Current Affairs July 2012 (16-20)

Current Affairs July 2012 (16-20)

1. In context with the capital markets, which among the following term is used for a session (or a month or a week) which sees a wide difference between the high and the low?

[A]Volatility
[B]Spread
[C]Return Ratio
[D]Redeem

2. In which among the following categories, Tiangong-1 can be best placed ?

[A]Space Probe
[B]Artificial Satellite
[C]Space Station
[D]Space Launch Vehicle

3. What is the name of the current National Commission for Women Chairperson?

[A]Mamata Sharma
[B]Girija Vyas
[C]Nirmala Sitaraman
[D]None of them

4. As per the latest Government updates, India's total foodgrains production for the 2011-12 crop year has been pegged at ___?

[A]247 million tonnes
[B]252 million tonnes
[C]257 million tonnes
[D]261 million tonnes

5. Recently, record-setting Indian-American cosmonaut Sunita Williams along with two other astronauts took off to the ISS successfully from Baikonur cosmodrome. In which country is located Baikonur cosmodrome?

[A]Russia
[B]Kazakhstan
[C]Uzbekistan
[D]Kyrgyzstan

6. Which among the following is the venue of 9th World Hindi Conference, WHC?

[A]London
[B]Johannesburg
[C]Kua la lumpur
[D]Tokyo

7. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has been recently elected as chairperson of __?

[A]ECOWAS
[B]African Union
[C]South African Congress
[D]East African Community

8. Who among the following is the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent at the London Olympics 2012?

[A]Abhinav Bindra
[B]Vijender Singh
[C]Sushil Kumar
[D]Leander Paes

9. In which among the following countries, drug-smuggling tunnels have been recently found?

[A]Colombia
[B]Mexico
[C]Brazil
[D]Bahamas

10. The terms Exit Load and Entry Load are related to which among the following industries predominantly?

[A]Banking
[B]Insurance
[C]Transport
[D]Mutual Funds

11. Which among the following acronym is not related to Banking industry ?
[A]CRR
[B]NPA
[C]CAGR
[D]GSDP

GSDP refers to Gross State Domestic Product

12. The SABLA scheme is using which among the following platforms for implementation?
[A]Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
[B]Integrated Child Development Service
[C]National Programme of Education of Girls
[D]Rastriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

13. Which among the following is the country of current Indian Cricket team coach Duncan Fletcher?

[A]South Africa
[B]Zimbabwe
[C]England
[D]Australia

14. Which among the following international body implements the Trade Finance Programme (TFP)?

[A]World Bank
[B]International Monetary Fund
[C]Asian Development Bank
[D]Reserve Bank of India

Recently, Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced inclusion of Indian rupee and Chinese renminbi in its trade finance programme (TFP) to give a boost to trade within developing Asia.

15. People’s Democracy is the journal of which among the following political parties in India?
[A]CPI (M)
[B]CPI (ML)
[C]Nationalist Congress Party
[D]Janta Party

16. To save various disciplines of Indian Classical Music such as Thumri, Hori, Chaiti and Kajri , a Thumri academy has been set up in the name of revered classical singer Bageshwari Devi at which among the following places?

[A]Jaipur
[B]Indore
[C]Varanasi
[D]Allahabad

17. Which among the following states does not share a border with Bangladesh?

[A]Meghalaya
[B]Mizoram
[C]Tripura
[D]Nagaland

WB, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mozoram & Assam share 4096.7 Kilometer of Border.

18. London is hosting the Olympic Games for the third time, thus becoming the first city to do so. In which years, London hosted the games earlier?
[A]1908, 1948
[B]1912, 1952
[C]1916, 1948
[D]1908, 1952

19. Who among the following is the first female Muslim Africa born woman to become an Olympic champion?

[A] Nawal El Moutawakel
[B] Nezha Bidouane
[C] Sylvanie Morandais
[D]Phara Anacharsis

20. Shigmo festival is celebrated in which among the following states of India?

[A]Manipur
[B]Mizoram
[C]Sikkim
[D]Goa

21. People affected by the ___________ have recently launched an indefinite ‘ Jal Satyagraha ’ against the Madhya Pradesh government’s decision of filling up the dam up to a height of 193 meters.
[A]Bansagar Dam Project
[B]Omkareshwar Dam Project
[C]Indirasagar Dam Project
[D]Gandhisagar Dam Project

22. After a year of deliberations, the 'Naresh Chandra Committee' recently submitted to the Union Government its report on:

[A]Defence reforms
[B]Journalists' Pay Reforms
[C]Agrarian reforms in rain-fed areas
[D]Reforms in the higher judiciary

23. Consider the following Statements regarding 'African Union (A.U.)':

1.The only all-African state not in the African Union is Morocco.
2.'Dlamini-Zuma' became the first woman to head A.U. Commission.
Which among the Statement(s) given above is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2

24. The mosques of Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahya which are in news recently are located in which among the following places?

[A]Casbah, Algeria
[B]Timbuktu, Mali
[C]Shiraz, Iran
[D]Gaza, Palestine

Saddled between the desert and the irrigated areas of the river Niger in north Mali, Timbuktu, founded by Tuaregs in the 11th century, flourished as a trading city during the 15th and 16th centuries, and also as a centre of learning. The mosques of Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, built more than 400 years ago, attest to its great past. These exquisite examples of earthen architecture along with 16 cemeteries are World Heritage sites. Ansar Dine — the radical Islamist militia which has taken control of the area — considers the mosques dedicated to Sufi saints and structures over graves as idolatrous, and has barbarically ravaged them.

25. The Centrally Sponsored 'Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme(TUFS)' is related to _________
[A]Textile Sector
[B]Micro-Irrigation
[C]Infrastructural Development
[D]Food Processing Industry

The outlay for TUFS in the XI Plan was Rs.12,000 crore. Under the scheme, government provides subsidies to the industry for modernisation by installing new machinery and adopting upgraded technology. It is a very popular scheme among the textiles segments such as spinning, cotton ginning and pressing, garments and weaving.Stating that the UPA government was working on a package for powerloom and silk sectors, Commerce and Textile Minister Anand Sharma announced that TUFS would be continued in the XII Plan with an allocation of Rs.15,886 crore.

26. Which among the following belligerent nations of Africa have recently signed an 'anti-rebel pact'?
[A]Burundi and Uganda
[B]Sudan and South Sudan
[C]Tanzania and Burundi
[D]Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and Rwanda

The presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda inked a regional pact to eliminate armed rebels in eastern Congo, signing the document and holding rare face to face talks.

27. 'Truvada' is the first ever approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an _________
[A]anti-malarial drug
[B]anti-HIV drug
[C]anti-TB drug
[D]anti-cancer drug

28. Consider the following statements regarding 'India-Columbia' bilateral relations:
1.The two countries have recently signed Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement(BIPPA) to boost investment flows.
2.Colombia is also a signatory of DTAA with India.
Which among the above Statement(s) is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2

29. The first SAARC Tour Operators Conclave was recently held in:

[A]Punakha, Bhutan
[B]New Delhi, India
[C]Dhaka, Bangladesh
[D]Addu City, Maldives

30. Union Government has recently launched the 'Perform,Achieve and Trade (PAT)' scheme under which among the following missions of National Action Plan for Climate Change?

[A]National Solar Mission
[B]Green India Mission
[C]National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture
[D]National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

31. India's first mega food park aimed to facilitate end-to-end food processing with beneficial forward and backward linkages is located in _________.
[A]Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
[B]Faridabad, Haryana
[C]Jagdishpur, Uttar Pradesh
[D]Moga, Punjab

32. Which among the following non-sovereign jurisdictions known as 'tax havens' has not inked a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with India?

[A]Cayman Islands
[B]Isle of Man
[C]Turks and Caicos Islands
[D]British Virgin Islands

33. Which among the following nation's Parliament has recently passed a bill aimed at protecting top government leaders from contempt of court proceedings?

[A]Sri Lanka
[B]Bangladesh
[C]Pakistan
[D]Myanmar

Pakistan's Parliament has passed a bill aimed at protecting top government leaders from contempt of court proceedings and countering the Supreme Court's efforts to pressure the Premier to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.The bill is intended to save new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf from possible disqualification by the apex court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against Zardari in Switzerland.

34. The Prime Minister has approved the constitution of an Expert Committee headed by ___________ to undertake stakeholder consultations and finalise the guidelines for GAAR.
[A]N.Rangachary
[B]Ajay Shah
[C]Sunil Gupta
[D]Parthasarathi Shome

As per the PMO, the Shome committee will receive comments from stakeholders and general public till the end of this month, instead of the July 20 deadline that was set in the Ministry's draft. Based on the feedback, the expert panel will rework the guidelines and publish the second draft by August 31 and thereafter finalise the GAAR guidelines and a roadmap and submit these to the government by September 30, 2012

35. Scientists have sequenced the genome of 'DH-Pahang', which is a _________ popular in south-east Asia and which is able to resist the devastating Panama disease fungus that has been spreading in Asia.
[A]Banana
[B]Orange
[C]Apple
[D]Mango

The completion of the genome sequence was important for India as it is the world's largest producer of bananas.The potential for export was huge if India could increase its productivity both in terms of quantity and quality. As most of the present day cultivated varieties were susceptible to fungal,bacterial and viral diseases, it was necessary to develop disease-resistant varieties.

36. Which among the following global bank's staff in India have recently come under the scanner for deficiencies in their role as "offshore reviewers" of the bank's compliance to safety mechanism against money laundering and terrorist financing?
[A]Citibank
[B]HSBC
[C]Barclays Bank
[D]JP Morgan Chase Bank

37. Who among the following has clinched the Scottish Open Golf Title-2012?

[A]Jeev Milkha Singh
[B]Jyoti Randhawa
[C]Arjun Singh Atwal
[D]Shiv Chowrasia

38. 'Christine Lagarde' is the Managing Director of ________ :

[A]World Bank Group
[B]International Monetary Fund
[C]World Trade Organisation
[D]European Central Bank

39. Which among the following nations recently held a three-day military exercise codenamed 'Great Prophet 7'?

[A]Iran
[B]Saudi Arabia
[C]Pakistan
[D]Afghanistan

40. Consider the following fundamentalist militant groups which have been in news lately:

1.Hezbollah : Lebanon
2.Ansar dine : Mali
3.Boko Haram : Nigeria
Which among the following have been correctly paired with the regions where they are based?
[A]1 and 2
[B]1 and 3
[C]2 and 3
[D]1, 2 and 3

Hezbollah is a Shia Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon.It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria, and its paramilitary wing is regarded as a resistance movement throughout much of the Arab and Muslim worlds.