2008 Current Affairs & General Knowledge

Airtel, a subsidiary of Bharti Group, launched mobile services in the Channel Islands under the name Guernsey Airtel. The Channel Islands (including Guernsey) got Airtel services as part of Bharti's international expansion.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) held a meeting in Sharm-El-Sheikh in 2008.

Kamalesh Sharma (note spelling variant) served as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, which organizes the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHoGM). The other options are prominent Indian politicians but not associated with this role.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar became FICCI's President (referred to as chief). FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) is a prominent business association in India. The other names are business leaders but not FICCI chiefs.

The 6th Central Pay Commission was chaired by Justice B.N. Krishna (not Krishna). It was constituted in 2006 to review and recommend revisions to the salaries of government employees. The other options are notable economists but not Pay Commission chairs.

IFRS stands for International Financial Reporting Standards, a set of accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). India committed to converge with IFRS by 2011 to bring Indian accounting practices in line with global standards.

The United States shot down a defunct spy satellite in February 2008 using a Navy missile. The operation was described as a safety measure to destroy the satellite's toxic fuel tank before it could re-enter the atmosphere.

The Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer is manufactured by BAE Systems of the United Kingdom. India signed a deal to induct 66 Hawk aircraft to train pilots for advanced fighter jets like the Su-30MKI and Tejas LCA.

Zydus Cadila (now Cadila Healthcare) launched a cancer drug. While the specific brand name NUDOX may need verification, Zydus Cadila is an established Indian pharmaceutical company with oncology products in its portfolio.

Sagarika is the name of an under-sea missile (submarine-launched ballistic missile) developed by India's DRDO as part of the K-15 missile family. It is not a book, submarine (which launches it), or sea-to-air missile.

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) acquired a 5% stake in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in 2008. This was part of MCX's strategy to bring in foreign expertise and global best practices. NYSE Euronext invested around Rs 150 crore for this stake.

C.B. Bhave (Chandrasekhar Bhaskar Bhave) served as SEBI Chairman from 2008-2011. He was the first whole-time member of SEBI and later became its chairman, bringing significant reforms to Indian securities markets.

Swami Rambhadracharya received the 16th Vachaspati Puraskar in 2007 for his Sanskrit epic 'Shri Bhavartha Ramayana' (also referred to as MahaKavyam). He is a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet, despite being visually impaired from birth.

Roger Federer won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Justine Henin won the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year in 2008. Federer was dominant in tennis during this period, while Henin had a stellar 2007 season before retiring briefly.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was launched on April 1, 2008, for BPL families of unorganized sector workers. It provides health insurance coverage up to Rs 30,000 per family per year for hospitalization expenses.

Rahul Dravid was the third Indian cricketer to surpass 10,000 Test runs, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. He achieved this milestone in 2008 against Australia in Bangalore. Dravid is known as 'The Wall' for his solid batting technique.

India had the largest area under Bt Cotton cultivation in 2007, with 6.2 million hectares. India became the world's largest cotton producer that year and is the 5th largest grower of GM crops overall by area.

The committee headed by Dr. Sambasiva Rao recommended compulsory rural service for medical students seeking PG admission. This was aimed at addressing the shortage of doctors in rural areas and improving healthcare delivery in villages.

The initial corpus for the Farmers Debt Relief Fund was Rs 10,000 crore. The Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS) was announced in the 2008 budget to help farmers facing distress, with implementation targeted for completion by June 30, 2008.

Virender Sehwag is the third batsman to score 300+ runs twice in Test cricket, after Sir Donald Bradman and Brian Lara. Sehwag scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan (2004) and 319 against South Africa in Chennai (2008).

India was ranked 72nd in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2007. This index, published by Transparency International, measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries worldwide. A lower score indicates higher perceived corruption.

The Chameli Devi Award is given for outstanding contributions in journalism, particularly to women journalists. It was instituted in 1980 by the Media Foundation and is named after Chameli Devi Jain, a freedom fighter and social worker.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), later renamed MGNREGA, was passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005 and came into force on 2 February 2006. The question asks when it 'came into existence,' which most sources identify as 2005 when the Act was passed. 2005 is the correct answer among the given options.

NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange) launched carbon credit futures trading in India around 2008, making it the first exchange in India to offer such contracts. This was a pioneering initiative in environmental commodity trading in the Indian market.