The Belarussian who has been appointed asIndia’s national table tennis coach— AlekseyEfremov

The newly-appointed technical adviser of Indianhockey team — Rick Charlesworth T h eIndia representative of UNICEF who has beenfound prima facie guilty of sexual harassment ofa female colleague—Cecilio Adorna

In a major relief to growers and exporters, thegovernment has decided to exempt from exportban all non-basmati rice varieties with a minimumexport price of— $425 per tonne

The German chancellor who visited India recently— Angela Merkel

The special train put together by Indian andGerman scientific agencies to showcase thecontemporary as well as futuristic scientificadvances— Science Express

The operation launched by the Andhra Pradeshgovt to transport back the wild elephants thathad strayed into the state from Orissa—Operation Gajendra

The RBI has increased the cash reserve ratio (CRR)by 50 basis points to— 7.5 per cent

The raising of CRR will suck around — Rs 16,000 cr 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil The Indian who became the richest person in the

world due to bull run in the stock market MukeshAmbani

Responding to the Janadesh March into the capitalby thousands of rural poor and landless peopleto press their demand to the Union govt hasannounced the setting up of a— National LandReforms Council (NLRC)

The person who will be the chairman of thiscommission— Manmohan Singh

12th World Lake Conference was held in —Jaipur The first woman to be elected as the President of

Argentina — Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

China’s first moon arbiter — Chang’e-I The former UP minister and now MLA who has

been awarded life term in the Madhumita Shuklamurder case—Amarmani Tripathi

The founder of Al-Umma who has been awardedlife imprisonment in the Coimbatore serial blastscase — SA Basha

The tele-density in the country has furtherimproved to—21.85 per cent

The grandson of the former UN secretary-generalU Thant who has authored the book ‘The River ofLost Footsteps: Histories of Burma’ — ThantMyint

The pro-EU party which has won the generalelection in Poland — Civic Platform

The former Mozambique president who has beenawarded for good governance and excellence inleadership—Joaquim Chissano

The Canadian golfer who has won Fry’sElectronics open — Mike Weir

Brazilian GP Formula One race has been won by—Kimi Raikkonen

The Indian-American who has been elected asthe governor of Louisiana—Bobby Jindal

The last state to impose Value-Added Tax (VAT)—UP

The year which has been declared as theInternational Year of the Potato (IYP) by the UN— 2008

7th World Toilet Summit was held in — New Delhi The first state in India to announce a pension

scheme for widows of AIDS victims — Orissa The state with highest per capita investment —

Haryana The first state in the country to provide power

and safe drinking water in all its villages besidesconnecting them with pucca roads — Haryana

The Tehelka exposure of Gujarat riots 2002 in asting operation— Operation Kalank

General AwarenessSelected Value Points in General Awareness

The Professor Ram Puniyani and Dr JSBandukwala have won the 2006 Indira Gandhiaward for — National Integration

The World Bank chief who visited Mumbairecently—Robert B Zoellick

The first Indian pugilist to qualify for next year'sBeijing Olympics—ALLakra

The Supreme Court on Oct 25 ordered compulsoryregistration of marriages of all religions across thecountry. States and territories which have notenacted rules to this effect as per its 2006 ordershould do so within — three months

The former Philippine president who wassentenced to life for plunder and has been grantedpardon -Joseph Estrada.

The country’s highest policy-making body whichon Dec 19 endorsed the Eleventh Plan document— National Development Council (NDC)

The eleventh Plan envisages an average nine percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in thefirst — four years

For the terminal year 2011-12 the GDP growth ratehas been targeted at — 10 per cent

The overall investment is of— Rs 36,00,000 cr The Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) has been

fixed nearly 11.5 per cent higher at— Rs 10 lakh cr

The GBS is to help the states in ushering in“inclusive” growth through the development ofsocial infrastructure such as health, education anderadication of poverty by generating more — jobs

For generating more jobs, the plan has specificnational and state-level targets to help monitoringthe progress of the various social — sectorprogrammes

The new president of Pakistan — General (Retd)Pervez Musharraf

The emergency in Pakistan lifted on —Dec 16, 2007

The former prime minister of Pakistan who hasreturned from Saudi Arabia — Nawaz Sharif

The new army chief of Pakistan—Ashfaq Kayani The Indian Parliament has witnessed charged

discussion on the alleged ill-treatment of Indiansin — Malaysia

The Indians, mostly Tamils, were brought by theBritishers several decades ago for — plantation

The percentage of total population which Indiansconstitute in Malaysia - 8%

Russia has assured India of lifetime fuel supplyfor two 1,000-MW nuclear reactors being built withits assistance at—Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu)

The airline to which the first-ever Boeing aircraft777 was delivered — Qatar Airways The Britishteacher who has been charged with blasphemy inSudan — Gillian Gibbon The archer who has wonthe world recurve title — Dola Banerjee .

The tournament was held in — Dubai The person who has been appointed by the PM

Manmohan Singh to head the new Group ofMinisters (GoM) constituted to look into thepricing of petroleum products — PranabMukherjee

The state which will be implementing all therecommendations of the Sachar Committee andwill establish a separate portfolio for Muslimwelfare— Maharashtra

The chief of the French army who visited Indiarecently — Gen Bruno Cuche

One of Australia’s greatest adiletes who has wona World Fair Play Award almost 50 years after hebecame an Olympic champion — Herb Elliot

The state govt which has set up an anti-terrorsquad on the lines of the one in Maharashtra —UP

The Mozambique statesman who has become thefirst recipient of the largest annually awarded prizefor the poorest continent— Joaquim Chissano

India defeated Pakistan in the first cricket testmatch in Delhi by—six wickets

Man of the match — Anil Kumble The number of foreign banks operating in India

— 29 The opposition politician and former world chess

champion who was sentenced to five days in jailon Nov 5 for violating laws regulating publicassembly—Garry Kasparov

Chennai will become a smoke-free city by 2010and Tamil Nadu a smoke-free state by—2012

The Indian who has been elected as the secretaryof the Commonwealth — Kamlesh Sharma

India-Africa summit is going to held in — 2008 Australia Labour leader and a Mandarin-speaking

former diplomat who was swept into power innational elections on Nov 24 on a wave of supportfor generational change ending 11 years ofconservative rule — Kevin Rudd

The conservative prime minister who has failed towin even his own parliamentary seat, which hehas held since 1974. He is the first Prime Ministersince 1929 to lose his constituency—John Howard

The All India Minority Forum president and theman behind recent violence in Kolkata who hasbeen arrested — Idris All

The state in which 25 IPS officers who weresuspended for their role in the police recruitmentscam but have now been reinstated— UP

The percentage of Indians who have medicalcover — 1.08%

The year in which health insurance was firstintroduced in the country — 1986

The new Polish Prime Minister — Donald Task The Bangladeshi author who has asked her

publisher in Kolkata to delete controversial linesfrom her autobiographical novel Dwikhandita(Split in Two) — Taslima Nasreen

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs onNov 30 approved the 100 per cent Centrally-sponsored scheme of post matr iculationscholarships for students belonging to —minority communities

It will involve an expenditure of Rs 1,530 croreduring the — 11th plan

The state government which banned Bollywoodactress Madhuri Dixit's comeback film AajaNachle, alleging the lyrics of a song in the moviewere derogatory to Dalits — Uttar Pradesh

The person who has taken charge as the directorof Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) —K Radhakrishnan

India was unanimously elected chairman of theexecutive council of the general assembly of the— United Nations World Tourism Organisation

(UNWTO) The country which became the International

Energy Agency's 27th member — Slovak Republic The amount of rights issue of SBI which has been

approved by the Centre — Rs 16,000 The amount of investment which also has been

approved by Centre to maintain its equity stake atover 59 per cent in the country's largest lender —Rs 10,000 cr

On Nov 30 an Atlas-jet plane crashed on mountainshortly before it was due to-land in —South-WestTurkey

The IPI India award for excellence in Journalism,2007 has been given to — Outlook

According to a report by UNESCO on globaleducation parameters, India has slipped five rankssince last year to — 105

The state which has decided to repeal the urbanland ceiling law brought by Indira Gandhi in 1976to help the poor and landless in — Maharashtra

The number of targets which has been proposedat the national and state levels for povertyeradication, education, health stat’s of women andchildren, infrastructure and environment— 27 and13

The number of new jobs that will be created toreduce the incidence of poverty by 10 percentagepoints — seven cr

The electricity connection is to be ensured to —all villages

The sector which is becoming priority sector foralmost all states — Irrigation

The PM announced a task force in the Plan panelto comprehensively scan the resourcerequirement for expanding irrigation andidentifying a new approach to implementing —irrigation project

He also announced that the finance minister, inconsultation with the agriculture minister, wouldfinalise a scheme for addressing the issue of thedebt burden of famers on the basis of the —Radhakrishna Committee report

The two private airlines which decided to mergeto create a single corporate entity — Deccan andKingfisher

India on Dec 19 test-fired two indigenouslydeveloped surface-to air, nuclear-capable Akashmissiles from the integrated Test Range atChandipur-on-sea in — Balasore (Orissa)

Indian Army troops landed in China on Dec 19 fortheir first-ever joint exercise with — People’sLiberation Army (PLA)

The committee which has rejected the Gujjar claimto Scheduled Tribes (ST) status —Justice (retd)Jasraj Chopra Committee

It was constituted by — Rajasthan The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has

joined the Andhra Pradesh Official Languagescommission to say that early form of the Telugulanguage and its script indeed existed — 2,400years ago

The cancer scientist at the University ofCambridge who will receive this year’s medicalresearch award from Ranbaxy Foundation—Ashok Venkitaraman

The new leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrat Party(LDP) — NickClegg

The person who has been elected as the newPresident of the African National Congress (ANC)— Jacob Zuma

The southern Pakistani town in which 58 personswere killed in a train accident — Mehrabpur

Deutsche Bank on Dec 19 announced that it hadincreased the capital for group operations in Indiaby — Rs 2,155 cr

The former Brazil striker who was banned for 120days on Dec 18 for a failed dope test which heblamed on a hair-loss treatment— Romario

Pravin Mahajan has been sentenced to life forkilling his brother and BJP leader — PramodMahajan

The RajyaSabha member and RJD leader who diedrecently—MotiurRehman

The distinguished science writer, columnist andbroadcaster who was conferred 2007 AtmaramAward — Rekha Agarwal

The state which has approved state-level awardsto honour excellence and encourage newinitiatives in the functioning of governmentofficials and employees — MP

India’s national action plan on mitigation ofclimate change will be ready by— 2008

The Insurance Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority (IRDA) on Dec 18 removed the controlson pricing of risks in the general insurancebusiness with effect from—Jan 1,2008

Going by the present trend, bilateral trade betweenchina and India is likely to touch $ 40 billion aheadof its targeted schedule in— 2010 .

The state-run oil explorer which is the only Indiancompany to enter the list of world’s most admiredfirms compiled by Fortune magazine and globalconsulting firm Hag group — ONGC

The country which has delivered the first shipmentof fuel to Iran’s Busheher atomic power station —Russia

The new Comptroller and Auditor-Gerneral (CAG)of India —Vinod Rai He replaces—VNKaul

The 16 -year-old girl who has won the 2007International Children’s Peace Prize for her effortsto help educate children in Zambia— ThandiweChana

The Target World Challenge golf title has beenwon by—Tiger Woods

The former managing editor of SAGE India andlong- time Doordarshan news reader who died —Tejeshwar Singh

The Rajasthan food and civil supplies ministerwho resigned from the Cabinet to protest thegovt’s stand on according ST status to Gujjars —Kirorilal Meena

The French foreign minister who visited Indiarecently—Bernard Kouchner

The noted environmentalist and head of Nobel-winning Inter-Governmental Panel on ClimateChange who Was on Dec 20 named “Newsmakerof the Year” by reputed Journal Nature — R KPachauri

The country which has lifted its ban on the exportof Padma Hilsa to India — Bangladesh

The UN has declared 2008 as the InternationalYear of — Planet Earth, Potato and Sanitation

The realty major which has become India’s secondmost-valued private sector company after RIL —DLF

The number of seats won by BJP in Gujarat—117 The person who has been re-elected as the

President of Uzbekistan for third term — IslamKarimov

The noted Bollywood producer who died recently— GP Sippy

The legendary jazz pianist and composer who diedat the age of 82— Oscar Peterson

The UN special envoy who visited Myanmar —Ibrahim Gambari

India’s Kamlesh Sharma was elected the Common-wealth Secretary-General in recently held CHOGMSummit in Kampala (Uganda).

Former World No.1 tennis player Pete Sampras reg-istered a 21 win over current world champion RogerFederer in the Asian three match exhibition serieson November 24, 2007 in Macau.

According to Indicus Analytics report ‘HousingSkyline of India’ 2007-08. Delhi has morehouseholds earning over Rs. 10 lakh a year thanany other city in India.

The Common wealth Heads of Government Meet2007 opened on November 23, in the Ugandancapital Kampala.

According to a World Bank study the employmentrate of physically challenged people in Indiadeclined from 43% in 1991 to 38% in 2002.

According to UNAID’S latest estimate there are33.2 million people living with HIV Worldwide - thatis 16% less than the 39.5 million it had estimated in2006.

Nobel Laureate Wangari Mathai was on November19, 2007 awarded the Indira Gandhi InternationalPrize for Peace, Disarmament and Development byPresident Pratibha Patil in New Delhi.

Beyonce Knowles, Hollywood, actress, receivedthe International Star of the year at the 2007American Awards in Los Angeles on November19, 2007.

The UN General Assembly has passed a draft-reso-lution for a moratorium on death penalty.

UNESCO Regional Conference in support of Global Lit-eracy was held in New Delhi on November 29 and 30.

According to Human Development Report releasedon November 27 the developed countries shouldcut their carbon emissions by 80% by the year 2050with 20% - 30% cuts by 2030 if the earth has to be

saved from a complete environmental catastrophedue to global warming.

Churchill brothers defeated Mahindra United 1-0to win 120 the Durand Cup on November 7, 2007 inNew Delhi.

India clinched five matches ODI series against Pa-kistan 3-2 although final match was won by Paki-stan on November 18, 2007 in Jaipur.

‘Nari Kono Desh Nei’ (Women Have no Country)is the latest book of Taslima Nasreen.

Once Upon A Time in the Soviet Union’ is thebook written by French author Dominique Lappirereleased on November 28, 2007.

Anti Imperalest International Conference was heldin Kolkata on November 28-29, 2007.

Pervez Musharraf took oath as the new Presidentof pakistan on November 29, 2007 after resigningfrom the post of Army Chief on November 28, 2007.

A 1978 probe by NASA showed signs of electricalactivity in the atmosphere of Venus. The lightningon Venus has been confirmed by the EuropeanAgency’s Venus Express probe.

Labour Party leader Kevin Rudd Prime Ministers inAustralia on November 24, 2007 ending 11 yearconservative party leader John Howard’s era.

NCC Day was observed on November 25, 2007. ‘A Mighty Heart’ is the book written on journalist

Daniel Pearl, murdered in Pakistan, by his wifeMarianne.

Pakistan as a member was suspended from Com-monwealth Association on November 23, 2007 inCHOGM conference in Kampala (Uganda).

Annapolis Peace Conference to hold negotiationson Middle East peace process was held inAnnapolis (Maryland, USA) on November 27, 2007

The sixth India-ASEAN Summit was held in Singa-pore on November 21 and 22, 2007.

Australia clinched the Warne - Muralitharan Tro-phy against Sri Lanka on November 20, 2007 inHobart.

The noted painter Akbar Padamsi receivedDayawati Modi Award from Ambiak Soni onNovember 17, 2007 in New Delhi.

World’s former Chess Champion Gary Kasporavwas sentenced to five day’s jail on November 25,2007 for violating laws regulating public assembly.

American astronomers have discovered the big-gest black hole orbiting a star 1.8 light years fromearth in the constellation Cassiopeia. It has a recordsetting mass 24 to 33 times that of the sun.

Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam inaugu-rated the World Toilet Summit 2007 in New Delhi onOctober 31, 2007.

‘The Tales on Beedle the Bard’ is the new book ofJ.K. Rowling renowned author of Harry Potter Series.

American scientists have prepared the first geneticmap of a cat which may shed light on a cause ofblindness in humans and may offer insights intoAIDS and other diseases.

Hindustan Computer Ltd. inaugurated first tech-nology hub in Noida on November 1, 2007.

Grandmasters K. Sarikaran and K. Humpy won theindividual titles and bagged two gold medals in theChess Competition of the Asian Indoor Games onNovember 2, 2007 in Macau.

'No Country for Old Men’ won the Oscar Awardfor best movie on February 25, 2008 in ceremonyheld in Los Angeles.

Oscar Award for Best Actor was won by DanielDay-Lewis for the movie ‘There will be Blood’while the Oscar for best actress was won by MarionCotillard for the movie La Vie en Rose.

Andy Roddick won SAP Open Championship onFebruary 25,2008 in San Jose.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Insti-tute (SIPRI) has estimated the World military ex-penditure in 2006 to be $ 1024 billion which is3.5% more than in 2005.

In 2008-09 Railway budget presented on 26 Febru-ary, 2008, Railways managed to secure a Rs. 37,500crore plan for the year marking 21% increase over2007-08 railway budget.

Foodgrain production in 2007-08 is estimated at arecord level of 219.32 million tonnes as per thesecond advance estimate. This is 217.28 milliontonnes higher than for 2006-07.

The target for agricultural growth in XI plan hasbeen fixed at 4 per cent per annum.

National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Cam-paign was organised in New Delhi on February26,2008.

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards were presentedon February 26, 2008. The most coveted award ofAkademi— Honour of Akademi Fellowship

(Akademi Ratna) was conferred on eminent scholarS. K. Saxena for his contribution to Indian musicand dance.

Brett Lee won his first Allan Border Medal on Feb-ruary 26,2008 in Melbourne.

For the first time India on February 25, 2008, suc-cessfully test-fired its first ever under-sea nuclearcapable ballistic missile off the eastern coastal cityof Vishakhapatnam. The missile K-15 with a rangeof 700 km was test-fired from a pontoon immersedin the sea.

In elections held in Pakistan on February 18, 2008.Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) emerged largest singleparty with 87 seats followed by PML (Nawaj) with66 seats and PML (Q) with 38 seats.

PML = Pakistan Muslim League Telecom giant Bharti Airtel on February 26, 2008

announced that it would set up a new under-seacable linking US with Asia in order to sustain thegrowth in data and internet traffic between Asiaand U. S.

According to archaelogists, a ceremonial plaza built5,500 years ago has been discovered in Peru. Thecarbon dating shows it is one of the oldest structureever found in the Americas.

The Union Cabinet on February 21, 2008 approveda proposal to increase the number of judges in theSupreme Court from 26 to 31 including the ChiefJustice.

IPL auction for top cricketers was held on February20,2008 in which India’s ODI captain MahendraSingh Dhoni attracted the highest price for Chennaiteam.

India’s indigenously developed pilotless target air-craft ‘Lakshya’ was successfully flight-tested fromthe Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on Febru-ary 20,2008.

Hero of Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro announcedon February 19, 2008 his decision to retire from hisofficial position of the President of Cuba.

The President of India Pratibha Patil gave her as-sent to the notification altering constituencies in24 states and Union Territories under the delimita-tion process.

According to the World Conservation Union Re-port, population of tiger, bull, dusky and other sea

sharks have shrunk by 95% since the 1970. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on

February 17,2008. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Gulamnabi Azad

inaugurated the Fifth National Winter Games inGulmerg on February 18,2008.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a his-toric apology to the aborigines on February 13, 2008for injustices committed over two centuries of whitesettlers.

The Union Government on February 13, 2008 ap-proved 25 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) propos-als worth Rs. 5,584-82 crore in various sectors.

India and Russia on February 12, 2008 signed twomemorandum of understanding for constructingadditional nuclear reactors and resolved to doublebilateral trade in three years and promoting defenceties.

Shivshankar Prasad Chowrasia won Indian Mas-ters Golf Championship on February 10,2008 in NewDelhi.

Turkish Parliament voted by huge majority on Feb-ruary 9, 2008 in favour of lifting a ban on Islamicheadscarves at Universities.

The Law Commission has recommended that themarriageable age for boys and girls be fixeduniformly at 18 in its 205th report submitted onFebruary 6,2008 to Union Law Minister—H. R.Bhardwaj.

Salwa Judum-an anti naxalite movement is active in- ChhattisgarhThe Supreme Court in March 2008 questioned thelegal premise of Salwa Judum movement inChhattisgarh after reports of human rightsviolations at the hands of Salwa Judum activists.

The Country’s National Vector Borne Disease Con-trol Programme (NVBDCP) has decided to make anexhaustive study of how many districts are affectedby Lymphatic filariasis—a disease caused by para-sitic worms.

According to a Planning Commission report, Indiais short of 6 lakh doctors.

President Pratibha Patil recently visited - Brazil,Mexico and ChilePresident Pratibha Patil was on her maiden 13 dayforeign trip from April 12 to 24, 2008 to Brazil,

Mexico and Chile. The state earning defamation for attacks on tour-

ists is - GoaGoa earned the notoriety for a series of attacks onforeign tourists particularly after Scarlette murdercase.

Infant mortality rate in India is presently -76 per1000 live birthsAccording to recent report on the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) India’s target ofmortality of children under age 5 is 38 per 1000 livebirth while the present situation is 76 deaths per1000 live births.

The erstwhile ruler of India over which his heirs arefighting is -The Nizam of HyderabadThe $ 30 million pounds of erstwhile Nizam ofHyderabad are lying in Natwest Bank in Londonover which his heirs are fighting a legal battle.

The Centre plans to start new metro trains number-ing - 5The Central government has planned to Start fivenew metro trains in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai,Kolkata and Kochi.

According to the report by Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Agriculture, every year, afterharvesting, India loses Rs. 55,600 crore worth crop.

India is planning to set up - Sovereign Wealth FundIndia which possesses world’s fourth largest re-serves amounting—$ 299-15 billion in order to di-vert the huge reserves for good use.

From the next year, PIN will be in - 8 digitsPresently, the PIN (Postal Index Number) is in sixdigits. But from 2009 the Government has proposedto introduce the eight digits postal index number.

India has imported Anti Japanese encephlitis from- ChinaAfter the Central Research Institute (Kasauli) wasshut down, India decided to import Japaneseencephlitis vaccine SA 14-14-2 from China.

India ranks, in tourist arrivals in the world - 42ndAccording to UN World Tourism Organization, In-dia with 4.45 million foreign tourist arrivals has beenranked 42nd.

The Community which has overtaken the numberof Roman Catholics in the world is - MuslimAccording to Vatican’s newly released 2008 yearbook. Muslim make up 19.2% of the world’spopulation and Catholics 17.4%.

The country whose incumbent President is goingto become its Prime Minister is - RussiaRussian President Vladimir Putin will be voted in asPrime Minister immediately after the inaugurationof Damitry Medvedev as President in May.

The country which recently lifted ban on openingluxury hotels, resorts to all its citizens is -CubaCuban President Raul Castro recently announced thelifting of ban from opening of luxury hotels, resorts.

The country which produces half of the foodgrainsof China is IndiaIndia produced 3.12 tonnes rice per hectare againstChinese production of 6.2 tonnes per hectare for2006 and while India produced 2.6 tonnes perhectare China produced 4.1 tonnes per hectare.

The country where man-animal has been created isU.K.For the first time in Britain researchers at NewcastleUniversity have created human-animal hybridembryos.

The fastest train of the world is- TGV trainThe TGV (train grande vitesse) is the fastest trainof the world. It travels at 575 kph in France.

The person appointed as new ICC Chief Executiveis - Haroon LorgatSouth Africa’s Haroon Lorgat has been appointedthe new Chief Executive of the International CricketCouncil. He will take over from Malcom Speed atgoverning body’s annual conference on June29,2008.

The targets of Millennium Development Goals setby the UNO have to be achieved by -2015Recently a report titled-”the Countdown to 2015 :Maternal New born and Child Survival” was releasedgiving an account of the countries, progress onMillennium Development Goals set by the UNO tobe achieved by 2015.

The renowned scientist who died in April was -Edward LorenzEdward Lorenz who was the father of Chaos theoryand showed how small actions could lead to major

changes in what became known as butterfly effect,died of cancer.

Tamil Newspaper banned in Malaysia is - MakkalOsaiThe Malaysian government has banned a prominentTamil language daily Makkal Osai which was criticalof the government.

The winner of King’s cup - ValenciaValencia won the seventh King’s Cup after defeat-ing Getafe 3-0.

The UNO fund for disaster in South East Asia is —The South East Asia Regional Health EmergencyFundThe South East Asia Regional Health Fund hasbeen set by WHO with a corpus of $ 1 millionproviding financial assistance to South East Asiancountries within 24 hours of being hit by a naturalor man-made disaster.

The author of Harry Potter Encyclopaedia is -Vander ArkVander Ark has written Harry PotterEncyclopaedia—a rival book of Harry Potter Serieswritten by J.K. Rowling.

The Physicist who invented the theory of nuclearfission was - John WheelerJohn Wheeler was the prominent scientist whoinvented the theory of nuclear fission. He breathedhis last on April 13, 2008.

The two major International Airlines which havedecided to merge are - Delta Airlines and NorthWest AirlinesWorld’s two major Airlines which have decided tomerge together in $ 3-1 billion deal to create world’sbiggest airline are Delta Airlines and North westAirlines.

The train running between Dhaka and Kolkata is -The Maitree ExpressOn the day of new Bengal year-April 14, 2008 theMaitree Express between India and Bangladeshresumed its service after a gap of 43 years fromKolkata to Dhaka.

The Company which raised huge funds for infra-structure in India is - 3 i Group PicThe London based Company which has raised $1.2 billion for infrastructure projects in India is 3 iGroup Pic.

The new President of Paraguay is Fernando LugoEx-Bishop Fernando Lugo’s Patriotic Alliance for

change emerged victorious in the elections held onApril 20, 2008.

The new Prime Minister of Italy is - SilvioBerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi’s Freedom Party got majority inboth of Houses of Parliament and he has becomethe Prime Minister of Italy for the third time afterthe elections held on April 14,2008.

The country which has announced relief packagefor skilled Indian migrants in its land is - U.K.The British Government’s Under Highly SkilledMigrant Programme (HSMP), Indian migrantworkers facing the prospect of returning home,under a high court riding, can stay back until theprocesses of migration are put in place to implementthe judgement.

The former union minister who died recently —Basavarajeshwari

The prime minister of Mauritius who visited Biharrecently and expressed his desire to import labourfrom Bihar—Navinchandra Ramgoolam

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to in-crease the number of judges (including the ChiefJustice) in the Supreme Court from 26 to — 31

After about 30 years of association with the RSSmouthpiece, Tarun Vijay resigned as editor of the— Panchjanya

The state govt which banned the AshutoshGowariker film Jodha-Akbar and later lifted the ban— Madhya Pradesh

The West Bengal minister who has accusedMarwaris of adopting unfair means to get work doneand this statement has created controversy—AdurRezzak Mollah

The person who was named President of Cuba onFeb 24 ending his brother Fidel Castro’s 49-yearrule — Raul Castro

The chairperson of the Human Rights Commissionof Pakistan who visited India recently—Asmajahangir

The army chief of Bangladesh who visited Indiarecently— Gen Moeen U Ahmed

The second Indian player to lift the Austrian openbadminton men’s single tide at Vienna — AnandPawar

The late Syed Modi had won it in — 1984 In the biggest financial sector takeover in the coun-

try, HDFC Bank has decided to acquire — CenturionBank of Punjab

The 20-year-old Mumbai girl who was crownedMiss India Worldwide in Johannesburg — ShagunSarabhai

The Parliament speaker and Communist party leaderwho has won the presidential election in Cyprus —Demetris Christofias

The total number of independent countries in 1947— 76

The total number of independent countries in 2008— 196

196th independent country is — Kosovo Fair One Filmfare Awards.Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan for Chak De IndiaBest Actress: Kareena Kapoor for Jab We MetBest Supporting Actor: Irrfan Khan for Life In a

MetroBest Supporting Actress: Konkona Sen Sharma for

Life In a MetroBest Director: Aamir Khan for Taare Zameen ParBest Film: Taare Zameen Par The Marathi film-maker who has been selected for

the 17th Aravindan Puraskaram instituted byChalachitra Film Society for his maiden film: Tingya— Mangesh Hadwale

80 th annual Oscar Academy Awards:Best Picture: No Country For Old MenDirector: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen for No Country

For Old MenBest Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be

BloodBest Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie en RoseBest Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem for No

Country For Old MenBest Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael

Clayton Foreign Language Film: The Counterfeiters, from

AustriaAnimated Feature: Brad Bird for RatatouilleDocumentary Feature: Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

for Taxi to the Dark SideOriginal Screenplay: Diablo Cody for JunoCinematography: Robert Elswit for There Will be

Blood

Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coenfor No Country For Old. Men

Original Score: Dario Marianelli for Atonement live Action Short Film: Philippe Pollet-Villard for Le

Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)

Film Editing: Christopher Rouse for The BourneUltimatum

Visual Effects: Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, BenMorris and Trevor Wood for The Golden Compass

Sound Editing: Karen Baker Landers and PerHallberg for The Bourne Ultimatum

Canada’s High Commissioner to India, who hasbeen named president of the prestigiousInternational Development Research Centre (IDRC)— David Malone

The Board of Reliance Power approved a proposalfor issuing bonus shares to all categories ofshareholders, excluding the promoter group(comprising the Reliance Energy Limited and theAnil Dhirubhai Ambani Group), in the ratio of 3shares for every — 5 shares held

The Chief Editor of the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh organ Panchjanya who has joined the DrSyama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, theBJP’s newly created think tank, as its Director —Tarun Vijay

The Telugu Desam Party MLA and former ministerwho has announced his resignation from theAssembly, protesting against the manhandling bythe police — Ch Ayyanna Patrudu

The state whose Chief Minister has announced acash award of Rs 5 lakh to the village that standsfirst at the State level in improving the sex ratio —Haryana

The controversial UP cabinet secretary who hasbeen stripped of his ministerial status andadministrative powers — Shashank Shekhar Singh

The new President of Russia — Dmitry Medvedev India has lifted the Under-19 Cricket World Cup by

defeating — South Africa The venue of the final match was — Kuala Lumpur

(Malaysia) The scheme proposed by the European Union for

highly skilled professionals from third worldcountries — EU Blue Card

The controversial Bangladeshi writer who has left

India for a European country—Taslima Nasreen The commodity which has been exempted from im-

port duty to contain inflation — riceThe levy has been removed from — edible oils The third Indian batsman and only the sixth in the

world to break the 10,000-run barrier — Rahul Dravid The slogan of Beijing Olympics — One World One

Dream Asia’s largest tulip garden has been opened in —

Srinagar The Indian company which purchased the famous

British luxury car Jaguar and Land Rover for $ 2.3billion — Tata Motors

First Indian to own a car—Jamshet Tata (1901) The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of a

Farmers Debt Relief Fund with an initial corpus of—Rs 10,000 cr

The state government which has decided to conferthe “Bhim Award”, the highest sports award in theState, on a physically challenged sports person —Haryana

American John Griggs Thompson and Belgian-bornJacques Tits won the 6-million-kroner ($ 1.2 million)Abel Prize for Mathematics on for theircontributions to — Group theory of algebra

India-born internationally acclaimed filmmaker whohas been honoured with the “Person of the Year”award by the India Abroad newspaper inrecognition of her work — Mira Nair

The all-India chief of the Students’ Islamic Move-ment of India (SIMI), who along with 12 other ac-tivists of the banned organisation, was arrestedfrom a house in Indore — Safdar Nagori

The Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstandingWoman Mediaperson for 2007 has been given to— Rupashree Jain

The first State in the country to have introducedfree chemotherapy treatment to cancer patients —Assam

The speaker of the Orissa assembly who has re-signed from his post following sexual harassmentcharges against him — Maheswar Mohanty

The minister who has been dropped for his allegedinvolvement in the controversy — Debasis Nayak

The 6th Pay Commission was headed by—JusticeBN Srikrishna

The deposed Pakistan Supreme Court chief justice

who has been freed from house arrest — IftikharChaudhary

The speaker of the US House of Congress whovisited Tibetan camp in Dharamshala (HimachalPradesh)— Nancy Pelosi

India Africa Project Partnership 2008 was held in—Delhi

Trade between Africa and India reached $ 25 billionin—2006-07

The rival Cypriot leaders agreed to open the land-mark street running through the heart of Cyprus’divided capital — Nicosia

Cyprus President — Demetris Christoflas Turkish Cypriot leader —- Mehmit Ali Talat The Frenchman who has set a new world record for

the men’s 100 metres freestyle in a time of 47.60seconds at the European Swimmingchampionship—Alain Bernard

The nuclear - capable surface-to-surface missilewhich has been successfully test-fired from wheelerIsland, off Dumra village, on the coast of Orissa—Agni-III

My country, My Life has been written by — LKAdvani

Deodhar Trophy: 2008Winner — Central ZoneRunner — East Zone Malaysian Grand Prix winner — Kimi Raikkonen The new PM of Pakistan — Yousuf Raza Gilani Anti-conversion Religious Freedom Bill has been

passed by—Rajasthan assembly The Telugu actor who passed away recently —

Sobhan Babu The British actor who won an Oscar for his role in

A Man for All Seasons and who died recently —Paul Scofield

The Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly —Fahmida Mirza

The Meghalaya CM who resigned — DD Lapang The new CM — Donkupar Roy British-born science fiction writer who died recently

— Sir Arthur C Clarke The Tamil actor who died recently — Raghuvaran The person who had set aside the election of Indira

Gandhi from Rai Bareli in 1975 and who died recently— Justice Jagmohan Lal Sirtha

The author of the book The Bin Ladens: An Ara-bian family in the American Century — Steve Coll

The Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) leaderPrachanda has demanded the scrapping of die 1950Peace and Friendship Treaty between Nepal and— India

According to home minister Shivraj Patil, the coun-try’s population is expected to reach 1.2 billion by—2011

The oil ministers from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan,Pakistan and India signed a draft frameworkagreeing to start construction work of the TAPIgas pipeline project in — 2010

The amount of package which has been declaredby the PM for Jammu and Kashmir refugees — Rs1,600 cr

The former railway minister and senior Congressleader who resigned from party but later on withdrawthe resignation it after meeting with Sonia Gandhi— CK Jaffer Sharief

The former governor of Haryana who died in Jammurecently— Babu Paramanand

The Indian steel tycoon who has once again toppedthe Sunday Times Rich List — Laxmi N Mittal

The Indian artist known for combining details fromeveryday life with world events and images andwho has bagged die US’ prestigious 40,000-poundArtes Mundi Prize, in recognition of his outstandingwork focusing on the human condition — NSHarsha

The European Union is to launch the second satel-lite in its much-delayed Galileo navigation systemdesigned to rival die American — GPS system

TRAI has recommended raising the foreign invest-ment limit in news channels and FM radio to — 49per cent

The state in which Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank,founded by Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus,is all set to open three branches in order to providemicro-credit to people living below the povertyline—Assam

The retired bureaucrat who is all set to become thenew chairman of Prasar Bharati Board, replacingMV Kamath — Arun Bhatnagar

The father of the mind-altering drug LSD whosemedical discovery grew into a notorious “problemchild” and who died recently—Albert Hotmann

The cricketer who has received the ‘Sports person

of 14 Generation’ award from the Calcutta SportsJournalists Club (CSJC) — Sachin Tendulkar

The Central govt on April 29 cut the import duty on— Steel

The govt has imposed export duty on — Steelproducts

The govt has modified the duty structure on —Cement

The govt has brought down the duty on—:Skimmed milk products

These above are as part of anti-inflationarymeasures that are likely to cost the exchequer—Rs 1,500 cr

In a determined move to contain overshooting in-flation, the RBI on April 29 raised the Cash ReserveRatio (CRR) by 0.25 per­centage points to—8.25 per cent

With this, the RBI will mop up around —Rs 27,500 cr

That includes an estimated Rs 18,500 cr that was tobe mopped up in two stages consequent on a 0.50percentage point CRR hike by the RBI on—April 17

The Iranian President who visited India recently—Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Tax-GDP ratio in 2007-08 was —12.5% The CPI has demanded the re-negotiation of the

Kacchative Agreement. This agreement was signedbetween India and — Sri Lanka

Iraq’s former deputy premier and for many yearspublic face of Saddam Hussein’s regime who is nowon trial — Tariq Aziz

The country which has said that Georgia was pre-paring for invasion against its break away territoryof Abkhazia and vowed to give a “tough response”— Russia

The Reserve Bank of India on Apr 29 raised thelimit of bank loans to individuals for housing (witha lower risk weight of 50 per cent) to Rs 30 lakh from— Rs 20 lakh

This move is expected to reduce the cost funds ofhousing loans up to — Rs 30 lakh

The Bank Rate is — 6% The short-term lending rate of the RBI, namely Repo

Rate, is—7.75% The Reverse Repo Rate is — 6% The RBI has projected the GDP growth rate for

2008-09 at — 88.5% The RBI’s inflation target in 2008-09 is — 5.5% The player who was officially banned for this year’s

Indian Premier League for slapping S Sreesanth afterthe Mohali versus Mumbai match — HarbhajanSingh

The president of the Indian Hockey Federation whohas been sacked — KPS Gill

The Indian rocket that successfully launched 10satellites into orbit in one go on Apr 28, reaching amilestone in space technology and boosting India’simage as a major player in the multi-billion-dollarsatellite-launching business — PSLV -C9

The place in Shandong province in China wheremore than 70 people were killed in a train accident— Zibo

The PSU which has bagged the winner’s trophy ofthe Earth Care Award for excellence in climatechange mitigation and adaptation — ONGC

The US secretary of state who has said that the“improvement in the diets of people in India andChina”, which is forcing the governments there tokeep food “inside”, is one of the “four causes” forthe current global supply shortage — CondoleezzaRice

The author of the book Superstar India: From in-credible to Unstoppable is—Shobha De

The former Union minister of state for home affairsin HD Deve Gowda’s JD(S)-led govt in 1996 whodied recently — Mohammad Maqbool

The Marathi writer and former Rajya Sabha mem-ber who died recently—Dr Sarojini Bahar

The Hindustani classical vocalist who has beenawarded the Kerala govt’s SwathiThirunalPuraskam for 2007 — Pandit Jasraj

The 56-year-old ex-Roman Catholic priest who hasbeen elected as the new President of Paraguay—Fernando Lugo

The prominent Gandhian and Rajya Sabha memberwho espoused the cause of peace and communalharmony for six decades and who died recently—Nirmala Deshpande.

What is the name of super computer developed byTata Group’s pune-based computational researchlaboratory which has been rated as the fourthfastest computer in the world? - EKA

Which company started project “Unlimited

potential” that will focus on creating innovativeways for deploying technology to transformeducation, foster local innovation and enable Jobsto sustain a continous cycle of Social and economicgrowth in the country? - Microsoft India

Who was honoured with The Economic Times Lifetime achievement Award for corporate excellenceon Oct. 4, 2007? - Narayana Murthy

Who has written autobiography “Romancing withLife? - Dev Anand

Which country defeated India after which theIndian Hockey team failed to qualify for 2008Olympics? - Britain

Who is the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel RatnaAward given away recently? - Manavjit SinghSandhu

“The world is what it is” is a biography recentlywritten & released by which writer?- V.S. Naipaul

What is the name of satellite which Indian SpaceResearch organisation is planning to launch to theSun? - Aditya

The Indian Navy recently commissioned its newwarship “INS Jalashwa”. The ship is acquired fromwhich country? - U.S.A.

What is Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited renamedas? - Tata Communication limted

What is the title of seventh report submitted bythe second administrative reforms commissionheaded by Veerappa Moily? - Capacity Buildingfor Conflict Resolution

Which Indian Grand Master has won the SixthParsavnath International open chess tournamenton Jan. 20, 2008? - Abhijeet Gupta

Who is author of the book “India’s UnendingJourney”? - Mark Tully

The European Technology Park (ETP), an inte-^grated township for Europeans which aims atpromoting European firms in the field ofcommunication, biotechnology, research,engineering and others would be established atwhich place? - Palwal, Faridabad (Haryana)

Admiral Gorshkov, a 238-meter long aircraft carrierand was supposed to join the Indian Navy byAugust 2008, is called by which Indian name? -INS Vikramaditya

Sachin Tendulkar achieved the milestone of having15000 runs in One day International cricket in theseries at England, playing against which country?

- South Africa Who has won the G.D. Birla Award for scientific

research and what was his field? -- Prof. ShantanuBhattacharya (field of chemical biology andmoleculcr design)

Who has won the Association of NationalOlym­pic Committee’s Merit award? — SureshKjdmadi, President of , Indian OlympicAssociation

Which great spiritual guru who introduced thetranscendental Meditation movement diedrecenlty? - Mahishi Mahesh Yogi

Why was Baba Amte who died recently famous? -Great Social Worker who worked for the cause ofleprosy patients

Which site has been nominated recently by theGovernment of India for world Heritage list underthe ‘Cultural Landscape category1? - Majuli

With which country India signed an agreement forstronger scientific & technological ties? -Australia

Who was the Chairman of Second-NationalCommission on labour set up in October 1999 bythe Government? - Ravindra Varma

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005was launched with merging which two existingschemes?- Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana andNational Food for work programme

Carlos Ghosn who recently visited India is theChairman of which company? -Daimler of Germany

After becoming a part of Jet Airways, SaharaAirlines is now known by which name?- Jetlite

Which apparel company was recently in the newsfor taking punitive measures against its Indiansuppliers who were accused of employing childlabour? - Calvein Klein

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)inked a MoU with securities and exchangecommission of which neighbouring country onJanuary 28, 2008 aimed at facilitating mutualcooperation and exchange of information?-Pakistan

Which country reached an agreement with theWorld Trade Organisation on January 25, 2008 toJoin the global trade body? - Ukraine

Recentaly world Heritage Committee accepted thenomination of which historic monument on theworld heritage list? - Red Fort

The 8th World Hindi conference was held at NewYork by which Indian Ministry? - Ministry ofExternal Affairs

The 38th International film festival of India, 2007was celebrated In which state? - Goa

The Mobile Train exhibition on the occasion of150 years of 1857, 60 years of Independence andbirth centrenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh whichflagged off from New Delhi was called by whatname? - Azadi Express

Freedom week was celebrated between which dates- September 26 - October 3, 20O7

Who has been awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize2005? -Desmond Tutu (South Africa)

Who is the 37th chief justice of India? - Justice K.J. Balakrishnan

With which countries did India sign an extraditiontreaty quite recently?- Portugal & Belarus

What is the generation capacity of the SardarSarovar Narmada Dam Hydroelectric project? -1450 Mw

What are the stations between which the TharExpresc will run? - Munabao (Barn, India) toKhokhrapar (Sindh, Pakistan)

Who has been awarded the Jawaharlal NehruAward for International understanding 2005? -Wangari Maathai

What was the name of the Italian satellite whichwas launched off from Sriharikota as the firstcommercial launch by ISRO? - Agile

Where was the 14th SAARC summit held? - NewDelhi, India

Who is the social activist from Assam who wasconferred the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavnaaward? - Som Dutta

Where did the department of posts launched a fullfledged domestic freighter service for the first timein the country? - Guwahati (Assam)

Where was the first ever National Congress onGround water held? - New Delhi

Who has been conferred the 22nd Indira GandhiAward for National Integration for 2006? - J.S.Bandukwala and Ram Puniyani

Where was the first Commonwealth womenparliamentarians conference held?- New Delhi

Which Indian Badminton player won theAustra­lian open men s singles title and becamethe second Indian to win this title? - Anand Kapoor

Name of the Israel’s Satellite which has beenlaunched successfully by PSLV-C10? - Tecsar(Polaris)

Which Indian company has signed up as one ofthe four sponsors of the FIFA world cup and officialIT Services provider? - Satyam Computer.

The Venue of eighth World Hindi Conference wasat which place? - New York

Who is the head of committee appointed by theUnion Home Ministry on reforming the CriminalJustice system? - Madhava Menon

What stand for GESCI which Irish Prime MinisterBertie Ahern launched in India? Globale Schooland Communities Initiatives

Which millionaire adventurer, whose secondaround the world in balloon attempt ended inIndia,was declared dead five months after hevanished while flying in a small plane? — Stevefossett

Who has been named Ernst & Young Enterprenearof the year 2007? - Ramalinga Raju (Chairman ofSatyam Computer)

Who has been named the Forbes Businessmen ofthe year 2007 by Forbes Asia? - K.V. Kamath (CEOof ICICI)CIAL 2008

What is the final destination of Border SecurityForce Mountaineering Expedition 2008? - MountKanchenjunga

Which Indian American scientist has been awardedthe 52nd International Meteorological Organisationprize? - Jadadish Shukla

Where was the 19th congress of CPM partyrecently held? - Coimbatore

Which former chief minister has, been invited totake part In the UN Millenium villages conference?- Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister,Digvijay Singh

Who is the new secretary of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW)? - Ms. Deepa JainSingh

Which states have been excluded from thenotification of the delimitation of constituenciesin different parts of the country? - Assam,Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur andNagaland.

What are the changes to be introduced in the AllIndia Entrance Examination (MBBS/BDS) from thisyear? - Reservation for Scheduled castes (15%)

and Scheduled Tribes (7.5%) Who will be the first to deliver the Annual

Parliamentary lecture announced recently by theSpeaker of Lok Sabha? - Nobel Laureate AmartyaSen

Where was the foundation for setting up of RajivGandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology laidrecently? - Rai Bareli (Uttar Pradesh)

Which state is the only one in the country wherethe tiger population has not gone down? - TamilNadu

Which state has recieved grant from the RotaryFoundation for creating awareness against polio?- Uttar Pradesh

Which state has presented a tax free budget for2008-09? - Manipur

Who is the new Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh HighCourt? - Justice Rajiv Gupta

Who is the, new president of Federation of IndianChambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)? -Rajiv Chandrasekhar

Who has been appointed as the Pro-tem Chairmanof Lalit Kala Akademl? - Ashok Vajpai

Who is appointed as the next Chief of army staff?- Lt. Gen. Deepak Kapoor

Where is the National Centre of Antarctica andOcean Research (NCAOR) situated? - Goa

Who led India’s first ever expedition to ArcticOcean? - Director of NCAOR Rasik Ravindra

Which feature film was adjudged the Best featurefilm in “the National film award 2005”? - BudhadebDasgupta’s “Kall purush”

Who is the director of film Parineeta which wasgiven Indira Gandhi Award for the best feature filmin “The National film award 2005”? - Vidhu VinodChopra

What are the name of Indian air force pilots whocreated a world record by flying a microlight aircraftaround the world in 80 days? — Anil Kumar andRahul Monga

Which five nations were part of a “MalabarExercise” the largest ever multination drill in theBay of Bengal? -Australia, India, Japan,Singapore, USA

Who was given the prestigious Dada.Saheb PhalkeAward 2005? - Shyam Benegal

Which country Is to partner India in launching

Science Express “The 14 Coach train” which hasinteractive modules on various aspects of Science?- Germany

Where was the festival “Incredible India” wasorganized between 23-26 September 2007? -NewYork

The Dandi Heritage Corridor project falls underwhich project? - NHDP-IV

The festival organised by the Ministry of Culture,Government of India and the Delhi government tocelebrate 60 years of Independence is called bywhich name? - Bharat Utsav

With which company Steel Authority of India Ltd.signed a 50:50 Joint venture on January 3, 2008 forcoal mining within the country?- Tata Steel

India lifted the ban on FDI from which of itsneighbouring country recently? - Bangladesh

Which country is the largest contributor of FDI inIndia? - Mauritius

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund for in-frastructural development in rural areas, is set upand managed by which financial institution? -NABARD

Integrated Child Development Scheme waslaunched in which year as a centrally sponsoredscheme? - 1975

India’s foreign exchange reserve has crossed theUS dollar 300 billion mark for the first time, takinghow much time to swell by USD 100 billion to thenew level? - 11 months

National Urban Health Mission is to cover 100cities in the first phase out of 429 cities, to becovered by the mission in the remaining 4 years ofthe mission. Under it Accredited Social HealthActivists (ASHA) of the National Rural HealthMission in the cities would be given whichnomenclature?- USHA (Urban Social HealthActivists) each catering for a population of 2000

Recently centurian bank of Punjab has decided tomerge with which of the bank?-HDFC Bank

Foreign Exchange Reserve of India is under whichorganisation? - RBI

The Union cabinet has approved the creation of afarmer’s Debt Relief Fund with an initial corpus ofhow much amount?- Rs. 10,000 crore

What is the projected growtn rate of GDP asenvisaged by the 11 th five year plan draft after thegrowth rate recorded for 2002-07 was 7.6%? - 9%

What is the position of India as the producer of crudesteel globally as brought out by Ministry of Steel,Chemical and Fertilizer in November, 2007? - 5th

Which is India’s largest power generationcom­pany with an installed capacity of 27,904 MWthrough 26 power stations? - National ThermalPower Corporation

Who is the leading FDI recipient of the world aheadof India (2nd place) and USA (3rd place)? - China

Which company has acquired 30% stake in anexploration block in offshore Turkmenistan in theCaspian sea in October, 2007? - OMEL - ONGCMittal Energy Limited, A joint venture of ONGCVidesh Ltd. and Mittal Investment Sarh

Participatory notes are related to which categoryof Investment? - Foreign Investment

The newly launched National Food Securitymission-2007 has the basic objective of solvingthe problem of persistent yield shortage in thecountry. What is the target increase it hasenvisaged for various food crops? - Rice by 10million tonnes, Wheat by 8 million tonnes andPulses by 2 million tonnes in 5 years, ending2011-12

With which country India signed in November 2007,a pact ‘Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement’for avoidance of double taxation and for theprevention of fiscal evasion with respect to -taxeson income? - Iceland

The finance minister hope that taxation regimewould become simpler after introduction of acombined goods and services tax from which year?- April 2010

What is the minimum percentage of governmentsstake in Public sector banks? - 51%

The report on trend and progress of banking inIndia was released by which organisation? -Reserve Bank of India

The Union Ministry of Steel revealed that Indiahas now become a net importer of steel withimports overtaking exports during the first sevenmonths of 2007-08. Is this statement true or false?- True

At present how many foreign banks are operatingin India? - 29

A step has been taken primarily to meet the risingdemand of the steel industry, power sector andothers in view of the massive economic growth

and”thrust on developing infrastructure. 5 publicsector companies- SAIL, NTPC, Rastriya IspatNigam Limited, Coal India Ltd. and National MineralDevelopment Corporation have been allowed toacquire coal mines abroad. Is /this statement Trueor False? - True

Tata steel has signed a Joint venture with whichcountry to develop a hard coking and thermal coalproject in Mozambique? Australia’s RiversdaleMining

Where is Indira Gandhi National Tribal Universitygoing to be established?- Amarkantak (M.P)

Where Is the new sub office of “National AIDSControl Organisation” going to be established? -Guwahati (Assam)

Which temple of India entered the “Guiness Bookof World Records” for being the largest Hindutemple in the World? - Akshardham Temple, NewDelhi

‘What was the name of the exhibition which wasinaugurated by the President in New Delhi to markthe 101st anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’sSatyagraha?- India’s March to Freedom from 1857to 1947, Kranti to Gandhi, Raj to Swaraj

Which state was put under the President’s ruletwice In a month recently? - Karnataka

Which state Is the first to have an open jail? -Bihar

Which state has set up an Administrative ReformsCommission recently? - Haryana

Which state has the UNICEF launched the firstinobile school? - Madhya Pradesh

VQT Which state has launched the famous StriShakti scheme? - Punjab

Which state will become totally smoke free by 2012- Tamil Nadu

What is the name of the expert committee formedunder the Planning Commission to study allsources of energy? - Integrated Energy Policycommittee

Who was the chief guest of the 38th internationalfilm festival of India held at Goa? - Shahrukh Khan

Where was the ‘Magsaysay Awardees’ Annualconference held in 2007? - Chennai

When is the national NRI day celebrated?- January 09

The technology summit and technology platformis the initiative of which department? - Department

of Science and technology Who has been awarded the “Ernst & Young

entrepreneur of the year 2007” award? - B.Ramalinga Raju (Chairman, Satyam Computers)

Which state has approved a waver of loans andinterests for Backward classes and minorities? -Andhra Pradesh

Which state government has recently presented agender budget? - Bihar

Which state assembly recently passed a billaccording to which the foreigners cannot buy landin the state? -Goa

Which state government passed a surplus bud getfor 2008-09? - Haryana

Which new district has been created in Haryanaafter carving it out from the Faridabad district?-Palwal

Which state recently amended the “BhoodanAct”06 1954? - Rajasthan

What is the name of the online crime and criminalinformation system launched in Madurai andVirudhnagar districts? - Smart Sys

Where was the country’s first centre to monitorclimate change established? - Chennai

Which state government approved a new Incentivescheme for the development of powerloom sector- Uttar Pradesh

Which state government constituted a high powercommittee to bring about reforms in slums? -Uttarakhand

Which Indian litteratler. has been chosen as judgefor Man Booker Prize? - Amit Chaudhuri

Which institution in the country has won the LaurieBaker award? - Centre of Service and Technologyfor Rural Development

Where was the first World Punjabi conferencerecently held? - Chandigarh

Where was the International festival of short flhnson culture recently held? - Jaipur

Who got the Chameli Devi fair award forout­standing woman mediaperson for 2007?-Rupashree Nanda (CNN-IBN)

With which country did India sign a memorandumof understanding for cooperation on securitymatters? - Vietnam

Where was Asia’s largest Tulip garden recentlyInaugurated?- Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir)

When is the National Women’s political

empowerment day celebrated? - April 24 For which food crop the UN will celebrate

International year 2008?- Potato

What is the name of the latest Book by JhumpaLahiri who has also authored ‘The Namesake’ and‘The interpreter of Maladies’? - UnaccustomedEarth

India and Africa conference held in November 2007in which 26 African countries participated wasrelated to which sector or theme? - Hydrocarbon

Who wrote the book ‘The Elephant, The tiger andthe Cellphone?- Shashi Tharoor

Summit of the 57 member organisation of Islamiccountries (OIC) was held at which place?— Dakar(Senegal)

What is the title of world development report 2008released by World Bank?— Agriculture forDevelopment

What was the theme of the 13th ASEAN summitheld at Singapore? — One ASEAN at the heart ofthe Dynamic Asia.

Who has been appointed as th Secretary Generalof ASEAN from 2008-2012? — Dr. Surin Pitswan

Which country floated the "Broader Asia" conceptof which India is to be a part? — Japan

Who has been given Laureus world sports womanof the year Award 2008? — Justine Henin

China has expressed concerns about India'sestablishing military base in which country? —Mongolia

The 11th Conference of parties to the UnitedNations framework convention on climate changewas held in which city?— Montreal

Which Taiwan film has bagged the Golden peacockaward for the Best Film at the 38th InternationalFilm Festival of India 2007? — The Wall

What is the name of the leading information technology company which has launched "Project BigGreen" in India that will help companies reducetheir energy consumption by almost 50 percent?—IBM

Who is the president of the 'international Olympiccommittee?— Jacques Rugges

According to recently concluded Survey whichcountry has the largest Internet users in theworld?— China

Who has been named the Johnnie Walkar Asianplayer of the year?— Korea's Choi Kyung Ju

Who is the author of this year Human Development Report released by UNDP? — Kevin Watkins

The venue of the 3rd summit of the Organisation ofPetroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was atwhich place?— Riyadh

Warren Buffett who has become world richest manis related to which field? — Investment

Summit of the 57 member organisation of IslamicCountries (OIC) was held at which place? — Dakar(Senegal)

Which International Organisation releases "WorldInvestment Report"? — UNCTAD

The first India-Russia-China trilateral businessconference is held in which city? — New Delhi

Who has been given 2007 Man BookerInternational prize?— Nigerian novelist ChinuaAchede

What is the name of Seventh and the last novel ofHarry potter series?— Harry potter and the DeathHallows

British troops left Northern Ireland after a 38 yearstay as a part of which operation?— OperationBanner

Which index is acquired by Australian media BaronRupert Murdoch for 5 billion dollars? — DowJones

Which country's Mini-Sub marines planted theirNational flag on the Sea bed at the North Poleclaiming a huge chunk of the Arctic Ocean, rich inoil and gas? — Russia

What is the title of World Development Report2008 released by World Bank?— Agriculture forDevelopment

Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan conducted their largestever war games in the Southern Ural Mountains,with what name?— Peace Mission 2007

Star bucks, US based famous retail chain whichpostpones its entry to India operates in whichcommodities? — Coffee

Abdullah Gul has been elected president of whichcountry?— Turkey

Portia Simpson Miller who has been defeated inthe recently held election was the first women PrimeMinister of which country? — Jamaica

Which country recently announced success intesting of a new lethal thermobaric bomb describedas the world's most powerful non nuclearweapon?— Russia

Which organisation adopted the "Sydneydeclaration on climate change"?— APEC

Joseph Estrada who has been sentenced to life is aformer President of which country? — Philippines

What is the name of Robert Mugabe's party whichsuffered a set back in recently held election inZimbabwe? — Zanu-PF

Who is the head of International independentgroup of Eminent persons constituted by Presidentof Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa?— Justice P.N.Bhagwati

J Who is the new Governor of Chhattisgarh? —E.S.L. Narasimhan (former I.B. chief)

Who is the Chairman of the 18th law commission?—A.R. Lakshmanan

Where was India's first mobile court inaugurated?— Mewat (Haryana)

After how many years did the Cauvery WaterDisputes tribunal give it's final award?— 16 years

Which state revived it's legislative council after 20years?— Andhra Pradesh

Who has been appointed as the. chairman of thenew commission on centre state relations?—M.M. Punchhi

With which country has India signed the Red Forddeclaration?— Brazil

The newly created autonomous Gorkha HillCouncil has been created under which schedule ofconstitution?— Sixth Schedule

What is the name of the newly created all tribaldistrict in Gujarat which was formed afterbifurcating Surat?— Tapi

Who won the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademifellowship award for 2007? — Eminent Scholar,Dr. S.K. Saxena

According to a recently approved proposal, thenumber of Judges in the supreme court have beenincreased to — 31 (including the Chief Justice)

When is the National Safety day celebrated?—March 4

What is HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force)?— Coalition of 30 Hindu non governmentalorganisations committed to the persuation of

Hindu community rights and heritage in secularMalaysia

Where was the meeting of Indian Ocean RimAssociation for regional cooperation held in Feb.,2008?— New Delhi

With which country did India sign a Memorandumof Understanding in shipping sector? —Netherlands

With which company did the Tata group sign aMemorandum of Understanding for thedevelopment and manufacturing of defenceproductions?— Israel Aerospace Industries

Which Telecom giant company announced thesetting up of an under sea cable linking U.S. withAsia?— Bharati Airtel

What were the major recommendations of the LawCommission?— Marriageable age for boys andgirls be fixed uniformly at 18

Which famous personality has been named as.NASSCOM's global Indian for 2008? — RatanTata

What is the target for agricultural growth in theEleventh Plan?— 4% per annum

Where was the National conference on Agriculturefor Kharif Campaign organised?— New Delhi

What is the name of India's indegeneouslydeveloped pilotless target aircraft which wasrecently tested?— Lakshya

Where were the fifth National Winter Gamesrecently held?— Gulmarg (Jammu & Kashmir)

Where are the additional nuclear reactors beingconstructed with cooperation from Russia?—Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu)

What is the name of India's under sea nuclearcapable ballistic missile?— K-15

What is the name of the first joint anti terrorismmilitary exercise by India and China?— Hand inHand 2007

Who has been conferred the International PressInstitute of India award for excellence injournalism?— Vinod Mehta (Editor, of Outlook)

When was the National Energy Conservation Dayclebrated in the Country?— 14th December

Who has been appointed as the Chief Executiveofficer of Citigroup?— Vikram Pandit

Which state performed the poorest in a surveyconducted by Action Aid in collaboration with the

Canada based International Development researchcentre?— Punjab

What is the main aim of 13th Finance Commission?— To make recommendations on the norms fordistribution of the net tax proceeds between theUnion and the states

What is the name of the new scheme launched toprovide monthly pension to people over 60 yearsand living below the poverty line?— Indira GandhiNational Old Age Pension Scheme

What is the name of the 6th report of 2ndAdministrative Reforms Commission?— LocalGovernance

The All India Democratic Women's Association(AIDWA) has set up seven commissions relatedto women's issues. The issues are — Dowry,Single Women, Water Management, Panchayats,Self Help Groups, Health, National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act

Which company has launched the Rural InnovationFund to encourage entrepreneurs to developsoftware solutions for needs of the ruralcommunities?— Microsoft India Ltd.

India has been unanimously elected as thechairman of the executive council of whichorganisation?— General Assembly of the UnitedNations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)

Where was the 27th India International Trade Fair2007 held?— New Delhi

With which country did India sign a Memorandumof understanding for cooperation in the field ofwelfare of elderly persons, children, prevention ofsubstance and alcohol abuse? — Mauritius

What is the Riyadh Declaration? — Declarationof OPEC member countries that took place in2OO7

Which member countries have been suspended atpresent from the Commonwealth?— Fiji andPakistan; Pakistan was reently readmitted inCommon wealth

The historical ASEAN charter was signed at whichplace?— Singapore (13 summit)

Which famous University has announced "Dr.Manmohan Singh" scholarship?— St John'scollege, Cambridge

What is Multi annual Indicative programme (MIP)?— Memorandum of Understanding between Indiaand European Union

Which International Organisation prepares the

Human Development index report?— UnitedNations Development Programme

Which is the World's third biggest polluting firm?—National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.

Where was the fourth meeting of the TrilateralCommision of India-Brazil-South Africa held?—New Delhi

How many people at present are affected by AIDSworldwide according to latest World Bankstudy?— 32.2 million

What is the name of the new book written byTaslima Nasreen? — Nari Kono Desh Nei (Womenhave no country)

Who is the new Chairman of Pakistan People'sParty? — Benazir Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto

With which country did India sign an Agreementon combating international terrorism? — Cyprus

Against which countries did the U.N. GeneralAssembly Committee pass a resolution condem-ning human rights abuses?— Myanmar, Iran andNorth Korea

In December the United Nations General Assemblypassed a resolution on which issue? — Callingfor a Moratorium on Death Penalty

Who is the new Secretary General of UN.?— Ban-ki-Moon

Who is the new Prime Minister of Japan?— YasuoFukuda

With which bank of Germany has the Ministry ofFinance signed two loan agreements? — GermanGovernment Bank, Kfw

What is the mascot of Beijing Olympics, 2008?—Fuwa

Who is the new Prime Minister of United King-dom?— Gordon Brown

Where did widespread devastation occur after wild-fires?— Greece

Which country has cloned Red fluorescent cats?—South Korea

With which country has India signed an agreementto build a future combat aircraft?— Russia

When is the World Press day celebrated?—November 16

Where was the inaugural Australia - India Council(AIC) special awards presented? — Chennai

Who is the successor of Musharraf as Army Chiefafter his resignation? — General Ashfaq Kiyani

Who has been elected as the first woman speakerof Pakistan Parliament?— Ms. Fahmida Mirza

Where was the world's first Punjabi conferenceheld on March 30, 2008?— Chandigarh

World Bank Report titled "Migration andRemittances Fact Book 2008" revealed whichcountry as getting highest remittances (Moneysent to India by NRIs) in the World?— India, 2nd& 3rd being China & Mexico

India's first centre to monitor climate change andto find country specific solutions was opened atwhich place? — Anna University in Chennai

Who has been chosen as the recipient of the IndiraGandhi Prize for peace, disarmament anddevelopment for 2007 for its pioneering andexemplary philanthropic work in the field of healtharound the world as well as in India, especially forhelping fight disease, illness and poor healthcondition?— The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation

What is the name of the special website launchedfor disabled by Media Lab Asia and RehabilitationCouncil of India, which promises to become awindow for taking care of the education,communication and rehabilitation needs of personswith disabilities?— Punarbhava

According to the UN e-government Survey 2008India has slipped 26 places since 2005 on e-goverrtment readiness. What is its currentposition?— 113 in 2OO8

Which country has most elected womenrepresentative in the world, including womenrepresentative at the grass root governing bodies(i.e. PRIs)? — India

Which country became the first in the Arab worldby appointing a woman as a judge? — The UAE

Who has become the 3rd person in the cricket'shistory to score triple century twice, a feat achievedagainst South Africa after it was done earlier by SirDon Bradman and Brian Lara? — VirenderSehwag

By the end of March foreign exchange reserve ofIndia was slightly more than what amount?—$300 billion

The UNDP report on Human resoures in 2007-08showed which country as ahead of the US, UK,France, Canada and other advanced country withregard to women representation in Parliament?—The UAE

What is the name of the bank newly set up togetherby 6 latin American nations namely Argentina,Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguayon December 9, 2007? — Bank of the South

Who wrote “lets kill Gandhi - A Chronicle of HisLast Days, The Conspiracy, Murder, Investigationand Trial'?— Tushar A. Gandhi

Which country has built a runway in Antartica sothat commercial jet lines could land there?—Australia

Who has been elected as the Chairperson of theUS-India Business council making her the firstwoman ever to serve at the helm of this premieradvocacy organisation?— Indra Nooyi

Which former world chess champion passed awayon 18th January, 2008 in Raykjavik, Iceland, beingthe only U.S. national ever to win world chesstitle?— Bobby Fischer

Where will the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010be held?— Singapore

Who was declared the Man of the Match In thefinal between India & Pakistan in ICC's twenty-20Trophy?— Irfan Pathan of India

Who was declared 'Player of the Tournament' in ,the inaugural world Twenty-20 trophy? — ShahidAfridi of Pakistan

Who was defeated by Novak Djokovic of Serbiain the Australian open men's single final in January,2008?— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France

Who was defeated by Russia's Maria Sharapovato win Australian open women's single final inJanuary, 2008?— Ana Ivanovic of Serbia

Which team won the Ranji Cricket Trophy for the7th time after defeating Uttar Pradesh in January,2008?— Delhi

Olympic champion and World record holder YelenaIsinbayeva of Russia is related to which sports?—Pole Vault

Which country was defeated by India in Brisbaneon March 4th, 2008 to win common wealth bankODI Tri-series?— Australia

Who won the Men's title in the India open grandPrix outplaying India's Chetan Anand in April2008?— Thailand's Ponsana Boonsak

In Golf who won his second. Malaysian openJitUin Kualalumpur on March 9, 2008?— India's ArjunAtwal

What Is the rank of India on UNCTAD's trade anddevelopment index?— 86th

Whis is the rank of India on the Global Competitivenets Index 2007.— 48th

What is the position of India in the HDI ranking,2007?— 128th

What is the position of India as far as receivingFDI is concerned?— 2nd

Which bank has merged with the SBI?— StateBank of Saurashtra

What is the position of India on Global Eco Free-dqm Index?— 69th

Where was the first underground cavern storagefacility of LPG in South Asia recentlycommissioned— Vishakhapatnam

Which city recently got connected on theBroadgauge network of Indian Railways?—Rameshwaram

How much increase has been witnessed in theWorld Bank's loan to India?— 170%

What is the position of India amongst theborrowing countries from World Bank?— First

What is the estimated position of India as far asthe oil imports are concerned till 2025?— Third

Which company did Wipro buy in August 2007?— U.S. based Infocrossing

What is the proportion of the population which isdependent on agriculture according to the latestNSSO survey?— 64.3%

What is NSAP?— National Social AssistanceProgramme

Which bank has launched signature based debit .card scheme?— Punjab National Bank

What is the name of the new share index launchedby the Bombay Stock Exchange?— BSE PowerIndex

What is the new revised year for Index of IndustrialProduction (IIP)?— 1999-2000

The National Food Security mission was launchedIn which year?— April 2O07

Which Is the new policy which alms at land forland "rehabilitation and seeks to amend the LandAcquisition Act, 1894?— National Policy onRehabilitation & Resettlement 2007

National Policy on Farmers is based on therecomme-ndations of which commission?—

National'Commission on Farmers What is. the name of the web based management

information system for the on-line monitoring ofHydro power projects?— Hydropowernet

What is the approximate length of the Trans AsiarS-Railway which India recently signed?— 80,000 ktr

What is the name of the company which is being;set up under a joint venture between the IndianRailways and National Thermal Power CorporationLtd.?— Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company Ltd.Nabinagar (Bihar)

What is the name of the new company which wasformed after a merger between the Indian Airlinesand Air India?— National Aviation Company ofIndia Ltd. (NACIL)

What is the name of the new train which will providefree of cost medical services to the poor in far flungareas?— New Life Line express

What is the name of the "New Train Enquirysystem" facility, a public private initiative betweenIRCTC & CRIS?— Rail Sampark

Which state has emerged as the top state in thecountry in terms of per capita investment In 2007?—Haryana

Where is the new plant of Tata Motors going tu belocated?— Singur (West Bengal)

What is the target year by which the central salestax will be phased out?— March 31. 2010

With which country has India signed a 10 yearbilateral investment promotion and protectionagreement? — Mexico

Which state has decided to develop a land bank of10,000 acres to provide space for IndustrialParks?— Tamil Nadu

Which company filed an appeal In .the Madrashigh court on the issue of Intellectual propertyrights?— Novartis

To whom did GAIL India Ltd. deliver it's first gasconsignment?— Dabhol power plant(Maharashtra)

What is the new name of the Hindustan Lever Ltd?—Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Who is the new Chairman and Managing Director

of ONGC?— R.S. Sharma Which state recently approved the Metro Rail

Project?— Tamil Nadu Which foreign airlines became the fifst to operate

100 flights per week to India in November, 2007?—Sri Lankan Airlines

Which company became the first ever foreign firmto take control of a Chinese steel maker, ChinaOriental Group Co.? — Arcelor Mittal, the world'slargest steel maker

Which Indian firm revealed in November, 2007 thatit had bagged two oil and gas exploration blocks inBrazil?— ONGC Videsh Ltd.

Which stock exchange has elbowed out its SouthAfrican counterpart to become the world's largestplatform for stock futures Trade?— National StockExchange of India, it is bigger than even BSE(Bombay Stock Exchange)

The global fund renewed its grant to India to fightwhich diseases the total amount approved by thefund board to be granted to India came up to $ 747million?— AIDS, T.B. & Malaria

India's external debt stood at what amount on April1st, 2008?— More than $200 billion

What is the growth projection of GDP for theterminal year of llth five year plan, after 9% growthof GDP is envisaged for 1st four years?— 10%

The 170 plus member states of the World Intellec-tual Property Organisation have endorsed India'srecognition as which authority so as to put Indiain a coveted league of only 15 nations andorganisations currently recognised at globallevel?— Inernational searching authority,International Preliminary Examining Authority

According to date released by Central Board ofDirect Taxes on December 18, 2007 the direct taxcollection went up by how much percentage?—42%

The international comparision programme releasedby world bank in December, 2007 down-sized theeconomies of two Asian giants, India and Chinaby nearly how much percent under new matriceswhich it says are more reliable and accurate thanprevious estimates?— Nearly 40%

As per the new assessment by world Bank what isthe ranking of India among the largest economiesof the world?— Fifth largest Economy

As per the revised estimates by world bank asdescribed above which are the top 5 economies ofthe world as per their share in the world's GDP?—USA, China, Japan, Germany and India

Which organisation releases Index of Industrialproduction for India? — Central StatisticalOrganisation

Which Indian Microfinance institutions are amongtop 50 in the list brought out by US magazine suchthat they are ahead of even the Grameen Bank ofBangladesh?— Bandhan at second place, Microcredit foundation of India at 13th, SadhanaMicrofin Society at 15th

Kingfisher Airline owned by Vijay Mallya hasmerged with which Airline company?— AirDeccan of Mr. G.R. Gopinath

Where is Asia's oldest Iron plant located that hasrestarted operations in December, 2007 afterremaining closed for 4 years?— Kulti works InWest Bengal

Which Indian Airlines has joined the world's largestairlines' club Star Alliance? — Air- India

Dibang Power Project once completed would bethe country's biggest hydel power project. In whichstate is it located?— Arunachal Pradesh

According to the National Sample SurveyOrganisation's report released on January 29, 2008,the unemployment rate is the highest among whichcategory of people?— Educated Youth

The government of India already recognises 9central public sector enterprises as Navratanas.These at present are BHEL, BPCL, HPCL, MTNL,SAIL, GAIL, IOC and ONGC. Which corporationhas been accorded this status recently to enable itto avail greater financial and managerialautonomy?— National Mineral DevelopmentCorporation

Which is the nodal agency for implementing ultraMega Power Projects which would be coal basedwith capacity of 4000 mw or more?— PowerFinance Coporation

Why did the centre granted Rs. 500 crore packagewhich is in addition to Rs. 300 crore packageannounced earlier in the form of interest subventionfor exporters?— To help them counter theirreducing profit levels due to appreciating rupeevis-a-vis dollar

The Union cabinet has accorded approval to thesetting up of two financial inclusion funds namelyfinancial inclusion fund and financial inclusiontechnology fund, with a corpus of Rs. 500 croreeach to ensure access to timely and adequate creditand financial services to which regment of thesociety?— Vulnerable groups and low-incomegroups

The financial inclusion programme is to beimplemented and monitered by whichOrganisation?— NABARD

Which cabinet committee headed by Prime Ministertook the decision to increase the prices of diesaland petrol following increase in global crude oilprices?— Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs

Central government has decided to form a strategicreserve of how much million tonnes of foodgrainsin addition to the buffer stock, to be met fromdomestic surpluses? — 5 million tonnes with 3million tonnes of Wheat and 2 million tonnes ofRice

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Actwhich was implemented on pilot basis in 2005 hasbeen extended to how many districts of the countryfrom April 2008?— In all 604 districts of thecountry

Of The Sixth Pay commission report submitted tothe Finance Ministry in March, 2008 recommendedan across-the-board salary hike of how muchpercent?— 28%

ONGC and Reliance Industries Ltd. on April 6, 2008signed deal with which country's state runcompany which would facilitate the two companiesacquisition of equity stakes in 3 Latin American oilblocks?— Venezuela

The Hongkong and Shangai Banking Corporationbelong to which country?— Britain

With which Indian industrial group, Germany'sDaimler is tying up to design, manufacture and sellcommercial vehicles of above two tonnes for Indian

as well as overseas market?— Hero group Which Indian bank became the second bank in the

world to have 10,000 branches after ICBC Bank ofChina?— State Bank of India

Under which body national electricity fund hasbeen established to generate resources forimproving power distribution network in thecountry?— Planning Commission

The government has set up an expert group onAgricultural indebtness in wake of farmers suicidein cotton growing areas in the country under thechairmanship of — Dr. R. Radhakrishnan

Balco, a major Aluminium company of India is nowknown by what name?— Vedanta

The estimates of National Income of India iscalculated by which body? — Central StatisticalOrganisation

The BSE Sensex is a value weighted index iscompoyed of how many companies?— 30

The International Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment is better known as which Bank?—World Bank

Which body recommends minimum support pricefor crops in India?— Commission forAgricultural Costs & Prices (CACP)

Which sector of Indian Economy contributeshighest in the Gross Saving in India?— Householdsector

Who is the founder director of google, the internetsearch engine, who has recently made it to theForbes list of richest American?— Kauitark RamShriram

A modified Technology Upgradation Fund Schemewhich came into effect on November 1, 2007 isrelated to which sector?— Textile

India has one of the largest reserve of whichnuclear fuel?— Thorium

Rainbow revolution is related to which sector ofthe Economy?— Over all development ofAgriculture sector

What was the real GDP growth rate during the firstquarter of 2007-08?— 9.3%

Which scheme will be merged with the "Old AgePension scheme"?— Annapurna Scheme

What is the ranking of India on the Global HungerIndex?— 92

What is the Tata Ultra mega power project goingto be situated?— Muridra (Gujarat)

What is the estimated power output from urbanwastes in India?— 2500 MW

Where is the new port of Kulpi going to bedeveloped?— West Bengal

How much percentage of world's underweightchildren under the age of five years live in India?—About l/3rd

What was the title of the recent report publishedby UNICEF?— Progress for Children

How many Latin American countries havelaunched a regional development bank - Bank ofthe South?— Six Nations

Where was the first Indo Chinese joint militaryexercise held in 2007?— Kunming (China)

Who won the Presidential elections in South Korearecently?— Lee Myung Bak

Where was the East Asia Gender Equality meetheld in 2007?— New Delhi

India and Hong Kong have recently signed anagreement on which issue?— Revised BilateralAir Services

Which party won the recently held BhutaneseNational Assembly results?— Bhutan Peace andProsperity Party

How many Indian plant species have beenclassified as threatened on the Red list by the worldconservation union?— 247

From when has Tibet been an autonomous regionof China?— 1965

Who is the new Russian President?— DemitryMedvedev

To which party did the assassinated Benazir Bhuttoof Pakistan belong?— Pakistan People's Party

Which countries joined the European Unionrecently taking it's total membership to 27?—Romania and Bulgaria

What is the name of the Nicaraguan President who

returned to power after a period of 16 years?—Daniel Ortega

Who became the first Arab Cabinet Minister inIsrael?— Raleb Majadale

What is the new additional emblem that can beused to protect relief workers in combat?— RedCrystal

Which country was recently cleared by theInternational Court of Justice of genocide?—Serbia

Who is the new President of Chechenya?—Rarzan Kadyrov

The train of which country made a world record mterms of speed?— France

How many countries signed the U.N. conventionenshrining the rights of the disabled?— 80Countries

Which countries signed a deal on Pan-EuropeanOil Pipeline?— Romania, Serbia, Croatia,Slovenia and Italy

What is the name of the Chief Justice of Pakistanwho was ousted by President Pervez Musharraflast year?— Justice Iftikhar Choudhury

Which Indian has been conferred the RamonMagsaysay awards, 2007?— P. Sainath (TheHindu)

Which film won the Golden Palm prize at the Cannesfilm festival?— 64 months, 3 weeks and 2 days

Who is the new President of France and to whichparty does he belong?— Nicholas Sarkozy(Conservative Party)

What is the new significance of October 2 on theInternational stage?— U.N. has declared it as theInternational day of Non Violence

Which writer was conferred the title of "knight"by Queen Elizabeth?— Salman Rushdie

Where was the East Asia Summit recently held?—Singapore

What was the world's biggest bank takeover?—Buying of Dutch bank ABN AMRO bank byBritish bank Barclays PIC

Who was the winner of Miss Universe beautycontest, 2007?— Reyo Mori (Japan)

Who has been appointed as the new Chief ofWorld Bank?— Robert Zoellick

Where was the G8 summit, 2007 held?—Heilignedanm (Germany)

What was the outcome of the G8 summit of 2007?— Agreement on cutting of Greenhouse gasesto 50% by 205O

Where has the oldest structure of Americas aceremonial plaza been discovered?— Peru

Madhes people’s right forum is a organisation inwhich country — Nepal

Who has been given life time achievement awardin annual award declared by BCCI?— NariContractor

Which wicket keeper holds the world record forthe most dismissals by a wicket keeper in bothTest and One Day International cricket?— AdamGilchrist

Which woman Tennis player was banned for twoyear when an independent tribunal confirmed heroffence of testing positive for cocaine?— MartinaHingis

Belgian Justinne Henin won the US open Women'ssingles title on September 8, 2007 after defeatingwhich player?— Russia's Svetalana Kuznetsova

Who has won the U.S. Open Gold Tournament? —Angel Cabrera of Argentina

Who has been elected as President of InternationalCricket Council for 2008-10?— David Morgan

Which US nuclear powered warship, one of theworld's largest aircraft carrier visited India andanchored off at Chennai port?— USS Nimitz

Who has won the International Man Booker Prize2007. He is also known as Father of Modern AfricanLiterature and hails from Nigeria?— ChinuaAchebe

Pugwash movement was launched in 1957 atPugwash, Novascotia (Canada) in order to makeworld free of which danger?— All NuclearWeapons

After Monica Seles, who is the only woman in theopen era to win the French Open title three yearsin a row?— Justine Henin

Which player become the first man to win threestraight French Open titles since Bjon Borg andnever lost a match at the French Open?— RafaelNadal (Spain)

What was the venue of the peace conference heldto negotiate between Israel and Palestine? —Annapolis

What was the venue of the U.N. Climate ChangeConference 2007?— Ball (Indonesia)

Where was the 17th National Congress of the"Communist Party of China" held?— Beijing

Where was the meeting of the councils of heads ofstate of the "Shanghai Cooperation Organisatlon"held?— Bishkek (Kyrgystan)

What is the name of the first hotel in space whichwill be opened in 2012?— Galactic Suite

Which country according to the WHO report isthe hardest hit country by avian influenzarecently?— Indonesia

What share of world's biodiversity does theAmazon forest hold?— 30%

Where was the first Twenty-20 cricket world cuptournament held?— Johannesburg (South Africa)

Where was the CHOGM (Common wealth Headsof Government Meeting) held?— Kampala(Uganda)

Where was the EU.-Africa summit held in 2007?—Lisbon (Portugal)

Where was the 2nd Asian Indoor Games held in2007— Macau (China)

Where was the 19th APEC Summit held in 2007?—Sydney (Australia)

From where did Japan launch it's first Lunar Probesatellite H-2A?— Tanegaorima

At which place were the nuclear facilities of NorthKorea centred which were now dismantled afterthe 6 party talks?— Yongbyon (North Korea)

Where was the IIIrd OPEC summit held in 2007? —Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

Where is the 13th ASEAN summit held in —Singapore

From where did the U.S. launch it's space probe-

Phoneix Marslander on Aug 4, 2007?— CapeCanavarel

Which treaty did the European Union memberstates sign in December 2007 for providing farreaching changes in the EU institutions anddecision making mechanisms?— Lisbon Treaty

What is the Passport free area in European Unionknown as?— Schengen Area

How many countries are in the Schengen Zone?— 24 Where was 28th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit

held recently?— Doha(Qatar) Which environmental treaty/protocol has reached

10th year of it's inception?— Kyoto Protocol Name the members of the Gulf cooperation council?

— Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman,Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

What was the first official act of the new AustralianPrime Minister?— Ratification of Kyoto Protocol

Who is appointed as the new comptroller andAuditor general of India replacing VN. Kaul?—Vinod Rai

In which year Sir Edmund Percival Hillary andTenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mt.Everest?— 29th May, 1953

Where was 95th session of the Indian ScienceCongress held?— Vishakhapatnam

Who was the Chief Guest at the Republic DayParade this year (2008)?— French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy

Which railway project in the world is registered asthe first railway project by the UN under cleandevelopment mechanism?— Delhi Metro RailCorporation

Indian Premier league related to cricket is launchedby which organisation?— Board of Control forCricket in India

Where was the second IBSA (India, Brazil andSouth Africa) summit held on October 17, 2007?—Tshwane (Pretoria)

At which place state of the art National TsunamiEarly warning centre with the capability to detectearthquakes of more than six magnitude in Indiaocean was inaugurated in October, 2007?—Hyderabad

Which country will host Asia's biggest global scalemeet on advertising, Adasia, in 2011?— India

Who was the pilot of B-2 a bomber plane whichdropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima? He hasdied recently?— Paul Tibbets

Who has been appointed as the chairman of 13thFinance Commission? He was also head of taskforce on direct and indirect taxes?— Vijay Kelkar

Which ethnic Indian has been appointed to thepost of Finance Minister of Singapore?—T. Shannurgaratnam

Which country will host the 2010 world cupchampionship as announced by InternationalHockey Federation?— India

Indian Born Daniel Chopra who clinched hismaiden US PGA Tour title in golf by winning theGinnsur Mer Classic at Port St. Lucie (USA) inOctober, 2007, belong to which country?— Sweden

Who is the winner of Indian open GolfChampionship title in New Delhi in October,2007?— Jyoti Randhawa

Where was 4th world military games held inOctober, 2007?— Hyderabad, India

What was the motto of the 4th world miltary gamesheld in Hyderabad?— Friendship through Games

What was the name of the mascot of the 4th worldmilitary games held in Hyderabad?— Bravo

What was the position held by India in the medaltally in the 4th world military games?— 19th

Where will the 5th world military games be held in2011?— Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Which country will host the 2014 edition of FIFAworld cup of Football?— Brazil

Where will the 2011 women world cup of FIFA beorganised?— Germany

Future cup series for one day international Cricketwas held between which two countries and whowon it?— Australia and India, Australia won it

Which Indian female archer claimed gold medal inthe women's individual secure competition at theworld cup archery final in Dubai in November, 2007defeating South Korean Eun Yong Choi 110-109?—Dola Banerjee

Which country registered a victory over Russia in

the Davis Cup finals in Portland (USA) onDecember 2, 2007?— United States of America

Ritwik Bhattacharya in men and Joshna Chinappain women are players of which sports/ game?—Squash

Where will the 2014 common wealth games be heldIn 2014?— Glasgow (Scotland)

Who was selected as the new coach of Indiancricket team for 2 years from March 2008?— GaryKirsten of South Africa

Manawjit Singh Sandhu who is the recipient of theRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is related to whichsports?— Rifle Shooting

Which country won the champion trophy ofHockey after defeating Australia in Kualalampur(Malaysia) on December 9, 2007?— Germany

Gagan Narang of India is related to which sports?—Rifle Shooting

Who won the men’s National Senior Snooker titlein Hyderabad on December 24th, 2007?— PankajAdvani

J. Vishnu Vardhan in Men and Rushmi Chakravarthiin women, both national champion are related towhich sports?— Lawn Tennis

Which country emerged champion in the 4th worldwomen's Boxing Championship held in NewDelhi?— India

Who has been awarded the world football playerof the year award by FIFA?— Brazilian MidfielderKaka

Who has been awarded the world women footballplayer of the year award by FIFA?— Marta ofBrazil

Who has replaced Mr. M.Damodaran to becomethe new Chairman of Securities and ExchangeBoard of India?— Mr. Chandrasekhar BhaskarBhave

Who has been elected as the New President ofSahitya Akademi, India's most valued literarybody?— Mr. Sunil Gangopadhyay

Who has been declared the world's richest personby the Forbes magazine on March 6, 2008?—

Warren Buffet, a US financier Which country was defeated by India in Kuala-

Lumpur (Malaysia) on March 2, 2008 in the finds,to clinch the under- 19 cricket world cup?— SouthAfrica

Which Pakistan's people party member waselected Pakistan's Prime Minister recently?— YusufRaza Gillani

Who has replaced Mr. V Thulasidas as the newchairman and Managing Director of Air India?—Mr. Raghu Menon

Which Institute estimated the World's militaryexpenditure to be $1024 billion in 2006? —Stockholm International Peace ResearchInstitute (SIPRI)

Which flhn won the Oscar Award for best movieheld in Los Angeles?— No Country for old Men

Who is the world's third longest ruling head whorecently resigned?— Cuban President FidelCastro

What is the capital of the newly formed nation -KOSOVO which declared it's independence fromSerbia?— Pristina

Where has Russia set up an anti missile shieldcomprising several dozen S-300 PMU-1complexes?— Iran

Where is Deft Island and why was it in newsrecently?— Sri Lanka, in news due to a heavybattle between LTTE and Sri Lankan Navy.

What is ARJ 21-700?— China's first home grownregional jet

Who is India's new envoy to Israel?— NavtejSarna

In which field are the famous Abel prizes given?— Mathematics

Legion of Honour" award is given by whichcountry?— France

Who has led Team India to it's first ever victory inthe Al grand prix by winning the feature race inZhuhai, China on December 16.— NarayanKarthikeyan

Saba Anjum who helped India to win Lal Bahadur

Shastri Cup Women's Tournament is related towhich sports?— Hockey

Sunil Chhetri who has been adjudged the All Indiafootball federation player of the year play with,which team?— J.C.T. Phagwara

Who has been appointed as Pakistan Team Coachafter former coach Bob Woolmer's mysteriousdeath?— Former Australian cricketer GeoffLawson

Who has become the first Indian Woman sailor tobe ranked in the ISAE world rankings?— RohiniRau

Australian Grand prix 2007, Canadian Grand prix2007, US grand prix 2007 which of there formulaone car race in not won by McLaren driver LewisHamilton?— Australian Grand Prix 2007

Jhulan Goswami and Jaya Sharma are related towhich sport?— Cricket

Vishwanathan Anand has become world chesschampion, winning world chess championship.,held in Mexico city on September 29, 2007. Afterdefeating which player?— Peter Leko of Hungary

Who have been awarded the world Hockey playersof the year 2007?— Argentine Luciana Aymarand Australian Jamie Dwyer

Who has become tne highest-wicket taker in testmatches after surpassing Shane Warne's worldrecord of 708 test wickets?— MuthhaiyaMuralitharan

Which club has won the Durand Cup after securing1-0 win over Mahindra United?— ChurchillBrothers

Which Indian player declined to accept theEkalavya award for 2004 for not being given duerecognition by the state government?— PankajAdvani

Who is the recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel RatnaAward given away recently?— Manavjit SinghSandhu (Shooting)

Who has been given laureus world sports womanof the year award 2008? — Justine Henin

Which Indian player defeated the former EnglandNo.l Amir Ghaffar in the final of the Jordan open

G-4- Group of Four• G-4 is an alliance among India, Germany, Japan and Brazil for the purpose of supporting each others bid for

permanent seats in United Nations Security council.UN Security council has 15 members. 10 non-permanent and 5 permanent members. The USA, Russia, France, UK and China are the permanent members. Permanent members of UN Security council enjoy Veto Power.

NATO 2008 Summit. (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.)• NATO 2008 summit was held in Bucharest the capital of Romania in April 2008.Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance in the summit. They will become members in 2009.Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece.Georgia and Ukraine had hoped to join the NATO Membership Action Plant, but the NATO members decided to

review their request in December 2008. Russia is opposing their entry into NATO. The president Secretary General of NATO is Joap de Hoop Schaffer of Netherlands.At present there are 26 members when Albania and Croatia joins NATO membership will raise to 28.NATO was formed in 1949. Presently NATO is overseeing the security arrangement in Afghanistan.

Verdict of Supreme Court on Reservation for OBC in Central Government FundedInstitutions of Higher Education.• Supreme Court has lifted to stay on 27% reservation for OBC Students in the Central Government funded

institutions of higher learning.All Central educational institutions, including IITs, IIMs and Central Universities like JNU, Delhi University will

have a 27% quota for OBCs. 15% seats are already reserved for SC and 7.5% for ST. The total reservation is now 49.5% Supreme Court has excluded the Creamy Layer form the benefit of reservation.Oversight committee under the chairmanship of Veerappa Moily recommended for 27% reservation for OBCs in

Central Government funded institutions of higher education. The Court stayed the implementation but now theSupreme Court has lifted the stay.

The Government has decided to increase the seats by 50% to accommodate 27% of OBC seats.• Mandal Commission recommended 27% job reservation for OBCs in all Central Government services and public

sector undertakings under the Central Government. 93rd Constitution Amendment Act 2005 provided for reservation for the OBCs in all educational institutions

including private, whether aided or unaided, except in minority educational institutions.Inflation• Food shortage and high commodity price have led to spiraling inflation in most part of the world as a result of

drifting away from agriculture. Inflation is the result of Short supply leading towards higher demand and thus price rise. Food shortage is another reason.Rocketing crude oil price is another reason.Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is calculated taking into account the wholesale prices of 435 items. Its base year is

1993-94.Consumer Price Index (CPI)• CPI is constructed for three groups of consumers taking into account their consumption pattern.1. Consumer Price Index of Agricultural laborers. Prices of 60 goods and services are considered 1986-87 is taken as

base year. Considered for the fixation of minimum wages in agriculture.2. Consumer Price Index of Industrial Workers. Prices of 260 goods and services are considered. 1982 is the base

year used for calculating central government employees wage compensation.3. Consumer Price Index of Urban non-manual Employees. 180 goods and services are considered used for

calculation of bank employees wage compensation.• Election was held in Zimbabwe in march 2008. The result is uncertain. Robert Mugabe claims success, but the

opposition does not accept the officially verdict. The result is not released. Inflation rate is more than 100,000% in Zimbabwe-highest in the world.

India Africa Summit The first ever India-Africa summit was held in April 2008 in New Delhi with an adoption of a frame work for co-

operation and the Delhi declaration for stronger ties between Indian and African Countries. 14 African countries participatedBuilt on the traditional warm relationship between them. Emphasised upon stronger partnership with the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits. Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa.

Hogenekkal IssueHogenekkal is a place on Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu. It is located at a place where the river enters Tamil Nadu fromKarnataka. It forms the boundary between the two states but within the jurisdiction of Tamil Nadu. Recently thereis dispute between the two states over a proposed drinking water project to be built at Hogenekkal by Tamil Nadufor providing water to its Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts. Karnataka opposed to move. Many people inKarnataka claim that Hogenekkal belong to the state therefore Tamil Nadu cannot built any project there.

NREGS The national rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has been extended to all 604 districts of the country

from April 1. The Scheme, which came into existence in 2005, was aimed at enhancing the livelihood security in the rural areas

by providing 100 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household whose adult membersvolunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Vigilance and Monitoring committees, setup the state and district levels, with the local elected representativesbeing part of the committees.

National Lake & Conservation project In Madhya Pradesh 3 lakes namely, Rani Talab (Rewa), Sagar lake (Sagar) and Shivapuri lake (Sivapuri) have

been sanctioned by the ministry of Environment and Forests of national Lake and Conservation project. The Government of Madhya Pradesh had initially prioritized 11 lakes in the state. The proposals for new lakes are considered Subject to their admissibility as per guidelines of National Lake

Conservation plan, prioritization, pollution status and availability of funds under the plan. A centrally sponsored scheme for restoration of polluted and degraded lakes in Urban & Semi urban areas.

Minority Community In a significant development the state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have notified Sikhs as a

minority community. The move will enable Sikhs in these states to avail the benefits granted under the Prime Ministor's new 15-point

programme for the welfare of minority groups. Under the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992, five religious communities namely Muslims, Sikhs,

Christians, Zoroastrains and Buddhist were notified as Minority Communities. Recently the Supreme Court had ruled Sikhs not to be a minority in Punjab.

Maitree Express and Refurbishing India - Bangladesh Relations A new chapter was opened in India-Bangladesh relationship on April 14, 2008 when the Maitree Express rolled

out of the Kolkata station on its inaugural journey to Dhaka, 406 km away.

First India-Africa Forum Summit The two-day first ever India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi on April 8 and 9, 2008 with leaders from

with African countries attending the Summit. The Summit aimed at forging a more contemporary partnership in key areas like trade, energy and cooperation

on global issues like the UN reforms, terrorism and climate change.