Current Affairs - 25 September 2014

India Creates History as Mangalyaan Enters Mars Orbit

• 

  India today created space history by successfully placing its low-cost Mars spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet in its very first attempt, catapulting the country into an elite club of three nations.
  
  Watched by Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ISRO scientists successfully ignited the main 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) and eight small thrusters that fired for 24-minutes from 7.17 AM and slowed down the speed of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft 'Mangalyaan' for it to slip into a smooth orbit around the Red Planet after almost an year-long voyage.
  
  "Today MOM has met Mangal (Mars). Today Mangal has got MOM. The time this mission was short named as MOM, I was sure that MOM won’t disappoint us," Modi, who wore a red coloured jacket, said annnouncing the Rs 450 crore mission's success, after nerve-wracking final moments at the command centre of Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) here.
  
  Scientists broke into wild cheers and congratulated each other after the 1,350 kg spacecraft was manoeuvred into its designated place, capping a 666 million km journey that began on November 5 last. 

  With the success of "Mangalyaan", India has become the first country to go to Mars in the very first try. European, American and Russian probes have managed to orbit or land on the planet, but after several attempts. The first Chinese mission to Mars, called Yinghuo-1, failed in 2011. Earlier in 1998, the Japanese mission ran out of fuel and was lost.

Today Mangal Has Got MOM!: Modi Hails ISRO's Success

• 

  Saluting India's space scientists after its Mars mission created history, an elated Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country has achieved the "near impossible" and prevailed though the "odds were stacked against us".
  
  Calling the "spectacular" success of the country's space programme after today's Mars feat as a shining example of what it was capable of as a nation, Modi said it has dared to reach out into the unknown and gone beyond boundaries of human enterprise and imagination.
  
  "The odds were stacked against us. Of the 51 missions attempted across the world so far, a mere 21 had succeeded. But we have prevailed!," Modi said in his speech announcing the success of Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM) 'Mangalyaan'.
  
  "Today MOM has met Mangal (Mars). Today Mangal has got MOM. The time this mission was short named as MOM, I was sure that MOM won't disappoint us," Modi, who wore a red-coloured jacket, told the scientists at the ISRO command centre here.
  
  As the orbiter was placed in the orbit of the Red Planet, Modi patted the back of Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Radhakrishan after watching the critical final moments with space scientists.
  
  "India has successfully reached Mars, congratulations to all of you, congratulations to countrymen. History has been created today. We have dared to reach out into the unknown. And have achieved the near impossible," said Modi, as India became the first country to succeed in the mission to Mars in the very first attempt.

Meghalaya Floods Kill 38, Several Untraced

• The Meghalaya flood situation remained grim with 38 deaths reported while at least nine persons still remained untraced.
  
  Inspector General of Police G H P Raju told PTI, “Thirty-eight persons have died due to flash floods and landslides in various parts of Meghalaya and nine persons are reported missing.”
  
  Incessant rains triggered flash floods in the low lying areas of Garo Hills region and severe landslide in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region for the past three days.
  
  Twenty-six persons have died and nine are missing in the three Garo Hills districts along while 12 have died in the Khasi Jaintia Hills region, the IGP said.
  
  With certain parts still inaccessible for search and rescue operations the toll may go up, an official of the disaster management authority (DMA) said here.
  
  Over 40 relief camps have been set up in the three worst-affected districts in the Garo Hills region and more than 30,000 people had been shifted to these camps where food and essentials were made available by the district administration, the DMA official said.
  
  The NDRF and the Army besides the BSF have also sent their teams aiding the district administration in search and rescue operations
  
  The flash floods and landslide also affected several border outposts of the BSF along the Indo-Bangladesh border in the state, BSF spokesperson said.
  
  Parts of the border roads were also damaged and communication networks snapped, he said.
  
  Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has asked all line departments to send an official assessment about damages to life and property including agriculture and livestock immediately to the government.

British PM Cameron, Iran Leader Rouhani Discuss IS in Historic Talks

• British Prime Minister David Cameron has sought to win cooperation from Iran's President Hassan Rouhani against jihadists in Syria in the first meeting between the countries' leaders in 35 years.
  
  A Downing Street spokesman yesterday said Cameron and Rouhani agreed that "all states in the region must do more to cut off support for all terrorist groups, including financial support" but stopped short of announcing any firmer cooperation.
  
  "The prime minister and president noted the threat posed to the whole region by ISIL," said the British spokesman, using the acronym for the former Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, since renamed the Islamic State (IS) group.
  
  It was the first meeting between a British prime minister and Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and took place at the British mission at the United Nations on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
  
  Rouhani posted two photographs of himself with Cameron and wrote on Twitter: "One hour of constructive and pragmatic dialogue, new outlook."
  
  "First meeting between UK and Iran heads of state in 35 years," he wrote. Cameron is head of the British government. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state.
  
  Rouhani said Monday that the people in the region were "defending themselves... Against the terrorists" and that Iran would help.
  
  US President Barack Obama yesterday sought to rally widespread international support for US-led air strikes to defeat jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
  
  The US and Arab allies launched the first attacks against IS militants in Syria on Tuesday, expanding action the US has been leading against the jihadists in Iraq since the start of August.

Maharashtra CM, Ministers Among 118 Cong Nominees for Assembly Polls

• 

  Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and several of his cabinet colleagues figure in the list of 118 Congress candidates for the October 15 Assembly polls announced by the AICC late tonight.
  
  The announcement of the Congress nominees have been made even as there has been no finality on the seat sharing with Sharad Pawar's NCP with which the party is sharing power in the state for the past 15 years.
  
  Chavan, a member of the state Legislative Council at present, has been nominated from the Karad South seat in his home district of Satara.
  
  Several of his cabinet colleagues as also senior leaders figure in the list including campaign committee chief Narayan Rane from Kudal, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil from Shirdi, Balasaheb Thorat from Sangamner, Rajendra Darda from Aurangabad East and Harshvardhan Patil from Indapur, Patangrao Kadam from Palus Kadegaon seat.
  
  Rohit Deepak Tilak, son of great grandson of Lokmanya Tilak, is the Congress nominee from Kasba Peth in Pune city.
  
  Amit Deshmukh son of late Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Praneti Shinde, daughter of former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, have been renominated from their seats in Latur and Solapur districts respectively.
  
  Though the last date for filing nominations is September 27, Congress and NCP have failed to hammer out a seat sharing agreement so far.

Saradha Scam: Special CBI Court Rejects Bail Petition of Former AG

• A special CBI court tonight rejected the bail petition of former Advocate General Ashok Mohanty and two other persons who were arrested by the CBI for their alleged links with the chief of Artha Tatwa Group of companies, in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam.
  
  Besides Mohanty, the CBI earlier in the day produced newspaper owner Madhu Mohanty and real estate broker Dharmendra Botha in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) after completion of their remand period in the investigating agency.
  
  CJM Padmalochan Satpathy rejected their bail petitions and remanded them to judicial remand till September 30.
  
  The trio would be shifted to the Special jail here.
  
  Meanwhile, the District Sessions court, Khurda today reserved verdict on the bail petition of Manoj Dash, a private television channel owner, who was also arrested in the chitfund scam involving Artha Tatwa.
  
  The Special CBI court on September 16 had rejected Dash's bail petition earlier.
  
  The District and Sessions Court also deferred another bail petition of AT Group Chief Pradip Sethi to September 29. Sethi was arrested by the commissionerate of police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, last year.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

• 1. RBI extends date of exchange pre -2005 currency notes to on……?
  a) 1st april -2015   

  b) 1st January -2015    

  c) 1st April -2016 

  d) 1st January -2016
  e) 1st april 2020
• 2.  2014-15 budget " Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao yojana"  expenditure amount is ?
  a) 100 crore 

  b) 200 crore 

  c) 300 crore    

  d) 150 crore 

  e) 250 crore
• 3. Recently which country decided to join the newly formed BRICS bank?
  a) Bangladesh 

  b) Afghanistan  
  c) Myanmar 

  d) Maldives     

  e) Pakistan
• 4. Select wrong option….?
  a) Bharat Nirman -2005
  b) National Rural health mission -2005
  c) MGNREGP -2006
  d) PM Gram sadak yojana-2001
  e) National development programme -2005
• 5. BOR  wildlife sanctuary will become the country's 47th tiger reserve, It was located at?
  a) Maharashtra     

  b) MadyaPradesh
  c) Manipuri 

  d) Nagaland 

  e) Mizoram
• 6. Select wrong option?
  a) Brahmos range -290 km
  b) Prudwi range  - 350 km
  c) Akash range -350 km
  d) Dhanush range -350 km
  e) Agni range -700km
• 7. "Mouda" super thermal power project recently started by PM in …… state?
  a) Madyapradesh 

  b) Manipuri
  c) Maharashtra 

  d) Nagaland
  e) Mizoram
• 8. Pick up wrong sentence ?
  a) Sachin tendulkar : 35th national games goodwill ambassador
  b) Mary kom : CRPF goodwill ambassador     

  c) Virat kohli: BSF goodwill ambassador 

  d)  Emma Watson : ADB goodwill ambassador 

  e)  Amitabh Bachan : mahatashtra's horticulture goodwill ambassador
• 9. The foreign Reserves is kept with…?
  a) Central Govt    

  b) Central Bank
  c) Ministry of Finance    

  d) SEBI
  e) Ministry of foreign affairs
• 10.Select wrong option ?
  a) O.Prakash  Kohli : New Governor of Gujarat 

  b) Bal ramji Tanddon : New Governor of Chhattisgarh 

  c) Kaptan sing solanki : New Governor of Haryana
  d) Keshari nath tripati: New Governor of west Bengal 

  e) Vinodh kumar duggal : New Governor of Nagaland
• 11.In 1860  1st income tax was introduced in India by….?
  a) James taylor       

  b) James Wilson
  c) James newman 

  d) James cotton
  e) John mathai
• 12.Pickup wrong one?
  a) UPSC new chairman : Rajni Razdani
  b) UGC chairman : venodh prakash
  c) Indian bank association chairman for 2014-15 year : T.M. Basin
  d) 94th public account committee chairman : K.V. Thomas 

  e) 16th loksabha proteme speaker : Kamal nath
• 13.Which of the following states has announced launching web portal for industrial licenses?
  a) Andhrapradesh 

  b) Telangana
  c) Tamilnadu    

  d) Maharashtra
  e) Gujarat
• 14.Which of the following Ministry operate the "village gramin Bank's scheme?
  a) Ministry of tribal welfare
  b) Ministry of rural development
  c) Ministry of finance
  d) Ministry of home affairs
  e) Ministry of urban & rural development
• 15.Present the largest source of National Income in India is ?
  a) International trade sector
  b) Industrial sector 

  c) Service sector
  d) Agriculture sector
  e) Share market sector
• 16.Who has topped "Forbes most powerful women list in 2014?
  a) Angela Merkal 

  b) Jonet elen
  c) Hillary Clinton 

  d) Michel obama
  e) Dilma roseff
• 17.The president of India dedicated "rupay" to the nation on 8th may 2014. It was..?
  a) Centre for good governs
  b) Social networking website
  c) India's own card payment network
  d) Banking payment network
  e) Govt  payment network
• 18."Rupay" has been developed by which organization?
  a) Central Govt    

  b) Central Bank
  c) National payment corporation of India
  d) Indian bank association
  e) Indian & foreign bank association
• 19.What is scheduled bank?
   a) Included in the 2nd schedule of banking regulation act-1934
   b) Included in the 2nd schedule of banking regulation act-1949
   c) Included in the 2nd schedule of RBI act-1934
   d) Included in the 2nd schedule of RBI act-1949
   e) Included in the 2nd schedule of Central govt act - 1952
• 20.In which city canara bank has opened its 7th overseas office recently ?
  a) New York 

  b) Tokyo  

  c) Dubai
  d) Beijing     

  e) London
• 21.Which of the Indian origin judge has been appointed as attorney General of Singapore ?
  a) Daveer bandari 

  b) kaushik basu    

  c) sanjay baaru    

  d) V.K. Rajan
  e) K.V. Sharma
• 22.The RBI started issuing its bi-monthly credit policy on the recommendation of..?
   a) Swaraj committee
   b) Raghavan committee      
   c) Bimal jalan committee
   d) Urjit patel committee      
   e) K.C. Chakravarti committee
• 23.What is the upper limit of RTGS transactions in India ?
  a) No limit 

  b) Rs. 1 crore 

  c) Rs 100 Crore    

  d) Rs 1 lacks     

  e) Rs 10 lacks
• 24.Books & Authors  given below,  select wrong option ?
  a) The lives of others - Neel Mukerge  
  b) No country -Kalyan ray
  c) public issues before parliament-Vijay Darda 

  d) Narendra Modi a political biography-Andy Marino
  e) Emergency retold - Kushvanth sing
• 25.select wrong option ?
  a) IDBI act -2010  

  b) NHB act -1987
  c) MSMED act-2006
  d) FEMA act-1999
  e) competition act -2002
• 26.select wrong matched ?
  a) BBPS: Bharat Bill payment system
  b) FRBM: Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management
  c) e-BAAT: Electronic Banking Awareness & Training

  d) ECBs: External Commercial Borrowings 

  e) FIPB: Foreign interest Promotion board
• 27.LIC of India was established in _____?
  a) 1965 

  b)1966 

  c)1956 

  d)1969 

  e)1975
• 28.Under Lead Bank Scheme lead banks were asked to adopt…?
  a) Village  

  b) Town 

  c) District     

  d) State     

  e) Country
• 29.The apex organisation of industrial finance in India is …?
  a) IDBI 

  b) RBI 

  c) ICICI 

  d)IFCI        

  e) Central Govt
• 30.Present the country producing the maximum silk in the world is ?
  a) India 

  b) China    

  c) Japan     

  d) South Korea         

  e) America
• 31.What is "Dow Jones" ?
  a) Share market index of New York stock exchange market
  b) Share market index of Mumbai stock exchange market 

  c) Share market index of Japan stock exchange market
  d) Share market index of Shan ghjai  Stock Exchange market 

  e) Share market index of Brazil exchange market
• 32.The RBI was formed on the recommendations of __ commission ?
  a) Narasimhan 

  b) Malhotra
  c) Hilton & Young 

  d) shiva raman   
  e) Wilson  
• 33.The International monetary fund ( IMF ) is an organization  no of countries?
  a) 188 

  b) 187 

  c) 193 

  d) 209 

  e) 186
• 34.Find the wrong match?
  a) Shakti kanta Das - Present Revenue secretary

  b) John William Ashe - Present UNO general assembly secretary
  c) Yukio Amino -present IAEA chairman 

  d) Anthony Lake - present UNICEF chairman 

  e) Robert Ajevedo -present WHO director general
• 35.Which institution is known as 'soft loan window' of World Bank?
  a) IFC 

  b) IDA 

  c) IMF 

  d) IBRD 

  e) ICSID
• 36.Which of the following committees has given its recommendations on "Disinvestment method "?
  a) Rakesh Mohan Committee         

  b) Rangarajan Committee       
  c) Amartya sen Committee      
  d) Kelkar Committee      
  e) Y.V.Reddy  Committee
• 37.The oldest stock exchange of India is _______ Stock Exchange?
  a) Bombay 

  b) National     

  c) Bangalore    

  d) Hyderabad    

  e) None
• 38.The SLR comprises investments in which of the following ?
  a) gold 

  b) cash 

  c) Govt. securities
  d) all the above     

  e) None of these
• 39.Which of the following Terms is not associated with banking sector ?
  a) KYC 

  b) RTGS 

  c) NET

  d) TRAI 

  e) CTS
• 40.Which of the following is India's New Rating Index developed by Ministry of Finance ?
  a) DOLEX  

  b) CRIS    

  c) SENSEX    

  d) CRIS       

  e) NIKKEYI
• 41.RBI has Recently  hiked the trade related remittance limit  from Rs.2 Lakh to ______ lakhs ?
  a) 4 lakh  

  b) 5 lakh  

  c) 6 lakh        

  d) 8 lakh  

  e) 10 lakh
• 42.The RBI has allowed banks to provide loans to exporters with tenures of up to how many years?
  a) 5 years  

  b) 6 years 

  c) 8 years        

  d) 10 years 

  e) 12 years
• 43.In Nationalised Bank largest shareholder is _____?
  a) Central Bank 

  b) Central Govt.        

  c) Ministry of Finance 

  d) NABARD      
  e) Indian Bank Association
• 44.India's 1st Post Office Savings Bank ATM facility has been opened in which of the following places?
  a) Mumbai 

  b) Bangalore   

  c) Delhi   
  d) Kolkata  

  e) Chennai
• 45.Which of the following states has approved pension scheme for farmers ?
  a) Uttarakhand    

  b) Uttar Pradesh        

  c) Madhya Pradesh 

  d) Haryana         

  e) Rajastan
• Answers:
  
  
  

  1) b 2) a 3) a 4) e 5) a 6) c 7) c 8) d 9) b 10) e 

  11) b 12) b 13) c 14) a 15) c 16) a 17) c 18) c 19) c 20) a 

  21) d 22) d 23) a 24) e 25) a 26) e 27) c 28) c 29) a 30) b 

  31) a 32) c 33) a 34) e 35) b 36) b 37) a 38) d 39) d 40) d 

  41) b 42) d 43) b 44) e 45) a