WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2011

IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER1.Which of the following statements about new RBi policy on bank loans to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) is / are correct ?I) Bank loans to NBFCs will not come under 'priority sector' lendingII) NBFCs cannot charge a rate of interest higher than the RBI prescribed rate in lending funds borrowed from banksIII) The interest margin earned by NBFCs in lending funds borrowed from banks cannot exceed the ceiling prescribed by the RBI1) I only   2) I and II only 3) II only 4) I and III only 5) None of these

2.Which of the following has proposed the setting up of a National Knowledge Functional Hub (NKFH) to facilitate interaction between the industry and institutions of higher education to produce better quality manpower recently ?1) National Knowledge Commission 2) CII   3) ASSOCHAM 4) FICCI   5) None of these

3.The Reserve   bank   of   India  has increased the amount of money that can be loaded on mobile phones (mobile - wallet) to ..... from the existing limit of Rs. 5,000 recently1) Rs. 10,000   2) Rs. 15,0003) Rs. 25,000   4) Rs. 50,000 5) None of these

4.What are 'structural adjustment programmes'?1) Programmes to increase the spread of financial services in developing countries2) Programmes to improve road safety in developing countries3) Requirements to qualify for World Bank and IMF loans4) UN building regulations for disaster preparedness5) None of these

5.Nuclear plants in India have an 'Exclusion Zone' of .... surrounding the power station, in which no habitation is permitted.1) 1.6 km   2) 4.2 km3) 8.4 km   4) 11.6 km5) None of these

6.Improving regulation of which of the following was the subject of the Finance Ministry appointed KP Krishnan Committee ?1) Microfinance institutions2) Mutual funds3) General insurance companies4) Credit rating agencies5) None of these

7. 'Asha' is a low - priced milk food drink introduced for rural consumers by which of the following ?1) Nestle  2) Cadbury3) Heinz   4) GlaxoSmithKline5) None of these

8.ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) signed an agreeemtn to acquire 25% stake in the Satpayev oil block in Central Asia recentlyh. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?I) Satpayev s in TurkmenistanII) Satpayev is in Black SeaIII) Satpayev is believed to hold 1.75 billion barrels of oil reserves1) I only   2) I and II only3) II only   4) III only5) None of these

9.Which of the following is the new income tax return form for salaried employees introduced by the Finance Ministry recently ?1) Suvidha   2) Sugam3) Sahaj   4) Saral

5) None of these

10.The Commerce Ministry has launched 'Buyer's Credit under the National Export Insurance Account (NEIA)' to :1) Facilitate foreign direct investment in India2) Facilitate project exports of Indian companies3) Facilitate acquisitions by Indian companies overseas4) Facilitate employment of Indian professionals abroad5) None of these

11.Which of the following banks has launched 'Tiny Cards' with biometric identification to expand the coverage of banking services in rural parts of the country ?1) ICICI   Bank    2) NABARD3) State   Bank  of India   4) Bank of India   5) None of these

12.Which of the following statements about IRDA guidelines for distance marketing of products issued recently is / are correct ?I) Telemarketing of all Unit - Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs) has been disallowedII) Only telemarketers trained by institutes accredited by IRDA can be employedIII) All telemarketing calls will have to be recorded1) I only   2) I and II only3) I and III only  4) II and III only5) None of these

13.The Bureau of Energy Efficiency labelling is compulsory for all of the following except :1) Laptops   2) Frost-free refrigerators3) Tubular fluorescent lamps4) Ceiling fans  5) None of these

14.What is the investment limit in plant and machinery for classification under Small Scale Industries ?1) Rs. 10 lakh   2) Rs. 50 lakh3) Rs. 1 crore   4) Rs. 10 crore5) None of these

15.The government has recently decided to allow FIIs investment in infrastructure bonds upto ..... annually.1) $5  billion   2) $ 10 billion3) $ 15 billion   4) $ 25 billion5) None of these

16.The term ASBA (Applications Supported by Blocked Amount) is used in which of the following financial services ?1) General Insurance   2) Capital markets3) Life Insuracne   4) Micro finance5) None of these

17.The Government has decided to notify a provision exempting people of salary income up to ..... a year from filing returns1) Rs. 2 lakh   2) Rs. 2.5 lakh3) Rs. 4 lakh   4) Rs. 5 lakh5) None of these

18.Which of the following is the largest mutual fund in India with assets under management (AUM) exceeding Rs. 100,000 crore on March 31, 2011 ?1) UTI MF   2) HDFC MF3) Reliance MF   4) birla Sun Life5) None of these

19.Which of the following identifies and funds social welfare projects under its India Development Marketplace initiative ?1) IMF   2) USAID3) Intel   4) World Bank5) None of these

20.Which of the following has been set up by the government to fund energy saving technologies recently ?1) National Renewable Energy Fund2) National Green Energy Fund3) National Carbon Reduction Fund4) National Clean Energy Fund5) None of these

21.Which of the following is the new income tax return form for small businessmen and self-employed professionals introduced by the Finance Ministry recently ?1) Suvidha   2) Sugam3) Sahaj   4) Saral5) None of these

22.A Committee was constituted to review the functioning fo the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) recently. What is the objective of CEIB ?1) TO gie suggestions for promoting financial   inclusion 2) TO compile data for calculating GDP growth and per capita income3) To gather data on tax evasion and other financial crimes4) To assist the RBI in formulating monetary policy5) None of these

23.Mission Document of the National Water Mission (NWM) was approved byt he Union Cabinet recently. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?I) NWM is one of the constituents of the National Action Plan for Climate Change II) Improving share of hydroelectricity in country's total energy production is one of the objective of NWMIII) NWM will adjudicate in water sharing disputes involving inter-state rivers1) I only   2) I and II only3) I and II only   4) II and III only5) None of these

24.Which country's 'Zero Kero' LPG programme is being considred for use in India to encourage customers to switch from kerosene to LPG recently ?1) Thailand   2) Sri Lanka3) Malaysia   4) Indonesia5) None of these

25.Which of the folowing was launched by Union Ministry for Youth Affairs and SPorts in association with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) at Imphal, Manipur recently?1) Sports Employability SKill Project2) Youth Skill Development Project3) Youth Employability Skill Project4) Tribal Employability Skill Project5) None of these

26. Government has decided to introduce biometric ...... to weed out duplicate and fake ones recently1) Debit cards   2) Passports3) Driving licenses   4) PAN cards5) None of these

27.Which country is the single largest source for foreign direct investment to India, accounting for 40 percent of FDI flows in the last ten years, according to theReserve   bank  of India ?1) USA   2) UK3) Singapore   4) Mauritius5) None of these

28.The government plans to set up a Green National Accounting (GNA) system to evaluate impact of economic growth on environment. Who has been selected as the Chairperson of the expert group on GNA ?1) Parthasarathi Shome   2) Madhav Gadgil   3) Partha Dasgupta4) B. Ulhas Karanth   5) None of these

29.Global Assessment Report (GAR) of which of the following has complimented the Government of India for its National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) recently ?1) European Union   2) ILO3) IMF   4) UN5) None of these

30. The regulations pertaining to mergers and amalgamations (M & A) were issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on May 12, 2011. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?I) Overseas acquisitions of Indina companies with no impact on the domestic market will not come under the ambit of CCIII) M & A deals that were initiated before June 1, 2011 will not come under the ambit of CCIIII) Scrutiny of all M & A deals will be completed by the CCI within 180 calendar days1) I only   2) I and II only3) II and III only   4) I, II and III5) None of these

31.Which of then following statements about foreign investment in Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) companies is / are correct ?I) FDI will be allowed in LLPs in sectors like mining, power, roads and highways, manufacturing activities, drugs and pharmaceuticalsII) FDI will not be allowed in LLPs engaged in agricultural and plantation activities, print media or real estate businessIII) LLPs have been allowed to access external commercial borrowings1) I only   2) I and II only3) II and III only   4) III and I only5) None of these

32.Which is the first state to introduce e-payment system for commercial tax payers recently ?1) Maharashtra   2) Uttarakhand3) Karnataka   4) Madhya Pradesh5) None of these

33.Which of the following is not among the industries / sectors given priority in natural gas supply in the country ?1) Fertiliser   2) LPG3) Steel   4) Power5) None of these

34.Where was the World Spice Organisation (WSO) set up recently ?1) Kannur   2) Kochi3) Kollam   4) Kottayam5) None of these

35.Which of the following submitted a report titled 'Social Protection for a Changing India' - a comprehensive review of anti-poverty schemes such as PDS, MGNREGS, RSBY and IAY recently ?1) World Economic Forum   2) CMIE3) World Bank       4) IMF5) None of these

36.Which of the following not one of the objectives of setting up the Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority ?

1) To improve farm sector yiled2) To enable farmers to avail of loans against foodgrains stored3) To reduce post-harvest losses in foodgrain storage 4) To prevent post-harvest distress sales by farmers5) None of these

37.The government approved the revival of Scooters India Limited (SIL) through induction of a joint venture partner recently. SIL sells scooters under which trademark ?1) Mayur   2) Bharat3) Vijay   4) Vikram5) None of these

38.The Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) has unveiled plans to set up India's first Carbon Credit Aggregation Centre (CCA) in which state ?1) Himachal Pradesh   2) Uttarakhand3) Rajasthan  4) Chhattisgarh5) None of these

39.Which sectors were added to the list of six 'core sector infrastructure industries' recently?I) Water supply   II) Natural gasIII) Fertilisers1) I only   2) I and II only3) II only   4) III and II only5) None of these

40.Bina Refinery is a joint venture of Bharat Petroleum and ........ Oil Company to set up a 6 MMTPA grass root refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.1) Shell   2) Qatar3) Emirates   4) Oman5) None of these

41.A high level committee of Bankers submitted its report on Rural Housing recently. Which of the following statements regarding its recommendations for Below the Poverty Line (BPL) Households is / are correct ?I) Allocation of grants for construction of rural housing units for BPL Households should be increased to Rs. 75,000 per dwelling unitII) Repayment period should be reduced to ten yearsIII) BPL households should be provided a loand of Rs. 50,000 at 4% rate of interest1) II only  2) I and II only3) II only   4) III and I only5) None of these

42.'Aichi Targets' refers to which of the following?1) Trade   2) Education3) Nuclear safety   4) Environment5) None of these

43.Scheduled commercial banks do not require permission from the Reserve bank of India for opening new branches in towns with population less than .........1) 49,999   2) 99,9993) 2,49,999   4) 4,99,9995) None of these

44.The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was launched recently. Which of the following statements is / are correct ? I) NRLM seeks to bring the rural poor under the Self Help Group (SHG) networkII) Services of Business Correspondents (BCs) will be utilised to spread the concept of NRLMIII) NLRM will facilitate access of bank credit to those covered under the Mission

1) I only   2) I and II only3) II and III only   4) I and III only5) None of these

45.A committee headed by RBI deputy governor Shyamala Gopinath has recommended a 'holding company' structure for both banking and nonbanking financial groups recently. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?I) Both the holding company as well as the subsidiaries can be listed on stock exchangeII) The subsidiaries will own equity stake in the holding company1) II only   2) I and II only3) I only   4) All of these5) None of these

46.Which Indian corporate group has decided to enter the financial services business in a tie up with D.E. Shaw of the US ?1) AV Birla Group   2) Wipro Ltd3) Mahindra & Mahindra4) RIL   5) None of these

47.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently relaxed the eligibility norms for using credit default swaps (CDS) on corporate bonds. What are CDS ?1) A form of loan that can be taken by pledging shares of a company2) A form of credit rating that compares companies on their cash flow3) A form of insurance that protects the lender in case of loand default4) A form of loan that can be converted into equaity5) None of these

48.Which of the following statements is /a re correct about Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) ?1) They are issued by Indian companies to raise funds from overseas stock markets2) They are issued by foreign companies to raise funds from Indian stock markets3) They are denominated in foreign currency4) None of the above5) None of these

49.Which is the first state in the country to sign an agreement with the World Bank for securing carbon credits for its 'Clean Development Mechanism' (CDM) recently ?1) Sikkim   2) Uttarakhand3) Jammu Kashmir   4) Himachal Pradesh5) None of these

50. From which state was the National Rural Livelihood Mission launched recently ?1) Kerala   2) Maharashtra3) Haryana   4) Rajasthan5) None of these

ANSWERS:    1) 1    2) 4    3) 4    4) 3    5) 1    6) 4        7) 4    8) 4    9) 3    10) 2   11) 3    12) 4    13) 1    14) 3    15) 4    16) 2    17) 4    18) 3        19) 4    20) 4   21) 2    22) 3    23) 1    24) 4        25) 3    26) 4    27) 4    28) 3    29) 4    30) 4       31) 2    32) 3    33) 3    34) 2    35) 3    36) 1   37) 4    38) 3    39) 4    40) 4   41) 2    42) 4   43) 1    44) 4    45) 2    46) 4    47) 3    48) 2     49) 4    50) 4

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011

IBPS CWE GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PAPER1. We often come across the term Production Sharing Contract [PS(3)] in financial news these days. PSC refers to sharing of output with the government by companies, public sector as well private ones, in which sector ?

1) Fertiliser 2) Food processing3) Telecom 4) Petroleum5) None of these

2.What is the meant by recent news reports saying – "Indian Rupee is appreciating"?I) THe purchasing power of the Rupee in India has declinedII) The exchange rate of Rupee in India has gone upIII) The purchasing power of the Rupee in India has gone up1) I only 2) II only3) II or III only 4) III only5) None of these

3.Which state was in news for passing a Bill for regulating Micro Finance Institutions recently?1) Tamil Nadu 2) Bihar3) Karnataka 4) Andhra Pradesh5) None of these

4.Which of the following has become the first state to sign a MoU with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation under the state statistical strengthening project (SSSP) that will aim at building statistical capacity and infrastructure recently ?1) Uttar Pradesh 2) Karnataka3) Kerala 4) Tamil Nadu5) None of these

5.The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has taken which of the following decisions to popularise the New Pension System (NPS) recently ?1) It has increased the interest rate on NPS deposits2) It has allowed premature withdrawals3) It has increased govt. subsidy for NPS deposit holders4) It has increased distributors' commission5) None of these

6.The All India Federation of Horoogical Industries represents the interests of which of the following sectors ?1) Horticulture 2) Gems & Jewellery3) Watch 4) Pharmaceuticals5) None of these

7.The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has decided to ti-up with which country to tap the latter's expertise in exploiting geo-thermal energy resources recently ?1) South Africa 2) Iran3) Iceland 4) Bolivia5) None of these

8.Which public sector bank copelted the acquisition JSC Dana Bank of Kazakhstan recently?1) Dena Bank 2) Canara Bank3) PNB 4) Bank of India5) None of these

9.GRIHA rating system is used for which of the following ?1) Cement 2) NBFCs3) Buildings 4) Gold5) None of these

10.The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GAC) recently gave its approval for field trials of a genetically modified variety of which of the following cash crops ?1) Coconut 

2) Pepper3) Cardamom 4) Rubber5) None of these

11.Which of the following statements is/are correct about the distribution of Central financial assistance to states ?I) Central financial assistance for states is calculated according to the Gadgil FormulaII) The highest weightage is given to the per capita income of the stateIII) The lowest weightage is given to the population of the state1) I only 2) I and II only3) II only 4) I and III only5) None of these

12.Which of the following public sector companies sells gold coins and silver ornaments under the trademark 'Sanchi'?1) Rare Earths Ltd 2) State Trading Corporation (STC)3) National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)4) Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC)5) None of these

13.Power produced from which of the following sources has the highest share in India's annual power generation capacity ? 1) Hydro 2) Coal3) Gas 4) Nuclear5) None of these

14.What is the share of private expenditure on health in the total health expenditure in India according to the World Health Report of the World Health Organisation released recently?1) 12% 2) 37%3) 46% 4) 72%5) None of these

15.BHAVINI is a public sector company in which sector ?1) Shipping 2) Metals trading3) Space 4) Nuclear energy5) None of these

16.Which of the following statements about the Indian Economy in 2050 as per a recent report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Pwc) is / are correct ?I) India's GDP in Market Exchange Rate (MER) terms will be the fourth highest in the world in 2050II) India's GDP in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms is the second highest in the world in 2050 III) Only China will be ahead of India in both MER and PPP terms in 20501) I only 2) I and II only3) II only 4) II and III only5) None of these

17.Which of the following are not listed on stock exchanges in India ?1) Fertiliser companies2) NBFCs3) Insurance companies 4) Airlines5) None of these

18.What should be the minimum share of solar energy in states' total power purchases by 2022 as per the amendment in power tariff policy recently ?1) 1% 2) 2% 3) 3% 4) 4%5) None of these

19.Which of the following statements about FDI in retail sector is / are correct ?

I) 100 per cent FDI is permitted in cold chain through the automatic route.II) Up to 33 per cent FDI is permitted in single brand retailIII) 100 per cent FDI is permitted in wholesale cash and carry1) I only 2) I and II only3) II only 4) III and I only5) None of these

20.Which of the following pairs of large banks and their countries of origin is / are correctly matched ?I) JPM organ Chase - BritainII) ING Group - NetherlandsIII) Standard Bank - South Africa1) I only 2) I and II only3) II and III only 4) I, II and III5) None of these

21.Which of the following statements about exicise duty on cotton and man - made (synthetic) fibres is / are correct ? I) Man - made (synthetic) fibres attract a higher excise duty than cotton fibresII) Man-made (synthetic) fibres attract lower excise duty than cotton fibresIII) No excise duty is levied on cotton fibres1) I only 2) II only3) I and III only 4) III only5) None of these

22.The Bombay Stock Exchange launched the BSE TASIS Shariah 50  - a stock index that is compliant with Shariah - recently. The Index cannot invest in shares of companies in which of the following sectors ?I) Banking II) Cement & SteelIII) Alcohol & tobacco products1) I only 2) I and II only3) III only 4) I and III only5) None of these

23.Which of the following has launched the 'Bank on Bike' initiative to cover villages untouched by banking facilities so far recently ?1) Bank of India 2) Bank of Baroda3) Central Bank of India 4) SBI5) None of these

24.Which of the following has decided to enter the nuclear power sector following an agreement with the Nuclear Power Corporation recently ?1) Tata Power 2) NHPC3) Indian Oil 4) ONGC5) None of these

25. Which of the following pairs of India's public sector banks and their headquarters are correctly matched ?I) Punjab National Bank - New DelhiII) Allahabad bank – KolkataIII) Bank of India - Mumbai1) I only 2) I and II only3) II and III only 4) I, II and III5) None of these

26.The tax on short - term capital inflows is named after which Nobel Laureate in economics ?1) Gary Becker 2) james M. Buchanan3) James Tobin 4) Myron Scholes5) None of these

27.The term 'round - tripping' often appears in financial news these days. What does it mena?1) Importing products that are not easily available in the domestic markes2) Indian companies re-exporting imported products without any value addtion3) Brining back illicit money hiddern aborad by Indians under a different name4) Imposing high customs duty to discourage dumping of goods in Indian market5) None of these

28.Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) data for high focus states (states where IMR is above national average) is collected once every five years. The Union Health Ministry has now decided to collect such data .......1) half  yearly 2) annually3) once every two years4) once every three years5) None of these

29.Which country's gold output of 340.88 tonnes was the highest in the world in 2010 ?1) Canada 2) South Africa3) China 4) USA5) None of these

30.Which of the following became the first oil & gas company to find shale gas deposits in India recently ?1) Reliance Industries Ltd.2) Cairn India 3) Essar Oil4) ONGC 5) None of these

31.'Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd' was incorporated as a joint venture between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and which of the following recently ?1) NMDC 2) NHPC3) BEL 4) NTPC5) None of these

32.Which of the following was founded in 1956 by the Government of India with funding from the Ford Foundation ?1) National Institute of Public FInance and Policy2) National Institute of Bank Management3) National Institute of Findnancial Management4) National Council of Applied Economic Research 5) None of these

33.China emerged as the world's second largest economy in 2010 overtaking ......1) France 2) Britain3) Germany 4) Japan5) None of these

34.CARINGS has been launched by Ministry of Womena nd Child Development to :1) improve gender parity2) reduce infant mortality3) improve child immunisation4) facilitate adoption5) None of these

35.The Union Cabinet has approved amendments in the Coinage Bill 2009 that seeks to amalgamate four existing Acts relating to coinage recently. Which of the following Acts is the oldest ?1) The Indian Coinage Act2) The Small Coins (Offences) Act3) The Metal Token Act4) The Bronze Coin (Legal Tender) Act5) None of these

36.Which of the following is not a hedge fund ?1) Magellan 2)  Hibhbridge3) Gartner 4) D.E. Shaw

5) None of these

37.Preferred Provder Network (PPN) is a term used n which of the following businesses ?1) Commodities trading 2) Retailing3) Health insurance 4) Foreign trade5) None of these

38.Which of the following has introduced a new tool named Data Ware Housing and Business Intelligence System (DWBIS) for speedy analysis of data and identification of violations?1) IRDA 2) SEBI3) RBI 4) TRAI5) None of these

39.The government has introduced three new consumer price indices – CPI (Rural), CPI (Urban) & CPI (Combined) – with 2010 as the base year recently. Which of the following is not among the five major commodity groups covered in the indics ?1) Food, beverages and tobacco2) Fuel and light3) Education and schooling4) Housing5) None of these

40.Which of the following has launched the 'Everywhere Teller Machine' (ETM) in India ?1) Stanchart Bank 2) HDFC Bank3) SBI 4) Axis Bank5) None of these

41.Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) are owned b :I) Their Sponsor BankII) Government of the state where they are locatedIII) Union government1) I only 2) I and II only3) II and III only 4) I, II and III5) None of these

42.'Easy Exit Scheme 2011' floated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs refers to which of the following ?1) Privatisation of loss-making public sector companies2) Removal of names of defunct companies from the Registrar of Companies3) Closure of loss-making industries after paying off creditors4) Removal of SEZ status for companies not fulfilling export obligations5) None of these

43.What is the financial inclusion campaign lacunched by the government to bring banking services to vast unbanked rural areas in the country recently named ?1) Swawlamban 2) Swatantra3) Swadhar 4) Swabhiman5) None of these

44.Whch of the following statements about India's population and surface area is  are correct as per the provisional figures of Census 2011 ?I) India accounts for 2.4 percent of the world surface areaII) India sustains 17.5 percent of the world populationIII) Population density has increased between 2001 and 20111) I only 2) I and II only3) III and I only4) I, II and III5) None of these

45.According to the RBI, branches serving population of ........ and above are classified as Metropolitan branches1) 5 lakh 2) 10 lakh

3) 25 lakh5) 50 lakh5) None of these

46.Which state government has announced introduction of 'Vanita Family Card' for below poverty line families that will enable them travel in road transport corporation buses at concessional fares recently ?1) Karnataka 2) Tamil Nadu3) Maharashtra 4) Andhra Pradesh5) None of these

47.'French Auction' is a term used in which of the following sectors of financial services ?1) Banking 2) Insurance3) Capital markets 4) Micro-finance5) None of these

48.The department of industrial policy and promotion (DPP) is promoting NMIZs to improve the spread of industrilisation in the country. NMIZ refers to which of the following ?1) New Manufacturing and Investment Zones2) National Medium Industry Zones3) National Manufacturing Industry Zones4) National Manufacturing and Investment Zones5) None of these

49.Which state / union territory has the lowest literacy rate as per provisional figures of Census 2011 ?1) Orissa 2) Mizoram3) Bihar 4) Rajasthan5) None of these

50.The Department of Industrial Poliyc and Promotion announced changes in FDi policy recently. Which of the following statements is / are correct ?I) Indian companies have been allowe to convert foreign debt into equityII) Indian companies have been allowed to issue equity to fund imports of machinery and capital goodsIII) 51 per cent FDI is currently allowed in multi-branch retail trade1) I only 2) I and II only3) II and III only 4) III and I only5) None of these

ANSWERS:    1) 4    2) 2    3) 4    4) 2    5) 4    6) 3        7) 3    8) 3    9) 3    10) 411) 1    12) 4   13) 2    14) 4    15) 4    16) 4    17) 3    18) 3    19) 4 20) 3    21) 3    22) 4    23) 4    24) 3   25) 4    26) 3    27) 3    28) 2    29) 3 30) 4    31) 4    32) 4    33) 4    34) 4    35) 3    36) 3   37) 3    38) 2    39) 3    40) 4 41) 4    42) 2    43) 4    44) 4    45) 2    46) 4    47) 3    48) 4    49) 3    50) 2

IBPS CWE COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE MODEL PAPER1. Which operation is not performed by computer1) Inputting   2) Processing3) Controlling   4) Understanding5) thinking

2. The computer that process both analog and digital is called1) Analog computer   2) Digital computer

3) Hybrid computer   4) Mainframe computer5) Super computer

3.A right click ont he desktop itself will ........1) open the Display Properties dialog box2) show a context - sensitive menu3) open the Control Panel4) minimize all open applications5) None of these

4. The window which shows icons for things like the mouse, sound, and display is .......1) My Computer  2) Explorer3) Control Panel   4) Taskbar5) Programs

5. ........... refers to a computer's ability to configure nd use a device without human interaction1) CPU   2) Plug and Play3) Cache   4) ALU5) Format

6. This type of memory improves processing by acting as a temporary high - speed holding area between the memory and the CPU.1) RAM   2) ROM3) Cache memory   4) Flash memory5) Virtual memory

7.These provide expansion capacbility for a computer system1) sockets   2) slot3) ports   4) both 2 and 35) all 1, 2, and 3

8. When was teh first Windows operating system launched ?1) 1984   2) 19853) 1988   4) 19895) 1990

9.Today's computer giant IBM was earlier known by different name which was changes in 1924. What was that name ?1) Tabulator Machine Co.2) Computing Tabulating Recording Co.3) The Tabulator Ltd. 4) International Computer Ltd.5) None of these

10.    The process of starting a or restarting a compute system by loading instructions from a secondary sstorage device into the computer memory is called1) Duping   2) Booting3) Padding   4) CPS5) None of these

11.What does the disk drive of a computer do ?1) Rotate the disk   2) Read the disk3) Load a program from the disk into the memory4) Both 2 and 3   5) All 1, 2, & 3

12.IBM launched its first personal computer called IBM-PC in 1981. It had chips from Intel, disk drives from Tandon, operatng system from Microsoft, the printer from Epson and the application software from everywhere. Can you name the country which contributed the video display ?

1) India   2) China3) Germany    4) Taiwan5) Japan

13.In H2O the figure 2 appeared lowered. Which effect has been applied ?1) Superscript   2) Lowered3) Subscript   4) Laid down5) None

14. A talptop or Notebook marked 802.11n in its feature, it means device support1) Bluetooth   2) WiMAX3) USB   4) Wi-Fi LAN5) 3G

15.You Tube service fo streaming videos online is provided by1) Google   2) Mirosoft3) IBM   4) APPle5) Sony

16. When using charaters in Windows, what code does Windows use ?1) ASCII   2) UNICODE 3) MORSE   4) IDBC5) WESTRN

17.Which is the latest type of primter interface ?1) Serial   2) DVI3) Parallel   4) USB5) none

18.To produce a high - quality graphics (hardcopy) in color, you would want to use a1) Virtual Printer    2) Laser Printer3) Ink - jet Printer   4) Plotter5) RGB Monitor

19.What is Mail-Merge ?1) a web based e-mail service with no spam2) a name of Yahoo! MINDSET search feature3) a new virus-hoax which can delete data fro mail-inbox4) a feature of MS-Word used to create multiple documents like letters, mailing labels, name tags etc.5) None

20.The process of checking the validity of information held in a trasncation file is1) Verification   2) Test data3) Validation   4) Updating5) None

21. A .......... shares hardware, software, and data among authorized users.1) network   2) protocol3) hyperlink   4) transmitter5) None of these

22.Which of the following is not a function of teh control unit ?1) Read instructions   2) Execute instructions

3) Interpret instructions   4) Direct operations5) None of these

23.Software for organizing storage and retrieval of information is a(n) ..........1) operating system   2) database3) database program   4) data warehouse5) None of these

24.Which of the following is not true about RAM?1) RAM is a temporary storage area2) RAM is the same as hard disk storage3) RAM is volatile 4) Information stored in RAM is gone when you turn the computer off5) None of these

25.The main directory of a disk is called the ...... directory1) root   2) sub3) folder   4) network5) None of these

26.SUM (B1 : B8) is an example of a .........1) function   2) formula3) cell address   4) value5) None of these

27.The most common input devices include .............. & .............1) Monitor and keyboard2) Monitor and mouse3) Mouse and keyboard4) Printer and mouse5) None of these

28.What is the differene between a CD-ROM and a CD-RW ?1) They are the same; just two different terms used by different manufacturers2) A D-ROM can be written to and a CD-RW cannot3) A CD-RW can be writen to, but a CD-ROM can only be read from4) A CD-ROM holds more information than a CD-RW5) None of these

29.Holding the mouse button down while moving an object or text is known as :1) Moving   2) Dragging3) Dropping   4) Highlighting5) None of these

30. A ........ is a professionally designed document that can be adapted to the user's needs.1) file   2) guide3) template   4) user guide file5) None of these

31.What is the intersection of a column and a row on a worksheet called ?1) Column   2) Value3) Address   4) Cell5) None of these

32. ........ are often delivered to a PC through an e-mail attachment and are often designed to do harm1) Viruses   2) Spam3) Portals   4) Email messages

5) None of these

33.Documents converted to .......... can be published to the Web.1) .doc file   2) http3) machine language   4) HTML5) None of these

34.All are included in removable media except the following1) CD-ROMs   2) Diskette3) DVDs   4) High disk drive5) None of these

35.If you open some menu and then decide that you do not want to select soe option, then click the menu title again or press the key to layout the menu1) shift   2) tab3) escape   4) F1 5) None of these

36. Straight and Uniform margins on both the sides indicate that there is ....... in the document1) full justification   2) full alignment3) left justification   4) right justification5) None of these

37.Which of the following terms is used for the form in which the word will appear on the page?1) Text formatting   2) Character formatting3) Point size   4) Type face5) Layout

38................ Key combination that lets you toggle between open windows1) ALT+SHIFT+TAB   2) ALT+CTRL+TAB3) ALT+CTRL   4) ALT+TAB5) None of these

39.The secondary storage memory is also called as1) Auxiliary Memory   2) Attractive Memory3) Chip Memory   4) Read Only Memory5) None of these

40......... is known as unauthorized access into others system1) Hacking   2) Encryption3) Decryption   4) Trafficking5) None of these

41. VIRUS stands for1) Vital Information Recourse Under Siege2) Vital Infomation Reason Under Siege3) Vital Information Recourse Under System4) Virus Information Recourse Under Siege5) None of these

42.Which of the following mode we use to deliver e-mail1) Postal   2) Courier3) Computer   4) Fax5) None of these

43.A person needs to design invitation card. What type of computer program is suitable ?1) MS-Word   2) Desktop Publishing3) Simulation   4) Accounting5) None of these

44.The term that we use to describe physical components of the system1) Hardware   2) Input3) Software   4) Output5) None of these

45.Which of the following is different from other ?1) Internet   2) WIndows3) Unix   4) Linux5) None of these

46.QWERTY is used with reference to :1) Monitor   2) Printer3) Keyboard   4) Mouse5) None of these

47.What is object of UPS ?1) Using for storage2) To increase the speed of a computer 3) Provids backup power4) All of these5) None of these

48. CPU capacity can be measured in1) BPS   2) MIPS3) MHz   4) MPI5) KHz

49.In processing cheques which of the following I/O techniques have banks traditionally followed ?1) OCR   2) MICR3) Barcode  4) VRT5) None of these

50. "Zipping" a fie means1) Encrypting the message2) Compressing the message3) Transfer the message4) All of these   5) None of these

ANSWERS:    1) 4    2) 3    3) 1    4) 3    5) 2    6) 3        7) 4    8) 2    9) 2    10) 2  11) 4    12) 4    13) 3    14) 4    15) 1    16) 2    17) 4    18) 4        19) 4   20) 3    21) 1    22) 4    23) 3    24) 2    25) 1    26) 2    27) 3    28) 3    29) 2    30) 3       31) 4    32) 1    33) 4    34) 4    35) 3    36) 1   37) 1    38) 4    39) 1    40) 1   41) 1    42) 3  43) 3    44) 2    45) 1    46) 3    47) 3    48) 3        49) 2    50) 2

General Knowledge  (Exam Held on 25-9-2011)

1. Who amongst the following is a Classic Russian author and had written famous book ‘Anna Karenina’ ?(A) Anton Chekhov(B) Leo Tolstoy(C) Maxim Gorky(D) Vladimir Nabokav(E) Boris PasternakAns : (B)

2. What is the full form of the letter ‘D’ in the abbreviation ‘MPLADS’ which was recently in news ?(A) Damaging(B) Decorating(C) Development(D) Dealing(E) DelimitationAns : (C)

3. The World Bank has given a US $ 1 billion loan to clean which of the following rivers in India ?(A) Narmada (B) Krishna(C) Ganga (D) Jhelum(E) BeasAns : (C)

4. India is a member of which of the following group of countries ?(A) OPEC(B) NATO(C) European Union(D) Least Developed countries(E) BRICSAns : (E)

5. Prime Minister of India was recently on a visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania. This means he visited two—(A) European countries(B) African countries(C) Asian countries(D) American countries(E) Middle East countriesAns : (B)

6. The 34th National Games were organized in which of the following States ?(A) Bihar (B) Assam(C) Maharashtra (D) Gujarat

(E) JharkhandAns : (E)

7. Who among the following has taken over as Union Minister of Railways ?(A) Dinesh Trivedi(B) Lalu Prasad Yadav(C) Kamal Nath(D) Sharad Pawar(E) Anand SharmaAns : (A)

8. India recently decided to provide US $ 500 million to which of the following nations in its neighbourhood to help it in its redevelopment projects as the country is trying to come up after a long civil war and control of UN peace keeping forces ?(A) Bangladesh (B) Pakistan(C) Afghanistan (D) Nepal(E) BhutanAns : (C)

9. As per the amendments made in the Right to Education Act, now free-education will be available to the children upto Standard—(A) 4th (B) 6th(C) 8th (D) 10th(E) 12thAns : (D)

10. Which of the following State Govts. signed a historical pact on Gorkhaland Administration a few months back ?(A) Uttarakhand(B) Uttar Pradesh(C) West Bengal(D) Assam(E) ManipurAns : (C)

11. NATO recently attacked and bombarded which of the following countries as it wanted to control violence between the Govt. of that country and a group of protestors ?(A) Russia (B) Iran(C) Pakistan (D) Bangladesh(E) LibyaAns : (E)

12. India’s population is approximately—(A) 1 billion (B) 1•5 billion(C) 1•75 billion (D) 1•21 billion(E) 1•6 billionAns : (D)

13. Who amongst the following is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha at present ?(A) Ambika Soni(B) Meira Kumar(C) Pranab Mukherjee(D) Sushma Swaraj(E) Sonia GandhiAns : (B)

14. India recently resumed Foreign Ministerial level talks with which of the following countries which was suspended sometimes back due to deadlock on certain crucial issues ?(A) USA (B) Bangladesh(C) China (D) Pakistan(E) Sri LankaAns : (D)

15. Which of the following was the issue which was discussed in a specially convened session of the Parliament on August 27, 2011 ?(A) Land Acquisition Amendment Bill(B) Constitutional Reforms Bill(C) Women’s Reservation Bill(D) Anti Commercial Violence Bill(E) Lok Pal Bill after its redraftingAns : (E)

16. ‘Dhanush’ is an indigenously developed by India—(A) Missile(B) Sub-marine(C) Patton tank(D) Fighter plane(E) Passenger aircraftAns : (A)

17. Islam Karimov who was on a visit to India is the President of—(A) Iraq (B) Iran(C) Ethiopia (D) Tanzania(E) UzbekistanAns : (E)

18. Which of the following is the name of a missile developed by India ?(A) Dhruva (B) USHA(C) Vivian (D) Trishul(E) PADMAAns : (D)

19. Who among the following is not a Cricket Player ?(A) Ashish Nehra(B) James Anderson(C) Shivnarine Chanderpaul(D) Jade Dernbach(E) Vishwanathan AnandAns : (E)

20. The 11th Five Year Plan will be over in—(A) December 2011(B) January 2012(C) March 2012(D) December 2012(E) March 2013Ans : (C)

21. Who amongst the following is a well known name in the field of Banking in India ?(A) H. R. Bharadwaj(B) S. Y. Qureshi(C) Yusuf Pathan(D) D. Subbarao

(E) Ashok GehlotAns : (D)

22. Who among the following is not a Chief Minister of a State at present ?(A) Tarun Gogoi(B) Ghulam Nabi Azad(C) N. Rangaswamy(D) Raman Singh(E) Arjun MundaAns : (B)

23. Mamta Banerjee belongs to which political party ?(A) Congress(B) CPM (I)(C) BJP(D) Trinamool Congress(E) BSPAns : (D)

24. Who among the following was given Lifetime Achievement Award in 12th IIFA Awards Ceremony held in Toronto in June 2011 ?(A) Asha Bhonsle(B) Lata Mangeshkar(C) Amitabh Bachchan(D) Rajesh Khanna(E) Hema MaliniAns : (A)

25. Asian Cup Women’s Boxing Tournament was organized in May 2011 in—(A) Japan (B) China(C) South Korea (D) India(E) MalaysiaAns : (B)

26. Which of the following States won the National Hockey Championship 2011 ?(A) Karnataka (B) Haryana(C) Punjab (D) Maharashtra(E) KeralaAns : (B)

27. Which of the following is an ore of a metal ?(A) Bauxite (B) Lime Stone(C) Sulphur (D) Menthol(E) CamphorAns : (A)

28. The 43rd Jnanpith Award was given to whom among the following ?(A) S. L. Bhyrappa(B) Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari(C) O. N. V. Kurup(D) Javed Akhtar(E) Malti JoshiAns : (C)

29. Who among the following is a famous Chess Player ?(A) Koneru Humpy(B) Pargat Singh

(C) Baichung Bhutia(D) Ajit Pal Singh(E) Ishant SharmaAns : (A)

30. Which of the following is the full form of ‘CBS’ as used in banking system ?(A) Corporate Business Strategies(B) Core Banking   Solution (C) Common Banking Strategies(D) Common Business Strategies(E) Corporate   Banking  SolutionAns : (B)

31. Which of the following is the name of a Private   Sector   Bank  in India ?(A) Dena   Bank (B) Syndicate Bank(C) IDBI   Bank (D) Corporation Bank(E) South Indian BankAns : (E)

32. Which of the following terms is used in the field of Banking and Finance ?(A) Accrued interest(B) Assimilation(C) Deviance(D) Diffusion(E) Stagnant populationAns : (A)

33. Which of the following is not a Public Sector Unit ?(A) Mishra Dhatu Nigam(B) Hindalco Industries(C) Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam(D) Container Corporation of India(E) Hindustan Organic ChemicalsAns : (E)

34. Which of the following terms is used in the game of Cricket ?(A) Back hand (B) Volley(C) Follow on (D) Jockey(E) DeuceAns : (C)

35. Which of the following books is written by Arundhati Roy ?(A) The God of Small Things(B) A House for Mr. Biswas(C) The Glass Palace(D) The Namesake(E) A Fine BalanceAns : (A)

36. Which of the following is grown as a Spice used in daily cooking and also to be used as a quick remedy of many common ailments ?(A) Marigold (B) Turmeric(C) Jatropha (D) Cactus(E) FernAns : (B)

37. Which of the following prizes / awards is given by the Govt. of India ?

(A) Kalinga Award(B) Pulitzer Prize(C) Padma Bhushan(D) Jamanalal Bajaj Award(E) Saraswati SammanAns : (D)

38. Which of the following is grown as a vegetable ?(A) Groundnut(B) Cotton seed(C) Custard apple(D) Radish(E) CastorAns : (D)

39. Which of the following cups/trophies is associated with the game of Hockey ?(A) Irani Cup(B) Duleep Trophy(C) Rovers Cup(D) Agha Khan Cup(E) Ranji TrophyAns : (D)

40. ‘Kathakali’ is a form of dance drama originated in—(A) Kerala (B) Tamil Nadu(C) Orissa (D) Uttar Pradesh(E) ManipurAns : (A)

41. Who among the following was a famous Scientist of Indian origin and was awarded Nobel Prize during his life time ?(A) C. V. Raman(B) Meghnad Saha(C) Jagdish Chandra Basu(D) Birbal Sahni(E) Homi BhabhaAns : (A)

42. Which of the following agencies/organizations is closely associated with the functioning of the banking and finance companies in India ?(A) UNESCO (B) WTO(C) SEBI (D) UGC(E) CBFCAns : (C)

43. Which of the following is not a member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ?(A) Pakistan (B) Afghanistan(C) Nepal (D) Bhutan(E) JapanAns : (E)

44. Which of the following is called the upper House of the Parliament in India ?(A) The Lok Sabha(B) Office of the President of India(C) The Union Cabinet(D) Office of the Prime Minister of India(E) The Rajya SabhaAns : (E)

45. What is the full form of ‘KYC’ as used in banking   world  ?(A) Keep Your Credibility(B) Know Your Credibility(C) Know Your Clients(D) Keep Your Customer(E) Know Your CustomerAns : (E)

46. Which of the following is the name of a bank having offices and branches in India ?(A) Kotak   Mahindra (B) NCL(C) Wipro(D) DLF(E) GAILAns : (A)

47. Which of the following is a software and allied services company functioning in India ?(A) NTPC (B) SAIL(C) AXIS (D) Infosys(E) AmbujaAns : (D)

48. What is full form of ‘NGO’ a term we listen very often these days ?(A) National Growth and Opportunities(B) Non-Governmental Organisation(C) New Growth & Organisation(D) Not Growing Organisation(E) Net Growing OptionsAns : (B)

49. Nirupama Rao is appointed new Ambassador of India to—(A) Germany (B) France(C) Russia (D) USA(E) ChinaAns : (D)

50. Financial Inclusion does not include which of the following ?(A) Having a bank account(B) Micro credit during emergency(C) Free registration of business enterprises(D) Access to all kinds of commercial/personal loans(E) Access to credit/debit cardsAns : (C)

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012

INDIAN ECONOMY RELATED QUESTIONS1. According to the Economic Survey, India is placed at which place in Wireless Network mobile users in the World?a) First   b) Second   c) Third    d) Fourth    Answer b) Second   

2. Which ministry presents the Economic Survey in the Parliament every year?a) Railway Ministryb) Finance Ministryc) Foreign Affairs Ministry D) Home Ministry  Answer is b) Finance Ministry

3. Which department is not under the Ministry of Home Affairs?a) Department of official languageb) Department of boarder managementc) Department of statesd) Department of public distribution Answer is (d) Department of public distribution

4. What was the achieved growth rate of GDP in Ninth Five Year Plan?a) 8.0% b) 7.0%c) 7.5% d) 8.5% Answer is b) 7.0%

5. The Economic Survey estimated the Forex reserves of India at over 297 billion US dollars. The surge in Forex is attributed to growth in which among the following sector?a) Export sectorb) Foreign Direct Investmentsc) Agricultural outputd) Industrial OutputAanswer is a) Export sector

6. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee proposed to increase the Income Tax Exemption Limit for individual tax payers from 1 lakh 60 thousand to _? a) 1 lakh 80 thousandb) 1 lakh 90 thousandc) 2 lakh  d) 2 lakh 20 thousandAnswer is a) 1 lakh 80 thousand

7. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana was proposed to be being extended to the beneficiaries of which of the following Union Government schemes?  a) Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiariesb) Beneficiaries of Swavlamban pension schemec) Indira Gandhi National old Age Pension scheme beneficiariesd) Beneficiaries of Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana Answer is a) Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries

8. To enhance credit worthiness of economically weaker sections and LIG households, a Mortgage Risk Guarantee Fund was announced to be created under which of the following scheme or Yojana? a) Rajiv Awas Yojanab) Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana

c) Indira Awas Yojanad) Mahatama Gandhi NREGA Answer is a) Rajiv Awas Yojana

9. Total receipts from service tax during 2011-12 has been estimated at—a) Rs. 58000 croreb) Rs. 82000 crorec) Rs. 78000 crored) Rs. 88000 croreAnswer is b) Rs. 82000 crore

10. The maximum limit of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in public sector banking is—a) 51%b) 50%c) 33%d) 49%Answer is d) 49%

11. By how much did the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) for all countries increase on average from 1970 to 2011?a. 17 percentb. 24 percentc. 33 percentd. 41 percente. 52 percentAnswer is d. 41 percent

12. By how much did the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) for “high human development” countries and “low human development” countries, respectively, change on average from 1980 to 2011?a. 8.9% decrease (low HDI countries); 2.7% decrease (high HDI countries)b. 5.6% decrease (low HDI countries); 8.4% increase (high HDI countries)c. 3.2% increase (low HDI countries); 12.9% increase (high HDI countries)d. 21.1% increase (low HDI countries); 15.8% increase (high HDI countries)e. 44.3% increase (low HDI countries); 20.7% increase (high HDI countries)Answer is e. 44.3% increase (low HDI countries); 20.7% increase (high HDI countries)

13. During the last 50 years from 1960 to 2010, the Green   Revolution  in agricultural productivity saw agricultural output increase by ___ percent, while the amount of land under cultivation changed by ___ percent.a. 25% increase in agricultural output with a 50% increase in cultivated landb. 50% increase in agricultural output with a 40% increase in cultivated landc. 100% increase in agricultural output with a 30% increase in cultivated landd. 150% increase in agricultural output with a 20% increase in cultivated lande. 200% increase in agricultural output with a 10% increase in cultivated landAnswer is e. 200% increase in agricultural output with a 10% increase in cultivated land

14. How many people in the world still lacked access to electricity in 2011?a. 50 million peopleb. 100 million peoplec. 250 million peopled. 500 million peoplee. 1.5 billion peopleAnswer is e. 1.5 billion people15. By how much did the number of natural disasters per year increase on average from 1980-85 to 2005-09?a. 35 percent (from 132 to 178 per year)b. 60 percent (from 132 to 211 per year)c. 85 percent (from 132 to 244 per year)d. 125 percent (from 132 to 297 per year)e. 170 percent (from 132 to 357 per year)Answer is e. 170 percent (from 132 to 357 per year)

16. On average, a resident of a very high human development country accounts for how many times more carbon dioxide emissions than the average person living in a low human development country?a. 2 times more emissionsb. 5 times more emissionsc. 10 times more emissionsd. 20 times more emissionse. 30 times more emissionsAnswer is e. 30 times more emissions

17. What are the respective per capita carbon emissions of Norway and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)?a. 5 tons (Norway) and 10 tons (UAE)b. 10 tons (Norway) and 30 tons (UAE)

c. 15 tons eachd. 20 tons (Norway) and 5 tons (UAE)Answer is b. 10 tons (Norway) and 30 tons (UAE)

18. By roughly how much does the global annual fish catch of 145 million tons exceed the maximum annual sustainable catch?a. 10 to 50 percent (14.5 to 72.5 million tons of fish)b. 20 to 60 percent (29 to 87 million tons of fish)c. 30 to 70 percent (43.5 to 101.5 million tons of fish)d. 40 to 80 percent (58 to 116 million tons of fish)e. 50 to 90 percent (72.5 to 130.5 million tons of fish)Answer is d. 40 to 80 percent (58 to 116 million tons of fish)

19. What percent of reduced timber harvest (deforestation) does the European Union transfer to developing countries?a. 25 percentb. 40 percentc. 55 percentd. 75 percente. 90 percentAnswer is d. 75 percent

20. Which Nobel Prize-winning economist argued in 1993 that sustainability involved the duty of the current generation to endow future generations with “whatever it takes to achieve a standard of living at least as good as our own and to look after their next generation similarly?”a. Gary Beckerb. Daniel Kahnemanc. Simon Kuznetsd. Amartya Sene. Robert SolowAnswer is e. Robert Solow 

21. When was the 1st Rail Budget announced?a) November 1947b) October 1966c) February 1956d) March 1977Answer is a) November 1947

22) The Railway Budget was separated from the Central Budget in the year—a) 1920b) 1921c) 1922d) 1923Answer is b) 1921

23) What is the year 2011-12 called by the Railway minister Mamata Banerjee?a) Year of Green Energyb) Year of the Golden erac) Year of the centuryAnswer is a) Year of Green Energy

24) What is the name given to the new rail line between Delhi-Mumbai started early 2012?a) Golden Rail Corridorb) Shatabdi Expressc) Garbha Expressd) Sampark Kranti ExpressAnswer is a) Golden Rail Corridor25) Name the device which is approved by railways in rail budget to avoid collision of trains?a) Anti Collision Deviceb) Anti Ballistic Devicec) Anti Combining Deviced) Anti Power Device Answer is a) Anti Collision Device

26) What is the name given to the special trains to promote tourism?a) Janam Bhoomi Gauravb) Duranto Expressc) Swarna ShatabdiAnswer is a) Janam Bhoomi Gaurav

27) What is the name of the multi-purpose smart card which would be introduced on pilot basis which can be used in booking counters, vending machines, internet etc?

a) Win-Indiab) Go-Indiac) Fly-IndiaAnswer is b) Go-India

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Prathama Gramin Bank Officers Exam., 2011

General Knowledge  (Exam Held on 25-9-2011)

1. Who amongst the following is a Classic Russian author and had written famous book ‘Anna Karenina’ ?(A) Anton Chekhov(B) Leo Tolstoy(C) Maxim Gorky(D) Vladimir Nabokav(E) Boris PasternakAns : (B)

2. What is the full form of the letter ‘D’ in the abbreviation ‘MPLADS’ which was recently in news ?(A) Damaging(B) Decorating(C) Development(D) Dealing(E) DelimitationAns : (C)

3. The World Bank has given a US $ 1 billion loan to clean which of the following rivers in India ?(A) Narmada (B) Krishna(C) Ganga (D) Jhelum(E) BeasAns : (C)

4. India is a member of which of the following group of countries ?(A) OPEC(B) NATO(C) European Union(D) Least Developed countries(E) BRICSAns : (E)

5. Prime Minister of India was recently on a visit to Ethiopia and Tanzania. This means he visited two—(A) European countries(B) African countries(C) Asian countries(D) American countries(E) Middle East countriesAns : (B)

6. The 34th National Games were organized in which of the following States ?(A) Bihar (B) Assam(C) Maharashtra (D) Gujarat

(E) JharkhandAns : (E)

7. Who among the following has taken over as Union Minister of Railways ?(A) Dinesh Trivedi(B) Lalu Prasad Yadav(C) Kamal Nath(D) Sharad Pawar(E) Anand SharmaAns : (A)

8. India recently decided to provide US $ 500 million to which of the following nations in its neighbourhood to help it in its redevelopment projects as the country is trying to come up after a long civil war and control of UN peace keeping forces ?(A) Bangladesh (B) Pakistan(C) Afghanistan (D) Nepal(E) BhutanAns : (C)

9. As per the amendments made in the Right to Education Act, now free-education will be available to the children upto Standard—(A) 4th (B) 6th(C) 8th (D) 10th(E) 12thAns : (D)

10. Which of the following State Govts. signed a historical pact on Gorkhaland Administration a few months back ?(A) Uttarakhand(B) Uttar Pradesh(C) West Bengal(D) Assam(E) ManipurAns : (C)

11. NATO recently attacked and bombarded which of the following countries as it wanted to control violence between the Govt. of that country and a group of protestors ?(A) Russia (B) Iran(C) Pakistan (D) Bangladesh(E) LibyaAns : (E)

12. India’s population is approximately—(A) 1 billion (B) 1•5 billion(C) 1•75 billion (D) 1•21 billion(E) 1•6 billionAns : (D)

13. Who amongst the following is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha at present ?(A) Ambika Soni(B) Meira Kumar(C) Pranab Mukherjee(D) Sushma Swaraj(E) Sonia GandhiAns : (B)

14. India recently resumed Foreign Ministerial level talks with which of the following countries which was suspended sometimes back due to deadlock on certain crucial issues ?(A) USA (B) Bangladesh(C) China (D) Pakistan(E) Sri LankaAns : (D)

15. Which of the following was the issue which was discussed in a specially convened session of the Parliament on August 27, 2011 ?(A) Land Acquisition Amendment Bill(B) Constitutional Reforms Bill(C) Women’s Reservation Bill(D) Anti Commercial Violence Bill(E) Lok Pal Bill after its redraftingAns : (E)

16. ‘Dhanush’ is an indigenously developed by India—(A) Missile(B) Sub-marine(C) Patton tank(D) Fighter plane(E) Passenger aircraftAns : (A)

17. Islam Karimov who was on a visit to India is the President of—(A) Iraq (B) Iran(C) Ethiopia (D) Tanzania(E) UzbekistanAns : (E)

18. Which of the following is the name of a missile developed by India ?(A) Dhruva (B) USHA(C) Vivian (D) Trishul(E) PADMAAns : (D)

19. Who among the following is not a Cricket Player ?(A) Ashish Nehra(B) James Anderson(C) Shivnarine Chanderpaul(D) Jade Dernbach(E) Vishwanathan AnandAns : (E)

20. The 11th Five Year Plan will be over in—(A) December 2011(B) January 2012(C) March 2012(D) December 2012(E) March 2013Ans : (C)

21. Who amongst the following is a well known name in the field of Banking in India ?(A) H. R. Bharadwaj(B) S. Y. Qureshi(C) Yusuf Pathan(D) D. Subbarao(E) Ashok GehlotAns : (D)

22. Who among the following is not a Chief Minister of a State at present ?(A) Tarun Gogoi(B) Ghulam Nabi Azad(C) N. Rangaswamy(D) Raman Singh(E) Arjun MundaAns : (B)

23. Mamta Banerjee belongs to which political party ?(A) Congress(B) CPM (I)(C) BJP(D) Trinamool Congress(E) BSPAns : (D)

24. Who among the following was given Lifetime Achievement Award in 12th IIFA Awards Ceremony held in Toronto in June 2011 ?(A) Asha Bhonsle(B) Lata Mangeshkar(C) Amitabh Bachchan(D) Rajesh Khanna(E) Hema MaliniAns : (A)

25. Asian Cup Women’s Boxing Tournament was organized in May 2011 in—(A) Japan (B) China(C) South Korea (D) India(E) MalaysiaAns : (B)

26. Which of the following States won the National Hockey Championship 2011 ?(A) Karnataka (B) Haryana(C) Punjab (D) Maharashtra(E) KeralaAns : (B)

27. Which of the following is an ore of a metal ?(A) Bauxite (B) Lime Stone(C) Sulphur (D) Menthol(E) CamphorAns : (A)

28. The 43rd Jnanpith Award was given to whom among the following ?(A) S. L. Bhyrappa(B) Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari(C) O. N. V. Kurup(D) Javed Akhtar(E) Malti JoshiAns : (C)

29. Who among the following is a famous Chess Player ?(A) Koneru Humpy(B) Pargat Singh(C) Baichung Bhutia(D) Ajit Pal Singh(E) Ishant SharmaAns : (A)

30. Which of the following is the full form of ‘CBS’ as used in banking system ?(A) Corporate Business Strategies(B) Core Banking Solution(C) Common Banking Strategies(D) Common Business Strategies(E) Corporate Banking SolutionAns : (B)

31. Which of the following is the name of a Private Sector Bank in India ?(A) Dena Bank(B) Syndicate Bank(C) IDBI Bank(D) Corporation Bank(E) South Indian BankAns : (E)

32. Which of the following terms is used in the field of Banking and Finance ?(A) Accrued interest(B) Assimilation(C) Deviance(D) Diffusion(E) Stagnant population

Ans : (A)

33. Which of the following is not a Public Sector Unit ?(A) Mishra Dhatu Nigam(B) Hindalco Industries(C) Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam(D) Container Corporation of India(E) Hindustan Organic ChemicalsAns : (E)

34. Which of the following terms is used in the game of Cricket ?(A) Back hand (B) Volley(C) Follow on (D) Jockey(E) DeuceAns : (C)

35. Which of the following books is written by Arundhati Roy ?(A) The God of Small Things(B) A House for Mr. Biswas(C) The Glass Palace(D) The Namesake(E) A Fine BalanceAns : (A)

36. Which of the following is grown as a Spice used in daily cooking and also to be used as a quick remedy of many common ailments ?(A) Marigold (B) Turmeric(C) Jatropha (D) Cactus(E) FernAns : (B)

37. Which of the following prizes / awards is given by the Govt. of India ?(A) Kalinga Award(B) Pulitzer Prize(C) Padma Bhushan(D) Jamanalal Bajaj Award(E) Saraswati SammanAns : (D)

38. Which of the following is grown as a vegetable ?(A) Groundnut(B) Cotton seed(C) Custard apple(D) Radish(E) CastorAns : (D)

39. Which of the following cups/trophies is associated with the game of Hockey ?(A) Irani Cup(B) Duleep Trophy(C) Rovers Cup(D) Agha Khan Cup(E) Ranji TrophyAns : (D)

40. ‘Kathakali’ is a form of dance drama originated in—(A) Kerala (B) Tamil Nadu(C) Orissa (D) Uttar Pradesh(E) ManipurAns : (A)

41. Who among the following was a famous Scientist of Indian origin and was awarded Nobel Prize during his life time ?(A) C. V. Raman(B) Meghnad Saha(C) Jagdish Chandra Basu(D) Birbal Sahni

(E) Homi BhabhaAns : (A)

42. Which of the following agencies/organizations is closely associated with the functioning of the banking and finance companies in India ?(A) UNESCO (B) WTO(C) SEBI (D) UGC(E) CBFCAns : (C)

43. Which of the following is not a member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ?(A) Pakistan (B) Afghanistan(C) Nepal (D) Bhutan(E) JapanAns : (E)

44. Which of the following is called the upper House of the Parliament in India ?(A) The Lok Sabha(B) Office of the President of India(C) The Union Cabinet(D) Office of the Prime Minister of India(E) The Rajya SabhaAns : (E)

45. What is the full form of ‘KYC’ as used in banking world ?(A) Keep Your Credibility(B) Know Your Credibility(C) Know Your Clients(D) Keep Your Customer(E) Know Your CustomerAns : (E)

46. Which of the following is the name of a bank having offices and branches in India ?(A) Kotak Mahindra(B) NCL(C) Wipro(D) DLF(E) GAILAns : (A)

47. Which of the following is a software and allied services company functioning in India ?(A) NTPC (B) SAIL(C) AXIS (D) Infosys(E) AmbujaAns : (D)

48. What is full form of ‘NGO’ a term we listen very often these days ?(A) National Growth and Opportunities(B) Non-Governmental Organisation(C) New Growth & Organisation(D) Not Growing Organisation(E) Net Growing OptionsAns : (B)

49. Nirupama Rao is appointed new Ambassador of India to—(A) Germany (B) France(C) Russia (D) USA(E) ChinaAns : (D)

50. Financial Inclusion does not include which of the following ?(A) Having a bank account(B) Micro credit during emergency(C) Free registration of business enterprises

(D) Access to all kinds of commercial/personal loans(E) Access to credit/debit cardsAns : (C)THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011

100 Interesting Science Facts1. Every year over one million earthquakes shake the Earth.2. It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun’s surface to the Earth.3. In October 1999 the 6 billionth person was born.4. 10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment.5. The Earth spins at 1,000 mph but it travels through space at an incredible 67,000 mph.7. The largest ever hailstone weighed over 1 kg and fell in Bangladesh in 1986.6. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.8. Every second around 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth.9. Every year lightning kills 1000 people.10. In October 1999 an Iceberg the size of London broke free from the Antarctic ice shelf.11. If you could drive your car straight up you would arrive in space in just over an hour.12. All the hydrogen atoms in our bodies were created 12 billion years ago in the Big Bang.13. The Earth is 4.56 billion years old…the same age as the Moon and the Sun.14. The dinosaurs became extinct before the Rockies or the Alps were formed.15. Female black widow spiders eat their males after mating.16. When a flea jumps, the rate of acceleration is 20 times that of the space shuttle during launch.17. The earliest wine makers lived in Egypt around 2300 BC.18. If our Sun were just inch in diameter, the nearest star would be 445 miles away.19. The Australian billy goat plum contains 100 times more vitamin C than an orange.20. Astronauts cannot belch – there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.21. The air at the summit of Mount Everest, 29,029 feet is only a third as thick as the air at sea level.22. One million, million, million, million, millionth of a second after the Big Bang the Universe was the size of a …pea.23. DNA was first discovered in 1869 by Swiss Friedrich Mieschler.24. The molecular structure of DNA was first determined by Watson and Crick in 1953.25. The thermometer was invented in 1607 by Galileo.26. Englishman Roger Bacon invented the magnifying glass in 1250.27. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1866.28. Wilhelm Rontgen won the first Nobel Prize for physics for discovering X-rays in 1895.29. The tallest tree ever was an Australian eucalyptus – In 1872 it was measured at 435 feet tall.30. Christian Barnard performed the first heart transplant in 1967 – the patient lived for 18 days.31. The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is longer than the Wright brother’s first flight.32. An electric eel can produce a shock of up to 650 volts.33. Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9m.34. Chimps can understand 300 different signs.35. The Ebola virus kills 4 out of every 5 humans it infects.36. In 5 billion years the Sun will run out of fuel and turn into a Red Giant.37. Without its lining of mucus your stomach would digest itself.38. Humans have 46 chromosomes, peas have 14 and crayfish have 200.39. There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body.40. An individual blood cell takes about 60 seconds to make a complete circuit of the body.41. On the day that Alexander Graham Bell was buried the entire US telephone system was shut down for 1 minute in tribute.42. The low frequency call of the humpback whale is the loudest noise made by a living creature.43. The call of the humpback whale is louder than Concorde and can be heard from 500 miles away.44. A quarter of the world’s plants are threatened with extinction by the year 2010.45. Each person sheds 40lbs of skin in his or her lifetime.46. At 15 inches the eyes of giant squids are the largest on the planet.47. The largest galaxies contain a million, million stars.48. The Universe contains over 100 billion galaxies.49. Wounds infested with maggots heal quickly and without spread of gangrene or other infection.50. More germs are transferred shaking hands than kissing.51. The longest glacier in Antarctica, the Almbert glacier, is 250 miles long and 40 miles wide.52. The fastest speed a falling raindrop can hit you is 18mph.53. A salmon-rich, low cholesterol diet means that Inuits rarely suffer from heart disease.54. Inbreeding causes 3 out of every 10 Dalmation dogs to suffer from hearing disability.

55. The world’s smallest winged insect, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, is smaller than the eye of a housefly.56. If the Sun were the size of a beach ball then Jupiter would be the size of a golf ball and the Earth would be as small as a pea.57. It would take over an hour for a heavy object to sink 6.7 miles down to the deepest part of the ocean.58. There are more living organisms on the skin of each human than there are humans on the surface of the earth.59. The grey whale migrates 12,500 miles from the Artic to Mexico and back every year.60. Quasars emit more energy than 100 giant galaxies.61. Quasars are the most distant objects in the Universe.62. The Saturn V rocket which carried man to the Moon develops power equivalent to fifty 747 jumbo jets.63. Koalas sleep an average of 22 hours a day, two hours more than the sloth.64. Light would take .13 seconds to travel around the Earth.65. Neutron stars are so dense that a teaspoonful would weigh more than all the people on Earth.66. One in every 2000 babies is born with a tooth.67. Every hour the Universe expands by a billion miles in all directions.68. Somewhere in the flicker of a badly tuned TV set is the background radiation from the Big Bang.69. The temperature in Antarctica plummets as low as -35 degrees Celsius.70. Space debris travels through space at over 18,000 mph.71. The International Space Station weighs about 500 tons and is the same size as a football field.72. Astronauts brought back about 800 pounds of lunar rock to Earth. Most of it has not been analyzed.73. Tuberculosis is the biggest global killer of women.74. Hummingbirds consume half of their body weight in food every day.75. Some species of bamboo grow at a rate of 3ft per day.76. Saturn would float if you could find an ocean big enough.77. The highest recorded train speed is 320.2 mph by the TGV train in France.78. The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 166.94 mph by Fred Rompelburg.79. The research spacecraft Helios B came within a record 27 million miles of the Sun.80. 65 million years ago the impact of an asteroid is estimated to have had the power of 10 million H-Bombs.81. The temperature at the centre of the Earth is estimated to be 5500 degrees Celsius.82. Argentia in Newfoundland has an average 206 days of fog each year.83. Mount Waiale’ale in Hawaii is the rainiest place in the world and has 335 rainy days a year.84. 68% of all UFO sightings are by men.85. 15% of the world’s fresh water flows down the Amazon.86. A cat has 32 sets of muscles in each ear.87. Over two-thirds of people admit to urinating while in public swimming pools.88. More people die of heart attacks on Monday than on any other day of the week.89. Beetles are the strongest animals on Earth relative to their size. A rhinoceros beetle can carry 850 times its own weight in its back.90. In 1961 the Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in Space.91. In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.92. In 1885 Karl Benz built the first car powered by an internal combustion engine.93. Scotsman John Baird invented the Baird televisor (now the television) in 1925.94. Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, is the most volcanically active place in the Solar System.95. The Walkman was launched in Japan by Sony in 1979.96. Traffic lights with red and green gas lights were first introduced in London in 1868. Unfortunately, they exploded and killed a policeman. The first successful system was installed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914.97. Ticks are second only to the mosquito as the most dangerous parasites to humans.98. 3 billion of the world’s 6 billion population are under the age of 25.99. Infant mortality in 1900 was 142 in 1000 births. By 2000 it had reduced to just 6 in every 1000.100. In total there is said to be around 400 million dogs in the world.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010

Important International Environment Treaties

ACCOBAMS Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area .

ACCOBAMS is a cooperative agreement for the conservation of marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution  It is an environmental agreement signed in 2002 between all ASEAN nations to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia.

As of June 2007, eight countries Viz.Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam , Myanmar , Viet Nam , Thailand , Lao PDR , Cambodia have ratified the agreement.

Aarhus Convention:  Aarhus Convention, was signed on June 25, 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus.

As of July 2009, it had been signed by 40 (primarily European and Central Asian) countries and the European Community and ratified by 41 countries.

Bali Communiqué On 30 November 2007, the business leaders of 150 global companies published a communiqué at Bali Indonesia to world leaders calling for a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change.

It is a comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change emission reduction targets to be guided primarily by science those countries that have already industrialised to make the greatest effort world leaders to seize the window of opportunity and agree on a work plan of negotiations to ensure an agreement can come into force after 2012 (when the existing KyotoProtocol expires)

Basel Convention: The Basel Convention is Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

Its an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs) (except radioactive waste)

The Convention was opened for signature on 22 March 1989, and entered into force on 5 May 1992.

Bonn Convention: Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

To conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range was the onjective of this convention.

It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.

The Convention was signed in 1979 in Bonn (hence the name) and entered into force in 1983.

CITES or Washington Convention Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or Washington Convention is an international agreement between governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1973 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993.

ENMOD The Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD) is an international treaty prohibiting the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques.

It opened for signature on 18 May 1977 in Geneva and entered into force on October 5, 1978.

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

It is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

The Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding commitment for the reduction of four greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride), and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons).

It was initially adopted for use on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005.

As of February 2009 183 parties (nations) have ratified the protocol.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries agreed to reduce their collective green house gas (GHG) emissions by 5.2% from the level in 1990.

National limitations range from the reduction of 8% for the European Union and others to 7% for the United States, 6% for Japan, and 0% for Russia.

The treaty permitted the emission increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland.

Participation in the Kyoto Protocol, where dark green indicates countries that have signed and ratified the treaty, yellow is signed, but not yet ratified, grey is not yet decided and red is no intention of ratifying.

Kyoto includes defined "flexible mechanisms" such asEmissions Trading,Clean Development MechanismJoint Implementation

Montreal Protocol: The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.

It is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion.

The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987 and entered into force on January 1, 1989 followed by a first meeting in Helsinki, May 1989.

Since then, it has undergone seven revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing).

It is believed that if the international agreement is adhered to, the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2050.

Due to its widespread adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an example of exceptional international co-operation with Kofi Annan quoted as saying that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol"

Sydney Declaration: The Sydney APEC Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development was adopted at APEC Australia 2007 on 8 September 2007.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification  The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

It was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in December 1996.

It is the first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification.

The Convention is based on the principles of participation, partnership and decentralization - the backbone of Good Governance and Sustainable Development.

It now has 193 country Parties to the Convention, making it truly global in reach.

To help publicise the Convention, 2006 had been declared "International Year of Deserts and Desertification".

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.

The treaty is aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

It entered into force on March 21, 1994.

Its stated objective is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a low enough level to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

One of its first achievements was to establish a national greenhouse gas inventory, as a count of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals.

Accounts must be regularly submitted by signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The UNFCCC is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting the operation of the Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, Bonn, Germany.

Since 2006 the head of the secretariat has been Yvo de Boer.

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is a multilateral environmental agreement.

It was agreed upon at the Vienna Conference of 1985 and entered into force in 1988.

It acts as a framework for the international efforts to protect the ozone layer.

However, it does not include legally binding reduction goals for the use of CFCs (Choloro-Fluoro Carbons) the main chemical agents causing ozone depletion which are laid out in the accompanying Montreal Protocol.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2010

Irrigation In India1. At the time of commencement of the First Five Year Plan in 1951, population of India was about 361 million and annual food grain production was 51 million tones (m.t.), which was not adequate.2. Import of food grains was then inevitable to cover up the shortage. Attaining self sufficiently in food was therefore given paramount importance in the plan period and in order to achieve the objective, various major, medium and minor irrigation and multi-purpose projects were formulated and implemented through successive Five Year Plans to create additional irrigation potential throughout the country.3. This drive compounded with green revolution in the agricultural sector, has enabled India to become marginally surplus country from a deficit one in food grains.4. Thus the net irrigated area is 39 percent of net sown area and 30 percent of total cultivable area. As stated earlier, the ultimate potential due to major and medium projects has been assessed as 58 m.ha. of which 64 per cent estimated to be developed.5. The Planning Commission after examining the earlier studies on the regionalization of the agricultural economy has recommended that agricultural planning be done on the basis of agro climatic regions.

6. The planning commission of India has introduced a new classification of irrigation schemes:A. Major irrigation Schemes: Those with Cultural Command Area of more than 10000 hectares.B. Medium Irrigation Schemes: Those with cultural Command Area between 2000 and 10000 hectares.C. Minor irrigation Schemes: Those with cultural command area between 2000 -10000 hectares.7. The government of India launched Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Program (AIBP) in 1996-97.8. Micro Irrigation: A new Centrally Sponsored scheme on Micro Irrigation was launched by Department of of Agriculture and Cooperation with the approval of Cabinet on December 29, 2005, during the tenth plan with a target to bring 6.2 lakh hectares under the scheme with an objective of judicious use of water and available resources.9. Drip Irrigation: Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or micro irrigation is an irrigation method which minimizes the use of water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. It saves 30-40% of water as compared to irrigation with traditional method. It also gives 20-25% more productivity.11. Irrigation under Bharat Nirman: Irrigation is one of the six components of for development of Infrastructure under Bharat Nirman. Under the Irrigation Component of Bharat Nirman, the target of creation of additional irrigation potential of 1 crore hectare in 4 years (2005-06 to 2008-09) is planned to be met largely through expeditious completion of identified ongoing major and medium irrigation projects.Irrigation potential of 42 lakh hectare is planned to be created by expeditiously completing such ongoing major and medium projects. There is a definite gap between irrigation potential created and the potential utilized.Under Bharat Nirman it is planned to restore and utilize irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare through implementation of extension, renovation and modernization of schemes along with command area development and water management practices.There are considerable areas in the country with unutilized ground water resources. Irrigation potential of 28 lakh hectare is planned to be created through ground water development. The remaining target for creation of irrigation potential of 10 lakh hectare is planned to be created by way of minor irrigation schemes using surface flow. lakh hectare of irrigation potential is also planned by way of repair, renovation and restoration of water bodies and extension, renovation and modernization of minor irrigation schemes.

List of various Committees and their main Focus Areas

1. A C Shah Committee:NBFC

2. A Ghosh Committee:Final Accounts

3. A Ghosh Committee:Modalities Of Implementation Of New 20 Point Programme

4. A Ghosh Committee:Frauds & Malpractices In Banks

5. Abid Hussain Committee:Development Of Capital Markets

6. Adhyarjuna Committee:Changes In NI Act And Stamp Act

7. AK Bhuchar Committee:Coordination Between Term Lending Institutions And Commercial Banks

8. B Eradi Committee:Insolvency And Wind Up Laws

9. B Sivaraman Committee:Institutional Credit For Agricultural & Rural Development

10. B Venkatappaiah Committee:All India Rural Credit Review

11. BD Shah Committee:Stock Lending Scheme

12. BD Thakar Committee:Job Criteria In Bank Loans (Approach)

13. Bhagwati Committee:Unemployment

14. Bhagwati Committee:Public Welfare

15. Bhave Committee:Share Transfer Reforms

16. Bhide Committee:Coordination Between Commercial Banks And SFC's

17. Bhootlingam Committee:Wage, Income & Prices

18. C Rao Committee:Agricultural Policy

19. CE Kamath Committee:Multi Agency Approach In Agricultural Finance

20. Chatalier Committee:Finance To Small Scale Industry

21. Chesi Committee:Direct Taxes

22. Cook Committee (On Behalf Of BIS - Under Basel Committee ):Capital Adequacy Of Banks

23. D R Mehta Committee:Review Progress And Recommend Improvement Measures Of IRDP

24. Damle Committee:MICR

25. Dandekar Committee:Regional Imbalances

26. Dantwala Committee:Estimation Of Employments

27. Dave Committee:Mutual Funds (Functioning)

28. Dharia Committee:Public Distribution System

29. DR Gadgil Committee:Agricultural Finance

30. Dutta Committee:Industrial Licensing

31. G Lakshmai Narayan Committee:Extension Of Credit Limits On Basis Of Consortium

32. G Sundaram Committee:Export Credit

33. Gadgil Committee (1969):Lead Banking System

34. Godwala Committee:Rural Finance

35. Goiporia Committee:Customer Service In Banks

36. GS Dahotre Committee:Credit Requirements Of Leasing Industry

37. GS Patel Committee:Carry Forward System On Stock Exchanges

38. Hathi Committee:Soiled Banknotes

39. Hazari Committee (1967):Industrial Policy

40. IT Vaz Committee:Working Capital Finance In Banks

41. J Reddy Committee:Reforms In Insurance Sector

42. James Raj Committee:Functioning Of Public Sector Banks

43. Jankiramanan Committee:Securities Transactions Of Banks & Financial Institutions

44. JV Shetty Committee:Consortium Advances

45. K Madhav Das Committee:Urban Cooperative Banks

46. Kalyansundaram Committee:Introduction Of Factoring Services In India

47. Kamath Committee:Education Loan Scheme

48. Karve Committee:Small Scale Industry

49. KB Chore Committee:To Review The Symbol Of Cash Credit Q

50. Khanna Committee:Non Performing Assets

51. Khusrau Committee:Agricultural Credit

52. KS Krishnaswamy Committee:Role Of Banks In Priority Sector And 20 Point Economic Programme

53. L K Jha Committee:Indirect Taxes

54. LC Gupta Committee:Financial Derivatives

55. Mahadevan Committee:Single Window System

56. Mahalanobis Committee:Income Distribution

57. Marathe Committee:Licensing Of New Banks

58. ML Dantwala Committee:Regional Rural Banks

59. Mrs. KS Shere Committee:Electronic Fund Transfer

60. Nadkarni Committee:Improved Procedures For Transactions In PSU Bonds And Units

61. Nariman Committee:Branch Expansion Programme

62. Narsimham Committee:Financial System

63. Omkar Goswami Committee:Industrial Sickness And Corporate Restructuring

64. P R Nayak Committee:Institutional Credit To SSI Sector

65. P Selvam Committee:Non Performing Assets Of Banks

66. PC Luther Committee:Productivity, Operational Efficiency & Profitability Of Banks

67. PD Ojha Committee:Service Area Approach

68. Pendarkar Committee:Review The System Of Inspection Of Commercial, RRB And Urban Cooperative Banks

69. Pillai Committee:Pay Scales Of Bank Officers

70. PL Tandon Committee:Export Strategy

71. PR Khanna Committee:Develop Appropriate Supervisory Framework For NBFC

72. Purshottam Das Committee:Agricultural Finance And Cooperative Societies

73. R Jilani Banks:Inspection System Of Banks

74. R S Saria Committee:Agricultural Finance And Cooperative Societies

75. Raghavan Committee:Competition Law

76. Raja Chelliah Committee:Tax Reforms

77. Rajamannar Committee:Centre - State Fiscal Relationships

78. Rajamannar Committee:Changes In Banking Laws , Bouncing Of Cheques Etc.

79. Rakesh Mohan Committee:Petro Chemical Sector

80. Ram Niwas Mirdha Committee (JPC):Securities Scam

81. Rangrajan Committee:Computerization Of Banking Industry

82. Rangrajan Committee:Public Sector Disinvestment

83. Rashid Jilani Committee:Cash Credit System

84. Ray Committee:Industrial Sickness

85. RG Saraiya Committee (1972):Banking Commission

86. RH Khan Committee:Harmonization Of Banks And Ssis

87. RK Hajare Committee:Differential Interest Rates Scheme

88. RK Talwar Committee:Customer Service

89. RK Talwar Committee:Enactment Having A Bearing On Agro Landings By Commercial Banks

90. RN Malhotra Committee:Reforms In Insurance Sector

91. RN Mirdha Committee:Cooperative Societies

92. RV Gupta Committee:Agricultural Credit Delivery

93. S Padmanabhan Committee:Onsite Supervision Function Of Banks

94. S Padmanabhan Committee:Inspection Of Banks (By RBI)

95. Samal Committee:Rural Credit

96. SC Choksi Committee:Direct Tax Law

97. Shankar Lal Gauri Committee:Agricultural Marketing

98. SK Kalia Committee:Role Of NGO And SHG In Credit

99. SL Kapoor Committee:Institutional Credit To SSI

100. Sodhani Committee:Foreign Exchange Markets In NRI Investment In India

101. SS Kohli Committee:Rehabilitation Of Sick Industrial Units

102. SS Kohli Committee:Rationalization Of Staff Strength In Banks

103. SS Kohli Committee:Willful Defaulters

104. SS Nadkarni Committee:Trading In Public Sector Banks

105. SS Tarapore Committee:Capital Account Convertibility

106. Sukhmoy Chakravarty Committee:To Review The Working Of Monetary System

107. Tambe Committee:Term Loans To SSI

108. Tandon Committee:Follow Up Of Bank Credit

109. Tandon Committee:Industrial Sickness

110. Thakkar Committee:Credit Schemes To Self Employed

111. Thingalaya Committee:Restructuring Of RRB

112. Tiwari Committee:Rehabilitation Of Sick Industrial Undertakings

113. UK Sharma Committee:Lead Bank Scheme (Review)

114. Usha Thorat Panel: Financial Inclusion

115. Vaghul Committee:Mutual Fund Scheme

116. Varshney Committee:Revised Methods For Loans (>2 Lakhs)

117. Venketaiya Committee:Review Of Rural Financing System

118. Vipin Malik Committee:Consolidated Accounting By Banks

119. VT Dehejia Committee:To Study Credit Needs Of Industry And Trade Likely To Be Inflated

120. Vyas Committee:Rural Credit

121. Wanchoo Committee:Direct Taxes

122. WS Saraf Committee:Technology Issues In Banking Industry

123. Y H Malegam Committee:Disclosure Norms For Public Issues

124. YV Reddy Committee:Reforms In Small Savings

Some Recent Working Groups & Committees by RBI & Their Focus Area:(Name of Chairmen is given) 1. Working Group on Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR): Deepak Mohanty

2. Working Group on Surveys: Deepak Mohanty

3. High Level Committee to Review Lead Bank Scheme: Usha Thorat

4. Working Group to Review the Business Correspondent Model: P Vijaya Bhaskar Rao

5. High Level Group on Systems and Procedures for Currency Distribution: Usha Thorat

6. G20 Working Group on Enhancing Sound Regulation and Strengthening Transparency: Dr. Rakesh Mohan and Mr. Tiff Macklem

7. Committee on Financial Sector Assessment: Dr. Rakesh Mohan

8. High Level Committee on Estimation of Savings and Investment: Dr. C. Rangarajan

9. Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) on Capital Flows andEmerging Market Economies: Dr. Rakesh Mohan

10. Task Force For Diamond Sector: A K Bera

11. Technical Advisory Group on Development of Housing Start-Up Index in India: Prof. Amitabh Kundu

12. Working Group on Defraying Cost of ICT Solutions for RRBs: Shri G. Padmanabhan

13. Working Group on IT support for Urban Cooperative Banks: R Gandhi

14. Working Group on Technology Upgradation of Regional Rural Banks: Shri G. Srinivasan

15. Interest Rate Futures: Shri V.K. Sharma

16. Internal Working Group to Study the Recommendations of the NCEUS Report: KUB Rao

17. Working Group on Improvement of Banking Services in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep: S. Ramaswamy

18. Working Group on Rehabilitation of Sick SMEs: Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty

19. Working Group on Improvement of Banking Services In Jharkhand: V.S.Das

20. Working Group on Improvement of Banking Services in Himachal Pradesh: Dr. J. Sadakkadulla

21. Internal Technical Group on Seasonal Movements in Inflation: Dr. Balvant Singh

22. Working Group to Examine the Procedures and Processes of Agricultural Loans: C P Swarankar

23. Task Force on Empowering RRB Boards for Operational EfficiencyDr. K.G. Karmakar

24. Technical Group Set up to Review Legislations on Money Lending: Shri.S. C. Gupta

25. Working Group To Suggest Measures To Assist Distressed Farmers: Shri. S. S. Johl

26. Technical Group on Statistics for International Trade in Banking Services: Shri K.S.R.Rao

27. Technical Advisory Group On Development Of Leading Economic Indicators For Indian EconomyDr. R B Barman

28. Working Group on Savings for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-08 to 2011-12): Dr.Rakesh Mohan

29. Working Group on Compilation of State Government Liabilities: Dr. N.D. Jadhav

30. Working Group on Improvement of Banking Services in Uttaranchal: V.S. Das

31. Working Group on Cost of NRI Remittances: P. K. Pain

32. Working group to formulate a scheme for Ensuring Reasonableness of Bank Charges: N. Sadasivam

33. Committee on Fuller Capital Account Convertibility: S.S.Tarapore

34. Committee on Financial Sector Plan for North Eastern Region: Smt. Usha Thorat

35. Survey on Impact of Trade Related Measures on Transaction Costs of Exports: Balwant Singh

36. Advisory Committee on Ways and Means Advances to State Governments: M.P.Bezbaruah

37. Need and Use Behavior for Small Denomination Coins: Sanal Kumar Velayudhan

38. Debt Sustainability at State Level in India: Indira Rajaraman, Shashank Bhide and R.K.Pattnaik

39. Internal Group to Examine Issues Relating to Rural Credit and Microfinance: Shri H.R.Khan

40. Working Group to Review Export Credit: Shri Anand Sinha

41. Internal Working Group on RRBs: Shri A V Sardesai

42. Working Group on Warehouse Receipts and Commodity Futures: Shri Prashant Saran

43. Internal Group to Review Guidelines on Credit Flow to SME Sector: Shri C.S.Murthy

44. Working Group on Regulatory Mechanism for Cards Shri R.Gandhi

45. Group on Model Fiscal Responsibility Legislation at State Level: Shri H R Khan

46. Task Force on Revival of Cooperative Credit Institutions: Prof.A.Vaidyanathan

47. Special Group for Formulation of Debt Restructuring Mechanism for Medium Enterprises: Shri G.Srinivasan

48. Working Group on Screen Based Trading In Government Securities: Dr.R.H.Patil

49. Expert Group on Internet Deployment of Central Database Management System (CDBMS): Prof.A.Vaidyanathan

50. Report on Monitoring of Financial Conglomerates: Smt.Shyamala Gopinath

51. Working Group on Development Financial Institutions: Shri N. Sadasivan

52. Advisory Committee to Advise on the Administered Interest Rates and Rationalisation of Saving Instruments: Dr.Rakesh Mohan

53. Advisory Committee on Flow of Credit to Agriculture: Prof.V.S.Vyas

54. Working Group on Flow of Credit to SSI Sector: Dr.A.S.Ganguly

55. Group to Study the Pension Liabilities of the State Governments: B. K. Bhattacharya

56. Rupee Interest Rate Derivatives: Shri G. Padmanabhan

57. Working Group on Instruments of Sterilisation: Smt. Usha Thorat

58. Working Group on Information on State Government Guaranteed Advances and Bonds: Shri.G.Padmanabhan

59. Working Group on Cheque Truncation and E-cheques: Dr.Barman, ED

60. Working Group on Introduction of Credit Derivatives in India: Shri B. Mahapatra

61. Group to Assess the Fiscal Risk of State Government Guarantees: Smt. Usha Thorat

62. Advisory Committee on Ways and Means Advances to State Governments: Shri C.Ramachandran

63. Working Group on Rupee Derivatives: Shri Jaspal Bindra

64. Committee on Computer Audit: Shri A.L. Narasimhan

65. Committee on Payment Systems: Dr R H Patil

66. Review Group on The Working of The Local Area Bank SchemeShri G.Ramachandran

67. Technical Group on Statistics of International Trade in Services: Shri Deepak Mohanty

68. Working Group for Suggesting Operational and Prudential Guidelines on STRIPS (Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal of Securities): Shri M.R.Ramesh

69. Working Group on Electronic Money: Mr.Zarir J. Cama

70. Working Group on Economic Indicators Dr. R.B. Barman

71. Working Group to Examine the Role of Credit Information Bureaus in Collection and Dissemination of Information on Suit-filed Accounts and Defaulters: Shri S.R. Iyer

72. Information systems audit policy for the banking and financial sector: Dr. R.B.Burman

73. Working Group on Consolidated Accounting and Other Quantitative Methods to Facilitate Consolidated Supervision: Shri Vipin Malik

74. Expert Committee to Review the System of Administered Interest Rates and Other Related Issues: Dr.Y.V. Reddy

75. Inter-Departmental Group to study the Rationalisation of Current account Facility with Reserve Bank of India: Shri K.W. Korgaonkar

76. The Expert Committee on Legal Aspects of Bank Frauds: Dr.N.L. Mitra

77. The Standing Committee on International Financial Standards and CodesStanding Committee on International Financial Standards and Codes: Dr. Y.V.Reddy

78. Technical Group on Market Integrity: Shri C.R. Muralidharan

79. Technical Group on Phasing Out of Non-banks from Call/Notice Money Market (March 2001): Dr.Y.V.Reddy

80. Core Group on Voluntary Disclosure Norms for State Governments: Dr.Y.V.Reddy

81. Task Force to Study the Cooperative Credit System and Suggest Measures for its Strengthening: Shri Jagdish Kapoor

82. Internal Group to Review the Guidelines Relating to Commercial Paper: Dr.Y.V.Reddy

83. High Power Committee on Urban Cooperative Banks: Shri Madhav Rao

84. Working Group for setting up Credit Information Bureau in India: Shri N.H.Siddiqui

85. Committee for Redesigning of Financial Statements of Non-Banking Financial Companies: Shri V.S.N. Murthy

86. Working Group on Restructuring Weak Public Sector Banks: Shri M.S.VermaWorking Group for Working Out Modalities on Dissemination of Information in Electronic Form: Shri Y.S.P. Thorat and Shri C.R. Gopalasundaram

87. Committee on Technology Upgradation in the Banking Sector: Dr A.Vasudevan ]

88. Working Group of EURO: Shri V.Subrahmanyam

89. New Monetary Aggregates: Dr. Y.V. Reddy

90. Committee on Capital Account Convertibility: Shri S.S.Tarapore

SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010

FIRST IN INDIA

First Indian Scientist to Win Nobel Prize

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (C.V. Raman) was the first Indian scientist to win Nobel Prize. C.V. Raman was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the Raman effect, which is named after him. Raman effect relates to the inelastic scattering of a photon. When light is scattered from an atom or molecule, most photons are elastically scattered (Rayleigh scattering). The scattered photons have the same energy (frequency) and, therefore, wavelength, as the incident photons. However, a small fraction of scattered

light (approximately 1 in 10 million photons) is scattered from excitations with optical frequencies different from, and usually lower than, the frequency of the incident photons. Raman effect is helpful in analyzing the composition of liquids, gases, and solids. 

First Nuclear Power Plant in IndiaTarapur Atomic Power Station (T.AP.S.) was the first nuclear power plant in India. The construction of the plant was started in 1962 and the plant went operational in 1969. The 320 MW Tarapur nuclear power station housed two 160 MW boiling water reactors (BWRs), the first in Asia. The Tarapur Plant was originally constructed by the American companies Bechtel and GE, under a 1963 123 Agreement between India, the United States, and the IAEA. The Tarapur Atomic Power Station is under the control of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Recently, two 540 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) were operationalised at Tarapur. The new reactors were constructed by L & T and Gammon India. Tarapur Nuclear Power Station is the largest PHWR-based power station in India. 

First Satellite Launched by IndiaAryabhatta was the first satellite launched by India. It was named after the great Indian astronomer of the same name. Aryabhatta weighed 360kg and was launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Cosmos-3M launch vehicle. 

The satellite had following objectives: To indigenously design and fabricate a space-worthy satellite system and evaluate its perfromance in orbit.

To evolve the methodology of conducting a series of complex operations on the satellite in its orbital phase.

To set up ground-based receiving, transmitting and tracking systems.

To establish infrastructure for the fabrication of spacecraft systems.

Aryabhatta carried experiments related to X-Ray Astronomy, Solar Physics and Aeronomy. The satellite re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 11 February 1992.

India's First Indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle

SLV-3 was India's first indigenous satellite launch vehicle. The vehicle was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 18, 1980. President A P J Abdul Kalam was the Project Director of SLV-3 The SLV-3 weighed 17 tonne and had a payload of 40 kg. The SLV-3 put 35 kg Rohini Satellite into the orbit. The launch of SLV-3 was a historic landmark for the Indian space programme. It gave ISRO an insight into the conceptualisation, design, development and management of a technically complex multi-disciplinary project. With the launch of SLV-3, India joined a select band of five nations that had this capability. The other five countries are USSR, USA, France, China and Japan. 

India's First Indigenously Built SatelliteInsat 2A was India's first indigenously built satellite. The satellite was launched on 9 July 1992 from Kourou, French Guyana. The satellite had a dry mass of 916kg and it weighed 1906 kg with propellants. The satellite had following payload:

Communication Transponders: 12 C-band, 6 ext. C-band (for FSS), 2 S-band (for BSS), 1 Data relay, 1 search and rescue.

Meteorology: Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) with 2 km resolution in visible and 8 km in Infrared band.

The Insat 2 program was started in 1983. Its objective was to develop an indigenous multi-purpose Geo spacecraft. In 1985, the basic spacecraft configuration was adopted. The configuration called for an on-station dry mass of 860 kg which later rose to 910 kg. The communications payload was increased with six additional 7/5 GHz transponders for a total of 18, plus two S-band transponders. The Insat 2 series consisted of Insat 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E satellites. 

India's First Nuclear ReactorIndia's First Nuclear Reactor was Apsara. It was also the first nuclear reactor in Asia. Apsara went critical at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay on August 4, 1956. It heralded the arrival of India's nuclear energy programme. Dr. Homi Bhabha himself conceptualised the design of the reactor and the reactor was built entirely by Indian engineers in a record time of about 15 months. 

Apsara is a swimming-pool-type reactor loaded with enriched uranium as fuel. The fuel core is suspended from a movable trolley in a pool filled with water. The pool water serves as coolant, moderator and reflector, besides providing the shielding. 

India's First SupercomputerIndia's First Supercomputer was PARAM 8000. PARAM stood for Parallel Machine. The computer was developed by the government run Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in 1991. The PARAM 8000 was

introduced in 1991 with a rating of 1 Gigaflop (billion floating point operations per second). 

All the chips and other elements that were used in making of PARAM were bought from the open domestic market. The various components developed and used in the PARAM series were Sun UltraSPARC II, later IBM POWER 4 processors, Ethernet, and the AIX Operating System. The major applications of PARAM Supercomputer are in long-range weather forecasting, remote sensing, drug design and molecular modelling.      TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2010

General Knowledge Quiz for Competitive exams 2010

1. Author of hard times ?A. ENDID BLYTONB. RAJ RAOC. CHARLE’S DICKEN’SD. H G WELLS2. Which is the language spoken by most people ?A. ANSWER OF c & dB. FRENCHC. SPANISHD. MANDRAIAN3. The study (Art) of communication Ideas or thoughts by finger ?A. DANOLOGYB. CYTOLOGYC. ETHICSD. DACTYOLOGY

4. Who is inventor of computerA. Blaz PascalB. shoiabC. Challes BabbageD. Henry jons5. Branch of science deals with causes of diseases is-A. gerontologyB. etiologyC. herpatologyD. limnology6. Who built Eiffel towerA. Louis WilliamsB. Fedrick Augeste BatholdiC. Brendon Louis ShephardD. Qui Nan Mian7. The longest inland waterways in the world is ?A. Mississippi river systemB. The Great LakesC. St.LawrenceD. River Rhine8. which country invented the atom bomb?A. U.S.A.B. FranceC. GermanyD. India9. The software named SEAMONKEY is used in a computer toA. Delete the virus infected filesB. Recover lost datasC. Browse the internetD. use as a media player10. Which Jonas brother dated Taylor Swift?A. NickB. KevinC. JoD. Frankie11. Who are miley’s best friends in the hit TV series ‘Hannah Montana’?A. amber and ashleyB. lilly and oliverC. cooper and jakeD. ashley and oliver

12. Which medicine is used for the treatment of cough?A. timozolomideB. minoxidilC. LevopromazineD. ciprofloxacin13. which is driest place in world?A. sahara desertB. atcama desertC. both a&ampbD. thar desert14. Length of Thar Desert?A. 2,59,000 metersB. 2,59,000 kilometersC. 2,59,200 mtsD. 20,59,000mts15. Tagline ‘Empowering people’ is linked with which brand?A. WiproB. HCLC. CompaqD. Acer

16. How do plants stand erect?A. BONDB. CellwallsC. BoneD. Tissue17. which Asian team will be out of the next Fifa world cup for the first time after a gap of 20 yearsA. Saudi ArabB. south KoreaC. JapanD. Iran

18. who awarded the Indira Gandhi peace prize of the year 2010?A. pratibha patilB. PM Sheikh HasinaC. obamaD. Sonia Gandhi19. When does Mahatma Gandhi born?A. October 2,1869B. September 19,1919C. January 30,1869D. August 30,187020. who is called master blaster?A. Ricky pontingB. sachin TendulkarC. Santh jayasuriyaD. Sunil Gavaskar21. which bowler throw a fastest bowl in ODI’s?A. Brett LeeB. Shaun TaitC. Dail StainD. Shain Bond22. When was first movie made in India?A. 1957B. 1921C. 1963D. 1913

23. Who was the first woman to walk in space?A. Marina d’cruzB. Masiana mishkayaC. Swetlana savitskayaD. Diana Miranda24. Who hit a first Double century in One day International Cricket ?a. Sachin Tendulkarb. Sehwagc. Yuraj singhd. Dhoni25. Where is Andrerieu playing next?a. south africab. brazilc. india

d. austria26. who is invented Unix?a. feynmanb. dennis ritchic. nicolar thomsand. hulat bakkardin27. which women got the Oscar award in 2009a. banu athayab. anju bobby georgec. bachendri pald. lakshmi bay28. when a new galaxy found?a. feb 5 of2009b. jan 30 of2010c. march 6 of2010d. april 7 of 200729. What is the city code for Colombo ?a. comb. cmbc. cbbd. cbm30. who hit 6 sixes in 20-20 cricket world cup ?a. M.S Dhonib. Kumar Sangakarac. Yuvraj Singhd. Avishek Chakraborty31. Sun city in rajasthan?a. Jaipurb. Jodhpurc. Ajmerd. Alwar32. In which year did All India Radio begin broadcasting news?a. 1921b. 1927c. 1935d. 194233. which hokey player is known as magician of hockey?a. dhanraj pillaib. dhiyan chandc. sandeepd. rajesh34. what is the abbreviation of Wiproa. western Indian productsb. west India productsc. western Indian productd. west Indian product35. what is the abbreviation of NCR company?a. North central regionb. National cash registerc. National capital regiond. North capital region36. Who has written God of small thing?a. Nirupama raob. Vikram sethc. Aarundhati raid. Salman rushdi37. Who established the “AJAD HIND FAUJ” ?a. Subhash Chandra Boseb. Ras Bihari Bosec. V.D. Savarkard. Gyanendra Nath Bose38. Who is called as Frontier Gandhi ?a. Abdul Gaffar khanb. Sir syaid Ahmed Khanc. Aga khand. Salimullah39. In which year the division of Bengal is happened?a. 1904b. 1905c. 1914d. 191640. In which year IBBNEBATUTA came in India?

a. 1000b. 1111c. 1222d. 1333

41. In which year “Dandi Yatra’ was done by Mahatma Gandhi?a. 1930b. 1927c. 1933d. 192942. Who was the fourth Prime minister of India?a. Chaudhary Charad Singhb. MorarJi Desaic. V.P.Singhd. Chandrashekhar43. Maximum possible no. of seats in Indian Lok sabha is?a. 552b. 545c. 547d. 54144. World largest gravity dam is located ina. Pakistanb. Russiac. Indiad. US45. who is the first women IPS officer in Indiaa. lathika charanb. Thilagavatic. kiran bedi

46. Which is the sugar bowl of worlda. Brazilb. Japanc. Indiad. Cuba47. Who is invented in penicillin ?a. graham bhellb. thomas alwa edisonc. alexander flemmingd. charles babbage48. who invented radiuma. alexander flemmingb. madam curiec. newtond. g.t naidu49. who invented the wrist watch ?a. charls babbageb. Patek Philippec. adam smithd. none of these50. who is the first women freedom fighter ?a. vijayalakshmi panditb. Laxmi Bai ( Jhansi ki Rani )c. sarojini naidud. none of these51. what is the native place of mother Teresa?a. englandb. cecozlovakiac. denmarkd. calcutta52. the last tale of Shakespeare ?a. the tempestb. hamletc. seven stages53. how many legs did a butterfly had?a. 2b. 4c. 6d. 854. when the twin tower destroyed ?a. dec.24 ,2001b. sept.27 ,2000

c. aug 8,1968d. sept. 11,2001

55. what is the capital of chinaa. indiab. bejjingc. sanghaid. delhi56. what is the capital of india?a. kolkatab. delhic. haryanad. lucknow57. who gave the slogan “YES WE CAN” during his presidential campaign??a. pratibha patilb. barak obamac. george bushd. hamid ansari58. In absence of both the president and vice president who serves the office of the president of india??a. Prime Minister of Indiab. Speaker of Lok Sabhac. Chief justice of indiad. Governer of any state59. who is the general-secretary of united nations at present??a. kofi annanb. shiv shankar menonc. kseniya sukhinovad. Ban ki moon

60. who is the vice president of india ?a. bhairo singh shekhawatb. mohammad hamid ansaric. shankar dayal sharmad. narayan dutt tiwari61. who is the ex-officio chairman of planning commission of india ?a. President of indiab. Vice president of indiac. Prime Minister of Indiad. Speaker of lok sabha62. which city is known as empire city ?a. New yorkb. Ajmerc. Jaipurd. Rome63. Where does the great slave lake is situated ?a. United States of Americab. Canadac. United Kingdomd. Saudi Arbia64. Which national highway is longest in India ?a. NH-2b. NH-24c. NH-7d. NH-865. who is the supreme commander of indian armed forces ?a. Prime Minister of Indiab. Defence Minister of Indiac. Vice President of Indiad. President of India

66. What is called the land of the Rising Sun ?a. NEPALb. CHINAc. JAPANd. INDIA67. who wins the world chess championship in 2009a. Vishvanathan Anand,Indiab. Abhijeet Gupta,Indiac. Alexander Grischuk,Russiad. Ashwin Jayaram,India

68. Who is the first cricketer to hit 6 sixes in an over in ODI cricket ?a. Sachin Tendulkarb. Youraj Singhc. Harslay Gibbsd. M.S Dhoni69. who won the T20 world cup in2010 in England?a. Australiab. Pakistanc. Englandd. Sri Lanka70. what is the slogan for dell?a. yours is hereb. what is herec. empowering technologyd. power of tech71. What is the Specialist of Matribhoomi Train?a. 1 ladies special trains in the suburban sections of the four major metros.b. 45 ladies special trains in the suburban sections of the four major metros.c. 20 ladies special trains in the suburban sections of the four major metros.d. 21 ladies special trains in the suburban sections of the four major metros.

72. What is difference between Indian Standard Time [IST] & Greenwich mean Time {GMT }a. +5.30 hrsb. -5.30 hrsc. +3.30 hrsd. – 4.30 hrs73. Who won the first world cup?a. australiab. west indiesc. pakistand. india74. who took first wicket in IPL-3a. shane bondb. zaheer khanc. chaminda vaasd. shaun tait75. Who is Finance Minister of India in 2010 ?a. manmohan singhb. gurumitc. amit kr. sharmad. parnab mukhraji

76. In which state kalahasthi is situated?a. tamil nadub. andhra pradeshc. karnatakad. kerala77. when was French east India company was started?a. 1664b. 1661c. 1665d. 166878. what is india’s national flowera. jasmineb. lotusc. sunflowerd. none of these79. In which Plant called this potinical name’ HIBISCUS ROSANAS’a. jasmineb. SUNFLOWERc. CHAMBARAUTHId. COTTON80. which is the oldest and no.1 nationalized banka. indian bankb. state bank of indiac. andhra bankd. canara bank81. Where is situated in BIRLA PLANITORIUMa. chennaib. mumbaic. kanpurd. delhi

82. what is mother name of SATHRAPATHI SIVAJIa. NOORJAHANb. JEEJI BAIc. PUTLI BAId. none of these83. IN WHICH COUNTRY, HIGHEST POPULATION IN WORLDa. indiab. CHINAc. AMERICAd. RUSSIA84. what is the capital of keralaa. cochinb. palakkadc. thiruvanathapuramd. thirussur85. presently,who is the election commissioner for tamilnadua. T.N.SHESHANb. VENKATEASAMIc. GOVINDARAJANd. NARESH GUPTA

86. INDIA’S HOME MINISTERa. PRANAB MUKARJEEb. P.CHIDAMBARAMc. LALU PRASAD YADHAVd. MANMOHAN SINGH87. which country is the most important member of the UN?a. Indiab. Chinac. Russiad. Arab88. who got the booker prize for white tiger ?a. maninderb. amandeepc. aravind adigad. jhon oram89. Who discovered penicillin?a. stephen hawkinsb. alexander flemingc. robert hooked. albert einstein90. Father of Computera. Charles Darwinb. Tim Bernerslyc. Charles Babbaged. Bill Gates91. name the capital of irana. beijingb. londonc. israeld. tehran

92. Which is the land of “white lillies”?a. Moscowb. Canadac. Icelandd. India93. Who are running for Fine Gael in the european elections for Ireland south?a. Kay Dawson and Philomena Hanniganb. Patrick O’Driscoll and Fanahan McSweenyc. Colm Burke and Sean Kellyd. Bertie Ahern and Mary Poppins94. which country has more names to it?a. U.S.b. chinac. nepald. india

95. who are winners of Icc20-20 world cup 2007?a. southafricab. australiac. india

d. pakistan96. Which Article in Constitution was given more wider meaning?a. Article 14b. Article 12c. Article 32d. Article 21

97. The Netherlands is also known as?a. englandb. scotlandc. hollandd. none98. ISRO is located ina. Bangaloreb. Srihari kotac. New delhid. jaipur99. Who Invented Nylon?a. William Makepeaceb. Andrew Pittc. Wallace Carrothersd. Peter Caruana100. What is the meant by waseef ?a. The kingb. The lionc. The leopardd. The tiger101. which is the only lady to win 2 noble prize for chemistry?a. marie curieb. sonia gandhic. kanchan ishward. issac newton102. which country is the largest producer of coffeea. brazilb. russiac. italyd. china103. who was the architect of St. Peter’s Basilica?a. Donato Bramanteb. albert ivanovichc. james spencerd. albert bartholdy104. who is Canadian prime minister?a. stephen haperb. maddol natc. al bifregod. john napier105. which animal sweats on its tongue?a. catb. dogc. cowd. camel106. WHICH COUNTRY IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF ONION.a. AUSTRALIAb. AMERICAc. MEXICOd. BRAZIL107. Which is the national aquatic animal of india?a. Dolphinb. Whalec. Pythond. Crocodile108. who is higest scorer for cricket in ODI cricket matcha. jayasuriyab. rickeypoindingc. brain larad. sachin tendulkar

109. who is the eighth general secretary of UNO?a. koffe ananb. nelson mandelac. ban ki moon

d. obama110. National youth day celebrated in the memory ofa. Sardar bhagat singhb. Subhash chandra Bosc. Chandrashekhar Azadd. Swami vivekanand

111. which state of india has largest foresta. maharastrab. west bengalc. madhya pradeshd. kerela112. in bio reseve whch states forst was take in world bio reservea. w.bb. m.pc. kerelad. gujarat113. union minister of aviation?a. murali deorab. praful patelc. anand sharmad. sharad pawar114. Who is the first cricketer to hit 6 sixes in an over in T20 cricket?a. Sachin Tendulkarb. Ricky Pontingc. Yuvraj Singhd. Shane Watson115. what animal can last the longest without watera. Dogb. Ratsc. Frogd. Camels116. who is the author of ” The mid night childern”.a. Salman rushdib. Arvind adigac. Kiran desaid. Arundharti roy117. India plans a manned mission to the moon bya. 2020b. 2025c. 2030d. 2012118. Which country has won the football world cup five times ?a. Englandb. Francec. Brazild. Italy119. which country in africa has the shape of a horn?a. sudanb. somaliac. libyad. morocco120. what is the currency of bangladesh?a. eurob. yenc. takad. rupees121. which country celebrates its Independence Day on 14 August?a. albaniab. turkistanc. pakistand. italy122. The First train ran between which two cities of Indiaa. Bariely to Lucknowb. Bombay to Thanec. Bhopal to Gwaliord. Punjab to Ludhiana123. which river is known as &quotchina’s sorrow” ?a. damodar riverb. hwang ho riverc. ganga riverd. hoogly river

124. When did michael jackson die?a. 20 july 2009b. 29 august 2002c. 25 june 2009d. 15 november 2008125. Which country in 2009 had numero test player and odi player of the year?a. Bangladeshb. Pakistanc. Australiad. India

126. Who is the author of the book & quot The Daughter of the East”?a. Jawaharlal Nehrub. Nelson Mandelac. Benazir Bhuttod. Guid Blyton127. Which country is the largest consumer, producer and exporter of tea?a. Chinab. Indiac. Cubad. Brazil128. Our earth is in which type of galaxy?a. Spiralb. Irregularc. Ellipticald. Rectangular129. who won the ballon do’r in 2008a. rooneyb. ronaldoc. tevezd. messi130. what is the capital of norway ?a. lisbonb. Romec. Oslod. Ciaro131. which is the world’s most fastest snake.a. king cobrab. green pit wiperc. dimond ratteld. ghhater132. which is the world’s 3 rd most piousness snakea. dimond rattelb. black mambac. green pit wiperd. cobra133. When is the World Population Day?a. December 10b. August 9c. July 11d. June 5134. Which country has a 13 month in a calendera. brazilb. ethopiac. siberiad. finland135. what is the capital of sudana. kairob. khartoumc. Ottawad. gngtok136. how tall is k2 the second tallest mountain in the world?a. 8864mb. 8848mc. 8611md. 8765m137. How many wives had Henry VIII of England?a. sixb. eigthc. twod. ten138. what means “mon amour” in French?

a. my loveb. my ladyc. my armourd. my house139. Where is the world’s tallest building?a. Tokyob. Shangaic. Dubaid. Taipe140. Which city in the world has the most amount of theaters?a. Londonb. New Yorkc. Parisd. Buenos Aires