General Awareness Test For the Week: March 20 to 26, 2011
No of questions: 100 Answers marked by * Explanatory answers in the end TEST - I
1. Who has been named Chairman of the Joint (c) C D Deshmukh* Parliamentary Committee (JPC) set up to probe the alleged (d) Dr. Manmohan Singh scam in the grant of 2G spectrum and telecom licences from 1998 to 2009? 5. Who was presented the IBN7’s Diamond State Award (a) Jayanthi Natarajan recently? (b) Kalyan Banerjee (a) Narendra Modi (c) P.C. Chacko* (b) Sheila Dixit* (d) Gurudas Dasgupta (c) Nitish Kumar (d) Shivraj Singh Chauhan 2. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below: 6. Consider the following statements about actor Hema Malini who was elected to the Rajya Sabha. List I List II 1. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time (Person) (Organisation) 2. She was fielded by the BJP A. Dr AK Shivakumar 1. Self Employed 3. She was elected from Karnataka Women‘s Association Which of the above statements is/are correct? B. Ashok Alexander 2. Global Fund to Fight (a) 1 and 2 only AIDS, Tuberculosis (b) 2 and 3 only* and Malaria (c) 3 and 1 only C. Rajat K Gupta 3. Avahan – India AIDS (d) 1, 2 and 3
Initiative 7. The Jerusalem Prize, awarded recently, is given for D. Mirai Chatterjee 4. National Advisory achievements in which of the following? Council (a) Life Sciences Code: (b) Literature* A B C D (c) Architecture (a) 4 2 3 1 (d) Painting (b) 2 4 1 3 (c) 3 2 4 1 8. Fateh Singh Rathore, who passed away, recently, was (d)* 4 3 2 1 known for his conservation efforts at which of the following National Parks? (a) Sariska National Park 3. Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched? (b) Ranthambore National Park* 1. Customs Day – February 24 (c) Darrah National Park 2. Income Tax Day – July 24 (d) Desert National Park 3. Excise Day – January 27 (a) 1 and 2 only 9. Bachi Karkaria was in news recently for her biography of (b) 2 and 3 only which of the following newspaper groups recently? (c) 3 and 1 only (a) The Hindu (d) 1, 2 and 3* (b) The Indian Express (c) Hindustan Times 4. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented his sixth (d) The Times of India* full Budget recently equalling the record of who among the following former Finance Ministers? 10. Consider the following statements about Libya. (a) Morarji Desai 1. United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has voted in favour (b) P Chidambaram of sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi
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2. India abstained from voting in the UNSC resolution on 16. Which of the following statements about International sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is/are correct? 3. UNSC has referred Gaddafi to the International Criminal 1. It was established in 1980s Court in The Hague for prosecution for alleged crimes against 2. USA became its member recently humanity 3. It is based in the UAE Which of the above statements is/are correct? Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (b) 2 and 3 only* (c) 3 and 1 only* (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3
11. Which of the following was in news for its report ‘Global 17. Why was Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus of Risks Atlas 2011’ that has ranked India among ‘high risk’ Bangladesh in news recently? global economies? (a) He has been appointed Advisor to the Asian Development (a) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Bank (ADB) (b) Maplecroft* (b) He was removed from his membership of the Awami League (c) Deloitte Party by PM Sheikh Hasina Wazed (d) Pew Research Center (c) He joined politics and was elected to the Lower House of Parliament 12. Key Resolve/Foal Eagle were the military exercises (d) He was removed from his post as MD of Grameen Bank by involving US troops at which of the following places? the government* (a) Turkey (b) Afghanistan 18. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer (c) Central Asia using the code given below: (d) Korea* List I List II 13. Consider the following statements about Republic of (Person) (Company) Ireland where elections were organised recently. A. Nitin Paranjpe 1. Adobe Systems 1. Dail is the lower house of Parliament B. Shantanu Narayen 2. Hindustan Unilever 2. Fine Gael, Labour Party and Fianna Fail won the highest C. Arun Bharat Ram 3. SRF Limited number of seats D. Dr J.J. Irani 4. Tata Sons 3. Prime Minister is called Taoiseach Code: Which of the above statements is/are correct? A B C D (a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1 2 3 4 (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (b)* 2 1 3 4 (d) 1, 2 and 3* (c) 1 2 4 3 (d) 2 3 1 4 14. India has decided to open a new Consulate in which of the following cities in the US? 19. V. Radhakrishnan, who passed away, recently, was a (a) Las Vegas well-known ______. (b) Boston (a) Archaeologist (c) Atlanta* (b) Demographer (d) Michigan (c) Astrophysicist* (d) Cartographer 15. Which island nation has decided to remove the images of British monarch Queen Elizabeth from its coins and 20. Who was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Egypt banknotes recently? recently? (a) Seychelles (a) Ahmed Nazif (b) Bahamas (b) Abdel Rahman Nasser (c) Jamaica (c) Essam Sharaf* (d) Fiji* (d) Magdy Galal Sharawi
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21. Wilbur Smith Associates is a consulting firm known for (b) 2 and 3 only its expertise in which sector? (c) 1 and 3 only (a) Oil exploration (d) 1, 2 and 3* (b) Civil Aviation (c) Road Transport* 27. Which of the following is/are not correctly matched? (d) Shipping (a) Dandi March Day – March 12
(b) Consumers Day – March 15 22. Who was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Tunisia (c) Immunization Day – March 16 recently? (d) None of the above* (a) Hamed Karoui (b) Hedi Amara Nouira 28. Consider the following statements about Union Budget (c) Beji Caid Essebsi* 2011-12. (d) Mohammed Mzali 1. Housing loans not exceeding Rs. 25 lakh can avail of interest subsidy 23. Consider the following pairs of awards and their winners 2. Interest subsidy will be applicable upto Rs 15 lakh of the at 83rd Academy Awards. Housing loan amount 1. Tom Hooper – Best Director 3. Interest subsidy on housing loans has been increased by 0.25 2. Best Foreign Language Film – ‗In A Better World‘ per cent 3. Best Animation Film – ‗Alice In Wonderland‘ Which of the above statements is/are correct? Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched? (a) 1 and 2 only* (a) 1 and 2 only* (b) 1 and 3 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3 29. Which was the highest profit-making public sector unit 24. Consider the following statements about tidal energy in 2009-10, according to the Public Enterprises Survey potential in the country as per a recent assessment by the released recently? Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. (a) SAIL 1. India‘s tidal energy potential is of the order of 8000 MW (b) ONGC* 2. The highest tidal energy potential is in Kerala (c) NTPC 3. Union government provides financial incentives upto 50% of (d) BHEL the cost to the state government implementing Agencies for the development of tidal energy projects 30. Union Budget 2011-12 has announced the setting up of Which of the above statements is/are correct? which of the following? (a) 1 and 2 only 1. Women SHG Development Fund (b) 2 and 3 only 2. Rural Housing Fund (c) 3 and 1 only* 3. India Microfinance Equity Fund (d) 1, 2 and 3 (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only 25. Which of the following is Russia’s highest civilian award (c) 1 and 3 only* given to former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev? (d) 1, 2 and 3
(a) Order of St. Nicholas 31. Prem Mathur, Durba Banerjee, Chanda Budhabhatti are (b) Order of St. Mark the first among women to contribute significantly to which (c) Order of St. George of the following in India? (d) Order of St Andrew* (a) Adventure Sports (b) Aviation* 26. Consider the following statements about targets and (c) Railways estimates given in Union Budget 2011-12. (d) Manufacturing industry 1. Non-plan expenditure in 2011-12 would decline 2. Total Expenditure in 2011-12 would increase by 3% 32. Consider the following statements about personal income 3. Plan expenditure in 2011-12 would increase tax measures announced in Union Budget 2011-12. Which of the above statements is/are correct? 1. Exemption limit for individual taxpayers has been increased (a) 1 and 2 only
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2. People of age 60 and above will be considered Senior Citizens (b) 2 and 3 only for Income Tax exemptions (c) 1 and 3 only* 3. A new category of Very Senior Citizens of those of 80 years (d) 1, 2 and 3 and above has been created Which of the above statements is/are correct? 37. What is the number of middle class households in India (a) 1 and 2 only according to a recent report by National Council for Applied (b) 2 and 3 only Economic Research’s Centre for Macro Consumer (c) 1 and 3 only Research? (d) 1, 2 and 3* (a) 31 million* (b) 53 million 33. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp, is (c) 67 million one of world’s leading manufacturers of ______(d) 82 million (a) Helicopters* (b) Submarines 38. Consider the following statements about measures on (c) Missiles government sponsored pension schemes for economically (d) Tanks weaker sections announced in Union Budget 2011-12. 1. The age at which subscribers under ―Swavalamban‖ pension 34. Consider the following statements about corporate tax scheme can exit has been reduced measures announced in Union Budget 2011-12. 2. The eligibility age for benefits under Indira Gandhi National 1. Surcharge on corporate tax has been reduced Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) has been reduced 2. Rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) has been increased 3. Pension for all beneficiaries under IGNOAPS has been 3. Units operating under Special Economic Zones will be increased exempt from MAT Which of the above statements is/are correct? Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only* (a) 1 and 2 only* (b) 2 and 3 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3 39. Ashok Chawla was set up to review which of the following recently? 35. Consider the following statements about ‘Transfer (a) Revenue implications of tax exemptions granted to Pricing’. companies in Special Economic Zones 1. MNCs selling goods at artificially low prices to their (b) Allocation, pricing and utilisation of natural resources* subsidiaries abroad (c) Leasing of a spectrum by ISRO‘s commercial arm to a 2. MNCs selling goods at inflated prices to their subsidiaries private company abroad (d) Productivity of India‘s manufacturing sector 3. MNCs resort to ‗Transfer Pricing‘ to show lower profits in the country where the goods are produced 40. Union Budget 2011-12 has increased the allocation for Which of the above statements is/are correct? Defence by ______. (a) 1 only (a) 8.3% (b) 1 and 2 only (b) 11.6%* (c) 2 and 3 only* (c) 14.3% (d) 3 and 1 only (d) 17.2%
36. Consider the following statements about measures on 41. Which of the following has been allowed by the ministry Indirect Tax announced in Union Budget 2011-12. of environment and forests (MoEF) to extract iron ore from 1. The number of consumer goods coming under Central Excise Chiria mines in Jharkhand recently? has been reduced (a) Posco 2. Branded ready-made garments made in small scale industries (b) Jindal Steel will be exempt from excise duty (c) SAIL* 3. Air-conditioning equipment and refrigeration panels for cold (d) Tata Steel chain infrastructure will be exempt from excise duty Which of the above statements is/are correct? 42. The Union Cabinet approved the Banking Regulation (a) 1 and 2 only (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase the voting
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rights of foreign investors in private sector banks recently. (d) I, II and III* What is the ceiling on voting rights of foreign entities in private banks currently? 47. The Reserve Bank of India recently decided to remove (a) 10%* which of the following loans by commercial banks from (b) 15% ‘priority sector’ lending norms? (c) 20% (a) Loans to micro-finance companies (d) 25% (b) Loans to housing finance companies (c) Loans to gold loan companies* 43. The Narendra Modi committee appointed by the Union (d) Loans to small scale industries government submitted its report on which of the following issues recently? 48. The government has set a target of providing banking (a) Identification and deportation if illegal immigrants facilities to ______habitations having a population of (b) Sale and marketing of foodgrains* over 2,000 in the current financial year 2011-12. (c) Promotion of renewable energy generation (a) 36,000 (d) Sharing of waters of inter-state rivers (b) 49,000 (c) 61,000 44. India joined the select list of countries having the (d) 73,000* technology for industrial scale production of which metal with the inauguration of a 500 tonne capacity plant in 49. Which of the following has decided to launch an Kerala recently? economic survey of India recently? (a) Platinum (a) World Bank (b) Titanium* (b) OECD* (c) Palladium (c) IMF (d) Vanadium (d) ADB
45. Consider the following statements about estimates and targets listed in Union Budget 2011-12. 50. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer 1. Fiscal Deficit in 2011-12 would be less than 4% using the code given below: 2. GDP is estimated to have grown at 8.6% in 2010-11 3. Rs. 40,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment in 2011- List I List II 12 (Person) (Organisation) Which of the above statements is/are correct? A. Rajiv Memani 1. Osian‘s (a) 1 and 2 only B. Pratap Bhanu 2. Center for Policy (b) 2 and 3 only* Mehta Research (c) 1 and 3 only C. Rahul Dhir 3. Cairn India (d) 1, 2 and 3 D. Neville Tuli 4. Ernst & Young
46. Which of the following NASA space shuttles have been Code: discontinued? A B C D I. Columbia (a) 1 2 3 4 II. Discovery (b) 4 3 2 1 III. Challenger (c) 2 4 1 3 (a) I only (d)* 4 2 3 1 (b) I and II only (c) III and I only
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TEST - II
1. Who was appointed as the new President of FICCI 6. The Karnataka government has decided to name the recently? Bengaluru International Airport after who among the (a) Harsh Mariwala* following recently? (b) Gautam Thapar (a) Tipu Sultan (c) Sanjiv Goenka (b) Veerandra Patil (d) Vineet Nayyar (c) Kempe Gowda* (d) S. Nijalingappa 2. Hyderabad-based Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), a public-private-partnership initiative being 7. How much was India’s tea production in 2009-10 according run by which corporate group? to the Economic Survey released recently? (a) Future Group (a) 560 million kg (b) Tata Group (b) 730 million kg (c) GVK Group* (c) 840 million kg (d) GMR Group (d) 970 million kg* 8. Who is world’s top ranked Golf player as per the latest 3. Who is the top ranked player in Women’s Tennis as per the rankings released recently? latest WTA rankings released recently? (a) Tiger Woods (a) Caroline Wozniacki* (b) Martin Kaymer* (b) Serena Williams (c) Lee Westwood (c) Kim Clijsters (d) Luke Donald (d) Venus Williams 9. Which automobile company organised the 3500-km long 4. The Prospective Multi-role Fighter (PMF) Aircraft is being Desert Storm Rally that started from Ahmedabad and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) jointly concluded in Delhi recently? with which of the following? (a) Mahindra & Mahindra (a) Embraer (b) Hyundai India (b) Sukhoi Design Bureau* (c) Tata Motors (c) Lockheed Martin (d) Maruti Suzuki* (d) Dassault 10. Which country fielded the youngest cricketer to make his 5. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using debut in Cricket World Cup recently? the code given below: (a) Ireland (b) Canada* List I List II (c) Netherlands (Person) (Organisation) (d) Kenya A. Ashima Goyal 1. Indira Gandhi Institute of Development 11. Which of the following National Parks is not in Rajasthan? Research (a) Sariska National Park B. K. Ullas Karanth 2. Wildlife Conservation (b) Darrah National Park Society India (c) Desert National Park C. Amod Kanth 3. Prayas (d) None of the above* D. Ramakant Panda 4. Asian Heart Institute Code: 12. Which of the following has entered into a tie-up with A B C D Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) GmbH of Germany to (a)* 1 2 3 4 develop advanced defence systems for Indian defence (b) 2 1 4 3 establishment recently? (c) 1 2 4 3 (a) Ashok Leyland Defence Systems* (d) 2 3 1 4 (b) Tata Advanced Systems (c) Bharat Dynamics Ltd
(d) Mahindra Defence Systems
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13. Aon Hewitt is a consulting firm known for its expertise in which sector? 20. Consider the following statements about Ashish Bose. (a) Human Resources* 1. He is a well known Demographer (b) Civil Aviation 2. He coined the term ‗Hindu Rate of Growth‘ (c) Information Technology 3. He is a Member of Prime Minister‘s Economic Advisory (d) Shipping Council Which of the above statements is/are correct? 14. Consider the following statements about the 34th National (a) 1 only* Games organised in Jharkhand. (b) 1 and 2 only 1. Railways topped the medals tally (c) 2 and 3 only 2. Richa Mishra and Virdhawal Khade were adjudged as the best (d) 3 only female and male athletes respectively 3. The next National Games will be hosted by Kerala 21. Which of the following is supplying the engine for Tejas Which of the above statements is/are correct? Light Combat Aircraft is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (a) Peugeot (b) 2 and 3 only* (b) Pratt & Whitney (c) 1 and 3 only (c) Kuznetsov Design Bureau (d) General Electric* (d) 1, 2 and 3
15. Which bank founded by M Chidambaram Chettyar 22. Which of the following has decided to start a 24X7 call celebrated its Platinum Jubilee on February 11, 2011? centre for the first time for people to lodge complaints or ask (a) Syndicate Bank questions recently? (b) Federal Bank (a) Prime Minister‘s Office (c) South Indian Bank (b) Central Vigilance Commission (d) Indian Overseas Bank* (c) Reserve Bank of India (d) Election Commission* 16. Andrus Ansip has been re-elected Prime Minister of which country recently? 23. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer (a) Latvia using the code given below: (b) Belarus (c) Estonia* List I List II (d) Lithuania (Person) (Company/Organisation) A. Dilip Kapur 1. Automotive Component 17. Which of the following is set to become India’s largest steel Manufacturers company in April 2011? Association (a) SAIL B. Rajat Gupta 2. Indian School of (b) Tata Steel Business (ISB) (c) Essar Steel C. K. Srinath Reddy 3. Hidesign (d) JSW Steel* D. Srivats Ram 4. Public Health Foundation of India 18. What is India’s position in the list of world’s largest Code: manufacturing countries according to a study by economic A B C D research firm IHS Global Insight recently? (a) 1 2 3 4 (a) Fourth (b) 2 1 3 4 (b) Fifth (c)* 3 2 4 1 (c) Sixth* (d) Seventh (d) 4 3 1 2
19. Federation Secretary General Amit Mitra was in news for 24. Avahan, which provides funding and support to targeted joining which political party recently? HIV prevention programs in the country, has been launched (a) CPI (M) by which of the following? (b) Congress (a) Apollo Hospitals Group (c) CPI (b) Ajay G. Piramal Foundation (d) Trinamool Congress* (c) World Health Organisation
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(d) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation* (e) Falcon Tyres
25. What is the Committee for Consultations on the Situation 31. Consider the following statements about the ‘Operating in Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP) also known as? Ratio’ in Railway Budget 2011-12. (a) P N Tandon Committee 1. Operating ratio is the amount earned by the railways on every (b) Srikrishna Committee* Rs. 100 spent. (c) B K Chaturvedi Committee 2. Lower operating ratio means better financial performance (d) Dr Bharat Singh committee 3. Railway Budget 2011-12 has forecast a higher operating ratio in 2011-12 compared to 2010-11 26. Consider the following statements about the Aman-11 Which of the above statements is/are correct? exercises. (a) 1 and 2 only 1. They were conducted in Pacific Ocean (b) 2 only* 2. They involved Navies of several countries including Pakistan (c) 3 and 1 only 3I. India did not participate in Aman 11 (d) 1, 2 and 3 Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only 32. Who is the Chairman of the Task Force set up to evolve a (b) 2 and 3 only* suitable mechanism for delivery of direct fuel and fertiliser (c) 3 only subsidies to individuals/families recently? (d) 1, 2 and 3 (a) Kiran Karnik (b) Deepak Parekh 27. What is India’s rank in Index of Government Economic (c) Nandan Nilekani* Power (IGEP), according to the Economic Survey 2010-11 (d) Rajendra Pawar unveiled recently? (a) Third 33. Who won the IMC Juran Quality Medal for 2010 recently? (b) Fourth (a) Dilip Shanghvi (c) Fifth* (b) Anand Mahindra* (d) Sixth (c) Ratan Tata (d) Dr R A Mashelkar 28. In which state was India’s first International Container Trans-shipment Terminal project launched recently? 34. Consider the following statements about Bangalore-based (a) Andhra Pradesh Devas Multimedia. (b) Gujarat 1. It is a joint venture between a public sector and a private sector (c) Karnataka company (d) Kerala* 2. Ramachandran Viswanathan is the Chairman 3. ‗Advanced Solutions for an Advancing Nation‘ is its motto Which of the above statements is/are correct? 29. Consider the following statements about Railway Budget (a) 1 and 2 only 2011-12. (b) 2 and 3 only* 1. No increase in passenger fares (c) 3 and 1 only 2. Moderate increase in freight rates (d) 1, 2 and 3 3. Highest ever Plan Outlay proposed Which of the above statements is/are correct? 35. What is Mumbai’s position in the list of the world’s most (a) 1 and 2 only expensive office locations in 2011 according to global realty (b) 2 and 3 only consultant Cushman & Wakefield? (c) 3 and 1 only* (a) Fourth (d) 1, 2 and 3 (b) Fifth (c) Sixth* 30. Which Indian tyre company has launched the new Racing (d) Seventh Asia Series under the management of Motorsport Asia recently? 36. Consider the following statements about the Wassenaar (a) MRF Group. (b) Apollo Tyres 1. It commits member countries to safeguard intellectual property (c) JK Tyre* rights and curb piracy (d) Dunlop India
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2. It is named after a town in the Netherlands 2. Infosys Foundation 3. India is not a member of the Wassenaar Group 3. Pratham Books Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (b) 2 and 3 only* (c) 3 and 1 only* (c) 3 and 1 only (d) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2 and 3 42. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer 37. Which non-cricketing personality was awarded honorary using the code given below: life membership by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) List I List II recently? (Person) (Profession) (a) Lord Meghnad Desai A. Saji Narayanan 1. Poet, academician and (b) Dalai Lama critic (c) Desmond Tutu* B. Shankar Iyer 2. Trade Union leader (d) Dr. Karan Singh C. Sankha Ghosh 3. Human-rights lawyer
D. Vrinda Grover 4. Journalist at India 38. The Military Balance 2011 report has highlighted the Today Group contrast between the contracting defence budgets of many Code: Western states and the rising military spending that characterises countries in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. A B C D Which of the following has authored the report recently? (a) 1 2 3 4 (a) Heritage Foundation (b)* 2 4 1 3 (b) International Institute for Strategic Studies* (c) 1 4 3 2 (c) Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (d) 2 3 1 4 (d) RAND Corporation
39. Who won the Allan Border Medal for achievement in 43. Who among the following were associated with India’s Cricket recently? first all-women crew flight in an Indian Airlines Fokker (a) Ricky Ponting Friendship flight from Kolkata to Silchar in 1985? (b) Mitchell Johnson (a) Capt. Shobha K Mani and Capt. Tuhinanshu Sharma (c) Shane Watson* (b) Capt. Kalpana Sethi and Capt. Aryama Sanyal (d) Michael Hussey (c) Capt. Saudamini Deshmukh and Capt. Nivedita Bhasin* (d) Capt Rashmi Miranda and Capt Sunita Narula 40. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below: 44. Which foreign destination had the highest share of Indians travelling abroad according to the recent survey, ‘India List I List II Outbound Monitor’ by the Nielsen Company and Pacific Asia (Capital) (Square) Travel Association (PATA)? A. Tehran 1. Bourguiba Square (a) Maldives B. Manama 2. Azadi Square (b) Indonesia C. Tunis 3. Tahrir Square (c) Bangladesh D. Cairo 4. Pearl Square (d) Singapore* Code: A B C D 45. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer (a) 4 2 3 1 using the code given below: (b)* 2 4 1 3 (c) 3 2 4 1 List I List II (Person) (Area of expertise) (d) 2 3 4 1 A. Arvind Gaur 1. Management education B. Sam Balsara 2. Theatre 41. Rohini Nilekani is the Chairperson of which of the C. Tarun Khanna 3. Journalism following organisations? D. Rohit Saran 4. Advertising 1. Akshara Foundation
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Code: 2. Muammar Qadhafi came to power after a coup against King A B C D Idris (a) 1 2 3 4 3. Libya is on the US government‘s list of state sponsors of (b)* 2 4 1 3 terrorism (c) 1 2 4 3 Which of the above statements is/are correct? (a) 1 only (d) 2 3 1 4 (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 only* 46. A stadium named after who among the following in the (d) 2 and 3 only Libyan city of Benghazi was renamed recently? (a) Fidel Castro 49. Calero Island, which was in news for a ruling by the (b) Hugo Chavez* International Court of Justice, recently, is a matter of dispute (c) Hosni Mubarak between which two countries? (d) Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (a) Venezuela & Colombia (b) Spain & Portugal 47. What was India’s share in global agricultural exports in (c) Nicaragua & Costa Rica* 2009? (d) Denmark & Netherlands (a) 1.43%* (b) 2.71% (c) 3.25% 50. Bob Houghton was recently removed as the coach of (d) 4.83% India’s national team in which sport? (a) Hockey 48. Consider the following statements about Libya. (b) Volleyball 1. Libya was a French colony before it became independent (c) Football* (d) Basketball
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EXPLANATORY ANSWERS
TEST – I
Answer 1: Senior Congress leader from Kerala and four-time Lok Sabha member P.C. Chacko has been named Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the alleged scam in the grant of 2G spectrum and telecom licences from 1998 to 2009. Speaker Meira Kumar approved the government recommendation to nominate Chacko to head the multiparty committee in the first week of March 2011. The entire winter session was lost in the stand-off between the government and the Opposition on the subject. The JPC has been given time till the end of the monsoon session of Parliament to give its report. The Public Accounts Committee headed by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi is separately enquiring into the award of 2G telecom licences.
Answer 2: Rajat K Gupta: Chairman, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) Dr A K Shivakumar: Adviser UNICEF and Member of National Advisory Council Ashok Alexander: Director, Avahan - India AIDS Initiative Mirai Chatterjee: Co-ordinator for Social Security, Self Employed Women‘s Association (SEWA)
Answer 3: The Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs, S. Dutt Majumder inaugurated the Central Excise Day function, in New Delhi on February 24, 2011. Indian Customs celebrated International Customs Day on January 27, 2011. Income Tax department has started celebrating July 24, as the annual Income Tax Day from 2010, to mark 150 years of existence of this levy.
Answer 4: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee presented his sixth full Budget on February 28, 2011. Morarji Desai with eight full budgets holds the record for presenting maximum number of budgets, though in two different stints. P Chidambaram comes next with presentation of seven full budgets, also in two different stints and in two different governments. Mukherjee would join C D Deshmukh in doing so by presenting his sixth budget. He is holding the finance minister‘s portfolio for the second time after his first stint in 1982-1984. Yashwant Sinha was finance minister for a few months in 1991, but could not present a full budget. He got the portfolio again during 1998-99 and 1999-2002 and presented five full budgets. Dr. Manmohan Singh had also presented five budgets during 1991-96.
Answer 5: The Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari presented the IBN7‘s Diamond State Award to the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit, in New Delhi on February 23, 2011.
Answer 6: Actor Hema Malini, fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the by-election to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, won on March 3, 2011 by a margin of 12 votes against her rival K. Marulasiddappa (Independent), who was supported by the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular). She will, however, have only a one-year term, ending on April 2, 2012. She enjoyed a full six-year term between 2003 and 2009 in the Upper House.
Answer 7: The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. The award is valued at $10,000, a modest amount that "reflects that it was never intended to be anything more than a symbolic sum. Renowned British novelist Ian McEwan accepted the prize in Jerusalem on February 20, 2011 with harsh criticism of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, after British writers called on the author to stay home because of Israel‘s policies toward Palestinians.
Answer 8: Celebrated conservationist Fateh Singh Rathore passed away at the age of 79 on March 1, 2011. The ―Tiger Man‖, as he was popularly known in conservation circles all over the world, was known for his conservation efforts at the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan. Rathore first reached Ranthambhore in 1971 and became part of the pioneering efforts at international level to save the species of tiger
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through Project Tiger. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in February 2011 had bestowed on Rathore the Lifetime Achievement Award in Conservation.
Answer 9: ‗Behind the Times‘ by Bachi Karkaria Answer 10: In its first major vote after joining the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the next two years, India on February 27, 2011 voted in favour of sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, his relatives and associates, in Brussels. The Council unanimously approved curbs on travel, freezing of financial assets and weapon sales. The UNSC also referred Gaddafi to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for prosecution for alleged crimes against humanity. Gaddafi refuses to stand down following his 41 years of rule, with reports that civilians loyal to him are being armed to attack protestors. A transitional government is already being discussed in areas controlled by anti-government protesters.
Answer 11: The important growth economies of India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines and Russia are all rated ‗high risk‘ in a ranking of 175 countries that evaluates the key strategic, operational and reputational risks for business.
The Global Risks Atlas 2011 unveiled by UK-based risk analysis and mapping firm Maplecroft on March 2, 2011, evaluates the impact of 32 ‗global risks,‘ which are risks outside the control of an individual government or business that have the ability to affect multiple regions and industry sectors. The Atlas focuses on seven key ‗global risk‘ areas: macroeconomic risk; security risk; governance risk and illicit economies; resource security; climate change; pandemics; and societal resilience, including human rights.
Four countries have been rated ‗extreme risk‘ and top the ranking – Somalia (1), Sudan (2), Afghanistan (3) and DR Congo (4), all of which are characterised by weak governance, internal conflicts and regional instability.
However, it is the strategically important growth economies of Nigeria (12), India (15), the Philippines (17), Russia (21) and Indonesia (32), which hold the most interest and pose the most challenges for business. These are among the countries driving most of the positive momentum behind the world economy, but all are rated ‗high risk.‘
Answer 12: The US and South Korean militaries on February 28, 2011 launched major annual land, sea and air exercises, amid North Korean threats to turn Seoul into a ―sea of flames‖ in case of any provocation. The Key Resolve/Foal Eagle drills are the first to be held since the North‘s deadly artillery attack on a South Korean border island last November. The US and South Korea said the exercise is defensive in nature but North Korea habitually denounces it as a rehearsal for invasion.
Answer 13: The Irish general election of 2011 took place on February 25, 2011 to elect Members of Parliament to Dail, the lower house of Ireland‘s parliament, the Oireachtas. The Dail was dissolved and the general election called by President Mary McAleese on February 1 at the request of Prime Minister Brian Cowen of Fianna Fail party. In the results announced recently, Fine Gael won the highest number of seats (76) followed by Labour Party (37), Fianna Fail (20), Sinn Fein (14), United Left Alliance (5) and New Vision (1). Members of the 31st Dail will meet later in March 2011 to nominate a Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and ratify the ministers of the Government.
Answer 14: US State Department on March 1, 2011 informed the Indian Embassy that it has no objection to the establishment of Indian Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. The announcement in this regard was made in October 2008 following a meeting between the then US President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Currently besides the Indian Embassy in Washington, India has four consulates in the US – New York, Houston, Chicago and San Francisco.
Answer 15: Fiji has decided to delete the Queen‘s head from all its coins and banknotes, amid diplomatic row over Britain‘s support for the removal of the country from the Commonwealth. She will be replaced by engravings of native trees and animals when a new batch of currency is issued in June, the Daily Mail reported on March 3, 2011. Fiji has been at loggerheads with Britain since the UK supported the Commonwealth in removing the group of islands from its 53-nation membership. Fiji, a former British colony, gained independence in 1970, continued to feature the Queen on its currency, but several coups since then have left other Commonwealth nations questioning whether its instability qualified it to remain a member.
Answer 16:
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The US on March 5, 2011 deposited its instrument of acceptance to join the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), becoming its 63rd member. IRENA was formed in 2009 in response to growing international interest in the adoption of renewable energy technologies to meet the challenges of sustained economic growth, energy security and climate change. So far 148 countries are IRENA signatories. Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, IRENA is the first truly international organisation based in an Arab country.
Answer 17: Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus (born 1940) was on March 2, 2011 sacked from his post of Managing Director of Grameen Bank. Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank (1983), an institution that provides microcredit (small loans to poor people possessing no collateral) to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received the Nobel Prize for Peace. Bangladesh Bank, the country‘s central bank, sacked him saying he was past retirement age and had been improperly installed in his post. The central bank said that Yunus had violated the country‘s retirement laws by staying on as Grameen‘s head long past the mandatory retirement age of 60. Prof Yunus is 70. The Nobel Laureate fell out with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2007 when he was trying to set up a new party. The government owns a 25% stake in Grameen, which pioneered the microfinance concept of lending small amounts of money to the poor which has been replicated worldwide.
Answer 18: Nitin Paranjpe is Managing Director of Hindustan Unilever Shantanu Narayen is President and CEO, Adobe Systems Incorporated Arun Bharat Ram is Chairman SRF Limited Dr J.J. Irani is Director at Tata Sons
Answer 19: Eminent astrophysicist Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, who is known for his work on pulsars, passed away on March 3, 2011 at the age of 82. Professor Radhakrishnan‘s colleagues at the Raman Research Institute (RRI), where he was director for over two decades (between 1972 and 1994), described him as ―a free-spirited and strong personality.‖ He scrupulously avoided riding on his father Sir C.V. Raman‘s fame. He will be most remembered by the scientific community for his work on pulsars [neutron stars] and the structure of interstellar medium [the matter that makes up the space between stars]. While astronomy uses optical light to understand the universe, Professor Radhakrishnan, a radio astronomer, studied galaxies through radio waves. Under his leadership, the institute developed a reputation in pulsar astronomy and liquid crystals.
Answer 20: Egypt‘s Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has resigned, the country‘s ruling military council has announced in a statement on March 3, 2011. A former transport minister, Essam Sharaf, has been asked to form a new government. Shafiq was appointed days before President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office on February 11 following days of anti-government protests. Protesters saw him as too closely associated to Mubarak‘s rule. ―The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decided to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and appointed Essam Sharaf to form the new government,‖ the army said in a statement. Sharaf‘s appointment is significant as he spoke out in support of the revolution and took part in the street protests.
Answer 21: As per a study commissioned by the Ministry of Urban Development through M/s Wilbur Smith Associates Pvt. Ltd. in selected cities, daily trips are anticipated to double from 2286 lakh to 4819 lakh during the next 24 years. Findings of the study were released on March 8, 2011. The transport sector emission is reported from road transport, aviation, railways and shipping. In 2007, road transport sector alone emitted about 142 million tones of CO2 equivalent. Wilbur Smith Associates is a transportation and infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Since its founding in 1952, the firm has completed projects in all 50 U.S. states and 117 countries on six continents.
Answer 22: Tunisia‘s interim president Foued Mebazaa on February 27, 2011 announced the appointment of Beji Caid Essebsi, a former minister, as the new Prime Minister to succeed Mohamed Ghannouchi who resigned. Ghannouchi stepped down following protests calling for the resignations of some ministers in the transitional government.
Answer 23:
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British film ‗The King‘s Speech‘ has been crowned best picture at the 83rd Academy Awards (Oscars), with star Colin Firth named best actor. Tom Hooper was named best director for the film, which also won for best original screenplay for David Seidler at the ceremony organised at Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on February 28, 2011. Its best picture rival, The Social Network, won for adapted screenplay, film editing and score. Natalie Portman won best actress for ‗Black Swan‘. Best Supporting Actor award was won by Christian Bale for ‗The Fighter‘ while Melissa Leo won the Best Supporting Actress award for the same film. Best Foreign Language Film award went to Danish film ‗In A Better World‘ while the Best Animation film award went to ‗Toy Story 3‘. Among other winners were: Aaron Sorkin – Best Adapted Screenplay for ‗The Social Network‘; Best Art Direction – ‗Alice In Wonderland‘; Best Cinematography – ‗Inception‘; Best Original Song – ‗We Belong Together‘ (From Toy Story 3) By Randy Newman; Best Original Score – ‗The Social Network‘ - Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross; Best Documentary Feature – ‗Inside Job‘ and Best Film Editing – ‗The Social Network‘.
Answer 24: A study was undertaken for the assessment of tidal energy potential in the country. According to the study whose findings were unveiled on March 8, 2011, there is an estimated potential of tidal energy of the order of 8000 MW in the country. This includes about 7000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay and 1200 MW in the Gulf of Kutch in the State of Gujarat and about 100 MW in the Gangetic Delta in the Sunderbans region in the State of West Bengal.
The Ministry sanctioned a demonstration project for setting up 3.75 MW capacity tidal energy power plant at the Durgaduani Creek in Sunderbans region to West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), Kolkata. The project is being executed by NHPC Ltd.
The State Government of Gujarat formed a Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) with public private partnership and sponsored a study for large scale exploitation of tidal energy across the coastline of Gujarat. One MoU for commissioning of 50 MW Tidal Power Project has been signed by M/s. Atlantis Resource Corporation (U.K.) and Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd., Govt. of Gujarat.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy considers providing financial incentives upto 50% of the cost to the State Government implementing Agencies for the development of tidal energy projects on cost sharing basis as technology demonstration projects in accordance with its R&D policy guidelines.
Answer 25: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was on March 2, 2011 given Russia‘s highest award, the Order of St Andrew. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the award was for his ―enormous work as head of state‖. Gorbachev, who resigned as Soviet president in December 1991, played a key role in dismantling the Iron Curtain but many Russians revile him for the economic meltdown and conflicts after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The Order of St Andrew, a pre-revolutionary award, was restored as the country‘s top honour in 1998.
Answer 26: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 28, 2011 presented the Union Budget 2011-12. The total expenditure growth is estimated to rise only 3 per cent at Rs 12.58 lakh crore in 2011-12, compared with 19 per cent growth in 2010-11. The Finance Minister hopes to achieve this largely by proposing steep cuts in subsidies and in the cost of maintaining social and economic services. Thus, the government‘s non-plan expenditure next year would decline by 0.65 per cent to Rs 8.16 lakh crore and plan expenditure would go up by only 12 per cent to Rs 4.42 lakh crore.
Answer 28: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. The one percent interest subsidy will be available on home loans of up to Rs 15 lakh against the current level of Rs 10 lakh. The Finance Minister also increased the value of houses eligible for availing the interest subsidy by Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per unit.
Answer 29: ONGC has retained top position on the coveted list of 10 profit-making PSUs, while Air India was the biggest loss-making state firm on the list of worst performers during the 2009-10 fiscal, says a government survey released on February 27, 2011. ONGC, the country‘s largest oil and gas producer, earned a net profit of Rs 16,785 crore, while Air India‘s losses mounted to Rs 5,614.29 crore. Indian Oil Corporation moved to the second rank among the top 10, pushing down power major NTPC to the third position, said the Public Enterprises Survey.
Answer 30: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. India Microfinance Equity Fund of Rs.100 crore to be created by SIDBI [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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Women SHG Development Fund of Rs. 500 crore to be created Rural Housing Fund (RHF) was set up by the National Housing Bank (NHB) to provide refinance for rural housing in 2008.
Answer 31: The Ministry of Civil Aviation felicitated women aviators on the occasion of the International Women‘s day on March 8, 2011. Those felicitated include:- Late Capt. Prem Mathur – First woman to obtain Commercial Pilot License. Capt. Durba Banerjee – First woman Commander of an airline. Chanda Budhabhatti – Pioneer Pilot and Founder of Indian Women Pilots‘ Association. Bhubaneshwari Gautam – First woman Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. Aruna Kandarpa – First woman Helicopter Pilot. Capt. Sonica Chhabra – First woman Instructor/Examiner in airlines.
Answer 32: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. The exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpayers has been raised from Rs 160,000 to Rs 180,000. This measure will provide a uniform tax relief of Rs 2,000 to every taxpayer of this category. For senior citizens, the qualifying age has been reduced from 65 years to 60 years; the exemption limit enhanced from Rs 2.40 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh; and a new category of Very Senior Citizens (80 years and above) created who will be eligible for a higher exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh.
Answer 33: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp, is hoping to start manufacturing helicopters in India by 2015-2016. The helicopter company, which recently entered into a joint venture with Tata group to produce aircraft components, plans to use India as a hub to service the Asia Pacific market. The company recently signed MoU with the Maharashtra government to deliver a VVIP helicopter. Sikorsky and the Tata group recently signed a joint venture to set up an aero space venture at Hyderabad. The Tatas are manufacturing cabins for the helicopter company‘s S-92 helicopter, with a seating capacity of 22 passengers. The first delivery of this was in November 2010.
Answer 34: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. The surcharge of 7.5 per cent on domestic companies has been reduced to 5 per cent. The rate of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) has been raised from 18 per cent of book profits to 18.5 per cent. MAT will be levied on developers of Special Economic Zones as well as units operating in SEZs.
What is Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT)? Income tax laws throughout the world generally provide for a number of tax concessions. A clever profit-making company may arrange its affairs in such a manner that the cumulative effect of all tax concessions is to reduce its income declared in the tax return to zero. MAT is a device to keep a Zero Tax Company (q.v.) within the tax net. In India, if the income disclosed by a company in the tax return (after claiming all deductions) is less than 30 per cent of its book profits then this 30 per cent of the book profits is subject to tax. The rate of MAT has been increased to 18.5% in Budget 2011-12.
Answer 35: India has the highest number of litigations over transfer pricing, where MNCs have been charged of reducing their tax liability by transferring profits to group companies abroad, the E&Y Global Transfer Pricing Survey revealed on February 6, 2011. The country has over 1,500 cases pending under the transfer pricing. A number of MNCs are accused of selling goods and services to their subsidiaries at inflated prices under transfer pricing, to reduce profits and hence tax liabilities. The law requires that goods and services should be sold to subsidiary companies at arm‘s length price – the price at which goods are traded between unconnected companies.
Answer 36: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. As many as 130 items, which fall mainly under consumer goods, have been brought under the excise net and will be subject to a nominal Central excise duty of 1 per cent. Branded ready-made garments and made-ups of textiles, currently under an optional excise duty regime, will be subject to a mandatory levy at a unified rate of 10 per cent. Full exemption from excise duty is being extended to air-conditioning equipment and refrigeration panels for cold chain infrastructure.
Answer 37: The Indian middle class, target consumers for many companies, is expected to swell up to 267 million people in the next five years, up 67 per cent from the current levels, thus providing a great market opportunity for firms, according to NCAER. A report by National Council [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
16 for Applied Economic Research‘s (NCAER) Centre for Macro Consumer Research unveiled on February 6, 2011 said by 2015-16, India will be a country of 53.3 million middle class households, translating into 267 million people falling in the category. As per the study, which uses ‗household income‘ as the criterion, a family with an annual income between Rs 3.4 lakh to Rs 17 lakh (at 2009-10 price levels) falls in the middle class category. (As per 2000-01 prices, middle class classification was based on annual income of Rs 2-10 lakh.) Currently India has 31.4 million middle class households (160 million individuals).
Answer 38: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011. The exit age of the contributory pension scheme ―Swavalamban‖ has been relaxed to 50 years from 60 years in the Budget. The benefit of government contribution has been extended from three years to five years for all subscribers of Swavalamban who enroll during 2010-11 and 2011-12. Under the ongoing Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for below the poverty line (BPL) beneficiaries, the eligibility for pension is to be reduced from 65 years to 60 years. Further, for those who are 80 years and above, the pension amount is being raised from Rs 200 at present to Rs 500 per month.
Answer 39: A high-level committee chaired by former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla on February 9, 2011 stressed the need for a centralised and transparent database in respect of all natural resources handled by the central government. The committee on ‗Open and Competitive Mechanism for Allocation, Pricing and Utilisation of Natural Resources‘ says that a centralised data base would ensure co-ordination amongst different ministries/departments and obviate many of the legal disputes pending in various courts of law. The committee will submit its complete report soon. It will focus on those natural resources, which are not man-made and are under the direct control of the central government or any of its agencies. These will include land, water, minerals (including petroleum products like oil and gas) and radio frequency (spectrum).
Answer 40: The Finance Minister substantially raised defence budget allocation by 11.6 per cent to Rs 1,64,415 crore for 2011-12 from last year‘s Rs 1,47,344 crore. Of the total outlay, Rs 69,199 crore has been allocated for the acquisition of modern and new weapon systems.
Answer 41: State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), the country‘s second largest producer of the alloy, was allowed by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on February 9, 2011 to extract iron ore from its Chiria mines in Jharkhand. This will allow SAIL to more than quadruple capacity to 60 million tonnes (mt) by 2020. The approval is subjected to the usual 13 specific conditions governing forest clearance like those relating to compensatory afforestation and Net Present Value.
Answer 42: The Union Cabinet on March 4, 2011 gave its approval to the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which proposes to increase the voting rights of foreign investors in private sector banks. The Bill seeks to align the voting rights of foreign shareholders in banks in proportion to their equity holding and will make it easier for banks to raise capital. It will be tabled in the current session of Parliament. At present, there is a 10 per cent ceiling on voting rights of foreign entities in private banks, regardless of their shareholding.
Answer 43: The government may allow direct marketing, contract farming and dispense with the requirement of routing every farm produce to be sold to consumers through agriculture produce marketing committees (APMCs). The move is aimed at lowering retail prices by bridging their gap with farmgate prices. The suggestions were made by the Narendra Modi committee on consumer affairs on February 27, 2011. The committee is also mandated to suggest amendments to the Essential Commodities Act. It is co-chaired by chief ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The report will be submitted to the prime minister soon.
Answer 44: India on February 28, 2011 joined the elite club of advanced countries producing Titanium sponge when the Defence minister AK Antony inaugurated the 500-tonne capacity Titanium Sponge plant at Chavara near Kollam in Kerala. The plant, at the Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) campus, is the first of its kind in the country, and will produce premium quality titanium metal in the form of sponge. India would now join the select group of nations like the US, China, Japan and the UK having the technology for industrial scale production of titanium. Titanium and its alloys are used in strategic fields like aerospace, armour plating, naval shipbuilding, missiles, and nuclear power plants. They possess high corrosion, crack and fatigue resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, and the ability to withstand moderately high temperatures. The technology in this crucial area was developed by the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) Hyderabad, and the project is being financed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, the main consumer of titanium sponge. India has the third largest deposits of titanium in the world, distributed primarily along the coast of southern peninsula. [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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Answer 45: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 28, 2011 presented the Union Budget 2011-12 that sought to cut the fiscal deficit to 4.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). GDP estimated to have grown at 8.6% in 2010-11. Indian economy expected to grow at 9% in 2011-12. Rs. 40,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment in 2011-12.
Answer 46: Discovery, one of the orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, returned after its final space flight recently. The shuttle cruised onto the runway at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida on March 9, 2011, wrapping up a rich, 27-year career in spaceflight. Other two Orbiters – Atlantis and Endeavour – remain operational. Both of the two Orbiters will be retired after their final missions in 2011-12. Space shuttle Columbia was destroyed on February 1, 2003 while re-entering the atmosphere after a 16-day scientific mission. Challenger was destroyed as it broke up in mid-flight in the second minute of its tenth mission, on January 28, 1986 Answer 47: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to remove the priority sector lending benefit available to commercial banks, under the agriculture classification, for loans to gold loan companies like Manappuram and Muthoot. The removal of the priority sector benefit is expected to reduce the attractiveness of bank lending to this sector. This could increase the borrowing costs of gold loan companies. Till recently, loans from banks constituted nearly 75 per cent of gold loan companies‘ aggregate borrowings as on September 30, 2010. The priority sector lending benefit has also helped these companies maintain a low cost of borrowings from banks, at 8.0 to 10.5 per cent.
Priority Sector Lending: The Government of India through the instrument of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandates certain type of lending on the Banks operating in India irrespective of their origin. RBI sets targets in terms of percentage (of total money lent by the Banks) to be lent to certain sectors, which in RBI‘s perception would not have had access to organised lending market or could not afford to pay the interest at the commercial rate. This type of lending is called Priority Sector Lending. Financing of Small Scale Industry, Small business, Agricultural Activities and Export activities fall under this category. This is also called directed credit in Indian Banking system. Financing Priority Sector in the economy is not strictly on commercial basis as not only the general approach is liberal but also the rate of interest charged on such loans is less.
Answer 48: The target of providing banking facilities to all 73,000 habitations having a population of over 2,000 will be completed during the ensuing financial year i.e. 2011-12 using appropriate technologies. Announcing this in his Budget Speech in the Lok Sabha on February 28, 2011, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that 20,000 villages will be covered by the banks during this year i.e. 2010-11 and the remaining will be covered during 2011-12. A multi-media campaign, ―Swabhimaan‖, has been launched to inform, educate and motivate people to open bank accounts.
Answer 49: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will launch an economic survey of India in a big way in June this year. This was conveyed by the OECD Secretary-General, Jose Angel Gurria, to the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in New Delhi on March 4, 2011. Mukherjee said that there was lot of scope for cooperation between India and OECD in the field of global tax reforms, sharing of information among different countries in cases of tax evasion and money laundering. Above all, both can co-operate and work together on developmental issues which are vital in the present day scenario of world wide economic downturn. The Finance Minister also said that India can learn and take benefit from the best practices evolved by OECD in different sectors based on the collective experiences and tested practices of different countries
Answer 50: Rajiv Memani is CEO and Country Manager of Ernst & Young Neville Tuli is the founder of Osian‘s, the art auction house Rahul Dhir, managing director and chief executive officer, Cairn India Pratap Bhanu Mehta is the President of New Delhi based Center for Policy Research. His recent books include Burden of Democracy (Penguin) and Oxford Companion to Politics in India (co-edited with Niraja Jayal). He is a prolific contributor to public debates and is Editorial Consultant to the Indian Express. He is also on the editorial board of numerous journals including the American Political Science Review, Journal of Democracy, and India and Global Affairs.
[email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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TEST – II
Answer 1: Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director of Marico Ltd, on March 4, 2011 took over as President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at the conclusion of its 83rd annual general meeting in New Delhi. R V Kanoria, CMD, Kanoria Chemicals and Industries, has been elected Senior Vice President. Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, HSBC, is the new Vice President. Established in 1927, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India. It plays a leading role in policy debates that are at the forefront of social, economic and political change. Through its 400 professionals, FICCI is active in 39 sectors of the economy.
Answer 2: Rajat Gupta, former director of Goldman Sachs and Mckinsey, on February 4, 2011 resigned from the board of the Hyderabad-based Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), a public-private-partnership initiative being run by the GVK group. EMRI is a non- profit organisation that handles medical, police and fire emergency calls. Its service is free. It was founded by the now-disgraced promoter of Satyam Computer Services, B Ramalinga Raju and was entrusted to GVK after Raju was arrested and sent to jail in 2009 in connection with a massive accounting fraud. Other members of the EMRI board include GV Krishna Reddy, chairman of GVK Group, his wife Indira Reddy, Sandhya Reddy, vice-chairman of GVK Power and Infra, R Kartikeyan, former director, CBI and Abid Hussein, former ambassador to the US.
Answer 3: Denmark‘s Caroline Wozniacki remained on top of the latest WTA rankings released on March 1, 2011 as the leading ten players all held their spots. The rankings (WTA): Top Ten: 1. Caroline Wozniacki (Den) 9550 points, 2. Kim Clijsters (Bel) 8835, 3. Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 7565, 4. Samantha Stosur (Aus) 5086, 5. Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 5051, 6. Jelena Jankovic (Srb) 4825, 7. Li Na (Chn) 4300, 8. Venus Williams (USA) 3465, 9. Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 3440, 10. Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 3170.
Answer 4: A Preliminary Design (PD) contract has been signed between HAL and Rosoboronexport, Russia in December, 2010 for design, development and certification of the Prospective Multi-role Fighter Aircraft (also known as Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) programme. The aircraft will be developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) jointly with Sukhoi Design Bureau (SDB) of Russia at a cost of 295 million USD. This information was given by Defence Minister AK Antony in Lok Sabha on March 7, 2011.
Answer 5: K. Ullas Karanth is a conservation zoologist and a leading tiger expert based in Karnataka, India. He is the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society India Program.
Ashima Goyal is Professor of Economics at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
Prayas is one of India‘s largest non-profit organisations. Its goal is to protect the rights of marginalised children, women and young people. Prayas has projects in seven states across India serving an estimated 100,000 people. The organisation is based in Delhi was founded in 1988 by former Delhi Police Chief Amod Kanth.
Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee‘s proposal to impose 5% service tax on healthcare now faces stiff resistance from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh‘s surgeon Ramakant Panda. Panda, who heads Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai and is one of India‘s best known cardio-vascular thoracic surgeons, has written a letter to Mukherjee asking for a rollback of the proposal.
Answer 6: The Karnataka Cabinet on March 8, 2011 decided to recommend to the Centre to name the Bengaluru International Airport after the city founder Kempe Gowda.
Answer 7: The Economic Survey released on February 25, 2011 observed that tea and coffee production in the country is expected to increase. The post monsoon coffee production is expected to rise by four per cent at 2,99,000 tonnes for the year 2010-11 as against 2,89,000 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. Likewise, tea production is expected to rise marginally by 2 per cent to 991.18 million kg in 2009-10 as against 972.77 million kg in the year-ago period.
Answer 8: Martin Kaymer of Germany is the new World number one in golf, taking over from Lee Westwood on February 28, 2011. World Top 10: 1. Martin Kaymer (Ger); 2. Lee Westwood (Eng); 3. Luke Donald (Eng); 4. Graeme McDowell (Nir); 5. Tiger Woods (USA); 6. Phil Mickelson (USA); 7. Paul Casey (Eng); 8. Rory McIlroy (Nir); 9. Steve Stricker (USA); 10. Matt Kuchar (USA). [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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Answer 9: Sunny Sidhu and Rohit Michael clinched the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally title, pipping the nearest rivals Rai Virendra Singh and Gunpreet by almost five-minute margin on February 27, 2011. Sidhu and Michael emerged winners in the Xtreme T1 category – competition for modified cars – in their Suzuki Grand Vitara. Other winners include Dharam Pal Jangra & Vijuraj N in Xtreme T2 category; R Natraj in Moto; Takale Sanjay Ram and Rahul Sancheti in Ndure and Mukul Budhia in Xplore. Close to 300 participants traversed about 3500 km in the six-day rally, which was flagged off from Ahmedabad and concluded in Delhi. The rally crossed the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the deserts of Thar in Rajasthan and finally the Aravali ranges enroute to the national capital.
Answer 10: Canada‘s 16-year old Nitish Kumar on February 28, 2011 became the youngest cricketer to make his World Cup debut when he was drafted into the playing XI against Zimbabwe in a group match in Nagpur. Nitish was born in May, 1994, four and half years after Sachin Tendulkar‘s international debut against Pakistan in 1989.
Answer 11: Sariska National Park, Ranthambore National Park, Darrah National Park, Desert National Park, Keoladeo National Park and Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary are the National Parks in Rajasthan.
Answer 12: Chennai-based Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS) has entered into a tie-up with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) GmbH and Co. KG, Germany, to cooperate in developing advanced defence systems for Indian defence establishment as well as other defence forces worldwide. A MoU to this effect was signed between the companies during the International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi on February 24, 2011. It includes development of artillery systems, combat systems, armoured wheeled vehicles, recovery vehicles, bridge- laying systems and other similar products. ALDS is a newly formed arm of Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of Hinduja group, in which it owns 26 per cent of equity share.
Answer 13: Employees in India are expected to see a salary hike of 12.9 per cent this year, among the highest in the world, as industries are benefiting from the country‘s robust economic growth, according to Aon Hewitt. Led by engineering services sector, the projected jump of 12.9 per cent in salaries for this year is higher than the actual increase of 11.7 per cent seen in 2010. Global HR consultancy group Aon Hewitt on March 8, 2011 said India is likely to see the highest pay hike in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by China (9 per cent) and Philippines (7 per cent).
Answer 14: After a fortnight-long sporting action, the curtain was rung down on the 34th National Games at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium at the Mega Sports Complex in Ranchi on February 26, 2011. The five-hour closing ceremony brought to an end to one of the biggest and well- attended Games in which competitions were held in 33 disciplines in three cities of Jharkhand. Services emerged as the best sporting unit with a haul of 70 gold, 50 silver and 42 bronze medals for a total of 162, a tally that surpassed its previous best of 59-46-37 achieved at the last Games in 2007. Richa Mishra of Delhi and Virdhawal Khade of Maharashtra were adjudged as the best female and male athletes of the Games and were awarded IOA Trophies. Services were given the Raja Bhalendra Trophy which was received by Air Marshal J.N. Verma on behalf of the Services Sports Control Board. Manipur was adjudged as the best State and was given a trophy as well. Kerala will host of the 35th edition in 7 cities spread across the State in Dec 2012.
Answer 16: Estonia‘s Prime Minister, Andrus Ansip, swept to victory in elections held on March 6, 2011. Of Estonia‘s over nine hundred thousand electorate, 62.9 took part in voting. 25% of those via internet link, currently Estonia is the only parliamentary polls worldwide were online voting are possible.
Answer 17: JSW Steel is all set to become the country‘s largest steel maker in April 2011, surpassing public sector SAIL, with the commissioning of 3.2 million tonnes per annum blast furnace at its Vijaynagar plant in Karnataka. After the new capacity addition, JSW will be able to produce 14.3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel, 0.4 million tonnes more than SAIL. At present, the company has a steel making capacity of about 7.8 MTPA at its Vijaynagar and Salem units. It entered into a deal in December to acquire 41.29 per cent stake in loss- making Ispat Industries having a capacity of about 3.3 MTPA.
Answer 18: China topped the United States as the world‘s largest manufacturer for the first time last year, according to a study by economic research firm IHS Global Insight. China accounted for 19.8 percent of global manufacturing in 2010, compared with 19.4 percent for the US – [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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$1.995 trillion worth, compared with $1.952 trillion, according to the HIS study in March 2101. But by measures of productivity, China remained far behind the United States, with US manufacturing workers generating more than eight times the value per person than China‘s. ―In other words, the US manufacturing sector is producing roughly the same amount of output in 2010 with 11.5 million workers as opposed to its Chinese counterpart with around 100 million workers,‖ IHS said. Japan remained a distant third last year, generating $1.027 trillion by manufacturing, followed by Germany, with $618 billion. But the most telling indicators were the pace of growth: over 2008-2010, China‘s manufacturing sector grew at a pace of 20.2 percent per year, while the United States grew at 1.8 percent and Japan at 4.25 percent. Germany and fifth-ranked South Korea both contracted, and sixth-ranked India grew at 7.3 percent annually. IHS pointed out that at one-third of the total economy, China‘s manufacturing sector is far larger as a portion of output than any other country. In the United States, by comparison, the share is just 13 percent of all production; in the other top-ranked countries, it is 15-20 percent.
Answer 19: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Secretary General Amit Mitra on March 14, 2011 officially joined the Trinamool Congress and could contest in the forthcoming Assembly Elections.
Answer 20: The caste census being done by the government as part of the overall exercise to understand the country‘s demography is a retrograde step. It would bring issues of caste and casteism to the forefront, said India‘s best known demographer, Ashish Bose, honorary professor at the New-Delhi based Institute of Economic Growth on March 7, 2011. It was Bose who in the 1980s coined the term BIMARU states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh). The Hindu rate of growth is a controversial and derogatory expression used to refer to the low annual growth rate of the economy of India before 1991, which stagnated around 3.5% from 1950s to 1980s, while per capita income growth averaged 1.3%. The term was coined by economist Raj Krishna.
Answer 21: The naval version of Tejas is ready and the first flight will take place in two months. A two-seater trainer version flew in November 2010 and one more will fly in the second half of 2011. The development of the Tejas trainer for both the Army and the Air Force will be completed in another 18 months, after which it will go into production. Tejas is powered by the GE-F404-IN20 engine from the United States.
Answer 22: For the first time, a 24-hour call centre has been introduced by the Election Commission for the benefit of voters in the five states, including Assam, going to the polls next month. Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi informed on March 7, 2011, ―We have for the first time introduced a 24X7 call centre in all the five states going for Assembly elections. ―By dialling 1965, which is common to all the five states going to polls, the voters can lodge a complaint or ask any question. These will be directly sent to the control rooms opened in the district deputy commissioner‘s office of the individual states,‖ Quraishi said.
Answer 23: Dilip Kapur, President, Hidesign Rajat Gupta is the Chairman and Managing Director Emeritus, Indian School of Business (ISB) K. Srinath Reddy is President of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) The Indian industry body Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) on March 9, 2011 nominated Srivats Ram, Managing Director of Wheels India (TVS Group) as the President and Arvind Kapur, Managing Director of Rico Auto Industries as Vice President for 2010-11.
Answer 24: In 2003, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched Avahan, an initiative to reduce the spread of HIV in India. In July 2009, the foundation announced that it had increased its total commitment to Avahan from $258 million to $338 million. Avahan provides funding and support to targeted HIV prevention programs in the six Indian states with the highest HIV prevalence, and along the nation‘s major trucking routes. Avahan-supported programs serve the groups that are most vulnerable to HIV infection, including sex workers, their clients and partners, high-risk men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users.
Answer 25: The government has spent more than Rs 20 crore on the Srikrishna Committee which was constituted to hold consultations with all sections of people, groups and political parties in Andhra Pradesh following the demand for a separate Telangana state. Minister of State for Home Gurudas Kamat said the Central government set up the Committee for Consultations on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP) headed by Justice (retd) B N Srikrishna on February 3, 2010. ―The total expenditure incurred on the CCSAP upto March 4, 2011 is 20,15,86,242,‖ he told Lok Sabha on March 8, 2011.
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Answer 26: An advertisement issued by the Pakistan Navy on March 8, 2011 for a multi-national exercise prominently featured images of Indian Navy warships even though India is not among the countries participating in the manoeuvres being held in the Indian Ocean. The full- page advertisement for the Aman-11 exercise, which appeared in The Nation and Nawa-e-Waqt newspapers, featured images of the Indian Navy‘s Delhi, Godavari and Talwar-class warships. It also featured images of US warships under the slogan: ―Together for peace‖. Warships, aircraft, Special Forces and representatives from 39 countries are participating in the manoeuvres aimed at fostering peace in the region and enhancing cooperation to counter maritime threats like piracy. Pakistan has not invited India to participate in the exercise due to the strained relations between the two countries.
Answer 27: Economic Survey 2010-11 was presented by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Lok Sabha on February 25, 2011. The Indian government is the fifth most powerful in the world in terms of its ability to project the economy in the global sphere, as per a new ranking of 112 governments released as part of the Survey. As per the Index of Government Economic Power (IGEP), India‘s economic power has increased substantially in the nine year period. It moved to the fifth spot in 2009 from a ranking of 10 in 2000. According to the IGEP 2009, the US was at the top of the list, followed by China, Japan, Germany, India, Russia, Brazil, France, Italy and the UK. The index aims to assess a government‘s performers on the globe in terms of its ability to raise resources, credit-worthiness and credibility in international financial markets and determine its importance in multilateral fora based on four variables • government revenues, foreign currency reserves, export of goods and services and human capital.
Answer 28: The International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT) project, Vallarpadam was dedicated to the Nation by PM Manmohan Singh at Cochin on February 11, 2011. The project is a major milestone achieved in maritime sector in the development of the country‘s logistics infrastructure.
The ICTT, Vallarpadam is India‘s first dedicated International Container Transshipment Terminal developed by Cochin Port Trust and M/s India Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd (IGT), a subsidiary of M/s Dubai Port World (DPW) through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.
The absence of a global hub port and the lack of trans-shipment facilities had put Indian trade at a disadvantage as about 60 per cent of the country‘s export-import containers were trans-shipped through ports such as Singapore and Colombo. Trans-shipment of India-bound or outbound containers from these foreign ports involved an additional expense of $300 a container and an extra seven to 10 days in transit time. The commissioning of the first phase of the Vallarpadam project means that exporters can now access mainline container vessels calling at the Cochin.
Answer 29: The Railway Budget 2011-12 was presented by Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee, in Parliament on February 25, 2011. Following are the highlights: No hike in passenger fare and freight rates. Highest ever Plan outlay of Rs 57,630 crore proposed for Railways. Rs. 9,583 crore provided for new lines. 1300 km new lines, 867 km doubling of lines and 1017 km gauge conversion targeted in 2011-12 56 new Express Trains, 3 new Shatabdis and 9 Duronto trains to be introduced. AC Double Decker services on Jaipur-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes. New Super AC Class to be introduced. A new portal for e-ticketing to be launched shortly Booking charges will be cheaper with a charge of only Rs 10 for AC classes and Rs 5 for others. Pan-India multipurpose smart card ‗Go India‘ to be introduced 236 more stations to be upgraded as Adarsh Stations A special package of 2 new trains and 2 projects for the states managing trouble free run of trains throughout the year GPS Based ‗Fog Safe‘ Device to be deployed All state capitals in the North-East except Sikkim to be connected by Rail in next seven years.
Answer 30: JK Tyre on February 11, 2011 announced the launch of a new racing series – JK Racing Asia Series. The championship will run under the patronage of JK Tyre brand but will remain under the management of Motorsport Asia, the biggest motorsport promoter and organiser in the continent. The JK Racing series will showcase a line-up of drivers from all corners of the world including Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa. The race car will be christened Formula JK Tyre Pacific and will run on JK tyres. The races will commence in April, the venues being Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, China, Singapore and India. The series will consist of 18 races on six weekends in the 2011 season. [email protected] For the Week: March 6 to 12, 2011 For UPSC
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Answer 31: The Railway Budget 2011-12 was presented by Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee, in Parliament on February 25, 2011. Following are the highlights: The railway budget has revised the operating ratio projections for this fiscal down to 92.1% from the budgeted 92.3%. Operating ratio is the amount spent by the railways to earn every Rs100. For 2011-12, the ministry wants to bring the ratio lower by another 1%.
Answer 32: The Government of India on February 14, 2011 constituted a Task Force under the Chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in order to evolve a suitable mechanism for direct subsidies to individuals/families who are entitled to Kerosene, LPG and Fertilizer. Beside Chairman of the Task Force, it will also consist of Secretaries from Department/Ministry of Expenditure, Financial Services, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Agriculture, Food & Public Distribution, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Rural Development along with D.G., UID Authority. The Task Force would submit its Interim Report within four months of its constitution.
Answer 33: The awards for the 14th cycle of the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Awards and the IMC Juran Quality Medal for 2010 were announced on February 3, 2011. Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, has won the IMC Juran Quality Medal for 2010. Other winners at the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award 2010 include:
IMC RBNQ TROPHY 2009: Manufacturing: L&T, Electrical Standard Products, Powai & Ahmednagar; Service: Dahanu Thermal Power Station, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, Dahanu; Education: Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi
IMC RBNQ OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS TROPHY 2009 Manufacturing: Lanxess India, Birlagram, Nagda, MP, Birla White, Grasim Industries Ltd (White Cement Division), Jodhpur; Gagal Cement Works, ACC Ltd, Barmana; Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd, Precision Engineering Systems Division, Vikhroli, Mumbai; Marico Ltd, Dehradun Plant; Sterlite Industries (I) Ltd, Tuticorin and Silvassa Service: GTL Ltd, Navi Mumbai; ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd, Mumbai Health Care: Moolchand Medcity, Moolchand Hospital, New Delhi; Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Mumbai
Answer 34: The Union government on February 18, 2011 annulled the controversial deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation‘s commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia. Dr. M.G. Chandrasekhar, former Scientific Secretary at ISRO, is Chairman while Ramachandran Viswanathan is President and CEO of Devas Multimedia which is a private sector company. ‗Advanced Solutions for an Advancing Nation‘ is its motto.
Answer 35: Mumbai slipped by one place to sixth in the list of the world‘s most expensive office locations in 2011, according to global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield on February 23, 2011. The 2011 list was topped by Hong Kong, while London and Tokyo came second and third in the rankings, which valued Mumbai‘s office occupancy cost at USD 114 per square foot a year.
Answer 36: The Wassenaar Arrangement (full name: ―The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies‖) is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) with 40 participating states. It is the successor to the Cold war-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM), and was established on July 12, 1996, in the Dutch town of Wassenaar, near The Hague. The Arrangement is open on a global and non-discriminatory basis to prospective adherents that comply with the agreed criteria. Admission of new members requires the consensus of all members. To be admitted, a state must: be a producer/exporter of arms or sensitive industrial equipment; maintain non-proliferation policies and fully effective export controls. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will lead India‘s bid for full membership in the four international export control regimes — the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Group.
Answer 37: Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and Nobel peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu were awarded honorary life membership by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on February 9, 2011. Widely known as a cricket enthusiast, the reverend Tutu was the first speaker to be drawn from outside the circle of international cricket to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in 2008. Flintoff, who retired from the game last year, joins a select group of former players including Sir Garfield Sobers, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Sir Ian Botham, who are already life members of the club.
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Answer 38: China has set its sights on joining the ranks of the world‘s leading defence-industrial powers, amid growing concerns in India over Beijing‘s recent assertiveness and its change in policy towards New Delhi‘s row with Pakistan over Kashmir, a top UK think tank said on March 8, 2011. ―China possesses many of the vital ingredients for success as world‘s leading defence-industrial powers - ample funding, strong political support and selective access to foreign technologies,‖ The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its Military Balance 2011.
Answer 39: Shane Watson capped an outstanding playing year by winning Australian cricket‘s top individual award, the Allan Border Medal, for the second straight year on February 7, 2011 in Melbourne. In other awards, New South Wales batsman Usman Khawaja was named state player of the year and NSW paceman Trent Copeland was the young player of the year.
Answer 40: Bourguiba Square in Tunis, Tahrir Square in Cairo, Azadi Square in Tehran, Pearl Square in Manama
Answer 41: Rohini Nilekani is Chairperson, Akshara Foundation, Arghyam Trust, Pratham Books Sudha Murty is a trustee, and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation
Answer 42:
Saji Narayanan is the National President of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, in news recently for his opposition to the proposed amendments to the Contracts Labour Act
Shankar Iyer is a journalist with the India Today Group
Vrinda Grover, a Delhi-based human rights lawyer, is director of Multiple Action Research Group (MARG). She is presently counsel for survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage, 1987 Hashimpura police killings and the 2008 anti-Christian riots in Kandhamal.
2011 Padma Bhushan awardee Sankha Ghosh is a Bengali poet, academician and critic
Answer 43: Air India‘s foray into all-women crew flights dates back to November 1985 when Capt. Saudamini Deshmukh and Capt. Nivedita Bhasin operated an Indian Airlines Fokker Friendship flight from Kolkata to Silchar.
Answer 44: Indians travelling abroad for leisure are showing more interest in new destinations such as China, Maldives, Indonesia, Africa and Bangladesh at the expense of the most preferred destination Singapore, according to a survey by the Nielsen Company. The ‗India Outbound Monitor‘, a survey by the Nielsen Company and Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) based on their most recent trips taken, percentage of Indians visiting newer places such as China, Indonesia, Africa, Bangladesh and Macau has gone up to 38 per cent in 2010, up from 20 per cent in 2008. On the other hand, Singapore‘s share has gone down to 24 per cent in 2010 from 32 per cent in 2008. For business travel, Singapore‘s share has also fallen from 25 per cent in 2008 to 15 per cent in 2010.
Answer 45: Theatre director Arvind Gaur is well known for his play dealing with the relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar titled ―Ambedkar Aur Gandhi‖. According to Arvind Gaur, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar worked relentlessly to put an end to untouchability and discrimination but they had difference of opinions and thoughts in addressing and fighting the historical social issue.
Rohit Saran is Editor of Business Today, India‘s most sold and most read business magazine. He has been with the India Today Group for the past 15 years and has handled a variety of assignments
Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison Communications Pvt Ltd, Mumbai
Tarun Khanna is the Professor at Harvard Business School and Director of Harvard University South Asia Initiative
Answer 46: A stadium in eastern Libya named in honour of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been stripped of its title. The Hugo Chavez stadium outside Benghazi has been renamed ―Martyrs of February‖, in memory of people killed fighting to overthrow the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
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Answer 47: Government has entered into bilateral/regional trade agreements with various trading partners to obtain better market access for India‘s products. Exports of specific agricultural products are promoted under Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana. Share of India‘s agricultural exports in global agricultural exports which was 0.85% in 1990 has increased to 1.43% in 2009. This information was given by Arun Yadav, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha in March 2011
Answer 48: Libya was an Italian colony before World War II. It gained independence in 1951 under the leadership of King Idris. Oil was discovered in 1959. In 1969, a group of officers led by Muammar al-Gaddafi staged a bloodless coup while King Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment. Gaddafi‘s relations with the West were strained. US President Carter‘s administration declared Libya a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979.
In 1986 the US bombed Gaddafi‘s residence killing his adopted daughter after two US soldiers died in a Libyan-backed blast at a Berlin club. The US also imposed sanctions on Libya in 1986. Then, in 1988, Libya was implicated in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland. Relations began to improve in 1999 when Libya handed over two men to be tried for the Lockerbie bombing, one of whom was found guilty. In 2006 Libya was dropped from the US state sponsors of terror list. Western leaders flocked to visit the country and set up business links.
Answer 49: The International Court of Justice in February 2011 ruled that Nicaragua must remove its troops from Calero Island in Costa Rica. Nicaragua sent the soldiers there last year when it began dredging a channel around the island in the San Juan River, which marks the border between the two countries. However, the court said that Nicaragua could go on dredging, despite Costa Rica‘s claim of environmental damage.
Answer 50: The AIFF Executive committee on February 23, 2011 decided to sack the national football coach Bob Houghton from his post. The Committee decided to accept the recommendation of the Technical Committee which in its review had expressed disappointment at the performance of the Indian team in the continental showpiece event held in Doha, Qatar. India had lost all their three group matches – against Australia (0-4), Bahrain (2-5) and South Korea (1-4).
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