Current Affairs August (21-24)

Current Affairs August (21-24)

1. In a major boost reform the farm sector, the central government has recently allowed the states to tie up with private firms for big projects in which among the following flagship programmes?
[A]Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
[B]National Food Security Mission
[C]Accelerated irrigation Benefit programme
[D]National Horticultural Mission

2. Who among the following is the head of a working group to assess the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report and submit an action plan for its effective implementation?
[A]Mihir Shah
[B]K. Kasturirangan
[C]Narendra Jhadav
[D]Abhijit Sen

3. Under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, how much incentive is provided by the government to every family for constructing a toilet?
[A]Rs.7,000
[B]Rs.8000
[C]Rs.10,000
[D]Rs.12,000

4. Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award is conferred on those individuals who make outstanding contribution in the filed of _______?
[A]women protection and development
[B]child protection and development
[C]care for elderly people
[D]care for disabled people

5. The 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award conferred on _________?
[A]D.R. Mehta
[B]Nirmala Deshpande
[C]Wahiduddin Khan
[D]Kapila Vatsyayan

D.R. Mehta is the founder and chief patron of the Bhagwan Mahavir Vikalang Sahayata Samiti, Jaipur.

6. 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian' is annual joint military exercise of _____________?
[A]USA and Japan
[B]USA and South Korea
[C]Japan and South Korea
[D]France and Japan

The South Korean and US militaries began an annual major joint exercise known as 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian' to test defences against North Korea.

7. In an effort to stop youngsters from entering the crime world, which State or Union Territory police have launched 'Yuva' scheme to engage youngsters in sports activities and also helps them get jobs?
[A]Delhi Police
[B]Maharashtra police
[C]Chandigarh Police
[D]West Bengal Police

8. MariKana Platinum mine, which is recently in news is one of the world's richest platinum reserves. In which among the following countries it is located ?
[A]China
[B]South Africa
[C]Afghanistan
[D]Myanmar

Recently South African police fired on miners at Marikana. Following this the prices of Platinum at the world's market have increased.

9. Recently the Kapilavastu relics are put on display in which among the following countries?
[A]China
[B]Nepal
[C]Sri Lanka
[D]Japan

Discovered 113 years ago by the first director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Alexander Cunningham, the Kapilavastu relics are believed to contain Gautam Buddha’s remains. The relics were found during excavations at Piprahwa in present day Bihar.Piprahwa is believed to be the ancient Kapilavastu where Buddha renounced worldly pleasures. The relics are being taken to Sri Lanka following a special request made by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow the Buddhists in the island nation to pay homage to them.

10. Which among the following country has recently abolished censorship on media ?
[A]North Korea
[B]Syria
[C]Egypt
[D]Myanmar

11. Meles Zenawi, who recently passed away was the Prime Minister of _________?
[A]Ethiopia
[B]Kenya
[C]Uganda
[D]Ghana

12. Which among the following state government is launching the B2B (business-to-business) portal to boost the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) ?
[A]Madhya Pradesh
[B]Uttar Pradesh
[C]Andhra Pradesh
[D]Gujarat

UP is home to an estimated 3.1 million MSMEs, about three-quarters of which are in the services sector. An overwhelming majority of them are in the micro sector and are unregistered. To boost the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the state government will launch a business portal for MSMEs, upload a district-wise MSME database and revitalise the state’s financial institutions.

13. What is the name of the indigenously built second pollution control vessel of the Indian Coast Guard?
[A]Samudra Suraksha
[B]Samudra Prahari
[C]Samudra Paheredar
[D]Samudra Sharada

'Samudra Paheredar', second in the series of three pollution control vessels (PCVs) being built by ABG Shipyard.PCV Samudra Prahari, commissioned in October 2010, is the first indigenously built pollution control vessel of India.

14. Who among the following has been appointed as the new U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria replacing Kofi Annan?
[A]Joaquim Chissano
[B]Desmond Tutu
[C]Graca Machel
[D]Lakhdar Brahimi

15. Where is the head-quarter of the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) is located?
[A]Bangkok
[B]New Delhi
[C]Colombo
[D]Manila

The Asian Centre for Human Rights is a NGO (non-governmental organization) dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Asian region.

16. Who among the following has been recently reappointed as RBI deputy governor till 2014?
[A]Dr.K.C.Chakrabarty
[B]Dr. Subir Gokarn
[C]Anand Sinha
[D]H R Khan

17. Till now how many zonal cultural centers have been set up by the Government of India?
[A]five
[B]six
[C]seven
[D]eight

Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) having their headquarters at Patiala, Udaipur, Allahabad, Kolkata, Dimapur,Nagpur and Thanjavur.

18. Recently the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued draft guidelines to limit the exposure of banks to their group companies. What is the exposure limit if the single group entity is a regulated financial services company?
[A]5 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of a bank
[B]10 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of a bank
[C]15 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of a bank
[D]20 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of a bank

The proposed exposure limit to a single group entity, which is a non-financial services company and unregulated financial services company, would be 5 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of a bank, and, if the single group entity is a regulated financial services company, the exposure limit would be 10 per cent.In case all non-financial services and unregulated financial services companies are taken together, the aggregate group exposure of a bank would be 10 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of it. It would be 20 per cent in case all group entities (financial and non-financial) are taken together. The above measures are to avoid a systemic risk in the financial sector in future.

19. What is the target of disinvestment process of PSUs in the current fiscal year?
[A]Rs.30,000 crore
[B]Rs.35,000 crore
[C]Rs.40,000 crore
[D]Rs.45,000 crore

20. In which among the following states, the upcoming Flouride Mitigation Center will be set by the government ?
[A]Andhra Pradesh
[B]Gujarat
[C]Tamil Nadu
[D]Rajasthan

21. Who among the following is the new Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha?
[A]Mukut Mithi
[B]P.J. Kurien
[C]O.T. Lepcha
[D]M.S. Gill

22. What is the present FDI cap in insurance sector in India?
[A]26 per cent
[B]49 per cent
[C]76 per cent
[D]100 per cent

23. Recently Khandelwal committee report is in news. It deals with _____________?
[A]Conservation of tiger reserves
[B]changes in insurance sector
[C]Railway safety
[D]Banking sector human resource management

24. Which among the following will become 157th member of the WTO?
[A]Montenegro
[B]Vanuatu
[C]Russia
[D]Tuvalu

Montenegro is the 155th member of the WTO.Russia is the 156th member of the WTO.Vunuatu will become 157th member of the WTO.

25. Recently in which among the following countries 'National Outreach Conference on Global Nuclear Disarmament' was held?
[A]USA
[B]Australia
[C]India
[D]Japan

26. Presently how much cultivable area in the country is using bio-fertilisers?
[A]3 per cent
[B]5 per cent
[C]6 per cent
[D]8 per cent

27. In which among the following states, Nun peak is located?
[A]Himachal Pradesh
[B]Jammu and Kashmir
[C]Arunachal Pradesh
[D]Sikkim

28. Recently which among the following government has launched 'Kerosene-free' scheme?
[A]Delhi
[B]West Bengal
[C]Uttar Pradesh
[D]Haryana

Under the scheme 3.56 lakh Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Jhuggi Ration Card (JRC) holders would be provided a free gas connection and a stove in lieu of their kerosene quota.

29. Quadruple amputee Philippe Croizon swam between islands in the icy Bering Strait to cross from America to Asia in the final part of a quest to link all continents. He hails from ____________?
[A]UK
[B]France
[C]Ukraine
[D]Germany

30. Cricket has been a competitive sport only once at the Olympics in which among the following years?
[A]1896
[B]1900
[C]1908
[D]1912

31. At which among the following location, the proposed Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology will be established?
[A]Ranchi
[B]Hyderabad
[C]Bangalore
[D]Ahmedabad

32. Recently which among the following mass media giant has been allowed to invest Rs.1,000 crore FDI to expand its operations in India?
[A]Time Warner
[B]Walt Disney
[C]Vivendi SA
[D]VIACOM

33. Which among the following will be launched as 100th mission of ISRO?
[A]PSLV C-20
[B]PSLV C-21
[C]GSLV F07
[D]GSLV III

34. Which among the following countries has recently unveiled upgraded Fateh missile?
[A]Iran
[B]Pakistan
[C]Israel
[D]Russia

35. After diclofenac, which among the following veterinary painkiller has been identified as another threat to vultures in India?
[A]levorphanol
[B]Tramadol
[C]Aceclofenac
[D]Aminofenac

36. Recently which of following Indian banks have been allowed to operate in Pakistan?
[A]Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank
[B]State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of India (BoI)
[C]State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank
[D]Bank of India (BoI) and IDBI Bank

37. Who among the following has been recently appointed as new chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)?
[A]Sudha Sharma
[B]Poonam Kishore Saxena
[C]Shobha L.Chary
[D]Laxman Das

38. Recently UNDP and Indian Institute of Advance Study (IIAS) have signed the MoU to set up an international centre for human development at ___________?
[A]Jaipur
[B]Shimla
[C]Dehradun
[D]Kanpur

The Centre aims to provide policy advisory services based on national and international evidence to ensure that human development concerns become integral to planning processes and policy making. The Centre also proposes to focus on moving from human development analysis to action and on adaptation of good practices to local contexts. It will also provide a range of capacity development tools and services with a special emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of human development processes and outcomes.

39. Recently the High Level Committee on External Commercial Borrowings permitted FIIs to invest up to_________ in rupee bonds within the overall corporate bond limit of $45 billion.
[A]$5 billion
[B]$10 billion
[C]$12 billion
[D]$15 billion

40. The Bretton Woods system, introduced in 1945, eventually broke down in _______?
[A]1970
[B]1971
[C]1972
[D]1973