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Gyanm general awareness_march_2016_issue

The document provides a summary of current affairs from November 2015 to January 2016. It includes rankings of India in various indexes, national and international news headlines from January 2016, and key figures such as interest rates and India's diaspora population. The document is a publication from Gyanm Education & Training Institute that aims to keep readers informed of the latest current events and statistics.

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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 1 GENERAL AWARENESS MARCH 2016 Vol. 4, Issue 09 A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD. SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH Contents CURRENT AFFAIRS NOV 2015 TO JAN 2016 01-39 BULLET NEWS AUG TO OCT 2015 40-58 LATEST 100 GK MCQs 59-65 SSC CORNER 66-74 6 MONTHS GK BYTES 75-104 FIGURES TO REMEMBER REPO RATE (29.09.2015) 6.75% REVERSE REPO RATE 5.75% MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE 7.75% STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.5% CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00% BANK RATE 7.75% BASE RATE(s) (of various banks) 9.30 to 9.70% INDIA’s RANK IN Overall Growth Prospectus 5th Global Talent Competitiveness Index 89th Nuclear Security Index 21st Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 97th Human Development Index 130th ICT Development Index 131st Rank in Brand Value 7th Legatum Prosperity Index 99th Global Terrorism Index 06th Financial Secrecy Index 45th Ease of Doing Business (World Bank) 130th Number of Startups 03rd Global Competitiveness Index, WEF 55th Protection of Minority Investors 08th Global Innovation Index 81st Global Competitiveness 44th In terms of Peace 143rd Motherhood Index 140th Environmental Democracy Index 24th Human Capital Index 100th Global Resilience Index 119th NATIONAL NEWS JANUARY 2016 HOLLANDE PRESIDES OVER REPUBLIC DAY President of France, Francois Hollande arrived in Chandigarh on Jan 24 for a three–day visit to India. He was the honourable Chief Guest at the 67thRepublic Day Parade at New Delhi. An agreement was signed to provide technical and financial assistance for developing Puducherry, the erstwhile French protectorate, Chandigarh and Nagpur as a smart city. Besides, 16 other agreements, including one for purchase of 36 Rafale advanced fighter aircrafts, were also signed. He also inaugurated the interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance - ISA and laid the foundation stone of its headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana. ISA is a specialized platform for cooperation among 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, for increasing utilisation and promotion of solar energy. FRENCH FORCES IN REPUBLIC DAY PARADE For the first time, a military contingent of a foreign country will take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26. A contingent of the French army, which is already in India for a joint military exercise, will take part in the parade along with Indian armed forces. INDIA 5TH BEST COUNTRY FOR GROWTH According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) the top five markets considered as most important for overall growth prospects are USA, China, Germany, the UK and India. CEOs in India are showing much more confidence than their global counterparts when it comes to revenue growth for their companies. INDIA IMPROVES ITS CORRUPTION STATUS In the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)-2015 by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), India has been ranked at 76th position in public sector corruption out of 168 countries, improving its slot from 85 in 2014 and 94 in 2013. The Index is topped by Denmark, followed by Finland, Sweden and New Zealand.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 2 NATIONAL VOTERS’ DAY 6th National Voters’ Day was celebrated across the country on Jan 25. The theme for this year was ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation’. It was on this day in 1950 that the Election Commission came into existence. FIRST BLIND FRIENDLY TRAIN The Mysuru-Varanasi Express has become the country’s first blind friendly Braille-embedded train. It has been provided with metallic Braille signage indicating berth numbers, location of alarm chains, toilets, and emergency windows. INDIA HAS LARGEST DIASPORA India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015, according to a latest survey conducted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. India is followed by Mexico, Russia and China. US HAS LARGEST NUMBER OF INDIANS India sends the largest number of engineers and scientists to the US with about 950,000 immigrant scientists and engineers coming from the country, according to a report. The number of scientists and engineers residing in the US rose from 21.6 million to 29 million from 2003 to 2013. 20th NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL The 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was observed as National Youth Day across the country. Main event was the five day 20th National Youth Festival held in Naya Raipur, the new capital city of Chhattisgarh. The theme for the festival was "India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony". The mascot for the event was Wild Buffalo, the state animal of Chhattisgarh and named as 'Sangi', which means "friend". ‘JALLIKATTU’ – CENTRE ALLOWS, S C BANS The Union Government has allowed the conduct of the traditional bull-taming sports, ‘Jallikattu’, in Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated around Pongal in Tamil Nadu. However, on Jan 12, Supreme Court stayed the Central government notification allowing ‘Jallikattu’. MUMBAI 22ND, DELHI 24TH BEST CITY According to a study conducted by international real estate consultancy JLL, India’s financial capital Mumbai has been ranked 22nd, while the National Capital is placed at number 24 in the top-30 list of the world’s most powerful, productive and connected cities. The list is topped by Tokyo, followed by New York and London. N E INDIA STRUCK BY EARTHQUAKE A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck northeast India on Jan 4. The epicentre of the earthquake was at Tamenglong, 33 kilometres away from Imphal in Manipur. Several persons were killed and many a buildings collapsed in Tamenglong. GOVT TO SIGN RAPTOR AGREEMENT The government has approved the signing of the Raptor MoU which aims at promoting internationally coordinated actions to conserve and reverse the decline of birds of prey such as eagles, kites, vultures, hawks and owls. India will become the 54th country to sign this agreement. INDIA TO MAKE BRIDGES IN MYANMAR The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in Myanmar. This will facilitate all season movement of goods from Imphal to Mandlay in Myanmar and further entering Thailand. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR MINORITY YOUTH World Bank will provide a $ 50 million loan for ‘Nai Manzil'–Education and Skills Training for Minorities. Minority youth in BPL category in the age group of 17-35 years will be the main beneficiaries of the project. INDIA RANKS LOWLY 89TH IN TALENT HUNT The Global Talent Competitiveness Index compiled by the INSEAD Business School, France to rank the 103 countries on the basis of their ability to attract talent, has placed India at 89th rank, 11 steps below its rank last year. The index is topped by the Switzerland, followed by Singapore.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 3 INDIA RANKS LOW IN NUCLEAR SAFETY A Nuclear Security Index compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative of USA for 176 countries to assess global nuclear security conditions, for both – weapon grade nuclear material and possibility of sabotage, has placed India low at 21st rank among the 24 countries having one kg or more of the weapon grade nuclear material. Australia has been ranked as the safest country. ‘BHARAT PARV’ HELD IN DELHI A four day cultural festival 'Bharat Parv' was held at the Red Fort lawns in Delhi from Jan 26-29 to highlight the rich cultural and ethnic heritage of India, including cuisine and handicrafts from across the country. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ZOO IN ANDHRA In a global first, the World Bank has agreed to provide $ 20 million assistance to reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam (Andhra) which got devastated during cyclone Hudhud in October 2014. INDIA TO SHARE CLIMATE INFORMATION The World Meteorological Organisation has nominated India as the Regional Climate Centre to provide information to other South Asian countries on temperature and monsoon, including that about El Nino.  Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising “Make in India Week” in Mumbai during February 13- 18, 2016 to hold investors meet for the manufacturing sector.  India’s share in IMF has increased to 2.75% from 2.44%, making it the eighth-largest shareholder in the Fund. Its voting rights now will rise to 2.6% from 2.34%.  The World Bank will give $ 250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction and recovery support in flood-affected areas.  India and Armenia signed an amended Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) to share information on banking and financial transactions.  The largest tricolour (66 x 99 feet) in the country was hoisted atop the Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand on the tallest pole – standing 293 foot.  Union Ministry of Finance released the draft report of Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committee to simplify the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961.  The child sex ratio in India now stands at 918 (per thousand male babies), dipping further from 927 in 2001, and reaching the lowest level since 1961.  Govt has decided to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency.  India-Nepal Bus Service between Banbasa border in Uttarakhand and Kanchanpur in Nepal started on 4th January, after a gap of 27 years.  The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January 2016 in New Delhi. It was a limited edition as now it will be organised once in two years.  India’s first World Music Festival will be held in Udaipur on Feb 12-13. Over 100 artistes from over 12 countries will take part in the festival.  103rd Indian Science Congress held at University of Mysore, Karnataka. Theme for this year was "Science & Technology for Indigenous Development in India".  International Kite Festival held at Sabarmati River front in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.  The Jaipur Literature Festival held at Hotel Diggi Palace, Jaipur (Rajasthan) from January 21 to 25.  National Conference on e-Governance held in Nagpur, Maharashtra. DECEMBER 2015 INDIA 97TH IN ‘DOING BUSINESS’ India has ranked a low 97th out of 144 nations on Forbes' annual list of the best countries for doing business in 2015, scoring poorly on issues like trade and monetary freedom and response to challenges like corruption and violence. Denmark topped the list. As per World Bank data, India ranks 130th.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 4 INDIA RANKS 130TH IN HDI As per the Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, India ranked a lowly 130th in the list of 188 nations. It is up by five ranks from last year's 135, thanks to higher life expectancy and gross national income. Stagnancy in education, women's empowerment and poverty continue to drag India down. Norway topped the ranking. HDI is a summary measure to assess long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development -a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. MODI VISITS RUSSIA AND AFGHANISTAN Prime Minister Modi visited Russia on Dec 23-24 to attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit. President Vladimir Putin gifted him an 18th century sword from Bengal and a page from Mahatma Gandhi's diary containing his handwritten notes. Russia and India signed 16 pacts. The agreements include joint manufacture of Kamov 226 multipurpose helicopters and construction of 12 atomic plants in India. PM Modi visited Afghanistan on Dec 25 to meet President Ashraf Ghani. He inaugurated the Parliament building which has been constructed by India. He made a surprise brief halt in Pakistan also to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. MARGINAL IMPROVEMENT IN FOREST COVER According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015, the total forest and tree cover is 79.42 million hectare, which is 24.16 percent of the total geographical area, up from 24.01 per cent in 2013. Of this, the forest cover is 7,01,673 sq km covering 21.34 per cent area. The total forest cover of the country has increased by 3, 775 Square kilometre and the tree cover has gone up by 1,306 Square kilometre. The maximum increase in forest cover has been observed in Tamil Nadu, followed by Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. ACID VICTIMS TO BE UNDER DISABLED QUOTA The Supreme Court has directed all the State and UT Governments to consider acid-attack victims under the disabled quota to enable them to get reservations in government jobs as well as education benefits. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR SANITATION The World Bank has approved a USD 1.5 billion loan for the ambitious clean India campaign to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019. INDIANS HIGHLY IGNORANT - SURVEY A survey conducted by a London-based market research firm found people in Mexico and India were most inaccurate in perceptions on issues such as obesity, non- religious population, immigration, female employment, rural living and Internet access. Survey in 33 countries for ‘Index of Ignorance’ placed Mexico as most ignorant, followed by India.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a 3 day visit to India. He attended Ganga Aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi.  Panos Kammenos, Greek Defence Minister arrived in India on a three day visit. The two countries decided to enhance bilateral defence ties.  National Veda Convention and Vedic Conference held in Kozhikode, Kerala.  The Lok Sabha passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a National Standards Body.  India and South Korea have inked a new MoU on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of mutual agreement procedure.  The ICT (information, communication & technology) Development Index places India a lowly 131st among 167 countries. South Korea tops the index. NOVEMBER 2015 ‘CONSTITUTION DAY’ ON NOV 26 The ‘Constitution Day’ of India was observed on 26th November to spread awareness of Indian Constitution and its architect Dr. B R Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly. On this day in 1949, Constitution of India was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of free India. MODI VISITS UK Prime Minister Mr. Modi visited England on November 12 for a three day trip. He became the first serving Prime Minister of India to address the UK's Parliament. India signed a civil nuclear pact with United Kingdom during his visit. The two countries announced deals worth 9-billion pound in the field of defence and cyber security and railways. Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 5 NUCLEAR DEAL FINALIZED WITH AUSTRALIA India and Australia have announced the completion of procedures for bringing the two-nation nuclear deal into force. The announcement was made at the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull in the G-20 Summit at Antalya in Turkey. CHINESE VICE PRESIDENT VISITS INDIA Li Yuanchao, the Vice-President of China visited India to review cooperation on better river water management and cultural exchanges. The two countries signed a MoU on smooth sharing of hydrological data related to the common Himalayan Rivers. INDIA STANDS 7TH IN TERMS OF BRAND VALUE As per the annual report on world's most valuable nation brands compiled by Brand Finance, India has moved up one position to become the world's seventh most valued nation brand with an increase of 32 per cent in its brand value to 2.1 billion dollars. The US remains on the top with a valuation of 19.7 billion dollars, followed by China and Germany at the second and the third positions. MODI IS 9TH MOST POWERFUL IN WORLD Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ninth most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list which is topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at the second spot followed by US President Barack Obama (3rd) and Pope Francis (4th) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (5th). INTERNET BOOM IN INDIA According to a report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International, the number of internet users in India is expected to touch 402 million by December 2015, a 49 per cent jump over last year, making India home to the second largest online user base after China. INDIA 99TH IN TERMS OF PROSPERITY India has been ranked 99th in Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 out of 142 countries. The report is based on the results of eight sub-indices - economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, social capital. SALARY BONANZA FOR GOVT EMPLOYEES 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur submitted its report to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Nov 19. It recommended 23.55 percent hike in pay and allowances of government employees. The pay will go up by 16 percent, allowances by 63 percent and pension by 24 percent. It has suggested a minimum basic pay of 18 thousand and maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh per month. The pay revision will come into effect from January 2016. INDIA FARES POORLY IN GENDER EQUALITY The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked 145 economies according to how well they are leveraging their female workforce. Iceland topped the list, followed by Norway and Finland. India ranked low at 108th rank while Pakistan was second last. INDIA 6TH WORST HIT BY TERRORISM As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, India ranks 6th in list of 162 nations most impacted by terrorism in 2014. Islamic State and Boko Haram are now jointly responsible for more than half of all global fatalities from terrorist attacks. The other top five countries worst hit by terrorism are Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. INDIA INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL First India International Science Festival, a joint event of Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, is being organized at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi from Dec 4 to 8. The festival aims to provide a platform to young scientists from all over the country to share and spread their scientific ideas, achievements and inventions.  46th International Film Festival of India, IFFI began in Panaji, Goa with the screening of ‘The Man Who Knew the Infinity’, a biopic based on the life of mathematical wizard Srinivas Ramanujan, was the opening film.  PM Modi visited Singapore for two days, Nov 23-24 and signed 10 agreements on mutual co-operation.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 6  Prime Minister Mr. Modi visted Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend Asean-India meet, Asean summit and the East Asian Summit.  Hamid Ansari, Vice President visited Indonesia on Nov 2. Agreements in the field of cultural exchange and renewable energy were signed with Indonesia.  Francois Hollande, President of France will be the chief guest at the 2016 Republic Day celebrations.  Bhutan's PM Tshering Tobgay visited India to preside over the 'India Ideas Conclave' in Goa.  The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, ranked 99th in a list of top 100 institutions by the ‘Times Higher Education Rankings for Engg. & Technology’.  A report by global consultancy firm KPMG says that India has emerged as the top country when it comes to corporate responsibility reporting.  India re-elected on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law for a period of six years.  Seven Indian celebrities including Asha Bhosle, Sania Mirza and veteran actress Kamini Kaushal have made it to BBC's list of 100 most aspirational women.  Telephone subscriber base in India reached 102.26 crore at the end of September while fixed line base continued to fall, as per data compiled by TRAI.  As per the global Financial Secrecy Index released by Tax Justice Network of UK, India ranked 45th among 92 countries in terms of financial transparency.  11th National Tribal Crafts Mela ‘Aadishilp’ held in New Delhi.  First international film festival for the persons with disabilities (IFFPD) will be held in Delhi from 1 to 3 December 2015.  Second World Congress on Disaster Management was held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, from 19 to 22 November.  Global Cancer Summit held at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru from Nov 18 to 20.  The 17th Asia Pacific Youth Forum meet was held in Kozhikode, Kerala to share ideas for the empowerment of youth to protect the Earth.  9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (RPBD) was held at Los Angeles, California, USA on the 14th and 15th November 2015.  According to a global survey of 26 countries, India is the fourth most vacation-deprived nation with 65% saying they feel very or somewhat vacation-deprived.  Militant outfit National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), declared as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.  The National Milk Day was observed on 26 November to mark 94th birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution - Dr Verghese Kurien.  The British Government has selected Pune and Amravati from Maharashtra and Indore from Madhya Pradesh for developing them as 'Smart City'. NEWS FROM STATES JANUARY 2016 SIKKIM BECOMES FULLY ‘ORGANIC’ Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation. Organic cultivation is free of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilisers as it tries to strike a harmonious balance with a complex series of ecosystems. KULLU NATI DANCE CREATES WORLD RECORD In Himachal Pradesh, the Nati folk dance of Kullu district has made a world record by entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the folk dance by largest number– 9,892 women. The dance was arranged last year on 26th October during International Dussehra festival. GANGA GRAM YOJANA TO START FROM U P Govt has launched Ganga Gram Yojana from Village Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed to minimize/stop pollution of the river from these villages. ‘FREE’ WI-FI AT MUMBAI RLY STATION Mumbai Central has become the first ever railway station in India to have free high-speed Internet facility for thousands of its passengers. Railwayplans to extend this facility to 400 stations in near future. The service has been rolled out by Indian Railway’s telecom arm, RailTel in collaboration with Google. ARUNACHAL UNDER PRESIDENT RULE President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution to the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh, accepting the ground that there was a “constitutional breakdown” in the state as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state Assembly.  For the first time, a study by the World Wide Fund- India has captured on camera evidence of the highly endangered species Snow Leopard inhabiting the high mountains of northern Sikkim.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 7  The 14th edition of Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films was held in Mumbai from Jan 28 to Feb 03.  The Ardh Kumbh mela formally started at Haridwar on Jan 12. The first Snan of the Kumbh will take place on Makar Sankranti, Jan 14.  Kerala has become the first Indian state to achieve 100 per cent primary education (up to class iv) by implementing the programme ‘Athulyam’.  World Bank to provide $ 250 million loan for the Bihar’s Kosi Basin Development Project.  Bihar government has decided to give 35% reservation for women in all state government jobs.  Bihar govt has announced that no one can contest the panchayat elections scheduled in 2016 in the state, without having a toilet at their home.  Telangana has become the first state in the country to officially accept electronic motor insurance policies by the name ‘e-Vahan Bima’. DECEMBER 2015 PER CAPITA INCOME HIGHEST IN DELHI According to Delhi Government's Delhi Statistical Hand Book, the state recorded the highest per capita income among all the states in the country at Rs. 2,40,849 during financial year 2014-15. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi, at current prices, in 2014-15 stood at Rs 4.51 lakh crore, up by 15.35 per cent over the previous year. DELHI IS MOST POLLUTED CITY IN WORLD Green Peace India released a report on National Air Quality Index (NAQI) for 17 countries, covering top 20 most polluted cities. As per the report, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, while 13 Indian cities figured in the 20 most polluted cities in the world. NO TO DIESEL VEHICLES IN DELHI The National Green Tribunal has directed that no new or old diesel vehicle be registered in Delhi till Jan. 6, with a view to curb pollution in capital. It also directed all the govt departments to not to purchase any new diesel vehicle and make plans to phase out the existing ones.  The Konark Festival, the five-day festival of classical dances of India, was held in Konark, Odisha, in the back drop of the famous Sun Temple.  The International Sand Art Festival 2015 was held in Konark, Odisha.  For the first time, two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, have been selected in the Creative City Network of the UNESCO in the categories - City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art, respectively.  The Maharashtra legislature becomes the first legislature to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House.  The Odisha state launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students in the state.  The Bihar government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from its capital's roads to control pollution.  India’s fourth and North India’s first cable-stayed bridge was inaugurated at Basohali in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, over river Ravi.  West Bengal has approved formation of five new districts in the state, bringing the total districts to 25.  Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also called the Queen’s Necklace completed 100 years on Dec 16.  Maharashtra has started the country's biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre at Gorewada near Nagpur to take care of sick, injured and rescued animals.  Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival began on 12 December 2015 in Ladakh, J&K. The festival marks the beginning of New Year for Buddhists.  Uttar Pradesh has launched International festival on Birds in National Chambal Sanctuary to promote state as an international bird-watching destination.  Hornbill Festival held in Kohima, Nagaland from Dec 1 to 10 to highlight state’s rich cultural heritage.  Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to launch Rotavirus vaccination for controlling the child mortality rate (under 5 years of age) due to diarrhea.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 8 NOVEMBER 2015 TAMIL NADU LASHED BY HEAVY RAINS In Tamil Nadu, heavy rains by north east monsoon claimed over 102 lives. The rains threw normal life out of gear in almost all parts of the state with coastal and northern districts bearing the brunt. INDIA’s 1ST BLIND FRIENDLY RLY. STATION Mysuru Railway Station in Karnataka has become the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India. Train schedules and over 400 metal signages have been installed in Braille for the benefit of visually handicapped persons. S. AUSTRALIA TIES UP WITH RAJASTHAN South Australia state has signed a historic 'sister-state agreement' with Rajasthan to pave new ways to boost export and investment opportunities between the two states based on a two-way exchange of research and technical capabilities. CHHATH OBSERVED IN BIHAR-U P Chhath festival was celebrated in different parts of the country on Nov 17-18 with great religious fervour and gaiety. Large number of devotees offered prayers to the rising sun at the banks of rivers and other water bodies. It is one of the most popular festivals of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. MIGRATORY GUESTS ARRIVE IN CHILKA Migratory birds mostly from Northern Eurasia, the Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh and remote areas of Russia and Southeast Asia have started arriving in Chilka Lake, Odisha.  Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival held near Tura, Meghalaya. It is the thanksgiving post-harvest festival of the Garo tribes of North East India.  APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna launched in Maharashtra to provide at least one cooked meal for pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas.  The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has been adjudged the best-maintained international airport in the country  Northeast’s first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park, Assam.  Norway reopened its Consulate General office in Mumbai after four decades of closure in 1973.  Karnataka launched the ‘Tourist Mitra’, a 175- member friendly force, to reinforce smooth and secure experiences for tourists. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES JANUARY 2016 “START-UP INDIA, STAND-UP INDIA” Govt. has started a 19 point Start-up Action Plan with a Rs. 10,000 crore fund for funding of Start-ups. The new ventures will be exempted from paying income tax on their profit and visit of inspectors for the first three years. They will enjoy 80 per cent exemption in patent fee. An Atal Innovation Mission will be launched to give a boost to innovation. NEW CROP INSURANCE FOR FARMERS Government has launched the “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana", under which the premium will be paid by Central and state govt and the farmers will have to pay only a token premium of 2 per cent for kharif, 1.5 per cent for rabi and 5 per cent for commercial crops. 33% WOMEN IN PARA FORCES Govt has approved 33% reservation for women in Central Armed Police Forces such as CRPF and CISF at constable–level positions and 14-15% reservation at the constable level in border guarding forces such as BSF, SSB and ITBP. HYBRID ANNUITY MODEL FOR HIGHWAYS The government has approved the hybrid annuity model as one of the modes for implementing highway development projects. Under this model, 40% of the project cost is provided by the government during construction and the balance 60% as annuity (installments) payments later on during the agreed concession period. E-TENDERS MUST FOR OVER 2 LAKH DEALS With a view to bring transparency in government purchases, it has been decided that all central ministries and public sector units will have to float e-tenders for procuring goods and services exceeding Rs 2 lakh. At present the limit is Rs 5 lakh.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 9 61 MORE DISTRICTS UNDER ‘BETI BACHAO’ The Government has decided to extend the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to 61 more districts this year to improve skewed child sex ratio. The programme was launched in January 2015 in 100 districts with poor sex ratio across the country. SOCIAL SECURITY PACT WITH AUSTRALIA A new social security agreement signed between India and Australia has come into operation enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other's country, a pact likely to boost bilateral business linkages. GAVI TO PROMOTE VACCINATION IN INDIA To improve the quality and coverage of vaccination in India, Union Health Ministry has decided to use the expertise of Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), a global NGO working for promotion of vaccination in poor countries.  Operation Green Hunt refers to an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces against the Naxalites in the Naxal affected five states.  River Information System - the first of its kind in India launched to facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River).  Union Govt in coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir Govt has launched an initiative ‘Wattan ko Jano’ to familiarize the local youth with the development of the country in other states.  Sahaj Scheme launched for online booking of LPG cylinders through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in, available in 13 languages.  Government has decided to institute a new award category under the National Film Awards titled The Most Film–Friendly State/UT.  The Union Ministry of Shipping has started Project Green Ports to make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener.  Eight states have agreed to implement direct benefit of transfer of subsidy in kerosene in 26 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2016.  Finance Ministry to organise the India Investment Summit from Feb. 4 in New Delhi to attract global investors to promote Indian infrastructure sector.  The government has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp of Censor Board.  A new luxury super fast express train 'Mahamana Express' named after Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya has been started between Varanasi to Delhi.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 10 DECEMBER 2015 APPS LAUNCHED TO PROMOTE HEALTHCARE Govt has launched 4 new Information Technology-based initiatives to provide citizen-centric health services. They include three applications:  Kilkari:An audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care.  Mobile Academy: For providing training services to 9 million ASHA workers.  M-Cessation: Counselling helpline to help tobacco users to quit tobacco.  Toll free number 1800-11–6666 to provide round the clock counselling and treatment support services to TB patients NO LPG SUBSIDY FOR THE RICH Government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders from January, 2016. Over 20 lakh persons have reported annual income of over Rs. 10 lakh. At present, all households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs 419.26, while the market price of each cylinder is Rs 608. MOBILE APPS LAUNCHED FOR FARMERS Govt. has launched two mobile apps for farmers. The app - Crop Insurance - will help farmers find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area. The other app called Agri Market Mobile can be used by farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device. 6 NEW IITs & 5 NEW IISEs TO BE SET UP The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at an overall cost of over Rs 1,400 crore in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka. Approval was also given for setting up of five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research at Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram. ‘AIM’ AND ‘SETU’ FOR ENTERPRENEURS Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is developing an entrepreneurship development scheme wherein entrepreneurship activities in innovative and cutting edge technology areas will be aligned with initiatives such as Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment Talent Utilisation (SETU). INJECTABLE POLIO VACCINE LAUNCHED The government has launched an injectable polio vaccine – Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) – which will be administered in addition to oral polio drops in the routine immunization programme. IPV injection will be given to children aged below one year along with the third dose of the oral polio vaccine (OPV), free of cost to double the immunity. LOK SABHA NOD FOR 101 WATERWAYS Lok Sabha passed a bill to develop 101 new waterways across the country aimed at providing a cheaper mode of transport and reducing traffic burden on roads. At present, there are only five National Waterways. NEW GUIDELINES ON FRAUDS Government has now made it mandatory for the auditors to report any suspected corporate fraud amounting to Rs 1 crore or more to the Corporate Affairs Ministry with a view to effectively curb the misdoings in corporate sector. NEW DESIGNATION FOR GOVT CLERKS Govt has decided to rename the posts of UDC (Upper Division Clerk) and LDC (Lower Division Clerk) under Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS) as Senior Secretariat Assistant and Junior Secretariat Assistant, respectively. NEW DATE FOR BS V-VI STANDARDS The government has advanced the date for implementation of the Bharat Stage (BS) V and VI norms for emission standards for four-wheelers by 3 years to April 1, 2019 and April 1, 2021, respectively. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, which provides for lowering the age for trial of juvenile from 18 years to 16 years, has been passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha earlier.  Govt has asked the states and UTs to start Operation Smile-II from 1 to 31 January 2016 to rehabilitate / rescue the missing children.  Global Initiative of Academic Networks Scheme launched to boost the quality of higher education through international collaboration.  Central Board of Secondary Education has rolled out its latest mobile application E-CBSE for providing e- learning material for students and teachers.  With a view to provide relief to 3.7 lakh jute mill workers, the govt has approved mandatory use of jute packaging material for foodgrains and sugar.  Union govt. proposes to launch a $1-billion equity fund, with seed capital from public sector units, to support renewable energy companies.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 11 NOVEMBER 2015 UDAY SCHEME TO HELPOUT DISCOMS The government launched Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) to improve the ability of power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to procure power at a much lower capital cost. The scheme allows DISCOMs to convert their debt into state bonds and to launch measures to improve efficiency at power plants. 10 SCHEMES FOR THE BENEFIT OF DISABLED Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched 10 schemes for the benefit of disabled persons. The schemes are:  DISHA: Early Intervention and School Readiness Scheme  VIKAAS: Day Care Scheme  SAMARTH: Respite Care Scheme  GHARAUNDA: Group Home for Adults Scheme  NIRAMAYA: Health Insurance Scheme  SAHYOGI: Caregiver training scheme  GYAN PRABHA: Educational support Scheme  PRERNA: Marketing Assistance Scheme  SAMBHAV: Aids and Assisted Devices Scheme  BADHTE KADAM: Awareness and Community Interaction Scheme FUND FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Government has launched the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under the National Manufacturing Policy, 2011 to facilitate acquisition of clean, green and energy efficient technologies. It will also catalyse the manufacturing growth in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector with an aim to contribute to ‘Make in India’ initiative. The scheme will be implemented through Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a joint venture company. GOVT TO IMPLEMENT CCTNS AND ICJS With a view to revamp criminal justice system in the country, the govt has approved implementation of two systems - Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) Project. The two systems aim at bringing online all the police stations of the country and integrating them with online judicial system to ensure speedy settlement of offences and disputes. ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN The government has launched Accessible India campaign under which 27 international airports and 75 railway stations in India will be surveyed to identify the areas that need to be improved to make them disabled- friendly. ACTION PLANS APPROVED FOR 81 CITIES Govt has approved State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 2015-16. Earlier, SAAPs were approved for 89 cities in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in October 2015. SCHEME FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS The Union Ministry of Tourism launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Swadesh Darshan schemes to achieve 1% share of international tourist arrivals by 2016-17 from the present 0.68 %. USE OF PLASTIC WASTE ‘MUST’ IN ROADS The government has made it mandatory for road developers to use waste plastic along with bituminous mixes for road construction to overcome the growing problem of disposal of plastic waste in India's urban centres. The rule will applyfor constructing bitumen roads within 50 km of periphery of any city that has a population of over five lakh. ‘AMRIT’ OUTLET AT AIIMS, NEW DELHI Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacy outlet at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. FIPB POWERS HIKED TO Rs 5,000 CRORE To expedite FDI clearance process, the government has enhanced the monetary limit to approve foreign investment proposals of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board – FIPB to Rs 5,000 crore, from Rs. 3,000 crore at present.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 12 3 NEW EDUCATIONAL WEB PORTALS Govt has launched three web portals / apps - e- Pathshala for educational resources, Saaransh for educational improvements and National Programme on School Standards and Evaluation Framework (Shala Siddhi) for online evaluations.  The deadline for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for rural connectivity through all- weather roads, reduced from 2022 to 2019.  Agriculture Ministry to launch ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ for growth and development of fisheries.  Govt has allowed German language to be taught as additional foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas as per the National Education Policy, 1986.  From November 12, a railway ticket could be booked online up to 30 minutes prior to the departure of a train as Railways has modified their booking system.  Govt to continue 90% central funding for the core Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the 8 northeastern states, while 10% will be borne by the states. ECONOMIC INDICATORS JANUARY 2016 INDIA TO GROW BY 7.8% - WORLD BANK The Global Economic Prospect by the World Bank has projected a robust 7.8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in the current year based on strong investor sentiment in India and the positive effect of the recent fall in oil prices. CORE SECTOR SHRINKS BY 1.3% The index of eight core industries contracted by 1.3 per cent in November as against 8.5 per cent growth in the same month last year due to low growth witnessed in the production of crude oil, natural gas and steel. IND. PRODUCTION SHRINKS BY 3.2% Dashing hopes of recovery, industrial production as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 3.2% in November — the lowest level in over four years — due to poor performance of manufacturing sector and a sharp decline in capital goods output.  India’s exports fell for the 13th consecutive month in December to $22.29 billion. Imports declined to $33.96 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $11.67 billion.  UNCTAD says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India nearly doubled to $ 59 billion in 2015 as against 36 per cent rise at the world level. DECEMBER 2015 GDP GROWTH MOVES UP TO 7.4% Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that country’s economic growth increased to 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter against 7 per cent achieved in the April-June quarter this year. Though we overtook China as the fastest growing major economy, yet, the growth rate is lower than the 8.3 achieved in the same quarter last year. GDP GROWTH RATE LOWERED TO 7-7.5% India lowered its GDP growth projection for the current year to between 7 - 7.5 per cent against the earlier forecast of 8.1 - 8.5 per cent. Lowering of rate was necessitated due to slowing of GDP growth rate in the first half of the year (from April to September) to 7.2 % from 7.5 % in the corresponding period last year. RBI RETAINS GROWTH RATE AT 7.4% Considering areas of robust growth in manufacturing such as capital goods and passenger cars and counter effect of weak rural and external demand on overall growth, RBI retained its projection of GDP growth rate at 7.4 per cent for the current fiscal. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.9% - GOLDMAN SACHS Global financial analysts Goldman Sachs have said that India’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent next fiscal driven by rising domestic demand and higher capital spending by the government, even though the global economy will remain anaemic. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.4% - S&P Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in its 'India Credit Spotlight' newsletter has noted that India's economy will grow at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal, which will further improve to over 8 per cent in 2016-17 as significant reforms are required with Indian corporates and banks currently facing a weak operating environment. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.3% - UN REPORT The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2016 report says that India would record a 7.3% growth in 2016 and 7.5% in 2017. It will continue to be the fastest growing economy in the world in 2016 and 2017 amid volatile global financial conditions that will see diminished trade flows and stagnant investment, the report said. FITCH KEEPS INDIA AT ‘BBB’ GRADE International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has announced that India’s investment rating would remain at ‘BBB-’ -- the lowest investment grade -- with a stable outlook, saying that strong medium-term growth outlook and favourable external finances will balance out weak structural features, including its business environment.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 13 NOVEMBER 2015  Moody's Investors Service has said that the Indian economy would grow at 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal and improve marginally in the following year.  Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent this fiscal. ECONOMY & INDUSTRY JANUARY 2016 2.36 LAKH MILLIONAIRES IN INDIA India is home to the fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia Pacific region, with 2.36 lakh such high net worth individuals, while Japan topped the list with 12.60 lakh people, according to the Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth Report. HNWIs (millionaires) were defined as those individuals with net assets of USD 1 million or more. HALDIA TO GET WATERWAYS HUB The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to set up a modern Indian Waterways Hub at Haldia, West Bengal to attract more investment in the state. The Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) is the main gateway for import and export of cargo destined or originating from Eastern, North Eastern and Northern parts of the country as well as landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan. GOVT SAYS ‘GOODBYE’ TO HMT WATCHES Govt has decided to close down three loss-making subsidiaries of HMT Ltd, (Hindustan Machines Ltd) namely HMT Watches Ltd, HMT Chinar Watches Ltd, and HMT Bearings Ltd. BS VI NORMS FROM APRIL 1, 2020 With a view to minimize the air pollution from vehicles, Govt has decided to implement strict emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS- V altogether. Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms, introduced in 2000, are standards that have been set up the Centre to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicle. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ‘NEERANCHAL’ World Bank has agreed to provide Rs 1071 crore funding for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project which will benefit all the states in India by supporting their various irrigation projects.  India has overtaken Thailand as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015, shipping 10.23 million tonnes as against 9.8 million tonnes by Thailand.  The Asian Development Bank to extend a $625 million loan for the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor. DECEMBER 2015 INDIA TO MAKE SHIPS FOR LNG Cochin Shipyard has become the first shipyard in India to get the nod to build LNG (liquefied natural gas) transporting ships, making India fourth such country in world, after South Korea, Japan and China. The most critical part of an LNG ship is its cryogenic containment and handling system as the LNG has to be carried at a temperature of -163 degrees. LNG occupies 1/600th space of gaseous form. MORE TRANSACTIONS UNDER PAN The government has made it mandatory to quote PAN (permanent account number) for all transactions in excess of Rs.2 lakh to curb black money. This includes all payments made through cash, cheques or debit or credit cards. The new rule, effective from January 1, will cover purchases of all goods or services, such as say gold jewellery or furniture. JAPAN TO SUPPORT BULLET TRAIN During recent visit of Japan’s Prime Minister, India and Japan signed a number of pacts in key areas of defence and nuclear energy as well as building of first bullet train network between Mumbai- Ahmadabad at a cost of about Rs 98,000 crore. IMPROVEMENT IN ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’ The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has informed that as a result of many steps taken to improve the ‘ease of doing business’ in the country, the average number of days taken for incorporation of a company has come down significantly to 4.51 days in November 2015 from 9.57 days in December 2014.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 14 CHANGI TO GUIDE A’BAD & JAIPUR AIRPORTS Government has signed an agreement with Singapore for using the services and expertise of the Singapore airport developer Changi for taking up operations and management of the Ahmadabad and Jaipur airports. ONGC JOINS ‘ZERO ROUTINE FLARING’ The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd has become the first oil company from India to join the global initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ by World Bank to curb routine gas flaring at oil production sites around the world by 2030. SEBI ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR ‘GREEN BONDS’ The SEBI has released concept paper for issuance of Green Bonds. A green bond is like any other bond where a debt instrument is issued by an entity for raising funds from investors but the funds are 'ear-marked' for use towards financing ‘green’ projects only. INDIA TOPS IN INWARD REMITTANCES World Bank has said that India is the largest recipient of inward remittances receiving over 72 billion US dollars in 2014, followed by China at 64 billion US dollars. Of this, largest amount came from USA, $56 billion. INDIA GOT MOST FDI FROM SINGAPORE Singapore has replaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment into India during the first half of the current fiscal. During April to September period, India attracted $6.69 billion FDI from Singapore while from Mauritius, it received $3.66 billion only. WORK BEGINS ON TAPI GAS PIPELINE Leaders of four Asian countries met in Mary, Turkmenistan to join hands for the beginning of construction of 1800 kms long Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project which will provide energy-hungry India gas for its power plants. The pipeline will carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day of natural gas from Turkmenistan of which India and Pakistan will get 42 per cent each, while Afghanistan will get the remaining 16 per cent. PHARMA-OIL BARTER WITH VENEZUELA The government is considering a 'medicines for oil' barter system with Venezuela where Indian pharma exporters are facing problems to repatriate their sales proceeds due to restrictions imposed in that country. Venezuela is the third largest country in terms of oil imports into India. RELIANCE LAUNCHES 4G SERVICES Reliance Jio launched 4G telecom service providing data services with a speed up to 1 gigabyte per second. It offers a unique combination of telecom, high speed data, digital commerce, media and payment services. ‘PROJECT LEAP’ FROM BHARTI AIRTEL Country’s largest telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel will invest Rs.60,000 crore over the next three- years in ‘Project Leap’ to upgrade its networks to provide quality services to meet increasing competition. GOOGLE STARTS YOU TUBE SPACES IN INDIA Google’s YouTube has collaborated with Whistling Woods International, a production house owned by Subhash Ghai, to open its first video production studio called YouTube Spaces in the country.  India received its first uranium consignment for its nuclear power reactors from Canada, after a gap of over four decades.  The first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train was flagged off from Panjim, Goa on Dec 6. NOVEMBER 2015 MSP OF RABI CROPS HIKED The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a hike of Rs. 75 a quintal to Rs. 1575 per quintal in the Minimum Support Price of wheat, the main rabi crop for season 2015-16. A bonus of Rs 75 per quintal, over and above MSP, for the two dals has also been approved. Rs./Qtl CROP MSP CROP MSP Wheat 1525 Rapeseed / Mustard 3350 Barley 1225 Masoor 3325 Safflower 3300 Grams 3425
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 15
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 16 E-COMMERCE PORTAL FOR SMALL UNITS The Confederation of All India Traders has launched an e-commerce portal, ‘e-lala’ to promote interests of 5.77 crore small businesses in the context of rapid expansion of e-commerce. It will enable physical stores to have their own online stores to generate more business. TRIM GENDER GAP TO BOOST GDP - IMF As per a recent IMF study, India's GDP can expand by 27 per cent if the number of women workers increases to the same level as that of men. The gender gap is around 50 per cent in India, compared with an average gap of 12 per cent in OECD countries. 0.5% SWACHH BHARAT CESS IMPOSED Government has announced the levy of a Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5% on all services liable for service tax (14%) from November 15. This means a tax of 50 paisa on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services like mobile bills, eating out, saloon services etc.  With Cotton production estimated at around 400 lakh bales, India is expected to emerge as the largest cotton producer in the world in 2015-16.  35th India International Trade Fair,IITF was held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The theme of the fair this year is Make in India  CCEA has approved 10% stake sale in Coal India Ltd to mop up around Rs 20,000 crore. Govt has targeted Rs 69,500 crore disinvestment in this fiscal.  France has committed to invest over 2 billion Euros for Smart City projects in India with special focus on Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry.  India and Brazil have signed a MoU to cooperate for raising productivity of cattle and buffaloes  World Bank granted $75 million loan to the Andhra Pradesh for its Rural Inclusive Growth project aimed at enhancing agricultural incomes of small farmers.  Asian Development Bank to give $ 273 loan for improving rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. BANKING & FINANCE JANUARY 2016 NEW 100 AND 500 RUPEE NOTES Continuing its efforts to deter counterfeiting activities, the Reserve Bank of India, RBI, will soon introduce new banknotes of 500 rupees and 100 rupees denominations with enhanced security features. These notes will have ascending size of numerals in the number panels, bleed lines and enlarged identification mark. MASTER DIRECTIONS FROM RBI Reserve Bank has started the process of issuing 'Master Directions' on various regulatory issues in its bid to simplify the communication process. To begin with, 17 such Master Directions were issued covering foreign exchange transactions. ALL BIG VILLAGES TO HAVE BANK BRANCHES Reserve Bank has asked banks to ensure that every village with a population over 5,000 should have a bank branch by March 2017 and asked the State Level Bankers' Committees (SLBCs) to identify such villages in their state. BANKS TO SELL ‘INDIA GOLD COINS’ Reserve Bank has permitted banks to sell India Gold Coins (IGC) with Ashok Chakra minted by Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) through their branches. Coins are available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams while a 20 gram bar is also being manufactured by MMTC. INCENTIVE FOR GOLD MONETISATION SCHEME RBI has advised that the government will pay 2.5% commission to banks for attracting more gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme, as it has received very poor response from banks and customers. Only a few kilograms gold could be mobilized by the banks from the massive 2,000 tons of gold stashed in Indian households. Under the current scheme, citizens are encouraged to deposit jewellery, bars or coins with banks so it can be refined to meet fresh demand and cut the need for imports. The consumer would earn interest and, at the end of the deposit term, get the gold back in the form of bars.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 17 LOANS FOR WOMEN SHGs The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to Women Self-Help Group (SHG) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) Aajeevika scheme during 2015-16. RBI IMPOSES FINE ON SBT RBI imposed monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State Bank of Travancore for violation of its instructions including non–reporting of data to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC). GOVT CHEQUES TO BE PAID THROUGH CTS RBI has decided to dispense with the requirement of physically forwarding paid central government cheques to the departments for clearance. From Feb 1, 2016, cheques will be paid through Cheque Truncation System (CTS) facilitating the presentation and payment of cheques without their physical movement. DECKS CLEARED FOR MUDRA BANK The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into MUDRA Bank. It was also decided to set up a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) for guaranteeing loans - sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana.  RBI has hiked its shareholding in National Housing Bank by contributing Rs 1,000 crore towards the paid capital, bringing the total capital to Rs 1450 crore.  RBI has granted operational freedom to banks to offer all their products and services through the ATM channels provided technology permits the same.  RBI has asked banks not to issue such 1000 rupee notes which, by mistake, were printed without security thread.  State Bank of India has become the first public sector bank to launch wealth management service ‘SBI Exclusif’ to cater to fast-growing affluent segment of the country.  The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank became the first private bank to achieve the milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore in housing loan. DECEMBER 2015 RBI TO CUT SLR TO 20.50% The RBI has decided to lower the banks’ investment in government securities, also known as statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), to 20.5% by January 2017 from 21.5% at present. As per the new time table, SLR would be reduced to by 25 basis points to 21.25% as on April 2, 2016; 21% by July 9, 2016, 20.75% by October 1, 2016 to 20.75% and the last round of reduction would be January 1, 2017 to 20.50 per cent. BANKS TO HAVE UNIFORM BASE RATE RBI has said that from April 1 next year, all banks will have to follow a new and uniform methodology to calculate base rate as per the marginal cost of funds. All new loans and renewals will now be priced with reference to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) which will be the internal benchmark for such purposes. Banks will have to publish MCLR of five maturities every month - overnight rates, one month, three months, six months and one year. Like base rate, banks will not be allowed to lend below MCLR, except for few categories, like loans against deposits, loans to bank’s own employees. BANKS CAN’T DENY INFO ON BORROWERS-SC The Supreme Court has ruled that the RBI and commercial banks cannot hide routine information, such as the names of top defaulters, the losses suffered by banks and details of action taken against erring banks, sought by the public under the Right to Information Act. Till now, banks denied such information on the ground that it was information held in a fiduciary capacity and could not be revealed to the public at large. PRIORITY LENDING NORMS HIKED FOR RRBs RBI has hiked Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) from 60 per cent at present to 75 per cent of their total lending with effect from 1 January 2016. As on March 2015, there were 56 RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches. SBI FIRST TO ISSUE EMV CARDS State Bank of India has become first major bank in India to issue EMV chip and pin based debit cards to its new customers to ensure enhanced secure transactions. EMV stands for Euro–Maestro–Visa.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 18 YES BANK GETS BRITISH AWARD Yes Bank, India's fifth largest private sector bank has bagged the prestigious 'Bank of the Year' award conferred by Britain’s 'The Banker' magazine. The awards are widely regarded as the Oscars for the banking Industry. HSBC QUITS PRIVATE BANKING IN INDIA Global banking major Britain’s HSBC (Hong Kong, Shanghai Banking Corporation) announced shutting down of its private banking business in India that offers wealth management services, from first quarter of 2016. They may continue their retail banking operations. Tech Mahindra has launched ‘MoboMoney’, India’s first ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment solution in the form of a prepaid wallet based on NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Axis Bank has partnered with e-Mudhra to introduce ‘eSign’ – an online electronic signature service which facilitates an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document at the click of a button.  Announcing the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2, RBI Governor did not change any of the key policy rates.  RBI has granted in principle approval to the National Payments Corporation of India to function as the Central Unit for Bharat Bill Payment System.  Banks opened a whopping 19.52 crore accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana till the first week of December, 2015.  RBI has extended the deadline for exchanging pre- 2005 currency notes by another six months to June 30, 2016. It was to expire on Dec 31, 2015.  RBI has asked banks to make changes in ATM switches by March 31, 2016 to help customers register for mobile banking services from the ATM itself.  Govt released two commemorative coins of Rs.125 and Rs.10 as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.  ICICI Bank has tied up with railway’s e-ticketing platform IRCTC to sell rail tickets through its website. NOVEMBER 2015 3% INTEREST SUBVENTION ON EXPORT LOANS With a view to boost exports, the government has approved three per cent interest subvention scheme to allow exporters to avail loans from banks at a lower rate. The scheme will be applicable from April 1, 2015 for next five years. RUPAY CARD USAGE CONDITION RELAXED Government has extended RuPay card usage condition of at least one transaction in 45 days to 90 days for filing a claim under in-built accident insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana with effect from November 25, 2015. RBI RESTRICTS SHARE HOLDING IN BANKS RBI has made it mandatory for individuals and companies to take its prior approval before acquiring shares or voting rights in a private bank for increasing the aggregate holding to 5 percent or more. The decision has been taken to ensure that only the genuine persons enter the banking sector. SBI LAUNCHES ‘NEEV’ FUND State Bank of India launched the country's first low- income state infrastructure equity partnership (or the Neev fund) in London. The fund aims at providing equity partnerships for small infrastructure development in sectors like water and sanitation, clean energy and urban infrastructure. INDIAN CORPORATES’ ‘MASALA BONDS’ Some of the top rated companies like housing finance major HDFC, state-owned NTPC and India Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) are firming up plans to raise fund by issuing rupee-denominated ‘masala bonds’ in foreign capital markets. Masala bonds are Indian rupee denominated bonds issued in overseas capital markets by Indian corporates. SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS ISSUE OPENED Recently introduced Sovereign gold bonds were opened for public subscription from November 5-30. Bonds will earn interest at rate of 2.75 per cent. Investors will have a choice to buy bonds worth 2 grams of gold, up to a maximum of 500 grams. COOP BANKS ALLOWED NET BANKING RBI has allowed state and district central co-operative banks to offer internet banking to its customers subject to certain conditions. Only those cooperative banks that have implemented Core Banking Solution and migrated to Internet Protocol Version 6 will be allowed to offer ‘view only’ internet banking. View only facility means the customers can only use online services such as balance enquiry, balance viewing, account statement download and request for supply of cheque books.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 19 TRADE RECEIVABLES DISCOUNTING SYSTEM RBI has granted an "in-principle" approval to three companies to set up and operate a new Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). This will allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to post their receivables on the system and get them financed, bringing in much needed transparency to the trade receivable system. HDFC BANK FIRST TO USE MUSICAL LOGO HDFC Bank has become the first Indian bank to launch Sonic branding (Musical Logo) to be used across multiple touch points like ATMs, phone banking, mobile banking and the bank's website. It will help the bank to create distinct brand imagery and recall among various stakeholders INDIA's BANKING ‘STABLE’ - MOODY's Moody's Investors Service has upgraded its outlook for India's banking system to 'stable' from 'negative' on expectation that a gradual improvement in the operating environment for lenders will lead to slow down in bad loans in future BARTER TO END ON MYANMAR BORDER Indo-Myanmar border is perhaps one of the few places on the earth where barter trade still exists. However, with the improvement in banking presence in the border, the RBI has now decided to officially stop the barter system - trading of goods without exchange of money, from December 1.  The RBI has allowed foreign investors to buy default non-convertible debentures and bonds provided their maturity is for three years or more.  RBI has decided that a foreign bank in India can deploy a maximum of four expatriates for each branch and not more than six for their Head Office functions. DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JANUARY 2016 ‘RUDRA’ SHOWS UP AT R. DAY PARADE Indigenously designed and built advanced light helicopter (ALH) — “Rudra” made its debut at the Republic Day parade. This multirole attack helicopter is produced by the Defence Ministry’s unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for Indian Army. BARAK MISSILE TESTED BY INS KOLKATA Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata successfully test-fired long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) Barak NG against a remotely piloted flying target over the Arabian Sea. Developed in collaboration with Israel, it has a range of over 80 kms. THE 68TH ARMY DAY was observed on 15 January, all over India. On this day in 1949, Lt.–Gen. (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. ‘SAHAYOG-KAIJIN 2016’: The 15th edition of bilateral exercise by the Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart began off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the Bay of Bengal.  The DRDO successfully test-fired Nag anti-tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. It is a third generation fire-and-forget anti-tank missile and can be fired during night as well.  India will host a joint military exercise at Pune in March, 2016. Ten member countries of the ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners will take part in the exercise.  INS Kadmatt, the second indigenous stealth Anti- Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette, was inducted in Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.  India and France began their eight-day counter- terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise ‘Shakti-2016’ in Rajasthan.  India has supplied three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to Afghan Air Force.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 20 NEW THRUSH BIRD FOUND IN NE INDIA Scientists have found a new variant of Thrush bird named as the Himalayan Forest Thrush in the northeastern India and parts of Tibet, Nepal and China. The scientific name of the bird is Zoothera Salimalii after the name of the great Indian ornithologist Salim Ali. 5TH SATELLITE OF IRNSS LAUNCHED The ISRO successfully launched the 5th satellite IRNSS 1- E of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) on January 20. It is a set up of total seven satellites which will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent. NEW BREED OF TREE FROG DISCOVERED A class of frogs that grows in tree holes who as tadpoles feed on eggs laid by their mother, has been discovered in the north-east region. It has been named as Frankixalus Jerdonii. FIRST 3D PRINTED LIVER A Bengaluru-based technology startup has developed India’s first artificial liver tissue with the help of 3-D printing technology. This is a major step forward in the on-demand manufacturing of 3D printed human organs. NETFLIX STARTS SERVICES IN INDIA Global streaming pioneer Netflix (of USA) has launched its service in India, allowing viewers to access unlimited TV and cinema content online at prices starting Rs 500 a month. It has over 70 million members in over 190 countries watching over 125 million hours of content. FALCON 9 ROCKET FAILS AGAIN TO LAND BACK The NASA successfully launched Falcon 9 rocket made by SpaceX Company, from California to place ocean monitoring satellite Jason-3 in orbit. However, the rocket that was supposed to land back on a floating platform failed in its attempt and ended up in a blast due to crash landing. MOST ENERGETIC LIGHT EVER DETECTED Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the universe from the centre of a supernova known as ‘Crab pulsar’ which is situated 6,500 light years away from Earth. It is surrounded by a region of intense magnetic field 10 thousand billion times stronger than that of the Sun. CHEMISTRY GETS FOUR NEW ELEMENTS The periodic table of elements in Chemistry now has its seventh row completed with the introduction of four new chemical elements - 113, 115, 117 and 118, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and US. The new additions were formally verified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on December 30, 2015. New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist. The first true iteration of the table was done by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. LARGEST SOLAR SYSTEM FOUND Astronomers have discovered the largest known solar system, consisting of a large planet that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star. The gas giant is one trillion kilometres away, making its orbit 140 times wider than Pluto's path around our Sun. HUMAN LIKE ROBOT CREATED Scientists in Singapore have developed a human-like social robot named ‘Nadine’, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair, which is capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures like shaking hands and conversing.  China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth Observation Satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan, China. DECEMBER 2015 DEF. SERVICES MEET ON INS VIKRAMADITYA An annual Defence Services event called Unified Commanders Conference, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held on board Navy’s aircraft carrier - INS Vikramaditya, about 50 kms off Kochi coast. This is for the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi. NEW ‘ISLAMIC MILITARY ALLIANCE’ FORMED 34 Islamic nations have agreed to form a new “Islamic military alliance” led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. Alliance includes a number of African countries but does not include Iran, Iraq and Syria.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 21  INS Godavari, the country's first indigenously designed and built warship was decommissioned at Mumbai on Dec 24 after 32 years of service.  The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a joint naval exercise between Indian and Russian navies, started off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal.  Israeli military has successfully tested from a ship an advanced surface-to-air supersonic missile – Barak 8, co-developed with India. It has a range of 100 kms.  Govt has approved the purchase of S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia.  Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the Fast Patrol Vessel ‘ICGS Atulya’ for induction in Indian Coast Guard.  Indian Coast Guard has commissioned interceptor boat ‘ICGS C-422’ to further enhance its vigil along Pondicherry and South Tamil Nadu coast.  India test-fired the indigenously built nuclear- capable Agni-I missile having a hitting range of 700 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast.  Pakistan successfully test-fired nuclear capable ballistic missile Shaheen 1A with a range of 900 kilometres & Shaheen-III which can carry nuclear warheads up to 2,750 kms PSLV – C29 LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY The ISRO successfully demonstrated its ability to launch multiple payloads in vastly different altitudes using a single flight of the rocket when it launched PSLV-C29 rocket carrying six satellites of Singapore. They included main satellite TeLEOS-1 and five mini satellites that were placed at an altitude of 550 kms. FALCON 9 LANDS ON EARTH US space company SpaceX created history on Dec 21 when its powerful Falcon 9 rocket landed back on earth within 10 minutes of its launch from the Cape Canaveral in Florida, after placing 11 satellites in orbit. This means that now it is possible to make rockets as reusable as airplanes, leading to huge savings in costs of sending satellites in space. ATLAS V CARRIES SUPPLIES TO ISS The Atlas V rocket of NASA, carrying much needed US supplies blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA, toward the International Space Station. The Cygnus capsule carried by the rocket contained more than 3,500kg of food, clothing, computer gear, spacewalk equipment and other supplies.  Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of eel named Bengal moray eel along the Digha coast in West Bengal.  China launched its first space telescope- the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to study the mysterious dark matter.  China has approved commercial production of its first domestically developed electricity-powered aircraft known as RX 1E.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 22 NOVEMBER 2015 LRSAM SUCCESSFULLY TESTED BY DRDO The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by the Israel Aerospace Industry and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was successfully flight tested from the Israel Naval Platform for the first time on Nov 26. ‘DHANUSH’ TESTED SUCCESSFULLY The nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush was successfully test fired from warship INS Subhadra, off the Puri coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal. It is the naval variant of the Prithvi – II missile, having a strike range of 350 kilometres. ARMY TESTS ‘BRAHMOS’ SUCCESSFULLY Indian Army successfully test-fired the land attack variant of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. BrahMos, a joint effort between India and Russia, is the fastest and only supersonic cruise missile in the world capable of flying at 2.8 times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, sea and air.  Agni-IV, the nuclear-capable ballistic missile, tested for a range of 4,000 kms from Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island), off the Odisha coast.  India test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 kms from the test range off the Odisha coast.  The DRDO test-fired an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha’s Balasore district.  DRDO has developed Advanced Torpedo Defence System “Maareech” and “Vaarunaastra” for use by the Indian Navy  INS Kadmatt, the second of the four indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare corvette, was formally handed over to the Navy on Nov 26.  INS Vishwakarma, a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy for the shipwrights commissioned in Vishakhapatnam.  ICGS Arinjay, a Fast Patrol Vessel was commissioned in Indian Navy at Kochi. ICGS – Indian Coast Guard Ship  ‘Indra-2015’, the seventh edition India-Russia Joint Military Exercise held in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.  China has displayed its strongest combat and reconnaissance drone CH – 5 that can fly with a weight of 3,000 kg and carry 900 kg of equipment and weapons. GSAT-15 TO AUGMENT COMMUNICATIONS India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. It will augment telecommunication, Direct-to-Home and radio navigation services. The satellite will be navigated and controlled by the ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka. GOOGLE TO LAUNCH ‘PROJECT LOON’ IN INDIA Google is working with the Indian government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons. Under its ‘Project Loon’, Google is using big balloons floating at a height of 20 kilometres above earth surface for transmission of Internet services. EARLY WARNING SATELLITE BY RUSSIA Russia has launched its first early warning system satellite named EKS or Integrated Space System. Its official name is Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L). It is designed to restore Moscow's capability to identify and track worldwide missile launches from space. WORLD’s FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the world’s most powerful supercomputer system for the sixth consecutive time, performing calculations with processing speed of 33.86 petaflops per second. Second on list is Titan of the USA, performing @ 17.59 Pflop/s. FIRST EVER ‘POROUS’ LIQUID DISCOVERED In a breakthrough, scientists in U K have developed the world's first 'porous' liquid that can potentially be used to capture and dissolve unusually large amounts of harmful carbon gas emissions to prevent its absorption in the Earth's atmosphere.  Facebook has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas of western and southern India.  A new species of the Dracula ant, likely to be of Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants, was discovered by scientists in the Western Ghats of Kerala.  China's first lunar rover, Yutu, set a record for the longest stay on the Moon by completing almost two years stay, landing on moon on Dec 14, 2013.  Japan conducted its first commercial satellite launch on August 24, with an H-IIA rocket carrying a Canadian communications spacecraft, Telstar 12V, into orbit.  China launched a civil communication satellite ChinaSat-2C from the Xichang space center in Sichuan province.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 23 INTERNATIONAL JANUARY 2016 EASTERN USA BURIED UNDER 3 FEET SNOW A monster blizzard named ‘Snowzilla’ paralysed the entire US East Coast on Jan 24 with hurricane-force winds and record snow, killing over 25 persons and hitting some 85 million others, prompting up to 10 states to declare a state of emergency. The storm left as much as three feet of snow, paralysing transport links in New York and Washington DC. Several other parts of world in South Korea, Eastern China and Hon Kong also reeled under record breaking severe cold. FIRST ‘BEST COUNTRY REPORT’ RELEASED A joint team of U.S. News & World Report, BAV Consulting and Wharton School of Business has compiled a ‘Best Country Report’ to rank countries on 75 factors such as sustainability, adventure, cultural influence, entrepreneurship and economic influence. A survey of more than 16,200 business leaders, highfliers and other members of the public was carried out in 60 countries to select the best country in various categories. Germany was ranked as the best country, followed closely by Canada, U K, USA and Sweden. India was placed at the 22nd place. Some other winners are: Most modern country – Sweden Best Country to Raise Kids – Sweden Best Nation for Green Living - Sweden Best Country for Women - Denmark Most powerful country - USA No. 1 upcoming economy - India No. 1 nation to visit - Brazil ZIKA ATTACK IN SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES Countries like Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador are facing the threat of the Zika virus spread by mosquito bite. It is highly infectious and may also cause death. It is particularly harmful for pregnant ladies as it affects the foetus growth adversely. The Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes, which also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses. But in pregnant women, the virus can spread to the foetus and cause microcephaly, a condition involving brain shrinkage that severely limits a child's intellectual and physical development or death. HYDROGEN BOMB TESTED BY N KOREA North Korea conducted a powerful Hydrogen bomb test in a defiant and surprising move as there is a UN ban on testing and development of nuclear weapons. The test has drawn grave criticism from all major countries of the world, terming it as a ‘serious threat to the international peace and security’. A Hydrogen bomb is much smaller and easy to make than an Atom bomb but is far more destructive. CRUDE PRICES FALL TO 12 YEARS LOW Global crude oil prices plunged to 12 year low at $ 29.93 a barrel, plagued by abundant oversupply and the ongoing row between key producers Iran and Saudi Arabia dimming prospects for production cuts. Also, falling prices have prompted some producers to maximize output to prevent income falling too rapidly and to keep market share. EURO 2 BILLION TO SAVE FRENCH ECONOMY French President has announced what he called "a state of economic and social emergency" involving a Euro 2 billion plan to revive job creation and catch up with the world’s economy. The plan includes training half a million jobless workers, greater use of apprenticeships, and 2,000 Euro aid for small businesses that hire young workers. CHINA DEVALUES YUAN AGAIN China weakened the value of its Yuan currency by 0.51 percent to 6.5646 against the US dollar on January 7, its lowest value since 2011. It triggered a selloff in global markets, bringing alive the fears of competitive devaluation among emerging economies.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 24 CHINA’s GROWTH SLIPS TO 25 YEARS LOW The data released by China's the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China's economy grew 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace in last 25 years. GDP in 2015 reached about $10.3 trillion. THE WORLD'S LARGEST BLUE STAR SAPPHIRE The stone that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered in a mine in Sri Lanka. Named as ‘The Star of Adams, its estimated cost is $100 million but could fetch much more when auctioned. WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2016: Digital Dividends, a report by the World Bank explores the impact of the internet, mobile phones, and related technologies on economic development across the world. THE WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER released by the U N World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that the international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 per cent in 2015 to reach a total of 1184 million in 2015. THE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS — persons living in a country other than where they were born — reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000. World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.  The World Health Organization has declared Liberia free of Ebola virus. Now there is no other country officially reporting Ebola cases.  Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres, opened in Futian in Shenzhen city in south China.  Toyota continues to be the world’s biggest automaker selling 10.15 million vehicles in 2015, closely followed by Volkswagen and General Motors.  World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the world's fastest film to make one billion dollars at the global box office. DECEMBER 2015 THE 10th WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE The 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya from Dec 15 to 19. The meet adopted the Nairobi Package containing six issues aimed at benefitting organization’s poorest members. India was represented by the Union Commerce & Industry Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman. Director-General: Roberto Azevêdo , HQ: Geneva, Switzerland ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in which India holds 8.52 % share, along with other 56 countries, was formally established in Beijing on Dec 25. With an authorised capital of $100 billion and subscribed capital of $50 billion, the bank will invest in sectors like energy, transportation, urban construction, education and healthcare. ZIMBABWE TO ADOPT YUAN AS ITS CURRENCY Zimbabwe plans to adopt the Chinese Yuan as its currency with a view to cancel the debt worth 40 million dollars from China. Zimbabwe dumped its own currency in 2009 due to deep recession. China has become the largest investor in Zimbabwe, which has been shunned by the West over its human rights record US LIFTS OIL EXPORT BAN United States has lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports, marking a historic shift for the booming US oil industry. The ban was first imposed in 1975 as the United States was reeling from the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo. UNSC RESOLVES AGAINST ISIS The UN Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to increase sanctions against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) group and other terrorist groups. The resolution seeks to cut off revenue flows including ransom payments to these groups, by all means. WOMEN ALLOWED VOTING IN SAUDI ARABIA In Saudi Arabia, at least 20 women won municipal council seats (roughly 1%) in the historic local elections in which females were allowed to cast votes and run for office for the first time in the country's history.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 25 PARIS CLIMATE SUMMIT 200 NATIONS SIGN ‘PARIS AGREEMENT’ Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Dec 12 at COP 21 meet by UNFCCC at Le Bourget, France, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don't. COP - Conference of the Parties UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  The nations agreed on following issues: A long- term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels;  Aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change.  To undertake rapid reductions in emission levels in accordance with the best available scientific methods.  Developed countries to continue their existing collective goal to mobilise USD 100 billion per year until 2025 when a new collective goal will be set. NEW CLIMATE INITIATIVE BY UNO The United Nations has launched a new initiative titled Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries. It will strengthen the ability of countries to anticipate hazards, absorb shocks, and reshape development to reduce climate risks. INDIA COMMITS LOWER EMISSIONS Outlining India's initiatives and stand on climate issues at Paris climate meet, Prime Minister Modi said that India will reduce its emissions intensity by 33 percent of its GDP by 2030, on the basis of 2005 levels and 40 percent of country’s installed power capacity would be by non fossil fuels by 2022. INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE LAUNCHED At the Climate Summit in Paris, Prime Minister Modi initiated the idea of the international solar alliance to harness solar power as a major step to mitigate carbon gas emissions. This also aims at achieving the objective of keeping global warming below 2 degree Celsius between now and 2100. India has already submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) in which India has committed to generate 100 giga watt solar power by 2022. PARIS PACT ON WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE A wide geographic coalition of national and cross- border river basin organisations, governments, funding agencies, local governments, companies and civil society have adopted the Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation in Paris. It encompasses individual commitments to implement adaptation plans, strengthening water monitoring and measurement systems in river basins and promoting financial sustainability and new investment in water systems management. 'MISSION INNOVATION' FOR CLEAN ENERGY World leaders from 20 countries, including India and global investors lead by Bill Gates, launched Mission Innovation at the COP21 in Paris for accelerating clean energy revolution across the world and to promote the use of renewable energy resources. SOME CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED NEWS SOUTH AMERICA REELS UNDER EL NINO The El Nino weather phenomenon in South Atlantic Ocean caused very heavy downpour in countries like Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, leading to massive flooding their major rivers, forcing lakhs of persons to flee from their homes.  In the Chinese Capital, Beijing, the government has issued its first red alert on pollution, the highest level in the system, ordering schools to close for four days due to hazardous air quality.  Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes in northern England hit by “unprecedented” flooding. Army was called in to support local authorities.  A string of powerful tornado storms wreaked havoc across southern United States, killing scores of persons and causing extensive damage to houses and vehicles. ----
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 26 BRAZIL SLIPS INTO DEEP RECESSION Brazil's economy shrank by 1.7% in the third quarter of the year compared with the second quarter, deepening the country's worst recession in 25 years. Compared with a year ago, the economy is 4.5% smaller. The drop in economic activity was largely due to a drop in investment, which fell by 15% compared with a year ago, leading to massive unemployment. US FED HIKES RATES AFTER A DECADE The Federal Reserve of USA hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 on Dec 16, for the first time since 2006, reflecting its confidence in the stable growth of U.S. economy. The Fed strongly believes that the US economy had largely overcome the wounds of the 2007- 2009 financial crisis. It also raised its projection for its economic growth next year slightly, from 2.3 percent to 2.4 percent. Rates in the US have been at near-zero since 2008. Shortly after the Fed's announcement, major banks began announcing that they were raising their prime lending rate from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. FACEBOOK CEO DONATES 99% SHARES Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg while announcing the birth of his first child pledged to give away 99 per cent of his company shares, currently worth a whopping $45 billion, to make the world a “better place” for daughter Maxima and other children. YUAN APPROVED AS SDR CURRENCY The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to include the Chinese currency, the Yuan, in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket effective from October 1, 2016, besides the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. WORLD TSUNAMI AWARENESS DAY – NOV 5 The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe November 5 every year as World Tsunami Awareness Day for raising awareness about the dangers of tsunami and the importance of early warning systems for minimising damage.  The World AIDS Day was observed on 1 December 2015 across the world with the theme “Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030”.  Mexico has approved the use of the first-ever vaccine against dengue fever - Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharma major Sanofi Pasteur.  The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.  Gambia, a tiny West African country has decided to become an Islamic republic because Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens.  The first media summit of countries belonging to the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping held at Beijing on Dec 1.  Food and Agriculture Organization of UNO launched International Year of Pulses on 10 November with the theme ‘nutritious seeds for a sustainable future’.  2nd World Internet Conference was held at Wuzen in Eastern China from Dec 16 to 18.  New Zealanders chose a new flag design featuring silver fern and red stars on a black and blue background. The new design will be confirmed by vote in March. NOVEMBER 2015 ISIS MILITANTS ATTACK PARIS In one of the worst gruesome terrorist attacks, over 129 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded in multiple ISIS terrorists’ shootings in Paris and explosions outside the national stadium - Stade de France. Nations around the world have joined hands to fight back ISIS. NEPAL REELS UNDER MADHESI AGITATION Several persons, including policemen have been killed in Terai region of Nepal due to ongoing Madhesi agitation. The violence comes as the landlocked country, heavily dependent on India for supplies of essential goods, continues to reel under acute shortage of fuels, medicines and other items for over two months now, due to roads blocked by Madhesis. Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai region, have been protesting against division of their ancestral homeland in the new Constitution. They are also demanding proportionate representation in government mechanism, allocation of Parliament seats on the basis of population and re-demarcation of the federal provinces.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 27 G-20 SUMMIT HELD IN ANTALAYA A two day summit of Heads of G-20 nations was held in Antalaya, Turkey to dwell on inclusive economic growth and climate change. A special resolution was also passed to condemn the gruesome terrorist attack in Paris and make united efforts to eliminate terrorism across the globe. PM Modi represented India at the meet. APEC SUMMIT HELD IN MANILA Leaders of economies which account for nearly half of the world's trade and about 57 per cent of global gross domestic product met in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This year, the theme of the summit is Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World. ASEAN DECLARES FORMATION OF AEC Leaders of the ASEAN group of nations have declared the establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in the region. It will integrate Southeast Asia's diverse economies, a region with 620 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.6 trillion. MYANMAR VOTES TO END MILITARY RULE Free General elections were held in Myanmar after a gap of almost 25 years. Voters came out in very heavy numbers to exercise their right. The pro-democracy party National League for Democracy, led by its charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to form the government WORLD’s SECOND BIGGEST DIAMOND FOUND The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in Botswana in southern Africa. The 1,111 carat gem is only second in size to the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905. AN EMOJI IS 2015 WORD OF THE YEAR For the first time, Oxford Dictionary has chosen an emoji pictograph, commonly referred to as an emoticon, as its 2015 Word of the Year after it made history due to its popularity on social media and instant messaging. This was the most commonly used emoji in 2015. ISIS MILITANTS DOWN RUSSIAN PLANE Russia suspended all its flights to Egypt after one of its aircraft suffered mid-air bomb blast soon after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. The International Day for Tolerance observed globally on 16 November with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and help them understand the negative effects of intolerance. WIDESPREAD DOPING IN RUSSIA A report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) outlined systematic doping in Russian athletics. As a result, Russia was provisi-onally suspended from all international track and field events by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).  27th ASEAN summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was held in Kuala Lumpur on November 21.  The 10th East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Nov 22, under the theme Our People, Our Community, Our Vision.  UNESCO rejected Kosovo's bid for membership as it failed to receive the support of two-thirds of the UNESCO’s member nations.  Islamist militants laid siege to the Radisson Blue Hotel in Bamako, capital of Mali killing at least 27 persons from different nations.  The World Health Organisation on 16 November 2015 launched the World Antibiotic Awareness Week with the theme Antibiotics: handle with care.  Operation Inherent Resolve is the name of US military operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria.  The World Meteorological Organisation has said that global average temperatures this year are likely to be the warmest on record.  Young supporters of Hong Kong's democracy movement, known as 'Umbrella Soldiers', won few seats in the elections dominated by pro-Beijing forces.  Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free by the WHO, prompting nationwide celebrations tinged with sadness over the loss of 4,000 victims to the disease.  Global pharma major Pfizer and Botox maker Allergan have entered into a $ 160 billion merger agreement, the biggest ever deal in pharma sector.  China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba created a new record in online sales netting $14.33 billion on the annual Singles Day on Nov 13.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 28 PERSONS IN NEWS JANUARY 2016 RAGHURAM RAJAN: RBI Governor was named ‘Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015’ by the prestigious UK magazine The Banker for stabilising the Indian rupee, initiating key reforms to attract much needed foreign capital in the country and reining in a runaway price appreciation. AZIM PREMJI: Chairman of Wipro has been ranked as the most generous Indian of the year for the third time in a row with donations worth Rs. 27,514 crore, mainly in the education sector, as per the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015. APARNA KUMAR: An IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has successfully climbed the Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctic sub-continent. She is the first woman officer of any All-India Services to have done so SHEIKH NIMR AL-NIMR: A prominent Shia cleric, highly critical of the ruling Al Saud dynasty, was executed by the Saudi Arabian govt for his alleged involvement in shooting policemen. His execution sparked widespread angry protests in eastern Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Shia dominated Iraq and several other Shia territories. DECEMBER 2015 SHAH RUKH KHAN: Bollywood megastar has been ranked as the country’s top-earning celebrity with estimated earnings of Rs. 257.5 crore this year, pushing Salman Khan to the second position (202.75 crore) in the latest Forbes India Celebrity List for 2015. KATY PERRY: Global pop singer from USA is on top of Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid musicians of 2015, with $135 million in earnings. ANGELA MERKEL: German Chancellor has been named as the "Person of the Year" by the Times Magazine for her role in Europe's crises over migration and Greek debt. LAIMDOTA STRAUJUMA: Latvia’s first female Prime Minister announced her resignation after political squabbles within her center-right ruling coalition and dissatisfaction about her leadership. NOVEMBER 2015 PAWAN MUNJAL: Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp, was the highest paid director with a remuneration of Rs.43.91 crore during the 2014-15 financial year. ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA: Chairperson of country's largest bank SBI remains the most powerful woman in the Indian business sector, according to Fortune India’s latest rankings of Indian business women. LIONEL MESSI: International iconic Football star has been picked up by the Tata Motors as their global brand ambassador for their passenger vehicles. VICTOR PONTA: Romanian Prime Minister was in news as he announced his resignation bearing moral responsibility for a nightclub blaze that killed 32 people. APPOINTMENTS JANUARY 2016 SAILESH: A senior IAS officer, appointed as the new Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. AMIT SHAH: Re-elected unopposed as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party - world’s largest political party, for a three-year term. ATULESH JINDAL: Appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) DINESH SHARMA: Elected to the 12-member board of directors of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). DEVENDER KUMAR SIKRI: Appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India AMITABH KANT: Given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. He is Industry Secretary at present. URJIT PATEL: Reappointed as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, for a second three-year term. Dr. GYANENDRA D BANDGAIYAN: Appointed as the Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance. MARCELO REBELO de SOUSA: Elected as the new President of Portugal PAVEL FILIP: Appointed as the Prime Minister of Moldova, small poorest European country TSAI ING-WEN: Elected as the new President of Taiwan GIORGI KVIRIKASHVILI: Elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia, Europe.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 29 DECEMBER 2015 R.K. MATHUR: Appointed the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), breaking away from the convention of appointing the head from among the serving information commissioners. He is former union defence secretary. GAUTAM H BAMBAWALE: Appointed as the High Commissioner of India to the Pakistan ARUN KUMAR JAIN: Appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). SIR VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN: Nobel laureate in Chemistry, assumed Presidency of the Royal Society in London for a period of five years. It is one of most prestigious body of scientists. ROCH MARC CHRISTIAN KABORE: Elected as the President of the West African country Burkina Faso. NOVEMBER 2015 JUSTICE T S THAKUR: New Chief Justice of India (43rd), succeeding Justice HL Dattu. NITISH KUMAR: Elected as the new Bihar Chief Minister SYED AKBARUDDIN: 1985 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at New York. NAVTEJ SINGH SARNA: Veteran diplomat, an IFS officer of 1980 batch, has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. VIJAY KESHAV GOKHALE: Senior diplomat has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to China. RAGHURAM RAJAN: Governor RBI has been elected Vice-Chairman of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) at Basel, Switzerland. SUBIR GOKARAN: Former RBI Deputy Governor has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He will represent India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. MAHESH KUMAR JAIN: MD and CEO of Indian Bank. R K TAKKAR: MD and CEO UCO Bank J K GARG: Managing Director of Corporation Bank SURESH N PATEL: Appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Andhra Bank. T.S.R. SUBRAMANIAN: Former Cabinet secretary has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy. HARSHAVARDHAN NEOTIA: Elected as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the year 2016. He is the Chairman of Ambuja Neotia group of industries.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 30 SUNIL KANORIA: Appointed as the President of The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). He is the Vice Chairman of the SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. Ms. ZARIN DARUWALA: Appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank, India. JUSTICE AJIT PRAKASH SHAH: Appointed as the ethics officer (ombudsman) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). MAURICIO MACRI: elected as the new President of Argentina. He is expected to be Argentina’s most economically liberal leader since the 1990s. He defeated the incumbent Mrs. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. JOHN POMBE MAGUFULI: Elected as the new President of Tanzania AWARDS & HONOURS JANUARY 2016 PADMA AWARDS ANNOUNCED India's highest civil awards after Bharat Ratna for the year 2016 were announced on the eve of Republic Day (25th January). These awards carry no cash component. Total 112 awards were announced which included 10 Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bushans and 83 Padma Sris. Some of the famous winners are given below:- PADMA VIBHUSHAN - 10 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth, Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu 2 Founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra 3 Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Others- Spiritualism — Karnataka 4 Cinema baron Ramoji Rao Literature & Education- Journalism — Andhra Pradesh 5 Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan, Public Affairs — Delhi 6 Former DRDO chief VK Aatre, Science & Engineering — Karnataka 7 Cancer specialist and chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V Shanta Medicine- Oncology — Tamil Nadu 8 Eminent Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi Art-Classical dance — Delhi 9 Classical vocalist Girija Devi Art-Classical Vocal — West Bengal 10 Indian-American economist Avinash Dixit Literature & Education — USA PADMA BHUSHAN - TOTAL 19 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Anupam Kher Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Udit Narayan Jha Art-Playback Singing Maharashtra 3 Ram V Sutar Art-Sculpture Uttar Pradesh 4 Vinod Rai Civil Service Kerala 5 Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard Literature & Education - Journalism Punjab 6 Hafeez Contractor Others- Architecture Maharashtra 7 R C Bhargava Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh 8 Ms Saina Nehwal Sports-Badminton Telangana 9 Ms Sania Mirza Sports-Tennis Telangana 10 Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) Trade & Industry Ireland PADHMA SRI – TOTAL 83 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Ajay Devgn Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Ms Priyanka Chopra Art-Cinema Maharashtra 3 S S Rajamouli Art-Film Direction and Production Karnataka 4 Madhur Bhandarkar Art-Film Direction and Production Maharashtra 5 Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah Literature & Education Assam 6 Prof Pushpesh Pant Literature & Education- Journalism Delhi 7 Piyush Pandey Others-Advertising & Communication Maharashtra 8 Ujjwal Nikam Public Affairs Maharashtra 9 Ms Deepika Kumari Sports-Archery Jharkhand 10 Dilip Sanghvi Trade & Industry Maharashtra ASHOKA CHAKRA: Nation's highest peacetime gallantry award, , has been awarded posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) for his acts of most conspicuous gallantry ineliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days before laying down his life in the line of duty in Sep 2015 in Kupwara sector of Jammu & Kashmir.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 31 JNANPITH AWARD FOR 2015: Noted Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhari became the 56th writer to be conferred with India's highest literary honour. His most noted works include novels 'Amruta' and 'Uparvas’. 61ST FILMFARE AWARDS DECLARED Best Actor: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Piku Best Film: Bajirao Mastani Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee THE HINDU PRIZE, 2015: (for best novel) won by Easterine Kire, poet, novelist and children’s writer from Nagaland, for her novel When the River Sleeps. DSC Prize for South Asian Literature: Anuradha Roy for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter. YASH CHOPRA MEMORIAL AWARD: Given to veteran actress Rekha for her contribution to the film industry. KNIGHTHOOD HONOUR IN UK: conferred upon Dr Harpal Singh Kumar, an Indian-origin cancer research expert for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer. Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 (Asia-Pacific): Ankita Anand journalist for sensitive portrayal of life for young women facing the threat of the diktat of khap panchayats in Haryana. WINNERS OF 73RD GOLDEN GLOBES 2016 Held on Jan 10 at Los Angeles, California, USA Best Motion Picture (Drama): ‘The Revenant’ Best Actor (Drama): Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘The Revenant’ Best Actress (Drama): Brie Larson for Room Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu - The Revenant. THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA: The highest civilian honour of Australia conferred upon three Indians -- Sajeev Koshy, a Keralaite dentist settled in Melbourne for his service to dentistry in Victoria, C Jagadish, an eminent professor at Australian National University, Canberra and Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales. Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award: David Beckham, famous footballer from Britain, for his tireless work to save and improve the lives of children around the world. PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award (USA): Won by the Harry Potter author J K Rowling for her support for free expression and charitable causes. DECEMBER 2015 THE GOLDEN PEACOCK: Award for best feature film at the 46th International Film Festival of India won by the Colombia film ‘Embrace of The Serpent’ directed by the Ciro Guerra. The award carries cash prize of Rs 40 lakh. GARWOOD AWARD for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee was conferred this award by the UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business, California, USA. NATIONAL SCIENCE MEDAL (USA): Indian-American tumour scientist Prof. Rakesh Jain has been selected for this top US science award. SOUTH EAST ASIA WRITE AWARD: Won by Singapore based Indian origin writer J M Mali for his contribution to Tamil literature. Started in 1979, these awards are presented annually to poets and writers from ASEAN countries. MAILER PRIZE FOR LITERATURE, USA: India-born author Salman Rushdie has been selected for this prestigious award that honours writers who fully exercise their freedom of creativity and thrive on dialogue and debate. QUEEN's YOUNG LEADERS AWARD – 2016: Two Indians, Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain, have won this prestigious award in the United Kingdom for their work in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities. Miss Universe 2015: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines Miss International 2015: Edymar Martínez of Venezuela Miss Earth 2015: Angelia Ong from Philippines Miss Intercontinental 2015: Valentina Rasulova from Russia Miss World 2015: Mireia Lalaguna from Spain
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 32 NOVEMBER 2015 THE INDIRA GANDHI PRIZE FOR PEACE, DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT-2015: Awarded to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in recognition of its “immense contributions” in assisting millions of refugees and for working under difficult circumstances to bring about changes to reduce the flow of refugees. KIREN RIJIJU: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, was designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). RAMNATH GOENKA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist, columnist and author for his contribution to journalism. KALA SHIKHAR AWARD: Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma for lifetime achievement. NEW YORK GLOBAL LEADERS DIALOGUE HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Bindeshwar Pathak, Social Activist and founder of Sulabh International, for his contribution to improving the quality of life for millions of manual scavengers. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE PRIZE: awarded to Abraham Keita (17) of Liberia for his “tireless campaigning” to end violence against minors. BOOKS & AUTHORS JANUARY 2016 ‘Azad Bachpan ki Aur’ by Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace prize winner The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India India’s Foreign Policy by Muchkund Dubey, a former Indian Foreign Secretary The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time – an autobiography of Subhash Chandra, media moughal, founder of Zee TV. Maru Bharat Saru Bharat (My India Noble India) written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj. This is the 300th book written by Maharaj ji. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson - The book won the novel-of-the-year prize at Britain's Costa Book Awards 2015. Go Set a Watchman, the second novel by Harper Lee, topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6 million copies. 'Anything But Khamosh' – an autobiography of Shatrughan Sinha
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 33 DECEMBER 2015 The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account by Madhuri Bose, the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power, an autobiography of Sharad Pawar This Unquiet Land by Barkha Dutt Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. See Me by Nicholas Sparks. Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. NOVEMBER 2015 Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security by M.S. Swaminathan Chronicles of Time and Chance by Raymond Francis Isar Because We Say So by Noam Chomsky Why India Is Not A Great Power (Yet) by Bharat Karnad My Gita by Devidutt Pattnaik The Mare's Trap by Wendy Doniger. What Happened to Netaji by Anuj Dhar Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah India-Myanmar Relations by Rajiv Bhatia. OBITUARY JANUARY 2016 MRINALINI SARABHAI: Veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan recipient passed away in Ahmedabad. She was 97. One of the most celebrated Indian classical dancers; she was proficient in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. Lt–Gen. J F R JACOB (retd): Ex Governor of Goa and Punjab and war hero of 1971 Bangladesh war, passed away in New Delhi after a brief illness. He was 92. He wrote his memoirs by the title “An Odyssey in War and Peace.” GENERAL O P MALHOTRA: Former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army Staff passed away in Gurgaon due to old-age complications on Dec 29. He was 93. V. RAMA RAO: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Sikkim Governor passed away in Hyderabad after prolonged illness. He was 80. RAJESH VIVEK UPADHYAY: Noted film/ TV artist died in Hyderabad. He was 66. Rajesh was mainly known for his roles in films like Lagaan (Guran) and Swades. MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister breathed his last at the All–India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He was 79. He founded the Peoples Democratic Party in J&K in 1998. SAROSH HOMI KAPADIA: Former Chief Justice of India, 68, passed away in Mumbai. A.B. BARDHAN: Veteran Communist Party of India leader, 92, passed away after a long illness at New Delhi. DAVID BOWIE: One of the most influential recording artists of all time in UK, passed away due to throat cancer. He was 69. MARVIN MINSKY: Noted mathematician and the computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence, died at the age of 88 in Boston, USA. NATALIE COLE: Grammy-winning US singer passed away in Los Angeles. She was 65. She gave super hits like Our Love and This Will Be. HASKELL WEXLER: Oscar – winning US cinematographer died in California. He was 93. He was one of the America’s most influential cinematographers. YASUTARO KOIDE: The world’s oldest man died in Nagoya, Japan at the age of 112 DECEMBER 2015 SADHANA (Shivdasani/Nayer): Veteran actress, who mesmerised audience with her beauty and powerful performances in timeless hits like “Hum Dono”, “Love in Simla” and “Waqt”, died in Mumbai after a brief illness. She was 74. She will always be remembered for her iconic fringe hair on forehead, famous as ‘Sadhna cut’. SHARAD JOSHI: Renowned agro-economist, founder of Shetakari Sangthana, crusader for farmers’ rights and a former Rajya Sabha member, died at Pune at 81. MAM RAMASWAMY: Industrialist, founder of Chettinad Group, former parliamentarian passed away in Chennai at the age of 84 after prolonged illness. USTAAD SABRI KHAN: Renowned sarangi player died at age of 88 due to breathing problems. He was decorated with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. DR. ROBERT L. SPITZER: Veteran psychiatrist who gave psychiatry its first set of rigorous measuring standards to describe mental disorders, died in New York. He was 83. ELDAR RYAZANOV: Russian legendary film Director died in Moscow at the age of 88. He directed some of the most popular and beloved comedies such as Irony of Fate, The Garage and Office Romance.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 34 NOVEMBER 2015 RAM KRISHNA TRIVEDI: Former Gujarat governor, Chief Election Commissioner of India and Central Vigilance Commissioner, passed away after prolonged illness. He was 94. He is credited with the introduction of the voter ID cards in Indian Elections. K. SANKARAN NAIR: Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) passed away in Bengaluru. He was 94. Decorated with Padma Bhushan, he was the main strategist of the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. ASHOK SINGHAL: Veteran patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) passed away in Gurgaon due to a prolonged illness. He was 89. BRIJMOHAN LALL MUNJAL (92): Hero Motocorp Ltd founder died in Delhi after prolonged illness. SAEED JAFFREY: Veteran Bollywood actor died in London. He was 86. He was known for his roles in movies Gandhi, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Henna and Masoom. T R GOVINDARAJAN: Senior football administrator and veteran referee from Tamil Nadu, died after a brief illness. He was 90. MAHIP SINGH: Noted writer and journalist passed away in Gurgaon, after a brief illness. He was 85. HELMUT SCHMIDT: Former West German Chancellor, who led the country for eight years (1974-82) at the height of the Cold War, died at the age of 96. PLACES IN NEWS JANUARY 2016 PATHANKOT: A group of 6 suspected Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab in the wee hours of January 2, engaging security forces in a fierce gunbattle lasting two days. All the attackers were killed but not before 7 defence personnel attained martyrdom. KALIACHAK: A small town 25 kms southwest of Malda in West Bengal was in news as more than a dozen policemen were injured and police station was set on fire in mob fury in an incident of communal violence. UMAID BHAWAN PALACE: in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has been adjudged the best hotel in the world based on reviews and opinions collected by travel site Trip Advisor for its ‘Travellers’ Choice awards for Hotels'. CHARSADDA: At least 25 persons were killed and several other were seriously wounded when Taliban suicide attackers stormed the prestigious Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, near Peshawar in Pakistan. MAZAR-e-SHARIF: City in Afghanistan was in news as the Indian Consulate there was attacked by the heavily armed terrorists. An intense 25-hour gun-battle between security forces and terrorists ended in the killing of all attackers. RAMADI: City in Iraq was declared liberated from the Islamic State group after clinching a landmark victory against the jihadists. The city was lost to IS in May, 2015. DECEMBER 2015 KANNUR: Town in Kerala was in news as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated 35,950 cannon balls at the historic Fort St Angelo in the town. The cannon balls made of iron, weighing 800 gms to 10 kg. were unearthed when workers were digging the earth to lay a cable channel for a light and sound show at the Fort. JAZAN: Port city in southwestern Saudi Arabia was in news as a fire in its general hospital killed 31 people and injured 107. SHENZHEN: In China, more than 90 persons were killed due to a landslide caused by the collapse of a huge mound of waste construction mud in Shenzhen industrial area in south China. SAN BERNARDINO: A city in California, USA was in news as gunmen opened fire on a holiday party at a social services agency, killing 14 people and wounding 17 others. Two gunmen were killed later on. TYPHOON NONA (Melor): Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the central Philippines as a typhoon with winds of up to 150 kph made landfall, causing heavy rains leading to massive flooding and landslides. NOVEMBER 2015 MOUNT RINJA: In Indonesia, hundreds of tourists were stranded for a third day as volcanic ash from eruptions from Mount Rinja forced the closure of airports in three Indonesian islands.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 35 SPORTS WORLD JANUARY 2016 DHANWADE SCORES RECORD 1009 RUNS Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade scripted history by becoming the first batsman ever to notch up a four- figure score by smashing an unbeaten knock of 1009 including 59 sixes and 129 fours in 6 hours 35 minutes. The 15-year-old, playing for KC Gandhi Higher Secondary School, reached the gigantic score in just 323 deliveries with a jaw-dropping strike rate of 312.38 in the game against Arya Gurukul in the Bhandari Cup inter-school tournament organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s off-spinner was ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for 2015. PV Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title beating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the final at Penang, Malaysia. Jehan Daruvala of India won the New Zealand's most popular motor race the Lady Wigram Trophy. Siril Verma, young Indian badminton player was declared number one in junior men's singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. APURVI CHANDELA broke the world record on 5 January 2016 to grab a gold medal in the women's 10 metre air rifle event with a score of 211.2 at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix in Savsjo, Sweden. Later, she won her second gold in 10 metre tri series event, thereby also winning the title of ‘Shooter of the Tournament’ V V S Laxman's classy innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001 has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years in an online survey by the ‘Cricket Magazine’. Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi won gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab. Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6960.8 metres. ONGC won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by beating Railways in New Delhi. India won the first T20 Asia cup Cricket for Blind beating Pakistan by 44 runs in the finals held at Kochi, Kerala. Delhi International Chess Tournament started in Delhi on Jan. 9 BCCI ANNUAL HONOURS 'Cricketer of the Year' - Men: Virat Kohli, Indian Test captain 'Cricketer of the Year' - Women: Mithali Raj, 1st Indian woman and 2nd in world to complete 5,000 runs in ODI India beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 in the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Chennai Open Tennis: Stanislaus Wawrinka (Swiss) won the cup for the third time in row, beating Borna Coric of Croatia. The 76th All-India Inter-University Athletics Championship was held in Patiala and the Punjabi University emerged as the overall champions for the sixth year in a row. Senior National Wrestling Championship, New Delhi Gold won by Bajrang Punia in Men's 65kg and Ritu Phogat in women's 48kg Freestyle categories. Priyanka Phogat won the gold in the women’s 55kg category. Overall championship was won by Railways in men’s category and by Haryana in women’s category. Vijay Merchant (U-16) Trophy: Punjab won the cricket trophy after beating Mumbai in Bengaluru. Premier Badminton League: Delhi Acers won the title by beating Mumbai Rockets in New Delhi. Indian women boxers won 4 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals at the 5th Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Nations Cup in Ruma, Serbia. The 61st National School Athletic Meet held at Kozhikode, Kerala from Jan 29. Justice (Retd) R M Lodha committee appointed by the S C to look into the affairs of BCCI has recommended sweeping reforms that include a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 36 Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu won the boys' and girls' table tennis titles, respectively, in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. FIFA Ballon d'Or award: Lionel Messi of Argentina won the World Player of the Year Award for the fifth time. FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd, US midfielder claimed her first award. INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION ANNUAL AWARDS 2015 Player of the Year (men): Robert Van der Horst, The Netherlands Player of the Year (women): Lidewij Welten, The Netherlands World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Qatar Masters Open Chess Tournament. Ronnie O'Sullivan of Britain won his sixth World Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins in London. Shivnarine Chanderpaul: The West Indies batsman announced his retirement from international cricket Veteran tennis star Marat Safin became the first Russian player to enter the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame, USA. 2015 BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL Tennis Tournament at Brisbane, Australia. Men’s Singles: Milos Raonic of Canada defeated Roger Federer Women’s Singles: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beats A Kerber Men’s Doubles: Henri Kontinen & John Peers Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis Australia has declined to take part in forthcoming Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh citing security reasons. DECEMBER 2015 NATIONAL P V Sindhu has won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament for the third consecutive time, beating Minatsu Mitani of Japan. Thakur Anoop Singh won the Mr. World title in the World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. Deborah Herold has become the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event. Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy won the doubles title in the Mexico Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament in Mexico City. Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Syed Kirmani, India's former wicket-keeper batsman who played 88 Tests and 49 ODIs between 1976 and 1986. The award is given by the BCCI in the honour of India’s first test cricket captain, Col C K Naidu. Gujarat won their maiden Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy by beating Delhi in the finals played in Bengaluru. 18th Asian Luge Championship: Shiva Keshavan of Manali, HP won a silver medal at Nagano, Japan. Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament: India’s K Srikanth suffered a very narrow defeat from Tommy Sugiarto who won the finals in Malang, Indonesia. 59th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi. Vijay Kumar, Olympic medalist won gold in the men's 25-metre centre fire pistol Apurvi Chandela won Gold medal in the 10-metre Air Rifle event Chain Singh won the Gold in the 50-metre Rifle event Elizabeth Susan Koshy won Women's 50m Rifle Gold The 68th National Track Cycling Championship held at Ludhiana, Punjab. The 22nd National Cricket Tournament for the visually impaired was held in New Delhi. 2nd Indian Super League Football tournament: Chennaiyin FC defeated FC Goa in the finals played in Goa. Commonwealth Table-Tennis Championships were held in Surat, Gujarat. India topped the medal tally with 16 medals. All India Football Federation has named midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and striker Bala Devi as the Player- of-the-Year and woman Footballer - of - the - Year, respectively. Senior National Weightlifting Championships, Patiala: Haryana's Deepak Lather won gold medal in the men's 62kg category and set a new national record. Vikas Thakur of Services created a new national record as he won the gold medal in the 85kg category. 12th National Ice-Skating Championship held in Gulmarg, J&K from Dec 30 to Jan 03, 2016. Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) awarded Player of the Year title for the PGTI Order of Merit to Bengaluru’s S Chikkarangappa as he won the McLeod Russel Tour Championship at Kolkata. India won four-match Test series against South Africa, 3-0, played in India.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 37 Pro Wrestling League: Mumbai Garuda outclassed Haryana Hammers to clinch the inaugural title in New Delhi. Two new teams, Pune and Rajkot have become the new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a period of two years, replacing the suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Hockey World League: Australia defeated Belgium to lift the title at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Raipur, Madhya Pradesh. THE 12TH SOUTH ASIAN GAMES will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from February 6 to 16, 2016. A replica of a rhinoceros calf, named Tikhor has been selected as the mascot of the games. The highly endangered one-horned rhinoceros is the state animal of Assam. INTERNATIONAL Robert Lewandowski, Polish professional footballer’s nine-minute, five-goal haul for German Football Club Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg earned him Guinness World Record for fastest three, four and five goals. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won the 2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Underdog Tyson Fury shocked the boxing world by giving a stunning defeat to the reigning world heavy weight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine on Nov 28, becoming the first Briton to hold a world heavyweight crown since 2011. BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015 award won by tennis star Andy Murray of UK Dan Carter, winner of Rugby World Cup from New Zealand, has been named 2015 Sports Personality of the Year. Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of England were declared Male and Female Player of the Year, respectively, by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Dubai. CRICKETER OF THE YEAR - 2015: Australian batsman Steve Smith has been selected for this prestigious award by the ICC. He was also named ‘Test Cricketer of the Year. ODI Cricketer of the Year 2015: South Africa's ODI captain batsman AB de Villiers FIFA Club World Cup: Barcelona (Spain) won the cup by beating River Plate (USA) in finals played in Yokohama, Japan. The International Tennis Federation announced following rankings for 2015: Men’s World Champion - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Women’s World Champion - Serena Williams (the USA) Men’s Doubles World Champions - Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau Women’s Doubles World Champions: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after the British Andy Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin in Ghent, Belgium. Brendon McCullum, New Zealand cricket captain announced on Dec 22 his retirement from all forms of international cricket. Ethics Committee of football's global governing body FIFA has banned its President Sepp Blatter and European football Chief Michel Platini from all football- related activities for eight years on corruption charges. NOVEMBER 2015 Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis lifted their ninth trophy of the season, winning BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore Pankaj Advani, India's most successful cueist won the record 15th world title by winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt, defeating Zhua Xintong of China. Heena Sidhu has won Gold in 10 metre Air Pistol event at 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait. Jitu Rai won silver medal Shiva Thapa, top Indian boxer was ranked number 2 in the latest international rankings in the 56 kg category. Siril Verma, 16 year old shuttler from India won the silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru. 8th Men’s Junior Asia Hockey Cup: India’s junior men’s team won the cup at Kuantan, Malaysia by defeating Pakistan. 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015: Mana Patel (women) and Virdhawal Khade (men) were declared the best swimmers, at Rajkot, Gujarat. Surjit Hockey Tournament: Railways defeated Indian Oil in the finals played in Jalandhar. Wasim Jaffer became the first player in Ranji Trophy history to notch up 10,000 runs. He reached the milestone playing against Bengal in Kolkata.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 38 Anju Bobby George, former long jump world champion has been appointed as the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Shashank Manohar, BCCI President was authorised to represent BCCI in ICC (International Cricket Council) as its Chairman. China Open Superseries Premier Badminton tournament: Xuerui Li of China beats Saina Nehwal to win the Women's Singles title at Fuzhou, China. World number one Novak Djokovic has become the first player to win the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive time by beating Roger Federer in the finals played in London. Swiss Indoors Basel Tennis title: Won by Roger Federer by defeating Rafael Nadal Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland, won the BNP Paribas WTA Finals title at Singapore, beating Petra Kvitova Nico Rosberg of Germany won the Mexican Grand Prix F1 championship in Mexico City and the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Czech Republic won the prestigious women’s team tennis trophy - Fed Cup after beating Russia in final played in Prague, capital of Czech Republic. FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup: Nigeria defeated Mali to win the championship held in Chile. The Rugby World Cup: New Zealand lifted the cup beating Australia in the Final played in London Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s most devastating fast bowler of his era, retired from all international cricket on Nov 17. The first ever day-night Test match in the history of cricket started as the third Test between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. Belgium moved to the top of the FIFA world ranking list in football for the first time, leaving behind giants like Argentina and world champions Germany. India ranks pretty low at 172nd place. ALL THE NEWS ITEMS IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE BEEN SOURCED FROM VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS AND GOVT. PRESS RELEASES DAYS AND DATES JANUARY National Youth Day( B’day of Swami Vivekanand) 12th Jan. Army Day 15th Jan. Desh Prem Divas (B’day of Neta ji Subash Chandra Bose) 23rd Jan. National Girl Child Day ( Day Indira Gandhi became PM of India ) 24th Jan. National Voters Day ( Establishment of Election Commission) 25th Jan. International Customs Day 26th Jan. Martyrs' Day ( Death of Mahatma Gandhi) 30th Jan. FEBRUARY World Cancer Day 04th Feb World Radio Day 13th Feb Valentine’s Day 14th Feb Arunachal Pradesh Foundation Day 20th Feb Central Excise Day 24th Feb National Science Day 28th Feb MARCH World Wildlife Day 03rd March International Women’s Day 08th March No Smoking Day 13th March World Disabled Day 15th March St. Patricks Day 17th March World Sparrow Day 20th March World Poetry Day 21st March World Water Day 22nd March World Meteorological Day 23rd March World Stage Artists Day 27th March World Earth Hour (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm) 29th March Financial Year Ending 31st March
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 39
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 40 NATIONAL NEWS OCTOBER 2015  India has emerged as the country with the best representation on the 2015 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings.  The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi from Oct 26 to 29.  Doordarshan has emerged as the most watched Hindi channel in terms of time spent per viewer  India has improved its position to 130 from 142 in 2015 in the World Bank's 2016 rankings in terms of ease of doing business.  India has emerged as the youngest startup nation in the world where over 72 per cent of founders are less than 35 years old.  President Pranab Mukherjee made a six-day visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel from Oct 10 to15.  G-20 summit 2018 will be hosted by India in New Delhi. The 2016 summit will be hosted by China and the 2017 summit will be hosted by Germany.  Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, came to New Delhi on an official visit to take part in the third Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC)  India has moved up 16 positions, from 71st in 2014 to 55th place on the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum  In terms of protection of small investors, India ranks 8th, ahead of the USA, Germany and Japan, as per a study conducted by the World Bank.  The Supreme Court has allowed the use of Aadhaar cards for all central and state schemes, including MNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana  The Supreme Court has rejected the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment  India and France signed a MoU to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata.  The Environment Ministry has approved annual plans for Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Jharkhand under the National Mission for a Green India (GIM).  Portugal became the first European and 17th overall country to sign the MoU on the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar.  The Union Cabinet has approved Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Israel and Vietnam. SEPTEMBER 2015  The “World Wealth Report 2015” showed that there were 1.98 lakh High Net worth Individuals in India in 2014, earning 11th rank in the world.  The IISC Bangalore and the IIT Delhi have been placed 147 and 179 respectively in the Quacquarelli Symonds’ list of top 200 universities for 2015-16.  India's ranking has slipped further down to 81 in the list of Global Innovation Index, compared to 76 in 2014  India-Belarus Inter-govt Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation meet held in Minsk, Belarus.  The first ever count of India's leopards, has put the spotted cat population at 7,910 in and around tiger habitats across the country.  A two day Disaster Mitigation conference of SAARC nations was held in New Delhi  Maharashtra govt has acquired the house in London where Dr B R Ambedkar lived in 1921-22 when he was studying at London School of Economics.  Government has decided to shift the administrative control of the Unique Identification Authority of India the Ministry of Communication & IT.  A two day Hindu-Buddhist Conference was held at Bodhgaya, Bihar on Sep 5-6. BULLET NEWS (AUGUST - OCTOBER 2015)
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 41  Prime Minister Modi addressed the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN Headquarters in New York on Sep 25.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dublin, capital of Ireland on Sep 23 to have bilateral talks with his Irish P M Endy Kenny.  Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari had a four-day visit to the South East Asian countries of Cambodia and Laos.  Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in New Delhi on Sep 14 to have delegation level talks on various important bilateral issues.  All India Radio released the digital version of the grand epic Ramcharitmanas as a set of digital CDs produced by its old recordings.  India and Indonesia have signed a treaty for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters.  The three-day Vishwa Hindi Sammelan (World Hindi Conference) was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Sept. 10-12. AUGUST 2015  Census 2011 data shows that the proportion of Muslims has registered 0.8 per cent growth from 2001 to 2011 to reach 14.23 per cent, numbering 17.22 crore. Hindus population share showed a decline by 0.7 per cent to reach 79.80 per cent at 96.63 crore.  Pahal (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh) for LPG has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest cash transfer plan for households.  Bengaluru has been ranked as the cleanest among capital cities in India and Mysuru as the most clean city as per the Swachh Bharat rankings.  India and China opened their fifth border meeting point on August 1 at Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh for local military commanders meetings.  On July 31, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Coochbehar, West Bengal merged with India, while 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh merged with that country.  7th August will be celebrated every year as National Handloom Day to promote quality handloom products in international markets  World Bank has agreed to provide $ 412.40 million assistance for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project- I & II  Prime Minister Modi made a two day visit to the strategically-important UAE on August 16-17. He is the first Indian PM to visit UAE after 34 years.  James Alix Michel, President of the Seychelles came to New Delhi on 25 August on a three-day visit to India.  Filipe J Nyusi, President of Mozambique arrived in India on August 5 on a five day visit. The two countries signed MoU on expanding cooperation in energy sector.  Adam Gilchrist, former Australian cricketer has been appointed Australia's first education ambassador to India.  India has started the hotlines between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama and their national security advisers.  Govt released a commemorative postal stamp of Rs 5 on August 24 on emperor Ashoka who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC.  Latest release from the Census 2011 data shows that only 6.8 crore Indians (8.15%) have qualification of graduation and above.  The 18th Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started functioning from its temporary campus at Palakkad, Kerala.  Second summit of Forum for India Pacific Island Countries (FIPIC) was held in Jaipur on August 21.  India signs tax information exchange agreement with Seychelles to curb generation of black money. NEWS FROM STATES OCTOBER 2015  In Odisha, all the 531 police stations in the state have been computerized to allow online filing of FIR from anywhere in the state  Mission ‘Abaas’ launched in Odisha to provide (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and slum dwellers.  Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed Maharashtra’s brand ambassador for Tigers  District Court in Khunti, Jharkhand became county's first solar powered district court.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 42 SEPTEMBER 2015  Andhra govt has successfully linked two of its major rivers - Godavari and Krishna towards making the state "drought-proof".  A World Bank's report on ease of doing business in states ranks Gujarat at number one, followed by Andhra Pradesh AUGUST 2015  Birth centenary celebrations of freedo fighter Rani Gaidinliu were inaugurated in Nagaland on August 24.  Gujarat witnessed widespread violent clashes after the massive rally on August 25 for demanding special job reservation for Patel community.  Cochin International Airport, Kochi on August 18 became the first airport in the world to operate completely on solar power.  Maharashtra government has accorded the status of adventure sport to the art of forming ‘human pyramids’ in Dahi Handi festival.  Two war memorials were inaugurated in Jaisalmer and Longowal in Rajasthan in the honour of war heroes of 1965 and 1971 Indo Pak war, respectively.  Telangana govt has signed a MoU with the Department of Posts for sale of stamp papers at post offices from September 1 to avoid fraud and forgery.  Kerala would be the first fully digital state in the country by March 2016 by utilising e-governance to deliver efficient and transparent services. GOVT INITIATIVES OCTOBER 2015  The IIT Council has decided to waive full fee (Rs. 90,000/-) for the physically challenged students from the current academic session in all the 15 IITs  Govt has launched an e-Sahyog pilot project of Income-Tax Department aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers.  Government has launched Central Victim Compensation Fund to support the victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking etc.  Govt has launched the 'Science Express Climate Action Special' exhibition train from Delhi, aimed at spreading awareness about the effects of climate change  The Union Health Ministry has permitted transfer of blood from one blood bank to another to help out needy hospitals.  Govt has decided to raise the wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs 7,000 and workers drawing a monthly salary up to Rs 21,000 will be eligible for bonus.  Doordarshan will telecast a programme on Apprenticeship Training Scheme - Hunarbaaz, from Oct 18.  Govt has approved the World Bank assisted National Watershed Management Project Neeranchal for promoting effective irrigation in nine states.  Govt has launched a pilot programme - Kisan, which will use satellite imaging to get accurate data on crop yields and collection of data of hailstorm.  Govt has notified ‘Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015’ under the National Food Security Act, 2013 for improved administration and efficiency of the scheme.  Govt has signed a MoU with the New India Assurance Company to provide Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme, for the Persons with Disabilities  In the age group of 18 to 65 years with family annual income of less than Rs. 3,00,000.  Health insurance cover up to Rs. 2,00,000 per annum as family floater.  The Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT has simplified the format and procedure for self declaration by individuals in 15G and 15H forms.  Government has launched Green Highways policy to promote greening of Highway corridors with participation of farmers and public sector.  One per cent of the total project cost of all highways projects will be kept aside for the highway plantation and its maintenance.  Government has unveiled ‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ for annual ranking of engineering and management institutes in the country.  Government has eased the penal provisions for undeclared or mis-declared baggage that will attract arrest or prosecution, from Rs 5 lac to Rs 20 lac.  To enable Indians living abroad to access old age income security, RBI has allowed NRIs to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) of PFRDA  India's first community reserve to protect the endangered Gangetic River Dolphins will come up on River Hooghly in West Bengal.  Govt has approved setting up of three new AIIMS at Nagpur in Maharashtra, Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and at Kalyani in West Bengal  Govt has launched Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy-2015 to promote greening of Highways.  The Union cabinet has approved construction of a National War Memorial and Museum near the famed India Gate in the national capital.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 43  Govt plans to spend around 70,000crore rupees in 12 major ports in the next 5 years under Sagarmala Project for port-led development in coastal areas.  Govt has formed a Committee headed by Justice R V Easwar, former Judge of Delhi High Court to suggest simplifications in the Income Tax Act, 1961. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt has approved the Sovereign Gold Bond and the Gold Monetisation Scheme.  The govt announced to roll out the welfare measure under One Rank One Pension-OROP for Armed Forces personnel from July 1, 2014.  The govt has identified 305 cities/towns across nine states for implementation of 'Housing for All' scheme, named 'Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana.  Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana launched for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations.  Govt has approved Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission to transform rural areas into economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces.  Govt to provide additional 50 work days in 2015-16 in drought-hit areas under MGNREGA to provide relief to farmers  EPFO has increased the maximum amount assured under its Employees' Deposit inked Insurance Scheme to Rs 6 lakh, from current Rs 3.6 lakh.  The Deptt of Industrial Policy and Promotion has implemented an electronic payment system to become the first govt department to have 100 per cent cashless transactions.  Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) at New Delhi.  Life Insurance Corporation of India has created a platform where policyholders may avail of electronic KYC norms linked to the Aadhar card.  Railways has launched a paperless unreserved ticketing mobile application for the passengers travelling from New Delhi to Palwal Section. AUGUST 2015  The Centre declared the names of 98 cities for its smart cities project. U P leads by getting 13 cities, followed by Tamil Nadu-12  The Government launched a health service called SEHAT (Social Endeavour for Health And Telemedicine) in tie up with the Apollo Hospitals  Government has launched the web portal "Vidya Lakshmi” (www.vidyalakshmi.co.in) for the benefit of students seeking educational loans.  India has ratified the International Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention, 2003 to provide a globally recognised identity document to its seafarers.  Government has decided that from this year onwards, IAS probationers will start their career from New Delhi before joining their respective states  Govt has launched Suraksha Bandhan Yojna through banks and insurance companies to facilitate enrolment under two social security schemes –  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana  Govt launched a new national scheme Nai Manzil from Patna to address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities  Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted to increase preparedness for response and recovery in case of disaster.  This framework was adopted during the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.  A peace accord was signed with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NSCN (Isak-Muivah group), to end two decades old insurgency problem.  Ministry of Rural Development has launched ‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.  Government has extended e-Tourist Visa facility to China, Hong Kong and Macau with effect from 30 July 2015.  The Union Cabinet has approved direct benefit transfer to beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.  Govt proposes to rename the present Agriculture Ministry as 'Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ministry’ to focus on the welfare of farmers.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 44 ECONOMIC INDICATORS OCTOBER 2015  World Bank says that India is expected to overcome the global slowdown and its GDP may grow by 7.5 per cent despite a weak export recovery.  The World Economic Outlook Update from the IMF says that India's growth is expected to strengthen from 7.3 per cent this year to 7.5 per cent next year. SEPTEMBER 2015  As per CSO data, GDP for April to June this year rose by 7 percent compared to a growth rate of 7.1 percent for the same period in last fiscal.  The ADB has cut India’s growth forecast to 7.4% on concerns of delay in reforms, weak demand, external slowdown and weak monsoon. AUGUST 2015  Moody's Investors Service has reduced India's growth forecast for 2015-16 to around 7% from 7.5 % projected earlier, citing below-normal rainfall. ECONOMY OCTOBER 2015  The S C has imposed 'Environment Compensation Charge' of Rs 700 and Rs 1300 on commercial vehicles entering Delhi from Nov 1 for 4 months.  A study by the Savills World Research shows that Mumbai is world's cheapest city to live and work among 12 top metropolitan cities of the world.  Govt plans to include Sin Tax in the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law.  Sin tax is an excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society.  India and Germany have signed two loan agreements worth 125 million Euros for financing Green Energy Corridor project in H P and Andhra.  Anil Baijal committee submitted its report for developing suitable methodologies for monitoring CSR provisions  TRAI has made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs.1 for call drops with effect from 1 January, 2016.  The Ministry of Environment has granted environment clearance for the greenfield international airport at Mopa in Goa.  Railway plans to launch Vikalp scheme from 1st of November to give passengers the option of journey by another train if they decide to do so.  National Green Tribunal has directed all trucks etc, entering Delhi, to pay an environmental compensation charge in addition to the toll tax.  The Export Import Bank of India has extended a Line of Credit of $87 million to Zimbabwe for renovation and up-gradation of Bulawayo Thermal Power Plant.  The World Bank has promised $30 billion financial assistance to the Railways for its forthcoming infrastructure projects.  ADB has agreed to give a $123.51 million loan to upgrade tourism infrastructure and services in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.  Bajaj Auto has launched ‘Qute’, the quadricycle RE60 for export to 16 countries in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia at price of around $2000.  Future Group has entered into a partnership with Baba Ramdev promoted Patanjali Ayurved to sell the latter's FMCG products through its Big Bazaar stores.  Real estate developer Tata Housing has tied-up with social networking firm Facebook to sell its affordable homes online. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt has announced that the minimum alternate tax (MAT) will not be applicable on capital gains made by FIIs prior to April 1, 2015.  The Food Ministry has notified mandatory export of four million tonne of sugar for the 2015-16 sugar season starting October 1.  From 28 September 2015, the commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has become part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).  NTPC achieved record highest single-day electricity generation of 733.12 million units on August 27 from its 33 power plants  Govt has banned the sale of Diclofenac drug in multidose vial. Henceforth, it will be sold only in single-dose vial packaging for human use.  The real estate major Dalian Wanda Group of China plans to invest around Rs. 66,000 crore in Haryana to develop an industrial zone and township.  The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry launched SAHAJ scheme for online booking of LPG connections
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 45  The West-Central Railway zone, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh has become the first Railway Zone to eliminate all unmanned level crossings.  The World Federation of Exchanges has confirmed that the Bombay Stock Exchange has the highest number of listed companies in the world - 5689.  Asian Development Bank to provide $ 500 million loan for better management of essential urban services and financing of water supply in Rajasthan.  ADB to extend a loan of $ 200 million to Jharkhand for upgrading roads in next four years. AUGUST 2015  Three Indian companies have been named among the world’s 100 most innovative companies list compiled by Forbes magazine of USA.  These companies are Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma Ind. and Tata Consultancy Services. The list is topped by Tesla Motors of USA.  Foodgrains production in India in 2014-15 was 252.68 million tonnes, down by 12.36 million tonnes (4.9%) from last year’s production of 265.04 million tonnes.  India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow oil palm trees to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils.  The country's most popular scooter - the Honda Activa - has set a new record by crossing the one crore unit sales landmark.  Rajesh Exports Ltd. Bengaluru, has acquired Switzerland based Valcambi gold processing company to become world’s largest gold jewellery manufacturer  Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to support new and delayed projects.  The Union Cabinet has approved construction of petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.  Kolkata Port adjudged as the best ‘Major Port of the Year’ in the country for the year 2014-15 on basis of its turnover, efficiency and customer satisfaction.  The government's 10 %stake sale in Indian Oil Corporation on Aug 24 fetched around Rs. 9300 cr.  Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to invest $5 billion in Maharashtra to set up large scale research & development and manufacturing facilities. BANKING OCTOBER 2015  The RBI has decided to create a new Financial Inclusion Fund- FIF with a corpus of 2,000 crore rupees by merger of two different funds.  The 2 fund are - Financial Inclusion Fund and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund  Govt has decided to allow foreign investment up to 100 per cent in White Label ATM operations under the automatic route to promote financial inclusion.  ICICI Bank has become the first bank in the world to launch mVisa - a card-less and device-less payment solution.  Recent RBI data shows that among public sector banks, the UCO Bank had highest ratio of NPAs at 8.5 per cent of its loans in 2014-15  SBI receives RBI nod to set up a subsidiary to frame and implement a uniform policy for all the real estate properties owned or rented by the bank.  RBI has said that the banks will be free to set interest rate on Gold Deposit Schemes and principal and interest of the deposit will be denominated in gold.  Reserve Bank of India has opened its sub-office in Imphal in Manipur.  The RBI has granted permission to the Indian corporate to issue rupee bonds outside India. These bonds would be exempted from capital gains tax.  The Reserve Bank has signed a MoU with Bangladesh Bank for exchange of supervisory information.  The government plans to bring down its stake in the IDBI Bank to 49 per cent, from 76.5 per cent at present with a view to make it more efficient.  HDFC Bank has automated its personal loan approvals through their ATMs that would track the customer's history and authorize a loan accordingly.  HDFC Bank has been rated 27th safest bank in the world, according to the Bank Safety Ranking done by the international financial magazine 'The Banker’. SEPTEMBER 2015  In its 4th bi-monthly monetary policy review announced on Sep 29, RBI cut the benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points, from 7.25 to 6.75 per cent.  Consequently, the reverse repo becomes 5.75% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate becomes 7.75%.  RBI has allowed banks to change the ownership of an errant corporate even before the loan account turns 'bad' or non performing asset – NPA.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 46  RBI plans to put into circulation high security banknotes in the denominations of 500 and 1000 rupees incorporating three new/revised features:  Ascending size of numerals in the number panels, introduction of bleed lines and enlarged identification mark.  Banks to conduct Mega Credit Campaigns to generate easy availability of credit to Micro Enterprises under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).  Mudra has been established as a subsidiary of SIDBI to provide refinance to all banks seeking refinancing of small business loans under PMMY.  The Reserve Bank has declared State Bank of India and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).  Systemically Important means anything or feature which is important for entire system.  Seeking to promote financial inclusion, the RBI has granted in principal approval to 10 entities to set up small finance banks.  These banks will focus on unbanked sections such as small farmers, micro business enterprises, micro and small industries etc.  The RBI has permitted banks to offer loans below base rate to their whole time directors and CEOs.  RBI has asked concurrent auditors of commercial banks to submit their review of non-performing loans directly to the banks  They will discontinue the practice of submitting it to the statutory auditors who conduct quarterly and half yearly review of bank accounts.  India is joining the UN-based 'Better Than Cash Alliance', which promotes transition from cash to digital payments.  RBI has inked a MoU with the Nepal Rastra Bank for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information.  Two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs 10 were released on the eve of Teachers' Day in the memory of former President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan.  The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into circulation Rs 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965.  The RBI has liberalised external commercial borrowing norms for NBFCs, allowing them to use the foreign funds to finance domestic equipments.  RBI plans to permit domestic companies to borrow money from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and insurance funds as part of the ECBs.  Axis Bank has rolled out a full-fledged mobile app ‘Lime’ that enables shopping, making payments and banking, all under one window.  Indian Bank has launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere. AUGUST 2015  The Reserve Bank of India gave in principle approval for 11 entities on August 19 to set up payments banks.  Concept of payment banks was proposed by the Nachiket Mor committee.  They differ from conventional banks as they cannot give loans nor can they accept time deposits.  Balance in deposit accounts cannot exceed Rs 1 lakh.  They can issue debit cards but not credit cards.  They will need to invest 75 percent of their funds in government securities  RBI has allowed banks to extend repayment period of farm loan upto 5-years if 50 percent or more of crop is damaged due to drought or flood.  R Gandhi committee has recommended allowing UCBs to exit from the ambit of the Multi State Co- operative Societies Act and come under the Companies Act.  The RBI has asked banks to provide 2% subvention on short term farm loans upto Rs. 3 lacs provided they charge not more than 7% to farmers.  Further, additional subvention of 3% will be available to farmers who repay such loans in time.  IRDAI has allowed banks to tie up with insurers to sell three products each from life, non-life and standalone health insurance segment.  SIDBI launched SIDBI Make in India Loan for Enterprises (SMILE) for providing soft loans to MSMEs.  It also launched The India Aspiration Fund to create 7.5 lakh jobs in five years.  Bandhan Bank began operations on August 23 as a full-fledged bank with 501 branches and 1.43 crore accounts across the country.  SBI launched a mobile wallet application, SBI Buddy, in collaboration with Accenture and Mastercard.  ICICI Bank has launched the first of its kind fully automated digital locker named 'Smart Vault'.  Project “Indra-dhanush” launched to lay down the framework for the revival of public sector banks.  It aims to provide immediate capital support, create a Bank Board Bureau, improve governance standards and focus on the quality of the business
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 47  Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched ‘Kotak Bharat’ app to provide mobile banking services to customers without using internet support.  RBI to transfer its surplus profit of Rs 65,896 crore to the Centre, which is about 25% more than the amount given last year.  RBI to issue 10 rupee coins to commemorate Inter- national Yoga Day. The coins will have image of lion capital on one side and logo of Yoga Day on the other.  Govt has notified that the second and fourth Saturday of every month would be a holiday for banks, with effect from September 1, 2015.  NABARD has been accredited by the Green Climate Fund of UNO as an implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India.  HDFC Bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources.  ICICI Bank has announced ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ up to Rs. 15 lakh with a special interest rate equal to its base rate which is currently at 9.70 %. DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OCTOBER 2015  Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders released the first Scorpene category submarine INS 'Kalvari' for sea trails at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai.  The navies of India, United States and Japan began a five-day joint operation-'Malabar exercise' on October 14 on the eastern coast in Bay of Bengal  4th Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) of two navies was held in Bay of Bengal, off the Trincomalee coast in Sri Lanka, from October 27 to November 1.  A 14-day joint training exercise 'Mitra Shakti 2015', involving military contingents from India and Sri Lanka, was held in Pune from Sep 29 to Oct 12  India has signed a deal with Slovenia for supply of 194 Pipistrel micro-light aircraft to be used by Indian Air Force, the Navy and the.  Indigenously built naval warship INS Kochi, the stealth guided missile destroyer, was inducted in the Indian Navy on Sep 30.  The Defence Ministry has approved the induction of women officers into the combat stream of IAF, allowing them for first time, to fly fighter aircrafts.  Fast patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS Anmol was inducted in the Coast Guard Region (North East) in Kolkata.  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, for the first time, has decided to deploy women in combat duties at its high-altitude posts along the Indo-China border.  India’s first indigenously built torpedo launch and recovery vessel - INS Astradharini, inducted in Indian Navy on Oct 6 at Vishakhaptnam.  5th Indo-China Joint Military Training Exercise- HAND-IN-HAND conducted at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China from 12 to 23 October.  A joint maritime exercise of naval patrol vessels - Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and Indonesia began on 3 Oct in the Andaman Sea.  India’s first dedicated astronomy research satellite Astrosat was successfully launched on Sep 28 by the PSLV-C30 from Sriharikota.  Microsoft Corp and Google Inc have agreed to bury all patent infringement litigation against each other, settling 18 cases in USA and Germany.  NASA scientists claimed to have found the strongest ever evidence of liquid water on Planet Mars that could help sustain future manned missions. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt to purchase 15 Chinook helicopters that will lift heavy loads and 22 AH-64D Apache advanced attack helicopters from USA.  India and the US have created a "joint challenge coin" to symbolise their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for Indian Navy.  One side of the coin reads "Chale Chalen Saath Saath" and the other reads “Forward Together We Go".  Indian Navy has established its largest missile storage and replenishment facility named INS Vajrakosh at Karwar base in Karnataka  Indian Coast Guard has commissioned two new ships named Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Apoorva and Interceptor Boat C-421.  India to buy 10 Heron TP armed drones capable of firing missiles, from Israel to enhance our cross- border military strike capability.  The first bilateral maritime exercise between Australia and India ‘Ausindex-2015’ began on Sep 12 off the shores of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.  On 16 September, International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed across the world.  The theme and the slogan for the year 2015 are 30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together and Ozone: All there is between you and UV, respectively.  China has successfully launched a newly-developed satellite launch rocket Long March-6(Chang Zheng-6).
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 48  Hinduja business group has launched Hits (Headend-in-the-Sky) digital broadcasting platform - NXT Digital to provide over 500 TV channels to cable operators  Google and Indian Railways are planning to work jointly on Project Nilgiri to set up free Wi-Fi hotspots across 400 select railway stations.  Facebook has decided to rebrand its Internet.org programme to 'Free Basics' for providing more services and stronger security measures.  Study by researchers at the Yale University, USA shows that there are over 3 trillion trees on Earth, based on ground survey data and satellite pictures. AUGUST 2015  Ten day bi-lateral air exercise between Indian and British Air forces named Indradhanush concluded in Britain.  Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd and Europe’s Airbus Helicopters set up a joint venture to manu- facture military helicopters for the first time in India.  India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System was commissioned in Kochi, Kerala to beef up coastal security.  ISRO launched its 25th home-made communications satellite GSAT-6 on August 27, using the Geo- synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D6)  A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction -- GlobalSat for DRR under UN framework, will be named as “UN Kalam GlobalSat”  A new Science and Innovation Museum called 'Navachara Kaksh' was inaugurated at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 5.  Google has reorganized itself into a multiple company organization under a new umbrella company called Alphabet.  Google India launched in Mumbai, a special programme named Internet Saathi in collaboration with Tata Trust on July 3 to bring more women online.  NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) has confirmed the presence of glowing neon gas in the moon’s atmosphere.  A new vaccine against the Ebola virus disease ‘rVSV- ZEBOB’, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada has shown 100 % efficiency in a trial run.  Microsoft has rolled out its new operating system Windows 10 with a host of new features like Cortana, an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge.  Asia’s biggest multi-application solar telescope (MAST) has been started in the Udaipur Solar Observatory in Rajasthan. INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER 2015  A World Bank report says that the number of people living in extreme poverty is likely to fall for the first time below 10% of the world’s population in 2015.  Around 702 million, 9.6% of the world’s population will be living in extreme poverty in 2015, down from 902 million or 12.8% in 2012.  India had largest number of poor in 2012, but its poverty rate at 21.2 per cent is one of the lowest among developing countries.  The World Bank has revised its benchmark poverty from living on or below $1.25 a day to $1.90 a day.  The European Union has started a new operation termed Operation Sophia to actively intercept boats smuggling refugees.  Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched the V-20 Group on 8 October 2015 in Lima, Peru.  To commemorate the 70th anniversary of UNO on Oct 24, more than 200 monuments in 60 countries will be lit up in blue- the official colour of UNO.  NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces conducted their massive field exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2015 from Oct 3 to Nov 6  UNCTAD says that the growth rate for world in 2015 is expected to remain more or less unchanged from last year, at 2.5 per cent.  11 Pacific Rim nations, including Canada and Chile to Japan and Australia have agreed to sign with USA, the largest regional trade accord in history.  China has operationalised the world’s highest mega hydropower station at Zam in Tibet, built on Brahmaputra River  China has announced the end of its hugely controversial 45 years old one-child policy. Now, all couples would be allowed to have two children.  China's GDP decelerated to 6.9 per cent in the third quarter of this year, posting its worst growth since the 2009 global financial crisis  China successfully launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite into its designated orbit from Jiuquan satellite launch centre  Senior executives of IMF and World Bank Group held their annual three-day meeting in Lima, Peru to address current challenges facing the world economy.  The WTO, has lowered 2015 global trade forecast to 2.8 percent in the face of a slowdown in the economies of emerging countries.  China has launched the first phase of “China International Payment System (CIPS)” to promote Yuan’s global usage
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 49 SEPTEMBER 2015  U N General Assembly formally adopted on Sep 25 the new global 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs)  They aim to end poverty, hunger, assure gender equality, and build a life of dignity for all, over the next 15 years.  These goals cover three important aspects - economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.  Indians in USA have launched "Mission 2022" in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industries to promote business between two countries.  Nepal's parliament has approved new constitution, which will come into effect from Sep 20  Nepal’s Constituent Assembly rejected the demand for converting the country in to a Hindu state, sparking violent protests across the nation.  The US Defence headquarters Pentagon has established a first-ever country special cell-India Rapid Reaction Cell to strengthen its defence ties with India  The G-20 meet of Finance Ministers in Ankara, Turkey, launched a new grouping – W20 (women 20) aimed at boosting the role of women in economic growth.  Canada, world's 11th-biggest economy has fallen into a recession, dragged down by falling energy prices and economic troubles in China.  In recently concluded 2015 Singapore General Elections, People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emerged victorious.  Two-day Conference of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Ankara, Turkey on September 4 and 5.  As per the new secular constitution of Nepal, Cow has been declared as the National Animal of Nepal. AUGUST 2015  The IAEA and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to create the world's first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure nuclear fuel supplies for power stations and preventing its use for weapons.  Bangladesh has become the first country to receive funds from UNFCCC for solar home systems to cut carbon emissions by reducing use of kerosene  List of Top 20 Wealthiest People Under 35 ranks Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as the wealthiest individual with assets of $ 41.6 billion.  The Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr was ranked as the world's top-earning actor by Forbes, earning $ 80 million during 2014-15.  City of Hiroshima in Japan observed on August 6 the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped by a US aircraft.  Singapore marked 50 years of independence on August 9 with nationwide celebrations.  Bangladesh's Grameen Bank has found a place in Fortune's inaugural 'Change the World List' for creating economic opportunities for the poor.  Japan’s leading financial media house - Nikkei to buy the noted European financial paper - Financial Times from UK’s Pearson in a $1.3 billion deal.  As per the U N report ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision’, India is likely to become the most populous nation by 2022, surpassing China.  After a run of poor economic data, China devalued the Yuan on August 11, guiding the currency to its lowest point in past three years. PERSONS IN NEWS OCTOBER 2015 NAINA LAL KIDWAI: Chairperson of HSBC India since 2009 will retire by the end of this year, having completed 58 years of age. JERRY SEINFELD: He has been named as the world’s highest paid comedian by Forbes. The 61-year-old comedian earned $ 36 million between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2015. SEPTEMBER 2015 ARVIND PANAGARIYA: Vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, has been appointed as the sherpa for G20 negotiations. ANUPAM KHER: Bollywood actor was in news as he was conferred with the Honoured Guest of Texas award in Houston, USA for his contribution to the cinema and the world of art. CHANDA KOCHHAR and Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked as top two in a list of most powerful business women in Asia-Pacific, prepared by the global magazine Fortune. They head ICICI Bank and State Bank of India, respectively. INDRA NOOYI: PepsiCo CEO is the sole Indian-origin executive in Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in business (placed 2ND), which has been topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. JHUMPA LAHIRI: Noted Indo American novelist was honoured with the prestigious National Humanities Medal by the American President in recognition of her works highlighting human relation-ships.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 50 QUEEN ELIZABETH II: The 89 year old Queen of Great Britain reached a major milestone on Sep 8 by becoming the longest-reigning monarch (since Feb 02, 1952) in Britain’s history GENNADY PADALKA: Russian astronaut was in news as he created the record for having spent the most time in space. His latest mission lasted 168 days, bringing his total to 879 days in space over five trips. AUGUST 2015 SUNDAR PICHAI: India-born technocrat has been named as the new CEO of the technology giant Google at an reported annual package of $ 50 million. ANUPAM KHER: Bollywood actor has been named an advocate for the UN’s campaign on gender equality. HARDIK PATEL: 21 year old firebrand youth leader from Gujarat was in news as he engineered a massive (and violent) state wide agitation in Gujarat demanding job reservation for Patel community in the OBC quota. AMITABH BACHCHAN: Bollywood megastar has been appointed as ambassador for promoting tiger tourism in Maharashtra. ADNAN SAMI: Pakistani singer has been allowed to stay in India for an indefinite period following his appeal to legalise his stay on humanitarian grounds. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: World’s top ranked tennis player appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) APPOINTMENTS OCTOBER 2015 ARUN JAITLEY: chosen as Finance Minister of the Year, Asia by London-based publication Emerging Markets. SHEKHAR BASU: Renowned scientist has been appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission. SHASHANK MANOHAR: New President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India NAJIB SHAH: Appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) VIDYA DEVI BHANDARI: Noted Nepali Communist leader elected as Nepal’s first woman President by the Parliament. K P SHARMA OLI: Veteran Communist party leader elected as Nepal's new Prime Minister JIMMY MORALES: elected as the President of Guatemala ALPHA CONDE: Re elected as the President of Guinea JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Newly elected Prime Minister of Canada from Liberal Party. ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO: re elected as the President of Belarus PEDRO PASSOS COELHO: Newly elected Prime Minister of Portugal JIOJI KONROTE: elected as new President of the Pacific island mini country Fiji. SEPTEMBER 2015 RATAN P WATAL: New Union Finance Secretary RAJIV MEHRISHI: Appointed as the new Union Home secretary. DEEPAK GUPTA: Appointed as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). J MANJULA: Director General, Electronics & Communication Systems cluster of the DRDO. She is the first woman DG of a DRDO cluster. Ms. STUTI NARAIN KACKER: Appointed as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). ALEXIS TSIPRAS: Re-elected as the Prime Minister of Greece. He had resigned last month. SHERIF ISMAIL: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Egypt MALCOLM TURNBULL: New Prime Minister of Australia. AUGUST 2015 OM PRAKASH RAWAT: Appointed as the second Election Commissioner of India. ACHARYA DEV VRAT: New Governor of Himachal Pradesh RAM NATH KOVIND: New Governor of Bihar ASHWANI LOHANI: Appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India. USHA ANANTHASUBRAMANIAN: New Managing Director & CEO of Punjab National Bank KISHOR PIRAJI KHARAT: Managing Director and CEO of IDBI Bank MELWYN REGO: Managing Director and CEO of Bank of India P S JAYAKUMAR: MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda* RAKESH SHARMA: MD and CEO of Canara Bank* *This is for the first time that persons from the private sector have been given top positions in the public sector banks.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 51 AJIT KUMAR SETH: Former Cabinet Secretary has been appointed as the Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) RANA KAPOOR: YES Bank co-founder has been approved by RBI for re-appointment as MD and CEO of the bank for 3 years. SEBASTIAN COE: President, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) RANIL WICKREMESINGHE: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka as his United National Party won the general elections. AWARDS & HONOURS OCTOBER 2015 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2015: Jacob Tsimerman of the University of Toronto, Canada. The age limit for the prize has been set at 32 because Ramanujan achieved so much in his brief life of 32 years. MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2015: won by Jamaican author Marlon James for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. Best Short Film Award at the 2015 London Film Festival won by an Indian short film of 11 minutes, An Old Dog’s Diary. CONFUCIUS PEACE PRIZE (China): Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, for “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony. HARVARD HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for the prestigious award given by the Harvard University. European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to the Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, whose flogging sentence for causing insult to Islam invited global criticism. SEPTEMBER 2015 SKOCH AWARD (India) FOR SMART GOVERNANCE: Won by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for its initiatives on Universal Account Number (UAN) Programme. VYAAS SAMMAN FOR 2014: Noted Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka for his work 'Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal Kramanusaar Adhyayan' GANDHI PEACE PRIZE-2014: Awarded to ISRO for its contribution in nation’s development through satellite based education, health care facilities. UNESCO ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015: Won by India for the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala Indian film Angry Indian Goddesses, a story about a group of Indian girls in Goa gone wild, was voted as the first runner-up at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. AUGUST 2015 CROSS OF ORDER OF THE MERIT, GERMANY: Indian socio biologist Raghavendra Gadagkar was awarded with the Germany's highest civilian honour for his contribution in strengthening research cooperation between India and Germany. ICTP RAMANUJAN PRIZE 2015: Mathematician Dr. Amalendu Krishna; the prize is given to a mathematician below the age of 45 by the ICTP, Italy. ICTP: International Centre for Theoretical Physics STOCKHOLM JUNIOR WATER PRIZE 2015: Perry Alagappan from USA for inventing a filter through which toxic heavy metals from electronic waste can be removed from water. SOLIDARITY HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD: Awarded to Zhanna Nemtsova, the journalist daughter of slain Russian democracy advocate Boris Nemtsov. SUNHAK PEACE PRIZE (first): Noted Indian agricultural scientist Modadugu Vijay Gupta. He is joint winner of the prize along with President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong. ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (OBE): Ameetpal Gill, PM David Cameron's Indian-origin adviser and speech writer. This is highest civil honour of UK. OBITUARY OCTOBER 2015 RAVINDRA JAIN: Veteran music director-singer-lyricist passed away in Mumbai. He was 71. Though blind, he gave music for hit films like Chor Machaye Shor, Geet Gaata Chal, Chitchor and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, in the 70s and was associated with epic TV serials like Ramayana and Mahabharata. SYED ZAHOOR QASIM: Renowned marine biologist considered as the founder of Polar Biology in India, passed away in New Delhi. He was 88. K S L SWAMY: Renowned Kannada filmmaker, producer, actor and playback singer passed away in Bengaluru. He was 77. Dr. SYED AHMED: Governor of Manipur passed away at Mumbai. He was 73. He was a senior Congress leader.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 52 ASHWANI KUMAR: Ex DGP of Border security Force and ex President of the Indian Hockey Federation, passed away at 95. LABH JANJUA: Noted Punjabi singer, famous for chartbusters like “London Thumakda” and “Jee karda bi jee karda”, died untimely in Mumbai MANORAMA (Achhi): Legendary Tamil comedian and actress, who had starred in over 1,000 southern films, died at 78 in Chennai. GAJANAN PENDHARKAR: Chairman of world famous ayurvedic cosmetics company – Vicco Laboratories, died in Mumbai. He was 81. HENNING MANKELL: Best-selling Swedish crime writer, whose detective character Kurt Wallander became a worldwide phenomenon, died at 67 after a battle with cancer. SEPTEMBER 2015 JAGMOHAN DALMIYA: President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), hailed as the architect of India's rise as the game's financial superpower, passed away in Kolkata. AADESH SHRIVASTAVA: Noted Bollywood music composer passed away at a young age of 51 as he was suffering from cancer. M M KALBURGI: 77 year old Kannada scholar and ex Vice Chancellor of Kannada University was shot dead by two men at his Dharwad home in Karnataka. JACKIE COLLINS: Popular British-American romance novelist passed away in California, United States. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. YOGI BERRA: Legendary Baseball player from USA, whose humorous quotes made him one of America's most beloved sports icons, died at the age of 90 CHANDRA BAHADUR DANGI: verified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's shortest man - at 21.5 inches (54.6cm) - died of an undisclosed illness in American Samoa. He was 75 and was ill for long. AUGUST 2015 SUVRA MUKHERJEE: wife of President Pranab Mukherjee passed away. She was an accomplished dancer, painter and lover of Rabindra Sangeet. OM PRAKASH MUNJAL: Co-Chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist passed away in Ludhiana on August 13. He was 87. Hero cycles is the world’s largest bi-cycle manufacturing unit. PLACES IN NEWS OCTOBER 2015 DADRI: Small town in Uttar Pradesh was in news due to mob lynching of 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi in village Bisara on Sep 28 on rumors that he killed a cow for consuming beef. The incident led to strong reactions all over India as a strong example of surging ideological intolerance, particularly in context of religion, leading to return of government honours by several eminent intellectuals. KOTKAPURA: Town in district Faridkot, Punjab witnessed widespread violent protests by Sikhs against the alleged desecration of a 'bir' of Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village. Later, the protests spread to several other towns, even in certain places in UK and Canada. CHANG LA: Situated about 80 km east of Leh (J&K), the place was in news as the world’s highest research station, established by the DRDO at an altitude of 17,500 ft became functional there. BIR BILLING: Place in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was in news as the first Paragliding World Cup of South East Asia started there from October 16. HURRICANE PATRICIA struck Mexico's Pacific coast on 23 October, forcing thousands to flee homes and beach front resorts. TYPHOON KOPPU attacked the north eastern Philippines on October 18 with fierce winds, displacing 16,000 villagers and knocking out power in entire provinces. SANTA CATARINA PINULA: A small town in Guatemala, a mini country south of Mexico, was in news s at least 171 persons were killed there in sudden mudslides that smashed into a nearby village.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 53 BAGHDAD: The heavily fortified Green Zone in the capital of Iraq has been opened to the public for the first time in 12 years as a part of a reform drive. ARCH OF TRIUMPH: A historical monument built about 2,000 years ago in Palmyra, Syria was in news as it was blown up by the ISIS terrorists. SEPTEMBER 2015 PETALWAD, JHABUA: Small town in Madhya Pradesh was in news as around 100 people were killed and many more injured after a massive blast caused by mining explosives stored in a building ripped through a crowded market area. MINA: Holy place for Muslims, near Mecca was in news as over 720 people were killed and over 860 others injured there in a stampede as Haj pilgrims jostled their way to perform symbolic stoning of the devil, marking the culmination of the annual Haj pilgrimage. MECCA: Muslims’ holiest place in Saudi Arabia was in news as at least 107 persons were killed and over 200 injured in an accident caused by crane collapsed on Sep 11 during the annual hajj pilgrimage. COQUIMBO, CHILE: Area in Northern Chile was in news as more than 9,000 people were left homeless after it was struck by a 8.3-magnitude quake on September 16. MOUNT ASO: One of the largest volcanoes on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, erupted on Sep 14, sending a plume of black smoke 2 km high, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. AUGUST 2015 KOCHI: has become the first Indian city to become a member of Beijing-headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council. HARDA: Over 30 passengers were killed and many others injured when several coaches of two trains derailed over a railway bridge and plunged into the swollen Machak River in Harda, Madhya Pradesh SPORTS WORLD OCTOBER 2015 HIGHER DIET MONEY FOR SPORTSPERSONS Ministry of Sports has decided to enhance the diet allowance for national level sports persons. The athletes competing in the power games under Category ‘A’ (boxing, judo, taekwondo, weightlifting and throw events in athletics) will receive Rs. 700 per day against Rs. 320 at present. Athletes under Category ‘B’ (sprint and team events) will get Rs400 per day, while sportspersons under Category ‘C’ (golf, shooting and archery) will be entitled for Rs. 300 per day. Indian archer Abhishek Verma created history by winning a silver medal in the Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City, becoming the first ever Indian to bag Archery World Cup Final medal. Anirban Lahiri won the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award at Singapore
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 54 Deborah Herold, 20 year old Indian cyclist became the first ever Indian to win a gold medal, three silver and one bronze medal in women's elite section in the in Taiwan Cup Track International Classic in Taiwan. Yuki Bhambri achieved a career-best rank of 99, becoming the first Indian tennis player to come under 100 since 2010 in the ATP world rankings. Shweta Rathore became the first Indian female bodybuilder to win a silver medal in the 49th Asian championship held in Uzbekistan Urvashi Rautela won the Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015 title to become India’s representative for the Miss Universe pageant. Saketh Myneni, India’s tennis player won the Vietnam Open trophy in the finals played at Ho Chi Minh City. Amit Kumar, Indian para-athlete bagged silver in men's club throw F51 event in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha Zaheer Khan, one of India's greatest fast bowlers, bid adieu to international cricket, admitting that he could no longer handle the rigours of the game. Ajay Jayaram won the men’s Badminton title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix at Almere (The Netherlands). Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Adelaide, Australia. Abhinav Bindra clinched gold in the men's 10 metre Air Rifle event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi. Heena Sidhu clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their seventh title together on Oct 3 by winning the Wuhan Open women’s doubles title at Wuhan, China. The Indian teams won five out of six team events in the Commonwealth Youth, Junior & Senior weightlifting championships held in Pune, Maharashtra. Virender Sehwag, one of the world’s most destructive batsmen to have played the game, announced his retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League, bringing an end to an illustrious career spanning 14 years. Vijender Singh, India’s Olympian boxer made a smashing professional debut by knocking out Britain's Sonny Whiting in the middleweight category at Manchester, UK. The 12th SAF (South Asian Games) games will be held from February 6 to 16 in 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong. VIJAY KUMAR MALHOTRA: Govt of India has appointed veteran sports administrator as the President of the All India Council of Sports. The 16th National Women Boxing Championship was held at Bongaigaon in Assam REFUGEES ALLOWED IN OLYMPICS The International Olympic Committee has announced that refugee athletes will be allowed, for the first time, to take part in next year's Olympics. Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win men’s title in the China Open at Beijing, China. Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won the women's singles title Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their eighth title of the season by lifting the women’s doubles title. Cristiano Ronaldo of The Real Madrid won the record fourth Golden Boot for scoring highest – 48 goals in the season. China’s Xuerui Li won the Denmark Open Badminton Title in the women’s single category, defeating P V Sindhu of India at Odense, Denmark. Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched the French International Badminton title in Paris. Sultan of Johor Cup (Hockey): Great Britain defeated Indian junior men's team to lift the cup in Malaysia. Sergey Karjakin of Russia won the World Cup Chess Championship, defeating compatriot Peter Svidler in Baku, Azerbaijan. Lewis Hamilton of Britain won the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, Russia, Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Japan and U S Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won the Asia’s premier mountain biking race to get the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’. Women’s European Volleyball Championship was won by Russia at Rotterdam, Russia. China won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines at Changsha, China. Some 2,000 athletes from many indigenous ethnic groups from 30 countries took part in the first World Indigenous Games held in Palmas, Brazil. SEPTEMBER 2015 YOGA GIVEN SPORTS STATUS The Sports Ministry has decided to recognize Yoga as a sports discipline and place it in the Priority category. Fencing has also been upgraded from others to General category, based on the past performance in major international events.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 55 Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award NAME SPORTS 1. Jot Singh (ITBP) Mountaineering 2. Arunima Sinha Mountaineering 3. Wg. Cdr. Paramveer Singh Aqua sport 4. Col. Satish Chander Sharma Mountaineering 5. Lt. Col Satyendra Verma Sky diving The Indian wushu team fetched a rich haul of 1 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals at the 5th International Pars Wushu Cup in Tehran, Iran. Deepak Lather won a gold in the 62 kg category in weight lifting in the fifth Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa. India stood fifth in the final medal tally in the Commonwealth Youth Games. Anil won the gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle category at the Cadet Wrestling World Championships at Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. OP Jaisha and Sudha Singh finished 18th and 19th respectively in the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Jaisha, however, set a new national record by registering a time of two hours, 34 minutes and 43 seconds. Manpreet Kaur of Railways created a new national record in shot-put throwing, claiming a distance of 17.96 meters at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata. Apurvi Chandela clinched the silver medal in women’s 10m air rifle event of the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Finals in Munich, Germany. Ravi Shastri to continue as the Team Director of the Indian cricket team till the 2016 T20 World Cup to be held in India. 55th National Open Athletics Championship started at SAI Complex in Kolkata on Sep16. The 42nd World Bridge Teams Championships opened in Chennai on Sep 26. U.S. OPEN TENNIS ENDS AT NEW YORK Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic won the title beating Roger Federer Women’s Singles: Flavia Pennetta won the title by beating Roberta Vinci, both from Italy. Flavia announced her retirement after winning the title. Men’s mixed doubles: won by Leander Paes and Martina Hingis. Paes becomes the player to have won highest number, of mixed doubles grand slams (Nine). Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the title. Sebastian Vettel from Germany won 2015 Singapore Grand Prix of Formula One car race Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix F1 championship at Monza, Italy. Shane Watson: Australia's veteran all-rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket on September 6, playing his last match in Cardiff, UK. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Durban, South Africa, for the first time. Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in East China, has been chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022 Asian Games. AUGUST 2015 SANIA HONOURED WITH KHEL RATNA Iconic tennis player Sania Mirza has been honoured with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2015. The award carries a medal and cash award of Rs. 7.50 lacs. DRONACHARYA AWARDS announced for excellence in coaching. Award carries a statue & cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. Sr. No. NAME SPORTS 1. Naval Singh Athletics Para-sports 2. Anoop Singh Wrestling 3. Harbans Singh Athletics 4. Swatantar Raj Singh Boxing 5. Nihar Ameen Swimming. DHYAN CHAND AWARDS (For Lifetime Achievement) declared. Award carries a statue & cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. Sl. No. Name Discipline 1. TPP Nair Volleyball 2. SP Misra Tennis 3. Romeo James Hockey
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 56 ARJUNA AWARDS announced. The Award carries a statue and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline 1. Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar Archery 2. Ms. M.R. Poovamma Athletics 3. Mr. Kidambi Srikanth Nammalwar Badminton 4. Mr. Mandeep Jangra Boxing 5. Mr. Rohit Sharma Cricket 6. Ms. Dipa Karmakar Gymnastic 7. Mr. Sreejesh P.R. Hockey 8. Mr. Manjeet Chhillar Kabaddi 9. Ms. Abhilasha S Mhatre Kabaddi 10. Mr. Sawarn Singh Rowing 11. Mr. Anup Kumar Yama Roller Skating 12. Mr. Jitu Rai Shooting 13. Shri S. Sathish Kumar Weightlifting 14. Mr. Bajrang Wrestling 15. Ms. Babita Kumari Wrestling 16. Ms. Yumnam S. Devi Wushu 17. Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad Para-Swimming SAINA NEHWAL, ace Indian shuttler regained the world no. 1 rank on August 20. She also became the first Indian to win silver in the World Badminton Championship. IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship: Pankaj Advani won the title outplaying Chinese Yan Bingtao at Karachi, Pakistan on August 11. Dutee Chand won the gold medal in the 200m at the 13th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championship in Hyderabad Anirban Lahiri finished 5th at the US PGA championship at Whistling Straits, USA, claiming the highest position ever won by an Indian at a Golf Major. Aditi Chauhan, India’s international football goalkeeper became the country’s first woman to play English league football when she made her debut for English third tier club West Ham United Ladies. Ace Indian golfer Aditi Ashok became first woman and youngest (17 years) player from India to win the prestigious Ladies British amateur stroke-play Championship 2015 at Leeds, United Kingdom. Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eight catches in a single match, achieving the feat in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka. Abhishek Verma won the gold medal in the men’s compound individual category in the Archery World Cup in Wroclaw (Poland). World Archery Championships, Copenhagen, Denmark: Indian women's recurve team won the silver medal on August 2. Special Olympic World Summer Games 2015 Indian contingent won 173 medals (47gold, 54 silver and 72 bronze) in the games held in Los Angeles, USA.  Sneha Verma, (21) suffering from Down syndrome, won gold medal in the 50m freestyle swimming event.  Prabhroop Sekhon (14) won gold medals in 300 metre and 500 metre Roller Skating event. KUMARA SANGAKKARA: Sri Lanka’s ace batsman and wicketkeeper announced his retirement from the international Cricket. He played his last match at Colombo, against India. Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix F1 championship at Spa, Belgium on August 23. The 15th WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS held in Beijing, China  Usain Bolt (Jamaica) finished the 100 meters sprint in 9.79 seconds to emerge as world’s number one.  Shelly-Ann Fraser, also from Jamaica, retained gold in Women’s 100 meters.  Usain Bolt also claimed his fourth consecutive world 200 metre title CINCINNATI OPEN 2015: Roger Federer beats world no 1 Novak Djokovic to win the title on August 23 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Serena Williams won the women’s singles title by defeating Simona Halep of Romania. ROGERS CUP MASTERS TOURNAMENT, Montreal, Canada: Andy Murray won the men’s title by beating world number one Novak Djokovic. Women’s title was won by 18 year old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland by beating world number two Simona Halep  The world governing body of athletics, the International Association of Athletics Federations - the IAAF, has chosen the British former Olympic racing champion Sebastian Coe as its new President.  The International Olympic Committee has granted recognition to the sport of flying disc, commonly known as "frisbee" as an Olympic sport.  Beijing has become the first city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics after it was chosen to stage the 2022 Winter Games. It hosted the summer Olympics in 2008.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 57 BOOKS & AUTHORS BOOK AUTHOR The Clintons' War on Women Roger Stone and Robert Morrow Mrs Funnybones Twinkle Khanna To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story Jairam Ramesh. A Children’s History of India Subhadra Sen Gupta. The Country of First Boys Amartya Sen Baat Niklegi toh Phir Sathya Saran Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India – an autobiography of Sam Pitroda, noted technocrat who brought telecom revolution in India. The Chinar Leaves veteran Congress leader and close aide of the Gandhi family M L Fotedar Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, ex Foreign Minister of Pakistan. The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath by Ben S. Bernanke. The author is the ex governor of the Federal Reserve of USA and the book is about the lessons learnt from the recessions like 2008 Financial Crisis. The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue an autobiography of Frederick Forsyth, noted thriller novelist. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Days Salman Rushdie. The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce 1965 India-Pakistan' Capt Amarinder Singh and Lt. Gen. Tajindar Shergill The Curse of Surya Dev Prasad. Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One Meghnad Desai. The Power of Meow David Michie Muslim Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Empire Seema Alavi Portrait of a Serial Killer Khushwant Singh (edited by Mala Dayal) Making India Awesome Chetan Bhagat Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security Prof. M. S. Swaminathan The Country of First Boys Amartya Sen The Devil take Love Sudhir Kakar R. D. Burman: The Prince of Music Khagesh Dev Burman Locale, Everyday Islam and Modernity M. Raisur Rahman Ghosts of Calcutta Sebastian Ortiz India Former Union Environment and Forest Minister, Jairam Ramesh. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension Amiya Chandra ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ A S Dulat. He was the Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Special Advisor on Kashmir in Vajpayee's PMO after his retirement. The Making of Miracles in Indian States Arvind Panagariya and M Govinda Rao Who Will Cry When You Die Robin S Sharma Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies — The Indian Experience Jhumpa Mukherjee Chaos of the Senses Ahlem Mosteghanemi Flood of Fire Amitav Ghosh Men Explain Things to Me Rebecca Solnit The Crown Prince, the Gladiator and the Hope: Battle for Change Ashutosh Super Economies: America, India, China and the Future of the World Raghav Bahl
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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 59 Latest MCQs ON CURRENT AFFAIRS JANUARY GK TEST – 01 1. India’s first National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) has been set up in which city? A. Hyderabad B. Chennai C. Mumbai D. New Delhi E. Noida 2. The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) on a cheque is an alphanumeric code, which uniquely identifies A. The bank branch participating in electronic funds settlement systems in India B. The account holder's place of residence C. The bank participating in a settlement in an inter-city banking transaction D. Whether the cheque is genuine or not E. None of the above 3. On which date is the Vijay Diwas celebrated in India? A. December 14 B. December 16 C. December 18 D. December 20 E. November 19 4. The urban infrastructure development scheme called JNNURM has now been renamed A. AMRUT B. PMJDY C. MUDRA D. PMKKK E. APY 5. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who has won the 2015 Miss Universe title, hails from which country? A. Portugal B. Philippines C. Spain D. The USA E. Costa Rica 6. The proposed new tax GST, for the moment, will not cover A. Services B. Goods of daily consumption C. Alcohol D. Petroleum E. Both C and D 7. Who is the author of the book ‘Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer’? A. Cyrus Mistry B. KR Meera C. Jaswinder Singh D. Madhu Acharya E. Rohinton Mistry 8. Who among the following has been appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)? A. Suraj Desai B. M A Khan Yusufi C. R.K. Mathur D. Basant Seth E. Deepak Sandhu 9. Which of the following defines a stale cheque most appropriately? A cheque which A. Has been presented to a collecting bank once B. Has been presented to a collecting bank more than once C. Is dated more than three months prior to the date of its presentation D. Is torn/ mutilated/ soiled E. Either C or D 10. Who has authored the book titled ‘Flood of Fire’? A. Jhumpa Lahiri B. Anita Desai C. Amitav Ghosh D. Vikram Seth E. Arundhati Roy 11. Which of the following organizations has sanctioned a $1.5 billion loan to support the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)? A. World Bank B. IMF C. ADB D. Japan Bank for International Cooperation E. United Nations Organization 12. Being caught in a Debt Trap implies A. Spending more than one's earnings B. Saving nothing at all for a period of 3 years continuously C. Inability to pay EMIs regularly D. Taking another loan to repay a previously running loan E. Inability to service a loan due to high interest rates 13. Which of the following has been chosen for the 2015 C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award? A. Kapil Dev B. Dilip Vengsarkar C. Syed Kirmani D. Sunil Gavaskar D. Virender Sehwag
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 60 14. The acronyms GDR and ADR refer to A. Norms for lending followed by commercial banks in India B. National population growth C. Corporate social responsibility of companies in India D. Ways of raising capital from overseas markets E. Forfeiture of security offered in lieu of a bank loan 15. Who among the following has won the 2015 ICC Cricketer of the Year honour? A. Steven Smith B. AB de Villiers C. Virat Kohli D. Brendon McCullum E. Shane Watson 16. Raghuveer Chaudhary, who has been selected for the 2015 Jnanpith Award, writes in A. Gujarati B. Hindi C. Urdu D. Dogri E. Panjabi 17. The recommendations of the Deepak Mohanty Committee refer to A. Medium-term path on Financial Inclusion B. Infrastructure financing in India C. Modalities for Public Private Partnership (PPP) working D. Setting up of new banks in India E. Creation of a super financial regulator in India 18. Reliance has launched a 4G telecom service with the brand name A. Geo B. Vista C. Cosmo D. One World E. Jio 19. Which among the following is NOT a function performed by SEBI? A. Auditing/ appointing rating agencies in India B. Fixing the qualifications for appointment as a Mutual Funds advisor C. Laying out norms for IPOs by companies D. Fixing listing norms for companies' shares E. All of these are the functions performed by SEBI 20. Sadhana Shivdasani, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Politics B. Journalism C. Academics D. Acting E. Painting 21. Which new method has been proposed by the RBI to help the banks calculate their lending rates? A. OCLR B. MCLR C. IMLR D. PSLR E. PLR 22. The standard of living in a country is best captured by its A. Rank in terms of Per Capita Income B. Economic growth rate in terms of rise in Gross Domestic Product C. Ranking on the Human Development Index as measured by --- per capita income, average life expectancy and access to education D. Rank in terms of average consumption expenditure per capita E. Rank on the World Bank annual list 23. Which of the following cities from India have been designated as members of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN)? A. Varanasi and Jaipur B. Hyderabad and Dharamshala C. Hardwar and Jaisalmer C. Mysore and Agra E. Lucknow, Varanasi 24. Which of the following is India’s first licensed shipyard to make LNG ships? A. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers B. Mazagon Dock Limited C. Cochin Shipyard Limited D. Goa Shipyard Limited E. None of these 25. Which of the following countries has approved the world’s first dengue vaccine? A. United Kingdom B. Canada C. Mexico D. France E. India 26. The Nachiket More committee recommendations deal with A. The problem of rising NPAs B. Rural infrastructure financing C. Capital account convertibility D. Setting up of new, differentiated banks E. Financial inclusion 27. Which of the following statement/s regarding the latest Census 2011 data is/are CORRECT? 1. Child sex ratio is the number of girls aged 0-6 years for every 1,000 boys in the same age group. 2. The child sex ratio in India has dipped further to 918 now, reaching the lowest level since 1961. 3. The Christian community shows the best population sex ratio (1,023 females/1,000 males) while the Jains have the highest literacy rate at 95%. A. 1 only B. 1, 2 C. 1, 3 D. 1, 2, 3 E. None of these 28. Gyanendra D. Bandgaiyan has been appointed the Director-General of A. National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) B. National Development Council C. India Trade Promotion Organization D. National Council of Education Research and Training E. Digital India Mission
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 61 29. The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) will give a boost to ‘Make in India’ by attracting investments of Re. 1 lakh crore and creating over 30 lakh jobs in A. Infrastructure B. MSME sector C. Textiles sector D. Exports E. Education 30. Find the odd one out. A. ASBA B. Par value C. Green channel D. Book building E. High Net worth Investor (HNI) 31. Which of the following is NOT a regional/ economic bloc? A. BRICS B. ASEAN C. SAARC D. OPEC E. APEC 32. Examine the names of the financial institutions mentioned below. 1. HDFC 2. SIDBI 3. IDBI 4. NABARD 5. PFRDA The correct chronological order of the establishment of these institutions is A. 3, 1, 4, 2, 5 B. 3, 1, 2, 4, 5 C. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5 D. 3, 1, 4, 5, 2 E. 1, 3, 4, 2, 5 33. Mangesh Padgaonkar, who passed away in Mumbai, was a A. Marathi politician B. Marathi actor C. Marathi poet D. Marathi playwright E. Gujarati poet 34. The brand name RuPAY implies a/an A. Credit card B. Debit card C. Both A and B D. Traveller's Cheque E. Overdraft withdrawal mechanism 35. The World Water Day was observed on A. March 22 B. June 5 C. March 8 D. October 16 E. April 23 36. Which of the following streets is NOT related to financial markets? A. Fleet Street B. Wall Street C. Madison Avenue D. Dalal Street E. Both A and C 37. India’s Varunastra is a/an A. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile B. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle C. Advanced Heavyweight Torpedo D. Pilotless target aircraft E. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 38. The Government of India plans to undertake disinvestment in which of the following PSU companies during this financial year? 1. NTPC 2. Coal India 3. Oil India 4. SAIL A. 2, 3 B. All of these C. 1, 2 D. 1, 2, 4 E. 1, 2, 3 39. Call Money Rate refers to A. Short-term inter-bank borrowings rate B. Inter-company borrowings rate C. Long term borrowing rates charged from banks by the RBI D. The interest rate offered on 7-day fixed deposits by the banks E. None of these 40. Asia’s largest underground railway station is located in A. Singapore B. South Korea C. Japan D. China E. India 41. Which of the following committees suggested initiatives on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP Model? A. Dinesh Pachori Committee B. Arun Pasricha Committee C. Vijay Kelkar Committee D. Deepak Mohanty Committee E. Rakesh Khurana Committee 42. Which country's Parliament building has been built by India? A. Bhutan B. Afghanistan C. Nepal D. Maldives E. Bangladesh 43. Champu has a Savings Bank account in his name only in a nearby bank. Unfortunately, he is killed in a road accident. Thereafter, his wife Laali approaches the bank to claim the money lying in his bank account. But the bank discovers that Champu has not mentioned any nominee in the account opening form as it did not have any nominee clause. Laali claims the amount as her legitimate due as she believes it is her husband's money but the Bank contests her claim saying that it cannot be given as her name is not mentioned as a nominee. As per the standard operating procedures, in the present case, the Bank A. Cannot refuse the payment in any case B. Is under obligation to pay it after establishing the legal heir's identity and getting a letter of indemnity C. Can refuse to pay the amount as there is no nominee mentioned D. Needs to refer the case to the Reserve Bank of India E. Is required to close the account immediately and put the proceeds in a Bank Customers Awareness Fund. 44. Haskell Wexler, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Cricketer B. Politician C. Scientist D. Cinematographer E. Philosopher
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 62 45. A Revenue-Neutral Tax rate, as the government is trying to evolve for the proposed GST, is best defined as A. An ideal tax rate, which keeps the tax payers and the government satisfied with the tax rate and the revenue collections, respectively B. A tax rate, the imposition of which does not raise or reduce the tax collections as made previously C. A tax rate, the imposition of which adversely affects the tax collections D. A tax rate, the imposition of which does not raise the tax collections E. A tax rate, which is arrived at after consensus among the States and the Centre 46. The M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for Best Woman Cricketer has been conferred upon A. Rumeli Dhar B. Mithali Raj C. Diana David D. Archana Das E. None of these 47. Match the following. International agency Domain 1. UNDP P. Human rights violations 2. UNCTAD Q. Refugees' welfare 3. UNHCR R. Human development 4. Amnesty International S. Children 5. UNICEF T. International trade 1 2 3 4 5 A. R T Q P S B. R Q T P S C. R S Q P T D. S T Q P R E. R T P T S 48. The Cabinet has approved the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for the A. Cement industry B. Steel industry C. Textiles industry D. Chemical industry E. Auto industry 49. Which of the following telecom companies has launched “Project Leap” to provide voice and high speed broadband services? A. Reliance B. Idea C. Vodafone D. Airtel E. BSNL 50. In the acronym TDS, the letter D stands for A. Depreciation B. Deducted C. Deduction D. Dividend E. Distribution JANUARY GK TEST – 02 1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is NOT allowed in which sector in India? A. Nuclear power B. Railway production C. Insurance D. Banks E. Single-brand retail 2. AB Bardhan, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Sports B. Politics C. Science D. Mathematics E. None of these 3. The average literacy rate in India as per the 2011 Census is A. 62% B. 88% C. 56% D. 65% E. 74% 4. What does the letter R in RIDF stand for? A. Revival B. Rural C. Reconstruction D. Revamped E. Reserve 5. Which is the first state in India to achieve the goals of introducing smart cards for all beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System? A. Haryana B. Uttarakhand C. Chhattisgarh D. Himachal Pradesh E. Bihar 6. The first scientist to win the Bharat Ratna honour was A. Dr. CV Raman B. S. Chandrashekhar C. Dr. Norman Borlogue D. Dr. Verghese Kurien E. Prof. CNR Rao 7. The Australian equivalent of the Reserve Bank of India is known as the A. Australia Central Bank B. Reserve Bank of Australia C. State Bank of Australia D. Aussie Fed E. Australia Federal Reserve 8. The French President, who visited India to attend the Republic Day celebrations last month, was A. Nicholas Sarkozy B. Francois Mittrand C. Levis Strauss D. Francois Hollande E. None of these 9. The banks with more than 20 branches in India are required to keep aside ________ of their total loans and advances for priority sector loans and in case of any deficit in this regard, have to deposit the undisbursed amount into the ________. A. 40%, MSME Fund B. 30%, Interest Subvention Fund C. 50 %, SEDF D. 40%, RIDF or SEDF E. 32%, RIDF
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 63 10. The New Development Bank has been set up by which group of nations? A. ASEAN B. SAARC C. G8 D. BRICS E. European Union 11. The abbreviation MCLR is related to A. Medical science B. Missiles C. World Trade Organization D. Computers E. Banking 12. Which bank is likely to exit its private banking operations in India? A. HSBC B. Standard Chartered C. Citi Bank D. Bank of Japan E. Duetsche Bank 13. The Dachigam National Park is located in A. Assam B. Karnataka C. Gujarat D. Uttar Pradesh E. Jammu and Kashmir 14. The National Voters Day 2016 was observed on A. 25th January B. 12th January C. 9th January D. 28th February E. None of these 15. Which of the following is/are a statutory bank/s in India? A. Punjab National Bank B. Industrial Development Bank of India C. Reserve Bank of India D. State Bank of India E. Both B and C 16. The government programme called Nayi Manzil targets A. Budding sportspersons B. Minority community youth C. Pregnant women D. Students from SC/ST communities E. Teenaged children 17. The term “Mouse and Click Banking” implies A. Branch banking B. Phone banking C. Online banking D. Mobile banking E. Private banking 18. The National Housing Bank (NHB) is fully owned by the A. RBI B. HDFC C. Government of India D. HUDCO E. SBI 19. The BRICS media summit was held in A. New Delhi B. Moscow C. Rio de Janeiro D. Kabul E. Beijing 20. Examine the following chart. Maximum Permissible Strength-Parliament of India Which of the following figures should replace the ? given in the above chart? A. 12 B. 18 C. 20 D. 24 E. 13 21. One of the D-SIBs declared by the Reserve Bank was the ICICI Bank. The other one is A. State Bank of India B. Punjab National Bank C. Oriental Bank of Commerce D. HDFC Bank E. Axis Bank 22. The rate of interest payable on gold schemes is decided by the A. Interest Rate Committee B. Reserve Bank of India C. Indian Banks Association D. Banks themselves E. None of these 23. The panel which had made recommendations on Foreign Direct Investment (FPI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FII) was chaired by A. Arvind Mayaram B. Dr. Rakesh Khurana C. Dr. Raghuram Rajan D. YK Malegam E. Deepak Mohanty 24. The latest stock exchange to begin its operations in India is A. NSE B. MCX-SX C. NCDEX D. MCX E. None of these 25. A company wants to distribute dividend to its 15 lakh investors in a quick, cost-effective and safe manner. Which of the following methods, as a banker, would you suggest to the company? A. ECS B. RTGS C. NEFT D. Cheque E. Internet banking 26. In the acronym CTS, the letter T refers to A. Transfer B. Tax C. Truncation D. Transaction E. Technology 27. Which of the following is an electronic payment system? A. CNX 100 B. DIPP C. NDTL D. Tele-banking E. NEFT
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 64 28. The Black Buck National Park is situated in A. Madhya Pradesh B. Karnataka C. Gujarat D. Uttar Pradesh E. J& K 29. Examine the Assertion labelled X and the Reasoning labelled Y given below. X (Assertion): At the Climate Change Conference (COP 21 to the UNFCC) in Paris, the developed nations were asked to fulfil their promise of giving $ 100 billion annually to the developing nations every year. Y (Reasoning): The financial commitment is meant to help the developing nations develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of emission cuts. A. Both X and Y are correct and Y explains X correctly. B. Both X and Y are correct but Y does not explain X correctly. C. X is correct but Y is wrong. D. Y is correct but X is wrong. E. Neither X nor Y is correct. 30. India Post has been authorized by the Reserve Bank of India to open a A. Payment Bank B. Universal Bank C. Differentiated bank D. Development Finance Institution (DFI) E. Small Bank 31. A Brown-label ATM is one, which is licensed to _______ and is managed by ______. A. a Bank, a third party service provider B. an NBFC, a third party service provider C. a Bank, the bank itself D. an NBFC, the NBFC itself E. a Bank, the Reserve Bank of India 32. Which country earned the wrath of the entire global community by conducting a thermonuclear test recently? A. South Korea B. North Korea C. The USA D. Russia E. Japan 33. In the ownership structure of Dena Gramin Bank, the highest stake is owned by A. Dena Gramin Bank B. Dena Bank C. The State Government of the state in which it is located D. The Indian Government E. None of these 34. In the abbreviation BCBSI, C stands for A. Codes B. Cheque C. Cut D. Credit E. Computer 35. Pachmarhi is located in A. Rajasthan B. Madhya Pradesh C. Chhattisgarh D. Uttar Pradesh E. Maharashtra 36. The Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) are governed by the A. Banking Regulation Act B. Money Circulation Rules C. Special Banking Act D. Companies Act, 1956 E. Chit Fund Companies Act 37. The target year for the execution of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been advanced A. from 2022 to 2019 B. from 2022 to 2020 C. from 2030 to 2025 D. from 2022 to 2018 E. from 2025 to 2022 38. The minimum age for one to be called a Senior Citizen, as decided by the Government of India, is A. 62 Years B. 65 Years C. 58 Years D. Discretionary as per the extant orders E. 60 Years 39. The International Labour Organization is headquartered in A. Switzerland B. Vienna C. France D. The USA E. Canada 40. The 2nd Bird Watching Festival is to be organized in which Indian state? A. Haryana B. Karnatka C. Madhya Pradesh D. Rajasthan E. None of these 41. The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan were held in A. Lahore B. Islamabad C. Bangkok D. New York E. New Delhi 42. Currently, the President of Pakistan is A. Nawaz Sharif B. Mamnoon Hussain C. Mazhar Hussain D. Gen AK Kayaani E. Rahil Sharif 43. I am available to farmers and home buyers, who would like to avail of a cheaper interest rate on farm loans and home loans, respectively. But the cheaper rate plan is actually “sponsored” by the government to promote development in a particular sector. The difference in the usually charged interest rate and the cheaper rate is later claimed by the lending bank from the government. Who am I? A. Interest Rate Subvention Scheme B. Interest Subsidy Scheme C. Priority Sector Subsidy D. Interest Claim Back Scheme E. Priority Sector Subvention Scheme
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 65 44. The Urban Development Scheme launched by the BJP government is in the name of A. J L Nehru B. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee C. Atal Bihari Vajpayee D. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel E. Jai Prakash Narayan 45. What does the letter D in CDSL stand for? A. Derivative B. Diffused C. Depository D. Deficit E. Deduction 46. The 500th year celebrations of bhakti saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were held in A. Varanasi B. Nadia C. Haridwar D. Vrindavan E. None of these 47. The rate of interest paid by the RBI on CRR balances maintained with it by the commercial banks, is A. Bank Rate (minus) –3% B. Decided at its discretion C. Negotiated by the commercial banks with the RBI D. Repo Rate (minus) –2% E. 0% 48. The CAC 40 is a benchmark index of the A. French stock market B. London stock market C. Frankfurt stock market D. Tokyo stock market E. New York stock market 49. The acronym OECD represents a/an A. Global cartel of oil-exporting nations B. Group of 34 countries C. Group of countries, which collectively lend to India for development projects D. Organization for infrastructure promotion E. None of these 50. Which of the following committees has submitted its report to the Supreme Court on reforms in the BCCI? A. HL Dattu Committee B. RM Lodha Committee C. Mukul Mudgal Committee D. Chandra Committee E. Rajeev Shukla Committee CORRIGENDUM (FEBRUARY ISSUE 2016) DECEMBER GK TEST - (1) (PAGE NO. 62) The correct answers to the following questions published in the last issue are as under. The error is sincerely regretted:- Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 32 A 33 C 34 B ANSWER KEY GKT-1 1. D 2. A 3. B 4. A 5. B 6. E 7. A 8. C 9. C 10. C 11. A 12. D 13. C 14. D 15. A 16. A 17. A 18. E 19. A 20. D 21. B 22. C 23. A 24. C 25. C 26. D 27. D 28. A 29. C 30. C 31. D 32. A 33. C 34. B 35. A 36. E 37. C 38. E 39. A 40. D 41. C 42. B 43. B 44. D 45. B 46. B 47. A 48. C 49. D 50. B ANSWER KEY GKT-2 1. A 2. B 3. E 4. B 5. C 6. A 7. A 8. D 9. D 10. D 11. E 12. A 13. E 14. A 15. E 16. B 17. C 18. A 19. E 20. C 21. A 22. D 23. A 24. B 25. A 26. C 27. E 28. C 29. A 30. A 31. A 32. B 33. D 34. A 35. B 36. D 37. A 38. E 39. A 40. E 41. C 42. B 43. A 44. C 45. C 46. D 47. E 48. A 49. B 50. B GYANM ONLINE TESTS MORE THAN 100 TESTS FOR Rs. 300 ONLY  TEST SERIES FOR IBPS PO / CLERK FOR PRELIMS  50+ SHORT TESTS OF QUANTS, REASONING & ENGLISH  PASSWORD WITH ONE YEAR VALIDITY ACCOUNT DETAILS NAME: GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD BANK : ALLAHABAD BANK BRANCH: Sector 34, Chandigarh A/C NO: 502 1311 7700 IFSC CODE: ALLA0211989 OR CALL @ 09257211740 09646888377
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 66 SSC CORNER ENDOCRINE SYSTEM What is Endocrine System? In general, the endocrine system is in charge of body processes that happen slowly, such as cell growth. Faster processes like breathing and body movement are controlled by the nervous system. They often work together to help the body function properly. It influences almost every cell, organ, and function and plays a role in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, and sexual and reproductive processes. The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. As chemical messengers, the hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. Many different hormones move through the bloodstream as each type of hormone is designed to affect only certain cells. Endocrine glands shouldn’t be confused with exocrine glands. Exocrine glands, such as sweat and salivary glands, secrete externally and internally via ducts. Endocrine glands secrete hormones internally, using the bloodstream. Glands A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use in the body. Some types of glands release their secretions in specific areas. For instance, exocrine glands like the sweat and salivary glands release secretions in the skin or inside the mouth. Endocrine glands, on the other hand, release more than 20 major hormones directly into the bloodstream where they can be transported to other body parts. The Endocrine System The endocrine system is made of many glands. These glands secrete hormones to regulate many bodily functions, including growth and metabolism. Simply put, the endocrine system is a network of glands that secrete chemicals called hormones to help the body function properly. The endocrine system helps control the following processes: 1. Growth and development 2. Homeostasis (the internal balance of body systems) 3. Metabolism (body energy levels) 4. Reproduction 5. Response to stimuli (stress and/or injury) MAJOR ENDOCRINE GLANDS Hypothalamus The hypothalamus in the brain releases hormones that control hunger, thirst, body temperature and anger. These hypothalamus’ "releasing" hormones regulate the secretion of other hormones in the pituitary gland, which in turn affects other endocrine glands. The hypothalamus’ “inhibiting” hormones turn off the secretion of some hormones from the pituitary. Pituitary The pituitary gland is located in the brain, directly under the hypothalamus. It plays a large role in the endocrine system as it releases the maximum number of hormones, which affect the secretions of other glands as well. That's why, the pituitry is know as the Master Gland in the body. Anterior Pituitary Gland The hormones from the anterior pituitary gland are responsible for growth (growth hormone), reactions to stress (adrenocorticotrophic hormone- ACTH), metabolism (thyroid stimulating hormone) and reproductive function (follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone). Hormones from the anterior pituitary also stimulate the release of hormones from the gonads, thyroid and adrenal glands. Finally, the anterior pituitary secretes a hormone called prolactin, which stimulates milk production in breasts.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 67 Posterior Pituitary Gland: The posterior pituitary gland produces a hormone (anti-diuretic hormone) to regulate the level of water in the body. This gland also secretes a second hormone oxytocin that aids in childbirth (parturition) and stimulates the release of milk from a nursing mother. Pineal Gland: The pineal gland, in the brain, secretes the hormone melatonin, which plays a role in the sleep- wake cycle. Thyroid Gland: The thyroid glands, on either side of the throat, secrete two hormones - thyroxine and triodothyronine. These hormones play a role in metabolism, body temperature, cell growth, and cell differentiation. Parathyroid Gland: The parathyroid glands are tiny glands at the back of the thyroid glands. They secrete parathyroid hormone which regulates the levels of calcium. Adrenal Glands: There are two adrenal glands, one above each kidney. They produce the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol is released when the body undergoes stress or exercise, and it aids in metabolism. Aldosterone regulates the levels of sodium in the body and this, in turn, influences the amount of water in the body. The adrenal gland produces epinephrine and norepinephrine, also called adrenaline and noradrenaline. The primary hormone released during excitement or stress is epinephrine. This release is commonly known as an “adrenaline rush” and is an important part of the fight-or-flight response. Pancreas: The pancreas secretes digestive juices to help break down foods. Its endocrine function is to control blood sugar levels by releasing the hormones insulin and glucagon. Insulin transports glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, thereby decreasing blood sugar levels. Glucagon, on the other hand, causes stored glucose from the cells and the liver to be released into the bloodstream, raising the sugar levels. Gonads: The gonads refer to the reproductive organs. Male gonads are known as testes and female gonads are called ovaries. The testes secrete a hormone called testosterone, which stimulates the production of sperm and secondary male sex characteristics, such as facial and body hair. The ovaries secrete several hormones, namely estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen stimulates the maturation of eggs in the ovaries. Together, estrogen and progesterone regulate breast development during puberty and the menstrual cycle. Thymus: The thymus is just behind the breastbone and secretes thymosins, which helps regulate immune function. ---xx---
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 68 How much well-equipped are you with vocabulary to express yourself in different situations? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and also learn some new words as a BONUS! Directions: Given below are certain words printed in BOLD letters, followed by four choices in each case. Find out the choice which best conveys the meaning of the word in question. You will find the detailed solution to this exercise in this issue only. 1. GERMANE A. Smooth B. Relevant C. Handsome D. From Germany 2. VOCIFEROUS A. Through voice B. Critical C. In disagreement D. Loud 3. MUTE A. Stay at a place B. Silent C. Closed D. Change dramatically 4. GARRULOUS A. Aged B. Abusive C. Excessive talker D. Fond of writing 5. RETICENT A. Speaking little B. Decent C. Connected D. Related to eyes 6. BELLIGERENT A. Trigger-happy B. Roundabout way C. Peace-loving D. Pungent 7. TERRIFIC A. Horrible B. Looking like a terrorist C. Enjoyable D. Highly commendable 8. DELUGE A. Going deep into a river B. A bunch of some objects C. Flexibility D. Flood 9. PACIFIC A. Broker B. Full of love C. Peace-loving D. Related to oceans 10. APOCRYPHAL A. Related to mythology B. Historical C. Of heights D. Unproven 11. SUAVE A. Sophisticated B. Having holes C. Well-educated D. Practical 12. DILIGENT A. Hardworking B. Lazy C. Sensible D. Urgent 13. SPRIGHTLY A. Swaying B. Confused C. Likely D. Lively 14. REFLECTIVE A. Shining B. Praiseworthy C. Thoughtful D. Reckless 15. ASSIDUOUS A. Persistent B. Dirty C. Interesting D. Worthy of hatred MY SCORE RATING 0-3 Get going! 4-7 Work hard! 8-11 Great, you’re almost there! 12-15 Wow! SOLUTION 1. Germane: adjective: related, relevant, to the point Popular synonyms: pertinent Examples: A. Your ideas were rejected as they were not germane to the discussions going on. B. All the issues germane to better Indo-Pak relations will be taken up at the summit-level talks. 2. Vociferous: adjective: loud, vocal, forceful Popular synonyms: voluble, strident Examples: A. The opposition MPs made a vociferous demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation over the corruption scandal.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 69 B. There is a vociferous opposition to the government proposal to make the Aadhar card compulsory. 3. Mute: verb, adjective: silent, to silence Popular synonyms: dumb Derivation: Muted Examples: A. We cannot become mute spectators to this murder of democracy by the state. B. The Ghadar leaders had come to gather the Panjabis’ support but the people’s response to the appeal was muted. C. I put my TV set on the mute mode as the jarring sound gave me a headache. 4. Garrulous: adjective: excessive talker (esp. an old man) Popular synonyms: vocal, voluble Examples: A. We failed to make any sense of the garrulous speech made by the man in his 80s. B. The garrulous address of the politician could be safely cut down to half by a good editor. 5. Reticent: adjective: silent, speaking very little Popular synonym: taciturn Derivation: Reticence Examples: A. Many people are recent at social gatherings but you will find them very vocal with their friends. B. To become a public speaker, you need to get rid of your reticence. 6. Belligerent: adjective: fighting, contentious Popular synonyms: bellicose, pugnacious Derivation: Belligerence Examples: A. Belligerent nations like North Korea always keep global tensions alive with their nuclear threats. B. The belligerent attitude she carried to the meeting did not let reach a compromise with others. 7. Terrific: adjective: great, highly commendable Popular synonyms: superlative, first-rate Examples: A. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s terrific acting helped the movie become a super hit. B. The smartphone specifications look terrific on paper but the users will reveal the truth about it. 8. Deluge: noun: great excess, abundance Popular synonym: flood Examples: A. The reputed college has received a deluge of applications for admissions this year. B. The deluge of 600+ TV channels gives the viewers an unlimited choice to suit their tastes and preferences. 9. Pacific: adjective: related to peace, peace-loving Popular synonyms: serene, tranquil, pacifist Derivation: Pacifism Examples: A. The pacific global environment of today’s world has a lot to do with the formation of UNO. B. She was known to have a pacific nature and often made peace between the warring parties in her college. 10. Apocryphal: adjective: of doubtful origin, un- historical Popular synonym: legendary, unsubstantiated Examples: A. Several apocryphal stories about the freedom struggle are quite popular but most historians do not accept them. B. The great storyteller often narrates many apocryphal incidents, which are often taken to be true by lay people. 11. Suave: adjective: sophisticated, well-bred Popular synonym: debonair Examples: A. A diplomat needs to display suave manners at all times while dealing with his foreign counterparts. B. The girl’s suave nature greatly helped her bag the job of an airhostess. 12. Diligent: adjective: persevering, hardworking Popular synonyms: industrious, sedulous Derivation: Diligence Examples: A. Her diligent managerial work was finally recognized by her boss with a promotion. B. One may be extremely intelligent, but without diligent application of mind, one cannot hope to get success. 13. Sprightly: adjective: joyful, joyous, lively Popular synonyms: gay, vivacious, animated Examples: A. The flowers swayed in a sprightly dance as the breeze swept the landscape. B. Her sprightly manners had the potential to turn every party into a super hit event. 14. Reflective: adjective: serious, in a thinking mood Popular synonyms: thoughtful, pondering, cogitative Derivation: Reflection Examples: A. Newton was sitting under a tree in a reflective mood as an apple fell into his lap. B. As opposed to her reflective husband, who mostly wore a serious look, she was an outgoing friendly person. 15. Assiduous: adjective: hardworking, persistent Popular synonyms: sedulous, persevering Examples: A. Every new business requires assiduous planning and thorough execution of projects. B. The mantra of success in life is getting up after every failure and doing assiduous hard work to overcome weaknesses. ***
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 70 Profit And Pleasure ON FILMS Profit and Pleasure not only tickles your nerve cells but also makes you learn interesting facts about the world. This time around, we are focusing on films and their makers. Here we go! 1. It was the first movie involving some Indian actors to win an Oscar (in fact, many of them!). The movie had an Anglo-Indian as the lead man, who had essayed a biopic based on the life of one of the iconic leaders of modern India. The movie broke many box-office records and remains a lesson in movie-making till date. Can you identify the movie discussed above? 2. This movie remains a model for all film-makers even 56 years after its release. It is part of the film-making curricula in all film training institutions in India, especially for those aspiring to learn film direction. With some haunting lyrics and soulful music in the background, the movie recreates the story of a sensitive, young poet (played by the legendary Gurudatt) forgotten by the society until the fake news of his death spreads. Which all-time cine classic are we talking about here? 3. This rare movie is based on the story of a young boy who suffers from progeria i.e. a disorder involving abnormally fast ageing, leaving the patient old at a very young age. Interestingly, the boy’s role was played by an actor who is actually the father of the actor who played the boy’s father in the movie. Which offbeat movie are we referring to above? 4. The great showman Raj Kapoor was disheartened by the cold reception to his magnum opus, which he had crafted with painstaking labour. The audience gave a big thumbs down his to labour of love, which probably did not gel with popular tastes. He followed it up with Bobby, a hugely successful, commercial masala movie marking his son Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s film debut. Can you recall the unsung classic made by the great showman? 5. This romantic classic is probably the first one to have all its dialogues in a verse form i.e. shers penned by revolutionary poet-lyricist Kaifi Azmi. Though it was a bold experiment, it went down well with the audience, who lapped it up enthusiastically. Which 1966 movie is being talked about in the above lines? 6. It is often said that one’s unconscious feelings often find expression in real life in one way or the other. Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the 1978 movie Trishul, involving an angry son, who fights for his mother’s rights, was actually inspired by the tensions between a real life father-son duo. Similarly, Amitabh’s image of an angry young man portrayed in Zanjeer and many other movies, was partly inspired by similar emotions. Which famous writer-poet had created these characters? 7. This Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur-starrer celebrates the unsung saga of an India-born Kuwaiti businessman, who played a pivotal role in the safe evacuation of 9 lakh Indians caught in the Gulf War in 1990, when Saddam Hussain’s armies had attacked Kuwait. Over a span of 59 days, the Air India sorties did the extremely commendable job of literally plucking out the Indians stranded in the war-zone. Which newly-released movie is being spoken about here? 8. The 1990s blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, starring Madhuri Dikshit and Salman Khan, was in reality, a straight copy of another Rajshri blockbuster with a rural setting. This earlier movie had virtually the same story in a village setting. Can you identify the original movie? 9. This movie, based on the real life story of an amputee dancer Sudha Chandran, who overcame physical odds top emerge a successful dancer, was a major hit in the 1980s. She played herself in this movie and earned great applause for her role. Which famous musical are we talking about here? 10. This JP Datta-directed super hit movie was based on a real life war story played out during one of the Indo-Pak wars. With a strong storyline and lilting music, it became a box-office phenomenon in the 1990s. Which movie are we talking about in the above lines? SOLUTIONS 1. Gandhi (Directed by Richard Attenborough) 2. Pyaasa 3. Paa (Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan) 4. Mera Naam Joker 5. Heer Raanjha 6. Salim-Javed duo (Javed Akhtar, Janesar Akhtar’s son and Salim Khan) 7. Airlift 8. Nadia Ke Paar 9. Naache Mayuri 10. Border
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 71 GYANM QUIZ - 10 How much do you know about the world around you? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and WIN some exciting prizes as rewards. 1. Buddhism had originated as a reaction against the A. The evils of Brahminism B. Idol worship C. Arrival of the British in India D. Tenets of Sufism 2. Which of the following is called the laughing gas? A. Sulphur dioxide B. Phosphorous dioxide C. Nitrous Oxide D. Carbon Monoxide 3. The Great Barrier Reef is found in A. Greenland B. Australia C. Indian Ocean D. Switzerland 4. “Whom the gods love die young” was said by A. John Keats B. William Shakespeare C. Dr. Samuel Johnson D. Alexander Pope 5. Which mountains in India are called the blue mountains? A. The Shivaliks B. The Neelgiris C. The Himalayas D. The Satpuras 6. One can vote in Rajya Sabha elections at a minimum of A. 30 years B. 21 years C. 18 years D. 25 years 7. Which of the following is the smallest independent country in the world? A. Singapore B. Taiwan C. Hong Kong D. The Vatican 8. The female-to-male sex ratio in India as per the 2011 census is A. 992 B. 927 C. 948 D. 1036 9. Which mechanical property makes it possible for us to walk properly on the road without slipping? A. Friction B. Elasticity C. Viscosity D. Gravitation 10. The first-ever nationlization of banks in India took place in A. 1949 B. 1980 C. 1969 D. 1991 Heartiest congratulations to the winners of Gyanm Quiz-09! 1. Sangam – Bhopal 2. Ritul Chandan– Lucknow The winners are being informed by post. Name: ______________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ PIN: _____________________ Mobile: ___________________________________ _ My answers to Gyanm Quiz - 10 are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Signature _______________ TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. Please send your responses to the quiz, along with your COMPLETE ADDRESS and PIN CODE, by 25th February, 2016. The responses can be sent By e-mail to gynam.college@gmail.com OR On Whatsapp mobile number 09646888377 OR By post to Gyanm College of Competitions, SCO 13-15, 2nd Floor, Above Domino’s, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh-160034 2. ONLY the residents of India are eligible to participate. 3. In case of multiple correct entries, a draw will be held to decide the winner/s. 3. The Prize/s CANNOT be exchanged for cash. 4. The decision of the jury shall be FINAL and BINDING on all the participants. 5. The winners’ names shall be announced in the April, 2016 issue.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 72 Financial Glossary …… continued from previous issue FIXED DEPOSITS It is the most popular account for the purpose of investment. In these accounts, a specific amount is deposited for a specific period and the amount is repaid only on maturity or by premature closure of account. An FD can be made for a minimum 7 days and a maximum of 10 years. Though amount is deposited in the bank for a fixed period, banks allow premature encashment of these deposits. There are two options for interest payment in an FD - it can be paid at monthly/quarterly intervals or can be accumulated up to the end of the maturity period. The RBI has now allowed the banks to pay interest in deposit accounts even at fortnightly or monthly intervals. The banks also offer the facility of loan against the security of an FD. Such deposits are very popular as collateral security for securing various bank loans. Interest upto Rs. 10,000 on fixed deposits is exempted from TDS. NON CALLABLE DEPOSITS In Feb. 2015, the RBI has allowed banks to offer fixed deposit schemes up to Rs 1 crore which cannot be broken prematurely — so-called non-callable deposits & they can earn different rates of interest COMPARISON OF DEMAND AND TIME DEPOSITS FEATURE DEMAND DEPOSITS – SB and CA TIME DEPOSITS – RD and FD Duration No fix duration Duration is fixed Time limits No such limit Maximum ten years Use of cheque book Allowed Not allowed Number of entries Both Debits/Credits are allowed Only Credits are allowed Withdrawal of amount Can be withdrawn any time Withdrawal allowed only by closure or on maturity MODE OF OPERATIONS Whenever more than one person open a bank account, they have to advise the bank in writing the ‘manner’ in which the account holders will operate the account to withdraw the money. This is called ‘mode of operations’ and the instructions are called the ‘mandate’. The account holders are free to decide their mode of operations. Some popular modes of operations are: E OR S: EITHER OR SURVIVOR When two persons open an account, the mode of operation could be E or S – either or survivor, meaning that either of the account holder can operate the account. This mode of operation is the most common among close relatives/married couples. In case of death of either account holder, the survivor becomes the owner of the account and can operate the account singly. JOINT OPERATION Under this option, all the account holders have to sign every time they wish to operate the account. F OR S: FORMER OR SURVIVOR When two persons open an account jointly, but the rights of operation are restricted to the first person only. The second person gets the operations rights only after the death of the first one. Usually, this mode of operation is used by the elderly while opening a joint account with their siblings. A OR S: ANYONE OR SURVIVOR Used in case of more than two account holders. This means that any account holder can operate the account singly. STANDING INSTRUCTIONS It is a facility by the banks wherein they undertake to execute various transactions on behalf of their customers on a recurring, regular basis. For example, transferring school fee amount from the customer’s account to the school’s account on due dates, payment of loan installment on due dates, payment of insurance premium etc.
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 73 DORMANT / INOPERATIVE ACCOUNTS In running accounts like current accounts and savings accounts, the account holder is expected to regularly operate it. In case he fails to do so, say for more than one year or so, the account may become dormant or inoperative account. The exact period may vary from bank to bank. The RBI has directed the banks nor to charge any penalty for non-maintenance of the minimum balance in inoperative accounts. UNCLAIMED ACCOUNT If there is no transaction in an account for 10 years or more, the account is called ‘unclaimed account’ as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Every bank is supposed to send a list of such accounts to the RBI as on December 31st every year. The balance held in these accounts is transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund of the RBI. If an account holder comes back to operate the account, the funds are released to him after proper verification. DEPOSITOR EDUCATION AND AWARENESS FUND To utilize the funds lying in unclaimed accounts, the government has decided to create a 'Depositor Education and Awareness Fund' with the RBI and has amended the Banking Law accordingly. The amount lying in an unclaimed account will be credited to this fund within three months after the said 10 –year period. NOMINATION This is a facility provided under section 45(Z) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to facilitate easy transfer of the funds lying in the account of the deceased account holders to their legal heirs. All the deposit account holders can nominate any one person (not necessarily a blood relation), of any age (even a minor) as their nominee to receive the amount outstanding in their account, after their death. Though nominee is authorized to receive the amount, he is not the rightful owner of the amount. The amount belongs to the legal heirs and the nominee is only a trustee of their rightful money and thus will have to transfer the amount received to the legal heirs, as and when demanded. The nomination facility is available only for three types of accounts: i) All deposit accounts ii) Safe custody accounts and iii) Safe deposit locker accounts The facility is not available for any loan account. LOAN ACCOUNTS Granting loans is a major income-earning activity for the banks. Roughly, over two thirds of the total income of a bank comes from the interest earned on loans. The banks are free to charge any rate of interest on their loan accounts. The bank loans can be classified into two broad types – Demand Loans and Term Loans. DEMAND LOANS These accounts are also called limit accounts as the bank sanctions a limit to the borrower up to which he can draw the cheques. These accounts are operated like Current Accounts through cheques and allow for frequent withdrawals and deposits. These accounts are of two types: Cash Credit (CC) and Over Draft (OD) account. Cash Credit Account: These are most popular loan accounts, meant for businesses only. These limits are sanctioned against a security of stocks and are meant for financing the day to day business requirements i.e. working capital requirements. Also known as ‘Limit Accounts’, these are sanctioned for 12 months only and have to be renewed every year. As they are renewed after every 12 months, they are also called ‘Evergreen Loan Account’. Over Draft Account: These are limited period temporary loan facilities sanctioned by the banks, usually against some securities. The OD can be granted for both business and general purposes. TERM LOANS In these loan accounts, the sanctioned amount is disbursed in one or more installments and thereafter the borrower has to start the repayment in installments. The use of cheque books is not allowed in these accounts. There are two main types of term loans: Retail Loans or Personal Loans - Housing Loans, Car Loans, Education Loans, Consumer Loans etc. Commercial Loans or Business Loans - Machinery Loans, Factory Loans, Loans for Equipments etc. CAPITAL ADEQUACY NORMS These norms refer to the minimum capital to be maintained by the banks all over the world. The norms have been formulated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is a body formed by 60 central banks of the world. Its headquarters is located in Basel, Switzerland and that explains why its recommendations are popularly called ‘Basel norms’. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) issues various recommendations for the banks worldwide. A major BCBS recommendation is regarding the minimum capital requirement for the banks, which prescribes that the minimum capital of a bank cannot be less than 8% of its Risk Weighted Assets (RWA). Here the word asset refers to the bank’s loans and investments. However, the RBI has prescribed the CAR at 9% for the Banks in India. This ratio is called the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), which is also known as Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR). …………To Be Continued SOURCE: FINANCIAL GLOSSARY A GYANM PUBLICATION
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GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 75 Latest G.K. Bytes JANUARY – 2016 1) Name the former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army Staff who passed away in Gurgaon on December 29, 2015: General OP Malhotra 2) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in which field: Literature 3) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in literature in which language: All 22 Indian languages approved by the Constitution 4) Name the winner of the Jnanpith Award 2015: Raghuveer Chaudhary 5) Shri Raghuveer Chaudhary is a noted novelist of which language: Gujarati 6) Vijay Hazare Trophy is associated with which sports: Cricket 7) Name the team that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy for 2015: Gujarat 8) Government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs. ______ lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders from January, 2016: Ten 9) Dr. Harpal Singh Kumar was conferred with Knighthood Honour in UK for what achievement: For his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer 10) Senior National Wrestling Championship was held at which place: New Delhi 11) Bajrang Punia, Ritu Phogat and Priyanka Phogat are the prominent players of which sports: Wrestling 12) Indian navy recently tested Barak missile from which of its warships: INS Kolkata 13) Which is the last country to be declared free of deadly Ebola disease by WHO: Liberia 14) Ramadi, a city in Iraq was in news for what reasons recently: Iraqi forces captured it back from ISIS 15) Who has been named as the 'Cricketer of the Year' - Men for 2015 by the BCCI: Virat Kohali 16) Who has been named as the 'Cricketer of the Year' - Women for 2015 by the BCCI: Mithali Raj 17) Scientists in which country have developed a human-like social robot named ‘Nadine’, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair: Singapore 18) _____________ has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog: Amitabh Kant 19) Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising “Make in India Week” in February 2016 in which Indian city: Mumbai 20) Haskell Wexler, an Oscar winning cinema celebrity from USA died recently. He was from which field of cinema: Photography 21) Which country recently launched Gaofen-4 Earth Observation Satellite: China 22) The government has approved the signing of the Raptor MoU for what purpose: To conserve and reverse the decline of birds of prey such as vultures, eagles etc 23) The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in which country: Myanmar 24) Which are the three countries involved in the trilateral international highway starting from Imphal, Manipur: India, Myanmar and Thailand 25) Dr. Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan has been appointed as the Director General of which national organization: National Centre for Good Governance 26) Giorgi Kvirikashvili has been elected as the Prime Minister of which European country: Georgia 27) Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi won gold in their respective weight categories at the National level in which sports: Weight lifting 28) National Weightlifting Championships held in which city: Patiala 29) RBI has notified that from Feb 1, 2016 all govt cheques will be paid through ________________system: Cheque Truncation System 30) Reserve Bank has asked banks to ensure that every village with a population over __________ should have a bank branch by March 2017: 5,000 31) RBI has asked SLBCs to ensure that every village with a population over 5,000 should have a bank branch by March 2017. What is SLBCs: State Level Bankers Committees 32) The government has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker ____________ to look into revamp of Censor Board: Shyam Benegal 33) World Bank has agreed to provide a $ 50 million loan funding of ‘Nai Manzil' project for what purpose: Education and Skills Training for Minorities in BPL category 34) Name the India’s star off-spinner who was ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for 2015: R. Ashwin 35) World champion Magnus Carlsen won the Qatar
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 76 Masters Open Chess Tournament. He is from which country: Norway 36) Natalie Cole, Grammy-winning US singer was in news for what reasons: She passed away 37) Name the Mumbai boy who created cricket history by scoring 1009 runs not out: Pranav Dhanawade 38) Which north eastern state suffered a strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake on January 04: Manipur 39) Reserve Bank has started the process of issuing composite instructions under the title _________ on various regulatory issues in its bid to simplify the communication process: Master Directions 40) South Asian Football Federation Cup was won by India by defeating which country: Afghanistan 41) South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup was hosted by which Indian city: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 42) Name the important document of Chemistry which now has its seventh row completed with the introduction of four new chemical elements: The periodic table of elements 43) Name the veteran Communist Party of India leader who passed away after a long illness at New Delhi: A. B. Bardhan 44) In which city in Afghanistan the Indian Consulate was attacked by heavily armed terrorist: Mazar-e- Sharif 45) Recently Saudi Arabia faced widespread violent protests against it for what issue: Execution of a prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr 46) Name the leading legal luminary and former Chief Justice of India who passed away recently: Sarosh Homi Kapadia 47) Which university won the overall trophy in the 76th All-India Inter-University Athletics Championship: Punjabi University 48) 'Anything But Khamosh' is an autobiography of which prominent celebrity politician: Shatrughan Sinha 49) A classy performance by which Indian cricketer in 2001 has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years: VVS Laxman's 50) Name the famous novel by Harper Lee that topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6 million copies: Go Set a Watchman 51) Abidali Neemuchwala has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer of which IT corporate: Wipro 52) Which educational institute hosted the 103rd Indian Science Congress: University of Mysore, Karnataka 53) Apurvi Chandela broke the world record by earning highest ever score of 211.2 in which event: 10 meter air rifle shooting 54) Name the indigenous stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette that was recently inducted in Indian Navy: INS Kadmatt 55) _________________became the fastest film to take one billion dollars at the global box office: Star Wars the Force Awakens 56) Name the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister who breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 57) Govt has decided to implement norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 for what purpose: To minimize the air pollution from vehicles 58) The counter-insurgency joint exercise ‘Shakti-2016’ was held at which place: Rajasthan Desert 59) Shakti 2016 - joint military exercise was held by which two countries: India and France 60) Name the Indian badminton player who was declared number one in junior men's singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings: Siril Verma 61) Which country was in news for conducting a powerful Hydrogen bomb test in a defiant and surprising move as there is a UN ban on testing and development of nuclear weapons: North Korea 62) Which global company has launched its service in India allowing viewers to access unlimited TV and cinema content online: Netflix 63) For the first time, a military contingent of a foreign country will take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26. Name this country: France 64) India’s first World Music Festival will be held in February 2016 in which city: Udaipur, Rajasthan 65) The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to set up a modern Indian Waterways Hub at________, West Bengal: Haldia 66) Union Health Ministry has decided to use the expertise of Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) in which field: To improve the quality and coverage of vaccination in India 67) Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, was in news for what reasons: He has been reappointed for a second three-year term 68) As per the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015, _____________ has been ranked as the most generous Indian of the year: Azim Premji 69) Govt has decided to close down three loss-making subsidiaries of HMT Ltd. What is the full form of HMT: Hindustan Machines Tools 70) Golden Globe Awards are given in which country: USA 71) Golden Globe Awards are given for excellence in which field: Cinema 72) The Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Drama) was won by which movie: The Revenant 73) With which country India has signed an agreement for enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other's country: Australia
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 77 74) International Kite Festival was held at which city in India: Ahmadabad, Gujarat 75) Chennai Open Tennis cup was lifted by which tennis star: Stanislaus Wawrinka 76) India will host a joint military exercise with 18 members countries of East Asian Summit in March, 2016 at which place: Pune, Maharashtra 77) Eight Indian states have agreed to implement direct benefit of transfer of subsidy in _________in 26 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2016: Kerosene 78) _____________has become the first state in the country to officially accept electronic motor insurance policies by the name ‘e-Vahan Bima’: Telangana 79) Justice (Retd) R M Lodha committee was appointed by the Supreme Court for what purpose : To look into the affairs of BCCI 80) Name the amputee Indian mountaineer who conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside Asia: Arunima Sinha 81) The novel 'A God in Ruins' which won the novel of the year prize in Britain is written by whom: Kate Atkinson 82) ______________won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by beating Railways in New Delhi: ONGC 83) From which place in India, a bus service for Nepal was started after a gap of 27 years: Banbasa border in Uttarakhand 84) Stand Up India Scheme has been approved by the Union Cabinet for what purpose: To promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women entrepreneurs by facilitating easy bank finance for them 85) Which country declined to take part in forthcoming Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh citing security reasons: Australia 86) National Waterway-1 has been developed on which river: Ganga 87) In which state an initiative ‘Wattan ko Jano’ has been launched to familiarize the local youth with the development of the country in other states: Jammu & Kashmir 88) Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor was named ‘Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015’ by the prestigious magazine The Banker in which country: Britain 89) Name the senior IAS officer who has been appointed as the new Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India: Sailesh 90) _________________appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI): Devender Kumar Sikri 91) 'Operation Green Hunt' refers to an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces against which group: Naxalites 92) Govt has decided to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with which bigger ministry: Ministry of External Affairs 93) Name the traditional bull-taming sports of Tamil Nadu that was recently allowed by Central govt. but stayed by the Supreme Court: Jallikattu 94) The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January 2016 in which city: New Delhi 95) Govt has decided to change the frequency of hosting the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas to what interval: Once in two years 96) The 11th World Hindi Day was celebrated on __________ January 2016 in all Indian embassies around the world to promote the usage of Hindi as official language: 10 97) The world's largest blue star sapphire that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered recently in which country: Sri Lanka 98) Govt has launched Ganga Gram Yojana for what purpose involving 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga: To minimize / stop pollution of the river from these villages 99) 'Maru Bharat Saru Bharat' is a book written by a noted Saint of which religion: Jainism 100) RBI imposed a one crore penalty on a bank for non reporting of data to CRILC. Write the full form of CRILC: Central Repository of Information on Large Credits 101) 2015 Brisbane International Tennis Tournament was hosted by which city: Brisbane, Australia 102) Men's singles title at 2015 Brisbane International Tennis Tournament was won by which player: Milos Raonic 103) Tennis star Milos Raonic is from which country: Canada 104) Name the star football player who won the World Player of the Year Award - FIFA Ballon d'Or for the fifth time: Lionel Messi 105) Name the US mid fielder who won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd 106) A five day national youth festival was hosted by which city: Naya Raipur 107) Naya Raipur is the capital city of which state: Chhattisgarh 108) Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is celebrated in India as which day: National Youth Day 109) What was the theme of this year's National Youth Festival: India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony 110) In Himachal Pradesh, the ______folk dance of Kullu district has made a world record for the folk dance by largest number: Nati 111) The Ardh Kumbh mela formally started on January 12 at which place: Haridwar 112) Which global financial body has agreed to provide a
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 78 $625 million loan for the Visakhapatnam - Chennai Industrial Corridor: Asian Development Bank 113) Name the new crop insurance scheme for farmers under which the premium will be paid by Central and state govt: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 114) As per the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Farmers have to pay a token premium of ____ per cent for Kharif, ____per cent for Rabi and _____ per cent for commercial crops: 2, 1.5, 5 115) Lt Gen. J F R JACOB (retd), war hero of 1971 Bangladesh war, passed away in New Delhi. For which two states he held the charge of the Governor: Goa and Punjab 116) ___________ has become the first Indian state to achieve 100 percent primary education (up to class iv): Kerala 117) ____________ has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation: Sikkim 118) __________________has become the first public sector bank to launch wealth management service ‘SBI Exclusif’: State Bank of India 119) Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their 30th win in a row, creating a new world record. Which was their 30th title: WTA Apia International women’s doubles title 120) As per a recent report, India sends the largest number of engineers and scientists to which country: USA 121) As per a UN study, people from which country are the largest community living outside their country: India (16 million) 122) Tsai Ing-Wen has been elected as the new President of which country: Taiwan 123) The coveted The Hindu Prize, 2015 for best novel has been won by Easterine Kire for which novel: When the River Sleeps 124) Noted novelist Anuradha Roy won which prize for her novel 'Sleeping on Jupiter': DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 125) Flood of Fire is a book written by which author: Amitav Ghosh 126) Name the famous footballer from Britain who won the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award recently: David Beckham 127) Naval exercise named 'Sahyog-Kaijin 2016' was held jointly by which two countries: India and Japan 128) Naval exercise named 'Sahyog-Kaijin 2016' was held in which area: Bay of Bengal 129) Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay a noted film and TV actor died recently. Which was his most popular film: Lagaan (Guran) 130) World Bank has agreed to provide Rs 1071 crore funding for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project for what purpose: For augmentation of various irrigation projects across the country 131) The 2015 Filmfare Award for best actor was won by which artist: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani 132) Which film won the 2015 Filmfare award for the best film: Bajirao Mastani 133) Name the newly launched mobile based programme which aims to deliver 72 free weekly audio messages about pregnancy and child care to the beneficiary: Kilkari 134) Union Ministry of Health has launched mobile based programme M-Cessation to help which target group: Persons willing to quit tobacco use, through SMS support 135) Name the anti-tank missile recently successfully test fired by the DRDO: Nag 136) Why Army Day is observed on January 15: On this day in 1949, Lt. Gen. (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander- in-Chief of the Indian Army 137) Name the rocket developed by the SpaceX company of USA which is capable of landing back on earth: Falcon 9 138) Govt has launched which programme to promote and encourage development of start-ups: Start-up Action Plan 139) RBI has contributed Rs. 1000 crores for the equity of which of its organization: National Housing Bank 140) Which is the first private sector bank to achieve the milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore in housing loan: ICICI 141) GDP growth rate of which major country slipped to 6.9% in 2015, its lowest in last 25 years: China 142) World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at _____________ from January 20 to 23: Davos, Switzerland 143) What is the name of India's most famous and biggest literature festival held every year in Rajasthan: The Jaipur Literature Festival 144) Name the India's representative on the Board of Directors of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): Dinesh Sharma 145) V. Rama Rao, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who passed away recently was the former Governor of which state: Sikkim 146) Which team won the India's first Premier Badminton League: Delhi Acers 147) Union Ministry of Finance released the draft report of Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committee for what purpose: To simplify the provisions of Income- tax Act, 1961 148) Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth World Snooker Masters title. He is from which country: Britain
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 79 149) In a global first, the World Bank has agreed to provide $ 20 million assistance to reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park. Where is it located: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 150) ISRO successfully launched the IRNSS 1 - E, fifth satellite of the total seven satellites in the system. What is IRNSS: Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System 151) What is the main function of IRNSS: To provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent 152) The Union Ministry of Shipping has started Project Green Ports for what purpose: To make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener 153) What is the rank of India in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index: 89th 154) The World Tourism Barometer report is released by which international organization: UN World Tourism Organization 155) Government has decided to institute which new award category under the National Film Awards: The Most Film Friendly State/UT 156) Name the Indian who won the New Zealand's most popular motor race the Lady Wigram Trophy: Jehan Daruvala 157) Which major European country recently declared a state of economic and social emergency: France 158) As per the annual global CEO survey done by PwC which country tops in terms of overall growth prospects: USA 159) As per the annual global CEO survey done by PwC for growth prospects in countries, India has been placed at which rank: 5th 160) As per recent data release by NASA, year _______ has been declared as the warmest year since 1880: 2015 161) In context of rising global warming, experts say the record temperatures are due to a combination of ______ and_______: El Niño, human-induced warming 162) RBI has asked banks not to issue notes of ___________ rupee denomination which are without the security thread: 1,000 163) Which is the last African country that has been declared free from Ebola virus by WHO: Liberia 164) A class of frogs that grows in tree holes has been discovered in which part of India: The north-east region 165) RBI has advised that the government will pay ______ commission to banks for attracting more gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme: 2.5% 166) What is the name of the new luxury super fast express train started between Varanasi to Delhi: 'Mahamana Express' 167) Government has decided to extend the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to 61 more districts this year. On what basis these districts have been selected: Districts with poor sex ratio (of girl child) 168) The dreaded Zika virus is spread by which animal: Aedes mosquito 169) Countries in which part of the globe have recently suffered wide spread attack of Zika virus: Latin America 170) The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to which category of self help groups: Women Self-Help Group (SHG) 171) Name the public sector undertaking responsible for minting the India gold coins: Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India - MMTC 172) What is the recent relaxation given by RBI for wider sale of India gold coins: Banks have been allowed to sell these coins 173) Name the UN agency which says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India nearly doubled to $ 59 billion in 2015: UNCTAD 174) What is the full form of UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 175) Name the veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan and Padma Sri recipient who passed away in Ahmedabad: Mrinalini Sarabhai 176) ________ has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): Atulesh Jindal 177) Name the two major components of Direct Taxes: Corporate Tax and Income Tax 178) The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time - an autobiography of which noted personality of Indian media: Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee TV group 179) India has supplied three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to the Air Force of which country recently: Afghanistan 180) A Nuclear Security Index compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative of USA for 176 countries ranks India at which place: 21st 181) In a recent global survey, which Indian hotel has been adjudged as the best hotel in the world: Umaid Bhawan, Jodhpur, Rajasthan 182) A new Thrush bird found in northeast India has been named 'Zoothera Salimalii' scientifically after which great Indian ornithologist: Salim Ali 183) World Bank will provide $ 250 million loan to which Indian State for the Kosi Basin Development Project: Bihar 184) Pavel Filip has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Moldova. Where is Moldova: Located between Ukraine and Romania 185) Which global report has said that India will be the world's fastest growing large economy at 7.3 per cent in 2016: United Nations World Economy Report
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 80 186) ___________ has become the first ever railway station in India to have free high-speed Internet facility: Mumbai Central 187) Indian Railway’s telecom arm, RailTel is collaborating with which IT giant company to provide free wifi services in railway stations: Google 188) RBI plans to introduce new banknotes of which denominations with enhanced security features: Rs. 100 & Rs. 500 189) Which city hosted the National Conference on e- Governance: Nagpur, Maharashtra 190) As per a recent 'Best Country Report', _________ has been ranked as no. 1 country: Germany 191) As per a recent 'Best Country Report', India has ranked at which place: 22nd 192) France has signed MoU with India for the development of which three Indian cities as Smart City: Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry 193) Headquarters of global body International Solar Alliance are to be located at which place in India: Gurgaon, Haryana 194) International Solar Alliance is a group of 121 countries for what purpose: For increasing utilisation and promotion of solar energy 195) What is the criterion to include 121 countries in the International Solar Alliance: They are located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn 196) National Voters Day is observed on which date: January 25 197) Why National Voters Day is observed on January 25: This is the foundation day of Election Commission (1950) 198) What is the theme for this year's national voter day: ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation' 199) Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been elected as the new President of which European country: Portugal 200) Name the Indian Badminton player who won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title: P V Sindhu 201) India won the first T20 Asia Cup Cricket for Blind by beating which country: Pakistan 202) The first T20 Asia Cup Cricket for Blind was held at which place: Kochi, Kerala 203) Name the major country which suffered a monster blizzard on January 24 affecting adversely over 85 million people: USA, East Coast 204) Who has been re-elected as the president of world's largest political party - BJP: Amit Shah 205) Name the indigenously designed and built advanced light helicopter that made its debut at the Republic Day parade: Rudra 206) In which state capital India's largest national flag was hoisted on the tallest pole: Ranchi, Jharkhand 207) Which Indian city hosted the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals: Indore, Madhya Pradesh 208) A four day cultural festival 'Bharat Parv' was held at which place: Delhi 209) __________ hosted the 61st National School Athletic Meet: Kozhikode, Kerala 210) Name the brave heart decorated with the Nation's highest peacetime gallantry award- Ashok Chakra: Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami 211) Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami was decorated with Ashok Chakra for which act of gallantry: Eliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days before laying down his life in the line of duty in Sep 2015 in Kupwara sector of Jammu & Kashmir 212) India’s Foreign Policy is a book written by Muchkund Dubey. Who is he: India's former Foreign Secretary 213) Which State has recently been put under President's rule: Arunachal Pradesh 214) Why President's rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh: There was a “constitutional breakdown” in the state as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state Assembly 215) Vijay Merchant (U-16) Trophy was won by ______________ by beating Mumbai: Punjab 216) Name the highest civilian honour of Australia that has been conferred on three Indians in January 2016: The Order of Australia 217) Name the scheme launched for online booking of LPG cylinders: Sahaj Scheme 218) Name the West Indies batsman who announced his retirement from international cricket: Shivnarine Chanderpaul 219) India has overtaken ____________ as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015: Thailand 220) In the Corruption Perceptions Index–2015 by the Transparency International, what is the rank of India: 76th 221) __________ has been declared as the least corrupt country in the world by the Transparency International: Denmark 222) Aparna Kumar has successfully climbed the Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctic sub-continent. Who is she: An IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre 223) With which country India signed an amended Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) to share information on banking and financial transactions: Armenia 224) As per latest data of car sales, which company is the No. 1 in world selling 10.15 million vehicles in 2015: Toyota 225) PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award is given in which country: USA
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 81 226) The Harry Potter author J K Rowling won the PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award for which novel: None, it is for her support for free expression and charitable causes 227) ________________has become the country’s first blind friendly Braille-embedded train: Mysuru-Varanasi Express 228) IHF has declared ___________ as the player of the year (Male) for 2015: Robert Van der Horst, The Netherlands 229) IHF has declared ___________ as the player of the year (Female) for 2015: Lidewij Welten, The Netherlands 230) Name the Bollywood celebrity who won the Yash Chopra Memorial Award in January 2016: Rekha 231) Marvin Minsky, noted mathematician and the computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence who passed away recently was from which country: USA 232) In which part of India the highly endangered species Snow Leopard has been captured for the first time on camera: Northern Sikkim 233) Govt has made E-tendering compulsory for all govt purchases exceeding Rs. ____________: 2 lacs 234) The government has approved the hybrid annuity model as one of the modes for implementing which type of projects: Highway development projects 235) The World Meteorological Organisation has nominated_________ as the Regional Climate Centre to provide information to other South Asian countries: India 236) Which state has decided to give 35 per cent reservation for women in all kind of state government job: Bihar 237) Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres has been opened in Futian in which country: China 238) Veteran tennis star ___________ became the first Russian player to enter the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame, USA: Marat Safin 239) Why World Braille Day is observed on January 4: It is the B'day of Louis Braille, inventor of Braille language for blinds 240) The child sex ratio in India at present is at lowest level since 1961. What is its value: 918 per 1000 male babies 241) RBI has granted operational freedom to banks to offer all their products and services through which new channel: ATM 242) The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into which new outfit: MUDRA Bank 243) Name the Nobel Peace Prize winner author of the book 'Azad Bachpan Ki Aur': Kailash Satyarthi 244) India’s share in IMF has increased to 2.75% from 2.44%, making it the ___________largest shareholder in the Fund: Eighth 245) Name the book recently released by the Indian President narrating his memoires: The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 DECEMBER – 2015 246) The international solar alliance was recently launched by Prime Minister Modi at which place: Paris 247) The international solar alliance aims at achieving the objective of keeping global warming below _____ degree Celsius between now and 2100: 2 248) At the Paris climate summit, India has committed to generate _____ giga watt solar power by 2022: 100 249) Developed nations are expected to keep their pledge to provide $______ billion a year by 2020 to support climate control by the developing nations: 100 250) Eldar Ryazanov, legendary film Director who died recently, was from which country: Russia 251) Eldar Ryazanov was famous for which kind of films: Comedies 252) Name the Indian player who has won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament for the third consecutive time: P V Sindhu 253) Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament was hosted by which country: Japan 254) Davis Cup 2015 was won by ________ after a gap of 79 years: Great Britain 255) _______ was the ace tennis star credited with victory of Britain in Davis Cup: Andy Murray 256) Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a book written by ___________: Jeff Kinney 257) Who is the author of the book Rogue Lawyer: John Grisham 258) ___________ won the world heavy weight boxing championship by beating Wladimir Klitschko: Tyson Fury 259) Which international bank recently announced shutting down of its private banking business in India: HSBC (Hong Kong, Shanghai Banking Corporation) 260) Bharat Stage (BS) V and VI norms have been prescribed for what purpose: Emission standards for four-wheelers 261) Government has decided to enforce Bharat Stage (BS) V norms by which date: April 1, 2019 262) Government has decided to enforce Bharat Stage (BS) VI norms by which date: April 1, 2021 263) India successfully test-fired the indigenously built nuclear-capable _______ missile, capable of hitting a target at a distance of 700 km: Agni-I 264) Barak 8 is the name of which defence equipment: Advanced surface-to-air supersonic missile 265) India has developed the Barak 8 missile in
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 82 collaboration with which country: Israel 266) Union govt. proposes to launch a $1-billion equity fund to support companies in which sector: Renewable Energy 267) RBI has approved which organization to function as the Central Unit for Bharat Bill Payment System: National Payments Corporation of India 268) _____________won the 2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg 269) The govt. has launched IPV for what purpose: For immunity against polio 270) What is the full form of IPV: Inactivated Polio Vaccine 271) The Golden Peacock award for best feature film is associated with which international film festival: International Film Festival of India 272) The Golden Peacock for 2015 was won by which film: Embrace of the Serpent 273) Who is the director of the award winning film Embrace of the Serpent: Ciro Guerra 274) The Golden Peacock award carries a cash prize of Rs. ____________ lac: 40 275) By achieving a growth rate of 7.4% in July – Sept quarter, India overtook which major economy to become fastest growing economy: China 276) At the Paris climate meet, India has committed to reduce its emissions intensity by _____ percent of its GDP by 2030: 33 277) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to include which new currency in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket effective from October 1, 2016: Chinese currency, the Yuan 278) Apart from Yuan, how many currencies are there in the special drawing rights basket of IMF: Four 279) Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape is a new initiative launched by which organization to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries: UNO 280) The first media summit of BRICS nations was held at which place: Beijing 281) Which Indian telecom major plans to invest Rs.60,000 crore over the next three-years in ‘Project Leap’ to upgrade its networks: Bharti Airtel 282) Which organisation has commissioned interceptor boat ‘ICGS C-422’ to further enhance its vigil along Pondicherry and South Tamil Nadu coast: Indian Coast Guard 283) 20 countries, including India, launched Mission Innovation in Paris for what purpose: For accelerating clean energy revolution across the world 284) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, which policy rate was increased: None 285) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, which policy rate was decreased : None 286) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, it retained its projection of GDP growth rate at ______ per cent for the current fiscal: 7.4 287) With which country the government is considering a 'medicines for oil' barter system: Venezuela 288) Why the govt. is considering a ‘medicines for oil’ barter system with Venezuela: Because Indian pharma exporters are facing problems to repatriate their sales proceeds 289) What is the name of the five-day festival of classical dances of India held in December every year: The Konark Festival 290) Which state hosts the Konark Festival: Odisha 291) Name the famous temple associated with the Konark Festival: Sun temple 292) Which Indian state hosted the International Sand Art Festival 2015: Odisha 293) Robert Lewandowski, who earned recently three Guinness World Record for fastest three, four and five goals is associated with which sports: Football 294) The World AIDS Day observed on which date: December 1 295) What is the international theme for this years World AIDS Day: Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030 296) Ustaad Sabri Khan, a veteran musician died recently. He was master of which instrument: Sarangi 297) Ustaad Sabri Khan was decorated with which two national honours: Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan 298) Roch Marc Christian Kabore has been elected as the President of which West African country: Burkina Faso 299) This Unquiet Land is a book written by Barkha Dutt. She is a famous name in which field: TV Journalism 300) Thakur Anoop Singh who recently won a world title, is associated with which sports discipline: Body building 301) The World Bodybuilding and Physique Championship was held in which city: Bangkok, Thailand 302) Name the global IT giant who pledged to give away 99 per cent of his company shares in charity: Mark Zuckerberg 303) Govt has decided to setup 11 higher education institutes, 6 in technology sector and 5 in management sector. Name these institutes: 6
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 83 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and 5 Indian Institute of Management (IIM) 304) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched GIAN scheme recently. What is full form of GIAN: Global Initiative of Academic Networks 305) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched GIAN scheme for what purpose: To boost the quality of higher education in India through international collaboration 306) Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a Nobel laureate in which field: Chemistry 307) Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed the presidency of which prestigious global science body: Royal Society, London 308) BRICS nations are known for their good growth rate. However, recently one of them slipped into recession. Name this country: Brazil 309) According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015, forests and trees cover _________ % of the total geographical area: 24.16 310) The Lok Sabha passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as which new organization: National Standards Body of India 311) Google’s YouTube has collaborated with which production house in India to open its first video production studio called YouTube Spaces in the country: Whistling Woods International 312) What is the name of the China’s first domestically developed electricity-powered aircraft: RX 1E 313) The recently released ICT (information, communication and technology) Development Index ranks which country at the top: South Korea 314) As per the ICT Development Index 2015, India ranks a lowly __________ in the list of 167 countries: 131st 315) MAM Ramaswamy, Industrialist, founder of Chettinad Group, former parliamentarian passed away recently. He was from which State: Tamil Nadu 316) Which Indian bank bagged the prestigious 'Bank of the Year' award conferred by Britain’s 'The Banker' magazine: Yes Bank 317) Hornbill Festival is the popular cultural festival of which state: Nagaland 318) _________________has become the first state of India to launch Rotavirus vaccination: Himachal Pradesh 319) What is the purpose of Rotavirus Vaccination: Controlling the child mortality rate (under five years of age) due to diarrhea 320) The Atlas V rocket belongs to which country: USA 321) USA utilized services of the Atlas V rocket recently for what purpose: To carry supplies to the International Space Station 322) As per recent data, India attracted maximum FDI during April to September period from which country: Singapore 323) A survey in 33 countries for ‘Index of Ignorance’ has placed __________ as the country having highest percentage of ignorant population: Mexico 324) As per the index of ignorance, India is ranked at number ___________ in the survey of 33 countries: Two 325) RBI has hiked Priority Sector Lending norms for Regional Rural Banks from 60 per cent at present to _______ per cent of their total lending with effect from 1 January 2016: 75 326) As on March 2015, there were _____RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches: 56 327) From which country India received its first uranium consignment of about 2730 tonnes, after a gap of over four decades: Canada 328) Govt released two commemorative coins of Rs.125 and Rs.10 as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of which great Indian political figure: Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar 329) The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise between the Indian and _____________ navy was conducted recently: Russian 330) The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise was conducted in which area: Off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal 331) The first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train was flagged off from which city: Panjim, Goa 332) Which state launched International festival on Birds in National Chambal Sanctuary: Uttar Pradesh 333) The Hockey World League Cup was lifted by which country: Australia 334) Finals of the Hockey World League Cup were held in which Indian city: Raipur, Madhya Pradesh 335) In which international event Indian shuttler K Srikanth lost the title with very narrow margin: Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament 336) International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has announced that India’s investment rating would remain _________, the lowest investment grade: BBB 337) What do we call a bond the funds are 'ear- marked' for use towards financing ‘green’ projects only: Green Bond 338) In which city China has issued its first red alert on
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 84 pollution, the highest level in the system, ordering schools to close for four days due to hazardous air quality: Beijing 339) In which country the Storm Desmond wreaked havoc, flooding vast areas: Northern England 340) Name the who new teams that have become the new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a period of two years: Pune and Rajkot 341) Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the Fast Patrol Vessel ‘ICGS Atulya’ for induction in which wing of Indian defence forces: Indian Coast Guard 342) Govt. has launched Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment Talent Utilisation (SETU) schemes for what purpose: For Entrepreneurship development 343) Which Indian State has recorded highest per capita income of Rs. 240,849 during 2014-15: Delhi 344) Which state legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House: Maharashtra 345) The Supreme Court has directed all the State and UT Governments to consider ________victims under the disabled quota to enable them to get reservations in government jobs as well as education benefits: Acid-attack 346) Chen Long of _____ and Carolina Marin of _______were declared Male and Female Player of the Year, respectively, by the Badminton World Federation (BWF): China, Spain 347) The ______________________has become the first oil company from India to join the global initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd 348) Name the iconic leader who has been named as the "Person of the Year" by the Times Magazine: Angela Markel 349) Name the Chinese city that posted the second World Internet Conference: Wuzhen 350) Name the global pop singer from USA who is on top of Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid musicians of 2015: Katy Perry 351) India has signed agreement with which international airport to take up operations and management of the Ahmadabad and Jaipur airports: Changi, Singapore 352) For which two items, the government has approved mandatory use of jute packaging material: Foodgrains and sugar 353) World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2016 report has been brought out by which international body: UNO 354) Name the Japanese Prime Minister who arrived in New Delhi on Dec 11 for a three day visit to India: Shinzo Abe 355) The Japanese Prime Minister attended the Ganga Aarti at which ghat in Varanasi: Dasaswamedh Ghat 356) Which country has approved the use of the first- ever vaccine against dengue fever – Dengvaxia: Mexico 357) Name the politician whose autobiography’s title is “On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power”: Sharad Pawar 358) Mailer Prize for Literature is given in which country: USA 359) Name the India born author who has been selected for this year’s Mailer Prize for Literature: Salman Rushdie 360) Ballistic missile Shaheen-III belong to which country: Pakistan 361) South East Asia Writer Award is given annually to poets and writers from which group of countries: ASEAN – Association of South East Asian Nations 362) Which Indian celebrity has been ranked as the country’s top-earning celebrity with estimated earnings of Rs. 257.5 crore this year: Shah Rukh Khan 363) The 59th National Shooting Championships were held in which city: New Delhi 364) The first proposed bullet train in India will connect Mumbai with which other city: Ahmadabad 365) Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Dec 12 at COP 21 meet by UNFCCC. What is full form of COP and UNFCCC: Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 366) The "Paris agreement" aims to keep global temperatures from rising by _______ degree Celsius between now and 2100: Two 367) Name the four Asian countries that have joined hands to construct 1800 kms long TAPI gas pipelines: Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India 368) What is the ratio of sharing between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in gas carried by TAPI gas pipeline: 42% each by Pakistan and India and 16% by Afghanistan 369) As per the Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, India ranked a lowly _____ in the list of 188 nations: 130th 370) What are the three basic parameters on which the countries are ranked in the human development index: A long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living 371) 34 Islamic nations have agreed to form a new “Islamic military alliance” led by _________to fight
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 85 terrorism: Saudi Arabia 372) Thousands of people suffered under the impact of severe typhoon Nona (Melor) in which country: Philippines 373) In which middle east county, women were allowed to cast votes and run for office in the local elections for the first time in the country's history: Saudi Arabia 374) Vijay Kumar, Chain Singh, Apurvi Chandela recently won gold medal in the National Championship of which event: Shooting 375) Sharad Joshi, a former Rajya Sabha member and founder of Shetakari Sangthana was associated with which field: Crusader for farmers’ rights 376) Which Indian city will host the 12th South Asian Games in February 2016: Guwahati and Shilong 377) Which animal has been selected as the mascot of the 12th South Asian Games: A rhinoceros calf 378) What is the name of the mascot of the 12th South Asian Games: Tikhor 379) Name the West African country that has decided to become an Islamic republic because Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens: Gambia 380) Which is the first major bank in India to issue EMV chip and pin based debit cards to its new customers: State Bank of India 381) Abbreviation of EMV stands for what: Euro- Maestro-Visa 382) The Federal Reserve of USA was in news recently for what reasons: It hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 on Dec 16, for the first time since 2006 383) As per the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) for 17 countries, which is the most polluted city in the world: Delhi 384) The Supreme Court has ruled that the RBI and commercial banks cannot hide routine information on which issue: Names of top defaulters, the losses suffered by banks 385) The PSLV-C29 rocket recently placed in space six satellites of which country: Singapore 386) The World Bank has approved a USD 1.5 billion loan for supporting which major Indian campaign: Clean India Campaign 387) The government has made it mandatory to quote PAN for all transactions in excess of Rs.___ lakh to curb black money: Two 388) What type of ship is INS Vikramaditya: Aircraft Carrier 389) Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): Arun Kumar Jain 390) Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival is celebrated in which area: Ladakh, J & K 391) What is the significance of Losar festival: It is the beginning of New Year for Buddhists 392) For the first time, two Indian cities, ____________, have been selected in the Creative City Network of the UNESCO: Varanasi and Jaipur 393) Which Indian city has been selected as the city of Music by UNESCO: Varanasi 394) Which Indian city has been selected as the city of Crafts and Folk Art by UNESCO: Jaipur
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 86 395) _____________has become the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the World Elite Women Ranking: Deborah Herold 396) Union Government has requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start _________from 1 to 31 January 2016 to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children: Operation Smile-II 397) In which country public chose a new flag design featuring silver fern and red stars on a black and blue background: New Zealand 398) India has ranked a low _____out of 144 nations on Forbes' annual list of the best countries for doing business in 2015: 97th 399) The RBI has decided to lower the banks’ investment in government securities, also known as statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), to _____by January 2017: 20.5% 400) As per RBI decision, first cut of 25 basis points shall be made in SLR on which date: April 2, 2016 401) The UN Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to cut off revenue flows including ransom payments to which category of organizations: ISIS and other terrorists group 402) RBI has asked banks to follow a new and uniform methodology for calculation of which rate: Base Rate 403) Banks will have to follow new system of base rate calculation from which date: April 1, 2016 404) What is the formal name of the new proposed base rate for the banks: Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) 405) Banks will have to publish their MCLR in how many maturities: Five 406) What are the five prescribed maturities for which banks have to publish their MCLR: Overnight rates, one month, three months, six months and one year 407) Banks are required to publish their MCLR at what interval of time: Monthly 408) Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated 35,950 cannon balls at the historic Fort St Angelo in Kannur. It is in which State: Kerala 409) Country's biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre has been established in which state: Maharashtra (Gorewada) 410) The 22nd National Cricket Tournament for the visually impaired was held in which place: New Delhi 411) The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account is a book written about which noted freedom fighter: Subash Chandra Bose 412) Govt has approved the purchase of _______air defence missile systems from Russia: S-400 Triumf 413) The 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference was held in which city: Nairobi, Kenya 414) Who represented India in the 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference: Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Commerce and Industry Minister 415) Who is the present Director General of WTO: Roberto Azevedo 416) There are how many member countries in the WTO: 163 417) India lowered its GDP growth projection for the current year to between ______ % against the earlier forecast of 8.1 - 8.5%: 7 - 7.5 418) Name the former union defence secretary who has been appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC): R K Mathur 419) Name the Greek Defence Minister who arrived in India on a three day visit in December: Panos Kammenos 420) World Bank has said that ______ is the largest recipient of inward remittances receiving over 72 billion US dollars in 2014: India 421) Which country has lifted a 40-year ban on its oil exports: USA 422) Dan Carterhas been named 2015 Sports Personality of the Year. He is from which field: Rugby 423) Which city hosted the 68th National Track Cycling Championship: Ludhiana, Punjab 424) The iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace completed 100 years on Dec 16. It is in which city: Mumbai 425) Which Indian statesman received Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’ from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business: Shri Pranab Mukherjee 426) 2nd World Internet Conference was held at Wuzen in which country: China 427) Which Indian company has become the first shipyard in India to get the nod to build LNG transporting ships: Coaching Shipyard 428) What is the full form of LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas 429) 2nd Indian Super League Football tournament was won by which team: Chennaiyin FC 430) Name the team that lifted the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup: Barcelona 431) Finals of the FIFA Club World Cup were played in which city of Japan: Yokohama 432) Name the Indian boy who has become world no. 1 won Junior Squash player: Abhay Singh 433) Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines has won which international beauty crown for 2015: Miss Universe 434) Mireia Lalaguna, the winner of Miss World 2015 title is from which country: Spain
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 87 435) Which city in India hosted the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship: Surat, Gujarat 436) Which country won 16 medals in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship to emerge as No. 1: India 437) Name the ex-President of FIFA, who was banned by Ethics Committee of FIFA for alleged financial irregularities: Sepp Blatter 438) Axis Bank has partnered with e-Mudhra to introduce an online electronic signature service. What its name: eSign 439) Which state Government has approved formation of five new districts, bringing the total districts to 25: West Bengal 440) Which UN organization has launched International Year of Pulses on 10 November: FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization) 441) What is the theme of the international year of pulses: Nutritious seeds for a sustainable future 442) Name the New Zealand cricketer who announced on Dec 22 his retirement from all forms of international cricket: Brendon McCullum 443) Who has won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015: Andy Murray 444) Which organization has named midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and striker Bala Devi as the Player-of-the-Year and woman Footballer-of-the- Year, respectively: All India Football Federation 445) Govt has decided to rename the posts of UDC (Upper Division Clerk) as what: Senior Secretariat Assistant 446) Govt has decided to rename the posts of LDC (Lower Division Clerk) as what: Junior Secretariat Assistant 447) Government has now made it mandatory for the auditors to report any suspected corporate fraud amounting to Rs ______or more to the Corporate Affairs Ministry: One Crore 448) The Reserve Bank has asked banks to make changes in ATM switches To help customers register for which service: Mobile Banking Services 449) What is the name of the mobile app launched for farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device: Agri Market Mobile 450) North India’s first cable-stayed bridge was inaugurated at ___________in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir: Basohali, on river Ravi 451) Indian-American tumour scientist Prof. Rakesh Jain has been selected for which top US science award: National Science Medal 452) Reserve Bank has extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by another six months to _________: June 30, 2016 453) Name the Australian Batsman who has been named as “Cricketer of the Year 2015” and “Test Cricket of the Year” by the ICC: Steve Smith 454) ____________ has been selected as the “ODI Cricketer of the year 2015” by the ICC: AB de Villiers 455) The International Tennis Federation has named ________ and ________ as the Women’s Doubles World Champions: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 456) Name the Indian players who won the doubles title in the Mexico Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament in Mexico City: Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 457) Which port city in southwestern Saudi Arabia was in news as a fire in its general hospital killed 25 people and injured 107: Jazan 458) Which state government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from its capital's roads in a bid to control air pollution: Bihar 459) Name the country's first indigenously designed and built warship that was decommissioned at Mumbai on Dec 24 after 32 years of service: INS Godavari 460) What is the highlight of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: Age of Juvenile for trial purposes has been lowered from 18 years to 16. 461) Which bank has tied up with railway’s e-ticketing platform IRCTC to sell rail tickets through its website: ICICI Bank 462) Gautam H Bambawale has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to which country: Pakistan 463) The ____________became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia: Philippines 464) Which state launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students: Odisha 465) China launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite for what purpose: To study the mysterious dark matter 466) Name the global financial institution started recently with base in Beijing: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 467) What is the share of India in the capital of AIIB: 8.52% 468) AIIB has been started within authorized capital of $_________ billion and subscribed capital of $ ___________ billion: 100, 50 469) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has been promoted by 56 countries led by which country: China
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 88 470) Russia has agreed to manufacture which helicopter in India: Kamov 226 471) PM Modi inaugurated which building complex in Afghanistan: Parliament 472) Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award is given in which field: Cricket 473) Who has been honoured with the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015: Syed Kirmani 474) Syed Kirmani excelled in which aspect of Cricket: Wicket Keeping 475) Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rolled out its latest mobile application named ________for providing e-learning material for students and teachers: E-CBSE 476) Name the weather phenomenon in South Atlantic Ocean which caused very heavy downpour in countries like Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil: El Nino 477) National Veda Convention and Vedic Conference was held in which city: Kozhikode, Kerala 478) Name the team that won the India's first pro wrestling league championship: Mumbai Garuda 479) Deepak Lather and Vikas Thakur created new national records recently in which field: Weight Lifting 480) Senior National Weightlifting Championships were held at which city of India: Patiala 481) S Chikkarangappa won the player of the year title for which sports: Golf 482) Name the Indian sports person who won silver medal at the 18th Asian Luge Championship: Shiva Keshavan 483) Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, veteran psychiatrist who gave psychiatry its first set of rigorous measuring standards was in news for what reasons: He passed away 484) Which company has launched ‘MoboMoney’, India’s first ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment solution: Tech Mahindra 485) Kilkari, Mobile Academy and M-Cessation are the names of Mobile Apps linked with which field: Health Care 486) Govt. proposes to launch on January 16, 2016 the project "Startup India, Standup India" for what purpose: To promote culture of "Startup Ventures" in India NOVEMBER – 2015 487) Chilka Lake of India is famous for receiving thousands of migratory birds from Siberia region. It is located in which state: Odisha 488) In terms of brand value of nations, India ranks ______ in world: 7th 489) In terms of brand value of nations, which country enjoys the top rank: U.S.A 490) Women’s doubles title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals was won by which couple: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 491) The Rugby World Cup was hosted by which city: London 492) Name the country which won the Rugby World Cup: New Zealand 493) Brijmohan Lall Munjal, a famous industrialist passed away recently. He was founder of which company: Hero Motocorp Ltd 494) _______Veteran diplomat, an IFS officer of 1980 batch, has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom: Navtej Singh Sarna 495) India-Myanmar Relations is a book written by which author: Rajiv Bhatia 496) Name the gold scheme that was opened for public subscription from November 5-30: Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme 497) John Pombe Magufuli has been elected as the new President of which country: Tanzania 498) Lunar rover, Yutu, set a record for the longest stay on the Moon by completing almost two years stay. It is from which country: China 499) Name the Indian who has been honoured by the New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award: Bindeshwar Pathak 500) Social activist Bindeshwar Pathak is famous for which contribution: Establishment of Sulabh Shochalayas 501) With Cotton production of around 400 lakh bales, which country is likely to become largest cotton producer in the world in 2015-16: India 502) Which Global rating agency has upgraded its outlook for India's banking system to 'stable' from 'negative': Moody’s Investors Service 503) As per Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 of 142 countries, India has been placed at _______ place in terms of overall prosperity: 99th 504) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ______ most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list: 9th 505) As per the Forbes list of most powerful persons in world in 2015, president of which country has been ranked as number one: Russia, Vladimir Putin 506) Which IT giant is working with the Indian government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons: Google 507) What is the purpose of ‘Project Loon’ being implemented in India: Providing Internet Services 508) Volcanic ash eruptions from Mount Rinja in which country paralysed the tourism industry there as it led to cancellation of several flights: Indonesia
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 89 509) Name the Indian shooter who won silver medal in the 13th Asiald in n Shooting Championship: Jitu Rai 510) 13th Asian Shooting Championship was held in which city: Kuwait City 511) Who has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of India (43rd), succeeding Justice HL Dattu: Justice T S Thakur 512) Which state has launched APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna: Maharashtra 513) What is the purpose of APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna: to provide at least one full hot cooked nutritious meal to pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas 514) _______ Railway Station in Karnataka has become the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India: Mysuru 515) 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015 were held in which place: Rajkot Gujrat 516) Virdhawal Khade has won the National Title in which sports: Swimming 517) Which social networking company has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas of western and southern India: Facebook 518) ICGS Arinjay, a Fast Patrol Vessels was commissioned in Indian Navy at Kochi. What is the full form of ICGS: Indian Coast Guard Ship 519) Which city hosted the 11th National Tribal Crafts Mela ‘Aadishilp’: New Delhi 520) Which international iconic Football star has been picked up by the Tata Motors as their global brand ambassador for their passenger vehicles: Lionel Messi 521) Who has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy: T.S.R. Subramanian 522) Nico Rosberg won the Mexican Grand Prix F1 championship in Mexico City. He is from which country: Germany 523) Which country reopened its Consulate General office in Mumbai after four decades of closure in 1973: Norway 524) A new species of the Dracula ant, likely to be of Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants, was discovered by a group of citizen scientists in which part of Kerala: Western Ghats 525) Which country has committed to invest over 2 billion euros for Smart City projects in India with special focus on Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry: France 526) According to the global Financial Secrecy Index report released by Tax Justice Network of UK, India ranked ________ in the list of 92 countries in 2015 in terms of financial transparency: 45th 527) Suresh N Patel has been appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of which Bank: Andhra Bank 528) _______ Kumar Jain has been appointed MD and CEO of Indian Bank: Mahesh 529) _______ has been appointed MD and CEO UCO Bank: R K TAKKAR 530) J K Garg has been appointed as the Managing Director of which Bank: Corporation Bank 531) RBI has allowed to offer ‘view only’ internet banking to which category of banks: State and district central co-operative banks 532) Which government authority fixes the minimum support prize for various crops: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 533) The Minimum Support Price of wheat, the main rabi crop for season 2015-16 has been fixed at Rs ______ per quintal: 1575 534) The government launched Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) to improve the performance of which companies: Power distribution companies. 535) Government has announced the levy of a Swachh Bharat cess of ______ % on all services liable for service tax (14%) from November 15: 0.5 536) Swachh Bharat cess means a tax of ______on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services: 50 paisa 537) Surjit Hockey Tournament was won by which team: Railways 538) Li Yuanchao from China visited India to review cooperation on better river water management and cultural exchanges. Who is he: Vice President of China 539) ________ has won Gold in 10 metre Air Pistol event at 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait: Heena Sidhu 540) Which country moved to the top of the FIFA world ranking list in football for the first time, leaving behind giants like Argentina and world champions Germany: Belgium 541) Russia suspended all its flights to which country after one of its aircraft suffered mid-air bomb blast soon after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh: Egypt 542) Name the authors of the book ‘Rebooting India Realizing a Billion Aspirations’: Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah 543) Free General elections were held in which neighbouring country, after a gap of almost 25 years of Military rule: Myanmar 544) The pro-democracy party National League for Democracy, led by its charismatic leader ______ won the recent general elections in Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi 545) The RBI has decided to officially stop the barter system - trading of goods without exchange of
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 90 money, from December 1 on which international border: Indo-Myanmar border 546) Indian Army successfully test-fired the land attack variant of the 290-km range supersonic cruise missile named ______: BrahMos 547) ________ became the first player in Ranji Trophy history to notch up 10,000 runs: Wasim Jaffer 548) Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured with Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement in which field: Playing Santoor 549) What Happened to Netaji is a book written by which person: Anuj Dhar 550) Name the nuclear-capable ballistic missile which was tested successfully for a range of 4,000 kms: Agni-IV 551) Which international financing agency has agreed to give $ 273 loan for improving rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal: Asian Development Bank 552) UNESCO rejected which country’s bid for membership as it failed to receive the support of two-thirds of the UNESCO’s member nations: Kosovo 553) OECD has said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent this fiscal. What is the full form of OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 554) According to Fortune India’s latest rankings of Indian business women, _________ has been ranked as the most powerful business woman: Arundhati Bhattacharya 555) ________ defeated Mali to win the FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup: Nigeria 556) The FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup was hosted by which country: Chile 557) Britain has announced _______ as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence: 2017 558) Name the venue in London where Prime Minister Modi addressed a massive gathering of over 60 thousands persons: Wembley Stadium 559) Which country was provisionally suspended from all international track and field events by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) due to widespread doping in its athletes: Russia 560) India’s satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. It will work in which field: Communications 561) Some of the top rated companies are firming up plans to raise fund by issuing ‘masala bonds’. What are they going to do: Issuing rupee- denominated bonds in foreign markets 562) Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay visited India to preside over the 'India Ideas Conclave' in which city: Goa 563) Northeast’s first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park in which state: Assam 564) Name the former RBI Deputy Governor who has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund: Subir Gokaran 565) Name the only Indian institute that has secured a place in a list of top 100 institutions compiled by the ‘Times Higher Education Rankings for Engineering & Technology: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore 566) Helmut Schmidt, a veteran and famous statesman passed away recently at the age of 96. He was from which country: Germany 567) _________ won the International Children’s Peace Prize for 2015 for his “tireless campaigning” to end violence against minors: Abraham Keita, (17) 568) Which global e-commerce company created a new record in online sales netting $14.33 billion on the annual Singles Day on Nov 13: Alibaba 569) Which International Airport has been adjudged the best-maintained international airport in the country for the third quarter commencing July this year: Thiruvananthapuram 570) Raghuram Rajan, Governor RBI has been elected Vice-Chairman of which international financial institution: Bank of International Settlement 571) Headquarters of the Bank of International Settlement are located at which place: Basel, Switzerland 572) What was the name of the seventh edition India- Russia Joint Military Exercise held in Bikaner district of Rajasthan: Indra – 2015 573) Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has been appointed as the ethics officer (ombudsman) of which national sports body: Board of Control for Cricket in India 574) India has been re-elected on the UNCITRAL for a period of six years. What is the full form of UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 575) In the eight north-eastern states, government has decided to contribute _________per cent funds in the centrally sponsored Schemes: 90 576) The government has enhanced the monetary limit to approve foreign investment proposals of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board – FIPB to Rs ________ crore, from Rs 3,000 crore at present: 5,000 577) In which city of France, over 129 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded in multiple terrorists’ shootings: Paris 578) DRDO has developed Advanced Torpedo Defence System “Maareech” and “Vaarunaastra” for use by
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 91 which wing of defence forces: Navy 579) INS Vishwakarma, a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy for the shipwrights is located at which place: Vishakhapatnam 580) Government has declared which militant outfit of Nagaland as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967: National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), NSCN (K) 581) As per a recent IMF study, India's GDP can expand by 27 per cent if the number of women workers increases to _______ as that of men: Same level 582) Ace badminton player Saina Nehwal clinched which rank at the China Open Superseries Premier Badminton tournament: Second 583) Name the veteran Bollywood actor who recently died in London. He is remembered for his outstanding performance in films like Gandhi, Shatranj Ke Khilari and Masoom: Saeed Jaffrey 584) A two day summit of Heads of G-20 nations was held in ______Turkey to dwell on inclusive economic growth and climate change: Antalaya 585) Hundred Drums Wangala Festival, the thanks giving post-harvest festival is celebrated in which state of India: Meghalaya 586) The Union Ministry of Tourism launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Swadesh Darshan schemes for what purpose: To increase the arrival of foreign tourists in India 587) The International Day for Tolerance was observed globally on ________ November with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance: 16 588) Name the veteran patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) who passed away in Gurgaon due to a prolonged illness: Ashok Singhal 589) Govt has approved State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram under AMRUT Scheme for 2015-16. Write the full form of AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 590) Name the 1985 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service who has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations: Syed Akbaruddin 591) Which country won the prestigious women’s team tennis trophy - Fed Cup after beating Russia in final played in Prague: The Czech Republic 592) Name the 16 year old shuttler from India who won the silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru: Siril Verma 593) What is the objective of the Accessible India campaign recently launched by government of India: To make international airports and major railway stations disabled friendly 594) In a breakthrough, scientists in U K have developed the world's first 'porous' liquid that can potentially be used to capture and dissolve unusually large amounts of which harmful gas: Carbon Gas 595) Name the Australia’s most devastating fast bowler of his era who retired from all international cricket on Nov 17: Mitchell Johnson 596) Global Cancer Summit was held in which city of India from Nov 18 to 20: Bengaluru 597) Ms. Zarin Daruwala has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which foreign bank in India: Standard Chartered Bank 598) With a view to boost exports, the government has approved ___________ per cent interest subvention scheme to allow exporters to avail loans from banks at a lower rate: Three 599) Government has launched the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) for what purpose: To facilitate acquisition of clean, green and energy efficient technologies 600) Government plans to link all the police stations of the country online under the CCTNS. What is full form of CCTNS: Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems 601) Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the world’s most powerful supercomputer system for the sixth consecutive time. It has been developed by which country: China 602) Name the Indian Minister who has been designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: Kiren Rijiju 603) Govt has allowed ________language to be taught as an additional foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas in conformity with the National Education Policy, 1986: German 604) The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 16 November 2015 launched the World Antibiotic Awareness Week. What was its theme: Antibiotics handle with care 605) 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur submitted its report to which union ministry: Finance Ministry 606) The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in which country in southern Africa: Botswana 607) Recently the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to take action against which terrorist organisation: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 92 608) The Indira Gandhi Prize For Peace, Disarmament And Development- 2015 has been Awarded to which International Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 609) As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, India ranks __________ in list of 162 nations most impacted by terrorism in 2014: 6th 610) As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, which country is worst affected by the terrorism: Iraq 611) The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 ranks India at _________ place in terms of utilisation of its female work force: 108th 612) Which country tops The Global Gender Gap Report 2015: Iceland 613) Which ministry plans to launch Blue Revolution Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries for growth and development of fisheries: Agriculture Ministry 614) Which Indian city hosted the 17th Asia Pacific Youth Forum meet: Kozhikode, Kerala 615) _________ has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar 616) 27th summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in _________on November 21: Kuala Lumpur 617) Vijay Keshav Gokhale has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to which country: China 618) Government plans to mobilise around Rs. 20,000 crore by selling 10% of its stake in which public sector undertaking: Coal India Ltd 619) Harshavardhan Neotia has been elected as the President of the FICCI for the year 2016. Who is he: Chairman of Ambuja group of industries 620) 46th International Film Festival of India began in Panaji, Goa with the screening of The Man Who Knew the Infinity. It is a biopic of which famous mathematician: Srinivas Ramanujan 621) Name the two South-East Asian nations visited by Prime Minister Modi in the 3rd week of November: Malaysia and Singapore 622) Name the India's most successful cueist who won the record 15th world title by winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt: Pankaj Advani 623) Who has become the first player to win the ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive time: Novak Djokovic 624) Leaders of the ASEAN group of nations have declared the establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc. Give its name: ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 625) Name the President of France who will be the chief guest at the 2016 Republic Day celebrations: Francois Hollande 626) Which South-American country has elected Mr.Mauricio Macri as its new President: Argentina 627) In which country, the young pro-democracy voters are known as Umbrella Soldiers: Hong Kong 628) Name the India’s neighbour which is experiencing hardships due to ongoing Madhesi Agitation: Nepal 629) Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of Nepal are found in which part of Nepal: Terai region 630) In a $ 160 billion merger agreement, the biggest ever deal in the healthcare sector, pharma major Pfizer Inc has acquired which other big pharma company: Allergan Plc 631) The Confederation of All India Traders has launched an e-commerce portal, ‘e-lala’ for what purpose: To promote bussiness of 5.77 crore small units 632) The 8th Men’s Junior Asia Hockey Cup at Kuantan, Malaysia was won by which country: India 633) Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award is given for excellence in which field: Journalism 634) Who is the recent winner of Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award: Kuldip Nayar 635) Which country has launched its first early warning system satellite named EKS or Integrated Space System: Russia 636) Name the three Indian cities selected by the British government for developing them as 'Smart City': Pune, Amravati (Maharashtra) and Indore (MP) 637) Rajasthan government has signed a ‘sister-state agreement’ with which state of Australia: South Australia 638) Which international organization has said that global average temperatures this year are likely to be the warmest on record: World Meteorological Organisation 639) Name the naval variant of the Prithvi – II missile, having a strike range of 350 kilometers that was tested successfully recently: Dhanush 640) Mahip Singh, who passed away passed away in Gurgaon, after a brief illness was a noted figure from which field: Literature & Journalism 641) Japan conducted its first commercial satellite launch on August 24, with which launch vehicle: H-IIA rocket 642) Government has reduced the deadline for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for rural connectivity through all- weather roads from 2022 to which year: 2019 643) Which state has launched the ‘Tourist Mitra’ to ensure a smooth and secure experience for tourists: Karnataka 644) The 10th East Asia Summit was held in which city of Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 93 645) Name the former long jump world champion who has been appointed as the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme: Anju Bobby George 646) Why The National Milk Day is observed on 26 November: To mark 94th birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution - Dr Verghese Kurien 647) What is the US military operation name for the intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria: Operation Inherent Resolve 648) Who is the author of the book “Because We Say So”: Noam Chomsky 649) “Why India Is Not A Great Power (Yet)” is a book written by which author: Bharat Karnad 650) INS Kadmatt the indigenously built stealth ASW corvette, was formally handed over to the Navy on Nov 26. What is ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare 651) In the naval language what is a corvette: A small war ship 652) The first ever day-night Test match in the history of cricket started in last week of Nov. at which place: Adelaide Oval in Australia 653) The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by the ______________ and DRDO was successfully tested: Israel Aerospace Industry 654) The RBI has allowed foreign investors to buy default non-convertible debentures and bonds provided their maturity is for _____ years or more: Three 655) Name the highest paid director of the Indian Corporate world for the year 2014-15: Pawan Munjal of Hero Moto Corp 656) ______________ has been appointed as the President of The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM): Sunil Kanoria 657) India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile. What is its strike range: 350 kms 658) India observes ‘Constitution Day’ on which date: November 26 659) RBI has allowed three companies to start Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). This will benefit which category of enterprises: Small and Medium Enterprises – SMEs 660) The government has made it mandatory for road developers to use __________ along with bituminous mixes for road construction: Waste Plastic 661) Which country has developed world’s strongest combat and reconnaissance drone CH – 5 that can fly with a weight of 3,000 kg: China 662) First India International Science Festival will be hosted by which educational institution: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi 663) Government has extended RuPay card usage condition of at least one transaction in 45 days to ____ days for filing a claim under PMJDY: 90 664) Which Indian bank has become the first Indian bank to launch Sonic branding (Musical Logo): HDFC Bank OCTOBER – 2015 665) What is the name of the India’s first dedicated astronomy research satellite recently launched by ISRO: Astrosat 666) Astronomy research satellite Astrosat has been placed in which orbit: Equatorial 667) Name the Indian who won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Adelaide, Australia: Pankaj Advani 668) Abhinav Bindra clinched gold in the men's 10 metre Air Rifle event of which championship: Asian Air Gun Championship, New Delhi 669) What is the name of the stealth guided missile destroyer which was inducted in the Indian Navy on Sep 30: INS Kochi 670) Naval warship INS Kochi is the stealth guided missile destroyer. What is meant by Stealth: Ability to avoid detection by Radars 671) Government has unveiled ‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ (NIRF) for what purpose: For annual ranking of engineering and management institutes of the country 672) Government has launched Green Highways policy for what purpose: To promote plantation of more trees along Highways 673) With USD 31 billion of foreign capital inflows in the first half of 2015, India ranks at which place in world in attracting FDI: First 674) The repo rate from Sept 29 stands at which value: 6.75 per cent 675) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on investment and industrial growth in the country: It may go up 676) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on the rate of interest of bank loans: It is likely to come down 677) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on EMIs of housing / car loans: It is likely to come down 678) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on Interest rate of bank deposits: It is likely to come down 679) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on volume of bank loans in general: It is likely to go up 680) NASA scientists claimed recent that they have found the strongest ever evidence of liquid water
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 94 on which Planet : Mars 681) “The Country of ________” is the title of the recent book authored by Amartya Sen: First Boys 682) “Baat Niklegi toh Phir”, a book written by Sathya Saran is about which celebrity: Jagjit Singh 683) SASTRA Ramanujan Prize is given for excellence in which field: Mathematics 684) SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2015 has been won by Jacob Tsimerman. He is from which country: Canada 685) International day of Older Persons is observed on which date: October 1 686) Microsoft Corp has agreed to bury all patent infringement litigation against which major IT giant: Google Inc. 687) ___________ clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi: Heena Sidhu 688) Pedro Passos Coelho has been elected Prime Minister of which country: Portugal 689) Arch of Triumph, a historical monument built about 2,000 years ago in Palmyra, Syria was in news for what reasons: It was blown up by the ISIS terrorists 690) Which global organization has lowered 2015 world trade forecast to 2.8 percent in the face of a slowdown in the economies of emerging countries: World Trade Organization (WTO) 691) Who has been elected as the new President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): Shashank Manohar 692) Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won which Asian sports event to get the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’: Mountain Biking Race 693) “Mrs Funnybones” is a recent _________ by Twinkle Khanna: Book 694) Which Indian organization has started the world’s highest research station at an altitude of 17,500 ft at Chang La: DRDO 695) The 2016 G-20 summit will be hosted by which country: China 696) _________ will host the 2017 G-20 summit: Germany 697) Which country will host 2018 summit of G-20 nations: India 698) In the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum for the world’s most competitive economies, what is the rank of India: 55th 699) In the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum, which is the best country: Switzerland 700) A 14-day joint training exercise 'Mitra Shakti 2015', involving military contingents from India and________, was held in Pune from Sep 29 to Oct 12: Sri Lanka 701) Which Indian State has computerized all its 531 police stations to allow online filing of FIR from anywhere: Odisha 702) Which Indian Bank has become the first bank in the world to launch mVisa - a card-less and device-less payment solution: ICICI Bank 703) A joint maritime exercise of naval patrol vessels - Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and __________ began on 3 October 2015 in the Andaman Sea: Indonesia 704) Nobel Prize (half) for medicine for 2015 has been won by William Campbell (Ireland) and Satoshi Omura (Japan) for which achievement: For discovering a new drug to treat infections caused by roundworm parasites 705) Govt plans to spend around 70 thousand crore rupees in 12 major ports in the next five years under _______Project, aimed at port-led development in coastal areas: Sagarmala 706) Henning Mankell, a noted crime writer, whose detective character Kurt Wallander became a worldwide phenomenon, died at 67. She was from which country: Sweden 707) The Trans-Pacific Partnership for global commerce and worker standards has been formed by 11 Pacific Rim nations with which country: USA 708) Govt has signed a MoU with the New India Assurance Company to provide Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme, for which category of persons: Persons with Disabilities 709) As per the latest World Bank report on global poverty, the number of people living in extreme poverty line is likely to fall for the first time below _____ % of the world’s population in 2015: 10 710) The World Bank has revised its benchmark poverty from living on or below $1.25 a day to $_____ a day: 1.90 711) The Central Government has notified ‘Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015’ under which Act for improved administration and efficiency of the scheme: The National Food Security Act, 2013 712) The new mid day meal rules prescribe ___calories and ____ gm of protein for primary class students: 450, 12 713) The new mid day meal rules prescribe ___calories and ____ gm of protein for upper primary class students: 700, 20 714) Which country won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines at Changsha, China: China 715) Nobel Prize of Physics for 2015 has been given to scientists for discovering which elusive subatomic particles, opening a new window onto
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 95 the fundamental nature of the universe: Neutrinos 716) Govt has decided to allow foreign investment up to ______ per cent in White Label ATM operations under the automatic route to promote financial inclusion: 100 717) India has decided to cut the carbon produced per unit of ________ by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from what it was in 2005: GDP growth 718) The government plans to bring down its stake in which bank to 49 per cent, from 76.5 per cent at present with a view to make it more efficient: IDBI Bank 719) Sergey Karjakin, who won the World Cup Chess Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan, is from which country: Russia 720) Name the India’s first totally indigenously designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV) that has been inducted in Indian Navy: INS Astradharini 721) The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conference 2016 will be held in _____ from 8 January to 10 January 2016 to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India: New Delhi 722) The Clintons' War on Women is a book written by: Roger Stone and Robert Morrow 723) The Union cabinet has approved construction of a National War Memorial and Museum near which historical monument in New Delhi: India Gate 724) IIT Council has decided to waive full fee for which category of students in all the 15 IITs for all the semesters: Physically Challenged Students 725) Three scientists have won the Nobel Prize 2015 in which field for working out how cells repair damaged DNA, providing new ammunition in the war on cancer: Chemistry 726) Which celebrity has been appointed Maharashtra’s brand ambassador for Tigers: Amitabh Bachchan 727) The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath is a book written by Ben S. Bernanke on which mega event of financial world: 2008 Financial Crisis in USA 728) A report by UNCTAD says that the growth rate for world in 2015 is expected to be around 2.5 per cent. What is Full form of UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 729) NGT has directed all commercial vehicles, including trucks, entering Delhi to pay an environmental compensation charge in addition to the toll tax. What is NGT: National Green Tribunal
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 96 730) Govt has approved setting up of three new AIIMS In which cities at a cost of 4949 crore rupees: Nagpur, Manglagiri and Kalyani 731) Name the Indian cyclist who became the first ever Indian to win a gold medal, three silver and one bronze medal in women's section in the in Taiwan Cup Track International Classic in Taiwan: Deborah Herold 732) Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus has won the Nobel Prize for literature for 2015 for her portrayal of life of women in which country: The former Soviet Union 733) India's first community reserve to protect the endangered Gangetic River Dolphins will come up on River ______ in West Bengal: Hooghly 734) Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved has entered into a partnership with which chain of mega retail store to sale its product: Big Bazaar 735) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved implementation of the World Bank assisted Neeranchal project for promoting effective irrigation in nine states. What is its formal name: National Watershed Management Project 736) Mr. Mukherjee became first Indian President to visit Israel and address their Parliament. What is the name of their parliament: Knesset 737) Shekhar Basu, renowned scientist has been appointed as the Chairman of which national organization: Atomic Energy Commission 738) Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched which group on 8 October 2015 in Lima, Peru: V20 739) The European Union has started a new operation termed Operation Sophia to actively intercept boats smuggling of_________: Refugees 740) Which committee has submitted its recommendations for developing suitable methodologies for monitoring CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) provisions: Anil Baijal 741) What is the name of 5th Indo-China Joint Military Training Exercise 2015 that was conducted at Kunming Military Academy of Yunnan province in China from 12 to 23 October: Hand in Hand 742) China has launched the first phase of “China International Payment System (CIPS)” to promote which item: Yuan 743) Which city in India has emerged as the world's cheapest city to live and work in, among 12 top metropolitan cities of the world: Mumbai 744) _______ defeated Rafael Nadal to win men’s title in the China Open at Beijing, China: Novak Djokovic 745) Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won the women's singles title in which international tennis event: China Open 746) Name the veteran communist party leader elected as Nepal's new Prime Minister: K P Sharma Oli 747) Dutch Open Grand Prix Badminton singles titles in men’s category was won by which Indian player: Ajay Jayaram 748) Neither a Hawk nor a Dove is a book written by Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. Who is he: Ex Foreign Minister of Pakistan 749) Which state has launched Mission ‘Abaas’ to provide affordable houses to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and slum dwellers: Odisha 750) Jioji Konrote has been elected as new President of which Pacific island mini country: Fiji 751) Alexander Lukashenko has been re elected as the President of which country: Belarus 752) 2015 Nobel Prize for Economics has been won by Angus Deaton for his work on which topic: Consumption, poverty and welfare 753) 2015 Nobel Prize for Economics has been won by Angus Deaton. He is from which country: UK 754) The Supreme Court has imposed 'Environment Compensation Charge' of Rs 700 and Rs 1300 on commercial vehicles entering which metro city: Delhi 755) Man Booker Prize For Literature 2015, won by Jamaican author ______ for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings: Marlon James 756) Shweta Rathore became the first Indian female _______ to win a silver medal in the 49th Asian championship held in Uzbekistan: Bodybuilder 757) With the presence of more than 4,200 startups, India has also become the ______largest startup base in world: 03rd 758) The navies of which countries began a five-day joint operation-'Malabar exercise' on October 14 on the eastern coast in Bay of Bengal: India, USA and Japan 759) National channel of Doordarshan will telecast a ten-episode Programme on Apprenticeship Training Scheme. What is its name: Hunarbaaz 760) Harvard Humanitarian Of The Year Award – 2015 has been won by which Indian: Kailash Satyarthi 761) Name one of India's greatest fast bowlers who bid adieu to international cricket: Zahir Khan 762) Name the star player of The Real Madrid who won the record fourth Golden Boot for scoring highest – 48 goals in the season: Cristiano Ronaldo 763) China has operationalised the world’s highest mega hydropower station at Zam in Tibet, built on which river: Brahmaputra 764) Data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows that the subscriber base
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 97 has crossed _______ crore by the end of Sept. 2015: 101 765) The RBI has decided to create a new Fund with a corpus of 2,000 crore rupees for promotion of financial inclusion. What is its name: Financial Inclusion Fund 766) Real estate developer Tata Housing has tied-up with which social networking firm to sell its affordable homes online: Facebook 767) Which bank has automated its personal loan approvals by deploying an analytics engine on their ATMs that would track the customer's history and based on that, automatically authorize a loan: HDFC Bank 768) Which bank has received in principle approval from the RBI to set up a subsidiary to frame and implement a uniform policy for all the real estate properties owned or rented by the bank: State Bank of India 769) As per a new notification by the Union Health Ministry, what has been now allowed to the blood banks: Transfer of blood from one blood bank to another blood bank 770) Govt has decided to raise the wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs. _______ for factory workers and establishments with 20 or more workers: 7,000 771) The Supreme Court has given what decision with regards to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act: It has rejected formation of NJAC 772) After rejection of NJAC, what system will be adopted for selection of High Court / Supreme Court judges: Through collegium system 773) As per recent RBI guidelines, interest rate on Gold Deposit Schemes will be decided by which authority: Banks themselves 774) Which country has offered $15 billion long term soft loan along with technology for starting the Bullet Train between Ahmadabad and Mumbai: Japan 775) First World Indigenous Games were held in Palmas in which country: Brazil 776) Who is M L Fotedar, author of the book The Chinar Leaves: Veteran Congress leader and close aide of the Gandhi family 777) ____ has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Canada from Liberal Party: Justin Trudeau 778) Name the Indian golfer who won the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award at Singapore: Anirban Lahiri 779) Name the India’s ace batsman who announced his retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League: Virender Sehwag 780) Jerry Seinfeld has been named as the world’s highest paid ____ by the Forbes Magazine: Comedian 781) Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President has been awarded which global honour for “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony: Confucius Peace Prize 782) ‘Science Express Climate Action Special’ train has been started from______ , as part of its initiative to sensitize the masses, especially children and the youth about climate change: Delhi 783) Name the new fund started to support the victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and women killed or injured in the cross border firing: Central Victim Compensation Fund 784) An Indian short film of 11 minutes, An Old Dog’s Diary has won prestigious Best Short Film Award at the 2015 ______ Film Festival: London 785) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs._____ for call drops with effect from 1 January 2016: One 786) India was placed at which position in the Sultan of Johor Cup (Hockey): Second 787) Name the winner Sultan of Johor Cup: Great Britain 788) __________ was the host country for Sultan of Johor Cup: Malaysia 789) Saketh Myneni, India’s ace _______ player won the Vietnam Open trophy in the finals played at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam: Tennis 790) P. V. Sandhu, Indian badminton star was placed at which rank in the Denmark Open Badminton Title: Second 791) ______ of China won the Denmark Open Badminton Title: Xuerui Li 792) Govt of India has appointed _____, veteran sports administrator as the President of the All India Council of Sports: Vijay Kumar Malhotra 793) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces conducted their massive field exercise from October 3 to November 6. What was its name: Trident juncture 2015 794) Name the sportsperson who became the first Indian tennis player to come under 100 since 2010 in the ATP world rankings: Yuki Bhambri 795) Alpha Conde has been reelected as the President of which country: Guinea 796) Bir Billing, place in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was in news for what reasons: First Paragliding World Cup of South East Asia started there 797) Reserve Bank of India has opened its sub-office recently in which city in North East India: Imphal in Manipur 798) Which apex global organization celebrated its 70th anniversary on October 24: United Nations
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 98 of India - UNO 799) The Defence Ministry has approved, for the first time in the history of Indian Air Force what role for its women officers: They will be allow to fly fighter aircraft 800) Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India is the autobiography of which noted telecom icon of India: Sam Pitroda 801) Hurricane Patricia, one of the most powerful storms on record stuck which country recently: Mexico’s Pacific coast 802) Jimmy Morales has been elected as the _____ of Guatemala: President 803) Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched which men’s singles international badminton title recently: French International 804) Government has hiked the limit for penal provisions for undeclared or mis-declared baggage that will attract arrest or prosecution, to Rs. ______ from Rs 5 lac at present: Rs 20 lac 805) Govt has launched an e-Sahyog pilot project of Income-Tax Department for what purpose: To reduce compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers 806) India has improved its position to ______ from 134 in 2015 in the World Bank's 2016 rankings in terms of ease of doing business: 130 807) Which state hosted the 16th National Women Boxing Championship: Assam 808) The Indian and Sri Lankan Navies conducted the 4th edition of SLINEX in Bay of Bengal, off the Trincomalee coast in Sri Lanka. What is form of SLINEX: Sri Lanka-India Exercise 809) Railways plans to start country's first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express between which two stations: Mumbai and Goa 810) What do we call the excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society: Sin Tax 811) Name the Indian who created history by winning a silver medal for the first time in the Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City: Abhishek Verma 812) With which country RBI has signed a MoU for exchange of supervisory information: Bangladesh 813) Which country has launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite: China 814) Railway plans to launch Vikalp scheme from 1st of November to give passengers which new option: Choice to travel by an alternate train 815) The 12th SAF (South Asian Games) games will be held from February 6 to 16 in 2016 in which place: Guwahati and Shillong 816) Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders released the first Scorpene category ________ INS 'Kalvari' for sea trails at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai: Submarine 817) Name the noted Nepali Communist leader who has been elected as Nepal’s first woman President by the Parliament: Vidya Devi Bhandari 818) Govt has formed a Committee headed by Justice RV Easwar (Retd.), former Judge of Delhi High Court for what purpose: To suggest simplifications in the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 819) ________ has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC): Najib Shah 820) With which country India signed a MoU to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata: France 821) In the 2015 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings, which are the top 3 Indian companies: Reliance Industries-14th, ONGC- 17th and Coal India-38th 822) Which country has announced an end to its 45 years old policy of allowing only one child per family: China 823) The Ministry of Environment has granted environment clearance for the greenfield international airport at Mopa in which state: Goa 824) As per the GFMS Gold Survey 2015, ______ is the largest consumer of gold in world: India 825) __________ has been ranked as the safest bank of India, and 27th in world by the ‘The Banker’ magazine: HDFC Bank 826) RBI has allowed which new category of persons to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) of PFRDA: Non Resident Indians (NRIs) 827) Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by which international body: European Parliament SEPTEMBER – 2015 828) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has launched SAHAJ scheme for what purpose: Online booking of LPG connections 829) Maharashtra govt recently acquired the house where Dr. B. R. Ambedkar lived in 1921-22. It is in which city: London 830) Anil won the gold medal at the world championship of which sport: Wrestling 831) OP Jaisha finished 18th in which sports in the world athletics championship, creating a new national record: Women’s Marathon 832) Who has been appointed as the new Union Home secretary: Rajiv Mehrishi 833) All India Radio released the digital version of which grand epic as a set of digital CDs produced by its old recordings: Ramcharitmanas
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 99 834) M M Kalburgi, 77 year old Kannada scholar and ex Vice Chancellor of Kannada University was in news for what reasons: He was shot dead in Dharwad, Karnataka 835) ‘Portrait of a Serial Killer’ is a book written by which famous author: Khushwant Singh 836) The Reserve Bank declared which two banks, for the first time, as D-SIBs: SBI and ICICI Bank 837) What is the full form of D-SIBs: Domestic Systemically Important Banks 838) What is the meaning of Systemically Important: Any thing or feature which is important for entire system 839) Tenzing Norgay National Sports awards are given in which field: Adventure Sports 840) Which bank has launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere: Indian Bank 841) The government has identified how many cities and towns across nine states for implementation of its ambitious 'Housing for All' scheme: 305 842) What is the formal official name of the ‘Housing for All’ scheme: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana 843) The Reserve Bank has asked all banks to be prepared for the implementation of due diligence and reporting standards under FATCA. What is the full form of FATCA: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 844) The Sports Ministry has decided to recognize ______ as a sports discipline and place it in the Priority category: Yoga 845) Name the govt. department which has implemented an electronic payment system to become the first government department to have 100 per cent cashless transactions: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion 846) India is joining the UN-based 'Better Than Cash Alliance' for what purpose: For promotion of transition from cash to digital payments 847) The Reserve Bank has proposed a new formula to calculate the base rate for lending wef April 1, 2016. What is Base Rate: The interest rate below which a bank is not allowed to lend 848) Govt has announced that the MAT will not be applicable on capital gains made by Foreign Institutional Investors prior to April 1, 2015. What is MAT: Minimum Alternate Tax 849) Jhumpa Lahiri, noted Indo American author has been honoured with National Humanities Medal by which country: USA 850) The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into circulation Rs. 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of which important national event: Indo- Pak War 1965 851) Which historical monument in Kerala has won the prestigious UNESCO Award of Excellence 2015: Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple 852) The highest mountain of North America - Mt McKinley has been renamed as _________ by the US President: Denali 853) The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held at which place in South Africa: Durban 854) Name the first Railway Zone in Indian Railways, which has eliminated all un-manned level crossings in its area: West Central Railway Zone 855) Name the erstwhile commodities market regulator which has been merged with SEBI: Forward Markets Commission 856) Two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs 10 were released recently on which important occasion: Teachers’ Day 857) Name the new group launched by G-20 nations for boosting the role of women in global economic growth: W20 (Women – 20) 858) As per the first ever count of India’s leopards, which state is at rank No. 1 with around 1817 leopards: Madhya Pradesh 859) Name the 89 year old Queen of Great Britain, who reached a major milestone on Sep 8 by becoming the longest-reigning monarch (since Feb 02, 1952) in Britain’s history: Elizabeth II 860) Deepak Lather won a gold in which sports in the fifth Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa: Weight lifting 861) ‘The Power of Meow’ is a famous book written by which author: David Michie 862) Name the new gold scheme launched by govt. with a view to reduce the regular demand for the gold, usually for investment purpose: Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 863) Name the new gold scheme launched by govt. with a view to mobilize part of around 22,000 tonne gold lying in Indian households: Gold Monetisation Scheme 864) The Union Cabinet has allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route for installing which type of ATMs: White Label ATMs 865) The three-day Vishwa Hindi Sammelan (World Hindi Conference) was held at which place: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 866) Name the lady scientist who has been made the first women Director General in the DRDO: J Manjula 867) Which Indian stock exchange has the highest number of listed companies in the world, numbering 5689: Bombay Stock Exchange 868) Men’s singles title at the US Open Tennis was won by __________: Novak Djokovic 869) Women’s singles title at the US Open Tennis was won by __________: Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 870) Name the Indian tennis player who won the
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 100 men’s mixed doubles title at the US open: Leander Paes 871) Name the Indian tennis player who won the women’s doubles title at the US open: Sania Mirza 872) Indian Navy has established its largest missile storage and replenishment facility named _______ at Karwar base in Karnataka for warships operating in the western coast: INS Vajrakosh 873) Name the prestigious national award recently won by ISRO for its contribution to nation’s development through satellite based education: Gandhi Peace Prize 874) ___________ to continue as the Team Director of the Indian cricket team till the 2016 T20 World Cup to be held in India: Ravi Shastri 875) Name the first bilateral maritime exercise held between Australia and India off the shores of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: Ausindex– 2015 876) With which country India recently signed a treaty for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters: Indonesia 877) Who is Mary Barra, declared as the most powerful business women in the world by the Fortune magazine: CEO of General Motors, USA 878) Name the writer of the popular book ‘The Curse of Surya’: Dev Prasad 879) As per the World Bank's ranking on ease of doing business in Indian states, _______ ranks at no. 1: Gujarat 880) Parliament of which erstwhile Hindu country has rejected the proposal for declaring the country a Hindu state: Nepal 881) Gennady Padalka who created the new record for having spent the most time in space, totaling into 879 days in over five trips, is from which country: Russia 882) Which business women has been ranked no. 1 in India in a list compiled by the global business magazine Fortune: Chanda Kochhar, CEO ICICI Bank 883) Name the Sri Lankan Prime Minister who visited India on Sept 14: Ranil Wickremesinghe 884) _________ has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Australia: Malcolm Turnbull 885) Which international IT company plans to work with Indian Railways on Project Nilgiri to set up free Wi-Fi hotspots across 400 select railway stations: Google 886) In terms of no. of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), India has been placed at _______ rank in the World Wealth Report – 2015: 11th 887) Government has approved the purchase of 10 Heron TP armed drones capable of firing missiles, from which country: Israel 888) 55th National Open Athletics Championship started at SAI Complex in which city: Kolkata 889) The RBI has granted in principal approval to how many entities to set up small finance banks: 10 890) The Small Banks will focus on financing of which category of borrowers: Small farmers and micro business enterprises 891) Andhra govt. has successfully linked which two of its major rivers towards making the state "drought-proof": Godavari and Krishna 892) International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on __ across the world: 16 Sept. 893) Govt has approved which scheme to transform rural areas into economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces: Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission 894) The 2022 Asian Games will be hosted by which city of China: Hangzhou 895) Manpreet Kaur of Railways created a new national record in which game, claiming a distance of 17.96 meters at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata: Shot- put throwing 896) Which neighbouring country of India recently adopted a new constitution, after years of political wrangling: Nepal 897) Hinduja business group plans to launch a digital broadcasting platform under the brand name NXT Digital for what purpose: For providing over 500 TV digital channels to cable operators 898) Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has increased the maximum amount assured under its insurance scheme to Rs. _______: 6 lac 899) The Government has launched which scheme for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations: Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) 900) In the Global Innovation Index 2014 compile for 141 countries, India has been placed at which rank: 81st 901) India and the US have created a "joint challenge coin" to symbolise their unique partnership in which field: Creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy 902) Government has decided to shift the administrative control of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to which ministry: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology AUGUST – 2015 903) What is the name of the new operating system rolled out by Microsoft on July 30th: Windows 10 904) Union Cabinet has approved setting up
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 101 of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) for what propose: To support new and delayed projects 905) Name the India’s neighbour that has been granted e-tourist visa facility w.e.f. 30 July, 2015: China 906) National Handloom Day is observed on which date: 7th August 907) 'Sleeping on Jupiter' is a book written by which author: Anuradha Roy 908) What is the name of the agreement as per which India and Bangladesh have agreed to exchange some disputed land pockets: Land Border Agreement 909) A new vaccine named ‘rVSV-ZEBOB’, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada has proved effective to fight which dreaded virus: Ebola virus 910) Name the ten day bi-lateral air exercise that took place between Indian and British Air forces in UK: Indradhanush 911) Special Olympics World Summer Games were held at which place: Los Angeles, USA 912) What type of sports persons take part in the Special Olympics World Summer Games: Persons suffering from some mental disability 913) The International Olympic Committee has granted recognition to which new game as an Olympic sport: Frisbee (Flying Disc) 914) Which bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources: HDFC Bank 915) India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) has been commissioned at which place: Kochhi, Kerala 916) With which militant group of Nagaland, Govt. of India has signed a landmark peace accord on August 3: National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NSCN (Isak-Muivah group) 917) The 18th Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started functioning from its temporary campus at which place: Palakkad, Kerala 918) Asia’s biggest multi-application solar telescope (MAST) has been started in which place in India: Udaipur 919) World’s most prestigious award in the field of human rights – Solidarity Human Rights Award is given in which country: Poland 920) Latest release from the Census 2011 data shows that only ___________ per cent Indians have qualification of graduation and above: 8.15% 921) ICTP Ramanujan Prize 2015 is given for excellence in which field: Mathematics 922) ICTP Ramanujan Prize 2015 is given for excellence in Mathematics to person below which age: 45 years 923) Which Union Ministry has launched ‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress of implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana: Union Ministry of Rural Development 924) India signed a MoU with Mozambique on August 5 for cooperation in new and renewable energy sector. It lies in which continent: Africa 925) Which Indian company has signed an agreement with Europe’s Airbus Helicopters to manufacture military helicopters for the first time in India: Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd 926) RBI has allowed banks to shift, merge or close branches, except in ________ areas, at their own discretion: Rural 927) A report says that banks in India need an additional core capital of Rs 2.5 trillion under ________ guidelines. Basel-III 928) Suraksha Bandhan scheme aims at paying the premium for which two social security schemes: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana 929) Government has launched the School Nursery Yojana, to bring students closer to nature by involving them in which activity: Raising the saplings in school nurseries 930) Acharya Dev Vrat has been appointed new Governor of which state: Himachal Pradesh 931) ___________ has been appointed as the new Governor of Bihar: Ram Nath Kovind 932) A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction under the UN framework is to be named after which great Indian statesman: APJ Abdul Kalam 933) Which capital city has been ranked as the cleanest under a survey done by the Urban Development Ministry: Bengaluru 934) ___________ has been ranked as the cleanest city in India in a recent govt. survey of 476 cities: Mysuru 935) What are the two parameter of cleanliness on the basis of which Urban Development Ministry selected the cleanest city from the top 476 cities in India: Solid waste management and eradication of open defecation 936) Name the India-born technocrat who has been named as the new CEO of the technology giant Google: Sundar Pichai 937) Dutee Chand won the gold medal in the 200m at the 13th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championship held at which place: Hyderabad 938) Which Bank has announced ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ up to Rs. 15 lakh with a special interest rate equal to its base rate: ICICI Bank 939) Which Indian film was screened at the National
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 102 Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan to mark its 20th anniversary: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) 940) World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th August in the memory of which great scientist: Sir Rudalph Diesel 941) For what purpose Government proposes to infuse Rs 70,000 crore in public sector banks in next four years: For capital infusion to meet Basel III requirements 942) Which Indian organization has been accredited by the Green Climate Fund of UNO as an implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India: NABARD 943) Which Indian organization planted more than 4 lakh saplings at its head quarters and units across the country on August 12 between 10 to 10.30 am: Border Security Force (BSF) 944) IT giant Google has reorganized itself into a multiple company organization under a new umbrella company. Name this company: Alphabet 945) Name the Indian who won the IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship in Karachi, Pakistan: Pankaj Advani 946) For which Indian states World Bank has agreed to provide $ 412.40 million assistance for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project: All coastal states 947) Which actor was ranked as the world's top- earning actor by Forbes, with earnings of $ 80million during 12 months ending June 2015: Robert Downey Jr. 948) Gas subsidy scheme PAHAL has entered Guinness Book as the largest cash transfer plan in world. What is full form of PAHAL: Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh 949) The official name for PAHAL initiative is DBTL. What is full form of DBTL: Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG 950) Name the Co-Chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist who passed away in Ludhiana on August 13: Om Prakash Munjal 951) The Union Cabinet has approved construction of pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal to transport which item: Petroleum Products 952) What is the recent direction given by the central govt. in contest of services of newly recruited IAS officers: They have to serve for first three months in Delhi in central govt. offices 953) Name the project that has been launched by the govt. to lay down the framework for the revival of public sector banks: Indradhanush 954) Rogers Cup Masters Tournament is related to which sports: Lawn Tennis 955) Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win silver medal on August 17 in which international competition: World Badminton Championship 956) World Badminton Championship was held in ________ Indonesia: Jakarta 957) Abhishek Verma won the gold medal in the men’s compound individual category in the __________ World Cup in Wroclaw (Poland): Archery 958) Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB): Ajit Kumar Seth 959) Which ministry has launched an online beneficiary registration system - ‘On-line On-Site’ for persons with disabilities: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 960) Name the multipurpose mobile wallet application launched by SBI recently: SBI Buddy 961) Which bank has launched the first of its kind fully automated digital locker named 'Smart Vault': ICICI Bank 962) India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow_____________ to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils: Oil Palm Trees 963) The India Aspiration Fund with corpus of Rs 2,000 crore has been launched by which financial institution to create 7.5 lakh jobs in five years: SIDBI 964) A 10,000 crore rupees fund named SIDBI Make In India Loan For Enterprises (SMILE) has been launched for providing soft loans to which sector: MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) 965) High Court in which state has directed that children of all public servants should go to govt. schools only: Uttar Pradesh 966) Usha Ananthasubramanian has been appointed new Managing Director & CEO of which bank: Punjab National Bank 967) What is the new name proposed by the Prime Minister for the Agriculture Ministry: Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ministry 968) Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the new prime minister of which country: Sri Lanka 969) Name the political party that won the recently held General Elections in Sri Lanka: United National Party 970) The Reserve Bank of India gave in principle approval for_____ entities on August 19 to set up payments banks: 11 971) Concept of payment banks was proposed by which committee: Nachiket Mor committee 972) Payment banks can accept only demand deposits and are not allowed to accept which deposit: Time deposits
GENERAL AWARENESS – MARCH 2016 103 973) Balance in demand deposits accounts opened by payment banks cannot exceed what limit: Rs. 1 lac 974) Which company tops the world’s 100 most innovative companies list compiled by Forbes magazine of USA: Tesla Motors 975) How many sports persons has been given Arjun Awards in the year 2015: 17 976) Sebastian Coe has been elected as the new President of the International Association of Athletics Federations. He is from which sports: Athletics (Runner) 977) Name the Bollywood actor who has been named an advocate for the UN’s campaign on gender equality: Anupam Kher 978) ‘Making India Awesome’ is a book written by which author: Chetan Bhagat 979) Sneha Verma, a 21-year-old girl suffering from Down syndrome, won gold medal in which sports at the Special Olympics World Summer Games: Swimming 980) Aditi Chauhan, India’s international football goalkeeper became the country’s first woman in what way: To play English league football 981) __________, former Australian cricketer has been appointed Australia's first education ambassador to India: Adam Gilchrist 982) What is the main recommendation of R Gandhi committee on urban cooperative banks: They should be allowed function as regular banks 983) Name the web portal launched by the govt. for the benefit of students seeking educational loan: www.vidyalakshmi.co.in 984) Which Indian international airport became the first airport in the world to operate completely on solar power: Kochi 985) _________ has become the first country to receive funds from UN for solar home systems: Bangladesh 986) Solar home systems are helping Bangladesh cut carbon emissions by reducing use of ________ in rural areas: Kerosene 987) RBI has allowed banks to extend repayment period of farm loan upto 5-years in case _________percent or more of crop is damaged due to natural calamities like drought and flood: 50 988) The World Athletics Championships were held in end of August in which place: Beijing, China 989) From September 1 2015, which two days will be observed as public holiday every month: Second and Fourth Saturday 990) Dhyan Chand awards in sports are given by the govt. for what purpose: Life time achievement awards Edited, Printed and Published by Varinder Mohan Singh Grover for Gyanm Education and Training Institute Pvt. Ltd., SCO 13-14-15, 2nd Floor, Sector 34- A, Chandigarh – 160022 and printed by him at All tech Print Pack, 182/4, Industrial Area – I, Chandigarh ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD: ONLY 12 MONTHS FROM (MONTH) …………………..TO……………. (MONTH) AMOUNT: Name: Mr./Ms……………………………………………….……… Address:…………………………………………………………….… ……………………………………………………………………… City:……………………………District:………………………. State: ………………..…………………..PIN: Email: ………………………………………………………………….. Ph./Mob…………………………………………………..………… The subscription amount can be remitted to our following account: GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD BANK : ALLAHABAD BANK Branch: Sector 34, Chandigarh ACCOUNT NO.: 502 1311 7700 IFSC CODE: ALLA0211989 …………………………………………………………………………………………… PARTICULARS OF REMITTANCE: Amount remitted: Rs………… Date:…./…./…… Bank………………………………..Branch…………… Transaction no………………………….. DATE:_________ Signature (Magazine will be sent by Ordinary Post) GYANM: SCO 13-15, 2nd FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH PH: 0172-4052124, 09257211740, OR SMS <MAGAZINE> TO 09646888377 Rs. 600/-
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Gyanm general awareness_march_2016_issue

  • 2.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 1 GENERAL AWARENESS MARCH 2016 Vol. 4, Issue 09 A PUBLICATION OF GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD. SCO 13-14-15, 2ND FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH Contents CURRENT AFFAIRS NOV 2015 TO JAN 2016 01-39 BULLET NEWS AUG TO OCT 2015 40-58 LATEST 100 GK MCQs 59-65 SSC CORNER 66-74 6 MONTHS GK BYTES 75-104 FIGURES TO REMEMBER REPO RATE (29.09.2015) 6.75% REVERSE REPO RATE 5.75% MARGINAL STANDING FACILITY RATE 7.75% STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO 21.5% CASH RESERVE RATIO 4.00% BANK RATE 7.75% BASE RATE(s) (of various banks) 9.30 to 9.70% INDIA’s RANK IN Overall Growth Prospectus 5th Global Talent Competitiveness Index 89th Nuclear Security Index 21st Ease of Doing Business (Forbes) 97th Human Development Index 130th ICT Development Index 131st Rank in Brand Value 7th Legatum Prosperity Index 99th Global Terrorism Index 06th Financial Secrecy Index 45th Ease of Doing Business (World Bank) 130th Number of Startups 03rd Global Competitiveness Index, WEF 55th Protection of Minority Investors 08th Global Innovation Index 81st Global Competitiveness 44th In terms of Peace 143rd Motherhood Index 140th Environmental Democracy Index 24th Human Capital Index 100th Global Resilience Index 119th NATIONAL NEWS JANUARY 2016 HOLLANDE PRESIDES OVER REPUBLIC DAY President of France, Francois Hollande arrived in Chandigarh on Jan 24 for a three–day visit to India. He was the honourable Chief Guest at the 67thRepublic Day Parade at New Delhi. An agreement was signed to provide technical and financial assistance for developing Puducherry, the erstwhile French protectorate, Chandigarh and Nagpur as a smart city. Besides, 16 other agreements, including one for purchase of 36 Rafale advanced fighter aircrafts, were also signed. He also inaugurated the interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance - ISA and laid the foundation stone of its headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana. ISA is a specialized platform for cooperation among 121 solar resource rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, for increasing utilisation and promotion of solar energy. FRENCH FORCES IN REPUBLIC DAY PARADE For the first time, a military contingent of a foreign country will take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26. A contingent of the French army, which is already in India for a joint military exercise, will take part in the parade along with Indian armed forces. INDIA 5TH BEST COUNTRY FOR GROWTH According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) the top five markets considered as most important for overall growth prospects are USA, China, Germany, the UK and India. CEOs in India are showing much more confidence than their global counterparts when it comes to revenue growth for their companies. INDIA IMPROVES ITS CORRUPTION STATUS In the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)-2015 by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), India has been ranked at 76th position in public sector corruption out of 168 countries, improving its slot from 85 in 2014 and 94 in 2013. The Index is topped by Denmark, followed by Finland, Sweden and New Zealand.
  • 3.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 2 NATIONAL VOTERS’ DAY 6th National Voters’ Day was celebrated across the country on Jan 25. The theme for this year was ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation’. It was on this day in 1950 that the Election Commission came into existence. FIRST BLIND FRIENDLY TRAIN The Mysuru-Varanasi Express has become the country’s first blind friendly Braille-embedded train. It has been provided with metallic Braille signage indicating berth numbers, location of alarm chains, toilets, and emergency windows. INDIA HAS LARGEST DIASPORA India’s diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from India living outside their country in 2015, according to a latest survey conducted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. India is followed by Mexico, Russia and China. US HAS LARGEST NUMBER OF INDIANS India sends the largest number of engineers and scientists to the US with about 950,000 immigrant scientists and engineers coming from the country, according to a report. The number of scientists and engineers residing in the US rose from 21.6 million to 29 million from 2003 to 2013. 20th NATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL The 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was observed as National Youth Day across the country. Main event was the five day 20th National Youth Festival held in Naya Raipur, the new capital city of Chhattisgarh. The theme for the festival was "India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony". The mascot for the event was Wild Buffalo, the state animal of Chhattisgarh and named as 'Sangi', which means "friend". ‘JALLIKATTU’ – CENTRE ALLOWS, S C BANS The Union Government has allowed the conduct of the traditional bull-taming sports, ‘Jallikattu’, in Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated around Pongal in Tamil Nadu. However, on Jan 12, Supreme Court stayed the Central government notification allowing ‘Jallikattu’. MUMBAI 22ND, DELHI 24TH BEST CITY According to a study conducted by international real estate consultancy JLL, India’s financial capital Mumbai has been ranked 22nd, while the National Capital is placed at number 24 in the top-30 list of the world’s most powerful, productive and connected cities. The list is topped by Tokyo, followed by New York and London. N E INDIA STRUCK BY EARTHQUAKE A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck northeast India on Jan 4. The epicentre of the earthquake was at Tamenglong, 33 kilometres away from Imphal in Manipur. Several persons were killed and many a buildings collapsed in Tamenglong. GOVT TO SIGN RAPTOR AGREEMENT The government has approved the signing of the Raptor MoU which aims at promoting internationally coordinated actions to conserve and reverse the decline of birds of prey such as eagles, kites, vultures, hawks and owls. India will become the 54th country to sign this agreement. INDIA TO MAKE BRIDGES IN MYANMAR The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in Myanmar. This will facilitate all season movement of goods from Imphal to Mandlay in Myanmar and further entering Thailand. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR MINORITY YOUTH World Bank will provide a $ 50 million loan for ‘Nai Manzil'–Education and Skills Training for Minorities. Minority youth in BPL category in the age group of 17-35 years will be the main beneficiaries of the project. INDIA RANKS LOWLY 89TH IN TALENT HUNT The Global Talent Competitiveness Index compiled by the INSEAD Business School, France to rank the 103 countries on the basis of their ability to attract talent, has placed India at 89th rank, 11 steps below its rank last year. The index is topped by the Switzerland, followed by Singapore.
  • 4.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 3 INDIA RANKS LOW IN NUCLEAR SAFETY A Nuclear Security Index compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative of USA for 176 countries to assess global nuclear security conditions, for both – weapon grade nuclear material and possibility of sabotage, has placed India low at 21st rank among the 24 countries having one kg or more of the weapon grade nuclear material. Australia has been ranked as the safest country. ‘BHARAT PARV’ HELD IN DELHI A four day cultural festival 'Bharat Parv' was held at the Red Fort lawns in Delhi from Jan 26-29 to highlight the rich cultural and ethnic heritage of India, including cuisine and handicrafts from across the country. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ZOO IN ANDHRA In a global first, the World Bank has agreed to provide $ 20 million assistance to reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam (Andhra) which got devastated during cyclone Hudhud in October 2014. INDIA TO SHARE CLIMATE INFORMATION The World Meteorological Organisation has nominated India as the Regional Climate Centre to provide information to other South Asian countries on temperature and monsoon, including that about El Nino.  Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising “Make in India Week” in Mumbai during February 13- 18, 2016 to hold investors meet for the manufacturing sector.  India’s share in IMF has increased to 2.75% from 2.44%, making it the eighth-largest shareholder in the Fund. Its voting rights now will rise to 2.6% from 2.34%.  The World Bank will give $ 250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction and recovery support in flood-affected areas.  India and Armenia signed an amended Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) to share information on banking and financial transactions.  The largest tricolour (66 x 99 feet) in the country was hoisted atop the Pahari Mandir in Ranchi, Jharkhand on the tallest pole – standing 293 foot.  Union Ministry of Finance released the draft report of Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committee to simplify the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961.  The child sex ratio in India now stands at 918 (per thousand male babies), dipping further from 927 in 2001, and reaching the lowest level since 1961.  Govt has decided to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs to avoid duplication of work and to improve efficiency.  India-Nepal Bus Service between Banbasa border in Uttarakhand and Kanchanpur in Nepal started on 4th January, after a gap of 27 years.  The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January 2016 in New Delhi. It was a limited edition as now it will be organised once in two years.  India’s first World Music Festival will be held in Udaipur on Feb 12-13. Over 100 artistes from over 12 countries will take part in the festival.  103rd Indian Science Congress held at University of Mysore, Karnataka. Theme for this year was "Science & Technology for Indigenous Development in India".  International Kite Festival held at Sabarmati River front in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.  The Jaipur Literature Festival held at Hotel Diggi Palace, Jaipur (Rajasthan) from January 21 to 25.  National Conference on e-Governance held in Nagpur, Maharashtra. DECEMBER 2015 INDIA 97TH IN ‘DOING BUSINESS’ India has ranked a low 97th out of 144 nations on Forbes' annual list of the best countries for doing business in 2015, scoring poorly on issues like trade and monetary freedom and response to challenges like corruption and violence. Denmark topped the list. As per World Bank data, India ranks 130th.
  • 5.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 4 INDIA RANKS 130TH IN HDI As per the Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, India ranked a lowly 130th in the list of 188 nations. It is up by five ranks from last year's 135, thanks to higher life expectancy and gross national income. Stagnancy in education, women's empowerment and poverty continue to drag India down. Norway topped the ranking. HDI is a summary measure to assess long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development -a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. MODI VISITS RUSSIA AND AFGHANISTAN Prime Minister Modi visited Russia on Dec 23-24 to attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit. President Vladimir Putin gifted him an 18th century sword from Bengal and a page from Mahatma Gandhi's diary containing his handwritten notes. Russia and India signed 16 pacts. The agreements include joint manufacture of Kamov 226 multipurpose helicopters and construction of 12 atomic plants in India. PM Modi visited Afghanistan on Dec 25 to meet President Ashraf Ghani. He inaugurated the Parliament building which has been constructed by India. He made a surprise brief halt in Pakistan also to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif. MARGINAL IMPROVEMENT IN FOREST COVER According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015, the total forest and tree cover is 79.42 million hectare, which is 24.16 percent of the total geographical area, up from 24.01 per cent in 2013. Of this, the forest cover is 7,01,673 sq km covering 21.34 per cent area. The total forest cover of the country has increased by 3, 775 Square kilometre and the tree cover has gone up by 1,306 Square kilometre. The maximum increase in forest cover has been observed in Tamil Nadu, followed by Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. ACID VICTIMS TO BE UNDER DISABLED QUOTA The Supreme Court has directed all the State and UT Governments to consider acid-attack victims under the disabled quota to enable them to get reservations in government jobs as well as education benefits. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR SANITATION The World Bank has approved a USD 1.5 billion loan for the ambitious clean India campaign to support the government in its efforts to ensure all citizens in rural areas have access to improved sanitation and end the practice of open defecation by 2019. INDIANS HIGHLY IGNORANT - SURVEY A survey conducted by a London-based market research firm found people in Mexico and India were most inaccurate in perceptions on issues such as obesity, non- religious population, immigration, female employment, rural living and Internet access. Survey in 33 countries for ‘Index of Ignorance’ placed Mexico as most ignorant, followed by India.  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a 3 day visit to India. He attended Ganga Aarti at Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi.  Panos Kammenos, Greek Defence Minister arrived in India on a three day visit. The two countries decided to enhance bilateral defence ties.  National Veda Convention and Vedic Conference held in Kozhikode, Kerala.  The Lok Sabha passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as a National Standards Body.  India and South Korea have inked a new MoU on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of mutual agreement procedure.  The ICT (information, communication & technology) Development Index places India a lowly 131st among 167 countries. South Korea tops the index. NOVEMBER 2015 ‘CONSTITUTION DAY’ ON NOV 26 The ‘Constitution Day’ of India was observed on 26th November to spread awareness of Indian Constitution and its architect Dr. B R Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly. On this day in 1949, Constitution of India was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of free India. MODI VISITS UK Prime Minister Mr. Modi visited England on November 12 for a three day trip. He became the first serving Prime Minister of India to address the UK's Parliament. India signed a civil nuclear pact with United Kingdom during his visit. The two countries announced deals worth 9-billion pound in the field of defence and cyber security and railways. Britain announced 2017 as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence.
  • 6.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 5 NUCLEAR DEAL FINALIZED WITH AUSTRALIA India and Australia have announced the completion of procedures for bringing the two-nation nuclear deal into force. The announcement was made at the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull in the G-20 Summit at Antalya in Turkey. CHINESE VICE PRESIDENT VISITS INDIA Li Yuanchao, the Vice-President of China visited India to review cooperation on better river water management and cultural exchanges. The two countries signed a MoU on smooth sharing of hydrological data related to the common Himalayan Rivers. INDIA STANDS 7TH IN TERMS OF BRAND VALUE As per the annual report on world's most valuable nation brands compiled by Brand Finance, India has moved up one position to become the world's seventh most valued nation brand with an increase of 32 per cent in its brand value to 2.1 billion dollars. The US remains on the top with a valuation of 19.7 billion dollars, followed by China and Germany at the second and the third positions. MODI IS 9TH MOST POWERFUL IN WORLD Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ninth most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list which is topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at the second spot followed by US President Barack Obama (3rd) and Pope Francis (4th) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (5th). INTERNET BOOM IN INDIA According to a report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International, the number of internet users in India is expected to touch 402 million by December 2015, a 49 per cent jump over last year, making India home to the second largest online user base after China. INDIA 99TH IN TERMS OF PROSPERITY India has been ranked 99th in Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 out of 142 countries. The report is based on the results of eight sub-indices - economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom, social capital. SALARY BONANZA FOR GOVT EMPLOYEES 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur submitted its report to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Nov 19. It recommended 23.55 percent hike in pay and allowances of government employees. The pay will go up by 16 percent, allowances by 63 percent and pension by 24 percent. It has suggested a minimum basic pay of 18 thousand and maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh per month. The pay revision will come into effect from January 2016. INDIA FARES POORLY IN GENDER EQUALITY The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked 145 economies according to how well they are leveraging their female workforce. Iceland topped the list, followed by Norway and Finland. India ranked low at 108th rank while Pakistan was second last. INDIA 6TH WORST HIT BY TERRORISM As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, India ranks 6th in list of 162 nations most impacted by terrorism in 2014. Islamic State and Boko Haram are now jointly responsible for more than half of all global fatalities from terrorist attacks. The other top five countries worst hit by terrorism are Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. INDIA INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL First India International Science Festival, a joint event of Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, is being organized at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi from Dec 4 to 8. The festival aims to provide a platform to young scientists from all over the country to share and spread their scientific ideas, achievements and inventions.  46th International Film Festival of India, IFFI began in Panaji, Goa with the screening of ‘The Man Who Knew the Infinity’, a biopic based on the life of mathematical wizard Srinivas Ramanujan, was the opening film.  PM Modi visited Singapore for two days, Nov 23-24 and signed 10 agreements on mutual co-operation.
  • 7.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 6  Prime Minister Mr. Modi visted Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to attend Asean-India meet, Asean summit and the East Asian Summit.  Hamid Ansari, Vice President visited Indonesia on Nov 2. Agreements in the field of cultural exchange and renewable energy were signed with Indonesia.  Francois Hollande, President of France will be the chief guest at the 2016 Republic Day celebrations.  Bhutan's PM Tshering Tobgay visited India to preside over the 'India Ideas Conclave' in Goa.  The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, ranked 99th in a list of top 100 institutions by the ‘Times Higher Education Rankings for Engg. & Technology’.  A report by global consultancy firm KPMG says that India has emerged as the top country when it comes to corporate responsibility reporting.  India re-elected on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law for a period of six years.  Seven Indian celebrities including Asha Bhosle, Sania Mirza and veteran actress Kamini Kaushal have made it to BBC's list of 100 most aspirational women.  Telephone subscriber base in India reached 102.26 crore at the end of September while fixed line base continued to fall, as per data compiled by TRAI.  As per the global Financial Secrecy Index released by Tax Justice Network of UK, India ranked 45th among 92 countries in terms of financial transparency.  11th National Tribal Crafts Mela ‘Aadishilp’ held in New Delhi.  First international film festival for the persons with disabilities (IFFPD) will be held in Delhi from 1 to 3 December 2015.  Second World Congress on Disaster Management was held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, from 19 to 22 November.  Global Cancer Summit held at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru from Nov 18 to 20.  The 17th Asia Pacific Youth Forum meet was held in Kozhikode, Kerala to share ideas for the empowerment of youth to protect the Earth.  9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (RPBD) was held at Los Angeles, California, USA on the 14th and 15th November 2015.  According to a global survey of 26 countries, India is the fourth most vacation-deprived nation with 65% saying they feel very or somewhat vacation-deprived.  Militant outfit National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), declared as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.  The National Milk Day was observed on 26 November to mark 94th birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution - Dr Verghese Kurien.  The British Government has selected Pune and Amravati from Maharashtra and Indore from Madhya Pradesh for developing them as 'Smart City'. NEWS FROM STATES JANUARY 2016 SIKKIM BECOMES FULLY ‘ORGANIC’ Sikkim has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation. Organic cultivation is free of chemical pesticides and chemical fertilisers as it tries to strike a harmonious balance with a complex series of ecosystems. KULLU NATI DANCE CREATES WORLD RECORD In Himachal Pradesh, the Nati folk dance of Kullu district has made a world record by entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the folk dance by largest number– 9,892 women. The dance was arranged last year on 26th October during International Dussehra festival. GANGA GRAM YOJANA TO START FROM U P Govt has launched Ganga Gram Yojana from Village Puth in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Under the scheme, 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed to minimize/stop pollution of the river from these villages. ‘FREE’ WI-FI AT MUMBAI RLY STATION Mumbai Central has become the first ever railway station in India to have free high-speed Internet facility for thousands of its passengers. Railwayplans to extend this facility to 400 stations in near future. The service has been rolled out by Indian Railway’s telecom arm, RailTel in collaboration with Google. ARUNACHAL UNDER PRESIDENT RULE President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution to the Union Cabinet’s recommendation for President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh, accepting the ground that there was a “constitutional breakdown” in the state as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state Assembly.  For the first time, a study by the World Wide Fund- India has captured on camera evidence of the highly endangered species Snow Leopard inhabiting the high mountains of northern Sikkim.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 7  The 14th edition of Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films was held in Mumbai from Jan 28 to Feb 03.  The Ardh Kumbh mela formally started at Haridwar on Jan 12. The first Snan of the Kumbh will take place on Makar Sankranti, Jan 14.  Kerala has become the first Indian state to achieve 100 per cent primary education (up to class iv) by implementing the programme ‘Athulyam’.  World Bank to provide $ 250 million loan for the Bihar’s Kosi Basin Development Project.  Bihar government has decided to give 35% reservation for women in all state government jobs.  Bihar govt has announced that no one can contest the panchayat elections scheduled in 2016 in the state, without having a toilet at their home.  Telangana has become the first state in the country to officially accept electronic motor insurance policies by the name ‘e-Vahan Bima’. DECEMBER 2015 PER CAPITA INCOME HIGHEST IN DELHI According to Delhi Government's Delhi Statistical Hand Book, the state recorded the highest per capita income among all the states in the country at Rs. 2,40,849 during financial year 2014-15. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Delhi, at current prices, in 2014-15 stood at Rs 4.51 lakh crore, up by 15.35 per cent over the previous year. DELHI IS MOST POLLUTED CITY IN WORLD Green Peace India released a report on National Air Quality Index (NAQI) for 17 countries, covering top 20 most polluted cities. As per the report, Delhi was the most polluted city in the world, while 13 Indian cities figured in the 20 most polluted cities in the world. NO TO DIESEL VEHICLES IN DELHI The National Green Tribunal has directed that no new or old diesel vehicle be registered in Delhi till Jan. 6, with a view to curb pollution in capital. It also directed all the govt departments to not to purchase any new diesel vehicle and make plans to phase out the existing ones.  The Konark Festival, the five-day festival of classical dances of India, was held in Konark, Odisha, in the back drop of the famous Sun Temple.  The International Sand Art Festival 2015 was held in Konark, Odisha.  For the first time, two Indian cities, Varanasi and Jaipur, have been selected in the Creative City Network of the UNESCO in the categories - City of Music and City of Crafts and Folk Art, respectively.  The Maharashtra legislature becomes the first legislature to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House.  The Odisha state launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students in the state.  The Bihar government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from its capital's roads to control pollution.  India’s fourth and North India’s first cable-stayed bridge was inaugurated at Basohali in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, over river Ravi.  West Bengal has approved formation of five new districts in the state, bringing the total districts to 25.  Mumbai’s iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also called the Queen’s Necklace completed 100 years on Dec 16.  Maharashtra has started the country's biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre at Gorewada near Nagpur to take care of sick, injured and rescued animals.  Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival began on 12 December 2015 in Ladakh, J&K. The festival marks the beginning of New Year for Buddhists.  Uttar Pradesh has launched International festival on Birds in National Chambal Sanctuary to promote state as an international bird-watching destination.  Hornbill Festival held in Kohima, Nagaland from Dec 1 to 10 to highlight state’s rich cultural heritage.  Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to launch Rotavirus vaccination for controlling the child mortality rate (under 5 years of age) due to diarrhea.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 8 NOVEMBER 2015 TAMIL NADU LASHED BY HEAVY RAINS In Tamil Nadu, heavy rains by north east monsoon claimed over 102 lives. The rains threw normal life out of gear in almost all parts of the state with coastal and northern districts bearing the brunt. INDIA’s 1ST BLIND FRIENDLY RLY. STATION Mysuru Railway Station in Karnataka has become the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India. Train schedules and over 400 metal signages have been installed in Braille for the benefit of visually handicapped persons. S. AUSTRALIA TIES UP WITH RAJASTHAN South Australia state has signed a historic 'sister-state agreement' with Rajasthan to pave new ways to boost export and investment opportunities between the two states based on a two-way exchange of research and technical capabilities. CHHATH OBSERVED IN BIHAR-U P Chhath festival was celebrated in different parts of the country on Nov 17-18 with great religious fervour and gaiety. Large number of devotees offered prayers to the rising sun at the banks of rivers and other water bodies. It is one of the most popular festivals of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. MIGRATORY GUESTS ARRIVE IN CHILKA Migratory birds mostly from Northern Eurasia, the Caspian region, Siberia, Kazakh and remote areas of Russia and Southeast Asia have started arriving in Chilka Lake, Odisha.  Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival held near Tura, Meghalaya. It is the thanksgiving post-harvest festival of the Garo tribes of North East India.  APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna launched in Maharashtra to provide at least one cooked meal for pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas.  The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has been adjudged the best-maintained international airport in the country  Northeast’s first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park, Assam.  Norway reopened its Consulate General office in Mumbai after four decades of closure in 1973.  Karnataka launched the ‘Tourist Mitra’, a 175- member friendly force, to reinforce smooth and secure experiences for tourists. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES JANUARY 2016 “START-UP INDIA, STAND-UP INDIA” Govt. has started a 19 point Start-up Action Plan with a Rs. 10,000 crore fund for funding of Start-ups. The new ventures will be exempted from paying income tax on their profit and visit of inspectors for the first three years. They will enjoy 80 per cent exemption in patent fee. An Atal Innovation Mission will be launched to give a boost to innovation. NEW CROP INSURANCE FOR FARMERS Government has launched the “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana", under which the premium will be paid by Central and state govt and the farmers will have to pay only a token premium of 2 per cent for kharif, 1.5 per cent for rabi and 5 per cent for commercial crops. 33% WOMEN IN PARA FORCES Govt has approved 33% reservation for women in Central Armed Police Forces such as CRPF and CISF at constable–level positions and 14-15% reservation at the constable level in border guarding forces such as BSF, SSB and ITBP. HYBRID ANNUITY MODEL FOR HIGHWAYS The government has approved the hybrid annuity model as one of the modes for implementing highway development projects. Under this model, 40% of the project cost is provided by the government during construction and the balance 60% as annuity (installments) payments later on during the agreed concession period. E-TENDERS MUST FOR OVER 2 LAKH DEALS With a view to bring transparency in government purchases, it has been decided that all central ministries and public sector units will have to float e-tenders for procuring goods and services exceeding Rs 2 lakh. At present the limit is Rs 5 lakh.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 9 61 MORE DISTRICTS UNDER ‘BETI BACHAO’ The Government has decided to extend the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to 61 more districts this year to improve skewed child sex ratio. The programme was launched in January 2015 in 100 districts with poor sex ratio across the country. SOCIAL SECURITY PACT WITH AUSTRALIA A new social security agreement signed between India and Australia has come into operation enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other's country, a pact likely to boost bilateral business linkages. GAVI TO PROMOTE VACCINATION IN INDIA To improve the quality and coverage of vaccination in India, Union Health Ministry has decided to use the expertise of Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), a global NGO working for promotion of vaccination in poor countries.  Operation Green Hunt refers to an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces against the Naxalites in the Naxal affected five states.  River Information System - the first of its kind in India launched to facilitate safe and accurate navigation on National Waterway-1 (Ganga River).  Union Govt in coordination with the Jammu and Kashmir Govt has launched an initiative ‘Wattan ko Jano’ to familiarize the local youth with the development of the country in other states.  Sahaj Scheme launched for online booking of LPG cylinders through the unified web portal www.mylpg.in, available in 13 languages.  Government has decided to institute a new award category under the National Film Awards titled The Most Film–Friendly State/UT.  The Union Ministry of Shipping has started Project Green Ports to make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener.  Eight states have agreed to implement direct benefit of transfer of subsidy in kerosene in 26 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2016.  Finance Ministry to organise the India Investment Summit from Feb. 4 in New Delhi to attract global investors to promote Indian infrastructure sector.  The government has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp of Censor Board.  A new luxury super fast express train 'Mahamana Express' named after Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya has been started between Varanasi to Delhi.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 10 DECEMBER 2015 APPS LAUNCHED TO PROMOTE HEALTHCARE Govt has launched 4 new Information Technology-based initiatives to provide citizen-centric health services. They include three applications:  Kilkari:An audio-based mobile service that delivers weekly audio messages to families about pregnancy, child birth and child care.  Mobile Academy: For providing training services to 9 million ASHA workers.  M-Cessation: Counselling helpline to help tobacco users to quit tobacco.  Toll free number 1800-11–6666 to provide round the clock counselling and treatment support services to TB patients NO LPG SUBSIDY FOR THE RICH Government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders from January, 2016. Over 20 lakh persons have reported annual income of over Rs. 10 lakh. At present, all households are entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs 419.26, while the market price of each cylinder is Rs 608. MOBILE APPS LAUNCHED FOR FARMERS Govt. has launched two mobile apps for farmers. The app - Crop Insurance - will help farmers find out complete details about insurance cover available in their area. The other app called Agri Market Mobile can be used by farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device. 6 NEW IITs & 5 NEW IISEs TO BE SET UP The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at an overall cost of over Rs 1,400 crore in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu, Kerala and Karnataka. Approval was also given for setting up of five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research at Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram. ‘AIM’ AND ‘SETU’ FOR ENTERPRENEURS Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is developing an entrepreneurship development scheme wherein entrepreneurship activities in innovative and cutting edge technology areas will be aligned with initiatives such as Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment Talent Utilisation (SETU). INJECTABLE POLIO VACCINE LAUNCHED The government has launched an injectable polio vaccine – Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) – which will be administered in addition to oral polio drops in the routine immunization programme. IPV injection will be given to children aged below one year along with the third dose of the oral polio vaccine (OPV), free of cost to double the immunity. LOK SABHA NOD FOR 101 WATERWAYS Lok Sabha passed a bill to develop 101 new waterways across the country aimed at providing a cheaper mode of transport and reducing traffic burden on roads. At present, there are only five National Waterways. NEW GUIDELINES ON FRAUDS Government has now made it mandatory for the auditors to report any suspected corporate fraud amounting to Rs 1 crore or more to the Corporate Affairs Ministry with a view to effectively curb the misdoings in corporate sector. NEW DESIGNATION FOR GOVT CLERKS Govt has decided to rename the posts of UDC (Upper Division Clerk) and LDC (Lower Division Clerk) under Central Secretariat Clerical Service (CSCS) as Senior Secretariat Assistant and Junior Secretariat Assistant, respectively. NEW DATE FOR BS V-VI STANDARDS The government has advanced the date for implementation of the Bharat Stage (BS) V and VI norms for emission standards for four-wheelers by 3 years to April 1, 2019 and April 1, 2021, respectively. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, which provides for lowering the age for trial of juvenile from 18 years to 16 years, has been passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha earlier.  Govt has asked the states and UTs to start Operation Smile-II from 1 to 31 January 2016 to rehabilitate / rescue the missing children.  Global Initiative of Academic Networks Scheme launched to boost the quality of higher education through international collaboration.  Central Board of Secondary Education has rolled out its latest mobile application E-CBSE for providing e- learning material for students and teachers.  With a view to provide relief to 3.7 lakh jute mill workers, the govt has approved mandatory use of jute packaging material for foodgrains and sugar.  Union govt. proposes to launch a $1-billion equity fund, with seed capital from public sector units, to support renewable energy companies.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 11 NOVEMBER 2015 UDAY SCHEME TO HELPOUT DISCOMS The government launched Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) to improve the ability of power distribution companies (DISCOMs) to procure power at a much lower capital cost. The scheme allows DISCOMs to convert their debt into state bonds and to launch measures to improve efficiency at power plants. 10 SCHEMES FOR THE BENEFIT OF DISABLED Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched 10 schemes for the benefit of disabled persons. The schemes are:  DISHA: Early Intervention and School Readiness Scheme  VIKAAS: Day Care Scheme  SAMARTH: Respite Care Scheme  GHARAUNDA: Group Home for Adults Scheme  NIRAMAYA: Health Insurance Scheme  SAHYOGI: Caregiver training scheme  GYAN PRABHA: Educational support Scheme  PRERNA: Marketing Assistance Scheme  SAMBHAV: Aids and Assisted Devices Scheme  BADHTE KADAM: Awareness and Community Interaction Scheme FUND FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT Government has launched the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) under the National Manufacturing Policy, 2011 to facilitate acquisition of clean, green and energy efficient technologies. It will also catalyse the manufacturing growth in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector with an aim to contribute to ‘Make in India’ initiative. The scheme will be implemented through Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA), a joint venture company. GOVT TO IMPLEMENT CCTNS AND ICJS With a view to revamp criminal justice system in the country, the govt has approved implementation of two systems - Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) Project. The two systems aim at bringing online all the police stations of the country and integrating them with online judicial system to ensure speedy settlement of offences and disputes. ACCESSIBLE INDIA CAMPAIGN The government has launched Accessible India campaign under which 27 international airports and 75 railway stations in India will be surveyed to identify the areas that need to be improved to make them disabled- friendly. ACTION PLANS APPROVED FOR 81 CITIES Govt has approved State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for 2015-16. Earlier, SAAPs were approved for 89 cities in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in October 2015. SCHEME FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS The Union Ministry of Tourism launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Swadesh Darshan schemes to achieve 1% share of international tourist arrivals by 2016-17 from the present 0.68 %. USE OF PLASTIC WASTE ‘MUST’ IN ROADS The government has made it mandatory for road developers to use waste plastic along with bituminous mixes for road construction to overcome the growing problem of disposal of plastic waste in India's urban centres. The rule will applyfor constructing bitumen roads within 50 km of periphery of any city that has a population of over five lakh. ‘AMRIT’ OUTLET AT AIIMS, NEW DELHI Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) pharmacy outlet at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. FIPB POWERS HIKED TO Rs 5,000 CRORE To expedite FDI clearance process, the government has enhanced the monetary limit to approve foreign investment proposals of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board – FIPB to Rs 5,000 crore, from Rs. 3,000 crore at present.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 12 3 NEW EDUCATIONAL WEB PORTALS Govt has launched three web portals / apps - e- Pathshala for educational resources, Saaransh for educational improvements and National Programme on School Standards and Evaluation Framework (Shala Siddhi) for online evaluations.  The deadline for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for rural connectivity through all- weather roads, reduced from 2022 to 2019.  Agriculture Ministry to launch ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ for growth and development of fisheries.  Govt has allowed German language to be taught as additional foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas as per the National Education Policy, 1986.  From November 12, a railway ticket could be booked online up to 30 minutes prior to the departure of a train as Railways has modified their booking system.  Govt to continue 90% central funding for the core Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the 8 northeastern states, while 10% will be borne by the states. ECONOMIC INDICATORS JANUARY 2016 INDIA TO GROW BY 7.8% - WORLD BANK The Global Economic Prospect by the World Bank has projected a robust 7.8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in the current year based on strong investor sentiment in India and the positive effect of the recent fall in oil prices. CORE SECTOR SHRINKS BY 1.3% The index of eight core industries contracted by 1.3 per cent in November as against 8.5 per cent growth in the same month last year due to low growth witnessed in the production of crude oil, natural gas and steel. IND. PRODUCTION SHRINKS BY 3.2% Dashing hopes of recovery, industrial production as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted by 3.2% in November — the lowest level in over four years — due to poor performance of manufacturing sector and a sharp decline in capital goods output.  India’s exports fell for the 13th consecutive month in December to $22.29 billion. Imports declined to $33.96 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $11.67 billion.  UNCTAD says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India nearly doubled to $ 59 billion in 2015 as against 36 per cent rise at the world level. DECEMBER 2015 GDP GROWTH MOVES UP TO 7.4% Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that country’s economic growth increased to 7.4 percent in the July-September quarter against 7 per cent achieved in the April-June quarter this year. Though we overtook China as the fastest growing major economy, yet, the growth rate is lower than the 8.3 achieved in the same quarter last year. GDP GROWTH RATE LOWERED TO 7-7.5% India lowered its GDP growth projection for the current year to between 7 - 7.5 per cent against the earlier forecast of 8.1 - 8.5 per cent. Lowering of rate was necessitated due to slowing of GDP growth rate in the first half of the year (from April to September) to 7.2 % from 7.5 % in the corresponding period last year. RBI RETAINS GROWTH RATE AT 7.4% Considering areas of robust growth in manufacturing such as capital goods and passenger cars and counter effect of weak rural and external demand on overall growth, RBI retained its projection of GDP growth rate at 7.4 per cent for the current fiscal. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.9% - GOLDMAN SACHS Global financial analysts Goldman Sachs have said that India’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent next fiscal driven by rising domestic demand and higher capital spending by the government, even though the global economy will remain anaemic. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.4% - S&P Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in its 'India Credit Spotlight' newsletter has noted that India's economy will grow at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal, which will further improve to over 8 per cent in 2016-17 as significant reforms are required with Indian corporates and banks currently facing a weak operating environment. INDIA TO GROW BY 7.3% - UN REPORT The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2016 report says that India would record a 7.3% growth in 2016 and 7.5% in 2017. It will continue to be the fastest growing economy in the world in 2016 and 2017 amid volatile global financial conditions that will see diminished trade flows and stagnant investment, the report said. FITCH KEEPS INDIA AT ‘BBB’ GRADE International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has announced that India’s investment rating would remain at ‘BBB-’ -- the lowest investment grade -- with a stable outlook, saying that strong medium-term growth outlook and favourable external finances will balance out weak structural features, including its business environment.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 13 NOVEMBER 2015  Moody's Investors Service has said that the Indian economy would grow at 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal and improve marginally in the following year.  Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent this fiscal. ECONOMY & INDUSTRY JANUARY 2016 2.36 LAKH MILLIONAIRES IN INDIA India is home to the fourth largest population of millionaires in the Asia Pacific region, with 2.36 lakh such high net worth individuals, while Japan topped the list with 12.60 lakh people, according to the Asia Pacific 2016 Wealth Report. HNWIs (millionaires) were defined as those individuals with net assets of USD 1 million or more. HALDIA TO GET WATERWAYS HUB The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to set up a modern Indian Waterways Hub at Haldia, West Bengal to attract more investment in the state. The Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) is the main gateway for import and export of cargo destined or originating from Eastern, North Eastern and Northern parts of the country as well as landlocked countries like Nepal and Bhutan. GOVT SAYS ‘GOODBYE’ TO HMT WATCHES Govt has decided to close down three loss-making subsidiaries of HMT Ltd, (Hindustan Machines Ltd) namely HMT Watches Ltd, HMT Chinar Watches Ltd, and HMT Bearings Ltd. BS VI NORMS FROM APRIL 1, 2020 With a view to minimize the air pollution from vehicles, Govt has decided to implement strict emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020, by skipping BS- V altogether. Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms, introduced in 2000, are standards that have been set up the Centre to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicle. WORLD BANK LOAN FOR ‘NEERANCHAL’ World Bank has agreed to provide Rs 1071 crore funding for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project which will benefit all the states in India by supporting their various irrigation projects.  India has overtaken Thailand as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015, shipping 10.23 million tonnes as against 9.8 million tonnes by Thailand.  The Asian Development Bank to extend a $625 million loan for the proposed $840 million Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor. DECEMBER 2015 INDIA TO MAKE SHIPS FOR LNG Cochin Shipyard has become the first shipyard in India to get the nod to build LNG (liquefied natural gas) transporting ships, making India fourth such country in world, after South Korea, Japan and China. The most critical part of an LNG ship is its cryogenic containment and handling system as the LNG has to be carried at a temperature of -163 degrees. LNG occupies 1/600th space of gaseous form. MORE TRANSACTIONS UNDER PAN The government has made it mandatory to quote PAN (permanent account number) for all transactions in excess of Rs.2 lakh to curb black money. This includes all payments made through cash, cheques or debit or credit cards. The new rule, effective from January 1, will cover purchases of all goods or services, such as say gold jewellery or furniture. JAPAN TO SUPPORT BULLET TRAIN During recent visit of Japan’s Prime Minister, India and Japan signed a number of pacts in key areas of defence and nuclear energy as well as building of first bullet train network between Mumbai- Ahmadabad at a cost of about Rs 98,000 crore. IMPROVEMENT IN ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS’ The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has informed that as a result of many steps taken to improve the ‘ease of doing business’ in the country, the average number of days taken for incorporation of a company has come down significantly to 4.51 days in November 2015 from 9.57 days in December 2014.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 14 CHANGI TO GUIDE A’BAD & JAIPUR AIRPORTS Government has signed an agreement with Singapore for using the services and expertise of the Singapore airport developer Changi for taking up operations and management of the Ahmadabad and Jaipur airports. ONGC JOINS ‘ZERO ROUTINE FLARING’ The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd has become the first oil company from India to join the global initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ by World Bank to curb routine gas flaring at oil production sites around the world by 2030. SEBI ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR ‘GREEN BONDS’ The SEBI has released concept paper for issuance of Green Bonds. A green bond is like any other bond where a debt instrument is issued by an entity for raising funds from investors but the funds are 'ear-marked' for use towards financing ‘green’ projects only. INDIA TOPS IN INWARD REMITTANCES World Bank has said that India is the largest recipient of inward remittances receiving over 72 billion US dollars in 2014, followed by China at 64 billion US dollars. Of this, largest amount came from USA, $56 billion. INDIA GOT MOST FDI FROM SINGAPORE Singapore has replaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment into India during the first half of the current fiscal. During April to September period, India attracted $6.69 billion FDI from Singapore while from Mauritius, it received $3.66 billion only. WORK BEGINS ON TAPI GAS PIPELINE Leaders of four Asian countries met in Mary, Turkmenistan to join hands for the beginning of construction of 1800 kms long Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project which will provide energy-hungry India gas for its power plants. The pipeline will carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day of natural gas from Turkmenistan of which India and Pakistan will get 42 per cent each, while Afghanistan will get the remaining 16 per cent. PHARMA-OIL BARTER WITH VENEZUELA The government is considering a 'medicines for oil' barter system with Venezuela where Indian pharma exporters are facing problems to repatriate their sales proceeds due to restrictions imposed in that country. Venezuela is the third largest country in terms of oil imports into India. RELIANCE LAUNCHES 4G SERVICES Reliance Jio launched 4G telecom service providing data services with a speed up to 1 gigabyte per second. It offers a unique combination of telecom, high speed data, digital commerce, media and payment services. ‘PROJECT LEAP’ FROM BHARTI AIRTEL Country’s largest telecom services provider, Bharti Airtel will invest Rs.60,000 crore over the next three- years in ‘Project Leap’ to upgrade its networks to provide quality services to meet increasing competition. GOOGLE STARTS YOU TUBE SPACES IN INDIA Google’s YouTube has collaborated with Whistling Woods International, a production house owned by Subhash Ghai, to open its first video production studio called YouTube Spaces in the country.  India received its first uranium consignment for its nuclear power reactors from Canada, after a gap of over four decades.  The first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train was flagged off from Panjim, Goa on Dec 6. NOVEMBER 2015 MSP OF RABI CROPS HIKED The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a hike of Rs. 75 a quintal to Rs. 1575 per quintal in the Minimum Support Price of wheat, the main rabi crop for season 2015-16. A bonus of Rs 75 per quintal, over and above MSP, for the two dals has also been approved. Rs./Qtl CROP MSP CROP MSP Wheat 1525 Rapeseed / Mustard 3350 Barley 1225 Masoor 3325 Safflower 3300 Grams 3425
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 15
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 16 E-COMMERCE PORTAL FOR SMALL UNITS The Confederation of All India Traders has launched an e-commerce portal, ‘e-lala’ to promote interests of 5.77 crore small businesses in the context of rapid expansion of e-commerce. It will enable physical stores to have their own online stores to generate more business. TRIM GENDER GAP TO BOOST GDP - IMF As per a recent IMF study, India's GDP can expand by 27 per cent if the number of women workers increases to the same level as that of men. The gender gap is around 50 per cent in India, compared with an average gap of 12 per cent in OECD countries. 0.5% SWACHH BHARAT CESS IMPOSED Government has announced the levy of a Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5% on all services liable for service tax (14%) from November 15. This means a tax of 50 paisa on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services like mobile bills, eating out, saloon services etc.  With Cotton production estimated at around 400 lakh bales, India is expected to emerge as the largest cotton producer in the world in 2015-16.  35th India International Trade Fair,IITF was held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The theme of the fair this year is Make in India  CCEA has approved 10% stake sale in Coal India Ltd to mop up around Rs 20,000 crore. Govt has targeted Rs 69,500 crore disinvestment in this fiscal.  France has committed to invest over 2 billion Euros for Smart City projects in India with special focus on Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry.  India and Brazil have signed a MoU to cooperate for raising productivity of cattle and buffaloes  World Bank granted $75 million loan to the Andhra Pradesh for its Rural Inclusive Growth project aimed at enhancing agricultural incomes of small farmers.  Asian Development Bank to give $ 273 loan for improving rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. BANKING & FINANCE JANUARY 2016 NEW 100 AND 500 RUPEE NOTES Continuing its efforts to deter counterfeiting activities, the Reserve Bank of India, RBI, will soon introduce new banknotes of 500 rupees and 100 rupees denominations with enhanced security features. These notes will have ascending size of numerals in the number panels, bleed lines and enlarged identification mark. MASTER DIRECTIONS FROM RBI Reserve Bank has started the process of issuing 'Master Directions' on various regulatory issues in its bid to simplify the communication process. To begin with, 17 such Master Directions were issued covering foreign exchange transactions. ALL BIG VILLAGES TO HAVE BANK BRANCHES Reserve Bank has asked banks to ensure that every village with a population over 5,000 should have a bank branch by March 2017 and asked the State Level Bankers' Committees (SLBCs) to identify such villages in their state. BANKS TO SELL ‘INDIA GOLD COINS’ Reserve Bank has permitted banks to sell India Gold Coins (IGC) with Ashok Chakra minted by Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) through their branches. Coins are available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams while a 20 gram bar is also being manufactured by MMTC. INCENTIVE FOR GOLD MONETISATION SCHEME RBI has advised that the government will pay 2.5% commission to banks for attracting more gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme, as it has received very poor response from banks and customers. Only a few kilograms gold could be mobilized by the banks from the massive 2,000 tons of gold stashed in Indian households. Under the current scheme, citizens are encouraged to deposit jewellery, bars or coins with banks so it can be refined to meet fresh demand and cut the need for imports. The consumer would earn interest and, at the end of the deposit term, get the gold back in the form of bars.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 17 LOANS FOR WOMEN SHGs The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to Women Self-Help Group (SHG) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) Aajeevika scheme during 2015-16. RBI IMPOSES FINE ON SBT RBI imposed monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State Bank of Travancore for violation of its instructions including non–reporting of data to Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC). GOVT CHEQUES TO BE PAID THROUGH CTS RBI has decided to dispense with the requirement of physically forwarding paid central government cheques to the departments for clearance. From Feb 1, 2016, cheques will be paid through Cheque Truncation System (CTS) facilitating the presentation and payment of cheques without their physical movement. DECKS CLEARED FOR MUDRA BANK The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into MUDRA Bank. It was also decided to set up a Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) for guaranteeing loans - sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Yojana.  RBI has hiked its shareholding in National Housing Bank by contributing Rs 1,000 crore towards the paid capital, bringing the total capital to Rs 1450 crore.  RBI has granted operational freedom to banks to offer all their products and services through the ATM channels provided technology permits the same.  RBI has asked banks not to issue such 1000 rupee notes which, by mistake, were printed without security thread.  State Bank of India has become the first public sector bank to launch wealth management service ‘SBI Exclusif’ to cater to fast-growing affluent segment of the country.  The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank became the first private bank to achieve the milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore in housing loan. DECEMBER 2015 RBI TO CUT SLR TO 20.50% The RBI has decided to lower the banks’ investment in government securities, also known as statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), to 20.5% by January 2017 from 21.5% at present. As per the new time table, SLR would be reduced to by 25 basis points to 21.25% as on April 2, 2016; 21% by July 9, 2016, 20.75% by October 1, 2016 to 20.75% and the last round of reduction would be January 1, 2017 to 20.50 per cent. BANKS TO HAVE UNIFORM BASE RATE RBI has said that from April 1 next year, all banks will have to follow a new and uniform methodology to calculate base rate as per the marginal cost of funds. All new loans and renewals will now be priced with reference to the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) which will be the internal benchmark for such purposes. Banks will have to publish MCLR of five maturities every month - overnight rates, one month, three months, six months and one year. Like base rate, banks will not be allowed to lend below MCLR, except for few categories, like loans against deposits, loans to bank’s own employees. BANKS CAN’T DENY INFO ON BORROWERS-SC The Supreme Court has ruled that the RBI and commercial banks cannot hide routine information, such as the names of top defaulters, the losses suffered by banks and details of action taken against erring banks, sought by the public under the Right to Information Act. Till now, banks denied such information on the ground that it was information held in a fiduciary capacity and could not be revealed to the public at large. PRIORITY LENDING NORMS HIKED FOR RRBs RBI has hiked Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) from 60 per cent at present to 75 per cent of their total lending with effect from 1 January 2016. As on March 2015, there were 56 RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches. SBI FIRST TO ISSUE EMV CARDS State Bank of India has become first major bank in India to issue EMV chip and pin based debit cards to its new customers to ensure enhanced secure transactions. EMV stands for Euro–Maestro–Visa.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 18 YES BANK GETS BRITISH AWARD Yes Bank, India's fifth largest private sector bank has bagged the prestigious 'Bank of the Year' award conferred by Britain’s 'The Banker' magazine. The awards are widely regarded as the Oscars for the banking Industry. HSBC QUITS PRIVATE BANKING IN INDIA Global banking major Britain’s HSBC (Hong Kong, Shanghai Banking Corporation) announced shutting down of its private banking business in India that offers wealth management services, from first quarter of 2016. They may continue their retail banking operations. Tech Mahindra has launched ‘MoboMoney’, India’s first ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment solution in the form of a prepaid wallet based on NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Axis Bank has partnered with e-Mudhra to introduce ‘eSign’ – an online electronic signature service which facilitates an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document at the click of a button.  Announcing the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2, RBI Governor did not change any of the key policy rates.  RBI has granted in principle approval to the National Payments Corporation of India to function as the Central Unit for Bharat Bill Payment System.  Banks opened a whopping 19.52 crore accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana till the first week of December, 2015.  RBI has extended the deadline for exchanging pre- 2005 currency notes by another six months to June 30, 2016. It was to expire on Dec 31, 2015.  RBI has asked banks to make changes in ATM switches by March 31, 2016 to help customers register for mobile banking services from the ATM itself.  Govt released two commemorative coins of Rs.125 and Rs.10 as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar.  ICICI Bank has tied up with railway’s e-ticketing platform IRCTC to sell rail tickets through its website. NOVEMBER 2015 3% INTEREST SUBVENTION ON EXPORT LOANS With a view to boost exports, the government has approved three per cent interest subvention scheme to allow exporters to avail loans from banks at a lower rate. The scheme will be applicable from April 1, 2015 for next five years. RUPAY CARD USAGE CONDITION RELAXED Government has extended RuPay card usage condition of at least one transaction in 45 days to 90 days for filing a claim under in-built accident insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana with effect from November 25, 2015. RBI RESTRICTS SHARE HOLDING IN BANKS RBI has made it mandatory for individuals and companies to take its prior approval before acquiring shares or voting rights in a private bank for increasing the aggregate holding to 5 percent or more. The decision has been taken to ensure that only the genuine persons enter the banking sector. SBI LAUNCHES ‘NEEV’ FUND State Bank of India launched the country's first low- income state infrastructure equity partnership (or the Neev fund) in London. The fund aims at providing equity partnerships for small infrastructure development in sectors like water and sanitation, clean energy and urban infrastructure. INDIAN CORPORATES’ ‘MASALA BONDS’ Some of the top rated companies like housing finance major HDFC, state-owned NTPC and India Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) are firming up plans to raise fund by issuing rupee-denominated ‘masala bonds’ in foreign capital markets. Masala bonds are Indian rupee denominated bonds issued in overseas capital markets by Indian corporates. SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS ISSUE OPENED Recently introduced Sovereign gold bonds were opened for public subscription from November 5-30. Bonds will earn interest at rate of 2.75 per cent. Investors will have a choice to buy bonds worth 2 grams of gold, up to a maximum of 500 grams. COOP BANKS ALLOWED NET BANKING RBI has allowed state and district central co-operative banks to offer internet banking to its customers subject to certain conditions. Only those cooperative banks that have implemented Core Banking Solution and migrated to Internet Protocol Version 6 will be allowed to offer ‘view only’ internet banking. View only facility means the customers can only use online services such as balance enquiry, balance viewing, account statement download and request for supply of cheque books.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 19 TRADE RECEIVABLES DISCOUNTING SYSTEM RBI has granted an "in-principle" approval to three companies to set up and operate a new Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). This will allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to post their receivables on the system and get them financed, bringing in much needed transparency to the trade receivable system. HDFC BANK FIRST TO USE MUSICAL LOGO HDFC Bank has become the first Indian bank to launch Sonic branding (Musical Logo) to be used across multiple touch points like ATMs, phone banking, mobile banking and the bank's website. It will help the bank to create distinct brand imagery and recall among various stakeholders INDIA's BANKING ‘STABLE’ - MOODY's Moody's Investors Service has upgraded its outlook for India's banking system to 'stable' from 'negative' on expectation that a gradual improvement in the operating environment for lenders will lead to slow down in bad loans in future BARTER TO END ON MYANMAR BORDER Indo-Myanmar border is perhaps one of the few places on the earth where barter trade still exists. However, with the improvement in banking presence in the border, the RBI has now decided to officially stop the barter system - trading of goods without exchange of money, from December 1.  The RBI has allowed foreign investors to buy default non-convertible debentures and bonds provided their maturity is for three years or more.  RBI has decided that a foreign bank in India can deploy a maximum of four expatriates for each branch and not more than six for their Head Office functions. DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY JANUARY 2016 ‘RUDRA’ SHOWS UP AT R. DAY PARADE Indigenously designed and built advanced light helicopter (ALH) — “Rudra” made its debut at the Republic Day parade. This multirole attack helicopter is produced by the Defence Ministry’s unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for Indian Army. BARAK MISSILE TESTED BY INS KOLKATA Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata successfully test-fired long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) Barak NG against a remotely piloted flying target over the Arabian Sea. Developed in collaboration with Israel, it has a range of over 80 kms. THE 68TH ARMY DAY was observed on 15 January, all over India. On this day in 1949, Lt.–Gen. (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. ‘SAHAYOG-KAIJIN 2016’: The 15th edition of bilateral exercise by the Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart began off the coast of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in the Bay of Bengal.  The DRDO successfully test-fired Nag anti-tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. It is a third generation fire-and-forget anti-tank missile and can be fired during night as well.  India will host a joint military exercise at Pune in March, 2016. Ten member countries of the ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners will take part in the exercise.  INS Kadmatt, the second indigenous stealth Anti- Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette, was inducted in Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.  India and France began their eight-day counter- terrorism and counter-insurgency joint exercise ‘Shakti-2016’ in Rajasthan.  India has supplied three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to Afghan Air Force.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 20 NEW THRUSH BIRD FOUND IN NE INDIA Scientists have found a new variant of Thrush bird named as the Himalayan Forest Thrush in the northeastern India and parts of Tibet, Nepal and China. The scientific name of the bird is Zoothera Salimalii after the name of the great Indian ornithologist Salim Ali. 5TH SATELLITE OF IRNSS LAUNCHED The ISRO successfully launched the 5th satellite IRNSS 1- E of the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) on January 20. It is a set up of total seven satellites which will provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent. NEW BREED OF TREE FROG DISCOVERED A class of frogs that grows in tree holes who as tadpoles feed on eggs laid by their mother, has been discovered in the north-east region. It has been named as Frankixalus Jerdonii. FIRST 3D PRINTED LIVER A Bengaluru-based technology startup has developed India’s first artificial liver tissue with the help of 3-D printing technology. This is a major step forward in the on-demand manufacturing of 3D printed human organs. NETFLIX STARTS SERVICES IN INDIA Global streaming pioneer Netflix (of USA) has launched its service in India, allowing viewers to access unlimited TV and cinema content online at prices starting Rs 500 a month. It has over 70 million members in over 190 countries watching over 125 million hours of content. FALCON 9 ROCKET FAILS AGAIN TO LAND BACK The NASA successfully launched Falcon 9 rocket made by SpaceX Company, from California to place ocean monitoring satellite Jason-3 in orbit. However, the rocket that was supposed to land back on a floating platform failed in its attempt and ended up in a blast due to crash landing. MOST ENERGETIC LIGHT EVER DETECTED Scientists have discovered the most energetic light ever detected in the universe from the centre of a supernova known as ‘Crab pulsar’ which is situated 6,500 light years away from Earth. It is surrounded by a region of intense magnetic field 10 thousand billion times stronger than that of the Sun. CHEMISTRY GETS FOUR NEW ELEMENTS The periodic table of elements in Chemistry now has its seventh row completed with the introduction of four new chemical elements - 113, 115, 117 and 118, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and US. The new additions were formally verified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on December 30, 2015. New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist. The first true iteration of the table was done by Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. LARGEST SOLAR SYSTEM FOUND Astronomers have discovered the largest known solar system, consisting of a large planet that takes nearly a million years to orbit its star. The gas giant is one trillion kilometres away, making its orbit 140 times wider than Pluto's path around our Sun. HUMAN LIKE ROBOT CREATED Scientists in Singapore have developed a human-like social robot named ‘Nadine’, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair, which is capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures like shaking hands and conversing.  China successfully launched Gaofen-4 Earth Observation Satellite toward a geostationary orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan, China. DECEMBER 2015 DEF. SERVICES MEET ON INS VIKRAMADITYA An annual Defence Services event called Unified Commanders Conference, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was held on board Navy’s aircraft carrier - INS Vikramaditya, about 50 kms off Kochi coast. This is for the first time when the conference was held outside New Delhi. NEW ‘ISLAMIC MILITARY ALLIANCE’ FORMED 34 Islamic nations have agreed to form a new “Islamic military alliance” led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. Alliance includes a number of African countries but does not include Iran, Iraq and Syria.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 21  INS Godavari, the country's first indigenously designed and built warship was decommissioned at Mumbai on Dec 24 after 32 years of service.  The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a joint naval exercise between Indian and Russian navies, started off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal.  Israeli military has successfully tested from a ship an advanced surface-to-air supersonic missile – Barak 8, co-developed with India. It has a range of 100 kms.  Govt has approved the purchase of S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems from Russia.  Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the Fast Patrol Vessel ‘ICGS Atulya’ for induction in Indian Coast Guard.  Indian Coast Guard has commissioned interceptor boat ‘ICGS C-422’ to further enhance its vigil along Pondicherry and South Tamil Nadu coast.  India test-fired the indigenously built nuclear- capable Agni-I missile having a hitting range of 700 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast.  Pakistan successfully test-fired nuclear capable ballistic missile Shaheen 1A with a range of 900 kilometres & Shaheen-III which can carry nuclear warheads up to 2,750 kms PSLV – C29 LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY The ISRO successfully demonstrated its ability to launch multiple payloads in vastly different altitudes using a single flight of the rocket when it launched PSLV-C29 rocket carrying six satellites of Singapore. They included main satellite TeLEOS-1 and five mini satellites that were placed at an altitude of 550 kms. FALCON 9 LANDS ON EARTH US space company SpaceX created history on Dec 21 when its powerful Falcon 9 rocket landed back on earth within 10 minutes of its launch from the Cape Canaveral in Florida, after placing 11 satellites in orbit. This means that now it is possible to make rockets as reusable as airplanes, leading to huge savings in costs of sending satellites in space. ATLAS V CARRIES SUPPLIES TO ISS The Atlas V rocket of NASA, carrying much needed US supplies blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA, toward the International Space Station. The Cygnus capsule carried by the rocket contained more than 3,500kg of food, clothing, computer gear, spacewalk equipment and other supplies.  Scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of eel named Bengal moray eel along the Digha coast in West Bengal.  China launched its first space telescope- the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite to study the mysterious dark matter.  China has approved commercial production of its first domestically developed electricity-powered aircraft known as RX 1E.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 22 NOVEMBER 2015 LRSAM SUCCESSFULLY TESTED BY DRDO The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by the Israel Aerospace Industry and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was successfully flight tested from the Israel Naval Platform for the first time on Nov 26. ‘DHANUSH’ TESTED SUCCESSFULLY The nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush was successfully test fired from warship INS Subhadra, off the Puri coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal. It is the naval variant of the Prithvi – II missile, having a strike range of 350 kilometres. ARMY TESTS ‘BRAHMOS’ SUCCESSFULLY Indian Army successfully test-fired the land attack variant of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. BrahMos, a joint effort between India and Russia, is the fastest and only supersonic cruise missile in the world capable of flying at 2.8 times the speed of sound and can be launched from land, sea and air.  Agni-IV, the nuclear-capable ballistic missile, tested for a range of 4,000 kms from Abdul Kalam Island (formerly Wheeler Island), off the Odisha coast.  India test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 kms from the test range off the Odisha coast.  The DRDO test-fired an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha’s Balasore district.  DRDO has developed Advanced Torpedo Defence System “Maareech” and “Vaarunaastra” for use by the Indian Navy  INS Kadmatt, the second of the four indigenously built stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare corvette, was formally handed over to the Navy on Nov 26.  INS Vishwakarma, a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy for the shipwrights commissioned in Vishakhapatnam.  ICGS Arinjay, a Fast Patrol Vessel was commissioned in Indian Navy at Kochi. ICGS – Indian Coast Guard Ship  ‘Indra-2015’, the seventh edition India-Russia Joint Military Exercise held in Bikaner district of Rajasthan.  China has displayed its strongest combat and reconnaissance drone CH – 5 that can fly with a weight of 3,000 kg and carry 900 kg of equipment and weapons. GSAT-15 TO AUGMENT COMMUNICATIONS India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. It will augment telecommunication, Direct-to-Home and radio navigation services. The satellite will be navigated and controlled by the ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka. GOOGLE TO LAUNCH ‘PROJECT LOON’ IN INDIA Google is working with the Indian government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons. Under its ‘Project Loon’, Google is using big balloons floating at a height of 20 kilometres above earth surface for transmission of Internet services. EARLY WARNING SATELLITE BY RUSSIA Russia has launched its first early warning system satellite named EKS or Integrated Space System. Its official name is Kosmos 2510 (Tundra 11L). It is designed to restore Moscow's capability to identify and track worldwide missile launches from space. WORLD’s FASTEST SUPERCOMPUTER China’s Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the world’s most powerful supercomputer system for the sixth consecutive time, performing calculations with processing speed of 33.86 petaflops per second. Second on list is Titan of the USA, performing @ 17.59 Pflop/s. FIRST EVER ‘POROUS’ LIQUID DISCOVERED In a breakthrough, scientists in U K have developed the world's first 'porous' liquid that can potentially be used to capture and dissolve unusually large amounts of harmful carbon gas emissions to prevent its absorption in the Earth's atmosphere.  Facebook has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas of western and southern India.  A new species of the Dracula ant, likely to be of Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants, was discovered by scientists in the Western Ghats of Kerala.  China's first lunar rover, Yutu, set a record for the longest stay on the Moon by completing almost two years stay, landing on moon on Dec 14, 2013.  Japan conducted its first commercial satellite launch on August 24, with an H-IIA rocket carrying a Canadian communications spacecraft, Telstar 12V, into orbit.  China launched a civil communication satellite ChinaSat-2C from the Xichang space center in Sichuan province.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 23 INTERNATIONAL JANUARY 2016 EASTERN USA BURIED UNDER 3 FEET SNOW A monster blizzard named ‘Snowzilla’ paralysed the entire US East Coast on Jan 24 with hurricane-force winds and record snow, killing over 25 persons and hitting some 85 million others, prompting up to 10 states to declare a state of emergency. The storm left as much as three feet of snow, paralysing transport links in New York and Washington DC. Several other parts of world in South Korea, Eastern China and Hon Kong also reeled under record breaking severe cold. FIRST ‘BEST COUNTRY REPORT’ RELEASED A joint team of U.S. News & World Report, BAV Consulting and Wharton School of Business has compiled a ‘Best Country Report’ to rank countries on 75 factors such as sustainability, adventure, cultural influence, entrepreneurship and economic influence. A survey of more than 16,200 business leaders, highfliers and other members of the public was carried out in 60 countries to select the best country in various categories. Germany was ranked as the best country, followed closely by Canada, U K, USA and Sweden. India was placed at the 22nd place. Some other winners are: Most modern country – Sweden Best Country to Raise Kids – Sweden Best Nation for Green Living - Sweden Best Country for Women - Denmark Most powerful country - USA No. 1 upcoming economy - India No. 1 nation to visit - Brazil ZIKA ATTACK IN SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES Countries like Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador are facing the threat of the Zika virus spread by mosquito bite. It is highly infectious and may also cause death. It is particularly harmful for pregnant ladies as it affects the foetus growth adversely. The Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes, which also spread dengue and chikungunya viruses. But in pregnant women, the virus can spread to the foetus and cause microcephaly, a condition involving brain shrinkage that severely limits a child's intellectual and physical development or death. HYDROGEN BOMB TESTED BY N KOREA North Korea conducted a powerful Hydrogen bomb test in a defiant and surprising move as there is a UN ban on testing and development of nuclear weapons. The test has drawn grave criticism from all major countries of the world, terming it as a ‘serious threat to the international peace and security’. A Hydrogen bomb is much smaller and easy to make than an Atom bomb but is far more destructive. CRUDE PRICES FALL TO 12 YEARS LOW Global crude oil prices plunged to 12 year low at $ 29.93 a barrel, plagued by abundant oversupply and the ongoing row between key producers Iran and Saudi Arabia dimming prospects for production cuts. Also, falling prices have prompted some producers to maximize output to prevent income falling too rapidly and to keep market share. EURO 2 BILLION TO SAVE FRENCH ECONOMY French President has announced what he called "a state of economic and social emergency" involving a Euro 2 billion plan to revive job creation and catch up with the world’s economy. The plan includes training half a million jobless workers, greater use of apprenticeships, and 2,000 Euro aid for small businesses that hire young workers. CHINA DEVALUES YUAN AGAIN China weakened the value of its Yuan currency by 0.51 percent to 6.5646 against the US dollar on January 7, its lowest value since 2011. It triggered a selloff in global markets, bringing alive the fears of competitive devaluation among emerging economies.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 24 CHINA’s GROWTH SLIPS TO 25 YEARS LOW The data released by China's the National Bureau of Statistics shows that China's economy grew 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace in last 25 years. GDP in 2015 reached about $10.3 trillion. THE WORLD'S LARGEST BLUE STAR SAPPHIRE The stone that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered in a mine in Sri Lanka. Named as ‘The Star of Adams, its estimated cost is $100 million but could fetch much more when auctioned. WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2016: Digital Dividends, a report by the World Bank explores the impact of the internet, mobile phones, and related technologies on economic development across the world. THE WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER released by the U N World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) states that the international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 per cent in 2015 to reach a total of 1184 million in 2015. THE NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS — persons living in a country other than where they were born — reached 244 million in 2015 for the world as a whole, a 41 per cent increase compared to 2000. World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.  The World Health Organization has declared Liberia free of Ebola virus. Now there is no other country officially reporting Ebola cases.  Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres, opened in Futian in Shenzhen city in south China.  Toyota continues to be the world’s biggest automaker selling 10.15 million vehicles in 2015, closely followed by Volkswagen and General Motors.  World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at Davos, Switzerland, from January 20 to 23.  Star Wars: The Force Awakens became the world's fastest film to make one billion dollars at the global box office. DECEMBER 2015 THE 10th WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE The 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya from Dec 15 to 19. The meet adopted the Nairobi Package containing six issues aimed at benefitting organization’s poorest members. India was represented by the Union Commerce & Industry Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman. Director-General: Roberto Azevêdo , HQ: Geneva, Switzerland ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in which India holds 8.52 % share, along with other 56 countries, was formally established in Beijing on Dec 25. With an authorised capital of $100 billion and subscribed capital of $50 billion, the bank will invest in sectors like energy, transportation, urban construction, education and healthcare. ZIMBABWE TO ADOPT YUAN AS ITS CURRENCY Zimbabwe plans to adopt the Chinese Yuan as its currency with a view to cancel the debt worth 40 million dollars from China. Zimbabwe dumped its own currency in 2009 due to deep recession. China has become the largest investor in Zimbabwe, which has been shunned by the West over its human rights record US LIFTS OIL EXPORT BAN United States has lifted a 40-year ban on oil exports, marking a historic shift for the booming US oil industry. The ban was first imposed in 1975 as the United States was reeling from the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo. UNSC RESOLVES AGAINST ISIS The UN Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to increase sanctions against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) group and other terrorist groups. The resolution seeks to cut off revenue flows including ransom payments to these groups, by all means. WOMEN ALLOWED VOTING IN SAUDI ARABIA In Saudi Arabia, at least 20 women won municipal council seats (roughly 1%) in the historic local elections in which females were allowed to cast votes and run for office for the first time in the country's history.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 25 PARIS CLIMATE SUMMIT 200 NATIONS SIGN ‘PARIS AGREEMENT’ Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Dec 12 at COP 21 meet by UNFCCC at Le Bourget, France, calling on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposing no sanctions on countries that don't. COP - Conference of the Parties UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  The nations agreed on following issues: A long- term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels;  Aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change.  To undertake rapid reductions in emission levels in accordance with the best available scientific methods.  Developed countries to continue their existing collective goal to mobilise USD 100 billion per year until 2025 when a new collective goal will be set. NEW CLIMATE INITIATIVE BY UNO The United Nations has launched a new initiative titled Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries. It will strengthen the ability of countries to anticipate hazards, absorb shocks, and reshape development to reduce climate risks. INDIA COMMITS LOWER EMISSIONS Outlining India's initiatives and stand on climate issues at Paris climate meet, Prime Minister Modi said that India will reduce its emissions intensity by 33 percent of its GDP by 2030, on the basis of 2005 levels and 40 percent of country’s installed power capacity would be by non fossil fuels by 2022. INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE LAUNCHED At the Climate Summit in Paris, Prime Minister Modi initiated the idea of the international solar alliance to harness solar power as a major step to mitigate carbon gas emissions. This also aims at achieving the objective of keeping global warming below 2 degree Celsius between now and 2100. India has already submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) in which India has committed to generate 100 giga watt solar power by 2022. PARIS PACT ON WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE A wide geographic coalition of national and cross- border river basin organisations, governments, funding agencies, local governments, companies and civil society have adopted the Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation in Paris. It encompasses individual commitments to implement adaptation plans, strengthening water monitoring and measurement systems in river basins and promoting financial sustainability and new investment in water systems management. 'MISSION INNOVATION' FOR CLEAN ENERGY World leaders from 20 countries, including India and global investors lead by Bill Gates, launched Mission Innovation at the COP21 in Paris for accelerating clean energy revolution across the world and to promote the use of renewable energy resources. SOME CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED NEWS SOUTH AMERICA REELS UNDER EL NINO The El Nino weather phenomenon in South Atlantic Ocean caused very heavy downpour in countries like Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, leading to massive flooding their major rivers, forcing lakhs of persons to flee from their homes.  In the Chinese Capital, Beijing, the government has issued its first red alert on pollution, the highest level in the system, ordering schools to close for four days due to hazardous air quality.  Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes in northern England hit by “unprecedented” flooding. Army was called in to support local authorities.  A string of powerful tornado storms wreaked havoc across southern United States, killing scores of persons and causing extensive damage to houses and vehicles. ----
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 26 BRAZIL SLIPS INTO DEEP RECESSION Brazil's economy shrank by 1.7% in the third quarter of the year compared with the second quarter, deepening the country's worst recession in 25 years. Compared with a year ago, the economy is 4.5% smaller. The drop in economic activity was largely due to a drop in investment, which fell by 15% compared with a year ago, leading to massive unemployment. US FED HIKES RATES AFTER A DECADE The Federal Reserve of USA hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 on Dec 16, for the first time since 2006, reflecting its confidence in the stable growth of U.S. economy. The Fed strongly believes that the US economy had largely overcome the wounds of the 2007- 2009 financial crisis. It also raised its projection for its economic growth next year slightly, from 2.3 percent to 2.4 percent. Rates in the US have been at near-zero since 2008. Shortly after the Fed's announcement, major banks began announcing that they were raising their prime lending rate from 3.25 percent to 3.50 percent. FACEBOOK CEO DONATES 99% SHARES Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg while announcing the birth of his first child pledged to give away 99 per cent of his company shares, currently worth a whopping $45 billion, to make the world a “better place” for daughter Maxima and other children. YUAN APPROVED AS SDR CURRENCY The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to include the Chinese currency, the Yuan, in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket effective from October 1, 2016, besides the US dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. WORLD TSUNAMI AWARENESS DAY – NOV 5 The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe November 5 every year as World Tsunami Awareness Day for raising awareness about the dangers of tsunami and the importance of early warning systems for minimising damage.  The World AIDS Day was observed on 1 December 2015 across the world with the theme “Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030”.  Mexico has approved the use of the first-ever vaccine against dengue fever - Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharma major Sanofi Pasteur.  The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.  Gambia, a tiny West African country has decided to become an Islamic republic because Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens.  The first media summit of countries belonging to the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping held at Beijing on Dec 1.  Food and Agriculture Organization of UNO launched International Year of Pulses on 10 November with the theme ‘nutritious seeds for a sustainable future’.  2nd World Internet Conference was held at Wuzen in Eastern China from Dec 16 to 18.  New Zealanders chose a new flag design featuring silver fern and red stars on a black and blue background. The new design will be confirmed by vote in March. NOVEMBER 2015 ISIS MILITANTS ATTACK PARIS In one of the worst gruesome terrorist attacks, over 129 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded in multiple ISIS terrorists’ shootings in Paris and explosions outside the national stadium - Stade de France. Nations around the world have joined hands to fight back ISIS. NEPAL REELS UNDER MADHESI AGITATION Several persons, including policemen have been killed in Terai region of Nepal due to ongoing Madhesi agitation. The violence comes as the landlocked country, heavily dependent on India for supplies of essential goods, continues to reel under acute shortage of fuels, medicines and other items for over two months now, due to roads blocked by Madhesis. Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai region, have been protesting against division of their ancestral homeland in the new Constitution. They are also demanding proportionate representation in government mechanism, allocation of Parliament seats on the basis of population and re-demarcation of the federal provinces.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 27 G-20 SUMMIT HELD IN ANTALAYA A two day summit of Heads of G-20 nations was held in Antalaya, Turkey to dwell on inclusive economic growth and climate change. A special resolution was also passed to condemn the gruesome terrorist attack in Paris and make united efforts to eliminate terrorism across the globe. PM Modi represented India at the meet. APEC SUMMIT HELD IN MANILA Leaders of economies which account for nearly half of the world's trade and about 57 per cent of global gross domestic product met in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This year, the theme of the summit is Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World. ASEAN DECLARES FORMATION OF AEC Leaders of the ASEAN group of nations have declared the establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc, ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labour in the region. It will integrate Southeast Asia's diverse economies, a region with 620 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $2.6 trillion. MYANMAR VOTES TO END MILITARY RULE Free General elections were held in Myanmar after a gap of almost 25 years. Voters came out in very heavy numbers to exercise their right. The pro-democracy party National League for Democracy, led by its charismatic leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to form the government WORLD’s SECOND BIGGEST DIAMOND FOUND The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in Botswana in southern Africa. The 1,111 carat gem is only second in size to the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond, which was unearthed in South Africa in 1905. AN EMOJI IS 2015 WORD OF THE YEAR For the first time, Oxford Dictionary has chosen an emoji pictograph, commonly referred to as an emoticon, as its 2015 Word of the Year after it made history due to its popularity on social media and instant messaging. This was the most commonly used emoji in 2015. ISIS MILITANTS DOWN RUSSIAN PLANE Russia suspended all its flights to Egypt after one of its aircraft suffered mid-air bomb blast soon after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. The International Day for Tolerance observed globally on 16 November with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance in society and help them understand the negative effects of intolerance. WIDESPREAD DOPING IN RUSSIA A report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) outlined systematic doping in Russian athletics. As a result, Russia was provisi-onally suspended from all international track and field events by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).  27th ASEAN summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) was held in Kuala Lumpur on November 21.  The 10th East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Nov 22, under the theme Our People, Our Community, Our Vision.  UNESCO rejected Kosovo's bid for membership as it failed to receive the support of two-thirds of the UNESCO’s member nations.  Islamist militants laid siege to the Radisson Blue Hotel in Bamako, capital of Mali killing at least 27 persons from different nations.  The World Health Organisation on 16 November 2015 launched the World Antibiotic Awareness Week with the theme Antibiotics: handle with care.  Operation Inherent Resolve is the name of US military operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria.  The World Meteorological Organisation has said that global average temperatures this year are likely to be the warmest on record.  Young supporters of Hong Kong's democracy movement, known as 'Umbrella Soldiers', won few seats in the elections dominated by pro-Beijing forces.  Sierra Leone has been declared Ebola-free by the WHO, prompting nationwide celebrations tinged with sadness over the loss of 4,000 victims to the disease.  Global pharma major Pfizer and Botox maker Allergan have entered into a $ 160 billion merger agreement, the biggest ever deal in pharma sector.  China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba created a new record in online sales netting $14.33 billion on the annual Singles Day on Nov 13.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 28 PERSONS IN NEWS JANUARY 2016 RAGHURAM RAJAN: RBI Governor was named ‘Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015’ by the prestigious UK magazine The Banker for stabilising the Indian rupee, initiating key reforms to attract much needed foreign capital in the country and reining in a runaway price appreciation. AZIM PREMJI: Chairman of Wipro has been ranked as the most generous Indian of the year for the third time in a row with donations worth Rs. 27,514 crore, mainly in the education sector, as per the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015. APARNA KUMAR: An IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has successfully climbed the Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctic sub-continent. She is the first woman officer of any All-India Services to have done so SHEIKH NIMR AL-NIMR: A prominent Shia cleric, highly critical of the ruling Al Saud dynasty, was executed by the Saudi Arabian govt for his alleged involvement in shooting policemen. His execution sparked widespread angry protests in eastern Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Shia dominated Iraq and several other Shia territories. DECEMBER 2015 SHAH RUKH KHAN: Bollywood megastar has been ranked as the country’s top-earning celebrity with estimated earnings of Rs. 257.5 crore this year, pushing Salman Khan to the second position (202.75 crore) in the latest Forbes India Celebrity List for 2015. KATY PERRY: Global pop singer from USA is on top of Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid musicians of 2015, with $135 million in earnings. ANGELA MERKEL: German Chancellor has been named as the "Person of the Year" by the Times Magazine for her role in Europe's crises over migration and Greek debt. LAIMDOTA STRAUJUMA: Latvia’s first female Prime Minister announced her resignation after political squabbles within her center-right ruling coalition and dissatisfaction about her leadership. NOVEMBER 2015 PAWAN MUNJAL: Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp, was the highest paid director with a remuneration of Rs.43.91 crore during the 2014-15 financial year. ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA: Chairperson of country's largest bank SBI remains the most powerful woman in the Indian business sector, according to Fortune India’s latest rankings of Indian business women. LIONEL MESSI: International iconic Football star has been picked up by the Tata Motors as their global brand ambassador for their passenger vehicles. VICTOR PONTA: Romanian Prime Minister was in news as he announced his resignation bearing moral responsibility for a nightclub blaze that killed 32 people. APPOINTMENTS JANUARY 2016 SAILESH: A senior IAS officer, appointed as the new Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. AMIT SHAH: Re-elected unopposed as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party - world’s largest political party, for a three-year term. ATULESH JINDAL: Appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) DINESH SHARMA: Elected to the 12-member board of directors of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). DEVENDER KUMAR SIKRI: Appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India AMITABH KANT: Given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. He is Industry Secretary at present. URJIT PATEL: Reappointed as Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, for a second three-year term. Dr. GYANENDRA D BANDGAIYAN: Appointed as the Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance. MARCELO REBELO de SOUSA: Elected as the new President of Portugal PAVEL FILIP: Appointed as the Prime Minister of Moldova, small poorest European country TSAI ING-WEN: Elected as the new President of Taiwan GIORGI KVIRIKASHVILI: Elected as the Prime Minister of Georgia, Europe.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 29 DECEMBER 2015 R.K. MATHUR: Appointed the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), breaking away from the convention of appointing the head from among the serving information commissioners. He is former union defence secretary. GAUTAM H BAMBAWALE: Appointed as the High Commissioner of India to the Pakistan ARUN KUMAR JAIN: Appointed Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). SIR VENKATRAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN: Nobel laureate in Chemistry, assumed Presidency of the Royal Society in London for a period of five years. It is one of most prestigious body of scientists. ROCH MARC CHRISTIAN KABORE: Elected as the President of the West African country Burkina Faso. NOVEMBER 2015 JUSTICE T S THAKUR: New Chief Justice of India (43rd), succeeding Justice HL Dattu. NITISH KUMAR: Elected as the new Bihar Chief Minister SYED AKBARUDDIN: 1985 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations at New York. NAVTEJ SINGH SARNA: Veteran diplomat, an IFS officer of 1980 batch, has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. VIJAY KESHAV GOKHALE: Senior diplomat has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to China. RAGHURAM RAJAN: Governor RBI has been elected Vice-Chairman of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) at Basel, Switzerland. SUBIR GOKARAN: Former RBI Deputy Governor has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He will represent India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. MAHESH KUMAR JAIN: MD and CEO of Indian Bank. R K TAKKAR: MD and CEO UCO Bank J K GARG: Managing Director of Corporation Bank SURESH N PATEL: Appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Andhra Bank. T.S.R. SUBRAMANIAN: Former Cabinet secretary has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy. HARSHAVARDHAN NEOTIA: Elected as the President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for the year 2016. He is the Chairman of Ambuja Neotia group of industries.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 30 SUNIL KANORIA: Appointed as the President of The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). He is the Vice Chairman of the SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. Ms. ZARIN DARUWALA: Appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bank, India. JUSTICE AJIT PRAKASH SHAH: Appointed as the ethics officer (ombudsman) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). MAURICIO MACRI: elected as the new President of Argentina. He is expected to be Argentina’s most economically liberal leader since the 1990s. He defeated the incumbent Mrs. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. JOHN POMBE MAGUFULI: Elected as the new President of Tanzania AWARDS & HONOURS JANUARY 2016 PADMA AWARDS ANNOUNCED India's highest civil awards after Bharat Ratna for the year 2016 were announced on the eve of Republic Day (25th January). These awards carry no cash component. Total 112 awards were announced which included 10 Padma Vibhushans, 19 Padma Bushans and 83 Padma Sris. Some of the famous winners are given below:- PADMA VIBHUSHAN - 10 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth, Art-Cinema Tamil Nadu 2 Founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, — Trade & Industry — Maharashtra 3 Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Others- Spiritualism — Karnataka 4 Cinema baron Ramoji Rao Literature & Education- Journalism — Andhra Pradesh 5 Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan, Public Affairs — Delhi 6 Former DRDO chief VK Aatre, Science & Engineering — Karnataka 7 Cancer specialist and chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V Shanta Medicine- Oncology — Tamil Nadu 8 Eminent Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi Art-Classical dance — Delhi 9 Classical vocalist Girija Devi Art-Classical Vocal — West Bengal 10 Indian-American economist Avinash Dixit Literature & Education — USA PADMA BHUSHAN - TOTAL 19 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Anupam Kher Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Udit Narayan Jha Art-Playback Singing Maharashtra 3 Ram V Sutar Art-Sculpture Uttar Pradesh 4 Vinod Rai Civil Service Kerala 5 Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard Literature & Education - Journalism Punjab 6 Hafeez Contractor Others- Architecture Maharashtra 7 R C Bhargava Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh 8 Ms Saina Nehwal Sports-Badminton Telangana 9 Ms Sania Mirza Sports-Tennis Telangana 10 Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) Trade & Industry Ireland PADHMA SRI – TOTAL 83 Sr. No. Person Field From 1 Ajay Devgn Art-Cinema Maharashtra 2 Ms Priyanka Chopra Art-Cinema Maharashtra 3 S S Rajamouli Art-Film Direction and Production Karnataka 4 Madhur Bhandarkar Art-Film Direction and Production Maharashtra 5 Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah Literature & Education Assam 6 Prof Pushpesh Pant Literature & Education- Journalism Delhi 7 Piyush Pandey Others-Advertising & Communication Maharashtra 8 Ujjwal Nikam Public Affairs Maharashtra 9 Ms Deepika Kumari Sports-Archery Jharkhand 10 Dilip Sanghvi Trade & Industry Maharashtra ASHOKA CHAKRA: Nation's highest peacetime gallantry award, , has been awarded posthumously to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of 9 Para (Special Forces) for his acts of most conspicuous gallantry ineliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days before laying down his life in the line of duty in Sep 2015 in Kupwara sector of Jammu & Kashmir.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 31 JNANPITH AWARD FOR 2015: Noted Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhari became the 56th writer to be conferred with India's highest literary honour. His most noted works include novels 'Amruta' and 'Uparvas’. 61ST FILMFARE AWARDS DECLARED Best Actor: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani Best Actress: Deepika Padukone for Piku Best Film: Bajirao Mastani Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani Lifetime Achievement: Moushumi Chatterjee THE HINDU PRIZE, 2015: (for best novel) won by Easterine Kire, poet, novelist and children’s writer from Nagaland, for her novel When the River Sleeps. DSC Prize for South Asian Literature: Anuradha Roy for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter. YASH CHOPRA MEMORIAL AWARD: Given to veteran actress Rekha for her contribution to the film industry. KNIGHTHOOD HONOUR IN UK: conferred upon Dr Harpal Singh Kumar, an Indian-origin cancer research expert for his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer. Lorenzo Natali Media Prize for 2015 (Asia-Pacific): Ankita Anand journalist for sensitive portrayal of life for young women facing the threat of the diktat of khap panchayats in Haryana. WINNERS OF 73RD GOLDEN GLOBES 2016 Held on Jan 10 at Los Angeles, California, USA Best Motion Picture (Drama): ‘The Revenant’ Best Actor (Drama): Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘The Revenant’ Best Actress (Drama): Brie Larson for Room Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu - The Revenant. THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA: The highest civilian honour of Australia conferred upon three Indians -- Sajeev Koshy, a Keralaite dentist settled in Melbourne for his service to dentistry in Victoria, C Jagadish, an eminent professor at Australian National University, Canberra and Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales. Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award: David Beckham, famous footballer from Britain, for his tireless work to save and improve the lives of children around the world. PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award (USA): Won by the Harry Potter author J K Rowling for her support for free expression and charitable causes. DECEMBER 2015 THE GOLDEN PEACOCK: Award for best feature film at the 46th International Film Festival of India won by the Colombia film ‘Embrace of The Serpent’ directed by the Ciro Guerra. The award carries cash prize of Rs 40 lakh. GARWOOD AWARD for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’: The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee was conferred this award by the UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business, California, USA. NATIONAL SCIENCE MEDAL (USA): Indian-American tumour scientist Prof. Rakesh Jain has been selected for this top US science award. SOUTH EAST ASIA WRITE AWARD: Won by Singapore based Indian origin writer J M Mali for his contribution to Tamil literature. Started in 1979, these awards are presented annually to poets and writers from ASEAN countries. MAILER PRIZE FOR LITERATURE, USA: India-born author Salman Rushdie has been selected for this prestigious award that honours writers who fully exercise their freedom of creativity and thrive on dialogue and debate. QUEEN's YOUNG LEADERS AWARD – 2016: Two Indians, Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain, have won this prestigious award in the United Kingdom for their work in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities. Miss Universe 2015: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines Miss International 2015: Edymar Martínez of Venezuela Miss Earth 2015: Angelia Ong from Philippines Miss Intercontinental 2015: Valentina Rasulova from Russia Miss World 2015: Mireia Lalaguna from Spain
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 32 NOVEMBER 2015 THE INDIRA GANDHI PRIZE FOR PEACE, DISARMAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT-2015: Awarded to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in recognition of its “immense contributions” in assisting millions of refugees and for working under difficult circumstances to bring about changes to reduce the flow of refugees. KIREN RIJIJU: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, was designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). RAMNATH GOENKA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist, columnist and author for his contribution to journalism. KALA SHIKHAR AWARD: Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma for lifetime achievement. NEW YORK GLOBAL LEADERS DIALOGUE HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Bindeshwar Pathak, Social Activist and founder of Sulabh International, for his contribution to improving the quality of life for millions of manual scavengers. INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE PRIZE: awarded to Abraham Keita (17) of Liberia for his “tireless campaigning” to end violence against minors. BOOKS & AUTHORS JANUARY 2016 ‘Azad Bachpan ki Aur’ by Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace prize winner The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 by Pranab Mukherjee, President of India India’s Foreign Policy by Muchkund Dubey, a former Indian Foreign Secretary The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time – an autobiography of Subhash Chandra, media moughal, founder of Zee TV. Maru Bharat Saru Bharat (My India Noble India) written by Jain Acharya Ratnasundersuriswarji Maharaj. This is the 300th book written by Maharaj ji. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson - The book won the novel-of-the-year prize at Britain's Costa Book Awards 2015. Go Set a Watchman, the second novel by Harper Lee, topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6 million copies. 'Anything But Khamosh' – an autobiography of Shatrughan Sinha
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 33 DECEMBER 2015 The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account by Madhuri Bose, the grand-niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power, an autobiography of Sharad Pawar This Unquiet Land by Barkha Dutt Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. See Me by Nicholas Sparks. Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. NOVEMBER 2015 Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security by M.S. Swaminathan Chronicles of Time and Chance by Raymond Francis Isar Because We Say So by Noam Chomsky Why India Is Not A Great Power (Yet) by Bharat Karnad My Gita by Devidutt Pattnaik The Mare's Trap by Wendy Doniger. What Happened to Netaji by Anuj Dhar Rebooting India: Realizing a Billion Aspirations by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah India-Myanmar Relations by Rajiv Bhatia. OBITUARY JANUARY 2016 MRINALINI SARABHAI: Veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan recipient passed away in Ahmedabad. She was 97. One of the most celebrated Indian classical dancers; she was proficient in Bharatanatyam, Kathakali and Mohiniyattam. Lt–Gen. J F R JACOB (retd): Ex Governor of Goa and Punjab and war hero of 1971 Bangladesh war, passed away in New Delhi after a brief illness. He was 92. He wrote his memoirs by the title “An Odyssey in War and Peace.” GENERAL O P MALHOTRA: Former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army Staff passed away in Gurgaon due to old-age complications on Dec 29. He was 93. V. RAMA RAO: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Sikkim Governor passed away in Hyderabad after prolonged illness. He was 80. RAJESH VIVEK UPADHYAY: Noted film/ TV artist died in Hyderabad. He was 66. Rajesh was mainly known for his roles in films like Lagaan (Guran) and Swades. MUFTI MOHAMMAD SAYEED: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister breathed his last at the All–India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He was 79. He founded the Peoples Democratic Party in J&K in 1998. SAROSH HOMI KAPADIA: Former Chief Justice of India, 68, passed away in Mumbai. A.B. BARDHAN: Veteran Communist Party of India leader, 92, passed away after a long illness at New Delhi. DAVID BOWIE: One of the most influential recording artists of all time in UK, passed away due to throat cancer. He was 69. MARVIN MINSKY: Noted mathematician and the computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence, died at the age of 88 in Boston, USA. NATALIE COLE: Grammy-winning US singer passed away in Los Angeles. She was 65. She gave super hits like Our Love and This Will Be. HASKELL WEXLER: Oscar – winning US cinematographer died in California. He was 93. He was one of the America’s most influential cinematographers. YASUTARO KOIDE: The world’s oldest man died in Nagoya, Japan at the age of 112 DECEMBER 2015 SADHANA (Shivdasani/Nayer): Veteran actress, who mesmerised audience with her beauty and powerful performances in timeless hits like “Hum Dono”, “Love in Simla” and “Waqt”, died in Mumbai after a brief illness. She was 74. She will always be remembered for her iconic fringe hair on forehead, famous as ‘Sadhna cut’. SHARAD JOSHI: Renowned agro-economist, founder of Shetakari Sangthana, crusader for farmers’ rights and a former Rajya Sabha member, died at Pune at 81. MAM RAMASWAMY: Industrialist, founder of Chettinad Group, former parliamentarian passed away in Chennai at the age of 84 after prolonged illness. USTAAD SABRI KHAN: Renowned sarangi player died at age of 88 due to breathing problems. He was decorated with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. DR. ROBERT L. SPITZER: Veteran psychiatrist who gave psychiatry its first set of rigorous measuring standards to describe mental disorders, died in New York. He was 83. ELDAR RYAZANOV: Russian legendary film Director died in Moscow at the age of 88. He directed some of the most popular and beloved comedies such as Irony of Fate, The Garage and Office Romance.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 34 NOVEMBER 2015 RAM KRISHNA TRIVEDI: Former Gujarat governor, Chief Election Commissioner of India and Central Vigilance Commissioner, passed away after prolonged illness. He was 94. He is credited with the introduction of the voter ID cards in Indian Elections. K. SANKARAN NAIR: Former Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) passed away in Bengaluru. He was 94. Decorated with Padma Bhushan, he was the main strategist of the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. ASHOK SINGHAL: Veteran patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) passed away in Gurgaon due to a prolonged illness. He was 89. BRIJMOHAN LALL MUNJAL (92): Hero Motocorp Ltd founder died in Delhi after prolonged illness. SAEED JAFFREY: Veteran Bollywood actor died in London. He was 86. He was known for his roles in movies Gandhi, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Henna and Masoom. T R GOVINDARAJAN: Senior football administrator and veteran referee from Tamil Nadu, died after a brief illness. He was 90. MAHIP SINGH: Noted writer and journalist passed away in Gurgaon, after a brief illness. He was 85. HELMUT SCHMIDT: Former West German Chancellor, who led the country for eight years (1974-82) at the height of the Cold War, died at the age of 96. PLACES IN NEWS JANUARY 2016 PATHANKOT: A group of 6 suspected Jaish-e- Mohammad (JeM) terrorists attacked the Pathankot Air Force base in Punjab in the wee hours of January 2, engaging security forces in a fierce gunbattle lasting two days. All the attackers were killed but not before 7 defence personnel attained martyrdom. KALIACHAK: A small town 25 kms southwest of Malda in West Bengal was in news as more than a dozen policemen were injured and police station was set on fire in mob fury in an incident of communal violence. UMAID BHAWAN PALACE: in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, has been adjudged the best hotel in the world based on reviews and opinions collected by travel site Trip Advisor for its ‘Travellers’ Choice awards for Hotels'. CHARSADDA: At least 25 persons were killed and several other were seriously wounded when Taliban suicide attackers stormed the prestigious Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, near Peshawar in Pakistan. MAZAR-e-SHARIF: City in Afghanistan was in news as the Indian Consulate there was attacked by the heavily armed terrorists. An intense 25-hour gun-battle between security forces and terrorists ended in the killing of all attackers. RAMADI: City in Iraq was declared liberated from the Islamic State group after clinching a landmark victory against the jihadists. The city was lost to IS in May, 2015. DECEMBER 2015 KANNUR: Town in Kerala was in news as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated 35,950 cannon balls at the historic Fort St Angelo in the town. The cannon balls made of iron, weighing 800 gms to 10 kg. were unearthed when workers were digging the earth to lay a cable channel for a light and sound show at the Fort. JAZAN: Port city in southwestern Saudi Arabia was in news as a fire in its general hospital killed 31 people and injured 107. SHENZHEN: In China, more than 90 persons were killed due to a landslide caused by the collapse of a huge mound of waste construction mud in Shenzhen industrial area in south China. SAN BERNARDINO: A city in California, USA was in news as gunmen opened fire on a holiday party at a social services agency, killing 14 people and wounding 17 others. Two gunmen were killed later on. TYPHOON NONA (Melor): Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated from the central Philippines as a typhoon with winds of up to 150 kph made landfall, causing heavy rains leading to massive flooding and landslides. NOVEMBER 2015 MOUNT RINJA: In Indonesia, hundreds of tourists were stranded for a third day as volcanic ash from eruptions from Mount Rinja forced the closure of airports in three Indonesian islands.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 35 SPORTS WORLD JANUARY 2016 DHANWADE SCORES RECORD 1009 RUNS Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade scripted history by becoming the first batsman ever to notch up a four- figure score by smashing an unbeaten knock of 1009 including 59 sixes and 129 fours in 6 hours 35 minutes. The 15-year-old, playing for KC Gandhi Higher Secondary School, reached the gigantic score in just 323 deliveries with a jaw-dropping strike rate of 312.38 in the game against Arya Gurukul in the Bhandari Cup inter-school tournament organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s off-spinner was ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for 2015. PV Sindhu won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title beating Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the final at Penang, Malaysia. Jehan Daruvala of India won the New Zealand's most popular motor race the Lady Wigram Trophy. Siril Verma, young Indian badminton player was declared number one in junior men's singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. APURVI CHANDELA broke the world record on 5 January 2016 to grab a gold medal in the women's 10 metre air rifle event with a score of 211.2 at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix in Savsjo, Sweden. Later, she won her second gold in 10 metre tri series event, thereby also winning the title of ‘Shooter of the Tournament’ V V S Laxman's classy innings of 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001 has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years in an online survey by the ‘Cricket Magazine’. Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi won gold in their respective weight categories in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships held in Patiala, Punjab. Arunima Sinha, the amputee mountaineer who set a record by climbing the Mount Everest, conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside Asia, at 6960.8 metres. ONGC won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by beating Railways in New Delhi. India won the first T20 Asia cup Cricket for Blind beating Pakistan by 44 runs in the finals held at Kochi, Kerala. Delhi International Chess Tournament started in Delhi on Jan. 9 BCCI ANNUAL HONOURS 'Cricketer of the Year' - Men: Virat Kohli, Indian Test captain 'Cricketer of the Year' - Women: Mithali Raj, 1st Indian woman and 2nd in world to complete 5,000 runs in ODI India beat defending champions Afghanistan 2-1 in the final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Chennai Open Tennis: Stanislaus Wawrinka (Swiss) won the cup for the third time in row, beating Borna Coric of Croatia. The 76th All-India Inter-University Athletics Championship was held in Patiala and the Punjabi University emerged as the overall champions for the sixth year in a row. Senior National Wrestling Championship, New Delhi Gold won by Bajrang Punia in Men's 65kg and Ritu Phogat in women's 48kg Freestyle categories. Priyanka Phogat won the gold in the women’s 55kg category. Overall championship was won by Railways in men’s category and by Haryana in women’s category. Vijay Merchant (U-16) Trophy: Punjab won the cricket trophy after beating Mumbai in Bengaluru. Premier Badminton League: Delhi Acers won the title by beating Mumbai Rockets in New Delhi. Indian women boxers won 4 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals at the 5th Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Nations Cup in Ruma, Serbia. The 61st National School Athletic Meet held at Kozhikode, Kerala from Jan 29. Justice (Retd) R M Lodha committee appointed by the S C to look into the affairs of BCCI has recommended sweeping reforms that include a bar on ministers from occupying positions, putting a cap on the age and tenure of the office-bearers and legalising betting.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 36 Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu won the boys' and girls' table tennis titles, respectively, in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. FIFA Ballon d'Or award: Lionel Messi of Argentina won the World Player of the Year Award for the fifth time. FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd, US midfielder claimed her first award. INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION ANNUAL AWARDS 2015 Player of the Year (men): Robert Van der Horst, The Netherlands Player of the Year (women): Lidewij Welten, The Netherlands World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Qatar Masters Open Chess Tournament. Ronnie O'Sullivan of Britain won his sixth World Snooker Masters title after defeating Barry Hawkins in London. Shivnarine Chanderpaul: The West Indies batsman announced his retirement from international cricket Veteran tennis star Marat Safin became the first Russian player to enter the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame, USA. 2015 BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL Tennis Tournament at Brisbane, Australia. Men’s Singles: Milos Raonic of Canada defeated Roger Federer Women’s Singles: Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beats A Kerber Men’s Doubles: Henri Kontinen & John Peers Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis Australia has declined to take part in forthcoming Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh citing security reasons. DECEMBER 2015 NATIONAL P V Sindhu has won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament for the third consecutive time, beating Minatsu Mitani of Japan. Thakur Anoop Singh won the Mr. World title in the World Bodybuilding and Physique Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. Deborah Herold has become the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event. Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy won the doubles title in the Mexico Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament in Mexico City. Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Syed Kirmani, India's former wicket-keeper batsman who played 88 Tests and 49 ODIs between 1976 and 1986. The award is given by the BCCI in the honour of India’s first test cricket captain, Col C K Naidu. Gujarat won their maiden Vijay Hazare Cricket Trophy by beating Delhi in the finals played in Bengaluru. 18th Asian Luge Championship: Shiva Keshavan of Manali, HP won a silver medal at Nagano, Japan. Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament: India’s K Srikanth suffered a very narrow defeat from Tommy Sugiarto who won the finals in Malang, Indonesia. 59th National Shooting Championship, New Delhi. Vijay Kumar, Olympic medalist won gold in the men's 25-metre centre fire pistol Apurvi Chandela won Gold medal in the 10-metre Air Rifle event Chain Singh won the Gold in the 50-metre Rifle event Elizabeth Susan Koshy won Women's 50m Rifle Gold The 68th National Track Cycling Championship held at Ludhiana, Punjab. The 22nd National Cricket Tournament for the visually impaired was held in New Delhi. 2nd Indian Super League Football tournament: Chennaiyin FC defeated FC Goa in the finals played in Goa. Commonwealth Table-Tennis Championships were held in Surat, Gujarat. India topped the medal tally with 16 medals. All India Football Federation has named midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and striker Bala Devi as the Player- of-the-Year and woman Footballer - of - the - Year, respectively. Senior National Weightlifting Championships, Patiala: Haryana's Deepak Lather won gold medal in the men's 62kg category and set a new national record. Vikas Thakur of Services created a new national record as he won the gold medal in the 85kg category. 12th National Ice-Skating Championship held in Gulmarg, J&K from Dec 30 to Jan 03, 2016. Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) awarded Player of the Year title for the PGTI Order of Merit to Bengaluru’s S Chikkarangappa as he won the McLeod Russel Tour Championship at Kolkata. India won four-match Test series against South Africa, 3-0, played in India.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 37 Pro Wrestling League: Mumbai Garuda outclassed Haryana Hammers to clinch the inaugural title in New Delhi. Two new teams, Pune and Rajkot have become the new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a period of two years, replacing the suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Hockey World League: Australia defeated Belgium to lift the title at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium, Raipur, Madhya Pradesh. THE 12TH SOUTH ASIAN GAMES will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from February 6 to 16, 2016. A replica of a rhinoceros calf, named Tikhor has been selected as the mascot of the games. The highly endangered one-horned rhinoceros is the state animal of Assam. INTERNATIONAL Robert Lewandowski, Polish professional footballer’s nine-minute, five-goal haul for German Football Club Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg earned him Guinness World Record for fastest three, four and five goals. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won the 2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Underdog Tyson Fury shocked the boxing world by giving a stunning defeat to the reigning world heavy weight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine on Nov 28, becoming the first Briton to hold a world heavyweight crown since 2011. BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015 award won by tennis star Andy Murray of UK Dan Carter, winner of Rugby World Cup from New Zealand, has been named 2015 Sports Personality of the Year. Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of England were declared Male and Female Player of the Year, respectively, by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Dubai. CRICKETER OF THE YEAR - 2015: Australian batsman Steve Smith has been selected for this prestigious award by the ICC. He was also named ‘Test Cricketer of the Year. ODI Cricketer of the Year 2015: South Africa's ODI captain batsman AB de Villiers FIFA Club World Cup: Barcelona (Spain) won the cup by beating River Plate (USA) in finals played in Yokohama, Japan. The International Tennis Federation announced following rankings for 2015: Men’s World Champion - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Women’s World Champion - Serena Williams (the USA) Men’s Doubles World Champions - Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau Women’s Doubles World Champions: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis Great Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after the British Andy Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin in Ghent, Belgium. Brendon McCullum, New Zealand cricket captain announced on Dec 22 his retirement from all forms of international cricket. Ethics Committee of football's global governing body FIFA has banned its President Sepp Blatter and European football Chief Michel Platini from all football- related activities for eight years on corruption charges. NOVEMBER 2015 Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis lifted their ninth trophy of the season, winning BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore Pankaj Advani, India's most successful cueist won the record 15th world title by winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt, defeating Zhua Xintong of China. Heena Sidhu has won Gold in 10 metre Air Pistol event at 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait. Jitu Rai won silver medal Shiva Thapa, top Indian boxer was ranked number 2 in the latest international rankings in the 56 kg category. Siril Verma, 16 year old shuttler from India won the silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru. 8th Men’s Junior Asia Hockey Cup: India’s junior men’s team won the cup at Kuantan, Malaysia by defeating Pakistan. 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015: Mana Patel (women) and Virdhawal Khade (men) were declared the best swimmers, at Rajkot, Gujarat. Surjit Hockey Tournament: Railways defeated Indian Oil in the finals played in Jalandhar. Wasim Jaffer became the first player in Ranji Trophy history to notch up 10,000 runs. He reached the milestone playing against Bengal in Kolkata.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 38 Anju Bobby George, former long jump world champion has been appointed as the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Shashank Manohar, BCCI President was authorised to represent BCCI in ICC (International Cricket Council) as its Chairman. China Open Superseries Premier Badminton tournament: Xuerui Li of China beats Saina Nehwal to win the Women's Singles title at Fuzhou, China. World number one Novak Djokovic has become the first player to win the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive time by beating Roger Federer in the finals played in London. Swiss Indoors Basel Tennis title: Won by Roger Federer by defeating Rafael Nadal Agnieszka Radwanska, of Poland, won the BNP Paribas WTA Finals title at Singapore, beating Petra Kvitova Nico Rosberg of Germany won the Mexican Grand Prix F1 championship in Mexico City and the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Czech Republic won the prestigious women’s team tennis trophy - Fed Cup after beating Russia in final played in Prague, capital of Czech Republic. FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup: Nigeria defeated Mali to win the championship held in Chile. The Rugby World Cup: New Zealand lifted the cup beating Australia in the Final played in London Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s most devastating fast bowler of his era, retired from all international cricket on Nov 17. The first ever day-night Test match in the history of cricket started as the third Test between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in Australia. Belgium moved to the top of the FIFA world ranking list in football for the first time, leaving behind giants like Argentina and world champions Germany. India ranks pretty low at 172nd place. ALL THE NEWS ITEMS IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE BEEN SOURCED FROM VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS AND GOVT. PRESS RELEASES DAYS AND DATES JANUARY National Youth Day( B’day of Swami Vivekanand) 12th Jan. Army Day 15th Jan. Desh Prem Divas (B’day of Neta ji Subash Chandra Bose) 23rd Jan. National Girl Child Day ( Day Indira Gandhi became PM of India ) 24th Jan. National Voters Day ( Establishment of Election Commission) 25th Jan. International Customs Day 26th Jan. Martyrs' Day ( Death of Mahatma Gandhi) 30th Jan. FEBRUARY World Cancer Day 04th Feb World Radio Day 13th Feb Valentine’s Day 14th Feb Arunachal Pradesh Foundation Day 20th Feb Central Excise Day 24th Feb National Science Day 28th Feb MARCH World Wildlife Day 03rd March International Women’s Day 08th March No Smoking Day 13th March World Disabled Day 15th March St. Patricks Day 17th March World Sparrow Day 20th March World Poetry Day 21st March World Water Day 22nd March World Meteorological Day 23rd March World Stage Artists Day 27th March World Earth Hour (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm) 29th March Financial Year Ending 31st March
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 39
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 40 NATIONAL NEWS OCTOBER 2015  India has emerged as the country with the best representation on the 2015 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings.  The 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi from Oct 26 to 29.  Doordarshan has emerged as the most watched Hindi channel in terms of time spent per viewer  India has improved its position to 130 from 142 in 2015 in the World Bank's 2016 rankings in terms of ease of doing business.  India has emerged as the youngest startup nation in the world where over 72 per cent of founders are less than 35 years old.  President Pranab Mukherjee made a six-day visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel from Oct 10 to15.  G-20 summit 2018 will be hosted by India in New Delhi. The 2016 summit will be hosted by China and the 2017 summit will be hosted by Germany.  Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, came to New Delhi on an official visit to take part in the third Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC)  India has moved up 16 positions, from 71st in 2014 to 55th place on the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum  In terms of protection of small investors, India ranks 8th, ahead of the USA, Germany and Japan, as per a study conducted by the World Bank.  The Supreme Court has allowed the use of Aadhaar cards for all central and state schemes, including MNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana  The Supreme Court has rejected the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment  India and France signed a MoU to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata.  The Environment Ministry has approved annual plans for Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Jharkhand under the National Mission for a Green India (GIM).  Portugal became the first European and 17th overall country to sign the MoU on the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar.  The Union Cabinet has approved Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Israel and Vietnam. SEPTEMBER 2015  The “World Wealth Report 2015” showed that there were 1.98 lakh High Net worth Individuals in India in 2014, earning 11th rank in the world.  The IISC Bangalore and the IIT Delhi have been placed 147 and 179 respectively in the Quacquarelli Symonds’ list of top 200 universities for 2015-16.  India's ranking has slipped further down to 81 in the list of Global Innovation Index, compared to 76 in 2014  India-Belarus Inter-govt Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation meet held in Minsk, Belarus.  The first ever count of India's leopards, has put the spotted cat population at 7,910 in and around tiger habitats across the country.  A two day Disaster Mitigation conference of SAARC nations was held in New Delhi  Maharashtra govt has acquired the house in London where Dr B R Ambedkar lived in 1921-22 when he was studying at London School of Economics.  Government has decided to shift the administrative control of the Unique Identification Authority of India the Ministry of Communication & IT.  A two day Hindu-Buddhist Conference was held at Bodhgaya, Bihar on Sep 5-6. BULLET NEWS (AUGUST - OCTOBER 2015)
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 41  Prime Minister Modi addressed the Sustainable Development Summit at the UN Headquarters in New York on Sep 25.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dublin, capital of Ireland on Sep 23 to have bilateral talks with his Irish P M Endy Kenny.  Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari had a four-day visit to the South East Asian countries of Cambodia and Laos.  Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in New Delhi on Sep 14 to have delegation level talks on various important bilateral issues.  All India Radio released the digital version of the grand epic Ramcharitmanas as a set of digital CDs produced by its old recordings.  India and Indonesia have signed a treaty for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters.  The three-day Vishwa Hindi Sammelan (World Hindi Conference) was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, Sept. 10-12. AUGUST 2015  Census 2011 data shows that the proportion of Muslims has registered 0.8 per cent growth from 2001 to 2011 to reach 14.23 per cent, numbering 17.22 crore. Hindus population share showed a decline by 0.7 per cent to reach 79.80 per cent at 96.63 crore.  Pahal (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh) for LPG has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest cash transfer plan for households.  Bengaluru has been ranked as the cleanest among capital cities in India and Mysuru as the most clean city as per the Swachh Bharat rankings.  India and China opened their fifth border meeting point on August 1 at Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh for local military commanders meetings.  On July 31, 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Coochbehar, West Bengal merged with India, while 111 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh merged with that country.  7th August will be celebrated every year as National Handloom Day to promote quality handloom products in international markets  World Bank has agreed to provide $ 412.40 million assistance for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project- I & II  Prime Minister Modi made a two day visit to the strategically-important UAE on August 16-17. He is the first Indian PM to visit UAE after 34 years.  James Alix Michel, President of the Seychelles came to New Delhi on 25 August on a three-day visit to India.  Filipe J Nyusi, President of Mozambique arrived in India on August 5 on a five day visit. The two countries signed MoU on expanding cooperation in energy sector.  Adam Gilchrist, former Australian cricketer has been appointed Australia's first education ambassador to India.  India has started the hotlines between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama and their national security advisers.  Govt released a commemorative postal stamp of Rs 5 on August 24 on emperor Ashoka who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC.  Latest release from the Census 2011 data shows that only 6.8 crore Indians (8.15%) have qualification of graduation and above.  The 18th Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started functioning from its temporary campus at Palakkad, Kerala.  Second summit of Forum for India Pacific Island Countries (FIPIC) was held in Jaipur on August 21.  India signs tax information exchange agreement with Seychelles to curb generation of black money. NEWS FROM STATES OCTOBER 2015  In Odisha, all the 531 police stations in the state have been computerized to allow online filing of FIR from anywhere in the state  Mission ‘Abaas’ launched in Odisha to provide (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and slum dwellers.  Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been appointed Maharashtra’s brand ambassador for Tigers  District Court in Khunti, Jharkhand became county's first solar powered district court.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 42 SEPTEMBER 2015  Andhra govt has successfully linked two of its major rivers - Godavari and Krishna towards making the state "drought-proof".  A World Bank's report on ease of doing business in states ranks Gujarat at number one, followed by Andhra Pradesh AUGUST 2015  Birth centenary celebrations of freedo fighter Rani Gaidinliu were inaugurated in Nagaland on August 24.  Gujarat witnessed widespread violent clashes after the massive rally on August 25 for demanding special job reservation for Patel community.  Cochin International Airport, Kochi on August 18 became the first airport in the world to operate completely on solar power.  Maharashtra government has accorded the status of adventure sport to the art of forming ‘human pyramids’ in Dahi Handi festival.  Two war memorials were inaugurated in Jaisalmer and Longowal in Rajasthan in the honour of war heroes of 1965 and 1971 Indo Pak war, respectively.  Telangana govt has signed a MoU with the Department of Posts for sale of stamp papers at post offices from September 1 to avoid fraud and forgery.  Kerala would be the first fully digital state in the country by March 2016 by utilising e-governance to deliver efficient and transparent services. GOVT INITIATIVES OCTOBER 2015  The IIT Council has decided to waive full fee (Rs. 90,000/-) for the physically challenged students from the current academic session in all the 15 IITs  Govt has launched an e-Sahyog pilot project of Income-Tax Department aimed at reducing compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers.  Government has launched Central Victim Compensation Fund to support the victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking etc.  Govt has launched the 'Science Express Climate Action Special' exhibition train from Delhi, aimed at spreading awareness about the effects of climate change  The Union Health Ministry has permitted transfer of blood from one blood bank to another to help out needy hospitals.  Govt has decided to raise the wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs 7,000 and workers drawing a monthly salary up to Rs 21,000 will be eligible for bonus.  Doordarshan will telecast a programme on Apprenticeship Training Scheme - Hunarbaaz, from Oct 18.  Govt has approved the World Bank assisted National Watershed Management Project Neeranchal for promoting effective irrigation in nine states.  Govt has launched a pilot programme - Kisan, which will use satellite imaging to get accurate data on crop yields and collection of data of hailstorm.  Govt has notified ‘Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015’ under the National Food Security Act, 2013 for improved administration and efficiency of the scheme.  Govt has signed a MoU with the New India Assurance Company to provide Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme, for the Persons with Disabilities  In the age group of 18 to 65 years with family annual income of less than Rs. 3,00,000.  Health insurance cover up to Rs. 2,00,000 per annum as family floater.  The Central Board of Direct Taxes, CBDT has simplified the format and procedure for self declaration by individuals in 15G and 15H forms.  Government has launched Green Highways policy to promote greening of Highway corridors with participation of farmers and public sector.  One per cent of the total project cost of all highways projects will be kept aside for the highway plantation and its maintenance.  Government has unveiled ‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ for annual ranking of engineering and management institutes in the country.  Government has eased the penal provisions for undeclared or mis-declared baggage that will attract arrest or prosecution, from Rs 5 lac to Rs 20 lac.  To enable Indians living abroad to access old age income security, RBI has allowed NRIs to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) of PFRDA  India's first community reserve to protect the endangered Gangetic River Dolphins will come up on River Hooghly in West Bengal.  Govt has approved setting up of three new AIIMS at Nagpur in Maharashtra, Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and at Kalyani in West Bengal  Govt has launched Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy-2015 to promote greening of Highways.  The Union cabinet has approved construction of a National War Memorial and Museum near the famed India Gate in the national capital.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 43  Govt plans to spend around 70,000crore rupees in 12 major ports in the next 5 years under Sagarmala Project for port-led development in coastal areas.  Govt has formed a Committee headed by Justice R V Easwar, former Judge of Delhi High Court to suggest simplifications in the Income Tax Act, 1961. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt has approved the Sovereign Gold Bond and the Gold Monetisation Scheme.  The govt announced to roll out the welfare measure under One Rank One Pension-OROP for Armed Forces personnel from July 1, 2014.  The govt has identified 305 cities/towns across nine states for implementation of 'Housing for All' scheme, named 'Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana.  Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana launched for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations.  Govt has approved Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission to transform rural areas into economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces.  Govt to provide additional 50 work days in 2015-16 in drought-hit areas under MGNREGA to provide relief to farmers  EPFO has increased the maximum amount assured under its Employees' Deposit inked Insurance Scheme to Rs 6 lakh, from current Rs 3.6 lakh.  The Deptt of Industrial Policy and Promotion has implemented an electronic payment system to become the first govt department to have 100 per cent cashless transactions.  Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) at New Delhi.  Life Insurance Corporation of India has created a platform where policyholders may avail of electronic KYC norms linked to the Aadhar card.  Railways has launched a paperless unreserved ticketing mobile application for the passengers travelling from New Delhi to Palwal Section. AUGUST 2015  The Centre declared the names of 98 cities for its smart cities project. U P leads by getting 13 cities, followed by Tamil Nadu-12  The Government launched a health service called SEHAT (Social Endeavour for Health And Telemedicine) in tie up with the Apollo Hospitals  Government has launched the web portal "Vidya Lakshmi” (www.vidyalakshmi.co.in) for the benefit of students seeking educational loans.  India has ratified the International Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention, 2003 to provide a globally recognised identity document to its seafarers.  Government has decided that from this year onwards, IAS probationers will start their career from New Delhi before joining their respective states  Govt has launched Suraksha Bandhan Yojna through banks and insurance companies to facilitate enrolment under two social security schemes –  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana  Govt launched a new national scheme Nai Manzil from Patna to address educational and livelihood needs of minority communities  Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted to increase preparedness for response and recovery in case of disaster.  This framework was adopted during the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.  A peace accord was signed with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NSCN (Isak-Muivah group), to end two decades old insurgency problem.  Ministry of Rural Development has launched ‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.  Government has extended e-Tourist Visa facility to China, Hong Kong and Macau with effect from 30 July 2015.  The Union Cabinet has approved direct benefit transfer to beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.  Govt proposes to rename the present Agriculture Ministry as 'Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ministry’ to focus on the welfare of farmers.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 44 ECONOMIC INDICATORS OCTOBER 2015  World Bank says that India is expected to overcome the global slowdown and its GDP may grow by 7.5 per cent despite a weak export recovery.  The World Economic Outlook Update from the IMF says that India's growth is expected to strengthen from 7.3 per cent this year to 7.5 per cent next year. SEPTEMBER 2015  As per CSO data, GDP for April to June this year rose by 7 percent compared to a growth rate of 7.1 percent for the same period in last fiscal.  The ADB has cut India’s growth forecast to 7.4% on concerns of delay in reforms, weak demand, external slowdown and weak monsoon. AUGUST 2015  Moody's Investors Service has reduced India's growth forecast for 2015-16 to around 7% from 7.5 % projected earlier, citing below-normal rainfall. ECONOMY OCTOBER 2015  The S C has imposed 'Environment Compensation Charge' of Rs 700 and Rs 1300 on commercial vehicles entering Delhi from Nov 1 for 4 months.  A study by the Savills World Research shows that Mumbai is world's cheapest city to live and work among 12 top metropolitan cities of the world.  Govt plans to include Sin Tax in the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law.  Sin tax is an excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society.  India and Germany have signed two loan agreements worth 125 million Euros for financing Green Energy Corridor project in H P and Andhra.  Anil Baijal committee submitted its report for developing suitable methodologies for monitoring CSR provisions  TRAI has made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs.1 for call drops with effect from 1 January, 2016.  The Ministry of Environment has granted environment clearance for the greenfield international airport at Mopa in Goa.  Railway plans to launch Vikalp scheme from 1st of November to give passengers the option of journey by another train if they decide to do so.  National Green Tribunal has directed all trucks etc, entering Delhi, to pay an environmental compensation charge in addition to the toll tax.  The Export Import Bank of India has extended a Line of Credit of $87 million to Zimbabwe for renovation and up-gradation of Bulawayo Thermal Power Plant.  The World Bank has promised $30 billion financial assistance to the Railways for its forthcoming infrastructure projects.  ADB has agreed to give a $123.51 million loan to upgrade tourism infrastructure and services in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.  Bajaj Auto has launched ‘Qute’, the quadricycle RE60 for export to 16 countries in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Asia at price of around $2000.  Future Group has entered into a partnership with Baba Ramdev promoted Patanjali Ayurved to sell the latter's FMCG products through its Big Bazaar stores.  Real estate developer Tata Housing has tied-up with social networking firm Facebook to sell its affordable homes online. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt has announced that the minimum alternate tax (MAT) will not be applicable on capital gains made by FIIs prior to April 1, 2015.  The Food Ministry has notified mandatory export of four million tonne of sugar for the 2015-16 sugar season starting October 1.  From 28 September 2015, the commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has become part of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).  NTPC achieved record highest single-day electricity generation of 733.12 million units on August 27 from its 33 power plants  Govt has banned the sale of Diclofenac drug in multidose vial. Henceforth, it will be sold only in single-dose vial packaging for human use.  The real estate major Dalian Wanda Group of China plans to invest around Rs. 66,000 crore in Haryana to develop an industrial zone and township.  The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry launched SAHAJ scheme for online booking of LPG connections
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 45  The West-Central Railway zone, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh has become the first Railway Zone to eliminate all unmanned level crossings.  The World Federation of Exchanges has confirmed that the Bombay Stock Exchange has the highest number of listed companies in the world - 5689.  Asian Development Bank to provide $ 500 million loan for better management of essential urban services and financing of water supply in Rajasthan.  ADB to extend a loan of $ 200 million to Jharkhand for upgrading roads in next four years. AUGUST 2015  Three Indian companies have been named among the world’s 100 most innovative companies list compiled by Forbes magazine of USA.  These companies are Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma Ind. and Tata Consultancy Services. The list is topped by Tesla Motors of USA.  Foodgrains production in India in 2014-15 was 252.68 million tonnes, down by 12.36 million tonnes (4.9%) from last year’s production of 265.04 million tonnes.  India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow oil palm trees to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils.  The country's most popular scooter - the Honda Activa - has set a new record by crossing the one crore unit sales landmark.  Rajesh Exports Ltd. Bengaluru, has acquired Switzerland based Valcambi gold processing company to become world’s largest gold jewellery manufacturer  Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to support new and delayed projects.  The Union Cabinet has approved construction of petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal.  Kolkata Port adjudged as the best ‘Major Port of the Year’ in the country for the year 2014-15 on basis of its turnover, efficiency and customer satisfaction.  The government's 10 %stake sale in Indian Oil Corporation on Aug 24 fetched around Rs. 9300 cr.  Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to invest $5 billion in Maharashtra to set up large scale research & development and manufacturing facilities. BANKING OCTOBER 2015  The RBI has decided to create a new Financial Inclusion Fund- FIF with a corpus of 2,000 crore rupees by merger of two different funds.  The 2 fund are - Financial Inclusion Fund and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund  Govt has decided to allow foreign investment up to 100 per cent in White Label ATM operations under the automatic route to promote financial inclusion.  ICICI Bank has become the first bank in the world to launch mVisa - a card-less and device-less payment solution.  Recent RBI data shows that among public sector banks, the UCO Bank had highest ratio of NPAs at 8.5 per cent of its loans in 2014-15  SBI receives RBI nod to set up a subsidiary to frame and implement a uniform policy for all the real estate properties owned or rented by the bank.  RBI has said that the banks will be free to set interest rate on Gold Deposit Schemes and principal and interest of the deposit will be denominated in gold.  Reserve Bank of India has opened its sub-office in Imphal in Manipur.  The RBI has granted permission to the Indian corporate to issue rupee bonds outside India. These bonds would be exempted from capital gains tax.  The Reserve Bank has signed a MoU with Bangladesh Bank for exchange of supervisory information.  The government plans to bring down its stake in the IDBI Bank to 49 per cent, from 76.5 per cent at present with a view to make it more efficient.  HDFC Bank has automated its personal loan approvals through their ATMs that would track the customer's history and authorize a loan accordingly.  HDFC Bank has been rated 27th safest bank in the world, according to the Bank Safety Ranking done by the international financial magazine 'The Banker’. SEPTEMBER 2015  In its 4th bi-monthly monetary policy review announced on Sep 29, RBI cut the benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points, from 7.25 to 6.75 per cent.  Consequently, the reverse repo becomes 5.75% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate becomes 7.75%.  RBI has allowed banks to change the ownership of an errant corporate even before the loan account turns 'bad' or non performing asset – NPA.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 46  RBI plans to put into circulation high security banknotes in the denominations of 500 and 1000 rupees incorporating three new/revised features:  Ascending size of numerals in the number panels, introduction of bleed lines and enlarged identification mark.  Banks to conduct Mega Credit Campaigns to generate easy availability of credit to Micro Enterprises under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).  Mudra has been established as a subsidiary of SIDBI to provide refinance to all banks seeking refinancing of small business loans under PMMY.  The Reserve Bank has declared State Bank of India and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs).  Systemically Important means anything or feature which is important for entire system.  Seeking to promote financial inclusion, the RBI has granted in principal approval to 10 entities to set up small finance banks.  These banks will focus on unbanked sections such as small farmers, micro business enterprises, micro and small industries etc.  The RBI has permitted banks to offer loans below base rate to their whole time directors and CEOs.  RBI has asked concurrent auditors of commercial banks to submit their review of non-performing loans directly to the banks  They will discontinue the practice of submitting it to the statutory auditors who conduct quarterly and half yearly review of bank accounts.  India is joining the UN-based 'Better Than Cash Alliance', which promotes transition from cash to digital payments.  RBI has inked a MoU with the Nepal Rastra Bank for Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information.  Two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs 10 were released on the eve of Teachers' Day in the memory of former President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan.  The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into circulation Rs 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of Indo-Pak War 1965.  The RBI has liberalised external commercial borrowing norms for NBFCs, allowing them to use the foreign funds to finance domestic equipments.  RBI plans to permit domestic companies to borrow money from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and insurance funds as part of the ECBs.  Axis Bank has rolled out a full-fledged mobile app ‘Lime’ that enables shopping, making payments and banking, all under one window.  Indian Bank has launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere. AUGUST 2015  The Reserve Bank of India gave in principle approval for 11 entities on August 19 to set up payments banks.  Concept of payment banks was proposed by the Nachiket Mor committee.  They differ from conventional banks as they cannot give loans nor can they accept time deposits.  Balance in deposit accounts cannot exceed Rs 1 lakh.  They can issue debit cards but not credit cards.  They will need to invest 75 percent of their funds in government securities  RBI has allowed banks to extend repayment period of farm loan upto 5-years if 50 percent or more of crop is damaged due to drought or flood.  R Gandhi committee has recommended allowing UCBs to exit from the ambit of the Multi State Co- operative Societies Act and come under the Companies Act.  The RBI has asked banks to provide 2% subvention on short term farm loans upto Rs. 3 lacs provided they charge not more than 7% to farmers.  Further, additional subvention of 3% will be available to farmers who repay such loans in time.  IRDAI has allowed banks to tie up with insurers to sell three products each from life, non-life and standalone health insurance segment.  SIDBI launched SIDBI Make in India Loan for Enterprises (SMILE) for providing soft loans to MSMEs.  It also launched The India Aspiration Fund to create 7.5 lakh jobs in five years.  Bandhan Bank began operations on August 23 as a full-fledged bank with 501 branches and 1.43 crore accounts across the country.  SBI launched a mobile wallet application, SBI Buddy, in collaboration with Accenture and Mastercard.  ICICI Bank has launched the first of its kind fully automated digital locker named 'Smart Vault'.  Project “Indra-dhanush” launched to lay down the framework for the revival of public sector banks.  It aims to provide immediate capital support, create a Bank Board Bureau, improve governance standards and focus on the quality of the business
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 47  Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched ‘Kotak Bharat’ app to provide mobile banking services to customers without using internet support.  RBI to transfer its surplus profit of Rs 65,896 crore to the Centre, which is about 25% more than the amount given last year.  RBI to issue 10 rupee coins to commemorate Inter- national Yoga Day. The coins will have image of lion capital on one side and logo of Yoga Day on the other.  Govt has notified that the second and fourth Saturday of every month would be a holiday for banks, with effect from September 1, 2015.  NABARD has been accredited by the Green Climate Fund of UNO as an implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India.  HDFC Bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources.  ICICI Bank has announced ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ up to Rs. 15 lakh with a special interest rate equal to its base rate which is currently at 9.70 %. DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OCTOBER 2015  Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders released the first Scorpene category submarine INS 'Kalvari' for sea trails at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai.  The navies of India, United States and Japan began a five-day joint operation-'Malabar exercise' on October 14 on the eastern coast in Bay of Bengal  4th Sri Lanka-India Exercise (SLINEX) of two navies was held in Bay of Bengal, off the Trincomalee coast in Sri Lanka, from October 27 to November 1.  A 14-day joint training exercise 'Mitra Shakti 2015', involving military contingents from India and Sri Lanka, was held in Pune from Sep 29 to Oct 12  India has signed a deal with Slovenia for supply of 194 Pipistrel micro-light aircraft to be used by Indian Air Force, the Navy and the.  Indigenously built naval warship INS Kochi, the stealth guided missile destroyer, was inducted in the Indian Navy on Sep 30.  The Defence Ministry has approved the induction of women officers into the combat stream of IAF, allowing them for first time, to fly fighter aircrafts.  Fast patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS Anmol was inducted in the Coast Guard Region (North East) in Kolkata.  The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, for the first time, has decided to deploy women in combat duties at its high-altitude posts along the Indo-China border.  India’s first indigenously built torpedo launch and recovery vessel - INS Astradharini, inducted in Indian Navy on Oct 6 at Vishakhaptnam.  5th Indo-China Joint Military Training Exercise- HAND-IN-HAND conducted at Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China from 12 to 23 October.  A joint maritime exercise of naval patrol vessels - Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and Indonesia began on 3 Oct in the Andaman Sea.  India’s first dedicated astronomy research satellite Astrosat was successfully launched on Sep 28 by the PSLV-C30 from Sriharikota.  Microsoft Corp and Google Inc have agreed to bury all patent infringement litigation against each other, settling 18 cases in USA and Germany.  NASA scientists claimed to have found the strongest ever evidence of liquid water on Planet Mars that could help sustain future manned missions. SEPTEMBER 2015  Govt to purchase 15 Chinook helicopters that will lift heavy loads and 22 AH-64D Apache advanced attack helicopters from USA.  India and the US have created a "joint challenge coin" to symbolise their unique partnership in creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for Indian Navy.  One side of the coin reads "Chale Chalen Saath Saath" and the other reads “Forward Together We Go".  Indian Navy has established its largest missile storage and replenishment facility named INS Vajrakosh at Karwar base in Karnataka  Indian Coast Guard has commissioned two new ships named Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS Apoorva and Interceptor Boat C-421.  India to buy 10 Heron TP armed drones capable of firing missiles, from Israel to enhance our cross- border military strike capability.  The first bilateral maritime exercise between Australia and India ‘Ausindex-2015’ began on Sep 12 off the shores of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.  On 16 September, International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed across the world.  The theme and the slogan for the year 2015 are 30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together and Ozone: All there is between you and UV, respectively.  China has successfully launched a newly-developed satellite launch rocket Long March-6(Chang Zheng-6).
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 48  Hinduja business group has launched Hits (Headend-in-the-Sky) digital broadcasting platform - NXT Digital to provide over 500 TV channels to cable operators  Google and Indian Railways are planning to work jointly on Project Nilgiri to set up free Wi-Fi hotspots across 400 select railway stations.  Facebook has decided to rebrand its Internet.org programme to 'Free Basics' for providing more services and stronger security measures.  Study by researchers at the Yale University, USA shows that there are over 3 trillion trees on Earth, based on ground survey data and satellite pictures. AUGUST 2015  Ten day bi-lateral air exercise between Indian and British Air forces named Indradhanush concluded in Britain.  Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd and Europe’s Airbus Helicopters set up a joint venture to manu- facture military helicopters for the first time in India.  India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System was commissioned in Kochi, Kerala to beef up coastal security.  ISRO launched its 25th home-made communications satellite GSAT-6 on August 27, using the Geo- synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D6)  A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction -- GlobalSat for DRR under UN framework, will be named as “UN Kalam GlobalSat”  A new Science and Innovation Museum called 'Navachara Kaksh' was inaugurated at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 5.  Google has reorganized itself into a multiple company organization under a new umbrella company called Alphabet.  Google India launched in Mumbai, a special programme named Internet Saathi in collaboration with Tata Trust on July 3 to bring more women online.  NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) has confirmed the presence of glowing neon gas in the moon’s atmosphere.  A new vaccine against the Ebola virus disease ‘rVSV- ZEBOB’, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada has shown 100 % efficiency in a trial run.  Microsoft has rolled out its new operating system Windows 10 with a host of new features like Cortana, an Xbox app and Microsoft Edge.  Asia’s biggest multi-application solar telescope (MAST) has been started in the Udaipur Solar Observatory in Rajasthan. INTERNATIONAL OCTOBER 2015  A World Bank report says that the number of people living in extreme poverty is likely to fall for the first time below 10% of the world’s population in 2015.  Around 702 million, 9.6% of the world’s population will be living in extreme poverty in 2015, down from 902 million or 12.8% in 2012.  India had largest number of poor in 2012, but its poverty rate at 21.2 per cent is one of the lowest among developing countries.  The World Bank has revised its benchmark poverty from living on or below $1.25 a day to $1.90 a day.  The European Union has started a new operation termed Operation Sophia to actively intercept boats smuggling refugees.  Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched the V-20 Group on 8 October 2015 in Lima, Peru.  To commemorate the 70th anniversary of UNO on Oct 24, more than 200 monuments in 60 countries will be lit up in blue- the official colour of UNO.  NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces conducted their massive field exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2015 from Oct 3 to Nov 6  UNCTAD says that the growth rate for world in 2015 is expected to remain more or less unchanged from last year, at 2.5 per cent.  11 Pacific Rim nations, including Canada and Chile to Japan and Australia have agreed to sign with USA, the largest regional trade accord in history.  China has operationalised the world’s highest mega hydropower station at Zam in Tibet, built on Brahmaputra River  China has announced the end of its hugely controversial 45 years old one-child policy. Now, all couples would be allowed to have two children.  China's GDP decelerated to 6.9 per cent in the third quarter of this year, posting its worst growth since the 2009 global financial crisis  China successfully launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite into its designated orbit from Jiuquan satellite launch centre  Senior executives of IMF and World Bank Group held their annual three-day meeting in Lima, Peru to address current challenges facing the world economy.  The WTO, has lowered 2015 global trade forecast to 2.8 percent in the face of a slowdown in the economies of emerging countries.  China has launched the first phase of “China International Payment System (CIPS)” to promote Yuan’s global usage
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 49 SEPTEMBER 2015  U N General Assembly formally adopted on Sep 25 the new global 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs)  They aim to end poverty, hunger, assure gender equality, and build a life of dignity for all, over the next 15 years.  These goals cover three important aspects - economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.  Indians in USA have launched "Mission 2022" in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industries to promote business between two countries.  Nepal's parliament has approved new constitution, which will come into effect from Sep 20  Nepal’s Constituent Assembly rejected the demand for converting the country in to a Hindu state, sparking violent protests across the nation.  The US Defence headquarters Pentagon has established a first-ever country special cell-India Rapid Reaction Cell to strengthen its defence ties with India  The G-20 meet of Finance Ministers in Ankara, Turkey, launched a new grouping – W20 (women 20) aimed at boosting the role of women in economic growth.  Canada, world's 11th-biggest economy has fallen into a recession, dragged down by falling energy prices and economic troubles in China.  In recently concluded 2015 Singapore General Elections, People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has emerged victorious.  Two-day Conference of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Ankara, Turkey on September 4 and 5.  As per the new secular constitution of Nepal, Cow has been declared as the National Animal of Nepal. AUGUST 2015  The IAEA and Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to create the world's first internationally-controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure nuclear fuel supplies for power stations and preventing its use for weapons.  Bangladesh has become the first country to receive funds from UNFCCC for solar home systems to cut carbon emissions by reducing use of kerosene  List of Top 20 Wealthiest People Under 35 ranks Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as the wealthiest individual with assets of $ 41.6 billion.  The Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr was ranked as the world's top-earning actor by Forbes, earning $ 80 million during 2014-15.  City of Hiroshima in Japan observed on August 6 the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped by a US aircraft.  Singapore marked 50 years of independence on August 9 with nationwide celebrations.  Bangladesh's Grameen Bank has found a place in Fortune's inaugural 'Change the World List' for creating economic opportunities for the poor.  Japan’s leading financial media house - Nikkei to buy the noted European financial paper - Financial Times from UK’s Pearson in a $1.3 billion deal.  As per the U N report ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision’, India is likely to become the most populous nation by 2022, surpassing China.  After a run of poor economic data, China devalued the Yuan on August 11, guiding the currency to its lowest point in past three years. PERSONS IN NEWS OCTOBER 2015 NAINA LAL KIDWAI: Chairperson of HSBC India since 2009 will retire by the end of this year, having completed 58 years of age. JERRY SEINFELD: He has been named as the world’s highest paid comedian by Forbes. The 61-year-old comedian earned $ 36 million between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2015. SEPTEMBER 2015 ARVIND PANAGARIYA: Vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, has been appointed as the sherpa for G20 negotiations. ANUPAM KHER: Bollywood actor was in news as he was conferred with the Honoured Guest of Texas award in Houston, USA for his contribution to the cinema and the world of art. CHANDA KOCHHAR and Arundhati Bhattacharya have been ranked as top two in a list of most powerful business women in Asia-Pacific, prepared by the global magazine Fortune. They head ICICI Bank and State Bank of India, respectively. INDRA NOOYI: PepsiCo CEO is the sole Indian-origin executive in Fortune's list of 50 most powerful women in business (placed 2ND), which has been topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. JHUMPA LAHIRI: Noted Indo American novelist was honoured with the prestigious National Humanities Medal by the American President in recognition of her works highlighting human relation-ships.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 50 QUEEN ELIZABETH II: The 89 year old Queen of Great Britain reached a major milestone on Sep 8 by becoming the longest-reigning monarch (since Feb 02, 1952) in Britain’s history GENNADY PADALKA: Russian astronaut was in news as he created the record for having spent the most time in space. His latest mission lasted 168 days, bringing his total to 879 days in space over five trips. AUGUST 2015 SUNDAR PICHAI: India-born technocrat has been named as the new CEO of the technology giant Google at an reported annual package of $ 50 million. ANUPAM KHER: Bollywood actor has been named an advocate for the UN’s campaign on gender equality. HARDIK PATEL: 21 year old firebrand youth leader from Gujarat was in news as he engineered a massive (and violent) state wide agitation in Gujarat demanding job reservation for Patel community in the OBC quota. AMITABH BACHCHAN: Bollywood megastar has been appointed as ambassador for promoting tiger tourism in Maharashtra. ADNAN SAMI: Pakistani singer has been allowed to stay in India for an indefinite period following his appeal to legalise his stay on humanitarian grounds. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: World’s top ranked tennis player appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) APPOINTMENTS OCTOBER 2015 ARUN JAITLEY: chosen as Finance Minister of the Year, Asia by London-based publication Emerging Markets. SHEKHAR BASU: Renowned scientist has been appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission. SHASHANK MANOHAR: New President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India NAJIB SHAH: Appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) VIDYA DEVI BHANDARI: Noted Nepali Communist leader elected as Nepal’s first woman President by the Parliament. K P SHARMA OLI: Veteran Communist party leader elected as Nepal's new Prime Minister JIMMY MORALES: elected as the President of Guatemala ALPHA CONDE: Re elected as the President of Guinea JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Newly elected Prime Minister of Canada from Liberal Party. ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO: re elected as the President of Belarus PEDRO PASSOS COELHO: Newly elected Prime Minister of Portugal JIOJI KONROTE: elected as new President of the Pacific island mini country Fiji. SEPTEMBER 2015 RATAN P WATAL: New Union Finance Secretary RAJIV MEHRISHI: Appointed as the new Union Home secretary. DEEPAK GUPTA: Appointed as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). J MANJULA: Director General, Electronics & Communication Systems cluster of the DRDO. She is the first woman DG of a DRDO cluster. Ms. STUTI NARAIN KACKER: Appointed as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). ALEXIS TSIPRAS: Re-elected as the Prime Minister of Greece. He had resigned last month. SHERIF ISMAIL: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Egypt MALCOLM TURNBULL: New Prime Minister of Australia. AUGUST 2015 OM PRAKASH RAWAT: Appointed as the second Election Commissioner of India. ACHARYA DEV VRAT: New Governor of Himachal Pradesh RAM NATH KOVIND: New Governor of Bihar ASHWANI LOHANI: Appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India. USHA ANANTHASUBRAMANIAN: New Managing Director & CEO of Punjab National Bank KISHOR PIRAJI KHARAT: Managing Director and CEO of IDBI Bank MELWYN REGO: Managing Director and CEO of Bank of India P S JAYAKUMAR: MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda* RAKESH SHARMA: MD and CEO of Canara Bank* *This is for the first time that persons from the private sector have been given top positions in the public sector banks.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 51 AJIT KUMAR SETH: Former Cabinet Secretary has been appointed as the Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) RANA KAPOOR: YES Bank co-founder has been approved by RBI for re-appointment as MD and CEO of the bank for 3 years. SEBASTIAN COE: President, International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) RANIL WICKREMESINGHE: Elected as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka as his United National Party won the general elections. AWARDS & HONOURS OCTOBER 2015 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2015: Jacob Tsimerman of the University of Toronto, Canada. The age limit for the prize has been set at 32 because Ramanujan achieved so much in his brief life of 32 years. MAN BOOKER PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2015: won by Jamaican author Marlon James for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. Best Short Film Award at the 2015 London Film Festival won by an Indian short film of 11 minutes, An Old Dog’s Diary. CONFUCIUS PEACE PRIZE (China): Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, for “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony. HARVARD HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for the prestigious award given by the Harvard University. European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to the Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, whose flogging sentence for causing insult to Islam invited global criticism. SEPTEMBER 2015 SKOCH AWARD (India) FOR SMART GOVERNANCE: Won by Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for its initiatives on Universal Account Number (UAN) Programme. VYAAS SAMMAN FOR 2014: Noted Hindi writer Dr Kamal Kishore Goenka for his work 'Premchand ki Kahaniyon ka Kaal Kramanusaar Adhyayan' GANDHI PEACE PRIZE-2014: Awarded to ISRO for its contribution in nation’s development through satellite based education, health care facilities. UNESCO ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015: Won by India for the remarkable conservation efforts of the majestic Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala Indian film Angry Indian Goddesses, a story about a group of Indian girls in Goa gone wild, was voted as the first runner-up at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. AUGUST 2015 CROSS OF ORDER OF THE MERIT, GERMANY: Indian socio biologist Raghavendra Gadagkar was awarded with the Germany's highest civilian honour for his contribution in strengthening research cooperation between India and Germany. ICTP RAMANUJAN PRIZE 2015: Mathematician Dr. Amalendu Krishna; the prize is given to a mathematician below the age of 45 by the ICTP, Italy. ICTP: International Centre for Theoretical Physics STOCKHOLM JUNIOR WATER PRIZE 2015: Perry Alagappan from USA for inventing a filter through which toxic heavy metals from electronic waste can be removed from water. SOLIDARITY HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD: Awarded to Zhanna Nemtsova, the journalist daughter of slain Russian democracy advocate Boris Nemtsov. SUNHAK PEACE PRIZE (first): Noted Indian agricultural scientist Modadugu Vijay Gupta. He is joint winner of the prize along with President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong. ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (OBE): Ameetpal Gill, PM David Cameron's Indian-origin adviser and speech writer. This is highest civil honour of UK. OBITUARY OCTOBER 2015 RAVINDRA JAIN: Veteran music director-singer-lyricist passed away in Mumbai. He was 71. Though blind, he gave music for hit films like Chor Machaye Shor, Geet Gaata Chal, Chitchor and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, in the 70s and was associated with epic TV serials like Ramayana and Mahabharata. SYED ZAHOOR QASIM: Renowned marine biologist considered as the founder of Polar Biology in India, passed away in New Delhi. He was 88. K S L SWAMY: Renowned Kannada filmmaker, producer, actor and playback singer passed away in Bengaluru. He was 77. Dr. SYED AHMED: Governor of Manipur passed away at Mumbai. He was 73. He was a senior Congress leader.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 52 ASHWANI KUMAR: Ex DGP of Border security Force and ex President of the Indian Hockey Federation, passed away at 95. LABH JANJUA: Noted Punjabi singer, famous for chartbusters like “London Thumakda” and “Jee karda bi jee karda”, died untimely in Mumbai MANORAMA (Achhi): Legendary Tamil comedian and actress, who had starred in over 1,000 southern films, died at 78 in Chennai. GAJANAN PENDHARKAR: Chairman of world famous ayurvedic cosmetics company – Vicco Laboratories, died in Mumbai. He was 81. HENNING MANKELL: Best-selling Swedish crime writer, whose detective character Kurt Wallander became a worldwide phenomenon, died at 67 after a battle with cancer. SEPTEMBER 2015 JAGMOHAN DALMIYA: President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), hailed as the architect of India's rise as the game's financial superpower, passed away in Kolkata. AADESH SHRIVASTAVA: Noted Bollywood music composer passed away at a young age of 51 as he was suffering from cancer. M M KALBURGI: 77 year old Kannada scholar and ex Vice Chancellor of Kannada University was shot dead by two men at his Dharwad home in Karnataka. JACKIE COLLINS: Popular British-American romance novelist passed away in California, United States. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on The New York Times bestsellers list. YOGI BERRA: Legendary Baseball player from USA, whose humorous quotes made him one of America's most beloved sports icons, died at the age of 90 CHANDRA BAHADUR DANGI: verified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's shortest man - at 21.5 inches (54.6cm) - died of an undisclosed illness in American Samoa. He was 75 and was ill for long. AUGUST 2015 SUVRA MUKHERJEE: wife of President Pranab Mukherjee passed away. She was an accomplished dancer, painter and lover of Rabindra Sangeet. OM PRAKASH MUNJAL: Co-Chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist passed away in Ludhiana on August 13. He was 87. Hero cycles is the world’s largest bi-cycle manufacturing unit. PLACES IN NEWS OCTOBER 2015 DADRI: Small town in Uttar Pradesh was in news due to mob lynching of 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi in village Bisara on Sep 28 on rumors that he killed a cow for consuming beef. The incident led to strong reactions all over India as a strong example of surging ideological intolerance, particularly in context of religion, leading to return of government honours by several eminent intellectuals. KOTKAPURA: Town in district Faridkot, Punjab witnessed widespread violent protests by Sikhs against the alleged desecration of a 'bir' of Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village. Later, the protests spread to several other towns, even in certain places in UK and Canada. CHANG LA: Situated about 80 km east of Leh (J&K), the place was in news as the world’s highest research station, established by the DRDO at an altitude of 17,500 ft became functional there. BIR BILLING: Place in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was in news as the first Paragliding World Cup of South East Asia started there from October 16. HURRICANE PATRICIA struck Mexico's Pacific coast on 23 October, forcing thousands to flee homes and beach front resorts. TYPHOON KOPPU attacked the north eastern Philippines on October 18 with fierce winds, displacing 16,000 villagers and knocking out power in entire provinces. SANTA CATARINA PINULA: A small town in Guatemala, a mini country south of Mexico, was in news s at least 171 persons were killed there in sudden mudslides that smashed into a nearby village.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 53 BAGHDAD: The heavily fortified Green Zone in the capital of Iraq has been opened to the public for the first time in 12 years as a part of a reform drive. ARCH OF TRIUMPH: A historical monument built about 2,000 years ago in Palmyra, Syria was in news as it was blown up by the ISIS terrorists. SEPTEMBER 2015 PETALWAD, JHABUA: Small town in Madhya Pradesh was in news as around 100 people were killed and many more injured after a massive blast caused by mining explosives stored in a building ripped through a crowded market area. MINA: Holy place for Muslims, near Mecca was in news as over 720 people were killed and over 860 others injured there in a stampede as Haj pilgrims jostled their way to perform symbolic stoning of the devil, marking the culmination of the annual Haj pilgrimage. MECCA: Muslims’ holiest place in Saudi Arabia was in news as at least 107 persons were killed and over 200 injured in an accident caused by crane collapsed on Sep 11 during the annual hajj pilgrimage. COQUIMBO, CHILE: Area in Northern Chile was in news as more than 9,000 people were left homeless after it was struck by a 8.3-magnitude quake on September 16. MOUNT ASO: One of the largest volcanoes on Japan's main southern island of Kyushu, erupted on Sep 14, sending a plume of black smoke 2 km high, but there were no reports of damage or injuries. AUGUST 2015 KOCHI: has become the first Indian city to become a member of Beijing-headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council. HARDA: Over 30 passengers were killed and many others injured when several coaches of two trains derailed over a railway bridge and plunged into the swollen Machak River in Harda, Madhya Pradesh SPORTS WORLD OCTOBER 2015 HIGHER DIET MONEY FOR SPORTSPERSONS Ministry of Sports has decided to enhance the diet allowance for national level sports persons. The athletes competing in the power games under Category ‘A’ (boxing, judo, taekwondo, weightlifting and throw events in athletics) will receive Rs. 700 per day against Rs. 320 at present. Athletes under Category ‘B’ (sprint and team events) will get Rs400 per day, while sportspersons under Category ‘C’ (golf, shooting and archery) will be entitled for Rs. 300 per day. Indian archer Abhishek Verma created history by winning a silver medal in the Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City, becoming the first ever Indian to bag Archery World Cup Final medal. Anirban Lahiri won the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award at Singapore
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 54 Deborah Herold, 20 year old Indian cyclist became the first ever Indian to win a gold medal, three silver and one bronze medal in women's elite section in the in Taiwan Cup Track International Classic in Taiwan. Yuki Bhambri achieved a career-best rank of 99, becoming the first Indian tennis player to come under 100 since 2010 in the ATP world rankings. Shweta Rathore became the first Indian female bodybuilder to win a silver medal in the 49th Asian championship held in Uzbekistan Urvashi Rautela won the Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015 title to become India’s representative for the Miss Universe pageant. Saketh Myneni, India’s tennis player won the Vietnam Open trophy in the finals played at Ho Chi Minh City. Amit Kumar, Indian para-athlete bagged silver in men's club throw F51 event in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha Zaheer Khan, one of India's greatest fast bowlers, bid adieu to international cricket, admitting that he could no longer handle the rigours of the game. Ajay Jayaram won the men’s Badminton title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix at Almere (The Netherlands). Pankaj Advani won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Adelaide, Australia. Abhinav Bindra clinched gold in the men's 10 metre Air Rifle event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi. Heena Sidhu clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their seventh title together on Oct 3 by winning the Wuhan Open women’s doubles title at Wuhan, China. The Indian teams won five out of six team events in the Commonwealth Youth, Junior & Senior weightlifting championships held in Pune, Maharashtra. Virender Sehwag, one of the world’s most destructive batsmen to have played the game, announced his retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League, bringing an end to an illustrious career spanning 14 years. Vijender Singh, India’s Olympian boxer made a smashing professional debut by knocking out Britain's Sonny Whiting in the middleweight category at Manchester, UK. The 12th SAF (South Asian Games) games will be held from February 6 to 16 in 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong. VIJAY KUMAR MALHOTRA: Govt of India has appointed veteran sports administrator as the President of the All India Council of Sports. The 16th National Women Boxing Championship was held at Bongaigaon in Assam REFUGEES ALLOWED IN OLYMPICS The International Olympic Committee has announced that refugee athletes will be allowed, for the first time, to take part in next year's Olympics. Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to win men’s title in the China Open at Beijing, China. Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won the women's singles title Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their eighth title of the season by lifting the women’s doubles title. Cristiano Ronaldo of The Real Madrid won the record fourth Golden Boot for scoring highest – 48 goals in the season. China’s Xuerui Li won the Denmark Open Badminton Title in the women’s single category, defeating P V Sindhu of India at Odense, Denmark. Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched the French International Badminton title in Paris. Sultan of Johor Cup (Hockey): Great Britain defeated Indian junior men's team to lift the cup in Malaysia. Sergey Karjakin of Russia won the World Cup Chess Championship, defeating compatriot Peter Svidler in Baku, Azerbaijan. Lewis Hamilton of Britain won the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix at Sochi, Russia, Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Japan and U S Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won the Asia’s premier mountain biking race to get the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’. Women’s European Volleyball Championship was won by Russia at Rotterdam, Russia. China won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines at Changsha, China. Some 2,000 athletes from many indigenous ethnic groups from 30 countries took part in the first World Indigenous Games held in Palmas, Brazil. SEPTEMBER 2015 YOGA GIVEN SPORTS STATUS The Sports Ministry has decided to recognize Yoga as a sports discipline and place it in the Priority category. Fencing has also been upgraded from others to General category, based on the past performance in major international events.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 55 Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award NAME SPORTS 1. Jot Singh (ITBP) Mountaineering 2. Arunima Sinha Mountaineering 3. Wg. Cdr. Paramveer Singh Aqua sport 4. Col. Satish Chander Sharma Mountaineering 5. Lt. Col Satyendra Verma Sky diving The Indian wushu team fetched a rich haul of 1 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals at the 5th International Pars Wushu Cup in Tehran, Iran. Deepak Lather won a gold in the 62 kg category in weight lifting in the fifth Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa. India stood fifth in the final medal tally in the Commonwealth Youth Games. Anil won the gold medal in the 50 kg freestyle category at the Cadet Wrestling World Championships at Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. OP Jaisha and Sudha Singh finished 18th and 19th respectively in the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Jaisha, however, set a new national record by registering a time of two hours, 34 minutes and 43 seconds. Manpreet Kaur of Railways created a new national record in shot-put throwing, claiming a distance of 17.96 meters at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata. Apurvi Chandela clinched the silver medal in women’s 10m air rifle event of the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Finals in Munich, Germany. Ravi Shastri to continue as the Team Director of the Indian cricket team till the 2016 T20 World Cup to be held in India. 55th National Open Athletics Championship started at SAI Complex in Kolkata on Sep16. The 42nd World Bridge Teams Championships opened in Chennai on Sep 26. U.S. OPEN TENNIS ENDS AT NEW YORK Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic won the title beating Roger Federer Women’s Singles: Flavia Pennetta won the title by beating Roberta Vinci, both from Italy. Flavia announced her retirement after winning the title. Men’s mixed doubles: won by Leander Paes and Martina Hingis. Paes becomes the player to have won highest number, of mixed doubles grand slams (Nine). Women’s doubles: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the title. Sebastian Vettel from Germany won 2015 Singapore Grand Prix of Formula One car race Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix F1 championship at Monza, Italy. Shane Watson: Australia's veteran all-rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket on September 6, playing his last match in Cardiff, UK. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held in Durban, South Africa, for the first time. Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in East China, has been chosen by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to host the 2022 Asian Games. AUGUST 2015 SANIA HONOURED WITH KHEL RATNA Iconic tennis player Sania Mirza has been honoured with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2015. The award carries a medal and cash award of Rs. 7.50 lacs. DRONACHARYA AWARDS announced for excellence in coaching. Award carries a statue & cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. Sr. No. NAME SPORTS 1. Naval Singh Athletics Para-sports 2. Anoop Singh Wrestling 3. Harbans Singh Athletics 4. Swatantar Raj Singh Boxing 5. Nihar Ameen Swimming. DHYAN CHAND AWARDS (For Lifetime Achievement) declared. Award carries a statue & cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh. Sl. No. Name Discipline 1. TPP Nair Volleyball 2. SP Misra Tennis 3. Romeo James Hockey
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 56 ARJUNA AWARDS announced. The Award carries a statue and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. S. No. Name of the sportsperson Discipline 1. Naib Subedar Sandeep Kumar Archery 2. Ms. M.R. Poovamma Athletics 3. Mr. Kidambi Srikanth Nammalwar Badminton 4. Mr. Mandeep Jangra Boxing 5. Mr. Rohit Sharma Cricket 6. Ms. Dipa Karmakar Gymnastic 7. Mr. Sreejesh P.R. Hockey 8. Mr. Manjeet Chhillar Kabaddi 9. Ms. Abhilasha S Mhatre Kabaddi 10. Mr. Sawarn Singh Rowing 11. Mr. Anup Kumar Yama Roller Skating 12. Mr. Jitu Rai Shooting 13. Shri S. Sathish Kumar Weightlifting 14. Mr. Bajrang Wrestling 15. Ms. Babita Kumari Wrestling 16. Ms. Yumnam S. Devi Wushu 17. Mr. Sharath M. Gayakwad Para-Swimming SAINA NEHWAL, ace Indian shuttler regained the world no. 1 rank on August 20. She also became the first Indian to win silver in the World Badminton Championship. IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship: Pankaj Advani won the title outplaying Chinese Yan Bingtao at Karachi, Pakistan on August 11. Dutee Chand won the gold medal in the 200m at the 13th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championship in Hyderabad Anirban Lahiri finished 5th at the US PGA championship at Whistling Straits, USA, claiming the highest position ever won by an Indian at a Golf Major. Aditi Chauhan, India’s international football goalkeeper became the country’s first woman to play English league football when she made her debut for English third tier club West Ham United Ladies. Ace Indian golfer Aditi Ashok became first woman and youngest (17 years) player from India to win the prestigious Ladies British amateur stroke-play Championship 2015 at Leeds, United Kingdom. Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eight catches in a single match, achieving the feat in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka. Abhishek Verma won the gold medal in the men’s compound individual category in the Archery World Cup in Wroclaw (Poland). World Archery Championships, Copenhagen, Denmark: Indian women's recurve team won the silver medal on August 2. Special Olympic World Summer Games 2015 Indian contingent won 173 medals (47gold, 54 silver and 72 bronze) in the games held in Los Angeles, USA.  Sneha Verma, (21) suffering from Down syndrome, won gold medal in the 50m freestyle swimming event.  Prabhroop Sekhon (14) won gold medals in 300 metre and 500 metre Roller Skating event. KUMARA SANGAKKARA: Sri Lanka’s ace batsman and wicketkeeper announced his retirement from the international Cricket. He played his last match at Colombo, against India. Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix F1 championship at Spa, Belgium on August 23. The 15th WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS held in Beijing, China  Usain Bolt (Jamaica) finished the 100 meters sprint in 9.79 seconds to emerge as world’s number one.  Shelly-Ann Fraser, also from Jamaica, retained gold in Women’s 100 meters.  Usain Bolt also claimed his fourth consecutive world 200 metre title CINCINNATI OPEN 2015: Roger Federer beats world no 1 Novak Djokovic to win the title on August 23 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Serena Williams won the women’s singles title by defeating Simona Halep of Romania. ROGERS CUP MASTERS TOURNAMENT, Montreal, Canada: Andy Murray won the men’s title by beating world number one Novak Djokovic. Women’s title was won by 18 year old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland by beating world number two Simona Halep  The world governing body of athletics, the International Association of Athletics Federations - the IAAF, has chosen the British former Olympic racing champion Sebastian Coe as its new President.  The International Olympic Committee has granted recognition to the sport of flying disc, commonly known as "frisbee" as an Olympic sport.  Beijing has become the first city in the world to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics after it was chosen to stage the 2022 Winter Games. It hosted the summer Olympics in 2008.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 57 BOOKS & AUTHORS BOOK AUTHOR The Clintons' War on Women Roger Stone and Robert Morrow Mrs Funnybones Twinkle Khanna To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story Jairam Ramesh. A Children’s History of India Subhadra Sen Gupta. The Country of First Boys Amartya Sen Baat Niklegi toh Phir Sathya Saran Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India – an autobiography of Sam Pitroda, noted technocrat who brought telecom revolution in India. The Chinar Leaves veteran Congress leader and close aide of the Gandhi family M L Fotedar Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: An Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, ex Foreign Minister of Pakistan. The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath by Ben S. Bernanke. The author is the ex governor of the Federal Reserve of USA and the book is about the lessons learnt from the recessions like 2008 Financial Crisis. The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue an autobiography of Frederick Forsyth, noted thriller novelist. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty Eight Days Salman Rushdie. The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce 1965 India-Pakistan' Capt Amarinder Singh and Lt. Gen. Tajindar Shergill The Curse of Surya Dev Prasad. Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One Meghnad Desai. The Power of Meow David Michie Muslim Cosmopolitanism in the Age of Empire Seema Alavi Portrait of a Serial Killer Khushwant Singh (edited by Mala Dayal) Making India Awesome Chetan Bhagat Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security Prof. M. S. Swaminathan The Country of First Boys Amartya Sen The Devil take Love Sudhir Kakar R. D. Burman: The Prince of Music Khagesh Dev Burman Locale, Everyday Islam and Modernity M. Raisur Rahman Ghosts of Calcutta Sebastian Ortiz India Former Union Environment and Forest Minister, Jairam Ramesh. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India Central Asia Relations: The Economic Dimension Amiya Chandra ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’ A S Dulat. He was the Chief of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Special Advisor on Kashmir in Vajpayee's PMO after his retirement. The Making of Miracles in Indian States Arvind Panagariya and M Govinda Rao Who Will Cry When You Die Robin S Sharma Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies — The Indian Experience Jhumpa Mukherjee Chaos of the Senses Ahlem Mosteghanemi Flood of Fire Amitav Ghosh Men Explain Things to Me Rebecca Solnit The Crown Prince, the Gladiator and the Hope: Battle for Change Ashutosh Super Economies: America, India, China and the Future of the World Raghav Bahl
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 58
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 59 Latest MCQs ON CURRENT AFFAIRS JANUARY GK TEST – 01 1. India’s first National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) has been set up in which city? A. Hyderabad B. Chennai C. Mumbai D. New Delhi E. Noida 2. The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) on a cheque is an alphanumeric code, which uniquely identifies A. The bank branch participating in electronic funds settlement systems in India B. The account holder's place of residence C. The bank participating in a settlement in an inter-city banking transaction D. Whether the cheque is genuine or not E. None of the above 3. On which date is the Vijay Diwas celebrated in India? A. December 14 B. December 16 C. December 18 D. December 20 E. November 19 4. The urban infrastructure development scheme called JNNURM has now been renamed A. AMRUT B. PMJDY C. MUDRA D. PMKKK E. APY 5. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who has won the 2015 Miss Universe title, hails from which country? A. Portugal B. Philippines C. Spain D. The USA E. Costa Rica 6. The proposed new tax GST, for the moment, will not cover A. Services B. Goods of daily consumption C. Alcohol D. Petroleum E. Both C and D 7. Who is the author of the book ‘Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer’? A. Cyrus Mistry B. KR Meera C. Jaswinder Singh D. Madhu Acharya E. Rohinton Mistry 8. Who among the following has been appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)? A. Suraj Desai B. M A Khan Yusufi C. R.K. Mathur D. Basant Seth E. Deepak Sandhu 9. Which of the following defines a stale cheque most appropriately? A cheque which A. Has been presented to a collecting bank once B. Has been presented to a collecting bank more than once C. Is dated more than three months prior to the date of its presentation D. Is torn/ mutilated/ soiled E. Either C or D 10. Who has authored the book titled ‘Flood of Fire’? A. Jhumpa Lahiri B. Anita Desai C. Amitav Ghosh D. Vikram Seth E. Arundhati Roy 11. Which of the following organizations has sanctioned a $1.5 billion loan to support the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)? A. World Bank B. IMF C. ADB D. Japan Bank for International Cooperation E. United Nations Organization 12. Being caught in a Debt Trap implies A. Spending more than one's earnings B. Saving nothing at all for a period of 3 years continuously C. Inability to pay EMIs regularly D. Taking another loan to repay a previously running loan E. Inability to service a loan due to high interest rates 13. Which of the following has been chosen for the 2015 C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award? A. Kapil Dev B. Dilip Vengsarkar C. Syed Kirmani D. Sunil Gavaskar D. Virender Sehwag
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 60 14. The acronyms GDR and ADR refer to A. Norms for lending followed by commercial banks in India B. National population growth C. Corporate social responsibility of companies in India D. Ways of raising capital from overseas markets E. Forfeiture of security offered in lieu of a bank loan 15. Who among the following has won the 2015 ICC Cricketer of the Year honour? A. Steven Smith B. AB de Villiers C. Virat Kohli D. Brendon McCullum E. Shane Watson 16. Raghuveer Chaudhary, who has been selected for the 2015 Jnanpith Award, writes in A. Gujarati B. Hindi C. Urdu D. Dogri E. Panjabi 17. The recommendations of the Deepak Mohanty Committee refer to A. Medium-term path on Financial Inclusion B. Infrastructure financing in India C. Modalities for Public Private Partnership (PPP) working D. Setting up of new banks in India E. Creation of a super financial regulator in India 18. Reliance has launched a 4G telecom service with the brand name A. Geo B. Vista C. Cosmo D. One World E. Jio 19. Which among the following is NOT a function performed by SEBI? A. Auditing/ appointing rating agencies in India B. Fixing the qualifications for appointment as a Mutual Funds advisor C. Laying out norms for IPOs by companies D. Fixing listing norms for companies' shares E. All of these are the functions performed by SEBI 20. Sadhana Shivdasani, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Politics B. Journalism C. Academics D. Acting E. Painting 21. Which new method has been proposed by the RBI to help the banks calculate their lending rates? A. OCLR B. MCLR C. IMLR D. PSLR E. PLR 22. The standard of living in a country is best captured by its A. Rank in terms of Per Capita Income B. Economic growth rate in terms of rise in Gross Domestic Product C. Ranking on the Human Development Index as measured by --- per capita income, average life expectancy and access to education D. Rank in terms of average consumption expenditure per capita E. Rank on the World Bank annual list 23. Which of the following cities from India have been designated as members of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN)? A. Varanasi and Jaipur B. Hyderabad and Dharamshala C. Hardwar and Jaisalmer C. Mysore and Agra E. Lucknow, Varanasi 24. Which of the following is India’s first licensed shipyard to make LNG ships? A. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers B. Mazagon Dock Limited C. Cochin Shipyard Limited D. Goa Shipyard Limited E. None of these 25. Which of the following countries has approved the world’s first dengue vaccine? A. United Kingdom B. Canada C. Mexico D. France E. India 26. The Nachiket More committee recommendations deal with A. The problem of rising NPAs B. Rural infrastructure financing C. Capital account convertibility D. Setting up of new, differentiated banks E. Financial inclusion 27. Which of the following statement/s regarding the latest Census 2011 data is/are CORRECT? 1. Child sex ratio is the number of girls aged 0-6 years for every 1,000 boys in the same age group. 2. The child sex ratio in India has dipped further to 918 now, reaching the lowest level since 1961. 3. The Christian community shows the best population sex ratio (1,023 females/1,000 males) while the Jains have the highest literacy rate at 95%. A. 1 only B. 1, 2 C. 1, 3 D. 1, 2, 3 E. None of these 28. Gyanendra D. Bandgaiyan has been appointed the Director-General of A. National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) B. National Development Council C. India Trade Promotion Organization D. National Council of Education Research and Training E. Digital India Mission
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 61 29. The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) will give a boost to ‘Make in India’ by attracting investments of Re. 1 lakh crore and creating over 30 lakh jobs in A. Infrastructure B. MSME sector C. Textiles sector D. Exports E. Education 30. Find the odd one out. A. ASBA B. Par value C. Green channel D. Book building E. High Net worth Investor (HNI) 31. Which of the following is NOT a regional/ economic bloc? A. BRICS B. ASEAN C. SAARC D. OPEC E. APEC 32. Examine the names of the financial institutions mentioned below. 1. HDFC 2. SIDBI 3. IDBI 4. NABARD 5. PFRDA The correct chronological order of the establishment of these institutions is A. 3, 1, 4, 2, 5 B. 3, 1, 2, 4, 5 C. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5 D. 3, 1, 4, 5, 2 E. 1, 3, 4, 2, 5 33. Mangesh Padgaonkar, who passed away in Mumbai, was a A. Marathi politician B. Marathi actor C. Marathi poet D. Marathi playwright E. Gujarati poet 34. The brand name RuPAY implies a/an A. Credit card B. Debit card C. Both A and B D. Traveller's Cheque E. Overdraft withdrawal mechanism 35. The World Water Day was observed on A. March 22 B. June 5 C. March 8 D. October 16 E. April 23 36. Which of the following streets is NOT related to financial markets? A. Fleet Street B. Wall Street C. Madison Avenue D. Dalal Street E. Both A and C 37. India’s Varunastra is a/an A. Intercontinental Ballistic Missile B. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle C. Advanced Heavyweight Torpedo D. Pilotless target aircraft E. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 38. The Government of India plans to undertake disinvestment in which of the following PSU companies during this financial year? 1. NTPC 2. Coal India 3. Oil India 4. SAIL A. 2, 3 B. All of these C. 1, 2 D. 1, 2, 4 E. 1, 2, 3 39. Call Money Rate refers to A. Short-term inter-bank borrowings rate B. Inter-company borrowings rate C. Long term borrowing rates charged from banks by the RBI D. The interest rate offered on 7-day fixed deposits by the banks E. None of these 40. Asia’s largest underground railway station is located in A. Singapore B. South Korea C. Japan D. China E. India 41. Which of the following committees suggested initiatives on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP Model? A. Dinesh Pachori Committee B. Arun Pasricha Committee C. Vijay Kelkar Committee D. Deepak Mohanty Committee E. Rakesh Khurana Committee 42. Which country's Parliament building has been built by India? A. Bhutan B. Afghanistan C. Nepal D. Maldives E. Bangladesh 43. Champu has a Savings Bank account in his name only in a nearby bank. Unfortunately, he is killed in a road accident. Thereafter, his wife Laali approaches the bank to claim the money lying in his bank account. But the bank discovers that Champu has not mentioned any nominee in the account opening form as it did not have any nominee clause. Laali claims the amount as her legitimate due as she believes it is her husband's money but the Bank contests her claim saying that it cannot be given as her name is not mentioned as a nominee. As per the standard operating procedures, in the present case, the Bank A. Cannot refuse the payment in any case B. Is under obligation to pay it after establishing the legal heir's identity and getting a letter of indemnity C. Can refuse to pay the amount as there is no nominee mentioned D. Needs to refer the case to the Reserve Bank of India E. Is required to close the account immediately and put the proceeds in a Bank Customers Awareness Fund. 44. Haskell Wexler, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Cricketer B. Politician C. Scientist D. Cinematographer E. Philosopher
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 62 45. A Revenue-Neutral Tax rate, as the government is trying to evolve for the proposed GST, is best defined as A. An ideal tax rate, which keeps the tax payers and the government satisfied with the tax rate and the revenue collections, respectively B. A tax rate, the imposition of which does not raise or reduce the tax collections as made previously C. A tax rate, the imposition of which adversely affects the tax collections D. A tax rate, the imposition of which does not raise the tax collections E. A tax rate, which is arrived at after consensus among the States and the Centre 46. The M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for Best Woman Cricketer has been conferred upon A. Rumeli Dhar B. Mithali Raj C. Diana David D. Archana Das E. None of these 47. Match the following. International agency Domain 1. UNDP P. Human rights violations 2. UNCTAD Q. Refugees' welfare 3. UNHCR R. Human development 4. Amnesty International S. Children 5. UNICEF T. International trade 1 2 3 4 5 A. R T Q P S B. R Q T P S C. R S Q P T D. S T Q P R E. R T P T S 48. The Cabinet has approved the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for the A. Cement industry B. Steel industry C. Textiles industry D. Chemical industry E. Auto industry 49. Which of the following telecom companies has launched “Project Leap” to provide voice and high speed broadband services? A. Reliance B. Idea C. Vodafone D. Airtel E. BSNL 50. In the acronym TDS, the letter D stands for A. Depreciation B. Deducted C. Deduction D. Dividend E. Distribution JANUARY GK TEST – 02 1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is NOT allowed in which sector in India? A. Nuclear power B. Railway production C. Insurance D. Banks E. Single-brand retail 2. AB Bardhan, who passed away recently, was related to which of the following fields? A. Sports B. Politics C. Science D. Mathematics E. None of these 3. The average literacy rate in India as per the 2011 Census is A. 62% B. 88% C. 56% D. 65% E. 74% 4. What does the letter R in RIDF stand for? A. Revival B. Rural C. Reconstruction D. Revamped E. Reserve 5. Which is the first state in India to achieve the goals of introducing smart cards for all beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System? A. Haryana B. Uttarakhand C. Chhattisgarh D. Himachal Pradesh E. Bihar 6. The first scientist to win the Bharat Ratna honour was A. Dr. CV Raman B. S. Chandrashekhar C. Dr. Norman Borlogue D. Dr. Verghese Kurien E. Prof. CNR Rao 7. The Australian equivalent of the Reserve Bank of India is known as the A. Australia Central Bank B. Reserve Bank of Australia C. State Bank of Australia D. Aussie Fed E. Australia Federal Reserve 8. The French President, who visited India to attend the Republic Day celebrations last month, was A. Nicholas Sarkozy B. Francois Mittrand C. Levis Strauss D. Francois Hollande E. None of these 9. The banks with more than 20 branches in India are required to keep aside ________ of their total loans and advances for priority sector loans and in case of any deficit in this regard, have to deposit the undisbursed amount into the ________. A. 40%, MSME Fund B. 30%, Interest Subvention Fund C. 50 %, SEDF D. 40%, RIDF or SEDF E. 32%, RIDF
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 63 10. The New Development Bank has been set up by which group of nations? A. ASEAN B. SAARC C. G8 D. BRICS E. European Union 11. The abbreviation MCLR is related to A. Medical science B. Missiles C. World Trade Organization D. Computers E. Banking 12. Which bank is likely to exit its private banking operations in India? A. HSBC B. Standard Chartered C. Citi Bank D. Bank of Japan E. Duetsche Bank 13. The Dachigam National Park is located in A. Assam B. Karnataka C. Gujarat D. Uttar Pradesh E. Jammu and Kashmir 14. The National Voters Day 2016 was observed on A. 25th January B. 12th January C. 9th January D. 28th February E. None of these 15. Which of the following is/are a statutory bank/s in India? A. Punjab National Bank B. Industrial Development Bank of India C. Reserve Bank of India D. State Bank of India E. Both B and C 16. The government programme called Nayi Manzil targets A. Budding sportspersons B. Minority community youth C. Pregnant women D. Students from SC/ST communities E. Teenaged children 17. The term “Mouse and Click Banking” implies A. Branch banking B. Phone banking C. Online banking D. Mobile banking E. Private banking 18. The National Housing Bank (NHB) is fully owned by the A. RBI B. HDFC C. Government of India D. HUDCO E. SBI 19. The BRICS media summit was held in A. New Delhi B. Moscow C. Rio de Janeiro D. Kabul E. Beijing 20. Examine the following chart. Maximum Permissible Strength-Parliament of India Which of the following figures should replace the ? given in the above chart? A. 12 B. 18 C. 20 D. 24 E. 13 21. One of the D-SIBs declared by the Reserve Bank was the ICICI Bank. The other one is A. State Bank of India B. Punjab National Bank C. Oriental Bank of Commerce D. HDFC Bank E. Axis Bank 22. The rate of interest payable on gold schemes is decided by the A. Interest Rate Committee B. Reserve Bank of India C. Indian Banks Association D. Banks themselves E. None of these 23. The panel which had made recommendations on Foreign Direct Investment (FPI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FII) was chaired by A. Arvind Mayaram B. Dr. Rakesh Khurana C. Dr. Raghuram Rajan D. YK Malegam E. Deepak Mohanty 24. The latest stock exchange to begin its operations in India is A. NSE B. MCX-SX C. NCDEX D. MCX E. None of these 25. A company wants to distribute dividend to its 15 lakh investors in a quick, cost-effective and safe manner. Which of the following methods, as a banker, would you suggest to the company? A. ECS B. RTGS C. NEFT D. Cheque E. Internet banking 26. In the acronym CTS, the letter T refers to A. Transfer B. Tax C. Truncation D. Transaction E. Technology 27. Which of the following is an electronic payment system? A. CNX 100 B. DIPP C. NDTL D. Tele-banking E. NEFT
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 64 28. The Black Buck National Park is situated in A. Madhya Pradesh B. Karnataka C. Gujarat D. Uttar Pradesh E. J& K 29. Examine the Assertion labelled X and the Reasoning labelled Y given below. X (Assertion): At the Climate Change Conference (COP 21 to the UNFCC) in Paris, the developed nations were asked to fulfil their promise of giving $ 100 billion annually to the developing nations every year. Y (Reasoning): The financial commitment is meant to help the developing nations develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the goals of emission cuts. A. Both X and Y are correct and Y explains X correctly. B. Both X and Y are correct but Y does not explain X correctly. C. X is correct but Y is wrong. D. Y is correct but X is wrong. E. Neither X nor Y is correct. 30. India Post has been authorized by the Reserve Bank of India to open a A. Payment Bank B. Universal Bank C. Differentiated bank D. Development Finance Institution (DFI) E. Small Bank 31. A Brown-label ATM is one, which is licensed to _______ and is managed by ______. A. a Bank, a third party service provider B. an NBFC, a third party service provider C. a Bank, the bank itself D. an NBFC, the NBFC itself E. a Bank, the Reserve Bank of India 32. Which country earned the wrath of the entire global community by conducting a thermonuclear test recently? A. South Korea B. North Korea C. The USA D. Russia E. Japan 33. In the ownership structure of Dena Gramin Bank, the highest stake is owned by A. Dena Gramin Bank B. Dena Bank C. The State Government of the state in which it is located D. The Indian Government E. None of these 34. In the abbreviation BCBSI, C stands for A. Codes B. Cheque C. Cut D. Credit E. Computer 35. Pachmarhi is located in A. Rajasthan B. Madhya Pradesh C. Chhattisgarh D. Uttar Pradesh E. Maharashtra 36. The Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) are governed by the A. Banking Regulation Act B. Money Circulation Rules C. Special Banking Act D. Companies Act, 1956 E. Chit Fund Companies Act 37. The target year for the execution of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana has been advanced A. from 2022 to 2019 B. from 2022 to 2020 C. from 2030 to 2025 D. from 2022 to 2018 E. from 2025 to 2022 38. The minimum age for one to be called a Senior Citizen, as decided by the Government of India, is A. 62 Years B. 65 Years C. 58 Years D. Discretionary as per the extant orders E. 60 Years 39. The International Labour Organization is headquartered in A. Switzerland B. Vienna C. France D. The USA E. Canada 40. The 2nd Bird Watching Festival is to be organized in which Indian state? A. Haryana B. Karnatka C. Madhya Pradesh D. Rajasthan E. None of these 41. The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan were held in A. Lahore B. Islamabad C. Bangkok D. New York E. New Delhi 42. Currently, the President of Pakistan is A. Nawaz Sharif B. Mamnoon Hussain C. Mazhar Hussain D. Gen AK Kayaani E. Rahil Sharif 43. I am available to farmers and home buyers, who would like to avail of a cheaper interest rate on farm loans and home loans, respectively. But the cheaper rate plan is actually “sponsored” by the government to promote development in a particular sector. The difference in the usually charged interest rate and the cheaper rate is later claimed by the lending bank from the government. Who am I? A. Interest Rate Subvention Scheme B. Interest Subsidy Scheme C. Priority Sector Subsidy D. Interest Claim Back Scheme E. Priority Sector Subvention Scheme
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 65 44. The Urban Development Scheme launched by the BJP government is in the name of A. J L Nehru B. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee C. Atal Bihari Vajpayee D. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel E. Jai Prakash Narayan 45. What does the letter D in CDSL stand for? A. Derivative B. Diffused C. Depository D. Deficit E. Deduction 46. The 500th year celebrations of bhakti saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were held in A. Varanasi B. Nadia C. Haridwar D. Vrindavan E. None of these 47. The rate of interest paid by the RBI on CRR balances maintained with it by the commercial banks, is A. Bank Rate (minus) –3% B. Decided at its discretion C. Negotiated by the commercial banks with the RBI D. Repo Rate (minus) –2% E. 0% 48. The CAC 40 is a benchmark index of the A. French stock market B. London stock market C. Frankfurt stock market D. Tokyo stock market E. New York stock market 49. The acronym OECD represents a/an A. Global cartel of oil-exporting nations B. Group of 34 countries C. Group of countries, which collectively lend to India for development projects D. Organization for infrastructure promotion E. None of these 50. Which of the following committees has submitted its report to the Supreme Court on reforms in the BCCI? A. HL Dattu Committee B. RM Lodha Committee C. Mukul Mudgal Committee D. Chandra Committee E. Rajeev Shukla Committee CORRIGENDUM (FEBRUARY ISSUE 2016) DECEMBER GK TEST - (1) (PAGE NO. 62) The correct answers to the following questions published in the last issue are as under. The error is sincerely regretted:- Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. 32 A 33 C 34 B ANSWER KEY GKT-1 1. D 2. A 3. B 4. A 5. B 6. E 7. A 8. C 9. C 10. C 11. A 12. D 13. C 14. D 15. A 16. A 17. A 18. E 19. A 20. D 21. B 22. C 23. A 24. C 25. C 26. D 27. D 28. A 29. C 30. C 31. D 32. A 33. C 34. B 35. A 36. E 37. C 38. E 39. A 40. D 41. C 42. B 43. B 44. D 45. B 46. B 47. A 48. C 49. D 50. B ANSWER KEY GKT-2 1. A 2. B 3. E 4. B 5. C 6. A 7. A 8. D 9. D 10. D 11. E 12. A 13. E 14. A 15. E 16. B 17. C 18. A 19. E 20. C 21. A 22. D 23. A 24. B 25. A 26. C 27. E 28. C 29. A 30. A 31. A 32. B 33. D 34. A 35. B 36. D 37. A 38. E 39. A 40. E 41. C 42. B 43. A 44. C 45. C 46. D 47. E 48. A 49. B 50. B GYANM ONLINE TESTS MORE THAN 100 TESTS FOR Rs. 300 ONLY  TEST SERIES FOR IBPS PO / CLERK FOR PRELIMS  50+ SHORT TESTS OF QUANTS, REASONING & ENGLISH  PASSWORD WITH ONE YEAR VALIDITY ACCOUNT DETAILS NAME: GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD BANK : ALLAHABAD BANK BRANCH: Sector 34, Chandigarh A/C NO: 502 1311 7700 IFSC CODE: ALLA0211989 OR CALL @ 09257211740 09646888377
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 66 SSC CORNER ENDOCRINE SYSTEM What is Endocrine System? In general, the endocrine system is in charge of body processes that happen slowly, such as cell growth. Faster processes like breathing and body movement are controlled by the nervous system. They often work together to help the body function properly. It influences almost every cell, organ, and function and plays a role in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, and sexual and reproductive processes. The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. As chemical messengers, the hormones transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. Many different hormones move through the bloodstream as each type of hormone is designed to affect only certain cells. Endocrine glands shouldn’t be confused with exocrine glands. Exocrine glands, such as sweat and salivary glands, secrete externally and internally via ducts. Endocrine glands secrete hormones internally, using the bloodstream. Glands A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use in the body. Some types of glands release their secretions in specific areas. For instance, exocrine glands like the sweat and salivary glands release secretions in the skin or inside the mouth. Endocrine glands, on the other hand, release more than 20 major hormones directly into the bloodstream where they can be transported to other body parts. The Endocrine System The endocrine system is made of many glands. These glands secrete hormones to regulate many bodily functions, including growth and metabolism. Simply put, the endocrine system is a network of glands that secrete chemicals called hormones to help the body function properly. The endocrine system helps control the following processes: 1. Growth and development 2. Homeostasis (the internal balance of body systems) 3. Metabolism (body energy levels) 4. Reproduction 5. Response to stimuli (stress and/or injury) MAJOR ENDOCRINE GLANDS Hypothalamus The hypothalamus in the brain releases hormones that control hunger, thirst, body temperature and anger. These hypothalamus’ "releasing" hormones regulate the secretion of other hormones in the pituitary gland, which in turn affects other endocrine glands. The hypothalamus’ “inhibiting” hormones turn off the secretion of some hormones from the pituitary. Pituitary The pituitary gland is located in the brain, directly under the hypothalamus. It plays a large role in the endocrine system as it releases the maximum number of hormones, which affect the secretions of other glands as well. That's why, the pituitry is know as the Master Gland in the body. Anterior Pituitary Gland The hormones from the anterior pituitary gland are responsible for growth (growth hormone), reactions to stress (adrenocorticotrophic hormone- ACTH), metabolism (thyroid stimulating hormone) and reproductive function (follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone). Hormones from the anterior pituitary also stimulate the release of hormones from the gonads, thyroid and adrenal glands. Finally, the anterior pituitary secretes a hormone called prolactin, which stimulates milk production in breasts.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 67 Posterior Pituitary Gland: The posterior pituitary gland produces a hormone (anti-diuretic hormone) to regulate the level of water in the body. This gland also secretes a second hormone oxytocin that aids in childbirth (parturition) and stimulates the release of milk from a nursing mother. Pineal Gland: The pineal gland, in the brain, secretes the hormone melatonin, which plays a role in the sleep- wake cycle. Thyroid Gland: The thyroid glands, on either side of the throat, secrete two hormones - thyroxine and triodothyronine. These hormones play a role in metabolism, body temperature, cell growth, and cell differentiation. Parathyroid Gland: The parathyroid glands are tiny glands at the back of the thyroid glands. They secrete parathyroid hormone which regulates the levels of calcium. Adrenal Glands: There are two adrenal glands, one above each kidney. They produce the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. Cortisol is released when the body undergoes stress or exercise, and it aids in metabolism. Aldosterone regulates the levels of sodium in the body and this, in turn, influences the amount of water in the body. The adrenal gland produces epinephrine and norepinephrine, also called adrenaline and noradrenaline. The primary hormone released during excitement or stress is epinephrine. This release is commonly known as an “adrenaline rush” and is an important part of the fight-or-flight response. Pancreas: The pancreas secretes digestive juices to help break down foods. Its endocrine function is to control blood sugar levels by releasing the hormones insulin and glucagon. Insulin transports glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, thereby decreasing blood sugar levels. Glucagon, on the other hand, causes stored glucose from the cells and the liver to be released into the bloodstream, raising the sugar levels. Gonads: The gonads refer to the reproductive organs. Male gonads are known as testes and female gonads are called ovaries. The testes secrete a hormone called testosterone, which stimulates the production of sperm and secondary male sex characteristics, such as facial and body hair. The ovaries secrete several hormones, namely estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen stimulates the maturation of eggs in the ovaries. Together, estrogen and progesterone regulate breast development during puberty and the menstrual cycle. Thymus: The thymus is just behind the breastbone and secretes thymosins, which helps regulate immune function. ---xx---
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 68 How much well-equipped are you with vocabulary to express yourself in different situations? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and also learn some new words as a BONUS! Directions: Given below are certain words printed in BOLD letters, followed by four choices in each case. Find out the choice which best conveys the meaning of the word in question. You will find the detailed solution to this exercise in this issue only. 1. GERMANE A. Smooth B. Relevant C. Handsome D. From Germany 2. VOCIFEROUS A. Through voice B. Critical C. In disagreement D. Loud 3. MUTE A. Stay at a place B. Silent C. Closed D. Change dramatically 4. GARRULOUS A. Aged B. Abusive C. Excessive talker D. Fond of writing 5. RETICENT A. Speaking little B. Decent C. Connected D. Related to eyes 6. BELLIGERENT A. Trigger-happy B. Roundabout way C. Peace-loving D. Pungent 7. TERRIFIC A. Horrible B. Looking like a terrorist C. Enjoyable D. Highly commendable 8. DELUGE A. Going deep into a river B. A bunch of some objects C. Flexibility D. Flood 9. PACIFIC A. Broker B. Full of love C. Peace-loving D. Related to oceans 10. APOCRYPHAL A. Related to mythology B. Historical C. Of heights D. Unproven 11. SUAVE A. Sophisticated B. Having holes C. Well-educated D. Practical 12. DILIGENT A. Hardworking B. Lazy C. Sensible D. Urgent 13. SPRIGHTLY A. Swaying B. Confused C. Likely D. Lively 14. REFLECTIVE A. Shining B. Praiseworthy C. Thoughtful D. Reckless 15. ASSIDUOUS A. Persistent B. Dirty C. Interesting D. Worthy of hatred MY SCORE RATING 0-3 Get going! 4-7 Work hard! 8-11 Great, you’re almost there! 12-15 Wow! SOLUTION 1. Germane: adjective: related, relevant, to the point Popular synonyms: pertinent Examples: A. Your ideas were rejected as they were not germane to the discussions going on. B. All the issues germane to better Indo-Pak relations will be taken up at the summit-level talks. 2. Vociferous: adjective: loud, vocal, forceful Popular synonyms: voluble, strident Examples: A. The opposition MPs made a vociferous demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation over the corruption scandal.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 69 B. There is a vociferous opposition to the government proposal to make the Aadhar card compulsory. 3. Mute: verb, adjective: silent, to silence Popular synonyms: dumb Derivation: Muted Examples: A. We cannot become mute spectators to this murder of democracy by the state. B. The Ghadar leaders had come to gather the Panjabis’ support but the people’s response to the appeal was muted. C. I put my TV set on the mute mode as the jarring sound gave me a headache. 4. Garrulous: adjective: excessive talker (esp. an old man) Popular synonyms: vocal, voluble Examples: A. We failed to make any sense of the garrulous speech made by the man in his 80s. B. The garrulous address of the politician could be safely cut down to half by a good editor. 5. Reticent: adjective: silent, speaking very little Popular synonym: taciturn Derivation: Reticence Examples: A. Many people are recent at social gatherings but you will find them very vocal with their friends. B. To become a public speaker, you need to get rid of your reticence. 6. Belligerent: adjective: fighting, contentious Popular synonyms: bellicose, pugnacious Derivation: Belligerence Examples: A. Belligerent nations like North Korea always keep global tensions alive with their nuclear threats. B. The belligerent attitude she carried to the meeting did not let reach a compromise with others. 7. Terrific: adjective: great, highly commendable Popular synonyms: superlative, first-rate Examples: A. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s terrific acting helped the movie become a super hit. B. The smartphone specifications look terrific on paper but the users will reveal the truth about it. 8. Deluge: noun: great excess, abundance Popular synonym: flood Examples: A. The reputed college has received a deluge of applications for admissions this year. B. The deluge of 600+ TV channels gives the viewers an unlimited choice to suit their tastes and preferences. 9. Pacific: adjective: related to peace, peace-loving Popular synonyms: serene, tranquil, pacifist Derivation: Pacifism Examples: A. The pacific global environment of today’s world has a lot to do with the formation of UNO. B. She was known to have a pacific nature and often made peace between the warring parties in her college. 10. Apocryphal: adjective: of doubtful origin, un- historical Popular synonym: legendary, unsubstantiated Examples: A. Several apocryphal stories about the freedom struggle are quite popular but most historians do not accept them. B. The great storyteller often narrates many apocryphal incidents, which are often taken to be true by lay people. 11. Suave: adjective: sophisticated, well-bred Popular synonym: debonair Examples: A. A diplomat needs to display suave manners at all times while dealing with his foreign counterparts. B. The girl’s suave nature greatly helped her bag the job of an airhostess. 12. Diligent: adjective: persevering, hardworking Popular synonyms: industrious, sedulous Derivation: Diligence Examples: A. Her diligent managerial work was finally recognized by her boss with a promotion. B. One may be extremely intelligent, but without diligent application of mind, one cannot hope to get success. 13. Sprightly: adjective: joyful, joyous, lively Popular synonyms: gay, vivacious, animated Examples: A. The flowers swayed in a sprightly dance as the breeze swept the landscape. B. Her sprightly manners had the potential to turn every party into a super hit event. 14. Reflective: adjective: serious, in a thinking mood Popular synonyms: thoughtful, pondering, cogitative Derivation: Reflection Examples: A. Newton was sitting under a tree in a reflective mood as an apple fell into his lap. B. As opposed to her reflective husband, who mostly wore a serious look, she was an outgoing friendly person. 15. Assiduous: adjective: hardworking, persistent Popular synonyms: sedulous, persevering Examples: A. Every new business requires assiduous planning and thorough execution of projects. B. The mantra of success in life is getting up after every failure and doing assiduous hard work to overcome weaknesses. ***
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 70 Profit And Pleasure ON FILMS Profit and Pleasure not only tickles your nerve cells but also makes you learn interesting facts about the world. This time around, we are focusing on films and their makers. Here we go! 1. It was the first movie involving some Indian actors to win an Oscar (in fact, many of them!). The movie had an Anglo-Indian as the lead man, who had essayed a biopic based on the life of one of the iconic leaders of modern India. The movie broke many box-office records and remains a lesson in movie-making till date. Can you identify the movie discussed above? 2. This movie remains a model for all film-makers even 56 years after its release. It is part of the film-making curricula in all film training institutions in India, especially for those aspiring to learn film direction. With some haunting lyrics and soulful music in the background, the movie recreates the story of a sensitive, young poet (played by the legendary Gurudatt) forgotten by the society until the fake news of his death spreads. Which all-time cine classic are we talking about here? 3. This rare movie is based on the story of a young boy who suffers from progeria i.e. a disorder involving abnormally fast ageing, leaving the patient old at a very young age. Interestingly, the boy’s role was played by an actor who is actually the father of the actor who played the boy’s father in the movie. Which offbeat movie are we referring to above? 4. The great showman Raj Kapoor was disheartened by the cold reception to his magnum opus, which he had crafted with painstaking labour. The audience gave a big thumbs down his to labour of love, which probably did not gel with popular tastes. He followed it up with Bobby, a hugely successful, commercial masala movie marking his son Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia’s film debut. Can you recall the unsung classic made by the great showman? 5. This romantic classic is probably the first one to have all its dialogues in a verse form i.e. shers penned by revolutionary poet-lyricist Kaifi Azmi. Though it was a bold experiment, it went down well with the audience, who lapped it up enthusiastically. Which 1966 movie is being talked about in the above lines? 6. It is often said that one’s unconscious feelings often find expression in real life in one way or the other. Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the 1978 movie Trishul, involving an angry son, who fights for his mother’s rights, was actually inspired by the tensions between a real life father-son duo. Similarly, Amitabh’s image of an angry young man portrayed in Zanjeer and many other movies, was partly inspired by similar emotions. Which famous writer-poet had created these characters? 7. This Akshay Kumar and Nimrat Kaur-starrer celebrates the unsung saga of an India-born Kuwaiti businessman, who played a pivotal role in the safe evacuation of 9 lakh Indians caught in the Gulf War in 1990, when Saddam Hussain’s armies had attacked Kuwait. Over a span of 59 days, the Air India sorties did the extremely commendable job of literally plucking out the Indians stranded in the war-zone. Which newly-released movie is being spoken about here? 8. The 1990s blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, starring Madhuri Dikshit and Salman Khan, was in reality, a straight copy of another Rajshri blockbuster with a rural setting. This earlier movie had virtually the same story in a village setting. Can you identify the original movie? 9. This movie, based on the real life story of an amputee dancer Sudha Chandran, who overcame physical odds top emerge a successful dancer, was a major hit in the 1980s. She played herself in this movie and earned great applause for her role. Which famous musical are we talking about here? 10. This JP Datta-directed super hit movie was based on a real life war story played out during one of the Indo-Pak wars. With a strong storyline and lilting music, it became a box-office phenomenon in the 1990s. Which movie are we talking about in the above lines? SOLUTIONS 1. Gandhi (Directed by Richard Attenborough) 2. Pyaasa 3. Paa (Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan) 4. Mera Naam Joker 5. Heer Raanjha 6. Salim-Javed duo (Javed Akhtar, Janesar Akhtar’s son and Salim Khan) 7. Airlift 8. Nadia Ke Paar 9. Naache Mayuri 10. Border
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 71 GYANM QUIZ - 10 How much do you know about the world around you? Take the quiz below to find out for yourself and WIN some exciting prizes as rewards. 1. Buddhism had originated as a reaction against the A. The evils of Brahminism B. Idol worship C. Arrival of the British in India D. Tenets of Sufism 2. Which of the following is called the laughing gas? A. Sulphur dioxide B. Phosphorous dioxide C. Nitrous Oxide D. Carbon Monoxide 3. The Great Barrier Reef is found in A. Greenland B. Australia C. Indian Ocean D. Switzerland 4. “Whom the gods love die young” was said by A. John Keats B. William Shakespeare C. Dr. Samuel Johnson D. Alexander Pope 5. Which mountains in India are called the blue mountains? A. The Shivaliks B. The Neelgiris C. The Himalayas D. The Satpuras 6. One can vote in Rajya Sabha elections at a minimum of A. 30 years B. 21 years C. 18 years D. 25 years 7. Which of the following is the smallest independent country in the world? A. Singapore B. Taiwan C. Hong Kong D. The Vatican 8. The female-to-male sex ratio in India as per the 2011 census is A. 992 B. 927 C. 948 D. 1036 9. Which mechanical property makes it possible for us to walk properly on the road without slipping? A. Friction B. Elasticity C. Viscosity D. Gravitation 10. The first-ever nationlization of banks in India took place in A. 1949 B. 1980 C. 1969 D. 1991 Heartiest congratulations to the winners of Gyanm Quiz-09! 1. Sangam – Bhopal 2. Ritul Chandan– Lucknow The winners are being informed by post. Name: ______________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ PIN: _____________________ Mobile: ___________________________________ _ My answers to Gyanm Quiz - 10 are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Signature _______________ TERMS AND CONDITIONS 1. Please send your responses to the quiz, along with your COMPLETE ADDRESS and PIN CODE, by 25th February, 2016. The responses can be sent By e-mail to gynam.college@gmail.com OR On Whatsapp mobile number 09646888377 OR By post to Gyanm College of Competitions, SCO 13-15, 2nd Floor, Above Domino’s, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh-160034 2. ONLY the residents of India are eligible to participate. 3. In case of multiple correct entries, a draw will be held to decide the winner/s. 3. The Prize/s CANNOT be exchanged for cash. 4. The decision of the jury shall be FINAL and BINDING on all the participants. 5. The winners’ names shall be announced in the April, 2016 issue.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 72 Financial Glossary …… continued from previous issue FIXED DEPOSITS It is the most popular account for the purpose of investment. In these accounts, a specific amount is deposited for a specific period and the amount is repaid only on maturity or by premature closure of account. An FD can be made for a minimum 7 days and a maximum of 10 years. Though amount is deposited in the bank for a fixed period, banks allow premature encashment of these deposits. There are two options for interest payment in an FD - it can be paid at monthly/quarterly intervals or can be accumulated up to the end of the maturity period. The RBI has now allowed the banks to pay interest in deposit accounts even at fortnightly or monthly intervals. The banks also offer the facility of loan against the security of an FD. Such deposits are very popular as collateral security for securing various bank loans. Interest upto Rs. 10,000 on fixed deposits is exempted from TDS. NON CALLABLE DEPOSITS In Feb. 2015, the RBI has allowed banks to offer fixed deposit schemes up to Rs 1 crore which cannot be broken prematurely — so-called non-callable deposits & they can earn different rates of interest COMPARISON OF DEMAND AND TIME DEPOSITS FEATURE DEMAND DEPOSITS – SB and CA TIME DEPOSITS – RD and FD Duration No fix duration Duration is fixed Time limits No such limit Maximum ten years Use of cheque book Allowed Not allowed Number of entries Both Debits/Credits are allowed Only Credits are allowed Withdrawal of amount Can be withdrawn any time Withdrawal allowed only by closure or on maturity MODE OF OPERATIONS Whenever more than one person open a bank account, they have to advise the bank in writing the ‘manner’ in which the account holders will operate the account to withdraw the money. This is called ‘mode of operations’ and the instructions are called the ‘mandate’. The account holders are free to decide their mode of operations. Some popular modes of operations are: E OR S: EITHER OR SURVIVOR When two persons open an account, the mode of operation could be E or S – either or survivor, meaning that either of the account holder can operate the account. This mode of operation is the most common among close relatives/married couples. In case of death of either account holder, the survivor becomes the owner of the account and can operate the account singly. JOINT OPERATION Under this option, all the account holders have to sign every time they wish to operate the account. F OR S: FORMER OR SURVIVOR When two persons open an account jointly, but the rights of operation are restricted to the first person only. The second person gets the operations rights only after the death of the first one. Usually, this mode of operation is used by the elderly while opening a joint account with their siblings. A OR S: ANYONE OR SURVIVOR Used in case of more than two account holders. This means that any account holder can operate the account singly. STANDING INSTRUCTIONS It is a facility by the banks wherein they undertake to execute various transactions on behalf of their customers on a recurring, regular basis. For example, transferring school fee amount from the customer’s account to the school’s account on due dates, payment of loan installment on due dates, payment of insurance premium etc.
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 73 DORMANT / INOPERATIVE ACCOUNTS In running accounts like current accounts and savings accounts, the account holder is expected to regularly operate it. In case he fails to do so, say for more than one year or so, the account may become dormant or inoperative account. The exact period may vary from bank to bank. The RBI has directed the banks nor to charge any penalty for non-maintenance of the minimum balance in inoperative accounts. UNCLAIMED ACCOUNT If there is no transaction in an account for 10 years or more, the account is called ‘unclaimed account’ as per the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Every bank is supposed to send a list of such accounts to the RBI as on December 31st every year. The balance held in these accounts is transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund of the RBI. If an account holder comes back to operate the account, the funds are released to him after proper verification. DEPOSITOR EDUCATION AND AWARENESS FUND To utilize the funds lying in unclaimed accounts, the government has decided to create a 'Depositor Education and Awareness Fund' with the RBI and has amended the Banking Law accordingly. The amount lying in an unclaimed account will be credited to this fund within three months after the said 10 –year period. NOMINATION This is a facility provided under section 45(Z) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to facilitate easy transfer of the funds lying in the account of the deceased account holders to their legal heirs. All the deposit account holders can nominate any one person (not necessarily a blood relation), of any age (even a minor) as their nominee to receive the amount outstanding in their account, after their death. Though nominee is authorized to receive the amount, he is not the rightful owner of the amount. The amount belongs to the legal heirs and the nominee is only a trustee of their rightful money and thus will have to transfer the amount received to the legal heirs, as and when demanded. The nomination facility is available only for three types of accounts: i) All deposit accounts ii) Safe custody accounts and iii) Safe deposit locker accounts The facility is not available for any loan account. LOAN ACCOUNTS Granting loans is a major income-earning activity for the banks. Roughly, over two thirds of the total income of a bank comes from the interest earned on loans. The banks are free to charge any rate of interest on their loan accounts. The bank loans can be classified into two broad types – Demand Loans and Term Loans. DEMAND LOANS These accounts are also called limit accounts as the bank sanctions a limit to the borrower up to which he can draw the cheques. These accounts are operated like Current Accounts through cheques and allow for frequent withdrawals and deposits. These accounts are of two types: Cash Credit (CC) and Over Draft (OD) account. Cash Credit Account: These are most popular loan accounts, meant for businesses only. These limits are sanctioned against a security of stocks and are meant for financing the day to day business requirements i.e. working capital requirements. Also known as ‘Limit Accounts’, these are sanctioned for 12 months only and have to be renewed every year. As they are renewed after every 12 months, they are also called ‘Evergreen Loan Account’. Over Draft Account: These are limited period temporary loan facilities sanctioned by the banks, usually against some securities. The OD can be granted for both business and general purposes. TERM LOANS In these loan accounts, the sanctioned amount is disbursed in one or more installments and thereafter the borrower has to start the repayment in installments. The use of cheque books is not allowed in these accounts. There are two main types of term loans: Retail Loans or Personal Loans - Housing Loans, Car Loans, Education Loans, Consumer Loans etc. Commercial Loans or Business Loans - Machinery Loans, Factory Loans, Loans for Equipments etc. CAPITAL ADEQUACY NORMS These norms refer to the minimum capital to be maintained by the banks all over the world. The norms have been formulated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is a body formed by 60 central banks of the world. Its headquarters is located in Basel, Switzerland and that explains why its recommendations are popularly called ‘Basel norms’. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) issues various recommendations for the banks worldwide. A major BCBS recommendation is regarding the minimum capital requirement for the banks, which prescribes that the minimum capital of a bank cannot be less than 8% of its Risk Weighted Assets (RWA). Here the word asset refers to the bank’s loans and investments. However, the RBI has prescribed the CAR at 9% for the Banks in India. This ratio is called the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), which is also known as Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR). …………To Be Continued SOURCE: FINANCIAL GLOSSARY A GYANM PUBLICATION
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 74
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 75 Latest G.K. Bytes JANUARY – 2016 1) Name the former Punjab Governor and ex-Chief of Army Staff who passed away in Gurgaon on December 29, 2015: General OP Malhotra 2) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in which field: Literature 3) Jnanpith Award is given for excellence in literature in which language: All 22 Indian languages approved by the Constitution 4) Name the winner of the Jnanpith Award 2015: Raghuveer Chaudhary 5) Shri Raghuveer Chaudhary is a noted novelist of which language: Gujarati 6) Vijay Hazare Trophy is associated with which sports: Cricket 7) Name the team that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy for 2015: Gujarat 8) Government has announced that taxpayers with an annual income of more than Rs. ______ lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders from January, 2016: Ten 9) Dr. Harpal Singh Kumar was conferred with Knighthood Honour in UK for what achievement: For his influential work on prevention and treatment of cancer 10) Senior National Wrestling Championship was held at which place: New Delhi 11) Bajrang Punia, Ritu Phogat and Priyanka Phogat are the prominent players of which sports: Wrestling 12) Indian navy recently tested Barak missile from which of its warships: INS Kolkata 13) Which is the last country to be declared free of deadly Ebola disease by WHO: Liberia 14) Ramadi, a city in Iraq was in news for what reasons recently: Iraqi forces captured it back from ISIS 15) Who has been named as the 'Cricketer of the Year' - Men for 2015 by the BCCI: Virat Kohali 16) Who has been named as the 'Cricketer of the Year' - Women for 2015 by the BCCI: Mithali Raj 17) Scientists in which country have developed a human-like social robot named ‘Nadine’, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair: Singapore 18) _____________ has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog: Amitabh Kant 19) Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising “Make in India Week” in February 2016 in which Indian city: Mumbai 20) Haskell Wexler, an Oscar winning cinema celebrity from USA died recently. He was from which field of cinema: Photography 21) Which country recently launched Gaofen-4 Earth Observation Satellite: China 22) The government has approved the signing of the Raptor MoU for what purpose: To conserve and reverse the decline of birds of prey such as vultures, eagles etc 23) The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa (TKK) road section of the trilateral highway in which country: Myanmar 24) Which are the three countries involved in the trilateral international highway starting from Imphal, Manipur: India, Myanmar and Thailand 25) Dr. Gyanendra D Bandgaiyan has been appointed as the Director General of which national organization: National Centre for Good Governance 26) Giorgi Kvirikashvili has been elected as the Prime Minister of which European country: Georgia 27) Rakhi Haldar and Kavita Devi won gold in their respective weight categories at the National level in which sports: Weight lifting 28) National Weightlifting Championships held in which city: Patiala 29) RBI has notified that from Feb 1, 2016 all govt cheques will be paid through ________________system: Cheque Truncation System 30) Reserve Bank has asked banks to ensure that every village with a population over __________ should have a bank branch by March 2017: 5,000 31) RBI has asked SLBCs to ensure that every village with a population over 5,000 should have a bank branch by March 2017. What is SLBCs: State Level Bankers Committees 32) The government has constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker ____________ to look into revamp of Censor Board: Shyam Benegal 33) World Bank has agreed to provide a $ 50 million loan funding of ‘Nai Manzil' project for what purpose: Education and Skills Training for Minorities in BPL category 34) Name the India’s star off-spinner who was ranked as the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings for 2015: R. Ashwin 35) World champion Magnus Carlsen won the Qatar
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 76 Masters Open Chess Tournament. He is from which country: Norway 36) Natalie Cole, Grammy-winning US singer was in news for what reasons: She passed away 37) Name the Mumbai boy who created cricket history by scoring 1009 runs not out: Pranav Dhanawade 38) Which north eastern state suffered a strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake on January 04: Manipur 39) Reserve Bank has started the process of issuing composite instructions under the title _________ on various regulatory issues in its bid to simplify the communication process: Master Directions 40) South Asian Football Federation Cup was won by India by defeating which country: Afghanistan 41) South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup was hosted by which Indian city: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 42) Name the important document of Chemistry which now has its seventh row completed with the introduction of four new chemical elements: The periodic table of elements 43) Name the veteran Communist Party of India leader who passed away after a long illness at New Delhi: A. B. Bardhan 44) In which city in Afghanistan the Indian Consulate was attacked by heavily armed terrorist: Mazar-e- Sharif 45) Recently Saudi Arabia faced widespread violent protests against it for what issue: Execution of a prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr 46) Name the leading legal luminary and former Chief Justice of India who passed away recently: Sarosh Homi Kapadia 47) Which university won the overall trophy in the 76th All-India Inter-University Athletics Championship: Punjabi University 48) 'Anything But Khamosh' is an autobiography of which prominent celebrity politician: Shatrughan Sinha 49) A classy performance by which Indian cricketer in 2001 has been rated as the greatest Test performance of the last 50 years: VVS Laxman's 50) Name the famous novel by Harper Lee that topped the US bestseller list in 2015, selling 1.6 million copies: Go Set a Watchman 51) Abidali Neemuchwala has been appointed new Chief Executive Officer of which IT corporate: Wipro 52) Which educational institute hosted the 103rd Indian Science Congress: University of Mysore, Karnataka 53) Apurvi Chandela broke the world record by earning highest ever score of 211.2 in which event: 10 meter air rifle shooting 54) Name the indigenous stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette that was recently inducted in Indian Navy: INS Kadmatt 55) _________________became the fastest film to take one billion dollars at the global box office: Star Wars the Force Awakens 56) Name the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister who breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed 57) Govt has decided to implement norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 for what purpose: To minimize the air pollution from vehicles 58) The counter-insurgency joint exercise ‘Shakti-2016’ was held at which place: Rajasthan Desert 59) Shakti 2016 - joint military exercise was held by which two countries: India and France 60) Name the Indian badminton player who was declared number one in junior men's singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings: Siril Verma 61) Which country was in news for conducting a powerful Hydrogen bomb test in a defiant and surprising move as there is a UN ban on testing and development of nuclear weapons: North Korea 62) Which global company has launched its service in India allowing viewers to access unlimited TV and cinema content online: Netflix 63) For the first time, a military contingent of a foreign country will take part in the Republic Day Parade on January 26. Name this country: France 64) India’s first World Music Festival will be held in February 2016 in which city: Udaipur, Rajasthan 65) The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to set up a modern Indian Waterways Hub at________, West Bengal: Haldia 66) Union Health Ministry has decided to use the expertise of Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) in which field: To improve the quality and coverage of vaccination in India 67) Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India, was in news for what reasons: He has been reappointed for a second three-year term 68) As per the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015, _____________ has been ranked as the most generous Indian of the year: Azim Premji 69) Govt has decided to close down three loss-making subsidiaries of HMT Ltd. What is the full form of HMT: Hindustan Machines Tools 70) Golden Globe Awards are given in which country: USA 71) Golden Globe Awards are given for excellence in which field: Cinema 72) The Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Drama) was won by which movie: The Revenant 73) With which country India has signed an agreement for enabling people of both nations to avail retirement benefits in each other's country: Australia
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 77 74) International Kite Festival was held at which city in India: Ahmadabad, Gujarat 75) Chennai Open Tennis cup was lifted by which tennis star: Stanislaus Wawrinka 76) India will host a joint military exercise with 18 members countries of East Asian Summit in March, 2016 at which place: Pune, Maharashtra 77) Eight Indian states have agreed to implement direct benefit of transfer of subsidy in _________in 26 districts w.e.f. April 1, 2016: Kerosene 78) _____________has become the first state in the country to officially accept electronic motor insurance policies by the name ‘e-Vahan Bima’: Telangana 79) Justice (Retd) R M Lodha committee was appointed by the Supreme Court for what purpose : To look into the affairs of BCCI 80) Name the amputee Indian mountaineer who conquered Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside Asia: Arunima Sinha 81) The novel 'A God in Ruins' which won the novel of the year prize in Britain is written by whom: Kate Atkinson 82) ______________won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament by beating Railways in New Delhi: ONGC 83) From which place in India, a bus service for Nepal was started after a gap of 27 years: Banbasa border in Uttarakhand 84) Stand Up India Scheme has been approved by the Union Cabinet for what purpose: To promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women entrepreneurs by facilitating easy bank finance for them 85) Which country declined to take part in forthcoming Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh citing security reasons: Australia 86) National Waterway-1 has been developed on which river: Ganga 87) In which state an initiative ‘Wattan ko Jano’ has been launched to familiarize the local youth with the development of the country in other states: Jammu & Kashmir 88) Raghuram Rajan, RBI Governor was named ‘Global and Asia-Pacific Central Bank Governor of the Year 2015’ by the prestigious magazine The Banker in which country: Britain 89) Name the senior IAS officer who has been appointed as the new Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India: Sailesh 90) _________________appointed as Chairman of fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI): Devender Kumar Sikri 91) 'Operation Green Hunt' refers to an all-out offensive by India’s paramilitary forces against which group: Naxalites 92) Govt has decided to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with which bigger ministry: Ministry of External Affairs 93) Name the traditional bull-taming sports of Tamil Nadu that was recently allowed by Central govt. but stayed by the Supreme Court: Jallikattu 94) The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was held on 9 January 2016 in which city: New Delhi 95) Govt has decided to change the frequency of hosting the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas to what interval: Once in two years 96) The 11th World Hindi Day was celebrated on __________ January 2016 in all Indian embassies around the world to promote the usage of Hindi as official language: 10 97) The world's largest blue star sapphire that weighs 1404.49 carats was discovered recently in which country: Sri Lanka 98) Govt has launched Ganga Gram Yojana for what purpose involving 1600 villages of UP situated along the banks of river Ganga: To minimize / stop pollution of the river from these villages 99) 'Maru Bharat Saru Bharat' is a book written by a noted Saint of which religion: Jainism 100) RBI imposed a one crore penalty on a bank for non reporting of data to CRILC. Write the full form of CRILC: Central Repository of Information on Large Credits 101) 2015 Brisbane International Tennis Tournament was hosted by which city: Brisbane, Australia 102) Men's singles title at 2015 Brisbane International Tennis Tournament was won by which player: Milos Raonic 103) Tennis star Milos Raonic is from which country: Canada 104) Name the star football player who won the World Player of the Year Award - FIFA Ballon d'Or for the fifth time: Lionel Messi 105) Name the US mid fielder who won the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year: Carli Lloyd 106) A five day national youth festival was hosted by which city: Naya Raipur 107) Naya Raipur is the capital city of which state: Chhattisgarh 108) Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is celebrated in India as which day: National Youth Day 109) What was the theme of this year's National Youth Festival: India Youth for Skill, Development and Harmony 110) In Himachal Pradesh, the ______folk dance of Kullu district has made a world record for the folk dance by largest number: Nati 111) The Ardh Kumbh mela formally started on January 12 at which place: Haridwar 112) Which global financial body has agreed to provide a
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 78 $625 million loan for the Visakhapatnam - Chennai Industrial Corridor: Asian Development Bank 113) Name the new crop insurance scheme for farmers under which the premium will be paid by Central and state govt: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 114) As per the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Farmers have to pay a token premium of ____ per cent for Kharif, ____per cent for Rabi and _____ per cent for commercial crops: 2, 1.5, 5 115) Lt Gen. J F R JACOB (retd), war hero of 1971 Bangladesh war, passed away in New Delhi. For which two states he held the charge of the Governor: Goa and Punjab 116) ___________ has become the first Indian state to achieve 100 percent primary education (up to class iv): Kerala 117) ____________ has become India's first fully organic state by converting around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land into sustainable cultivation: Sikkim 118) __________________has become the first public sector bank to launch wealth management service ‘SBI Exclusif’: State Bank of India 119) Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their 30th win in a row, creating a new world record. Which was their 30th title: WTA Apia International women’s doubles title 120) As per a recent report, India sends the largest number of engineers and scientists to which country: USA 121) As per a UN study, people from which country are the largest community living outside their country: India (16 million) 122) Tsai Ing-Wen has been elected as the new President of which country: Taiwan 123) The coveted The Hindu Prize, 2015 for best novel has been won by Easterine Kire for which novel: When the River Sleeps 124) Noted novelist Anuradha Roy won which prize for her novel 'Sleeping on Jupiter': DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 125) Flood of Fire is a book written by which author: Amitav Ghosh 126) Name the famous footballer from Britain who won the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award recently: David Beckham 127) Naval exercise named 'Sahyog-Kaijin 2016' was held jointly by which two countries: India and Japan 128) Naval exercise named 'Sahyog-Kaijin 2016' was held in which area: Bay of Bengal 129) Rajesh Vivek Upadhyay a noted film and TV actor died recently. Which was his most popular film: Lagaan (Guran) 130) World Bank has agreed to provide Rs 1071 crore funding for the Neeranchal National Watershed Project for what purpose: For augmentation of various irrigation projects across the country 131) The 2015 Filmfare Award for best actor was won by which artist: Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani 132) Which film won the 2015 Filmfare award for the best film: Bajirao Mastani 133) Name the newly launched mobile based programme which aims to deliver 72 free weekly audio messages about pregnancy and child care to the beneficiary: Kilkari 134) Union Ministry of Health has launched mobile based programme M-Cessation to help which target group: Persons willing to quit tobacco use, through SMS support 135) Name the anti-tank missile recently successfully test fired by the DRDO: Nag 136) Why Army Day is observed on January 15: On this day in 1949, Lt. Gen. (later Field Marshal) K M Cariappa became the first Indian Commander- in-Chief of the Indian Army 137) Name the rocket developed by the SpaceX company of USA which is capable of landing back on earth: Falcon 9 138) Govt has launched which programme to promote and encourage development of start-ups: Start-up Action Plan 139) RBI has contributed Rs. 1000 crores for the equity of which of its organization: National Housing Bank 140) Which is the first private sector bank to achieve the milestone of Rs 1 lakh crore in housing loan: ICICI 141) GDP growth rate of which major country slipped to 6.9% in 2015, its lowest in last 25 years: China 142) World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting held at _____________ from January 20 to 23: Davos, Switzerland 143) What is the name of India's most famous and biggest literature festival held every year in Rajasthan: The Jaipur Literature Festival 144) Name the India's representative on the Board of Directors of the China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): Dinesh Sharma 145) V. Rama Rao, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who passed away recently was the former Governor of which state: Sikkim 146) Which team won the India's first Premier Badminton League: Delhi Acers 147) Union Ministry of Finance released the draft report of Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committee for what purpose: To simplify the provisions of Income- tax Act, 1961 148) Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth World Snooker Masters title. He is from which country: Britain
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 79 149) In a global first, the World Bank has agreed to provide $ 20 million assistance to reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park. Where is it located: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 150) ISRO successfully launched the IRNSS 1 - E, fifth satellite of the total seven satellites in the system. What is IRNSS: Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System 151) What is the main function of IRNSS: To provide navigation, tracking and mapping services to the Indian sub continent 152) The Union Ministry of Shipping has started Project Green Ports for what purpose: To make Major Ports across India cleaner and greener 153) What is the rank of India in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index: 89th 154) The World Tourism Barometer report is released by which international organization: UN World Tourism Organization 155) Government has decided to institute which new award category under the National Film Awards: The Most Film Friendly State/UT 156) Name the Indian who won the New Zealand's most popular motor race the Lady Wigram Trophy: Jehan Daruvala 157) Which major European country recently declared a state of economic and social emergency: France 158) As per the annual global CEO survey done by PwC which country tops in terms of overall growth prospects: USA 159) As per the annual global CEO survey done by PwC for growth prospects in countries, India has been placed at which rank: 5th 160) As per recent data release by NASA, year _______ has been declared as the warmest year since 1880: 2015 161) In context of rising global warming, experts say the record temperatures are due to a combination of ______ and_______: El Niño, human-induced warming 162) RBI has asked banks not to issue notes of ___________ rupee denomination which are without the security thread: 1,000 163) Which is the last African country that has been declared free from Ebola virus by WHO: Liberia 164) A class of frogs that grows in tree holes has been discovered in which part of India: The north-east region 165) RBI has advised that the government will pay ______ commission to banks for attracting more gold in the Gold Monetisation Scheme: 2.5% 166) What is the name of the new luxury super fast express train started between Varanasi to Delhi: 'Mahamana Express' 167) Government has decided to extend the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme to 61 more districts this year. On what basis these districts have been selected: Districts with poor sex ratio (of girl child) 168) The dreaded Zika virus is spread by which animal: Aedes mosquito 169) Countries in which part of the globe have recently suffered wide spread attack of Zika virus: Latin America 170) The RBI has asked banks to provide loans of up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to which category of self help groups: Women Self-Help Group (SHG) 171) Name the public sector undertaking responsible for minting the India gold coins: Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India - MMTC 172) What is the recent relaxation given by RBI for wider sale of India gold coins: Banks have been allowed to sell these coins 173) Name the UN agency which says that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India nearly doubled to $ 59 billion in 2015: UNCTAD 174) What is the full form of UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 175) Name the veteran dancer and Padma Bhushan and Padma Sri recipient who passed away in Ahmedabad: Mrinalini Sarabhai 176) ________ has been appointed as the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): Atulesh Jindal 177) Name the two major components of Direct Taxes: Corporate Tax and Income Tax 178) The Z Factor: My Journey as the Wrong Man at the Right Time - an autobiography of which noted personality of Indian media: Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee TV group 179) India has supplied three Mi-25 gunship helicopters to the Air Force of which country recently: Afghanistan 180) A Nuclear Security Index compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative of USA for 176 countries ranks India at which place: 21st 181) In a recent global survey, which Indian hotel has been adjudged as the best hotel in the world: Umaid Bhawan, Jodhpur, Rajasthan 182) A new Thrush bird found in northeast India has been named 'Zoothera Salimalii' scientifically after which great Indian ornithologist: Salim Ali 183) World Bank will provide $ 250 million loan to which Indian State for the Kosi Basin Development Project: Bihar 184) Pavel Filip has been appointed as the Prime Minister of Moldova. Where is Moldova: Located between Ukraine and Romania 185) Which global report has said that India will be the world's fastest growing large economy at 7.3 per cent in 2016: United Nations World Economy Report
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 80 186) ___________ has become the first ever railway station in India to have free high-speed Internet facility: Mumbai Central 187) Indian Railway’s telecom arm, RailTel is collaborating with which IT giant company to provide free wifi services in railway stations: Google 188) RBI plans to introduce new banknotes of which denominations with enhanced security features: Rs. 100 & Rs. 500 189) Which city hosted the National Conference on e- Governance: Nagpur, Maharashtra 190) As per a recent 'Best Country Report', _________ has been ranked as no. 1 country: Germany 191) As per a recent 'Best Country Report', India has ranked at which place: 22nd 192) France has signed MoU with India for the development of which three Indian cities as Smart City: Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry 193) Headquarters of global body International Solar Alliance are to be located at which place in India: Gurgaon, Haryana 194) International Solar Alliance is a group of 121 countries for what purpose: For increasing utilisation and promotion of solar energy 195) What is the criterion to include 121 countries in the International Solar Alliance: They are located between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn 196) National Voters Day is observed on which date: January 25 197) Why National Voters Day is observed on January 25: This is the foundation day of Election Commission (1950) 198) What is the theme for this year's national voter day: ‘Inclusive and Qualitative Participation' 199) Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has been elected as the new President of which European country: Portugal 200) Name the Indian Badminton player who won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title: P V Sindhu 201) India won the first T20 Asia Cup Cricket for Blind by beating which country: Pakistan 202) The first T20 Asia Cup Cricket for Blind was held at which place: Kochi, Kerala 203) Name the major country which suffered a monster blizzard on January 24 affecting adversely over 85 million people: USA, East Coast 204) Who has been re-elected as the president of world's largest political party - BJP: Amit Shah 205) Name the indigenously designed and built advanced light helicopter that made its debut at the Republic Day parade: Rudra 206) In which state capital India's largest national flag was hoisted on the tallest pole: Ranchi, Jharkhand 207) Which Indian city hosted the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals: Indore, Madhya Pradesh 208) A four day cultural festival 'Bharat Parv' was held at which place: Delhi 209) __________ hosted the 61st National School Athletic Meet: Kozhikode, Kerala 210) Name the brave heart decorated with the Nation's highest peacetime gallantry award- Ashok Chakra: Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami 211) Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami was decorated with Ashok Chakra for which act of gallantry: Eliminating 10 terrorists in 11 days before laying down his life in the line of duty in Sep 2015 in Kupwara sector of Jammu & Kashmir 212) India’s Foreign Policy is a book written by Muchkund Dubey. Who is he: India's former Foreign Secretary 213) Which State has recently been put under President's rule: Arunachal Pradesh 214) Why President's rule was imposed in Arunachal Pradesh: There was a “constitutional breakdown” in the state as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state Assembly 215) Vijay Merchant (U-16) Trophy was won by ______________ by beating Mumbai: Punjab 216) Name the highest civilian honour of Australia that has been conferred on three Indians in January 2016: The Order of Australia 217) Name the scheme launched for online booking of LPG cylinders: Sahaj Scheme 218) Name the West Indies batsman who announced his retirement from international cricket: Shivnarine Chanderpaul 219) India has overtaken ____________ as the world's largest rice exporter in 2015: Thailand 220) In the Corruption Perceptions Index–2015 by the Transparency International, what is the rank of India: 76th 221) __________ has been declared as the least corrupt country in the world by the Transparency International: Denmark 222) Aparna Kumar has successfully climbed the Mount Vinson Massif, the highest peak in the Antarctic sub-continent. Who is she: An IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre 223) With which country India signed an amended Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) to share information on banking and financial transactions: Armenia 224) As per latest data of car sales, which company is the No. 1 in world selling 10.15 million vehicles in 2015: Toyota 225) PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award is given in which country: USA
  • 82.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 81 226) The Harry Potter author J K Rowling won the PEN - Allen Foundation Literary Service Award for which novel: None, it is for her support for free expression and charitable causes 227) ________________has become the country’s first blind friendly Braille-embedded train: Mysuru-Varanasi Express 228) IHF has declared ___________ as the player of the year (Male) for 2015: Robert Van der Horst, The Netherlands 229) IHF has declared ___________ as the player of the year (Female) for 2015: Lidewij Welten, The Netherlands 230) Name the Bollywood celebrity who won the Yash Chopra Memorial Award in January 2016: Rekha 231) Marvin Minsky, noted mathematician and the computer scientist, pioneer of artificial intelligence who passed away recently was from which country: USA 232) In which part of India the highly endangered species Snow Leopard has been captured for the first time on camera: Northern Sikkim 233) Govt has made E-tendering compulsory for all govt purchases exceeding Rs. ____________: 2 lacs 234) The government has approved the hybrid annuity model as one of the modes for implementing which type of projects: Highway development projects 235) The World Meteorological Organisation has nominated_________ as the Regional Climate Centre to provide information to other South Asian countries: India 236) Which state has decided to give 35 per cent reservation for women in all kind of state government job: Bihar 237) Asia's largest underground railway station, covering a total area of 147,000 square metres has been opened in Futian in which country: China 238) Veteran tennis star ___________ became the first Russian player to enter the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame, USA: Marat Safin 239) Why World Braille Day is observed on January 4: It is the B'day of Louis Braille, inventor of Braille language for blinds 240) The child sex ratio in India at present is at lowest level since 1961. What is its value: 918 per 1000 male babies 241) RBI has granted operational freedom to banks to offer all their products and services through which new channel: ATM 242) The Union Cabinet has approved conversion of MUDRA Ltd, an NBFC, into which new outfit: MUDRA Bank 243) Name the Nobel Peace Prize winner author of the book 'Azad Bachpan Ki Aur': Kailash Satyarthi 244) India’s share in IMF has increased to 2.75% from 2.44%, making it the ___________largest shareholder in the Fund: Eighth 245) Name the book recently released by the Indian President narrating his memoires: The Turbulent Years – 1980-1996 DECEMBER – 2015 246) The international solar alliance was recently launched by Prime Minister Modi at which place: Paris 247) The international solar alliance aims at achieving the objective of keeping global warming below _____ degree Celsius between now and 2100: 2 248) At the Paris climate summit, India has committed to generate _____ giga watt solar power by 2022: 100 249) Developed nations are expected to keep their pledge to provide $______ billion a year by 2020 to support climate control by the developing nations: 100 250) Eldar Ryazanov, legendary film Director who died recently, was from which country: Russia 251) Eldar Ryazanov was famous for which kind of films: Comedies 252) Name the Indian player who has won the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament for the third consecutive time: P V Sindhu 253) Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament was hosted by which country: Japan 254) Davis Cup 2015 was won by ________ after a gap of 79 years: Great Britain 255) _______ was the ace tennis star credited with victory of Britain in Davis Cup: Andy Murray 256) Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a book written by ___________: Jeff Kinney 257) Who is the author of the book Rogue Lawyer: John Grisham 258) ___________ won the world heavy weight boxing championship by beating Wladimir Klitschko: Tyson Fury 259) Which international bank recently announced shutting down of its private banking business in India: HSBC (Hong Kong, Shanghai Banking Corporation) 260) Bharat Stage (BS) V and VI norms have been prescribed for what purpose: Emission standards for four-wheelers 261) Government has decided to enforce Bharat Stage (BS) V norms by which date: April 1, 2019 262) Government has decided to enforce Bharat Stage (BS) VI norms by which date: April 1, 2021 263) India successfully test-fired the indigenously built nuclear-capable _______ missile, capable of hitting a target at a distance of 700 km: Agni-I 264) Barak 8 is the name of which defence equipment: Advanced surface-to-air supersonic missile 265) India has developed the Barak 8 missile in
  • 83.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 82 collaboration with which country: Israel 266) Union govt. proposes to launch a $1-billion equity fund to support companies in which sector: Renewable Energy 267) RBI has approved which organization to function as the Central Unit for Bharat Bill Payment System: National Payments Corporation of India 268) _____________won the 2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg 269) The govt. has launched IPV for what purpose: For immunity against polio 270) What is the full form of IPV: Inactivated Polio Vaccine 271) The Golden Peacock award for best feature film is associated with which international film festival: International Film Festival of India 272) The Golden Peacock for 2015 was won by which film: Embrace of the Serpent 273) Who is the director of the award winning film Embrace of the Serpent: Ciro Guerra 274) The Golden Peacock award carries a cash prize of Rs. ____________ lac: 40 275) By achieving a growth rate of 7.4% in July – Sept quarter, India overtook which major economy to become fastest growing economy: China 276) At the Paris climate meet, India has committed to reduce its emissions intensity by _____ percent of its GDP by 2030: 33 277) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to include which new currency in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket effective from October 1, 2016: Chinese currency, the Yuan 278) Apart from Yuan, how many currencies are there in the special drawing rights basket of IMF: Four 279) Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape is a new initiative launched by which organization to build climate resilience in the world’s most vulnerable countries: UNO 280) The first media summit of BRICS nations was held at which place: Beijing 281) Which Indian telecom major plans to invest Rs.60,000 crore over the next three-years in ‘Project Leap’ to upgrade its networks: Bharti Airtel 282) Which organisation has commissioned interceptor boat ‘ICGS C-422’ to further enhance its vigil along Pondicherry and South Tamil Nadu coast: Indian Coast Guard 283) 20 countries, including India, launched Mission Innovation in Paris for what purpose: For accelerating clean energy revolution across the world 284) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, which policy rate was increased: None 285) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, which policy rate was decreased : None 286) In the 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy review on Dec 2 by RBI, it retained its projection of GDP growth rate at ______ per cent for the current fiscal: 7.4 287) With which country the government is considering a 'medicines for oil' barter system: Venezuela 288) Why the govt. is considering a ‘medicines for oil’ barter system with Venezuela: Because Indian pharma exporters are facing problems to repatriate their sales proceeds 289) What is the name of the five-day festival of classical dances of India held in December every year: The Konark Festival 290) Which state hosts the Konark Festival: Odisha 291) Name the famous temple associated with the Konark Festival: Sun temple 292) Which Indian state hosted the International Sand Art Festival 2015: Odisha 293) Robert Lewandowski, who earned recently three Guinness World Record for fastest three, four and five goals is associated with which sports: Football 294) The World AIDS Day observed on which date: December 1 295) What is the international theme for this years World AIDS Day: Getting to zero, End AIDS by 2030 296) Ustaad Sabri Khan, a veteran musician died recently. He was master of which instrument: Sarangi 297) Ustaad Sabri Khan was decorated with which two national honours: Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan 298) Roch Marc Christian Kabore has been elected as the President of which West African country: Burkina Faso 299) This Unquiet Land is a book written by Barkha Dutt. She is a famous name in which field: TV Journalism 300) Thakur Anoop Singh who recently won a world title, is associated with which sports discipline: Body building 301) The World Bodybuilding and Physique Championship was held in which city: Bangkok, Thailand 302) Name the global IT giant who pledged to give away 99 per cent of his company shares in charity: Mark Zuckerberg 303) Govt has decided to setup 11 higher education institutes, 6 in technology sector and 5 in management sector. Name these institutes: 6
  • 84.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 83 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and 5 Indian Institute of Management (IIM) 304) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched GIAN scheme recently. What is full form of GIAN: Global Initiative of Academic Networks 305) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched GIAN scheme for what purpose: To boost the quality of higher education in India through international collaboration 306) Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a Nobel laureate in which field: Chemistry 307) Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan assumed the presidency of which prestigious global science body: Royal Society, London 308) BRICS nations are known for their good growth rate. However, recently one of them slipped into recession. Name this country: Brazil 309) According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2015, forests and trees cover _________ % of the total geographical area: 24.16 310) The Lok Sabha passed the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 to establish the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as which new organization: National Standards Body of India 311) Google’s YouTube has collaborated with which production house in India to open its first video production studio called YouTube Spaces in the country: Whistling Woods International 312) What is the name of the China’s first domestically developed electricity-powered aircraft: RX 1E 313) The recently released ICT (information, communication and technology) Development Index ranks which country at the top: South Korea 314) As per the ICT Development Index 2015, India ranks a lowly __________ in the list of 167 countries: 131st 315) MAM Ramaswamy, Industrialist, founder of Chettinad Group, former parliamentarian passed away recently. He was from which State: Tamil Nadu 316) Which Indian bank bagged the prestigious 'Bank of the Year' award conferred by Britain’s 'The Banker' magazine: Yes Bank 317) Hornbill Festival is the popular cultural festival of which state: Nagaland 318) _________________has become the first state of India to launch Rotavirus vaccination: Himachal Pradesh 319) What is the purpose of Rotavirus Vaccination: Controlling the child mortality rate (under five years of age) due to diarrhea 320) The Atlas V rocket belongs to which country: USA 321) USA utilized services of the Atlas V rocket recently for what purpose: To carry supplies to the International Space Station 322) As per recent data, India attracted maximum FDI during April to September period from which country: Singapore 323) A survey in 33 countries for ‘Index of Ignorance’ has placed __________ as the country having highest percentage of ignorant population: Mexico 324) As per the index of ignorance, India is ranked at number ___________ in the survey of 33 countries: Two 325) RBI has hiked Priority Sector Lending norms for Regional Rural Banks from 60 per cent at present to _______ per cent of their total lending with effect from 1 January 2016: 75 326) As on March 2015, there were _____RRBs operating in the country with a network of 20059 branches: 56 327) From which country India received its first uranium consignment of about 2730 tonnes, after a gap of over four decades: Canada 328) Govt released two commemorative coins of Rs.125 and Rs.10 as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of which great Indian political figure: Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar 329) The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise between the Indian and _____________ navy was conducted recently: Russian 330) The 8th edition of INDRA NAVY-15, a bilateral maritime joint naval exercise was conducted in which area: Off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal 331) The first Goa to Mumbai double-decker Shatabdi train was flagged off from which city: Panjim, Goa 332) Which state launched International festival on Birds in National Chambal Sanctuary: Uttar Pradesh 333) The Hockey World League Cup was lifted by which country: Australia 334) Finals of the Hockey World League Cup were held in which Indian city: Raipur, Madhya Pradesh 335) In which international event Indian shuttler K Srikanth lost the title with very narrow margin: Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament 336) International ratings agency Fitch Ratings has announced that India’s investment rating would remain _________, the lowest investment grade: BBB 337) What do we call a bond the funds are 'ear- marked' for use towards financing ‘green’ projects only: Green Bond 338) In which city China has issued its first red alert on
  • 85.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 84 pollution, the highest level in the system, ordering schools to close for four days due to hazardous air quality: Beijing 339) In which country the Storm Desmond wreaked havoc, flooding vast areas: Northern England 340) Name the who new teams that have become the new franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a period of two years: Pune and Rajkot 341) Cochin Shipyard Ltd launched the Fast Patrol Vessel ‘ICGS Atulya’ for induction in which wing of Indian defence forces: Indian Coast Guard 342) Govt. has launched Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Self Employment Talent Utilisation (SETU) schemes for what purpose: For Entrepreneurship development 343) Which Indian State has recorded highest per capita income of Rs. 240,849 during 2014-15: Delhi 344) Which state legislature has become the first in the country to launch an online mechanism for its members to send questions and move different motions in the House: Maharashtra 345) The Supreme Court has directed all the State and UT Governments to consider ________victims under the disabled quota to enable them to get reservations in government jobs as well as education benefits: Acid-attack 346) Chen Long of _____ and Carolina Marin of _______were declared Male and Female Player of the Year, respectively, by the Badminton World Federation (BWF): China, Spain 347) The ______________________has become the first oil company from India to join the global initiative ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd 348) Name the iconic leader who has been named as the "Person of the Year" by the Times Magazine: Angela Markel 349) Name the Chinese city that posted the second World Internet Conference: Wuzhen 350) Name the global pop singer from USA who is on top of Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid musicians of 2015: Katy Perry 351) India has signed agreement with which international airport to take up operations and management of the Ahmadabad and Jaipur airports: Changi, Singapore 352) For which two items, the government has approved mandatory use of jute packaging material: Foodgrains and sugar 353) World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2016 report has been brought out by which international body: UNO 354) Name the Japanese Prime Minister who arrived in New Delhi on Dec 11 for a three day visit to India: Shinzo Abe 355) The Japanese Prime Minister attended the Ganga Aarti at which ghat in Varanasi: Dasaswamedh Ghat 356) Which country has approved the use of the first- ever vaccine against dengue fever – Dengvaxia: Mexico 357) Name the politician whose autobiography’s title is “On My Terms: From the Grassroots to the Corridors of Power”: Sharad Pawar 358) Mailer Prize for Literature is given in which country: USA 359) Name the India born author who has been selected for this year’s Mailer Prize for Literature: Salman Rushdie 360) Ballistic missile Shaheen-III belong to which country: Pakistan 361) South East Asia Writer Award is given annually to poets and writers from which group of countries: ASEAN – Association of South East Asian Nations 362) Which Indian celebrity has been ranked as the country’s top-earning celebrity with estimated earnings of Rs. 257.5 crore this year: Shah Rukh Khan 363) The 59th National Shooting Championships were held in which city: New Delhi 364) The first proposed bullet train in India will connect Mumbai with which other city: Ahmadabad 365) Nearly 200 nations adopted the first global pact to fight climate change on Dec 12 at COP 21 meet by UNFCCC. What is full form of COP and UNFCCC: Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 366) The "Paris agreement" aims to keep global temperatures from rising by _______ degree Celsius between now and 2100: Two 367) Name the four Asian countries that have joined hands to construct 1800 kms long TAPI gas pipelines: Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India 368) What is the ratio of sharing between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in gas carried by TAPI gas pipeline: 42% each by Pakistan and India and 16% by Afghanistan 369) As per the Human Development Index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, India ranked a lowly _____ in the list of 188 nations: 130th 370) What are the three basic parameters on which the countries are ranked in the human development index: A long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living 371) 34 Islamic nations have agreed to form a new “Islamic military alliance” led by _________to fight
  • 86.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 85 terrorism: Saudi Arabia 372) Thousands of people suffered under the impact of severe typhoon Nona (Melor) in which country: Philippines 373) In which middle east county, women were allowed to cast votes and run for office in the local elections for the first time in the country's history: Saudi Arabia 374) Vijay Kumar, Chain Singh, Apurvi Chandela recently won gold medal in the National Championship of which event: Shooting 375) Sharad Joshi, a former Rajya Sabha member and founder of Shetakari Sangthana was associated with which field: Crusader for farmers’ rights 376) Which Indian city will host the 12th South Asian Games in February 2016: Guwahati and Shilong 377) Which animal has been selected as the mascot of the 12th South Asian Games: A rhinoceros calf 378) What is the name of the mascot of the 12th South Asian Games: Tikhor 379) Name the West African country that has decided to become an Islamic republic because Islam is the religion of the majority of its citizens: Gambia 380) Which is the first major bank in India to issue EMV chip and pin based debit cards to its new customers: State Bank of India 381) Abbreviation of EMV stands for what: Euro- Maestro-Visa 382) The Federal Reserve of USA was in news recently for what reasons: It hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 on Dec 16, for the first time since 2006 383) As per the National Air Quality Index (NAQI) for 17 countries, which is the most polluted city in the world: Delhi 384) The Supreme Court has ruled that the RBI and commercial banks cannot hide routine information on which issue: Names of top defaulters, the losses suffered by banks 385) The PSLV-C29 rocket recently placed in space six satellites of which country: Singapore 386) The World Bank has approved a USD 1.5 billion loan for supporting which major Indian campaign: Clean India Campaign 387) The government has made it mandatory to quote PAN for all transactions in excess of Rs.___ lakh to curb black money: Two 388) What type of ship is INS Vikramaditya: Aircraft Carrier 389) Who has been appointed as the Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT): Arun Kumar Jain 390) Losar, the biggest Tibetan Buddhist Festival is celebrated in which area: Ladakh, J & K 391) What is the significance of Losar festival: It is the beginning of New Year for Buddhists 392) For the first time, two Indian cities, ____________, have been selected in the Creative City Network of the UNESCO: Varanasi and Jaipur 393) Which Indian city has been selected as the city of Music by UNESCO: Varanasi 394) Which Indian city has been selected as the city of Crafts and Folk Art by UNESCO: Jaipur
  • 87.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 86 395) _____________has become the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the World Elite Women Ranking: Deborah Herold 396) Union Government has requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start _________from 1 to 31 January 2016 to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children: Operation Smile-II 397) In which country public chose a new flag design featuring silver fern and red stars on a black and blue background: New Zealand 398) India has ranked a low _____out of 144 nations on Forbes' annual list of the best countries for doing business in 2015: 97th 399) The RBI has decided to lower the banks’ investment in government securities, also known as statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), to _____by January 2017: 20.5% 400) As per RBI decision, first cut of 25 basis points shall be made in SLR on which date: April 2, 2016 401) The UN Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution to cut off revenue flows including ransom payments to which category of organizations: ISIS and other terrorists group 402) RBI has asked banks to follow a new and uniform methodology for calculation of which rate: Base Rate 403) Banks will have to follow new system of base rate calculation from which date: April 1, 2016 404) What is the formal name of the new proposed base rate for the banks: Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) 405) Banks will have to publish their MCLR in how many maturities: Five 406) What are the five prescribed maturities for which banks have to publish their MCLR: Overnight rates, one month, three months, six months and one year 407) Banks are required to publish their MCLR at what interval of time: Monthly 408) Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated 35,950 cannon balls at the historic Fort St Angelo in Kannur. It is in which State: Kerala 409) Country's biggest Wildlife Rescue Centre has been established in which state: Maharashtra (Gorewada) 410) The 22nd National Cricket Tournament for the visually impaired was held in which place: New Delhi 411) The Bose Brothers and Indian Independence – An Insider’s Account is a book written about which noted freedom fighter: Subash Chandra Bose 412) Govt has approved the purchase of _______air defence missile systems from Russia: S-400 Triumf 413) The 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference was held in which city: Nairobi, Kenya 414) Who represented India in the 10th WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Conference: Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Commerce and Industry Minister 415) Who is the present Director General of WTO: Roberto Azevedo 416) There are how many member countries in the WTO: 163 417) India lowered its GDP growth projection for the current year to between ______ % against the earlier forecast of 8.1 - 8.5%: 7 - 7.5 418) Name the former union defence secretary who has been appointed as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC): R K Mathur 419) Name the Greek Defence Minister who arrived in India on a three day visit in December: Panos Kammenos 420) World Bank has said that ______ is the largest recipient of inward remittances receiving over 72 billion US dollars in 2014: India 421) Which country has lifted a 40-year ban on its oil exports: USA 422) Dan Carterhas been named 2015 Sports Personality of the Year. He is from which field: Rugby 423) Which city hosted the 68th National Track Cycling Championship: Ludhiana, Punjab 424) The iconic boulevard Marine Drive, also popularly called the Queen’s Necklace completed 100 years on Dec 16. It is in which city: Mumbai 425) Which Indian statesman received Garwood Award for ‘Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation’ from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business: Shri Pranab Mukherjee 426) 2nd World Internet Conference was held at Wuzen in which country: China 427) Which Indian company has become the first shipyard in India to get the nod to build LNG transporting ships: Coaching Shipyard 428) What is the full form of LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas 429) 2nd Indian Super League Football tournament was won by which team: Chennaiyin FC 430) Name the team that lifted the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup: Barcelona 431) Finals of the FIFA Club World Cup were played in which city of Japan: Yokohama 432) Name the Indian boy who has become world no. 1 won Junior Squash player: Abhay Singh 433) Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines has won which international beauty crown for 2015: Miss Universe 434) Mireia Lalaguna, the winner of Miss World 2015 title is from which country: Spain
  • 88.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 87 435) Which city in India hosted the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship: Surat, Gujarat 436) Which country won 16 medals in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship to emerge as No. 1: India 437) Name the ex-President of FIFA, who was banned by Ethics Committee of FIFA for alleged financial irregularities: Sepp Blatter 438) Axis Bank has partnered with e-Mudhra to introduce an online electronic signature service. What its name: eSign 439) Which state Government has approved formation of five new districts, bringing the total districts to 25: West Bengal 440) Which UN organization has launched International Year of Pulses on 10 November: FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization) 441) What is the theme of the international year of pulses: Nutritious seeds for a sustainable future 442) Name the New Zealand cricketer who announced on Dec 22 his retirement from all forms of international cricket: Brendon McCullum 443) Who has won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015: Andy Murray 444) Which organization has named midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh and striker Bala Devi as the Player-of-the-Year and woman Footballer-of-the- Year, respectively: All India Football Federation 445) Govt has decided to rename the posts of UDC (Upper Division Clerk) as what: Senior Secretariat Assistant 446) Govt has decided to rename the posts of LDC (Lower Division Clerk) as what: Junior Secretariat Assistant 447) Government has now made it mandatory for the auditors to report any suspected corporate fraud amounting to Rs ______or more to the Corporate Affairs Ministry: One Crore 448) The Reserve Bank has asked banks to make changes in ATM switches To help customers register for which service: Mobile Banking Services 449) What is the name of the mobile app launched for farmers to get the market prices of crops in the mandi within 50 km radius of the device: Agri Market Mobile 450) North India’s first cable-stayed bridge was inaugurated at ___________in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir: Basohali, on river Ravi 451) Indian-American tumour scientist Prof. Rakesh Jain has been selected for which top US science award: National Science Medal 452) Reserve Bank has extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by another six months to _________: June 30, 2016 453) Name the Australian Batsman who has been named as “Cricketer of the Year 2015” and “Test Cricket of the Year” by the ICC: Steve Smith 454) ____________ has been selected as the “ODI Cricketer of the year 2015” by the ICC: AB de Villiers 455) The International Tennis Federation has named ________ and ________ as the Women’s Doubles World Champions: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 456) Name the Indian players who won the doubles title in the Mexico Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament in Mexico City: Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 457) Which port city in southwestern Saudi Arabia was in news as a fire in its general hospital killed 25 people and injured 107: Jazan 458) Which state government has banned 15-year-old diesel vehicles from its capital's roads in a bid to control air pollution: Bihar 459) Name the country's first indigenously designed and built warship that was decommissioned at Mumbai on Dec 24 after 32 years of service: INS Godavari 460) What is the highlight of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: Age of Juvenile for trial purposes has been lowered from 18 years to 16. 461) Which bank has tied up with railway’s e-ticketing platform IRCTC to sell rail tickets through its website: ICICI Bank 462) Gautam H Bambawale has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to which country: Pakistan 463) The ____________became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first-ever dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia: Philippines 464) Which state launched Anwesha scheme to provide free education to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students: Odisha 465) China launched the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite for what purpose: To study the mysterious dark matter 466) Name the global financial institution started recently with base in Beijing: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 467) What is the share of India in the capital of AIIB: 8.52% 468) AIIB has been started within authorized capital of $_________ billion and subscribed capital of $ ___________ billion: 100, 50 469) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has been promoted by 56 countries led by which country: China
  • 89.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 88 470) Russia has agreed to manufacture which helicopter in India: Kamov 226 471) PM Modi inaugurated which building complex in Afghanistan: Parliament 472) Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award is given in which field: Cricket 473) Who has been honoured with the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015: Syed Kirmani 474) Syed Kirmani excelled in which aspect of Cricket: Wicket Keeping 475) Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has rolled out its latest mobile application named ________for providing e-learning material for students and teachers: E-CBSE 476) Name the weather phenomenon in South Atlantic Ocean which caused very heavy downpour in countries like Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil: El Nino 477) National Veda Convention and Vedic Conference was held in which city: Kozhikode, Kerala 478) Name the team that won the India's first pro wrestling league championship: Mumbai Garuda 479) Deepak Lather and Vikas Thakur created new national records recently in which field: Weight Lifting 480) Senior National Weightlifting Championships were held at which city of India: Patiala 481) S Chikkarangappa won the player of the year title for which sports: Golf 482) Name the Indian sports person who won silver medal at the 18th Asian Luge Championship: Shiva Keshavan 483) Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, veteran psychiatrist who gave psychiatry its first set of rigorous measuring standards was in news for what reasons: He passed away 484) Which company has launched ‘MoboMoney’, India’s first ‘Tap N Pay’ contactless digital payment solution: Tech Mahindra 485) Kilkari, Mobile Academy and M-Cessation are the names of Mobile Apps linked with which field: Health Care 486) Govt. proposes to launch on January 16, 2016 the project "Startup India, Standup India" for what purpose: To promote culture of "Startup Ventures" in India NOVEMBER – 2015 487) Chilka Lake of India is famous for receiving thousands of migratory birds from Siberia region. It is located in which state: Odisha 488) In terms of brand value of nations, India ranks ______ in world: 7th 489) In terms of brand value of nations, which country enjoys the top rank: U.S.A 490) Women’s doubles title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals was won by which couple: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis 491) The Rugby World Cup was hosted by which city: London 492) Name the country which won the Rugby World Cup: New Zealand 493) Brijmohan Lall Munjal, a famous industrialist passed away recently. He was founder of which company: Hero Motocorp Ltd 494) _______Veteran diplomat, an IFS officer of 1980 batch, has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom: Navtej Singh Sarna 495) India-Myanmar Relations is a book written by which author: Rajiv Bhatia 496) Name the gold scheme that was opened for public subscription from November 5-30: Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme 497) John Pombe Magufuli has been elected as the new President of which country: Tanzania 498) Lunar rover, Yutu, set a record for the longest stay on the Moon by completing almost two years stay. It is from which country: China 499) Name the Indian who has been honoured by the New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award: Bindeshwar Pathak 500) Social activist Bindeshwar Pathak is famous for which contribution: Establishment of Sulabh Shochalayas 501) With Cotton production of around 400 lakh bales, which country is likely to become largest cotton producer in the world in 2015-16: India 502) Which Global rating agency has upgraded its outlook for India's banking system to 'stable' from 'negative': Moody’s Investors Service 503) As per Legatum Prosperity Index 2015 of 142 countries, India has been placed at _______ place in terms of overall prosperity: 99th 504) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked as the world's ______ most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015 list: 9th 505) As per the Forbes list of most powerful persons in world in 2015, president of which country has been ranked as number one: Russia, Vladimir Putin 506) Which IT giant is working with the Indian government on a pilot project for providing Internet connectivity by using large balloons: Google 507) What is the purpose of ‘Project Loon’ being implemented in India: Providing Internet Services 508) Volcanic ash eruptions from Mount Rinja in which country paralysed the tourism industry there as it led to cancellation of several flights: Indonesia
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 89 509) Name the Indian shooter who won silver medal in the 13th Asiald in n Shooting Championship: Jitu Rai 510) 13th Asian Shooting Championship was held in which city: Kuwait City 511) Who has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of India (43rd), succeeding Justice HL Dattu: Justice T S Thakur 512) Which state has launched APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna: Maharashtra 513) What is the purpose of APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Yojna: to provide at least one full hot cooked nutritious meal to pregnant and lactating women in the tribal areas 514) _______ Railway Station in Karnataka has become the first blind-friendly Railway Station in India: Mysuru 515) 69th senior National Aquatic Championships 2015 were held in which place: Rajkot Gujrat 516) Virdhawal Khade has won the National Title in which sports: Swimming 517) Which social networking company has partnered with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas of western and southern India: Facebook 518) ICGS Arinjay, a Fast Patrol Vessels was commissioned in Indian Navy at Kochi. What is the full form of ICGS: Indian Coast Guard Ship 519) Which city hosted the 11th National Tribal Crafts Mela ‘Aadishilp’: New Delhi 520) Which international iconic Football star has been picked up by the Tata Motors as their global brand ambassador for their passenger vehicles: Lionel Messi 521) Who has been appointed chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to draft the new education policy: T.S.R. Subramanian 522) Nico Rosberg won the Mexican Grand Prix F1 championship in Mexico City. He is from which country: Germany 523) Which country reopened its Consulate General office in Mumbai after four decades of closure in 1973: Norway 524) A new species of the Dracula ant, likely to be of Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants, was discovered by a group of citizen scientists in which part of Kerala: Western Ghats 525) Which country has committed to invest over 2 billion euros for Smart City projects in India with special focus on Chandigarh, Nagpur and Puducherry: France 526) According to the global Financial Secrecy Index report released by Tax Justice Network of UK, India ranked ________ in the list of 92 countries in 2015 in terms of financial transparency: 45th 527) Suresh N Patel has been appointed as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of which Bank: Andhra Bank 528) _______ Kumar Jain has been appointed MD and CEO of Indian Bank: Mahesh 529) _______ has been appointed MD and CEO UCO Bank: R K TAKKAR 530) J K Garg has been appointed as the Managing Director of which Bank: Corporation Bank 531) RBI has allowed to offer ‘view only’ internet banking to which category of banks: State and district central co-operative banks 532) Which government authority fixes the minimum support prize for various crops: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 533) The Minimum Support Price of wheat, the main rabi crop for season 2015-16 has been fixed at Rs ______ per quintal: 1575 534) The government launched Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY) to improve the performance of which companies: Power distribution companies. 535) Government has announced the levy of a Swachh Bharat cess of ______ % on all services liable for service tax (14%) from November 15: 0.5 536) Swachh Bharat cess means a tax of ______on every Rs 100 worth of taxable services: 50 paisa 537) Surjit Hockey Tournament was won by which team: Railways 538) Li Yuanchao from China visited India to review cooperation on better river water management and cultural exchanges. Who is he: Vice President of China 539) ________ has won Gold in 10 metre Air Pistol event at 13th Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait: Heena Sidhu 540) Which country moved to the top of the FIFA world ranking list in football for the first time, leaving behind giants like Argentina and world champions Germany: Belgium 541) Russia suspended all its flights to which country after one of its aircraft suffered mid-air bomb blast soon after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh: Egypt 542) Name the authors of the book ‘Rebooting India Realizing a Billion Aspirations’: Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah 543) Free General elections were held in which neighbouring country, after a gap of almost 25 years of Military rule: Myanmar 544) The pro-democracy party National League for Democracy, led by its charismatic leader ______ won the recent general elections in Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi 545) The RBI has decided to officially stop the barter system - trading of goods without exchange of
  • 91.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 90 money, from December 1 on which international border: Indo-Myanmar border 546) Indian Army successfully test-fired the land attack variant of the 290-km range supersonic cruise missile named ______: BrahMos 547) ________ became the first player in Ranji Trophy history to notch up 10,000 runs: Wasim Jaffer 548) Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma has been honoured with Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement in which field: Playing Santoor 549) What Happened to Netaji is a book written by which person: Anuj Dhar 550) Name the nuclear-capable ballistic missile which was tested successfully for a range of 4,000 kms: Agni-IV 551) Which international financing agency has agreed to give $ 273 loan for improving rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal: Asian Development Bank 552) UNESCO rejected which country’s bid for membership as it failed to receive the support of two-thirds of the UNESCO’s member nations: Kosovo 553) OECD has said that the Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent this fiscal. What is the full form of OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 554) According to Fortune India’s latest rankings of Indian business women, _________ has been ranked as the most powerful business woman: Arundhati Bhattacharya 555) ________ defeated Mali to win the FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup: Nigeria 556) The FIFA Under 17 Football World Cup was hosted by which country: Chile 557) Britain has announced _______ as the UK-India Year of Culture to mark the 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence: 2017 558) Name the venue in London where Prime Minister Modi addressed a massive gathering of over 60 thousands persons: Wembley Stadium 559) Which country was provisionally suspended from all international track and field events by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) due to widespread doping in its athletes: Russia 560) India’s satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by the European Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana. It will work in which field: Communications 561) Some of the top rated companies are firming up plans to raise fund by issuing ‘masala bonds’. What are they going to do: Issuing rupee- denominated bonds in foreign markets 562) Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay visited India to preside over the 'India Ideas Conclave' in which city: Goa 563) Northeast’s first exclusive hospital for elephants has been established at the Kaziranga National Park in which state: Assam 564) Name the former RBI Deputy Governor who has been appointed as an Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund: Subir Gokaran 565) Name the only Indian institute that has secured a place in a list of top 100 institutions compiled by the ‘Times Higher Education Rankings for Engineering & Technology: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore 566) Helmut Schmidt, a veteran and famous statesman passed away recently at the age of 96. He was from which country: Germany 567) _________ won the International Children’s Peace Prize for 2015 for his “tireless campaigning” to end violence against minors: Abraham Keita, (17) 568) Which global e-commerce company created a new record in online sales netting $14.33 billion on the annual Singles Day on Nov 13: Alibaba 569) Which International Airport has been adjudged the best-maintained international airport in the country for the third quarter commencing July this year: Thiruvananthapuram 570) Raghuram Rajan, Governor RBI has been elected Vice-Chairman of which international financial institution: Bank of International Settlement 571) Headquarters of the Bank of International Settlement are located at which place: Basel, Switzerland 572) What was the name of the seventh edition India- Russia Joint Military Exercise held in Bikaner district of Rajasthan: Indra – 2015 573) Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has been appointed as the ethics officer (ombudsman) of which national sports body: Board of Control for Cricket in India 574) India has been re-elected on the UNCITRAL for a period of six years. What is the full form of UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 575) In the eight north-eastern states, government has decided to contribute _________per cent funds in the centrally sponsored Schemes: 90 576) The government has enhanced the monetary limit to approve foreign investment proposals of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board – FIPB to Rs ________ crore, from Rs 3,000 crore at present: 5,000 577) In which city of France, over 129 people were killed and more than 300 were wounded in multiple terrorists’ shootings: Paris 578) DRDO has developed Advanced Torpedo Defence System “Maareech” and “Vaarunaastra” for use by
  • 92.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 91 which wing of defence forces: Navy 579) INS Vishwakarma, a premier training establishment of the Indian Navy for the shipwrights is located at which place: Vishakhapatnam 580) Government has declared which militant outfit of Nagaland as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967: National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), NSCN (K) 581) As per a recent IMF study, India's GDP can expand by 27 per cent if the number of women workers increases to _______ as that of men: Same level 582) Ace badminton player Saina Nehwal clinched which rank at the China Open Superseries Premier Badminton tournament: Second 583) Name the veteran Bollywood actor who recently died in London. He is remembered for his outstanding performance in films like Gandhi, Shatranj Ke Khilari and Masoom: Saeed Jaffrey 584) A two day summit of Heads of G-20 nations was held in ______Turkey to dwell on inclusive economic growth and climate change: Antalaya 585) Hundred Drums Wangala Festival, the thanks giving post-harvest festival is celebrated in which state of India: Meghalaya 586) The Union Ministry of Tourism launched the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) and Swadesh Darshan schemes for what purpose: To increase the arrival of foreign tourists in India 587) The International Day for Tolerance was observed globally on ________ November with an aim to educate people about the need for tolerance: 16 588) Name the veteran patron of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) who passed away in Gurgaon due to a prolonged illness: Ashok Singhal 589) Govt has approved State Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of 81 mission cities in 5 states-Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Mizoram under AMRUT Scheme for 2015-16. Write the full form of AMRUT: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 590) Name the 1985 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service who has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations: Syed Akbaruddin 591) Which country won the prestigious women’s team tennis trophy - Fed Cup after beating Russia in final played in Prague: The Czech Republic 592) Name the 16 year old shuttler from India who won the silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships held in Lima, Peru: Siril Verma 593) What is the objective of the Accessible India campaign recently launched by government of India: To make international airports and major railway stations disabled friendly 594) In a breakthrough, scientists in U K have developed the world's first 'porous' liquid that can potentially be used to capture and dissolve unusually large amounts of which harmful gas: Carbon Gas 595) Name the Australia’s most devastating fast bowler of his era who retired from all international cricket on Nov 17: Mitchell Johnson 596) Global Cancer Summit was held in which city of India from Nov 18 to 20: Bengaluru 597) Ms. Zarin Daruwala has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which foreign bank in India: Standard Chartered Bank 598) With a view to boost exports, the government has approved ___________ per cent interest subvention scheme to allow exporters to avail loans from banks at a lower rate: Three 599) Government has launched the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF) for what purpose: To facilitate acquisition of clean, green and energy efficient technologies 600) Government plans to link all the police stations of the country online under the CCTNS. What is full form of CCTNS: Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems 601) Tianhe-2 supercomputer has emerged as the world’s most powerful supercomputer system for the sixth consecutive time. It has been developed by which country: China 602) Name the Indian Minister who has been designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction: Kiren Rijiju 603) Govt has allowed ________language to be taught as an additional foreign language in Kendriya Vidyalayas in conformity with the National Education Policy, 1986: German 604) The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 16 November 2015 launched the World Antibiotic Awareness Week. What was its theme: Antibiotics handle with care 605) 7th Central Pay Commission headed by Justice AK Mathur submitted its report to which union ministry: Finance Ministry 606) The world's second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in which country in southern Africa: Botswana 607) Recently the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution to take action against which terrorist organisation: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
  • 93.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 92 608) The Indira Gandhi Prize For Peace, Disarmament And Development- 2015 has been Awarded to which International Organisation: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 609) As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, India ranks __________ in list of 162 nations most impacted by terrorism in 2014: 6th 610) As per the Global Terrorism Index 2015, which country is worst affected by the terrorism: Iraq 611) The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 ranks India at _________ place in terms of utilisation of its female work force: 108th 612) Which country tops The Global Gender Gap Report 2015: Iceland 613) Which ministry plans to launch Blue Revolution Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries for growth and development of fisheries: Agriculture Ministry 614) Which Indian city hosted the 17th Asia Pacific Youth Forum meet: Kozhikode, Kerala 615) _________ has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar 616) 27th summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in _________on November 21: Kuala Lumpur 617) Vijay Keshav Gokhale has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to which country: China 618) Government plans to mobilise around Rs. 20,000 crore by selling 10% of its stake in which public sector undertaking: Coal India Ltd 619) Harshavardhan Neotia has been elected as the President of the FICCI for the year 2016. Who is he: Chairman of Ambuja group of industries 620) 46th International Film Festival of India began in Panaji, Goa with the screening of The Man Who Knew the Infinity. It is a biopic of which famous mathematician: Srinivas Ramanujan 621) Name the two South-East Asian nations visited by Prime Minister Modi in the 3rd week of November: Malaysia and Singapore 622) Name the India's most successful cueist who won the record 15th world title by winning the IBSF World Snooker Championship in Egypt: Pankaj Advani 623) Who has become the first player to win the ATP World Tour Finals for the fourth consecutive time: Novak Djokovic 624) Leaders of the ASEAN group of nations have declared the establishment of an EU-style regional economic bloc. Give its name: ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 625) Name the President of France who will be the chief guest at the 2016 Republic Day celebrations: Francois Hollande 626) Which South-American country has elected Mr.Mauricio Macri as its new President: Argentina 627) In which country, the young pro-democracy voters are known as Umbrella Soldiers: Hong Kong 628) Name the India’s neighbour which is experiencing hardships due to ongoing Madhesi Agitation: Nepal 629) Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of Nepal are found in which part of Nepal: Terai region 630) In a $ 160 billion merger agreement, the biggest ever deal in the healthcare sector, pharma major Pfizer Inc has acquired which other big pharma company: Allergan Plc 631) The Confederation of All India Traders has launched an e-commerce portal, ‘e-lala’ for what purpose: To promote bussiness of 5.77 crore small units 632) The 8th Men’s Junior Asia Hockey Cup at Kuantan, Malaysia was won by which country: India 633) Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award is given for excellence in which field: Journalism 634) Who is the recent winner of Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award: Kuldip Nayar 635) Which country has launched its first early warning system satellite named EKS or Integrated Space System: Russia 636) Name the three Indian cities selected by the British government for developing them as 'Smart City': Pune, Amravati (Maharashtra) and Indore (MP) 637) Rajasthan government has signed a ‘sister-state agreement’ with which state of Australia: South Australia 638) Which international organization has said that global average temperatures this year are likely to be the warmest on record: World Meteorological Organisation 639) Name the naval variant of the Prithvi – II missile, having a strike range of 350 kilometers that was tested successfully recently: Dhanush 640) Mahip Singh, who passed away passed away in Gurgaon, after a brief illness was a noted figure from which field: Literature & Journalism 641) Japan conducted its first commercial satellite launch on August 24, with which launch vehicle: H-IIA rocket 642) Government has reduced the deadline for completion of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana for rural connectivity through all- weather roads from 2022 to which year: 2019 643) Which state has launched the ‘Tourist Mitra’ to ensure a smooth and secure experience for tourists: Karnataka 644) The 10th East Asia Summit was held in which city of Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
  • 94.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 93 645) Name the former long jump world champion who has been appointed as the chairperson of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme: Anju Bobby George 646) Why The National Milk Day is observed on 26 November: To mark 94th birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution - Dr Verghese Kurien 647) What is the US military operation name for the intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria: Operation Inherent Resolve 648) Who is the author of the book “Because We Say So”: Noam Chomsky 649) “Why India Is Not A Great Power (Yet)” is a book written by which author: Bharat Karnad 650) INS Kadmatt the indigenously built stealth ASW corvette, was formally handed over to the Navy on Nov 26. What is ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare 651) In the naval language what is a corvette: A small war ship 652) The first ever day-night Test match in the history of cricket started in last week of Nov. at which place: Adelaide Oval in Australia 653) The Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly developed by the ______________ and DRDO was successfully tested: Israel Aerospace Industry 654) The RBI has allowed foreign investors to buy default non-convertible debentures and bonds provided their maturity is for _____ years or more: Three 655) Name the highest paid director of the Indian Corporate world for the year 2014-15: Pawan Munjal of Hero Moto Corp 656) ______________ has been appointed as the President of The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM): Sunil Kanoria 657) India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile. What is its strike range: 350 kms 658) India observes ‘Constitution Day’ on which date: November 26 659) RBI has allowed three companies to start Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). This will benefit which category of enterprises: Small and Medium Enterprises – SMEs 660) The government has made it mandatory for road developers to use __________ along with bituminous mixes for road construction: Waste Plastic 661) Which country has developed world’s strongest combat and reconnaissance drone CH – 5 that can fly with a weight of 3,000 kg: China 662) First India International Science Festival will be hosted by which educational institution: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi 663) Government has extended RuPay card usage condition of at least one transaction in 45 days to ____ days for filing a claim under PMJDY: 90 664) Which Indian bank has become the first Indian bank to launch Sonic branding (Musical Logo): HDFC Bank OCTOBER – 2015 665) What is the name of the India’s first dedicated astronomy research satellite recently launched by ISRO: Astrosat 666) Astronomy research satellite Astrosat has been placed in which orbit: Equatorial 667) Name the Indian who won the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Adelaide, Australia: Pankaj Advani 668) Abhinav Bindra clinched gold in the men's 10 metre Air Rifle event of which championship: Asian Air Gun Championship, New Delhi 669) What is the name of the stealth guided missile destroyer which was inducted in the Indian Navy on Sep 30: INS Kochi 670) Naval warship INS Kochi is the stealth guided missile destroyer. What is meant by Stealth: Ability to avoid detection by Radars 671) Government has unveiled ‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ (NIRF) for what purpose: For annual ranking of engineering and management institutes of the country 672) Government has launched Green Highways policy for what purpose: To promote plantation of more trees along Highways 673) With USD 31 billion of foreign capital inflows in the first half of 2015, India ranks at which place in world in attracting FDI: First 674) The repo rate from Sept 29 stands at which value: 6.75 per cent 675) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on investment and industrial growth in the country: It may go up 676) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on the rate of interest of bank loans: It is likely to come down 677) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on EMIs of housing / car loans: It is likely to come down 678) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on Interest rate of bank deposits: It is likely to come down 679) The recent cut in Repo Rate may have what impact on volume of bank loans in general: It is likely to go up 680) NASA scientists claimed recent that they have found the strongest ever evidence of liquid water
  • 95.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 94 on which Planet : Mars 681) “The Country of ________” is the title of the recent book authored by Amartya Sen: First Boys 682) “Baat Niklegi toh Phir”, a book written by Sathya Saran is about which celebrity: Jagjit Singh 683) SASTRA Ramanujan Prize is given for excellence in which field: Mathematics 684) SASTRA Ramanujan Prize 2015 has been won by Jacob Tsimerman. He is from which country: Canada 685) International day of Older Persons is observed on which date: October 1 686) Microsoft Corp has agreed to bury all patent infringement litigation against which major IT giant: Google Inc. 687) ___________ clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi: Heena Sidhu 688) Pedro Passos Coelho has been elected Prime Minister of which country: Portugal 689) Arch of Triumph, a historical monument built about 2,000 years ago in Palmyra, Syria was in news for what reasons: It was blown up by the ISIS terrorists 690) Which global organization has lowered 2015 world trade forecast to 2.8 percent in the face of a slowdown in the economies of emerging countries: World Trade Organization (WTO) 691) Who has been elected as the new President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): Shashank Manohar 692) Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won which Asian sports event to get the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’: Mountain Biking Race 693) “Mrs Funnybones” is a recent _________ by Twinkle Khanna: Book 694) Which Indian organization has started the world’s highest research station at an altitude of 17,500 ft at Chang La: DRDO 695) The 2016 G-20 summit will be hosted by which country: China 696) _________ will host the 2017 G-20 summit: Germany 697) Which country will host 2018 summit of G-20 nations: India 698) In the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum for the world’s most competitive economies, what is the rank of India: 55th 699) In the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-16 compiled by the World Economic Forum, which is the best country: Switzerland 700) A 14-day joint training exercise 'Mitra Shakti 2015', involving military contingents from India and________, was held in Pune from Sep 29 to Oct 12: Sri Lanka 701) Which Indian State has computerized all its 531 police stations to allow online filing of FIR from anywhere: Odisha 702) Which Indian Bank has become the first bank in the world to launch mVisa - a card-less and device-less payment solution: ICICI Bank 703) A joint maritime exercise of naval patrol vessels - Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and __________ began on 3 October 2015 in the Andaman Sea: Indonesia 704) Nobel Prize (half) for medicine for 2015 has been won by William Campbell (Ireland) and Satoshi Omura (Japan) for which achievement: For discovering a new drug to treat infections caused by roundworm parasites 705) Govt plans to spend around 70 thousand crore rupees in 12 major ports in the next five years under _______Project, aimed at port-led development in coastal areas: Sagarmala 706) Henning Mankell, a noted crime writer, whose detective character Kurt Wallander became a worldwide phenomenon, died at 67. She was from which country: Sweden 707) The Trans-Pacific Partnership for global commerce and worker standards has been formed by 11 Pacific Rim nations with which country: USA 708) Govt has signed a MoU with the New India Assurance Company to provide Swavlamban Health Insurance Scheme, for which category of persons: Persons with Disabilities 709) As per the latest World Bank report on global poverty, the number of people living in extreme poverty line is likely to fall for the first time below _____ % of the world’s population in 2015: 10 710) The World Bank has revised its benchmark poverty from living on or below $1.25 a day to $_____ a day: 1.90 711) The Central Government has notified ‘Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015’ under which Act for improved administration and efficiency of the scheme: The National Food Security Act, 2013 712) The new mid day meal rules prescribe ___calories and ____ gm of protein for primary class students: 450, 12 713) The new mid day meal rules prescribe ___calories and ____ gm of protein for upper primary class students: 700, 20 714) Which country won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines at Changsha, China: China 715) Nobel Prize of Physics for 2015 has been given to scientists for discovering which elusive subatomic particles, opening a new window onto
  • 96.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 95 the fundamental nature of the universe: Neutrinos 716) Govt has decided to allow foreign investment up to ______ per cent in White Label ATM operations under the automatic route to promote financial inclusion: 100 717) India has decided to cut the carbon produced per unit of ________ by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from what it was in 2005: GDP growth 718) The government plans to bring down its stake in which bank to 49 per cent, from 76.5 per cent at present with a view to make it more efficient: IDBI Bank 719) Sergey Karjakin, who won the World Cup Chess Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan, is from which country: Russia 720) Name the India’s first totally indigenously designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel (TLRV) that has been inducted in Indian Navy: INS Astradharini 721) The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conference 2016 will be held in _____ from 8 January to 10 January 2016 to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India: New Delhi 722) The Clintons' War on Women is a book written by: Roger Stone and Robert Morrow 723) The Union cabinet has approved construction of a National War Memorial and Museum near which historical monument in New Delhi: India Gate 724) IIT Council has decided to waive full fee for which category of students in all the 15 IITs for all the semesters: Physically Challenged Students 725) Three scientists have won the Nobel Prize 2015 in which field for working out how cells repair damaged DNA, providing new ammunition in the war on cancer: Chemistry 726) Which celebrity has been appointed Maharashtra’s brand ambassador for Tigers: Amitabh Bachchan 727) The Courage to Act - A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath is a book written by Ben S. Bernanke on which mega event of financial world: 2008 Financial Crisis in USA 728) A report by UNCTAD says that the growth rate for world in 2015 is expected to be around 2.5 per cent. What is Full form of UNCTAD: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 729) NGT has directed all commercial vehicles, including trucks, entering Delhi to pay an environmental compensation charge in addition to the toll tax. What is NGT: National Green Tribunal
  • 97.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 96 730) Govt has approved setting up of three new AIIMS In which cities at a cost of 4949 crore rupees: Nagpur, Manglagiri and Kalyani 731) Name the Indian cyclist who became the first ever Indian to win a gold medal, three silver and one bronze medal in women's section in the in Taiwan Cup Track International Classic in Taiwan: Deborah Herold 732) Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus has won the Nobel Prize for literature for 2015 for her portrayal of life of women in which country: The former Soviet Union 733) India's first community reserve to protect the endangered Gangetic River Dolphins will come up on River ______ in West Bengal: Hooghly 734) Baba Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved has entered into a partnership with which chain of mega retail store to sale its product: Big Bazaar 735) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved implementation of the World Bank assisted Neeranchal project for promoting effective irrigation in nine states. What is its formal name: National Watershed Management Project 736) Mr. Mukherjee became first Indian President to visit Israel and address their Parliament. What is the name of their parliament: Knesset 737) Shekhar Basu, renowned scientist has been appointed as the Chairman of which national organization: Atomic Energy Commission 738) Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change launched which group on 8 October 2015 in Lima, Peru: V20 739) The European Union has started a new operation termed Operation Sophia to actively intercept boats smuggling of_________: Refugees 740) Which committee has submitted its recommendations for developing suitable methodologies for monitoring CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) provisions: Anil Baijal 741) What is the name of 5th Indo-China Joint Military Training Exercise 2015 that was conducted at Kunming Military Academy of Yunnan province in China from 12 to 23 October: Hand in Hand 742) China has launched the first phase of “China International Payment System (CIPS)” to promote which item: Yuan 743) Which city in India has emerged as the world's cheapest city to live and work in, among 12 top metropolitan cities of the world: Mumbai 744) _______ defeated Rafael Nadal to win men’s title in the China Open at Beijing, China: Novak Djokovic 745) Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won the women's singles title in which international tennis event: China Open 746) Name the veteran communist party leader elected as Nepal's new Prime Minister: K P Sharma Oli 747) Dutch Open Grand Prix Badminton singles titles in men’s category was won by which Indian player: Ajay Jayaram 748) Neither a Hawk nor a Dove is a book written by Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. Who is he: Ex Foreign Minister of Pakistan 749) Which state has launched Mission ‘Abaas’ to provide affordable houses to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Low Income Groups (LIG) and slum dwellers: Odisha 750) Jioji Konrote has been elected as new President of which Pacific island mini country: Fiji 751) Alexander Lukashenko has been re elected as the President of which country: Belarus 752) 2015 Nobel Prize for Economics has been won by Angus Deaton for his work on which topic: Consumption, poverty and welfare 753) 2015 Nobel Prize for Economics has been won by Angus Deaton. He is from which country: UK 754) The Supreme Court has imposed 'Environment Compensation Charge' of Rs 700 and Rs 1300 on commercial vehicles entering which metro city: Delhi 755) Man Booker Prize For Literature 2015, won by Jamaican author ______ for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings: Marlon James 756) Shweta Rathore became the first Indian female _______ to win a silver medal in the 49th Asian championship held in Uzbekistan: Bodybuilder 757) With the presence of more than 4,200 startups, India has also become the ______largest startup base in world: 03rd 758) The navies of which countries began a five-day joint operation-'Malabar exercise' on October 14 on the eastern coast in Bay of Bengal: India, USA and Japan 759) National channel of Doordarshan will telecast a ten-episode Programme on Apprenticeship Training Scheme. What is its name: Hunarbaaz 760) Harvard Humanitarian Of The Year Award – 2015 has been won by which Indian: Kailash Satyarthi 761) Name one of India's greatest fast bowlers who bid adieu to international cricket: Zahir Khan 762) Name the star player of The Real Madrid who won the record fourth Golden Boot for scoring highest – 48 goals in the season: Cristiano Ronaldo 763) China has operationalised the world’s highest mega hydropower station at Zam in Tibet, built on which river: Brahmaputra 764) Data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows that the subscriber base
  • 98.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 97 has crossed _______ crore by the end of Sept. 2015: 101 765) The RBI has decided to create a new Fund with a corpus of 2,000 crore rupees for promotion of financial inclusion. What is its name: Financial Inclusion Fund 766) Real estate developer Tata Housing has tied-up with which social networking firm to sell its affordable homes online: Facebook 767) Which bank has automated its personal loan approvals by deploying an analytics engine on their ATMs that would track the customer's history and based on that, automatically authorize a loan: HDFC Bank 768) Which bank has received in principle approval from the RBI to set up a subsidiary to frame and implement a uniform policy for all the real estate properties owned or rented by the bank: State Bank of India 769) As per a new notification by the Union Health Ministry, what has been now allowed to the blood banks: Transfer of blood from one blood bank to another blood bank 770) Govt has decided to raise the wage ceiling for calculating bonus to Rs. _______ for factory workers and establishments with 20 or more workers: 7,000 771) The Supreme Court has given what decision with regards to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act: It has rejected formation of NJAC 772) After rejection of NJAC, what system will be adopted for selection of High Court / Supreme Court judges: Through collegium system 773) As per recent RBI guidelines, interest rate on Gold Deposit Schemes will be decided by which authority: Banks themselves 774) Which country has offered $15 billion long term soft loan along with technology for starting the Bullet Train between Ahmadabad and Mumbai: Japan 775) First World Indigenous Games were held in Palmas in which country: Brazil 776) Who is M L Fotedar, author of the book The Chinar Leaves: Veteran Congress leader and close aide of the Gandhi family 777) ____ has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Canada from Liberal Party: Justin Trudeau 778) Name the Indian golfer who won the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award at Singapore: Anirban Lahiri 779) Name the India’s ace batsman who announced his retirement from international cricket and the Indian Premier League: Virender Sehwag 780) Jerry Seinfeld has been named as the world’s highest paid ____ by the Forbes Magazine: Comedian 781) Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President has been awarded which global honour for “injecting fresh energy” into the global quest for harmony: Confucius Peace Prize 782) ‘Science Express Climate Action Special’ train has been started from______ , as part of its initiative to sensitize the masses, especially children and the youth about climate change: Delhi 783) Name the new fund started to support the victims of various attacks, such as rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and women killed or injured in the cross border firing: Central Victim Compensation Fund 784) An Indian short film of 11 minutes, An Old Dog’s Diary has won prestigious Best Short Film Award at the 2015 ______ Film Festival: London 785) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs._____ for call drops with effect from 1 January 2016: One 786) India was placed at which position in the Sultan of Johor Cup (Hockey): Second 787) Name the winner Sultan of Johor Cup: Great Britain 788) __________ was the host country for Sultan of Johor Cup: Malaysia 789) Saketh Myneni, India’s ace _______ player won the Vietnam Open trophy in the finals played at Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam: Tennis 790) P. V. Sandhu, Indian badminton star was placed at which rank in the Denmark Open Badminton Title: Second 791) ______ of China won the Denmark Open Badminton Title: Xuerui Li 792) Govt of India has appointed _____, veteran sports administrator as the President of the All India Council of Sports: Vijay Kumar Malhotra 793) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces conducted their massive field exercise from October 3 to November 6. What was its name: Trident juncture 2015 794) Name the sportsperson who became the first Indian tennis player to come under 100 since 2010 in the ATP world rankings: Yuki Bhambri 795) Alpha Conde has been reelected as the President of which country: Guinea 796) Bir Billing, place in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was in news for what reasons: First Paragliding World Cup of South East Asia started there 797) Reserve Bank of India has opened its sub-office recently in which city in North East India: Imphal in Manipur 798) Which apex global organization celebrated its 70th anniversary on October 24: United Nations
  • 99.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 98 of India - UNO 799) The Defence Ministry has approved, for the first time in the history of Indian Air Force what role for its women officers: They will be allow to fly fighter aircraft 800) Dreaming Big: My Journey to Connect India is the autobiography of which noted telecom icon of India: Sam Pitroda 801) Hurricane Patricia, one of the most powerful storms on record stuck which country recently: Mexico’s Pacific coast 802) Jimmy Morales has been elected as the _____ of Guatemala: President 803) Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched which men’s singles international badminton title recently: French International 804) Government has hiked the limit for penal provisions for undeclared or mis-declared baggage that will attract arrest or prosecution, to Rs. ______ from Rs 5 lac at present: Rs 20 lac 805) Govt has launched an e-Sahyog pilot project of Income-Tax Department for what purpose: To reduce compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers 806) India has improved its position to ______ from 134 in 2015 in the World Bank's 2016 rankings in terms of ease of doing business: 130 807) Which state hosted the 16th National Women Boxing Championship: Assam 808) The Indian and Sri Lankan Navies conducted the 4th edition of SLINEX in Bay of Bengal, off the Trincomalee coast in Sri Lanka. What is form of SLINEX: Sri Lanka-India Exercise 809) Railways plans to start country's first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express between which two stations: Mumbai and Goa 810) What do we call the excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society: Sin Tax 811) Name the Indian who created history by winning a silver medal for the first time in the Archery World Cup Final held in Mexico City: Abhishek Verma 812) With which country RBI has signed a MoU for exchange of supervisory information: Bangladesh 813) Which country has launched the Tianhui-1C mapping satellite: China 814) Railway plans to launch Vikalp scheme from 1st of November to give passengers which new option: Choice to travel by an alternate train 815) The 12th SAF (South Asian Games) games will be held from February 6 to 16 in 2016 in which place: Guwahati and Shillong 816) Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders released the first Scorpene category ________ INS 'Kalvari' for sea trails at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai: Submarine 817) Name the noted Nepali Communist leader who has been elected as Nepal’s first woman President by the Parliament: Vidya Devi Bhandari 818) Govt has formed a Committee headed by Justice RV Easwar (Retd.), former Judge of Delhi High Court for what purpose: To suggest simplifications in the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 819) ________ has been appointed as Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC): Najib Shah 820) With which country India signed a MoU to conserve, develop and publicize written heritage at the National Library in Kolkata: France 821) In the 2015 Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings, which are the top 3 Indian companies: Reliance Industries-14th, ONGC- 17th and Coal India-38th 822) Which country has announced an end to its 45 years old policy of allowing only one child per family: China 823) The Ministry of Environment has granted environment clearance for the greenfield international airport at Mopa in which state: Goa 824) As per the GFMS Gold Survey 2015, ______ is the largest consumer of gold in world: India 825) __________ has been ranked as the safest bank of India, and 27th in world by the ‘The Banker’ magazine: HDFC Bank 826) RBI has allowed which new category of persons to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) of PFRDA: Non Resident Indians (NRIs) 827) Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by which international body: European Parliament SEPTEMBER – 2015 828) The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has launched SAHAJ scheme for what purpose: Online booking of LPG connections 829) Maharashtra govt recently acquired the house where Dr. B. R. Ambedkar lived in 1921-22. It is in which city: London 830) Anil won the gold medal at the world championship of which sport: Wrestling 831) OP Jaisha finished 18th in which sports in the world athletics championship, creating a new national record: Women’s Marathon 832) Who has been appointed as the new Union Home secretary: Rajiv Mehrishi 833) All India Radio released the digital version of which grand epic as a set of digital CDs produced by its old recordings: Ramcharitmanas
  • 100.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 99 834) M M Kalburgi, 77 year old Kannada scholar and ex Vice Chancellor of Kannada University was in news for what reasons: He was shot dead in Dharwad, Karnataka 835) ‘Portrait of a Serial Killer’ is a book written by which famous author: Khushwant Singh 836) The Reserve Bank declared which two banks, for the first time, as D-SIBs: SBI and ICICI Bank 837) What is the full form of D-SIBs: Domestic Systemically Important Banks 838) What is the meaning of Systemically Important: Any thing or feature which is important for entire system 839) Tenzing Norgay National Sports awards are given in which field: Adventure Sports 840) Which bank has launched IndPay mobile app service to enables its customers to operate bank accounts anytime from anywhere: Indian Bank 841) The government has identified how many cities and towns across nine states for implementation of its ambitious 'Housing for All' scheme: 305 842) What is the formal official name of the ‘Housing for All’ scheme: Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana 843) The Reserve Bank has asked all banks to be prepared for the implementation of due diligence and reporting standards under FATCA. What is the full form of FATCA: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 844) The Sports Ministry has decided to recognize ______ as a sports discipline and place it in the Priority category: Yoga 845) Name the govt. department which has implemented an electronic payment system to become the first government department to have 100 per cent cashless transactions: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion 846) India is joining the UN-based 'Better Than Cash Alliance' for what purpose: For promotion of transition from cash to digital payments 847) The Reserve Bank has proposed a new formula to calculate the base rate for lending wef April 1, 2016. What is Base Rate: The interest rate below which a bank is not allowed to lend 848) Govt has announced that the MAT will not be applicable on capital gains made by Foreign Institutional Investors prior to April 1, 2015. What is MAT: Minimum Alternate Tax 849) Jhumpa Lahiri, noted Indo American author has been honoured with National Humanities Medal by which country: USA 850) The Reserve Bank of India will shortly put into circulation Rs. 5 coins to commemorate golden jubilee of which important national event: Indo- Pak War 1965 851) Which historical monument in Kerala has won the prestigious UNESCO Award of Excellence 2015: Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple 852) The highest mountain of North America - Mt McKinley has been renamed as _________ by the US President: Denali 853) The 2022 Commonwealth Games will be held at which place in South Africa: Durban 854) Name the first Railway Zone in Indian Railways, which has eliminated all un-manned level crossings in its area: West Central Railway Zone 855) Name the erstwhile commodities market regulator which has been merged with SEBI: Forward Markets Commission 856) Two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs 10 were released recently on which important occasion: Teachers’ Day 857) Name the new group launched by G-20 nations for boosting the role of women in global economic growth: W20 (Women – 20) 858) As per the first ever count of India’s leopards, which state is at rank No. 1 with around 1817 leopards: Madhya Pradesh 859) Name the 89 year old Queen of Great Britain, who reached a major milestone on Sep 8 by becoming the longest-reigning monarch (since Feb 02, 1952) in Britain’s history: Elizabeth II 860) Deepak Lather won a gold in which sports in the fifth Youth Commonwealth Games in Apia, Samoa: Weight lifting 861) ‘The Power of Meow’ is a famous book written by which author: David Michie 862) Name the new gold scheme launched by govt. with a view to reduce the regular demand for the gold, usually for investment purpose: Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 863) Name the new gold scheme launched by govt. with a view to mobilize part of around 22,000 tonne gold lying in Indian households: Gold Monetisation Scheme 864) The Union Cabinet has allowed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route for installing which type of ATMs: White Label ATMs 865) The three-day Vishwa Hindi Sammelan (World Hindi Conference) was held at which place: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 866) Name the lady scientist who has been made the first women Director General in the DRDO: J Manjula 867) Which Indian stock exchange has the highest number of listed companies in the world, numbering 5689: Bombay Stock Exchange 868) Men’s singles title at the US Open Tennis was won by __________: Novak Djokovic 869) Women’s singles title at the US Open Tennis was won by __________: Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 870) Name the Indian tennis player who won the
  • 101.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 100 men’s mixed doubles title at the US open: Leander Paes 871) Name the Indian tennis player who won the women’s doubles title at the US open: Sania Mirza 872) Indian Navy has established its largest missile storage and replenishment facility named _______ at Karwar base in Karnataka for warships operating in the western coast: INS Vajrakosh 873) Name the prestigious national award recently won by ISRO for its contribution to nation’s development through satellite based education: Gandhi Peace Prize 874) ___________ to continue as the Team Director of the Indian cricket team till the 2016 T20 World Cup to be held in India: Ravi Shastri 875) Name the first bilateral maritime exercise held between Australia and India off the shores of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: Ausindex– 2015 876) With which country India recently signed a treaty for repatriation of wanted prisoners and cooperate in all criminal matters: Indonesia 877) Who is Mary Barra, declared as the most powerful business women in the world by the Fortune magazine: CEO of General Motors, USA 878) Name the writer of the popular book ‘The Curse of Surya’: Dev Prasad 879) As per the World Bank's ranking on ease of doing business in Indian states, _______ ranks at no. 1: Gujarat 880) Parliament of which erstwhile Hindu country has rejected the proposal for declaring the country a Hindu state: Nepal 881) Gennady Padalka who created the new record for having spent the most time in space, totaling into 879 days in over five trips, is from which country: Russia 882) Which business women has been ranked no. 1 in India in a list compiled by the global business magazine Fortune: Chanda Kochhar, CEO ICICI Bank 883) Name the Sri Lankan Prime Minister who visited India on Sept 14: Ranil Wickremesinghe 884) _________ has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Australia: Malcolm Turnbull 885) Which international IT company plans to work with Indian Railways on Project Nilgiri to set up free Wi-Fi hotspots across 400 select railway stations: Google 886) In terms of no. of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), India has been placed at _______ rank in the World Wealth Report – 2015: 11th 887) Government has approved the purchase of 10 Heron TP armed drones capable of firing missiles, from which country: Israel 888) 55th National Open Athletics Championship started at SAI Complex in which city: Kolkata 889) The RBI has granted in principal approval to how many entities to set up small finance banks: 10 890) The Small Banks will focus on financing of which category of borrowers: Small farmers and micro business enterprises 891) Andhra govt. has successfully linked which two of its major rivers towards making the state "drought-proof": Godavari and Krishna 892) International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer was observed on __ across the world: 16 Sept. 893) Govt has approved which scheme to transform rural areas into economically, socially and physically sustainable spaces: Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission 894) The 2022 Asian Games will be hosted by which city of China: Hangzhou 895) Manpreet Kaur of Railways created a new national record in which game, claiming a distance of 17.96 meters at the 55th National Open Athletics Championship at Kolkata: Shot- put throwing 896) Which neighbouring country of India recently adopted a new constitution, after years of political wrangling: Nepal 897) Hinduja business group plans to launch a digital broadcasting platform under the brand name NXT Digital for what purpose: For providing over 500 TV digital channels to cable operators 898) Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has increased the maximum amount assured under its insurance scheme to Rs. _______: 6 lac 899) The Government has launched which scheme for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related operations: Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) 900) In the Global Innovation Index 2014 compile for 141 countries, India has been placed at which rank: 81st 901) India and the US have created a "joint challenge coin" to symbolise their unique partnership in which field: Creating a next-generation aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy 902) Government has decided to shift the administrative control of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to which ministry: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology AUGUST – 2015 903) What is the name of the new operating system rolled out by Microsoft on July 30th: Windows 10 904) Union Cabinet has approved setting up
  • 102.
    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 101 of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) for what propose: To support new and delayed projects 905) Name the India’s neighbour that has been granted e-tourist visa facility w.e.f. 30 July, 2015: China 906) National Handloom Day is observed on which date: 7th August 907) 'Sleeping on Jupiter' is a book written by which author: Anuradha Roy 908) What is the name of the agreement as per which India and Bangladesh have agreed to exchange some disputed land pockets: Land Border Agreement 909) A new vaccine named ‘rVSV-ZEBOB’, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada has proved effective to fight which dreaded virus: Ebola virus 910) Name the ten day bi-lateral air exercise that took place between Indian and British Air forces in UK: Indradhanush 911) Special Olympics World Summer Games were held at which place: Los Angeles, USA 912) What type of sports persons take part in the Special Olympics World Summer Games: Persons suffering from some mental disability 913) The International Olympic Committee has granted recognition to which new game as an Olympic sport: Frisbee (Flying Disc) 914) Which bank has launched ‘Dhanchayat’, an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganised sources: HDFC Bank 915) India’s first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) has been commissioned at which place: Kochhi, Kerala 916) With which militant group of Nagaland, Govt. of India has signed a landmark peace accord on August 3: National Socialist Council of Nagaland-NSCN (Isak-Muivah group) 917) The 18th Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) started functioning from its temporary campus at which place: Palakkad, Kerala 918) Asia’s biggest multi-application solar telescope (MAST) has been started in which place in India: Udaipur 919) World’s most prestigious award in the field of human rights – Solidarity Human Rights Award is given in which country: Poland 920) Latest release from the Census 2011 data shows that only ___________ per cent Indians have qualification of graduation and above: 8.15% 921) ICTP Ramanujan Prize 2015 is given for excellence in which field: Mathematics 922) ICTP Ramanujan Prize 2015 is given for excellence in Mathematics to person below which age: 45 years 923) Which Union Ministry has launched ‘SAMANVAY’ web portal to monitor progress of implementation of the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana: Union Ministry of Rural Development 924) India signed a MoU with Mozambique on August 5 for cooperation in new and renewable energy sector. It lies in which continent: Africa 925) Which Indian company has signed an agreement with Europe’s Airbus Helicopters to manufacture military helicopters for the first time in India: Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd 926) RBI has allowed banks to shift, merge or close branches, except in ________ areas, at their own discretion: Rural 927) A report says that banks in India need an additional core capital of Rs 2.5 trillion under ________ guidelines. Basel-III 928) Suraksha Bandhan scheme aims at paying the premium for which two social security schemes: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana 929) Government has launched the School Nursery Yojana, to bring students closer to nature by involving them in which activity: Raising the saplings in school nurseries 930) Acharya Dev Vrat has been appointed new Governor of which state: Himachal Pradesh 931) ___________ has been appointed as the new Governor of Bihar: Ram Nath Kovind 932) A global satellite for earth observation and disaster risk reduction under the UN framework is to be named after which great Indian statesman: APJ Abdul Kalam 933) Which capital city has been ranked as the cleanest under a survey done by the Urban Development Ministry: Bengaluru 934) ___________ has been ranked as the cleanest city in India in a recent govt. survey of 476 cities: Mysuru 935) What are the two parameter of cleanliness on the basis of which Urban Development Ministry selected the cleanest city from the top 476 cities in India: Solid waste management and eradication of open defecation 936) Name the India-born technocrat who has been named as the new CEO of the technology giant Google: Sundar Pichai 937) Dutee Chand won the gold medal in the 200m at the 13th Federation Cup Junior Athletics Championship held at which place: Hyderabad 938) Which Bank has announced ‘Saral-Rural Housing Loan’ up to Rs. 15 lakh with a special interest rate equal to its base rate: ICICI Bank 939) Which Indian film was screened at the National
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 102 Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan to mark its 20th anniversary: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) 940) World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th August in the memory of which great scientist: Sir Rudalph Diesel 941) For what purpose Government proposes to infuse Rs 70,000 crore in public sector banks in next four years: For capital infusion to meet Basel III requirements 942) Which Indian organization has been accredited by the Green Climate Fund of UNO as an implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India: NABARD 943) Which Indian organization planted more than 4 lakh saplings at its head quarters and units across the country on August 12 between 10 to 10.30 am: Border Security Force (BSF) 944) IT giant Google has reorganized itself into a multiple company organization under a new umbrella company. Name this company: Alphabet 945) Name the Indian who won the IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Championship in Karachi, Pakistan: Pankaj Advani 946) For which Indian states World Bank has agreed to provide $ 412.40 million assistance for the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project: All coastal states 947) Which actor was ranked as the world's top- earning actor by Forbes, with earnings of $ 80million during 12 months ending June 2015: Robert Downey Jr. 948) Gas subsidy scheme PAHAL has entered Guinness Book as the largest cash transfer plan in world. What is full form of PAHAL: Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh 949) The official name for PAHAL initiative is DBTL. What is full form of DBTL: Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG 950) Name the Co-Chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist who passed away in Ludhiana on August 13: Om Prakash Munjal 951) The Union Cabinet has approved construction of pipeline from Raxaul (Bihar) in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal to transport which item: Petroleum Products 952) What is the recent direction given by the central govt. in contest of services of newly recruited IAS officers: They have to serve for first three months in Delhi in central govt. offices 953) Name the project that has been launched by the govt. to lay down the framework for the revival of public sector banks: Indradhanush 954) Rogers Cup Masters Tournament is related to which sports: Lawn Tennis 955) Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal became the first Indian to win silver medal on August 17 in which international competition: World Badminton Championship 956) World Badminton Championship was held in ________ Indonesia: Jakarta 957) Abhishek Verma won the gold medal in the men’s compound individual category in the __________ World Cup in Wroclaw (Poland): Archery 958) Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB): Ajit Kumar Seth 959) Which ministry has launched an online beneficiary registration system - ‘On-line On-Site’ for persons with disabilities: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 960) Name the multipurpose mobile wallet application launched by SBI recently: SBI Buddy 961) Which bank has launched the first of its kind fully automated digital locker named 'Smart Vault': ICICI Bank 962) India plans to spend $1.5 billion in the next three years to help farmers grow_____________ to make the nation self-sufficient in edible oils: Oil Palm Trees 963) The India Aspiration Fund with corpus of Rs 2,000 crore has been launched by which financial institution to create 7.5 lakh jobs in five years: SIDBI 964) A 10,000 crore rupees fund named SIDBI Make In India Loan For Enterprises (SMILE) has been launched for providing soft loans to which sector: MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) 965) High Court in which state has directed that children of all public servants should go to govt. schools only: Uttar Pradesh 966) Usha Ananthasubramanian has been appointed new Managing Director & CEO of which bank: Punjab National Bank 967) What is the new name proposed by the Prime Minister for the Agriculture Ministry: Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ministry 968) Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the new prime minister of which country: Sri Lanka 969) Name the political party that won the recently held General Elections in Sri Lanka: United National Party 970) The Reserve Bank of India gave in principle approval for_____ entities on August 19 to set up payments banks: 11 971) Concept of payment banks was proposed by which committee: Nachiket Mor committee 972) Payment banks can accept only demand deposits and are not allowed to accept which deposit: Time deposits
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    GENERAL AWARENESS –MARCH 2016 103 973) Balance in demand deposits accounts opened by payment banks cannot exceed what limit: Rs. 1 lac 974) Which company tops the world’s 100 most innovative companies list compiled by Forbes magazine of USA: Tesla Motors 975) How many sports persons has been given Arjun Awards in the year 2015: 17 976) Sebastian Coe has been elected as the new President of the International Association of Athletics Federations. He is from which sports: Athletics (Runner) 977) Name the Bollywood actor who has been named an advocate for the UN’s campaign on gender equality: Anupam Kher 978) ‘Making India Awesome’ is a book written by which author: Chetan Bhagat 979) Sneha Verma, a 21-year-old girl suffering from Down syndrome, won gold medal in which sports at the Special Olympics World Summer Games: Swimming 980) Aditi Chauhan, India’s international football goalkeeper became the country’s first woman in what way: To play English league football 981) __________, former Australian cricketer has been appointed Australia's first education ambassador to India: Adam Gilchrist 982) What is the main recommendation of R Gandhi committee on urban cooperative banks: They should be allowed function as regular banks 983) Name the web portal launched by the govt. for the benefit of students seeking educational loan: www.vidyalakshmi.co.in 984) Which Indian international airport became the first airport in the world to operate completely on solar power: Kochi 985) _________ has become the first country to receive funds from UN for solar home systems: Bangladesh 986) Solar home systems are helping Bangladesh cut carbon emissions by reducing use of ________ in rural areas: Kerosene 987) RBI has allowed banks to extend repayment period of farm loan upto 5-years in case _________percent or more of crop is damaged due to natural calamities like drought and flood: 50 988) The World Athletics Championships were held in end of August in which place: Beijing, China 989) From September 1 2015, which two days will be observed as public holiday every month: Second and Fourth Saturday 990) Dhyan Chand awards in sports are given by the govt. for what purpose: Life time achievement awards Edited, Printed and Published by Varinder Mohan Singh Grover for Gyanm Education and Training Institute Pvt. Ltd., SCO 13-14-15, 2nd Floor, Sector 34- A, Chandigarh – 160022 and printed by him at All tech Print Pack, 182/4, Industrial Area – I, Chandigarh ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD: ONLY 12 MONTHS FROM (MONTH) …………………..TO……………. (MONTH) AMOUNT: Name: Mr./Ms……………………………………………….……… Address:…………………………………………………………….… ……………………………………………………………………… City:……………………………District:………………………. State: ………………..…………………..PIN: Email: ………………………………………………………………….. Ph./Mob…………………………………………………..………… The subscription amount can be remitted to our following account: GYANM EDUCATION & TRAINING INSTITUTE PVT. LTD BANK : ALLAHABAD BANK Branch: Sector 34, Chandigarh ACCOUNT NO.: 502 1311 7700 IFSC CODE: ALLA0211989 …………………………………………………………………………………………… PARTICULARS OF REMITTANCE: Amount remitted: Rs………… Date:…./…./…… Bank………………………………..Branch…………… Transaction no………………………….. DATE:_________ Signature (Magazine will be sent by Ordinary Post) GYANM: SCO 13-15, 2nd FLOOR, SEC 34-A, CHANDIGARH PH: 0172-4052124, 09257211740, OR SMS <MAGAZINE> TO 09646888377 Rs. 600/-
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