Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act - The Journey of a Decade

The Mandate of the Act and Achievements

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) completes ten years of implementation on 2nd February 2016. The achievements of a decade are a cause of national pride and celebration. Since the start of the programme, the expenditure on the programme has amounted to Rs. 3,13,844.55 crore and out of this 71% has been spent on wage payments to workers.

Of the workers, the percentage of Scheduled Caste workers has consistently been about 20% and Scheduled Tribe workers has been about 17%. A total of 1,980.01 crore persondays have been generated, out of which the percentage worked by women has steadily increased much above the statutory minimum of 33%.

Sustainable assets have been created linked to conservation of natural resources and overall development of Gram Panchayats. More than 65% of the works taken up under the programme are linked to agriculture and allied activities.

Revival of the Programme

The past year, 2015-16, has seen a revival of the programme. The personday generation is the highest in the second quarter (45.88 crore) and third quarter (46.10 crore) than it has been in the last five years. The national personday generation to date at 146 crore is well above what this figure was at this time last year.

44% of all wage payments are being made on time. More than 64% of total expenditure is on agriculture and allied activities, the highest in three years. 57% of all workers are women, well above the statutory requirement of 33% and the highest in three years. 23% of all persondays are being done by SC workers, and 18% by ST workers, the highest in three years.

This revival has been achieved due to a slew of reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development. Most important of these has been the timely release of funds to states to provide work on demand. An electronic fund management system has been successfully instituted which allows for real time and transparent release of funds to implementing agencies and beneficiaries. There has been consistent coordination between banks and post offices and constant monitoring of pendency of payments has led to a reduction in wage delays.

The Ministry has reacted swiftly to the distress situation of droughts in nine states by declaring an additional 50 days of employment in the drought affected areas.

Way Forward

The focus for the upcoming years will be on simplification and strengthening of procedures for the implementation of the MGNREGA as an employment guarantee. A Master Circular is being issued today which consolidates all key instructions from the Central Government on the implementation of the Act. Beyond this, states are encouraged to innovate with flexibility.

The convergent planning exercise currently underway in 2569 backward blocks in the country will be consolidated in the State Rural Development Plan (SRDP) which will be the basis of implementation and monitoring for the coming year.

Concurrent social audits and community monitoring will be undertaken. There will be a renewed focus on sustainable individual assets to benefit the poor and vulnerable households with the following targets; 5 Lakh farm ponds and 10 Lakh Vermi and NADEP compost pits in the FY 2016-17.  There will be a continued focus on construction of Anganwadi Buildings and individual household latrines.

The Ministry will focus on imparting skills to workers. It will aim to train and place 10,000 Barefoot Technicians from worker households and through Project LIFE, skill and train workers for wages, for self-employment and livelihood upgradation.

PADMA AWARDS 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee has announced the names of Recipients of this year’s Padma awards. He approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards. Following is the list of the recipients—

Padma Vibhushan Awardees 2016
1. Ms. Yamini Krishnamurthi – Art- Classical dance (Delhi)
2. Shri Rajinikanth – Art-Cinema (Tamil Nadu)
3. Smt. Girija Devi – Art-Classical Vocal (West Bengal)
4. Shri Ramoji Rao – Literature and Education Journalism (Andhra Pradesh) 
5. Dr. Viswanathan Shanta – Medicine- Oncology (Tamil Nadu)
6. Shri Shri Ravi Shankar – Others-Spiritualism (Karnataka)
7. Shri Jagmohan – Public Affairs (Delhi)
8. Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
9. Shri Avinash Dixit (Foreigner) – Literature and Education (USA)
10. Late Shri Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra) 

Padma Bhushan Awardees 2016
11. Shri Anupam Kher – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
12. Shri Udit Narayan Jha – Art-Playback Singing (Maharashtra)
13. Shri Ram V. Sutar – Art-Sculpture (Uttar Pradesh)
14. Shri Heisnam Kanhailal – Art-Theatre (Manipur)
15. Shri Vinod Rai – Civil Service (Kerala)
16. Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad – Literature and Education (Andhra Pradesh)
17. Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya – Literature and Education (Maharashtra )
18. Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard – Literature and Education - Journalism (Punjab)
19. Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy – Medicine-Gastroenterology (Telangana)
20. Swami Tejomayananda – Other-Spiritualism (Maharashtra)
21. Shri Hafeez Contractor – Others-Architecture (Maharashtra)
22. Shri Ravindra Chandra Bhargava – Public Affairs (Uttar Pradesh)
23. Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla – Science and Engineering (Andhra Pradesh)
24. Ms. Saina Nehwal – Sports-Badminton (Telangana)
25. Ms. Sania Mirza – Sports-Tennis (Telangana)
26. Ms. Indu Jain – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
27. Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) – Others-Spiritualism (Uttarakhand)
28. Shri Robert Blackwill (Foreigner) – Public Affairs (USA)
29. Shri Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) – Trade and Industry (Ireland)

Padma Shri Awardees 2016
30. Smt. Prathibha Prahlad – Art- Classical Dance (Delhi)
31. Shri Bhikhudan Gadhvi – Art- Folk Music (Gujarat)
32. Shri Sribhas Chandra Supakar – Art- Textile Designing (Uttar Pradesh)
33. Shri Ajay Devgn – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
34. Ms. Priyanka Chopra – Art-Cinema (Maharashtra)
35. Pt. Tulsidas Borkar – Art-Classical Music (Goa)
36. Dr. Soma Ghosh – Art-Classical Vocal (Uttar Pradesh)
37. Shri Nila Madhab Panda – Art-Film Direction and Production (Delhi)
38. Shri S.S. Rajamouli – Art-Film Direction and Production (Karnataka)
39. Shri Madhur Bhandarkar – Art-Film Direction and Production (Maharashtra)
40. Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar – Art-Folk Artist (Karnataka)
41. Ms. Gulabi Sapera – Art-Folk Dance (Rajasthan)
42. Smt. Mamta Chandrakar – Art-Folk Music (Chhattisgarh)
43. Ms. Malini Awasthi – Art-Folk Music (Uttar Pradesh)
44. Shri Jai Prakash Lekhiwal – Art-Miniature Painting (Delhi)
45. Shri K. Laxma Goud – Art-Painting (Telangana)
46. Shri Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe – Art-Photography (Madhya Pradesh) 
47. Shri Naresh Chander Lal – Art-Theatre and Cinema (Andaman and Nicobar)
48. Shri Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah – Literature and Education (Assam)
49. Shri Prahlad Chandra Tasa – Literature and Education (Assam)
50. Dr.Ravindra Nagar – Literature and Education (Delhi)
51. Shri Dahyabhai Shastri – Literature and Education (Gujarat)
52. Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa – Literature and Education (Karnataka)
53. Shri Haldar Nag – Literature and Education (Odisha)
54. Shri Kameshwaram Brahma – Literature and Education - Journalism (Assam)
55. Prof. Pushpesh Pant – Literature and Education Journalism (Delhi)
56. Shri Jawaharlal Kaul – Literature and Education Journalism (Jammu and Kashmir)
57. Shri Ashok Malik – Literature andEducation (Delhi)
58. Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Telangana)
59. Prof. Ravi Kant – Medicine-Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
60. Prof. Ram Harsh Singh – Medicine- Ayurveda (Uttar Pradesh)
61. Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel – Medicine- Paediatric Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
62. Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar – Medicine –Radiology (Uttar Pradesh)
63. Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale – Medicine-Cardiac Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
64. Prof. T.K. Lahiri – Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery (Uttar Pradesh)
65. Dr. Praveen Chandra – Medicine-Cardiology (Delhi)
66. Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir – Medicine-Cardiology (Uttar Pradesh)
67. Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva – Medicine Gastroenterology (Tamil Nadu)
68. Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra – Medicine-Homeopathy (Delhi)
69. Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava – Medicine-Neurology (Delhi)
70. Dr. Sudhir V. Shah – Medicine-Neurology (Gujarat)
71. Dr. M. M. Joshi – Medicine-Ophthalmology (Karnataka)
72. Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar – Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery (Karnataka)
73. Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda – Medicine-Paediatric Surgery (Andhra Pradesh)
74. Shri Simon Oraon – Other Environment Conservation (Jharkhand)
75. Shri Imitiaz Qureshi – Other-Culinary (Delhi)
76. Shri Piyush Pandey – Others-Advertising and Communication (Maharashtra)
77. Shri Subhash Palekar – Others-Farming (Maharashtra)
78. Shri Ravinder Kumar Sinha – Others-Wildlife Conservation (Bihar)
79. Dr. H.R. Nagendra – Others-Yoga (Karnataka)
80. Shri M. C. Mehta – Public Affairs (Delhi)
81. Shri M. N. Krishna Mani – Public Affairs (Delhi)
82. Shri Ujjwal Nikam – Public Affairs (Maharashtra)
83. Shri Tokheho Sema – Public Affairs (Nagaland)
84. Dr. Satish Kumar – Science and Engineering (Delhi)
85. Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
86. Prof. Dipankar Chatterji – Science and Engineering (Karnataka)
87. Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav – Science and Engineering (Maharashtra) 
88. Smt. (Prof.) Veena Tandon – Science and Engineering (Meghalaya)
89. Shri Onkar Nath Srivastava – Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh
90. Ms. Sunita Krishnan – Social Work (Andhra Pradesh)
91. Shri Ajoy Kumar Dutta – Social Work (Assam)
92. Shri M. Pandit Dasa – Social Work (Karnataka)
93. Shri P. P. Gopinathan Nair – Social Work (Kerala)
94. Smt. Madeleine Herman de Blic – Social Work (Puducherry)
95. Shri Srinivasan Damal Kandalai – Social work (Tamil Nadu)
96. Shri Sudhakar Olwe – Social Work (Maharashtra)
97. Dr. T.V. Narayana – Social Work (Telangana)
98. Shri Arunachalam Murugantham – Social Work (Tamil Nadu)
99. Ms. Deepika Kumari – Sports-Archery (Jharkhand)
100. Shri Sushil Doshi – Sports-commentary (Madhya Pradesh)
101. Shri Mahesh Sharma – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
102. Shri Saurabh Srivastava – Trade and Industry (Delhi)
103. Sh Dilip Sanghvi – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
104. Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda – Trade and Industry (Maharashtra)
105. Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) – Art -Classical Music (Rajasthan)
106. Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey (NRI/PIO/Posthumous) – Art-Cinema (UK)
107. Shri Michael Postel (Foreigner) – Art-Archaeology (France)
108. Shri Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) – Literature and Education (USA)
109. Smt. Hui Lan Zhang (Foreigner) – Others-Yoga (China) 
110. Shri Predrag K. Nikic (Foreigner) Others-Yoga (Serbia) 
111. Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon (NRI/PIO) Social Work (UAE)
112. Shri Ajaypal Singh Banga (NRI/PIO) Trade and Industry (USA)

Gallantry awards 2016

President Pranab Mukherjee has conferred the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra to Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami posthumously. On the eve of 67th Republic Day celebrations President has approved 365 Gallantry awards and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. It includes one Ashoka Chakra, 4 Kirti Chakras and 11 Shaurya Chakras. 

Ashok Chakra: 
Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous). He belonged to 9 PARA (Special Force) and laid down his life while fighting LeT militants in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. 

Kirti Chakra: 
Subedar Mahendra Singh of 9 PARA (Special Force). 
Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous) of 546 DSC Platoon. 

Shaurya Chakra: 
Colonel Santosh Mahadik (Posthumous) of 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA). 
Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj of 12 PARA (Special Force). 
Major Sandip Yadav of 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed). 
Major Anurag Kumar of 9 PARA (Special Force). 
Lieutenant Harjinder Singh of 3 KUMAON. 
Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous) of 21 Rashtriya Rifle (Guards). 
Naik Kheem Singh Mehra of 21 KUMAON. 
Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous) of 1 Rashtriya Rifle (MAHAR). 

Kirti Chakra is the second highest peace time gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. Shaurya Chakra is third highest peace time gallantry award generally awarded for counterinsurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time.

BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR BANK EXAMS

1. Which Bank has opened its first branch in South Korea (Seoul) on 13th Jan, 2016 ?
a) ICICI
b) Punjab National Bank
c) Corporation Bank
d) State Bank of India
e) Indian Overseas Bank

2. The purpose of SARFAESI Act 2002 is:
a) Recovery of dues in Education Loans only
b) Recovery term loans sanctioned for construction of infrastructure projects
c) Court permission is must before recovery of overudes in NPAs
d) Recovery of dues classified as non-performing assets without intervention of court
e) None of the above

3. A banknote, of which a portion is missing or which is composed of more than two pieces is called ?
a) Soiled Note
b) Cut Note
c) Duplicate Note
d) Bad Note
e) Mutilated banknote

4. Consumption loan under priority sector can be granted to..
a) Rural artisans
b) Small/Marginal farmers
c) Landless labourers
d) All
e) None

5. Which of the following is a borrowing facility/loan advance __?
a) Term finance
b) Performance guarantee
c) Bill received under letter of credit
d) All the above
e) None of the above

6. Collateral securities can be ___?
a) Tangible
b) Intangible in the shape of personal guarantee of a third party
c) Security given to get credit facilities/loan
d) All of the above
e) None of the above

7. A charge where there is neither the transfer of ownership nor the possession is called ______?
a) Hypothecation
b) Lien
c) Pledge
d) Mortgage
e) None of the above

8. As per the directives of Reserve bank of India, 'Notice deposit' shall mean:
a) The deposit withdrawable at the will of the depositor
b) The deposit repayable only after the bank gives notice to the depositor
c) Term deposit for specific period but with drawable on giving at least one complete banking day’s notice
d) None of the above
e) All of the above

9. Regional Rural Banks have been permitted to pay ½% additional interest on ____?
a) All deposits accounts except current deposits
b) All deposits accounts including current deposits
c) Saving account and time deposits of less than three years
d) All deposit accounts except Recurring Deposit Scheme
e) None of the above

10. Name the 9 digit numeric code that uniquely identifies a bank branch participating in electronic clearing scheme?
a) MICR
b) ECS
c) NEFT
d) IFSC
e) INFINET

11. What is the full form of the CORE word in Core Banking Solutions?
a) Core Online Real-time Exchange
b) Centralized Online Real-time Exchange
c) Central Online Real-time Exchange
d) Centralized Online Retail Exchange
e) None of the above

12. Which Bank scores a first, mortgage portfolio crossing Rs 1 lakh crore ?
a) State Bank of India
b) HDFC
c) CORPORATION BANK
d) ICICI
e) Punjab National Bank

13. A part of the issued capital of the Regional Rural Banks is subscribed as under___?
a) Fifty per cent by Central Government
b) Fifty per cent by State Government
c) Thirty per cent by sponsoring bank
d) All the above
e) None of the above

14. Which amongst the following is not term deposits issued by commercial banks?
a) Current account
b) Fixed deposit
c) Recurring deposit
d) Reinvestment deposit
e) All the above

15. What is the main purpose of Open market o perations?
a) A fiscal device which assists Government borrowing
b) A monetary measure to regulate quantity of money in circulation and the cash reserves of the commercial banks
c) A measure to counteract extreme trends in business
d) A measure to influence the balance of payments position
e) None of the above

16. What is the full form of MSME?
a) Mini, Small and Medium Enterprises
b) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
c) Mini scale Marketing Enterprises
d) Medium Scale Marketing Enterprises
e) None of the above

17. A customer is required to maintain adequate balances in his/her accounts in order to use his ____ card in the merchant establishments?
a) Smart Card
b) Credit Card
c) Add-on Credit card
d) Debit Card
e) None of the above

18. Which of the following are the latest guidelines issued by the RBI in respect of opening new branches in villages?
a) To open more brick and mortar branches in villages where there are no banking facilities and population is more than 5,000.
b) Banks to submit a roadmap on how many branches they will be opening by 31 March 2017.
c) The roadmap by end of January 2016.
d) BCBF Model to be discontinued
e) Only a, b, c

19. Name the financial instrument which is/are issued for short term (up to one year) borrowing by RBI on behalf of the Government of India?
a) Treasury Bills
b) Commercial Paper
c) Certificate of Deposit
d) Non-convertible Debenture
e) Only b & c

20. KYC (Know Your Customer) norms were implemented in the Indian banking system in 2002 as per the directive of ?
a) SEBI
b) RBI
c) IBA
d) IRDA
e) None of these

21. Often, we read in the newspapers that several Indian companies are taking the FCCB route to raise capital. What does the term FCCB stand for?
a) Foreign Currency Convertible Bond
b) Foreign Convertible Credit Bond
c) Financial Consortium and Credit Bureau
d) Future Credit and Currency Bureau
e) None of these

22. Account Holder of Which of the following accounts with a bank will be issued with ATM cards?
a) Saving bank account
b) Current accounts
c) Term deposits
d) Loan or cash credit accounts
e) Either a or b

23. A commercial paper is
a) A paper issued by Reserve Bank of India an trade and commerce
b) An unsecured money market instrument issued in the form of promissory note
c) A document issued by IDBI for seeking refinance facility from Reserve Bank India
d) All of the above
e) None of the above

24. Which of the following would fall under the category of retail banking?
a) Home Loans
b) Credit Cards
c) Personal Loans
d) Car Loans
e) All of these

25. Who decides how much quantity of the coins to be minted?
a) Reserve Bank of India
b) Central Government
c) Finance Ministry
d) Both RBI and Central Government decide
e) None of the above

26. What are the components of Foreign Exchange Reserves?
a) Foreign currency assets
b) Gold
c) Special Drawing Rights
d) Reserve Position in the IMF
e) All the above

27. The chairman of Regional Rural Bank is appointed by _____?
a) State Government
b) Reserve Bank of India
c) Central Government
d) Sponsoring bank in consultation with NABARD
e) None of the above

28. To control inflationary situation in the economy, RBI can increase one or more of these monetary tool?
a) CRR-SLR-Bank Rate
b) SLR-CRR-Base Rate
c) CRR-SLR-Repo Rate
d) CRR-SLR-Reverse Repo Rate
e) CRR-SLR-BPLR

29. Who can open various types of non-resident accounts?
a) Persons of Indian Nationality or person of Indian origin residing outside India
b) Persons of foreign nationality or origin residing outside India
c) Firms, companies and other organization resident outside India
d) a, b and c
e) None

30. ATMs which are set up, owned and operated by non-banks are called as?
a) White Label ATMs
b) Green Label ATMs
c) Brown Label ATMs
d) Red Label ATMs
e) None of the above

31. What is the name of the asset which has remained NPA for a period exceeding 12 months?
a) Sub-standard
b) Doubtful asset
c) Loss asset
d) Critical Asset
e) None of the above

ANSWERS:
1) d; 2) d; 3) e; 4) d; 5) a; 6) d; 7) a; 8) c; 9) c; 10) a;
11) b; 12) d; 13) a; 14) a; 15) b; 16) b; 17) d; 18) e; 19) a; 20) b;
21) a; 22) e; 23) b; 24) e; 25) b; 26) e; 27) d; 28) a; 29) d; 30) a; 31) b.

4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference begins in New Delhi

The fourth edition of India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC) has begun on January 21, 2016 in New Delhi. The two day conference aims at enhancing greater cooperation between India and African continent in the field of Hydrocarbons. It also seeks to explore opportunities, bridge boundaries and boost bilateral trade between India and Africa. 
4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference (IAHC):

• 22 African nations have participated of which 9 are represented by their Ministers. 
• These 9 countries are Morocco, Algeria, Liberia, Mauritius, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and Senegal. 
• Provide a global forum and common platform to African Countries to share their vision and chart out the road map for extended energy cooperation. 
• Bring together African leaders in and also CEOs from India and abroad to exchange expert insights and develop strategies for enhancing energy cooperation. 

India-Africa Relations for Energy Security: 

• India and African nations have common colonial past and enjoyed political and cultural ties. However, energy security stands as one of the major focus area of the bilateral ties. 
• Presently, India is importing close to 75 per cent of its crude oil and is seeking to diversifying import basket to meet its energy requirements. 
• Oil imports from Africa play a significant role in meeting the demands of India. In June 2015, Nigeria had stood as the second largest supplier of oil to India. 
• Though Africa has huge hydrocarbon resources, it lacks capital, technology and ability, experience and manpower to exploit these resources for future growth. 
• This can serve as the catalyst to encourage proper cooperation in the hydrocarbon energy sector as India can provide investment capital for development needs of African countries.

India submits first Biennial Update Report to UNFCCC

India has submitted its first Biennial Update Report (BUR) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards fulfillment of the reporting obligation. The BUR has been submitted as per the provisions of the UNFCCC Convention which is obligatory on countries to periodically provide national information. 
Key highlights of BUR 
BUR has been prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (UNFCC) under its NATCOM project funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF). 
Contains national inventory of Green House Gases (GHG) for 2010 and has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 
6 GHGs in Inventory: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). 
Five categories: It covers agriculture, waste and Land-use, Land-use, Change and Forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU),. 
India’s emissions: India has emitted around 2,137 million tonnes (mt) of CO2 equivalent GHGs in 2010. About 12% of emissions were offset by carbon sink action of croplands and forests. Thus, total of 1,884.31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHGs were emitted. In 2010, India’s per capita GHG emission was less than one- third of the world’s per capita emissions. It is far below many developed and developing countries. 
Category wise Emissions: Energy sector was the prime contributor to emissions with 71%. While, agriculture contributed 18 % and IPPU 8% to the national GHG inventory. 
Background 
In the conference of Parties (COP)-16 of UNFCCC held in Cancun (Mexico) in 2010 it was decided that the developing countries will submit updates in the form of BUR. The scope of a BUR is to provide an update to the latest National Communication submitted by the country to the UNFCCC. Accordingly, India’s first BUR is an update to the Second National Communication which was submitted in 2012. India had submitted its first national communication in 2004.

India ranks 89th in Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2015-16

India has ranked 89th globally in Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 list of 106 assessed countries in terms of talent competitiveness of its human capital. This GTCI list was compiled by INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco and Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI). This index measures a nation’s competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain. 
Report highlights:
 In this edition of list top 20 scoring countries are all high-income countries. The top rankings were dominated by European countries. 
Top 10 in GTCI list:
Switzerland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Luxembourg (3rd), United States (4th), Denmark (5th),Sweden (6th),United Kingdom (7th), Norway (8th), Canada (9th) and Finland (10th). 
Bottom 5 countries: 
Mali (105th), Tanzania (106th), Ethiopia (107th), Burkina Faso (108th) and Madagascar (109th). 
India’s scenario: 
It has slipped by 11 positions in this edition of list compared to previous rank of 78 in 2014-15 edition of list. Lower position indicates acute shortage of skilled workforce. It also ranks at last among BRICS members.

PSLV-C31 Successfully Launches India's Fifth Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1E

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C31, successfully launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1E, the fifth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) on January 20, 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the thirty second consecutively successful mission of PSLV and the eleventh in its 'XL' configuration. 

After the PSLV-C31 lift-off at 0931 hrs (9:31 am) IST from the Second Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, heat-shield separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and satellite injection, took place as planned. After a flight of about 18 minutes 43 seconds, IRNSS-1E Satellite was injected to an elliptical orbit of 282.4 km X 20,655.3 km inclined at an angle of 19.21 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and successfully separated from the PSLV fourth stage. After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1E were deployed automatically. ISRO's Master Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, four orbit manoeuvres will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the satellite in the Geosynchronous Orbit at 111.75 deg East longitude with 28.1 deg inclination. 

IRNSS-1E is the fifth of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C and ID, the first four satellites of the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013, April 04, 2014, October 16, 2014 and March 28, 2015 respectively. All the four satellites are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions. 

IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users. 

A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation parameters, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in eighteen locations across the country. In the coming months, the remaining two satellites of this constellation, namely, IRNSS-1F and IG, are scheduled to be launched by PSLV, thereby completing the entire IRNSS constellation. 

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. The Prime Minister's office has constituted a committee to hasten the Mumbai-Ahmadabad High- Speed Rail Corridor, meant for bullet trains between the two cities. Who is the Chairman of this committee?
1) S. Jaishankar
2) A.K. Mittal
3) Arvind Panagariya
4) Amitabh Kant
5) Shaktikanta Das

2. Who was declared the 2015 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year?
1) Celia Sasic
2) Carli Lloyd
3) Aya Miyama
4) Nadine Angerer
5) Hope Solo

3. Which is the first State in India to introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate level?
1) Haryana
2) Gujarat
3) Telangana
4) Kerala
5) Andhra Pradesh

4. Who won the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or Award on January 11, 2016?
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
2) Neymar
3) Luis Suarez
4) Lionel Messi
5) Alessandro Florenzi

5. Which is the first Indian city to be a member of the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) council?
1) Mysore
2) Hyderabad
3) Bangalore
4) Gandhinagar
5) Kochi

6. The President of Mozambique visited India in August 2015. Name him?
1) Armando Guebuza
2) Tobias Joaquim Dai
3) Filipe Nyusi
4) James Alix Michel
5) None of these

7. Who replaced Hasmukh Adhia as the Financial Services Secretary on August 31, 2015?
1) Anita Kapur
2) Anjuly Chib Duggal
3) R.S. Gujral
4) L.C. Goyal
5) None of these

8. Keith Rowley assumed office as the Prime Minister of which of the following countries on September 9, 2015?
1) Jamaica
2) Barbados
3) Grenada
4) Trinidad and Tobago
5) Guyana

9. Amalendu Krishna won which of the following awards/prizes in 2015?
1) Ramanujan Prize
2) Saraswati Samman
3) Prem Bhatia Memorial Award
4) Gujar Mal Modi Award
5) Kuvempu National Award

10. The World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) is headquartered in?
1) Tokyo
2) Beijing
3) New York
4) Berne
5) Madrid

11. Who among the following is not a chess player?
1) Abhijeet Gupta
2) M.R. Lalith Babu
3) Deep Sengupta
4) Surya Shekar Ganguly
5) Saurav Ghosal

12. Ghoomar is a traditional folk dance of which of the following States in India?
1) Rajasthan
2) Uttar Pradesh
3) West Bengal
4) Odisha
5) Madhya Pradesh

13. Which of the following countries is a member of BIMSTEC?
1) Sudan
2) South Sudan
3) Senegal
4) Seychelles
5) Sri Lanka

14. Who appoints Banking Ombudsman?
1) Government of India
2) State Government
3) Reserve Bank of India
4) Concern bank
5) Indian Banks Association

15. Which country unveiled a major expansion of the new Suez canal on August 6, 2015?
1) Syria
2) Lebanon
3) Egypt
4) Tunisia
5) Ghana

16. Who is the author of the book "Green Signals-Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India"?
1) Kamal Nath
2) Kailash Satyarthi
3) Jairam Ramesh
4) Prakash Javdekar
5) Sandeep Pandey

17. Which of the following cities is the capital of Germany?
1) Bonn
2) Munich
3) Hamburg
4) Berlin
5) Amsterdam

18. Which State government has decided to categorize Dahi Handi as an adventure sport?
1) Uttarakhand
2) Maharashtra
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) Bihar
5) Jharkhand

19. Which of the following days is celebrated as "World Biofuel Day"?
1) June 10
2) July 10
3) August 10
4) September 10
5) October 10

20. Rajiv Mehrishi is currently the Union?
1) Finance Secretary
2) Home Secretary
3) Foreign Secretary
4) Defense Secretary
5) None of these

21. Which of the following terms is used for loans of very small amounts given to low income groups?
1) Rural credit
2) No frills loans
3) Cash credit
4) Micro credit
5) Overdraft

22. Who has joined Amnesty International India as its new Executive Director?
1) Rakesh Mohan
2) Aakar Patel
3) Salil Shetty
4) Subir Gokarn
5) Sabir Bhatia

23. Suvarnabhumi Airport is an international airport in?
1) Jakarta
2) Manila
3) Bangkok
4) Port Louis
5) Colombo

24. Who is the author of the book "Kashmir-The Vajpayee Years"?
1) V.K. Singh
2) N.N. Vohra
3) Karan Singh
4) A.S. Dulat
5) L.K. Advani

25. Which of the following States announced that former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's birthday on October 15 would be celebrated as the Youth Revival Day?
1) Andhra Pradesh
2) Telangana
3) Meghalaya
4) Maharashtra
5) Tamil Nadu

26. Who among the following is not a Governor of an Indian State at present?
1) Ram Nath Kovind
2) Keshri Nath Tripathi
3) Acharya Dev Vrat
4) P. Sadashivam
5) Om Prakash Rawat

27. Who among the following won Arjuna Award for 2015 for Athletics?
1) Abhilasha Mhatre
2) Dipa Karmakar
3) Babita Kumari
4) M.R. Poovamma
5) None of these

28. Masdar City is a zero carbon city located in which of the following countries?
1) Iran
2) UAE
3) Saudi Arabia
4) Israel
5) Kuwait

29. The "Nai Manzil" scheme will address educational and livelihood needs of?
1) Tribal people
2) Widows
3) Minority communities
4) Acid attack victims
5) None of these

30. A Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for the Asia and Pacific Region will be established in?
1) Chennai
2) Dehradun
3) Lucknow
4) Coimbatore
5) Chandigarh

31. The Kishanganj Agriculture College has been renamed as "Dr. Kalam Agriculture College". It is in?
1) Bihar
2) Uttar Pradesh
3) Uttarakhand
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Jharkhand

32. Which of the following banks has launched "Dhanchayat", an educational film to raise awareness on the dangers of borrowing money from unorganized sources?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) Punjab National Bank
4) Bank of Baroda
5) State Bank of India

33. Usha Ananthasubramanian, the CMD of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, has been appointed as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of?
1) Corporation Bank
2) Vijaya Bank
3) Punjab National Bank
4) Indian Bank
5) Indian Overseas Bank

34. BNP Paribas has acquired brokerage firm Sharekhan. BNP Paribas is a banking giant based in?
1) UK
2) Germany
3) Italy
4) France
5) Belgium

35. The rate at which the Reserve Bank of India borrows money from commercial banks is known as?
1) Repo rate
2) Reverse repo rate
3) Base rate
4) Bank rate
5) Prime Lending Rate

36. Who headed the Reserve Bank of India's High Powered Committee on Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs)?
1) Deepak Mohanty
2) Urjit Patel
3) Shyamla Gopinath
4) Usha Thorat
5) R. Gandhi

ANSWERS:
1) 3 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 5 6) 3 7) 2 8) 4 9) 1 10) 2
11) 5 12) 1 13) 5 14) 3 15) 3 16) 3 17) 4 18) 2 19) 3 20) 2
21) 4 22) 2 23) 3 24) 4 25) 5 26) 5 27) 4 28) 2 29) 3 30) 2
31) 1 32) 2 33) 3 34) 4 35) 2 36) 5

Top Scheme And Programme Launched By Narendra Modi Government

SN	Govt Scheme	Details
1	Make in India	It was Launched on 25th September 2014 To make India a manufacturing hub. Make in India is an initiative of the Government of India to encourage multinational, as well as domestic, companies to manufacture their products in India. The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on job creation and skill enhancement in twenty-five sectors of the economy
2	Digital India	Launched on 1st July 2015 To transform India’s economy Digital India has three core components. These include: The creation of digital infrastructure Delivering services digitally Digital literacy
3	Skill India	Launched on 15th July 2015) To create jobs for youth of the Country Skill Development in Youth Making Skill available to All Youth of India
4	Smart Cities	Launched on 29th April 2015 In first Government of india Will Develop 100 Smart cities in India Under this Scheme Cities from all States Are Selected
5	Unearthen Black Money	Bill Passed on 14th May 2015 Disclosing Black Money Punishment for The Black Money holders
6	Namami Gange	Namami Gange Project or Namami Ganga Yojana is an ambitious Union Government Project which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner. It its maiden budget, the government announced Rs. 2037 Crore towards this mission. The project is officially known as Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project or ‘Namami Ganga Yojana’. This project aims at Ganga Rejuvenation by combining the existing ongoing efforts and planning under it to create a concrete action plan for future.
7	Swachh Bharat Abhiyan	Launched on 2nd October 2014) To have clean India by 2nd October 2019 Eliminate open defecation by constructing toilets for households, communities Eradicate manual scavenging Introduce modern and scientific municipal solid waste management practices Enable private sector participation in the sanitation sector Change people’s attitudes to sanitation and create awareness
8	Swadesh Darshan	Integrated Development of Theme Based Buddhist tourist circuit
9	Sukanya Samridhi Account	Launched on 22nd January 2015 The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. The scheme currently provides an interest rate of 9.2% and tax benefits. The account can be opened at any India Post office or a branch of some authorised commercial banks
10	Bal swachh mission	Launched on 14th November 2014) Awareness about the cleanliness of the children
11	Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana	Launched on 28th August 2014 ) To give financial services to weaker section of society.
12	Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana	Launched on 9th May 2015 Eligibility: Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account. Premium:  Rs.12 per annum. Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available. Risk Coverage:  For accidental death and full disability – Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh. Eligibility: Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme.  Name of nominee to be given in the form.
13	Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana	(Launched on 22nd January 2015)-To generate awareness of welfare service meants for girl child and women.
14	Atal Pension Scheme	(Launched on 9th May 2015)-for unorganised sector ‘s workers
15	HRIDAY (National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme	(Launched on 21st January 2015)-To develop heritage cities.
16	Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana	(Launched on 9th May 2015)-Life insurance scheme by Government
17	MUDRA Bank Yojana	(Launched on 8th April 2015) to provide up to 10 lakh to small entrepreneur.
18	Krishi Amani Bima Yojana	Scheme for farmer
19	Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana	To provide water to all field in the Country.
20	Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana	(Launched on 11th October 2014)-Each MP to develop three villages by 2019.
21	Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana	(Launched on 25th September 2014)- To provide employmentto youth residing in rural area.
22	Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana	To provide power(electricity) to rural area of the country.
23	Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana	Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana is a special social security scheme which includes Pension and Life Insurance, introduced by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the overseas Indian workers in possession of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports. It is a voluntary scheme designed to help workers to meet their three financial needs: saving for retirement, saving for their return and resettlement, and providing free life insurance offering coverage for death from natural causes.
24	Indradanush Scheme	(Launched on 25th December 2014)
25	Soil Health Card Scheme	Soil Health Card Scheme is a scheme launched by the Government of India in February 2015. Under the scheme, the government plans to issue soil cards to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for the individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs. All soil samples are to be tested in various soil testing labs across the country. Thereafter the experts will analyse the strength and weaknesses (micro-nutrients deficiency) of the soil and suggest measures to deal with it. The result and suggestion will be displayed in the cards. The government plans to issue the cards to 14 crore farmers
26	Rani Laxmi Bai Pension scheme	For victims of Muzazafar nagar riot.
27	Udaan Scheme	To provide skill to youth of India.
28	Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission	The Mission aims at development of rural growth clusters which have latent potential for growth, in all States and UTs, which would trigger overall development in the region. These clusters would be developed by provisioning of economic activities, developing skills & local entrepreneurship and providing infrastructure amenities. The Rurban Mission will thus develop a cluster of Smart Villages.
29	Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram	(Launched on 16th October 2014)
30	Kisan Vikas Patra	(Relaunched in 2014) – Saving certificate Scheme
31	AMRUT	Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Development (earlier name JNNURM)
32	PRASAD	Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation-To improve the infrastructure at pilgrimage places.
33	Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana	The Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana It is a new crop insurance scheme to boost farming sector in the country. It is farmers’ welfare scheme The Scheme aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop Insurance claim for the full insured sum.We Will cover this Scheme In details in Separate Article

List of 61st Filmfare Awards 2016

The Filmfare Awards were held on January 15, 2016 at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Mumbai. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani and Shoojit Sircar's 'Piku' were the big winners.

Here is the complete list of winners from 61st Filmfare Awards 2015 —

Best Film - Bajirao Mastani
Best Director - Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) - Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) - Deepika Padukone for Piku
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) - Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) - Priyanka Chopra for Bajirao Mastani
Best Music - Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros. Anjjan and Amaal Mallik for Roy
Best Lyrics - Irshad Kamil for Agar tum saath ho (Tamasha)
Best Playback Singer (Male) - Arijit Singh for Sooraj dooba (Roy)
Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal for Deewani mastani (Bajirao Mastani)
Critics Choice Best Film - Piku
Critics Choice Best Actor (Male) - Amitabh Bachchan for Piku
Critics Choice Best Actor (Female) - Kangana Ranaut for Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Lifetime Achievement Award - Moushumi Chatterjee
RD Burman Award - Armaan Mallik
Best Debut Director - Neeraj Ghaywan for Masaan
Best Debut (Female) - Bhumi Pednekar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Best Debut (Male) - Sooraj Pancholi for Hero
Best Action - Sham Kaushal for Bajirao Mastani
Best Background Score - Anupam Roy for Piku
Best Choreography - Pt Birju Maharaj for Mohe rang do laal (Bajirao Mastani)
Best Cinematography - Manu Anand for Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Best Costume - Anju Modi and Maxima Basu for Bajirao Mastani
Best Dialogue - Himanshu Sharma for Tanu Weds Manu Returns
Best Editing - A Sreekar Prasad for Talvar
Best Production Design - Sujeet Sawant, Sriram Iyengar and Saloni Dhatrak for Bajirao Mastani
Best Screenplay - Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
Best Sound Design - Shajith Koyeri for Talvar
Best Story  - Vijayendra Prasad for Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Best VFX - Prana Studio for Bombay Velvet

Andhra Bank PO Exam General Awareness Solved Questions (Exam Held on: 27.12.15 Evening Shift)

1. Smart vault launched by which bank - ICICI Bank

2. SpeedPay app - BSNL

3. IMF full form - International Monetary Fund

4 World Economic Forum (WEF) Headquarters- Cologny, Switzerland

5. Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation - A. S. Kiran Kumar

6. RBI Headquarters - Mumbai

7. Full form of DICGC? - Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation

8. Current Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)? - 4%

9. World AIDS Day is held on - 1st December 

10. The tenure of the deposit will be minimum under Gold Monetization Scheme. - 1 year 

11. What is the full form of BCSBI? - The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India

12. What is the currency of Germany? - Euro

13. What is the full form of FATCA? - Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 

14. Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts can be opened up to age of - 10 years