Sustaining the Environment

On completing three years in office the UPA Government recently released a ‘Report To The People’. The following achievements pertain to the Ministry of Environment & Forest and in the field of sustaining the environment.

National Action Plan on Climate Change
The National Action Plan advocates a strategy that promotes, firstly, the adaptation to climate change and secondly, further enhancement of the ecological sustainability of India’s development path. The eight missions under the PM’s Council on Climate Change are the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, the National Water Mission, the National Missions on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, and Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change, and the National Missions for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, a Green India and Sustainable Agriculture.

Forest Conservation
An amount of Rs. 848 crore was released to State Level Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authorities to carry out protection, conservation and regeneration of natural forests in addition to compensatory afforestation. National Green Tribunal

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was established in October, 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property. Delhi, Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are the five place of sitting of the NGT.

Mission Clean Ganga
Projects worth nearly Rs. 2,600 crore have been sanctioned by the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). These include projects for development of sewer networks, sewage treatment plants and sewage pumping stations, electric crematoria, community toilets and development of river fronts.

Several innovations have been introduced for improved implementation of projects sanctioned by the NGRBA. These include Tripartite Memoranda of Agreements, project appraisal by independent institutions, Third Party Inspection, etc. State River Conservation Authorities have been constituted in the five Ganga basin States to facilitate better coordination and implementation of conservation activities at the State level.

The Central Government has secured World Bank assistance of US$ 1 billion for the NGRBA Programme. The World Bank project will support NGRBA’s immediate objective of Mission Clean Ganga.

Tiger Conservation
A detailed report on the country level status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India was released in July, 2011. This was the second round of country level snapshot assessment. The earlier estimation made in 2006 indicated that there were 1411 tigers in the country; the current estimates show that this number has increased by about 20% to 1706.

National Conference on Livlihoods for Persons with Disabilities

KM Acharya, Secretary Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has reiterated that much progress can be achieved in disability sector if Government and Private organisation work together. Shri Acharya was inaugurating National Conference on Livelihoods for Persons with Disabilities organized by the Office of the Chief Commissioner of Persons Disabilities (CCPD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and other partner organisation here today. Keeping in view the issues of people with disabilty Shri Acharya said a separate department for Person with Disability has already been formed on 14 May, 2012 which would be headed by Secretary-rank officer and will work along with the department of social justice under the Ministry.

The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Mukul Wasnik whose address to the conference was read in-absentia,stressed upon the need for providing education and training to the disable people. "As per NSSO surveys 2002, only a small percentage of persons with disabilities were employed and had studied higher secondary or above. This shows that there is a huge task of providing appropriate education and training to Persons with Disabilities to make them employable," he said. Observing that effective inclusion of disabled people in the present work force is a pre-requisite of inclusive growth in the country, he said, "This will require very effective and coordinated efforts and convergence among various stakeholders in the Government, corporate and civil society,”.

Wasnik expressed confidence that all the stakeholders in this area would come up with new innovative ideas for generating livelihood options for disabled people. On amendments in the Disabilities Act as per United Nation Convention, he said, "In view of developments over last one and half decade and the approach of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, government has decided to draft a new legislation for empowerment of Persons with Disability in harmony with the UN Convention."

Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Shri P.K Pincha while addressing the gathering emphasised on the need for exploring inherent and hidden potential of people with disability. He also stressed upon recognising their abilities and running massive training campaigns and sessions to make them more skilled.

On this occasion a web portal Jobability was also launched to generate awareness on available employment opportunities of disabled people and support candidates to build links with local employers and community stake holders in order to access training and opportunity for wage and self employment. The portal will also have online training programme to enhance their skill further.

As per the 2001 Census, there were 21.90 million Persons with Disability in the country which is 2.1 per cent of the total population. While 74.80 per cent of these people are located in rural areas, rest 25.20 per cent live in urban and semi-urban locations. Literacy rate of disabled people was estimated at 49.31 per cent and only 34.54 per cent were engaged in some kind of employment.

90% rural households will have tapped water system by 2022

The Government  said that 90 percent of all rural households in the country will be covered by tapped water system by 2022, as the focus now is shifted from the hand pump approach to the surface water supply system. Briefing the media after a two-day Conference of State Ministers in charge of Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, Rural Development Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh said here that at present only 35 percent households in rural India has piped water system. He informed that while Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh have more than 80 percent rural areas covered by tapped water supply, in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar less than 10 percent areas are under the piped water scheme, as the focus in these North Indian States are more on hand pumps. Shri Ramesh said, due to absence of electricity in rural and extremely backward areas, some States have demanded solar-energy based drinking water system. He said that the Centre has already approved installation of solar-based water system in 10,000 villages of 78 naxal-affected districts with an outlay of 540 crore rupees and the project will be completed in 18 months. The Rural Development Ministry has sought 230 crore rupees as grant from the Finance Ministry for this project. The Minister said that naxal-affected Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra has already 200 solar-water systems. He said, form 12th Five Year Plan every person in rural India will get 55 litres of water per day as against the current entitlement of 40 litres and the same is 135 litres per person per day in Urban Areas, which the Minister described as biased in nature. Shri Ramesh said that from the 12th Plan, State Governments can spend up to 62 percent of the funds on improving the water quality, which is at present only 11 percent. He said, 60 districts have been selected including 20 in Uttar Pradesh to deal with the problems of water borne diseases like Japanese encephalitis and the diseases caused due to excessive arsenic, iron and fluoride in drinking water in the States like West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and Karnataka.On the Sanitation Issue, the Minister said that Total Sanitation Campaign will be changed to Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan and Rs.9,500 will be allocated for the toilet construction in the Gram Panchayats, nearly double the amount currently spent on individual latrines.

India and Netherlands sign Protocol Amending DTAC

The Convention between the Kingdom of Netherlands and the Republic of India for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital was signed on 30th July, 1988 (DTAC). Both India and Netherlands have concluded a Protocol to amend the Article 26 of the DTAC concerning Exchange of Information to bring it in line with the international standards.

On 10th May, 2012, India and Netherlands have signed the Protocol at The Hague, Netherlands. The protocol was signed by Ms. Bhaswati Mukherjee, Ambassador of India to The Netherlands and Mr. F.H.H.Weekers, state Secretary of Finance, Netherlands. The Protocol will replace the Article concerning Exchange of Information in the existing DTAC between India and Netherlands and will allow exchange of banking information as well as information without domestic interest. It will, now, allow use of information for non-tax purpose if allowed under the domestic laws of both the countries, after the approval of the supplying state.

PM chairs meeting to discuss recommendations of the Committee on Allocation of Natural Resources

The Prime Minister on May 25 convened a meeting of Ministers and Senior Officials to examine the Report of the Committee on Allocation of Natural Resources, commonly known as the Ashok Chawla Committee. The meeting was attended by the Finance Minister, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and the Ministers of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Urban Development, Human Resource Development, Water Resources and Coal and the MoS of Environment and Forests. The Principal Secretary and Secretaries of all the concerned Departments attended the Meeting. The Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs made a presentation on recommendations of the Committee.

The Committee on Allocation of Natural Resources was constituted to examine the approach to allocating natural resources such as land, coal, minerals, petroleum, natural gas, etc. The purpose was to obtain recommendations which would enhance transparency, effectiveness and sustainability in the allocation, pricing and utilization of natural resources through open, transparent and competitive mechanisms and to suggest changes in the legal, institutional and regulatory framework to implement the recommendations.

The recommendations of the Committee had been examined by the Group of Ministers on corruption headed by the Finance Minister and the GoM had accepted 69 of the 81 recommendations. 11 recommendations were to be examined further.

At the end of the meeting it was decided that all the 69 agreed recommendations would be pursued for implementation by individual Ministries in a timely manner. Detailed timelines will be finalized.

BANK EXAMS GENERAL AWARENESS QUESTIONS

1) The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) in March 2012 hiked bank rate for Primary cooperative banks to

1) 10.5 percent

2) 9.5 percent

3) 5.5 percent

4) 8 percent

5) 7 percent

Ans. 9.5 percent

2) Which Indian City in March 2012 became the first one to provide guaranteed land titles by distributing property cards?

1) Hyderabad

2) Mysore

3) Mangalore

4) Ahmedabad

5) Chandigarh

Ans. Mysore

3) IT Company HCL technologies Ltd. in March 2012 signed a five year information technology outsourcing deal worth ------- with finnish recyclable product maker UPM.

1) $ 50 million

2) $ 100 million

3) $ 150 million

4) $ 250 million

5) $ 300 million

Ans. $ 300 million

4) The department of information technology in March 2012 has been renamed as ----

1) Department of electronics

2) Department of IT

3) Department of Electronics and IT.

4) All of the above

5) None of these

Ans.  Department of Electronics and IT

5) India in March 2012 banned --------- exports to ensure supplies for domestic industry.

1) Cotton

2) Sugarcane

3) Jute

4) Coffee

5) Tea

Ans. Cotton

6) Delhi government in March 2012 raised the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by --- per Kg.

1) Rs 1

2) Rs 1.45

3) Rs 1.60

4) Rs 1.90

5) Rs 2.10

Ans. Rs 1.90

7) India in March 2012 announced ------ aid for skill development and education for the Afro-Asian Rural development organization (AARDO).

1) $ 100000

2) $ 150000

3) $ 200000

4) $ 250000

5) $ 300000

Ans. $ 200000

8) Thailand based dry bulk cargo specialist precious shipping public Co. Ltd. in March 2012 purchased three small dry cargo carrying ships owned by chennai based goodearth maritime for-------

1) $ 40 million

2) $ 49 million

3) $ 51 million

4) $ 56 million

5) $ 60 million

Ans. $ 51 million

9) India in March 2012 reduced the Railway  charges on Iron ore meant for exports by ---------

1) 4 percent

2) 8 percent

3) 12 percent

4) 16 percent

5) 20 percent

Ans. 16 percent

10) Morgan stanley in March 2012 invested about -------- in a project of Sheth Developers Pvt. Ltd. primarily to help the real estate firm refinance debt. It had taken to buy land in Mumbai.

1) $ 40 million

2) $ 50 million

3) $ 60 million

4) $ 80 million

5) $ 90 million

Ans. $ 90 million

11) Reliance Industry Ltd. in March 2012 increased its stake in Hospitality Firm EIH Ltd. to 18.53 percent by investing-----

1) Rs 100 Crore

2) Rs 124 Crore

3) Rs 171 Crore

4) Rs 192 Crore

5) Rs 216 Crore

Ans. Rs 192 Crore

12) Which drug maker in March 2012 received demand notices for Rs 424.64 Crore from the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority towards interest for alleged drug overpricing?

1) Cipla Ltd.

2) Ranbaxy

3) Dr. Reddy’s

4) Madikare

5) All of these

Ans. Cipla Ltd.

13) The Reserve bank of India in March 2012 bought --------- of government bonds through an open market operation.

1) Rs 5000 Crore

2) Rs 7198 Crore

3) Rs 9125 Crore

4) Rs 10776 Crore

5) Rs 11000 Crore

Ans. Rs 10776 Crore

14) India in March 2012 refused ton Provide its sovereign guarantee for oil imports from ----------

1) Syria

2) Afghanistan

3) Iran

4) Iraq

5) Saudi Arab

Ans.  Syria

15) In Budget 2012-13 , the government raised excise and service tax rates by 2 percent age points to ---- in order to shore up falling revenues.

1) 6 Percent

2) 8 Percent

3) 10 Percent

4) 12 Percent

5) 14 Percent

Ans. 12 Percent

16) Budget 2012-13  raised the basic customs duty on large vehicles from 60 percent to -------

1) 65 Percent

2) 68 Percent

3) 70 Percent

4) 72 Percent

5) 75 Percent

Ans. 70 Percent

17) In Budget 2012-13, expemption limit of income tax is raised to

1) Rs 1 Lakh

2) Rs 1.5 Lakh

3) Rs  2 Lakh

4) Rs 2.5 lakh

5) Rs 3 lakh

Ans. Rs  2 Lakh

18) Budget 2012-13 reduced the securities transaction tax by

1) 6 Percent

2) 10 Percent

3) 15 Percent

4) 20 Percent

5) 25 Percent

Ans. 20 Percent

19) Finance Minister in his budget 2012-13 Proposed to raise the target for agriculture loans in Fiscal 2013 to -----

1) Rs 4 trillion

2) Rs 4.8 trillion

3) Rs 5.3 trillion

4) Rs 5.75 trillion

5) Rs  6.2 trillion

Ans. Rs 5.75 trillion

20) Budget 2012-13 increased the Plan outlay for --------- by 18 Percent to Rs 20,208 Crore and announced a series of measures

1) Agriculture

2) Industry

3) Jute Sector

4) Non-organised Sector

5) All of these

Ans. Agriculture

21) In 2010-11 the share of agriculture in India’s gross domestic product was-----

1) 45 Percent

2) 39 Percent

3) 30 Percent

4) 21 Percent

5) 14.5 Percent

Ans. 14.5 Percent

22) The Finance Minister in Budget 2012-13 proposed to provide ---------- for capitalization of public sector, regional rural banks and Nabard

1) Rs 10000 Crore

2) Rs 12400 Crore

3) RS 14105 Crore

4) Rs 15888 Crore

5) Rs 17100 Crore

Ans. Rs 15888 Crore

23) Budget 2012-13 increased the plan outlay for Rural drinking water and sanitation by

1) 20 Percent

2) 23 Percent

3) 27 Percent

4) 31 Percent

5) 36 Percent

Ans. 27 Percent

24) Budget 2012-13 Proposed to upgrade -------- Medical colleges for the urban poor.

1) 15

2) 11

3) 8

4) 7

5) 3

Ans. 7

25) Which among the following is not a feature of Budget 2012-13 for the aviation sector?

1) Airlines be allowed to raise working capital through ECB’s

2) Exemption on Basis customs duty on spare parts

3) Air India Ltd. sees on infusion of Rs 4000 Crore

4) All of these

5) None of these

Ans. None of these

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1) As per the news published in the various news paper that china had to face its first "Trade Deficit" in six years.This means that china
1) did not earn as much from its exports as it had to pay for its imports.
2) earn much more than its expectations on its exports and paid very less or imports.
3) has decided to stop imports and exports for the time being as it is producing just enough for its consumption.
4) has failed to keep its commitment to supply goods as promised to various countries.The result is it may have to devalue its currency(yuan) as it lost its credit in the market

Ans 1

2) Iron ore is found in which of the following states in India?
1) Punjab
2) Rajasthan
3) Odisha
4) Jammu & kashmir
5) Uttar Pradesh

Ans 3

3) Who among the following is NOT a famous lawn Tennis player?
1) cara Black
2) Mike Bryan
3) Denis Ndiso
4) Sereme Williams
5) Leander Paes

Ans 3

4) The Union Budget 2012-13 presented to the LokSabha in March 2012 proposedto set up a Rs 5000 Crore India opportunities venture funds wuth which of the following bodies to enhance availability of equity to Micro, small and Medium enterprises?
1) NABARD
2) SIDBI
3) FICCI
4) ASSOCHAM
5) None of these

Ans 2

5) The Union Budget 2012-13 said thatto enable greater aaccess to finance by small and medium enterprises(SME), two SME exchanges were recently launched in
1) Chennai
2) Pune
3) Mumbai
4) Hyderabad
5) None of these

Ans 3

6) According to the Reserve bank of India annual policy statement 2012-13, the bank rate stands adjusted to what percent with immediate effect?
1) 8.5 percent
2) 9.0 percent
3) 9.5 percent
4) 8.0 percent
5) None of these

Ans 2

7) The Economic survey 2011-12 notes that capital to risk-weighted assets ratio(CRAR) of all bank groups both under Basel I and II remained well above the stipulated regulatory norm of --- in 2010-11
1) 3 percent
2) 6 percent
3) 9 percent
4) 12 percent
5) None of these

Ans 3

8) As per the Economic survey 2011-12, the major contributory factors to headline inflation during the current financial year include
1) Higher primary articles prices driven by vegetables, egg,meat and fish due to changing dietary pattern of consumers.
2) Increasing global commodity prices especilly metl and chemical prices.
3) Persistently high international crude petroleum prices in the last two years.
4) All of the above
5) None of these

Ans 4

9) The Railway Budget 2012-13 mentioned that railways has taken up the ionic infrastructure project of construction of dedicated freight corridors from Ludhiana?
1) Bhatinda
2) kapurthala
3) Dankuni
4) Wagah
5) None of these

Ans 3

10) Which among the following won the french Presidential elections on March 6,2012?
1) Nicolas sarkozy
2) Valery Giscard
3) Francois Hollande
4) Amadou toumani
5) None of these

Ans 3

11) Which of the following newspapers won the Pulitzer in National reporting category on April 16,2012?
1) The Huffington post
2) The Patriot News
3) New York times
4) The Philadelphia Inqeuier
5) None of these

Ans 1

12) Which among the following Indians were elected to the Pretigious fellowship of the royal society,Britian in April 2012?
1) Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan
2) Prof. Tejinder Singh
3) Varinder Singh Aggarwal
4) Shankar Balasubramanian
5) All of the above

Ans 5 

13) Which among the following has authored the book titled "Bitter Wormword" that was in news in April 2012?
1) Charles Allen
2) Easterine Kire
3) Pico lyer
4) Alain de Botton
5) None of these

Ans 2

14) Which among the following won the Asian Snooker Championship in doha on April 29,2012?
1) Pankaj Advani
2) Hossein Vafaei
3) Thawat Sujaritthurakarn
4) Aditya Mehta
5) None of these

Ans 4

15) Which among the following was crowned as the Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012 on March 30,2012?
1) Prachi Mishra
2) Vanya Mishra
3) Rochelle Mario Rao
4) Hasleen kaur
5) None of these

Ans 2

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1) Which of the following cups/trophies is NOT given for excellence in the game of badminton?
a) Uber Cup
b) Thomas Cup
c) Syed Modi memorial trophy
d) Aros junior Cup
e) Merdeka Cup

Ans e

2) Which of the following bills recently approved in the union cabinet
will help in better health services in the country?
a) Right to Better Health Services bill
b) National Health Care Bill
c) Clinical establishment(Registration and Regulation) Bill
d) Essential services Bill
e) None of these

Ans c

3) Which of the following schemes launched by the Govt. of India is a scheme to improve the performance of the agricultural sector?
a) National Horticulture Mission
b) Pulse Polio Adhiyan
c) old age pension Scheme
d) Bharat Nirman Yojana
e) None of these

Ans a

4) "LBW" is a term related to the game of
a) Badminton
b) cricket
c) Hockey
d) Football
e) None of these

Ans b

5) "saraswati samman" is an award given for excellence in the field of
a) Sports
b) Social service
c) Literature
d) Science and Technology
e) None of these

Ans c

6) "Heavy water" is used in which of the following fields?
a) Thermal Power
b) Cement
c) Iron and steel
d) Nuclear Power
e) None of these

Ans d

7) Which of the following is a Horticulture Crop?
a) Paddy
b) Wheat
c) Mango
d) Bajara
e) None of these

Ans c

8) Dr. Amartya Sen is a famous
a) Physicist
b) Chemical Engineer
c) Psychologist
d) Economist
e) None of these

Ans d

9) which of the following nations is considered the originator of the concept of Micro Finanace?
a) India
b) Bangladesh
c) South Africa
d) USA
e) None of these

Ans b

10) India's first transgenic crop was
a) Potato
b) Brinjal
c) Sugarcane
d) Bt. cotton
e) None of these

Ans d

11) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award is given for excellence in the field of
a) Literature
b) Music
c) Sports
d) Science and Technology
e) None of these

Ans d

12) Govt. normally announce the Minimum Support Price(MSP) of
a) Wheat
b) Paddy
c) Sugarcane
d) Jute
e) All of the above

Ans e

13) At present Dr. D.Subba Rao is the
a) Governor of orissa
b) Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
c) Chairman of the FICCI
d) India's representative in IMF
e) Governor of RBI

Ans e

14) What is the full form of "ULIP"
a) Universal Life and Investment Plan
b) Unit Loan and Insurance Plan
c) Universal Loan and Investment Plan
d) Uniformly loaded Investment Plan
e) Unit Linked Insurance Plan

Ans e

15) very often we read in newspapers about 4G or 4th Generation Technology.This is a set of standards used by which of the following?
a) To Combat Climate Changes
b) Production of Nuclear energy
c) Film Production
d) Mobile Telecommunications
e) All of the above

Ans d

16) Which of the following companies is NOT in the field of Insurance business?
a) ICICI Prudential
b) Bajaj Alliance
c) Tata AIG
d) AEGON Religare
e) Royal orchid

Ans e

17) Many times we read that a corporate entity is in the process of raisingits capital base.Why is a company required to raise money to strengthen its capital base?
A) To finance its expansion plans
B) To finance its diversification plans
C) To Repay its loans and borrowings
1) only A
2) only B
3) only C
4) only A and B
5) All A,B and C

Ans 5

18) Many times we read in newspaper that a company is planning to bring public issue.what does it mean
a) Shares of the company will be issued only through public sector organisations like banks/central financial institutions etc.
b) Shares of the company will be issued to general public only through primary market.
c) This means some stakeholders/Promoters are willing to leave the company.Hence they wish to sell their stock to the general public
a) only A
b) only B
c) only C
d) All A,B and C
e) None of these

Ans b

19) Which of the following is NOT a function of a bank?
a) Providing Project Finance
b) Selling Mutual Funds
c) Deciding policy rates like CRR,Repo Rate/SLR etc.
d) Settlement of Payments on behalf of the customers
e) All of these are functions of bank.

Ans b

20)Which of the following is a form of "Small Savings Bank" popular among the poor or children?
a) Core Banking
b) Credit Banking
c) Debit Card
d) Merchant Banking
e) Piggy Banking

Ans e

GENERAL AWARENESS MCQs

1) India and which country on March 1,2012,decided to open a new chapter in bilateral cooperation by agreeing to undertake joint operations against pirates and sharing technological know how on seabed research?

1) China

2) Japan

3) Russia

4) New Zealand

Ans 1

2) A meeting at the prime minister office on Feb 29,2012, decided to increase the total expenditure on health to what percent of the GDP from the current 1.4 percent by the end of the coming 12th plan period?

1) 2.0 Percent

2) 2.5 Percent

3) 3.0 Percent

4) 4.0 Percent

Ans 2

3) India and which country recently announced to have resolved their longstanding issues of payments for export shipment?

1) Iran

2) Syria

3) Lebanon

4) Pakistan

Ans 1

4) The indigenously development advanced light-weight torpedo and the Akash missile system was on March 3,2012,handed over to the Navy and the Indian Air force respectively at a function in

1) Visakhapatnam

2) Hyderabad

3)  Pune

4) Kolkata

Ans 2

5) The golden Jubilee celebrations of Afro-Asian Rural development organization were held in New Delhi in March 2012.The AARDO president hails from 

1) India

2) Egypt

3) Morocco

4) South Africa

Ans 2

6) The National Association of Street vendors of India( NASVI ) and Nidan,an organization that supports unorganized workers,were on March 29,2012 honored with the skoll Award for social entrepreneurship by the skoll foundation in

1) Toronto

2) oxford

3) Paris

4) Frankfurt

Ans 2

7) Union minister for Rural development, Drinking Water and sanitation Jairam Ramesh in March 2012 announced a national award for sanitation and water in the name of Maharashtrian saint sant

1) Romesh Hatangadi

2) Gadge Baba

3) Suresh Bhagwan

4) Shiv sagar Baba

Ans 2

8) Who among the following, on march 11,2012,said he will be "Very Sad" if India boycotts the London Olympics following the row over sponsorship of the event by Dow Chemicals, linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy?

1) Barack Obama

2) David Cameron

3) Manmohan singh

4) Hillary Clinton

Ans 2

9) The high level safety review committee recently submitted its report to the Ministry of railways with a Number of recommendations,who is the chairman of this committee ?

1) C.Rangarajan

2) Lalu Yadav

3) Anil Kakodkar

4) Harish Rawat

Ans 3

10) In an important development on March 12,2012, the supreme court issued notices to nsix ministers and eight Indian Administrative services officers from

1) Andhar Pradesh

2) Karnataka

3) Kerala

4) Tamil Nadu

Ans 1

11) Which of the following was pointed by the union Finanace minister Pranab Mukherjee in March 2012 as one of the major challenges facing public sector banks(PSB) in emerging as potential global tenders?

1) Human Capital deficit

2) Human Capital deficit

3) Innovation deficit

4) Technology deficit

Ans 1

12) The Centre told the Supreme Court in March 2012 that it was Probing into the allegations that the former Chief Justice of India and his relatives amassed assets disproportionate to their Known sources of income.Who is the chief Justice in reference here?

1) K.G.Balakrishna

2) S.H.Kapadia

3) Altamas Kabir

4) Dalveer Bhandari

Ans 1

13) The Functioning of both houses of Parliament was disrupted on March 13,2012,When members demanded that India support the resolution to be moved by------ against sri lanka at the U.N Human Rights Council.

1) U.S.A

2) France

3) Norway

4) All of the above

Ans 4

14) Noted critic Namvar Singh in March 2012 presented the Jnanpith Award to eminent hindi author Amar Kant at a Special ceremony in

1) New Delhi

2) Lucknow

3) Allahabad

4) Patna

Ans 3

15) Increasing the fare for the first time in eight years, the railway budget for 2012-13, presented before the parliament on March 14,2012,envisages how many new trains?

1) 90

2) 113

3) 145

4) 166

Ans 2

16) Okram Ibobi Singh was sworn as chief minister for the third Consecutive term of which state in March 2012?

1) Arunachal Pradesh

2) Nagaland

3) Manipur

4) Tripura

Ans 3

17) Governor Shivraj V.Patil in March 2012 administered the oath of office and secrecy to Parkash Singh Badal,Who took over as the chief minister of Punjab for a record- time

1) Fifth

2) Third

3) Fourth

4) Seventh

Ans 1

18) The finance ministry, on March 15,201, gave it's nod for the labour and employment ministry to fix the rate of interest payable to EEPF sub-subscribers at which percentage for2011-12?

1) 8.25%

2) 8.75%

3) 9.25%

4) 9.50%

Ans 1

19) The Cabinet of which state in march 2012 decided to give a grant of rS. 30,000 to high school pass Muslims girls for perusing their education and marriage?

1) Uttar Pradesh

2) West Bengal

3) Andhra pradesh

4) Delhi

Ans 1

20) Which of the following Chief ministers of India figures on the cover of the Time magazine in March 2012 which prasied him in an article for the development of the State?

1) Mamta Banarjee

2) Nitish Kumar

3) Ashok Gehlot

4) Narendra Modi.

Ans 4

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

 

1) The Fifth Edition of the World Future Energy Summit was held in

a) Abu Dhabi

b) New Delhi

c) Tehran

d) Dhaka

Ans a

2) Planning Commission of India on January 18,2012 approved Rudrasagar development scheme.The Scheme is related to

a) Tripura

b) Assam

c) Manipur

d) Sikkim

Ans a

3) The Board of approval (BoA) under the Commerce ministry on January 24,2012 approved the proposal of this company to set up a special economics zone( SEZ) at Indore in Madhya Pradesh, Identify the Company ?

a) Reliance Industry

b) Tata Consultancy services( TCS)

c) Hero Motors

d) Infoysys

Ans b

4) Scientists identified a new gene in maize Plants called ?

a) Meg 1

b) Meg 2

c) Meg 3

4) Meg 4

Ans a

5) Researches discovered new earthworm species in Port Blair. What is the name of the new Species ?

a) Moniligaster ivaniosi

b) Annelida

c) Nematoda

d) Onychophora

Ans a

6) Scientists recently developed a new wireless device to detect the Presence of termites. Consider the following statement-

1) when the new device detects the presence of termites,it sends an SMS or email to a pest Control firm.

2) The Device is made of tiny sensor, even smaller than a fingernail

Choose the Right option

a) Both 1 and 2 Correct

b) Only 1 is Correct

c) Only 2 is Correct

d) Neither 1 not 2 is Correct

Ans a

7) According to the draft Sports Policy of this State Govt released on Jan 11,2012, a Special life-time achievement award in memory of G.V.Raja, the Founder-President of the State Sports Council is to be instituted.Which State is being referred to ?

a) karnataka

b) kerala

c) Tamil Nadu

d) Andhra Pradesh

Ans b

8) Which team defeated Uttarakhand in the Men's category to win the National title for the fourth time, in the 60th Senior national Volleyball Championship at Raipur on Jan 11, 2012 ?

a) Kerala

b) Andhra Pradesh

c) West Bengal

d) Tamil Nadu

Ans a

9) Which team extended their hegemony by defeating Kerala 25-12, 25-14, 25-16 in a one sided final in the women category at the 60th Senior National Volley-ball Championship ?

a) Punjab

b) Services

c) Railways

d) Delhi

Ans c

10) This Footballer was awarded the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Oran January 9, 2012 in Zurich. He Won the award for the third Consecutive year for the world's outstanding footballer.Identify the Footballer ?

a) Cristiano Ronaldo

b) Xavi

c) Sergio Ramos

d) Lionel Messi

Ans d

11) State-run Northern Coalfields(NCL) agreed to surrender land required to mine two blocks attached to the Sasan ultra mega power plant to which of the following Companies giving the Company the benefit over Rs 6000 crore over the life of the Venture ?

1) Reliance Power

2) Adani Power

3) Birla Power Solutions

4) DLF Power

Ans a

12) Which car took home the Crown of Indian car of the Year 2012 in Jan 2012

1) Toyota Etios liva

2) Maruti Suzuki Swift

3) Hyundai Verna

4) Hyundai Eon

Ans b

13) As per the Wholesale Price Index, Published by the govt on Jan 16,2012.Reduced food Prices Caused the inflation to dip to a year low at what percent in December 2011 ?

a) 7.47%

b) 7.65%

c) 6.33%

d) 5.41%

Ans c

14) Maldives Authorities allowed male international airport development and insurance charges from passengers,nearly a month after a local court barred the Bangalore-based company from doing so.Name the operator?

a) GMR Infrastructure

b) International Air Transport

c) Fraport AG

d) DIAL

Ans a

15) Which French Construction major entered the Indian market by buying out 100 percent stake in NAPC, a Chennai-based construction Company?

a) Sinopec Engineering

b) Uhde

c) Vinci

d) Snamprogetti

Ans c

16) India Signed MOU (Memorandum of Understanding ) on Tourism with ASEAN on January12,2012.The agreement took place in-

a) Manado

b) Jakarta

c) Malaysia

d) Manila

Ans a

17) Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012 was held in Jaipur.Jaipur is the Capital of which one of the following states?

a) Rajasthan

b) Bihar

c) UP

d) Madhya Pradesh

Ans a

18) India and Japan on Jan 12,2012 agreed to enhance their cooperation in the ................. Sector.

a) Infrastructure

b) Tourism

c) Road and Transport 

d) Coal and Mining

Ans a 

19) He was Conferred the first S.K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign services in Jan 6,2012. Identify the diplomat

a) Ranjan Mathai

b) Shivshankar Menon

c) D.Bala venkatesh Verma

d) K.Raghunath

Ans c

20) Name the auto making company which launched three new variants of the Eon-D-Lite Plus,Era Plus and Magna Plus in the Indian market on jan 2012 ?

a) Tata Motors

b) Hyundai Motors India

c) Volkswagen

d) Maruti Suzuki

Ans b

21) Who was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Awards for Peace and Reconciliation on Jan 4,2012 the fourth day of the tenth day Kalachakra initiations ?

a) Tibetan Spiritual leader, Dalai Lama

b) South African leader Nelson Mandela

c) Tanzania's Julius Nyerere

d) Burmese Pro-democracy leader Aung san suu kyi

Ans a 

22) European Union agreed in Principle to ban import of Iranian Crude oil.Consider the following statement:

1) The European Union(EU) is one of Iran's biggest markets for oil.

2) The EU is a Political and economical union of 27 member states

 Choose the Right option

a) Both 1 and 2 are correct

b) Only 1 is Correct

c) Only 2 is Correct

d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct

Ans a 

23) The Israel-Palestine talks, in the first week of Jan 2012 were held in Amman.Amman is the Capital of

a) Jordan

b) Syria

c) Iraq

d) Iran

Ans a 

24) Maldives on Jan 4,2012 lifted ban on Spas in the upmarket tourist destination .Consider the following statement:

1) The Tourism industry is an important foreign exchange earner in the Maldives.

2) Maldives in 2011 received more than 850000 tourist

Choose the Right Option

a) Both 1 and 2 are correct

b) Only 1 is Correct

c) Only 2 is Correct

d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct

Ans a  

 

25) As per the Wholesale Price Index, Published by the govt on Jan 16,2012.Reduced food Prices Caused the inflation to dip to a year low at what percent in December 2011 ?

a) 7.47%

b) 7.65%

c) 6.33%

d) 5.41%

Ans c

26) Maldives Authorities allowed male international airport development and insurance charges from passengers,nearly a month after a local court barred the Bangalore-based company from doing so.Name the operator?

a) GMR Infrastructure

b) International Air Transport

c) Fraport AG

d) DIAL

Ans a

27) Which French Construction major entered the Indian market by buying out 100 percent stake in NAPC, a Chennai-based construction Company?

a) Sinopec Engineering

b) Uhde

c) Vinci

d) Snamprogetti

Ans c

28) India Signed MOU (Memorandum of Understanding ) on Tourism with ASEAN on January12,2012.The agreement took place in-

a) Manado

b) Jakarta

c) Malaysia

d) Manila

Ans a

29) Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012 was held in Jaipur.Jaipur is the Capital of which one of the following states?

a) Rajasthan

b) Bihar

c) UP

d) Madhya Pradesh

Ans a

30) India and Japan on Jan 12,2012 agreed to enhance their cooperation in the ................. Sector.

a) Infrastructure

b) Tourism

c) Road and Transport 

d) Coal and Mining

Ans a 

31) He was Conferred the first S.K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign services in Jan 6,2012. Identify the diplomat

a) Ranjan Mathai

b) Shivshankar Menon

c) D.Bala venkatesh Verma

d) K.Raghunath

Ans c

32) Name the auto making company which launched three new variants of the Eon-D-Lite Plus,Era Plus and Magna Plus in the Indian market on jan 2012 ?

a) Tata Motors

b) Hyundai Motors India

c) Volkswagen

d) Maruti Suzuki

Ans b

33) Who was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Awards for Peace and Reconciliation on Jan 4,2012 the fourth day of the tenth day Kalachakra initiations ?

a) Tibetan Spiritual leader, Dalai Lama

b) South African leader Nelson Mandela

c) Tanzania's Julius Nyerere

d) Burmese Pro-democracy leader Aung san suu kyi

Ans a 

34) European Union agreed in Principle to ban import of Iranian Crude oil.Consider the following statement:

1) The European Union(EU) is one of Iran's biggest markets for oil.

2) The EU is a Political and economical union of 27 member states

 Choose the Right option

a) Both 1 and 2 are correct

b) Only 1 is Correct

c) Only 2 is Correct

d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct

Ans a 

35) The Israel-Palestine talks, in the first week of Jan 2012 were held in Amman.Amman is the Capital of

a) Jordan

b) Syria

c) Iraq

d) Iran

Ans a 

36) Maldives on Jan 4,2012 lifted ban on Spas in the upmarket tourist destination .Consider the following statement:

1) The Tourism industry is an important foreign exchange earner in the Maldives.

2) Maldives in 2011 received more than 850000 tourist

Choose the Right Option

a) Both 1 and 2 are correct

b) Only 1 is Correct

c) Only 2 is Correct

d) Neither 1 nor 2 is correct

Ans a  

 

37) As per the advanced estimates of CSO for the year 2011-2012, the GDP growth rate has been estimated as-

a) 7.6%

b) 6.9%

c) 6.4%

d) 6.1%

Ans b

38) The Primary growth in advance estimates for 2011-12 was 2.5% which was ............. in 2010-11-

a) 5.4%

b) 6.4% 

c) 7.0%
d) 7.3%

Ans c

39) 'Sensitive Sector' as defined by RBI includes-

a) Capital market

b) Real Estate

c) Commodities

d) All of the above

Ans d

40) PMEAC has revised its GDP growth estimates for 2011-12 to 7.1% and projected GDP growth for 2012-13 at-

a) 7.0% - 7.4%

b) 7.5% - 8.0%

c) 8.1% - 8.3%

d) 8.5 % 

Ans b

41) The newly Launched CPI-based inflation for Jan 2012 on Point to Point basis is 7.65%. This inflation has the base year-

a) 2004

b) 2006

c) 2008

d) 2010

Ans d

42) The new Chairman of FICCI( Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry )  Who took charge in Jan 2012 is-

a) Harsh Mariwala

b) R.V.Kanoria

c) Naina lal Kidwai

d) Siddharath Birla

Ans b

43) Which of the following Sector show the negative growth in the advanced estimates of CSO for the year 2011-12

a) Mining and Quarrying

b) Agriculture and Fisheries

c) Manufacturing

d) Electricity, Gas and water Supply

Ans a

44) Which organization is meant to ensure exports from India

a) EXIM Bank

b) ECGC

c) Ministry of Commerce

d) None of the above

Ans b

45) Which of the following is considered lending for Promotion of Exports?

a) Packing Credit

b) Overdraft

c) Cash Credit Account

d) Bill Discounting

Ans a

46) Which of the following major Part in India Celebrated its golden Jubilee in Jan 2012 ?

a) Kolkata / Haldia Port

b) Paradeep Port

c) Vishakhapatnam Port

d) Kandla Port

Ans b

47) As per India state of Forest Report 2011, the state having the Max forest area is-

a) Arunachal Pradesh

b) Rajasthan

c) Madhya Pradesh

d) Uttar Pradesh

Ans c

 

48) India State of Forest report 2011 Puts Forest area in the country at-

a) Below 25%

b) Between 25% and 27%

c) Between 27% to 30%

d) Above 30%

Ans a

49) At the end of December 2011, the Teledensity in the Country Stood at-

a) 72.38%

b) 76.86%

c) 79.03%

d) 80.76%

Ans b

50) As per the Changed import duty Structure on gold and silver, the import duty on gold and silver will be charged at ................ Resp of the value of the imported metal.

a) 1.5% to 5%

b) 2.0% to 6%

c) 1.5% to 6%

d) 2.5% to 6%

Ans c

51) As per the Status of the end December 2011, Which of the following Company holds the Max share in Telephone Services ?

a) Vodafone

b) Bharti Airtel

c) Reliance

d) BSNL

Ans b

52) Which type of Bank account can be opened by a Non Resident Indian(NRI) in India ?

a) Current Account

b) Fixed Deposit Account

c) Savings Account

d) Locker Account

Ans b

53) Trust Card has been launched by an Organization to make Consumer's Payment more Easier.The Organisation is-

a) Delhi Metro

b) ICERT

c) BSNL

d) Bharti Airtel

Ans c

54) The sixth Economics Census of Commercial Units was / will be done in the year-

a) 2011

b) 2012

c) 2013

d) 2014

Ans b

55) As per the HUNGAMA report the percentage of underweight( malnourished) children younger than five years in India is-

a) 65%

b) 54%

c) 42%

d) 31%

Ans c 

56) As per the second advance foodgrains estimates for 2011-12, foodgrains Production during 2011-12 is estimates at-

a) 246.46 MT

b) 250.42 MT

c) 254.68 MT

d) 262.32 MT

Ans b

57) As per Final estimates, Wheat and Rice Production in 2010-2011 stood at-

a) 86.87 MT and 95.98 MT respectively

b) 95.98 MT and 86.87 MT respectively

c) 88.31 MT and 102.75 MT respectively 

d) 86.87 MT and 102.75 MT respectively

Ans a

58) The Fourth Rail Coach manufacturing Factory ( The first in India to be Built on PPP Model ) is being made in-

a) Andhra Pradesh

b) Kerala

c) Karnataka

d) Tamil Nadu

Ans b

59) In Which of the following currencies, India has decided to make payment to buy Crude oil from Iran ?

a) US dollar

b) Indian Rupee

c) Pound sterling

d) Euro

Ans b  

 

60) As Per the advance estimates of CSO, the estimates growth  rate in tertiary( Service) sector for 2011-12 is-

a) 8.6% 

b) 9.0% 

c) 9.4% 

d) 9.8% 

Ans c

 

 

 

 

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs

1. Name the Nobel Peace Prize winner who was named the winner of one of the world’s leading religion prizes, Templeton Prize for 2012 by the John Templeton Foundation on 29th March, 2012.
(1) Dalai Lama 
(2) Tawakkul Karman
(3) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
(4) Baba Ramdev
(5) Anna Hazare

2. Who was elected the New President of Senegal?
(1) Abdoulaye Wade

(2) Macky Sall 

(3) Erich Sherry
(4) Abdou Diouf
(5) Naseer Abdullah

3. Following RBI’s decision to hike bank rate, the food ministry increased the interest rate on loans provided to sugar factories from the Sugar Development Fund (SDF)to what percent from the earlier 4% from Feb 2012?
(1) 7%

(2) 7.5% 

(3) 8%
(4) 8.8%
(5) 9%

4. Which of the following fall under the qualitative methods of credit control adopted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?
(1) Selective Credit Control
(2) Credit Authorization Scheme
(3) Moral Suasion

(4) All of the above 

(5) None of the above

5. As per the recent data released by the Government of India, approximately what fraction of India’s oil and petroleum consumption is consumed by fertilizer and power sectors?
(1) 30%
(2) 40%
(3) 50%
(4) 60%

(5) 70%

6. Name the youngest ever and the only Arab woman to win a Nobel Prize for ‘non-violent’ struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights.
(1) Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
(2) Leyhmah Gbowee

(3) Tawakkol Karman 

(4) Liu Xiabao
(5) Martti Ahtisaari

 7. India recently carried out the maiden test flight of its second indigenous Airborne Early Warning Control System aircraft developed by DRDO in-
(1) Odisha
(2) France
(3) Andhra Pradesh

(4) Brazil 

(5) Russia

8. Human Resource Development Ministry constituted a 10-member committee headed by Madhya Pradesh School Education Minister to prepare an ambitious plan to roll out community colleges in the country. Name of the minister is-
(1) Jhina Hikaka
(2) Heena Sidhu

(3) Archana Chitnis 

(4) Shivraj Singh Chauhan
(5) Ram Gopal Yadav

9. The Banking Laws Committee was headed by-
(1) R.K. Talwar

(2) Dr. P.V. Rajamannar 

(3) FKF Nariman
(4) Dr. Prakash Tandan
(5) None of the above

10. Fourteen major Indian Banks having deposits of more than Rs 50 crores were nationalized on-
(1) 15th August, 1947
(2) 26th Jan, 1950
(3) 19th July, 1969
(4) 14th February, 1970
(5) None of these

11. Which of the following is the first commercial bank who had launch a mutual fund?
(1) State Bank of India 
(2) Canara Bank
(3) Indian Bank
(4) Bank of India
(5) Indian Overseas Bank

12. ATM cards are issued to a person who maintains which of the following accounts with the bank?
(1) Saving bank accounts
(2) Current accounts
(3) Term deposits
(4) Loan or Cash credit accounts

(5) Either (1) or (2)

13. SEBI was established in the year.
(1) 1993
(2) 1992

(3) 1988 

(4) 1990
(5) 1994

14. The merchant banking activity in India is governed by-
(1) SEBI 
(2) RBI
(3) IRDA
(4) All of these
(5) None of these

15. The regulator of mutual fund in India is-
(1) FIMMDA
(2) AMFI
(3) RBI

(4) SEBI 

(5) None of these

16. Bankassurance is-
(1) an insurance scheme to insure bank deposits
(2) an insurance scheme to insure bank advances

(3) a composite financial service offering both bank and insurance products. 

(4) a bank deposit scheme exclusively for employees of insurance companies
(5) None of these

17. Which of the following is/are ‘Term Deposits’?
(1) Fixed Deposits 
(2) Re-investment Deposits
(3) Recurring Deposits
(4) None of the above
(5) All of the above

18. NABARD was set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of-
(1) Agriculture
(2) Small Scale Industries
(3) Cottage and Village Industries
(4) Handicrafts and other rural crafts

(5) All of these

19. Which of the following is not a negotiable instrument?
(1) Promissory note
(2) Bill of exchange
(3) Cheque

(4) Bank Draft 

(5) Share certificate

20. Co-operative Banks are regulated by-
(1) NABARD
(2) RBI
(3) SBI

(4) Central Govt. 

(5) None of these

21. What amount has been allotted for capitalization of Public sector banks in the Union Budget 2012-13?
(1) Rs 1380 crore
(2) Rs 1490 crore
(3) Rs 1500 crore

(4) Rs 1588 crore 

(5) None of these

22. Under which category will you classify Regional Rural Banks?
(1) Scheduled Commercial Banks 
(2) Co-operative Banks
(3) Private Sector Banks
(4) Development Banks
(5) None of these

23. What is the current Cash Reserve Ratio?
(1) 3.75

(2) 4.75 

(3) 5.5
(4) 6
(5) None of these

24. Who decides on the quantity of coins to be minted?
(1) The Govt. of India 
(2) RBI
(3) Either (1) or (2)
(4) Both (1) & (2)
(5) None of these

25. The commercial banking system in India consists of –
(1) nationalized banks and private sector banks

(2) scheduled and non-scheduled banks 

(3) regional rural banks, co-operative banks and land development banks
(4) All of these
(5) None of these


26. What does EBT stands for-
(1) Electronic Belated Transfer
(2) Electronic Bearer Transaction

(3) Electronic Benefit Transfer 

(4) Electronic Basic Transaction
(5) None of these

27. Money market instruments-
(1) are usually sold in large denominations
(2) have low default risk
(3) mature in one year or less

(4) are characterized by all of the above 

(5) are characterized by (1) and (2)

28. Capital market is a market which deals in-
(1) short-term funds

(2) long-term funds 

(3) gilt-edge funds
(4) All of these
(5) None of these

29. When the rate of inflation increases-
(1) purchasing power of money increases

(2) purchasing power of money decreases 

(3) vale of money increases
(4) purchasing power of money remains unaffected
(5) amount of money in circulation decreases

30. A centralized databases with online connectivity to branches internet as well as ATM-network which has been adopted by almost all major banks of our country is known as-‘
(1) Investment banking

(2) Core banking 

(3) Mobile banking
(4) Banking Ombudsman
(5) Network banking

31. Upper limit prescribed for NEFT transaction is –
(1) Rs 1 lakh
(2) Rs 2 Lacs
(3) Rs 5 Lacks
(4) Rs 50 Lacks

(5) No upper limit is prescribed

32. Interest on savings bank account is now calculated by banks on-
(1) minimum balance during the month
(2) minimum balance from 7th to last day on the month
(3) Minimum balance from 10th to last day of the month
(4) maximum balance during the month

(5) daily product basis

33. Who is the Chairman of the committee constituted by RBI to study issues and concerns in the Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) sector?
(1) K C Chakraborty
(2) C Rangarajan
(3) M Damodaran

(4) Y H Malegam 

(5) None of these

34. Name the diesel locomotive engine built by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi recently?
(1) Cheetah

(2) Bheem 

(3) Shera
(4) Kavita
(5) None of these

35. Who has been appointed as the New CMD of OBC?
(1) M G Sanghvi
(2) D Sarkar
(3) S L Bansal
(4) M V Nayar
(5) None of these

36. Who is the current Minister of Commerce and Trade?
(1) Jayanti Natrajan
(2) Mukul Wasnik
(3) Anand Sharma 
(4) Pawan Bansal
(5) None of these

37. The finance secretary of India is-
(1) R K Singh

(2) R S Gujral 

(3) Ajeet Seth
(4) Ranjan Mathai
(5) Sunil Mitra

38. The Nuclear Summit-2012 held recently in-
(1) S Korea 
(2) Brazil
(3) Australia
(4) Japan
(5) None of these

39. EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) ensures-
(1) Speed
(2) reliability
(3) security
(4) accuracy

(5) All of these

40. Army has announced the year 2012 as – Year of the ____.
(1) Co-operatives

(2) Veterans 

(3) Green Energy
(4) Mathematics
(5) None of these

World Wildlife Fund released its Report on Global Environment

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in its report Living Planet Report 2012 released on 15 May 2012 noted that Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 28 percent globally since 1970 and the world would have to be 50 percent bigger to have enough land and forests to provide for current levels of consumption and carbon emissions.
The report further added that unless the world addresses the problem, by 2030 even two planet Earths would not be enough to sustain human activity. The WWF also urged the global community to take the issue of environmental degradation seriously.
A summit on the global environment is to be held in the Brazilian city Rio De Janerio from 20 to 22 June 2012. The summit is expected to draw more than 50000 participants from different nations. Politicians in the summit will be under tremendous pressure from environmentalists to agree goals for sustainable development, in the spirit of the Rio Earth Summit that spawned the Kyoto Protocol 20 years ago.

Sports Science Centres

Sports Authority of India(SAI) has established various sports Science Centres in the country for the purpose of training of sportspersons. This was stated by Shri Ajay Maken, Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs & Sports, in the Lok Sabha, in a written reply to a question by Shri Bhisma Shanker alias Kushal Tiwari. SAI has set up four Sports Science Centres, details of which are as under:-

i) SAI Netaji Subhash Eastern Centre at Kolkata, West Bengal.
ii) SAI Netaji Subhash Southern Centre at Bangalore, Karnataka.
iii) SAI Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Punjab.
iv) Lakshmibai National college of Physical Education at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

The facilities available at these centres are being provided to SAI trainees and National Campers.

The Minister further stated that Government also proposes to set up a National Institute of Sports Science and Sports Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi to integrate the study, research and practice of sports science and sports medicine to achieve excellence in sports.

Call for Indian version of World Migratory Bird Day

Rejecting the celebration of World Migratory Bird Day at a time when no migrant birds could be spotted in India, a section of ornithologists is pitching for an exclusive Indian version of the occasion.

The theme of the 2012 celebrations, organised between May 12 and 13, was “migratory birds and people — together through time.”

The day is celebrated during the second week of May with “public events such as bird festivals, education programmes, and bird-watching excursions to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day and to help raise awareness around a specific theme,” say the organisers of the day.

United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) two international treaties — Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement — are the organisers. 

The migratory season in India begins in September and extends up to April and nearly 600 species of birds can be spotted at various locations in the country. Most of these come from the north of Himalayas from countries namely Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Magnolia, and the Siberian region. The major wintering grounds are Chilka Lake, Bharatpur, East Calcutta Wetlands, Harike Lake, Kolleru Lake, Loktak Lake, Point Calimere, and Sambhar Lake. Some of the important long distance-migrants that reach the country during the eight-month-long season are White Stork, Bar headed Goose, Northern Pintail, and Eurasian Wigeon, experts say. 

Waste Management

Pursuant to the recommendations of the Committee on Solid Waste Management for Class-I cities constituted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in July 1998, the Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development had constituted a Technology Advisory Group (TAG) on Solid Waste Management in August 1999 and later reconstituted the Committee in January 2002. The objective of constituting the Committee was to collect information on various proven technologies for processing and disposal of waste, developing IEC material for creating awareness among the masses, promotion of capacity building, human resources development in Urban Local Bodies for efficient management of municipal solid waste. The Committee finalized its Report and submitted to the Ministry in May, 2005.

The report covers the details of the various technologies available within and outside the country for the treatment of municipal solid waste and deriving compost, Refuse Dried Fuel (RDF), power, etc., from the waste, their merits, demerits, their limitations etc. It also narrates the extent of application of these technologies in India so far. The TAG report also covers the financial aspects giving details of sectoral lending by financial institutions, the extent of private sector participation attempted, the legal issues related to private sector participation in India and makes recommendations of fiscal incentives for solid waste management infrastructure financing by the State and Central Government.

The TAG report also spells out the strategies proposed to be adopted for building community awareness through information, education and communication technique for ensuring public participation and for human resources development through internal capacity building of the officers and supervisory staff dealing with solid waste management at various levels through training at various levels.

Since all the recommendations have to be implemented by State Govts. / ULBs, the Ministry had already circulated the TAG report to all the State Governments for adoption.

India as Top Importer of Weapons

Authoritative information regarding import of weapons by China is not available. However, as per report published in March 2012 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has become the largest importer of arms during 2007-11 and accounted for 10% of the global arms imports as compared to China`s share of5%.

Procurement of arms and equipment for the Armed Forces is a continuous process based on threat perception, operational challenges and available resources. The process is based on a 15 year Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP), five year Services Capital Acquisition Plan (SCAP) and Annual Acquisition Plan (AAP). Shortage of any weapons, is adequately addressed through indigenous production and import.

Competition Commission of India constituteded Eminent Persons Advisory Group

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) formed an Eminent Persons Advisory Group (EPAG) on 7 May 2012.  The group is constituted to provide CCI inputs and advice on issues impacting markets and competition, among others.
The group comprise Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, former Comptroller and Auditor General V.N. Kaul, former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India Rakesh Mohan, Biocon Chairman and MD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, former Director, of IIM-Ahmedabad Bakul Dholakia, former Chairman of CERC S.L Rao, former Vice-Chancellor of NLSIU, Bangalore N.L Mitra.
The group will hold its maiden meeting on July 2012. The Group will have interaction/meetings with the Commission two to three times a year.

Unemployment Survey by NSSO

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics and Programme Implementation Shri Srikant Kumar Jena has said that Employment and Unemployment Surveys are generally conducted once in five years.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today he said, the last survey on the subject was conducted in NSS 66th round during July 2009-June 2010. Another survey on the subject is being conducted in NSS 68th round (July 2011-June2012). As per NSS 66th round the total number of unemployed in the age group of 18 to 25 years in the country according to usual status is estimated as 5.19 million.

Rural and urban area-wise figures of unemployed in the above age-group are 3.10 and 2.09 million respectively.