvement

69) Serious charges of corruption were levied against him.

1) put 2) levelled 3) made 4) No improvement

70) He ordered me open the window.

1) asked 2) bade 3) requested 4) No improvement

71) A lot of bloodshed could have been saved, had the

administration taken timely action. 1) protected 2) prevented 3) eschewed 4) No improvement

72) Along with success comes a need for wisdom.

1) thought 2) thirst 3) reputation 4) No improvement

73) Do you know to prepare the Balance Sheet?

1) Do you know to balance 2) Do you know to make 3) Do you know how to prepare 4) No improvement

74) Neither plants nor animals, can survive without

oxygen. 1) Plants can neither 2) Neither can plants

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               63 

3) Plants, neither 4) No improvement 75) The professor has agreed to take remediable classes

for the weaker students. 1) redressal 2) remedial 3) restorative 4) No improvement

 CLOZE TEST (Qs. 76 – 85)

Billy Arjan Singh was a wildlife enthusiast. Billy’s fight …… (76) …… hunting put 26 professional Shikar companies out of jobs …… (77) …… his failing health, he had ……(78) …… a writ in the Allahabad High Court against …… (79) ……in Dudhwa. This is apart from a …… (80) …… battle that he …… (81) …… to have the offending railway tracks …… (82) …… through Dudhwa shifted to ……(83) …… its inhabitants a peaceful ……(84) …… The only regret he had was “there was so much ……(85) …… to be done for tigers and so little time. “ Billy’s contribution will always be remembered by wildlife lovers. 76) 1) towards 2) for

3) over 4) against 77) 1) Although 2) Despite

3) Respite 4) Frequently 78) 1) filed 2) given

3) represented 4) forwarded 79) 1) deforestation 2) pollution

3) poaching 4) killing 80) 1) continuous 2) persistent

3) permanent 4) relentless 81) 1) waged 2) conducted

3) started 4) constituted 82) 1) running 2) going

3) entering 4) standing 83) 1) have 2) ensure

3) pre-occupy 4) demand 84) 1) existence 2) stay

3) vacation 4) reunion 85) 1) wanted 2) appeared

3) dreamed 4) needed

READING COMPREHENSION (Qs. 86-95) The ease with which democratic Governments have given way to authoritarian regimes in one Asian Country after another has made many persons ask in despair whether the parliamentary system based on the Western model is suited to underdeveloped countries. People who do not know how to read and write, they argue, can hardly know how to vote. Popular elections often bring incompetent men to the top, they contend, and the division of party spoils and breeds corruption. What is worse, the system of perpetual party warfare obstructs the business of Government.

The point to the dismal results of the last ten years. The pace of social and economic change has been far too slow and the Governments in most of the underdeveloped countries have failed to come to grip with the problems which face the people. What they say is no doubt true to some extent but it is pertinent to remember that every alternative to democracy, while it in no way guarantees greater integrity or efficiency in the administration, lacks even the saving merit of regimes which, based on the suffrage of the people, leave it to the people to find out, by trial and error, who is their best friend. The people can peacefully get rid of a democratic Government which has failed to keep its promise, they can overthrow a dictatorial regime only through a violent revolution. Those who feel sore over the ills from which democratic regimes suffer should be wary therefore suggesting a cure, which is likely to undermine the democratic structure of the state. The people can at least raise their voice of protest against the injustices of a democratic Government; they can only suffer in silence the tyranny of a regime which is responsible to no one but itself. 86) Democratic Governments have given way to

authoritarian regimes in several Asian Countries because 1) Asians are underdeveloped 2) Asians like powerful leaders. 3) Asians cannot read and write and can hardly know how to vote. 4) Asians have not been able to adapt themselves to the Western Parliamentary system.

87) Popular elections

1) breed corruption 2) stop the work of the Government 3) result in a division of parties 4) bring incompetent and unprincipled men to power

88) In the last ten years, the Governments in the

underdeveloped countries 1) produced impressive results 2) failed because they could not face the people 3) neglected social and economic problems 4) were too incompetent to speed up social and economic change

89) Every alternative to democracy

1) is based on the suffering of the people 2) enables people to find out their best friend 3) lacks the safeguard of being peacefully overthrown by the people if it does not fulfil its promises 4) lacks the saving merit of integrity and efficiency

90) A democratic form of Government is superior to

a dictatorial one because 1) it makes people protest in a raised voice. 2) people can protest against its injustices and even overthrow it peacefully. 3) people can only suffer in silence. 4) the tyranny of a regime is responsible to itself.

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                               64 

Directions (91-95): A sentence has been given in Active voice/Passive voice. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Passive Voice/Active voice and mark your answer in the Answer Sheet. 91) Open the door.

1) The door must be opened 2) The door will be opened 3) The door is opened 4) Let the door be opened

92) I did not trust anybody.

1) Nobody was trusted by me 2) Anybody had been trusted by me 3) Nobody would be trusted by me 4) Nobody has been trusted by me

93) Did he remember the date and time?

1) Are the date and time remembered by him? 2) Was he remembering the date and time? 3) Were the date and time remembered by him? 4) Did the date and time be remembered by him?

94) The boys were digging a hole in the ground.

1) A hole had been dug in the ground by the boys 2) In the ground, the boys dug a hole 3) A hole in the ground has been dug by the boys 4) A hole was being dug by the boys in the ground.

95) We must now deal with these problems.

1) These problems must now be dealt with by us 2) These problems must now be dealing with by us 3) These problems must now deal with by us 4) These problems are to be dealt with by us

Directions (96-100): A sentence has been given in Direct/ Indirect form. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same sentence in Indirect/Direct form. 96) Socrates said, “Virtue is its own reward”

1) Socrates said that virtue had its own rewards 2) Socrates says that virtue is its own reward 3) Socrates said that virtue is its own reward 4) Socrates said that virtue was its own reward

97) He said to the interviewer, “Could you please

repeat the question?” 1) He requested the interviewer if he could please repeat the question 2) He requested the interviewer to please repeat the question 3) He requested the interviewer to repeat the question 4) He requested the interviewer if he could repeat the question

98) He said, “it used to be a lovely, quiet street.”

1) He said that it used to be a lovely, quiet street 2) He pointed out that it had used to be a lovely, quiet street 3) He said that there used to be a lovely, quiet street 4) He inquired whether there was a lovely, quiet street

99) The Prime Minister said that no one would be allowed to disturb the peace. 1) The Prime Minister said, “We shall not allow anyone to disturb the peace.” 2) The Prime Minister said, “We would not allow no one to disturb the peace.” 3) The Prime Minister said, “No one will disturb the peace.” 4) The Prime Minister said, “No one can disturb the peace.”

100) The spectators said, “Bravo! Well done players.”

1) The spectators shouted that the players were doing very well 2) The spectators exclaimed with joy that the players were doing very well 3) The spectators applauded the players saying that they had done well 4) The spectators applauded the players joyfully to do well

  GENERAL ENGLISH

 

Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A.  Q.  A. 1  2  2  1  3  4  4  3  5  3 6  1  7  2  8  1  9  3  10  2 11  2  12  1  13  1  14  2  15  4 16  1  17  2  18  2  19  3  20  4 21  3  22  4  23  3  24  3  25  2 26  4  27  2  28  4  29  1  30  2 31  3  32  1  33  1  34  4  35  3 36  3  37  4  38  4  39  3  40  3 41  3  42  3  43  4  44  3  45  2 46  2  47  3  48  4  49  2  50  3 51  1  52  4  53  2  54  3  55  1 56  4  57  3  58  3  59  4  60  4 61  3  62  1  63  4  64  2  65  1 66  2  67  2  68  2  69  2  70  2 71  2  72  2  73  3  74  4  75  2 76  4  77  2  78  1  79  3  80  4 81  1  82  1  83  2  84  1  85  4 86  4  87  4  88  4  89  3  90  2 91  4  92  1  93  3  94  4  95  1 96  3  97  4  98  1  99  1  100  3 

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           65 

 

Latest G.K .Bytes 

  

JANUARY – 2014 1) Paul Torday who passed away recently was a

famous ________: British Novelist

2) Which prominent educational organization of India is recently is celebrating 60 years of its completion: UGC (University Grants Commission)

3) Recently there was news headline – “US goes in for stimulus tapering”, what does it means: USA has decided reduce purchase of long term maturity bonds

4) Name the state which won the 62nd Senior National Volleyball Championship (Men’s) held at Moradabad, UP: Tamil Nadu

5) Who has been appointed as Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC): General Bikram Singh

6) A Russian city was in news as it witnessed two ghastly terror attacks by suicide bombers, killing over thirty persons and seriously wounding several others. Name this city: Volgograd

7) The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to sanction loans of up to Rs. _______against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery: Rs.1 lakh

8) Abdulla Gayoom has been elected as ____ of Maldives Islands: President

9) Vinod Kumar Duggal has been appointed Governor of which state: Manipur

10) Asha Khemka, a Bihar born eminent educationist has been awarded one of Britain's highest civilian award-DAME COMMANDER of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for what purpose: For spreading education in deprived areas

11) The Mountain Strike Corps raised recently for countering China is based at which place: Ranchi (Jharkhand)

12) Corey Anderson, the New Zealand all-rounder was in news recently for what reasons: For scoring the quickest century ever in international cricket, taking just 36 balls

13) Name the MNC which has filed first proposal to enter the Indian Multi Brand retail segment: Tesco Plc, USA

14) How much FDI is permitted in multi brand retail segment: 51%

15) BCSBI has ruled that bank customers who have

been victims of electronic / online fraud will have to be compensated for such loss unless the bank can prove that the fraud occurred due to negligence on part of the customer. What is the full form of BCSBI: Banking Codes and Standards Board of India

16) The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention held from 7-9 January in Delhi was ______ in series: 12th

17) Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated on which date: 9th January

18) Who was the chief guest at the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention: G Palanivel

19) G Palanivel is from which country: Malaysia

20) Who is G Palanivel: Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Malaysia

21) 6th All India Inter-University Fencing Championship held at Patiala, Punjab was won by ___: Punjabi University Patiala

22) Margaret Thatcher was voted as the most successful post-war British Prime Minister. She is also known as _________: The ‘Iron Lady’ of Britain

23) What is the formal name of the Lokpal Bill recently approved by the President: Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

24) What is the objective of recently launched Multi-sectoral Nutrition Programme: To address the problems of maternal and child under-nutrition in the country

25) Which country recently announced to adopt Euro as its currency: Latvia

26) Which country has been named to take over the Presidency of the European Union: Greece

27) The Index of Economic Freedom ranks India at _______ place: 120th

28) Name the country which ranks no. 1 in the Index of Economic Freedom – 2014: Hong Kong

29) The term EBID is used to indicate profits of a company. What is the full form of EBID: Earnings Before Interest and Depreciation

30) The government has approved a proposal to pay formal sector workers a minimum monthly pension of Rs ______ benefiting over 27 lakh pensioners: 1,000,

31) The Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           66 

Households recently submitted its report. Name the chairman of this committee: Nachiket Mor

32) What was the purpose of setting up Mor committee: To propose measures for achieving better financial inclusion

33) Mor committee recommended that each Indian resident above the age of ___ with an individual Universal Electronic Bank Account (UEBA): 18 years

34) The Mor committee has recommended to form ‘payments banks’ for which category of customers: Small Businesses

35) Name the organization proposed to be formed for exploring the potential of generating power through wind energy: National Offshore Wind Energy Agency

36) Name the first lady President of South Korea who visited India recently: Park Geun-hye

37) Name the capital of South Korea: Seoul

38) 44th annual meeting of World Economic Forum – WEF was held at which place: Davos, Switzerland

39) What is the formal name of the mega literature festival held annually in Jaipur, Rajasthan: Jaipur Literature Festival

40) Name the dignitary who made the inaugural key note speech at the Jaipur Literature Festival: Dr. Amartya Sen

41) Dr. Amartya Sen is from which field: Economics

42) World Banks has approved a loan of $ 500 million to the Low Income States (Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh) for what purpose: To improve piped water supply and sanitation services

43) A news headline read, “India joins ‘Cryo Club’ with GSLV-D5”. What is meant by Cryo Club: India has joined is select group of countries having cryogenic engine technology

44) How many countries, other than India have the capability of cryogenic engine capability: Five – USA, Russia, France, Japan & China

45) In the abbreviation GSLV-D5, the letter D5 stands for what: 5th Development Flight

46) Name the satellite that was recently launched by GSLV-D5: GSAT-14

47) GSAT-14 satellite is used for what purpose: Communication

48) Jigme Wangchuck who recently visited India is ____ of Bhutan: King

49) Name the hilly district of central Assam that was in news as it witnessed widespread violent clashes between the ethnic insurgent Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF): Karbi Anglong

50) What is the name of the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil in June: Fuleco the Armadillo

51) Laimdota Straujuma has been elected as the first woman Prime Minister of which country: Latvia

52) India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile. What is the strike range of this missile: 350 kms

53) At which place in Haryana the foundation stone was laid for a 2800 megawatt nuclear power plant: Gorakhpur, Distt. Fatehabad (Haryana)

54) Govt. has decided to widen the scope of MGNREGS to include works relating to_______ also in it in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan: Rural sanitation

55) What is the objective of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan: To make India free from open defecation

56) Ali Larayedh, Islamist Prime Minister of _______ was in news as he resigned as part of a plan to end months of political deadlock. Tunisia

57) Name the country from which started the wide spread uprising of common public, called Arab Spring: Tunisia

58) Recently Posco was granted environmental clearance to build Rs 52,000 crore steel plant in Odisha. It is from which country: South Korea

59) India’s largest and most modern airport has recently been inaugurated in which city: Mumbai

60) What is the formal name of the new airport terminal started at Mumbai: Terminal – 2, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

61) World’s largest railway platform is located at which place: Gorakhpur (UP) India

62) Aitizaz Hasan, a 15 year old school boy in Pakistan was decorated with the Sitara-e-Shujaat — a high civilian award for bravery, for what purpose: He died confronting a suicide bomber to save his school

63) Ariel Sharon who passed away recently was a prominent ____: Statesman

64) Ariel Sharon was a former Prime Minister of which country: Israel

65) In the Nuclear Materials Security Index 2014 released by the US-based think-tank Nuclear Threat Initiative, India has been placed at which rank: 23rd

66) India has completed three years without reporting any case of polio. The official confirmation in this regard has to be issued by which international organization: WHO – World Health Organization

67) Name the Awami League leader of Bangladesh who was sworn-in as Prime Minister for the third time: Sheikh Hasina

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68) In a list of 30 most admired persons on the planet compiled by by YouGov for The Times by surveying almost 14,000 people, India’s Sachin Tendulkar has been placed at which rank: 5th

69) Who is the most admired person in the world as per a recent survey by YouGov for The Times: Bill Gates

70) Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das bagged the men’s and women’s titles respectively at the 75th Senior National _________ championships held at Patna: Table Tennis

71) The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013 has been won by ____ for his novel _______: Anees Salim, Vanity Bagh

72) The prestigious $50,000 DSC prize for South Asian literature is awarded at which event: Jaipur Literature Festival

73) The prestigious $50,000 DSC prize for South Asian literature has been won by ________ for his book ________: Cyrus Mistry, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer

74) Govt. has agreed to provide an additional 50 days of employment beyond the stipulated 100 days under the NREGA scheme to which category of people: Scheduled Tribes (ST) households living in forest areas who have received land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006

75) Name the Asia’s largest brackish water lake: Chilika backwater lagoon, Odisha

76) Chilika backwater lagoon is famous for______: Massive gathering of migratory birds

77) The word brackish refers to what quality of water: Excess of Salt

78) The Golden Globe Awards are given in which field: Cinema and TV

79) The Golden Globe Awards are given in which country: USA

80) Name the film that won the Golden Globe for the best film: 12 Years a Slave

81) Alfonso Cuaron of Mexico won the Golden Globe for Best Director for which film: Gravity

82) Name the index recently launched by the government to measure level of house construction activity: Housing Start Up Index (HSUI)

83) The recently launched Housing Start Up Index is a joint initiative of which two organizations: National Building Organisation and the Reserve Bank

84) Indian railways entered a new territory recently in which part of the country: Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh

85) Govt. has recently sold its 10% stake in which mega oil company to raise around Rs. 5000 crore: Indian

Oil Corporation

86) Name the legendary Bengali actress who died recently, known for her outstanding performances in several Bengali and Hindi films: Suchitra Sen

87) Late Suchitra Sen was also properly known as _____ of Indian cinema: Greta Garbo

88) Greta Garbo of Sweden was a renowned legendary _____ of Hollywood: Actress

89) Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin who passed away recently was the spiritual head of which community: Dawoodi Bohra

90) Dawoodi Bohra committee is a sub group of which religion: Islam

91) Sunanda Pushkar who passed away recently was holding which ministry in the central government: None

92) Akkineni Nageswara Rao, veteran actor of _____ cinema passed away recently. He was popularly known as _____ : Telugu, ANR

93) The famous historical cultural event - Jonbeel Mela is held in which state: Assam

94) Name the India’s nuclear-capable strategic missile, with a strike range of about 4,000 km tested successfully: Agni-IV

95) Which community has recently been granted minority status by the central government: Jains

96) What is the present number of minority communities in India: Six

97) Under which Act government grants minority status to a community: National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992

98) Name the multinational multi sports event in India where sportspersons from Portuguese speaking countries participate: Lusofonia Games

99) Lusofonia Games 2014 was held at which place: Goa

100) The 18th National Youth Festival was held at which place: Ludhiana

101) What was the theme for the 18th National Youth Festival: 'Youth For Drugs Free World'

102) The National Youth Festival is organized every year on January 12th for what reasons: It is birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

103) Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority for what purpose: To advise the Railway Ministry on fares

104) Which is the apex authority in India authorize to fix the railway fare: Railway Board

105) Name the two districts of Haryana that have recently been included in the National Capital Region: Jind and Karnal

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106) The 61st Senior National Kabaddi Championship were held at which place: Patna, Bihar

107) Government has approved setting up of the AKIC Development Corporation for what purpose: For the development of Amritsar – Kolkata Industrial Corridor

108) Name the mega infrastructure project being developed by the central government for promoting industrial townships between Delhi and Mumbai: Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

109) What is the objective of setting up of various industrial corridors: To boost up infrastructure and manufacturing activity

110) Name the three countries that have decided to develop a joint trade corridor with India: Bangladesh, China and Myanmar

111) The multination joint trade corridor proposed to be developed will start from ____ in India and run up to ____ in SW China: Kolkata, Kunming

112) The ATP Chennai Open Tennis title was won by Stanislas Wawrinka. He is from which country: Switzerland

113) Name the programme launched recently to comprehensively address the health needs of the nearly 243 million children of the country: Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram

114) The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram aims to cover children in the age group of ___ to ___ yeas: 10 to 19 years

115) What is the English name of the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram: National Adolescent Health Programme

116) The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram has been launched by which ministry in the central government: Health and Family Welfare

117) Name the ace badminton player who became the first male junior badminton player from India to be ranked top in the world by the World Badminton Federation (WBF): Aditya Joshi

118) Name the country which suffered recently the coldest, most dangerous blast of polar air in decades, causing wide spread extremely heavy snowfall leading to total disruption of daily life: USA

119) Name the climatic phenomena that cause wide spread dangerous blast of polar air in USA and adjoining Canada: Polar Vortex

120) Evans Ruto of _____ won the 11th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon: Kenya

121) The Hero Hockey World League championship held at New Delhi was won by ______ beating ______: Netherlands, New Zealand

122) Name the international football player who has been declared as the best footballer of the year by FIFA:

Cristiano Ronaldo

123) Cristiano Ronaldo is from which country: Portugal

124) The interest rate on EPFO has been increase to _______ percent from 8.5 percent at present: 8.75

125) Name the light weight pistol specially developed by the Indian Ordnance Factory especially for women to defend themselves from assault: Nirbheek

126) Who has been named as the captain of the Indian Women Cricket Team: Mithali Raj

127) Name the joint naval exercise undertaken by the Indian coast guard and its Japanese counterpart: ‘Sahayog- Kaijin 2014’

128) ‘Sahayog- Kaijin 2014’ - a joint naval exercise was recently held at which place: off the Kochi coast, Kerala

129) Malaysian Open 2014 tournament was held for which sports: Badminton

130) Name the winner of Men’s single title in the Malaysian Open 2014 tournament: Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia

131) Name the winner of Women’s single title in the Malaysian Open 2014 tournament: Li Xuerui, China

132) Name the cricketer who became the first Indian wicket keeper to claim 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals: M.S. Dhoni

133) Playing against which country M S Dhoni achieved the milestone of claiming 300 dismissals: New Zealand

134) At which border post India and Pakistan have agreed to liberalize various trade activities: Attari Wagah Border

135) Name the state that has been ranked No. 1 in implementation of SJSRY programme during 2012-13: Odisha

136) What is the full form of the poverty alleviation programme SJSRY: Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana

137) Which category of persons are eligible to obtain bank loan under SJSRY: BPL families in urban area

138) Name the poverty alleviation scheme of the central government for providing bank loans to BPL families in rural area: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana

139) Name the poverty alleviation scheme of the central government for providing bank loans to non BPL families in both rural and urban areas: Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme

140) RBI has advised banks that amount of loans sanctioned by them against pledge of gold jewellery should not exceed ____ per cent of the value of the

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gold: 75

141) The Reserve Bank has constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of _____(former Chairman of Axis Bank) to review governance of boards of banks: P. J. Nayak

142) Name the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India who recently retired from the service: Anand Sinha

143) Name the state that topped in the first ever ranking of state governments on the basis of their performance and implementation of the midday meal scheme: Karnataka

144) In which stream of studies government has decided to increase the number of seats in the country by 10,000 by upgrading existing state and central government colleges: MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery)

145) The Union Cabinet has approved a new comprehensive regulatory framework for TV rating agencies for release of TRPs. What is the full form of TRPs: Television Rating Points

146) Which international monetary organization has projected India’s growth rate for current year at 4.4%: IMF

147) RBI has decided that for the purpose of external commercial borrowings (ECB), 'Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul’ (MRO) of _______will be treated as a part of infrastructure: Aircrafts

148) Why RBI has decided that all banknotes issued prior to 2005 will be withdrawn after March 31, 2014: These have less security features compared to notes issued thereafter

149) What is the maximum amount of pre 2005 currency notes that an individual can exchange at a bank at a time: No such limit

150) Rakesh Khurana has recently been appointed dean of which prestigious international educational institution: Harvard College, at Harvard University, USA

151) Name the India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, that is now ready for sea trials: INS Arihant

152) Name the first Indian State to adopt the provisions of the recently passed Lokpal Act: Uttarakhand

153) Which committee appointed by RBI has recommended that retail inflation should be measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and not by the wholesale price index as being done currently: Urjit Patel Committee

154) Urjit Patel Committee has recommended to bring the retail inflation rate down at ____ per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent: Four

155) Who has been appointed as the new President of NASSCOM: R. Chandrashekhar

156) What is the full form of NASSCOM: National Association of Software and Services Companies

157) The Jeevan Raksha Padak are given in how many categories: Three

158) Name the Supercomputer developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) that has been rated as India’s most power efficient computer system: PARAM Yuva-II

159) Which bank has became first domestic private bank to have a branch in China: Axis Bank

160) Which country India has signed a labour cooperation to cover about 28 lakh Indian expatriates working there: Saudi Arabia

161) Name the Japanese PM who was the Chief Guest at the 2014 Republic Day Parade: Shinzo Abe

162) For the expansion which major rapid transport project Japan has sanctioned a loan of $2 billion: Delhi Metro

163) Kerala tourism has won the top tourism award from UNWTO for the promotion of which back water resort: Kumarakom

164) What is the full form of abbreviation UNWTO: United Nations World Tourism Organization

165) The ambitious National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), aimed at providing adequate and efficient urban public health delivery system for the urban poor, was launched recently at which place: Bangalore

166) The National Urban Health Mission plans to cover urban poor for healthcare. Which areas will be treated as urban for this purpose: Areas with population of over 50,000

167) With which country India is working on developing a satellite designed for climate change studies: France

168) Which public sector bank has announced to increase its presence in the social media by joining Youtube and Twitter: State Bank of India

169) The government has introduced a new procedure for issuance of PAN card as per which now the applicants will have to submit a documentary proof of _______ also: Address

170) RBI has decided to establish a fund to be called ‘Depositor Education and Awareness Fund’ from which source: By taking over amount lying in unclaimed deposit accounts with banks

171) As per Banking Regulation Act, 1949, an unclaimed deposit account is one in which there is no transaction for past ___ or more years: 10

172) International Marconi Prize is given for achievements in which field: Communication Technology

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173) Government has decided not to present regular budget for the year 2014 – 15 in view of upcoming general elections. It will instead present the ______ for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha: Vote on Account

174) Name the film that won 2014 Filmfare award for the best film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

175) Name the director of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag who also won the Filmfare award for Best Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

176) Who has been declared the winner of 2014 Filmfare award for the Best actor: Farhan Akhtar for BMB

177) Deepika Padukone has won the 2014 Filmfare award for best actress for which film: Goliyon Ki Raslila Ram - Leela

178) Asia’s biggest botanical garden will come up on 153 hectares of area near the Khandwa reservoir, in Naya Raipur, in which State: Chhattisgarh

179) Men’s title in Australian Open Tennis Cup was won by which player: Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland)

180) Women’s title in Australian Open Tennis Cup was won by which player: Li Na of China

181) Grammy Awards are given for achievements in which field: Music

182) Name the musical album that won the 2014 Grammy for best album of the year: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

183) What is the maximum number (excluding posthumous awards and award to foreigners) of Padma Awards that can be given in a year: 120

184) A Padma Vibhushan awardee gets a cash reward of what amount: Nil

185) Padma Awards are announced every year on which particular date: Eve of Republic Day (25th January)

186) Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar has been awarded Padma Vibhushan in science and engineering category. He is from which field of science: Chemical Technology

187) Name the veteran Yoga maestro decorated with the Padma Vibhushan: BKS Iyengar

188) The Yoga form propagated by Padma Vibhushan awardee Sh. B K S Iyengar is known as: Iyengar Yoga

189) Name the iconic Tamil film actor, producer who has been awarded Padma Bhushan recently: Kamala Hasan

190) Name the renowned badminton coach decorated with Padma Bhushan in 2014: Pullela Gopichand

191) What is the current assignment of Justice Dalveer Bhandari who has been awarded Padma Bhushan recently: Judge in International Court of

Justice

192) Name the women cricket star who has been awarded Padma Shri recently: Anjum Chopra

193) Sudarsan Pattnaik has been awarded Padma Shri recently. He is from which field: Renowned Sand artist

194) Reserve bank has announced issuance of Inflation Indexed National Savings Certificates (IINSC) to offer an inflation savvy investment option. These ______ year Bonds will earn interest equal to the CPI inflation rate plus ____ per cent per annum: 10, 1.50

195) Which country has decided to make military service compulsory for all adult males aged between 18 and 30, but kept it optional for women: United Arab Emirates

196) Name the Russian martial art that has earned recognition of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for inclusion in the Asian Games: Sambo

197) DRDO recently launched Dhruva-3 for promoting critical applications for defence research and development, particularly in advanced aircraft designing defence research. What is Dhruva-3: High performance computing system

198) In a recently compiled environmental performance index of 178 countries, India has been placed at ____ position: 155th

199) With what intention Reserve Bank hiked key policy interest rates by 0.25%: To tame inflation

200) What will be the impact of recent 0.25% hike in repo rate on Bank Loans: They are likely to become costly due to rise in interest rate

201) What will be the impact of recent 0.25% hike in repo rate on industrial growth: Likely to come down due to higher cost of funds

202) Name the Super Jumbo Aircraft, capable of carrying over 850 passengers at a time, that has been allowed to land in India: A-380 of Airbus

203) Central Vigilance Commission was in news recently for what reasons: Celebrating 50 years of its existence

204) Prime Minister of which country resigned recently to counter widespread political protests in the country against harsh anti protest laws: Ukraine

205) Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton championship was held at which place: Lucknow, UP

206) Govt has launched the India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF), with the initial corpus of Rs 500 crore for what purpose: To promote profitable venture that take care of social needs also

207) Which State has launched 'Ama Jangal Yojana' (AJY) to enhance forest cover in the state: Odisha

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208) Name the jumbo naval exercise of 16 navies from the Indian ocean region being held in 2nd week of February: Milan 2014

209) The joint exercise of 16 navies from the Indian ocean region – Milan 2014 will be held at which place: Near Andaman & Nicobar Islands

210) To which country Exim Bank has agreed to provide a Line of Credit of $ 19.50 million: Vietnam

211) ADB has agreed to give $100 million loan to which state for boosting education and skills there: Meghalaya

212) To which category of customers RBI has allowed collection of account payee cheques even for third party accounts: Cooperative Credit Societies

213) With which country India has agreed to set up a $40 million joint fund to support technological ventures for consolidating and strengthening economic ties: Israel

214) Which national organization has decided to set up 100 innovation hubs at an outlay of Rs 99 crore, throughout the country by 2017: National Innovation Council

215) Who is the head of the National Innovation Council: Sam Pitroda

216) Which state in India has announced the highest MSP of Rs. 1560 per quintal for paddy crop: Bihar

217) J N Chaudhury has been appointed Director General of which paramilitary force: National Security Guard

218) India’s first Mono Rail has started operation in which city: Mumbai

  

DECEMBER – 2013 219) As per the figures released by CSO, in GDP growth

in 2nd quarter was ______ per cent: 4.8

220) Core sector is a part of index of industrial production. Its weightage in IIP is _____ per cent in IIP: 37.90

221) Gaganjeet Bhullar is top rank player of which sports: Golf

222) Name the Emperor and Empress of Japan who recently visited India: Akihito and Michiko

223) Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister of which country: Japan

224) What is the name of the currency of Japan: Yen

225) Name the capital of Japan: Tokyo

226) India’s cricket team captain MS Dhoni has recently been honoured with which international award: ICC

LG People’s Choice Award - 2013

227) Tour de India championship is organized in which sports: Cycling

228) Tour de India championship was won by Mohd. Nor Umradi. He is from which country: Malaysia

229) India has agreed to train naval officers of which country: Sri Lanka

230) Name the international event recently won by ace shuttler of India – P V Sindhu: Macau Open Grand Prix

231) 29th Junior National Athletics Championships was held in which place: Bangalore

232) Name the state which won 29th Junior National Athletics Championship: Kerala

233) Who has been named at Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association: Mohan V Tanksale

234) Are foreign banks allowed to become member of Indian Bank Association: Yes

235) Who has been named as the new Chief Information Commissioner: Sushma Singh

236) As per Right to Information Act, any person seeking information has to be provided the required information within ____ days: 30

237) In corruption ranking of countries by the international watchdog Transparency International, India has been ranked at which place: 94th

238) Nelson Mandela, the iconic statesman from South Africa passed away recently. He was called _________ out of love and affection: Madiba

239) Mandela was known for his anti-apartheid struggle. What is the meaning of apartheid: Observing racial discrimination

240) Why Mr. Mandela was honoured with India’s highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna: Because he followed Gandhian philosophy and values in his fight against apartheid

241) India has been ranked at ______ place in terms of doing business, by a survey done by Forbes magazine: 98th

242) 57th National Shooting championship was held at which place: New Delhi

243) The Sankirtana, a ritual form of singing, drumming and dancing has been included in UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage”. It belongs to which state of India: Manipur

244) US dollar is the largest used currency in the world, having 81.08% share in international transactions. Which is the currency at the second place: Yuan-8.66% (China)

245) Yuan, the currency of China is also called ______: Renminbi

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           72 

246) Name the country that has recently been elected as a non permanent member of the UN security council: Jordan

247) Name the country that has recently refused to join Security Council, despite being elected as a non permanent member: Saudi Arabia

248) Why Saudi Arabia did not accept the membership of UN Security Council: To protest the world body’s failure to end the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts

249) Alyz Henrich has been crowned as Miss _______2013: Earth

250) Miss Earth 2013 – Alyz Henrich is from which country: Venezuela

251) Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das recently won silver and bronze medal respectively at which international sports event: Indoor Archery World Cup

252) Indoor Archery World Cup was held at which place: Singapore

253) Which country has been named as host for the FIFA World Cup-2017 (Under-17): India

254) Name the light combat air craft (LCA) that has been inducted in Indian Air Force: Tejas

255) Name the aircraft that has recently been retired from the Indian Air Force: Mig-21

256) Mr. Sumit Bose has been appointed to which important central government position: Finance Secretary

257) Who has been named as the “Person of the Year” by the international magazine Time: Pope Francis

258) Who is Pope Francis: Supreme Head of Roman Catholics

259) Gen. Bikram Singh was recently honoured with Legion of Merit by which country: USA

260) Trade deficit of India came down to less than $10 billion in Nov. 2013. What was the single most important factor for this: Reduction in import of gold

261) Asian lending agency ADB has projected India’s growth at ______ percent for the year 2013-14: 4.7%

262) In which area scientists have recently discovered the coldest place on earth: East Antarctica

263) The prestigious international Sundance Film Festival is held in which country: USA

264) Name the bank from Qatar which has become the first bank from that country to open a branch in India: Doha Bank

265) In a recent international survey on ranking of economies on the basis of their efficiency in utilization of energy, India has been placed at _____

rank: 69th

266) What is the full of the abbreviation NSSO: National Sample Survey Office

267) The Reserve Bank has estimated that India's economy would grow about ______ per cent in FY 2013-14: Five

268) As per latest census 2011 data, ______ percent Indian population has been categorized as homeless: 8.8

269) Govt. has decided to provide a monetary support of Rs. _______ to every NREGA job cardholder who plans to build a toilet in his house: 10,000

270) In what manner govt. has decided to link up two major welfare schemes – NREGA and Indira Awaas Yojana: Labour constructing their own house under IAY will get NREGA wages

271) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in plain areas for constructing their house: 70,000

272) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in hilly areas for constructing their house: 75,000

273) In which North-Eastern state cultivation of popular spice cardamom is picking up: Arunachal Pradesh

274) As per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill approved by the cabinet, the reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) has been raised to ___ per cent from three at present: Five

275) C. V. R. Rajendran has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of which bank: Andhra Bank

276) Name the country that succeeded in landing a lunar probe on moon recently, becoming first country to do so since 1976: China

277) Sis Ram Ola, who passed away recently, was a prominent ________: Politician, Union Labour and Employment Minister

278) Who has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje

279) Pu Lalthanhawla has been elected as Chief Minister for the fourth time in which state: Mizoram

280) Name the person who has been elected as Banker of the Year 2013 by the financial daily Business Standard: Aditya Puri

281) Aditya Puri is the chief of which bank: HDFC Bank

282) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Men’s category: India (beating Pakistan)

283) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Women’s category: India (beating New Zealand)

284) The finals of 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup were

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           73 

played at which place: Ludhiana (Punjab)

285) Mahesh Mangaonkar has become the first Indian player to win an International Title in which game: Squash

286) Name the shooter who won the ‘Champion of Champions’ title in pistol event in the final round in the 57th National Shooting Championships at New Delhi: Samresh Jung

287) Name the international beauty title won by Bea Rose Santiago of Philippines: Miss International 2013

288) Report from UNO has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to ______per cent from 6.1 per cent projected earlier: 4.8

289) Parliament has finally passed the Lokpal Bill. What is the objective of setting up of a Lokpal: Establishment of an anti-corruption watchdog that will have in its purview even the office of the Prime Minister

290) Recently India displayed its strong displeasure against the rough treatment met to one of its diplomat posted at US consulate. Name that diplomat: Devyani Khobragade

291) Name the international convention which guarantees diplomatic immunity to persons posted in various embassies / consulates: Vienna Convention

292) Name the veteran cricket player selected for the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013 by BCCI: Kapil Dev

293) Name the international financial institution that has agreed to lend $176 million to extend the first metro train line in Jaipur: Asian Development Bank

294) V. K. Duggal has been appointed as the new governor of which state: Manipur

295) Name the diplomat appointed as Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India: Abdul Basit

296) Who has been appointed as the India’s new Ambassador to USA: S. Jaishankar

297) Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) is located at which place in India: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

298) India and Pakistan had a dispute on the sharing of waters of which river that was settled in favour of India by the International Court of Arbitration : Kishan Ganga

299) Kishenganga Hydro Electric Project is located in which state: Jammu & Kashmir

300) India and San Marino, a tiny country within Italy, signed the TIEA between them at Rome. Write the full form of TIEA: Tax Information Exchange Agreement

301) With which country government has approved the enhancement of the bilateral currency swap arrangement to $ 50 billion, up from $ 15 billion at

present: Japan

302) Govt. has cleared a services and investment deal with 10-member ASEAN group as part of CECA. What is the full form of CECA: Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

303) India has signed DTAA with Macedonia, a small country north of Greece, to prevent income tax evasion by entities in both the countries. What is the full form of DTAA: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

304) What is the range of Agni-III missile recently test fired by India: 3000 kms

305) The missile testing site of India – Integrated Test Range is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Distt Balasore, Odisha

306) Name the organization which is responsible for developing and testing various missiles for Indian Army: DRDO – Defence Research & Development Organization

307) Who is the Head of DRDO: Shri Avinash Chander

308) Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai are the current national champions in women and men category respectively in which sport: Archery

309) 34th Senior National Archery championship were held at which place: Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

310) PV Sindhu and K Srikanth clinched the women's and men's National titles respectively in which sport: Badminton

311) 78th Senior National Badminton Championships was held at which place: New Delhi

312) In the 9th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Bali, Indonesia, what was the major achievement for India: India will continue to support its farmers with MSP-Minimum Support Price

313) Recently govt. has launched a four day anti-Naxal operation involving close to 40,000 security personnel in which states: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra

314) Govt has agreed to grant constitutional status to the proposed JAC for appointment and transfer of judges. What is full form of JAC: Judicial Appointments Commission

315) India’s first National Cancer Institute is to be established in which state: Haryana

316) Name the South-African all rounder cricketer who has announced is retirement from Test and First Class cricket: Jacques Kallis

317) As per recent data the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) — number of women who die of pregnancy-related causes per 1,00,000 live births — has come down to _______ in 2010-12, from 212 in 2007-09: 178

318) In India which state has the lowest MMR of 66 per

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           74 

lac: Kerala

319) In India which state has the Highest MMR of 328 per lac: Assam

320) J N Chaudhury has been appointed Chief of which paramilitary force: National Security Guard

321) Who has been appointed as new Director General of Central Industrial Security Force: Arvind Ranjan

322) Who has been honoured with Polly Umrigar Award from the BCCI for being India’s best international cricketer of the year 2012-13: Ravichandran Ashwin

323) What is the official growth rate fixed by the planning commission for the 12th five year plan: 8%

324) In the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal FY2013-14, the economy grew by _______per cent: 4.6

325) India has signed a mega contract of $1.01 billion with which country for six additional C-130J "Super Hercules" jumbo military cargo aircrafts: USA

326) Farooq Sheikh who passed away recently was a prominent ___________: Film Actor

NOVEMBER – 2013 327) Rajendra Yadav who passed away recently was from

which field: Literature

328) Rajendra Yadav was a eminent short story writer and novelist of which language: Hindi

329) As per a recent study, India has been ranked ______ in terms of ‘Ease of Doing Business’: 134th

330) In terms of Ease of Doing Business _______ is no. 1 in the world: Singapore

331) The WTA Tour Championship title for 2013 was lifted by which player: Serena Williams

332) The full form of WTA in WTA Tour Championship is: Women’s Tennis Association

333) The WTA Tour Championship was held at which place: Istanbul, Turkey

334) As per Forbes magazine’s latest India Rich List, ________ has been named as India’s wealthiest person for the sixth year in a row: Mukesh Ambani

335) Mukesh Ambani is the corporate head of which industries: Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)

336) Recently we read in the newspaper that an ATM has been launched for ‘Bitcoins’. What is the Bitcoins: It is a digital currency, popular worldwide

337) Ashok Amritraj, producer of 109 Hollywood films, for his outstanding achievements in the film industry has been honourd with which award: Soul of India Award

338) Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award for 2013 has been

given to film celebrity: Amitabh Bachchan

339) Name the new tactical surface-to-surface missile based on the Prahaar missile, with a range between 60-170 kms: Pragati Missile

340) In a recent global study of tourism, which Indian State has been named as best region to visit in 2014: Sikkim

341) The World Billiards Championship was held at ______, England: Leeds

342) Name the winner of World Billiards Championship 2013: Peter Gilchrist

343) Peter Gilchrist the world Champion of Billiards is from which country: Singapore

344) Sachin played his last match in domestic cricket at which place: Lahli, Haryana

345) In which tournament, Sachin played his last domestic test match: Ranji Trophy

346) The govt has recently approved an education promotion programme by the name RUSA. What is the full form RUSA: Rashtriya Uchchatar Siksha Abhiyan

347) What is the objective of starting the educational project RUSA: Improving quality and number of universities / colleges in country

348) With which country India has agreed to export motorcycles through the land route: Bangladesh

349) As per recent RBI guidelines banks have been allowed to pay interest on their deposit accounts at _______ intervals: Monthly / Fortnightly

350) Most of the banks recover a fixed fee from their customers for sending them SMS alerts for their transactions. What are the recent RBI guidelines in this regard: Charge to be recovered actual usage basis

351) As per Forbes ranking of The world’s most powerful people, _________ has been ranked as No. 1: Vladimir Putin

352) What position is held by Mr. Vladimir Putin: President, Russia

353) Recently first time a rail link was opened linking the two continents – Asia and Europe in which country: Turkey

354) In a list of most powerful persons of the world compiled by Forbes Magazine, ____ ____ has been named as most powerful women: Angela Markel (5th)

355) K P Saxena who passed away recently was a noted________: Hindi Satirist

356) Name the international beauty title won by Ms. Srishti Rana: Miss Asia Pacific 2013

357) In the 'Prosperity Index' ranking of 142 countries compiled by London-based Legatum Institute, India

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stood at ______ position: 106th

358) Name the legendry Pakistani female folk singer who passed away recently: Reshma

359) The Hockey World Cup- 2014 will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

360) The first joint retreat ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was held which place: Petropole border in district North 24 Parganas, West Bengal

361) Name the Indian batsman who created history by scoring world’s highest ever sixes – 16 in an ODI: Rohit Sharma

362) With which country India has signed an agreement to facilitate transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing in jails in the two countries: Vietnam

363) The 13th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was held in: Perth, Australia

364) Sebastian Vettel, the reigning Formula One world champion from Germany created history by winning _______ formula races in one year: 9

365) Name the film that won the Golden Gateway of India award for the best film at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival: La Jaula De Oro (of Mexico)

366) Geeta Chandran who has been honourd with Guru Debaprasad Award is from which filed: Bharatnatyam

367) Name the UN agency which has taken up a nationwide social media campaign against open defecation in India: UNICEF

368) Name the social media campaign launched by UNICEF against open defecation in India: Take the Poo to Loo

369) As regard to service conditions of civil servants, what was the recent ruling of Supreme Court: They should not be transferred frequently

370) Which country won the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship: Romania

371) the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship was held at which place: Bucharest, Romania

372) The Paris Masters Tennis tournament was won by ______ Djokovic: Novak

373) Tennis star Novak Djokovic is from which country: Serbia

374) To which country India has provided Rs. 100 crores as a grant for their Economic Stimulus Plan: Bhutan

375) World Agriculture Forum Congress 2013 and Agri-Tech Trade Fair was held at which place: Hyderabad (AP)

376) FIDE world chess championship, was held at which

place: Chennai

377) What is the full form of chess championship FIDE: World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs)

378) What is the full form of Agricultural mission NFSM: National Food Security Mission

379) What is the name of joint naval exercise recently held by navies of Indian and USA: Malabar

380) The naval exercise Malabar by Indian and US Navy was held at which place: Off the coast of Tamil Nadu in Bay of Bengal

381) Pakistan successfully tested its ______, Hatf IX (Nasr) having a range of 60 kms: Missile

382) The maneuvering and tracking of Mangalyaan is being done by ISTRAC. Write its full form: ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network

383) The satellite tracking centre ISTRAC is located at which place: Bangalore

384) India’s first interplanetary space craft – Mangalyaan was launched from which centre: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (AP)

385) Who is the Chief of the ISRO: Dr. K Radhakrishnan

386) Name the satellite launching vehicle that was used to launch Mangalyaan: PSLV-C25

387) The book “Gandhi A Spiritual Biography” has been written by: Arivnd Sharma

388) In which North Eastern states govt. has extended AFSPA for a further period of six months: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

389) What is the full form of AFSPA: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

390) Tarla Dalal who passed away recently, was a noted ______ expert: Cookery

391) 44th International Film Festival of India was held at which place: Goa

392) ______ was the ‘country in focus for’ for the44th International Film Festival of India: Japan

393) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) and the first along the Bangladesh border was opened at which place: Akhaurah, Tripura

394) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been opened at Akhaurah in Tripura. The first ICP is located at which place: Attari, Punjab

395) India successfully test-fired its nuclear weapons-capable, surface-to-surface Agni-1 missile recently. What is its range: 700 kms

396) India’s first Bird Ringing Station has been setup at Salropa in the prestigious Great Himalayan National

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Park in Kullu. What is its purpose: To identify and establish species of various birds

397) Imomali Rakhmon has been elected as President of which country: Tajikistan

398) Name the lady who has been named as the most powerful businesswoman in India for the third consecutive year in the list of 50 most powerful businesswomen ranking for 2013 by Fortune magazine: Chanda Kochhar

399) What is the official position of the prominent corporate figure Ms. Chanda Kochhar: MD & CEO of ICICI Bank

400) Name the country that will host 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup: India

401) Name the super strong typhoon that caused wide spread devastation in Philippines, claiming over 12000 lives: Haiyan

402) The World Economic Forum has joined hands with ________ to jointly organise the India Economic Summit: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

403) RBI has signed cooperation agreement with central banks of which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

404) Recently RBI issued what guidelines for foreign banks in the context of domestic private sector banks: Allowed them to take over private banks

405) As per recent RBI guidelines foreign banks will not be allowed to hold more than ________ per cent equity in the private banks they may acquire: 74

406) Name the Olympian shooter who created history by becoming first Indian women to win air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup: Heena Sidhu

407) The ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship was held at which place: Munich, Germany

408) Name the TV channel that Prasar Bharti plans to launch specially for Aruanchal Pradesh and Sikkim: Prabha

409) The Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organized at which place by the High Commission of India: Sydney, Australia

410) National Education Day is celebrated on which date: 11th November

411) The birthday of first Education Minister of Independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is celebrated as what day: National Educational Day

412) India has declared itself free from _______as there has been no occurrence of the disease in the last three months: H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu)

413) ________won the ATP World Tour Finals in London beating Rafael Nadal: Novak Djokovic

414) South Asian Junior Athletics Championships were held at which place: Ranchi, Jharkhand

415) Name the country that secured top position in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships: India

416) Hurun India Philanthropy List 2013 published by the China’s leading magazine mougal ‘Huran Report Inc has ranked IT tycoon ___________as the most generous Indian with a donation of Rs 8,000 crore in the year ending March 31, 2013: Azim Hashim Premji

417) Malia and Malala have been named among the 16 most influential teens of 2013 by the Time magazine. Who is Malia: Elder daughter of Barack Obama

418) Prof. C.N.R. Rao has been decorated with Bharat Ratna. He is from which field: Solid state and materials chemistry

419) What is the amount of cash reward that is given to the recipient of a Bharat Ratna: Nil

420) Recommendation for Bharat Ratna are made by which authority: Prime Minister

421) Who approves awardees for Bharat Ratna: President of India

422) Can Bharat Ratna be awarded to a non Indian also: Yes

423) What is the name of the second air craft carrier of India: INS Vikramaditya

424) The abbreviation INS stands for: Indian Naval Ship

425) What is the name of the original ship that has been transformed into INS Vikramaditya: Admiral Gorshkov

426) INS Vikramaditya has been procured by India from which country: Russia

427) INS Vikramaditya is the second aircraft of the Indian Navy. What is the name of the first (existing) aircraft carrier of India: INS Viraat

428) Name the aircraft carrier being built indigenously in India: INS Vikrant

429) Name the first aircraft carrier acquired by Indian Navy which was decommissioned on 31st Jan, 1997: INS Vikrant

430) The INS Vikramaditya will be based at which naval base: INS Kadamba at Karwar, Karnataka

431) UN’s International Day for Tolerance celebrated on which date: Nov 16

432) National think tank NCAER has lowered country's growth rate to 4.8-5.3 per cent range in the current fiscal. Write the full form of NCAER: National Council of Applied Economic Research

433) Name the Prime Minister of UK who visited India

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recently for a short trip: David Cameron

434) Prime Minister of UK recently visited India only for a short time as he was on his way to _____: Colombo, Sri Lanka

435) Central govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in which state: Odisha

436) Why govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in Odisha: To provide relief from devastation caused by Phailin cyclone

437) World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have assured a financial assistance of $ 313 mn to Odisha government for what purpose: For restoration and rehabilitation activities in cyclone Phailin hit areas

438) Which country has promised to provide support of Rs. 1129 crore for campus development at IIT Hyderabad: Japan

439) Govt. has decided to establish National Institute of Disaster Response (NIDR) at which place: Kamptee, near Nagpur, Maharashtra

440) Telecom major Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched mobile money transfer and payment service _________in Assam and other North Eastern states: 'M-Pesa'

441) Name the new President of island country Maldives: Abdulla Yameen

442) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in Men’s category: Usain Bolt

443) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

444) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which country: Jamaica

445) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in women’s category: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

446) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

447) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which country: Jamaica

448) What was the theme of the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 held at Colombo, Sri Lanka: Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development

449) In the recently held CHOGM, India was represented by which statesman: Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs

450) At which place the Indian Army tested an advanced version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system

(block III variant) successfully: Pokhran, Rajasthan

451) BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile system. What is the meaning of supersonic: Objects flying with speed higher than speed of sound

452) Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013 has been awarded to which person: Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

453) NASA has launched its latest orbiter to Mars –‘MAVEN’ to hunt for clues about why the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere. What is the full form of MAVEN: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

454) Centre has directed the state governments to implement the new National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) for compulsory coverage of which category of beneficiaries: Borrower Farmers

455) BRICS International Competition Conference was recently held at which place: New Delhi

456) Name the remote-sensing satellite recently launched by China: ‘YAOGAN XIX’

457) Election commission has ask the government to enact a law demanding what from the government in the context of election related opinion polls: Banning the release of results of election related opinion polls, once the notification of elections has been made

458) The Reserve Bank has directed public sector banks to provide credit to women self help groups at a rate of ________ percent per annum: seven

459) What is the name of the first all women bank started in India: Bhartiya Mahlia Bank

460) In which place Bhartiya Mahila Bank has opened its first branch: Mumbai

461) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to recruit male staff members: Yes, on selected basis

462) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to cater to male customers: Yes, on selected basis

463) Bhartiya Mahila Bank has been ask to devote special attention to which category of women customers: Self Help Groups

464) Why 19th November was selected as the day to inaugurate the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: It is birth anniversary of late Indira Gandhi

465) Name the first chairperson of the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: Usha Ananthasubramaniam

466) To which country India has extended a 100 million dollar line of credit for defence purchases: Vietnam

467) The Golden Elephant Award is given for what purpose: Best Children Film

468) The Golden Elephant Award is given on what occasion: at International Children's Film

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Festival

469) The 18th International Children's Film Festival was held at which place: Hyderabad

470) Name the film that won the Golden Elephant Award: Dutch Film Kauwboy

471) What is the recent ruling of Supreme Court with regard to contesting of elections by the persons in jail: They are eligible to contest elections

472) Name the fifteen year old cricket star who created history by scoring a record 546 runs playing in Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw

473) Frederick Sanger who passed away recently was the only person to win the noble prize for ________ two times, in 1958 and in 1980: Chemistry

474) India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station is located at which place: Thumba, Kerala

475) What is the name of the India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

476) Why Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba was in news recently: It celebrated its golden jubilee

477) Name the India's batting star who became the fastest batsman in world to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals (ODI): Virat Kohli

478) The National Book Award 2013 of USA has been given to the book _______ by James Mc Bride: The Good Lord Bird

479) Who is the author of the book, ‘Book of Destruction’: Anand

480) The famous book Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer has been authored by ________: Cyrus Mistry

481) What is the common factor in the mini territories of Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands: All four are tax havens

482) Name the 23 year old chess prodigy from Norway who was crowned as World Champion at the World Chess Championship at Chennai: Magnus Carlsen

483) Name the West Indies cricketer who marked an end to the glorious career of Master Blaster Sachin: Darren Sammy

484) The last ball to be faced by Sachin marking end of his 24 years of cricketing career was bowled by ______ of West Indies: Narsingh Deonarine

485) A survey of 1,600 senior executives across more than 70 countries by global professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) placed ______ as the first choice of global investors: India

486) Who has been appointed as Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India: Ajit Prakash Shah

487) The Warsaw Climate Change Conference 2013 was held at which place: Warsaw, Poland

488) The Climate Change Conferences are organized by UNFCCC. The abbreviation UNFCCC stands for: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

489) ___________won the Asian Archery Championship held in Taipei, China: South Korea

490) Which country recently agreed to curb its nuclear programme in lieu of lifting of economic sanctions against it: Iran

491) Which country has offered to renovate and preserve a total of 116 heritage buildings, constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, located on the banks of the river Hooghly in West Bengal: Denmark

492) A high power group of six super powers negotiated a deal with Iran for what purpose: To restrict the nuclear programme of Iran

493) Mount Sina Bung, a volcano that erupted very violently causing dislocation of thousands of people, is in which country: Indonesia

494) Which country has decided to award International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2013 to Malala Yousafzai: Mexico

495) Global Islamic Economic Summit held at which place: Dubai, UAE

496) Which country hosted the 20th World Master Athletics Championship: Brazil

497) Which corporate brand has been ranked No. 1 in the 'World's Most Valuable Brand List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine: Apple

498) 4th World Cup Kabaddi will be held in which state: Punjab

499) Name the country where Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship was held recently: Malaysia

500) Who has been elected as President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci): Sidharth Birla

501) Name the new Chief of Pakistan Army: Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif

502) Junior National Archery Championship was held at _________Assam: Kokrajhar

503) Mahendra Dev Committee has been appointed for what purpose: To review the scale of NREGA wages

504) RBI has allowed which category of manufacturing units to be covered under priority sector lending: Medium

505) On what basis business units are classified into Micro, Small and Medium categories: On the basis of investment made in plant & machinery / equipment

506) Name the Act that lays down various rules and

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regulations for classification of business units into micro small and medium enterprises: MSMED Act 2006

507) What is the full form of MSMED: Micro Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act

508) Sachin Tendulkar has been selected by UNICEF as the brand ambassador for Asian region for what purpose: To promote its Total Sanitation Campaign

509) As Brand Ambassador of UNICEF for Total Sanitation Campaign, Sachin Tendulkar will campaign in which countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

510) The coveted title of Miss Universe 2013 has been won by Gabriela Isler. She is from which country: Venezuela

511) The Reserve Bank has directed all regional rural banks to follow the minimum _______capital adequacy rule from this year itself: 9%

512) With which country India has agreed to strengthen, promote and develop renewable energy cooperation: Belgium

513) Jason Day lifted the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf held in Melbourne, Australia. He is from which country: Australia

514) The Hornbill Festival to promote tribal culture is held in which state: Nagaland

515) The ICC T20 championship 2014 will be held which country: Bangladesh

516) Which Indian IT giant agreed to pay a record $34 million fine to settle a visa row in the USA: Infosys

OCTOBER – 2013 517) In which country thousands of government servants

were asked to go on leave without pay temporarily as the government had no funds to pay their salary: USA

518) One of the main factors behind the recent ‘Shut Down’ crisis in USA was the popular health care programmes of the government. What is the popular name for this programme: Obamacare

519) Name the diplomat who has been appointed High Commissioner of India in United Kingdom: Ranjan Mathai

520) The International Day of “Older Person” is celebrated on which day: October 1

521) In the recently compiled “Global Human Capital Index”, what is India’s rank: 78th

522) India’s minister of external affairs visited ______ to impress upon early implementation of 13th amendment to constitution: Sri Lanka

523) In the neighbouring country Sri Lanka, what is the

context of 13th amendment to their constitution: Devolution of powers to the provinces

524) The 2013 meet of CHOGM is to be held at which place: Colombo, Sri Lanka

525) What is the full form of CHOGM: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

526) The summit of CHOGM is held every _____ years: Two

527) How many countries are the member of The Commonwealth: 53

528) Headquarter of The Commonwealth is located at: London, UK

529) _________ is designated as head of the Commonwealth: British Monarch

530) Name the middle Asian country visited by Indian President recently: Turkey

531) Name the capital of Turkey: Ankara

532) Which Turkish University honoured Indian President with honorary ‘doctorate’ in Political Science: Istanbul University

533) Currency of Turkey is ________: Turkish Lira

534) In a recent survey of top 400 universities in world, _________ has been ranked as No. 1 university in India: Panjab University

535) Election commission has given the option to the voters not to vote for any candidate, if they decide so. This option has been named as: None of the above (NOTA)

536) Two day international Rhino conference was held at: Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

537) Lampedusa an island near ______ was in news as over 300 persons drowned there after a boat, with up to 500 African asylum seekers, caught fire and sank: Italy

538) Rohan Bopanna along with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, won the men’s doubles title at_____________ held at Tokyo, Japan: Japan Open Tennis

539) Name the team that won the Champions League Cricket recently: Mumbai Indians

540) The final match of the Champions League, Cricket was held at _________ stadium in Delhi: Feroz Shah Kotla

541) Name the veteran Indian film director who has been nominated to head the accomplished jury for the Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA): Shyam Benegal

542) The Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) to be held in_______: Brisbane, Australia

543) “The Busan International Film Festival” is held in which country: South Korea

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544) Name the acclaimed Cambodian director who received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea: Rithy Panh

545) Which international IT giant has joined hands with Archaeological Survey of India to provide 360- degree online panoramic imagery of 100 nationally-important monuments: Google

546) Name the Sri Lanka’s first elected Tamil Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the first ever provincial elections held after clearance of LTTE from North Sri Lanka: C. V. WIGNESWARAN

547) The China Open Tennis Cup Men’s Singles has been lifted by _______: Novak Djokovic

548) The tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which country: Serbia

549) Women’s singles title in the China Open Tennis Cup was won by: Serena Williams

550) Name the Indian tennis star who alongwith Cara Black won the women’s doubles title of China Open: Sania Mirza

551) As per the estimates of the Finance Ministry and that of RBI, growth rate of India’s economy during current fiscal is expected to be around ______ per cent: 5.5%

552) Name the international financial agency that has pulled down projection for India’s growth rate to 3.8 percent for the year 2013-14: IMF

553) Vladimir Klitschko who won the world heavyweight boxing title at Moscow, Russia is from which country: Ukraine

554) Name the allrounder from Bangladesh who became the first cricketer in 136 year old history of cricket to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the same Test: Sohag Gazi

555) Name the first MP whose Parliamentary seat was declared vacant following his conviction for more than two years, as a result of recent ruling of Supreme Court to this effect: Rashid Masood

556) Name the space craft launched by NASA on a mission to Jupiter: Juno

557) RBI has increase the borrowing period under MSF from one day at present to _______ days: 7 to 14 days

558) Indian Prime Minister visited Brunei recently for attending which International summit: ASEAN and East Asia Summit

559) The recent meeting of ASEAN and East Asia Summit was held at _________, Brunei: Darussalam

560) Out of ASEAN and East Asia Summit, India is member of which organization: East Asia Summit

561) The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held at

__________, Indonesia: Bali

562) What is the full form of ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations

563) Name the Director General of World Trade Organisation – WTO who visited India recently: Roberto Azevedo

564) Asian Development Bank has provided $100 mn loan to which State to improve education and skills: Meghalaya

565) With which country India finalised $512-million joint venture deal for the construction of two coal fired power projects of 250 megawatts each: Sri Lanka

566) The annual meeting of IMF and the World Bank was recently held at: Washington, USA

567) Name the first women chairperson of the Federal Reserve System of USA: Janet Yellen

568) Name the Central Bank in United Kingdom: Bank of England

569) Name the Bank that facilitates and promotes research for improvement in banking services all over the world. Bank for International Settlements

570) The Headquarter of Bank for International Settlement is located at ________, Switzerland: Basel

571) What is the purpose of the proposed Rs. 43,000 crore Green Energy Corridor Project: Setting up of wind and solar power plants

572) Prime Minister of which country was in news due to his sudden abduction and subsequent release also: Libya

573) What is the officially name of the ISRO’s project for sending a satellite to planet Mars: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

574) Tom Clancy, one of the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time, passed away recently. He was from which country: USA

575) World Toilet Summit was recently held in which country: Indonesia

576) Name the new High Commissioner of Pakistan to India: Ibne Abbas

577) Name the campaign launched by China aimed at enforcing standards for waste imports to avoid unusable or unsafe/dangerous consignments: Green Fence

578) Which country has qualified for the first time to play in the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan

579) The 11th ICC Cricket World Cup is to be hosted jointly by which two countries: Australia & New Zealand

580) What is the full form of ICC: International Cricket

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Council

581) What is the range of Nuclear weapons capable surface-to-surface missile Prithvi-II: 300 kms

582) The missile testing range of India is named as: Integrated Test Range

583) The missile testing range of India is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Odisha

584) Recently Supreme Court ordered ___ per cent reservation in govt. jobs for disables person: Three

585) Ilham Aliyev has been elected as President of which country: Azerbaijan

586) What is the popular full form of the scientific research organization CERN: European Council for European Research

587) Mulatu Teshome has been elected president of which country: Ethiopia

588) Sachin Tendulkar reached the coveted landmark of 50,000 runs across all formats of cricket at which stadium: Feroze Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi

589) India has signed agreements with ______ countries, who pledged their commitment to the ambitious Nalanda University project: Seven

590) The prestigious International Nalanda University is located is which place: Rajgir, Distt Nalanda, Bihar

591) Name the Nobel laureate who has been designated to head the Nalanda University as its Chancellor: Prof. Amartya Sen

592) In the Global Hunger Index India has been ranked at ________ place: 63rd

593) Which district of Odisha was hardest hit by the recent cyclone Phailin: Ganjam

594) Authorities worldover have appreciated the excellent preparations done by the NDRF and IMD for minimizing the possible damage from the cyclone Phailin: What is the full form of NDRF and IMD: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Metrological Department (IMD)

595) Govt. has decided to bring all post offices across the country on CBS platform to cover larger number of people, particularly in rural areas for banking services. What is CBS: Core Banking Solution

596) Name the place in distt. Datia of Madhya Pradesh which witnessed a gruesome stampede killing over 120 persons: Rattangarh

597) The World Boxing Championships was held in which place: Almaty, Kazakhstan

598) Name the freedom fighter, ex Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who passed away recently: Dr. Mohan Dharia

599) M.S. Swaminathan, Eminent agriculture scientist has been honoured with which prestigious prize for his

work for national integration: Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

600) Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist for girl’s education has been honoured with Sakharov Human Rights Prize. The prize is given by which organization: European Parliament

601) Name the renowned scientist who has written the book My Brief History: A Memoir : Stephen Hawking

602) Under which loan scheme the receipt of annuity amount has been exempted from income tax: Reverse Mortgage Scheme

603) Who are the likely beneficiaries under the reverse mortgage loan scheme: Property Owning Senior Citizens

604) Government has increased MSP of wheat by Rs. 50 to Rs. ______ per quintal: 1400

605) Name the CEO of ICICI bank who has been ranked as top women business leader of India: Ms. Chanda Kochhar

606) Name the remittance system for which RBI has issued new revised guidelines: RTGS

607) Government has decided to include skilled labour in sericulture under the MNREGA Scheme. What is sericulture: Rearing of silk worms

608) NPCI has launched Aadhaar-based remittances for bank account holders. What is the full form of NPCI: National Payments Corporation of India

609) What is the main objective of NPCI: To promote various forms of electronic banking in India

610) Which city has been voted as countries top business destination in terms of infrastructure, human capital, city culture and basic quality of living: Bangalore

611) Indian Prime Minister recently visited Russia and met their President. What is the name of Russian President: Vladimer Putin

612) South zone and North zone were declared joint winners of the in the final of Duleep trophy played at Kochi, Kerala. It is from which sports: Cricket

613) Which big hydel project of India is celebrated its Golden Jubilee: Bhakra Dam, Punjab

614) 5th South Asian Conference on Sanitation held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

615) Name the first Indian to win a silver medal at the 2013 ITTF Asian Table Tennis championship held in Beijing, China: Bhavina Hashmukhbhai Patel

616) Name the player who scored the fastest ever century by an Indian batsman in ODI, off 52 balls, playing against Australia at Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur: Virat Kohli

617) Man Booker Prize 2013 has been awarded to ________for her novel, The Luminaries. Eleanor

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           82 

Catton

618) Name the eminent Telugu novelist, short story writer, poet critic and 2012 Jnanpith award winner who passed away recently: Ravuri Bharadhwaja

619) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 title was won by _________ of China: Ding Junhui

620) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 was held at which place: New Delhi

621) Name the first ever India-Russia joint military exercise that began on October 19 at the Mahajan field firing range in Rajasthan near the Indo-Pak border: Indra 2013

622) What is the objective of recently conducted Indo-Russian joint military exercise: for improving anti-terrorist operations

623) Name the latest National Tennis champions in men’s & women’s category: Mohit Mayur and Prerna Bhambri

624) With which country India recently signed a border defence pact: China

625) What is the officially name of the border defence pact signed between India and China: Border Defence Co-operation Agreement

626) What is the official designation of the Prime Minister of China: Premier

627) What is the name of the Premier of China: Li Keqiang

628) Which mega steel company has been asked by a UN Human Rights panel to stop the work at its Odisha plant as it may lead to displacement of thousands of people and disruption in their livelihoods: Posco

629) The Union Cabinet has approved the biggest ever foreign investment in India's aviation sector - Jet Airways' proposed sale of its 24 per cent equity to ___________airline: Etihad Airways

630) The Etihad Airways is the national airline of which country: United Arab Emirates

631) To which country India has agreed to start a power transmission line to export 500 million megawatt of electricity: Bangladesh

632) Name the Indian power cooperate which has joined hands with Bangladesh power development board to form Bangladesh – India Friendship Power Company to promote 1,320-MW Maitri thermal power project in Bangladesh: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

633) UNO recently passed a regulation to destroy huge amounts of chemical in which country: Syria

634) Which railway station near Kolkata has been renamed as Komagata Maru station to salute the martyrs of September 29, 1914, who arrived there by the ship of the same name: Budge Budge

635) __________has become the first company in the country to achieve sales of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore in a quarter: Reliance Industries Ltd.

636) INS Sunayna, the indigenously built warship is which type of ship: Naval offshore Patrol Vessel (NOVP)

637) Terry Walsh has been appointed chief coach of which national men’s sports team: Hockey

638) The new chief coach of men’s national hockey team – Terry Walsh is from which country: Australia

639) India and China will hold joint military exercises from November 4 in _______ region in South west China: Chengdu

640) What is the objective of the proposed Indo-China joint military exercise: To practice counter insurgency and counter terrorism manoeuvres

641) Which corporate has been allowed by government to start a new domestic airline jointly with Singapore Airlines: Tata Group

642) What is the name of proposed new domestic airline started jointly by Tata and Singapore airlines: 'Tata SIA Airlines Limited'

643) Government has decided to contribute a sum of Rs. ______ crore towards capital infusion in public sector banks: 14,000

644) For what purpose government is contributing Rs. 14,000 crore in capital of public sector banks: To enable banks to meet Basel III capital requirements

645) Name the two Latin American Countries visited by the Vice President Hamid Ansari: Peru & Cuba

646) Sanjeev Rajput won the gold in which event in the Asian Air Gun shooting championship in Tehran, Iran: Men’s 50-metre free rifle event

647) Bru community which has settled in large number of refugee camps in Tripura and Assam, belongs to which state: Mizoram

648) Air Costa is the new regional airline started in which part of the country: Andhra Pradesh

649) Name the Indian scientist in whose name the ‘God Particle’ has been named as Higgs Boson: Satyendra Nath Bose

650) The Nobel prize – 2013 for physics has been given to François Englert, Belgium and Peter W. Higgs, UK for which achievement: for the outstanding research for discovery of ‘God Particle’

651) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2013 has been awarded to how many scientists: Three

652) The three scientists – Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel have been given Nobel prize in Chemistry for 2013 for research in which field: for developing computer models that predict

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           83 

complex chemical reactions that can be used for tasks like creating new drugs

653) Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for which achievement: For breakthroughs in understanding how key substances are moved around within a cell

654) The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013 has been awarded to author Alice Munro for which field of literature: Contemporary short stories

655) Nobel Laureate for 2013 literature Nobel Prize – Alice Munro is from which country: Canada

656) What is the formal official name for the Economics Nobel Prize: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences

657) The Nobel Prize for economics for 2013 has been awarded for what purpose: For research in empirical analysis of asset prices

658) The Nobel Peace Prize – 2013 has been awarded to which organization: Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

659) Currently, OPCW is in news for handling which international assignment: Destruction of dumps of chemical weapons in Syria as per UN mandate

660) The headquarters of Nobel Peace prize winning organization – OPCW is located at which place: The Hague, Netherland

661) Why the Nobel prizes are delivered on a fix day – December 10 every year: It is the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel

662) All Nobel Prizes except the peace prize are presented at _____, Sweden: Stockholm

663) The Nobel Prize for Peace is presented at _______, Norway: Oslo

664) The Nobel Prize for Peace is not decided in Sweden, instead, it is decided by an expert committee of _________: Parliament of Norway

665) India has been ranked __________ out of 136 countries on a Global Gender Gap Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum: 101st

666) According to a recent survey by Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM) and DTZ, _______ is the best business destination in the country: Bangalore

667) Name the Formula One champion who has won four successive titles in the current season: Sebastian Vettal

668) Sebastian Vettal, the formula one world champion is from which country: Germany

669) India’s only Formula One Racing Track Buddha International Circuit is located at which place: Noida, UP

670) World’s largest airport Al-Maktoum International is located at which place: Dubai, UAE

671) Which financial institution proposes to launch a

special loan scheme for creation of storage infrastructure like construction of Warehouses, Silos, cold storages and cold chain infrastructure: NABARD

672) Govt. plans to start National Financial Reporting

Authority (NFRA) for what purpose: As a watchdog for the accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies.

673) With which bank Australian Trade Commission has signed a MoU to raise the productivity and exports of India’s food and agricultural sector: Yes Bank

674) To which state World Bank has provided $360 million loan for modernisation of irrigation and drainage systems: Uttar Pradesh

675) India is planning a cross country highway with which two other countries: Myanmar and Thailand

676) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will start from ________ in Manipur, India : Moreh

677) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will end at ______ in Thailand: Mae Sot

678) Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will link Kolkata port with Sittwe port in which country: Myanmar

679) In the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, Kaladan is the name of a _______ in Mizoram: River

680) The World Agricultural Congress and Trade Fair to be held at ______: Hyderabad

681) Supreme Court ruled that MPs/MLAs will lose their seats immediately if they are convicted of offences that carry a prison term of more than ______years: Two

682) The 2013 Norton Report by Symantec says that India is among the world’s top ______ countries with the highest number of incidences of cyber crime: Five

683) Indian Navy has recently inducted Hawk MK 132 aircraft. It is what type of aircraft: Advanced Jet Trainer

SEPTEMBER– 2013 684) The book Communist Cookbook has written by:

Sharmishta Roy Chowdhury

685) Who is the author of the book ‘Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten: Rajmohan Gandhi

686) The Asia Cup Hockey was held at which place: Ipoh, Malaysia

687) 2014 Hockey World Cup will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

688) Name the country who won the Asia Cup Hockey by defeating India: South Korea

689) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           84 

times of market value for acquiring land in rural areas: four

690) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______ times of market value for acquiring land in urban areas: two

691) G-20 group of countries held a meeting of their Heads at which place: St. Petersburg, Russia

692) Name the ace footballer from UK who created a new record by becoming the expensive most player in the history of football: Gareth Bale

693) Noted footballer Gareth Bale has been contracted by which Club for a sum of 100 million Euros: Real Madrid, Spain

694) Diana Nyad, the 64 year old lady swimmer from USA created a world record for what: for longest distance swimming – 110 mile (177 kms)

695) Haraprasad Das, eminent Oriya writer, has been honoured with which prestigious award for his book ‘Vamsha’: Moortidevi Award - 2012

696) Name the country who won SAFF football championship by beating India: Afghanistan

697) What is the full form of SAFF: South Asia Football Federation)

698) The SAFF football championship was recently held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

699) As per new companies law, the corporates are required to spend _______ % of their profits towards CSR activities: Two

700) Write the full form of CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

701) India recently launched multi band communication satellite - GSAT-7 for what purpose: Data gathering for defence forces

702) The GSAT- 7 satellite was launched from which place: Kourou, French Guiana (An overseas territory of France, at joining Brazil)

703) The GSAT-7 satellite was launched in a _____ Orbit, about 36000 kms above Earth’s surface: Geosynchronous

704) Name the book on tax administration written by noted economist Parthasarthi Shome, Advisor to the Finance Minister: Indian Tax Administration: A Dialogue

705) Dr. Raghuram Rajan, the new governor of RBI was holding which position before this: Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance

706) As per the PFRDA bill, 2011, government has permitted FDI upto _____% in the pension sector: 26

707) Write the full form PFRDA: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

708) Name the tennis star who won US Open men’s singles title: Rafael Nadal

709) Noted tennis star Rafael Nadal is from which country: Spain

710) Famous sports person Novak Djokovic is from which game: Tennis

711) Tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which country: Serbia

712) Name the tennis star who won US Open women’s singles title: Serena Williams

713) Noted tennis star Serena Williams from which country: USA

714) Name the prestigious sports event recently won by tennis star Leander Paes: US Open 2013 men’s doubles crown

715) Name the world renowned music maestro who conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra in J & K: Zubin Mehta

716) The musical concert conducted by Jubin Mehta at Shalimar Garden, Srinagar (J&K) was named as____________: Ehasas-e-Kashmir

717) Tony Abbott has been elected as new Prime Minister of which country: Australia

718) With which country India has enlarged its currency swap arrangement from $15 billion at present to $ 50 billion: Japan

719) India has been ranked at _____ place in terms of its global competitiveness in 2013: 60th

720) _________has emerged as most literate state in India with 94.65 per cent literacy, compared with Kerala’s 93.91 per cent: Tripura

721) Share of agriculture in India’s GDP is about ____%: 13.7

722) Control of Forward Markets Commission has recently been taken over by _________ Ministry: Finance

723) Govt. has approved setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, a partnership between government, corporate India, academics and civil society, with a contribution of Rs 500 crore for what purpose: To engage corporates for help to counter Naxal influence

724) RBI has setup Bimal Jalan Committee for what purpose: To scrutinize the applications for new bank licences

725) Name the head of the committee formed to strengthen the framework of monetary policy to avoid friction between the RBI and the Finance Ministry: Urjit Patel Committee

726) Who has been elected as President of International Olympics Committee: Thomas Bach

727) India’s trade deficit narrowed to $10.9 billion in

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           85 

August from $12.26 billion in July. What does it represents: The amount by which exports are short of imports

728) Which is the single largest item contributing to the import bill of India: Petroleum

729) As per the RBI guidelines, cash withdrawals of up to Rs. _________ a day from point of sale terminals are allowed: 1,000

730) Which type of banking transactions can be carried out using plastic money: Debit / Credit card transactions

731) What is the popular name for the total money supply – M3 in the country: Broad Money

732) What is the priority sector lending target fixed by the government for foreign banks in India: 40%; if the branches are less than 20, then 32%

733) If an Indian bank in private sector fails to achieve priority sector lending targets, what will be the penal action: It will have to deposit the short fall amount in Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

734) The government has approved a proposal to invest USD 4.3 billion in which international financial institution: World Bank

735) Eighth Women’s Hockey Asia Cup was recently held at which place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

736) Which big industrial country has decided to say ‘good bye’ to nuclear power: Japan

737) Name the spacecraft that has become the first man-made object to venture into interstellar space: Voyager-1

738) Name the wrestler who won silver medal at the World Wrestling Championship: Amit Kumar

739) Name the wrestler who won bronze medal in free style wrestling in the World Wrestling Championship: Bajrang

740) World Wrestling Championship were held at which place: Budapest, Hungary

741) Name the hockey player who will captain the Indian Women’s Hockey team in Asia Cup: Ritu Rani

742) Name the Indian origin girl who was crown as Miss America recently: Nina Davuluri

743) Jhumpa Lahri, a Noted Novelist of Indian origin is settled in which country: USA (New York)

744) Which city has been named to host 2020 Olympic Games: Tokyo

745) The 2016 Olympics are to be held at which place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

746) Name the recently tested nuclear capable surface to surface long-range ballistic missile which has a strike range of more than 5000 kms: Agni-V

747) From which place India conducts its missile tests: Wheeler Island off Odisha coast

748) NASA has launched an unmanned spacecraft Ladee for what purpose: To explore the surface of moon

749) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia has recently been honured with which prestigious Indian Award: Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development-2012

750) Durand Cup is associated with which sports: Football

751) Durand Cup for 2013 was won by _____ ________ after a gap of 73 years: Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata

752) Durand Cup Football tournament was held at which place: New Delhi

753) Dinesh K. Sarraf has been appointed head of which Maharatna company: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

754) With a view to boost exports, government has raised interest subvention on export loans to _______ percent: Three

755) 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted jointly by which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

756) Govt. has recently relaxed certain pre conditions in case of FDI in which field: Multi Brand Retail

757) With which country India has an arrangement to pay in Indian rupees for its import of crude oil: Iran

758) Name the veteran British journalist and broadcaster, famous for his TV interviews of various Heads of States, who passed away recently: David Frost

759) How many industries are there in the core sector within Index of Industrial Production (IIP): Eight

760) Which country has agreed to contribute 41% share in the creation of a $100-billion Currency Reserve Fund (CRF) by BRICS: China

761) Name the noted Bengali author who was killed in Afghanistan by Taliban: Sushmita Banerjee

762) The mobile phone business of Nokia Corporation of Finland has been taken over by which multinational company: Microsoft

763) A robot astronaut called ________developed by Toyota Company of Japan, has made history by becoming the first robot ever to speak in space: Kirobo

764) As per recent RBI guidelines, Indians travelling abroad can carry Indian currency of up to Rs.__________ per person: 10,000

765) Which state in India has recorded the lowest proportion of 3.66 % of poor living below poverty line in urban areas: Sikkim

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           86 

766) Which state in India has the lowest proportion – 5.09%, of the poor living below poverty line: Goa

767) India has recorded the largest increase in its UHNI club among the BRICS nations in the last one year, with a total of 7,850 super rich people in the country. What is the full form of UHNI: Ultra-High Networth Individual

768) Recent RBI guidelines have asked banks to close accounts of those customers who use their credit or debit cards for ________ transactions: Online Forex

769) As per the food security Act notified recently, ________ % of country’s population will be covered under food guarantee: 67

770) Which state in India emerged as the hottest investment destination for new projects: Odisha

771) World largest solar power plant is being setup in India at which place: Sambar Lake, Rajasthan

772) Govt has finalised the timeline for implementation of the mega ADKIC project to promote industrial activity in north India. What is the full form of ADKIC: Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor

773) For which part of India govt. has approved Rs. 2,130 crore expenditure under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP): North East Region

774) RBI has allowed banks to open branches, including in Tier 1 centres without its prior permission. Which city come under tier 1: Centres cities with population of one lakh and above

775) The Reserve Bank has advised banks to allot a different product code in their core banking solution to which type of accounts: Accounts which are dormant or inoperative for over two years

776) Which film will represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at 2014 Oscar Awards in USA: The Good Road

777) Govt. has submitted in Supreme Court that it intends to go ahead with Sethusamudram Project. It is located in which area of India: Rocky terrain between India and Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar

778) What is the geographical name for the Sethusamudram: Adam’s Bridge

779) At which place is the World's highest-altitude civilian airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level: Daocheng, Near Tibet, China

780) Super Typhoon Usagi has caused widespread damage in which part of the world: Philippines and Taiwan

781) Who has been elected as the 12th President of Pakistan: Mamnoon Hussain

782) Recently India post released a commemorative stamp in the memory of freedom fighter and veteran journalist Lala Jagat Narain. Name the news paper founded by him: Punjab Kesari

783) Kaesong industrial park was the matter of dispute between which two countries: North and South Korea

784) Govt. has started a Rs. 1000 crore Nirbhaya Corpus Fund for what purpose: For empowerment and protection of women

785) Name the first programme started from Nirbhaya Fund, aimed at helping the women who need special protection measures, such as women in prostitution or widowed women: Shubh

786) Ray Dolby, an inventor and audio pioneer from USA, founder of Dolby Laboratories, passed away recently. He is known for which product: Dolby Stereo Sound System

787) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has become the first regulator in the world to start an ___________system: Insurance Repository

788) Name the international literary prize that has now been made open to English authors from all over the world: The Man Booker Prize

789) President of which country recently cancelled its official visit to USA to protest against the spying excesses of National Security Agency of USA: Dilma Rousseff of Brazil

790) Which country has recently started Direct Banking, offering banking services not through branches but through various other means like internet, mobiles and ATMs: China

791) Name the former world heavyweight boxing champion, considered one of the greatest fighter of his era, who passed away recently: Ken Norton

792) The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is planning to rope in celebrities as brand ambassadors for the five minority communities. Name these five communities: Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist and Parsis

793) Name the organization that has acquired the Rs. 600 crore research vessel named Samudra Ratnakar: Geological Survey of India

794) Who has been elected as Chancellor of Germany for the third time in a row: Angela Markel (Ms)

795) India has been granted ‘authorizing nation’ status for certifying which type of products: Electronics and IT Products

796) Sandeep Tulsi Yadav created history by winning India’s first ever wrestling medal in _________category at World Wrestling Championships: Greco-Roman

797) Name the Indian who has been honoured with

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Latest G.K .Bytes 

  

JANUARY – 2014 1) Paul Torday who passed away recently was a

famous ________: British Novelist

2) Which prominent educational organization of India is recently is celebrating 60 years of its completion: UGC (University Grants Commission)

3) Recently there was news headline – “US goes in for stimulus tapering”, what does it means: USA has decided reduce purchase of long term maturity bonds

4) Name the state which won the 62nd Senior National Volleyball Championship (Men’s) held at Moradabad, UP: Tamil Nadu

5) Who has been appointed as Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC): General Bikram Singh

6) A Russian city was in news as it witnessed two ghastly terror attacks by suicide bombers, killing over thirty persons and seriously wounding several others. Name this city: Volgograd

7) The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to sanction loans of up to Rs. _______against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery: Rs.1 lakh

8) Abdulla Gayoom has been elected as ____ of Maldives Islands: President

9) Vinod Kumar Duggal has been appointed Governor of which state: Manipur

10) Asha Khemka, a Bihar born eminent educationist has been awarded one of Britain's highest civilian award-DAME COMMANDER of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for what purpose: For spreading education in deprived areas

11) The Mountain Strike Corps raised recently for countering China is based at which place: Ranchi (Jharkhand)

12) Corey Anderson, the New Zealand all-rounder was in news recently for what reasons: For scoring the quickest century ever in international cricket, taking just 36 balls

13) Name the MNC which has filed first proposal to enter the Indian Multi Brand retail segment: Tesco Plc, USA

14) How much FDI is permitted in multi brand retail segment: 51%

15) BCSBI has ruled that bank customers who have

been victims of electronic / online fraud will have to be compensated for such loss unless the bank can prove that the fraud occurred due to negligence on part of the customer. What is the full form of BCSBI: Banking Codes and Standards Board of India

16) The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention held from 7-9 January in Delhi was ______ in series: 12th

17) Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated on which date: 9th January

18) Who was the chief guest at the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention: G Palanivel

19) G Palanivel is from which country: Malaysia

20) Who is G Palanivel: Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Malaysia

21) 6th All India Inter-University Fencing Championship held at Patiala, Punjab was won by ___: Punjabi University Patiala

22) Margaret Thatcher was voted as the most successful post-war British Prime Minister. She is also known as _________: The ‘Iron Lady’ of Britain

23) What is the formal name of the Lokpal Bill recently approved by the President: Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

24) What is the objective of recently launched Multi-sectoral Nutrition Programme: To address the problems of maternal and child under-nutrition in the country

25) Which country recently announced to adopt Euro as its currency: Latvia

26) Which country has been named to take over the Presidency of the European Union: Greece

27) The Index of Economic Freedom ranks India at _______ place: 120th

28) Name the country which ranks no. 1 in the Index of Economic Freedom – 2014: Hong Kong

29) The term EBID is used to indicate profits of a company. What is the full form of EBID: Earnings Before Interest and Depreciation

30) The government has approved a proposal to pay formal sector workers a minimum monthly pension of Rs ______ benefiting over 27 lakh pensioners: 1,000,

31) The Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           66 

Households recently submitted its report. Name the chairman of this committee: Nachiket Mor

32) What was the purpose of setting up Mor committee: To propose measures for achieving better financial inclusion

33) Mor committee recommended that each Indian resident above the age of ___ with an individual Universal Electronic Bank Account (UEBA): 18 years

34) The Mor committee has recommended to form ‘payments banks’ for which category of customers: Small Businesses

35) Name the organization proposed to be formed for exploring the potential of generating power through wind energy: National Offshore Wind Energy Agency

36) Name the first lady President of South Korea who visited India recently: Park Geun-hye

37) Name the capital of South Korea: Seoul

38) 44th annual meeting of World Economic Forum – WEF was held at which place: Davos, Switzerland

39) What is the formal name of the mega literature festival held annually in Jaipur, Rajasthan: Jaipur Literature Festival

40) Name the dignitary who made the inaugural key note speech at the Jaipur Literature Festival: Dr. Amartya Sen

41) Dr. Amartya Sen is from which field: Economics

42) World Banks has approved a loan of $ 500 million to the Low Income States (Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh) for what purpose: To improve piped water supply and sanitation services

43) A news headline read, “India joins ‘Cryo Club’ with GSLV-D5”. What is meant by Cryo Club: India has joined is select group of countries having cryogenic engine technology

44) How many countries, other than India have the capability of cryogenic engine capability: Five – USA, Russia, France, Japan & China

45) In the abbreviation GSLV-D5, the letter D5 stands for what: 5th Development Flight

46) Name the satellite that was recently launched by GSLV-D5: GSAT-14

47) GSAT-14 satellite is used for what purpose: Communication

48) Jigme Wangchuck who recently visited India is ____ of Bhutan: King

49) Name the hilly district of central Assam that was in news as it witnessed widespread violent clashes between the ethnic insurgent Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF): Karbi Anglong

50) What is the name of the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil in June: Fuleco the Armadillo

51) Laimdota Straujuma has been elected as the first woman Prime Minister of which country: Latvia

52) India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile. What is the strike range of this missile: 350 kms

53) At which place in Haryana the foundation stone was laid for a 2800 megawatt nuclear power plant: Gorakhpur, Distt. Fatehabad (Haryana)

54) Govt. has decided to widen the scope of MGNREGS to include works relating to_______ also in it in collaboration with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan: Rural sanitation

55) What is the objective of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan: To make India free from open defecation

56) Ali Larayedh, Islamist Prime Minister of _______ was in news as he resigned as part of a plan to end months of political deadlock. Tunisia

57) Name the country from which started the wide spread uprising of common public, called Arab Spring: Tunisia

58) Recently Posco was granted environmental clearance to build Rs 52,000 crore steel plant in Odisha. It is from which country: South Korea

59) India’s largest and most modern airport has recently been inaugurated in which city: Mumbai

60) What is the formal name of the new airport terminal started at Mumbai: Terminal – 2, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

61) World’s largest railway platform is located at which place: Gorakhpur (UP) India

62) Aitizaz Hasan, a 15 year old school boy in Pakistan was decorated with the Sitara-e-Shujaat — a high civilian award for bravery, for what purpose: He died confronting a suicide bomber to save his school

63) Ariel Sharon who passed away recently was a prominent ____: Statesman

64) Ariel Sharon was a former Prime Minister of which country: Israel

65) In the Nuclear Materials Security Index 2014 released by the US-based think-tank Nuclear Threat Initiative, India has been placed at which rank: 23rd

66) India has completed three years without reporting any case of polio. The official confirmation in this regard has to be issued by which international organization: WHO – World Health Organization

67) Name the Awami League leader of Bangladesh who was sworn-in as Prime Minister for the third time: Sheikh Hasina

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68) In a list of 30 most admired persons on the planet compiled by by YouGov for The Times by surveying almost 14,000 people, India’s Sachin Tendulkar has been placed at which rank: 5th

69) Who is the most admired person in the world as per a recent survey by YouGov for The Times: Bill Gates

70) Sanil Shetty and Ankita Das bagged the men’s and women’s titles respectively at the 75th Senior National _________ championships held at Patna: Table Tennis

71) The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013 has been won by ____ for his novel _______: Anees Salim, Vanity Bagh

72) The prestigious $50,000 DSC prize for South Asian literature is awarded at which event: Jaipur Literature Festival

73) The prestigious $50,000 DSC prize for South Asian literature has been won by ________ for his book ________: Cyrus Mistry, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer

74) Govt. has agreed to provide an additional 50 days of employment beyond the stipulated 100 days under the NREGA scheme to which category of people: Scheduled Tribes (ST) households living in forest areas who have received land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006

75) Name the Asia’s largest brackish water lake: Chilika backwater lagoon, Odisha

76) Chilika backwater lagoon is famous for______: Massive gathering of migratory birds

77) The word brackish refers to what quality of water: Excess of Salt

78) The Golden Globe Awards are given in which field: Cinema and TV

79) The Golden Globe Awards are given in which country: USA

80) Name the film that won the Golden Globe for the best film: 12 Years a Slave

81) Alfonso Cuaron of Mexico won the Golden Globe for Best Director for which film: Gravity

82) Name the index recently launched by the government to measure level of house construction activity: Housing Start Up Index (HSUI)

83) The recently launched Housing Start Up Index is a joint initiative of which two organizations: National Building Organisation and the Reserve Bank

84) Indian railways entered a new territory recently in which part of the country: Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh

85) Govt. has recently sold its 10% stake in which mega oil company to raise around Rs. 5000 crore: Indian

Oil Corporation

86) Name the legendary Bengali actress who died recently, known for her outstanding performances in several Bengali and Hindi films: Suchitra Sen

87) Late Suchitra Sen was also properly known as _____ of Indian cinema: Greta Garbo

88) Greta Garbo of Sweden was a renowned legendary _____ of Hollywood: Actress

89) Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin who passed away recently was the spiritual head of which community: Dawoodi Bohra

90) Dawoodi Bohra committee is a sub group of which religion: Islam

91) Sunanda Pushkar who passed away recently was holding which ministry in the central government: None

92) Akkineni Nageswara Rao, veteran actor of _____ cinema passed away recently. He was popularly known as _____ : Telugu, ANR

93) The famous historical cultural event - Jonbeel Mela is held in which state: Assam

94) Name the India’s nuclear-capable strategic missile, with a strike range of about 4,000 km tested successfully: Agni-IV

95) Which community has recently been granted minority status by the central government: Jains

96) What is the present number of minority communities in India: Six

97) Under which Act government grants minority status to a community: National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992

98) Name the multinational multi sports event in India where sportspersons from Portuguese speaking countries participate: Lusofonia Games

99) Lusofonia Games 2014 was held at which place: Goa

100) The 18th National Youth Festival was held at which place: Ludhiana

101) What was the theme for the 18th National Youth Festival: 'Youth For Drugs Free World'

102) The National Youth Festival is organized every year on January 12th for what reasons: It is birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

103) Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to constitute a Rail Tariff Authority for what purpose: To advise the Railway Ministry on fares

104) Which is the apex authority in India authorize to fix the railway fare: Railway Board

105) Name the two districts of Haryana that have recently been included in the National Capital Region: Jind and Karnal

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106) The 61st Senior National Kabaddi Championship were held at which place: Patna, Bihar

107) Government has approved setting up of the AKIC Development Corporation for what purpose: For the development of Amritsar – Kolkata Industrial Corridor

108) Name the mega infrastructure project being developed by the central government for promoting industrial townships between Delhi and Mumbai: Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)

109) What is the objective of setting up of various industrial corridors: To boost up infrastructure and manufacturing activity

110) Name the three countries that have decided to develop a joint trade corridor with India: Bangladesh, China and Myanmar

111) The multination joint trade corridor proposed to be developed will start from ____ in India and run up to ____ in SW China: Kolkata, Kunming

112) The ATP Chennai Open Tennis title was won by Stanislas Wawrinka. He is from which country: Switzerland

113) Name the programme launched recently to comprehensively address the health needs of the nearly 243 million children of the country: Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram

114) The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram aims to cover children in the age group of ___ to ___ yeas: 10 to 19 years

115) What is the English name of the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram: National Adolescent Health Programme

116) The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakaram has been launched by which ministry in the central government: Health and Family Welfare

117) Name the ace badminton player who became the first male junior badminton player from India to be ranked top in the world by the World Badminton Federation (WBF): Aditya Joshi

118) Name the country which suffered recently the coldest, most dangerous blast of polar air in decades, causing wide spread extremely heavy snowfall leading to total disruption of daily life: USA

119) Name the climatic phenomena that cause wide spread dangerous blast of polar air in USA and adjoining Canada: Polar Vortex

120) Evans Ruto of _____ won the 11th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon: Kenya

121) The Hero Hockey World League championship held at New Delhi was won by ______ beating ______: Netherlands, New Zealand

122) Name the international football player who has been declared as the best footballer of the year by FIFA:

Cristiano Ronaldo

123) Cristiano Ronaldo is from which country: Portugal

124) The interest rate on EPFO has been increase to _______ percent from 8.5 percent at present: 8.75

125) Name the light weight pistol specially developed by the Indian Ordnance Factory especially for women to defend themselves from assault: Nirbheek

126) Who has been named as the captain of the Indian Women Cricket Team: Mithali Raj

127) Name the joint naval exercise undertaken by the Indian coast guard and its Japanese counterpart: ‘Sahayog- Kaijin 2014’

128) ‘Sahayog- Kaijin 2014’ - a joint naval exercise was recently held at which place: off the Kochi coast, Kerala

129) Malaysian Open 2014 tournament was held for which sports: Badminton

130) Name the winner of Men’s single title in the Malaysian Open 2014 tournament: Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia

131) Name the winner of Women’s single title in the Malaysian Open 2014 tournament: Li Xuerui, China

132) Name the cricketer who became the first Indian wicket keeper to claim 300 dismissals in One Day Internationals: M.S. Dhoni

133) Playing against which country M S Dhoni achieved the milestone of claiming 300 dismissals: New Zealand

134) At which border post India and Pakistan have agreed to liberalize various trade activities: Attari Wagah Border

135) Name the state that has been ranked No. 1 in implementation of SJSRY programme during 2012-13: Odisha

136) What is the full form of the poverty alleviation programme SJSRY: Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojana

137) Which category of persons are eligible to obtain bank loan under SJSRY: BPL families in urban area

138) Name the poverty alleviation scheme of the central government for providing bank loans to BPL families in rural area: Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana

139) Name the poverty alleviation scheme of the central government for providing bank loans to non BPL families in both rural and urban areas: Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme

140) RBI has advised banks that amount of loans sanctioned by them against pledge of gold jewellery should not exceed ____ per cent of the value of the

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gold: 75

141) The Reserve Bank has constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of _____(former Chairman of Axis Bank) to review governance of boards of banks: P. J. Nayak

142) Name the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India who recently retired from the service: Anand Sinha

143) Name the state that topped in the first ever ranking of state governments on the basis of their performance and implementation of the midday meal scheme: Karnataka

144) In which stream of studies government has decided to increase the number of seats in the country by 10,000 by upgrading existing state and central government colleges: MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery)

145) The Union Cabinet has approved a new comprehensive regulatory framework for TV rating agencies for release of TRPs. What is the full form of TRPs: Television Rating Points

146) Which international monetary organization has projected India’s growth rate for current year at 4.4%: IMF

147) RBI has decided that for the purpose of external commercial borrowings (ECB), 'Maintenance, Repairs and Overhaul’ (MRO) of _______will be treated as a part of infrastructure: Aircrafts

148) Why RBI has decided that all banknotes issued prior to 2005 will be withdrawn after March 31, 2014: These have less security features compared to notes issued thereafter

149) What is the maximum amount of pre 2005 currency notes that an individual can exchange at a bank at a time: No such limit

150) Rakesh Khurana has recently been appointed dean of which prestigious international educational institution: Harvard College, at Harvard University, USA

151) Name the India’s first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine, that is now ready for sea trials: INS Arihant

152) Name the first Indian State to adopt the provisions of the recently passed Lokpal Act: Uttarakhand

153) Which committee appointed by RBI has recommended that retail inflation should be measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and not by the wholesale price index as being done currently: Urjit Patel Committee

154) Urjit Patel Committee has recommended to bring the retail inflation rate down at ____ per cent with a band of +/- 2 per cent: Four

155) Who has been appointed as the new President of NASSCOM: R. Chandrashekhar

156) What is the full form of NASSCOM: National Association of Software and Services Companies

157) The Jeevan Raksha Padak are given in how many categories: Three

158) Name the Supercomputer developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) that has been rated as India’s most power efficient computer system: PARAM Yuva-II

159) Which bank has became first domestic private bank to have a branch in China: Axis Bank

160) Which country India has signed a labour cooperation to cover about 28 lakh Indian expatriates working there: Saudi Arabia

161) Name the Japanese PM who was the Chief Guest at the 2014 Republic Day Parade: Shinzo Abe

162) For the expansion which major rapid transport project Japan has sanctioned a loan of $2 billion: Delhi Metro

163) Kerala tourism has won the top tourism award from UNWTO for the promotion of which back water resort: Kumarakom

164) What is the full form of abbreviation UNWTO: United Nations World Tourism Organization

165) The ambitious National Urban Health Mission (NUHM), aimed at providing adequate and efficient urban public health delivery system for the urban poor, was launched recently at which place: Bangalore

166) The National Urban Health Mission plans to cover urban poor for healthcare. Which areas will be treated as urban for this purpose: Areas with population of over 50,000

167) With which country India is working on developing a satellite designed for climate change studies: France

168) Which public sector bank has announced to increase its presence in the social media by joining Youtube and Twitter: State Bank of India

169) The government has introduced a new procedure for issuance of PAN card as per which now the applicants will have to submit a documentary proof of _______ also: Address

170) RBI has decided to establish a fund to be called ‘Depositor Education and Awareness Fund’ from which source: By taking over amount lying in unclaimed deposit accounts with banks

171) As per Banking Regulation Act, 1949, an unclaimed deposit account is one in which there is no transaction for past ___ or more years: 10

172) International Marconi Prize is given for achievements in which field: Communication Technology

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173) Government has decided not to present regular budget for the year 2014 – 15 in view of upcoming general elections. It will instead present the ______ for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha: Vote on Account

174) Name the film that won 2014 Filmfare award for the best film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

175) Name the director of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag who also won the Filmfare award for Best Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

176) Who has been declared the winner of 2014 Filmfare award for the Best actor: Farhan Akhtar for BMB

177) Deepika Padukone has won the 2014 Filmfare award for best actress for which film: Goliyon Ki Raslila Ram - Leela

178) Asia’s biggest botanical garden will come up on 153 hectares of area near the Khandwa reservoir, in Naya Raipur, in which State: Chhattisgarh

179) Men’s title in Australian Open Tennis Cup was won by which player: Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland)

180) Women’s title in Australian Open Tennis Cup was won by which player: Li Na of China

181) Grammy Awards are given for achievements in which field: Music

182) Name the musical album that won the 2014 Grammy for best album of the year: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

183) What is the maximum number (excluding posthumous awards and award to foreigners) of Padma Awards that can be given in a year: 120

184) A Padma Vibhushan awardee gets a cash reward of what amount: Nil

185) Padma Awards are announced every year on which particular date: Eve of Republic Day (25th January)

186) Dr Raghunath A Mashelkar has been awarded Padma Vibhushan in science and engineering category. He is from which field of science: Chemical Technology

187) Name the veteran Yoga maestro decorated with the Padma Vibhushan: BKS Iyengar

188) The Yoga form propagated by Padma Vibhushan awardee Sh. B K S Iyengar is known as: Iyengar Yoga

189) Name the iconic Tamil film actor, producer who has been awarded Padma Bhushan recently: Kamala Hasan

190) Name the renowned badminton coach decorated with Padma Bhushan in 2014: Pullela Gopichand

191) What is the current assignment of Justice Dalveer Bhandari who has been awarded Padma Bhushan recently: Judge in International Court of

Justice

192) Name the women cricket star who has been awarded Padma Shri recently: Anjum Chopra

193) Sudarsan Pattnaik has been awarded Padma Shri recently. He is from which field: Renowned Sand artist

194) Reserve bank has announced issuance of Inflation Indexed National Savings Certificates (IINSC) to offer an inflation savvy investment option. These ______ year Bonds will earn interest equal to the CPI inflation rate plus ____ per cent per annum: 10, 1.50

195) Which country has decided to make military service compulsory for all adult males aged between 18 and 30, but kept it optional for women: United Arab Emirates

196) Name the Russian martial art that has earned recognition of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for inclusion in the Asian Games: Sambo

197) DRDO recently launched Dhruva-3 for promoting critical applications for defence research and development, particularly in advanced aircraft designing defence research. What is Dhruva-3: High performance computing system

198) In a recently compiled environmental performance index of 178 countries, India has been placed at ____ position: 155th

199) With what intention Reserve Bank hiked key policy interest rates by 0.25%: To tame inflation

200) What will be the impact of recent 0.25% hike in repo rate on Bank Loans: They are likely to become costly due to rise in interest rate

201) What will be the impact of recent 0.25% hike in repo rate on industrial growth: Likely to come down due to higher cost of funds

202) Name the Super Jumbo Aircraft, capable of carrying over 850 passengers at a time, that has been allowed to land in India: A-380 of Airbus

203) Central Vigilance Commission was in news recently for what reasons: Celebrating 50 years of its existence

204) Prime Minister of which country resigned recently to counter widespread political protests in the country against harsh anti protest laws: Ukraine

205) Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton championship was held at which place: Lucknow, UP

206) Govt has launched the India Inclusive Innovation Fund (IIIF), with the initial corpus of Rs 500 crore for what purpose: To promote profitable venture that take care of social needs also

207) Which State has launched 'Ama Jangal Yojana' (AJY) to enhance forest cover in the state: Odisha

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208) Name the jumbo naval exercise of 16 navies from the Indian ocean region being held in 2nd week of February: Milan 2014

209) The joint exercise of 16 navies from the Indian ocean region – Milan 2014 will be held at which place: Near Andaman & Nicobar Islands

210) To which country Exim Bank has agreed to provide a Line of Credit of $ 19.50 million: Vietnam

211) ADB has agreed to give $100 million loan to which state for boosting education and skills there: Meghalaya

212) To which category of customers RBI has allowed collection of account payee cheques even for third party accounts: Cooperative Credit Societies

213) With which country India has agreed to set up a $40 million joint fund to support technological ventures for consolidating and strengthening economic ties: Israel

214) Which national organization has decided to set up 100 innovation hubs at an outlay of Rs 99 crore, throughout the country by 2017: National Innovation Council

215) Who is the head of the National Innovation Council: Sam Pitroda

216) Which state in India has announced the highest MSP of Rs. 1560 per quintal for paddy crop: Bihar

217) J N Chaudhury has been appointed Director General of which paramilitary force: National Security Guard

218) India’s first Mono Rail has started operation in which city: Mumbai

  

DECEMBER – 2013 219) As per the figures released by CSO, in GDP growth

in 2nd quarter was ______ per cent: 4.8

220) Core sector is a part of index of industrial production. Its weightage in IIP is _____ per cent in IIP: 37.90

221) Gaganjeet Bhullar is top rank player of which sports: Golf

222) Name the Emperor and Empress of Japan who recently visited India: Akihito and Michiko

223) Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister of which country: Japan

224) What is the name of the currency of Japan: Yen

225) Name the capital of Japan: Tokyo

226) India’s cricket team captain MS Dhoni has recently been honoured with which international award: ICC

LG People’s Choice Award - 2013

227) Tour de India championship is organized in which sports: Cycling

228) Tour de India championship was won by Mohd. Nor Umradi. He is from which country: Malaysia

229) India has agreed to train naval officers of which country: Sri Lanka

230) Name the international event recently won by ace shuttler of India – P V Sindhu: Macau Open Grand Prix

231) 29th Junior National Athletics Championships was held in which place: Bangalore

232) Name the state which won 29th Junior National Athletics Championship: Kerala

233) Who has been named at Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association: Mohan V Tanksale

234) Are foreign banks allowed to become member of Indian Bank Association: Yes

235) Who has been named as the new Chief Information Commissioner: Sushma Singh

236) As per Right to Information Act, any person seeking information has to be provided the required information within ____ days: 30

237) In corruption ranking of countries by the international watchdog Transparency International, India has been ranked at which place: 94th

238) Nelson Mandela, the iconic statesman from South Africa passed away recently. He was called _________ out of love and affection: Madiba

239) Mandela was known for his anti-apartheid struggle. What is the meaning of apartheid: Observing racial discrimination

240) Why Mr. Mandela was honoured with India’s highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna: Because he followed Gandhian philosophy and values in his fight against apartheid

241) India has been ranked at ______ place in terms of doing business, by a survey done by Forbes magazine: 98th

242) 57th National Shooting championship was held at which place: New Delhi

243) The Sankirtana, a ritual form of singing, drumming and dancing has been included in UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage”. It belongs to which state of India: Manipur

244) US dollar is the largest used currency in the world, having 81.08% share in international transactions. Which is the currency at the second place: Yuan-8.66% (China)

245) Yuan, the currency of China is also called ______: Renminbi

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           72 

246) Name the country that has recently been elected as a non permanent member of the UN security council: Jordan

247) Name the country that has recently refused to join Security Council, despite being elected as a non permanent member: Saudi Arabia

248) Why Saudi Arabia did not accept the membership of UN Security Council: To protest the world body’s failure to end the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts

249) Alyz Henrich has been crowned as Miss _______2013: Earth

250) Miss Earth 2013 – Alyz Henrich is from which country: Venezuela

251) Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das recently won silver and bronze medal respectively at which international sports event: Indoor Archery World Cup

252) Indoor Archery World Cup was held at which place: Singapore

253) Which country has been named as host for the FIFA World Cup-2017 (Under-17): India

254) Name the light combat air craft (LCA) that has been inducted in Indian Air Force: Tejas

255) Name the aircraft that has recently been retired from the Indian Air Force: Mig-21

256) Mr. Sumit Bose has been appointed to which important central government position: Finance Secretary

257) Who has been named as the “Person of the Year” by the international magazine Time: Pope Francis

258) Who is Pope Francis: Supreme Head of Roman Catholics

259) Gen. Bikram Singh was recently honoured with Legion of Merit by which country: USA

260) Trade deficit of India came down to less than $10 billion in Nov. 2013. What was the single most important factor for this: Reduction in import of gold

261) Asian lending agency ADB has projected India’s growth at ______ percent for the year 2013-14: 4.7%

262) In which area scientists have recently discovered the coldest place on earth: East Antarctica

263) The prestigious international Sundance Film Festival is held in which country: USA

264) Name the bank from Qatar which has become the first bank from that country to open a branch in India: Doha Bank

265) In a recent international survey on ranking of economies on the basis of their efficiency in utilization of energy, India has been placed at _____

rank: 69th

266) What is the full of the abbreviation NSSO: National Sample Survey Office

267) The Reserve Bank has estimated that India's economy would grow about ______ per cent in FY 2013-14: Five

268) As per latest census 2011 data, ______ percent Indian population has been categorized as homeless: 8.8

269) Govt. has decided to provide a monetary support of Rs. _______ to every NREGA job cardholder who plans to build a toilet in his house: 10,000

270) In what manner govt. has decided to link up two major welfare schemes – NREGA and Indira Awaas Yojana: Labour constructing their own house under IAY will get NREGA wages

271) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in plain areas for constructing their house: 70,000

272) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in hilly areas for constructing their house: 75,000

273) In which North-Eastern state cultivation of popular spice cardamom is picking up: Arunachal Pradesh

274) As per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill approved by the cabinet, the reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) has been raised to ___ per cent from three at present: Five

275) C. V. R. Rajendran has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of which bank: Andhra Bank

276) Name the country that succeeded in landing a lunar probe on moon recently, becoming first country to do so since 1976: China

277) Sis Ram Ola, who passed away recently, was a prominent ________: Politician, Union Labour and Employment Minister

278) Who has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje

279) Pu Lalthanhawla has been elected as Chief Minister for the fourth time in which state: Mizoram

280) Name the person who has been elected as Banker of the Year 2013 by the financial daily Business Standard: Aditya Puri

281) Aditya Puri is the chief of which bank: HDFC Bank

282) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Men’s category: India (beating Pakistan)

283) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Women’s category: India (beating New Zealand)

284) The finals of 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup were

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           73 

played at which place: Ludhiana (Punjab)

285) Mahesh Mangaonkar has become the first Indian player to win an International Title in which game: Squash

286) Name the shooter who won the ‘Champion of Champions’ title in pistol event in the final round in the 57th National Shooting Championships at New Delhi: Samresh Jung

287) Name the international beauty title won by Bea Rose Santiago of Philippines: Miss International 2013

288) Report from UNO has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to ______per cent from 6.1 per cent projected earlier: 4.8

289) Parliament has finally passed the Lokpal Bill. What is the objective of setting up of a Lokpal: Establishment of an anti-corruption watchdog that will have in its purview even the office of the Prime Minister

290) Recently India displayed its strong displeasure against the rough treatment met to one of its diplomat posted at US consulate. Name that diplomat: Devyani Khobragade

291) Name the international convention which guarantees diplomatic immunity to persons posted in various embassies / consulates: Vienna Convention

292) Name the veteran cricket player selected for the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013 by BCCI: Kapil Dev

293) Name the international financial institution that has agreed to lend $176 million to extend the first metro train line in Jaipur: Asian Development Bank

294) V. K. Duggal has been appointed as the new governor of which state: Manipur

295) Name the diplomat appointed as Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India: Abdul Basit

296) Who has been appointed as the India’s new Ambassador to USA: S. Jaishankar

297) Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) is located at which place in India: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

298) India and Pakistan had a dispute on the sharing of waters of which river that was settled in favour of India by the International Court of Arbitration : Kishan Ganga

299) Kishenganga Hydro Electric Project is located in which state: Jammu & Kashmir

300) India and San Marino, a tiny country within Italy, signed the TIEA between them at Rome. Write the full form of TIEA: Tax Information Exchange Agreement

301) With which country government has approved the enhancement of the bilateral currency swap arrangement to $ 50 billion, up from $ 15 billion at

present: Japan

302) Govt. has cleared a services and investment deal with 10-member ASEAN group as part of CECA. What is the full form of CECA: Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

303) India has signed DTAA with Macedonia, a small country north of Greece, to prevent income tax evasion by entities in both the countries. What is the full form of DTAA: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

304) What is the range of Agni-III missile recently test fired by India: 3000 kms

305) The missile testing site of India – Integrated Test Range is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Distt Balasore, Odisha

306) Name the organization which is responsible for developing and testing various missiles for Indian Army: DRDO – Defence Research & Development Organization

307) Who is the Head of DRDO: Shri Avinash Chander

308) Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai are the current national champions in women and men category respectively in which sport: Archery

309) 34th Senior National Archery championship were held at which place: Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

310) PV Sindhu and K Srikanth clinched the women's and men's National titles respectively in which sport: Badminton

311) 78th Senior National Badminton Championships was held at which place: New Delhi

312) In the 9th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Bali, Indonesia, what was the major achievement for India: India will continue to support its farmers with MSP-Minimum Support Price

313) Recently govt. has launched a four day anti-Naxal operation involving close to 40,000 security personnel in which states: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra

314) Govt has agreed to grant constitutional status to the proposed JAC for appointment and transfer of judges. What is full form of JAC: Judicial Appointments Commission

315) India’s first National Cancer Institute is to be established in which state: Haryana

316) Name the South-African all rounder cricketer who has announced is retirement from Test and First Class cricket: Jacques Kallis

317) As per recent data the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) — number of women who die of pregnancy-related causes per 1,00,000 live births — has come down to _______ in 2010-12, from 212 in 2007-09: 178

318) In India which state has the lowest MMR of 66 per

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lac: Kerala

319) In India which state has the Highest MMR of 328 per lac: Assam

320) J N Chaudhury has been appointed Chief of which paramilitary force: National Security Guard

321) Who has been appointed as new Director General of Central Industrial Security Force: Arvind Ranjan

322) Who has been honoured with Polly Umrigar Award from the BCCI for being India’s best international cricketer of the year 2012-13: Ravichandran Ashwin

323) What is the official growth rate fixed by the planning commission for the 12th five year plan: 8%

324) In the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal FY2013-14, the economy grew by _______per cent: 4.6

325) India has signed a mega contract of $1.01 billion with which country for six additional C-130J "Super Hercules" jumbo military cargo aircrafts: USA

326) Farooq Sheikh who passed away recently was a prominent ___________: Film Actor

NOVEMBER – 2013 327) Rajendra Yadav who passed away recently was from

which field: Literature

328) Rajendra Yadav was a eminent short story writer and novelist of which language: Hindi

329) As per a recent study, India has been ranked ______ in terms of ‘Ease of Doing Business’: 134th

330) In terms of Ease of Doing Business _______ is no. 1 in the world: Singapore

331) The WTA Tour Championship title for 2013 was lifted by which player: Serena Williams

332) The full form of WTA in WTA Tour Championship is: Women’s Tennis Association

333) The WTA Tour Championship was held at which place: Istanbul, Turkey

334) As per Forbes magazine’s latest India Rich List, ________ has been named as India’s wealthiest person for the sixth year in a row: Mukesh Ambani

335) Mukesh Ambani is the corporate head of which industries: Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)

336) Recently we read in the newspaper that an ATM has been launched for ‘Bitcoins’. What is the Bitcoins: It is a digital currency, popular worldwide

337) Ashok Amritraj, producer of 109 Hollywood films, for his outstanding achievements in the film industry has been honourd with which award: Soul of India Award

338) Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award for 2013 has been

given to film celebrity: Amitabh Bachchan

339) Name the new tactical surface-to-surface missile based on the Prahaar missile, with a range between 60-170 kms: Pragati Missile

340) In a recent global study of tourism, which Indian State has been named as best region to visit in 2014: Sikkim

341) The World Billiards Championship was held at ______, England: Leeds

342) Name the winner of World Billiards Championship 2013: Peter Gilchrist

343) Peter Gilchrist the world Champion of Billiards is from which country: Singapore

344) Sachin played his last match in domestic cricket at which place: Lahli, Haryana

345) In which tournament, Sachin played his last domestic test match: Ranji Trophy

346) The govt has recently approved an education promotion programme by the name RUSA. What is the full form RUSA: Rashtriya Uchchatar Siksha Abhiyan

347) What is the objective of starting the educational project RUSA: Improving quality and number of universities / colleges in country

348) With which country India has agreed to export motorcycles through the land route: Bangladesh

349) As per recent RBI guidelines banks have been allowed to pay interest on their deposit accounts at _______ intervals: Monthly / Fortnightly

350) Most of the banks recover a fixed fee from their customers for sending them SMS alerts for their transactions. What are the recent RBI guidelines in this regard: Charge to be recovered actual usage basis

351) As per Forbes ranking of The world’s most powerful people, _________ has been ranked as No. 1: Vladimir Putin

352) What position is held by Mr. Vladimir Putin: President, Russia

353) Recently first time a rail link was opened linking the two continents – Asia and Europe in which country: Turkey

354) In a list of most powerful persons of the world compiled by Forbes Magazine, ____ ____ has been named as most powerful women: Angela Markel (5th)

355) K P Saxena who passed away recently was a noted________: Hindi Satirist

356) Name the international beauty title won by Ms. Srishti Rana: Miss Asia Pacific 2013

357) In the 'Prosperity Index' ranking of 142 countries compiled by London-based Legatum Institute, India

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stood at ______ position: 106th

358) Name the legendry Pakistani female folk singer who passed away recently: Reshma

359) The Hockey World Cup- 2014 will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

360) The first joint retreat ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was held which place: Petropole border in district North 24 Parganas, West Bengal

361) Name the Indian batsman who created history by scoring world’s highest ever sixes – 16 in an ODI: Rohit Sharma

362) With which country India has signed an agreement to facilitate transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing in jails in the two countries: Vietnam

363) The 13th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was held in: Perth, Australia

364) Sebastian Vettel, the reigning Formula One world champion from Germany created history by winning _______ formula races in one year: 9

365) Name the film that won the Golden Gateway of India award for the best film at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival: La Jaula De Oro (of Mexico)

366) Geeta Chandran who has been honourd with Guru Debaprasad Award is from which filed: Bharatnatyam

367) Name the UN agency which has taken up a nationwide social media campaign against open defecation in India: UNICEF

368) Name the social media campaign launched by UNICEF against open defecation in India: Take the Poo to Loo

369) As regard to service conditions of civil servants, what was the recent ruling of Supreme Court: They should not be transferred frequently

370) Which country won the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship: Romania

371) the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship was held at which place: Bucharest, Romania

372) The Paris Masters Tennis tournament was won by ______ Djokovic: Novak

373) Tennis star Novak Djokovic is from which country: Serbia

374) To which country India has provided Rs. 100 crores as a grant for their Economic Stimulus Plan: Bhutan

375) World Agriculture Forum Congress 2013 and Agri-Tech Trade Fair was held at which place: Hyderabad (AP)

376) FIDE world chess championship, was held at which

place: Chennai

377) What is the full form of chess championship FIDE: World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs)

378) What is the full form of Agricultural mission NFSM: National Food Security Mission

379) What is the name of joint naval exercise recently held by navies of Indian and USA: Malabar

380) The naval exercise Malabar by Indian and US Navy was held at which place: Off the coast of Tamil Nadu in Bay of Bengal

381) Pakistan successfully tested its ______, Hatf IX (Nasr) having a range of 60 kms: Missile

382) The maneuvering and tracking of Mangalyaan is being done by ISTRAC. Write its full form: ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network

383) The satellite tracking centre ISTRAC is located at which place: Bangalore

384) India’s first interplanetary space craft – Mangalyaan was launched from which centre: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (AP)

385) Who is the Chief of the ISRO: Dr. K Radhakrishnan

386) Name the satellite launching vehicle that was used to launch Mangalyaan: PSLV-C25

387) The book “Gandhi A Spiritual Biography” has been written by: Arivnd Sharma

388) In which North Eastern states govt. has extended AFSPA for a further period of six months: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

389) What is the full form of AFSPA: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

390) Tarla Dalal who passed away recently, was a noted ______ expert: Cookery

391) 44th International Film Festival of India was held at which place: Goa

392) ______ was the ‘country in focus for’ for the44th International Film Festival of India: Japan

393) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) and the first along the Bangladesh border was opened at which place: Akhaurah, Tripura

394) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been opened at Akhaurah in Tripura. The first ICP is located at which place: Attari, Punjab

395) India successfully test-fired its nuclear weapons-capable, surface-to-surface Agni-1 missile recently. What is its range: 700 kms

396) India’s first Bird Ringing Station has been setup at Salropa in the prestigious Great Himalayan National

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Park in Kullu. What is its purpose: To identify and establish species of various birds

397) Imomali Rakhmon has been elected as President of which country: Tajikistan

398) Name the lady who has been named as the most powerful businesswoman in India for the third consecutive year in the list of 50 most powerful businesswomen ranking for 2013 by Fortune magazine: Chanda Kochhar

399) What is the official position of the prominent corporate figure Ms. Chanda Kochhar: MD & CEO of ICICI Bank

400) Name the country that will host 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup: India

401) Name the super strong typhoon that caused wide spread devastation in Philippines, claiming over 12000 lives: Haiyan

402) The World Economic Forum has joined hands with ________ to jointly organise the India Economic Summit: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

403) RBI has signed cooperation agreement with central banks of which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

404) Recently RBI issued what guidelines for foreign banks in the context of domestic private sector banks: Allowed them to take over private banks

405) As per recent RBI guidelines foreign banks will not be allowed to hold more than ________ per cent equity in the private banks they may acquire: 74

406) Name the Olympian shooter who created history by becoming first Indian women to win air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup: Heena Sidhu

407) The ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship was held at which place: Munich, Germany

408) Name the TV channel that Prasar Bharti plans to launch specially for Aruanchal Pradesh and Sikkim: Prabha

409) The Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organized at which place by the High Commission of India: Sydney, Australia

410) National Education Day is celebrated on which date: 11th November

411) The birthday of first Education Minister of Independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is celebrated as what day: National Educational Day

412) India has declared itself free from _______as there has been no occurrence of the disease in the last three months: H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu)

413) ________won the ATP World Tour Finals in London beating Rafael Nadal: Novak Djokovic

414) South Asian Junior Athletics Championships were held at which place: Ranchi, Jharkhand

415) Name the country that secured top position in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships: India

416) Hurun India Philanthropy List 2013 published by the China’s leading magazine mougal ‘Huran Report Inc has ranked IT tycoon ___________as the most generous Indian with a donation of Rs 8,000 crore in the year ending March 31, 2013: Azim Hashim Premji

417) Malia and Malala have been named among the 16 most influential teens of 2013 by the Time magazine. Who is Malia: Elder daughter of Barack Obama

418) Prof. C.N.R. Rao has been decorated with Bharat Ratna. He is from which field: Solid state and materials chemistry

419) What is the amount of cash reward that is given to the recipient of a Bharat Ratna: Nil

420) Recommendation for Bharat Ratna are made by which authority: Prime Minister

421) Who approves awardees for Bharat Ratna: President of India

422) Can Bharat Ratna be awarded to a non Indian also: Yes

423) What is the name of the second air craft carrier of India: INS Vikramaditya

424) The abbreviation INS stands for: Indian Naval Ship

425) What is the name of the original ship that has been transformed into INS Vikramaditya: Admiral Gorshkov

426) INS Vikramaditya has been procured by India from which country: Russia

427) INS Vikramaditya is the second aircraft of the Indian Navy. What is the name of the first (existing) aircraft carrier of India: INS Viraat

428) Name the aircraft carrier being built indigenously in India: INS Vikrant

429) Name the first aircraft carrier acquired by Indian Navy which was decommissioned on 31st Jan, 1997: INS Vikrant

430) The INS Vikramaditya will be based at which naval base: INS Kadamba at Karwar, Karnataka

431) UN’s International Day for Tolerance celebrated on which date: Nov 16

432) National think tank NCAER has lowered country's growth rate to 4.8-5.3 per cent range in the current fiscal. Write the full form of NCAER: National Council of Applied Economic Research

433) Name the Prime Minister of UK who visited India

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recently for a short trip: David Cameron

434) Prime Minister of UK recently visited India only for a short time as he was on his way to _____: Colombo, Sri Lanka

435) Central govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in which state: Odisha

436) Why govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in Odisha: To provide relief from devastation caused by Phailin cyclone

437) World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have assured a financial assistance of $ 313 mn to Odisha government for what purpose: For restoration and rehabilitation activities in cyclone Phailin hit areas

438) Which country has promised to provide support of Rs. 1129 crore for campus development at IIT Hyderabad: Japan

439) Govt. has decided to establish National Institute of Disaster Response (NIDR) at which place: Kamptee, near Nagpur, Maharashtra

440) Telecom major Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched mobile money transfer and payment service _________in Assam and other North Eastern states: 'M-Pesa'

441) Name the new President of island country Maldives: Abdulla Yameen

442) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in Men’s category: Usain Bolt

443) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

444) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which country: Jamaica

445) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in women’s category: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

446) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

447) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which country: Jamaica

448) What was the theme of the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 held at Colombo, Sri Lanka: Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development

449) In the recently held CHOGM, India was represented by which statesman: Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs

450) At which place the Indian Army tested an advanced version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system

(block III variant) successfully: Pokhran, Rajasthan

451) BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile system. What is the meaning of supersonic: Objects flying with speed higher than speed of sound

452) Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013 has been awarded to which person: Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

453) NASA has launched its latest orbiter to Mars –‘MAVEN’ to hunt for clues about why the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere. What is the full form of MAVEN: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

454) Centre has directed the state governments to implement the new National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) for compulsory coverage of which category of beneficiaries: Borrower Farmers

455) BRICS International Competition Conference was recently held at which place: New Delhi

456) Name the remote-sensing satellite recently launched by China: ‘YAOGAN XIX’

457) Election commission has ask the government to enact a law demanding what from the government in the context of election related opinion polls: Banning the release of results of election related opinion polls, once the notification of elections has been made

458) The Reserve Bank has directed public sector banks to provide credit to women self help groups at a rate of ________ percent per annum: seven

459) What is the name of the first all women bank started in India: Bhartiya Mahlia Bank

460) In which place Bhartiya Mahila Bank has opened its first branch: Mumbai

461) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to recruit male staff members: Yes, on selected basis

462) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to cater to male customers: Yes, on selected basis

463) Bhartiya Mahila Bank has been ask to devote special attention to which category of women customers: Self Help Groups

464) Why 19th November was selected as the day to inaugurate the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: It is birth anniversary of late Indira Gandhi

465) Name the first chairperson of the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: Usha Ananthasubramaniam

466) To which country India has extended a 100 million dollar line of credit for defence purchases: Vietnam

467) The Golden Elephant Award is given for what purpose: Best Children Film

468) The Golden Elephant Award is given on what occasion: at International Children's Film

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Festival

469) The 18th International Children's Film Festival was held at which place: Hyderabad

470) Name the film that won the Golden Elephant Award: Dutch Film Kauwboy

471) What is the recent ruling of Supreme Court with regard to contesting of elections by the persons in jail: They are eligible to contest elections

472) Name the fifteen year old cricket star who created history by scoring a record 546 runs playing in Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw

473) Frederick Sanger who passed away recently was the only person to win the noble prize for ________ two times, in 1958 and in 1980: Chemistry

474) India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station is located at which place: Thumba, Kerala

475) What is the name of the India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

476) Why Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba was in news recently: It celebrated its golden jubilee

477) Name the India's batting star who became the fastest batsman in world to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals (ODI): Virat Kohli

478) The National Book Award 2013 of USA has been given to the book _______ by James Mc Bride: The Good Lord Bird

479) Who is the author of the book, ‘Book of Destruction’: Anand

480) The famous book Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer has been authored by ________: Cyrus Mistry

481) What is the common factor in the mini territories of Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands: All four are tax havens

482) Name the 23 year old chess prodigy from Norway who was crowned as World Champion at the World Chess Championship at Chennai: Magnus Carlsen

483) Name the West Indies cricketer who marked an end to the glorious career of Master Blaster Sachin: Darren Sammy

484) The last ball to be faced by Sachin marking end of his 24 years of cricketing career was bowled by ______ of West Indies: Narsingh Deonarine

485) A survey of 1,600 senior executives across more than 70 countries by global professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) placed ______ as the first choice of global investors: India

486) Who has been appointed as Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India: Ajit Prakash Shah

487) The Warsaw Climate Change Conference 2013 was held at which place: Warsaw, Poland

488) The Climate Change Conferences are organized by UNFCCC. The abbreviation UNFCCC stands for: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

489) ___________won the Asian Archery Championship held in Taipei, China: South Korea

490) Which country recently agreed to curb its nuclear programme in lieu of lifting of economic sanctions against it: Iran

491) Which country has offered to renovate and preserve a total of 116 heritage buildings, constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, located on the banks of the river Hooghly in West Bengal: Denmark

492) A high power group of six super powers negotiated a deal with Iran for what purpose: To restrict the nuclear programme of Iran

493) Mount Sina Bung, a volcano that erupted very violently causing dislocation of thousands of people, is in which country: Indonesia

494) Which country has decided to award International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2013 to Malala Yousafzai: Mexico

495) Global Islamic Economic Summit held at which place: Dubai, UAE

496) Which country hosted the 20th World Master Athletics Championship: Brazil

497) Which corporate brand has been ranked No. 1 in the 'World's Most Valuable Brand List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine: Apple

498) 4th World Cup Kabaddi will be held in which state: Punjab

499) Name the country where Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship was held recently: Malaysia

500) Who has been elected as President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci): Sidharth Birla

501) Name the new Chief of Pakistan Army: Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif

502) Junior National Archery Championship was held at _________Assam: Kokrajhar

503) Mahendra Dev Committee has been appointed for what purpose: To review the scale of NREGA wages

504) RBI has allowed which category of manufacturing units to be covered under priority sector lending: Medium

505) On what basis business units are classified into Micro, Small and Medium categories: On the basis of investment made in plant & machinery / equipment

506) Name the Act that lays down various rules and

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regulations for classification of business units into micro small and medium enterprises: MSMED Act 2006

507) What is the full form of MSMED: Micro Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act

508) Sachin Tendulkar has been selected by UNICEF as the brand ambassador for Asian region for what purpose: To promote its Total Sanitation Campaign

509) As Brand Ambassador of UNICEF for Total Sanitation Campaign, Sachin Tendulkar will campaign in which countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

510) The coveted title of Miss Universe 2013 has been won by Gabriela Isler. She is from which country: Venezuela

511) The Reserve Bank has directed all regional rural banks to follow the minimum _______capital adequacy rule from this year itself: 9%

512) With which country India has agreed to strengthen, promote and develop renewable energy cooperation: Belgium

513) Jason Day lifted the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf held in Melbourne, Australia. He is from which country: Australia

514) The Hornbill Festival to promote tribal culture is held in which state: Nagaland

515) The ICC T20 championship 2014 will be held which country: Bangladesh

516) Which Indian IT giant agreed to pay a record $34 million fine to settle a visa row in the USA: Infosys

OCTOBER – 2013 517) In which country thousands of government servants

were asked to go on leave without pay temporarily as the government had no funds to pay their salary: USA

518) One of the main factors behind the recent ‘Shut Down’ crisis in USA was the popular health care programmes of the government. What is the popular name for this programme: Obamacare

519) Name the diplomat who has been appointed High Commissioner of India in United Kingdom: Ranjan Mathai

520) The International Day of “Older Person” is celebrated on which day: October 1

521) In the recently compiled “Global Human Capital Index”, what is India’s rank: 78th

522) India’s minister of external affairs visited ______ to impress upon early implementation of 13th amendment to constitution: Sri Lanka

523) In the neighbouring country Sri Lanka, what is the

context of 13th amendment to their constitution: Devolution of powers to the provinces

524) The 2013 meet of CHOGM is to be held at which place: Colombo, Sri Lanka

525) What is the full form of CHOGM: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

526) The summit of CHOGM is held every _____ years: Two

527) How many countries are the member of The Commonwealth: 53

528) Headquarter of The Commonwealth is located at: London, UK

529) _________ is designated as head of the Commonwealth: British Monarch

530) Name the middle Asian country visited by Indian President recently: Turkey

531) Name the capital of Turkey: Ankara

532) Which Turkish University honoured Indian President with honorary ‘doctorate’ in Political Science: Istanbul University

533) Currency of Turkey is ________: Turkish Lira

534) In a recent survey of top 400 universities in world, _________ has been ranked as No. 1 university in India: Panjab University

535) Election commission has given the option to the voters not to vote for any candidate, if they decide so. This option has been named as: None of the above (NOTA)

536) Two day international Rhino conference was held at: Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

537) Lampedusa an island near ______ was in news as over 300 persons drowned there after a boat, with up to 500 African asylum seekers, caught fire and sank: Italy

538) Rohan Bopanna along with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, won the men’s doubles title at_____________ held at Tokyo, Japan: Japan Open Tennis

539) Name the team that won the Champions League Cricket recently: Mumbai Indians

540) The final match of the Champions League, Cricket was held at _________ stadium in Delhi: Feroz Shah Kotla

541) Name the veteran Indian film director who has been nominated to head the accomplished jury for the Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA): Shyam Benegal

542) The Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) to be held in_______: Brisbane, Australia

543) “The Busan International Film Festival” is held in which country: South Korea

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544) Name the acclaimed Cambodian director who received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea: Rithy Panh

545) Which international IT giant has joined hands with Archaeological Survey of India to provide 360- degree online panoramic imagery of 100 nationally-important monuments: Google

546) Name the Sri Lanka’s first elected Tamil Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the first ever provincial elections held after clearance of LTTE from North Sri Lanka: C. V. WIGNESWARAN

547) The China Open Tennis Cup Men’s Singles has been lifted by _______: Novak Djokovic

548) The tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which country: Serbia

549) Women’s singles title in the China Open Tennis Cup was won by: Serena Williams

550) Name the Indian tennis star who alongwith Cara Black won the women’s doubles title of China Open: Sania Mirza

551) As per the estimates of the Finance Ministry and that of RBI, growth rate of India’s economy during current fiscal is expected to be around ______ per cent: 5.5%

552) Name the international financial agency that has pulled down projection for India’s growth rate to 3.8 percent for the year 2013-14: IMF

553) Vladimir Klitschko who won the world heavyweight boxing title at Moscow, Russia is from which country: Ukraine

554) Name the allrounder from Bangladesh who became the first cricketer in 136 year old history of cricket to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the same Test: Sohag Gazi

555) Name the first MP whose Parliamentary seat was declared vacant following his conviction for more than two years, as a result of recent ruling of Supreme Court to this effect: Rashid Masood

556) Name the space craft launched by NASA on a mission to Jupiter: Juno

557) RBI has increase the borrowing period under MSF from one day at present to _______ days: 7 to 14 days

558) Indian Prime Minister visited Brunei recently for attending which International summit: ASEAN and East Asia Summit

559) The recent meeting of ASEAN and East Asia Summit was held at _________, Brunei: Darussalam

560) Out of ASEAN and East Asia Summit, India is member of which organization: East Asia Summit

561) The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held at

__________, Indonesia: Bali

562) What is the full form of ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations

563) Name the Director General of World Trade Organisation – WTO who visited India recently: Roberto Azevedo

564) Asian Development Bank has provided $100 mn loan to which State to improve education and skills: Meghalaya

565) With which country India finalised $512-million joint venture deal for the construction of two coal fired power projects of 250 megawatts each: Sri Lanka

566) The annual meeting of IMF and the World Bank was recently held at: Washington, USA

567) Name the first women chairperson of the Federal Reserve System of USA: Janet Yellen

568) Name the Central Bank in United Kingdom: Bank of England

569) Name the Bank that facilitates and promotes research for improvement in banking services all over the world. Bank for International Settlements

570) The Headquarter of Bank for International Settlement is located at ________, Switzerland: Basel

571) What is the purpose of the proposed Rs. 43,000 crore Green Energy Corridor Project: Setting up of wind and solar power plants

572) Prime Minister of which country was in news due to his sudden abduction and subsequent release also: Libya

573) What is the officially name of the ISRO’s project for sending a satellite to planet Mars: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

574) Tom Clancy, one of the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time, passed away recently. He was from which country: USA

575) World Toilet Summit was recently held in which country: Indonesia

576) Name the new High Commissioner of Pakistan to India: Ibne Abbas

577) Name the campaign launched by China aimed at enforcing standards for waste imports to avoid unusable or unsafe/dangerous consignments: Green Fence

578) Which country has qualified for the first time to play in the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan

579) The 11th ICC Cricket World Cup is to be hosted jointly by which two countries: Australia & New Zealand

580) What is the full form of ICC: International Cricket

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Council

581) What is the range of Nuclear weapons capable surface-to-surface missile Prithvi-II: 300 kms

582) The missile testing range of India is named as: Integrated Test Range

583) The missile testing range of India is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Odisha

584) Recently Supreme Court ordered ___ per cent reservation in govt. jobs for disables person: Three

585) Ilham Aliyev has been elected as President of which country: Azerbaijan

586) What is the popular full form of the scientific research organization CERN: European Council for European Research

587) Mulatu Teshome has been elected president of which country: Ethiopia

588) Sachin Tendulkar reached the coveted landmark of 50,000 runs across all formats of cricket at which stadium: Feroze Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi

589) India has signed agreements with ______ countries, who pledged their commitment to the ambitious Nalanda University project: Seven

590) The prestigious International Nalanda University is located is which place: Rajgir, Distt Nalanda, Bihar

591) Name the Nobel laureate who has been designated to head the Nalanda University as its Chancellor: Prof. Amartya Sen

592) In the Global Hunger Index India has been ranked at ________ place: 63rd

593) Which district of Odisha was hardest hit by the recent cyclone Phailin: Ganjam

594) Authorities worldover have appreciated the excellent preparations done by the NDRF and IMD for minimizing the possible damage from the cyclone Phailin: What is the full form of NDRF and IMD: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Metrological Department (IMD)

595) Govt. has decided to bring all post offices across the country on CBS platform to cover larger number of people, particularly in rural areas for banking services. What is CBS: Core Banking Solution

596) Name the place in distt. Datia of Madhya Pradesh which witnessed a gruesome stampede killing over 120 persons: Rattangarh

597) The World Boxing Championships was held in which place: Almaty, Kazakhstan

598) Name the freedom fighter, ex Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who passed away recently: Dr. Mohan Dharia

599) M.S. Swaminathan, Eminent agriculture scientist has been honoured with which prestigious prize for his

work for national integration: Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

600) Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist for girl’s education has been honoured with Sakharov Human Rights Prize. The prize is given by which organization: European Parliament

601) Name the renowned scientist who has written the book My Brief History: A Memoir : Stephen Hawking

602) Under which loan scheme the receipt of annuity amount has been exempted from income tax: Reverse Mortgage Scheme

603) Who are the likely beneficiaries under the reverse mortgage loan scheme: Property Owning Senior Citizens

604) Government has increased MSP of wheat by Rs. 50 to Rs. ______ per quintal: 1400

605) Name the CEO of ICICI bank who has been ranked as top women business leader of India: Ms. Chanda Kochhar

606) Name the remittance system for which RBI has issued new revised guidelines: RTGS

607) Government has decided to include skilled labour in sericulture under the MNREGA Scheme. What is sericulture: Rearing of silk worms

608) NPCI has launched Aadhaar-based remittances for bank account holders. What is the full form of NPCI: National Payments Corporation of India

609) What is the main objective of NPCI: To promote various forms of electronic banking in India

610) Which city has been voted as countries top business destination in terms of infrastructure, human capital, city culture and basic quality of living: Bangalore

611) Indian Prime Minister recently visited Russia and met their President. What is the name of Russian President: Vladimer Putin

612) South zone and North zone were declared joint winners of the in the final of Duleep trophy played at Kochi, Kerala. It is from which sports: Cricket

613) Which big hydel project of India is celebrated its Golden Jubilee: Bhakra Dam, Punjab

614) 5th South Asian Conference on Sanitation held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

615) Name the first Indian to win a silver medal at the 2013 ITTF Asian Table Tennis championship held in Beijing, China: Bhavina Hashmukhbhai Patel

616) Name the player who scored the fastest ever century by an Indian batsman in ODI, off 52 balls, playing against Australia at Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur: Virat Kohli

617) Man Booker Prize 2013 has been awarded to ________for her novel, The Luminaries. Eleanor

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           82 

Catton

618) Name the eminent Telugu novelist, short story writer, poet critic and 2012 Jnanpith award winner who passed away recently: Ravuri Bharadhwaja

619) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 title was won by _________ of China: Ding Junhui

620) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 was held at which place: New Delhi

621) Name the first ever India-Russia joint military exercise that began on October 19 at the Mahajan field firing range in Rajasthan near the Indo-Pak border: Indra 2013

622) What is the objective of recently conducted Indo-Russian joint military exercise: for improving anti-terrorist operations

623) Name the latest National Tennis champions in men’s & women’s category: Mohit Mayur and Prerna Bhambri

624) With which country India recently signed a border defence pact: China

625) What is the officially name of the border defence pact signed between India and China: Border Defence Co-operation Agreement

626) What is the official designation of the Prime Minister of China: Premier

627) What is the name of the Premier of China: Li Keqiang

628) Which mega steel company has been asked by a UN Human Rights panel to stop the work at its Odisha plant as it may lead to displacement of thousands of people and disruption in their livelihoods: Posco

629) The Union Cabinet has approved the biggest ever foreign investment in India's aviation sector - Jet Airways' proposed sale of its 24 per cent equity to ___________airline: Etihad Airways

630) The Etihad Airways is the national airline of which country: United Arab Emirates

631) To which country India has agreed to start a power transmission line to export 500 million megawatt of electricity: Bangladesh

632) Name the Indian power cooperate which has joined hands with Bangladesh power development board to form Bangladesh – India Friendship Power Company to promote 1,320-MW Maitri thermal power project in Bangladesh: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

633) UNO recently passed a regulation to destroy huge amounts of chemical in which country: Syria

634) Which railway station near Kolkata has been renamed as Komagata Maru station to salute the martyrs of September 29, 1914, who arrived there by the ship of the same name: Budge Budge

635) __________has become the first company in the country to achieve sales of more than Rs 1,00,000 crore in a quarter: Reliance Industries Ltd.

636) INS Sunayna, the indigenously built warship is which type of ship: Naval offshore Patrol Vessel (NOVP)

637) Terry Walsh has been appointed chief coach of which national men’s sports team: Hockey

638) The new chief coach of men’s national hockey team – Terry Walsh is from which country: Australia

639) India and China will hold joint military exercises from November 4 in _______ region in South west China: Chengdu

640) What is the objective of the proposed Indo-China joint military exercise: To practice counter insurgency and counter terrorism manoeuvres

641) Which corporate has been allowed by government to start a new domestic airline jointly with Singapore Airlines: Tata Group

642) What is the name of proposed new domestic airline started jointly by Tata and Singapore airlines: 'Tata SIA Airlines Limited'

643) Government has decided to contribute a sum of Rs. ______ crore towards capital infusion in public sector banks: 14,000

644) For what purpose government is contributing Rs. 14,000 crore in capital of public sector banks: To enable banks to meet Basel III capital requirements

645) Name the two Latin American Countries visited by the Vice President Hamid Ansari: Peru & Cuba

646) Sanjeev Rajput won the gold in which event in the Asian Air Gun shooting championship in Tehran, Iran: Men’s 50-metre free rifle event

647) Bru community which has settled in large number of refugee camps in Tripura and Assam, belongs to which state: Mizoram

648) Air Costa is the new regional airline started in which part of the country: Andhra Pradesh

649) Name the Indian scientist in whose name the ‘God Particle’ has been named as Higgs Boson: Satyendra Nath Bose

650) The Nobel prize – 2013 for physics has been given to François Englert, Belgium and Peter W. Higgs, UK for which achievement: for the outstanding research for discovery of ‘God Particle’

651) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2013 has been awarded to how many scientists: Three

652) The three scientists – Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel have been given Nobel prize in Chemistry for 2013 for research in which field: for developing computer models that predict

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           83 

complex chemical reactions that can be used for tasks like creating new drugs

653) Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for which achievement: For breakthroughs in understanding how key substances are moved around within a cell

654) The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013 has been awarded to author Alice Munro for which field of literature: Contemporary short stories

655) Nobel Laureate for 2013 literature Nobel Prize – Alice Munro is from which country: Canada

656) What is the formal official name for the Economics Nobel Prize: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences

657) The Nobel Prize for economics for 2013 has been awarded for what purpose: For research in empirical analysis of asset prices

658) The Nobel Peace Prize – 2013 has been awarded to which organization: Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

659) Currently, OPCW is in news for handling which international assignment: Destruction of dumps of chemical weapons in Syria as per UN mandate

660) The headquarters of Nobel Peace prize winning organization – OPCW is located at which place: The Hague, Netherland

661) Why the Nobel prizes are delivered on a fix day – December 10 every year: It is the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel

662) All Nobel Prizes except the peace prize are presented at _____, Sweden: Stockholm

663) The Nobel Prize for Peace is presented at _______, Norway: Oslo

664) The Nobel Prize for Peace is not decided in Sweden, instead, it is decided by an expert committee of _________: Parliament of Norway

665) India has been ranked __________ out of 136 countries on a Global Gender Gap Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum: 101st

666) According to a recent survey by Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM) and DTZ, _______ is the best business destination in the country: Bangalore

667) Name the Formula One champion who has won four successive titles in the current season: Sebastian Vettal

668) Sebastian Vettal, the formula one world champion is from which country: Germany

669) India’s only Formula One Racing Track Buddha International Circuit is located at which place: Noida, UP

670) World’s largest airport Al-Maktoum International is located at which place: Dubai, UAE

671) Which financial institution proposes to launch a

special loan scheme for creation of storage infrastructure like construction of Warehouses, Silos, cold storages and cold chain infrastructure: NABARD

672) Govt. plans to start National Financial Reporting

Authority (NFRA) for what purpose: As a watchdog for the accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies.

673) With which bank Australian Trade Commission has signed a MoU to raise the productivity and exports of India’s food and agricultural sector: Yes Bank

674) To which state World Bank has provided $360 million loan for modernisation of irrigation and drainage systems: Uttar Pradesh

675) India is planning a cross country highway with which two other countries: Myanmar and Thailand

676) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will start from ________ in Manipur, India : Moreh

677) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will end at ______ in Thailand: Mae Sot

678) Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will link Kolkata port with Sittwe port in which country: Myanmar

679) In the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, Kaladan is the name of a _______ in Mizoram: River

680) The World Agricultural Congress and Trade Fair to be held at ______: Hyderabad

681) Supreme Court ruled that MPs/MLAs will lose their seats immediately if they are convicted of offences that carry a prison term of more than ______years: Two

682) The 2013 Norton Report by Symantec says that India is among the world’s top ______ countries with the highest number of incidences of cyber crime: Five

683) Indian Navy has recently inducted Hawk MK 132 aircraft. It is what type of aircraft: Advanced Jet Trainer

SEPTEMBER– 2013 684) The book Communist Cookbook has written by:

Sharmishta Roy Chowdhury

685) Who is the author of the book ‘Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten: Rajmohan Gandhi

686) The Asia Cup Hockey was held at which place: Ipoh, Malaysia

687) 2014 Hockey World Cup will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

688) Name the country who won the Asia Cup Hockey by defeating India: South Korea

689) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           84 

times of market value for acquiring land in rural areas: four

690) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______ times of market value for acquiring land in urban areas: two

691) G-20 group of countries held a meeting of their Heads at which place: St. Petersburg, Russia

692) Name the ace footballer from UK who created a new record by becoming the expensive most player in the history of football: Gareth Bale

693) Noted footballer Gareth Bale has been contracted by which Club for a sum of 100 million Euros: Real Madrid, Spain

694) Diana Nyad, the 64 year old lady swimmer from USA created a world record for what: for longest distance swimming – 110 mile (177 kms)

695) Haraprasad Das, eminent Oriya writer, has been honoured with which prestigious award for his book ‘Vamsha’: Moortidevi Award - 2012

696) Name the country who won SAFF football championship by beating India: Afghanistan

697) What is the full form of SAFF: South Asia Football Federation)

698) The SAFF football championship was recently held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

699) As per new companies law, the corporates are required to spend _______ % of their profits towards CSR activities: Two

700) Write the full form of CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

701) India recently launched multi band communication satellite - GSAT-7 for what purpose: Data gathering for defence forces

702) The GSAT- 7 satellite was launched from which place: Kourou, French Guiana (An overseas territory of France, at joining Brazil)

703) The GSAT-7 satellite was launched in a _____ Orbit, about 36000 kms above Earth’s surface: Geosynchronous

704) Name the book on tax administration written by noted economist Parthasarthi Shome, Advisor to the Finance Minister: Indian Tax Administration: A Dialogue

705) Dr. Raghuram Rajan, the new governor of RBI was holding which position before this: Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance

706) As per the PFRDA bill, 2011, government has permitted FDI upto _____% in the pension sector: 26

707) Write the full form PFRDA: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

708) Name the tennis star who won US Open men’s singles title: Rafael Nadal

709) Noted tennis star Rafael Nadal is from which country: Spain

710) Famous sports person Novak Djokovic is from which game: Tennis

711) Tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which country: Serbia

712) Name the tennis star who won US Open women’s singles title: Serena Williams

713) Noted tennis star Serena Williams from which country: USA

714) Name the prestigious sports event recently won by tennis star Leander Paes: US Open 2013 men’s doubles crown

715) Name the world renowned music maestro who conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra in J & K: Zubin Mehta

716) The musical concert conducted by Jubin Mehta at Shalimar Garden, Srinagar (J&K) was named as____________: Ehasas-e-Kashmir

717) Tony Abbott has been elected as new Prime Minister of which country: Australia

718) With which country India has enlarged its currency swap arrangement from $15 billion at present to $ 50 billion: Japan

719) India has been ranked at _____ place in terms of its global competitiveness in 2013: 60th

720) _________has emerged as most literate state in India with 94.65 per cent literacy, compared with Kerala’s 93.91 per cent: Tripura

721) Share of agriculture in India’s GDP is about ____%: 13.7

722) Control of Forward Markets Commission has recently been taken over by _________ Ministry: Finance

723) Govt. has approved setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, a partnership between government, corporate India, academics and civil society, with a contribution of Rs 500 crore for what purpose: To engage corporates for help to counter Naxal influence

724) RBI has setup Bimal Jalan Committee for what purpose: To scrutinize the applications for new bank licences

725) Name the head of the committee formed to strengthen the framework of monetary policy to avoid friction between the RBI and the Finance Ministry: Urjit Patel Committee

726) Who has been elected as President of International Olympics Committee: Thomas Bach

727) India’s trade deficit narrowed to $10.9 billion in

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           85 

August from $12.26 billion in July. What does it represents: The amount by which exports are short of imports

728) Which is the single largest item contributing to the import bill of India: Petroleum

729) As per the RBI guidelines, cash withdrawals of up to Rs. _________ a day from point of sale terminals are allowed: 1,000

730) Which type of banking transactions can be carried out using plastic money: Debit / Credit card transactions

731) What is the popular name for the total money supply – M3 in the country: Broad Money

732) What is the priority sector lending target fixed by the government for foreign banks in India: 40%; if the branches are less than 20, then 32%

733) If an Indian bank in private sector fails to achieve priority sector lending targets, what will be the penal action: It will have to deposit the short fall amount in Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

734) The government has approved a proposal to invest USD 4.3 billion in which international financial institution: World Bank

735) Eighth Women’s Hockey Asia Cup was recently held at which place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

736) Which big industrial country has decided to say ‘good bye’ to nuclear power: Japan

737) Name the spacecraft that has become the first man-made object to venture into interstellar space: Voyager-1

738) Name the wrestler who won silver medal at the World Wrestling Championship: Amit Kumar

739) Name the wrestler who won bronze medal in free style wrestling in the World Wrestling Championship: Bajrang

740) World Wrestling Championship were held at which place: Budapest, Hungary

741) Name the hockey player who will captain the Indian Women’s Hockey team in Asia Cup: Ritu Rani

742) Name the Indian origin girl who was crown as Miss America recently: Nina Davuluri

743) Jhumpa Lahri, a Noted Novelist of Indian origin is settled in which country: USA (New York)

744) Which city has been named to host 2020 Olympic Games: Tokyo

745) The 2016 Olympics are to be held at which place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

746) Name the recently tested nuclear capable surface to surface long-range ballistic missile which has a strike range of more than 5000 kms: Agni-V

747) From which place India conducts its missile tests: Wheeler Island off Odisha coast

748) NASA has launched an unmanned spacecraft Ladee for what purpose: To explore the surface of moon

749) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia has recently been honured with which prestigious Indian Award: Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development-2012

750) Durand Cup is associated with which sports: Football

751) Durand Cup for 2013 was won by _____ ________ after a gap of 73 years: Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata

752) Durand Cup Football tournament was held at which place: New Delhi

753) Dinesh K. Sarraf has been appointed head of which Maharatna company: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

754) With a view to boost exports, government has raised interest subvention on export loans to _______ percent: Three

755) 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted jointly by which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

756) Govt. has recently relaxed certain pre conditions in case of FDI in which field: Multi Brand Retail

757) With which country India has an arrangement to pay in Indian rupees for its import of crude oil: Iran

758) Name the veteran British journalist and broadcaster, famous for his TV interviews of various Heads of States, who passed away recently: David Frost

759) How many industries are there in the core sector within Index of Industrial Production (IIP): Eight

760) Which country has agreed to contribute 41% share in the creation of a $100-billion Currency Reserve Fund (CRF) by BRICS: China

761) Name the noted Bengali author who was killed in Afghanistan by Taliban: Sushmita Banerjee

762) The mobile phone business of Nokia Corporation of Finland has been taken over by which multinational company: Microsoft

763) A robot astronaut called ________developed by Toyota Company of Japan, has made history by becoming the first robot ever to speak in space: Kirobo

764) As per recent RBI guidelines, Indians travelling abroad can carry Indian currency of up to Rs.__________ per person: 10,000

765) Which state in India has recorded the lowest proportion of 3.66 % of poor living below poverty line in urban areas: Sikkim

GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           86 

766) Which state in India has the lowest proportion – 5.09%, of the poor living below poverty line: Goa

767) India has recorded the largest increase in its UHNI club among the BRICS nations in the last one year, with a total of 7,850 super rich people in the country. What is the full form of UHNI: Ultra-High Networth Individual

768) Recent RBI guidelines have asked banks to close accounts of those customers who use their credit or debit cards for ________ transactions: Online Forex

769) As per the food security Act notified recently, ________ % of country’s population will be covered under food guarantee: 67

770) Which state in India emerged as the hottest investment destination for new projects: Odisha

771) World largest solar power plant is being setup in India at which place: Sambar Lake, Rajasthan

772) Govt has finalised the timeline for implementation of the mega ADKIC project to promote industrial activity in north India. What is the full form of ADKIC: Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor

773) For which part of India govt. has approved Rs. 2,130 crore expenditure under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP): North East Region

774) RBI has allowed banks to open branches, including in Tier 1 centres without its prior permission. Which city come under tier 1: Centres cities with population of one lakh and above

775) The Reserve Bank has advised banks to allot a different product code in their core banking solution to which type of accounts: Accounts which are dormant or inoperative for over two years

776) Which film will represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at 2014 Oscar Awards in USA: The Good Road

777) Govt. has submitted in Supreme Court that it intends to go ahead with Sethusamudram Project. It is located in which area of India: Rocky terrain between India and Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar

778) What is the geographical name for the Sethusamudram: Adam’s Bridge

779) At which place is the World's highest-altitude civilian airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level: Daocheng, Near Tibet, China

780) Super Typhoon Usagi has caused widespread damage in which part of the world: Philippines and Taiwan

781) Who has been elected as the 12th President of Pakistan: Mamnoon Hussain

782) Recently India post released a commemorative stamp in the memory of freedom fighter and veteran journalist Lala Jagat Narain. Name the news paper founded by him: Punjab Kesari

783) Kaesong industrial park was the matter of dispute between which two countries: North and South Korea

784) Govt. has started a Rs. 1000 crore Nirbhaya Corpus Fund for what purpose: For empowerment and protection of women

785) Name the first programme started from Nirbhaya Fund, aimed at helping the women who need special protection measures, such as women in prostitution or widowed women: Shubh

786) Ray Dolby, an inventor and audio pioneer from USA, founder of Dolby Laboratories, passed away recently. He is known for which product: Dolby Stereo Sound System

787) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has become the first regulator in the world to start an ___________system: Insurance Repository

788) Name the international literary prize that has now been made open to English authors from all over the world: The Man Booker Prize

789) President of which country recently cancelled its official visit to USA to protest against the spying excesses of National Security Agency of USA: Dilma Rousseff of Brazil

790) Which country has recently started Direct Banking, offering banking services not through branches but through various other means like internet, mobiles and ATMs: China

791) Name the former world heavyweight boxing champion, considered one of the greatest fighter of his era, who passed away recently: Ken Norton

792) The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is planning to rope in celebrities as brand ambassadors for the five minority communities. Name these five communities: Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist and Parsis

793) Name the organization that has acquired the Rs. 600 crore research vessel named Samudra Ratnakar: Geological Survey of India

794) Who has been elected as Chancellor of Germany for the third time in a row: Angela Markel (Ms)

795) India has been granted ‘authorizing nation’ status for certifying which type of products: Electronics and IT Products

796) Sandeep Tulsi Yadav created history by winning India’s first ever wrestling medal in _________category at World Wrestling Championships: Greco-Roman

797) Name the Indian who has been honoured with

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