General Awareness - 1 NIACL (Administrative Officer)

IRDA stands for Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. It is an autonomous apex statutory body, which regulates and develops the insurance industry in India.

The epicentre is the point on Earth's surface directly above the focus (hypocentre), which is the actual location inside Earth where the earthquake originates. The epicentre is therefore the first point on the surface to experience earthquake waves, not the focus/hypocentre which is underground.

No specific attempts were made for estimating national income in India during the pre-independence era. In 1868, the first attempt was made by Dadabhai Naoroji. He, in his book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India’, estimated Indian per capita annual income at a level of Rs. 20.

Option (3) is correct.

Direct taxes are paid directly to the government by the taxpayer, like income tax, corporation tax, and estate tax. Sales tax is an indirect tax because it is collected by intermediaries (retailers) from consumers and then passed to the government - the burden can be shifted. Estate tax, corporation tax, and wealth tax are direct taxes.

Rajiv Mehrishi succeeded Arvind Mayaram as Union Finance Secretary in 2014. This is a factual question about bureaucratic appointments in the Indian government. The other options are all senior bureaucrats who held important positions but not this specific portfolio at that time.

Correct option is (1).

Correct option is (4).

Option (3) is correct.

Dhanush is a ship-launched ballistic missile system that is a naval variant of the surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile. It is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.

The Global 500 Award was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1987 to recognize outstanding environmental achievement. It honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to environmental protection and conservation, not the other social causes listed.

Correct option is (3).

Cue, jigger, and pot are all terms used in billiards/snooker. A cue is the stick used to strike the balls, jigger is a type of cue extension, and pot refers to pocketing a ball. Golf uses clubs, baseball uses bats, and bridge is a card game.

Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary (now Keoladeo National Park) is located in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and famous for migratory birds. It is not in MP, UP, or Maharashtra - these are different states with different wildlife sanctuaries.

Correct option is (1).

All of the above statements are true. So, this option is correct.

Correct option is (3).

Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1955.

The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. It is one of the most prestigious events in golf. It is not associated with baseball, billiards, football, or rugby - each of which has their own major international competitions.

Correct option is (2).

Correct option is (4).

Correct option is (3).

A mortgage is a security interest on immovable property (like land or house) created for a loan given by a bank. The property serves as collateral for the loan. Movable property security is called hypothecation, not mortgage. A concession is not relevant, and mortgage is specifically for loans, not deposits.

Correct option is (4).

Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) is the capital of Karnataka state. It is known as India's IT capital. Patna is capital of Bihar, Hyderabad is capital of Telangana (was joint capital of Andhra Pradesh earlier), Chandigarh is capital of Punjab and Haryana, and Gandhinagar is capital of Gujarat.

KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines in India have been framed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI is the central banking institution that regulates banking norms and customer verification procedures. While the Ministry of Finance oversees RBI, the specific KYC norms are formulated by RBI. FATF provides international standards but Indian KYC follows RBI guidelines.

Option (4) is correct.

Correct option is (3).

The Shree Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London, is recognized as the world's first eco-temple. It was built using traditional materials and methods while incorporating modern environmental considerations. The UK location makes this an important landmark in both religious and environmental contexts.

Correct option is (3).
Under Chamling's leadership, Sikkim became the first state in India to start a green mission, managed to increase its forest cover, and is on its way to become India's first organic state by 2015. 

Mapp Biopharmaceutical, a US-based company, developed ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The drug gained attention during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Other companies listed (Pfizer, Novartis, Astra Zeneca, GlaxoSmithKline) are major pharmaceutical companies but not associated with ZMapp.

This dam across the river Godavari is under construction and is located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. Its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa also.

China has constructed several high-altitude railway tunnels, including those in the Qinghai-Tibet railway line. These tunnels represent remarkable engineering achievements in challenging mountainous terrain. The country has invested heavily in high-speed rail infrastructure across diverse geographic conditions.

Bimal Jalan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, was appointed to head the Expenditure Management Commission. The commission was formed to suggest reforms in expenditure management and fiscal discipline. Other options (Y.V. Reddy, D. Subbarao, C. Rangarajan) were also RBI governors but not associated with this specific commission.

Correct option is (3).

Correct option is (3).

Correct

Correct option is (1).

Correct option is (1).