BANK PROBATIONARY OFFICER GENERAL AWARENESS SELECTED VALUE POINTS IN GENERAL AWARENESS The bird specie which faces extinction in India is Chairman of the Tata group Ratan Tata has Vulture made it to the list of the Biggest Brains in According to the data published in the Business compiled by business publication Journal of the Bombay Natural History (as Conde Nast Portfolio for his $ 2,500 Car Nano. quoted) by Bird Life International the “Ruminations of A Gadfly” is a book by Deena population of vulture, since the 1980s, has Khatkhate been declining by more than 40%. “Ruminations of A Gadfly is the latest book The three Indians who have made it to the Time recently written by a noted social scientist Magazine list 2008 are Sonia Gandhi, Indira Nooyi Deena Khatkhate. It is a wide-ranging and Ratan Tata collection of unusual writing on non- Sonia Gandhi, Indira Nooyi and Ratan Tata economic issues by him.” have made it to the Time Magazine 2008 List The woman scientist appointed to head Agni of the World’s 100 most influential people. project is Tessy Thomas The highest number of blind people found in the Tessy Thomas, scientist in DRDO, is the first state of India is U.P. woman scientist who has been appointed Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) with 15.6 lakh blind has project director of the upgraded nuclear the dubious distinction of having highest capable Agni II missile project. number of sight disadvantaged persons as The noted social and human rights activist for per the figures by Ministry of Health, Govt. the last one year in jail in Chhattisgarh is Binayak of India. Sen The highest number of children working in an Binayak Sen-a doctor by profession and Indian state is Gujarat human rights activist has been in jail since According to recent revelations of National May 2007 for his alleged relation with Health Survey Phase III (NFHS-3) the Maoists under Chhattisgarh’s Special Public highest number of working children is in Security Act. Gujarat. The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic India’s first helium extraction pilot plant in Affairs has cleareds scholarships for Drop out Kuthalam was launched by ONGC students at secondary level Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) The Union Cabinet’s Committee on Limited launched the country’s first helium Economic Affairs on May 9, 2008 cleared a extraction pilot plant on May 11, 2008 in Centrally sponsored National Means-cum- Kuthalam where its gas filling station is Merit Scholarship to deal with the drop out situated. of students among weaker sections at the rate of Rs. 6,000 a year for four years from The Indian industrialist who has made it to the class IX. list of ‘the Biggest Brains in Business’ is Ratan Tata India recently won Women Asia Cup Cricket India beat Sri Lanka by 177 runs to clinch The person who has received honorary Energy Women Asia Cup Cricket for the fourth Globe Award 2007 is Mikhail Gorbachev successive year on May 11, 2008 in Ex Mikhail Gorbachev who is President of Kurunegala (Colombo). Green Cross International was given the The state which has received investment prestigious Energy Globe Award 2007 for his proposals worth Rs. 1,300 crore is Punjab efforts towards a better world. Punjab has received six fresh investment Oscar winning film director who recently died of proposals amounting to Rs. 1,300 crore from cancer is Sydney Pollack companies including Green Planet and Sydney Pollack who received Oscar for his Century for setting up agrobased industries film ‘Out of Africa’ in 1986 was a renowned to generate 3,500 jobs in the state. American film director. Tata Advanced System has signed an agreement The oldest person who has reached the 8,848 on weapons development with Israel metre Mt. Everest is Min Bahadur Sherchan Tata group company Tata Advanced System On May 25, 2008 Min Bahadur Sherchan (TASL) and Israel Aerospace Industries have became the oldest person to scale 8,848 metre signed a frame­work agreement for Mt. Everest. developing weapons and defence equipment The second weather satellite China has launched in India. is Fengyun-3 According to ICUN Red List the number of China on May 27, 2008 launched a second threatened bird species in India is 88 Olympic weather forcasting satellite the ICUN Red List, released on May 21, 2008, Fengyun-3 (FY-3) which will provide has revealed that the number of threatened information about weather changes during bird species in India is 88. Thus India is the Beijing Olympics. among 10 countries of the world having The blue ear recently broke out in Vietnam largest number of threatened bird species. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory The victorious team in IPL inaugural tournament Syndrome (PRRS) known as blue ear disease is Rajasthan Royals has hit 2,70,000 pigs in Vietnam. Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings The victorious team of 17th Sultan Azlan Shah by three wickets to clinch the IPL inaugural Cup is Argentina tournament on June 1, 2008 in Mumbai. Argentina beat India on May 18,2008 in Ipoh The disease which recently broke out in China - (Malaysia) to clinch the 17th Sultan Azlan Foot and Mouth disease Cup of Hockey. The disease ‘foot and mouth’ caused by the The movie which got the coveted award Palme d virus Entero recently broke out in China’s ‘Or is ‘The Class’ Anhui province killing a number of people including children. French movie ‘The Class’ about life in tough Paris School has won the coveted award Palm The winner of Barcelona Open is Rafael Nadal d ‘Or at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, the Rafael Nadal defeated David Ferrer to clinch most prestigious film festival of the world. Barcelona Open title on May 4, 2008 in The tenris player who recently announced her Barcelona. retirement is Justine Henin The host for 2009 Asian Indoor Games is Vietnam Justine Henin (Belgium) who is World No.1 Vietnam was declared the host of Asian woman tennis player announced her retirement Indoor Games 2009. from the game on May 14, 2008 with tears in the earth after setting the 100 metre world her eyes. record in 9.72 second at the Reebok Grand The Thomas Cup winner is China Prix athletics in New York on June 1, 2008. China beat South Korea to bag Thomas and The global human rights watchdog which has Uber Cup of Badsminton in Jakarta on May lambasted India for failure to book those 18, 2008. responsible for the disappearance of hundreds in Kashmir, unlawful killing and evictions in Mars Probe mission Phoenix touched down the Nandigram and police action against peaceful Red Planet Mars on May 25,2008 protestors against land acquisition for Special The Mars Phoenix Lander, equipped with a Economic Zones (SEZ in Orissa—Amnesty robotic arm to dig water-ice thought to be International buried beneath surface of Mars, touched After proposing that Oct 2 be made World No down late on May 25, 2008 in the far north of Alcohol Day at the World Health Assembly, the Red Planet after a 680 million km journey health minister Anbumani. Ramadoss now plans from the Earth. to ban smoking in workplaces from — Oct 2,2008 The first Asian Woman Lord Mayor of Britain is The former top nuclear negotiator who has been Manjula Sood elected as the speaker of the Iran’s assembly— Manjula Sood, the first Asian woman Lord Ali Larijani Mayor, has been elected to the post of Lord The French docudrama which has won the top Mayor of Leicester in the East Midlands for prize at the Cannes Film Festival recently—The one year. Class The most terror hit nation in the world is India The country which will quit the Organisation of According to the most recent report of US the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) State Department, the most terror hit nation because as a net oil importer it is not happy with in the world is India. high global crude price— Indonesia The 2008 World Snooker Champion is Ronnie O’ The well-known Indian classical musician and Sullivan nephew of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan who Ronnie O’ Sullivan (England) bagged the has been charged with sexually assaulting a 2008 World Snooker Title after defeating Ali minor girl in the US state of Philadelphia— Carter 18-8 on May 5, 2008 in Sheffield. Sharafatullah Khan FIFA has provisionally lifted the international ban The winner of Turkish Grand Prix this year is on Asian champion — Iraq Felipe Massa The Indian govt. has extended the ban on the Felipe Massa of Ferrari won the Turkish Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for Grand Prix for the third straight year on May another — two years 10, 2008. The LTTE was banned in 1992 after the The letter recently auctioned belonged to the assassination of—Rajiv Gandhi scientist Albert Einstein The Kannada film lyricist, actor and director who A letter in which Albert Einstein described had written over 1,600 songs in a career spanning God the product of human weakness was 40 years and who died recently — RN Jayagopal sold at auction on May 15, 2008 for £ 200,000 in London. The son of a Dalit farmer who has been selected by NASA to train as an astronomer, following The fastest man on earth is Usain Bolt his feedback on the space agency’s finding on Usain Bolt of Jamaica became the fastest on galaxy evolution — Sridhar Kamble The person who has been awarded Ellis Island with biker gangs and who resigned — Maxime Medal of Honor Award for her humanitarian work Bernier.