General Knowledge

1. Who among the following has been appointed the National
Security Adviser by the UPA Government ?
 (a) Brajesh Mishra
 (b) J. N. Daxit
 (c) Soli J. Sorabjee
 (d) T. K. A. Nair
 Ans: ( b ) J. N. Daxit
  
2. Who among the following is the new Chief Minister of
Karnataka ?
 (a) S. M. Krishna
 (b) Uma Bharti
 (c) Dharam Singh
 (d) Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy 
 Ans: ( c ) Dharam Singh
  
3. Who among the following has won the Miss Universe 2004
crown ?
 (a) Jennifer Hawkins 
 (b) Shandi Finnessey
 (c) Alba Reyes
 (d) None of these 
 Ans: ( a ) Jennifer Hawkins
  
4. A solemn ceremony to mark the 60th Anniversary of D-Day
landings of the Allies troops during the Second World War,
was held in
 (a) Pearl Harbour
 (b) Normandy
 (c) New York
 (d) Lisbon 
 Ans: ( b ) Normandy
  
5. Which of the following cricketers holds the world record
of maximum number of sixes in Tests ?
 (a) Chris Carins (New Zealand)
 (b) Viv Richards (West Indies)
 (c) Sachin Tendulkar (India)
 (d) Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
 Ans: ( a ) Chris Carins (New Zealand)
  
6. Who among the following has been appointed the new Chief
Justice of India ?
 (a) Justice Rajendra Babu
 (b) Justice V. N. Khare
 (c) Justice R. C. Lahoti
 (d) None of these
 Ans: ( c ) Justice R. C. Lahoti
  
7. Who among the following sports persons got the honour of
lighting the Olympic flame at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium
in New Delhi recently ?
 (a) Anjali Bhagwat
 (b) Abhinav Bindra
 (c) Viswanathan Anand
 (d) K. M. Beenamol
 Ans: ( a ) Anjali Bhagwat
  
8. Who among the following has been appointed new chairman
of the National Commission for Farmers ?
 (a) Ajit Singh
 (b) K. C. Pant
 (c) Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
 (d) Sharad Pawar
 Ans: ( c ) Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
  
9. Which of the following planets crossed the face of the
sun (in transit) after 122 years recently ?
 (a) Mars
 (b) Venus
 (c) Jupiter
 (d) Saturn 
 Ans: ( b ) Venus
  
10. Which of the following countries was readmitted to the
Commonwealth recently ?
 (a) Nepal
 (b) Myanmar
 (c) Pakistan
 (d) None of these
 Ans: ( c ) Pakistan
  
11. The world governing body of which of the following
sports celebrated its 100 years in existence recently ?
 (a) Football 
 (b) Hockey 
 (c) Badminton 
 (d) Cricket 
 Ans: ( a ) Football
  
12. Who among the following won the men?s singles title of
the French Open 2004 ?
 (a) Guillermo Coria 
 (b) Roger Federer 
 (c) Andy Roddick
 (d) Gaston Gaudio 
 Ans: ( d ) Gaston Gaudio
  
13. Who is India?s first Woman Grand Master in Chess ?
 (a) Aarthie Ramaswamy 
 (b) Koneru Humpy
 (c) S. Meenakshi
 (d) S. Vijayalakshmi 
 Ans: ( b ) Koneru Humpy
  
14. The age of a tree can be determined by
 (a) Measuring its height
 (b) Measuring its diameter
 (c) Analyzing its sap
 (d) Counting the annual growth rings of its stem
 Ans: ( d ) Counting the annual growth rings of its stem
  
15. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched ?
 Mountains   Continents 
 (a) The Rocky  : North America
 (b) The Andes  : South America
 (c) The Alps  : Europe
 (d) The Ural  : Africa 
 Ans: ( d ) The Ural  : Africa
  
16. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched ?
 (a) ?Purna Swaraj? Resolution  : 1929
 (b) Martyrdom of Sardar Bhagat Singh : 1931
 (c) Formation of the Congress Socialist Party: 1939
 (d) Simla Confeence   : 1940
 Ans: ( b ) Martyrdom of Sardar Bhagat Singh : 1931
  
17. The Lingaraja Temple built during the medieval period is at
 (a) Bhubaneswar
 (b) Khajuraho
 (c) Madurai
 (d) Mount Abu
 Ans: ( a ) Bhubaneswar
  
18. Which one of the following is essentially a solo dance ?
 (a) Kuchipudi
 (b) Kathak
 (c) Manipuri
 (d) Mohiniattam
 Ans: ( d )  Mohiniattam
  
19. The deepest oceanic trench ?Mariana? is located in 
 (a) Atlantic Ocean 
 (b) Arctic Ocean
 (c) Pacific Ocean 
 (d) Indian Ocean 
 Ans: ( c ) Pacific Ocean
  
20. Although fog consists of fine drops of water, we cannot
see clearly through it because 
 (a) The light rays undergo total internal reflection in the
drops 
 (b) Fine drops of water in fog polarize the light 
 (c) The fine drops are opaque to the light
 (d) The drops scatter most of the light 
 Ans: ( d ) The drops scatter most of the light
  
21. During the Mughal period, which one of the following
were the first to come to India as traders ?
 (a) Portuguese 
 (b) Dutch
 (c) Danish
 (d) English 
 Ans: ( a ) Portuguese
  
22. Who among the following Delhi Sultans is known for
introducing market control mechanism ?
 (a) Iltutmish
 (b) Balban
 (c) Alauddin Khalji
 (d) Firoze Tughlaq
 Ans: ( c ) Alauddin Khalji
  
23. Which one of the following mountain peaks of the
Himalayas is NOT in India ?
 (a) Annapurna
 (b) Nanda Devi 
 (c) Mt. Kamet
 (d) Kanchenjunga
 Ans: ( a ) Annapurna
  
24. A rift valley is formed mainly due to
 (a) The forces of tension in the earth?s crust
 (b) The subsidence of the floor of a river valley 
 (c) The valley formed after the formation of fold mountains 
 (d) The deepening of a valley by ice action 
 Ans: ( a ) The forces of tension in the earth?s crust
  
25. Who is the author of the book, ?The Man Who Divided India? ?
 (a) Arun Shourie
 (b) Dominique Lapierre
 (c) Rafiq Zakaria
 (d) Salman Rushdie
 Ans: ( c ) Rafiq Zakaria
  

1.      Which of the following Indian city has been named among the top four Livable cities in the world?

a)Mumbai     b)New Delhi     c)Ahmedabad     d)Bangalore    e)Hyderabad

2.      Recntly which country has become full fledge member of Financial Action Task Force(FATF)?

a)Bangladesh     b)Pakistan    c)China    d)India     e)none

Banking Terms

1. What is a Repo Rate?

A: Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive.

2. What is Reverse Repo Rate?

A: This is exact opposite of Repo rate. Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. RBI uses this tool when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system. Banks are always happy to lend money to RBI since their money is in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest rates.

3. What is CRR Rate?

A: Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks.3

4. What is SLR Rate?

A: SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to its customers.

SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to control the expansion of bank credit. SLR is determined as the percentage of total demand and percentage of time liabilities. Time Liabilities are the liabilities a commercial bank liable to pay to the customers on their anytime demand. SLR is used to control inflation and propel growth. Through SLR rate tuning the money supply in the system can be controlled efficiently.

5. What is Bank Rate?

A: Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on the loans and advances that it extends to commercial banks and other financial intermediaries. Changes in the bank rate are often used by central banks to control the money supply.

6. What is Inflation?

A: Inflation is as an increase in the price of bunch of Goods and services that projects the Indian economy. An increase in inflation figures occurs when there is an increase in the average level of prices in Goods and services. Inflation happens when there are fewer Goods and more buyers; this will result in increase in the price of Goods, since there is more demand and less supply of the goods.

7. What is Deflation?

A: Deflation is the continuous decrease in prices of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate becomes negative (below zero) and stays there for a longer period.

8. What is PLR?

A: The Prime Interest Rate is the interest rate charged by banks to their most creditworthy customers (usually the most prominent and stable business customers). The rate is almost always the same amongst major banks. Adjustments to the prime rate are made by banks at the same time; although, the prime rate does not adjust on any regular basis. The Prime Rate is usually adjusted at the same time and in correlation to the adjustments of the Fed Funds Rate. The rates reported below are based upon the prime rates on the first day of each respective month. Some banks use the name "Reference Rate" or "Base Lending Rate" to refer to their Prime Lending Rate.

9. What is Deposit Rate?

A: Interest Rates paid by a depository institution on the cash on deposit.

Policy Rates:

· Bank Rate: 6.00%

· Repo Rate: 5.25%

· Reverse Repo Rate: 3.75%

Reserve Ratios:

· CRR: 6.00%

· SLR: 25.0%

Lending/Deposit Rates:

· PLR: 11.00%-12.00%.

· Deposit Rate: 6.00%-7.50%.

. Savings Bank rate: 3.5%.

Note: Rates as on 14-05-10.

10. What is FII?

A: FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) used to denote an investor, mostly in the form of an institution. An institution established outside India, which proposes to invest in Indian market, in other words buying Indian stocks. FII's generally buy in large volumes which has an impact on the stock markets. Institutional Investors includes pension funds, mutual funds, Insurance Companies, Banks, etc.

11. What is FDI?

A: FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) occurs with the purchase of the “physical assets or a significant amount of ownership (stock) of a company in another country in order to gain a measure of management control” (Or) A foreign company having a stake in a Indian Company.

12. What is IPO?

A: IPO is Initial Public Offering. This is the first offering of shares to the general public from a company wishes to list on the stock exchanges.

13. What is Disinvestment?

A: The Selling of the government stake in public sector undertakings.

14. What is Fiscal Deficit?

A: It is the difference between the government’s total receipts (excluding borrowings) and total expenditure. Fiscal deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 6.8% of GDP.

15. What is Revenue deficit?

A: It defines that, where the net amount received (by taxes & other forms) fails to meet the predicted net amount to be received by the government. Revenue deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 4.8% of GDP.

16. What is GDP?

A: The Gross Domestic Product or GDP is a measure of all of the services and goods produced in a country over a specific period; classically a year. GDP during 2008-09 is 6.7%.

17. What is GNP?

A: Gross National Product is measured as GDP plus income of residents from investments made abroad minus income earned by foreigners in domestic market.

18. What is National Income?

A: National Income is the money value of all goods and services produced in a country during the year.

19. What is Per Capita Income?

A: The national income of a country, or region, divided by its population. Per capita income is often used to measure a country's standard of living.Per capita income during 2008-09 estimated by CSO: Rs.25, 494.

20. What is Vote on Account?

A: A vote-on account is basically a statement ,where the government presents an estimate of a sum required to meet the expenditure that it incurs during the first three to four months of an election financial year until a new government is in place, to keep the machinery running.

21. Difference between Vote on Account and Interim Budget?

A: Vote-on-account deals only with the expenditure side of the government's budget, an interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts.

22. What is SDR?

A: The SDR (Special Drawing Rights) is an artificial currency created by the IMF in 1969. SDRs are allocated to member countries and can be fully converted into international currencies so they serve as a supplement to the official foreign reserves of member countries. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies (U.S. dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling).

23. What is SEZ?

A: SEZ means Special Economic Zone is the one of the part of government’s policies in India. A special Economic zone is a geographical region that economic laws which are more liberal than the usual economic laws in the country. The basic motto behind this is to increase foreign investment, development of infrastructure, job opportunities and increase the income level of the people.

IPO	Initial Public Offering
IPS	Indian Police Service; Inter Press Service
IQ	Intelligence Quotient
IRC	International Red Cross
IRDP	Integrated Rural Development Programme
IRS	Indian Revenue Service
ISBN	International Standard Book Number
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network
ISI	Indian Standards Institution; Inter Services Intelligence
ISKCON	International Society for Krishna Consciousness
ISO	International Standards Organisation
ISRO	Indian Space Research Organisation
IST	Indian Standard Time
ITBP	Indo-Tibetan Border Police
ITES	Information Technology enabled services
ITI	Indian Telephone Industries Industrial Training Institute
ITU	International Telecommunication Union
IVF	In-Vitro Fertilisation
IVM	In-vitro Maturation
JCO	Junior Commissioned Officer
JEE	Joint Entrance Examination
JPEG	Joint Photographic Expert Group
LASER	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LCA	Light Combat Aircraft
LCD	Liquid Crystal Display Least Common Denominator
LCM	Lowest Common Multiple
LIC	Life Insurance Corporation (of India)
LLB	Bachelor of Laws
LMC	Large Megallanic Cloud
LTTE	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam
M.A.	Magisiter Artium (Master of Arts)
M.D	Doctor of Medicine
MBA	Master of Business Administration
MBBS	Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MCC	Marylebone Cricket Club
MCI	Medical Council of India
MICR	Magnetic ink character recognition
MIDI	Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIPS	Million Instructions per Second
MIT	Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Master Instruction Tape
MLA	Member of Legislative Assembly
MNC	Multi-National Corporation
MODEM	modulator demodulator
MP	Member of Parliament; Madhya Pradesh
MPEG	Motion Picture Experts Group
MRCP	Member of the Royal College of Physicians
MTCR	Missile Technology Control Regime
MVC	Maha Vir Chakra
NAAC	National Assessment and Accreditation Council
NABARD	National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NAFED	National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation
NALCO	National Aluminium Company Ltd.
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Ad ministration
NASDAQ	National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation
NASSCOM	National Association of Software and Service Companies
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NAV	Net Asset Value
NCERT	National Council of Educational Research and Training
NCSA	National Centre for Supercomputing Applications; National Computer Security Association
NDA	National Defence Academy
NOC	No Objection Certificate
NPA	Non-performing Assets
NPT	Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
NRF	National Renewal Fund
NSUI	National Students Union of India
NTPC	National Thermal Power Corporation
OBC	Other Backward Classes
OCR	Optical Character Recognition
ONGC	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
OOP	Object Oriented Programme
OPEC	Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
OSCAR	Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio
PAN	Permanent Account Number
Ph.D.	Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae Doctor)
PIL	Public Interest Litigation

E & OE	Errors and Omissions Excepted
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange
EIS	Executive Information System
E-MAIL	Electronic Mailing
EMI	Equated Monthly Instalments
ENIAC	Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
ENT	Ear, Nose and Throat
EOF	end of file
EOT	Eastern Daylight Time
EPABX	Electronic Private Automatic Branch Exchange
ERNET	Educational and Research Network
FAQ	Frequently Asked Question
FBI	Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBT	Fringe Benefit Tax
FBTR	Fast Breeder Test Reactor
FBW	Fly-By-Wire
FCI	Food Corporation of India; Fertilizer Corporation of India
FDI	Foreign Direct Investment
FEMA	Foreign Exchange Management Act
FICCI	Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FIFA	International Football Federation (Fed eration Internationale de Football Associa tion)
FIR	First Information Report
FM	Frequency modulation
FRCP	Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
FRCS	Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons
FRCS	Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
FRS	Fellow of the Royal Society
G7	Group of Seven (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, japan and Canada) G8 includes G7 plus Russia
GATE	Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineer ing
GATS	General Agreement on Trade and Ser vices
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GMAT	Graduate Management Admission Test
GMT	Greenwich Mean Time
GSLV	Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Ve hicle
GSM	Global System for Mobile Communica tions
GSP	Generalised System Preference
GUI	Graphical User Interface
HAL	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
HIV	Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HMI	Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
HTML	Hyper Text Markup Language
HUDCO	Housing and Urban Development Corp.
HVAC	Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
i.e.	id est (that is)
IAAI	International Airport Authority of India
IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency
IARI	Indian Agricultural Research Institute
IAS	Indian Administrative Service
IATA	International Air Transport Association
IBM	International Business Machines
ICSE	Indian Certificate of Secondary Educa tion
ICU	Intensive Care Unit
ICWA	Indian Council of World Affairs
IDA	International Development Agency
IDBI	Industrial Development Bank of India
IEEE	Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers
IELTS	International English Language Testing System
IFC	Industrial Finance Corporation, International Finance Corporation
IFS	Indian Foreign Service; Indian Forest Service
IGNOU	Indira Gandhi National Open Uni versity
IIPA	Indian Institute of Public Administration
IISCO	Indian Iron and Steel Company
IISS	International Institute of Strategic Stud ies
IIT	Indian Institute of Technology
ILA	Indian Library Association
ILO	International Labour Organisation
IMAP	Internet Mail Access Protocol
IMF	International Monetary Fund
INA	Indian National Army
INTUC	Indian National Trade Union Con gress
IOC	Indian Oil Corporation
IP	Internet Protocol
IPC	Indian Penal Code
IPCL	Indian Petro-Chemicals Corporation Ltd
IPI	International Press Institute