Current Affairs

March 2013

Current Affairs from March 1, 2013 to March 31, 2013

A publication of Nirdeshak.com

Current Affairs- March 2013

Curated by Ravindra Agnihotri

CONTENTS
March 1, 2013
/08

Engaged in several initiatives which focus on developing and implementing value-added learning tools and systems for todays youth. Was actively involved in educational radio segment. Developed methodology and framework of NTS, a one of its kind of service providing testing solutions for competitive exams. Founder of nirdeshak.com

March 2, 2013

/09

March 3, 2013 RAVINDRA AGNIHOTRI

/11

March 4, 2013

/12

March 5, 2013

/13

March 6, 2013

/15

www.NIRDESHAK.com

01

02

www.NIRDESHAK.com

CONTENTS
March 7, 2013
/17

CONTENTS
March 13, 2013
/26

March 8, 2013

/19

March 14, 2013

/28

March 9, 2013

/21

March 15, 2013

/30

March 10, 2013

/23

March 16, 2013

/32

March 11, 2013 March 12, 2013

/24

March

17, 2013

/34

/24

March 18, 2013

/36

www.NIRDESHAK.com

03

04

www.NIRDESHAK.com

CONTENTS
March 19, 2013
/37

CONTENTS
March 25, 2013
/49

March 20, 2013

/39

March 26, 2013

/50

March 21, 2013

/41

March 27, 2013

/52

March 22, 2013

/43

March 28, 2013

/53

March 23, 2013 March 24, 2013

/45

March 29, 2013 March 30, 2013 March 31, 2013

/54

/47

/55

/56

www.NIRDESHAK.com

03

04

www.NIRDESHAK.com

Current Affairs - January 2013

March 1, 2013
learning seo from the experts

1) Who is going to become Chief Minister of Tripura for fifth consecutive term after his party CPMs roaring fifth consecutive win in the recently held assembly elections, results of which were announced on 28 February 2013? Manik Sarkar (Left Front won 50 out of total 60 seats) 2) Which regional party of Nagaland retained its hold in the recently held assembly elections in Nagaland? Naga Peoples Front (NPF). NPF led by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio won 37 out of 59 seats and one seat each were won by its allies BJP and JD(U). Rio is set to become states Chief Minister for the third time. 3) Congress won highest number of seats in Meghalaya Assembly till now by leading the tally in the recently held assembly elections. How many seats were won by Congress in this election? 29 out of total 60 seats (Congress fought these elections under Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and scored an emphatic win. Former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangmas National Peoples Party (NPP) managed to get just 2 seats 4) Who is the Mayor of New York, who on 28 February 2013 pledged to donate $100 million to fund the global campaign against polio? Michael Bloomberg, who is also a business magnate (He was apparently inspired by Indias success in eradicating polio) 5) A new submerged continent was discovered recently by scientists from Norway, Germany, South Africa and the U. K. This continent lies under Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and its broken chunks extend more than 1000 km northwards. What is the name given to this submerged island by the scientists? Mauritia 6) The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on 28 February 2013 was his .budget? 8th 7) What is the fiscal deficit for 2012-13 (FY 2013) as announced in the Union Budget 2013-14 presented on 28 February 2013? 5.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is lower than the targeted fiscal deficit of 5.3% of GDP 8) What is the fiscal deficit for 2013-14 (FY 2014) as announced in the Union Budget 2013-14? 4.8% of the GDP 9) What is the total outlay for planned expenditure, as announced in the Union Budget of 2013-14? Rs. 16,65,297 crore 10) An NRI education pioneer, known for his innovative hole-in-the-wall experiment to give computer education to slum children, was awarded with the prestigious $1 million TED prize recently. What is the name of this pioneer in the field of imparting IT education through cost-effective models? Dr. Sugata Mitra (He is presently a professor of Educational Technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University, UK)

A knowledge portal delivering information in various formats which is indispensable for todays era. Primarily focused to students belonging to Indias student fraternity preparing for competitive exams, nirdeshak.com is now on its way to become a truly comprehensive portal for knowledge

www.NIRDESHAK.com

08

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 2, 2013
1) Union Finance Ministry on 1 March 2013 issued a clarification about taxation on investments done through Mauritius, a day after Indian stock markets were spooked by a clause in the Union Budget 2013-14 that was interpreted as making incomes of investors using the Mauritius route taxable. In this clarification it was mentioned that an investor from Mauritius putting money in Indian markets needed to only produce a certificate to claim the benefit of the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA). Which certificate was mentioned in it? Tax Residency Certificate (TRC). In the budget it was said that TRC was no longer enough; proof was needed that the beneficial ownership of the investment too lay with the same person 2) The Parliamentary standing committee (PSC) on home affairs, which had examined amendments to be made in criminal law, on 1 March 2013, recommended that the President should not have power to grant clemency to convicts in such cases. The PSC also recommended that decisions on mercy petitions should be taken within three months and reasons for granting clemency should be made public. Who is the Chairman of this PSC? M Venkaiah Naidu (BJP Rajya Sabha member) 3) The price of petrol was raised by how much by public sector petroleum companies from midnight of 1 March 2013? Rs. 1.40/Liter 4) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 March 2013 in a newly issued notification asked banks to issue new debit and credit cards only for domestic usage unless international use is specifically sought by the customer. This notification was issued in respect of which problem? Misuse of these type of debit and credit cards (RBI directed banks that such cards enabling international usage will have to be essentially EMV Chip and Pin enabled by 30 June 2013. It also said that the banks should provide easier methods like SMSes for customers to block cards and get a confirmation to that effect after blocking the card) 5) Which leader of Jamaat-e-Islami was sentenced to death on 28 February 2013, following which over 40 people died in the ensuing riots? Delwar Hossain Sayedee (He was convicted for mass killings, rape and atrocities committed during Bangladeshs 1971 independence war) 6) Chinese Govt. on 1 March 2013 executed 4 foreigners at a jail in southwestern Yunnan provinces capital of Kunming. These executions were done as sentences in which case? Killing of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River on 5 October 2011 by drug mafias (Three of the four persons which were executed belonged to Myanmar, Laos and Thailand respectively and nationality of the fourth person was undisclosed) 7) The CPM on 1 March 2013 flagged-off a march against Mamta Banerjees allegedly autocratic and misrule in West Bengal. What is the name given to this march? Sangharsh Sandesh Jattha 8) Which two teams reached the finals of Santosh Trophy, Indias national football championship? Services and Kerala (The final will be played on 3 March 2013)

9) On 1 March 2013 who was appointed as the new chief UN nuclear inspector in charge of monitoring Irans disputed atomic programme? Tero Varjoranta, Senior Finnish nuclear official, who is currently head of Finlands Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). He replaces Herman Nackaerts as deputy director general for safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 10) The proposal of imposing 1% TDS on properties sold for over Rs 50 lakh as announced in the Union Budget of 2013-14 is to come into effect from which date? 1 June 2013

www.NIRDESHAK.com

09

10

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 3, 2013

Current Affairs - January 2013

Current Affairs - January 2013

March 4, 2013

1) Who is the author of the book titled Walking with Lions : Tales from a Diplomatic Past, which was released on 1 March 2013? K. Natwar Singh, former Union Minister for External Affairs (The book was released by Vice President Hamid Ansari) 2) Union Finance Minister on 2 March 2013 announced that notices would be send from next week to tax assesses, who have not filed income tax returns despite having incomes over permissible limits. How many notices are to be served to such assesses from next week? 35,000 (Income Tax department is sending these notices on basis of information it is having about peoples expenditure patterns and their financial transactions) 3) Who won the title at Zurich Chess Challenge which was held in Zurich (Switzerland) and in which Indias Vishwanathan Anand finished second? Fabiano Caruana of Italy (This championship ended on 2 March 2013 and Anand finished second by defeating Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in his last match) 4) Oil companies on 1 March 2013 increased price of diesel for bulk consumers like Railways after firming up of international oil prices. What was this price increase per liter? 94 paise / liter (This diesel price-hike is effective for bulk consumers like Railways, defence forces and state road transport corporations. On the other hand, price of open-market sale LPG cylinder was decreased by Rs. 37.50 per cylinder) 5) What is the name of an advertising technology suit which was recently acquired by Facebook from Microsoft Corp.?- Atlas Advertiser Suite (This suit is used to measure the effectiveness of ads on web pages) 6) What is the name of former Union Telecom Minister Sukh Rams son who was given a cabinet berth in Himachal Pradesh on 2 March 2013, almost 16 years after he was thrown out of ministry following his fathers arrest in the telecom scam? Anil Sharma

1) Which Bangladeshi opposition leader on 3 March 2013 announced cancelling her proposed meeting with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on his maiden state visit to any country after assuming charge? Khaleda Zia, leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (She cancelled her meeting in protest against Bangladesh Govt.s alleged leanings towards India in context of ongoing movement in the country in which protestors are demanding death sentences for war criminals of 1971 Bangla War) 2) In what is being touted as the biggest advance paid to an Indian author by an Indian publishing house, Westland has recently paid Rs. 5 crore to author of the famous Shiva trilogy for his next series. What is the name of this author? Amish Tripathi (Tripathis earlier book, a mythological fantasy titled The Oath of the Vayuputras sold almost 5 lakh copies on the day of its release) 3) Which African country on 3 March 2013 claimed that its soldiers had killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the mastermind of the January 2013 seizure of an Algerian plant that left at least 37 foreign hostages killed? Chad (Chads military claimed that its forces on mission in Mali (Algeria) carried out a huge operation in which Belmokhtar was killed) 4) Which company/corporation was chosen by pension fund regulator PFRDA as the default annuity service provider for subscriptions exiting from the New Pension System (NPS) and seeking withdrawal of accumulated pension wealth? Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) 5) Indian Finance Minister P. Chidamabram will become first Finance Minister to directly answer queries and doubts of general public on the recently presented Union Budget 2013-14, as he will take part in an online video-chat to answer internet users from all over the world on 4 March 2013. This initiative would be carried out through which multi-person online video chat platform? Google Hangout (The session would start at 8:00 pm IST) 6) According to latest reports the Union Govt. will start offer-for-sale (OFS) for offloading its stake in Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) on 14 March 2013. How much stake in MMTC is to be sold? 9.33% (which would bring about Rs. 300 crore for the govt.) 7) Indian batsmen Cheteswar Pujara and Murali Vijay on 3 March 2013 made a new record partnership for second wicket by having an unbeaten 294 runs partnership against Australia in the second test match at Hyderabad. They broke record for highest second-wicket partnership against Australia. Which Indian duo held this record earlier? Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath (who had scored 224 runs against Australia ay Sydney in 1986) 8) Which team won the championship title of Santosh Trophy 2013 on 3 March 2013? Services, who defeated Kerala in the finals by 4-3 in penalty shootouts (Santosh Trophy is India National football championship 9) Which team won the championship title of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2013? Delhi, who defeated Assam by 75 runs in the finals on 3 March 2013 (The final was played at Vishakhapatnam, AP) 10) First Anubhuti class coaches would be attached to which train as announced by Indian Railways recently? Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi Express (Indian Railways new elite class Anubhuti, was announced in the Railway Budget 2013-14 by Rail Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who represents Chandigarh in Lok Sabha)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

11

12

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 5, 2013
1) The beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) are going to earn more with the revision of wages coming into effect from 1 April 2013. Which state is slated to get the highest daily wage after this revision? Haryana (Beneficiaries of Haryana will receive daily wage of Rs. 214 instead of the present Rs. 191. Beneficiaries of Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh will get the lowest daily wages in range of Rs. 145 to Rs. 170) 2) Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, a minister in the UP govt., resigned from the state cabinet on 4 March 2013 in wake of allegations against him in the recent murder of a DSP in his constituency Pratapgarh. What ministry was he heading? Ministry of Food and Supplies (Raja Bhaiya is an independent MLA from Kunda in Pratapgarh and has been supporting the Akhilesh Yadav govt.) 3) The Union Govt. on 4 February 2013 told the Rajya Sabha that the one-man committee probing the alleged corruption charges against U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart would give its report in April 2013. Who is heading this committee? Justice Mukul Mudgal, former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court 4) Which Indian software company on 4 March 2013 claimed that it became the first Indian IT company to be valued at US$5 billion by Brand Finance, an international brand valuation firm? TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) TCS is now the most valued brand in the Tata Group 5) According to Boston Consultancy Group (BCG)s latest report, the number of children in India expected to be online would triple by year 2017 and the majority of the new children coming online will be from India by this year. What is the approximate size of Indian children to be online by 2017 as estimated by BCG? 13.4 crore (Presently about 4 crore children in India are online) 6) In a startling development that could change the treatment procedure of HIV-infected newborns, doctors of a US university on 3 March 2013 announced that a baby born with HIV infection has been cured of the infection for the first time in history. This baby was treated aggressively with antiretroviral drugs around 30 hours after birth and this 2 year old baby is now showing no signs of infection since a year. This baby was treated in which university? John Hopkins University, Baltimore (She was treated by a team led by Dr. Deborah Persaud) 7) Who won title of the Mexican Open Tennis on 3 March 2013? Rafael Nadal (Spain), who defeated defending champion David Ferrer in the finals by 6-0, 6-2 (This win is more important for Nadal as this is first clay title for him after his comeback from knee injury) 8) Who is Indias new High Commissioner to Maldives? Rajeev Shahare (He replaces DM Mulay, who has been appointed as Indias Consul General in New York) 9) Iconic American motorcycle brand Harley Davidson recently announced almost 25% discounts on some of its motorcycles as a result of assembling of these motorcycles in India. Harley Davidsons assembling plant has been established at Bawal, Haryana (Harley Davidson announced that Harley-Davidson Fat Boys assembled-in-India unit will now be available at Rs 14.9 lakh (ex-Delhi) instead of Rs. 19.45 lakh charged for its imported unit. Similarly the Heritage Softail Classic model will be tagged at Rs 16.25 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) as against Rs 20.45 lakh earlier) 10) For the first time since 2000, Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway was not ranked among top three positions in the Forbes List of Worlds Richest Persons. Who has replaced him from third position in this elite annual list? Spains Amancio Ortega, the co-founder of the Inditex fashion group with an estimated net worth of $57 billion (Ortegas fortune increased $19.5 billion, the biggest gain for any of the billionaires, from the report in 2012. Mexicos Carlos Slim maintained his top position in this list followed by Microsofts Bill Gates. Mukesh Ambani of India was ranked at 22nd position with a wealth of 21.5 billion)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

13

14

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 6, 2013
1) The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India released a report on 5 March 2013, which mentions serious concerns over the implementation of Rs 52,000-crore farm debt waiver scheme, stating that in several cases ineligible farmers were given benefit while deserving ones were left out. This CAG report pertains to which govt. scheme? Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme (ADWDRS) 2008 under which 3.69 crore small and marginal farmers and 60 lakh other farmers were given debt relief to the extent of Rs 52,516 crore 2) The US State Department on 4 March 2013 announced an award for the 23-year old paramedical student of Delhi, who was brutally raped by six men in a moving bus in south Delhi on 16 December 2012 and who later succumbed to her injuries in Singapore. This award to be presented by the US First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry would be awarded posthumously on 8 March 2013 on the occasion of International Womens Day. What is the name of this award? International Women of Courage Award (This award is to be presented for this girl for inspiring people to fight against gender-based violence) 3) Which public sector enterprise was ranked first in a list of most profitable public sector undertakings released recently? ONGC Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGCs net profits stood at Rs. 25,122 crore during 2011-12 4) Which public sector enterprise was ranked last in a list of most profitable public sector undertakings released recently, making it the biggest-loss making PSU in the country? BSNL (BSNLs losses stood at Rs. 8,850 crore during 2011-12) 5) A 12-year-old Indian-origin girl Neha Ramu of UK came to limelight recently due to which reason? Her IQ (intelligent quotient) stood at 162 in a recently conducted Mensa IQ Test, which is more than that of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking 6) AirAsia Group, the Malaysian-based airline, which is expected to start its operations in India by May-June 2013 subject to approval of its proposed airline project, appointed its India CEO on 5 March 2013. In which city AirAsia would establish its headquarters according to latest reports? Chennai (AirAsia would concentrate on South India in its initial phase of operations) 7) What is the name of Microsofts new version of its popular office suit, which was launched on 4 March 2013 especially for Indian small businesses and enterprises? Office 365 (Main feature of Office 365 is the cloud-based support for its users) 8) Which bank was recently ordered to pay Rs. 45 lakh compensation to an accountholder for banks inability to stop an illegal transfer of Rs. 80.10 lakh from account, which makes this case the largest compensation awarded in legal adjudication of a cyber crime dispute in India till now? Punjab National Bank (PNB) In this case A fraudster had transferred Rs 80.10 lakh from PNB account of Manmohan Singh Matharu, MD of Pune-based firm Poona Auto Ancillaries after Matharu responded to a phishing email. The order was passed by Maharashtras IT secretary Rajesh Aggarwal)

9) Who is the head of a 16-member panel constituted by SEBI on 5 March 2013 to review insider trading norms in a bid to strengthen the regulatory framework dealing with insider trading? NK Sodhi (Retired Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and former presiding officer of the State Appellate Tribunal (SAT)) 10) All the tax-payers having taxable income of more than _______ will now have to file their income tax returns electronically. Rs. 5 Lakh (This move is aimed at reducing the interface between tax payers and the tax department. Last year in August, the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) had made it mandatory for all individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) having annual income of more than Rs. 10 lakh to file their returns electronically for which digital signatures are not necessary)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

15

16

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 7, 2013
1) Who will take over as Venezuelas interim President, after death of President Hugo Chavez, who passed away on 5 March 2013, fighting a two-year battle against cancer? Nicolas Maduro (Maduro is the Vice-President of Venezuela and is a staunch Chavez loyalist. Hugo Chavez had preferred Maduro as his successor) 2) A new paper has been added to the Civil Services (Mains) exams according to a gazette notification issued on 6 March 2013 by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on the changes about the test conducted by Union Public Service Commission. Which paper is this? Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude (According to DoPTs notification this new paper on ethics, integrity and aptitude will include questions to test the candidates attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with society) 3) Which state was ranked at the top in the recently released Well-Being Index (WBI) prepared by Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG)? Punjab (Punjab was followed by Delhi, HP, Haryana and Kerala in this list) 4) Which filmmaker was recently nominated as the member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the apex educational advisory body that includes the HRD minister, state education ministers, noted academicians and other eminent people? Anurag Kashyap (He was named in a notification of the HRD Ministry dated 15 February 2013. His term will be for a period of 3 years and he will replace noted filmmaker Shyam Benegal) 5) The European Union (EU) on 6 March 2013 imposed a huge $731 million fine on Microsoft Corp., in a move that will act as warning to other technology firms involved in antitrust disputes with the EU. What was main charge against Microsoft? Microsoft didnt gave choice of choosing browser to users of Windows 7 operating system (Users of Windows 7 had to use the default bundled Internet Explorer browser and had no choice of substitute browser) 6) A sub-committee set up by the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) in the country finalised the common design of the question paper in mathematics and science, which will now be introduced from the coming 2013-14 academic session. This common paper for mathematics and science will be introduced for which class from this academic year? For class XI (This has been done to bridge the gap among different boards of the country) 7) Who is to be awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for 2012 as announced by the Executive Committee of the Indian Parliamentary Group on 6 March 2013? Sharad Yadav, JD(U) Lok Sabha MP from Madhepura, Bihar (Award for 2011 would be given to veteran Congress leader Karan Singh (MP, Rajya Sabha) and award for 2010 would be given to Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP MP) 8) The Road Transport Ministry has recently announced plans to implement electronic toll collection on all tolled national highways, in which all toll plazas would be computerized by April 2014. Which new company has been incorporated for implementation of nation-wide electronic toll collection (ETC)? Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) The implementation of ETC will not only make traveling convenient but will also have a lot of other benefits and value-added services 9) Which Indian company was recognized as one of the worlds most ethical companies for 2013 by the Ethisphere Institute, a leading business ethics think-tank? Wipro (Wipro was listed among top companies for the second year in a row. The Ethisphere Institute is a leading international organisation dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, governance, anti-corruption and sustainability) 10) India was ranked third on the list of the countries distributing spam across the world, which was released recently by TechNewsDaily. Which two countries rank above India in this list? US and China

www.NIRDESHAK.com

17

18

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 8, 2013
1) Union Cabinet on 7 February 2013 approved a bill that would provide Indian citizens right to time-bound services and which envisages penalty of up to Rs. 50,000 against a government official failing to provide his or her duties. What is the full name of this bill that lays down an obligation upon every public authority to publish citizens charter, stating therein the time within which specified goods shall be supplied and services be rendered? Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 (This will be effective in providing time-bound delivery of govt. services like pensions and birth and death certificates, passport, etc.) 2) Construction of a new plush office complex named Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan (JNB), has recently been completed in New Delhi. This new office complex would house officials of which ministry? Ministry of External Affairs (JNB has been constructed at an approximate cost of Rs. 220 crore) 3) What is name of the new sports channel of ESPN Star Sports that will be launched on 11 March 2013? Star Sports 2 (This new channel will broadcast live and non-live events across various sports like cricket, football, tennis, motorsports and golf. ESPN Star Sports already has five sports channels beaming into the Indian-subcontinent that includes Star Sports, Star Cricket, Star Cricket HD, ESPN and ESPN HD) 4) The UN Security Council on 7 March 2013 approved a new regime of sanctions against North Korea by 15-0 votes. These new sanctions impose penalty on North Korean banking, travel and trade and further increases countrys international isolation. These new sanctions have been imposed due to which event of February 2013? North Koreas conducting an underground nuclear test 5) Which city was declared as the Best Liveable City of India at the First ABP News-IPSOS Best City Survey and Awards 2013 on 6 March 2013? Nagpur (20 most liveable city in the list were Nagpur, Bhopal, Varanasi, Rajkot, Agra, Madurai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Surat, Pune, Patna, Nashik, Amritsar, Jaipur, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata) 6) Union Govt. is expected to divest its stake in PSU steel giant SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) from 20 March 2013. How much of govt.s stake would be divested? 10.82 % (Govt.s stake in NALCO worth 12.15% is also to be disinvested in the third week of March 2013) 7) The interim pension regulator PFRDA has recently allowed fund managers for the private sector National Pension System (NPS) to invest directly into equities. What was the investment regulation for NPS till now? Till now fund managers of NPS could only invest in equities indirectly, i.e., through mutual funds (NPS, which has been set up for private citizens, has an option for investing up to 50% of a subscribers corpus in equities) 8) Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was awarded a prison term by a court on 7 March 2013 over publication of a leaked wiretap connected to a banking scandal of 2006 in his family-owned newspaper. What is the prison term awarded to him? One year 9) Which composting plant has recently become the first plant in India to receive UNFCCCs carbon credits? Okhla composting plant, New Delhi (UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable permit or certificate representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or mass of any green house gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent) 10) Facebook Inc. introduced the biggest change in years to its social networking site, which was incorporated on 7 March 2013. This change pertains to which section? Newsfeed (Its very popular newsfeed section has now a new look and focuses on photos that is expected to make the social network more ad-friendly and may entice users to spend more time on the website)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

19

20

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 9, 2013
1) The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on 8 March 2013 dismissed the plea of a former ISRO chairman, which had sought quashing of the centres decision to debar him from holding govt. posts for his alleged role in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. What is the name of this former ISRO chairman? G Madhavan Nair (Nair had moved the CAT in March 2012, challenging the govt.s decision to bar him and three other scientists from holding govt. posts for their alleged role in the Atrix-Devas deal) 2) What is the name of the spiritual head of the famous Ajmer Sharif shrine, who on 8 March 2013 announced his decision to boycott the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf to the shrine on 9 March 2013? Zainul Abedin Ali Khan (Khan decided to boycott Pakistan PMs visit to the shrine owing to the killing and mutilation of the bodies of the Indian soldiers by the Pakistani Army on the LoC. This visit drew the ire of the residents of Ajmer with as many as 250 lawyers threatening to wave black flags at Parvez Ashraf) 3) Which state govt. on 8 March 2013 released a draft of the States new Womens policy, which would provide freedom to women and children of the state to use any surname of their choice? Maharashtra (The draft states that the government will issue a directive to all the departments asking to respect the womans choice to use any name she wants) 4) The Supreme Court on 8 March 2013 rejected a challenge to the Centres decision to change the name of Amritsars Raja Sansi International Airport stating that such matters should be left to the discretion of the executive. What is the new proposed name of this airport by the Centre? Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee Airport (An NGO named Rashtriya Sahns Mal Sansi Samaj Sangh had filed this challenge in the Supreme Court stating that the name is being changed as a result of some political motives. Sri Guru Ram Dass was the founder of Amritsar city) 5) The Maharashtra State Govt. on 8 March 2013 issued a notification to all states in the state, in which reciting of a part of constitution has been made compulsory so that school students have a better knowledge of Indian constitution. Reciting of which part has been made compulsory in this notification? The Preamble 6) How much Union Govt. stake was disinvested through an offer for sale (OFS) of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF) on 8 March 2013, in which the OFS was oversubscribed by about 1.3 times? 12.5% (The Union Govt. is expected to collect Rs. 310 crore through this disinvestment) 7) Financial sector regulators The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), on 8 March 2013 joined hands by signing an agreement under the auspices of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC). What are the main objectives of this move? These regulators would monitor financial conglomerates (FCs) of the country as well as approve a national strategy for financial education (The term FC stands for financial conglomerates and applies to financial groups like ICICI, SBI and HDFC, which are engaged in varied financial activities like banking, mutual funds, insurance and private equity) 8) Eight states have agreed to sign up for the centres debt revamp plan aimed at the financial restructuring of state-owned electricity distribution companies. The deadline for states to opt for this package is going to end on 31 March 2013 (Once ratified by all states, this debt revamp plan is expected to roll over financially-stressed electricity distribution companies and will bring back a sense of bankability to Indias power distribution sector) 9) What is the name of the award given as a tribute to the Delhi gangrape victim by the Union Govt. on 8 March 2013 on the occasion of the International Womens Day? Rani Laxmi Bai Stree Shakti Award (The award was given by President Pranab Mukherjee. The Stree Shakti award was also given to 5 other women. The Rani Rudramma Devi Stree Shakti Award was given to Assamese social worker Pranita Talukdar, Mata Jijabai Stree Shakti Award to artist Sonika Agarwal, Kannagi Stree Shakti Award to Guramma H Sankina of Karnataka, Rani Gidinliu Zeliang Stree Shakti Award to Keralite social worker Omana T K and Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Stree Shakti Award to Olga DMello from Maharashtra) 10) What is the name of the former New Zealand batsman and Captain Ken Rutherfords son, who made a memorable test debut on 8 March 2013 against England at Dunedin by scoring 171 runs? Hamish Rutherford

www.NIRDESHAK.com

21

22

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 10, 2013

March 11-12, 2013

Current Affairs - January 2013 Current Affairs - January 2013

1) Who became the first head of the CBI to have been appointed as Governor of an Indian state? Ashwani Kumar, who was CBI director from August 2008 to November 2010 (He was appointed as Governor of Nagaland on 9 March 2013) 2) Who was appointed as the new Governor of Odisha on 9 March 2013? SC Jamir (He is a four time Chief Minister of Nagaland and has also served as Governor in Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. He replaces MC Bhandare) 3) Who won the recently held Presidential Elections of Kenya? Uhuru Kenyatta (He got 50.7% votes in the Presidential elections defeating his rival Prime Minister Raila Odinga in a closely fought election. Kenyatta is the Deputy Prime Minister of the country but is a controversial figure in Kenyan politics. He has been sought after by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of his alleged role in crimes against humanity in his country during elections of 2007-08) 4) Governors of which two states were swapped on 9 March 2013 by the President? Tripura and Bihar (Governor of Tripura D.Y. Patil was appointed as the Governor of Bihar while Bihar Governor Devanand Konwar was sent to Tripura) 5) Last holy snan of Mahakumbh was held on 10 March 2013, in which lakhs of devotees took part. This snan was held on which occasion? Maha Shivaratri (The first holy snan of Mahakumbh was held on the occasion of Makar Shankranti on 14-15 January 2013, while the occasion which drew highest number of devotees was Mauni Amavasya, which fell on 10 February 2013. With the snan of Maha Shivaratri, the Kumbh Mela 2013 has concluded) 6) Viren J. Shah, who passed on 9 March 2013 at Jordan, was a former Governor of which Indian state? West Bengal (Shah was Governor of West Bengal from 1999 to 2004. He was also a former member of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and was also renowned industrialist, belonging to the Mukund Group) 7) Indian ace badminton player Saina Nehwals hopes of winning the All England Championship were dashed again after her loss in the semi-finals. Who defeated her in semi-finals? Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand), who defeated Saina by 21-15, 21-19 on 9 March 2013) 8) Pakistans lower house the National Assembly on 9 March 2013 passed a bill which paves way for establishment of a new anti-terror organisation in the country. What is the proposed name of this new organisation to be set up soon? National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA)

1) Uttar Pradesh Govt. started its tremendously popular scheme of distributing laptops from 11 March 2013, with distribution of ten thousand laptops in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh Govt. has placed an order for supply of 1.5 million laptops, which is claimed to be the largest order of its kind in the world. Which company is supplying laptops for this mammoth order? HP (The promise of distribution of laptop to every student passing out of an intermediate class in 2012 and moving to a higher class, is believed to be the major factor for overwhelming youth vote for Samajwadi Party in the last assembly elections of 2012. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav along with his wife and other ministers of his govt. distributed laptops at Lucknow) 2) What is the name of the prime accused of the infamous Delhi gangrape case of Dec 2012, who allegedly committed suicide in the early hours of 11 March 2013 while being in prison at the high-security Tihar Jail, Delhi? Ram Singh (He allegedly committed suicide in his cell in Tihar Jail No.3) 3) Which is Indias first corporatised port, that has recently launched an issue of tax-free bonds to raise up to Rs. 1,000 crore? Ennore, Tamil Nadu (Ennore is the first port in the country to be managed by a corporate set up Ennore Port Limited (EPL)) 4) The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has recently gave its nod to a formal name for the joint-venture between Tata Group and Malaysia-based Air Asia, which is set to launch its airline operations in India. What is the formal name of this joint-venture? Air Asia (India) Private Limited (This name was registered in the state of Maharashtra) 5) Myanmars pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was reappointed as the leader of opposition on 10 March 2013. Her party is gearing up for the General Elections due in the country in 2015. Suu Kyi represents which party in her country? National League for Democracy (NLD) 6) Pakistan and Iran on 11 March 2013 inaugurated the $7.5 billion gas pipeline despite the US threat of possible sanctions over this project. This gas pipeline will connect which Iranian city, situated on the Iran-Pak border, with Pakistan? Chahbahar (India was also a partner in this project till 2009, when it quit the project citing costs and security issues) 7) Two Venezuelan diplomats were expelled by the United States on 11 March 2013 in retaliation to expulsion of two of its diplomats by Venezuela on 9 March 2013. Which convention pertaining to diplomatic relations was used by the UN in this expulsion? The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (US used Article 9 and 23 in justifying this expulsion) 8) Who became the first Bangladesh cricketer to score a double hundred in test matches on 11 March 2013? Mushfiqur Rahim (Rahim is the captain of Bangladesh team and he scored exactly 200 against Sri Lanka in the first test match played at Galle in Sri Lanka)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

23

24

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 13, 2013

9) Which 4 players were suspended from the upcoming test match at Mohali by the Australian cricket team on 11 March 2013? Shane Watson (vice captain), James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khwaja (These players were suspended by captain Michael Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur. Their suspension resulted in a major controversy in the team) 10) A currency swap agreement for $100 million was signed between India and Bhutan during March 2012, which aims to strengthen economic co-operation between the two countries. The agreement was signed between the two central banks of the country. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the central bank of India, which is the central bank of Bhutan? Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMAB) 11) What is the name of the party formed by former Karnataka Chief Minister and rebel BJP leader, which caused heavy damage to the ruling BJP in the recently held local body elections in the state, results of which were declared on 11 March 2013? Karnataka Janatha Paksha (KJP Congress emerged as the biggest party in these elections claiming more than 1800 wards seats. JD(S) won 870 seats while ruling BJP plunged to third place with about 800+ ward seats. KJP won more than 250 ward seats) 12) Italy on 11 March 2013 refused to return two of its marines being tried in India for killing two fishermen while on duty aboard a merchant ship. This move caught India by surprise. Indias Supreme Court had in February 2013 given its permission to these two marines to go to Italy for which purpose? For taking part in Italys General Elections (Italian govt. justified its move refusing to honour an Indian Supreme Court order because according to it India had not responded to requests for a diplomatic solution to the case)
1) What is the name of Indias first indigenously developed subsonic cruise missile, whose maiden launch was terminated midway on 12 March 2013 as it deviated from its course? Nirbhay (The launch of Nirbhay from Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur (Odisha) was partially successful as it flew more than 200 km along the Odisha coast. Nirbhay is a long-range (1,000-2,000 km), subsonic cruise missile and is an Indian version of the US militarys Tomahawk cruise missile, which became an icon of high-tech warfare through CNN video footage during the 1991 Gulf War. It is being developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)) 2) Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 12 March 2013 summoned Italian ambassador and the Indian Foreign Secretary Rajan Mathai told the that Italy must send its two marines within four weeks to stand in the trial here. Who is the present Italian ambassador to India? Daniele Mancini (India was taken by surprise by Italys refusal to send its two marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, after Supreme Court permitted them to go to their country to take part in General Elections held during 24-25 February 2013. The two marines are accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala) 3) The plans to install full body X-ray scanners at Indian airports were rejected by countrys nuclear safety regulator recently, saying that X-rays passing through passengers bodies expose them to radiation and associated health risks. What is the name of Indias nuclear safety regulator which made these recommendations to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)? Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) AERB made these recommendations to BCAS, which regulates security parameters at countrys airports. BCAS is now planning to replace the backscatter technology scanners with scanners that use the millimeter wave technology, that do not emit any X-rays) 4) Ganesh Pyne, who away on 12 March 2013, was associated with which field? Painting (76 year old Pyne was a renowned painter and his career spanned over five decades. He was once described as an artists artist and was known for his small tempera paintings, which were rich in imagery and colours. He passed way at Kolkata) 5) Markandey Katju, Chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI), recently constituted a 3-member committee to recommend minimum qualification required to become a journalist. Who are the three members in this committee? Shravan Garg, Rajeev Sabade and Dr. Ujjwala Barve (This committee was constituted in wake of recent comments of Katju that absence of a proper eligibility criterion was affecting the quality of reportage in the country) 6) Nokia India recently announced partnership with which public sector general insurance company to safeguard Nokias consumers against risk of mobile handset loss and damage? New India Assurance (The mobile insurance plan will be available 14 March onwards on all Nokia devices purchased through Nokia branded retail stores, initially in Delhi and NCR, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Cochin) 7) Union govt. on 12 March 2013 announced plans to launch one billion currency notes made of plastic on a field trial in five Indian cities. These currency notes would be of which denomination? Rs. 10 (These plastic notes would be launched in Bhubhaneswar, Jaipur, Kochi, Mysore and Shimla)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

25

26

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 14, 2013

8) What is the name of Adobes new membership-based service which provides access to products and service through cloud, which was launched on 12 March 2013 in an effort to prevent use of pirated Adobe software in India? Creative Cloud (Creative Cloud is a membership-based service that offers users access to download and install all Adobe Creative Suite 6 applications besides other Adobe software like Muse, Acrobat XI and Lightroom 4. Creative Clouds monthly subscription will cost Rs 2,885 till April 30, following which it will be priced at Rs 4,040 per month. The annual subscription will cost Rs 34,620 till April 30, after which the price will be Rs 48,480) 9) UK Govt. launched its first ever Mobile Biometric Clinic (MBC) at which state of India on 12 March 2013, which would provide faster submission process of visa applications at an addition cost? Goa (This is an initiative of UK Border Agency (UKBA), which uses UKBAs mobile Biometric Enrolment System (BES) equipment to take biometric data) 10) What is the name of a new 4-seater electric car to be launched by Mahindra on 18 March 2013? e2O (This car would replace Mahindras present Reva series of electric cars and would be manufactured at Mahindras new plant in Bangaluru) 1) Argentinas Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the 266th Pope of the Vatican on 13 March 2013. As the Pope, Bergoglio would be known by which papal name? Francis (Jorge Bergoglio became the first Pope from the Americas and the first from outside Europe in more than a millennium. At present he is the archbishop of Buenos Aires) 2) Camp of which para-military force was attacked by fidayeen militants on 13 March 2013 at Srinagar, in which seven persons including five security personnel were killed? CRPF (A camp of CRPF situated in Bemina area of Srinagar in Kashmir valley was attacked by fidayeen (suicide squads) militants. This was the first such attack in Kashmir Valley in last 3 years) 3) The Parliament on 13 March 2013 approved proclamation of the Presidents rule in Jharkhand, where former Chief Minister Arjun Munda had resigned after his govt. was reduced to a minority in January 2013. Presidents rule has been clamped how many times in Jharkhand since its formation in 2000? 3 times 4) According to an announcement made by the union govt. in Parliament on 13 March 2013, five telecom companies were sent show cause notices by the govt. for alleged understatement of revenues of over Rs. 10,000 crore for financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08. Which five companies are these? Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea. Understated revenues of these companies were Reliance Communications (3,402.92 crore), Tata Teleservices (Rs 3,156.46 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,927.50 crore), Vodafone (Rs 1,490.94 crore) and Idea (Rs 848.87 crore)) 5) Asias largest solar power plant was commissioned on 12 March 2013 at Rajasthans Jodhpur district by which company? Welspun Energy (The 50 MW solar power plant is the largest photo-voltaic power plant of the country and is commissioned under the phase-1 of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) 6) What is the acronym given to Air Indias 60-day advance ticket purchase scheme for vacation travellers, which was launched on 13 March 2013? APEX (Advanced Purchase Fare) This scheme has been launched especially to lure train travellers travelling by AC classes, with air-fares kept close to air-conditioned train fares) 7) Indias first post office employing all women employees was inaugurated recently by Kapil Sibbal, Union Minister for Communications and IT on the occasion of International Womens Day. This all women post office is situated at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi (This post office has three counters two offer multi-purpose services like booking of speed post, registration, sale of IPOs, booking of money-orders while one counter is for sale of stamps) 8) Differences within the Cabinet over the proposed amendments to rape-related laws were resolved on 13 March 2013 in the related Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting. In this meeting age of consent for sex was retained at 16 and it was also agreed that the phrase sexual assault be replaced with the word rape in all laws. Who is heading this GoM? P. Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister

www.NIRDESHAK.com

27

28

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 15, 2013

9) The UPA Govt. is set to propose a new bill in the Parliament soon, which will provide homes to the rural poor and will be another entitlement-based legislation like the National Food Security Bill, 2011. What is the name of the draft of this new bill, which will be discussed in inter-ministerial meeting and which will be circulated among ministries and states on 18 March 2013? The draft National Right to Homestead Bill, 2013 10) Which destination of Jammu and Kashmir was awarded the best All Seasons Destination of the world by Pacific Asia Travel Writers Association (PATWA) at the recently concluded Berlin Tourism Fair? Gulmarg
1) The Union Cabinet on 14 March 2013 cleared the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, which provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women, including rape, and also defines acid attack, stalking and voyeurism as criminal offences. What is the minimum jail-term for rape in this bill? 20 years, which may be extended to natural life of the convict in jail (This bill also lowers the age of consent for sex from 18 to 16 years. Another important provision of this bill is that only men can be charged under rape) 2) The Supreme Court on 14 March 2013 issued notice to the Italian Ambassador and restrained him from leaving the country without its permission in the case pertaining to two Italian marines. This order was passed on plea of whom? G E Vahanvati, The Attorney General of India, who brought the issue before the Supreme Court 3) What is Indias rank in the Human Development Report 2013, released on 14 March 2013 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)? 136 out of 186 countries (Indias position is unchanged since last year (2011) but its HDI (Human Development Index) value has increased from last years 0.551 to 0.554. The average global HDI value for 2012 is 0.694. Norway tops the list while Niger ranks the lowest) 4) Union Govt. on 13 March 2013 agreed to release additional 250 cusec water into the Yamuna river, bowing to the demands of an organisation, which started a movement to protect Yamuna from degradation and pollution. What is the name of this organisation? Yamuna Rakshak Dal YRD (YRD started protest march from Mathura and reached Delhi with its demands. Main demand of YRD was release of 50% of all the water impounded at Hathni Kund barrage in Haryana so that the Yamuna has its natural flow. Most of the YRD protestors are from the Braj area) 5) Which three private sector banks were charged on 14 March 2013 by independent investigative journalist, Aniruddha Bahal of Cobrapost.com, of being allegedly involved in widespread money laundering activities? ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank (Cobrapost.com conducted numerous sting operations to vindicate its stand) 6) National Assembly or the lower house of Pakistan Parliament on 14 March 2013 passed a resolution condemning the hanging of Afzal Guru and demanded the return of his body to his family. Who had moved this resolution in the Pakistani house? Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Rehman also heads a parliamentary panel on Kashmir) 7) What is the name of the new head of Australias Northern Territory, who became the first Aboriginal leader of a provincial government in the country on 14 March 2013? Adam Giles (Aboriginals are the original residents of Australia who suffered a lot from Western settlers, who arrived from various countries like UK centuries ago. Aboriginals still live in impoverished conditions and have almost insignificant political representation)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

29

30

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 16, 2013

8) India lost to which team in their penultimate round-robin match in the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament at Ipoh (Malaysia) on 14 March 2013 to crash out of the tournament? New Zealand, who defeated India by 2-0 9) Worlds biggest biogas plant was inaugurated in which country on 12 March 2013, which has a capacity to produce 140 megawatts of electricity from gasified biomass? Finland (This plant is situated in Vaasa in Central Finland and would mainly use wood residue from Finlands large forestry sector) 10) One of Indias most celebrated sociologists has recently dissociated himself from the proposed Second Education Commission (SEC), which was to formulate a new education policy in line with the massive changes in the field of education. Who is this noted sociologist, who was to head the SEC? Andre Beteille (Beteille was reportedly hurt due to attempts of new HRD minister Pallam Rajus attempt at recasting the SEC, which was proposed by Kapil Sibbal when he was the HRD minister) 1) Dr. K. Anji Reddy, who passed away on 15 March 2013, was the founder which famous pharmaceutical company of India? Dr. Reddys Laboratories (He was the Chairman of the company) 2) Petrol prices were reduced by Rs. 2 per liter from the midnight of 15 March 2013, which is the steepest reduction in petrol prices in last nine months. This price reduction was done in tune with ease in international price of crude oil. What is the system of calculation adopted by Indian oil companies for pricing of petroleum products? Oil firms calculate the desired retail price on 1st and 16th of every month based on average imported oil price on the previous fortnight (Price of diesel remained unchanged, which was expected to be increased by Rs.0.50 to Rs. 0.60 per liter) 3) A 50-50 joint-venture between Indias public sector aeronautical company HAL and Britains Rolls Royce was set up recently, which opened its production facility on 15 March 2013. This facility will manufacture Trent family of aero engines and compressor parts for marine and energy gas turbines. This newly unveiled manufacturing facility is located in which city? Bangalore (This joint venture was formed with an investment of Rs. 135 crore ($25 million) and is providing employment for 100 Indian engineers) 4) Who was appointed as the new Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on 15 March 2013? Kenichi Ayukawa (His appointment will be effective from 1 April 2013 and he will replace Shinzo Nakanishi) 5) Union Govt. raised Rs. 620 crore from stake sale in public sector aluminium producer NALCO on 15 March 2013. How much govt. stake in NALCO was disinvested? 6% 6) Kerala Govt. announced a new pension scheme in the state budget released on 15 March 2013. Under this pension scheme, those workers working in MGNREGA scheme would be provided pension, who have completed 100 days of work in a year. The pension scheme would be contributory in nature, with both state and centre providing Rs. 1000 each annually per beneficiary. Centres contribution would be through which scheme? Swavalambhan Scheme 7) A recently released report has mentioned that By 2020, the combined economic output of three leading developing countries alone Brazil, China and India will surpass the aggregate production of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Which report is this? The 2013 Human Development Report (Released by the UNDP) 8) Who was awarded Asias most prestigious prize the Man Asian Literary Prize for 2012 on 14 March 2013? Tan Twan Eng of Malaysia for his novel The Garden of Evening Mists This is the first Man Asian Literary Prize for a Malaysian writer (Celebrated Indian author Jeet Thayils book Narcopolis was also nominated for this prize) 9) Who is the head of a newly constituted 4-member panel, which would give clear definitions to FDI and FII with an aim to remove ambiguity over the two types of foreign investments? Arvind Mayaram (Secretary, Economic Affairs)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

31

32

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 17, 2013

10) What is the name of an Indian-origin executive, who has been appointed as CEO of Googles Android operating system in place of Andy Rubin, who stepped down from his post? Sundar Pichai (Pichai was heading Googles Chrome web browser as well as applications like Google Drive and Gmail. Andy Rubin was the architect of Android, which is now worlds top-selling mobile operating system) 11) Chinas new Communist Party leader Xi Jinping completed his formal transition to power on 14 March 2013 by taking over the post of Chinas President from Hu Jintao during a parliamentary meeting. Which three powerful offices have been transferred to the new President? Party, Army and State (Party means Communist Party of China, Army means Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and State means the State of China) 12) Who took over as the new Prime Minister of China on 15 March 2013? Li Keqiang (He took over the reins from Wen Jiabao) 13) Nepals Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was sworn in as countrys interim Prime Minister on 14 March 2013. He will discharge his duties as interim Prime Minister and under him the govt. will hold the elections in the country, which are due on 21 June 2013 14) Web software giant Googles recent announcement of closure of a popular service, which allowed users to easily follow updates from around the web, sparked a strong criticism by devoted fans and users of the service. What is the name of this service? Google Reader (Google announced closure of Reader because it had been steadily losing users over the years as people switched to Facebook and Twitter to keep track of web updates) 1) What is the name of a month-long exercise started by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 16 March 2013, which is the largest exercise of its kind in a decade? Live Wire (This exercise started at Rajasthans Chandhana firing range, in which all 5 commands and 33 squadrons of the IAF are taking part) 2) Which day has been declared as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on which India will award its first ever national awards for recognizing efforts in the field of prevention of drug Abuse and alcoholism? 26 June (The national awards for pioneering initiatives in prevention and rehabilitation of drug abuse and alcoholism have been constituted by The Union ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) 3) Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan scored the fastest test century by a batsman on his debut, when he scored a scintillating 85-ball century against Australia at PCA stadium at Mohali on 16 March 2013. Dhawan broke record of which batsman by scoring this debut century? Dwayne Smith of West Indies who had scored his debut century in 93 balls against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2004 (Delhis Shikhar Dhawan took place of Virendra Sehwag, who was dropped after his indifferent form in first two test matches of the ongoing series) 4) HDFC Bank on 16 March 2013 announced appointment of a renowned audit firm to conduct an independent forensic inquiry into allegations of some of its officials facilitating money laundering activities. What is the name of this audit firm? Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India (HDFC Bank along with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank was charged of indulging money laundering activities by Aniruddha Bahal, who came out with sting of bank employees commissioned by cobrapost.com) 5) A noted Indian journalist was named as the new editor of TIME International magazine on 15 March 2013 and he has become the first non-American world editor in TIMEs history. What is his name? Bobby Ghosh 6) DMK, an important ally of the UPA govt. at the Centre, on 16 March 2013 stated that it is seriously considering making its threat to quit the union cabinet and even the UPA on the issue of taking stringent stand against Sri Lanka at the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting in Geneva. DMK has been exerting pressure on the Centre to bring amendments to the resolution brought against Sri Lanka for its alleged human rights violations, especially of the Tamils. Which country has moved this resolution at the ongoing UNHRC meet at Geneva? The United States (DMK is seeking Indian intervention to amend the US draft to include the demand for an independent international investigation and prosecution into allegations of human rights violations and war crimes by Sri Lankan Govt.) 7) A one-day referendum was held in Zimbabwe on 16 March 2013 to take consent of citizens for a new constitution. What are the main provisions in the proposed new constitution, which is being supported by almost all important political parties? A) The draft of this new constitution curbs powers of the president and imposes a maximum of two 5-year terms for the President B) It gives more power to cabinet and the parliament C) Introduces partial devolution of power to provincial powers (The powers of Zimbabwean parliament and cabinet were weakened considerably during 33-year long tenure of former President Robert Mugabe. Full-scale presidentialand parliamentary elections are slated in the country in July 2013) 34 www.NIRDESHAK.com

www.NIRDESHAK.com

33

March 18, 2013

8) How much financial assistance was given to debt-stricken Cyprus in the extraordinary meeting of euro zone finance ministers held in European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels on 15 March 2013? $ 13 billion (10 billion Euros) With this assistance, Cyprus becomes the fifth euro zone member to receive a bail-out package for the European Union and the IMF since Greece was rescued in the wake the sovereign debt crisis in May, 2010
1) The term of National Assembly, the lower house of Pakistani Parliament ended on 16 March 2013. With this the lower house made unique record in Pakistans democratic history. What is it? It was the first National Assembly in Pakistans 66 year old history to complete full term (This assembly was formed after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) victory in the 2008 elections) 2) What was the name given to a rally organized by Janta Dal United (JD(U)) under the leadership of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 17 March 2013, in which special status for Bihar was demanded by show of strength? Adhikar Rally 3) A famous media and publication group based in Kerala celebrated its 125th anniversary on 16 March 2013, in which the President Pranab Mukherjee released a postage stamp on this group. Which group is this? Malayala Manorama Group 4) Kimi Raikkonen of Finland on 17 March 2013 won the first Formula One Grand Prix race of 2013, by delivering a breathtaking performance at the Australian F1 GP in Melbourne. Raikkonen belongs to which F1 team? Lotus (Spains Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) took second spot while two time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany (Red Bull) came third. Indian F1 team collected 10 points with its drivers Adrian Sutil (Germany) and Paul Di Resta (Britain) claiming 7th and 8th position respectively) 5) Indias largest bank the SBI recently announced plans to open how many branches spread all over the country in the next fiscal year? 1200 (SBI also announced plans to open 8 overseas branches) 6) An independent study of over forty thousand ISPs (Internet Service Provider) conducted by Hollands Giovane Cesar Moreira Moura has revealed that worlds almost half spam messages (unsolicited or junk messages) are sent through an Indian ISP. Which Indian ISP is this? BSNL (This study revealed that majority of the phising attacks came from ISPs based in the US whereas spammers tend to favour Asian ISPs. The study declared Nigerias Spectranet as the worlds most crime-ridden network with 62% of the criminal-intended spam originating from this network) 7) Which city was rated as the most expensive residential space in the world in the latest report of real estate consultancy Frank Knight? Monaco, where one square meter of residential space cost between $ 57,600 to 63,700 (Monaco was followed by Hong Kong, London, Geneva, Paris, Singapore, Moscow, New York, Sydney and Shanghai in this list. Mumbai was listed at 16th spot) 8) India finished at which position at the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2013 held in Ipoh (Malaysia)? Fifth (India defeated Pakistan 4-2 in the classification match for fifth-sixth positions on 17 March 2013)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

35

36

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 19, 2013

1) Mahindra Group launched its first electric car named e2o on 18 March 2013, which is priced at about 6 lakh after state subsidy. This car is has been made after the group acquired which Bangalore-based car maker almost 3 years ago, which was Indias first manufacturer of electric cars? Reva (e2o was launched in Delhi and would also be launched in Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Kochi. This four-seater 2-door car can run for 100 km per charge and incorporates new generation lithium-ion batteries) 2) Union govt. on 18 March 2013 agreed to incorporate major changes in the proposed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, which seeks to strengthen laws to deal with sexual crimes against women. These changes were cleared at a Cabinet meeting which followed an all party meeting on the issue, in which several parties raised their oppositions to the provisions in the proposed bill. What are the new changes incorporated in the bill? A) Age for consensual sex has been retained at 18 years against the earlier proposed 16 years B) The provisions on stalking and voyeurism in the proposed bill have been diluted (The criminal law ordinance was promulgated by the President on 3 February 2013 following the public outrage over the December 16 Delhi gangrape. The ordinance lapses on 4 April 2013 and Parliament has to pass the bill by 22 March 2013, when it breaks for recess) 3) Which state govt. on 18 March 2013 announced year-long celebrations for completion of 50 year of its Legislative Assembly? Goa (First Legislative Assembly of the State was convened on 9 January 1964) 4) What is the name of a joint military exercise between the US and Nepal to be conducted from 25 March 2013 to 7 April 2013? Shanti Prayas II (This exercise would be held in Panchkhal, which is about 50 km east of Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Apart from the armies of the US and Nepal many other countries will also take part in this exercise. Objective of this exercise is to increase regional peace in the Asia-Pacific region and improve peacekeeping capabilities of the participants) 5) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 17 March 2013 demanded special status for his state by conducting a massive rally title Adhikar Rally. How many Indian states are at present given special status? Eleven (11) These states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya 6) Which film was adjudged the Best Feature Film in the 60th National Film Awards announced on 18 March 2013? Pan Singh Tomar, a real-life story of athlete-turned-dacoit by Tigmanshu Dhulia 7) Which two actors were jointly awarded the 60th National Film Award for Best Actor, which was announced on 18 March 2013? Irrfan Khan (for Hindi film Pan Singh Tomar) and Vikram Gokhale (for Marathi film Anumati) List of Prominent winners of 60th National Film Award, which were announced on 18 March 2013 Best Feature Film : Pan Singh Tomar Best Director: Shivaji Lotan Patil for Dhag (Marathi) Best Actor : Irrfan Khan for Pan Singh Tomar (Hindi) and Vikram Gokhale for Anumati (Marathi) Best Actress: Usha Jadhav for Dhag (Marathi) Best Supporting Actor: Annu Kapoor for Vicky Donor Best Supporting Actress: Dolly Alhuwalia for Vicky Donor and Kalpana for Thanichallanjan (Malyalam) Indira Gandhi award for best debut film : Chittagong (By Bedabrata Pain) and Malayalam film 101 Chodiyangal (By Siddhartha Siva) Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment : Hindi film Vicky Donor (Produced by John Abraham) Best Childrens film : Dekh India Circus 8) What was Indias rank in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) released by the UNDP in its Human Development Index 2013 report? 132 (out of total 187 countries in the list) Only Afghanistan was ranked lower than India among the countries from South-Asia in this list. Indias poor showing was mainly due to low sex ratio, low women members in parliament and low percentage of women in Indias work-force 9) Indias Test win over Australia at Mohali on 18 March 2013 by 6 wickets made a unique distinction in Indias test history. What distinction is this? India has never before won more than 2 test matches against Australia in a test series in its 81-year test history (Shikhar Dhawan was awarded man of the match award for his brilliant 187 debut knock) 10) What is the name of an Indian-owned airline operated in Nigeria, whose operations were suspended by the Nigerian authorities on 18 March? Dana Air (Operations of this airline were suspended after Nigerian parliament complained of the airlines shoddy manner of paying compensations to victims of a crash that left nearly 200 people dead last year)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

37

38

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 20, 2013

1) Union Cabinet on 19 March 2013 gave its approval to the revised Food Security Bill, which would provide subsidized food grains to about two-third of countrys population. How much food grain per person is proposed to be provided under this ambitious plan? 5 Kg of food-grain per month per person, belonging to the eligible group of beneficiaries Other salient features of this proposed Food Security Bill are 67% of Indian population would be covered under this plan Rice will be supplied at Rs. 3 per kg to all beneficiaries Wheat will be supplied at Rs. 2 per kg to all beneficiaries Coarse grains will be supplied at Rs. 1 per kg to all beneficiaries About 2.43 crore poorest of the poor families covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) scheme under PDS would get legal entitlement to 35 kg of food-grain per family per month Food-grains requirement is expected to be 61.23 million tonnes in the proposed plan Extra burden of Rs. 20,000 crore will be accrued on the state exchequer on account of this plan Prices of food-grains provided under the plan to be revised after three years from the implementation of the act 2) The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013, also known as the so-called anti-rape Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on 19 March 2013, seeks to amend which acts/codes of Indian criminal laws? A) Indian Penal Code B) Code of Criminal Procedure C) Indian Evidence Act D) Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 3) DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), which withdrew its support from the UPA led Union Govt. on 19 March 2013, has how many members in the Lok Sabha? 18 (DMK had 5 ministers in the Centre including one cabinet minister. However, the Union Govt. is not under any immediate danger as it enjoys outside support of SP (22 members in Lok Sabha) and BSP (21 members). UPAs claimed numbers in the Lok Sabha stood at 283, still above the required majority mark of 272) 4) Reserve Bank of India on 19 March 2013 reduced the Repo Rate by 0.25%, after which expectations of lowering of lending rates by banks have arisen. What is the new Repo Rate after this reduction? 7.5% (This reduction in Repo Rate was announced in RBIs mid-quarter monetary policy review. The short term borrowing rate, popularly known as Reverse Repo Rate, was also reduced by 0.25%, which is now 6.5%. However, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remained unchanged at 4%. Repo Rate is the interest rate at which banks borrow short-term cash from the RBI whereas Reverse Repo Rate is the rate at which banks provide short-term cash to the RBI) 5) What are the prime objectives of The Electronic Services Bill, which was approved the Union Cabinet on 18 March 2013? This bill mandates all central and state govt. departments that offer public services to start providing all services to citizens through electronic medium within a span of 8 years (This bill is of directive nature and gives time of 5 years to central and state govt. to notify the services that would be provided through electric medium. After this 3 years extra time has been provided under the bill to initiate these services in the recommended format) 6) Chinese President Xi Jinping on 19 March 2013 unveiled how many point formula to improve ties with India? 5-Point Formula Chinese Presidents 5-point formula includes : A) China and India should maintain strategic communication and keep the bilateral relations on the right track B) Both countries should harness each others comparative strengths and expand win-win cooperation in infrastructure, mutual investment and other areas C) India and China should strengthen cultural ties and constantly increase the mutually expanding friendship between the two countries D) The two countries should expand coordination and collaboration in multi-lateral fora to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and tackle global challenges E) Both countries should accommodate each others core concerns and properly handle problems and differences existing between the two countries 7) KK Birla Foundations prestigious Saraswati Samman 2012 has been conferred on which poetess recently? Malayalam poetess Sugathakumari for her poetry collection titled Manalezhuthu, which means writings on the sand (Saraswati Samman carries a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh and is conferred annually for literary works in any language included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice RC Lahoti is the chairman of the 13-member jury, which selected the awardee) 8) How much money was recently infused into the State Bank of India (SBI), countrys largest bank, by the union govt. recently, as part of its plan of recapitalization of state-run banks? Rs. 3004 crore (With this fresh infusion Union govt.s holding in SBI has increased from 61.58% to 62.31%. It should be noted that Government plans to infuse around Rs 14,000 crore in state-run banks this fiscal to boost their core capital ratios as they prepare to comply with the Basel-III guidelines, which will start from 1 April 2013) 9) Market regulator SEBI on 19 March 2013 issued guidelines pertaining to product labelling with colour coding of mutual fund products, which will be effective from 1 July 2013. How many colours have been made available in this colour coding scheme? Three colours Blue, Yellow and Brown (A blue colour coded box would indicate low risk, yellow would signify a medium risk, while brown would represent schemes with high risk. As per the guidelines issued by the SEBI, product labels carrying details about the schemes would be disclosed on the front page of initial offerings application forms) 10) Which team won the 22nd edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, which concluded on 17 March 2013? Australia, who defeated hosts Malaysia by 3-2 in the finals (This cup was held in Ipoh Malaysia from 9 March to 17 March 2013. Korea finished third in the tournament while India finished 5th)
www.NIRDESHAK.com

39

40

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 21, 2013

1) Indian defence research initiatives received a major boost on 20 March 2013 after India became the first country in the world to successfully test fired a submarine-launched version of a supersonic cruise missile (BrahMos) from the Bay of Bengal. This version of BrahMos has a range of 292-km and this was the first test firing of an underwater supersonic cruise missile anywhere in the world and the missile travelled its complete range of over 290 km. Where in Bay of Bengal was this test conducted? Near Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh (the test-fire was conducted from an underwater pontoon near Vishakhapatnam. DRDO, Indian Navy and the BrahMos team comprising of Indian and Russian defence scientists were involved in this test) 2) What is the name of cricketer Yuvraj Singhs memoirs, which was released on 19 March 2013 in New Delhi? The Test of My Life (This book co-authored by Nishant Arora and Sharda Ugra, is an account of Yuvrajs battle with cancer and his return to international cricket. All Indian cricketers including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag were present at the release ceremony) 3) What is the name of the Dravidian political party of Tamil Nadu, with just one member in the Lok Sabha, which also withdrew its support from the UPA Govt. on 19 March 2013? VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) VCKs only Lok Sabha member is Thol. Thirumavalavan, who is also Chairman of the VCK) 4) Which phone was rated as the Fastest Smartphone Yet in a research conducted recently by Primate Labs, makers of GeekBench? Samsungs Galaxy S4, which was launched last week (S4 received a score of 3163, while HTC One was at second spot with 2687 points. Apples iPhone 5 was ranked fifth with 1596 points) 5) The Election Commission on 20 Mach 2013 declared the election schedule for Karnatakas legislative assembly. When the state would go to polls to elect members for the assembly? 5 May 2013 (The results would be declared on 8 May 2013. The tenure of 224-member Karnataka Assembly is to expire on 3 June 2013) 6) Who was the President of Bangladesh, who passed away on 20 March 2013 in a hospital in Singapore? Zillur Rahman (84-year old Rehman was was a top leader of the ruling Awami League party before Parliament elected him President in 2009. Bangladesh Govt. declared three days of state mourning in the country) 7) What was the date set for Pakistans next General Elections, as announced by the President Asif Ali Zardari on 20 March 2013? 11 May 2013 (Significance of this proposed election is that it would be first time in Pakistans troubled democratic history that will mark the first ever transfer of power from an elected govt. to another) 8) Which financial institution has picked up largest share in the recently held disinvestment of PSU aluminium major NALCO, which was done through an offer for sale (OFS) during last week? LIC (LIC picked up NALCOs 5.25 crore shares, or one third of the 15.69 crore shares disinvested through OFS)

9) Which permission was granted by market regulator SEBI on 20 March 2013, which is expected to boost flow of overseas funds into Indian capital markets? SEBI has permitted FIIs to offer govt. securities and corporate bonds as collaterals for their cash and derivatives transactions on the stock exchanges 10) What is the coupon rate of five-year bonds sold by the state-run IDBI Bank recently in international markets, through which the bank successfully raised funds worth $500 million? 3.75% (Main feature of this coupon rate is that this is the cheapest ever coupon rate for the bank)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

41

42

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 22, 2013

1) The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC), which was set up about two years ago, submits its final report to the govt. on 22 March 2013. This report is expected to include a comprehensive review of the current financial sector regulatory architecture and legislation. Who is the Chairman of FSLRC? Justice BN Shrikrishna, former Judge of Supreme Court 2) The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, also popularly known as the anti-rape Bill, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 21 March 2013, two days after it was passed by the lower house Lok Sabha on 19 March 2013. What is the most important clause in this bill? This bill for the first time defines stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable offences if repeated for the second time 3) Actor Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to 5-year prison by the Supreme Court on 21 March 2013 for his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. What was his crime? Illegal possession of arms, allegedly from the same consignment of ammunition used in carrying out the massacre that led to killing of 257 persons while leaving more than 700 others injured (Sanjay Dutt has already served around 18 months in custody) 4) Who is the sole convict of the 1993 Mumbai blast case, who was awarded death sentence by the Supreme Court on 21 March 2013? Yakub Abdul Razak Memon (He is the brother of absconding accused Tiger Memon (257 people had died and over 700 were injured in Mumbai blasts, which took place on 12 March 1993) 5) How many countries voted in favour of the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Meet at Geneva on 21 March 2013? 25 countries (India also voted in support of this resolution, which was voted-against by 13 countries, while 8 countries abstained from voting. India was unable to make amendments in this resolution to make it harsher, which was the primary demand of DMK, the former ally of UPA Govt.) 6) Which famous former footballer of India was appointed as the chairman of the All India Football Federations (AIFF) technical committee recently? Bhaichung Bhutia (Bhutia who retired from active football in 2011 has taken place of Mohammad Habib. Bhutia was captain of Indias national soccer team for many years) 7) Union Govt. on 21 March 2013 released a census report on slum households prepared by the Registrar General of India (RGI), which is the first such report on slum households by the RGI. According to this report how many Indians live in slums? About 6.8 crore (It was reported that majority of slum-dwellers were located in 6 states of the country Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) 8) Union Govt. is to sell how much of its stake in public sector steel major SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) on 22 March 2013? 5.82% (This stake-sale (disinvestment) would be done either through an offer for sale (OFS) or an auction)

9) A report on restructuring of NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies), Indias premier trade association of software companies, IT service providers and BPO operators, was released recently. This report has mainly highlighted crisis in governance of NASSCOM, which is of-late lagging in achieving its objective of promoting the industry. Who is the head of the committee which prepared this report? NR Narayan Murthy (Chairman Emeritus Infosys) 10) What was the name of a summit organized by Google in New Delhi on 21 March 2013, in which Googles Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt outlined his vision of making India a primary market for Google in the coming years? Google Big Tent Activate Summit 2013

www.NIRDESHAK.com

43

44

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 23, 2013

1) Two Italian marines Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, accused of killing two Kerala fishermen, returned to India on 22 March 2013 after India assured Italy that the two soldiers would not be arrested on their return or face death penalty in their case. Who was Italian Prime Ministers special representative on this matter, who escorted the two marines? Staffan de Mistura (He is also Italys deputy foreign minister) 2) Which was the first country visited by the newly appointed Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in this country on 22 March 2013? Russia (Xinping arrived in Moscow for his first trip abroad as Chinas new President. While he has sought to mark himself as different from his predecessor Hu Jintao on domestic issues, he continues Hus example of wooing Russia for diplomatic support and energy supplies) 3) Who was recently appointed as Indias first diplomat in Wales, who was sworn-in at a special ceremony at the India Centre in Cardiff on 20 March 2013? Raj Aggarwal (Aggarwal is Chairman of Aggarwal Group, which has business interests in south Wales include a chain of pharmacies. He will act as Indias representative on behalf of the Indian High Commission in the UK) 4) Novelist and poet Chinua Achebe, widely seen as The Grandfather of Modern African Literature, passed away at the age of 82 recently. He was citizen of which country? Nigeria (Achebe served as a bridge between Africa and the West as a writer, broadcaster and lecturer and is considered as a yardstick against which generations of African writers have been judged ever since. His prominent literary works include Things Fall Apart, Anthills of the Savannah and The Trouble with Nigeria) 5) Which state-owned corporation purchased almost 40% shares in the stake sale of public sector steel major SAIL, which was held on 22 March 2013 through an offer for sale (OFS)? LIC (LIC bid for about Rs. 600 crore out of SAILs total stake sale of over Rs. 1,500 crore, through which the union govt. diluted 5.82% of its holding in SAIL. LIC had also acquired highest shares in recent divestment of public sector aluminium company NALCO) 6) Which state, during March 2013, became the first Indian state to implement electronic General Provident Fund (e-GPF) facility for states GPF holders and pensioners? Arunachal Pradesh (A newly redesigned website www.arunachalfinance.in, was launched recently by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki. This site would provide online information access to accountholders and has many interactive features) 7) In a major change in international hockey rules, FIH the games governing body, on 21 March 2013 announced to do away with the concept of extra-time to decide the outcome of a tied-match. What has been proposed by FIH in place of extra-time? The match would directly go into penalty shoot-outs (FIH announced this decision at bodys Executive Board Meet held in Kuala Lumpur. FIH has been under pressure to make hockey more spectator friendly and less complicated after it nearly got the axe from the 2020 Olympics)

8) What is the proposed name of a proposed new agency which would be assigned the task of conducting NET (National Eligibility Test) and GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) tentatively from 2014, as announced by Union HRD Minister M.M. Pallam Raju on 22 March 2013? National Testing Agency NTA (Pallam Raju said the proposal to set up the agency will be discussed in the upcoming Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) meeting and final decision will be taken after discussions with the states) 9) The Parliament of debt-stricken Cyprus had recently rejected the $10 billion bail-out package offered by the Euro Zone, stating that the conditions attached with the package are tough and unpractical. Cyprus, in a surprising move, had shown interest to package offered by which country, which angered Euro Zone countries? Russia (Euro Zone countries warned of dire consequences to Cyprus, with the European Central Bank (ECB) warning of stopping cash supplies to Cyprus, if the country doesnt agrees to Euro Zones bail-out package by 25 March 2013) 10) Bhatti Commission recently submitted its report pertaining to irregularities done in Uttarakhand between 2007 and 2012. This commissions report deals with which company / corporation of the state govt.? Uttarakhand Seeds and Tarai Development Corporation USTDC (Bhatti Commission tabled its report in the Uttarakhand Assembly on 19 March 2013. The commission in its report claimed that then Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal illegally appointed Hemant Dwivedi as Chairman of USTDC in February 2010. Uttarakhand Police on 22 March 2013 registered an FIR on base of this report but did not named anyone)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

45

46

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 24, 2013

1) Earth Hour 2013 was observed in more than 150 countries on 23 March 2013, with thousands of cities and towns and their citizen putting off lights between 8.30 pm to 9:30 pm on this day. When was the first Earth Day observed in the world? On 31 March 2007 at Sydney (Worlds first Earth Hour was observed in Sydney, Australia but many cities appreciated Sydneys initiative and began signing for next years Earth Hour in 2008. The campaign is against climate change and to raise awareness about carbon pollution) 2) Who is the new Governor of Kerala, after he was sworn-in on 23 March 2013? Nikhil Kumar (He served as Governor of Nagaland till now. He is a former IPS officer, who served as the head of National Security Guard (NSG). The additional charge of Keralas Governor was held by Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj till now, since death of M.O.H Farooq in January 2012) 3) Which are the three states where High Courts were established on 23 March 2013, with which the number of high courts in India increased from 21 to 24? Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura (Announcement about establishment of these three new high courts was made on 25 January 2013) 4) Who are the Chief Justices of the three newly constituted High Courts of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, who were sworn in on 23 March 2013? Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre (Manipur), Justice T. Meenakumari (Meghalaya) and Justice Deepak Gupta (Tripura) 5) Which company was recently awarded the project to build an international airport in Male, the capital of Maldives, months after the same assignment awarded to Indias reality company GMR Group was cancelled, which led to worsening of diplomatic relations between India and Maldives recently? Lagan Construction of United Kingdom 6) How many seats have been increased in the flagship Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) course of Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) recently by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)? 60 (With this PGDRM seats have now reached 180 from the earlier 120. The increase in seats comes into effect from June 2013) 7) India and the United States are to cooperate on mission to which two space bodies, an agreement on which was finalized at the fourth US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group meeting held at Washington on 22 March 2013? The Moon and Mars (This agreement was done in background of NASAs collaboration in Indias highly successful Chandrayan-1 lunar mission in 2008. The space cooperation would be primarily between NASA and Indias ISRO) 8) What is the name given to a new series of investment and manufacturing zones proposed to be set up in India for promotion of manufacturing industry in the country, norms for whom were issued recently by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry? National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs) The main objective for establishment of NMIZs is to increase the share of manufacturing in the GDP to 25% from the current 16% and help create about 10 crore jobs from this sector by 2025. NMIZs are conceptualized as integrated industrial townships of at least 5,000 hectares with state-of-the-art infrastructure and at least 30% of the total land area would have to be devoted to manufacturing units 9) The recent Sino-Pak agreement, through which China literally took over the running and management of Gwadar port in Pakistan, resulted in Indian govt. moving a cabinet note on investing over $100 million in the expansion of an Iranian port, which is just 70 km away from Gwadar. Which port is this? Chabahar (India and Iran have agreed to draw up a transit pact for transporting goods to Afghanistan. The fact that Iran and Pakistan have decided to go ahead with their gas pipeline project despite US warnings has put India on alert about Irans other options. India is likely to have to bear almost the entire burden of construction. Iran, on the other hand, has prepared the road connecting Chabahar to Zaranj on the Iran-Afghan border) 10) Which is the newly imposed time limit to take penalty corners in international hockey matches, announced recently by hockeys supreme body the FIH recently? 45 seconds (FIH officials observed that teams took far too long in doing this, which disrupted games flow. The decision was taken at FIHs Executive Board Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur recently)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

47

48

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 25, 2013

Current Affairs - January 2013

Current Affairs - January 2013

March 26, 2013

1) Who was appointed as the caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan on 24 March 2013, under whom the upcoming General Elections would be conducted? Justice Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (He is a retired judge known for his honesty and his name was cleared by the Election Commission after being selected by Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a bipartisan parliamentary committee) 2) Former Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf returned to his country on 24 March 2013 after more than four years of self-imposed exile. Musharraf landed in Karachi and is expected to face the security, political and legal challenges that lay ahead to take part in the coming General Elections. Musharraf is the founder of which political party which he will represent in the elections? All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) 3) Indian team created history by whitewashing Australia 4-0 after India defeated Australia by 6 wickets in the final test of the test series at Delhi Feroze Shah Kotla on 24 March 2013. This was the first time that India won a test series by 4-0 in its 81 year old test history. After how many years Australia lost a test series by 0 4 to be completely whitewashed? 43 years (Australia had lost by similar margin to South Africa during 1969-70 under captaincy of Bill Lawry. With this series win India clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from Australia) 4) Who won the Malaysian Grand Prix for Formula One on 24 March 2013? Germanys Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull (His teammate Mark Webber (Australia) was at second spot whereas UKs Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was third. Malaysian Grand Prix is held at the Sepang Circuit and is the second Formula One GP of the year) 5) Aishwarya oil field is located in which state of India, from where Cairn India commenced commercial oil production and sales on 23 March 2013? Rajasthan (Aishwarya oil field is located in Barmer district of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan. This oil field is expected to achieve daily production of about 25,000 barrel. Another oil well nearby, named Rageshwari, is dedicated to production of natural gas and is expected to achieve daily production of about 50,000 lakh cubic feet of natural gas)

1) The Union govt. on 25 March 2013 announced reduction in interest rates offered under several small savings schemes like PPF, NSC, post office savings, etc. This reduction in interest rates was announced following govt.s decision last year to link the small savings returns with the market rate. This decision was taken into effect after govt. implemented recommendations of which committee some time ago? Shyamala Gopinath Committee (This committee had suggested that returns should be in sync with market rates determined by the returns offered by other securities. Hence the govt. has to announce new interest rates at the beginning of the financial year, which was what exactly done on 25 March 2013. The change in interest rates would come into effect from 1 April 2013) Impact on major tools of Small Savings : PPF (Public Provident Fund) : Annual rate of interest reduced from 8.8% to 8.7% NSC (National Savings Certificate 5 yr) : Annual rate of interest reduced from 8.6% to 8.5% NSC (National Savings Certificate 10 yr) : Annual rate of interest reduced from 8.9% to 8.8% Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS) : Annual rate of interest reduced from 9.3% to 9.2% Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) of 5 years maturity : Annual rate of interest reduced from 8.5% to 8.4% Savings Deposit Scheme : Unchanged at 4% 2) Which judge was designated by the Delhi High Court on 25 March 2013 to hold the trial of two Italian marines accused for killing two Indian fishermen? Justice Amit Bansal, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) of Patiala House Court, Delhi (The Centre had on 23 March 2013 asked the high court to set up a special court to try the two Italian marines Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone) 3) In one of the largest ever actions against an Army unit, as many as 168 personnel of a Ladakh-based artillery unit, that saw intense clashes between officers and jawans in May 2012, face disciplinary action and court martial proceedings. This incident involved which unit of the Army? 226 Field Regiment (The incident took place at Nyoma in Ladakh where the unit was on field firing training) 4) Debt-ridden Mediterranean island country Cyprus on 25 March 2013 finally secured the $13 billion (10 billion Euro) bailout-package offered by the Euro Zone and thus avoided the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy that could have destabilized the entire euro area. What are the important terms that Cyprus has to implement in return for this bailout-package, which Cyprus was earlier unrelenting to undertake? A) Cyprus has to drastically shrink its banking sector, which has become oversized, unprofitable and uneconomical B) It has to cut its fiscal budget and cut-away wasteful expenditures C) It has to start the process of privatization of its state assets D) Cyprus has to implement comprehensive set of structural reforms in the country (Cyprus has been shut out of international markets for almost two years. The bailout-package has been provided by a group of 17 European countries, who are collectively called as Euro Zone nations)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

49

50

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 27, 2013

5) As per Nielsens Corporate Image Monitor 2012-13, which lists countrys firms in terms of their reputation, which company had the best corporate image in the country during 2012? Aditya Birla Group (ABG), which replaced Tata Motors from the first place in this list (Tata Motors was placed second in this list followed by Life Insurance of India (LIC), ITC and Infosys and Wipro, which were placed at a joint fifth place. Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Tata Steel and State Bank of India were also in top 10 places) 6) Who won the title of 50th Ponds Femina Miss India 2013, held at Mumbai on 24 March 2013? Navneet Kaur Dhillon (Punjab) Sobhita Dhulipala was the first runner up while Zoya Afroz was the second runner-up 1) Ace golfer Tiger Woods regained his world no. 1 spot in PGA rankings after he won his third PGA Tour Title on 25 March 2013. Which title is this? The Arnold Palmer Invitation at Orlando, Florida (Woods replaced Rory McIlroy from the top spot in PGA rankings. Woods had dropped to no. 58 spot in November 2011 and was witnessing an indifferent form from where his return to top looked almost impossible) 2) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on 26 March 2013 barred players and officials of which country from featuring in IPL matches slated to be held in Tamil Nadu? Sri Lanka (She announced that her Govt. would not permit IPL matches to be held in her state if they feature any Sri Lankan, whether player, umpire, official, or support staff. This announcement was made in context of popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Government of Sri Lanka. After this announcement, the IPL Governing Council also decided to not field any Sri Lankan in any fixture at Chennai) 3) The 2013 Summit Meet of the Arab League started on 26 March 2013 at Doha, Qatar (The main highlight of this summit was the participation of Syrias opposition representatives in place of Syria, whose membership of the league was suspended in 2011 as a punishment for President Bashar Assads crackdown of the opposition) 4) Which South American country on 25 March 2013 declared an environmental emergency in a remote Amazon region, due to very high level of water contamination in the region? Peru (The emergency was declared in the Pastaza River basin near the Ecuador border, which is countrys most productive oil fields. Oil excavation operations are currently operated by Argentina-based Pluspetrol. High levels of lead, barium and chromium as well as petroleum-related compounds were found in regions water bodies) 5) What was Mumbais rank in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) released on 26 March 2013? 66 (out of a total of 79 cities) GFCI provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 79 financial centres worldwide in which top position was given to London (London was followed by New York (2nd), Hong Kong (3rd), Singapore (4th), Zurich (5th), Tokyo (6th), Geneva (7th), Boston (8th), Seoul (9th) and Frankfurt (10th). Mumbai was ranked at 63rd position in last years index) 6) What is the latest head-count of rhinos in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), Assam as per the census conducted in the park from 24 -26 March 2013? 2,290 (There is an increase of 39 rhinos in KNP despite numerous cases of poaching reported from the park. The census is conducted every two years at KNP. 645 adult males and 684 adult females besides sub-adults and cubs were counted in this census) 7) L&T General Insurance is to be merged with which insurance company, as announced in an agreement on 26 March 2013? Future Generali India Insurance (An agreement was entered into by Larson & Toubro (L&T), Generali Group and Kishore Biyani promoted Future Group to merge L&T General Insurance with Future Generali India Insurance. After the merger L&T will hold 51% in the merged entity while Generali Group and Future Group would hold 26% and 23% stake in the new entity)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

51

52

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 28, 2013

1) 5th BRICS Summit was held between 26 and 27 March 2013 at Durban (South Africa) With this summit, the first cycle of BRICS summits was completed and BRICS summits have now been held in every member nation. Five members of BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS was earlier known as BRIC. First BRIC summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in 2009. Three later summits were held in Brasilia (Brazil 2010), Sanya (China 2011) and New Delhi (India 2013). BRIC was renamed as BRICS in 2010 after entry of South Africa 2) A decision to set up a contingency relief arrangement (CRA) worth $100 billion was taken at the 5th BRICS Summit on 27 March 2013. Which country would be the largest contributor to the CRA? China (China would contribute $41 billion to CRA, while India, Russia and Brazil would contribute $18 billion each. South Africa is to contribute the remaining $5 billion to the corpus of CRA. The decision to set up BRICS Development Bank (BDB) was also endorsed at the summit but the members failed to reach an understanding on the capitalisation of the new bank with China insisting on a $100 billion corpus while countries such as India were more comfortable with $50 billion) 3) Indian Navy on 26 March 2013 launched a new anti-submarine ship under its Project 28 series. What is the name of this new ship, which is the third vessel belonging to the Kamorta Class? INS Kiltan (With this induction, half stage of Project 28 has been reached as a total of 6 ships are to be inducted by 2016 under the project. This ship has been named after an island in the Lakshadweep) 4) A British court on 27 March 2013 rejected an appeal filed by Ravi Shankaran against his extradition to India, resulting in major success for the CBI. Shankaran is an accused in which case? Navy war-room leak case (He is a key accused in the case of leaking classified information from the Indian naval war-room to arms dealers. He has been absconding since the case was registered by the CBI in March 2006. Shankaran is a relative of former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash) 5) Who was the Italian Foreign Minister, who announced his resignation on 26 March 2013 in protest of his governments decision to send two Italian marines? Giulio Terzi 6) Last diplomatic link between South Korea and North Korea was severed on 27 March 2013, pushing the two nations into further coldness as far as bilateral relations are concerned. What was this last diplomatic link between the two Koreas? Military Hotline between the two countries, dedicated mainly to arrange for South Koreans, who work at an industrial complex in the North to cross the heavily armed border (North Korea recently also cut a Red Cross hotline with South Korea and another with the U.S.- led U.N. command at the border between the Koreas) 7) Former Pakistani President Perevz Musharraf on 27 March 2013 filed his nomination papers for contesting in the upcoming general election in Pakistan. Musharraf will contest from which place? Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province

March 29, 2013

1) Indias current account deficit (CAD) touched a record high according to RBIs Balance of Payments Report. What was Indias CAD for the October-December 2012 quarter as announced by the RBI on 28 March 2013? 6.7% (The CAD, which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign currency, widened from 5.4% in Q2 (July-September) to a record high of 6.7 per cent of GDP in Q3, driven mainly by large trade deficit) 2) A 5-member committee, which suggested measures to lower the high costs of Air Indias operations and improve utilization of its resources, submitted its report to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on 28 March 2013. Who is heading this committee? Prof. Ravindra H. Dholakia of IIM Ahmedabad 3) A fine of Rs. 2,000 crore was imposed by Indian tax authorities on which famous mobile phone manufacture on charges of tax evasion, which was later stayed by the Delhi High Court? Nokia (It was alleged that the company evaded taxes of over $500 million) 4) Which city of India has the most number of households living in slums as per the recently released first ever slum survey conducted by the Registrar General of India under the Census of India? Vishakhapatnam 5) What is the name of an upcoming memoir of Malala Yousafzai, for which a $3million deal was struck recently? I am Malala (Malala, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by Talibani orthodox militants in October 2012 and who later recuperated in Britain. She has since became a global celebrity for standing against Talibans oppressive policies against girl child) 6) What is the name of an upcoming Australian pacer of Indian origin, who was awarded the prestigious Steve Waugh Medal as the best New South Wales cricketer for the year 2012-13 on 28 March 2013? Gurinder Sandhu (He is the first Australian of Indian origin to represent the country in cricket at the international level. Sandhu won the medal with 146 votes and thus toppled veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin who received 143 votes) 7) Which New Zealand cricketer was seriously injured in a late-night assault outside a bar in Christchurch on 28 March 2013 and who went in coma with critical injuries in skull and lungs? Jessie Ryder (Ryder was to play for Delhi Daredevils in the upcoming IPL 2013 and was to leave for India in a day)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

53

54

www.NIRDESHAK.com

March 30, 2013

1) What is the name of a new labour law implemented by the Saudi Government, which seeks to reserve 10% jobs in Saudi Arabia for locals, and deadline for whose implementation ended on 28 March 2013? Nitaqat Law (This law is to be implemented mostly in small and medium industrial establishments and a majority of migrant workers including those from India are tight-lipped about the impact of this new law) 2) The Parliamentary Panel on Agriculture has recently suggested changes to an amendment bill to ensure agri-business firms do not misuse funds of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) in the garb of producer companies. Who is the head of this parliamentary panel on Agriculture? Basudeb Acharia, MP (The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) advances loans and subsidies to state governments for financing cooperative societies and for employment of staff for implementing programmes of cooperative development) 3) Who replaced Mithali Raj as the new captain of Indian womens cricket team, which is slated to play limited over one-day series against Bangladesh starting 2 April 2013? Harmanpreet Kaur (Opener Poonam Raut was named as vice-captain of the team while the experienced Mithali Raj was not named in the 15-member squad) 4) Which three eminent photographers were conferred with the Life-Time Achievement Awards for the 2nd National Photo Awards 2013? T.S. Nagarajan, Pranlal Patel and T.N.A. Perumal (The awards were given by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on 28 March 2013 at Vigyan Bhawan. National Photo Awards were established by the Union Govt. in 2010 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Photo Division, which is the media unit of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry) 5) Premium for motor insurance is to be increased by an average of how much from 1 April 2013, as announced by the insurance regulator IRDA recently? 20% (However, these rates are way below the hike proposed in the exposure draft floated in February 2013) 6) A price band of 10% was imposed on 4 stocks by the BSE and NSE on 29 March 2013 as part of preventive surveillance measures. Which 4 stocks are these? Essar Oil, Suzlon Energy, Educomp and CORE Education (The price band will be applicable for trading in the four stocks with effect from 2 April 2013)

March 31, 2013

1) The Election Commission recently de-recognized one of the oldest regional political parties of India, order for which was passed by the commission on 20 March 2013. Which political party is this? Manipur Peoples Party (MPP) This party was formed in 1968 by some dissident Congress members. It ruled the state for two terms. However, the party was derecognized as none of its candidate had won the last State Assembly election in 2012 and Lok Sabha election in 2009 2) Recently a US delegation of lawmakers and businessmen visited Gujarat and praised Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts in building a lasting and sustainable economy in Gujarat. The delegation even invited Modi to visit the US despite earlier rejection of his visa application by the US. Who was the leader of this delegation? Aaron Schock, the Republican Congressman from Illinois 3) 83 workers were buried in a huge landslide at a gold mining site in China on 29 March 2013. This accident took place in which area? In Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, southwest Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region (The miners worked for a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corp., a state-owned enterprise and the countrys largest gold producer) 4) How much was Indias total international financial liability at the end of December 2012 as reported in RBIs International Investment Position (IIP) Report recently? US $723.9 billion (IIP is a statistical statement that shows the value and the composition of financial assets of residents of an economy and liabilities of residents of an economy to non-residents) 5) What was the name of the Russian spacecraft that performed a fast-tracked rendezvous to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) in a record time of just 6 hours on 28 March 2013? Soyuz TMA-08M (This spacecraft is also known by its US designation of 34S. it was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying three new crew members. Soyuz TMA-08M was commanded by veteran Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, who at 59 years old became the oldest professional person ever to fly on the ISS) 6) North Korea on 30 March 2013 warned Seoul that the Korean Peninsula was entering a state of war and threatened to shut down a factory complex, which is the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. Which factory complex is this? The Kaesong Industrial Park (This complex is run with North Korean labour and South Korean known-how and has been operating normally despite strained relations between the two Koreas)

www.NIRDESHAK.com

55

56

www.NIRDESHAK.com