BANK GK TEST 3
General knowledge test covering current affairs, Indian politics, international events, economics, and government schemes for banking competitive exam preparation
Questions
Which of the following statements about American journalist William Safire who passed away recently is incorrect?
- He was a long-time syndicated political columnist for the Los Angeles Times
- He was a regular contributor to �On Language� in the New York Times Magazine
- He served as the speech writer to President Richard Nixon in 1968
- He won the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1978
Which minister in Manmohan Singh cabinet was asked by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi to be careful with his words in view of the controversy generated by his �cattle class� and �holy cows� remarks on the social networking site Twitter' recently?
- Kapil Sibal
- Shashi Tharoor
- S. M. Krishna
- Anand Sharma
The Mo Ibrahim foundation provides a detailed assessment of good governance in Africa every year. The Ibrahim Index released recently ranked Africa's 53 nations, measuring economic opportunity, safety, human rights and development. Which is the correct combination of highest and lowest ranked countries on Ibrahim's Index?
- Seychelles, Chad
- Mauritius, Somalia
- Botswana, Namibia
- Egypt, Madagascar
India-MERCOSUR preferential trade agreement (PTA) came into effect from June 1, 2009. MERCOSUR is a trading bloc in South America region comprising which of the following countries?
- Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay
- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia
- Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru
Which of the following is the typhoon that ravaged Philippines recently?
- Typhoon Kalmaegi
- Typhoon Ketsana
- Typhoon Meranti
- Typhoon Morakot
Construction of India's longest rail tunnel known as the �Pir Panjal� tunnel is nearing completion. Which of the following statements regarding the tunnel is/are true?
I. The tunnel is 17 km long
II. The tunnel is between Banihal and Qazigund
III. The tunnel will connect the states of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh
- I only
- I and II only
- III only
- II only
Who has authored the recently released book - �India and the Global Financial Crisis�?
- Y. V. Reddy
- Shankar Acharya
- Rakesh Mohan
- Anil Virmani
What should be the minimum proportion of scheduled caste population for a village to be covered under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY) for integrated development of 1000 villages launched by the Union government recently?
- 15%
- 25%
- 50%
- 75%
Who among the following announced a grant of 100 acres of land to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for establishment of an education centre in his/her state?
- Mayawati
- Tarun Gogoi
- Nitish Kumar
- Sheila Dixit
Which of the following is true regarding the APEC CEO Summit & APEC Leaders Meeting scheduled for 12-14 November 2009?
I. It was organised in Seoul
II. It has the theme - �Rebuilding the Global Economy: Crisis and Opportunity�
III. Leaders from 24 member nations of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will participate in the meeting
- I only
- I and II only
- III only
- III only II only
Who presented with the Universal Smile Award by 'Operation Smile', a worldwide children's medical charity, for his dedication in establishing a public-private partnership towards making Assam the first cleft-free state in India recently?
- Mayawati
- Tarun Gogoi
- Nitish Kumar
- Sheila Dixit
Which of the following was in news recently for launching the �Izzat� Scheme?
- National Commission for Women (NCW)
- Indian Railways
- Ministry of Women and Child Development
- State Bank of India
Which island nation was in news recently for organising a an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the threat global warming and rising sea levels pose to the low-lying atoll nation?
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- Seychelles
- Fiji
What is the field of expertise of Dr. Naresh Trehan who was in news recently for inauguration of his super-specialty healthcare institute 'Medanta - The Medicity' in Gurgaon?
- Geneticist
- Nephrologist
- Cardiologist
- Neurologist
What was organised in Bangalore from October 7 to 9 recently?
- Bicentenary of Tipu Sultan's coming to power
- World Spice Festival
- International Festival of Music and Fine Arts
- India International Coffee Festival
The energy division of Sajjan Jindal promoted JSW Group, JSW Energy Ltd, has tied up with which of the following for making 800 MW super critical boilers in India recently?
- Toshiba
- Areva
- Siemens
- ABB
Why was the National Tiger Conservation Authority in news recently?
I. It has received a $ 10 million grant from Ford Foundation
II. Jairam Ramesh was appointed as its new Chairman
III. Maneka Gandhi was appointed its new member
- I only
- I and II only
- III only
- II and III only
What is the area of expertise of Rajinder Singh Maharaj who was in news recently?
- Classical music
- Literature
- Dance
- Spiritualism
Who is the Chairperson of a high-level Cabinet Committee that was constituted to give a major thrust to infrastructure development in the country recently?
- Manmohan Singh
- Pranab Mukherjee
- S. Jaipal Reddy
- Sonia Gandhi
T. Venkattram Reddy was in news recently for his appointment as the president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2009-10. He is the Chairman of which newspaper group?
- Malayala Manorama
- Deccan Chronicle
- The Hindu
- Deccan Herald
How much is the interest rate on deposits in Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the year 2008-09 as announced by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) recently?
- 7%
- 7.5%
- 8.5%
- 9%
Which, of the following combinations of diplomats who took charge in New Delhi recently and their countries is matched incorrectly?
- Javier Manuel Paulinich Velarde - Ambassador of Peru
- Peter Joseph Noozhumurry Varghese - High Commissioner of Australia
- Nafsika Chr Krousti - High Commissioner of Turkey
- Terhi Hakala - Ambassador of Finland
Salman Bashir was in news recently for holding talks with Indian diplomat Nirupama Rao over the action taken by Pakistan on the 26 November, 2008 attacks in Mumbai. What is his designation?
- Foreign Minister of Pakistan
- Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations
- Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
- Pakistan's High Commissioner to India
Which Indian student was in news recently for addressing the United Nations Summit on Climate Change as the Asia-Pacific Junior-Board representative at the UN Headquarters in New York recently?
- Varad Vyapari
- Yugratna Srivastava
- Rathika Ravindran
- Anuja Erandekar
Which of the following statements about the 2016 Olympic Games and host cities is/are correct?
I. Athletics events at the 2016 Olympic Games will be held at the João Havelange Olympic Stadium
II. 2016 will be the first Olympic Games organised outside North America, Europe, Australia and Asia
III. 2016 will be the second Olympic Games organised in a country which has Spanish as its official language
- I only
- I and II only
- II and III only
- III only
The 2010 World Monument Watch, compiled by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), a non-profit organisation working to preserve the planet's cultural heritage, has recently included four sites in India in its list of 93 heritage sites in 47 countries which the world is at the risk of losing. Which of the following is not among the four Indian sites on the list?
- Chiktan Castle - Kargil
- Dechen Namgyal Monastery - Ladakh
- Bara Imambara - Lucknow
- Civic Centre - Shimla
Which of the following statements about Ashes Test Cricket series between Australia and England is/are correct?
I. Sydney and Brisbane are the venues of the first and last test matches of the five match Ashes series to be held in Australia in 2010-11
II. England last won an Ashes series in Australia in 1987
III. England's previous Ashes campaign in Australia in 2006-07 ended in a 5-0 loss
- I only
- I and II only
- II and III only
- III only
Which of the following statements is true regarding Forbes annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women released recently?
I. Sonia Gandhi, Chanda Kochhar and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw are the Indian citizens in the list
II. There is no other woman from another country in South Asia in the list
III. Sonia Gandhi is among the top ten positions in the list
- I only
- I and II only
- III only
- II and III only
How much was the growth in Industrial Sector in 2008-09, according to the RBI data released recently?
- 2.6 per cent
- 8.5 per cent
- 0.4 percent
- 5.0 per cent
Which of the following statements is/are correct about the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle -PSLV-C14 - that was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently?
I. The launch was from Chandipur on-sea off the coast of Orissa
II. The launch put in orbit India's Oceansat-2 and six foreign nano satellites
III. Genosat and Parmasat were the foreign nano satellites put into orbit by the launch I only
- I and II only
- II only
- III only
- II and III only
Which non-resident Indian (NRI) was in news for being honoured with the 'Pride of India' award of the India International Foundation for the year 2008 in London recently?
- Lord Raj Bagri
- Baroness Shreela Flather
- Member of Parliament Keith Vaz
- Lord Swraj Paul
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill, which seeks to create a level playing field and to foster healthy competition among major airports within the country, was passed by Parliament recently. Who is the first Chairman of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)?
- Yashwant S. Bhave
- T. C. A. Srinivasa-Raghavan
- Pradeep Baijal
- Gulshan Sachdeva
Which of the following became the first state to cover all Below Poverty Line (BPL) families under the National Health Insurance Scheme (Rastriya Swasthya Beema Yojana) recently?
- Maharashtra
- Himachal Pradesh
- Haryana
- Kerala
Which of the following gave its permission to set up the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development in India?
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Where was a 'Made in India' exhibition organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll) on August 7-10, 2009 recently?
- Seoul
- Jakarta
- Bangkok
- Singapore
Which of the following instruments on Chandrayaan-I was in news for detecting traces of water across the surface of large parts of the moon recently?
- Moon Impact Probe
- Lunar Terrain Rover
- Moon Mineralogy Mapper
- Lunar Hydrology Mapper
The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) was in news recently for organizing a painting exhibition on the 94th birthday of which famous artiste at the Jamia Millia Islamia recently?
- M.F. Husain
- Francis Newton Souza
- Tyeb Mehta
- Vasudeo S. Gaitonde
The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) announced their seat-sharing arrangement for the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections recently. How many seats the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) in the state?
- 89
- 196
- 288
- 324
Which state government was in news recently for giving its approval for uranium mining in its Wahkaji region to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL)?
- Tripura
- Mizoram
- Meghalaya
- Nagaland
What was organised by India's Ministry of Tourism in association with the host country from September 22-27, 2009?
- Year of India in Russia
- Year of India in China
- Year of India in Korea
- Year of India in Malaysia
The University Grants Commission appointed the Prof. Tandon Committee for a review of which of the following recently?
- Reservation for OBCs in PG courses
- Salaries of faculty in Professional courses at PG level
- Permission to foreign universities
- Grant of deemed university status