Current Affairs - September 2014

An indigenously made nuclear plant unit of India recently made history by running continuously for a period 765 days, or a little over two years. This unit is associated with which power plant of India?

• 
  – Rawatbhata Nuclear Power Plant in Rajasthan
  Explanation :
  The Unit-5 at Rawatbhata Nuclear Power Plant is now ranked number two globally for continuous generation of electricity by a nuclear plant. The pole position is still held by a Canadian reactor, Ontario Power Corporation’s Pickering-7 plant, which ran continuously for 894 days before it was shutdown in 1994. Usually, most nuclear plants globally need to be shut down every year for maintenance, only well-maintained facilities can run for longer periods. This unit at Rawatbhata is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) and is run by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). It was established at the cost of Rs. 1200 crore in 2010.

Which professional services firm was hired by the Union Finance Ministry to undertake a validation exercise of the number of basic bank accounts opened by the banks under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)?

• – KPMG

  Explanation :

  KPMG would provide some comfort to the Finance Ministry that the numbers submitted by the banks pertaining to PMJDY were accurate and reflected the true picture. KPMG’s confirmation of the number of accounts opened will help the Centre pitch for an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for the maximum number of bank accounts opened in a day. On 28 August 2014, the launch date of the PMJDY, the banking system had opened between 1.8 crore to 2 crore bank accounts. KPMG has already commenced work for this purpose and have approached banks to share information on the number of accounts opened under the PMJDY. Under the PMJDY, the Government is looking to open at least 7.5 crore basic bank accounts for 7.5 crore unbanked families in the country.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) during September 2014 initiated an investigation against public sector general insurers and their association. The PSU insurance companies against whom this investigation has been initiated include New India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance, as well as their combine, the General Insurers’ (Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA). What is the reason for this investigation?

• – Alleged anti-competitive practices relating to third-party administrators (TPAs) in health insurance committed by these companies

  Explanation :

  The charges against these public general insurers are that they are not allowing TPAs to function independently and have created in-house TPAs to settle any claims. It is also alleged that GIPSA, an ad hoc and unregistered body, was providing a platform to the companies to share sensitive information with each other. This affects competition in the market and also provides space to them for exchanging information regarding claims ratios, marketing efforts and terms and condition of TPAs, among others.

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza won the US Open mixed doubles title in partnership with which Brazilian player on 5 September 2014?

• – Bruno Soares

  Explanation :

  Sania Mirza and Bruno Soares defeated American Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico in a tough three-setter final by 6-1, 2-6, 11-9. This was the first ever US Open title for Sania Mirza. On the other hand it was the second US Open title for Soares after a 2012 win with Russian Ekaterina Makarova in 2012.

Indian online fashion retailer Jabong will merge with four other firms to create a new global fashion e-commerce group as announced by Investment AB Kinnevik and Rocket Internet AG, the two investors in Jabong. What will be the name of the new group to be created with this mega-merger?

• – Global Fashion Group (GFG)

  Explanation :

  The newly created e-commerce entity Global Fashion Group (GFG) will combine five fashion e-commerce businesses, namely Dafiti (Latin America), Jabong (India), Lamoda (Russia & CIS), Namshi (Middle East) and Zalora (South East Asia & Australia). This deal is expected to be completed later in the year. GFG will focus on growth markets, covering 23 countries with a EUR 330 billion fashion market and population of over 2.5 billion people. It will market a wide assortment of leading International apparel and accessories brands, a tailored selection of highly engaging internally developed brands and local assortments developed for specific ethnic markets notably in India, Indonesia and the Middle East. GFC will be based in Luxembourg.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR SBI P.O EXAM

• 1. Who among the following is one of the Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank of India?
  1) Rakesh Sethi
  2) R.K. Dubey
  3) M. Narendra
  4) Arun Kaul
  5) S.S. Mundra
• 2. Which of the following films won the maximum number of awards at the 61st National Film Awards?
  1) Kaphal
  2) Jaatishwar
  3) Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
  4) Shahid
  5) Ship of Theseus
• 3. Which of the following is the currency of Malaysia?
  1) Rupiah
  2) Won
  3) Ringgit
  4) Kyat
  5) Baht
• 4. Who is the author of the book 'The Lowland'?
  1) Salman Rushdie
  2) Arundhati Roy
  3) Cyrus Mistry
  4) Jhumpa Lahiri
  5) Jeet Thayil
• 5. Who won the Best Actor Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards?
  1) Christian Bale
  2) Bruce Dern
  3) Leonardo DiCaprio
  4) Bradley Cooper
  5) Matthew McConaughey
• 6. Which major international championship was recently won by Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal?
  1) Indonesian Open
  2) Malaysian Open
  3) Australian Open
  4) World badminton championship
  5) None of these
• 7. Which of the following is the Parliament of Maldives?
  1) National Assembly
  2) Majlis
  3) Shura
  4) Jirga
  5) Sangosthi
• 8. Who is the present Women and Child Development Minister?
  1) Smriti Irani
  2) Uma Bharati
  3) Nirmala Sitaraman
  4) Maneka Gandhi
  5) Kiron Kher
• 9. The capital of Lakshadweep is?
  1) Port Blair
  2) Silvassa
  3) Kavaratti
  4) Agati
  5) Minicoy
• 10. Who among the following is the Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha?
  1) Thambidurai
  2) Meira Kumar
  3) Kamal Nath
  4) Sumitra Mahajan
  5) Harsimrat Kaur Badal
• 11. Who among the following is the Dronacharya Award winner in 2014 in Athletics?
  1) Mahabir Prasad
  2) N. Lingappa
  3) G. Manoharan
  4) Gurucharan Singh Gogi
  5) Jose Jacob
• 12. Zeeshan Ali won the 2014 Dhyanchand Award in which of the following sports?
  1) Tennis
  2) Hockey
  3) Swimming
  4) Volleyball
  5) Rowing
• 13. Abdulla Yameen is the President of which of the following countries?
  1) Pakistan
  2) Bangladesh
  3) Maldives
  4) Afghanistan
  5) Iran
• 14. Who at present is the Chief of the Naval Staff of India?
  1) N.K. Verma
  2) D.K. Joshi
  3) Arup Raha
  4) Robin K. Dhowan
  5) Dalbir Singh Suhag
• 15. Which country will host the 2020 Olympic Games?
  1) Brazil
  2) USA
  3) UK
  4) South Africa
  5) Japan
• 16. With which sport is Jeetu Rai associated?
  1) Shooting
  2) Wrestling
  3) Weightlifting
  4) Archery
  5) Rowing
• 17. Port Louis is the capital of which of the following countries?
  1) Maldives
  2) Mauritius
  3) Malta
  4) Vanuatu
  5) Kazakhstan
• 18. Which of the following countries is not a member of ASEAN?
  1) Malaysia
  2) Indonesia
  3) Philippines
  4) Myanmar
  5) Bangladesh
• 19. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced the scrapping of?
  1) Finance Commission
  2) National Development Council
  3) Planning Commission
  4) Inter State Council
  5) None of these
• 20. Which of the following countries will host the 18th SAARC Summit in November 2014?
  1) India
  2) Pakistan
  3) Sri Lanka
  4) Nepal
  5) Afghanistan
• 21. Biopics were recently made based on the life stories of which of the following sportspersons?
  1) Milkha Singh
  2) Mary Kom
  3) Saina Nehwal
  4) Both 1 and 2
  5) None of these
• 22. Which of the following organizations is located in Montreal?
  1) WTO
  2) ICAO
  3) WEF
  4) IMF
  5) UNICEF
• 23. With which language is author C. Radhakrishnan associated?
  1) Kannada
  2) Tamil
  3) Malayalam
  4) Telugu
  5) Hindi
• 24. The pre-2005 banknotes can be exchanged till?
  1) January 1, 2015
  2) March 31, 2015
  3) October 31, 2014
  4) December 31, 2015
  5) January 26, 2015
• 25. Bimal Jalan committee is related to?
  1) Nonperforming assets
  2) Payment Banks
  3) Financial Inclusion
  4) Interest rates on small savings schemes
  5) Screening of new private bank licenses
• 26. Which of the following countries is not one of the top five medal winners at the 2014 Commonwealth Games?
  1) England
  2) Australia
  3) Canada
  4) Scotland
  5) New Zealand
• 27. Narendra Modi's first official foreign visit after becoming the Prime Minister was to which of the following countries?
  1) Japan
  2) Brazil
  3) Nepal
  4) Bhutan
  5) None of these
• 28. Identify the odd man out.
  1) Financial Inclusion
  2) Swabhiman
  3) Jan Dhan Yojana
  4) BSBDA
  5) Swavalamban
• 29. Assembly elections were not simultaneously held along with the 16th Lok Sabha elections in which of the following States?
  1) Andhra Pradesh
  2) Odisha
  3) Sikkim
  4) Arunachal Pradesh
  5) Nagaland
• 30. Which of the following teams won the 68th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy?
  1) Railways
  2) Kerala
  3) Mizoram
  4) Services
  5) Goa
• 31. Which of the following Cricket trophies/ cups was won by Pakistan in 2014?
  1) Asia Cup
  2) Under-19 Asia Cup
  3) Under-19 World Cup
  4) ICC Twenty20 World Cup
  5) None of these
• 32. Who won the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament men's singles title in March 2014?
  1) Novak Djokovic
  2) Roger Federer
  3) David Ferrer
  4) Andy Murray
  5) Rafael Nadal
• 33. Which Indian writer won the Windham Campbell Literature Prize 2014 given by Yale University, USA?
  1)Vijay Sheshadri
  2) Jeet Thayil
  3) Pankaj Mishra
  4) Cyrus Mistry
  5) Siddartha Mukherjee
• 34. Which of the following awards/ prizes was given to Chandi Prasad Bhatt in 2014?
  1) Padma Shri
  2) Padma Vibhushan
  3) Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award
  4) Jnanpith Award
  5) None of these
• 35. With effect from August 9, 2014 what is the Statutory Liquidity Ratio?
  1) 22.5%
  2) 22%
  3) 23%
  4) 24%
  5) 23.5%
• 36. The first Regional Rural Bank was established in the year?
  1) 1982
  2) 1976
  3) 1975
  4) 1979
  5) 1983
• 37. The Union Budget for 2014-15 was presented by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on which of the following dates?
  1) July 8
  2) July 9
  3) July 10
  4) July 11
  5) July 12
• 38. As per the Economic Survey, what is the Gross Domestic Product growth for 2013-14?
  1) 4.3%
  2) 4.7%
  3) 4.4%
  4) 4.5%
  5) None of these
• 39. Which of the following days is celebrated on January 12?
  1) Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
  2) National Science Day
  3) National Sports Day
  4) National Youth Day
  5) Navy Day
• 40. Which of the following is an apex development bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture and cottage and village industries?
  1) RBI
  2) SIDBI
  3) NHB
  4) NABARD
  5) HDFC
• ANSWERS:
  
  
  1) 5; 2) 2; 3) 3; 4) 4; 5) 5; 6) 3; 7) 2; 8) 4; 9) 3; 10) 4;
  11) 2; 12) 1; 13) 3; 14) 4; 15) 5; 16) 1; 17) 2; 18) 5; 19) 3; 20) 4;
  21) 4; 22) 2; 23) 3; 24) 1; 25) 5; 26) 5; 27) 4; 28) 5; 29) 5; 30) 3;
  31) 5; 32) 1; 33) 3; 34) 5; 35) 2; 36) 3; 37) 3; 38) 2; 39) 4; 40) 4;