LIC AAO EXAM GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND CURRENT AFFAIRS SOLVED PAPER (Exam Held on: 12-05-2013)

1 To which category of customers do the banks in India offer a 'Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account' with minimum common facilities?
(a) Businessmen (b) BPL families (c) Beneficiaries of Antyodaya Anna Yojana 
(d) NRIs and PIOs (e) All customers (Ans : e)

2. Which of the following is correct regarding the Reverse Repo Rate used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)? 
(a) It is used to control liquidity in the system 
(b) It is the rate at which the RBI borrows money from commercial banks. 
(c) An increase in reverse repo rate can prompt banks to park more funds with the RBI 
(d) It is a tool which can be used by the RBI to drain excess money out of the banking system 
(e) All of the above (Ans : e)

3. In which of the following categories is the prestigious Kalidas Samman not given?
(a) Classical Music (b) Classical Literature (c) Classical Dance (d) Theatre (e) Plastic Arts (Ans : b)

4. In India, the capital market is regulated by the Capital Markets Division of– 
(a) Reserve Bank of India (b) Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance 
(c) Securities and Exchange Board of India (d) Confederation of Indian Industry 
(e) None of the above(Ans : b)

5. Which country would be visited by Bangladesh External Affairs Minister Ms. Dipu Moni in May 2013 to co-chair the first Joint Consultative Commission meeting between the two countries? 
(a) India (b) Saudi Arabia (c) Austria (d) Myanmar (e) China (Ans : a)

6. What does NMCEX stand for? 
(a) National Multi-Commodity Exchange (b) National Mineral Corporation Export Council 
(c) National Mint for Currency Exchange (d) National Multi-Currency Exchange 
(e) National Multipurpose Council for Export (Ans : a)

7. SHG is the abbreviated form of– 
(a) Shimla Housing Group (b) Standard Himalayan Goat (c) Self Help Group 
(d) Swedish High Grapevine (e) Standard Horse Genome (Ans : c)

8. Which of the following situations is described by "too much money chasing too few goods" ? 
(a) Built-in Inflation (b) Recession (c) Cost-pull Inflation (d) Stagflation (e) Demand-pull Inflation (Ans : e)

9. Which of the following bodies/ institutes/ministries provides insurance to bank deposits in India? 
(a) Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance (b) Department of Currency Management, Reserve Bank of India 
(c) Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (d) Securities and Exchange Board of India 
(e) Deposit insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Ans : e)

10. What does EMI denote in the context of housing loans? 
(a) Easy Money in India (b) Equated Monthly Installment (c) Easy Monthly Installment 
(d) Equity at Monthly Invar (e) Equivalent Mortgage Institution (Ans : b)

11. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are being increasingly used by the governments to deliver its services at the locations convenient to the citizens. All possible information services for the rural citizens are packaged as a single point access through PC based– 
(a) Outlets (b) Kiosks (c) Internet Cafes (d) Offices (e) ISPs (Ans : b)

12. Which of the following is not a category of Schedule Commercial Banks in India? 
(a) Nationalized Banks (b) Foreign Banks (c) Regional Rural Banks 
(d) State Bank of India and its associates (e) All of the above (Ans : e)

13. Where is the Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), which provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking supervisory matters, located? 
(a) Denmark (b) South Africa (c) Switzerland (d) Canada (e) Spain (Ans : c)

14. Financial Holding Company (FHCs) in India are regulated by– 
(a) Reserve Bank of India (b) Securities Exchange Board of India (c) NABARD 
(d) Union Ministry of Finance (e) Federation of Indian Industries (Ans : a)

15. Which of the following public sector insurance companies of India is headquartered in Mumbai ? 
(1) National Insurance Company Limited (2) Life Insurance Corporation of India 
(3) New India Assurance Company Limited (4) United India Insurance Company Limited 
Select the correct answer using the codes given below 
(a) Only (1) and (2) (b) Only (3) and (4) (c) Only (2) and (3) 
(d) Only (1), (3) and (4) (e) All of the above (Ans : c)

16. Who among the following is the signatory to a Rs. 10 note in India with the promise. "I promise to pay the bearer the sum often rupees" ? 
(a) President of India (b) Union Minister of Finance (c) Governor, Reserve Bank of India 
(d) Prime Minister of India (e) Secretary to the Union Ministry of Finance (Ans : c)

17. Which country recently passed legislation regarding provisions that allow the constitution to be adopted via referendum ? 
(a) Moldova (b) Italy (c) Greece (d) Ukraine (e) Mexico (Ans : d)

18. Regional Rural Banks in India are classified as– 
(a) Scheduled Commercial Banks (b) Cooperative Banks (c) Non-Scheduled Commercial Banks 
(d) Non Banking Financial Companies (e) Finance Holding Companies (Ans : a)

19. Francois Hollande paid a two-visit to India In February 2013. He is the President of– 
(a) Venezuela (b) France (c) Brazil (d) South Africa (e) Canada (Ans : b)

20. Jacob Juma who was in recent news is the President of– 
(a) Democratic Republic of Congo (b) Algeria (c) South Africa (d) Rwanda (e) Morocco (Ans : c)

21. The most popular India Rupee exchange rate is the INR to the rate of– 
(a) Euro (b) Yen (c) U. S. Dollar (d) Pound Sterling (e) Yuan (Ans : c)

22. Which country recently announced to sell its first indigenously developed 1000 MW nuclear reactor to Pakistan? 
(a) Russia (b) United States of America (c) China (d) Britain (e) France (Ans : c)

23. Which of the following is/are not the objectives of the International Monetary Fund? 
(a) To promote International monetary cooperation 
(b) To facilitate the expansion of international trade 
(c) To assist in the reconstruction and development of territories of members by facilitating the investment of capital for productive purpose 
(d) To ensure stability to foreign exchange rates 
(e) To promote capital investment in backward and underdevelopment countries (Ans : c)

24. What does FDI stand for? 
(a) Foreign Development Investment (b) Foreign Direct Investment (c) French Development Institution 
(d) Foreign Development Investment (e) For Deep Insight (Ans : b)

25. In the field of business and finance, AML, is the abbreviated form of– 
(a) Association for Mormon Letters (b) Algebraic Modeling Language (c) Anti-Money Laundering 
(d) Acton Main Line (e) Association of Muslim Lawyers (Ans : c)

26. Which of the following tools is used by the Reserve Bank of India to reduce liquidity in the banking system? 
(a) Cash Reserve Ratio (b) Open market operations (c) Statutory Liquidity Ratio 
(d) Current Base Rate (e) Repo Rate (Ans : a)

27. Which of the following is a tax on domestic production ? 
(a) Corporation Tax (b) Wealth Tax (c) Income Tax (d) Excise Tax (e) Customs Duty (Ans : d)

28. Which of the following bodies/ organizations decides on the volume and value of bank notes to be printed in India? 
(a) Securities Exchange Board of India (b) India Government Mint, Kolkata (c) Reserve Bank of India 
(d) Union Ministry of Finance (e) International Monetary Fund (Ans : c)

29. Which of the following is not a negotiable instrument as per the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 ? 
(a) Promissory note (b) Bill of Exchange (c) Cheque (d) Hundi (e) All of the above (Ans : d)

30. Which of the following does not come under insurance sector in India ? 
(a) Life Insurance (b) General Insurance (c) Health Insurance 
(d) Property Insurance (e) Mental Disability Insurance (Ans : e)

Useful Books:

Current Affairs Yearly 2016 (English)

Current Affairs Made Easy 2016


Current Affairs 2016 for Competitive Exams

United India Insurance Assistants Exam General Awareness Solved Paper 2015

1. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report published by the year 2014, direct foreign investment in the country is-
(A) USA (B) Japan (c) China (d) India (e) Russia (Ans: a)

2. Which of the following recent Philadelphia Liberty Medal for Human Rights has been selected for 2015?
(A) Anna (b) the Dalai Lama (c) Asman Jahangir (d) Kailash Pradhan (e) Mansi head (Ans: b)

3. The capital of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Forms
(A) Silvassa (b) Dispur (c) Amboli (d) Kwarti (e) Bedpa (Ans: a)

4. Which of the following entities associated with the United Nations specialized agency attached to the International Health Forms
(A) WFO (b) WPO (c) WWF (d) WHO (e) WTO (Ans: d)

5. Unit-linked savings schemes (ELSS) of a type of equity mutual funds in which we are to receive the tax exemption
(A) of the Income Tax Act under section 80 C (b) of the Income Tax Act under section 80 G
(C) of the Income Tax Act under section 80 E (d) of the Income Tax Act under section 80 D
(E) Income Tax Act under section 80 F (Ans: a)

6. Which of the following countries, India recently with the next 5 years to obtain uranium-related agreements are signed
(A) Japan (b) Germany (c) Netherlands (d) Canada (e) Russia (Ans: d)

7. Sukanya Prosperity Plan accounts can be opened under the name of a child whose age does not exceed ......
(A) 10 years (b) 9 years (c) 7 years (d) 16 years (e) 5 years (Ans: a)

8. Europe's largest natural gas field, "located in the Groningen gas field is-
(A) France (b) Netherlands (c) Switzerland (d) Austria (e) Belgium (Ans: b)

9. Keoladeo Ghana National Park, located in the Indian state is-
(A) Karnataka (b) Maharashtra (c) Madhya Pradesh (d) Rajasthan (e) Gujarat (Ans: d)

10. Information and Communications Minister, who is currently in the Union Cabinet? -
(A) Mr. Prakash Javedkr (b) Mr. Suresh Prabhu (c) Mr. Rajnath Singh (d) Mr. Naidu (e) Mr. Arun Jaitley (Ans: e)

11. Which of the following was the first private bank to its customers Voyls password feature is launched?
(A), HDFC Bank (b) Axis Bank (c), ICICI Bank (d) IndusInd Bank (e) Yes Bank (Ans: c)

12. The International Monetary Fund is an international organization, whose headquarters Forms
(A) Washington D. C. U. s. a. (B) Geneva, Switzerland (c) The Hague, Netherlands (d) Rome, Italy (e) New York, USA (Ans: a)

13. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is related to the regulation of the banking industry, the Basel Convention on the recommendations made by the committee stated. The committee's headquarters is located in ......
(A) Switzerland (b) Netherlands (c) USA (d) Austria, (e) Canada (Ans: a)

14. Charles Correa has died at the age of 84, was India's greatest ......
(A) poet (b) Journalists (c) designer (d) Architect (e) historian (Ans: d)

15. The 11th biannual Financial Stability Report (FSR) released in June 2015 Gyi-
(A) by the Bank for International Settlements (b) by the Securities and Asschenj Board of India (c) by the World Economic Forum
(D) International Monetary Fund (e) by the Reserve Bank of India (Ans: e)

16. Switzerland and Liechtenstein's official currency is-
(A) Euro (b) CFA bank (c) Pound Sterling (d) Swiss bank (e) US $ (Ans: d)

17. National Teachers' Day in India is celebrated annually is-
(A) 6 नवम्बर (b) 6 सितम्बर (c) 5 सितम्बर (d) 5 नवम्बर (e) 6 अक्टूबर (Ans: c)

18. The Reserve Bank before the 2005 deadline for the change ..... is extended.
(A) मार्च 31, 2016 (b) December, 31, 2015 (c) सितम्बर 30, 2015 (d) जून 30, 2015 (e) सितम्बर 30, 2016 (Ans: b)

19. In December 2014 a bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, the regional rural banks to increase the authorized capital ..... provision.
(A) Rs. 5,000 million (b) Rs. 500 million (c) Rs. 2,000 crore (d) Rs. 1,000 crore (e) Rs. 250 million (Ans: c)

20. A multipurpose sports stadium Kalinga Stadium, which is- located
(A) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (b) Patiala, Punjab (c) Bhubaneswar, Orissa (d) Nagpur, Maharashtra (e) Indore, Madhya Pradesh (Ans: c)

21. Recently, new NASA spacecraft Horijns frozen methane on the surface of the planet which is detected.
(A) Pluto (b) Venus (c) Jupiter (d) Mercury (e) Mars (Ans: a)

22. Nifty 50 or a stock market index, Nifty Forms
(A) the NASDAQ, New York, (b) the National Stock Exchange of India (c) The Bombay Stock Exchange of India
(D) the Shanghai Stock Exchange of China (e) Stock Exchange of Taiwan Taipei (Ans: b)

23. Which country's largest city and the capital-to Vienna
(A) Belgium (b) Italy (c) Austria (d), Germany (e) Poland (Ans: c)

24. Which of the following European countries recently, the International Monetary Fund does not repay the loan, the first European country declared Hua-
(A) Belarus (b) Poland (c) Greece (d) Albania (e) Liechtenstein (Ans: c)

25. Inshyurens SBI Life Insurance Company Limited F joint stock company which is a subsidiary of State Bank of India and ......
(A) New York Life Inshyurens Company (b) Prudential Life Inshyurens Company (c) Standard Life Inshyurens company
(D) BNP Paribas Ashyurens (e) Life Insurance Corporation (Ans: d)

26. What river in the world's longest river, is known as?
(A) Chang Jiang (Yengtji), China (b) Neil Africa (c) Mississippi, USA (d) Missouri, USA (e) The Amazon, The. USA (Ans: b)

27. Floyd Jr. Medevr is related to which game?
(A) Tennis (b) Cricket (c) football (d) Hockey (e) Boxing (Ans: e)

28. International daily journal is published by the Global Times, where is-
(A) France (b) Singapore (c) Russia (d) China (e) Japan (Ans: d)

29. Recently BIBEK DEBROY committee which was to reform and restructure?
(A) IR (b) public bank (c) the insurance sector (d) India's legal system (e) The Shipping Corporation Limited (Ans: a)

30. AB recently announced a Rs pension plan. 1000 from Rs. 5000 per month for a limited amount will be provided to any person between the age of 18 ......
(A) 55 years (b) 40 years (c) 45 years (d) 50 years (e) 60 years (Ans: b)

31. The recently launched micro units Development and refinance Agency (currency) plan to fund early to-
(A) Rs. 50,000 crore (b) Rs. 25,000 crore (c) Rs. 20,000 crore (d) Rs. 10,000 crore (e) Rs. 5,000 crore (Ans: c)

32. Kaiga atomic energy center located in the Indian state is-
(A) Telangana (b) Karnataka (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Tamil Nadu (e) Maharashtra (Ans: b)

33. A recent research paper published by the World Economic Forum, in India-the largest employer
(A) Tata Consultancy Service (b) State Bank of India (c) Indian Post (d) IR (e) Indian Army (Ans: d)

34. cricketer Yuvraj Singh's autobiography was published Q. By what name?
(A) The Race of My Life (b) My Country My Life (c) The Book of My Life
(D) The Test of My Life (e) One Life is the Enough (Ans: d)

35. Recently, the world's first electric passenger aircraft 'BOCTE' which was created by the country.
(A) Canada (b) U. of. (C) u. s. a. (D) China (e) Russia (Ans: d)

36. DR. Nasim Zaidi department took over what is?
(A) The Chief Election Commissioner (b) the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (c) the Chief Justice of India
(D) The Chief Commissioner PWD (e) Chief Information Commissioner (Ans: a)

37. Starting with capital of $ 100 Biliyr the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have established the headquarters Forms
(A) Jakarta (b) BEIJING (c) Taiwan (d) Singapore (e) Tokyo (Ans: b)

38. India-Africa Forum Summit 2015: the host country
(A) India (b) Nigeria (c) Zimbabwe (d) The. Africa (e) Mauritius (Ans: a)

39. Which of the following recently appointed president of the International Cricket Council's?
(A) Bangladesh Shakib-al-Hasan, former Kmpan (b) Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Arshfull (c) Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan
(D) Former Pakistan Kmpan Zaheer Abbas (e) Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya (Ans: d)

40. Recently, Mr. KV Kamath, ICICI Bank's non-executive chairman, who resigned to become chief.
(A) The SAARC Development Bank (b) New BRICS Development Bank (c) The Asian Development Bank
(D) the African Development Bank (e) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (Ans: b)

GENERAL AEARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS

1. Who is the author of the book "The Turbulent Years 1980-1996"?
1) Sharad Pawar
2) Hamid Ansari
3) Pranab Mukherjee
4) L.K. Advani
5) Sonia Gandhi

2. Who won the 2016 Australian Open women's singles tennis title on January 30, 2016?
1) Serena Williams
2) Angelique Kerber
3) Victoria Azarenka
4) Zhang Shuai
5) Maria Sharapova

3. Who won the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold Championship Badminton men's singles title on January 31, 2016?
1) Huang Yuxiang
2) Parupalli Kashyap
3) Kidambi Srikanth
4) Shi Yuqi
5) None of these

4. The President's Rule was imposed in which of the following States on January 26, 2016?
1) Manipur
2) Sikkim
3) Meghalaya
4) Arunachal Pradesh
5) Tripura

5. Shiv Prakash Mishra was given the 2015 Dhyan Chand Award. He is associated with?
1) Hockey
2) Volleyball
3) Golf
4) Football
5) Tennis

6. Which of the following organizations is headquartered in London?
1) International Maritime Organization
2) World Meteorological Organization
3) Food and Agriculture Organization
4) United Nations Environment Program
5) International Atomic Energy Agency

7. Who was elected Chairman of the Press Trust of India in September 2015?
1) Riyad Mathew
2) Prabhu Chawla
3) Hormusji N. Cama
4) N. Ram
5) Vineet Jain

8. Who was appointed as a full-time member in the NITI Aayog in September 2015?
1) M.S. Swaminathan
2) Kaushik Basu
3) Raghuram Rajan
4) Ramesh Chand
5) Avinash Chander

9. Which of the following teams won the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup cricket tournament in September 2015?
1) India Cements
2) Hyderabad Cricket Association
3) ONGC
4) Air India
5) FCI

10. The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the new bank note paper line of 6,000 tonnes capacity in?
1) Indore
2) Bhopal
3) Hoshangabad
4) Nasik
5) Noida

11. Who is the author of the novel "A Strangeness in My Mind"?
1) Orhan Pamuk
2) V.S. Naipaul
3) P.H. Newby
4) Doris Lessing
5) None of these

12. Which of the following statements is not correct?
1) Karnataka is the highest coffee growing State in India
2) London is situated on the banks of the river Thames
3) Graphite is used in making pencils
4) The first Indian to give a speech in Hindi in the United Nations General Assembly is Narendra Modi
5) Disguised Unemployment means more people working than required

13. Identify the mismatched pair?
Country - Prime Minister
1) Sri Lanka - Ranil Wickremesinghe
2) Australia - Malcolm Turnbull
3) Greece - Alexis Tsipras
4) England - David Cameron
5) China - Xi Jinping

14. India has gifted its former Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship "Varaha" to?
1) Maldives
2) Sri Lanka
3) Mauritius
4) Myanmar
5) Seychelles

15. Which of the following banks has launched a mobile wallet app "Buddy"?
1) HDFC Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) Corporation Bank
4) State Bank of India
5) None of these

16. Which of the following statements about Bandhan Bank is not correct?
1) Bandhan Bank was inaugurated on August 23, 2015
2) It is headquartered in Kolkata
3) Its Chairman is Ashok Kumar Lahiri
4) Its tag line is "Aapka Bhala, Sabki Bhalai"
5) Bandhan is the second microfinance company to transform into a bank

17. Who among the following is not an archer?
1) Abhishek Verma
2) Rajat Chauhan
3) Sandeep Kumar
4) Chekrovolu Swuro
5) Aditi Ashok

18. Who is the present Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)?
1) Shanta Sinha
2) Deepika Shrivastava
3) Stuti Narain Kacker
4) Krishna Tirath
5) Preet Verma

19. INS Vajrakosh has been commissioned at Karwar Base in?
1) Karnataka
2) Odisha
3) Tamil Nadu
4) Kerala
5) Gujarat

20. The Union Cabinet has approved what per cent of Foreign Direct Investment in White Label Automated Teller Machines (WLAs)?
1) 26%
2) 49%
3) 74%
4) 100%
5) None of these

21. Who was awarded the prestigious 2015 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize?
1) Manjul Bhargav
2) Jacob Tsimerman
3) Wei Zhang
4) Ben Green
5) None of these

22. Which country's Prime Minister was selected for the United Nations Champions of the Earth Award in September 2015?
1) Canada
2) Singapore
3) Bangladesh
4) UK
5) China

23. Baba Farid Gold Cup is associated with which of the following sports?
1) Cricket
2) Football
3) Hockey
4) Shooting
5) Boxing

24. Which of the following is the majority stakeholder in the capital of Regional Rural Banks?
1) Sponsor Bank
2) Reserve Bank of India
3) State Government
4) Central Government
5) NABARD

25. Madison Square Garden is an indoor arena in?
1) London
2) Paris
3) Sydney
4) Ankara
5) New York

26. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has entered into a partnership with which of the following banks for a payments bank?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) State Bank of India
4) Bank of Baroda
5) Union Bank of India

27. Aqueela Asifi won the 2015 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Nansen Refugee Award. She belongs to?
1) Afghanistan
2) Syria
3) Iran
4) Lebanon
5) None of these

28. The 18th Asian Games will be held from August 18 to September 2, 2018 in which of the following cities?
1) Hanoi, Vietnam
2) Dubai, UAE
3) Bangkok, Thailand
4) Jakarta, Indonesia
5) Tokyo, Japan

29. The World Pneumonia Day is observed every year on?
1) May17
2) November 12
3) May 13
4) November 14
5) May 20

30. Ratan Watal has been appointed as the new?
1) Home Secretary
2) Revenue Secretary
3) Finance Secretary
4) Financial Services Secretary
5) Economic Affairs Secretary

31. Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently released a Rs 5/-postal stamp in honor of the Indian emperor?
1) Ashoka
2) Bimbisara
3) Bindusara
4) Chandragupta Maurya
5) Harshavardhana

32. Which of the following countries is not a member of the United Nations Organization?
1) Sudan
2) Kosovo
3) South Sudan
4) Rwanda
5) Bahrain

33. Where are the headquarters of UCO Bank located?
1) Mumbai
2) New Delhi
3) Kolkata
4) Chennai
5) Pune

34. Which bank has recently launched mCASH facility, where in a sender needs to know only the
mobile number or email ID of the recipient to transfer money?
1) ICICI Bank
2) Punjab National Bank
3) Bank of India
4) State Bank of India
5) Corporation Bank

35. The recently launched IDFC Bank is a scheduled?
1) Public sector bank
2) Regional rural bank
3) Commercial bank
4) Cooperative bank
5) Local Area bank

36. Which one of the following is not a capital city of a country?
1) Copenhagen
2) Bern
3) Helsinki
4) Brussels
5) Milan

37. Veer Savarkar International Airport is located in?
1) Kolkata
 2) Chennai
3) Port Blair
4) Kochi
5) Jaipur

38. Which of the following is the currency of Italy?
1) Lira
2) Franc
3) Krona
4) Euro
5) Peso

39. Who is the author of the book "Making India Awesome"?
1) Vikram Seth
2) Neil Mukherjee
3) Chetan Bhagat
4) Amitav Ghosh
5) Salman Rushdie

40. Who acts as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee?
1) President
2) Prime Minister
3) Defense Minister
4) Defense Secretary
5) None of these

ANSWERS:
1) 3; 2) 2; 3) 3; 4) 4; 5) 5; 6) 1; 7) 3; 8) 4; 9) 1; 10) 3;
11) 1; 12) 4; 13) 5; 14) 2; 15) 4; 16) 5; 17) 5; 18) 3; 19) 1; 20) 4;
21) 2; 22) 3; 23) 3; 24) 4; 25) 5; 26) 3; 27) 1; 28) 4; 29) 2; 30) 3;
31) 1; 32) 2; 33) 3; 34) 4; 35) 3; 36) 5; 37) 3; 38) 4; 39) 3; 40) 5.

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

The Mandate of the Act and Achievements

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

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

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

Revival of the Programme

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

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

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

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

Way Forward

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

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

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

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

PADMA AWARDS 2016

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

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

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

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

Gallantry awards 2016

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

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

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

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

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

BANKING AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR BANK EXAMS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4th India Africa Hydrocarbons Conference begins in New Delhi

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

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

India-Africa Relations for Energy Security: 

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

India submits first Biennial Update Report to UNFCCC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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