Sunday, August 16, 2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS AT A GLANCE 2015

❖ Lithuania adopted the Euro currency on January 1, 2015 and became the 19th member of the Eurozone.

❖ A.B. de Villiers of South Africa scored the fastest century in One Day International cricket history on January 18, 2015. He scored a hundred in just 31 deliveries against the West Indies. He broke
the previous record of 100 off 36 balls set by Corey Anderson of New Zealand in 2014.

❖ Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on January 26, 2015 as the Prime Minister of Greece.

❖ S. Jaishankar was appointed as India's new Foreign Secretary on January 28, 2015. He replaced Sujatha Singh.

❖ NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India Aayog) replaced Planning Commission
on January 1, 2015. Its Chairperson is the Prime Minister. Arvind Panagariya is the first Vice Chairman. Sindhushree Khullar is the Chief Executive officer. Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO Chief V.K. Saraswat are the two full time members.

❖ A.S. Kiran Kumar was appointed the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on January 12, 2015. He succeeded K. Radhakrishnan.

❖ Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha was appointed the first Hindu Chief Justice of Bangladesh on January 12, 2015.

❖ Maithripala Sirisena was sworn in as the President of Sri Lanka on January 9, 2015. He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa. Ranil Wikramasinghe is the new Prime Minister.

❖ Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe took over the post of African Union Chairman on January 30, 2015.

❖ Dineshwar Sharma is the new Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief and Krishna Chaudhary is the new
Director General of the Indo- Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

❖ The first canister-based Agni V trial was successful. It was launched from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast on January 31, 2015. It has a strike range of 5,000 km.

❖ The first indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was handed over by Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Indian Air Force on January 17, 2015.

❖ Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) entered the Guinness World Records for opening the highest number of bank accounts in the least time. 11.5 crore new bank accounts have been opened under PMJDY as on January 17, 2015. It was launched by the Prime Minister on August 28, 2014.

❖ ICICI Bank launched India's first contactless debit and credit cards on January 7, 2015 that use the near field communication (NFC) technology.

❖ The government announced the names of 104 recipients of Padma Awards on January 25, 2015. This year's list comprises 9 Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shree awardees. L.K. Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Prakash Singh Badal are among the Padma Vibhushan winners.

❖ The President conferred Ashok Chakra on the occasion of the 66th Republic Day to Major Mukund
Varadarajan (posthumous) and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh (posthumous). Ashok Chakra is the highest gallantry award given during peacetime.

❖ Eminent Hindi scholar Kamal Kishore Goenka has been selected for Vyas Samman for 2014 for his research work "Premchand Kee Kahaniyo aa Kaalkramanusar Adhyapan".

❖ Paulina Vega of Colombia was crowned 63rd Miss Universe on January 25, 2015 in Miami, USA.

❖ Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri won the prestigious DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015 for her book "The Lowland". This prize was announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival on January 23, 2015.

❖ Arundhathi Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for Poetry for her work "When God is a Traveller" on January 24, 2015.

❖ Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala won the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) biennial award on January 22, 2015.

❖ M.Y.S. Prasad, Director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota, was selected for the
Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award 2015.

❖ RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan won the Governor of the Year Award in the Central Banking Awards for 2015.

❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" programme in Panipat, Haryana on January 22, 2015 in a bid to encourage birth and education of girls. Actress Madhuri Dixit is the brand ambassador. On the same day Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched for the girls aged below 10.

❖ Saina Nehwal clinched the women's singles crown of the Syed Modi International Masters Badminton Tournament on January 25, 2015. She defeated Carolina Marin of Spain in the final in Lucknow. In the men's singles final Parupalli Kashyap of India beat compatriot K.Srikanth.

❖ Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2014 Award. It is his second year running and third overall award.

❖ Legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman died on January 26, 2015. He created "Common Man" cartoon.

❖ Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first lady
officer on January 25, 2015 to lead the Inter- Service Guard of Honor for the visiting US President Barack Obama at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Barack Obama is the first US President to be the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day.

❖ The French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo's Paris office was attacked by gunmen on January 7, 2015. In the attack 12 persons were killed.

❖ The 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) was celebrated between January 7-9, 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It marked the 100th year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. The Chief Guest was Guyana President Donald Ramotar. The theme of the 13th PBD was Bharat ko jano, Bharat ko mano. The Vice President Hamid Ansari presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards to 15 persons on January 9. The awardees include plant scientist Sanjay Rajaram and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

❖ The 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held from January 3 - 7, 2015 in Mumbai. The theme was Science and Technology for Human Development.

❖ The 60th Filmfare Awards were presented on February 1, 2015. "Queen" bagged highest number of awards i.e. 6. "Shahid Kapoor" is the best actor for the film "Haider" and "Kangana Ranaut" best actress for "Queen".

❖ Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic was sworn in as the first female President of Croatia on February 15, 2015.

❖ Sergio Mattarella took over as the President of Italy on February 3, 2015.

❖ Ashton Carter replaced Chuck Hagel as the Defense Secretary of the United States.

❖ Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party became the Chief Minister of Delhi on February 14, 2015.
Manish Sisodia is the Deputy Chief Minister.

❖ Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on February 22,
2015. He succeeded Jitan Ram Manjhi.

❖ L.C. Goyal replaced Anil Goswami as the Union Home Secretary.

❖ Dr.Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014 was conferred on two women scientists- Tessy Thomas (DRDO) and Geeta Varadan (ISRO).

❖ Eminent Marathi writer Bhalachandra Nemade was chosen for the Jnanpith Award 2014. He is the 50th recipient of Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor.

❖ Nobel Economics laureate Amartya Sen has been awarded the inaugural Charleston-EFG John Maynard Keynes Prize 2015.

❖ Ricky Kej of India won the Grammy award for his album "Winds of Samsara" in the Best New Age Album category.

❖ ICICI Bank launched first digital bank in India "Pockets" on a mobile phone.

❖ Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Serena Williams of USA won the men's and women's singles titles respectively, in the 2015 Australian Open tennis championship. Indo-Swiss pair Leander Paes and Martina Hingis won the Mixed Doubles title.

❖ Virat Kohli became the first Indian batsman to score a century in a World Cup game against Pakistan on February 15, 2015.

❖ Kerala hosted the 35th National Games from January 31 to February 14, 2015. Sachin Tendulkar was the brand ambassador. Ammu, the Great Hornbill, was the mascot. Services Sports Control Board (SSCB)
won 159 medals with 91 gold, 33 silver and 35 bronze and topped the medals tally.

❖ Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu presented Railway budget on February 26, 2015 that did not announce any passenger fare hike.

❖ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2014- 15 on February 27, 2015. He presented the Union Budget for 2015- 16 on February 28, 2015.

❖ The 87th Academy Awards ceremony was held on February 22, 2015. The Best Picture Award was given to "Birdman". Its director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Best Director Award. Eddie Redmayne was given the Best Actor Award for "The Theory of Everything" and the Best Actress Award was given to Julianne Moore for "Still Alice".

❖ Nobel laureate Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was named as the President of Britain's prestigious Royal Society. He will take up the post on December 1, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009.

❖ IFS officer Vikas Swarup was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 25, 2015. He is the author of the novel "Q & A" on which the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire was based.

❖ Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani was appointed as the Chairman of the Empowered Committee
of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on March 24, 2015.

❖ Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir on March 1, 2015. Nirmal Singh of BJP is the Deputy Chief Minister.

❖ Aditi Arya of Chandigarh was crowned Miss India 2015. She will represent
India at the Miss World pageant.

❖ The 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) took place in Sendai, Japan from March 14 to 18, 2015.

❖ According to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on March 16, 2015, India is the world’s largest importer of weapons and military equipment.

❖ Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar undertook SAARC Yatra and visited four SAARC nations Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan from March 1 to 4, 2015.

❖ India banned dreaded terror group The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

❖ The Supreme Court struck down the centre's controversial decision to grant reservation to the Jat community in jobs and educational institutions.

❖ The government has launched a new National Action Plan for Skill Training of Persons with Disabilities on March 21, 2015. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be the implementing agency for this Plan.

❖ Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a scheme for girl child "Aap ki Beti Humari Beti" with an aim to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio in the state on March 8, 2015. March 8 is International Women’s Day.

❖ Maharashtra government launched "Bhagyashree" scheme for girls on March 8, 2015. Bollywood actress
Bhagyashree is the brand ambassador.

❖ The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was launched from
Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft on March 18, 2015.

❖ The 8th edition of India-Nepal combined exercise Surya Kiran VIII was held at Salijhandi in Nepal.

❖ India launched its fourth navigation satellite on March 28, 2015. The PSLV-C27 ejected the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1D.

❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a five-day tour of three Indian Ocean countries Seychelles,
Mauritius and Sri Lanka from March 10 to 14, 2015.

❖ As per the IntelCenter's "Top 10 Most Dangerous Countries" list released in March 2015, Pakistan is the eight most dangerous country. The list is topped by Iraq.

❖ The President Pranab Mukherjee conferred country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on March 27, 2015. Educationist and freedom fighter Madan Mohan Malviya was honored with Bharat Ratna posthumously on March 30, 2015.

❖ Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for the
year 2014.

❖ Veteran actor and film producer Shashi Kapoor has been named
for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2014. He is the 46th film
personality to receive India's highest award in cinema.

❖ Former Union Minister Veerappa Moily was selected for the Saraswati Samman for 2014 for his
Kannada book "Ramayana Mahanveshanam".

❖ John Nash and Louis Nirenberg of USA shared the 2015 Abel Prize for Mathematics. The prize was announced by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters.

❖ Rajendra Singh of India won the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize. He is popularly known as
"Waterman of India". He is an eminent water conservationist from Rajasthan.

❖ Indian ecologist Madhav Gadgil has won the Tyler Prize 2015 for environmental achievement. He shared the prize with American marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco.

❖ National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has linked 15 crore Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)
accounts with the Aadhaar numbers.

❖ Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won women's and men's singles titles in the Indian Open Badminton
Championship in New Delhi on March 29, 2015.

❖ K. Srikanth of India won the Swiss Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championship title in Basel on
March 15, 2015. He beat Viktor Axelson of Denmark in the final.

❖ Carolina Marin of Spain won the All England Badminton Championship women's singles title by defeating Saina Nehwal in the final on March 8, 2015. Saina is the first Indian woman to reach the final.
Men's singles title was won by Chen Long of China.

❖ Services beat Punjab to win the Santosh Trophy football championship in Ludhiana on March 15, 2015.

❖ Karnataka clinched their eighth Ranji Trophy cricket title by defeating Tamil Nadu in the final in
Mumbai on March 12, 2015. Karnataka retained the Irani Cup also by beating Rest of India on March 20, 2015.

❖ Former Sri Lankan Army Chief Sarath Fonseka was conferred the highest military rank of Field
Marshal by the Government of Sri Lanka.

❖ Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister, passed away on March 23, 2015.

❖ India launched a massive air and sea operation-"Operation Raahat"- to evacuate over 4,000 Indian
nationals from Yemen in April 2015.

❖ Tennis star Novak Djokovic and athlete Genzebe Dibaba were named Laureus Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year on April 15, 2015. The German football team was named "World Team of the Year".

❖ Sachin Tendulkar was inducted as a Laureus World Sports Academy member.

❖ Former Chief Minister of Odisha J.B. Patnaik died on April 21, 2015. He was also the former Governor
of Assam.

❖ Former Nepal Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa passed away on April 15, 2015.

❖ German Nobel laureate Gunter Grass died on April 13, 2015. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999. His most famous book is "The Tin Drum".

❖ Former Australia Cricket captain and renowned commentator Richie Benaud died on April 10, 2015.

❖ Ace Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu who went missing in the Andes Mountains on March 24 was
found dead on April 4, 2015.

❖ Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA Bank) on April 8, 2015. It is set up with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore.

❖ RBI approved the merger deal between Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya Bank.

❖ Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy was won by Gujarat on April 7, 2015. It beat Punjab in the final.

❖ New Zealand lifted the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament after defeating Australia in the final in Malaysia.

❖ Chris Gayle of West Indies became the first batsman to make double century in ICC World Cup history on February 24, 2015. He scored 215 runs against Zimbabwe. New Zealand's Martin Guptill hit the highest score of 237 in ICC World Cup. He achieved this feat against the West Indies on March 21, 2015.

❖ Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka became the first batsman to score four consecutive One Day International centuries. He created this record in the 11th ICC World Cup.

❖ Viswanathan Anand was granted the honor of having a minor planet named after him on April 1, 2015.
It is called 4538 Vishyanand.

❖ Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the Man Booker International Prize for 2015. This prize is given every two years. Indian author Amitav Ghosh is one of the ten short listed authors.

❖ David Cameron became the Prime Minister of United Kingdom for the second term on May 8, 2015. David Cameron-led Conservative Party won 331 seats out of total 650 seats in House of Commons.

❖ J. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time on May 23, 2015.

❖ Actor Mukesh Khanna was appointed as the Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India (CFSI).
He is known for his iconic role as Shaktimaan on Television.

❖ Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev won his fifth successive term in the Presidential election. Karim Masimov is the Prime Minister.

❖ Indian-American Vivek Murthy was sworn in as the US Surgeon General. He is the youngest ever in-charge of America's public health.

❖ Neel Mukherjee's "The Lives of Others" won the UK's Encore Award for the best second novel on May 12, 2015.

❖ UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2015 was awarded to Mazen Darwish, a Syrian journalist.

❖ Two Indians Ananda Kumar and Pramod Patil were awarded the Whitley Awards, dubbed "Green Oscar", for their contribution to wildlife conservation.

❖ Siddhartha Gigoo won the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Asian region for "Umbrella Man".

❖ Aruna Shanbaug, a former hospital nurse, brutally raped in 1973, died on May 18, 2015. She was at the centre of euthanasia or mercy killing issue.

❖ The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Liberia Ebolafree on May 9, 2015.

❖ Francois Hollande visited Havana on May 10, 2015, the first French President to visit Cuba in more than a century.

❖ Seychelles became the 161st member of World Trade Organization (WTO) on April 26, 2015.

❖ India ranked at a low 100th position on global Human Capital Index 2015. Finland topped the 124 nation list.

❖ Switzerland topped the World Happiness Index 2015 and India ranked 117 out of 158 countries.

❖ India signed an agreement with Iran for the development of Chabahar Port on May 6, 2015. It will give India sea-land access route to Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.

❖ Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani visited India from April 27 to April 29, 2015.

❖ India assumed Presidency of the 68th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the top decision making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

❖ The Union Cabinet cleared the "Namami Gange" integrated conservation mission to clean river Ganga on May 13, 2015. Budget allocated is Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years.

❖ The Lok Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill on May 6, 2015. GST is proposed to be implemented from April 1, 2016. It will subsume excise, service tax, state
VAT, entry tax, octroi, etc.

❖ Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched "Kayakalp" –an initiative for awards to public health facilities.

❖ Nadia in West Bengal became the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) district in India. Nadia has more than 3.47 lakh toilets.

❖ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) won the Asian Banker Achievement Award 2015 for Technology Implementation in the category of Best Outsourcing Project (New Bank). The award was received by Usha Ananthasubramanian, CMD of BMB in Hong Kong.

❖ Bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX- 15 between India and Singapore was held from May 23 to 26, 2015 in Singapore.

❖ The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was presented with the 2015 Freedom of Expression Courage Award of the PEN American Centre at the American Museum of Natural History.

❖ Four Indians have been named in Forbes magazine's 12th annual list of World's 100 Most Powerful
Women. They are- Arundhati Bhattacharya (SBI Chairperson), Chanda Kochchar (MD and CEO of ICICI
Bank), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (MD of Biocon) and Shobhana Bhartia (Chairperson of Hindustan Times
Group). The list is topped by Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany.

❖ China defeated Japan in the final of the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament in Dongguan, China on May 17, 2015.

❖ Mohun Bagan won the I-League football title on May 31, 2015. Bengaluru FC ended as runners-up.

❖ The trial of Pinaka Mark-II missile cum multi barrel rocket launcher system was successfully conducted at Pokhran on May 30, 2015.

❖ The Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited three Asian nations i.e. China, Mongolia and South Korea
from May 14 to 19, 2015.

❖ Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line unit of 6,000 metric tonne capacity at Security Paper Mill in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.

❖ India topped in World Hunger List with around 194 million people according to a UN report.

❖ Maharashtra Government has launched Swachhata Saptapadi Scheme on the lines of Union Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

❖ Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo succeeded Amartya Sen as the Chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar.

❖ S. Christopher is the new Director General of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). G. Sateesh Reddy is the new Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister.

❖ Veteran actor Michael Douglas received the Genesis Prize on June 18, 2015. This prize is nicknamed "Jewish Nobel Prize".

❖ Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar of Aam Aadmi Party was arrested for possessing fake academic documents on June 9, 2015. Later he resigned.

❖ Sepp Blatter resigned as the President of FIFA on June 2, 2015, four days after being elected to a fifth term.

❖ Sister Nirmal Joshi, who succeeded Mother Teresa as the head of the Missionaries of Charity, died on June 23, 2015.

❖ K.V. Chowdary, former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was appointed the
new Central Vigilance Commissioner on June 8, 2015. He is the first
non IAS to head the Central Vigilance Commission. Indian Bank CMD T.M. Bhasin was appointed the Vigilance Commissioner.

❖ Repo Rate: 7.25% Reverse Repo Rate: 6.25% Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4% Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 21.5%

❖ Britain celebrated the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta accord on June15, 2015.

❖ China unveiled the world's first facial recognition ATM on June 1, 2015.

❖ The first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015. 192 countries celebrated.

❖ The 41st G7 Summit was held in June 2015 in Krun city in Germany.

❖ Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win his first French Open singles title. Serena Williams of USA defeated Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic to win the women's singles title of French open.

❖ Australia won the ICC World Cup for the fifth time beating New Zealand by seven wickets in the final in Melbourne on March 29, 2015. James Faulkner of Australia was declared the Man of the Final and Mitchell Starc of Australia the Player of the Tournament.

❖ IPL 8 Mumbai Indians clinched their second Indian Premier League (IPL) title defeating ChennaiSuper Kings by 41 runs in the final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 24, 2015.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Questionnaire on Union Budget

1. In the Union Budget, rate of Service Tax was hiked from 12% to ____ - 14%
2. In the Union Budget 2015-16, Fiscal deficit seen at how much per cent of GDP in 2015/16? - 3.9 %
3. How much amount has been allocated to the Rural Infrastructure Development Bank in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 25,000 crore
4. According to the Union Budget, two new IIM will be opened in which of the following states? -Jammu & Kashmir and Andhra Pradesh
5. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) above _______ will be now considered as financial institutions? - Rs. 5,000 crore
6. How much amount has been allocated for Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the Union Budget 2015-16? - 346.99 billion rupees
7. How much amount has been allocated to Defence sector in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 2,46,726 crore
8. According to the Union Budget, how much per cent of Revenue Deficit to be seen in 2015-16? - 2.8%
9. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, how much per cent, rate of corporate tax will be reduced over next four years? - 25%
10. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, now details of PAN has to mentioned compulsory for transactions for more than _____.- Rs. 1 lakh
11. In the Union Budget 2015-16, increase in the limit of health insurance premium from current Rs 15,000 to ____.Rs. 25,000
12. How much amount has been allocated for micro-irrigation watershed projects in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 5,300 Crore
13. How much amount has been allocated to Infrastructure sector in the Union Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 70,000 crore
14. According to the Union Budget 2015-16, Visa on arrival for how many countries? – 150
15. According to the Union Budget, Centre of film production, animation and gaming to come up in _____. AP
16. On which date Union Budget 2015-16 was presented in Parliament? - 28 February 2015
17. Name the Union Finance Minister who presented the Union Budget 2015-16 in Parliament? - Arun Jaitley
18. Personal Income Tax limit was not changed in Union Budget 2015-16. What is the present Personal I-T exemption limit? - Rs 2.5 lakh
19. Health Insurance Premium deduction hiked from Rs. 15,000 to?- Rs. 25,000 (for senior citizens to Rs. 30,000)
20. Transport allowance exemption hiked to Rs. 1,600, from ____ per month? - Rs.800
21. PAN card is must for all purchase above ______ rupees as proposed in Budget 2015-16? - Rs. 1 lakh
22. An additional _____% surcharge on people earning over Rs. 1 cr was put forth in the budget 2015-16? - 2%
23. What change was made in the Wealth tax? - Wealth tax abolished
24. DTC was dropped in the Budget 2015-16. Expand DTC? - Direct Taxes Code
25. Corporate tax to be reduced from 30% to ___ over next four years? - 25%
26. Mudra banks to be established with capital of Rs.___ crore?- 20000
27. Rs. ____ deduction for contribution to New Pension Scheme?- Rs. 50,000
28. GAAR implementation deferred by 2 years to? - April 2017
29. Service Tax rate hiked to ___% from 12.36%? - 14%
30. Tax free bonds were proposed in budget for? - Roads, railways, irrigation project

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Viceroys of India

Lord Canning (1858–1862)—After the transfer of Government of India to the British Crown. Lord Canning was appointed the first Viceroy of India. He reorganized the whole administration and made it efficient and responsible. Indian Councils Act 1861 was passed during his time.

Lord Ripon (1880–1884)—He had to soft corner for the Indian people. He was responsible for the repeal of Vernacular Press Act. He got enacted the Factory Act to protect the town labourers. He organised the local government on more democratic lines.

Lord Curzon (1899–1905)—
The first partition of Bengal in 1905 was the chief event of his time. During his time Punjab Land Alienation Act was passed. By the Indian Universities Act (1904), he officialised the universities. He was the architect of the new North-West Frontier Policy whereby the relations with the N.W. Frontier Tribes and Afghanistan were sought to be improved. The British Government came to have a say in the Tibetan foreign policy.

Lord Minto (1905–1910)—
During his time Minto-Morley Act of 1909 was passed, which conceded separate electorates to the Muslims in the Legislatures.

Lord Hardinge (1910–1916)—
The partition of Bengal was revoked; the capital was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi.

Lord Chelmsford (1916–1920)—
The chief events of his time were, Government of India Act 1919 (which introduced dyarchy in the provinces), Rowlatt Act, Martial Law; Non-cooperation movement launched under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi; and the tragedy of Jalianwala Bagh.

Lord Irwin (1926–1931)—
The chief events of his time were : Simon Commission’s visit to India which was boycotted by the Indians, Indian National Congress passed resolution for complete independence–1929; Civil Disobedience Movement started; Gandhi’s historic Dandi March; Round Table Conference in London in 1930; Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1931.

Lord Willingdon (1931–1936)—
The main events of his time were : Second Round Table Conference in 1931; Communal Award 1932; Signing of Poona Pact; Third Round Table Conference in 1932; Government of India Act 1935 passed.

Lord Linlithgow (1936–1942)—
In the period of Linlithgow Government of India Act 1935 was enforced in provinces in 1937; Cripps Mission of India. (1942) and Quit India Movement.

Lord Wavell (1942–1947)—
The chief events of his time were : Cabinet Mission Plan; Wavell Plan; end of World War II.

Lord Mountbatten—
Partition of India recommended; Indian Independence Act, 1947 and India was divided into two Dominions of India and Pakistan.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission Review Officer/ Assistant Review Officer Exam General Studies Solved Paper(Exam Held on April 26, 2015)

1. ‘Stockholm Water Prize, 2015’ winner Rajendra Singh is associated with which NGO? 
(a) Bandhan (b) Tarun Bharat Sangh (c) Save Water (d) Boond (Ans : b)

2. The Seventh Asian Ministerial Conference, on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in 2016 will be hosted by– 
(a) Pakistan (b) Thailand (c) Myanmar (d) India (Ans : d)

3. The First Counter-Terrorism Conference, 2015, organised by India Foundation in association with Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, was held in– 
(a) Jaipur (b) Jodhpur (c) Udaipur (d) Rawatbhata (Ans : a)

4. 40% of 50% of 2/5 of 2000 will be– 
(a) 400 (b) 360 (c) 200 (d) 160 (Ans : d)

5. The greatest fraction among 9/13, 17/26, 28/39 and 33/52 is– 
(a) 9/13 (b) 17/26 (c) 28/39 (d) 33/52 (Ans : c)

6. Which one of the following sets is different from others? 
(a) 3, 11, 13, 17 (b) 7, 14, 18, 37 (c) 3, 5, 41, 47 (d) 3, 7, 17, 71 (Ans : b)

7. A prime number between 10 and 50 remains unchanged if its digits are reversed. Then the square of such a number is– 
(a) 121 (b) 484 (c) 1089 (d) 1936 (Ans : a)

8. The missing letter in the letter arrangement ARENIJM? is– 
(a) V (b) H (c) G (d) F (Ans : d)

9. In the word ‘MATHEMATICS’, if M is replaced by P, A by D, T by W and soon, then in the new arrangement of the letters, the letter of the 9th place is– 
(a) K (b) L (c) F (d) W (Ans : b)

10. The number at the question mark (?) in the box
579
964
3636?
is– 
(a) 40 (b) 32 (c) 36 (d) 42 (Ans : b)

11. The sum of the natural numbers which are divisors of –100, is– 
(a) 116 (b) 117 (c) 216 (d) 217 (Ans : d)

12. Interchanging + and » and also the numbers 2 and 5, find the value of 8 + 4 × 5 » 2 – 3 
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 8 (Ans : c)

13. Ram walks 4 km North-West and then 3 km South-West. How far is he from his starting point? 
(a) 12 km (b) 7 km (c) 6 km (d) 5 km (Ans : d)

14. The next term in the sequence XBZ, VDY, TFX, RHW, ? is– 
(a) PLT (b) PJV (c) PJT (d) PLV (Ans : b)

15. By changing one letter at a time, in how many minimum steps, the work ‘LOCK’ can be changed to ‘BANK’? Each change should result in a meaningful word. 
(a) 6 (b) 5 (c) 4 (d) 3 (Ans : d)

16. If in a rectangular field, the length is increased by 50% and breadth by 20%, its area will become– 
(a) 5/9 times (b) 5/3 times (c) 9/5 times (d) 3 times (Ans : c)

17. If looking at a mirror the time in a clock appears to be 30 minutes past 9, then the actual time is– 
(a) 2 : 30 (b) 4 : 30 (c) 6 : 30 (d) 6 : 10 (Ans : a)

18. What is the missing number in the following box?
5179
3217
7168
610?
(a) 10 (b) 12 (c) 15 (d) 16 (Ans : c)

19. If the average of 5, 10, 15 and X is 20, what is the value of X? 
(a) 20 (b) 25 (c) 45 (d) 50 (Ans : d)

20. Which one amongst the following States has declared ‘house sparrow’ as its State bird? 
(a) Haryana (b) Punjab (c) Delhi (d) Rajasthan (Ans : c)

21. Famous personality Yusuf Ali Kechery, who passed away, was a famous– 
(a) Telugu poet (b) Urdu poet (c) Malayalam poet (d) Marathi poet (Ans : c)

22. The book Indian Parliamentary Diplomacy-Speaker’s Perspective has been written by– 
(a) Meira Kumar (b) Sumitra Mahajan (c) BS Shekhawat (d) Somnath Chatterjee (Ans : a)

23. Famous personality ‘Lia van Leer’ has passed away recently. She was– 
(a) the pioneer of Italian cinema (b) the pioneer of Israeli cinema 
(c) the pioneer of American cinema (d) a photographer (Ans : b)

24. Who has written the book Shree Ramayana Mahanveshanam? 
(a) PK Verma (b) Vinod Mehta (c) Shashi Tharoor (d) M. Veerappa Moily (Ans : d)

25. What is a ‘Solar Impulse 2’? 
(a) Solar-powered mobile phone (b) Solar-powered missile 
(c) Solar-powered submarine (d) Solar-powered plane (Ans : d)

26. Which State has launched ‘Bhagyashree’ scheme for. girl child? 
(a) Delhi (b) Punjab (c) Maharashtra (d) Haryana (Ans : c)

27. ‘Jan Rath’ is a name given– 
(a) for expanding rural communication in Uttar Pradesh 
(b) for boosting transportation facilities in the country 
(c) by Indian government to initiate bus service between India and Bangladesh 
(d) to low-cost AC bus service started by Uttar Pradesh government (Ans : d)

28. Which of the following statements is incorrect for 2013? 
(a) The birthrate (per 1000 population) in Uttar Pradesh was less than the birthrate in India. 
(b) The birthrate (per 1000 population) Uttar Pradesh was more than the ‘birthrate in India. 
(c) The birthrate in Uttar Pradesh was more than 25. 
(d) The birthrate in Uttar Pradesh was less than 30. (Ans : a)

29. Uttar Pradesh government has recently decided to celebrate 2015-16 as– 
(a) Yuva Year (b) Mahila Suraksha Year (c) Kisan Year (d) Environmental Conservation Year (Ans : c)

30. In the Census of 2011, the highest literacy rate was in which district of Uttar Pradesh? 
(a) Ghaziabad (b) Mahoba (c) Kanpur (d) Varanasi (Ans : c)

31. The largest share of revenue of Uttar Pradesh government comes from– 
(a) registration fees (b) trade tax (c) land revenue (d) share of Union excise duty (Ans : b)

32. In Uttar Pradesh, the ‘Knowledge Park’ is being set-up at– 
(a) Varanasi (b) Noida (c) Lucknow (d) Greater Noida (Ans : d)

33. The logo of ‘Make in India’ programme is– 
(a) Lion (b) Elephant (c) Panther (d) Kangaroo (Ans : a)

34. Which one of the following groups of compounds is called ‘accessory dietary factor’? 
(a) Fats (b) Hormones (c) Proteins (d) Vitamins (Ans : d)

35. Which’ one of the following is biodegradable? 
(a) Plastic (b) Polythene (c) Mercury (d) Rubber (Ans : d)

36. Which one of the following gases is responsible for decrement in ozone layer? 
(a) Nitrous oxide (b) Chlorofluorocarbon (c) Carbon dioxide (d) Carbon monoxide (Ans : b)

37. The gas used for inflating the tyres of aeroplanes, is– 
(a) hydrogen (b) helium (c) nitrogen (d) neon (Ans : c)

38. An essential constituent of diet, is– 
(a) starch (b) glucose (c) carbohydrate (d) cellulose (Ans : c)

39. ‘Red ink’ is prepared from– 
(a) phenol (b) aniline (c) Congo red (d) eosin (Ans : d)

40. The compound associated with Bhopal Gas Tragedy was– 
(a) methyl alcohol (b) phosphazene (c) methyl isocyanate (d) methylamine (Ans : c)

41. The chemical used as fixer in the photography is– 
(a) sodium thiosulphate (b) borax (c) sodium tetrathionate (d) ammonium molybdate (Ans : a)

42. Percentagewise which gas is the most abundant in the atmosphere? 
(a) Nitrogen (b) Oxygen (c) Hydrogen (d) Carbon dioxide (Ans : a)

43. Which one of the following proteins is present in human hair and nails? 
(a) Oxytocin (b) Keratin (c) Vasopressin (d) Trypsin (Ans : b)

44. Which one of the following salts should not be used as dining table salt? 
(a) Iodised salt (b) Sea salt (c) Rock salt (d) Processed common salt (Ans : c)

45. Natural camphor is obtained from– 
(a) high altitude rocks of Himalayan mountains (b) foams of Angle Falls in Venezuela 
(c) a tree native to China and Japan (d) sediments of tides of sea near Andaman (Ans : c)

46. Cow milk is yellowish white-in colour due to the presence of– 
(a) casein (b) lactose (c) carotene together with casein (d) butyric acid together with lactose (Ans : a)

47. Consider the following statements– 
Assertion (A) During sleep, bright light is undesirable. 
Reason (R) In bright light, production of melatonin in the body is considerably increased. 
Select your answer using the codes given below: 
(a) Both (A) and (R) are correct, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A). 
(b) Both (A) and (R) are correct, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A). 
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false. 
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true. (Ans : b)

48. Who among the following was given the title of ‘Shah Buland Iqbal’ by Shahjahan? 
(a) Dara Shikoh (b) Shuja (c) Aurangzeb (d) Murad (Ans : a)

49. Who were the ‘Nayanars’? 
(a) Vaishnavites (b) Shaivites (c) Shaktas (d) Sun worshippers (Ans : b)

50. ‘Saptaparni Cave’ is situated in– 
(a) Sanchi (b) Nalanda (c) Rajgriha (d) Pavapuri (Ans : c)

51. ‘Dwarasamudra’ was the capital of which dynastic power? 
(a) Ganga (b) Kakatiya (c) Hoysala (d) Kadamba (Ans : c)

52. ‘Gopatha Brahmana’ is associated with– 
(a) Yajurveda (b) Samveda (c) Atharvaveda (d) Rigveda (Ans : c)

53. Originally, the Mahabharata was known as– 
(a) Brihatkatha (b) Brahmanas (c) Brihatsamhita (d) Jayasamhita (Ans : d)

54. From which inscription it is known that Skandagupta defeated Hunas? 
(a) Bhitari pillar inscription (b) Allahabad pillar inscription 
(c) Mandsaur inscription (d) Udayagiri inscription (Ans : a)

55. Vallabhi University was situated in– 
(a) Bihar (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Bengal (d) Gujarat (Ans : d)

56. Which of the following works were authored by Harsha? 
1. Priyadarshika 2. Nagananda 3. Harshacharita 4. Ratanavali 
Select your answer using the codes given below: 
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 (b) 1, 2 and 4 (c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) 2 and 3 (Ans : b)

57. The largest and the most evolved rock-cut Chaitya hall of the Hinayana phase is situated at– 
(a) Pitalkhora (b) Junnar (c) Karle (d) Bedsa (Ans : c)

58. In whose Viceroyalty, the ‘Rowlatt Act’ was passed? 
(a) Lord Hardinge II (b) Lord Reading (c) Lord Chelmsford (d) Lord Minto II (Ans : c)

59. The Indian Independence Act, 1947 came into force on– 
(a) July 4, 1947 (b) July 10, 1947 (c) July 18, 1947 (d) August 17, 1947 (Ans : c)

60. Boycott of British goods was adopted as a national policy in– 
(a) 1899 (b) 1901 (c) 1903 (d) 1905 (Ans : d)

61. The strategy of ‘Divide and Rule’ was adopted by– 
(a) Lord Curzon (b) Lord Minto (c) Lord Dalhousie (d) Lord Wellesley (Ans : a)

62. The headquarters of the Ghadar Party was in– 
(a) San Francisco (b) New York (c) Madras (d) Calcutta (Ans : a)

63. Who among the following was not an outstanding leader of Militant Nationalism? 
(a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale (b) Bipin Chandra Pal (c) Lokmanya Tilak (d) Lala Lajpat Rai (Ans : a)

64. Who among the following is known by the title of ‘The Grand Old Man’? 
(a) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (b) WC Bannerjee (c) Dadabhai Naoroji (d) Motilal Nehru (Ans : c)

65. Who among the following was the President of tile Indian Constituent Assembly? 
(a) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (b) Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (c) Sardar Patel (d) Dr. BR Ambedkar (Ans : a)

66. When was newly adopted tricolour flag of freedom first hoisted? 
(a) December 31, 1928 (b) December 31, 1929 (c) December 31, 1930 (d) December 31, 1931 (Ans : b)

67. In which State, the ‘Bhoodan Movement’ was first started? 
(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Karnataka (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Uttar Pradesh (Ans : a)

68. The Right of Equality is granted by five Articles in the Indian Constitution. These are– 
(a) Articles 13-17 (b) Articles 14-18 (c) Articles 15-19 (d) Articles 16-20 (Ans : b)

69. The framers of the Constitution of India borrowed the concept of Fundamental Right from the– 
(a) Constitution of USA (b) Constitution of Ireland (c) Constitution of Canada (d) Constitution of USSR (Ans : a)

70. The Sarkaria Commission was set-up for reviewing the relations between the– 
(a) Prime Minister and President (b) Legislature and Executive 
(c) Executive and Judiciary (d) Centre and States (Ans : d)

71. In which Part of the Constitution of India, relations between the Union and States have been mentioned?
(a) Part X (b) Part XI (c) Part XIV (d) Part XV (Ans : b)

72. If the President and the Vice-President of India both have resigned, who will act as the President? 
(a) Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b) Prime Minister 
(c) Home Minister (d) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Ans : d)

73. Which of the following Directive Principles of State Policy was added to the Constitution at a later date? 
(a) organisation of village panchayats (b) prohibition of cow slaughter 
(c) free legal aid (d) uniform civil code (Ans : c)

74. ‘Judicial Activism’ in India is related to– 
(a) committed judiciary (b) public interest petition 
(c) judicial review (d) judicial independence (Ans : b)

75. In the Union Budget of 2015-16, which one of the following pension schemes has been reintroduced? 
(a) Ram Manohar Lohia Pension Yojana (b) Pradhan Mantri Pension Yojana 
(c) Atal Pension Yojana (d) Nirantar Pension Yojana (Ans : c)

76. In the Union Budget of 2015-16, the FDI limit of equity in case of insurance companies has been raised to– 
(a) 49% (b) 76% (c) 81 % (d) 99% (Ans : a)

77. What is ‘Shadow Banking’? 
(a) Outsourcing of banking work by a bank 
(b) Financial transactions and other activities of non-banking financial intermediary 
(c) Domestic banks’ foreign operations 
(d) Foreign bank operating in another country for banking and other activities (Ans : b)

78. Which among the following are multinational corporations working in India? 
1. Hindustan Lever Limited 2. Samsung Corporation 
3. Guest Keen and Williams Pharam 4. LG 
Select your answer using the codes given below: 
(a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 (b) 2 and 4 (c) 2, 3 and 4 (d) 1 and 3 (Ans : a)

79. The density of population in India– 
(a) has continuously increased (b) is approximately constant 
(c) has mildly declined (d) has first increased and then declined since 1991 (Ans : a)

80. Which one of the following decades in Indian Planning deserves to be called ‘The Decade of Jobless Growth’? 
(a) 1971-1980 (b) 1991-2000 (c) 2001-2010 (d) 2005-2015 (Ans : b)

81. The folk dance of Meghalaya is– 
(a) Nati (b) Loho (c) Bamboo dance (d) Khantum (Ans : b)

82. Who was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2014? 
(a) Guizar (b) Shashi Kapoor (c) Pran (d) Lata Mangeshkar (Ans : b)

83. ‘Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research’ is located at– 
(a) Meerut (b) Bulandshahar (c) Lucknow (d) Gorakhpur (Ans : c)

84. ‘Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ is located at– 
(a) Chitrakut (b) Saharanpur (c) Kanpur (d) Lucknow (Ans : d)

85. Potato Research Institute’ in Uttar Pradesh is located in the district– 
(a) Farrukhabad (b) Meerut (c) Kanpur (d) Allahabad (Ans : b)

86. Which one of the following is the most productive soil in India? 
(a) Red soil (b) Black soil (c) Alluvial soil (d) Calcareous soil (Ans : c)

87. Generally Orobanche weed is found in– 
(a) tobacco field (b) gram field (c) rice field (d) wheat field (Ans : a)

88. The highest protein content is found in the grain of– 
(a) black gram (b) pigeon pea (c) field pea (d) soyabean (Ans : d)

89. Which one of the following is not included in the working capital of a farm? 
(a) Seed (b) Fertilizer (c) Irrigation water (d) Land revenue (Ans : c)

90. The proper seed rate for transplanting of Basmati rice is– 
(a) 45-50 kg/ha (b) 20-30 kg/ha (c) 15-20 kg/ha (d) 5-10 kg/ha (Ans : b)

91. Devaluation of ‘Mudra’– 
(a) increases the imports and exports of a country 
(b) decreases the imports and exports of a country 
(c) increases the exports and decreases the imports of a country 
(d) increases the imports and decreases the exports of a country (Ans : c)

92. Which one of the following NBFCs has been granted license by the RBI to open commercial bank by March 31, 2015? 
(a) Reliance Capital (b) Bajaj Capital (c) IDFC (d) IFCI (Ans : c)

93. Long-term fiscal policy was announced by which Finance Minister of India? 
(a) VP Singh (b) P. Chidambaram (c) Dr. Manmohan Singh (d) Yashwant Sinha (Ans : a)

94. Which one of the following is a Direct tax? 
(B) Sales tax (b) Excise duty (c) Customs duty (d) Wealth tax (Ans : d)

95. The RBI does not transact the business of which State government? 
(a) Nagaland (b) Jammu and Kashmir (c) Punjab (d) Assam (Ans : b)

96. Income tax in India was introduced by– 
(a) Sir Charles Wood (b) Lord MacHale (c) James Wilson (d) William Jones (Ans : c)

97. What is the maximum limit of gratuity payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972? 
(a) Rs. 3 lakh (b) Rs. 7.50 lakh (c) Rs. 10 lakh (d) Rs. 10.50 lakh (Ans : c)

98. A ‘PAN’ has initially a five-alphabet series like AFZPK 7190 K. Here P stands for– 
(a) individual (b) firm (c) Hindu undivided family (d) association of persons (Ans : a)

99. In 2011, micro-finance institutions were installed on the recommendation of– 
(a) Malegam Committee (b) Goiporia Committee (c) Rangarajan Committee (d) Banking Reforms Committee (Ans : a)

100. Which one of the following is true for ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana’? 
Accident Insurance – Life Insurance (a) Rs.100000 – Rs. 30000
(b) Rs.30000 – Rs. 100000
(c) Rs.30000 – Rs. 10000 
(d) Rs.130000 – Rs. 100000 (Ans : a)

101. In India, the effective literacy rates are calculated from– 
(a) total population (b) child population (c) adult population (d) population above 7 years of age (Ans : d)

102. Which of the following is an act that disturbs the ecological balance? 
(a) Lumbering (b) Social forestry (c) Vanamahotsav (d) Afforestation (Ans : a)

103. ‘Humus’ is an example of– 
(a) soil structure (b) crystalloids (c) organic colloids (d) None of the above (Ans : c)

104. Xeric condition refers to– 
(a) low temperature (b) low humidity (c) high evaporation (d) extreme temperature (Ans : b)

105. ‘Ecology’ is the study of relationship between– 
(a) organism and environment (b) man and forest (c) soil and water (d) husband and wife (Ans : a)

106. Soil erosion can be prevented’ by– 
(a) heavy rains (b) deforestation (c) afforestation (d) overgrazing (Ans : c)

107. The boundary of Lucknow district does not touch the boundary of which of the following districts? 
(a) Ballia (b) Unnao (c) Hardoi (d) Barabankl (Ans : a)

108. Which of the following factors is most effective in the increase of agricultural production in Uttar Pradesh? 
(a) Increasing use of the high quality seeds (b) Development of agro-service centres 
(c) Agro-credit facility (d) Kisan Credit Card Scheme (Ans : a)

109. As per the Census of 2011, what is the percentage of urban population’ in the total population of India? 
(a) 31.8 % (b) 30.8 % (c) 32.2% (d) 31.2% (Ans : d)

110. Uttar Pradesh government has decided to have Metro Rail in various cities. Which of the following cities does not find place in the list? 
(a) Kanpur (b) Allahabad (c) Agra (d) Varanasi (Ans : b)

111. Which State is the largest producer of coal in India? 
(a) West Bengal (b) Odisha (c) Andhra Pradesh (d) Madhya Pradesh (Ans : b)

112. The second largest continent in the world (in terms of area) is– 
(a) Asia (b) South America (c) North America (d) Africa (Ans : d)

113. In which State, the Aravalli ranges are located? 
(a) Rajasthan (b) Himachal Pradesh (c) Odisha (d) Andhra Pradesh (Ans : a)

114. Which river forms its delta in Odisha? 
(a) Godavari (b) Mahanadi (c) Narmada (d) Tapti (Ans : b)

115. Betwa river joins the– 
(a) Ganga (b) Yamuna (c) Brahamaputra (d) Sane (Ans : b)

116. In which of the following continents, the tropical deciduous forests are most extensive? 
(a) Africa (b) Asia (c) Australia (d) South America (Ans : b)

117. Mexico is the largest producer of– 
(a) gold (b) copper (c) zinc (d) silver (Ans : d)

118. Which of the following cities is located on Lake Superior? 
(a) Chicago (b) Buffalo (c) Detroit (d) Duluth (Ans : d)

119. Hajira-Bijapur-jagdishpur (HBJ) Gas Pipeline been constructed by which of the following authorities? 
(a) Gas Authority of India Limited (b) Oil India Limited 
(c) Indian Oil Company (d) Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (Ans : a)

120. Which of the following States is not known for the production of cardamom? 
(a) Kerala (b) Karnataka (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Odisha (Ans : d)

121. How many States in India are coastal? 
(a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d)10 (Ans : c)

122. ‘Sargasso Sea’ is characterised by– 
(a) very cold water (b) very warm water (c) highly saline water (d) typical marine vegetation (Ans : d)

123. Which of the following lakes is a world heritage site? 
(a) Red Lagoon of Bolivia (b) Boiling Lake of Dominica 
(c) Five Flower Lake of China (d) Plitvice Lake of Croatia (Ans : d)

124. Which one of the following States of India is the largest producer of coconut? 
(a) Kerala (b) Karnataka (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Andhra Pradesh (Ans : b)

125. Mithi river of Mumbai originates from which of the following lakes? 
(a) Tulsi Lake (b) Vihar Lake (c) Powai Lake (d) None of these (Ans : b)

126. The historic statue of Mahatma Gandhi has been unveiled at which country’s Parliament Square? 
(a) Japan (b) The USA (c) Britain (d) France (Ans : c)

127. Which university has topped in Times World Reputation Rankings 2015’? 
(a) Cambridge University (b) Oxford University 
(c) Harward University (d) Stanford University (Ans : c)

128. ‘NAINA’ is a new city to be set-up around which of the following airports? 
(a) Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi) (b) Rajeev Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad) 
(c) Navi Mumbai International Airport (Mumbai) (d) None of the above (Ans : c)

129. According to the latest Supreme Court judgement on Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which of the following is true? 
(a) High Courts cannot entertain writ petitions against verdict of AFT. 
(b) High Courts can entertain writ. petitions against verdict of AFT. 
(c) High Courts can entertain writ petitions against verdict of AFT concerning officials below the rank of Major only. 
(d) None of the above (Ans : a)

130. North Central Zone Cultural Centre (NCZCC) would organise Chaite and Kajri centres in which city? 
(a) Mirzapur (b) Bhojpur (c) Mathura (d) Varanasi (Ans : d)

131. The book ‘Lucknow Boy’ was written by– 
(a) Kuldeep Nayar (b) Muzaffar Ali (c) Vinod Mehta (d) Noorul Hasan (Ans : c)

132. Which of the following National Parks has started to use drone or unmanned aerial vehicle for wildlife management? 
(a) Bandipur Tiger Reserve (b) Corbett Tiger Reserve 
(c) Ranthambore Tigre Reserve (d) Periyar Tiger Reserve (Ans : b)

133. Who amongst the following has been appointed as Editor-in-Chief of the Guardian newspaper? 
(a) Cheryl Cole (b) Katharine Viner (c) Joya Vincent (d) Samantha Rice (Ans : b)

134. ‘Mithivirdi’ nuclear power plant will be set-up in collaboration with which of the following countries? 
(a) The USA (b) Canada (c) Russia (d) France (Ans : a)

135. According-to the latest report, what is the rank of India in steel production in the world? 
(a) 4th (b) 3rd (c) 2nd (d) 1st (Ans : b)

136. ‘Agenda-21’ is related to which field? 
(a) Sustainable development (b) Nuclear disarmament 
(c) Patent protection (d) Agricultural subsidies (Ans : a)

137. ‘Mission Indradhanush’ of the Union government is related to– 
(a) pulse production (b) immunisation of children against seven vaccine-preventable diseases 
(c) skill development (d) tourism promotion (Ans : b)

138. Prestigious ‘Tyler Prize’ is given in the field-of– 
(a) drama (b) women rights (c) child rights (d) environmental protection (Ans : d)

139. According to recent judgement of the Supreme Court, Section-66A of IT Act is a violation of– 
(a) Article-20 (b) Article-19 (1) (c) Article-14 (d) Article-25 (Ans : b)

140. How many of the recently approved 17 mega food parks for food processing have been allotted to State agencies? 
(a) 7 (b) 10 (c) 11 (d) 13 (Ans : a)