IBPS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS MODEL PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. First Governor of Reserve Bank of India is...
1) Sir Osborne Smith
2) Sir James Braid Taylor
3) Sir C. D. Deshmukh
4) Sir Benegal Rama Rau
5) Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao

2. The first headquarters of Reserve Bank of India was ....
1) Bombay
2) Madras
3) Lucknow
4) Hyderabad
5) Calcutta

3. Reserve Bank of India cancelled the license of which co-operative bank hit by the scam recently?
1) Andhra Pradesh Gramina Vikas Bank (AP)
2) TN Co-operative Bank (Tamil Nadu)
3) Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank (GUJ)
4) Konkan Mercantile Co-operative Bank (Goa)
5) None

4. Select the wrong statement.
1) Indian Rural Road Sector II Investment Programme got $ 222.22 million from Asian Development Fund.
2) $ 17.51 billion given by ADB to assist its developing member states to achieve their Millennium development goals.
3) ADB provided $ 60 million in three venture capital funds to promote clean energy in India and China.
4) Asian Development Bank established on 22 August 1966 having headquarters in New Delhi.
5) Haruhiko Kuroda (Japan) is the present chief of ADB.

5. Which state got $ 200 million to promote 'green initiatives and sustainable development' from World Bank?
1) Andhra Pradesh
2) Bihar
3) Himachal Pradesh
4) Odisha
5) Delhi

6. On 20th September 2012, the Union government hiked the foreign investment cap for the broadcasting service providers to.....
1) 24 percent
2) 49 percent
3) 100 percent
4) 51 percent
5) 74 percent

7. On 18 July 2012, the planning commission reduced the power target for the end of 12th Five Year Plan from 1,00,000 MW to ....
1) 84,000 MW
2) 50,000 MW
3) 15,000 MW
4) 95,000 MW
5) 88,000 MW

8. National Green Tribunal suspended environment clearance to the thermal power plant in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh on 24 May 2012 being built by .....
1) L&T
2) Lanco
3) GMR
4) Nagarjuna Construction Company
5) Zindal

GENERAL AWARENESS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1. Who won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the year 2012 for their work with light and matter at the most fundamental level?
1) Adam Reiss and Brian Schmidt
2) Adam Reiss and Saul Perlmutter
3) Serge Haroche and David J.Wineland
4) Charles K. Kao and Willard S. Boyle
5) Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov

2. Who was conferred with the prestigious Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Maharashtra government in September 2012?
1) Khayyam
2) Udit Narayan
3) Anandji Shah
4) Suman Kalyanpur
5) None

3. Vanuatu joined as the 157th me-mber of which of the following organizations on August 24, 2012?
1) IMF
2) World Bank
3) WTO
4) ILO
5) UNESCO

4. World Bank has appointed Onno Ruhl as the Country Director for India. He belongs to?
1) Moldova
2) Armenia
3) Nigeria
4) Netherlands
5) Germany

5. Which of the following statements about the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 is not true?
1) The fourth ICC World Twen-ty20 competition was held in Sri Lanka, first time in an Asian country, from Septemb-er 18 to October 7, 2012.
2) West Indies won the trophy for the first time defeating Sri Lanka in the final by 36 runs that was played in R.Prema-dasa Stadium in Colombo.
3) Sri Lanka have now lost four World Cup finals
4) Marlon Samuels of the West Indies was declared the Man of the Match in the final.

5) Player of the Tournament is Chris Gayle of the West Indies.
6. The Mercosur trade bloc has suspended which of the following countries over the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo?
1) Argentina
 2) Brazil
3) Uruguay
4) Paraguay
5) None of these

7. Which country has inaugurated a "mini capital" Sejong City designed to act as a new government hub?
1) North Korea
2) South Korea
3) China
4) Vietnam
5) Malaysia

8. The Supreme Court has banned all commercial and tourism activities within a five km radius of the Jarawa Tribal Reserve in?
1) Daman & Diu
2) Lakshadweep
3) Puducherry
4) Andaman and Nicobar
5) Jharkhand

9. The 11th Shangri-La Dialogue was held in Singapore in June 2012. This annual meeting is also known as?
1) Asia Security Summit
2) Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
3) APEC
4) ASEAN
5) NSS

10. Which of the following organizations has decided to open its full-fledged office in India, only the fourth outside Geneva?
1) WHO
2) WEF
3) WTO
4) ILO
5) None of these

SBI ASSOCIATE BANKS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. Head office of various banks given. Pick up incorrect one.
1) Allahabad Bank - Kolkatta
2) Andhra Bank - Hyderabad
3) Bank of Baroda - Pune
4) Bank of India - Mumbai
5) Syndicate Bank - Manipal

2. Which among the following is not the function of Reserve Bank of India?
1) Deciding Key rates like SLR, CRR
2) Issuing the Paper Currency above the denomination Rs. 2
3) Giving loans to individuals
4) Supervision of banks
5) None

3. Amortized loan means ?
1) Loan with scheduled periodic payments of both principal and interest
2) Government finance the banks to refinance the local money lenders
3) Giving huge loans to customers by taking the security
4) Not providing cash to customers but providing loan in the form of goods
5) Loan given by RBI

4. Whether all banks accept coins, though coins mint by government of India-
1) Accept the coins but they ask the customer to give the undertaking
2) Never accept
3) Accept
4) Accept the coins, telling customer that the bank return any time
5) Accept the coins at the lower value

5. Golden revolution refers to?
1) the production of Gold
2) Horticulture
3) Production of Imitation Jewellry
4) Fisheries
5) Coal

6. Abbreviation list given. Pick the wrong one.
1) TRAI - Telecom Rules Authority of India
2) RGESS - Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme
3) LIBOR - London Inter Bank Offered Rate
4) AMFI-Association of Mutual Fund in India
5) FCNRA - Foreign Currency Non Resident Account

7. First East Asia Summit Education Ministers meeting was convened on 5th July 2012 at Yogyakarta in
1) Indonesia
2) Malaysia
3) Vietnam
4) Singapore
5) None

8. Recent Award list given. Pick the wrong combination
1) PEN Open Book Award - Siddhartha Deb
2) Siksha ratna - Dr. AN Purohit
3) Lata Mangeshkar award 2012 - Jesudas
4) People's Choice Gold Medal Award- Sudarshan Pattnaik
5) Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Media Person, 2012 - Tushita Mittal

9. Sally Pearson won the 100 mts gold medal in London Olympics 2012. She belongs to?
1) Jamaica
2) Kenya
3) USA
4) Australia
5) France

India Successfully Test Fired Nuclear Capable Dhanush Missile

India on 5 October 2012 successfully test fired nuclear capable Dhanush Missile, the naval version of short-range ballistic missile, Prithvi from a warship off Odisha coast.

Dhanush, The indigenously developed naval version of the Prithvi short-range ballistic missile has a strike range of up to 350 km and can carry 500 kg of conventional or nuclear warhead.

The test was conducted by the strategic force command (SFC) of the Indian Navy. The trial was a complete success.
Dhanush missile is a single stage missile and was developed by the DRDO and is about 8.53 metre in length and 0.9 metre in diameter which uses liquid propellant.

The Dhanush missile is going to be used as an anti-ship weapon as well as for destroying land targets depending on the range.

Cabinet likely to approve 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17)

The union cabinet  approve the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) that seeks an average annual economic growth of 8.2 percent and identifies infrastructure, health and education as thrust areas.

The growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view of the current slowdown in the economy and adverse international situation.

During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent. A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore.

The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period "critical to achieve inclusive growth".

Highlights of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17):

• Average growth target has been set at 8.2 percent
• Areas of main thrust are-infrastructure, health and education
• Growth rate has been lowered to 8.2 percent from the 9.0 percent projected earlier in view adverse domestic and global situation.
• During the 11th Plan period, the average annual growth was 7.9 percent
•  A full Planning Commission chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on September 15 endorsed the document which has fixed the total plan size at Rs.47.7 lakh crore
• The 12th Plan seeks to achieve 4 percent agriculture sector growth during the five-year period
• Agriculture in the current plan period grew at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent
• On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.
•  According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised.
• The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation.
• The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period
• After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister

Agriculture

Agriculture in the current plan period has grown at 3.3 percent, compared to 2.4 percent during the 10th plan period. The growth target for manufacturing sector has been pegged at 10 percent.

Infrastructure

The document stresses the importance of infrastructure development, especially in the power sector, and removal of bottlenecks for high growth and inclusiveness. It also sets targets for various economic and social sectors relating to poverty alleviation, infant mortality, enrolment ratio and job creation.

Poverty

On poverty alleviation, the commission plans to bring down the poverty ratio by 10 percent. At present, the poverty is around 30 per cent of the population.

Health and Education

According to commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, health and education sectors are major thrust areas and the outlays for these in the plan have been raised.

The outlay on health would include increased spending in related areas of drinking water and sanitation.

The commission had accepted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's suggestion that direct cash transfer of subsidies in food, fertilizers and petroleum be made by the end of the 12th Plan period.

Direct cash transfers would bring down the government's subsidy burden as the money would go directly to the "genuine" beneficiaries and "plug leakages" in the implementation of these schemes.

After the cabinet clearance, the plan for its final approval would be placed before the National Development Council (NDC), which has all chief ministers and cabinet ministers as members and is headed by the Prime Minister.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

1.Which book won the Pulitzer Prize 2012, under the category
(1) An American Life
(2) Life on Mars
(3) A life of Reinvention b the Life Manning Marble
(4) Water by the Spoonful
(5) None of these

2.Name of the Kerala based UAE business magnate, who was awarded with Inter Faith Harmony Award at Kuala Lumpur ?
(1) AS Yasin 
(2) Rafeeq Ahmed
(3) Usman Haider 
(4) MA Yusuf Ali
(5) None of these

3.Where was the world’s oldest post office opened as it celebrates its 300th anniversary recently?
(1) Rome 
(2) Canada
(3) London 
(4) Russia
(5) None of these

4.Which of the following political party won the parliamentary elections in Jamaica recently ?
(1) Jamaica Labour Party
(2) People’s National Party
(3) New Nation Coalition
(4) National Democratic Movement
(5) None of these

5.Which country has test launched first 3-D Television broadcast ?
(1) China 
 (2) UK
(3) US 
(4) S Africa
(5) None of these

6.Where is the world’s tallest building located ?
(1) UAE 
(2) USA
(3) Canada 
(4) Taiwan
(5) None of these

7. Recently, who has been appointed as CEO of Prasar Bharati ?
(1) Jawahar Sircar 
(2) Mohan Rawat
(3) Sachin Gupta 
(4) Vinod Shankar
(5) None of these

8.Who among the following elected as the President of Indian Economic Association?
(1) Amartya Sen
(2) Dr. Balchandra Mungekar
(3) CF Hanumantha Rao
(4) ML Dantewala 
(5) None of these

9.Who has been appointed as Chairman cum Managing Director of the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)?
(1) Rajeev Kher
(2) Chandra Bhushan Paliwal
(3) Rita Menon
(4) CS Verma 
(5) None of these

10.Karnal has been in news recently for setting Guiness World record in making ?
(1) World’s largest tree house
(2) world’s largest radio telescope
(3) world’s largest human red ribbon
(4) world’s largest formation in air
(5) None of these

SBI ASSOCIATE BANKS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. Expand BRBNMPL ......
1) Bharatiya Reserve Borrow Note Mudran Private Limited
2) Bangalore Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited
3) Bharatiya Resale Bank Note Mudran Private Limited
4) Bharatiya Reserve Bank Negotiable Mudran Private Limited
5) Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited

2. From 1 April 2012, the validity of cheque is...
1) 3 months
2) 6 months
3) 9 months
4) 12 months
5) 18 months

3. On 8th August 2012, which bank introduced the First Financial Super market at Jaipur?
1) Syndicate Bank
2) Andhra Bank
3) Canara Bank
4) ICICI
5) State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

4. SWIFT is an internationally-recognized idenidentification code for banks around the world, which has 8 or 11 alphanumeric characters. SWIFT means ......
1) Stand for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
2) Society for Worldwide Internal bank Financial Telecommunication
3) Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication
4) Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
5) None

5. As per the RBI Governor statement, how much fund needed by the Indian Banking Sector to fulfil the Basel -III norms by 31st March 2018?
1) Rs.5 Lakh Crore
2) Rs.4 Lakh Crore
3) Rs.8 Lakh Crore
4) Rs.15 Lakh Crore
5) Rs.3.5 Lakh Crore

6. How much percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in insurance and pension sector proposed to allow by the Finance Ministry on 22nd August 2012?
1) 100
2) 51
3) 49
4) 74
5) 41

7. Which is not a Maharatna Company?
1) IOC
2) ONGC
3) HAL
4) NTPC
5) SAIL

8. Recently Delhi and Rajasthan extended the age bar on child labour from 14 years to....
1) 16 years
2) 21 years
3) 18 years
4) 25 years
5) 30 years

9. Which Delhi based scientist, won the prestigious Norman Borlaug Award for her work in transforming access to water for thousands of farmers in West Bengal?
1) R.Srinivasan
2) Panchala Gore
3) Aditi Mukherjee
4) Aditya Mukherjee
5) Kala Singham

10. 'Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance' is the theme of which summit recently held in Teheran on 30-31 August 2012?
1) ASEAN
2) NAM
3) SAARC
4) SCO
5) G-7

BANK EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. Which bank is called 'Bankers bank'?
1) SBI
2) National Housing Bank
3) RBI
4) NABARD
5) Exim Bank

2. Reserve Bank of India was Nationalised on 1 January .......
1) 1947
2) 1955
3) 1949
4) 1969
5) 1980

3. Largest Private Sector bank in India is......?
1) HDFC
2) ICICI
3) KVB
4) City Union Bank
5) Axis bank

4. MSF means............?
1) Main Standing Facility
2) Marginal Scoring Facility
3) Marginal Standing Facility
4) Moral Standing Facility
5) More Standing Facility

5. Which Indian chosen for the Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year 2012, for economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural areas?
1) Anna Hazare
2) Sundarlal Bahuguna
3) Kulandei Francis
4) Baba Ramdev
5) C.Ranga Rajan

6. The abbreviation list given. Pick the correct one.
1) NELP - New Exploration Licensing Policy
2) RGCCI - Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
3) ABM - Anti Ballistic Missile
4) CAG - Comptroller and Auditor General
5) All of above

7. Which book is not written by Arundhati Roy?
1) The God of Small Things
2) The Cost of Living
3) Malgudi Days
4) The Shape of the Beast
5) The Algebra of Infinite Justice

8. Which committee recommended for the amalgamation of RRBs?
1) K.C.Chakravarthy
2) Usha Thorat
3) Vyas
4) C.V. Anand Bose
5) Ajay Kumar Seth

9. Crossed Cheque means .....
1) Two lines put across the cheque to invalidate it
2) Ordering the bank to pay cash to governmentgovernment bodies only but not to others
3) Putting two lines across the top left of the cheque ordering the bank to pay cash to payee through account only
4) The cheque issued by RBI in favour of State governments and Central governments to give loans
5) None

10. 11th Meeting of Conference of the Parties (CoP-11) to the convention on Biological Diversity will be held at ........ in October 2012?
1) Hyderabad
2) Pune
3) Mumbai
4) New Delhi
5) Chennai

SBI ASSOCIATE BANKS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS EXPECTED MCQs

1. Among the following banks, which one is called 'Lender of the last resort'?
1) RBI
2) SBI
3) EXIM bank
4) NABARD
5) NHB

2. Reserve Bank of India formed on the recommendations of .... as it submitted report in 1926.
1) Keynes Commission
2) Royal Commission on Indian Banks and purchases
3) Hilton-Young Commission
4) Kelkar Committee
5) O.V.Smith Committee

3. Which among the following one is not the subsidiary of SBI?
1) SBI DFHI Ltd.
2) SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd.
3) SBI Real Estate Brokers
4) SBI Capital Markets Ltd.
5) SBI Cards & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd.

4. The second largest Public Sector bank in India is........
1) SBI
2) Bank of Baroda
3) ICICI 4) Andhra Bank
5) Punjab National Bank

5. Chairman of Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) is........
1) U.K.Sinha
2) Yogesh Agarwal
3) J.Hari Narayan
4) D.Subba Rao
5) Rahul Kullar

6. Abbreviations list given. Pick the wrong one.
1) CBS-Core Booking Solutions
2) KYC-Know Your Customer
3) IARI-Indian Agricultural Research Institute
4) NHB-National Housing Bank
5) CII-Confederation of Indian Industry

7. Which book is not written by Chetan Bhagat?
1) Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition
2) 2 States
3) The God of Small Things
4) The 3 Mistakes of My Life
5) One Night @ the Call Center

8. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved ........ percent disinvestment in Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on 19 July 2012.
1) 8.01
2) 18.92
3) 10.82
4) 9.25
5) 0.5

9. Public Sector Banks should disburse ......... percent of their total loans to Priority Sector.
1) 40
2) 32
3) 65
4) 100
5) 20

10. On 7th June 2012, Central government approved a capital infusion of Rs.632 Crores in to the...........
1) Public Sector Banks
2) Private Sector Banks
3) Co-operative Banks
4) Land Area Development Banks
5) Regional Rural Banks

GENERAL AWARENESS CAPSULES

1) Which Indian state will set up 200 hi-tech mini-dairy units to boost milk production?

1) Haryana

2) Punjab

3) Uttar pradesh

4) Maharashtra

5) Karnataka

Ans 1

2) Who will become the first Indian Women and 5th sports person to be conferred with IT Wlonel Rank?

1) P.T Usha

2) Aparna Popat

3) Geeta Phogat

4) MC Mary Kom

5) Saina Nehwal

Ans 4

3) Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur was sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme court in June 2012. with this, the strength of the apex court has gone up to 26.What is the sanctioned strength of the supreme court?

1) 28 Judges

2) 29 Judges

3) 30 Judges

4) 31 Judges

5) 32 Judges

Ans 4

4) Who among the following Presidents was impeached by the Parliament of his/her country in June ?

a) Jose Mujica

b) Sebastian Pinera

c) Dilma Rousseff

d) Ollanta Humala

e) Fernando Lugo 

Ans 5

5) Who among the following Presidents has offered to provide political asylum to Wiki leaks founder Julian Assange Who is facing extradition to Sweden from Britain in June 2012?

1) Jose Mujica

2) Rafeal Correa

3) Dilma Rousseff

4) Ollanta Humala

5) Sabastian Pinera

Ans 2

6) Who among the following Indian Americans was convicted of insider trading by US Court in June 2012?

1) Gururaj Deshpande

2) Preet Bharara

3) Kanwal Rekhi

4) Vinod Dham

5) Rajat Gupta

Ans 5

7) Who among the following was appointed as the new CMD of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited in June 2012?

1) Sekhar basu

2) Ratan Kumar Sinha

3) Srikumar  Bannerjee

4) Kailash Chandra Purohit

5) Shreyans Kumar Jain

Ans 4

8) Who among the following was elected as President of Egypt in June 2012?

1) Amir Moussa

2) Ahmed Shafik

3) Hamdeen Sabbahi

4) Mohammed Mursi

5) Abdul Moneim Adoul Fotouh

Ans 4

9) Which album has the only duet song in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan, Who passed away in Karachi at the age of 84 in June 2012?

1) Aman

2) Rishte

3) Faasle

4) darmiyan

5) sarhadein

Ans 4

10) Which government appointed committee had recommended a higher excise duty on diesel cars to compensate for subsided sale of diesel Fuel?

1) Ashok Chawla Committee

2) Arun Maira Committee

3) Kaushik Basu Committee

4) Kirit Parikh Committee

5) Rakesh Mohan Committee

Ans 4

Rain Enhancement Techniques Conducted in India

A multi-year research observational campaign entitled, “Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement (CAIPEEX)” was conducted by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune during the period 2009-2011 over different parts of the country. The objectives of the program were: (1) to understand the role of aerosols in the rainfall processes in the clouds and (2) to carry out cloud seeding experiments in research mode for rain enhancements using modern techniques.

During the period May to September 2009, the cloud and aerosol observations were conducted over different parts of country using instrumented aircraft Total 220 hrs of flying was done. In the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons of 2010 and 2011, the cloud seeding experiments were conducted over the rain-shadow areas of peninsular India from Hyderabad base. Total 200 and 250 hours of flying was done in the years 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Modern techniques such as (1) hired instrumented aircraft for measuring the atmospheric state parameters, aerosols and cloud microphysical parameters (2) equipped for seeding by flares and salt powder, (3) radar for monitoring the potential clouds, (4) pilot to ground connectivity and internet connectivity for real time transfer of data, (5) half hourly INSAT satellite data, weather data from IMD sites (6) high resolution weather models for the forecasting etc., were used in the program.

The Indian rainfall shows different types of trends over different regions and over different time periods. The studies carried out so far have suggested that there is increasing trend in the extreme rainfall events (>10cm/day) and decreasing trend in the moderate (2-5cm/day) and low rainfall events (<2cm/day) over central India. It is also established that there is approximately a natural 30-year cyclicity in the monsoon rainfall. Under such a decreasing phase of monsoon rainfall that is persisting for the recent three and half decades, a decreasing trend of monsoon rainfall is also persisting.

Additionally, the factors like global warming and increasing loading of aerosols over India have established potential to modulate the natural rainfall variability to certain extent as a part of short term variability.

National Child Labour Projects

 The Government is implementing National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in 266 districts of 20 States of the country including Maharashtra for rehabilitation of children rescued/withdrawn from work. Under the Project, children rescued/withdrawn from work are enrolled in the special schools, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, nutrition, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.

Nine Point Action Plan for TPDS

A Nine Point Action Plan for curbing the leakages/diversion of foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) has been evolved in consultation with the State Governments.

The Government has been regularly monitoring the action being taken by States/UTs including issuing advisories, holding conferences etc. wherein State/UT Governments are requested to implement the Nine Point Action Plan.

The Minister added that the Nine Point Action Plan inter-alia stipulates that States should undertake a campaign for review of Below Poverty Line(BPL)/Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY) lists to eliminate ghost ration cards. Further, instructions were issued to all State/UT Governments to carry out an intensive campaign from October, 2009 to December, 2009 to review the existing lists of BPL/AAY families and eliminate ineligible/bogus ration cards. As a result thereof, 27 State/UT Governments have reported upto 30.06.2012, deletion of 266.80 lakh bogus/ineligible ration cards since July, 2006.

GENERAL AWARENESS MCQ CAPSULES

1. The restructured version of the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) was launched by the Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh recently in which of the following states?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Kerala
3) Goa
4) Orissa
5) Andhra Pradesh

2. Who was elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague, Netherlands in April 2012?
1) Justice Altamas Kabir
2) Justice D.K.Jain
3) Justice P. Sathasivam
4) Justice G.S.Singhvi
5) Justice Dalveer Bhandari

3. Achala Sachdev passed away on April 30, 2012. She was a famous?
1) Author
2) Sportsperson
3) Film actress
4) Journalist
5) Politician

4. Who is the author of 'Lava', a book of poems?
1) Javed Akhtar
2) Kunwar Narayan
3) Uday Prakash
4) Mohan Rana
5) None of these

5. Rustom is a/an?
1) Surface to surface missile
2) Unmanned aerial vehicle
3) Surface to air missile
4) Air to air missile
5) Nuclear powered submarine

6. Which of the following warships was decommissioned on June 11, 2012?
1) INS Vindhyagiri
2) INS Taragiri
3) INS Himgiri
4) INS Nilgiri
5) INS Udaygiri

7. Enrica Lexie is an oil tanker involved in the shooting of two fishermen at Indian coast in February 2012. It belongs to which of the following countries?
1) France
2) Germany
3) Italy
4) Spain
5) Russia

8. Karen rebels have been fighting for self-rule for more than 60 years in which of the following countries?
1) Nepal
2) Vietnam
3) Cambodia
4) Myanmar
5) China

9. The Coast Guards of India and which of the following countries conducted a joint exercise named "Sahyog Kajin-XI" recently?
1) China
2) Japan
3) Sri Lanka
4) Myanmar
5) South Korea

10. What is the full form of 'CEPA'?
1) Complete Economic Preference Agreement
2) Cultural and Economic Partnership Accord
3) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
4) Complete Economic Partnership Accord
5) None of these

Indian Magsaysay Award Winners

Name	Year Awarded	Category
Vinoba Bhave	1958	Community Leadership
Chintaman Deshmukh	1959	Government Services
Amitabha Chowdhury	1961	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mother Teresa	1962	Peace and International Understanding
Dara Khurody	1963	Community Leadership
Verghese Kurien	1963	Community Leadership
Tribhuvandas Patel	1963	Community Leadership
Welthy Fisher	1964	Peace and International Understanding
Jayaprakash Narayan	1965	Public Service
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay	1966	Community Leadership
Satyajit Ray	1967	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Moncompu Sambasivan Swaminathan	1971	Community Leadership
M. S. Subbulakshmi	1974	Public Service
Boobli George Verghese	1975	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Henning Holck-Larsen	1976	Peace and International Understanding
Sombhu Mitra	1976	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ela Ramesh Bhatt	1977	Community Leadership
Mabelle Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Rajanikant Arole	1979	Community Leadership
Gour Kishore Ghosh	1981	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Pramod Karan Sethi	1981	Community Leadership
Chandi Prasad Bhatt	1982	Community Leadership
Manibhai Desai	1982	Public Service
Arun Shourie	1982	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Rasipuram Lakshman	1984	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Muralidhar Amte	1985	Public Service
Lakshmi Chand Jain	1989	Public Service
K. V. Subbanna	1991	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Ravi Shankar	1992	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Banoo Jehangir Coyaji	1993	Public Service
Kiran Bedi	1994	Government Services
Pandurang Athavale	1996	Community Leadership
Tirunellai Seshan	1996	Government Services
Mahasweta Devi	1997	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mahesh Chander Mehta	1997	Public Service
Jockin Arputham	2000	Peace and International Understanding
Aruna Roy	2000	Community Leadership
Rajendra Singh	2001	Community Leadership
Sandeep Pandey	2002	Emergent Leadership
James Michael Lyngdoh	2003	Government Services
Shantha Sinha	2003	Community Leadership
Laxminarayan Ramdas	2004	Peace and International Understanding
V. Shantha	2005	Public Service
Arvind Kejriwal	2006	Emergent Leadership
Palagummi Sainath	2007	Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts
Mandakini Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Prakash Amte	2008	Community Leadership
Deep Joshi	2009	Community Leadership
Neelima Mishra	2011	Emergent Leadership
Harish Hande	2011	Emergent Leadership
Kulandei Francis	2012	Community Leadership

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced

The Government has announced the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards for the year 2012.

            A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by Selection Committee consisting of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; headed by Col Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore. Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has approved to confer awards upon the following sportspersons. 

           

A.        Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - 2012:

1.	Shri Vijay Kumar	Shooting
2.	Shri Yogeshwar Dutt	Wrestling

B.        Arjuna Awards 2012:

Sl. No.	Name	Discipline
1.	Ms. Deepika Kumari	Archery
2.	Ms. Laishram Bombayla Devi	Archery
3.	Ms. Sudha Singh	Athletics
4	Ms. Kavita Ramdas Raut	Athletics
5	Ms. Ashwani Ponnappa	Badminton
6	Mr. Parupalli Kashyap	Badminton
7	Mr. Aditya S. Mehta	Billiards & Snooker
8	Mr. Vikas Krishan	Boxing
9	Mr. Yuvraj Singh	Cricket
10	Mr. Sardar Singh	Hockey
11	Mr. Yashpal Solanki	Judo
12	Mr. Anup Kumar	Kabaddi
13	Mr. Samir Suhag	Polo
14	Ms. Annu Raj Singh	Shooting
15	Mr. Omkar Singh	Shooting
16	Mr. Joydeep Karmakar	Shooting
17	Ms. Deepika Pallikal	Squash
18	Mr. Sandeep Sejwal	Swimming
19	Ms. Ng. Sonia Chanu	Weightlifting
20	Mr. Narsingh Yadav	Wrestling
21	Mr. Rajinder Kumar	Wrestling
22	Ms. Geeta Phogat	Wrestling
23	Mr. M. Bimoljit Singh	Wushu
24	Mrs. Deepa Mallick	Athletics – Paralympics
25	Mr. Ramkaran Singh	Athletics – Paralympics

Normally  only one award of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna  is given every year to an individual sportsperson. However, the Scheme provides that this condition can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances viz., winning of an Olympic medal. Like wise for the Arjuna Awards, normally not more than 15 awards are to be given in any calendar year.  However, the Scheme of Arjuna Awards also provides that keeping in view the performance of Indian sportspersons in the Commonwealth, Asian Games and Olympic Games during a particular year, Arjuna Awards exceeding 15 in number may be allowed with proper justification and approval of the Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports.  The Selection Committee noted that 2012 is the Olympic year and India has won 6 medals in the London Olympics, which is country’s best performance in Olympic Games, and recommended that the condition of one award in case of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and 15 awards in case of Arjuna Awards may be relaxed and the number of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award may be increased from 1 (one) to 2 (two) and Arjun Awards may be increased from 15 (fifteen) to 25 (twenty five). 

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.  Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration; Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award.    

           

Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh each and Arjuna Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. 

Miss China bags the title of Miss World 2012

Miss China, Wenxia Yu won the title of Miss World 2012 while Miss Wales Sophie Elizabeth Moulds and Miss Australia Jessica Michelle Kahawaty came second and third respectively. Miss China had to compete with 116 candidates to win the crown.

Miss India Vanya Mishra made it to the list of top 7 finalists, but could not go beyond that.
Miss World contest is watched by over a billion people across the world.

Reigning Miss World Ivian Sarcos of Venezuela crowned the winner in the futuristic Ordos stadium, which sits alongside a vast town square devoted to the powerful Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan.

The beauties have been in the town from the past one month. Apart from the traditional swimsuits and evening gowns, participants also donned interesting national and local costumes to make the event even spicier.

While the charm of the pageant, first held in 1951, has waned in the West, it continues to be an object of interest in Asian countries. Sweden's Kiki Hakansson was the first Miss World, while Oscar-winning US actress Halle Berry was a finalist in 1986.

Venezuela has produced the most Miss Worlds, with six winners, while India and Britain claim five titles each.

Rita Faria was the first Indian to bag the title in 1966, followed by Aishwarya Rai(1994),  Diana Hayden(1997), Yukta Mookhey(1999) and Priyanka Chopra(2000).

China has already hosted the competition five times.

INDIAN ECONOMY-HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Economy of India is the eleventh largest in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).
2. Agriculture including allied activities accounted for 13.9 per cent of GDP, it is the predominant occupation in India, accounting for about 52% of employment.
3.  India is the largest producer and consumer of black tea in the world.
4.  India ranks first in the world in milk production.
5.  India ranks among the top three countries in egg production in the world.
6. India is the fourth largest producer of natural rubber (NR) in the world. India is the sixth largest producer of coffee after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.
7.  India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers in the world after China and the USA.
8. Oil and gas constitute around 45 per cent  of total energy consumption of India.
9. India is at the fifth position globally after Germany, Spain and USA in Wind Power production.
10. India ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in Human Development Index 2011.
11. India currently accounts for 1.5% of world trade as of 2010 according to the World Trade Statistics of the WTO.
12. India is the second largest producer of quality cement in the world.
13. The Indian Paper Industry is among the top 15 global players today, with an output of more than 11 millions tones annually.
14. The Textiles sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture.
15. India is the second largest producer of cotton (4.13 mn. metric tones), accounting for 16 per cent of global production.
16. India is the largest producer and second largest exporter of jute goods in the world.
17. India is the second largest producer of silk and contributes about 18% to the total world raw silk production.
18. India is the seventh largest producer of wool and contributes 1.8% to total world production.
19. Indian Chemical Industry is 12^th largest in the world and 3^rd largest in Asia.
20. India is the fourth largest producer of crude steel in the world after China, Japan, and the USA.
21. India is the largest sponge iron producer in the world.
22. India is the world's second fastest growing auto market and boasts of the sixth largest automobile industry after China, the US, Germany, Japan and Brazil.
23. India is the largest cutting and polishing industry for diamond in the world.
24. India is the 16^th largest country in the world in terms of Gross Shipping tonnage by nationality of owner.
25. India has the largest postal network in the world with 1,55,015 post offices.
26. India is the world's fastest growing Wireless market.
27. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world.
28. India is the largest overseas exporter of cashew nuts and spices.
29. India is the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world.
30. India is the second tractor manufacturer in the world.
31. India is fifth largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world.
32. India is the second largest producer of quality cement in the world.
33. India is world's largest producer of mica blocs and splittings.
34. India ranks third among global chromite producers.
35. India ranks third in the production of coal, lignite, barites.
36. India ranks sixth in the production of bauxite and manganese ore.
37. India ranks tenth in the production of aluminium.
38. India produces 89 minerals of which 4 are fuel minerals, 11 metallic, 52 non-metallic and 22 minor minerals.
39. India's power market is the fifth largest in the world.
40. Indian retail industry is ranked among the ten largest retail markets in the world.
41. India has the world's biggest movie industry producing around 1000 movies each year.
42. India's per capita energy consumption is 439 kg of oil equivalent.
43. India's per capita emissions is 1.52 CO₂ tons of CO₂.
44. India ranks among top five countries in terms of GHG absolute emissions.
45. India's share in global exports and imports is 1.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively in  2010 (1.4 and 2.1 per cent as per WTO).
46. UAE is India's largest trading partner followed by China and USA.
47. The top four items in India's manufactured exports are engineering goods, gems and jewellery, chemicals and related products, and textiles.
48. In the top 100 imports of the world, India has only 6 items with a share of 5 per cent and above in 2010.
49.  India's trade deficit as a per cent of GDP at 5.7 percent in 2010, is 3^rd highest in the world after Hong Kong and UK.
50. Among its top 15 trading partners, India had bilateral trade surplus with five countries, namely the UAE, USA, Singapore, the UK, and Hong Kong.
51. Gujarat and Maharashtra, account for 46 per cent of total exports from India.
52. China is the largest source with an 11.7 per cent share in India's total imports followed by the UAE and Switzerland.
53. UAE is the top destination for India's exports followed by the USA and China.
54. India is the 5^th largest exporter and importer of commercial services preceded by the EU, and US, China and Japan with the same ranks both in exports and imports of commercial services.
55. India is the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve holder in the world, after China, Japan and Russia.

Source: (Compiled from Economic Survey of India and India Year Book)

Welfare Schemes for Women

Many welfare schemes for women are implemented by Government of India, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. The details of major schemes under implementation by Ministry of Women and Child Development for the welfare of women are as under :-

i. RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL CRECHE SCHEME FOR THE CHILDREN OF WORKING MOTHERS (RGNCS) provides day care facilities to the children in the age group 0-6 years from families with monthly income of less than 12000/-. In addition to being a safe space for the children, the crèches provide services such as supplementary nutrition, pre-school education and emergency health care, etc.

ii. CENTRAL SOCIAL WELFARE BOARD: The main women welfare related schemes and programmes being implemented by CSWB are family counselling centres, awareness generation programme and condensed courses of education for women.

iii. NATIONAL MISSION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (NMEW) is an initiative of the Government of India for empowering women holistically. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme sanctioned in April 2011 and acts as an umbrella Mission with a mandate to strengthen inter-sectoral convergence.

iv. WORKING WOMEN’S HOSTEL (WWH) Scheme envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel accommodation to working women, single working women, women working at places away from their home-towns and for women being trained for employment.

v. SUPPORT TO TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (STEP) for Women was launched as a Central Sector Scheme during 1986-87. It aims at making a significant impact on women by upgrading skills for self and wage employment. The target group includes the marginalized assetless rural women and urban poor.

vi. RASHTRIYA MAHILA KOSH (RMK) with a corpus of Rs.100 crore extends micro-finance services to bring about the socio-economic upliftment of poor women.

vii. INDIRA GANDHI MATRITVA SAHYOG YOJANA (IGMSY) is a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating (P&L) women introduced in the October 2010 to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers.

viii. SWADHAR SCHEME: The Ministry of Women and Child Development had been administering Swadhar scheme since 2001 for Women in difficult circumstances. Under the Scheme, temporary accommodation, maintenance and rehabilitative services are provided to women and girls rendered homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress, social ostracism. Another scheme with similar objectives/target groups namely Short Stay Home (SSH) is being implemented by Central Social Welfare Board.

ix. UJJAWALA is a comprehensive scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

House sparrow declared Delhi's state bird

The humble House Sparrow was declared as 'state bird' of Delhi by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 14 August, 2012. Expressing concern over dwindling number of house sparrows in the city, Dikshit hoped that the new status of the bird would help in its conservation.

The Chief Minister, known for her environment-friendly initiatives, announced the decision after launching a campaign "Rise for the Sparrows" aimed at conserving the species.

In her address, Dikshit said her Government will consider incorporate monitoring of the common bird in the school curriculum to make aware the students about conservation of House Sparow and other birds.

Government of India Launched Anti-Ragging Website

The Government of India launched an anti-ragging website. Kapil Sibal, the Union Human Resource Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti-Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012.

The portal has been developed by The University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with Ed.CIL (India) Ltd. and Planet E-Com Solutions. Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman who lost his life to ragging at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh in 2009 has also contributed In the UGC managed portal.

 

Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 8 May 2009 ordered implementation of a ragging prevention programme comprising, inter-alia, setting up toll-free anti-ragging helpline /call centre, database of institutions/students, engaging an independent non-government agency.

All calls that would be received by the Anti-ragging Helpline (18001805522) will be managed and followed up in a structured software system. Moreover, students can see the progress of their complaint any time on www.antiragging.in. Online anti ragging affidavits can be downloaded by students from the site, www.antiragging.in.

 

Pak Government Honoured Saadat Hasan Manto with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz

Acclaimed Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto on 14 August 2012 was honoured with the Nisan-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. Manto is best known for his Urdu short stories, especially those that explored the impact of the partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947. Toba Tek Singh, Bu (Odour), Khol Do (Open It) and Thanda Gosht (Cold Meat) were written by him.

Saadat Hasan Manto worked for the Urdu Service of All India Radio in 1941 for several months. Manto ended a career as a scriptwriter in Mumbai to move to Pakistan in 1948. He died at the age of 42 in 1955. His frank style angered conservatives in Pakistan and he faced trial three times on charges of obscenity.

 Besides Manto, renowned singer Mehdi Hassan, Lt.Gen (retired) Khalid Kidwai and Munir Ahmed Khan were honoured with civilian awards for their contributions in fields like arts and literature, nuclear science, education and sports, healthcare and public service. The awards will be given away at a ceremony to be held on Pakistan Day on 23 March 2013.

A Web-based System developed for advising Farmers on Fertilizers

The Indian Institute of Soil Science developed a web-based system for advising farmers the right quantity of fertilizers that they should use in their soils for a particular type of crop.
The software takes into account the soil type in different districts of the country and available nutrient in the soil. It takes into consideration the crop and cropping season in calculating the nutrient requirement. In some cases, it takes care of even different available varieties of main crops. Finally, the system converts the nutrient data into the quantities of main fertilizers-urea, MOP and SSP that are required to be used by the farmer.
This system is presently available district-wise for these 11 states: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.