model Question BankPO benefit from its zero-tax tariff system is Afghanistan. General Awareness 1) US 2) Britain 3) Japan 4) China 5) None of these 10. The International Monetary Fund has raised India's 1. RBI has clarified that its new cheque clearance norms growth forecast for 2010 to , stating that —ruling out changes on cheques even if counter• favourable financing conditions and robust corporate signed—will be applicable only from Dec 1 and that too profits will accelerate economic expansion. only on those cleared through 1)6.5% 2)7.5% 3)8.5% 4)9.5% 5) None of these 1) Cheque truncation system 11. Name the state government which is all set to initiate rapid 2) Cheque transition system 3) Cheque transfer system privatisation of higher education in the state. For this 4) Cheque trailing system 5) None of these purpose, chief minister has decided to set up Special 2. Name the B JP MLA of Orissa who has been awarded seven- Education Zones (SEdZs) on the lines of Special Economic year rigorous imprisonment by a court in a case of murder Zones (SEZs). during the 2008 communal riots in Kandhamal. 1)UP 2) MP 3) Bihar l)Manoj Pradhan 2) Suresh Sahu 3)HaritPatnaik 4) Chhattisgarh 5) None of these 4) Sakshi Dash 5) None of these 12. In which of the following states, has the cabinet decided 3. Banks geared up to enter the new lending regime, Base to empower the Lokayukta to launch suo motu Bank Rate, replacing the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate investigations against corrupt officials up to the level of (BPLR) from July 1, and the country's premier bank and chief secretary and principal secretary? largest public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) 3) Andhra Pradesh 2) Kerala 3) Karnataka fixed its base rate at 4) Tamil Nadu 5) None of these 1)5.5% 2)6.5% 3)7.5% 4) 8.5% ^5) None of these 13. A panel of experts appointed by the HRD ministry to 4. Name the country which became without a government prepare a blueprint for 2,500 model schools through after the cabinet resigned en masse amid a worsening power public private partnerships (PPPs) on Jul 9 set a 2014 struggle between President Mohamed Nasheed and the timeline for implementing the project. The panel, headed opposition-controlled parliament. by , decided that the schools would be managed 1) Sri Lanka 2) Maldives 3) Brunei by the private partners. 4) Malaysia 5) None of these l)ArjunSingh 2)KapilSibal 3)YashPal 5. Tata Motors has overtaken Hyundai as India's second- 4) Ambika Soni 5) None of these biggest carmaker in June, behind only 14. The Supreme Court has upheld an order of the Bombay 1) Huyndai 2) Hindustan Motors high court to lift a four-year-old ban imposed by the 3) Maruti 4) GM 5) None of these Maharashtra government on publication and circulation 6. Which country became the first in the world to adopt a of a controversial book 'Shivaji—The Hindu King in policy to provide broadband Internet service to all citizens? Muslim India', authored by American scholar 1) Sweden 2) Norway 3) Finland 1) James Laine 2) Christopher Sandford 4) US 5) None of these 3) AK Srikumar 4) Soumya Bhattacharya 7. Name the India-born former President of Penguin Canada 5) None of these who was forced to quit following allegation of sexual harassment by a colleague and has reached an out-of-court 15. Balika Cycle Yojana, Balika Poshak Yojana, and Akshar settlement with the accuser who was demanding $523,000 Aanchal Yojana are associated with in damages from him and the publishing firm. 1) Bihar 2) UP 3)MP4)Haryana 5) None of these l)AmitChaudhri 2)AmitavGhosh 3)DavidDavidar 16. In a first for the Army, a woman officer was awarded 4)ArvindAdiga 5) None of these Sena Medal for bravery overseas, on the occasion of I- 8. Name the magazine which has apologized to Indian Day. had been the first officer to reach the Americans following the publication of a column by Indian guesthouse in Kabul that was attacked on Feb j ournal ist Joel Stein which offended and outraged the large 26, and had helped rescue several colleagues. community, especially those in New Jersey. 1) Major Mitali Madhumita 2) Major Ritu Singh 1) Newsweek 2) Time 3) Fortune 3) Major Anju Bhargava 3) Major Meena Vashist 4) Forbes 5) None of these 5) None of these 9. Name the country which has decided not to impose any 17. Name the person who assumed charge as the new Chief duty on export from Bangladesh and Nepal. This zero- Election Commissioner and said the Central Election duty treatment to exporters in these countries is likely to Commission would accord priority to curbing the role of affect Indian exporters adversely. Another Asian nation to monev nower in elections. l)SYQuraishi 2) Navin Chawla on July 12 is a pico satellite, named , which 3) Purushottam Agarwal 4) Yakoob Qureshi weighs less than 1.5 kg. A picosat is a miniaturised 5) None of these artificial satellite. 18. Khel Ratna for badminton star and recognition l)Studsat 2)Edusat. 3)Gyansat for football after eight years were the highlights of the 4) Vidyasat 5) None of these recommendations for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and 27. Stung by allegation of sexual harassment, the Indian Arjuna Awards made by two especially-constituted women's hockey coach resigned recently. Identify him. panels. 1) Zafar Iqbal 2) Pargat Singh 3) Aslam Sher Khan l)Tejaswani 2) Saina Nehwal 3) NehaAgarwal 4) MK Kaushik 5) None of these 4) Sania Mirza 5) None of these 28. In an attempt to streamline its interaction with the media, 19. The renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattanaik has the Union minister of home affairs appointed , won the first prize at the 8th International Sand Sculpture Additional Secretary, as its spokesperson. He now looks Championship held in for his sculpture that after the Naxal Management Division in the ministry. He showcased the effects of global warming. is an IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. 1) Berlin 2) France 3) London l)DRSChaudhary 2)AnilSikri 3)DipakKumar 4) New York 5) None of these 4) Suhil Kumar 5) None of these 20. Who has been awarded this year's Lokmanya Tilak award 29. Name the former Attorney General of India who passed in Pune, on the 90th death anniversary of Bal Gangadhar away recently after a brief illness. He was 80. Tilak? 1) Soli Sorabjee 2) Milon Kumar Banerjee 1) Raman Singh 2) Shivraj Singh Chauhan 3) A Ahmadi 4) KG Balakrishnan 3) Omar Abdullah 4) Shiela Dikshit 5) None of these 5) None of these 30. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has signalled that 21. Name the chief editor of the mass-circulation Malayalam he would prefer a complete withdrawal of the foreign newspaper Malayala Manor ama who passed away recently. forces from the country by _____ in tune with a 1) KM Mathew 2) Thomas Mathew 3) Mathew Ommen gradual takeover of security in the provinces by Afghan 4) Mathen Hyden 5) None of these forces from next year. 22. In a move that will have a major long-term implication, 1)2012 2)2014 3)2016 4)2018 5) None of these the Centre plans to expand the coverage of Below 31. Name the committee on Takeover Regulations which has Poverty Line (BPL) Population under the public recommended an increase in the acquisition threshold distribution system (PDS) to from the current for the initial trigger of an open offer from the current 6.52 crore based on the acceptance of the Tendulkar level of 15 per cent to 25 per cent of the voting capital of Committee's poverty projections for 2011 by the Planning a listed company. Commission. There will be no revision of quota per family 1) Achuthan Committee 2) Kirit Parekh Committee or of the central issue prices. 3) Usha Thorat Committee l)8.07cr 2)9.09cr 3)10.12cr 4) Naresh Chandra Committee 5) None of these 3) 12.20 cr 5) None of these 32. Russia recently conducted its largest military exercise 23. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presented the since the breakup of the Soviet Union. More than 20,000 prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2006 to octogenarian troops, 75 combat aircraft, 40 warships from the Pacific, litterateur Ravindra Kelekar. He writes in Northern and Black Sea Fleets, and 5,500 pieces of heavy 1) Marathi 2) Konkani 3) Kannada weapons were mobilised for 10-day war games. The exercise 4) Telegu 5) None of these was code-named. 24. In an effort to end the stalemate in Nepal over the election l)Sputnik-2010 2)Vostok-2010 3)Ural-2010 of the new Prime Minister, India is sending its former 4) Operation Black Sea 5) None of these foreign secretary, _, as special envoy to 33. Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is just a step away Kathmandu with a mandate to enagage all political from realising her goal of becoming the world's No.l parties, including the Maoists, and help build consensus player as she jumped one place to a career-best second on the formation of a government that can take the peace in the latest international rankings. Who is on the top? process and the task of Constitution writing to a 1) Yihan Wang 2) Xin Wang 3) Yuan Lee conclusion by next year's new deadline. 4) Taufik Hidayat 5) None of these l)Balmiki Prasad 2)NirupamaRao 3) ChokilaAyer 34.