GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           1 

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GK BYT

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ARGINAL STANDICILITY RATE ATUTORY LIQUITIO SH RESERVE RAT

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INDIAobal Peace Index

ess Freedom 201

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obal Business Con

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dia’s Rank in IMF

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SS – FEBRUARY 20

AwareFEBRUAR

Vol. 2

OF GYANM EDUCNSTITUTE PVT. LOOR, SEC 34-A, CH

NTENTS

CTION – A AFFAIRS ober to ber CTION – B

NEWS September

CTION – C Previous 13 (Two) Special CTION – E s + LATEST TES

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CATION & LTD. HANDIGARH

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NAPARLIAMEN

After two yearshe Lokpal Bil

establishment ooffice of the Prhe controversia

INDIA WINSn a major victndonesia agree

any threat of prade talks from

global trade anhat millions o

government wilThe World Tradnations. Its mafreely as possib

INDIAN RIGThe Internationrom the Kishe

condition that Ibelow the Kishenvironment do

JAPANESE Rapanese Emp

visited India foryears after theyand Princess.

                               

ATIONT PASSES

of debate, a sll finally was of the anti-corrime Minister. al Bill initiated

S THE DEAL tory for India,ed to allow couunitive action,

m the brink of nd add 21milliof poor farmerl not be called de Organizatio

ain function is tble. Director Ge

GHTS UPHELnal Court of Arnganga river f

India must alsoenganga Hydr

ownstream.

ROYALTY VISperor Akihito r a landmark wy visited this co

                                

ONAS LOKPAL B

series of fasts ucleared by

ruption watchdThe developmin 1968 by form

AT WTO ME, the 9th Miniuntries to prova concession collapse. The

on jobs across rs will feel secinto question i

on (WTO) dealsto ensure that eneral: Roberto

LD ON KISHErbitration (ICA)for power geno release a minro Electric Proj

SITS INDIA and Empress

week-long trip, ountry as Crow

                                

AL NDE

BILL

unto death by sthe Parliamen

dog that will hament signals anmer Prime Mini

EET sterial Confere

vide subsidy onthat salvaged e pact is estimthe world. Thcure that the internationally ls with the globt trade flows asto Azevado; Me

ENGANGA ) has upheld Ineration in Jam

nimum of 9 cumject (KHEP) at

Michiko

some 53 wn Prince

                                

NEWECEMBE

social activist Ant, opening tave in its purvin end to 45-yeaister Indira Gan

ence of WTO n staple food cthe current rou

mated to add $he agreement

MSP being g

obal rules of tras smoothly, preembers: 159

ndia’s right to mmu and Kashmecs of water it all times to m

                   2 

 

WS ER 2013

Anna Hazare, he way for iew even the ar-old run of ndhi. 

held in Bali, crops without und of world $ 1 trillion to has ensured

given by the

ade between edictably and

divert water mir with the into the river maintain the

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kh, compared to

ALL IN NUMB

umber of homewn by 8.8 per

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ensus defines he in buildings adside, on pavaircases, or inatforms, etc.  

NDIA RANKSe Global Energ14 prepared b69th position i

eir ability to dergy. Norway taland and Fran

NDIA 98TH FOdia has been rauntries for dolowed by New

he best countrie45 nations on novation, taxersonal, tradeotection an

NDIA RANKSdia has been tions at the 947 countries cot ranks Denmamalia emerged

SS – FEBRUARY 20

DOWN TO 17ortality ratio (ancy-related ca

wn to 178 in 20owest MMR at .

M DWELLERSnal Sample

at the number down. The surv2012, projectedo 1.3 crore hou

BER OF HOM

eless people acent, from abo

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vements, in humin places of

S 69TH IN ENgy Architectureby World Econoin the ranking deliver secure,topped the Indence. 

OR DOING Banked 98th in toing business.Zealand and H

ies for businessn 11 different xes, technoloe and monend stock

S 94TH IN COranked among

4th spot (same mpiled by Trark and New Ze

d as the most c

014                          

78 MMR) — numauses per 1,00010-12, from 266 while Assa

S IN 2012 Survey Organof slum housevey, conductedd total slum duseholds in 201

MELESS PEO

across the couout 19.4 lakh iensus 2011 dned  by  28.4  pese in urban areaeholds as thoseuses but live ime-pipes, undeworship, man

NERGY USAGe Performance omic Forum haof economies o, affordable aex rankings, fo

BUSINESS the Forbes list . Ireland to

Hong Kong. s was determin

t factors -- progy, corruptietary), red t

market

ORRUPTIONg the world's as in 2012) in nsparency Inteealand as the corrupt.

                                

mber of women0,000 live births212 in 2007-09m tops the list

nization (NSSO)eholds in urband between Julydwellings at 8811.  

OPLE

ntry has comen 2001 to 17.7

data. Thougher  cent,  it  wass.   

se which do notin the open or

der flyovers andndaps, railway

GE Index Report-

as placed Indiaon the basis ofnd sustainable

ollowed by New

of world's bestpped the list,

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highly corrupta global list of

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mployment scmployment ratmated to be 13.

Film 'Liar's selected in theSundance Film

The Sankirtadancing of Man"intangible her

India and Sasigned a Tax Ifor exchange o

Govt has clear10-member AsEconomic Coo

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ARAT RATNA

nent scientist Pesh Tendulkar rd of India - Th

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hin R Tendulkred millions ac

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tana — ritualnipur has beenritage".

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kar - a living cross the globeage of 16 yeaworld and won

mbassador of In

is awarded in ance of the higur. The recome Prime Ministemmendations foal awards is reular year. Theed by the Presicarry any mone

                                

S 13% on 'Youth e-13’ has revntry during 2the age group

ted by Geetu category at the

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C NOT IN FAection Commissw banning the rlls after the rring BJP, all mn on opinion po

K PM VISITSvid Cameron,

UK met anmohan Singh

his way to Commonwealth

overnment Meee meeting engthening the

NDIA IS TOPsurvey of 1,60untries by globY) shows that S as the most

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RST ICP OPdia’s second ineck Post (ICP)s been openedst such ICP isrder.

ETREAT CERe first joint retSF) and the Boov 6 at Petroprganas district

O MORE INDrsuant to the sTA) with Banguance of Ind

om November 1

WHAT IS IBP :troduced as a scilitate travel be years, the Cate Governmeneghalaya, Mizosue IBPs.

NANCIAL AIpan will providr campus devevestment promo

AILED PERSOking note of ththe People Ac

minal case asowed persons eir July 10 judg

SS – FEBRUARY 20

AVOUR OF Osion has askedrelease of resunotification of major political olls.

S INDIA Prime Minist

Prime Ministh at New Delholombo to atten

Heads eting. Focus

was oe trade ties.

P INVESTME00 senior execbal professionaIndia has jumattractive inve

China is at third

PENS ON BANnternational st) and the first d to people ats at Attari in

REMONY ON treat ceremonyorder Guard Bapole-Benapole and Jessore di

DO-B.DESH signing of the Rgladesh, Govt. ia-Bangladesh 15, 2013.

: The India-Baspecial travel dbetween India Central Governnts of Assam, oram, Nagaland

ID FROM JAde an assistancelopment at Iotion in Tamil

ONS CAN COhe amendmentct treating pers a voter, thin jail to cont

gment.

014                          

OPINION POd the governmults of election f elections hasparties had wr

er er hi, nd of of on

NT CHOICE cutives across l services firm

mped ahead of estment destina place.

NGLADESH tandard multi-ualong the Bangt Akhaurah in Punjab along

BANGLA BOy of the Border ngladesh (BGBin West Bengstrict of Bangla

PASSPORT Revised Travelhas decided Passport (IB

angladesh Passpdocument in A

a and Bangladernment delegatArunachal Pradd, Tripura & W

APAN ce of Rs 1,958 IT Hyderabad Nadu (829cr).

ONTEST ELEt made to the rsons in lawfue Supreme Ctest elections,

                                

OLLS ent to enact arelated opinions been maderitten to EC for

more than 70Ernst & YoungChina and theation, followed

BORDER use Integratedgladesh borderTripura. The

g the Pakistan

ORDER Security Force

B) was held ongal’s North 24adesh.

Arrangementsto discontinueP) with effect

sport (IBP) wasAugust, 1972 toesh only. Overted powers to

adesh, Manipur,West Bengal to

crore to India(1129cr) and

CTIONS Representation

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DEFIndiaVietnagreeof its AGRIndiatranstwo spend UNIIn anrelatesociaAccoforce S C In a an ena fixeIt askwithi INDIn thby LplaceNepasecurSwitzcategsecur INDAs p2014neigh(110)Singaparamvarioand t

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FENCE AGREa has extendednam for defencements to assis defence and s

REEMENT Wa and Vietnam sfer of sentenccountries. Td their remaini

ICEF CAMPAIn effort to raiseed health issual media camrding to UNICE

ed to defecate i

RULES AGAIpath-breaking

nd to frequent ed tenure to inked govt. to isn three months

DIA FARES Phe 'Prosperity ILondon-based es to 106th spoal and Sri Larity' environmezerland. The gories, includingrity.

DIA RANKS 1per the World 4’ India ranked hbouring coun) and Banglaapore. The rameters such a

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44th Interna2013 was heldJapan was the India has contrbodies for deveIndia declared as no cases haIndia and Bpromote and dIndia to providtheir EconomicWorld AgricuTech Trade Fai

                                

EEMENT WITd a 100 millioce purchases ast Vietnam in security forces.

ITH VIETNAhave signed

ced prisoners The agreement

ng sentence in

IGN AGAINSTe awareness agues, UNICEF hpaign named EF, around 626in the open.

INST FREQU verdict, the Stransfers of ci

nsulate them fssue necessary s.

POORLY IN ‘Index' ranking Legatum Institot, way below nka, largely ent. Norway t

Index evalng education, h

134TH IN ‘DOBank’s report134th in the listries China (9adesh (130). ranking is doneas ease of stand permissionsons etc.

ational Film ld in Goa frome country in focutributed over USelopment activi

d free from H5Nave been reportBelgium havedevelop renewade Rs 100 crorec Stimulus Plan ulture Forum

air held at Hyde

                                

TH VIETNAMon dollar line and also signemodernisation

AM FOR PRISan agreementlanguishing in

t will enable n their own cou

T OPEN DEFECgainst open deas launched a‘Take the P

6 million people

UENT TRANSSupreme Courtivil servants anfrom political idirections for

PROSPERITof 142 countr

tute, India slipneighbouring

due to poor ops the list, luates nationshealth, economy

OING BUSINt 'Ease of Doist of 189 econo96), Nepal (10

The list is ne on the basitarting a busins, getting loan

Festival of Im November 2cus for this festiSD 11 million to

vities for the yeaN1 Avian Influenrted in the last 3ve agreed to able energy cooes as a grant t

n (ESP). Congress 201

erabad, Nov. 4-

                   3 

M of credit to

ed eight key and training

SONERS t to facilitate n jails in the prisoners to

untry.

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

SFERS t has sought nd suggested nterference. this purpose

TY’ ries compiled pped by five Bangladesh, 'safety and followed by

ns in eight my, safety and

NESS’ ing Business omies, below 05), Pakistan

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

India (IFFI) 20th to 30th. tival. to various UN ear 2014. enza (bird flu) 3 months.

strengthen, operation to Bhutan for

13 and Agri--7.

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NERAL AWARENE

M VISITS REETS PUTINme Minister ssia to hold ks. The two essed on Indiapermanent me

nited Nations uncil, Shanghation and a peroup. Russian ilding unit 3 a

ant and earkaramaditya’.

NDIA CHINAdia and China led the Bordeavoid face o

sputed Line oreements wereqiang during In

RESIDENT Vesident Pranabnferred the 'Dothe Istanbul

e and contribudia.

RIME MINISme Ministetend ASEAN Suade Agreemenonths. He alsoBrunei at Daru

ut has ‘observer

NSARI LECTce President Haru and Cuba t

e also deliveredxford centre for

NDIA MOVEScently releasedproved its ranore for the coudia continued te index.

NDIA IMPROtest report froople who suffopped by 6.5 pmpared to 22.8

ANJAB UNIVnjab Universitystitutes of Te

SS – FEBRUARY 20

RUSSIA; N

visited bilateral

countries a's role as ember of

Security ai Coope-rmanent membPresident Vladand 4 at the rly delivery

A SIGN BORD have signed r Defence Coooffs between of Actual Coe signed by thndian Prime Mi

VISITS TURKb Mukherjee voctorate, HonorUniversity for utions to gov

STER ATTENer Manmohan mmit, as Ind

nt with the go attended Eastussalam. Indiar’ status in it an

URES AT OXamid Ansari visto strengthen

d a lecture on Cr Islamic studie

S UP ON HUNd Global Hungeking from 65 iuntry improvedto trail behind

OVES ITS HUom UN agencffered from chper cent to 2186 crore in 200

VERSITY ‘BEy, Chandigarhchnology (IITs

014                          

OCTOB

ber of the Nudimer Putin as

Kudankulam of aircraft

DER AGREEMa key border

operation Agrethe two arm

ontrol. Besideshe Chinese Prinister’s visit to

KEY isited Turkey ris Causa, in Pohis achieveme

vernance and

DS ASEAN SSingh visits

ia gears up tgrouping witht Asia Summit

a is not a memnd is member o

XFORD sited Latin Ame

India's relatioCitizenship andes in London.

NGER SCORer Index showsin 2012 to 63 d to 21.3 fromPakistan and

UNGER RECOcies shows thhronic hunger 1.38 crore duri08-10.

EST’ IN INDI, has beaten s) on researc

                                

BER 2013

clear Supplierssured India ofNuclear Power

carrier ‘INS

MENT r defence pacteement (BDCA)mies along thes, nine otherme Minister L

o China.

where he wasolitical Scienceents in politica

democracy in

SUMMIT s Brunei toto ink a Freein next threeon October 10

mber of ASEANof EAS.

erican countriesons with them identity at the

RE s that India has

in 2013. Them 22.9 in 2012

Bangladesh on

ORD hat number of

in India hasng 2011-13 as

IA all 15 Indian

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national outlooer educationaation's Top 40ntly.

DIA RANKS 7a has been plactal Index, whomic potential topped the rank

URSHID VISrnal Affairs Minwo days to hormen languishamendment to

provinces.

LWAY STAThas decided

on on Kolkata’sto send backto Punjab to

ht of the Ghadge station” to sa

SE TO FOLLOCentral Board

duce Open Tnext acad

es. Students wt the study maucted. The ents' analytical

OUNTRIES Sa has signed ged their comersity project. s to establishtution of interna

ORDERS 3 PSERVATION ABLED Supreme CourCentre, the Stn Territories, or undertakinge per cent of disabled undre they

ortunity and pro

DIA-MYANMAproposed highw

hailand, via Myansure smoothere regions. Indal Transit Tran

we port in Myanram via Kalada

                                

ok to emerge aal institution 00 World Univ

78TH IN HCI ced at a low 78hich ranks co

of their labouking.

SITS SRI LANnister Salman old talks on keing in jails the

o constitution f

TION AFTER to rename t

s outskirts fromk Indian passeprevent them ar movement alute the marty

OW ‘OPEN BOd of Secondaext Based As

demic sessionwill be informeaterial on whicnew system and theoretica

SUPPORT NAagreements wmmitment to These agree

h Nalanda Unational repute.

PER CENT FOR

rt has directedtates and the

and publicgs to reservetheir jobs forer a law toget equal

otect their right

AR-THAILANway - from Moanmar is expecr and faster moia is also devensport Projectnmar by sea ann river and roa

                                

as the country'in the Tim

versity Ranking

8th slot on a gountries on thur force, while

NKA Khurshid visite

ey issues, incluere and implemfor devolution o

KOMAGATAthe Budge Bum where the Brengers of Komfrom consolid

as “Komagata yrs of Septemb

OOK’ SYSTEary Education ssessment (OTn for 9th ed four monthsch the examina

aims at stal skills.

ALANDA UNwith seven cou

the ambitioements are keniversity in B

d e c e r o l ts.

ND HIGHWAoreh in Manipucted to be operovement of gooeloping the Kat linking Kolkand later on linkad transport.

                   4 

s top-ranked mes Higher gs published

lobal Human he basis of e Switzerland

ed Sri Lanka uding Indian mentation of of powers to

A MARU udge railway ritish forcibly

magata Maru dating at the

Maru Budge ber 29, 1914.

EM (CBSE) will

TBA) system and 11th

s in advance ations will be trengthening

IVERSITY untries, who ous Nalanda ey to India's Bihar as an

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NDIA FARES dia has been raender Gap Inonomic Forum.division of reso

omen in areas o

5 MN LIVE INtest Census daslums in 2011

pes - notified, re highest slumdhra Pradesh (

What is a slumeas where dw

ecause they arnclean, or “anyetrimental to the

NDIA HIGH Oe 2013 Norton

mong the wormber of incide1 per cent), idr cent). President P

a meeting wBrussels.

World BanmodernisatioUttar Prades

India and Ito promote sectors.

Union FinaUSA to attethe World Ba

15th Mumb24 at Mumba

NEWS

ishna KantaKHSOU), the os been confstitutional Achised Commonw

unachal Pradge cardamom,

asundhara Ra

vind Kejriwal

hivraj Singh C

r. Raman Sing

u Lalthanhaw

SS – FEBRUARY 20

POORLY INanked 101 out ndex compiled. The index ranources and oppof economy, ed

N SLUMS ata shows that1. The censurecognised andm population (10mn).

m: The census dwellings are ure dilapidated, y combination

he safety and he

ON CYBER Cn Report by Srld’s top five ences of cyberdentity theft (1

Pranab Mukhewith their Prim

nk to provideon of irrigationsh. Israel have a

e research an

ance Ministeend the annuaank at Washingbai film festivbai.

S FROMD

a Handiqui:only State Openferred the ievement’ awar

wealth of Learni

desh: is fast a sought-after

aje: Chief Minis

l: 7th Chief Min

Chouhan: Chie

gh: Chief Minis

la: Chief Minis

014                          

N GENDER Gof 136 countr

d by Genevanks the countrieportunities betwducation, politic

t over 65 millious designated d identified. M

at 11 million

defines a slumunfit for huma

cramped, pooof these fact

health”.

CRIME LIST Symantec sayscountries wit

r crime such a11 per cent) a

herjee visits Beme Minister El

de $360 millon and drainag

agreed to set und developme

er and RBI gal meeting of gton. val held from

M STADECEMB: State Open University in nternational ‘rd for 2011-20ing (COL).

turning into r spice.  

ster, Rajasthan

nister of New D

ef Minister, Ma

ster, Chattisgar

ster, Mizoram

                                

GAP ies on a Globa

a-based Worldes on the basisween men andcs and health.

on people livedslums in threeaharashtra has

n, followed by

m as “residentiaman habitation

orly ventilated,tors which are

s that India ish the highestas ransomwarend phishing (9

elgium and hadElio Di Rupo at

llion loan forge systems in

up a joint fundent in various

governor visitf the IMF and

October 17 to

ATES BER 2013

en Universitythe Northeast,‘Excellence in13 by Canada-

a producer of

Delhi

adhya Pradesh

rh

                               

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NMARK TO RNational Musepreserve a tote 18th and 19tHooghly in W

ement at Seram5 to 1845 befor

RE NREGA Dthe recentl

one and floodcted districts oam, Pururbhanj andsore in Odishaernment haed to increas-days undeatma Gandhonal Rural Emp50 from existing

AND ADB TOd Bank and thancial assistancoration and rehs.

PA EXTENDhas extended

ssam and in thehalaya for six ment situation in

Sikkim declain the Best in TLonely Planet. The Hornbill celebrate and p

                                

NORESTORE HEum of Denmaral of 116 heritth centuries, lo

West Bengal. mpore on the bre the arrival of

DAYS IN ODIy

d-of i, d a, as e

er hi ployment Guarag norm of 100

O SUPPORTe Asian Develoce of $ 313 mnhabilitation acti

ED IN NE STd the Armed Foe border areasmore months wthese states.

ared as the beTravel list 2014

l Festival heldpromote rich tr

                                

OVEMBEERITAGE BUrk has offered tage buildings,ocated on the There was a banks of the Hf the British in

ISHA

antee Scheme days.

T ODISHA opment Bank hn to Odisha govvities in cyclon

TATES orces (Special s of Arunachal wef Nov 4, con

est region to 4 by the global

ld in Kohima, ribal culture of

                   5 

ER 2013 ILDINGS to renovate

constructed banks of the large Danish

Hooghly from India.

(MGNREGS)

have assured vernment for ne Phailin hit

Powers) Act Pradesh and

nsidering the

visit in 2014 l travel guide

Nagaland to f Nagaland.

GEN

CO

Accwildef NAThCacosCaIndand CEA fsecChan Thhavfro DIThDisDisThedu NREvehisfuntheor

CAThcrebe reaAnPra

NERAL AWARENE

GOVIN

ONSTITUTIO

cording to the l define the cofine its function

ATIONAL CAe Centre has cncer Institute ast of Rs 2035 c

ancer is emergdia, where 11

nd the mort

ENTRE LAUNfour day anti-curity personnhattisgarh, Jhaaim to strike ais is for the five launched a

om their interio

ISABILITIESe Union Cabinesabilities Bill, sabilities (PWDe disabled wucational instit

REGA SUPPOery NREGA jobs house will gends. Further, eir own house any other such

ABINET PASe Union Cabi

eation of Telancarved out

amaining 13 dhra Pradesh.adesh Assembly

SS – FEBRUARY 20

VERN

NITIATD

ONAL STATU

proposal, Articomposition of ns.

ANCER INSTcleared a propoat Badhsa villacrore. ging as a majlakh new case

rtality rate

NCHES ANTINaxal operatio

nel was launcarkhand, Mahaat the root of Mrst time that bcoordinated o

r hotbeds.

S BILL PASSet has approveraising the re

D) from three will get the utions and jobs

ORT FOR TOb cardholder wet a contributio

they will alsoif it is being buh govt housing

SSES TELANGnet has cleargana state. Thof 10 distrcitdistricts will The Bill hasy to obtain the

014                          

NMENTIVEDECEMBUS FOR JAC

Govt hagrant status to

JudiciaCommissioappointmetransfer ensure compositioaltered ordinary

cle 124 A of thJAC while Art

TITUTE IN Hosal for setting ge in Jhajjar o

jor public heases are diagnosis 5.5 lakh

I NAXAL OPEon involving clched on 26th rashtra and ot

Maoist formatioboth central anoperation to flu

SED BY THE ed the Rights oeservation for at present to benefit at as.

OILETS / HOwho plans to bon of Rs 10,00o get wages fouilt under Indirproject.

GANA BILL red a parliamehe country’s 29ts of Andhra continue in ts now been seir view.

                                

NT ES BER 2013

s agreed to

constitutionathe proposed

al Appointmentson (JAC) forent andof judges to

that itson cannot bethrough an

legislationhe Constitutionticle 124 B wil

ARYANA up of Nationa

of Haryana at a

alth concern insed every yearh per year.

ERATION lose to 40,000

December inher states with

ons and cadresnd state forcesush out Naxals

CABINET of Persons with

Persons withfive per cent

ll government

OUSES build a toilet in0 from NREGAor constructingra Awaas Yojna

entary Bill for9th state would

Pradesh. Thethe bifurcated

sent to Andhra

                               

3

o l

d s r d o s e n . n l

l a

n ar

0 n h . s s

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n A g a

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DEVMiniscommthe IprepawageEmplflags(CPI-there NCICentrthe ncompalso formInsurInsur NATGovtRespKampDisasfrom RASThe the Centrrun quanthe c

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NATMovinlaw, propoThe auditand e SER

                                

Govt has launce-literate, aimevery househo

V COMMITTEstry of rural mittee chaired Indira Gandhi are a fresh ine revisions undoyment Guarahip scheme ar-AL) measure, efore, considere

P MADE COre has directenew National pulsory coveragknown as Rasulated by merance Schemerance Scheme,

TIONAL INST. has decided tonse (NIDR) ptee, district Nster Response foreign countr

SHTRIYA UCCabinet CommRashtriya Uc

rally Sponsoredhigher educat

ntity and distribcountry. Prasar Bharat“Prabha” specia

TIONAL FINAng ahead with

the governmosed National NFRA will hav

ting policies anensuring their c

RICULTURE C

                                

nched e-inclusioming to make old e-literate.

NOEE TO REVIE

development by S MahendInstitute of D

ndex that wouder the Mahatantee Act (Nree based on thewhich has a baed as outdated

MPULSORY ed the state g

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

TITUTE OF Dto establish Nain Maharash

Nagpur to trainForce, central ries.

CHCHATAR Smittee on Econchchatar Shiksd Scheme (CStion system bbution of Unive

ti to launch ally for Arunac

OANCIAL REPh implementatment has issu

Financial Repve powers to nd standards fcompliance too

COVERED UConskil(reahaswothesch

                                

on project to mat least one

OVEMBEEW NREGA W

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

FOR STATEgovernments toce Programmeoanee farmersBima Karyakramlot Weather fied National Palm Insuranc

DISASTER Rational Institutehtra on the n the personne

and state forc

SHIKSHA ABomic Affairs hsha Abhiyan

SS) for reformiby improving ersities and col

a separate hal Pradesh an

OCTOBEPORTING AUtion of the neued draft ruporting Authorlay down acc

for adoption byo.

NDER MNREnsidering the led labour inaring of silk ws agreed to inrkers in this

e employmentheme - MNREGA

                   6 

make people individual in

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

S o implemente (NCIP) for . The NCIP, m, has been Based Crop Agricultural

e Scheme.

RESPONSE e of Disaster outskirts of

el of National ces and units

BHIYAN has approved

(RUSA), a ng the state the quality,

lleges across

TV channel nd Sikkim.

ER 2013 UTHORITY ew company les for the rity (NFRA). counting and y companies

EGA shortage of

n sericulture worms), Govt ntegrate the sector with

t guarantee A.

GEN

MSThincyeaapp

POGounpeoheoldtra

GRThfarRs add GOThAulawAuPla LPGobashaspoano CENepeoperRs

NERAL AWARENE

SP FOR WHEe minimum s

creased by Rs 5ar/ marketingproved for othe

Wheat Masur

Mustard

OST OFFICESovernment is bder the core ople of rural lp them avail

d age pensionansfer.

REEN ENERGe governmenrms in Rajastha43,000-crore G

d 30,000 MW t

OVT PASSESe Union Cabinethority of Indi

w will provide sthority of In

anning Commis

PG CONNECTovt has launchesis which will ssle at petrortability of LPGother.

ELLPHONES et-enabled cellpople under ther family. The 30 per month

SS – FEBRUARY 20

EAT RAISEDsupport price 50 per quintal year beginner Rabi crops a

Rs. 1400 Rs. 2950 Rs. 3050

S ON CBS PLbringing all pos

banking solutareas with AAthe benefits o

n and MGNRE

GY CORRIDOnt plans to an and Tamil NGreen Energy Cto the national

S BILL FOR Uet has approveia Bill. Once astatutory statusdia (UIDAI), w

ssion.

TION PORTAed the 5 kg LPbe available wl pump outle

G connections

FOR MGNRphones could se MGNREGA sccellphone will will be provide

014                          

D TO Rs.140(MSP) for whto Rs 1,400 foning April 20are as under: Rs.

Barley Safflower

Gram

LATFORM st offices acrotion system t

ADHAAR seedeof various scheEGA through d

ORS set up w

Nadu in the firsCorridors Projegrid by 2020.

UIDAI ed the Nationaapproved by Ps to the Uniquewhich function

ABILITY STAPG cylinder at cwithout much ets. Govt has from one deal

EGA WORKEsoon be providecheme, selecticost Rs. 300.

ed for free for t

                                

0/QTL heat has beenr 2013-14 crop14. The msp

per quintal Rs. 1100 Rs. 3000 Rs. 3100

ss the countryto cover moreed accounts toemes includingdirect benefits

wind and solarst phase of theect that aims to

al IdentificationParliament, thee Identificationns under the

ARTS cash and carrydocumentation

also alloweder/company to

ERS ed to 2.5 croreng one personA recharge of

two years.

                               

n p p

y e o g s

r e o

n e n e

y n d o

e n f

EC

GDPThe seconimpromonsproduApril-Septe RBI The wouldcurreThe eof 20cent.half UN LThe forecprojeProspmarkFede Asialikely5.7% PLGConseconoPlan'scent the 1slowe2013 INDInduscontrcent year poor the sectoOctob8.4 manuwhich75 pindexper cgrow

                                

CONOM

P GROWS BYeconomy grewnd quarter (enoved performasoon and expuct (GDP) had -June quarter oember quarter

PUTS GDP GReserve Bank

d grow aboutent account deeconomy expa

013-14, pulling  The economy to clock 5 per

LOWERS GRUnited Nation

cast for 2013 ected earlier. pects 2014 repkets should be ral Reserve’s q

n Developmey to record 4.7%

% next year.

G COMM LIKEsidering the lomy, Planning s growth targfrom 8 per cen

12th Plan, Indiaest in a decad

3-14, the econo

DUSTRIAL PRstrial producracted by 1.8

in October mainly dueperformance

manufactuor. Growth ber last year per cent.

ufacturing seh constitutes per cent of x, declined bcent as again

wth of 9.9 per c

                                

MIC INDE

Y 4.8% IN 2w at a faster pnding Septembance of agricuports. The expanded by 4of this fiscal anlast fiscal.

GROWTH ATk has estimatt 5 per cent eficit would be anded 4.8 per c

up GDP growthas to grow 5

r cent growth

ROWTH RATs has lowered

to 4.8 per The World

port by UNO hprepared to d

quantitative eas

ent Bank ha% growth in F

EY TO LOWElower-than-expCommission is

et could be lont fixed currenta's economy gre. In the first

omy grew by ju

RODUCTIONction

per this

e to e of uring

in was The

ector, over the

by 2 nst a cent in last Octo

                                

NDICATECEMBE

2ND QR pace of 4.8 perber 30th), primlture driven bcountry’s gro

4.4 per cent in nd 5.2 per cent

T 5 PER CENted that Indiain FY 2013-14below 3 per c

cent in the sech in the first ha5.4 per cent inin the full fin

TE TO 4.8 PEd India’s econo

cent from 6Economic Sit

has warned thdeal with the ising programm

as projected tFY 14 which wi

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

ust 4.6 per cent

N SHRINKS

ober.

                   7 

TORS ER 2013

r cent in the marily due to by a bumper ss domestic the previous t in the July-

NT a's economy 4, while the cent of GDP. cond quarter alf to 4.6 per n the second nancial year. 

ER CENT omic growth .1 per cent tuation and

hat emerging mpact of US

me.

hat India is ll improve to

H RATE h of Indian that the 12th ound 7.5 per e first year of per cent, the eptember) of t.  

BY 1.8%

GEN

CODaindshoof reffol TRInd$27imp$33res Foconin t

NCTh(NCcenma

OEParDejusarewitat S&Coits imphasgovconneg

F MThtheperout ASA agrmuecofisc WThecoin

NERAL AWARENE

ORE SECTORshing hopes o

dustries contraowing by coal, eight core sectfinery productslows a robust 8

RADE DEFICdia’s exports s7.27 billion in port curbs rest3.83 billion, losult, the trade d

oreign exchansecutive weekthe week ende

CAER LOWEink tank NatioCAER) has lownt range in thanufacturing an

ECD PUTS INris-based Orga

evelopment (Ost 3.4% in thee based on maith India's officifactor costs.

&P WARNS Insidering a maeffect on the

plement reforms warned of vernment fails nfirmed India’gative outlook.

M EXPECTS e Finance Mine current fiscalr cent last yeatput on accoun

SSOCHAM PUreport from ricultural outpuultiplier effect onomy is expeccal.

ORLD BANKe World Bankonomic growthApril for the c

SS – FEBRUARY 20

R SLIPS BY 0of recovery, theacted by 0.6%

oil and gas setor industries —s, fertilisers, s8% growth in S

CIT SHRINKSslipped to $24.October. Thetricted overall owest in last deficit narrowe

nge reservek to $295.50 bed December 20

NRS GROWTH

onal Council ofwered country'she current fiscnd services sec

NDIA’S GROanisation for ECD) has said

e current finanarket prices, ancial statistics th

INDIA OF LOarked slowdowgovernment's

ms, global ratina likely downto reverse Ind

’s current cred.

GROWTH ATistry expects t is likely to imar on back of nt of good mon

UTS GROWTAssocham saut leading to

on services cted to grow a

K PULLS DOWk sharply loweh to 4.7 percenurrent fiscal ye

014                          

0.6% e output of eig% in October ectors. The de— coal, crude osteel, cement,September.

S BELOW $161 billion in N government’simports duringtwo-and-a-hal

ed to $9.22 billi

s declined fobillion, down by0.

NOVEMBH RATE f Applied Econs growth rate cal due to slotors.

OWTH AT 3.4Economic Co-

d Indian econoncial year. Thnd are not strichat measure ec

OWER RATIwn in India’s re

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

OCTOBT 5.5% that the econoprove to 5.5 plikely pick up

nsoon rains.

TH RATE AT ys that due robust rural deand manufac

at 5.8 per cent

WN GROWTered its forecant from 6.1 perear, citing a sh

                                

ght core sector

due to poorecline in outputoil, natural gas,, electricity —

10BN November from stringent gold

g the month tof year. As aion.

or the secondy $12.6 million,

BER 2013

omic Researchto 4.8-5.3 perwdown in key

4% -operation andomy will grow

These estimatesctly comparableconomic output

NG eal growth ands and ability tondard & Poor's14 if the newh. However, itBBB-/A-3, with

BER 2013

omic growth inper cent from 5

in agricultura

5.8% to a healthy

emand and itscturing, India'st in the current

TH TO 4.7%ast for India'srcent projectedharp slowdown

                               

r r t ,

—

m d o a

d ,

3

h r y

d w s e

ut

d o s w t h

3

n 5 l

y s s t

s d n

in mbusincurrebalanthat c

IMFIn thcut Iearliedownfiscaloutflo IND

durin

INDIndialargeaccor(Centleagu1.7 bbillion INDAccorankecounecononarrocounSwed

T$J

WEFThe WConfethe Iproje

                                

manufacturing ness confidencent account dnces from the could impede t

F PULLS INDhe World EconoIndia’s growther 5.6% projecn more than anl and monetarows”, the repo

DIA’S HOUSE

ng 2012-13.

DIA TO BECOa is likely to oveest economy in rding to Londtre for Economue table, India billion. and it wn by 2028.

DIANS ARE Crding to a stued India as thtry in the woomy due to owing current tries is toppedden and Canad

The Asian Deve$176 million tJaipur.

F JOINS HANWorld Economederation of India Economic

ects in India in

                                

and investmece. High headdeficit, and rdepreciation ofthe country's g

DIA’s GROWTomic Outlook rh projection focted in July. “Gnticipated and ry credibility inrt said.

EHOLD WEAAS2(1(7winreg

DEOME 3RD LARertake Japan inthe world afte

don-based ecomics and Busine

is at the 11thwill claim 3rd sp

CONFIDENT udy by global he seventh moorld. Indians prospects of

account defd by Saudi Araa.

velopment Bankto extend the

NONDS WITH Cmic Forum handian Industry Summit as wecoming years.

                                

ent as well line inflation, rising pressurf the rupee arerowth.

TH RATE TOreport, the IMFor 2013-14 to Growth in Indiathe country m

n order to pre

ALTH RISES According to uisse Global W013, after No11.9 per cent) 7.7 per cent)

witnessed the n householegistering 7.4rowth to $

ECEMBERGEST ECONn 2028 to becoer China and Uonomic consuless Research). h place with a pot with GDP o

OF THEIR Eresearch firm

ost economicafeel confident healthy farm icit. The subia, followed b

k (ADB) has age first metro t

OVEMBECII s joined handy (CII) to joinell as other indu

                   8 

as negative an elevated

re on fiscal e the factors

O 3.8% F has further

3.8% from a has slowed

must maintain event capital

BY 7.4% the Credit

Wealth Report rth America and Europe

, India has highest rise d wealth

4 per cent $3.6 trillion

ER 2013 NOMY ome the third nited States, ltancy CEBR In the 2013 GDP of USD

of USD 6,560

ECONOMY m Ipsos, has

lly confident about their output and

urvey of 24 by Germany,

greed to lend train line in

ER 2013

ds with the ntly organise ustry specific

GEN

FOIn oveVirsusawinfo

BAAccReDTcouChfac MsFouKo50 ranRa32listDa

TAIndseccom

UNA giato-dislive

GOThinvsalAir2,0 POInd500twotheBavenBo POIndfor

NERAL AWARENE

OUR TAX HAVa big boost

erseas territorrgin Islands aspected to hav

way with bankinormation excha

India has athrough the to reduce the

ANGALORE Bcording to a structuring En

TZ, Bangalore untry, leaving ennai, on the

cilitating factors

s. KOCHHARur Indian businchhar have mawomen busine

nk, followed mkrishna at 1nd and HSBC'st is topped by Bas Gracas Foste

ATAs ENTER dia’s leading inctor by joiningmpany will be n

N PANEL STOUN Human Ri

ant Posco to im-steel plant psplacement of telihoods.

OVT APPROVe Union Cabin

vestment in Inde of 24 per

rways, the nati058 crore.

OWER PACT dia has agreed0 MW of electro countries aermal power pngladesh-Indianture between ard.

OWER PROJdia finalised $5r the construct

SS – FEBRUARY 20

VENS TO SHARin the fight

ries - Liechtenand Cayman Ive stashed illicng secrecy wayange with India

allowed Banglaland route as

he transportatio

BEST BUSINrecent surve

nvironment andis the best bbehind bigger

e basis of avas.

R TOPS IN INnesswomen ledade to Fortune ess leaders. Kby National

17th, Axis Bas chief Naina LBrazilian energyer.

R AVIATION ndustrial houseg hands with named 'Tata SI

OPS POSCOghts panel ha

mmediately haproject in Odthousands of p

VES JET ETInet has approvdia's aviation scent equity

onal airline of

WITH BANGd to start a traricity from Weslso agreed to

project in Banga Friendship

NTPC and Ban

ECTS DEAL 512-million joinion of two coa

014                          

RE TAX INFORagainst black

nstein, Isle ofIslands -wherecit funds, haveys by allowinga.

adesh to impoagainst sea ro

on costs.

OCTOBNESS DESTINey by Global d Managementbusiness desticities like Mum

ailability of se

NDIAN BUSd by ICICI Banmagazine's glo

Kochhar secureStock Exchannk's CEO Shik

Lal Kidwai at 42gy giant Petrobr

SECTOR e has entered Singapore AirlIA Airlines Limi

PROJECT as asked Southlt the $12-billi

disha as it people and disr

IHAD DEAL ved the biggesector - Jet Airwto Abu DhabUnited Arab E

GLADESH ansmission linest Bengal to Bao promote 1,3gladesh to be Power Comp

ngladesh Powe

WITH SRI Lt venture deal

al fired power p

                                

RMATION k money, fourf Man, Britishe Indians aree agreed to do automatic tax

ort motorcyclesoute at present,

BER 2013NATION

Initiative fort (GIREM) andination in the

mbai, Delhi andeveral business

INESS nk CEO Chandaobal list of top-ed a proud 4th

nge chief Chitrakha Sharma at2nd place. This

bras' CEO, Maria

in to aviationines. The newited'.

h Korean steeon mega port-may lead to

ruption in their

st ever foreignways' proposedi-based Etihad

Emirates, for Rs

e for exportingngladesh. The320-MW Maitr

developed bypany, a jointer Development

LANKA with Sri Lanka

projects of 250

                               

r h e o x

s t,

3

r d e d s

a -h a t s a

n w

l -o r

n d d s

g e i y t t

a 0

megaTrinc COAThe gkicksmodepublithat tbe mdema INDA recdeveyear Chinawhat INDAccoIndiareven11th multi Asiaof cr• $

s• $

i• $

s• $

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awatts each icomalee.

AL MINING Tgovernment pltart coal minine in the counc sector behemthere is fair co

multiple produceand.

DIA TO RECEcent forecast frloping countrieto $414 billion

a. For India, t it received fro

DIA FINDS FArding to an ana

a hosts aboutnue of USD 1

most favourinational corpo

n Developmeredit facilities$100 million loskills. $ 700 millioninfrastructure $500 million losolar and wind $400 million programme in

Reliance Indcompany in thRs 1,00,000 croAustralian Trsigned a MoU India’s food anThe new Compat least 2 per cResponsibility (

                                

n Sri Lanka's

TO GO FOR ans to invite b

ng in a publictry, effectivelymoth Coal Ind

ompetition in thers of coal to m

EIVE $ 71 BNrom World Banes are likely ton, with one thi$71 billion in

om foreign direc

AVOUR WITalysis by McKint 158 large billion or morered destinatioration headqua

ent Bank (ADBs for India as oan to Megha

n loans to oan to build aenergy in wespackage for

eastern India.

dustries Ltdhe country to arore in a quarterade Commissto raise the p

nd agricultural spanies Law reqcent of its net (CSR) activities

                                

s north-eastern

PPP MODEbids from privatc-private partney ending the mdia. The idea he coal market meet the grow

N IN REMITTnk says that reo swell by 6.3 prd of it going remittances is ct investment l

TH MNCs nsey Global Insglobal compae, making the

on for settingarters.

B) has tied upunder:

laya to improv

accelerate inv

a transmissionstern India

a water an

d. has becomachieve sales oer. ssion and YESproductivity ansector. 

equires compant profits on Corps.  

                   9 

n district of

te players to ership (PPP) monopoly of is to ensure as there will ing domestic

TANCES emittances to per cent this to India and nearly triple

last year.

titute, anies having

country the g up of a

p a number

ve education

vestment in

n system for

nd sanitation

me the first of more than

S Bank have nd exports of

nies to spend rporate Social

GEN

B

BABatrilsamtheRethetril CUNeof witdec 

BH

Heinitcitidesfunwil LOThpropersubSw ‘MThmesecsupmaplaexc

NERAL AWARENE

BANK

ANK BUSINEnk deposits grlion on Decemme period last e RBI’s specialsident (Banks)e same time lion from Rs. 4

URRENCY ARRepal and India h

Rs.500 and Rthin Nepalese cade.  

Doha Banklicense from branch in Mu

M3 money son Decembe

Govt approvcurrency swBank of Japapresent.

HARTIYA MA

eaded by Ushatial corpus of Ries to start wsigned for wonding needs ofl also cater to

OAN TO WOMe Reserve Baovide credit torcent per annbvention sch

warozgar Yojana

MEDIUM’ UNe Reserve Banedium manufacctor advance, pport to the manufacturing eant and machinxceed Rs.10 cro

SS – FEBRUARY 20

KING &D

ESS SHOWS rew 17 per ce

mber 13, 2013, year, due to h

l swap window) or FCNR (B)increased by

49.61 last year.

RANGEMENT have agreed inRs.1,000 denoterritory, endin

k became the m RBI to start oumbai. supply rose b

er 13 to Rs 92.0oved the enhswap arrangepan to $ 50 bil

NAHILA BANK

AnanthasubraRs 1,000 crore wwith. The bankomen and devf over 60 lakhlimited number

MEN SHGs @ank has directo women self num so as to eme under a (Aajeevika) s

ITS UNDER k has allowed cturing enterprin its efforts tmedium and senterprise is oninery is more thore.

014                          

& FINADECEMB

GOOD GROent year-on-yea

from Rs.64.31higher mobilisaw for Foreign deposits. Ad14.9 per cent

WITH NEPALn principle to aomination Indiang a ban in pl

first Qatari baoperations in I

by annualised 106 trillion. hancement of ement betweeillion, up from

NOVEMBK STARTS

On the 96tlate Indira Minister Mainaugurated branch of twoman banMahila Bank

amaniam, the with seven brak will have unvote special ath self-help gror of male custo

@ 7% ted public sehelp groups aget the benethe Swarnaj

scheme.

PRIORITY Sbanks to treat

rises after Novto provide enhsmall enterprisne where the than Rs.5 crore

                                

ANCEBER 2013OWTH

ar to Rs.75.241 trillion in theation, driven byCurrency Non-

dvances duringt to Rs. 57.01

L llow circulationan bank notesace for over a

ank to get theIndia, with first

15.1 percent as

f the bilateraen the RBI and

$ 15 billion at

BER 2013

th birthday ofGandhi, Primenmohan Singh

the firstthe first all-nk - ‘Bhartiyak’ in Mumbaibank will have

anches in majornique productsttention to theups. The bankomers.

ctor banks toat a rate of 7efit of interestjayanti Gram

SECTOR loans given to

. 13 as priorityhanced liquidityes. A mediuminvestment in

e but does not

                               

E

3

4 e y -g 1

n s a

e st

s

al d

at

3

f e h t -a . e r s e k

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ot

BANAs alRBI hsavinquartPreseand t RBI The centrinformbindiCentr TAKThe (WOSbankIt alsexchaallowbank NRIBetwnon-rbillionper c ‘M-PTeleclauncPesa''M-Pedepomone BANThe transpreseand f BANIn otransat ATadop(Eurowill h MONMonetwo earlietrillio

Ttt

                                

NKS MAY PAl commercial bhas decided to ngs deposits anterly intervals ently, banks arterm deposits a

SIGNS MOUReserve Bank ral banks of Aumation. The Mng, channel fral Banks of tw

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GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           20 

Junior National Archery Championship held at Kokrajhar, Assam.

India has been awarded the hosting of 2018 men's Hockey World Cup.

MAGNUS CARLSEN: the 23 year old chess prodigy from Norway was crowned as World Champion at the World Chess Championship match at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, as he defeated the five-time title-holder Viswanathan Anand.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: Red Bull's German Driver has matched Michael Schumacher's record of 13 victories in a year and equalled the nine consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari. Vettel achieved the remarkable feat by winning the Formula One's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Jamaican sprint duo have been named as the IAAF’s male and female World Athletes of the Year for 2013. The 27-year-old Bolt also won the award in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

Jason Day of Australia lifted the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf held in Melbourne, Australia.

Nepal and UAE have qualified for the first time to take part in the ICC T20 championship 2014 to be held in Bangladesh.

Romania claimed top position in medal tally at the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship held at Bucharest, Romania.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic won the Paris Masters Tennis tournament beating David Ferrer of Spain

Novak Djokovic won the ATP World Tour Finals in London beating Rafael Nadal.

Serena Williams won the WTA Tour Championship title beating Li Na of China at Istanbul, Turkey. WTA – Womens Tennis Association

Serena Williams declared ‘Player of the Year’ for 2013 by the WTA

Veteran athlete Ajmer Singh won gold medal in hammer throw (+75 years category) in the 20th World Master Athletics Championship held at Porto Alegre, Brazil, from October 15-28.

Peter Gilchrist from Singapore defeated Dave Causier to win the World Billiards Championship at Leeds, England.

Asian Archery Championship held in Taipei, China won by South Korea.

Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship held at Penang, Malaysia.

The Hockey World Cup- 2014 will be held from May 31 to June 15, 2014 at The Hague, Netherlands

OCTOBER 2013 Sachin Tendulkar reached the coveted landmark of 50,000 runs across all formats of cricket. He achieved the feat at Feroze Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi playing for Mumbai Indians against Trinidad & Tobago in Champions League Twenty20. He has announced his final retirement from first class cricket.

Mumbai Indians created history by becoming the first team to win the Champions League (cricket) twice, beating Rajasthan Royals in the finals played at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi.

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

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

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ABBREVIATIONS

LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender DGMO: Director General of Military Opeations NSSO: National Sample Survey Organization A K 47: Automatic (rifle by) Kalashnikov, 1947 BMD: Ballistic Missile Defence CCEA: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs CCI: Competition Commission of India CCS: Cabinet Committee on Security CERN: European Council for Nuclear Research (French- Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) CPSU: Central Public Sector Undertaking CTT: Commodity Transaction Tax LED: Light Emitting Diode LCD: Liquid Crystal Display MMTC: Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation MNC: Multi National Cooperation MPCE: Monthly Per Capita Expenditure  

NCTC: National Counter Terrorism Center NFSM: National Food Security Mission NIA: National Investigation Agency NMDC: National Mineral Development Corporation NOFHC: Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (for

opening new bank) M3 Broad Money OECD: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development OFS: Offer For Sale (a company selling its shares) PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment RCEP: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership SARDP: Special Accelerated Road Development Programme SFIO: Serious Fraud Investigation Office TFT: Thin Film Transistor USSD: Unstructured Supplementary Service Data WIFS: Weekly Iron and Folic acid Supplement WIFS: Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplement WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

DAYS & DATES

JANUARY

National Youth Day 12th January World Laughter Day 13th January Army Day 15th January Desh Prem Divas 23rd January Indian Republic Day 26th January Martyr’s Day 30th January

DECEMBER

World AIDS Day 01st December International Day for abolition of Slavery 02nd December International Day of Disabled Persons World Conservation Day

03rd December

Navy Day 04th December Armed Forces Day 06th DecemberNational Immunization Day 09th December Human Rights Day 10th December Vijay Divas 16th December Kisan Day 23rd December National Consumer Day 24th December X-Max Day 25th December

NOVEMBER Formation Day for Andhra Pradesh Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab States

01st November

Legal Services Day 09th November National Education Day 11th NovemberUN’s International Day for Tolerance 16th November National Day for the Deaf 17th November Territorial Army Day 18th NovemberNational Integration Day 19th November World Fisheries Day 21st November Flag Day 25th November National Law Day 26th November

Ajab Gazab Duniya

EAGLE VIDEO RECORDS ITS JOURNEY A young sea eagle stole a video camera that was surveying crocodiles in Western Australia and inadvertently recorded its 110-km-long eventful journey in high definition. The footage revealed by wildlife rangers shows the juvenile eagle scooping up the video recorder and taking to the sky. 

FOUR TRILLION RUPEES FLY OUT OF INDIA A new report by the international watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI) has revealed that in 2011, over Rs 4 lakh crore worth of black money was illegally taken out of India,. This was 24 percent more than the previous year. 

MAKING CAR – A CHILDS PLAY - REALLY An Australian man and a Romanian teenager have built a real car with 500,000 Lego bricks. The life-sized two-seater car has a top speed of 30 km per hour (20 mph) and is powered by four orbital engines with 256 pistons - all made of Lego - that run on compressed air.  

PRESERVING SON’S ASHES AS DIOMOND An Italian father had his dead son eternally preserved by getting the 20-year-old's ashes transformed into a diamond. The father had his son's body exhumed and cremated before sending the ashes to Switzerland so they could be compressed into the gemstone.

ALL THE NEWS ITEMS IN THIS MAGAZINE HAVE BEEN SOURCED FROM VARIOUS NEWS PAPERS AND GOVT. PRESS RELEASES 

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(July – September 2013) For details please visit our website: www.gyanm.in

NATIONAL NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2013 Prime Minister visited U.S.A. to address the 66th session

of UN General Assembly. India and USA have agreed to undertake joint

development and production of military hardware, involving transfer of high-end technology from America.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AUGUST 2013

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

reconstruction and rehabilitation of disaster-hit Uttarakhand.

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

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

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

JULY 2013

The Supreme Court ruled that a person, who is in jail or in police custody, cannot contest election to legislative bodies as he/she ceases the right to cast vote.

Supreme Court has ruled that MPs, MLAs and MLCs would automatically lose their membership if sentenced to jail for more than 2 years by the trial court.

Joe Biden, US Vice President came to India for a four day visit to discuss matters on trade, energy, climate, defence and regional cooperation.

The Nalanda University in Bihar and its academic staff will get privileges and immunities required for efficient functioning and recruit talent from across the world.

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Outdoor air pollution alone in urban areas claims 1.09 lakh lives of adults, costing about Rs 3.75 lakh crores annually.

India is slated to achieve 80% literacy rate in the next two years against 74 per cent as per the 2011 Census.

India has ranked 66th in innovation capacity and efficiency in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013.

The first direct flight service between India and Vietnam will begin by November this year.

The President of India revoked President’s rule proclamation in the state of Jharkhand on July13, under Article 356 of the Constitution.

Asia’s first engineering college for the blind is proposed to be set up near Hyderabad.

In yet another first, the country's largest prison Tihar Jail, Delhi has now got its very own FM radio station.

India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have entered into a tripartite agreement on maritime cooperation to ‘secure’ sea routes in the Indian Ocean region.

India and Tanzania have signed agreements on bilateral cooperation in several sectors including agriculture, health and education, mines and minerals.

NEWS FROM STATES

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

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

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

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

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

JULY 2013 Andhra Pradesh continues to be the most popular

destination among domestic tourists, followed by Maharashtra.

Karnataka govt. to supply rice to nearly one crore poor families across the state at Re 1 a kg.

Himachal Pradesh declared the first “smoke-free” State in the country

GOVT INITIATIVES SEPTEMBER 2013

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

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

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

Govt has notified that the controversial General Anti Avoidance Rules will come into effect from April 1, 2016.

Govt has set up the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, engage with corporates for help to counter Naxal influence.

The Lok Sabha passed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011, which seeks to replace the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

AUGUST 2013

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

called One Person Company (OPC) • Maximum number of persons permitted to form a

private limited company raised to 200, from 50 at present.

• The limit of the maximum number of companies in which a person may be appointed as auditor fixed at 20.

• Companies with market capitalisation of more than Rs. 500 crore to spend 2 per cent of their annual net profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR), such as social work or charity.

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

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

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

JULY 2013 Parthasarathi Shome committee to interact with

industry groups on tax-related issues or disputes. Govt. has released the National Cyber Security Policy

2013 to safeguard both physical and business assets of the country.

Telecom Commission has approved raising of foreign direct investment limit in the telecom sector from 74% to 100%

Govt. to cover 339 of around 620 districts by March next year by a system under which govt. services can be accessed through instruments like mobile phones.

Family income ceiling under SC/ST scholarship scheme raised from Rs two lakh to Rs 4.50 lakh per annum from this fiscal.

Govt has approved setting up of the first-ever National Aviation University of the country at Rae Bareli (UP)

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

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

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

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

Fitch Ratings cut India's growth forecast for the current financial year to 4.8 per cent, saying weak demand is a large drag on the economy.

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

J P Morgan has cut the country's GDP growth forecast to 4.1 per cent for the fiscal year ending March 2014.  

Global financial giant Goldman Sachs has cut India's GDP growth rate forecast to 4% from 6% earlier for the current financial year.

AUGUST 2013

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

JULY 2013 Japanese brokerage firm Nomura has reduced the

country's GDP forecast for this fiscal to 5% from 5.6 earlier

ECONOMY

SEPTEMBER 2013 Sikkim has recorded steepest fall - 22% in poverty

level in the country, reaching to 8.19% between 2004-05 and 2011-12, on account of increase in per capita consumption

Govt. has finalised the timeline for implementation of the mega Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC) to push the infrastructure development.

As per recent RBI data, Odisha emerged as the hottest investment destination for new projects attracting 27% share of all-India investments.

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

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

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

AUGUST 2013 AREA NORMS REVISED FOR SEZ’s

Type of SEZ Earlier area in hectares

Revised area in

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

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

10

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

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

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

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

The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal for sale of 10 percent government stake in Indian Oil Corporation

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

JULY 2013 As per Planning Commission data, poverty ratio in the

country has declined to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption.

Revised poverty line says that the persons whose per day consumption of goods and services is less than Rs 33.33 in cities and Rs 27.20 in villages are in BPL category.

National Stock Exchange (NSE), Mumbai, has been ranked as the world's largest bourse in terms of volumes in equity trades, in June, registering 11.2 crore trades.

South Korea's steel giant Posco has decided to shelve its plan to build a Rs 32,000-crore steel plant in Gadag, Karnataka due to unavailability of a captive mine.

Steelmaker Arcelor Mittal has scrapped its $12-billion (Rs. 72000crore) steel plant in Keonjhar district of Odisha over inordinate delays.

FDI limits raised: Telecom - 100%, Insurance, Multibrand retail- 49%,

Filing of income tax returns made mandatory for those earning up to Rs.5 lakh in salary.

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) has extended credit of $ 19.50 million to the Vietnam government

Supreme Court has ruled that ownership of minerals vests with owner of land and not with the Govt as there is no law in the country which declares state as owner.

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BANKING

SEPTEMBER 2013 Dr. Raghuram Govind Rajan took over as the 23rd

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 04.

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

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

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

Reserve Bank has directed that gold jewellery accepted as security will have to be valued at the average of the closing price of 22 carat gold for the preceding 30 days

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

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

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

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

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

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

AUGUST 2013 RBI has extended the deadline for clearing non CTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JULY 2013 RBI imposed a total fine of Rs.49.5 crore on 22 banks

for violating anti-money laundering and KYC rules. Tata Sons, IDFC, Reliance Capital, Aditya Birla Group

and India Post are among the 26 entities seeking licence for new bank.

Tata Communications Payment Solutions launched country's first network of White Label ATMs called 'Indicash'

SBI has launched a co-branded pre-paid card with UAE Exchange, called the 'State Bank Xpress Money Card', that provides banking services to inward remittance receivers.

The Supreme Court has ruled that in case of issuance of cheque from joint accounts, only the person who signs the cheque can be prosecuted in a cheque bouncing case

RBI has advised banks that they should not accept fresh PDCs for EMIs at locations where Electronic Clearance Service (ECS) is available.

RBI has notified that banks should engage only those telemarketers who are registered in terms of the guidelines issued by TRAI. , from time to time, for all their promotional/

Public sector banks have been asked to set up ATMs in all branches by March, 2014 to enable customers in rural pockets to do banking round-the-clock.

RBI has advised that it will compensate banks 25 per cent of the losses if they report counterfeit bank notes of Rs 100 and above to RBI or police authorities.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SEPTEMBER 2013 India and Nepal began Joint military exercises "Exercise

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

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

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

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

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

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

NASA has launched an unmanned spacecraft The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer or Ladee that aims at unlocking the mysteries of Moon's

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          26 

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

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

AUGUST 2013 India has activated the atomic reactor on its first

indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant, making it operational.

India test-fired its nuclear-weapon capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 kms.   

INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier launched in waters at Cochin Shipyard Limited.

The US has accepted India’s request to supply 145 state-of-the-art 155mm towed Howitzers guns

INS Sindhurakshak, Indian submarine that sank due to two massive explosions, killing all the 18 mariners.

JULY 2013 Government to create a ‘Mountain Strike Crops’ along

the China border at a cost of around Rs. 65,000 crore. The Indian Navy takes delivery of the INS Trikand, last

of the three Krivak class stealth frigates built by Russia India’s first dedicated navigation satellite, the IRNSS-

1A, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, launched successfully.

India successfully launched its advanced meteorological spacecraft INSAT-3D by a European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

Iris - Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph: a satellite launched by NASA to study a region of the sun that will improve space weather prediction.

World’s largest telescope - Square Kilometre Array (SKA) starts in Australia.

China launched three satellites - Chuangxin-3, Shiyan-7 and Shijian-15 for scientific experiments on space maintenance technologies.

INTERNATIONAL

SEPTEMBER 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JULY 2013 US govt. celebrated 100 years of Sikhs’ achievements in

America as they first arrived in July 1913. Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi was ousted on July

4 and put under detention by the army. The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to

Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled adopted by 150 countries at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Diplomatic Conference hosted by Morocco in Marrakesh

Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation Economic and Business Conference held at Mauritius

Britain suffered its first prolonged heat wave in seven years after experiencing its hottest day of the year on July 17 at 32.2°Celsius in southwest London.

Meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank Governors from the G-20 group of advanced and emerging nations held at Moscow, Russia on July 20.

Afghanistan and India have signed MoUs for implementing 60 projects in ten Afghan provinces under the Small Development Projects scheme.

PERSONS IN NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2013 BO XILAI: A former powerful member of China’s Politburo was in news as he was awarded life imprisonment by the court of a northeastern Chinese province as he was found guilty on all charges of bribery, graft and abuse of power. NINA DAVULURI: Twenty-four-year-old Indian-origin beauty, winner of Miss New York title, became the first non American origin contestant to win the prestigious Miss America pageant, after wooing the judges with a Bollywood fusion dance. JHUMPA LAHIRI: Indian-American author from New York was in news as she made it to this year's Man Booker Prize shortlist for her new novel 'The Lowland', an intimate portrayal of two brothers set in the Kolkata of 1960s. The novel has also been nominated for US National Book Award 2013.  ZUBIN MEHTA: World renowned music maestro conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra during the Ehasas-e-Kashmir concert at Shalimar Garden, Srinagar (J&K).

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AUGUST 2013 BASHAR AL ASSAD: President of Syria was in news as he was alleged to have used chemical weapons against civilians near capital city of Damascus, killing over 1300 persons, mostly children in their sleep. The incident invited strong protests from the UNO and several other countries of world.

JULY 2013 GEORGE ALEXANDER LOUIS: Name of the Britain’s new prince, son of Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton. The third-in-line to the British throne will be known as “His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.”

APPOINTMENTS

SEPTEMBER 2013 MS. DEEPAK SANDHU: Chief Information Commissioner (First women to head Central Information Commission) JUSTICE SHIVA KIRTI SINGH: Judge, Supreme Court of India JUSTICE C. NAGAPPAN: Judge, Supreme Court of India DINESH K. SARRAF: Chairman and Managing Director, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). RAJEEV RISHI: Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India.  ANGELA MERKEL: Chancellor (Prime Minister) of Germany (third time), from Christian Democratic Union Party ERNA SOLBERG: Prime Minister of Norway TONY ABBOTT: Prime Minister of Australia (from Conservative party)

AUGUST 2013 RAGHURAM G RAJAN: Governor, Reserve Bank of India   DILIP TRIVEDI: Director General, Central Reserve Police Force IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA: President of Mali HASSAN ROUHANI: President of Iran

JULY 2013 SHARAD KUMAR: Director General, National Investigation Agency (NIA)

RANA KAPOOR: President of Assocham; he is CEO of Yes Bank.

R. CHANDRASHEKHAR: President, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom)

HEMANT SOREN: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader sworn-in as ninth Chief Minister of Jharkhand ABDUL RAHIM RATHER: Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister has been elected as the new Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST.

M. S. RAGHAVAN: Chairman and Managing Director, IDBI Bank

SUDHIR KUMAR JAIN: Chairman and Managing Director, Syndicate Bank

Dr K K PAUL: Governor of Meghalaya VIRENDRA KATARIA: Lt. Governor of Puducherry

NAJEEB JUNG: Lt Governor of Delhi

LT GEN AK SINGH (RETD): Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar

SHRINIWAS D PATIL: Governor of Sikkim

SUJATHA SINGH: Union Foreign Secretary

ANIL GOSWAMI: Union Home Secretary

JUSTICE P. SATHASIVAM: Chief Justice of India (40th)

MAMNOON HUSSAIN: 12th President of Pakistan

HAZEM EL-BEBLAWI: Prime Minister of Egypt

AWARDS & HONOURS

SEPTEMBER 2013 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development-2012: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia. She is the first democratically elected women Head of State of any African country. She was honoured for serving as an example and an inspiration for ensuring the return of peace, democracy, development, security and order in Liberia and for her strong interest in the consolidation and improvement of ties between both the nations. MOORTIDEVI AWARD-2012: Haraprasad Das, eminent Oriya writer, for 'Vamsha, a poetic recreation of the Mahabharata in contemporary idiom. GERMAN BANK PRIZE FOR RBI GUV Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India has been awarded the Fifth Deutsche Bank Prize for Financial Economics 2013, in recognition of his ground-breaking research work which influenced financial and macro-economic policies around the world. CLINTON GLOBAL CITIZENS AWARDS: Bunker Roy and Malala Yousafzai. Roy is the founder of the Barefoot College, which has been providing solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40years.

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          28 

MEGAN YOUNG: Miss World 2013, of Philippines, at Bali, Indonesia. PUNJABI FILM 'QISSA' directed by Anup Singh has won Best Asian Film Award at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

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

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

AUGUST 2013

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

Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award: Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan

Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship: Shailendra Kumar Mandal

JULY 2013 TAGORE AWARD FOR CULTURAL HARMONY, 2013: Zubin Mehta, internationally noted master of western classical music, known for his Philharmonic Orchestra.

‘BARFI’ SWEEPS IIFA AWARDS: The film directed by Anurag Basu bagged IIFA awards for best film, best director, best actor, best story and music awards at a grand ceremony held at Macau.

LOKMANYA TILAK AWARD-2013: E. Sreedharan (Metro Man) for his outstanding contribution to society.

RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD: Habiba Sarobi, first and only woman Governor of the Afghan province of Bamyan, was recognised for promoting education, women’s rights.

RAMNATH GOENKA Excellence in Journalism Award: Vidya Subrahmaniam, Associate Editor of The Hindu, for the Best Commentary and Interpretative Writing for 2010. PREM BHATIA AWARD FOR 2013: (for excellence in journalism) Shalini Singh and Jaideep Hardikar

OBITUARY

SEPTEMBER 2013 ROMESH BHANDARI: Former UP Governor and ex-Foreign Secretary of India SUSHMITA BANERJEE: Noted Bengali author who was killed in Afghanistan by militants. She had come into the

limelight for her books narrating her experiences in Kabul (read ‘with Taliban’) after marrying an Afghan money lender.

RAY DOLBY: An inventor and audio pioneer from USA who founded Dolby Laboratories, known for Dolby Stereo Sound systems and 50 other patents in his name. DAVID FROST: Veteran British journalist and broadcaster, who won fame around the world for his TV interviews with the former U.S. President, Richard Nixon and several other statesmen of the world. KEN NORTON: Former world heavyweight boxing champion, considered one of the greatest fighter of his era, was best known for beating Muhammad Ali in 1973.

AUGUST 2013

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

JULY 2013 PRAN: Legendary actor, loved and feared in equal measure by moviegoers for his roles in Bollywood hits like 'Milan', 'Madhumati' and 'Zanjeer'. Full name Pran Krishan Sikand, he was recently decorated with ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’. ARUN NEHRU: Former Union Minister KHURSHED ALAM KHAN: Veteran Congress leader and former Union Foreign Minister

AMAR G. BOSE: The Indo-American visionary entrepreneur and acoustics pioneer, famous for making high-quality Bose audio systems and speakers. DOUGLAS C. ENGELBART: Inventor of the computer mouse and a computer visionary OTTAVIO QUATTROCCHI: Controversial Italian businessman, a key figure in the Bofors payoffs scandal.

PLACES IN NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2013 KAESONG: North and South Korea have agreed to reopen their joint industrial park at Kaesong, five months after it was shut during soaring military tensions. Located 10 kilometers inside North Korea, it was established in 2004 as a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. AWARAN: A district in Balochistan province of Pakistan was the epicentre of a severe earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that caused widespread devastation, claiming hundreds of lives.

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          29 

ST. PETERSBURG: The second biggest city in Russia was the venue for meeting of Heads of nations of G-20 group of countries. DAOCHENG YADING AIRPORT: World's highest-altitude civilian airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level in Daocheng county in Sichuan province neighbouring Tibet, has started its operations. SUPER TYPHOON USAGI: the most powerful storm of the year brought torrential rain and strong winds to the Philippines and Taiwan on Sep. 21, causing widespread devastation before moving towards Hong Kong.  

AUGUST 2013

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

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

JULY 2013 PARADIP PORT: in Odisha has been conferred the ‘Major Port of the Year’ award in recognition of its excellent performance in 2012-13.

CHUMAR: Place in Laddakh area of Jammu & Kashmir on China Border was in news as Chinese troops intruded in Indian Territory in this area

KUDANKULAM: Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu attained first criticality (trial production) on July 13, setting the stage for its commissioning

TAHRIR SQUARE: Place in Cairo, capital of Egypt was in news as thousands of people massed at the iconic Tahrir Square - the epicentre of pro-democracy protests in 2011.

SPORTS WORLD

SEPTEMBER 2013 India wins Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey tournament held at Johar Bahru, Malaysia, beating Malaysia National Junior Athletics Championship held at Kochi, Kerala.

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

Sandeep Tulsi Yadav: The Indian Grappler created history by winning India’s first-ever wrestling medal in the

Greco-Roman category of the senior World Wrestling Championships held at Budapest, Hungary.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wilson Kipsang of Kenya set a new world record of 2 hours 3 minutes 23 seconds at the Berlin Marathon, slashing earlier world record by 15 seconds Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated world number one Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to win the US Open men's singles title at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York, USA. Serena Williams (USA) beats Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, to win the women's singles final of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament, in New York, USA. Leander Paes. alongwith his Czech partner Radek Stepanek, won the US Open 2013 men’s doubles crown. Afghanistan beats India to win SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Football Championship held at Kathmandu, Nepal.  Gareth Bale, the ace footballer from UK created a new record by becoming the expensive most player in the history of football. He has been contracted by the Spanish club Real Madrid for an exorbitant sum of 100 million Euros (Rs.872.6 crore). Diana Nyad, the 64 year old US lady swimmer created a world record of longest distance swimming by completing a

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          30 

historic 110-mile (177 kms) swim between Havana, Cuba and Key West, Florida, in 52 hr. 54 min. 18.6 sec, without the protection of a shark cage. The BWF Japan Open Super Series Badminton tournament held in Tokyo.

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

AUGUST 2013

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

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

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

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

Sardara Singh selected as Captain of Indian Hockey team International Association of Athletics Federations

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013, MOSCOW, RUSSIA.

Usain Bolt, the iconic sprinter from Jamaica, equaled

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

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

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

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

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

JULY 2013 Parvez Rasool: First player from Jammu and Kashmir to be named in the Indian cricket team India won the Tri-nation ODI cricket series after defeating Sri Lanka in Port of Spain, Trinidad. World Youth (Under-16) Chess Olympiad: India won the title beating Iran in finals held at Chongqing, China Grand Master Parimarjan Negi won the Continental Chess Association Open title, defeating Bindi Cheng in Washington, USA. Vikas Gowda: Ace discus thrower clinched the first gold for India in the 20th Asian Athletics Championships in Pune. Shiva Thapa became the youngest pugilist (boxer) to clinch a gold medal in the 56 kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.

Lajja Goswami won the silver medal in women's 50-metre Rifle 3 Position event at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain. Devendra Jhajharia created history by becoming the first differently-abled Indian to win gold in javelin throw at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France. (IPC - International Paralympics Committee). Francisco Garcia of Spain has been appointed head coach of the Indian senior women's basketball team. 5th National Fencing Federation Cup held at Patiala, Punjab. Men’s trophy lifted by Services team and women’s by Punjab.

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                          31 

Powered by Deepika Kumari's gold and bronze medal performances on the concluding day, India finished fourth in the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Medellin, Colombia. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that India will host the World T20 Cup competition in 2016 and World Test Championship 2021, both for the first time, and the 50-over World Cup for the fourth time in 2023. Andy Murray of UK defeated top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia to lift men’s Wimbledon trophy Marion Bartoli of France beats Sabine Lisicki of Germany to lift women’s Wimbledon trophy Inbee Park of South Korea wins the Women’s US Open Golf Cup at New York. Christopher Froom: UK Cyclist UK won the famous ‘Tour de France’, the cross country cycle race held in France. FIFA Confederations Cup: Brazil beats Spain at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ICC Cricket World Cup - 2015 to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14th Feb to 29th Mar, 2015.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

BOOK AUTHOR Never Go Back Lee Child

The Husband’s Secret Liane Moriarty

The Racketeer John Grisham

Harvest Jim Crace

Backlash Lynda La Plante

The Communist Cookbook Sharmishta Roy Chowdhury

Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten

Rajmohan Gandhi

Indian Tax Administration: A Dialogue

Parthasarthi Shome

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

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

book. Making Peace with the Earth Vandana Shiva

Cuckoo’s Calling JK Rowling (under the pseudonym Robert

Galbraith)

The Kashmir Dispute: 1947-2012

AG Noorani

You’re Hired Sandeep Goyal

Bad Monkey Carl Hiaasen

The New Digital Age Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen

May We Be Forgiven A M Homes

Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman Cobalt Blue Sachin Kundalkar

Our Moon Has Blood Clots Rahul Pandita The Childhood of Jesus J.M. Coetzee

Faith & Freedom: Gandhi in History

Mushirul Hasan

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

incredible true story of a child raised by monkeys

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

Legacy Sudha Menon What Young India Wants Chetan Bhagat

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

Natwar Singh

Wild Cheryl Strayed Oath of the Vayuputras Amish Tripathi

Difficult Pleasures Anjum Hasan

Bitter Wormwood Easterine Kire

Em and The Big Hoom Jerry Pinto

The Extras Kiran

The Sanjay Story Vinod Mehta

Uprising 2011 Kiran Bedi

Fallen Angel Sandipan Deb

An Uncertain Glory Amartya Sen

The World Until Yesterday Jared Diamond

How to get filthy rich in rising Asia

Mohsin Hamid

11/22/63 Stephen King

Joyland Stephen King

For The Grains K V Thomas

Return of the King William Dalrymple

The City of Devi Manil Suri

Matters of Discretion: An Autobiography

I K Gujral

Best Kept Secret Jeffrey Archer

A Better India, A Better World

N.R. Narayana Murthy

A Shot at History - My Obsessive Journey to Olympic

Gold: Autobiography

Abhinav Bindra

Ad katha: The story of Indian Advertising

Anand Halve and Anita Sarkar

Dirty Wars Jeremy Scahill

A Delicate Truth John le Carre

Revolution from Above Dipankar Gupta

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 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 33 

a) 44 b) 49 c) 50 d) 56 21) 7 3 2 4 9 6 2 1 5 39 65 ? a) 91 b) 68 c) 56 d) 104 22) x goes 15 metres North, then turns right and walks 20 metres, then again turns right and walks 10 metres then again turns right and walks 20 metres. How many metres is he from his original position? a) 5 m b) 10 m c) 15 m d) 20 m 23) A watch reads 7.30. If the minute hand points West, then in which direction will the hour hand point? a) North b) North East c) North West d) South East Directions (24-26): In the following questions, from the given alternative words, select the word which cannot be formed using the letters of the given word:

24) PENULTIMATE a) PEANUT b) MINUTE c) ELIMINATE d) LIME-TEA 25) PROCRASTINATE a) PATTERN b) TRACTOR c) PRINTED d) PAINTER 26) ADOLESCENT a) ENCLOSE b) DONATE c) SECRET d) LEAST 27) If SPANK is coded as PSNAK, then THROW is coded as a) HTWOR b) HTWRO c) HTROW d) HTORW 28) If ANCIENT is coded as 2516859 and NATURE is coded as 529048, the TRAIN will be coded as a) 94285 b) 92456 c) 94265 d) 94168 29) If BLUE is written as EUBL, then BULB is written as a) BLUB b) BBUL c) BBLU d) BLBU 30) 40% of 1620 + 30% of 960 = ? % of 5200 a) 12 b) 24 c) 16 d) 18 31) Which of the following interchange of signs would make the given equation correct? 2 x 3 + 6 – 12 ÷ 4 = 17 a) x and + b) + and –

c) + and ÷ d) – and ÷ 32) ‘B’ stands for addition, ‘G’ stands for subtraction, ‘E’ stands for multiplication, ‘C’ stands for division, ‘D’ stands for equal to, ‘A’ stands for greater than, ‘F’ stands for less than. In each of the four alternatives, only one expression is correct according to the letter symbol. Identify that expression. a) 15 C 3 B 2 A 6 E 2 b) 15 B 2 G 5 A 4 G 4 c) 15 C 3 B 2 A 6 B 1 d) 15 B 3 D 4 E 6 33) Identify the symbols to be inserted to make the expression correct. 24 ∆ 4 ∆ 5 ∆ 4 a) x + x b) = x + c) x + = d) + = x 34) 6 boys A, B, C, D, E, F are sitting in a row facing West. D is between A and C. B is just right of C but left of F. E is not at the right end. Who is at the right end? a) C b) F c) D d) B 35) Y is in the East of X which is in the North of Z. If P is in the South of Z, then in which direction of Y is P? a) North b) East c) South-East d) South-West 36) Kate walks 4 km towards South. She then turns towards her left and walks 8 km more. After that she turns left again and walks another 8 km. Here, she meets her friend coming from the opposite direction and they both stop here. Which direction would she be facing? a) North b) South c) East d) West Directions (37-38): In the following questions, two statements are given followed by two / four conclusions I, II, III and IV. You have to consider the two statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance from commonly known facts. You have to decide which of the given conclusions, if any, follow from the given statements. 37) Statements: I. Some birds are clouds. II. Horse is a bird. Conclusions: I. Some clouds are birds. II. Horse is not a cloud. a) Conclusion I follows. b) Conclusion II follows. c) Either conclusion I or II follows. d) Neither conclusion I nor II follows. 38) Statements: a) Ravi has five pens. b) No one else in the class has five pens. Conclusions: I. All students in the class have pens. II. All students in the class have five pens each.

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 34 

III. Some of the students have more than five pens. IV. Only one student in the class has exactly five pens. a) Only conclusion I follows. b) Only conclusion III follows. c) Only conclusion II follows. d) Only conclusion IV follows. 39) Three positions of a dice are given. Find out which number is found opposite the number 2 in the given cube.

a) 6 b) 5 c) 3 d) 1

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The above diagram shows the survey on a sample of 1000 persons with reference to their knowledge of English, Hindi and Marathi. How many knew only Hindi? a) 85 b) 175 c) 78 d) 200 42)

In the above figure, the circle stands for employed, the square stands for social worker, the triangle stands for illiterate and the rectangle stands for truthful. Study the figure and answer the questions which region represents literate, employed people who are neither truthful nor social worker. a) 11 b) 4 c) 9 d) 10 43) Identify the answer figures from which the pieces given in question figure have been cut.

Directions (44-45): In the following questions, which answer figure will complete the pattern in the question figure? 44)

45)

46) From the given answer figures, select the one in which the question figure is hidden / embedded.

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 35 

47) A piece of paper is folded and cut as shown below in the question figures. From the given answer figures, indicate how it will appear when opened.

48) From the answer figures, find out the figure which is the exact mirror image of the question figure, when the mirror is place on the line ‘MN’?

49) How many triangles are there in the given figure?

a) 7 b) 10 c) 8 d) 9 50) A word is represented by only one set of numbers as given in any one of the alternatives. The sets of numbers given in the alternatives are represented by two classes of alphabets as in two

matrices given below. The columns and rows of Matrix I are numbered from 0 to 4 and that of Matrix II are numbered from 5 to 9. A letter from these matrices can be represented first by its row and next by its column, e.g., ‘A’ can be represented by 00, 12 etc. and ‘P’ can be represented by 56, 76 etc. Similarly, you have to identify the set for the word ‘PARROT’.

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9 O Q P R T

a) 56, 00, 77, 88, 86, 99 b) 85, 20, 58, 77, 87, 79 c) 65, 30, 77, 98, 90, 99 d) 66, 40, 76, 77, 86, 99

GENERAL AWARENESS 51) The principle of maximum social advantage is the basic principal of a) Micro Economics b) Macro Economics c) Fiscal Economics d) Environmental Economics 52) Which Five Year Plan is not correct among the following? a) First 1951 – 56 b) Second 1956 – 61 c) Third 1961 – 66 d) Fourth 1966 – 71 53) The ordinary and maximum tolerance limit of sound by human being is a) 50 db to 70 db (decibel) b) 60 db to 80 db (decibel) c) 65 db to 75 db (decibel) d) 70 db to 85 db (decibel) 54) An economic, theory is a / an a) Axion b) Proposition

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 36 

c) Hypothesis d) Tested hypothesis 55) Indian Special Economic Rules amendment came in the year a) 2000 b) 2002 c) 2004 d) 2006 56) Provisions of the citizenship in Indian Constitution, became applicable in a) 1950 b) 1949 c) 1951 d) 1952 57) Who gave the title of “Sardar” to Ballabh Bhai Patel? a) Mahatma Gandhi b) Vinoba Bhave c) Women of Bardoli d) Peasants of Gujarat 58) According to Marx, the source of value is a) Capital b) Land c) Labour d) None of the above 59) The national Emergency in India declared by the President of India due to the external aggression or armed revolt through a) Article – 352 b) Article – 356 c) Article – 360 d) Article – 368 60) The Community Development Programme was launched in the year a) 1950 b) 1952 c) 1951 d) 1953 61) What Satyagraha was held at Nagpur in 1923? a) Salt Satyagraha b) Individual Satyagraha c) Ryots Satyagraha d) Flag Satyagraha 62) Which one of the following is not a sect of Buddhism? a) Mahayana b) Hinayana c) Digambar d) Theravad 63) Who was the viceroy when Delhi became the capital of British India? a) Lord Curzon b) Lord Minto c) Lord Hardinge d) Lord Waveli 64) Who established the Indian Civil Liberties Union in 1936? a) Subhash Chandra Bose b) Bal Gangadhar Tilak c) Jawahar Lal Nehru d) Rajendra Prasad 65) Which of the following was established first? a) Banaras Hindu University b) University of Bombay c) Aligarh Muslim University d) University of Allahabad 66) “Yosemite” is a a) River b) Peak c) Waterfall d) Dam 67) The first Indian Satellite Aryabhatta was launched in a) 1972 b) 1975 c) 1977 d) 1979

68) Where is the shore based steel plant located? a) Tuticorin b) Salem c) Vishakhapatnam d) Mangalore 69) Which two of the following are connected by the North South corridor? a) Srinagar and Kanyakumari b) Mumbai and Chennai c) Amritsar and Kolkata d) Hyderabad and Bhopal 70) The pollutants which move downward with percolating ground water are called a) Leachates b) Pollutates c) Earthites d) Percolates 71) Lungs are located in the a) abdominal cavity b) pericardial cavity c) peritoneal cavity d) pleural cavity 72) Which one of the following is the ideal food for newborn babies? a) Water b) Sugar c) Honey d) Milk 73) Transcription means the synthesis of a) Lipids b) Protein c) DNA d) RNA 74) Hydrochloric acid is secreted by the cells lining the a) Oral cavity b) Stomach c) Ileum d) Colon 75) Emulsification is a) breaking fats into small globules b) digestion of fats c) absorption of fats d) storage of fats 76) Taxonomy is a science that deals with a) Morphology b) Anatomy c) Classification d) Economic uses 77) Which one of the following is responsible for the working of Newton’s colour disc experiment? a) Formation of pure spectra b) Formation of impure spectra c) Persistence of vision d) Principle of complementary colour 78) The dimension MLT-2 corresponds to a) force b) work done c) acceleration d) velocity 79) Who is the founder of quantum theory of radiation? a) Einstein b) Bohr c) Plank d) S. N. Bose 80) Fiber optics cable used in communication, works on the principle of

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 37 

a) regular reflection of light b) diffuse reflection of light c) refraction of light d) total internal reflection of light 81) Which was the first electronic computer constructed at the Moore School of Engineering? a) EOVAC b) ONIVAC c) ENIAC d) EDSAC 82) Which among the following standard protocols is the most widely used by the internet? a) HTTP b) TCP / IP c) SMTP d) SLIP 83) The outer skin most of the crustaceans are made up of a carbohydrate. This carbohydrate is a) cellulose b) galactose c) chitin d) starch 84) Rutherford’s scattering experiment proved the presence of a) atoms in all matter b) electrons in atoms c) neutrons in atoms d) nucleus in atoms 85) When a metal is heated in a flame, the electrons absorb energy and jump to higher energy state. On coming back to the lower energy state, they emit light, which we can observe in a) Raman spectra b) Absorption spectra c) Emission spectra d) Fluorescence 86) Blood pressure may be increased by the excessive secretion of a) Thyroxine b) Testosterone c) Estradiol d) Estrol 87) Trie concept of “Green House Gases” was postulated by a) Joseph Furier b) Abdul Kalam c) M.S. Swaminathan d) Richael Carlson 88) “Bhopal gas tragedy” 1984 is related to a) Aluminium Phosphide b) Methyl bromide c) Methyl isocyanate d) Carbon dioxide 89) The Particulate Matter (PM-10) exhaled from the polluted atmosphere is often filtered out during the process of a) Coughing b) Sneezing c) A and B d) Urination 90) Sarus crane is the state bird of a) Rajasthan b) Uttar Pradesh c) Madhya Pradesh d) West Bengal 91) The Tongario volcano erupted on November 21, 2012 is in a) Australia b) Indonesia c) Papua New Guinea d) New Zealand 92) The Daocheng Yading Airport is located in a) Thailand b) Philippines c) China d) Tibet

93) BCCI named the “Indian Cricketer of the year 2011-12” to honour a) Sunil Gavaskar b) VVS Laxman c) Virat Kohli d) Yuvraj 94) “Martyr’s Day” is marked on a) January 1 b) January 15 c) January 30 d) January 9 95) Who won the World Carrom Championship 2012? a) Rashmi Kumari b) Mirabai Chanu c) Nishantha Fernando d) Nuthaki Priyanka 96) The animal who can consume more salt among the following is a) Sheep b) Camel c) Donkey d) Dog 97) Which of the following is only domestic Airport? a) Dabolin Airport, Goa b) Srinagar Airport c) Devi Ahilayabai Holkar Airport d) None of the above 98) Tick the correct option with regards to the contribution towards GDP (Gross Domestic Product) form Agriculture a) During 1950-51 (GDP 51-88%) and 2011-12 (GDP 14-01%) b) During 1950-51 (GDP 11-00%) and 2011-12 (GDP 25%) c) During 1990-91 (GDP 29-53%) and 2011-12 (GDP 66-77%) d) During 1980- 81 (GDP 35-69%) and 2011-12 (GDP 20-69%) 99) Second India-Africa Forum Summit – 2011 was held in a) Eretrea b) Ethiopia c) Sudan d) Nigeria 100) Where did Aurangzeb die? a) Pune b) Aurangabad c) Ahmad Nagar d) Mumbai

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE 101) The difference of a number consisting of two digits from the number formed by interchanging the digits is always divisible by a) 10 b) 9 c) 11 d) 6 102) The number 323 has a) three prime factors b) five prime factors c) two prime factors d) no prime factor 103) A tyre has 2 punctures. The first puncture alone would have made the tyre flat in 9 minutes and the second alone would have done it in 6 minutes. If air leaks out at a constant rate, how long does it take both the punctures together to make it flat?

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 38 

a) 21

1 minutes b) 21

3 minutes

c) 53

3 minutes d) 41

4 minutes

104) If 8 men or 12 boys can do a piece of work in 16 days, the number of days required to complete the work by 20 men and 6 boys is

a) 31

5

b) 31

6

c) 31

8

d) 31

7

105) A and B together can do a piece of work in 12 days which B and C together can do in 16 days. After A has been working at it for 5 days and B for 7 days, C finishes it in 13 days. In how many days B could finish the work? a) 48 days b) 24 days c) 16 days d) 12 days 106) Three circles of radius a, b, c touch each other externally. The area of the triangle formed by joining their centres is

a) abc)cba( ++

b) cabcab)cba( ++++

c) ab + bc + ca d) None of the above 107) If a metallic cone of radius 30 cm and height 45 cm is melted and recast into metallic spheres of radius 5 cm, find the number of spheres. a) 81 b) 41 c) 80 d) 40 108) Chords AB and CD of a circle intersect at E and are perpendicular to each other. Segments AE, EB and ED are of lengths 2 cm, 6 cm and 3 cm respectively. Then the length of the diameter of the circle in cm is

a) 65 b) 6521

c) 65 d) 265

109) For every set of 19 kites sold, a vendor gives 1 kite extra, free of cost. In order to give a discount of 10%, the number of extra kites he should give in a sale of 27 kites to the nearest integer is a) 3 b) 6 c) 7 d) 8 110) A ruby stone was bought for Rs. 1600 at Jaipur. A sum of Rs. 2400 was spent on making a ring with the ruby stone. It was advertised for sale at Bombay for Rs. 7800. If a discount of 10% was given, then the % profit made was a) 55% b) 68.5% c) 75.5% d) 80%

111) A shopkeeper buys an article for Rs. 450. He marks it at 20% above the cost price. Find the percentage discount given by him if he sells the article for Rs. 496.80. a) 8% b) 9% c) 10% d) 12% 112) The area of a circle is proportional to the square of its radius. A small circle of radius 3 cm is drawn within a larger circle of radius 5 cm. find the ratio of the area of the annular zone to the area of the larger circle. (Area of the annular zone is the difference between the area of the larger circle and that of the smaller circle). a) 9 : 16 b) 9 : 25 c) 16 : 25 d) 16 : 27

113) A man invested 31

of his capital at 7%, 41

at 8%

and the remainder at 10%. If his annual income is Rs. 561, the capital is a) Rs. 5400 b) Rs. 6000 c) Rs. 6600 d) Rs. 7200 114) The average age of Ram and his two children is 17 years and the average age of Ram’s wife and the same children is 16 years. If the age of Ram is 33 years, the age of his wife is (in years): a) 31 b) 32 c) 35 d) 30 115) A man’s pension on retirement from service is equal to half the average salary during last 3 years of his service. His salary from 1-1-1983 is Rs. 380 per month with increment of Rs. 40 due on 1-10-83, 1-10-84 and 1-10-85, if he retires on 1-1-86, what pension does he draw? a) Rs. 205 b) Rs. 215 c) Rs. 225 d) Rs. 230 116) A person bought 76 cows and sold 20 cows at 15% profit, 40 cows at 19% profit and remaining 16 cows at 25% profit and got a profit of Rs. 6570 as a whole. The cost price of each cow is a) Rs. 450 b) Rs. 425 c) Rs. 420 d) Rs. 400 117) One side of the square is increased by 30%. To maintain the same area, the other side will have to be decreased by

a) %131

23 b) %1312

76

c) 30% d) 15% 118) Ram travelled 1200 km by air which formed 2/5 of his trip. He travelled one-third of the trip by car and the rest by train. The distance (in km) travelled by train was a) 480 b) 800 c) 1600 d) 1800

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 39 

119) A policeman goes after a thief who has 100 metres start, if the policeman runs a kilometer in 8 min, and the thief a km in 10 min, the distance covered by thief before he is over-powered is a) 350 m b) 400 m c) 320 m d) 420 m 120) A man borrows Rs. 21000 at 10% compound interest. How much he has to pay equally at the end of each year, to settle his loan in two years? a) Rs. 12000 b) Rs. 12100 c) Rs. 12200 d) Rs. 12300

121) If BA347

334+=

+

+, then B – A is

a) –13 b) 132

c) 13 d) 733 − 122) If the expression x2 + x + 1 is written in the

form 22

q21

x +⎟⎠

⎞⎜⎝

⎛ + , then the possible values of q are

a) 31

±

b) 23

±

c) 3

2±

d)

21

±

123) If a2 – 4a – 1 = 0, then value of

a3

a3a

1a

22 −++ is

a) 25 b) 30 c) 35 d) 40

124) If x = 3 323 32 baabaa +−+++ , then x3 + 3bx is equal to a) 0 b) a c) 2a d) 1 125) If x2 – y2 = 80 and x – y = 8, then the average of x and y is a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5

126) If c2b4a124

1 3333

++=++

and a, b, c are

rational numbers, then a + b + c is equal to a) 0 b) 1 c) 2 d) 3

127) abba 21

1211

−− ++

+is

a) a – b b) b – a c) 1 d) 0

128) If a/b = 4/5 and b/c = 15/16, then

22

22

a20c45a7c18

+

−is equal to

a) 31

b)

52

c) 43

d)

41

129) Two circles with centres P and Q intersect at B and C. A, D are points on the circles with centres P and Q respectively such that A, C, D are collinear. If ∠APB = 130°, and ∠BQD = x°, then the value of x is a) 65 b) 130 c) 195 d) 135 130) C1 and C2 are two concentric circles with centres at O. Their radii are 12 cm and 3 cm. respectively. B and C are the points of contact of two tangents drawn to C2 from a point A lying on the circle C1. Then the area of the quadrilateral ABOC is

a) 2159

sq. cm. b) 1512 sq. cm.

c) 159 sq. cm. d) 156 sq. cm. 131) I and O are respectively the in-centre and circumcentre of a triangle ABC. The line AI produced intersects the circumcricle of ∆ ABC at the point D. If

∠ABC = x°, ∠BID=y° and ∠BOD = z°, then =+y

xz

a) 3 b) 1 c) 2 d) 4 132) Rana drove 8 miles due west, then 6 miles due north, then 3 miles due east and then 6 more miles due north. The distance between his initial and final position is a) 13 miles b) 17 miles c) 19 miles d) 21 miles 133) ABCD is a parallelogram, BC is produced to Q such that BC = CQ. Then a) area (∆ BCP) = area (∆ DPQ) b) area (∆ BCP) > area (∆ DPQ) c) area (∆ BCP) < area (∆ DPQ) d) area (∆ BCP) + area (∆ DPQ) = (area (∆BCD) 134) In ∆ ABC and ∆ DEF, AB = DE and BC = EF. Then one can infer that ∆ ABC ≅ ∆DEF, when a) ∠BAC = ∠EDF b) ∠ACB = ∠EDF c) ∠ACB = ∠DFE d) ∠ABC = ∠DEF 135) The length of the common chord of two circles of radii 30 cm and 40 cm whose centres are 50 cm apart, is (in cm) a) 12 b) 24 c) 36 d) 48

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 40 

136) Two chords AB, CD of a circle with centre O intersect each other at P. ∠ADP = 23° and ∠APC = 70°, then the ∠BCD is a) 45° b) 47° c) 57° d) 67° 137) If the interior angles of a five sided polygon are in the ratio of 2 : 3 : 3 : 5 : 5, then the measure of the smallest angle is a) 20° b) 30° c) 60° d) 90°

138) If secθ + tanθ = 3 (0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°), then tan 3θ is

a) undefined b) 3

1

c) considered as infinity d) 3 139) If sin (60° - θ) = cos (Ψ - 30°), then the value of tan (Ψ - θ) is (assume that θ and Ψ are both positive acute angles with θ < 60° and Ψ > 30°).

a) 3

1

b) 0

c) 3 d) 1 140) The value of (1+cot θ - cosec θ) (1 + tan θ + sec θ) is equal to a) 1 b) 2 c) 0 d) –1 141) If tan θ + cot θ = 2, then the value of tannθ +cotnθ (0° < θ < 90°, n is an integer) is a) 2 b) 2n c) 2n d) 2n+1 142) A pole stands vertically, inside a scalene triangular park ABC. If the angle of elevation of the top of the pole from each corner of the park is same, then in ∆ ABC, the foot of the pole is at the a) centroid b) circumcentre c) incentre d) orthocentre

143) If ,y

cosx

sin θ=

θthen sin θ - cos θ is equal to

a) x – y b) x + y

c) 22 yx

yx

+

− d)

22 yx

xy

+

−

144)

The above bar graph show the marks obtained by a student in an examination. What is the average marks obtained by the student? a) 55 b) 56 c) 57 d) 58 145)

Study the bar graph carefully and answer the following question. Which type of family is the most common? a) 2 members b) 3 members c) 4 members d) 5 members Directions (146-148): The Pie Chart shows the expenditure of a country on various sports during a particular year. Study the graph and answer the questions.

146) If the total amount spent on cricket and hockey together is Rs. 80,000, the total amount spent on sports is a) Rs. 100000 b) Rs. 200000 c) Rs. 250000 d) Rs. 300000

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 41 

147) How much per cent more is spent on Hockey than that on Golf? a) 27% b) 35% c) 37.5% d) 75% 148) How much per cent less is spent on football than that on cricket?

a) %92

22

b) 27%

c) %31

33

c) %21

37

Directions (149-150): Study the following graph and answer the questions.

149) Find the percentage decrease in income from 2001 to 2002. a) 50 b) 33

c) 21

37 d) Data inadequate

150) If the income shows positive growth in every year throughout the period (2000 – 2005), then in how many years the expenditure shows a positive growth? a) 5 b) 3 c) 4 d) 2

ENGLISH LANGUAGE Directions (151-155): In the following questions, some of the sentences have errors and some have none. Find out which part of a sentence has an error. The number of that part is your answer. If there is no error, you answer is (d) i.e., No error. 151) In India (a) / working woman lead a life of dual responsibilities (b) / if they are married and have a family. (c) No error (d) 152) Greatly to our surprise (a) / we find the ringleader (b) / was lame. (c) No error (d) 153) They have (a) / played a game (b) last week. (c) No error (d)

154) The teacher made the boys (a) / to do the sum (b) / all over again. (c) / No error (d) 155) Many overseas students (a) / attend colleges (b) / in the Great Britain. (c)/ No error (d) Directions (156-160): In the following questions, each sentence is given with blank to be filled in with an appropriate and suitable word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four alternatives. 156) Student-parking should be ________; students should not be charged to buy parking stickers. a) fined b) free c) costly d) cheap 157) If you have roses growing in your garden, you can make a lovely _____ of flowers at home. a) bouqutte b) bucquete c) bouquete d) bouquet 158) The _______ of the middle school is a woman of ________. a) Principles, Principal b) Principals, Principal c) Principal, Principle d) Principle, Principals 159) With the changing times, most of the students have become business – like they are _______ and want to take only those courses which they find rewarding. a) idealistic b) pragmatic c) enthusiastic d) partial 160) 1. John’s at _______ institute studying French. 2. They’re building ______ school at the end of our street. 3. Do they live in _______ United Kingdom or somewhere else? a) a, the, an b) the, a, an c) an, a, the d) the, an, a Directions (161-163): In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word. 161) Parsimony a) expenditure b) bankruptcy c) bribery d) miserliness 162) Tribulation a) palpitation b) suffering c) weakness d) stimulation 163) The Prime Minister goes on the ramparts of the Red Fort to hoist the National flag. a) rompway b) staircase c) parapet d) scaffold

 GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                 42 

Directions (164-166): In the following questions, choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word. 164) Lunacy a) sanity b) stupidity c) sensibility d) insanity 165) Obtuse a) sharp-witted b) transparent c) timid d) blunt 166) Inadvertently a) secretly b) accidentally c) completely d) deliberately Directions (167-171): In the following questions, four alternatives are given for the Idiom/ Phrase printed in bold in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom / Phrase. 167) What egged you on to become a social worker? a) urged b) dampened c) hindered d) discouraged 168) Many politicians in India are not fit to hold a candle to Mahatma Gandhi. a) superior b) equal c) inferior d) indifferent 169) She must be paying through the nose for the face lift. a) paying less than necessary b) paying too much c) paying the right amount d) paying reluctantly 170) He is putting the cart before the horse by purchasing furniture before buying a house. a) doing a thing in the wrong way b) doing a thing in the right way c) committing a great crime d) doing things meticulously 171) Casting pearls before swine. a) speaking nice words and convincing them b) offering good things to undeserving people c) uplifting the needy for their welfare d) doing worthwhile things to unknown people Directions (172-181): In the following questions, a sentence / part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below are given alternatives to the bold sentence / part of the sentence at (a), (b) and (c) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed, your answer is (d). 172) It became clear that the strangers were heading into a serious disaster.

a) along b) towards c) on d) No improvement 173) Twenty kms are not a great distance in these days of fast moving vehicles. a) is not a great distance b) are not too great a distance c) aren’t proving a great distance d) No improvement 174) I adapted a new method to solve the problem. a) I have been adopted b) I adopted c) I was adapted d) No improvement 175) Hoping not to be disturbed, I sat down in my easy chair to read the book, I won as a prize. a) I had won as a prize b) I have won as prize c) I had to win as a prize d) No improvement 176) If you are living near a market place you should be ready to bear the disturbance caused by traffic. a) to bear upon b) to bear with c) to bear away d) No improvement 177) The more they earn, more they spend on luxury items. a) more they should spend b) the more they spend c) the more they ought to spend d) No improvement 178) You have come here with a view to insult me. a) to insulting me b) of insulting me c) for insulting me d) No improvement 179) A little rail-road engine was employed by a station yard for doing small pieces of work. a) was made by a station yard b) was used at the station yard c) was employed at the station yard d) No improvement 180) From an aesthetic point of view, the painting did not appeal to me. a) From the viewpoint of aesthetics, the painting did not appeal to me b) The painting had no aesthetic appeal to me c) From an aesthetic point of view, the painting had a little appeal to me d) No improvement 181) The child tossed in bed burning with fever. a) The child in bed, burning with fever tossed b) The child burning with fever, tossed in bed c) The child burning in bed tossed with fever d) No improvement Directions (182-188): In the following question, out of the four alternative, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/ sentence.

182) An apartment building in which each apartment is owned separately by the people living in it, but also containing shared areas. a) condominium b) multiplex

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GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                48 

HOW TO PREPARE FOR INTERVIEW

1. Know what you have to offer: - i) Knowledge ii) Ability iii) Communication skills

2. Know the employer: - i) Know about the organization ii) Be familiar with the products iii) Values and culture of the organization iv) How do you meet all these

3. Know what to expect:- You should be well prepared for the kind of questions being asked in the interview.

4. Prepare and Practice: - Put yourself in the real

time situation and practice each aspect of interview giving equal attention to Body Language, Communication and rehearsed replies. Rehearse with mock interviews. Take the help of an experienced person to improve your interview skills. In case any experienced person is not available take the help of any senior in the family. The key to selection is WELL DONE REHEARSALS.

5. Practice in front of a Mirror: The best way to prepare is to practice before mirror. You can observe yourself and find out the areas where you need to improve, particularly about your posture and body language.

6. Record your voice: These days cell phones have the facility to record voice and videos as well. Record the mock interview and check your performance in the interview for the desired voice qualities, tone, repetition of words etc.

SOME Qs WHICH RANKLE YOU

1. HOW TO TACKLE VENUE PHOBIA? One must reach the venue at least half an hour in advance and should make arrangements to make up for any accidental delay in reaching the venue. The first time job seekers are generally scared of the place of interview. For one, they are not exposed to the corporate culture and are overawed by the big rooms and the office culture etc. This causes a lot of nervousness among them and must be overcome. Visit the venue at least a day before the interview or even earlier to overcome the complex. If you cannot make to the venue, visit any bank branch and ask for help from any employee. 2. HOW TO DRESS FOR INTERVIEW? You should be very careful about your dress. It must reflect your personality and be appropriate to your physique. Generally the boys / men should wear light colored shirt with dark trousers. The hair should be properly trimmed or beard properly tied ( for Sikhs) or shaved. The turban should be properly matched and should gel with the dress color.

For ladies, they should not be dressed flashily. They may wear suit or even a Sari, if they are comfortable with it. But the dress should not be new and should be comfortable to wear. It should not be low neck as well. One can wear a shirt and trouser as well, but it should be buttoned properly. The blouse should neither be short nor the trouser be low. 3. WHAT DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED? Carry all original certificates with you when you go for an interview from 10th standard onwards. Also carry one set of attested copies. You should also carry other certificate/s, pertaining to your extra-curricular activities. All the documents / Certificates should be neatly filed in chronological order, so that you do not fumble during interview. 4. HOW TO SIT IN THE INTERVIEW? You must not slouch in the chair. Your back should be straight and firmly touch back of the chair. Your legs should not be wide open or crossed abnormally. Take control of your hand movements. You may clasp the hands or keep them on your thighs. If you are carrying a file with you, you should keep it in your lap. Never lean over the table. Generally there is a table between the interviewers & the interviewee. But you should also be prepared for a situation where there may not be any table. 5. HOW TO HANDLE CONTROVERSIAL Qs? Sometimes questions about controversial issues are asked not only to know the views of the candidate but also to find out whether the candidate has a balanced approach. You should be very careful while answering questions about which you may have very strong views. You should give balanced and mature answer not allowing your preferences to prejudice your reply.

6. WHAT TO DO WHEN ANSWER IS NOT KNOWN?

If you do not know the answer to a question, instead of giving a wrong reply, the best way to tell the interviewer is, “Sorry Sir, I do not know the answer to this question”. However, if you have a vague idea, then instead of telling the interviewer that you do not know the answer, you can say, “Sir, I am not sure but I think the answer is _____”.

By giving a wrong reply you are under estimating the interviewer.

7. HOW TO HANDLE INTERRUPTIONS?

If the interviewer feels that you know the answer, he may interrupt you and move on to a new question. Similarly the interviewer may feel that you are on a wrong track he may not like to continue with the question and may like to check your knowledge or information in some other areas.

8. HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I TAKE?

There should not be a long pause between the question and your reply. Think for a while and understand the question

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                49 

properly before answering it. As long as you do not maintain silence for a long time the interviewer is not going to mind. In case you do not know the answer, you should be straight forward and reply as already mentioned above.

9. HOW LONG SHOULD BE THE REPLY?

Your replies must not be in monosyllables like ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, etc. But your replies should not be very lengthy as well. Though the length of the reply is determined by the question, your reply should be short and simple. Normally, any reply should not stretch beyond two minutes and should not be less than 20 seconds. But you can always find out if the interviewer is asking for more information or if you are not convinced by the details given by you, ask “Do you want me to expand more on this?

10. WHAT SIGNALS THE END OF THE INTERVIEW

When the interviewer says “Thank you Mr.”or “Wish you all the best”, it is a signal that the interview is over. Sometimes the interviewer may ask you whether you want to ask any question. This also is indication of the end of the interview.

If you have any question to ask and you have been specifically asked as above, you can always put forward your question. But you should be very sure that your questions are sensible, and are above the organization you are to join. The question should not expose your ignorance but should express your inquisitiveness. So make sure that you have gone through the website of the organization and have already searched for the information you intend to seek.

Never ask a question like, “What are my chances of selection?” or “How many marks did I score in the interview or in the written examination”. These kind of questions can go against you.

REMEMBER! EACH QUESTION IS AN OPPORTUNITY

Every person has unique knowledge and interests. Each question, gives you an opportunity to lead the interviewer to an area of your knowledge and interest. The idea is to talk about your strength and lead the interview to issues and areas of your interest. But do not try to ‘Gate crash and mould your answers so as to steer the interviewer’. (Steer the interview not the interviewer). If you are not comfortable with any question, you may frankly tell the interviewer about your inability. But do not keep doing the same for every other question.

BE HONEST IN ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS?

The question of being honest or dishonest comes into picture only when you are talking about, answering opinion-based questions or personality-related questions. If you sincerely have an opinion about some issue and believe in that, there is nothing wrong in expressing it frankly. If you have an opinion about some issue and think that it may not be appreciated by the interviewer, first ask yourself as to why you opine so. Think over that objectively. If you still

want to stick to that opinion, go ahead and express it freely. If you can change your mind and opine differently, express that changed version.

SOME TYPICAL INTERVIEW Qs

Here are a few questions that are normally asked during interview. You should rehearse the answers to these questions.

1. QUESTIONS ABOUT YOURSELF

Though it seems very easy but infect very deceptively. The interviewer may want to know how much you really know about yourself. He has accessed your bio-data and can ask relevant questions about your background. Your answer should cover your educational background briefly and your interest / hobbies. You may also talk about your achievements in academics and / or extra curricular activities. You need not go into your family history but restrict yourself to the areas which should be of interest to the organisation / interviewer Keep in mind that interviewer may frame his questions based on your response to this question.

The response to the question ‘about yourself’ will depend on the response of the interviewer. If the interviewer is interested to know more about the family, you may be required to dwell on the issue.

2. MEANING OF YOUR NAME

You must know the meaning of your name. In case it is related to some mythological character, try to understand the background of the word including the meaning of the words that form your name. Generally an uncommon name attracts the attention of the interviewer.

3. PERSONALITY RELATED QUESTIONS

Sometimes the interviewee is asked to mention his/her “Strength & Weaknesses”. You should be very careful and be well prepared to answer this question. Keep a note of your achievements and the details thereof. Identify the qualities that helped you achieve the goal. You should mention these qualities without mentioning those moments. If the interviewer asks you more about it, then you can mention the moment when you achieved the goal with the help of these qualities. Normally the strength mentioned are:- i) Discipline ii) Punctuality iii) Goal oriented approach iv) Hardworking nature v) Team player vi) Ability to convince Regarding weaknesses, never give a reply like, “I do not have any weakness”. Again recollect the moments when you

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                50 

failed in any venture and look for the reasons within your self. You should also mention what extra efforts you have made to overcome this weakness. The key to answering this question is the same as the last: Turn a negative into a positive. Don't try to come up with a character flaw or personal weakness. Instead, rephrase the question for yourself: "How do I want to improve to become better in my career?" Identify areas in which you want more training or guidance.

4. QUESTIONS ABOUT SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE

You must be well prepared to answer the questions about your educational background and the subjects of your study. If you are a student of History you should know about Indian Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History. If you are a student of Engineering or Science you should know the basic concept you have learned during the course.

5. QUESTIONS ON HOBBIES

Generally you are required to fill bio-data form where in complete information regarding your educational background, your extracurricular activities and hobbies is provided by you. So, this information about your hobbies / Extra Curricular Activities is already available with the interviewer. You should be very particular about giving information in the bio-data form, because you cannot know make any contradictory statement.

Remember that whenever you express any activity that you say is your hobby then either you should be personally participating in it or may be interested in it. If neither is the case, then you should not mention it as your hobby. If you say chess is your hobby, then either you should be playing it or should have a keen interest in the game, know about the present and the past players, theoretical aspects of the game, etc.

If you mention reading as your hobby the probable question will be, name of the authors or the name of the books, you have read in the recent past, the main characters of the book and analysis of the character etc.

For the newspaper that you read daily, you should know the place from where it is published and its editor, etc.

You can also be asked, how a particular hobby has helped you in achieving your goals.

In case you do not have any particular interest or extra-curricular activity, do not give the answer like, “I do not do anything.” Or “I just while away my time, watching television.” Instead you may list out areas of your interest like listening to music, making friends etc.

6. QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE

Apart from your personality and your subject knowledge, the interviewer is more interested to know more about attitude to the job you are about to join. So he may ask you inconvenient questions like, why do you want to join the bank. This question assumes more importance, if you have back ground other than commerce. You should be ready with the answer and should not be found wanting for the suitable reply.

7. WHY DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE BANK?

You should be well prepared to answer such a question specially if you are not from commerce or economics background. Never give a answer like, “It’s a government job”, or “Being a Government Job, it ensures job security” or “It pays is well”, or “My parents want me to join the Bank”.

You should be very clear about your professional goal and convince him how your study is going to be relevant to Banking. If you are making a Midcourse change you must backup with solid reasons. It is not uncommon to change a line from science to commerce, engineering to banking. You should be ready with examples where persons from diverse background have made it to the top in the Banking.

8. WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN CAREER IN BANKING?

You should have clear idea of your scope for future promotion and career in the Bank you plan to join. You must know the hierarchy in the Banking and where do you see you self 5 years down the line.

Normally, a person joins the Bank at Clerical Level or as a Probationary Officer. Clerical Level constitute the front desk officials and Probationary Officers are in the next hierarchy.

9. WHY DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THIS INSTITUTE?

This is a common question asked in the most of the interviews. This is a very delegate question and to answer it you should study the other institutes other organizations working in the same field. Gather information about their activities and results and compare them with the results of this organization. This information will be very helpful in answering such a question.

SOME COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Introduction

• Introduce yourself in one minute? • Define yourself in one word? • Describe yourself? • Meaning of your name, who named you and why? • Do you have any namesake? • What is your father & his job profile?

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                51 

• Your family background? • Where do you come from? • Tell me about your native place/city/state? • For what is it famous for? • What are your hobbies and interest? • If you do not succeed this time, what will you do? • What is your educational background? • Tell me something about your achievements? • Any extra curricular activity? • Why do you want to join Banking sector? • What qualities should one possess to be a Bank P.O.?

Do you think you have these qualities? • Who is the founder of this bank? • When was this bank nationalized? • What is the Current financial position of bank? • Name the person who inspired you the most? • How is your subject helpful in banking sector? • Why is there a Gap in your studies? • What are your strong and weak points? • As a student of Science/Art/Commerce, why didn’t you

go for higher studies? • Newspapers and magazine which you prefer to read?

Name the Editor of Newspaper? • Why should we select you? • Why do you want to be a P.O.? • What is your Idea of life? • What is the importance of hobby in our life? • Have you cleared any exam earlier ? • What will you do, if you don’t get finally selected,? • What does your mother do or whether she is a house

wife or in job? • Where did you spend you childhood? • Why don’t you join your family business?

Educational Background

• You passed B.Sc./B.Com/B.A. in the year 2007, what were you doing till now?

• There is a huge gap in between graduation and PG. why?

• Why is there a great variation in marks between class 10th, 12th & graduation?

• What is the use of your subject in this sector? • What is the use of your subject in life? • How you correlate your subjects with Banking? • Why didn’t you continue your studies? • Your subjects are related with IAS, PCS. Then why

here? • From which college/University you have completed your

graduation? • What are the specialties of the schools/colleges from

where you have acquired education?

• Why have you switched over to Art stream from Science stream?

• These days the use of computer is increasing in the banking industry since you don’t’ have the knowledge of computers, how will you perform your jobs satisfactorily?

• You have done MCA then why don’t you go for Technical Post?

• What is the motto of your university? • You had written in your Bio Data “N.A” What is this?

10 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW • Always arrive on time. • Introduce yourself in a courteous manner. • Collect information about the bank / company • Listen carefully before answering. • Use body language to show interest. • Maintain Good posture • Maintain good eye contact • Smile, nod, give nonverbal feedback to the interviewer. • Show energy and enthusiasm. • Thank the interviewer.

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187) A political leader appealing to popular desires and prejudices. a) dictator b) tyrant c) popularist d) demagogue 188) Enclosed in a small closed space. a) closophobia b) clusterophobia c) claustrophobia d) liftophobia Directions (189-190): In the following questions, four words are given in each question, out of which only one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word as your answer. 189) a) conviance b) connivanse c) connivance d) conivence 190) a) maintennance b) manteinance c) maintenance d) mentenance Directions (191-200): In the following questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

PASSAGE

CYBER BOGEYS The cyber – world is ultimately ungovernable. This is alarming as well as convenient; sometimes, convenient because alarming. Some Indian politicians use this to great advantage. When there is an obvious failure in governance during a crisis they deflect attention from their own incompetence towards the ungovernable. So, having failed to prevent nervous citizens from fleeing their cities of work by assuring them of proper protection, some national leaders are now busy trying to prove to one another, and to panic-prone Indians, that a mischievous neighbour has been using the internet and social networking sites to spread dangerous rumours. And the Centre’s automatic reaction is to start blocking these sites and begin elaborate and potentially endless negotiations with Google, Twitter and Facebook about access to information. If this is the official idea of prompt action at a time of crisis among communities, then Indians have more reason to fear their protectors than the nebulous mischief-makers of the cyber-world. Wasting time gathering proof, blocking vaguely suspicious websites, hurling accusations across the border and worrying about bilateral relations are ways of keeping busy with inessentials because one does not quite know what to do about the essentials of a difficult situation. Besides, only a fifth of the 245 websites blocked by the Centre mention the people of the Northeast or the violence in Assam. And if a few morphed images and spurious texts can unsettle an entire nation, then there is something deeply wrong with the nation and with how it is being governed. This is what its leaders should be addressing immediately, rather than making a wrongheaded display of their powers of censorship. It is just as absurd, and part of the same syndrome to try to ban Twitter accounts that parody despatches from the Prime Minister’s Office. To describe such forms of humour

and dissent as “misrepresenting” the PMO – as if Twitterers would take these parodies for genuine despatches from the PMO – makes the PMO look more ridiculous than its parodists manage to. With the precedent for such action set recently by the chief minister of West Bengal, this is yet another proof that what Bengal thinks today India will think tomorrow. Using the cyber-world for flexing the wrong muscles is essentially not funny. It might even prove to be quite dangerously distracting. 191) According to the passage cyber-world is a) beyond the imagination of people b) outside the purview of common people c) not to be governed d) ungovernable 192) The author is of the opinion that a) the centre should start negotiations with Google, Twitter and Facebook b) the centre should help the citizens evacuate their city c) the centre should not block the sites d) the centre should arrest the guilty 193) Which of the following is closest to the meaning of ‘nebulous’? a) confused b) vague c) iridescent d) glowing 194) The author’s seriousness regarding the situation can best be described in the following sentences. Pick the odd one out. a) Our leaders should display their powers of censorship when needed b) If this is the official idea of prompt action at a time of crisis among communities, then Indians have more reason to fear their protectors than the nebulous mischief-maker of the cyber-world c) The politicians deflect attention from their own incompetence d) If a few morphed images and spurious texts can unsettle an entire nation, then there is something deeply wrong with the nation 195) The word ‘spurious’ means a) genuine b) authentic c) substantial d) fake 196) The author warns as against a) not playing false with the citizens b) dangers inherent in the cyber-world c) not using the cyber-world judiciously d) not protecting the citizens from dangerous politicians 197) ‘Parody’ means a) twist b) jeopardize c) ridicule d) imitate 198) What is the opposite of ‘wrong headed’? a) silly b) sane c) insane d) insensible

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                53 

199) The passage suggest different ways of keeping the public busy with ‘inessentials’. Pick the odd one out. a) By blocking websites which are vaguely suspicious b) By blaming neighbouring countries across the border c) By turning the attention of the people to violence in Assam d) By getting involved in a discourse on bilateral relations 200) The following is a list of statements made by the author of the above passage. Pick the odd one out. a) It is absurd to ban Twitter accounts that parody despatches from the Prime Minister’s Office b) ‘Twitterers’ take these parodies for genuine despatches from the PMO c) To describe such forms of humour as ‘misrepresenting’ the PMO makes the PMO look more ridiculous d) The precedent for such action was set recently by the chief minister of West Bengal

ANSWER KEY Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.1 B 2 B 3 B 4 A 5 A 6 B 7 B 8 C 9 D 10 D

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

101 B 102 C 103 C 104 A 105 A 106 A 107 A 108 A 109 A 110 C 111 A 112 C 113 C 114 D 115 B 116 A 117 A 118 B 119 B 120 B 121 C 122 B 123 B 124 C 125 D 126 A 127 C 128 D 129 B 130 C 131 A 132 A 133 A 134 D 135 D 136 B 137 C 138 B 139 C 140 A 141 A 142 B 143 C 144 B 145 B 146 B 147 D 148 C 149 D 150 D 151 B 152 A 153 A 154 B 155 C 156 B 157 D 158 C 159 B 160 C 161 D 162 B 163 C 164 A 165 A 166 D 167 A 168 C 169 B 170 A 171 B 172 B 173 A 174 B 175 A 176 B 177 C 178 A 179 C 180 D 181 B 182 A 183 D 184 A 185 B 186 B 187 D 188 C 189 C 190 C 191 D 192 C 193 B 194 A 195 D 196 A 197 D 198 B 199 C 200 B

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GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        50 

21) 120, 440, 960, 1680, ? a) 2600 b) 3240 c) 3040 d) 2400 Directions: In question nos. 22 to 24, select the missing number from the given responses. 22) 81 64 16 4 9 49

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a) 230 b) 140 c) 120 d) 410 23) 25 5 5 30 5 6 35 ? 5 a) 5 b) 4 c) 6 d) 7 24) 24 51 67 2 4 6 5 7 5 53 211 ? a) 135 b) 235 c) 347 d) 407 25) G is fatter than H but not as fat as M. Q is also not as fat as M. Who is the most lean person in the group? a) Q b) H c) G d) Can’t be determined 26) A man walks 15 metres south. Then turning to his right he walks 15 metres. Then turning to his left, he walks 10 metres. Again turns to his left and walks 15 metres. How far is he from his initial position? a) 10 m b) 25 m c) 15 m d) 60 m 27) There are five buses M, N, O, P, Q in a row on a road. Bus M is standing at the front and Q is standing at the back end. Bus N stands between M and O. Bus P stands between O and Q. Which bus is in the middle of the five? a) M b) P c) N d) O Directions: In question nos. 28 to 30, from the given alternative words, select the word which cannot be formed using the letters of the given word. 28) DISTANCE a) DANCE b) STAND c) SANE d) TEASE 29) RESURRECTIONIST a) TOURIST b) NOISE c) SORCERER d) TENDER 30) COMMERCIALISM a) CROME b) LANCER

c) MISER d) OSCAR 31) If DIVINE is coded as AFSFKB, then POWERFUL is coded as a) XLHOJVIM b) MLTBOCRI c) MLWBOCRI d) HLTBNCRI 32) If NOTE is written as PQVG, then TIME is written as a) VQOG b) VKOG c) VOKG d) VGKO 33) If SMART is coded as UKCPV, then WONDER is coded as a) YMPPRT b) YMPBGP c) YMPBFP d) YMBPPG 34) If ‘+’ stands for ‘multiplication’, ‘<’ stands for ‘division’, ÷’ stands for ‘subtraction’, ‘–’ stands for ‘addition’ and ‘x’ stands for ‘greater than’. Identify which expression is correct. a) 20 – 4 ÷ 4 + 8 < 2 x 26 b) 20 x 8 + 15 < 5 ÷ 9 – 8 c) 20 < 2 + 10 ÷ 4 – 6 x 100 d) 20 < 5 + 25 ÷ 10 – 2 x 96 35) One day, Nita left home and cycled 10 km southwards, turned right and cycled 5 km and turned right and cycled 10 km and turned left and cycled 10 km. How many kilometres will she have to cycle to reach her home straight? a) 10 km b) 15 km c) 20 km d) 25 km 36) Rajat moves from his office to the canteen straight at a distance of 12 metres. Then he turned left and walked for 2 metres. Then he turns left again and walks straight for 12 metres. How far is he from his office? a) 10 metres b) 12 metres c) 8 metres d) 2 metres Directions: In question nos. 37 and 38, two / four statements are given followed by two / four conclusions I, II, III and IV. You have to consider the statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance from commonly known facts. You have to decide which of the given conclusions, if any, follow from the given statements. 37) Statements: I. All apples are bananas. II. All bananas are sweet. Conclusions: I. Some apples are sweet. II. Some bananas are apples. a) Conclusion I follows. b) Conclusion II follows. c) Either conclusion I or II follows. d) Both conclusions I and II follow. 38) Statements: 1. All metals are silver. 2. All silver are diamond. 3. Some diamonds are gold.

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        51 

4. Some gold are marbles. Conclusions: I. Some gold are metals. II. All metals are diamond. III. Some silver are marble. IV. Some gold are silver. a) Only conclusion I follows. b) Only conclusion II follows. c) Only conclusion III follows. d) Only conclusion IV follows. 39) Which of the following cubes can be created by folding the given figure?

40) Two positions of a dice are given. Which number would be at the top when bottom is 2?

a) 4 b) 1 c) 5 d) 6 41) Identify the response figure from which the question figure’s pieces have been cut.

42)

In the above figure, the circle stands for employed, the square stands for social worker, the triangle stands for illiterate and the rectangle stands for truthful. Employed, truthful and illiterate social workers are indicated by which region? a) 5 b) 4 c) 2 d) 1 43) Find the missing number:

a) 37 b) 45 c) 47 d) 57 44)

In the above diagram, parallelogram represents women, triangle represents the sub-inspectors of police and circle represents the graduates. Which numbered area represents women graduate sub-inspectors of police? a) 5 b) 3 c) 8 d) 13

Directions: In question nos. 45 and 46, which answer figure will complete the pattern in the question figure.

45)

46)

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        52 

47) From the given answer figures, select the one in which the question figure is hidden / embedded.

48) A piece of paper is folded and punched as shown below in the question figures. From the given answer figures, indicate how it will appear when opened.

49) Which of the answer figures is exactly the mirror image of the given pattern of numbers when the mirror is held at MN?

50) A word is represented by only one set of numbers as given in any one of the alternatives. The sets of numbers given in the alternatives are represented by two classes of alphabets as in two matrices given below. The columns and rows of Matrix I are numbered from 0 to 4 and that of Matrix II are numbered from 5 to 9. A letter from these matrices can be represented first by its row and next by its column, e.g., ‘B’ can be represented by 01, 31 etc. and ‘P’ can be represented by 67, 75 etc. Similarly, you have to identify the set for the word ‘CARD’.

MATRIX I

0 1 2 3 4

0 A B C D E

1 D C B A E

2 B A D C E

3 D B C A E

4 C D A E B

MATRIX II

5 6 7 8 9

5 P Q R S T

6 Q S P R T

7 P T R S Q

8 Q S P R T

9 T P S Q R

a) 32, 00, 56, 10 b) 40, 21, 68, 44 c) 11, 33, 57, 22 d) 02, 42, 77, 20

GENERAL AWARENESS 51) Solids which conduct electricity at higher temperature but not at lower temperature are called a) super-conductor b) metallic-conductor c) semi-conductor d) insulator 52) Which one of the following has greatest mass? a) electron b) proton c) neutron d) hydrogen nucleus 53) A television channel is characterized by a) frequency of transmitted signal b) velocity of transmitted signal c) physical dimension of television screen d) size of picture tube 54) The first computer mouse was built by a) Douglas Engelbart b) William English c) Oaniel Coogher d) Robert Zawacki 55) An organization’s profitability depends on a) Quality of data processed b) Quantity of data processed c) Speed of processing the data d) Both (a) and (c) 56) The density of water is 1 g/cc. This is strictly valid at a) 0°C b) 4°C c) 25°C d) 100°C

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        53 

57) The process of photosynthesis involves conversion of a) chemical energy into radiant energy b) chemical energy into mechanical energy c) solar energy into chemical energy d) mechanical energy into solar energy 58) A colloidal system in which a liquid is dispersed in a liquid is called a) gel b) emulsion c) sol d) precipitate 59) The antiseptic compound present in dettol is a) Iodine b) Enloroxylenol c) Biothional d) Cresol 60) As per the TRIPS Agreement – 1994, a good originating from a region with specific character / quality / reputation is covered / to be protected under the IPR as a) Patent b) Trademark c) Trade secret d) GI (Geographical Indicator) 61) Which of the following crop cultivation is banned by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India? a) Lathyrus (Khesari) b) Genetically modified brinjal c) Bt cotton for export d) Bt cotton for local use 62) Ice glacier’s melting is a common phenomenon linked to the rise in sea water level. The glaciers are predominantly present in a) Greenland b) Antarctica c) Himalayas d) Arctic 63) Who is known for establishing the “Anand Van”? a) Jubliant Buddha b) H. N. Bahuguna c) Baba Amte d) Motilal Nehru 64) The civilian Airport at highest altitude is in a) Tibet b) Nepal c) India d) China 65) Genomic (DNA) studies in camel have been completed recently by the scientists of a) South Africa b) India c) China d) Pakistan 66) International Simon Bolivar Prize was recently awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi by the government of a) Mauritius b) China c) Venezuela d) Cuba 67) BCCI conferred “Col. C. K. Naydu Lifetime Achievement Award” during 2012 to a) Sachin Tendulkar b) M.S. Dhoni c) VVS Laxman d) Sunil Gavaskar 68) Air quality depicting PM 2.5 is more hazardous to a) Archaeological Monuments b) National Parks c) Botanical Gardens d)Old Men and Women

69) Which of the following is not a fundamental right as per the Indian Constitution? a) Right to Education b) Right to Information c) Right to Speech d) Right to Life 70) Who is custodian of the Indian Constitution? a) President of India b) Chief Justice of India c) Prime Minister of India d) Chairman of Rajya Sabha 71) Piped Natural Gas (PNG) is used for a) Mining b) Welding c) Anaesthesia d) Cooking

72) Greenpark Stadium is in a) Bengaluru b) Dehradun c) Chandigarh d) Kanpur 73) Rowlatt Act 1919 was enacted during the period of a) Lord Chelmsford b) Lord William c) Lord Minto d) Lord Bentinck 74) Panchayati Raj System was implemented first in the pair of states a) Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan b) Assam and Bihar c) Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh d) Punjab and Chandigarh 75) Human Environment Conference – 1972 was held at a) Stockholm b) Paris c) Geneva d) Australia 76) ‘Gold’ is mainly related to a) Local market b) National market c) International market d) Regional market 77) Bilateral monopoly refers to the market situation of a) two sellers, two buyers b) one seller and two buyers c) two sellers and one buyer d) one seller and one buyer 78) The economist who believed that unemployment is impossible and that market mechanism has a built in regulatory system to meet any ups and downs a) J. M. Keynes b) Ohlin c) J. B. Say d) Galbraith 79) Constituent Assembly of India was formulated on the recommendation of a) Wavel Plan b) Cripps Mission c) August Offer d) Cabinet Mission 80) Which of the following is an essential element of the state? a) Sovereignty b) Government c) Territory d) All these

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        54 

81) Which has become a legal right under 44th Amendment? a) Right to Education b) Right to Property c) Right to Judicial Remedies d) Right to Work 82) By which Constitution Amendment Act, Right to Property ceased to remain a fundamental right? a) 44th b) 42nd c) 43rd d) 45th 83) Who said “Truth is the ultimate reality and it is God”? a) Swamy Vivekananda b) Rabindra Nath Tagore c) M. K. Gandhi d) Radhakrishnan 84) Which of the following tribes is associated with the “Tana Bhagat” movement? a) Uraon b) Munda c) Santhal d) Konda dora 85) Who founded the Naujawan Bharat Sabha? a) B. C. Pal b) G. Subramania Iyer c) Sardar Bagat Singh d) Rukmani Lakshmipath 86) The Narendra Mandal or Chamber of Princes was inaugurated in 1921 by a) Lord Curzon b) Lord Wellesley c) Duke of Connaught d) Duke of Wellingdon 87) Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha together are known as a) Triratna b) Trivarga c) Trisarga d) Trimurti 88) Who was called Lichchavi Dauhitra? a) Chandragupta I b) Skandagupta c) Kumaragupta d) Samudragupta 89) Which hill station is called as the ‘Queen of the Satpuras’ a) Pachmarhi b) Nilgiri c) Mahenderagiri d) Cardamom 90) Which national highway connects Delhi and Kolkata via Mathura and Varanasi? a) NH4 b) NH2 c) NH10 d) NH6 91) The country where drip irrigation is more efficiently used is a) India b) Israel c) Sri Lanka d) England 92) Which of the following is an endangered species? a) Black buck b) Blue sheep c) Gangetic dolphin d) Mithun 93) Of the following man-made disasters, which is socially induced? a) Debris Avalanche b) Salt Water Intrusion

c) Arson d) Ozone depletion 94) Which one of the following endocrine gland is situated in the neck? a) Pancreas b) Thyroid c) Pituitary d) Adrenals 95) The seat of intelligence is situated in the a) Cerebrum b) Cerebellum c) Medulla d) Thalamus 96) What is the Normal Blood Volume in human adult? a) One litre b) Three litres c) Five litres d) Seven litres 97) The fasting blood glucose level in adults in mg / 100 ml is a) 200 b) 160 c) 100 d) 60 98) Entomology is the study of a) Birds b) Insects c) Fossils d) Fungi 99) Exobiology is a science that deals with a) extinct forms b) life in other planets c) life in the outer space d) life in marine habitat 100) In radio – communication, the signals emitted by transmitting antenna are reflected on a) stratosphere b) ozonosphere c) ionosphere d) troposphere

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE 101) ABCD is a cyclic trapezium with AB || DC and AB diameter of the circle. If ∠CAB = 30° then ∠ADC is a) 60° b) 120° c) 150° d) 30° 102) ABC is a triangle. The bisectors of the internal angle ∠B and external angle ∠C intersect at D. If ∠BDC = 50°, then ∠A is a) 100° b) 90° c) 40° d) 60° 103) AB is the chord of a circle with centre O and DOC is a line segment originating from a point D on the circle and intersecting AB produced at C such that BC = OD. If ∠BCD = 20°, then ∠AOD = ? a) 20° b) 30° c) 40° d) 60° 104) In a circle of radius 17 cm, two parallel chords of lengths 30 cm and 16 cm are drawn. If both the chords are on the same side of the centre, then the distance between the chords is a) 9 cm b) 7 cm c) 23 cm d) 11 cm

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        55 

105) If sin (A – B) = ½ and cos (A + B) = ½ where A > B > 0 and A + B is an acute angle, then the value B is a) π / 6 b) π / 12 c) π / 4 d) π / 2 106) The fifth term of the sequence for which t1 = 1, t2 = 2 and tn+2 = tn + tn+1, is a) 5 b) 10 c) 6 d) 8 107) If (x + 7954 x 7956) be a square number, then the value of ‘x’ is a) 1 b) 16 c) 9 d) 4 108) A can do a piece of work in 12 days while B alone can do it in 15 days. With the help of C they can finish it in 5 days. If they are paid Rs. 960 for the whole work how much money A gets? a) Rs. 480 b) Rs. 240 c) Rs. 320 d) Rs. 400 109) Ronald and Elan are working on an Assignment. Ronals takes 6 hours to type 32 pages on a computer, while Elan takes 5 hours to type 40 pages. How much time will they take, working together on two different computers to type an assignment of 110 pages? a) 7 hrs. 30 min. b) 8 hrs. c) 8 hrs. 15 min. d) 8 hrs. 25 min. 110) One man, 3 women and 4 boys can do a piece of work in 96 hours, 2 men and 8 boys can do it in 80 hours, 2 men and 3 women can do it in 120 hours. 5 men and 12 boys can do it in

a) 111

39 hours b) 117

42 hours

c) 117

43 hours d) 44 hours

111) ABC is a right angled triangle, B being the right angle. Mid-points of BC and AC are respectively B’ and A’. The ratio of the area of the quadrilateral AA’B’B to the area of the triangle ABC is a) 1 : 2 b) 2 : 3 c) 3 : 4 d) None of the above 112) A square ABCD is inscribed in a circle of unit radius. Semicircles are described on each side as a diameter. The area of the region bounded by the four semicircles and the circle is a) 1 sq. unit b) 2 sq. unit c) 1.5 sq. unit d) 2.5 sq. unit 113) If the perimeter of a rectangle and a square are equal and the ratio of two adjacent sides of the rectangle is 1 : 2 then the ratio of area of the rectangle and that of the square is a) 1 : 1 b) 1 : 2 c) 2 : 3 d) 8 : 9

114) The interest on a certain sum of money is Rs. 22 and the true discount on the same sum for the same time and at the same rate is Rs. 20, find the sum. a) Rs. 220 b) Rs. 200 c) Rs. 210 d) Rs. 212 115) A retailer purchased radiosets at the rate of Rs. 400 each from a wholesaler. He raised the price by 30% and then allowed a discount of 8% on each set. His profit will be a) 19% b) 78.4% c) 22% d) 19.6% 116) A reduction in the price of apples enables a person to purchase 3 apples for Rs. 1 instead of Rs. 1.25. What is the % of reduction in price (approximately) a) 20 b) 25

c) 30 d) %31

33

117) Rs. 700 is divided among A, B, C in such a way that the ratio of the amounts of A and B is 2 : 3 and that of B and C is 4 : 5. Find the amounts in Rs. Each received, in the order A, B, C. a) 150, 250, 300 b) 160, 240, 300 c) 150, 250, 290 d) 150, 240, 310 118) The ratio of monthly incomes of A, B is 6 : 5 and their monthly expenditures are in the ratio 4 : 3. If each of them saves Rs. 400 per month, find the sum of their monthly income. a) 2300 b) 2400 c) 2200 d) 2500 119) A and B have together three times what B and C have, while A, B, C together have thirty rupees more than that of A. If B has 5 times that of C, then A has a) Rs. 60 b) Rs. 65 c) Rs. 75 d) Rs. 45 120) A cricket player after playing 10 tests scored 100 runs in the 11th test. As a result, the average of his runs is increased by 5. The present average of runs is a) 45 b) 40 c) 50 d) 55 121) A fruit seller buys some oranges at the rate of 4 for Rs. 10 and an equal number more at 5 for Rs. 10. He sells the whole lot at 9 for Rs. 20. What is his loss or gain per cent?

a) Loss per cent 8119

1 % b) Gain per cent 8119

1 %

c) No loss or no profit d) Loss per cent 2% 122) 15 litres of a mixture contains alcohol and water in the ratio 1 : 4. If 3 litres of water is mixed in it, the percentage of alcohol in the new mixture will be

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        56 

a) 15 b) 32

16

b) 17 c) 21

18

123) A man rides at the rate of 18 km / hr, but stops for 6 mins. To change horses at the end of every 7th km. The time that he will take to cover a distance of 90 km is a) 6 hrs. b) 6 hrs. 12 min. c) 6 hrs. 18 min. d) 6 hrs. 24 min. 124) A man rows down a river 15 km in 3 hrs. with

the stream and returns in 21

7 hrs. The rate at which

he rows in still water is a) 2.5 km/hr b) 1.5 km/hr c) 3.5 km/hr d) 4.5 km/hr 125) There is 100% increase to an amount in 8 years, at simple interest. Find the compound interest of Rs. 8000 after 2 years at the same rate of interest. a) Rs. 2500 b) Rs. 2000 c) Rs. 2250 d) Rs. 2125 126) If the number p is 5 more than q and the sum of the squares of p and q is 55, then the product of p and q is a) 10 b) –10 c) 15 d) –15

127) If 42a

1a =

−+ , then the value of

22

2a1

)2a( ⎟⎠

⎞⎜⎝

⎛−

+− is

a) 0 b) 2 c) –2 d) 4 128) If a + b + c = 2s, then

222

2222

cba

s)cs()bs()as(

++

+−+−+− is equal to

a) a2 + b2 + c2 b) 0 c) 1 d) 2 129) If xy (x + y) = 1 then the value of

3333

yxyx

1−− is

a) 3 b) –3 c) 1 d) –1 130) If a3 – b3 – c3 = 0 then the value of a9 – b9 –c9 – 3a3b3c3 is a) 1 b) 2 c) 0 d) –1 131) The minimum value of (x – 2) (x – 9) is

a) 411

−

b) 449

c) 0 d) 449

−

132) If x + y + z = 6 and x2 + y2 + z2 = 20 then the value of x3 + y3 + z3 – 3xyz is a) 64 b) 70 c) 72 d) 76 133) The third proportional to

⎟⎟⎠

⎞⎜⎜⎝

⎛+

zy

yx and 22 yx +

a) xy b) xy

c) 3 xy

d) 4 xy 134) In a triangle ABC, the side BC is extended up to D. Such that CD = AC, if ∠BAD = 109° and ∠ACB = 72° then the value of ∠ABC is a) 35° b) 60° c) 40° d) 45° 135) Two circles touch each other internally. Their radii are 2 cm and 3 cm. the biggest chord of the greater circle which is outside the inner circle is of length a) 22 cm b) 23 cm

c) 32 cm d) 24 cm 136) ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral. AB and DC are produced to meet at P. If ∠ADC = 70° and ∠DAB = 60°, then the ∠PBC + ∠PCB is a) 130° b) 150° c) 155° d) 180° 137) From a point P which is at a distance of 13 cm from centre O of a circle of radius 5 cm, in the same plane, a pair of tangents PQ and PR are drawn to the circle. Area of quadrilateral PQOR is a) 65 cm2 b) 60 cm2 c) 30 cm2 d) 90 cm2 138) A horse is tied to a post by a rope. If the horse moves along a circular path always keeping the rope stretched and describes 88 metres when it has traced out 72° at the centre, the length of the rope is

(Take π = 722

)

a) 70 m b) 75 m c) 80 m d) 65 m 139) Maximum value of (2 sinθ + 3cosθ) is

a) 2 b) 13

c) 15 d) 1 140) The value of 152 (sin 30° + 2 cos2 45° + 3sin 30° + 4cos2 45° + …. + 17sin 30° + 18 cos2 45°) is a) an integer but not a perfect square b) a rational number but not an integer

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        57 

c) a perfect square of an integer d) irrational 141) If (1+sinα) (1+sinβ) (1+sinγ) = (1 – sinα) (1–sinβ) (1–sinγ), then each side is equal to a) ±cosαcosβcosγ b) ±sinαsinβsinγ c) ±sinαcosβcosγ d) ±sinαsinβcosγ 142) One of the four angles of a rhombus is 60°. If the length of each side of the rhombus is, 8 cm, then the length of the longer diagonal is

a) 38 cm b) 8 cm

c) 34 cm d) 3

8cm

143) If the arcs of square length in two circles subtend angles of 60° and 75° at their centres the ratio of their radii is a) 3 : 4 b) 4 : 5 c) 5 : 4 d) 3 : 5 144)

Study the above bar graph showing the production of food grains (in million tons). What is the ratio between the maximum production and the minimum production during the given period? a) 1 : 2 b) 2 : 3 c) 3 : 4 d) 5 : 2 Study the following Histogram and answer following question nos. 145 to 149.

145) The total number of students involved in the data is a) 33 b) 32 c) 43 d) 42

146) The maximum number of students got the marks in the in the interval of a) 10 – 20 b) 20 – 30 c) 30 – 40 d) 40 – 50 147) The least number of students got the marks in the interval a) 40 – 50 b) 20 – 30 c) 10 – 20 d) 0 – 10 148) The ratio of the students obtaining marks in the first and the last interval is a) 5 : 4 b) 6 : 5 c) 4 : 5 d) 3 : 4 149) The difference in the amount estimated by the family on interior decoration and architect’s fees is a) Rs. 10000 b) Rs. 9500 c) Rs. 7200 d) Rs. 9600 150)

(above values in degree)

In a certain country, allocations to various sectors of the yearly budget per Rs. 1000 crores are represented by this pie-diagram. The expenditure (in Rs.) on Agriculture is a) 250 crores b) 150 crores c) 300 crores d) 200 crores

ENGLISH COMPREHENSION Directions (151 – 152): There are four different words out of which one is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word and indicate it by blackening the appropriate oval [•] in the Answer Sheet. 151) a) humorous b) humourous c) humorus d) humourus 152) a) narcisism b) narcissism c) narcisim d) narsisism Directions (153-162): You have two brief passages with 5 questions in each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and mark it by blackening the appropriate oval [•] in the Answer Sheet.

Agriculture , 72

Industry , 18

Education, 90Defence, 7

2

Technology , 54

Miscellaneous , 54

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        58 

PASSAGE I (QUESTION NOS. 153 – 157)

Pidgins are languages that are not acquired as mother tongues and that are used for a restricted set of communicative functions. They are formed from a mixture of languages and have a limited vocabulary and a simplified grammar. Pidgins serve as a means of communication between speakers of mutually unintelligible languages and may become essential, in multilingual areas. A creole develops from a pidgin when the pidgin becomes the mother tongue of the community. To cope with the consequent expansion of communication functions the vocabulary is increased and the grammar becomes more complex. Where a creole and the standard variety of English coexist, as in the Caribbean, there is a continuum from the most extreme form of creole to the form that is closest to the standard language. Linguists mark off the relative positions on the creole continuum as the ‘basilect’ (the furthest from the standard language), the ‘mesolect’, and the ‘acrolet’. In such situations, most creole speakers can vary their speech along the continuum and many are also competent in the standard English of their country.

153) A pidgin develops in a situation when a) Different and mutually unintelligible languages exist side by side b) A creole becomes the mother tongue of a linguistic community c) A language with restricted vocabulary undergoes an expansion in grammar and vocabulary d) Two similar languages are mixed to create a new language

154) According to the given passage a pidgin becomes a creole when a) It ceases to be a means of communication b) It becomes the mother tongue for a new generation of speakers c) Its vocabulary undergoes some kind of change d) Two or more languages are mixed with an existing pidgin

155) According to the passage, a creole continuum is a) A linguistic term for the mixture of more than two languages b) A scale which measures the linguistic competence of the speaker c) A scale in which the proximity of the creole to the standard language is measured d) A record of the continuous history of a creole

156) According to the passage ‘basilect’ means a) An impure form of a creole b) A form of creole which is furthest from the standard language c) A form of creole which has an extended vocabulary d) A form of creole which is very close to the standard language

157) Find out a word in the passage which is opposite in meaning to the word – ‘Simplified’ a) Complex b) Expansion c) Restricted d) Consequent

PASSAGE II (QS. NO. 158 – 162)

There were four of us – George, and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about how bad we were – bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course. We were all feeling seedy, and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing; and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all. It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealt with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

158) The four felt down and out because a) the room was too smoky b) they could never read a patent medicine advertisement c) they thought they were ill d) they had experienced a most extraordinary thing

159) Whenever the speaker read a liver pill circular a) he suffered from an extraordinary surge of giddiness b) he felt sure that he had a liver disorder c) he felt the urge to smoke d) All of the above

160) The author of the above passage seems to be suffering from a) fits of morbid depression without real cause b) an abnormal anxiety about his health c) melancholia d) an unnecessarily dark, gloomy and pessimistic attitude to life

161) Harris was troubled by a) a symptom of vertigo b) garrulity c) tribulation d) frailty

162) The word which is closest in meaning to ‘virulent’ is a) fantastic b) vital c) viral d) hostile

Directions (163 – 167): Some parts of the sentences have errors and some have none. Find out which part of the sentence has an error and blacken the oval [•] corresponding to the appropriate letter (A, B, C). If a sentence is free from error, blacken the oval corresponding to (D) in the Answer Sheet.

163) I whistled thrice (a)/ with full might and raise my arms (b) / towards the sky. (c) / No error (d)

164) Science and religion (a) / are both necessary for man and for their (b) / outer and inner self respectively. (c) / No error (d)

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        59 

165) At certain seasons, (a) / some areas on Mars (b)/ is subject to strong winds. (c)/ No error (d)

166) As an artist (a) / Raju is as good, (b)/ if not better than Ramesh. (c)/ No error (d)

167) The scientists (a) / could not hardly (b) /complete all the experiments. (c)/ No error (d)

Directions (168-172): Sentences are given with blanks to be filled in with an appropriate word(s). Four alternatives are suggested for each question. Choose the correct alternative out of the four and indicate it by blackening the appropriate oval [•] in the Answer Sheet.

168) Google is one of the most popular search engines, it is _______ by the internet users. a) utilized b) effected c) examined d) flabbergasted

169) Raj was tired of Puja’s _______ approach, so he asked her to make her final decision by that evening. a) silly-wily b) dilly-dally c) wasting d) dilly-nally

170) Ria is __________ at speaking languages. It is difficult to ___________ only one puppy for animal shelter. a) adept, adapt b) adapt, adapt c) adept, adopt d) adapt, adopt

171) School days are considered to be the best years of your life. When my __________ year in school began, I began to think of those past enjoyable days and of my future also. a) penultimate b) absolute c) integral d) termination

172) Being _______, the judge gave a favourable verdict. a) sagacious b) pugnacious c) malicious d) tenacious

Directions (173 – 175): Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word and mark it in the Answer Sheet.

173) Garrulous a) talkative b) sedative c) vocative d) positive

174) Tinsel a) tinkle b) decoration c) tin d) colourful

175) Labyrinth a) meandering b) rotating c) pacing d) wriggling

Directions (176 – 178): Choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word and mark it in the Answer Sheet.

176) Cordial a) fast b) heartfelt c) friendly d) hostile

177) Instinctive a) innate b) rational c) inherent d) inborn

178) Venial a) minor b) pardonable c) unpardonable d) clean Directions (179 – 183): Four alternatives are given for the Idiom/Phrase underlined in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the Idiom/Phrase and mark it in the Answer Sheet.

179) Hard work pays in the long run. a) always b) over a period of time c) indefinitely d) never

180) I felt a fish out of water among the lawyers. a) special b) happy c) uncomfortable d) proud

181) The Cauvery water issue led to apple of discord between the two Governments. a) cause of anger b) cause of hatred c) cause of quarrel d) cause of animosity

182) The construction remains unfinished and the workers have let the grass grow under their feet. a) grown grass all over the lawn b) gone on a luxury tour c) delayed doing the work d) demanded more benefits

183) The police smelt the rat behind the death of the girl. a) got very much confused b) identified the cause of death c) suspected that something is fishy d) jumped to the conclusion

Directions (184 – 193): A sentence/ part of the sentence is underlined. Below are given alternatives to the underlined sentence/part of the sentence at (A), (B) and (C) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed, your answer is (D).

184) The disparity of the GDP between the rich and poor has broadened in the last some decades. a) have widened in the last some decades b) has widened in the last few decades c) have broadened in the last few decades d) No improvement

185) How, is beyond my understanding, the boy could fall into the ditch. a) How the boy could fall into the ditch is beyond my understanding b) Beyond my understanding is how the boy could fall into the ditch c) How could the boy fall into the ditch is beyond my understanding d) No improvement

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        60 

186) The pioneer spacecraft went beyond Pluto. a) made its way past b) went across c) went after d) No improvement 187) The firm buys frozen seafood in bulk, packs it into smaller pouches and then they sell them to the local grocery stores. a) it sells them b) sell them c) they sell the pouches d) No improvement

188) The learners are intended to read the sources at home. a) are meant b) are suggested c) are expected d) No improvement 189) Fuji’s invention of supercomputer will be enable to make Japan supersede America in computer technology. a) will make Japan b) will enable Japan c) can make Japan d) No improvement 190) I could never repay the debt I owe to my place of study. a) Alma Mater b) Motherland c) Place of worship d) No improvement 191) She cries all the time. a) mostly everytime b) day in and day out c) pretty frequently d) No improvement 192) For a week last month, the team’s 20 players were stranded because the Government-issued passport is not up to international standards. a) Government-issued passports were not up to international standards b) Government-issued passports are not up to international standards c) The passports issued by the government were not up to international standards d) No improvement

193) Since July 2008, our customers will be able to use the ATM network of BBY Bank, the bank that was acquired by us during that year. a) have been able to use b) were using c) will have been able to use d) No improvement Directions (194 – 200): Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/sentence and indicate it by blackening the appropriate oval [•] in the Answer Sheet. 194) One who is unaffected or indifferent to joy, pain, pleasure or grief a) Tolerant b) Resigned c) Passive d) Stoic 195) A person who is greatly respected because of wisdom a) veracious b) vulnerable c) venerable d) verger

196) An excessively morbid desire to steal a) stealomania b) kleptomania c) cleftomania d) keptomania 197) Prohibited by law or treaty from being imported or exported a) contraband b) smuggled c) counterfeit d) forged 198) Intentional destruction of racial groups a) regicide b) genocide c) homicide d) fratricide 199) A person in a vehicle or on horseback escorting another vehicle a) Navigator b) Escort c) Outrider d) Security 200) A person specially interested in the study of coins and medals. a) medallist b) coinist c) numismatist d) numerist

ANSWER KEY Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A.

1 C 2 D 3 C 4 A 5 B

6 D 7 D 8 B 9 D 10 D

11 B 12 C 13 D 14 B 15 D

16 D 17 A 18 D 19 A 20 A

21 A 22 B 23 D 24 D 25 D

26 B 27 D 28 D 29 D 30 B

31 B 32 B 33 B 34 C 35 B

36 D 37 D 38 B 39 B 40 D

41 D 42 D 43 C 44 B 45 C

46 B 47 C 48 D 49 C 50 C

51 C 52 D 53 A 54 A 55 C

56 B 57 C 58 B 59 B 60 D

61 A 62 B 63 C 64 D 65 D

66 C 67 D 68 D 69 B 70 B

71 D 72 D 73 A 74 A 75 A

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                        61 

76 C 77 D 78 C 79 D 80 D

81 B 82 A 83 C 84 A 85 C

86 C 87 A 88 A 89 A 90 B

91 B 92 C 93 C 94 B 95 B

96 C 97 C 98 B 99 C 100 C

101 B 102 A 103 C 104 B 105 B

106 D 107 A 108 D 109 C 110 C

111 C 112 B 113 D 114 A 115 D

116 A 117 B 118 C 119 B 120 C

121 A 122 B 123 B 124 C 125 D

126 C 127 B 128 C 129 A 130 C

131 D 132 C 133 A 134 A 135 D

136 A 137 B 138 A 139 B 140 C

141 A 142 A 143 C 144 D 145 A

146 B 147 D 148 C 149 * 150 D

151 A 152 B 153 A 154 B 155 C

156 B 157 A 158 C 159 B 160 D

161 A 162 D 163 B 164 B 165 C

166 B 167 B 168 A 169 B 170 C

171 D 172 A 173 A 174 B 175 A

176 D 177 B 178 C 179 B 180 C

181 D 182 C 183 C 184 B 185 A

186 A 187 A 188 C 189 B 190 A

191 D 192 A 193 A 194 D 195 C

196 B 197 A 198 B 199 B 200 C

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           63 

 

Latest G.K .Bytes 

 

DECEMBER – 2013 1) As per the figures released by CSO, in GDP

growth in 2nd quarter was ______ per cent: 4.8

2) Core sector is a part of index of industrial production. Its weightage in IIP is _____ per cent in IIP: 37.90

3) Gaganjeet Bhullar is top rank player of which sports: Golf

4) Name the Emperor and Empress of Japan who recently visited India: Akihito and Michiko

5) Shinzo Abe is the Prime Minister of which country: Japan

6) What is the name of the currency of Japan: Yen

7) Name the capital of Japan: Tokyo

8) India’s cricket team captain MS Dhoni has recently been honoured with which international award: ICC LG People’s Choice Award - 2013

9) Tour de India championship is organized in which sports: Cycling

10) Tour de India championship was won by Mohd. Nor Umradi. He is from which country: Malaysia

11) India has agreed to train naval officers of which country: Sri Lanka

12) Name the international event recently won by ace shuttler of India – P V Sindhu: Macau Open Grand Prix

13) 29th Junior National Athletics Championships was held in which place: Bangalore

14) Name the state which won 29th Junior National Athletics Championship: Kerala

15) Who has been named at Chief Executive of Indian Banks Association: Mohan V Tanksale

16) Are foreign banks allowed to become member of Indian Bank Association: Yes

17) Who has been named as the new Chief Information Commissioner: Sushma Singh

18) As per Right to Information Act, any person seeking information has to be provided the required information within ____ days: 30

19) In corruption ranking of countries by the international watchdog Transparency International, India has been ranked at which place: 94th

20) Nelson Mandela, the iconic statesman from South Africa passed away recently. He was called _________ out of love and affection: Madiba

21) Mandela was known for his anti-apartheid struggle. What is the meaning of apartheid: Observing racial discrimination

22) Why Mr. Mandela was honoured with India’s highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna: Because he followed Gandhian philosophy and values in his fight against apartheid

23) India has been ranked at ______ place in terms of doing business, by a survey done by Forbes magazine: 98th

24) 57th National Shooting championship was held at which place: New Delhi

25) The Sankirtana, a ritual form of singing, drumming and dancing has been included in UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage”. It belongs to which state of India: Manipur

26) US dollar is the largest used currency in the world, having 81.08% share in international transactions. Which is the currency at the second place: Yuan-8.66% (China)

27) Yuan, the currency of China is also called ______: Renminbi

28) Name the country that has recently been elected as a non permanent member of the UN security council: Jordan

29) Name the country that has recently refused to join Security Council, despite being elected as a non permanent member: Saudi Arabia

30) Why Saudi Arabia did not accept the membership of UN Security Council: To protest the world body’s failure to end the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts

31) Alyz Henrich has been crowned as Miss _______2013: Earth

32) Miss Earth 2013 – Alyz Henrich is from which country: Venezuela

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           64 

33) Tarundeep Rai and Atanu Das recently won silver and bronze medal respectively at which international sports event: Indoor Archery World Cup

34) Indoor Archery World Cup was held at which place: Singapore

35) Which country has been named as host for the FIFA World Cup-2017 (Under-17): India

36) Name the light combat air craft (LCA) that has been inducted in Indian Air Force: Tejas

37) Name the aircraft that has recently been retired from the Indian Air Force: Mig-21

38) Mr. Sumit Bose has been appointed to which important central government position: Finance Secretary

39) Who has been named as the “Person of the Year” by the international magazine Time: Pope Francis

40) Who is Pope Francis: Supreme Head of Roman Catholics

41) Gen. Bikram Singh was recently honoured with Legion of Merit by which country: USA

42) Trade deficit of India came down to less than $10 billion in Nov. 2013. What was the single most important factor for this: Reduction in import of gold

43) Asian lending agency ADB has projected India’s growth at ______ percent for the year 2013-14: 4.7%

44) In which area scientists have recently discovered the coldest place on earth: East Antarctica

45) The prestigious international Sundance Film Festival is held in which country: USA

46) Name the bank from Qatar which has become the first bank from that country to open a branch in India: Doha Bank

47) In a recent international survey on ranking of economies on the basis of their efficiency in utilization of energy, India has been placed at _____ rank: 69th

48) What is the full of the abbreviation NSSO: National Sample Survey Office

49) The Reserve Bank has estimated that India's economy would grow about ______ per cent in FY 2013-14: Five

50) As per latest census 2011 data, ______ percent Indian population has been categorized as homeless: 8.8

51) Govt. has decided to provide a monetary support of Rs. _______ to every NREGA job cardholder who plans to build a toilet in his house: 10,000

52) In what manner govt. has decided to link up two major welfare schemes – NREGA and Indira Awaas Yojana: Labour constructing their own house under IAY will get NREGA wages

53) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in plain areas for constructing their house: 70,000

54) Under Indira Awaas Yojana, a sum of Rs. ___________ is provided to BPL families in hilly areas for constructing their house: 75,000

55) In which North-Eastern state cultivation of popular spice cardamom is picking up: Arunachal Pradesh

56) As per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill approved by the cabinet, the reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) has been raised to ___ per cent from three at present: Five

57) C. V. R. Rajendran has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of which bank: Andhra Bank

58) Name the country that succeeded in landing a lunar probe on moon recently, becoming first country to do so since 1976: China

59) Sis Ram Ola, who passed away recently, was a prominent ________: Politician, Union Labour and Employment Minister

60) Who has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje

61) Pu Lalthanhawla has been elected as Chief Minister for the fourth time in which state: Mizoram

62) Name the person who has been elected as Banker of the Year 2013 by the financial daily Business Standard: Aditya Puri

63) Aditya Puri is the chief of which bank: HDFC Bank

64) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Men’s category: India (beating Pakistan)

65) 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup was won by which country in Women’s category: India (beating New Zealand)

66) The finals of 4th edition of Kabaddi World Cup were played at which place: Ludhiana (Punjab)

67) Mahesh Mangaonkar has become the first Indian player to win an International Title in which game: Squash

68) Name the shooter who won the ‘Champion of Champions’ title in pistol event in the final round in the 57th National Shooting Championships at New Delhi: Samresh Jung

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           65 

69) Name the international beauty title won by Bea Rose Santiago of Philippines: Miss International 2013

70) Report from UNO has lowered India’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to ______per cent from 6.1 per cent projected earlier: 4.8

71) Parliament has finally passed the Lokpal Bill. What is the objective of setting up of a Lokpal: Establishment of an anti-corruption watchdog that will have in its purview even the office of the Prime Minister

72) Recently India displayed its strong displeasure against the rough treatment met to one of its diplomat posted at US consulate. Name that diplomat: Devyani Khobragade

73) Name the international convention which guarantees diplomatic immunity to persons posted in various embassies / consulates: Vienna Convention

74) Name the veteran cricket player selected for the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013 by BCCI: Kapil Dev

75) Name the international financial institution that has agreed to lend $176 million to extend the first metro train line in Jaipur: Asian Development Bank

76) V. K. Duggal has been appointed as the new governor of which state: Manipur

77) Name the diplomat appointed as Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India: Abdul Basit

78) Who has been appointed as the India’s new Ambassador to USA: S. Jaishankar

79) Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) is located at which place in India: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

80) India and Pakistan had a dispute on the sharing of waters of which river that was settled in favour of India by the International Court of Arbitration : Kishan Ganga

81) Kishenganga Hydro Electric Project is located in which state: Jammu & Kashmir

82) India and San Marino, a tiny country within Italy, signed the TIEA between them at Rome. Write the full form of TIEA: Tax Information Exchange Agreement

83) With which country government has approved the enhancement of the bilateral currency swap arrangement to $ 50 billion, up from $ 15 billion at present: Japan

84) Govt. has cleared a services and investment deal with 10-member ASEAN group as part of CECA. What is the full form of CECA: Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

85) India has signed DTAA with Macedonia, a small country north of Greece, to prevent income tax evasion by entities in both the countries. What is the full form of DTAA: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

86) What is the range of Agni-III missile recently test fired by India: 3000 kms

87) The missile testing site of India – Integrated Test Range is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Distt Balasore, Odisha

88) Name the organization which is responsible for developing and testing various missiles for Indian Army: DRDO – Defence Research & Development Organization

89) Who is the Head of DRDO: Shri Avinash Chander

90) Deepika Kumari and Tarundeep Rai are the current national champions in women and men category respectively in which sport: Archery

91) 34th Senior National Archery championship were held at which place: Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

92) PV Sindhu and K Srikanth clinched the women's and men's National titles respectively in which sport: Badminton

93) 78th Senior National Badminton Championships was held at which place: New Delhi

94) In the 9th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in Bali, Indonesia, what was the major achievement for India: India will continue to support its farmers with MSP-Minimum Support Price

95) Recently govt. has launched a four day anti-Naxal operation involving close to 40,000 security personnel in which states: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra

96) Govt has agreed to grant constitutional status to the proposed JAC for appointment and transfer of judges. What is full form of JAC: Judicial Appointments Commission

97) India’s first National Cancer Institute is to be established in which state: Haryana

98) Name the South-African all rounder cricketer who has announced is retirement from Test and First Class cricket: Jacques Kallis

99) As per recent data the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) — number of women who die of pregnancy-related causes per 1,00,000 live births — has come down to _______ in 2010-12, from 212 in 2007-09: 178

100) In India which state has the lowest MMR of 66 per lac: Kerala

101) In India which state has the Highest MMR of 328 per lac: Assam

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           66 

102) India plans to launch its Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) at 4.18 p.m. on January 5, 2014. The letter D5 signifies what: Fifth Developmental Flight

103) India plans to put into orbit its satellite GSAT-14 for what purpose: Communications

104) J N Chaudhury has been appointed Chief of which paramilitary force: National Security Guard

105) Who has been appointed as new Director General of Central Industrial Security Force: Arvind Ranjan

106) Who has been honoured with Polly Umrigar Award from the BCCI for being India’s best international cricketer of the year 2012-13: Ravichandran Ashwin

107) What is the official growth rate fixed by the planning commission for the 12th five year plan: 8%

108) In the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal FY2013-14, the economy grew by _______per cent: 4.6

109) India has signed a mega contract of $1.01 billion with which country for six additional C-130J "Super Hercules" jumbo military cargo aircrafts: USA

110) Farooq Sheikh who passed away recently was a prominent ___________: Film Actor

NOVEMBER – 2013 111) Rajendra Yadav who passed away recently was

from which field: Literature

112) Rajendra Yadav was a eminent short story writer and novelist of which language: Hindi

113) As per a recent study, India has been ranked ______ in terms of ‘Ease of Doing Business’: 134th

114) In terms of Ease of Doing Business _______ is no. 1 in the world: Singapore

115) The WTA Tour Championship title for 2013 was lifted by which player: Serena Williams

116) The full form of WTA in WTA Tour Championship is: Women’s Tennis Association

117) The WTA Tour Championship was held at which place: Istanbul, Turkey

118) As per Forbes magazine’s latest India Rich List, ________ has been named as India’s wealthiest person for the sixth year in a row: Mukesh Ambani

119) Mukesh Ambani is the corporate head of which industries: Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)

120) Recently we read in the newspaper that an ATM has been launched for ‘Bitcoins’. What is the Bitcoins: It is a digital currency, popular worldwide

121) Ashok Amritraj, producer of 109 Hollywood films, for his outstanding achievements in the film industry has been honourd with which award: Soul of India Award

122) Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award for 2013 has been given to film celebrity: Amitabh Bachchan

123) Name the new tactical surface-to-surface missile based on the Prahaar missile, with a range between 60-170 kms: Pragati Missile

124) In a recent global study of tourism, which Indian State has been named as best region to visit in 2014: Sikkim

125) The World Billiards Championship was held at ______, England: Leeds

126) Name the winner of World Billiards Championship 2013: Peter Gilchrist

127) Peter Gilchrist the world Champion of Billiards is from which country: Singapore

128) Sachin played his last match in domestic cricket at which place: Lahli, Haryana

129) In which tournament, Sachin played his last domestic test match: Ranji Trophy

130) The govt has recently approved an education promotion programme by the name RUSA. What is the full form RUSA: Rashtriya Uchchatar Siksha Abhiyan

131) What is the objective of starting the educational project RUSA: Improving quality and number of universities / colleges in country

132) With which country India has agreed to export motorcycles through the land route: Bangladesh

133) As per recent RBI guidelines banks have been allowed to pay interest on their deposit accounts at _______ intervals: Monthly / Fortnightly

134) Most of the banks recover a fixed fee from their customers for sending them SMS alerts for their transactions. What are the recent RBI guidelines in this regard: Charge to be recovered actual usage basis

135) As per Forbes ranking of The world’s most powerful people, _________ has been ranked as No. 1: Vladimir Putin

136) What position is held by Mr. Vladimir Putin: President, Russia

137) Recently first time a rail link was opened linking

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           67 

the two continents – Asia and Europe in which country: Turkey

138) In a list of most powerful persons of the world compiled by Forbes Magazine, ____ ____ has been named as most powerful women: Angela Markel (5th)

139) K P Saxena who passed away recently was a noted________: Hindi Satirist

140) Name the international beauty title won by Ms. Srishti Rana: Miss Asia Pacific 2013

141) In the 'Prosperity Index' ranking of 142 countries compiled by London-based Legatum Institute, India stood at ______ position: 106th

142) Name the legendry Pakistani female folk singer who passed away recently: Reshma

143) The Hockey World Cup- 2014 will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

144) The first joint retreat ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was held which place: Petropole border in district North 24 Parganas, West Bengal

145) Name the Indian batsman who created history by scoring world’s highest ever sixes – 16 in an ODI: Rohit Sharma

146) With which country India has signed an agreement to facilitate transfer of sentenced prisoners languishing in jails in the two countries: Vietnam

147) The 13th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) was held in: Perth, Australia

148) Sebastian Vettel, the reigning Formula One world champion from Germany created history by winning _______ formula races in one year: 9

149) Name the film that won the Golden Gateway of India award for the best film at the 15th Mumbai Film Festival: La Jaula De Oro (of Mexico)

150) Geeta Chandran who has been honourd with Guru Debaprasad Award is from which filed: Bharatnatyam

151) Name the UN agency which has taken up a nationwide social media campaign against open defecation in India: UNICEF

152) Name the social media campaign launched by UNICEF against open defecation in India: Take the Poo to Loo

153) As regard to service conditions of civil servants, what was the recent ruling of Supreme Court: They should not be transferred frequently

154) Which country won the Ashihara Sabaki World

Karate Championship: Romania

155) the Ashihara Sabaki World Karate Championship was held at which place: Bucharest, Romania

156) The Paris Masters Tennis tournament was won by ______ Djokovic: Novak

157) Tennis star Novak Djokovic is from which country: Serbia

158) To which country India has provided Rs. 100 crores as a grant for their Economic Stimulus Plan: Bhutan

159) World Agriculture Forum Congress 2013 and Agri-Tech Trade Fair was held at which place: Hyderabad (AP)

160) FIDE world chess championship, was held at which place: Chennai

161) What is the full form of chess championship FIDE: World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs)

162) What is the full form of Agricultural mission NFSM: National Food Security Mission

163) What is the name of joint naval exercise recently held by navies of Indian and USA: Malabar

164) The naval exercise Malabar by Indian and US Navy was held at which place: Off the coast of Tamil Nadu in Bay of Bengal

165) Pakistan successfully tested its ______, Hatf IX (Nasr) having a range of 60 kms: Missile

166) The maneuvering and tracking of Mangalyaan is being done by ISTRAC. Write its full form: ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network

167) The satellite tracking centre ISTRAC is located at which place: Bangalore

168) India’s first interplanetary space craft – Mangalyaan was launched from which centre: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (AP)

169) Who is the Chief of the ISRO: Dr. K Radhakrishnan

170) Name the satellite launching vehicle that was used to launch Mangalyaan: PSLV-C25

171) The book “Gandhi A Spiritual Biography” has been written by: Arivnd Sharma

172) In which North Eastern states govt. has extended AFSPA for a further period of six months: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

173) What is the full form of AFSPA: Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

174) Tarla Dalal who passed away recently, was a noted ______ expert: Cookery

175) 44th International Film Festival of India was held

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           68 

at which place: Goa

176) ______ was the ‘country in focus for’ for the44th International Film Festival of India: Japan

177) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) and the first along the Bangladesh border was opened at which place: Akhaurah, Tripura

178) India’s second international standard multi-use Integrated Check Post (ICP) has been opened at Akhaurah in Tripura. The first ICP is located at which place: Attari, Punjab

179) India successfully test-fired its nuclear weapons-capable, surface-to-surface Agni-1 missile recently. What is its range: 700 kms

180) India’s first Bird Ringing Station has been setup at Salropa in the prestigious Great Himalayan National Park in Kullu. What is its purpose: To identify and establish species of various birds

181) Imomali Rakhmon has been elected as President of which country: Tajikistan

182) Name the lady who has been named as the most powerful businesswoman in India for the third consecutive year in the list of 50 most powerful businesswomen ranking for 2013 by Fortune magazine: Chanda Kochhar

183) What is the official position of the prominent corporate figure Ms. Chanda Kochhar: MD & CEO of ICICI Bank

184) Name the country that will host 2018 men’s Hockey World Cup: India

185) Name the super strong typhoon that caused wide spread devastation in Philippines, claiming over 12000 lives: Haiyan

186) The World Economic Forum has joined hands with ________ to jointly organise the India Economic Summit: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

187) RBI has signed cooperation agreement with central banks of which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

188) Recently RBI issued what guidelines for foreign banks in the context of domestic private sector banks: Allowed them to take over private banks

189) As per recent RBI guidelines foreign banks will not be allowed to hold more than ________ per cent equity in the private banks they may acquire: 74

190) Name the Olympian shooter who created history by becoming first Indian women to win air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup: Heena Sidhu

191) The ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship was

held at which place: Munich, Germany

192) Name the TV channel that Prasar Bharti plans to launch specially for Aruanchal Pradesh and Sikkim: Prabha

193) The Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was organized at which place by the High Commission of India: Sydney, Australia

194) National Education Day is celebrated on which date: 11th November

195) The birthday of first Education Minister of Independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is celebrated as what day: National Educational Day

196) India has declared itself free from _______as there has been no occurrence of the disease in the last three months: H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu)

197) ________won the ATP World Tour Finals in London beating Rafael Nadal: Novak Djokovic

198) South Asian Junior Athletics Championships were held at which place: Ranchi, Jharkhand

199) Name the country that secured top position in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships: India

200) Hurun India Philanthropy List 2013 published by the China’s leading magazine mougal ‘Huran Report Inc has ranked IT tycoon ___________as the most generous Indian with a donation of Rs 8,000 crore in the year ending March 31, 2013: Azim Hashim Premji

201) Malia and Malala have been named among the 16 most influential teens of 2013 by the Time magazine. Who is Malia: Elder daughter of Barack Obama

202) Prof. C.N.R. Rao has been decorated with Bharat Ratna. He is from which field: Solid state and materials chemistry

203) What is the amount of cash reward that is given to the recipient of a Bharat Ratna: Nil

204) Recommendation for Bharat Ratna are made by which authority: Prime Minister

205) Who approves awardees for Bharat Ratna: President of India

206) Can Bharat Ratna be awarded to a non Indian also: Yes

207) What is the name of the second air craft carrier of India: INS Vikramaditya

208) The abbreviation INS stands for: Indian Naval Ship

209) What is the name of the original ship that has been transformed into INS Vikramaditya: Admiral Gorshkov

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           69 

210) INS Vikramaditya has been procured by India from which country: Russia

211) INS Vikramaditya is the second aircraft of the Indian Navy. What is the name of the first (existing) aircraft carrier of India: INS Viraat

212) Name the aircraft carrier being built indigenously in India: INS Vikrant

213) Name the first aircraft carrier acquired by Indian Navy which was decommissioned on 31st Jan, 1997: INS Vikrant

214) The INS Vikramaditya will be based at which naval base: INS Kadamba at Karwar, Karnataka

215) UN’s International Day for Tolerance celebrated on which date: Nov 16

216) National think tank NCAER has lowered country's growth rate to 4.8-5.3 per cent range in the current fiscal. Write the full form of NCAER: National Council of Applied Economic Research

217) Name the Prime Minister of UK who visited India recently for a short trip: David Cameron

218) Prime Minister of UK recently visited India only for a short time as he was on his way to _____: Colombo, Sri Lanka

219) Central govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in which state: Odisha

220) Why govt. has increased man-days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to 150 from existing norm of 100 days in Odisha: To provide relief from devastation caused by Phailin cyclone

221) World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have assured a financial assistance of $ 313 mn to Odisha government for what purpose: For restoration and rehabilitation activities in cyclone Phailin hit areas

222) Which country has promised to provide support of Rs. 1129 crore for campus development at IIT Hyderabad: Japan

223) Govt. has decided to establish National Institute of Disaster Response (NIDR) at which place: Kamptee, near Nagpur, Maharashtra

224) Telecom major Vodafone India and ICICI Bank have launched mobile money transfer and payment service _________in Assam and other North Eastern states: 'M-Pesa'

225) Name the new President of island country Maldives: Abdulla Yameen

226) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in Men’s category: Usain Bolt

227) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

228) World athlete of the year Usain Bolt is from which country: Jamaica

229) Who has been named as World Athlete of the Year for 2013 in women’s category: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

230) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which field of athletics: 100 and 200 m sprint

231) World athlete of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is from which country: Jamaica

232) What was the theme of the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 held at Colombo, Sri Lanka: Growth with Equity; Inclusive Development

233) In the recently held CHOGM, India was represented by which statesman: Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs

234) At which place the Indian Army tested an advanced version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system (block III variant) successfully: Pokhran, Rajasthan

235) BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile system. What is the meaning of supersonic: Objects flying with speed higher than speed of sound

236) Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2013 has been awarded to which person: Angela Merkel, German Chancellor

237) NASA has launched its latest orbiter to Mars –‘MAVEN’ to hunt for clues about why the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere. What is the full form of MAVEN: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

238) Centre has directed the state governments to implement the new National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP) for compulsory coverage of which category of beneficiaries: Borrower Farmers

239) BRICS International Competition Conference was recently held at which place: New Delhi

240) Name the remote-sensing satellite recently launched by China: ‘YAOGAN XIX’

241) Election commission has ask the government to enact a law demanding what from the government in the context of election related opinion polls: Banning the release of results of election related opinion polls, once the notification of elections has been made

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242) The Reserve Bank has directed public sector banks to provide credit to women self help groups at a rate of ________ percent per annum: seven

243) What is the name of the first all women bank started in India: Bhartiya Mahlia Bank

244) In which place Bhartiya Mahila Bank has opened its first branch: Mumbai

245) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to recruit male staff members: Yes, on selected basis

246) Is the Bhartiya Mahila Bank allowed to cater to male customers: Yes, on selected basis

247) Bhartiya Mahila Bank has been ask to devote special attention to which category of women customers: Self Help Groups

248) Why 19th November was selected as the day to inaugurate the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: It is birth anniversary of late Indira Gandhi

249) Name the first chairperson of the Bhartiya Mahila Bank: Usha Ananthasubramaniam

250) To which country India has extended a 100 million dollar line of credit for defence purchases: Vietnam

251) The Golden Elephant Award is given for what purpose: Best Children Film

252) The Golden Elephant Award is given on what occasion: at International Children's Film Festival

253) The 18th International Children's Film Festival was held at which place: Hyderabad

254) Name the film that won the Golden Elephant Award: Dutch Film Kauwboy

255) What is the recent ruling of Supreme Court with regard to contesting of elections by the persons in jail: They are eligible to contest elections

256) Name the fifteen year old cricket star who created history by scoring a record 546 runs playing in Mumbai: Prithvi Shaw

257) Frederick Sanger who passed away recently was the only person to win the noble prize for ________ two times, in 1958 and in 1980: Chemistry

258) India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station is located at which place: Thumba, Kerala

259) What is the name of the India’s only Equatorial Rocket Launching station: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

260) Why Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba was in news recently: It celebrated its golden jubilee

261) Name the India's batting star who became the

fastest batsman in world to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals (ODI): Virat Kohli

262) The National Book Award 2013 of USA has been given to the book _______ by James Mc Bride: The Good Lord Bird

263) Who is the author of the book, ‘Book of Destruction’: Anand

264) The famous book Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer has been authored by ________: Cyrus Mistry

265) What is the common factor in the mini territories of Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands: All four are tax havens

266) Name the 23 year old chess prodigy from Norway who was crowned as World Champion at the World Chess Championship at Chennai: Magnus Carlsen

267) Name the West Indies cricketer who marked an end to the glorious career of Master Blaster Sachin: Darren Sammy

268) The last ball to be faced by Sachin marking end of his 24 years of cricketing career was bowled by ______ of West Indies: Narsingh Deonarine

269) A survey of 1,600 senior executives across more than 70 countries by global professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) placed ______ as the first choice of global investors: India

270) Who has been appointed as Chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India: Ajit Prakash Shah

271) The Warsaw Climate Change Conference 2013 was held at which place: Warsaw, Poland

272) The Climate Change Conferences are organized by UNFCCC. The abbreviation UNFCCC stands for: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

273) ___________won the Asian Archery Championship held in Taipei, China: South Korea

274) Which country recently agreed to curb its nuclear programme in lieu of lifting of economic sanctions against it: Iran

275) Which country has offered to renovate and preserve a total of 116 heritage buildings, constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, located on the banks of the river Hooghly in West Bengal: Denmark

276) A high power group of six super powers negotiated a deal with Iran for what purpose: To restrict the nuclear programme of Iran

277) Mount Sina Bung, a volcano that erupted very violently causing dislocation of thousands of

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people, is in which country: Indonesia

278) Which country has decided to award International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination 2013 to Malala Yousafzai: Mexico

279) Global Islamic Economic Summit held at which place: Dubai, UAE

280) Which country hosted the 20th World Master Athletics Championship: Brazil

281) Which corporate brand has been ranked No. 1 in the 'World's Most Valuable Brand List' compiled by 'Forbes' magazine: Apple

282) 4th World Cup Kabaddi will be held in which state: Punjab

283) Name the country where Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship was held recently: Malaysia

284) Who has been elected as President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci): Sidharth Birla

285) Name the new Chief of Pakistan Army: Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif

286) Junior National Archery Championship was held at _________Assam: Kokrajhar

287) Mahendra Dev Committee has been appointed for what purpose: To review the scale of NREGA wages

288) RBI has allowed which category of manufacturing units to be covered under priority sector lending: Medium

289) On what basis business units are classified into Micro, Small and Medium categories: On the basis of investment made in plant & machinery / equipment

290) Name the Act that lays down various rules and regulations for classification of business units into micro small and medium enterprises: MSMED Act 2006

291) What is the full form of MSMED: Micro Small & Medium Enterprises Development Act

292) Sachin Tendulkar has been selected by UNICEF as the brand ambassador for Asian region for what purpose: To promote its Total Sanitation Campaign

293) As Brand Ambassador of UNICEF for Total Sanitation Campaign, Sachin Tendulkar will campaign in which countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

294) The coveted title of Miss Universe 2013 has been won by Gabriela Isler. She is from which country: Venezuela

295) The Reserve Bank has directed all regional rural banks to follow the minimum _______capital

adequacy rule from this year itself: 9%

296) With which country India has agreed to strengthen, promote and develop renewable energy cooperation: Belgium

297) Jason Day lifted the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf held in Melbourne, Australia. He is from which country: Australia

298) The Hornbill Festival to promote tribal culture is held in which state: Nagaland

299) The ICC T20 championship 2014 will be held which country: Bangladesh

300) Which Indian IT giant agreed to pay a record $34 million fine to settle a visa row in the USA: Infosys

OCTOBER – 2013 301) In which country thousands of government

servants were asked to go on leave without pay temporarily as the government had no funds to pay their salary: USA

302) One of the main factors behind the recent ‘Shut Down’ crisis in USA was the popular health care programmes of the government. What is the popular name for this programme: Obamacare

303) Name the diplomat who has been appointed High Commissioner of India in United Kingdom: Ranjan Mathai

304) The International Day of “Older Person” is celebrated on which day: October 1

305) In the recently compiled “Global Human Capital Index”, what is India’s rank: 78th

306) India’s minister of external affairs visited ______ to impress upon early implementation of 13th amendment to constitution: Sri Lanka

307) In the neighbouring country Sri Lanka, what is the context of 13th amendment to their constitution: Devolution of powers to the provinces

308) The 2013 meet of CHOGM is to be held at which place: Colombo, Sri Lanka

309) What is the full form of CHOGM: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

310) The summit of CHOGM is held every _____ years: Two

311) How many countries are the member of The Commonwealth: 53

312) Headquarter of The Commonwealth is located at: London, UK

313) _________ is designated as head of the Commonwealth: British Monarch

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314) Name the middle Asian country visited by Indian President recently: Turkey

315) Name the capital of Turkey: Ankara

316) Which Turkish University honoured Indian President with honorary ‘doctorate’ in Political Science: Istanbul University

317) Currency of Turkey is ________: Turkish Lira

318) In a recent survey of top 400 universities in world, _________ has been ranked as No. 1 university in India: Panjab University

319) Election commission has given the option to the voters not to vote for any candidate, if they decide so. This option has been named as: None of the above (NOTA)

320) Two day international Rhino conference was held at: Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

321) Lampedusa an island near ______ was in news as over 300 persons drowned there after a boat, with up to 500 African asylum seekers, caught fire and sank: Italy

322) Rohan Bopanna along with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, won the men’s doubles title at_____________ held at Tokyo, Japan: Japan Open Tennis

323) Name the team that won the Champions League Cricket recently: Mumbai Indians

324) The final match of the Champions League, Cricket was held at _________ stadium in Delhi: Feroz Shah Kotla

325) Name the veteran Indian film director who has been nominated to head the accomplished jury for the Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA): Shyam Benegal

326) The Seventh Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) to be held in_______: Brisbane, Australia

327) “The Busan International Film Festival” is held in which country: South Korea

328) Name the acclaimed Cambodian director who received the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea: Rithy Panh

329) Which international IT giant has joined hands with Archaeological Survey of India to provide 360- degree online panoramic imagery of 100 nationally-important monuments: Google

330) Name the Sri Lanka’s first elected Tamil Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the first ever provincial elections held after clearance of LTTE from North Sri Lanka: C. V. WIGNESWARAN

331) The China Open Tennis Cup Men’s Singles has been lifted by _______: Novak Djokovic

332) The tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which

country: Serbia

333) Women’s singles title in the China Open Tennis Cup was won by: Serena Williams

334) Name the Indian tennis star who alongwith Cara Black won the women’s doubles title of China Open: Sania Mirza

335) As per the estimates of the Finance Ministry and that of RBI, growth rate of India’s economy during current fiscal is expected to be around ______ per cent: 5.5%

336) Name the international financial agency that has pulled down projection for India’s growth rate to 3.8 percent for the year 2013-14: IMF

337) Vladimir Klitschko who won the world heavyweight boxing title at Moscow, Russia is from which country: Ukraine

338) Name the allrounder from Bangladesh who became the first cricketer in 136 year old history of cricket to score a century and claim a hat-trick in the same Test: Sohag Gazi

339) Name the first MP whose Parliamentary seat was declared vacant following his conviction for more than two years, as a result of recent ruling of Supreme Court to this effect: Rashid Masood

340) Name the space craft launched by NASA on a mission to Jupiter: Juno

341) RBI has increase the borrowing period under MSF from one day at present to _______ days: 7 to 14 days

342) Indian Prime Minister visited Brunei recently for attending which International summit: ASEAN and East Asia Summit

343) The recent meeting of ASEAN and East Asia Summit was held at _________, Brunei: Darussalam

344) Out of ASEAN and East Asia Summit, India is member of which organization: East Asia Summit

345) The 9th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held at __________, Indonesia: Bali

346) What is the full form of ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations

347) Name the Director General of World Trade Organisation – WTO who visited India recently: Roberto Azevedo

348) Asian Development Bank has provided $100 mn loan to which State to improve education and skills: Meghalaya

349) With which country India finalised $512-million joint venture deal for the construction of two coal fired power projects of 250 megawatts each: Sri Lanka

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350) The annual meeting of IMF and the World Bank was recently held at: Washington, USA

351) Name the first women chairperson of the Federal Reserve System of USA: Janet Yellen

352) Name the Central Bank in United Kingdom: Bank of England

353) Name the Bank that facilitates and promotes research for improvement in banking services all over the world. Bank for International Settlements

354) The Headquarter of Bank for International Settlement is located at ________, Switzerland: Basel

355) What is the purpose of the proposed Rs. 43,000 crore Green Energy Corridor Project: Setting up of wind and solar power plants

356) Prime Minister of which country was in news due to his sudden abduction and subsequent release also: Libya

357) What is the officially name of the ISRO’s project for sending a satellite to planet Mars: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

358) Tom Clancy, one of the most widely read and influential military novelist of his time, passed away recently. He was from which country: USA

359) World Toilet Summit was recently held in which country: Indonesia

360) Name the new High Commissioner of Pakistan to India: Ibne Abbas

361) Name the campaign launched by China aimed at enforcing standards for waste imports to avoid unusable or unsafe/dangerous consignments: Green Fence

362) Which country has qualified for the first time to play in the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan

363) The 11th ICC Cricket World Cup is to be hosted jointly by which two countries: Australia & New Zealand

364) What is the full form of ICC: International Cricket Council

365) What is the range of Nuclear weapons capable surface-to-surface missile Prithvi-II: 300 kms

366) The missile testing range of India is named as: Integrated Test Range

367) The missile testing range of India is located at which place: Wheeler Island, Near Chandipur, Odisha

368) Recently Supreme Court ordered ___ per cent reservation in govt. jobs for disables person: Three

369) Ilham Aliyev has been elected as President of which country: Azerbaijan

370) What is the popular full form of the scientific research organization CERN: European Council for European Research

371) Mulatu Teshome has been elected president of which country: Ethiopia

372) Sachin Tendulkar reached the coveted landmark of 50,000 runs across all formats of cricket at which stadium: Feroze Shah Kotla stadium, New Delhi

373) India has signed agreements with ______ countries, who pledged their commitment to the ambitious Nalanda University project: Seven

374) The prestigious International Nalanda University is located is which place: Rajgir, Distt Nalanda, Bihar

375) Name the Nobel laureate who has been designated to head the Nalanda University as its Chancellor: Prof. Amartya Sen

376) In the Global Hunger Index India has been ranked at ________ place: 63rd

377) Which district of Odisha was hardest hit by the recent cyclone Phailin: Ganjam

378) Authorities worldover have appreciated the excellent preparations done by the NDRF and IMD for minimizing the possible damage from the cyclone Phailin: What is the full form of NDRF and IMD: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Metrological Department (IMD)

379) Govt. has decided to bring all post offices across the country on CBS platform to cover larger number of people, particularly in rural areas for banking services. What is CBS: Core Banking Solution

380) Name the place in distt. Datia of Madhya Pradesh which witnessed a gruesome stampede killing over 120 persons: Rattangarh

381) The World Boxing Championships was held in which place: Almaty, Kazakhstan

382) Name the freedom fighter, ex Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who passed away recently: Dr. Mohan Dharia

383) M.S. Swaminathan, Eminent agriculture scientist has been honoured with which prestigious prize for his work for national integration: Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

384) Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist for girl’s education has been honoured with Sakharov Human Rights Prize. The prize is given by which organization: European Parliament

385) Name the renowned scientist who has written

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the book My Brief History: A Memoir : Stephen Hawking

386) Under which loan scheme the receipt of annuity amount has been exempted from income tax: Reverse Mortgage Scheme

387) Who are the likely beneficiaries under the reverse mortgage loan scheme: Property Owning Senior Citizens

388) Government has increased MSP of wheat by Rs. 50 to Rs. ______ per quintal: 1400

389) Name the CEO of ICICI bank who has been ranked as top women business leader of India: Ms. Chanda Kochhar

390) Name the remittance system for which RBI has issued new revised guidelines: RTGS

391) Government has decided to include skilled labour in sericulture under the MNREGA Scheme. What is sericulture: Rearing of silk worms

392) NPCI has launched Aadhaar-based remittances for bank account holders. What is the full form of NPCI: National Payments Corporation of India

393) What is the main objective of NPCI: To promote various forms of electronic banking in India

394) Which city has been voted as countries top business destination in terms of infrastructure, human capital, city culture and basic quality of living: Bangalore

395) Indian Prime Minister recently visited Russia and met their President. What is the name of Russian President: Vladimer Putin

396) South zone and North zone were declared joint winners of the in the final of Duleep trophy played at Kochi, Kerala. It is from which sports: Cricket

397) Which big hydel project of India is celebrated its Golden Jubilee: Bhakra Dam, Punjab

398) 5th South Asian Conference on Sanitation held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

399) Name the first Indian to win a silver medal at the 2013 ITTF Asian Table Tennis championship held in Beijing, China: Bhavina Hashmukhbhai Patel

400) Name the player who scored the fastest ever century by an Indian batsman in ODI, off 52 balls, playing against Australia at Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur: Virat Kohli

401) Man Booker Prize 2013 has been awarded to ________for her novel, The Luminaries. Eleanor Catton

402) Name the eminent Telugu novelist, short story writer, poet critic and 2012 Jnanpith award

winner who passed away recently: Ravuri Bharadhwaja

403) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 title was won by _________ of China: Ding Junhui

404) The Indian Open Snooker Tournament – 2013 was held at which place: New Delhi

405) Name the first ever India-Russia joint military exercise that began on October 19 at the Mahajan field firing range in Rajasthan near the Indo-Pak border: Indra 2013

406) What is the objective of recently conducted Indo-Russian joint military exercise: for improving anti-terrorist operations

407) Name the latest National Tennis champions in men’s & women’s category: Mohit Mayur and Prerna Bhambri

408) With which country India recently signed a border defence pact: China

409) What is the officially name of the border defence pact signed between India and China: Border Defence Co-operation Agreement

410) What is the official designation of the Prime Minister of China: Premier

411) What is the name of the Premier of China: Li Keqiang

412) Which mega steel company has been asked by a UN Human Rights panel to stop the work at its Odisha plant as it may lead to displacement of thousands of people and disruption in their livelihoods: Posco

413) The Union Cabinet has approved the biggest ever foreign investment in India's aviation sector - Jet Airways' proposed sale of its 24 per cent equity to ___________airline: Etihad Airways

414) The Etihad Airways is the national airline of which country: United Arab Emirates

415) To which country India has agreed to start a power transmission line to export 500 million megawatt of electricity: Bangladesh

416) Name the Indian power cooperate which has joined hands with Bangladesh power development board to form Bangladesh – India Friendship Power Company to promote 1,320-MW Maitri thermal power project in Bangladesh: National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

417) UNO recently passed a regulation to destroy huge amounts of chemical in which country: Syria

418) Which railway station near Kolkata has been renamed as Komagata Maru station to salute the martyrs of September 29, 1914, who arrived

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there by the ship of the same name: Budge Budge

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

420) INS Sunayna, the indigenously built warship is which type of ship: Naval offshore Patrol Vessel (NOVP)

421) Terry Walsh has been appointed chief coach of which national men’s sports team: Hockey

422) The new chief coach of men’s national hockey team – Terry Walsh is from which country: Australia

423) India and China will hold joint military exercises from November 4 in _______ region in South west China: Chengdu

424) What is the objective of the proposed Indo-China joint military exercise: To practice counter insurgency and counter terrorism manoeuvres

425) Which corporate has been allowed by government to start a new domestic airline jointly with Singapore Airlines: Tata Group

426) What is the name of proposed new domestic airline started jointly by Tata and Singapore airlines: 'Tata SIA Airlines Limited'

427) Government has decided to contribute a sum of Rs. ______ crore towards capital infusion in public sector banks: 14,000

428) For what purpose government is contributing Rs. 14,000 crore in capital of public sector banks: To enable banks to meet Basel III capital requirements

429) Name the two Latin American Countries visited by the Vice President Hamid Ansari: Peru & Cuba

430) Sanjeev Rajput won the gold in which event in the Asian Air Gun shooting championship in Tehran, Iran: Men’s 50-metre free rifle event

431) Bru community which has settled in large number of refugee camps in Tripura and Assam, belongs to which state: Mizoram

432) Air Costa is the new regional airline started in which part of the country: Andhra Pradesh

433) Name the Indian scientist in whose name the ‘God Particle’ has been named as Higgs Boson: Satyendra Nath Bose

434) The Nobel prize – 2013 for physics has been given to François Englert, Belgium and Peter W. Higgs, UK for which achievement: for the outstanding research for discovery of ‘God

Particle’

435) The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2013 has been awarded to how many scientists: Three

436) The three scientists – Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel have been given Nobel prize in Chemistry for 2013 for research in which field: for developing computer models that predict complex chemical reactions that can be used for tasks like creating new drugs

437) Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for which achievement: For breakthroughs in understanding how key substances are moved around within a cell

438) The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013 has been awarded to author Alice Munro for which field of literature: Contemporary short stories

439) Nobel Laureate for 2013 literature Nobel Prize – Alice Munro is from which country: Canada

440) What is the formal official name for the Economics Nobel Prize: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences

441) The Nobel Prize for economics for 2013 has been awarded for what purpose: For research in empirical analysis of asset prices

442) The Nobel Peace Prize – 2013 has been awarded to which organization: Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

443) Currently, OPCW is in news for handling which international assignment: Destruction of dumps of chemical weapons in Syria as per UN mandate

444) The headquarters of Nobel Peace prize winning organization – OPCW is located at which place: The Hague, Netherland

445) Why the Nobel prizes are delivered on a fix day – December 10 every year: It is the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel

446) All Nobel Prizes except the peace prize are presented at _____, Sweden: Stockholm

447) The Nobel Prize for Peace is presented at _______, Norway: Oslo

448) The Nobel Prize for Peace is not decided in Sweden, instead, it is decided by an expert committee of _________: Parliament of Norway

449) India has been ranked __________ out of 136 countries on a Global Gender Gap Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum: 101st

450) According to a recent survey by Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM) and DTZ, _______ is the best business destination in the country: Bangalore

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451) Name the Formula One champion who has won four successive titles in the current season: Sebastian Vettal

452) Sebastian Vettal, the formula one world champion is from which country: Germany

453) India’s only Formula One Racing Track Buddha International Circuit is located at which place: Noida, UP

454) World’s largest airport Al-Maktoum International is located at which place: Dubai, UAE

455) Which financial institution proposes to launch a special loan scheme for creation of storage infrastructure like construction of Warehouses, Silos, cold storages and cold chain infrastructure: NABARD

456) Govt. plans to start National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for what purpose: As a watchdog for the accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies.

457) With which bank Australian Trade Commission has signed a MoU to raise the productivity and exports of India’s food and agricultural sector: Yes Bank

458) To which state World Bank has provided $360 million loan for modernisation of irrigation and drainage systems: Uttar Pradesh

459) India is planning a cross country highway with which two other countries: Myanmar and Thailand

460) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will start from ________ in Manipur, India : Moreh

461) The trilateral highway with Myanmar and Thailand will end at ______ in Thailand: Mae Sot

462) Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will link Kolkata port with Sittwe port in which country: Myanmar

463) In the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, Kaladan is the name of a _______ in Mizoram: River

464) The World Agricultural Congress and Trade Fair to be held at ______: Hyderabad

465) Supreme Court ruled that MPs/MLAs will lose their seats immediately if they are convicted of offences that carry a prison term of more than ______years: Two

466) The 2013 Norton Report by Symantec says that India is among the world’s top ______ countries with the highest number of incidences of cyber crime: Five

467) Indian Navy has recently inducted Hawk MK 132 aircraft. It is what type of aircraft: Advanced Jet Trainer

SEPTEMBER– 2013

468) The book Communist Cookbook has written by: Sharmishta Roy Chowdhury

469) Who is the author of the book ‘Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten: Rajmohan Gandhi

470) The GDP growth rate for the quarter ending June 30th was pegged at _______: 4.4%

471) The Asia Cup Hockey was held at which place: Ipoh, Malaysia

472) 2014 Hockey World Cup will be held at which place: The Hague, Netherlands

473) Name the country who won the Asia Cup Hockey by defeating India: South Korea

474) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______ times of market value for acquiring land in rural areas: four

475) As per the Land Acquisition Bill passed by Lok Sabha, govt. has to pay compensation upto ______ times of market value for acquiring land in urban areas: two

476) G-20 group of countries held a meeting of their Heads at which place: St. Petersburg, Russia

477) Name the ace footballer from UK who created a new record by becoming the expensive most player in the history of football: Gareth Bale

478) Noted footballer Gareth Bale has been contracted by which Club for a sum of 100 million Euros: Real Madrid, Spain

479) Diana Nyad, the 64 year old lady swimmer from USA created a world record for what: for longest distance swimming – 110 mile (177 kms)

480) Haraprasad Das, eminent Oriya writer, has been honoured with which prestigious award for his book ‘Vamsha’: Moortidevi Award - 2012

481) Name the country who won SAFF football championship by beating India: Afghanistan

482) What is the full form of SAFF: South Asia Football Federation)

483) The SAFF football championship was recently held at which place: Kathmandu, Nepal

484) As per new companies law, the corporates are required to spend _______ % of their profits towards CSR activities: Two

485) Write the full form of CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

486) India recently launched multi band communication satellite - GSAT-7 for what purpose: Data gathering for defence forces

487) The GSAT- 7 satellite was launched from which

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place: Kourou, French Guiana (An overseas territory of France, at joining Brazil)

488) The GSAT-7 satellite was launched in a _____ Orbit, about 36000 kms above Earth’s surface: Geosynchronous

489) Name the book on tax administration written by noted economist Parthasarthi Shome, Advisor to the Finance Minister: Indian Tax Administration: A Dialogue

490) Dr. Raghuram Rajan, the new governor of RBI was holding which position before this: Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance

491) As per the PFRDA bill, 2011, government has permitted FDI upto _____% in the pension sector: 26

492) Write the full form PFRDA: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority

493) Name the tennis star who won US Open men’s singles title: Rafael Nadal

494) Noted tennis star Rafael Nadal is from which country: Spain

495) Famous sports person Novak Djokovic is from which game: Tennis

496) Tennis star Novak Djokovic hails from which country: Serbia

497) Name the tennis star who won US Open women’s singles title: Serena Williams

498) Noted tennis star Serena Williams from which country: USA

499) Name the prestigious sports event recently won by tennis star Leander Paes: US Open 2013 men’s doubles crown

500) Name the world renowned music maestro who conducted the Bavarian State Orchestra in J & K: Zubin Mehta

501) The musical concert conducted by Jubin Mehta at Shalimar Garden, Srinagar (J&K) was named as____________: Ehasas-e-Kashmir

502) Tony Abbott has been elected as new Prime Minister of which country: Australia

503) With which country India has enlarged its currency swap arrangement from $15 billion at present to $ 50 billion: Japan

504) India has been ranked at _____ place in terms of its global competitiveness in 2013: 60th

505) _________has emerged as most literate state in India with 94.65 per cent literacy, compared with Kerala’s 93.91 per cent: Tripura

506) Share of agriculture in India’s GDP is about ____%: 13.7

507) Control of Forward Markets Commission has

recently been taken over by _________ Ministry: Finance

508) Govt. has approved setting up of the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation, a partnership between government, corporate India, academics and civil society, with a contribution of Rs 500 crore for what purpose: To engage corporates for help to counter Naxal influence

509) RBI has setup Bimal Jalan Committee for what purpose: To scrutinize the applications for new bank licences

510) Name the head of the committee formed to strengthen the framework of monetary policy to avoid friction between the RBI and the Finance Ministry: Urjit Patel Committee

511) Who has been elected as President of International Olympics Committee: Thomas Bach

512) India’s trade deficit narrowed to $10.9 billion in August from $12.26 billion in July. What does it represents: The amount by which exports are short of imports

513) Which is the single largest item contributing to the import bill of India: Petroleum

514) As per the RBI guidelines, cash withdrawals of up to Rs. _________ a day from point of sale terminals are allowed: 1,000

515) Which type of banking transactions can be carried out using plastic money: Debit / Credit card transactions

516) What is the popular name for the total money supply – M3 in the country: Broad Money

517) What is the priority sector lending target fixed by the government for foreign banks in India: 40%; if the branches are less than 20, then 32%

518) If an Indian bank in private sector fails to achieve priority sector lending targets, what will be the penal action: It will have to deposit the short fall amount in Rural Infrastructure Development Fund

519) The government has approved a proposal to invest USD 4.3 billion in which international financial institution: World Bank

520) Eighth Women’s Hockey Asia Cup was recently held at which place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

521) Which big industrial country has decided to say ‘good bye’ to nuclear power: Japan

522) Name the spacecraft that has become the first man-made object to venture into interstellar space: Voyager-1

523) Name the wrestler who won silver medal at the

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World Wrestling Championship: Amit Kumar

524) Name the wrestler who won bronze medal in free style wrestling in the World Wrestling Championship: Bajrang

525) World Wrestling Championship were held at which place: Budapest, Hungary

526) Name the hockey player who will captain the Indian Women’s Hockey team in Asia Cup: Ritu Rani

527) Name the Indian origin girl who was crown as Miss America recently: Nina Davuluri

528) Jhumpa Lahri, a Noted Novelist of Indian origin is settled in which country: USA (New York)

529) Which city has been named to host 2020 Olympic Games: Tokyo

530) The 2016 Olympics are to be held at which place: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

531) Name the recently tested nuclear capable surface to surface long-range ballistic missile which has a strike range of more than 5000 kms: Agni-V

532) From which place India conducts its missile tests: Wheeler Island off Odisha coast

533) NASA has launched an unmanned spacecraft Ladee for what purpose: To explore the surface of moon

534) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia has recently been honured with which prestigious Indian Award: Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development-2012

535) The first ever North East Festival to showcase eight states of North East India, their customs, heritage, traditions, music, dances, tourism will be held at which place: New Delhi

536) Reserve Bank has directed that gold jewellery accepted as security will have to be valued at the average of the closing price of 22 carat gold for the preceding _______ days: 30

537) Durand Cup is associated with which sports: Football

538) Durand Cup for 2013 was won by _____ ________ after a gap of 73 years: Mohammedan Sporting, Kolkata

539) Durand Cup Football tournament was held at which place: New Delhi

540) Dinesh K. Sarraf has been appointed head of which Maharatna company: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

541) With a view to boost exports, government has raised interest subvention on export loans to _______ percent: Three

542) 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted jointly

by which two countries: Australia and New Zealand

543) Govt. has recently relaxed certain pre conditions in case of FDI in which field: Multi Brand Retail

544) With which country India has an arrangement to pay in Indian rupees for its import of crude oil: Iran

545) Name the veteran British journalist and broadcaster, famous for his TV interviews of various Heads of States, who passed away recently: David Frost

546) How many industries are there in the core sector within Index of Industrial Production (IIP): Eight

547) Which country has agreed to contribute 41% share in the creation of a $100-billion Currency Reserve Fund (CRF) by BRICS: China

548) Name the new Chief Information Commissioner of India: Ms. Deepak Sandhu

549) Which state has decided to observe Bitia Janamostava to promote awareness for protection of girl child: Bihar

550) Name the noted Bengali author who was killed in Afghanistan by Taliban: Sushmita Banerjee

551) The mobile phone business of Nokia Corporation of Finland has been taken over by which multinational company: Microsoft

552) A robot astronaut called ________developed by Toyota Company of Japan, has made history by becoming the first robot ever to speak in space: Kirobo

553) As per recent RBI guidelines, Indians travelling abroad can carry Indian currency of up to Rs.__________ per person: 10,000

554) Which organization of USA has announced that it will not cut down its USD 85 billion a month stimulus programme, spreading cheers among the financial markets around the world: Federal Reserve System (popular name Fed)

555) Which state in India has recorded the lowest proportion of 3.66 % of poor living below poverty line in urban areas: Sikkim

556) Which state in India has the lowest proportion – 5.09%, of the poor living below poverty line: Goa

557) India has recorded the largest increase in its UHNI club among the BRICS nations in the last one year, with a total of 7,850 super rich people in the country. What is the full form of UHNI: Ultra-High Networth Individual

558) Recent RBI guidelines have asked banks to close accounts of those customers who use their credit or debit cards for ________ transactions:

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Online Forex

559) As per the food security Act notified recently, ________ % of country’s population will be covered under food guarantee: 67

560) Which state in India emerged as the hottest investment destination for new projects: Odisha

561) World largest solar power plant is being setup in India at which place: Sambar Lake, Rajasthan

562) Govt has finalised the timeline for implementation of the mega ADKIC project to promote industrial activity in north India. What is the full form of ADKIC: Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor

563) For which part of India govt. has approved Rs. 2,130 crore expenditure under Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP): North East Region

564) RBI has allowed banks to open branches, including in Tier 1 centres without its prior permission. Which city come under tier 1: Centres cities with population of one lakh and above

565) The Reserve Bank has advised banks to allot a different product code in their core banking solution to which type of accounts: Accounts which are dormant or inoperative for over two years

566) Which film will represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at 2014 Oscar Awards in USA: The Good Road

567) Govt. has submitted in Supreme Court that it intends to go ahead with Sethusamudram Project. It is located in which area of India: Rocky terrain between India and Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar

568) What is the geographical name for the Sethusamudram: Adam’s Bridge

569) At which place is the World's highest-altitude civilian airport, located 4,411 meters above sea level: Daocheng, Near Tibet, China

570) Super Typhoon Usagi has caused widespread damage in which part of the world: Philippines and Taiwan

571) Who has been elected as the 12th President of Pakistan: Mamnoon Hussain

572) Recently India post released a commemorative stamp in the memory of freedom fighter and veteran journalist Lala Jagat Narain. Name the news paper founded by him: Punjab Kesari

573) Kaesong industrial park was the matter of dispute between which two countries: North and South Korea

574) Govt. has started a Rs. 1000 crore Nirbhaya

Corpus Fund for what purpose: For empowerment and protection of women

575) Name the first programme started from Nirbhaya Fund, aimed at helping the women who need special protection measures, such as women in prostitution or widowed women: Shubh

576) Ray Dolby, an inventor and audio pioneer from USA, founder of Dolby Laboratories, passed away recently. He is known for which product: Dolby Stereo Sound System

577) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has become the first regulator in the world to start an ___________system: Insurance Repository

578) With which country recently signed the DTAA agreement: Latvia

579) Name the international literary prize that has now been made open to English authors from all over the world: The Man Booker Prize

580) President of which country recently cancelled its official visit to USA to protest against the spying excesses of National Security Agency of USA: Dilma Rousseff of Brazil

581) Which country has recently started Direct Banking, offering banking services not through branches but through various other means like internet, mobiles and ATMs: China

582) Name the former world heavyweight boxing champion, considered one of the greatest fighter of his era, who passed away recently: Ken Norton

583) The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs is planning to rope in celebrities as brand ambassadors for the five minority communities. Name these five communities: Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhist and Parsis

584) Name the organization that has acquired the Rs. 600 crore research vessel named Samudra Ratnakar: Geological Survey of India

585) Who has been elected as Chancellor of Germany for the third time in a row: Angela Markel (Ms)

586) India has been granted ‘authorizing nation’ status for certifying which type of products: Electronics and IT Products

587) Sandeep Tulsi Yadav created history by winning India’s first ever wrestling medal in _________category at World Wrestling Championships: Greco-Roman

588) Name the Indian who has been honoured with Clinton Global Citizen Award: Bunker Roy

589) RBI has directed banks to stop ________loans schemes as they tend to befool the consumers into believing that bank funding come for free:

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           80 

zero per cent

590) With which country India conducted a joint military exercise in general combat and mountain warfare: Nepal

591) Indo-nepal joint military exercise was recently held at which place: Pithoragarh, Uttrakhand

592) Erna Solberg has been elected as Prime Minister of which country: Norway

593) Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey tournament was held at Johar Bahru in which country: Malaysia

594) National Junior Athletics Championship held at_________, Kerala: Kochi

595) In which country a legislative decree has been passed for reserving one seat in their parliament for persons of Sikh/Hindu religion: Afghanistan

596) Wolesi Jirga is the equivalent of Indian Lok Sabha in which country: Afghanistan

597) A severe earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that caused widespread devastation in _______ district of Balochistan, Pakistan: Awaran

598) Name the author of the book “Never Go Back”: Lee Child

599) The sustainable mountain development summit was held at which place: Kohima, Nagaland

600) The picture, The Good Road, that has been nominated from India to Oscars, has been made in which language: Gujarati

601) Name the film that won the Best Asian Film Award at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in Canada: Qissa, A Punjabi Film

602) Govt has notified ________ as the new date for implementing GAAR: April 1, 2016

603) What is the full form of GAAR: General Anti Avoidance Rules

604) GAAR form an internal part of which law: Income Tax Act

605) Grand Master Vidit Gujrathi who won the bronze medal at an international event, is from which game: Chess

606) The 18th International Children's Film Festival (ICFFI)will be held at which place: Hyderabad

607) The Golden Elephant award for best film is given at which film festival: International Children's Film Festival

608) Name the movie that won the best film award at the Ladakh International Film Festival: “OASS”

609) Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH) and National Bamboo Mission (NBM) have been merged with which other major national mission: National Horticultural Mission (NHM).

610) RBI Governor Dr. Raghuram G Rajan has recently been honoured for his ground breaking research work by which German Bank: Deutsche Bank

611) A panel headed by Raghuram Rajan has recommended a new methodology based on a ________for devolving funds for development of states: 'Multi Dimensional Index (MDI)'.

612) As per Raghuram Rajan report on allocation of funds for development of states, which are the three development categories of the states: Least, Relatively and Less developed

613) A panel headed by Raghuram Rajan has identified which state of India as least developed: Odisha, followed by Bihar

614) A panel headed by Raghuram Rajan has identified which state of India as most developed: Goa, followed by Kerala

615) Supreme Court has ruled that for a vibrant democracy the voter has the right to negative voting by rejecting all the candidates in fray by exercising the option of _________in EVMs and ballot papers: None of the Above (NOTA)

616) For which metro city ADB has offered a $ 400 million loan to improve water and sanitation system: Kolkata

617) NASA’s unmanned rover – Curiosity has recently discovered traces of water in the soil cover of which planet: Mars

618) Miss Philippines _______ has been selected as Miss World 2013: Megan Young

619) What is the name of latest search algorithm launched by google: Hummingbird

620) In a recent ruling of National Green Tribunal, digging of ________ has been banned across the country: Soil (Earth)

621) India has been ranked at ______ place in terms of corruption risk: 69th

622) ‘Patan Patola’ which recently got the GI tag from the Geographical Indication (GI) Registry, Chennai, is a popular type of _____ from Gujarat: Double-sided saree

623) Which state in India has offered highest price for sugarcane procurement at Rs. 301 per quintal: Haryana

AUGUST – 2013

624) Govt. has announced to continue a subvention of _________on crop loans upto Rs. 3 lacs, if they are paid in time: 3%

625) In which public sector oil company, government has decided to disinvest 10% of its stake:

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Indian Oil Corporation

626) The South Asian Football Federation under 16 championship held at Kathmandu was won by which country: India

627) Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan has recently been decorated with which prestigious award: Rajiv Gandhi National Sadhbhavna Award

628) The oranges grown in Nagpur area have been granted GI Tag. What is the full form of GI: Geographical Indication

629) What is the government target for disinvestment during the year 2013-14: Rs. 40,000 crore

630) Name the women pole vaulter who has won the World Athletics Championship thrice: Yelena Isinbayeva

631) The World Athletics Championships 2013 was held at: Moscow, Russia

632) Hassan Rouhani has been elected as ______ of Iran: President

633) Which country recently temporarily closed 19 of its diplomatic missions in the Middle East and North Africa as a precaution against terrorist attack: USA

634) In which sports did Indian girls recently create history by winning country’s first ever bronze medal in that sport: Hockey

635) India recently launched National Monsoon Mission. What is its objective: Improved prediction of monsoon rainfall

636) In which format of cricket India has been ranked as no. 1 in the world: ODI (One Day International)

637) Name the sports man who became first Indian to win World Games snooker gold medal: Aditya Mehta

638) Raghuram G Rajan has been appointed to which important position: Governor, RBI

639) Name the institution that recently imposed a ban on the mining of sand throughout the country: National Green Tribunal

640) Village Khirsara in Kutch, Gujarat was in news recently for what reason: Large number of Harrappan era artifacts were found there

641) Name the Indian IT company against which a human rights violation case has been filed in USA: Infosys

642) Name the iconic 80 years old newspaper of USA that was sold of recently: The Washington Post

643) The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to provide $ 400 million to India for what purpose: for reconstruction

and rehabilitation in the disaster-hit areas in Uttarakhand

644) Which country has agreed to supply 145 state-of-the art 155 mm towed Howitzer guns to India: USA

645) Name the Indian shuttler who became the first Indian woman singles player to win a medal (bronze) at the World Badminton Championship: PV Sindhu

646) World Badminton Championships were held at which place: Guangzhou, China

647) Men’s singles title at World Badminton Championship was won by: Lin Dan, China

648) Women’s singles title at World Badminton Championship was won by: Ratchanok Intanon, Thailand

649) Lt. Col. Sudhakar Jayant of Indian Army won gold medal in which sport at the international level: Weight lifting

650) Where in India was a half marathon of 21 kms was organized, for the first time at an height of 10,050 feet: Keylong, Himachal Pradesh

651) Name the India’s first nuclear submarine whose atomic reactor was activated recently: INS Arihant

652) The shortfall of total inflow of foreign currency compared to total out flow of foreign currency in a country is known as _________: Current Account Deficit

653) If our total exports are less than our total imports, the balance of trade in this situation is _________: Negative

654) Who is the first women sprinter to win both individual 100 m / 200 m and 4 x 100 m relay in World Athletics Championships: Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce (Jamaica)

655) India’s fiscal deficit stood at 2.63 trillion rupees ($43.57 billion) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. What is its link with the govt. borrowing: It represents the amount of govt. borrowing

656) Why government has hiked import duty on refined gold bars for a third time in eight months to 10 percent from the earlier 8 percent: To control the outflow of foreign currency

657) Latest RBI data shows that gross NPA of public sector banks have increased to 1.76 lakhs crore as on 30th June. What is the name of first stage of NPA Account: Substandard

658) The govt. has setup production target for food grains at ______ million tonnes for the year 2013-14: 259

659) Name the Swiss trainer aircraft recently inducted

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in Indian Airforce to train its pilots: Pilatus PC-7

660) Which two countries are having a border dispute over Gibraltar area in Mediterranean sea: Spain and UK

661) IAAF World Championship 2013 were held in which City: Moscow, Russia

662) Write the full form of abbreviation IAAF: International Association of Athletics Federations

663) Name the athlete who won largest number of gold medals (3) at IAAF World Championship 2013 at Moscow: Usain Bolt, Jamaica

664) Name the nuclear weapon capable missile recently test fired by India: Prithvi – II

665) What is the strike range of Prithvi – II missile: 350 kms

666) Name the India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, that was launched at Cochin Shipyard Limited on August 12: INS Vikrant

667) Name the India’s second aircraft career which is due to join navy by the end of this year: INS Vikramaditya

668) Name the only operational aircraft career with the Indian navy: INS Viraat

669) Dilip Trivedi has been appointed as Director General of which paramilitary force: Central Reserve Police Force

670) Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been elected as President of which country: Mali

671) Name the Indian Navy’s kilo-class submarine that sank at the naval dockyard in Mumbai due to two massive explosions inside the submarine, killing all the 18 mariners: INS Sindhurakshak

672) Desh Prem Azad who passed away recently was a prominent coach of which sports: Cricket

673) At which place in Ladakh, J&K, Indian airforce landed its heavy lift transport plane–C-130 Super Hercules on the world’s highest air strip: Daulat Beg Oldie

674) The filing of RTI (Right to Information Act) applications for all central government ministries and departments has been made online with launch of website www.rtionline.gov.in. The prescribed fees can be paid through internet banking of which bank: SBI and its associate banks

675) Which state has decided to provide free cycles to girl students of class 9 and 10 in all govt and provincial schools: Assam

676) Which area in district Rayagada in Odisha was in news as all the 12 gram sabhas there unanimously decided to not to allow bauxite

mining for Vedanta Aluminum, a multi crore FDI project: Niyamgiri Hills

677) Asian Youth Games were held at which place: Nanjing, China

678) Name the Indian weightlifter who clinched a gold medal in the 77 kg category in Asian Youth Games held at Nanjing, China: Venkat Rahul Ragala

679) Which bank plans to deploy over 1.25 lakh point-of-sale (PoS) terminals in the next 18 months to promote cashless transactions at merchant outlets: State Bank of India

680) Name the ratio which shows the proportion between total deposits and total loans of a bank or area: Credit Deposit Ratio

681) The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority has permitted which type of institutions to act as insurance brokers with the objective of increasing insurance penetration in the country: Banks

682) If a bank becomes a insurance broker instead of a corporate agent, what difference it will make in the insurance selling options of the bank: as a broker they can sell insurance products of more than one company

683) As per revised areas norms for multiproduct SEZ’s, the minimum area requirement has now been fixed at______: 500 hectares

684) SEZ’s only for electronics hardware, agro-based food processing, biotechnology, handicrafts can now be setup in an area of ________ hectares only: 10

685) Name the element based on which physicists have developed most precise clock of the world: Ytterbium

686) The Reserve Bank has imposed monetary penalties ranging from 50 lakhs to two crore on Allahabad Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank and Indian Bank for which offence: Violation of KYC Norms

687) With a view to ensure free and fair elections, the Voter Verifiable Paper Trail (VVPAT) system will be used on trial basis for the first time in which state: Nagaland

688) Name the scheme wherein one youth from each rural household that completes 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme will be eligible for skill training and job placement under the National Skill Development Scheme: National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme

689) The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to the

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Supreme Court and High Courts. What is the alternative suggested for this system: Judicial Appointments Commission

690) RBI has increased the ceiling for FDI in asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) from 49% to__%: 74%

691) What is the function of a asset reconstruction company: Recovery of banks bad loans

692) The government has approved setting up of 12 mega food parks during the 12th Plan period (2012-17) with an allocation of Rs 1,714 crore. What is the purpose of setting up of a mega food park: Boosting the food processing industry

693) The MPCE, which reflects purchasing power stands at Rs. 1287.17 for rural areas in 2011-12. What is the full form of MPCE: Monthly Per Capita Expenditure

694) What is the MPCE for urban areas for the period 2011-12: Rs. 2477.02

695) Name the two global credit rating agencies which have decided to maintain the ‘BBB’ rating for India: Fitch; Standard & Poor’s

696) As per RBI directives and recent government guidelines, the Adhaar Card is complete and valid proof for satisfying KYC norms for opening bank account subject to one condition. What is that condition: The current address of the person should be same as mentioned in the Adhaar Card

697) The Lusofonia Games will be held in which place in India: Goa

698) In Lusofonia games, sports persons and athletes from only ________ speaking countries take part: Portuguese

699) Which Indian sports person has been appointed the brand ambassador to promote world’s largest football league Barclays English Premier League football in India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

700) Name the Iraqi Prime Minister who visited India recently: Nouri al-Maliki

701) Shailendra Kumar Mandal, Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at National Institute of Technology, Patna has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship. Name the sponsoring country for this fellowship: USA

702) As per a recent study India ranks _____ in terms of number of internet users: 3rd

703) Indian women's recurve team (archery) won the gold medal in which international event: The World Cup Archery (Stage IV)

704) The World Cup Archery championship was held at which place: Wroclaw, Poland

705) 40th National Women's Premier Chess Championship was held at which place: Kolkata

706) The government has set up a Tax Administration Reform Commission under___________, advisor to the Finance Minister: Parthasarathy Shome

707) What is the objective of setting up of the Tax Administration Reform Commission: to review the application of tax policies and tax laws in the country

708) Name the sports person who has been selected as the captain of Indian hockey team: Sardara Singh

709) Mr. Ronjan Sodhi has been honoured with which big award recently: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

710) Name the highest recognition given by govt. in the field of sports: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

711) What is the amount of cash reward given by under Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rs. 7.50 lakh

712) Arjuna Awards are given in which field: Sports

713) Name the cricketer who has been given Arjuna Award 2013: Virat Kohli

714) Mr. Gagan Jeet Bhullar has been given Arjuna Award for which sports: Golf

715) Name the women’s badminton champion recently honoured with Arjuna Award: Ms. P.V. Sindhu

716) Dronacharya Awards in sports are given for what purpose: Excellence in Coaching

717) Name the sports award given for life time achievement of a sports person: Dyanchand Award

718) What is the amount of cash reward given to Arjuna, Daronacharya and Dhyanchand awardees: Rs. 5 lakh

719) Rajya Sabha passed an amendment to which act for allowing persons in jail or in police custody to contest elections: Representation of the People Act

720) Name one main reason for recent sharp slump in the value of Rupee against Dollar: Higher demand of dollars for higher value of imports and shortage of dollars in international market

721) A number of artifacts belonging to Harrappan era were discovered from a place near Bhuj in Gujarat. What is the name of that place: Khirsara

722) On what basis planning commission decides the

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cut off point for identifying BPL families: per capita consumption expenditure

723) The latest poverty line declared by planning commission classifies a person in rural area below poverty line if his MPCE is below Rupees 816. What is the full form of MPCE: Monthly Per capita Consumption Expenditure

724) Persons having MPCE below Rupees _____ in urban areas are classified as living below poverty line: 1000

725) What is the approximate share of exports in the India’s GDP: 17%

726) Recently RBI increase the interest subvention on export loans to 3% from existing 2%. For what purpose it has been done: To promote exports and to earn more dollars

727) RBI has extended non – CTS cheques acceptance dead line to _______: 31st December, 2013

728) Abbreviation CTS stands for: Cheque Truncation System

729) CTS pertains to which activity of banking: Clearance of local / outstation cheques

730) In the cheque truncation system – 2010 guidelines, what has been truncated (cut short): Physical movement of cheques

731) What is the name of the proposed new all women bank: Bhartiya Mahila Bank

732) Recently government has allowed _____ more airports of the country to start tourist visa on arrival facility: Four

733) The international Sepak Takraw Super Series 2013 was held at which place in India: New Delhi

734) What is the popular name for Sepak Takraw Sports: Kick Volleyball

JULY– 2013

735) FIFA Confederations Cup is associated with which sport: Football

736) The last FIFA Confederations Cup was held in which country: Brazil

737) Name the team that was beaten by Brazil to win the FIFA Confederation Cup: Spain

738) Name the university that has been granted exemption from various taxes and restrictions on import / export of items: Nalanda University

739) Nalanda University is situated in which state: Bihar

740) _________, the Nobel laureate is the Project Director of Nalanda University: Dr. Amartya

Sen

741) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that India will host the World T20 Cup competition in _______ year: 2016

742) India has been granted permission to hold World Test Cricket Championship, for the first time in which year: 2021

743) K.K. Paul has been appointed governor of which state: Meghalaya

744) Government has set up an investment target of 1.15 lakh crore rupees for PPP projects in infrastructure sector in the next six months. What is the full form of PPP: Public Private Partnership

745) Virendra Kataria has been appointed Lt. Governor of which Union Territory: Puducherry

746) Name the Academician who has been appointed as Lt. Governor of Delhi: Najeeb Jung

747) Justice ______ has been appointed as 40th Chief Justice of India: P. Sathasivam

748) Douglas C. Engelbart who passed away recently was a renowned scientists in which field: Computers, Inventor of Mouse

749) Indian Navy recently took delivery of INS Trikand from which country: Russia

750) INS Trikand is what type of war ship: Stealth Frigate

751) Sriniwas D Patil has what linkage with the Sikkim State: He is the governor of Sikkim

752) Name the IAS officer who has been appointed as the new Union Foreign Secretary: Sujatha Singh

753) Anil Goswami has been appointed as the new ________ of India: Home Secretary

754) Lt. General A.K. Singh retired has been appointed as _______ of Andaman Nicobar Island: Lt. Governor

755) As per a recent ruling of the Supreme Court in the contest of cheque dishonor, Court has held that only ________ who has signed the cheque can be held liable for the dishonor: Drawer

756) Cheque bouncing due to insufficiency of funds in the account is a offence under section _____ of Negotiable Instruments Act: 138

757) India recently launched IRNSS-1A satellite from Sriharikota. What is the full form of IRNSS: Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

758) What is the purpose of launching IRNSS: To develop a local GPS for India

759) What is the total number of satellites in the

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proposed IRNSS project: Seven

760) What is a number of industries covered in the core sector as part of index of industrial production: Eight

761) Write the full form of GSLV: Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

762) Name the place in Egypt which has been the epi- centre of large scale prodemocracy protest: Tahrir Square

763) In which sector government raise the FDI limit from 74% to 100%: Telecom

764) 5th National Fencing Federation Cup competition was recently held at ___________, Punjab: Patiala

765) Marrakesh Treaty has recently been adopted by more than 150 countries for what purpose: To facilitate access of published work to blind / visually impaired persons

766) The city of Marrakesh where the recent conference of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) was held is in which country: Morocco

767) Government has released National Cyber Security Policy – 2013 with what objective: To counter threats from various cyber incidents

768) Grand Master Parimarjan Negi is a noted sports person from which field: Chess

769) 20th Asian Athletics Championship were held at _______, Maharashtra: Pune

770) Arvind Mayaram Committee was setup for what purpose: To review foreign direct investment policy

771) As per the proposed Food Security Bill, what percentage of population has to be covered in rural areas: 75%

772) As per the proposed Food Security Bill, what percentage of population has to be covered in urban areas: 50%

773) The benefit of subsidized food grains under the proposed food security bill shall be available to which category of people: To be decided by each State, individually

774) The Indian Ocean Rim Association for regional cooperation economic and business conference was recently held at which place: Mauritius

775) Name the President of Egypt who was removed from office by the army due to widespread public protest against him: Mohammed Morsi

776) Vikas Gowda won the first gold medal for India in the 20th Asian Athletics Championship held at Pune. Name the game for which he won the

gold: Discus Throw

777) Name the first cricket player from Jammu & Kashmir to join Indian Cricket Team: Parvej Rasool

778) Francisco Garcia has been appointed head coach of India’s senior women’s __________ team: Basketball

779) Inbee Park of South Korea is a famous sports person from which field: Golf

780) ________ has been declared as the first smoke free state of India: Himachal Pradesh

781) India has ranked _______ in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2013: 66th

782) Yarnell Hill in Arizona, suffered wide spread wild fire spreading over 30 square miles. It is in which country: USA

783) Legendary actor and villain Pran passed away recently. Write his full name: Pran Krishan Sikand

784) Name the prestigious award that was conferred recently on veteran actor Pran: Dada Saheb Phalke Award

785) R. Chandrashekhar has been elected as President of NASSCOM. What is the full form of NASSCOM: National Association of Software and Services Companies

786) Hemant Soren has been sworn-in as 9th Chief Minister of _____ State: Jharkhand

787) M.S. Raghavan has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of _______ bank: IDBI Bank

788) Marion Bartoli of __________ won the women’s Wimbledon Trophy: France

789) The Wimbledon championship of tennis is held at which place: London (UK)

790) Name the winner of men’s singles Wimbledon Cup: Andy Murray

791) Andy Murray, the noted tennis player is from which country: UK (United Kingdom)

792) Name the film that won IIFA awards for best film, best director, best actor, best story and music: Barfi

793) World Population day is celebrated on which day: 11th July

794) What is the name of the first all women bank to be started by November 1: Bhartiya Mahila Bank

795) State Bank of India has launched a prepaid card, State Bank Xpress Money Card for what purpose: To facilitate inward remittances from UAE

796) Name the India’s youngest puglist who won a

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gold medal in boxing at Asian Championship held at Amman, Jordan: Shiva Thapa

797) Name the internationally renowned Buddhist temple town in Bihar that was in news as it was rocked by a series of terrorist bomb attacks: Bodhgaya

798) RBI has advised banks that it will refund _____ percent of losses suffered by banks on account of receiving counterfeit notes of Rs. 100 and above if they report the matter to police: 25%

799) Name the company which has started first white label ATMs in India: Tata Communications Payment Solutions

800) What is the name of white label ATMs launched by house of Tata’s: Indicash

801) A white label ATM is one which is licenced to and maintained by a ________: Non Banking Entity

802) Which three countries have entered into a tripartite agreement on maritime cooperation to secure sea routes in the Indian Ocean region: India, Sri Lanka and Maldives

803) As per a recent verdict of Supreme Court, MPs, MLAs and MLCs would automatically lose their membership if sentenced to jail for not less than ________years by the trial court: two

804) In a pathbreaking verdict, Supreme Court has debarred persons in jail or police custody from which activity: Contesting Elections

805) The prestigious Tagore award for Cultural Harmony for 2013 has been given to _____: Zubin Mehta

806) Zubin Mehta, winner of 2013 Tagore award is an internationally renowned person from which field: Music

807) Name the satellite launched by NASA to study the effects of sun on weather: IRIS

808) What is the full form of IRIS, the satellite launch by NASA to study sun: Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

809) World’s largest telescope – Square Kilometer Array (SKA) has started its test run in which country: Australia

810) To strengthen their recovery efforts, banks have started ‘naming and shaming’ the guarantors too, besides the borrowers. What does it means: Banks will publish the photograph of defaulter borrower and their guarantor in the notice published in news paper

811) The bad loans or the loans where recovery is not proper are called ________ in banking parlance: Non Performing Assets (NPA)

812) Govt. has approved of the first-ever National

Aviation University of the country at _______ in Uttar Pradesh: Rae Bareli

813) India’s first only for women university will be setup at Rae Bareli, UP. What is its name: Indira Gandhi National University for Women

814) Name the country that recently passed, for the first time in its history, law that allows abortion in limited cases: Ireland

815) To help ST students avail professional education, the govt. has decided to increase the total family income ceiling under its scholarship scheme from Rs two lakh to Rs. _________lakh per annum from this fiscal: Rs 4.50

816) What do we call the amount that represents the short falls in earnings from exports and spending on imports: Trade Deficit

817) In the context of banking, which two items are represented in CD ratio: Credits (Loans) and Deposits

818) The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to complete account opening process in all the districts which have started DBT scheme. What is the full form of DBT: Direct Benefit Transfer

819) In which state President rules has been revoked recently: Jharkhand

820) The RBI imposed a total fine of Rs. 49.5 crore on 22 banks for what offence: Violation of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer Norms

821) Supreme Court recently quashed the notification for National Eligibility Entrance Test. This is the common entrance test for which course: Medical Courses

822) Govt. has decided to raise a special Mountain Strike Corps for deployment at which place: Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China

823) What is the average national literacy rate in India as per 2011 census: 74%

824) Name the country which is celebrating 100 years of arrival of Sikhs in that country: USA

825) Which country has recently launched 3 satellites for scientific experiment on space maintenance technologies: China

826) Amar G. Bose the Indo-American visionary entrepreneur and acoustics pioneer passed away recently. He was famous for which products: High-Quality Bose Audio Systems and Speakers

827) Prem Bhatia award are given in which field: Journalism

828) The steel plant scrapped by POSCO is located in

GENERAL AWARENESS – FEBRUARY 2014                                                                                                                                                                                                           87 

which area: Gadag, Karnataka 829) Corporate giant Arcelor Mittal announced

cancelation of its Rs. 72000 crore steel plant in India. The plant was planned to be setup in which area: Keonjhar, Odisha

830) Name the US Vice President who visited India recently: Joe Biden

831) Which Indian state received largest number of domestic tourists in 2012: Andhra Pradesh

832) Devendra Jhajharia created history by becoming the first differently-abled Indian to win gold in javelin throw at which international games: The IPC Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France. (IPC - International Paralympics Committee)

833) RBI decided to provide support of Rs. 25000 crore to the banks for meeting liquidity requirements of which financial segment: Mutual Fund

834) Which European country suffered its first heat wave after almost a gap of 7 years: Britain

835) Name the famous city of USA that has filed for bankruptcy: Detroit

836) The Detroit city of USA that filed for bankruptcy is famous for which product: Automobiles

837) Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has advised that those earning up to Rs. _____lakh in salary a year will have to file IT returns this year: Five

838) Name the new Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST: Abdul Rahim Rather

839) Name the latest advanced meteorological spacecraft launched by India: INSAT-3D

840) The INSAT-3D satellite was launched from the rocket of which country: France

841) The book ‘The New Bihar’ has been written by: N.K. Singh and Lord Nicholas Stern

842) Which Indian port has been given the ‘Major Port of the Year’ award: Paradip, Odisha

843) Vidya Subrahmaniam, Associate Editor of The Hindu, has been given which award for the Best Commentary and Interpretative Writing for 2010: Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award

844) Ramon Magsaysay Award are given for what purpose and in which country: for excellence in community services; Philippines

845) As per the latest Planning Commission figures percentage of people living below poverty line in India in 2011-12 has come down to ______ percent: 21.9%

846) As per recent Planning Commission figures, person spending less then Rs. _______ per day in rural areas are to be classified as below poverty line: Rs. 27.20

847) As per recent Planning Commission figures, person spending less then Rs. _______ per day

in urban areas are to be classified as below poverty line: Rs. 33.33

848) Govt. has appointed a committee under chairmanship of _________ to devise the new methodology for fixing the poverty line: Dr. C. Rangarajan

849) Fixation of poverty line at present is done as per the methodology suggested by _______: Late Suresh Tendulkar

850) The Finance Ministry has constituted a forum headed by___________, adviser to the finance minister to interact with industry groups on a regular basis on tax-related issues or disputes: Parthasarathi Shome

851) Name the country that planes to hold 7th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in November 2013: Australia

852) Name the cycling champion who won the famous Tour de France, the cross country cycle race held in France: Christopher Froom, UK

853) Which Indian stock exchange has been ranked no. 1 in the world in terms of volumes in equity trades: National Stock Exchange

854) Last meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank Governors from the G20 group of advanced and emerging nations was held at which place: Moscow, Russia

855) What is the latest directive from the finance minister to public sector banks in the context of ATMs: Install ATMs in all branches by March, 2014

856) Name the India’s multi barrel rocket launcher system which has been tested successfully recently: Pinaka

857) The global tiger day is celebrated on which date: July, 29

858) Who has been elected as the new President of Pakistan: Mamnoon Hussain

859) Manmoon Hussain is going to be the ______ President of Pakistan: 12th

860) In its first quarter review of Monetary Policy review RBI has lowered the growth projection for the current fiscal from _________ to _______: 5.7 to 5.5

861) The new Director General of National Investigation Agency is: Sharad Kumar

862) The bank rate has been aligned with which other financial benchmark: MSF

863) Full form of MSF is: Marginal Standing Facility

864) Which jail of India has now got its own FM Radio: Tihar Jail, Delhi

865) ICC Cricket World Cup will be hosted by which two countries: Australia & New Zealand