General Knowledge Quiz - Indian and International Current Affairs

Chandrayaan-1 was India's first scientific lunar mission, launched in October 2008. The name combines the Sanskrit words 'Chandra' (moon) and 'Yaana' (craft/vessel). Soyuz and Sputnik were Soviet missions, while Voyager was a NASA program.

Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat, wrote the novel 'Q & A' (later titled 'Slumdog Millionaire' for the film adaptation). Danny Boyle directed the film, while Salman Rushdie is a different renowned author known for 'Midnight's Children'.

Nicolas Sarkozy served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Vladimir Putin is Russian, Hillary Clinton is American, and Gordon Brown was British Prime Minister. This question reflects the political landscape of the late 2000s.

Aravind Adiga won the 2008 Man Booker Prize for 'The White Tiger', his debut novel. Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth are prominent Indian authors, but they didn't win for this specific work. Chetan Bhagat is known for 'Five Point Someone'.

Bhimsen Joshi, the legendary classical vocalist, received the Bharat Ratna in 2009. Lata Mangeshkar received it earlier (2001). The award is India's highest civilian honor.

Nokia's N Series was a premium line of multimedia smartphones launched in the mid-2000s. Nokia was a Finnish telecommunications company known for its mobile phones during that era.

Azim Premji is the chairman of Wipro Limited, one of India's major IT services companies. Note that the option spells it as 'Aziz Premji' but this refers to Azim Premji. Narayan Murthy is associated with Infosys, Ramalinga Raju with Satyam, and Nandan Nilekani is also from Infosys.

V.S. Achuthanandan was the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2006-2011. M. Karunanidhi was from Tamil Nadu, B.S. Yeddyurappa from Karnataka, and Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy from Andhra Pradesh. This question reflects the political leadership of the late 2000s.

Tukaram Ombale was the ASI who single-handedly caught Ajmal Kasab at CST station during the 26/11 attacks. Hemant Karkare was martyred earlier at Chowpatti. Gajendra Singh was NSG, and Unnikrishnan was Army.

D Subbarao served as RBI Governor from 2008-2013. Montek Ahluwalia was Planning Commission Deputy Chairman. Chidambaram was Finance Minister. YV Reddy was the previous RBI Governor.

Lalit Modi was the IPL Chairman and Commissioner from 2007-2010 before his suspension. Sharad Pawar was BCCI president. Sunil Gavaskar was a commentator. Shahrukh Khan owned a team.

A dunk shot is a basketball term where a player scores by directly putting the ball through the hoop with one or both hands. Golf, football have no such term. 'Sport' is too broad to be the specific answer.

BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) is the UK's equivalent of the Oscars, recognizing excellence in film. Golden Globes, MTV Movie Awards are American. Grammy Awards are for music, not film.

Root Canal Treatment (RCT) is an endodontic procedure to treat infected tooth pulp and save the natural tooth. It is performed by dentists on teeth, not on kidneys, prostate, or heart.

Jamshedpur, founded by Jamsetji Tata and home to Tata Steel, is located in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. It was part of Bihar before Jharkhand was carved out in 2000.

Tata's Nano project was shifted from Singur, West Bengal to Sanand, Gujarat in 2008 after political protests and land acquisition issues in West Bengal. Gujarat offered better incentives and land.

Kishore Biyani, founder of Future Group and brands like Pantaloon and Big Bazaar, pioneered modern retail formats in India. Ratan Tata and Narayana Murthy are industrialists. Anil Ambani is in finance/infrastructure.

Abhijeet Sawant won the first season of Indian Idol in 2005. Rahul Vaidya was runner-up. Prashant Tamang won Season 2. Debojit Saha won a different singing show.

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is Asia's largest IT consultancy firm by revenue and employees. Infosys and Wipro are major but smaller. Satyam was involved in a major scandal and was later acquired.

Dan Brown is the author of The Da Vinci Code (2003), a bestselling mystery thriller. Jeffrey Archer, Sidney Sheldon, Danielle Steel are bestselling authors but didn't write this specific novel.

Vikram Pandit served as CEO of Citigroup from 2007-2012, making him the correct answer for the time period when this question was written. Kenneth Lewis was CEO of Bank of America, not Citigroup. Chanda Kochhar was ICICI Bank's CEO, and Deepak Parekh is HDFC's chairman - both Indian banking leaders but not Citigroup CEOs.

M. Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, is the father of Kanimozhi who is a writer and Member of Parliament. 'Stalin' in option A refers to M.K. Stalin, who is Kanimozhi's brother, not father. Chandrababu Naidu and MGR were prominent Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu politicians respectively, unrelated to Kanimozhi.

Usain Bolt won the 100m gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a then-world record time of 9.69 seconds. Michael Phelps is a swimmer who won 8 gold medals at the same Olympics, not a sprinter. Yohan Blake is a Jamaican sprinter who came later (2011 World Champion), and Carl Lewis was a legendary American sprinter from the 1980s-90s.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, not the New Seven Wonders of the World (announced in 2007). Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, and Roman Colosseum are all part of the New Seven Wonders list.

Virender Sehwag earned the title 'Sultan of Multan' after his triple century (309 runs) in a Test match against Pakistan at Multan in 2004. Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Inzamam-ul-Haq are all legendary cricketers but none have this specific nickname associated with Multan.

AIIMS stands for All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India's premier medical education and research institution. The other options are incorrect expansions - 'Management Studies', 'Manpower Services', and 'Military Services' are not what AIIMS represents.

Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its one-horned rhinoceros population, is located in Assam. West Bengal has Sundarbans, Meghalaya has Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, and Rajasthan is home to Ranthambore and Sariska - none of which are Kaziranga.