General Awareness 2008

Under the National Housing Bank guidelines from that period, the loan limit for individuals marginally above the poverty line for housing and income-generating activities was set at Rs. 70,000.

In the 2007-08 Railway Budget, the Indian Railways reported a cash profit of approximately Rs. 20,000 crore for the fiscal year 2006-07, marking a significant turnaround for the organization at that time.

To align with WTO commitments and global financial standards, India progressively liberalized its banking sector, allowing more foreign banks to establish operations in India to increase competition and efficiency.

NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) is the primary regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the microfinance sector in India, as per the provisions discussed in the 2007 Micro Finance Bill.

The RBI issued directives to banks to refrain from granting loans for the purchase of Kisan Vikas Patra, as these are government savings instruments and using bank credit to purchase them was considered an improper use of financial leverage.

Thailand agreed to drop its demand for duty cuts on rubber during trade negotiations with India, which facilitated progress in the Free Trade Agreement talks between the two nations.

In February 2007, the RBI decided to pay interest on Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) balances held by banks at a rate of 0.5 percent, providing some relief to the banking sector.

BEML stands for Bharat Earth Movers Limited. It is a public sector undertaking that manufactures heavy equipment for mining, construction, and defense.

Brahmos is India's supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia. It's named after Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. SRE-1 was a satellite, not a missile.

Kitne Pakistan is a critically acclaimed novel written by the renowned Hindi writer and journalist Kamleshwar. It explores the history of the partition and communal relations.

Following the acquisition of Corus Group by Tata Steel in 2007, the combined entity became the fifth-largest steel producer in the world at that time.

GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the Russian counterpart to the American GPS. India signed an agreement to access GLONASS data during Vladimir Putin's visit.

Increasing energy efficiency and eliminating subsidies for fossil fuels are effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, eliminating forests is counterproductive, as forests act as carbon sinks and help mitigate global warming.

Windows Vista was a major operating system released by Microsoft in early 2007. It succeeded Windows XP and was designed for personal computers.

Between 1975 and 2007, the Cricket World Cup was won by West Indies, India, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. South Africa had not won the tournament during this period.

Paul Wolfowitz served as the 10th President of the World Bank Group from 2005 to 2007. He resigned from this position following a controversy.

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was composed of members like Justice N.P. Singh, N.S. Rao, and Sudhir Narain. Suresh Prabhu was not a member of this tribunal.

The India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, revised in 2007, includes a clause stating that both countries will cooperate closely and not allow their territories to be used for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other.

In 2006, India saw a significant surge in Foreign Direct Investment, ranking among the top recipients in Asia alongside countries like China and Hong Kong.

Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major took over as the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force in 2007.

The statement regarding the allocation of Rs. 2500 crore for the National Scholarship Scheme for Class IX to XII is incorrect as it does not match the actual budget figures for that specific year.