General Awareness --- 20 questions

General Awareness

1.      National Biodiversity Conference (NBC - 2015) is being organized as the most important biodiversity in India, under the auspices of MoEF and National Biodiversity Authority and all other organizations involved in conservation and promotion of biodiversity in the country. The second edition of biodiversity conference with focal theme ‘Biodiversity: Access and Benefit Sharing’ was held at-

a)      Kerala     b) Karnataka     c) Mumbai     d) Delhi     e) Jammu and Kashmir

2.      Which institute has launched a customized low-cost combination of phone and a tablet computer called ‘Green PHABLET powered by the GreenSIM’-

a)      Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

b)      International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

c)      Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI)

d)     Central Plantation Crops and Research Institute

e)      None of the Above

3.      Which among the following statement(s) is/ r correct regarding DBTL (Direct Benefit Transfer on LPG) Scheme?

1)      This scheme gives cash subsidy on cooking gas directly to consumers so that they can buy cooking gas at market price.

2)      It aims to curb leakages, preventing black-marketing in cash subsidy on cooking gas.

3)      As primary option, LPG consumers who join the DBTL scheme receive the LPG cash subsidy either by linking their Aadhaar number to the LPG and bank database.

4)      In case of secondary option, consumers may get the subsidy directly into their accounts without linking it with Aadhaar.

a)      1, 2 and 3    b) 2 and 3     c) 2, 3 and 4     d) 3 and 4     e) all of the above

4.      National Good Governance Day is observed on?

a)      23^rd December     b) 25^th December     c) 2^nd October     d) 27^th September

f)       25^th January

5.      What was the theme of calendar, 2015 which was launched by the government?

a)      Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan     b) Clean India, Green India     c) Namami Gange

d)   Swachch Bharat     e) None of the above

6.      What is the name of first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand since the state came into being in 2000-

a)      Nitish Kumar     b) Jitan Ram Manjhi     c) Raghubar Das     d) Raman Singh

e)   None of these

7.      Which State government has recently raised the retirement age of State Election Commissioner (SEC)?

a)      Madhya Pradesh     b) Rajasthan     c) Gujarat     d) Uttar Pradesh     e) Odisha

8.      Which of the following is part of the Core Sector?

a)      Textile     b) Chemicals     c) Real Estate     d) Machine Manufacturing

e)   Food Processing

9.      ‘National Institute of Bank Management’ is the institute meant for

a)      Providing consultancy on best practices in bank management

b)      Providing management personnel to the banks

c)      Training of bank employees in banking

d)     Recruitment of bank employees at all levels

e)      All of the above

10.  Recently, India has decided to introduce plastic currency notes. A number of other countries are already using plastic notes, but the pioneer in this field is

a)      Sweden     b) France     c) United States of America     d) Australia     e) England

11.  Who is the author of the book ‘Flood of Fire’?

a)      Jefferey Archer     b) Garima Sanjay     c) Amitav Ghosh     d) Javier Moro

e)   Poonam Surie

12.  The Central Office of the Reserve Bank where the Governor sits and policies are formulated was initially established in Calcutta but was permanently moved to

a)      New Delhi     b) Mumbai     c) Chennai     d) Bangalore     e) Chandigarh

13.  Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) is a scheme announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy (2011-12) and refers to the penal rate at which banks can borrow money from the central bank over and above what is available to them through the window. What is the present MSF-

a)      6.50%     b) 7.50%     c) 8.50%     d) 9.50%     e) 10%

14.  The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry, following the recommendations of-

a)      National Committee     b) Tandon Committee     c)  J Reddy Committee

d)   Malhotra Committee     e) Dave Committee

15.  Consider the following statements regarding Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana:

1)      The scheme will be one year cover, renewable from year to year, Insurance scheme offering life insurance cover for death due to any reason.

2)      The scheme would be offered / administered through LIC and other Life Insurance Companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie ups with Banks for this purpose.

3)      All savings bank account holders in the age 18 to 50 years in participating banks will be entitled to join.

4)      In case of multiple saving bank accounts held by an individual in one or different banks, the person would be eligible to join the scheme through all saving bank accounts.

Which one of the above statement(s) is / are true?

a)      1 only     b) 1. 2 and 3     c) 1 and 4     d) 4 only     e) 2 and 3

16.   Which of the following is a foreign bank having branches in India?

a)      ICICI Bank     b) HDFC Bank     c) Syndicate Bank     d) Yes Bank    

e) Standard Chartered Bank

17.   India test fired Dhanush Missile which is naval version of

a)      BrahMos     b) Agni     c) Prithvi     d) Nirbhay     e) Astra

18.   How many members are there in Public Accounts Committee?

a)      22     b) 23     c) 25     d) 21     e) 28

19.   A scheduled bank, refers to a bank which is listed in which schedule of the Bank of India Act, 1934?

a)      1^st Schedule     b) 2^nd Schedule     c) 3^rd Schedule     d) 4^th Schedule     e) 5^th Schedule

20.   Comptroller and Auditor General of India is appointed by-

a)      The President of India     b) The Prime Minister of India     c) Chief Justice of India

d)   The Vice President of India     e) None of the Above

Answers with Explanations:

1.      (a) The second edition of biodiversity conference with focal theme ‘Biodiversity: Access and Benefit Sharing’ was held at Kerala.

2.      (b) International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has launched a customized low-cost combination of phone and tablet called ‘GreenPHABLET by the GreenSIM’ that aims to empower small farmers who own small plots of land by providing them with precise information related to agriculture and help them purchase inputs at lower prices, get a better price for their produce and link them to markets.

3.      (e) All statements are correct regarding DBTL.

4.      (b) Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday on December 25 would be observed as national ‘Good Governance Day’.

5.      (b) The theme of Calendar, 2015 which was launched by government was Clean India, Green India.

6.      (c) Raghubar Das is the first non-tribal Chief Minister of Jharkhand since the state came into being in 2000.

7.      (d) The Uttar Pradesh Government raised the retirement age of State Election Commissioner (SEC) from 65 to 68 years. The UP Cabinet amended the UP State Election Commission (Panchayat and Local Bodies) (services and conditions of services) Rules 1994 to raise the term of the SEC upto either 68 years of age or six years term.

8.      (d) Machine manufacturing is a part of core sector.

9.      (e) All options are correct.

10.  (d) Recently, India has decided to introduce plastic currency notes. A number of other countries are already using plastic notes, but the pioneer in this field is Australia.

11.  (c) The author of the book ‘Flood of Fire’ is Amitav Ghosh.

12.  (b) The Reserve Bank of India was established on April 1, 1935 in accordance with the provisions of the Bank of India Act, 1934. The Central Office of the Reserve Bank was initially establishes in Calcutta but was permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937. Though originally privately owned, since nationalization in 1949, the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.

13.  (c) MSF came into effect from 9^th May 2011. MSF scheme is provided by RBI by which the banks can borrow overnight upto 1 percent of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) i.e. 1 percent of the aggregate deposits and other liabilities of the banks. However, with effect from 17th April 2012 RBI has raised the borrowing limit under the MSF from 1 percent to 2 percent of their NDTL outstanding at the end of the second preceding fortnight. Thus, as on September 2013, the MSF rate is 9.5percent. Later MSF was brought back to the original intended level of 1 percent above the repo rate - at 8.5%

14.  (d) Following recommendations of Malhotra Committee report, in 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. IRDAI was incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of IRDAI include promotion of competition so as to and enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market.

15.  (b) In case of multiple saving bank accounts held by an individual in one or different banks, the person would be eligible to join the scheme through one savings bank account only. Aadhaar would be the primary KYC for the bank account.

16.  (e) Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London. It operates a network of more than 1,700 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries associates and joint ventures) across more than 70 countries and employs around 87,000 people. It is a universal bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services, retail despite its UK base, it does not conduct retail banking the UK and around 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa and Middle East.

17.  (c) Dhanush is a variant, of the surface-to-surface ship-to-ship prithvi III missile, which has been developed for the Indian Navy. It is capable of carrying both conventional as well as nuclear warheads with payload capacity of 500 kg and can strike targets in the range of 350 km.

18.  (a) There are 22 members in PAC i.e.15 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha.

19.  (b) A scheduled bank, in, refers to a bank which is listed in the 2nd the Bank of India Act, 1934. Banks not under this schedule are called non-scheduled banks. Scheduled banks are usually private, foreign and nationalized banks operating in India. A scheduled bank is eligible for loans from the Reserve Bank of India at bank rate.

(a) Comptroller and Auditor General of India is appointed by the President of India