Current Affairs - 12 October 2014

Strong winds, heavy rain disrupt normal life in coastal AP ahead of Hudhud strike

• 

  HYDERABAD: Strong winds and heavy rain led to large-scale disruption of power lines in three coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh as the state braced for Hudhud, a very severe cyclonic storm that is expected to hit the coast around noon on Sunday. 
  
  "Except East Godavari, power entirely failed in the three districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam (which are expected to bear the brunt). There were gale winds. The situation is very severe. National Highway in the region has been shut," special commissioner, State Disaster Management Authority, K Hymavathi told PTI. 
  
  Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas of the four districts. 
  
  According to the latest bulletin of Indian Meteorological Department, the storm would cross close to the port city of Visakhapatnam around noon. 
  
  Wind speed reaching 70-80kmph gusting to 90kmph would prevail along and off north Andhra Pradesh and south Odisha coasts on Sunday morning. 
  
  The wind speed would gradually increase to 170-180kmph gusting to 195kmph around the time of landfall along and off north Andhra Pradesh (East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts) and 80-90 kmph along and off adjoining districts of Andhra Pradesh (West Godavari & Krishna districts) and south Odisha (Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput and Malkangiri districts). 

World celebrates Nobel, but Delhi slips on child labour

• 

  NEW DELHI: At a time when the capital is basking in the glow of one of its own — Kailash Satyarthi — bagging the Nobel peace prize for his work on child rights and trafficking, a study on implementation of the Action Plan for Abolition of Child Labour in Delhi shows that the capital is way behind the target set by Delhi high court for freeing child workers.
  
  A Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) report dated October 2014 cites figures from July 2009 to June 2013 which show that just 3,734 children were rescued over four years, ie an average of 78 children each month. But the Delhi high court had directed the labour department to begin implementing the Delhi Action Plan in 2009 "by accommodating, for the time being, about 500 children every month".
  
  
  If this target of 500 rescues a month had been met over these four years, 24,000 child workers would have been freed — well over 90% of such children listed in the Census 2011.
  
  What is even more horrifying is the fact that as many as 440 children across all districts were less than 10 years of age.

Bardhaman blast: NIA probe leads to J&K, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

• 

  NEW DELHI: The probe into the Bardhaman blast, now being handled by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), is pointing to a bigger plot extending not just to neighbouring Assam, but also to Jammu & Kashmir and the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  
  The NIA has, based on leads gathered from the three women arrested from the site of the October 2 blast, picked up a suspect from J&K — a construction worker belonging to West Bengal.
  
  The J&K suspect, to whom calls were made from the SIM cards seized from Rajira Bibi, wife of militant Shakil Ahmed killed in the blast, was found to be in touch with two other suspects in Birbhum, West Bengal. The NIA is now on the lookout for the duo.
  
  Meanwhile, some arrests were made in Barpeta, Assam, on Friday. The Assam Police claimed the arrested were linked to a module operating under the patronage of Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Enter Mukesh Ambani’s twins: Isha, Akash now board directors

• 

  MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani's twins, son Akash and daughter Isha, were on Saturday inducted into the boards of Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm as directors at a board meeting of the two firms.
  
  Both firms valued over Rs 75,000 crores are seen as the next big revenue drivers for RIL, as its revenues from its upstream business have fallen and its entry into developing SEZs has failed to take off. RIL still drives most of its revenues from its core refinery and petrochemicals businesses.
  
  Mukesh Ambani's wife, Nita Ambani, was inducted into RIL's board earlier this year. Isha graduated from Yale with double majors in psychology and South Asian Studies. Akash graduated from Brown University with major in economics and is closely involved in the development of products and digital services applications in Reliance Jio.
  
  Analysts' tracking the company see the inductions as a precursor for both to be inducted into RIL board in the future as both companies worth over Rs 75,000 crore are almost fully owned by RIL.

BJP gambles on Narendra Modi for high-risk solo run in Maharashtra, Haryana

• 

  NEW DELHI: BJP's decision to go it alone in Maharashtra and Haryana is a high-risk move, with Amit Shah deciding to gamble on PM Narendra Modi's appeal to haul the party out of the "second fiddle" role it had been consigned to in these two states. 
  
  Opinion polls, those commissioned by the party and independent ones, in the aftermath of the Lok Sabha polls were unanimous that the party could sweep the polls if it had kept its alliances — with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and Haryana Janhit Congress in Haryana — intact. Sticking to allies would have also fitted with the objective to marginalize Congress in states where the latter has been dominant for decades. 
  
  Shah, however, also saw the polls as an opportunity to correct the asymmetry in power equations with Sena and non-Congress parties in Haryana it would and could align with. 
  
  While the findings of independent pollsters suggesting that BJP was in the lead in Maharashtra while running a strong race in Haryana may justify the calculation, sources in the party acknowledge that it will have to pay a stiff political cost if the plot goes awry. 

Haryana may tighten noose around Ashok Khemka

• 

  CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government may soon put the final seal of approval on the controversial Robert Vadra-DLF land deal by starting the process of appointing an investigating officer (IO) against whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka.
  
  Sources said that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government is likely to make the appointment before the October 15 assembly elections results are announced, apparently without giving Khemka a fair chance to explain his stand.
  
  Khemka had cancelled the Rs 58 crore land mutation on October 15, 2012, sparking a major controversy after which the Haryana government had charged him for acting beyond his jurisdiction.
  
  Officials in the government said that appointing an IO would mean that the state government has accepted that prima facie Khemka's decision was wrong and has started disciplinary proceedings against him. It would also mean that the Vadra-DLF deal was legitimate. In a hurriedly taken decision, the state government has recently cancelled Khemka's order against the deal.

Pakistan may continue border firing till Diwali

• 

  NEW DELHI: After a brief lull, Pakistan violated ceasefire yet again on Saturday, drawing a prompt retaliation from Indian troops. Many in the security establishment suspect such violations would continue at least until Diwali later this month. 
  
  According to sources, the two sides exchanged gunfire in some parts of Poonch. After nine days of ceasefire violations, guns had fallen silent since Thursday night and remained so through Friday. However, firing resumed on Saturday morning during which a dozen border posts in poonch were targeted, sources said. The two sides have been exchanging small fire. 
  
  Sources in the security establishment suspect that the intermittent firing would carry on at least until Diwali, which falls on October 23. It is a bizarre trend for ceasefire violations to intensify around Eid and carry on until Diwali, and has been seen in most years in recent times. 

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

• 1. Which of the following cities in Australia hosted the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank
  Governors Meeting in September 2014?
  1) Sydney
  2) Brisbane
  3) Melbourne
  4) Adelaide
  5) Cairns
• 2. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the Nalanda University in Bihar on 2014 September 19. Who is the vice chancellor of this university?
  1) N.K. Singh
  2) Gopa Sabharwal
  3) Lord Meghnad Desai
  4) Tansen Sen
  5) Anil Wadhwa
• 3. Which of the following States has decided to set up 'Nirbhaya' centres in all districts to provide
  prompt help to victims of crime against women?
  1) Andhra Pradesh
  2) Telangana
  3) Uttar Pradesh
  4) Tamil Nadu
  5) Maharashtra
• 4. Who was declared the next President of Afghanistan on 2014 September 21?
  1) Abdullah Abdullah
  2) Habibullah Habib
  3) Hamidullah Amin
  4) Ashraf Ghani
  5) Hedayat Amin Arsala
• 5. Which of the following films was selected as India's 2015 Oscar contender in the best foreign language film category?
  1) Queen
  2) Shahid
  3) Yellow
  4) Jaatishwar
  5) Liar's Dice
• 6. John Key was re-elected as the Prime Minister of which of the following countries in September 2014?
  1) Canada
  2) Australia
  3) Italy
  4) New Zealand
  5) Ireland
• 7. Larry Ellison has stepped down from the post of Chief Executive Officer of?
  1) Yahoo
  2) Facebook
  3) Oracle
  4) IBM
  5) Microsoft
• 8. Ashok Mohanty was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a chit fund scam on
  2014 September 22. He is the former Advocate General of?
  1) West Bengal
  2) Odisha
  3) Assam
  4) Tripura
  5) Jharkhand
• 9. Moussa Mara assumed office as the Prime Minister of which of the following African countries
  on 2014 April 5?
  1) Mauritania
  2) Senegal
  3) Mali
  4) Guinea
  5) Niger
• 10. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca is the second female President of?
  1) Malta
  2) Chile
  3) Latvia
  4) Lithuania
  5) Estonia
• 11. "The Accidental Prime Minister- The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh" is a book authored by?
  1) Shashi Tharoor
  2) Mani Shankar Aiyyar
  3) Digvijay Singh
  4) Sanjay Baru
  5) H.K. Dua
• 12. UNO declared which of the following days as International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression?
  1) June 1
  2) June 5
  3) June 2
  4) June 3
  5) June 4
• 13. Which of the following cities is the capital of Mali?
  1) Kayes
  2) Timbuktu
  3) Bamako
  4) Mopti
  5) Segou
• 14. Justice G. Rohini is the first woman Chief Justice of which of the following High Courts?
  1) Andhra Pradesh High Court
  2) Delhi High Court
  3) Madras High Court
  4) Bombay High Court
  5) Allahabad High Court
• 15. Who took charge as the Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) in April 2014?
  1) R.K. Mathur
  2) G.K. Pillai
  3) D.K. Pathak
  4) Subhash Goswami
  5) Ranjit Sinha
• 16. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a Nobel winning legendary author from?
  1) Mexico
  2) Cuba
  3) Ecuador
  4) Colombia
  5) Brazil
• 17. Sampooran Singh Kalra is the original name of a person who won the 2013?
  1) Jnanpith Award
  2) Vyas Samman
  3) Dada Saheb Phalke Award
  4) Kalidas Samman
  5) None of these
• 18. Which Indian player was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in April 2014?
  1) M.S. Dhoni
  2) R. Ashwin
  3) Virat Kohli
  4) Cheteshwar Pujara
  5) Shikhar Dhawan
• 19. Which country's national women's cricket team is called 'Southern Stars'?
  1) Australia
  2) India
  3) New Zealand
  4) England
  5) South Africa
• 20. Who won the Richmond Squash Open at Virginia, USA in April 2014?
  1) Rachael Grinham
  2) Joshna Chinappa
  3) Dipika Pallikal
  4) Anaka Alankamony
  5) None of these
• 21. Around 300 people died after a multi-storey ferry capsized while carrying 476 people, mostly high school students on 2014 April 16. This disaster happened in?
  1) China
  2) Japan
  3) South Korea
  4) Vietnam
  5) Philippines
• 22. Who was crowned Femina Miss India 2014?
  1) Jhataleka Malhotra
  2) Gail Da' Silva
  3) Manasi Moghe
  4) Koyal Rana
  5) None of these
• 23. Saurav Ghosal was selected for Dato Alex Lee Award 2013. He is an outstanding player in which of the following sports?
  1) Judo
  2) Snooker
  3) Squash
  4) Shooting
  5) Swimming
• 24. The Australian women's team won their third World T20 title by defeating England in the final in April 2014. Who is the captain of Australia?
  1) Alex Blackwell
  2) Megan Schutt
  3) Julie Hunter
  4) Sarah Coyte
  5) Meg Lanning
• 25. The 14th Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) was held in which of the following countries recently?
  1) Chile
  2) Japan
  3) Australia
  4) USA
  5) China
• 26. The Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) comprises navies whose countries border the Pacific Ocean region. WPNS has how many member States?
  1) 21
  2) 24
  3) 23
  4) 25
  5) 19
• 27. Which of the following countries has/ have observer status in the Western Pacific Naval Symposium?
  1) Pakistan
  2) India
  3) Bangladesh
  4) Mexico
  5) All the above
• 28. Which of the following firms has been given approval for setting up 9,000 white-label ATMs in the next three years in rural India?
  1) IFCI
  2) Bajaj Finance
  3) Srei Infrastructure Finance
  4) Reliance Capital
  5) None of these
• 29. At the 61st National Film Awards, Which of the following films was given the Indira Gandhi
  Award for Best Debut Film of a Director?
  1) Kaphal (Hindi)
  2) Perariyathavar (Malayalam)
  3) Fandry (Marathi)
  4) Thalaimuraigal (Tamil)
  5) None of these
• 30. Which of the following countries does not have a woman President at present?
  1) Brazil
  2) Argentina
  3) Chile
  4) Malta
  5) Bangladesh
• 31. Sudarshan Seneviratne has been appointed as which country's High Commissioner to India?
  1) Singapore
  2) Malaysia
  3) Nepal
  4) Sri Lanka
  5) None of these
• 32. 'Goldfinch' has won the USA's prestigious literary award, Pulitzer in fiction category. Who is the author of this book?
  1) Hannah Kent
  2) Donna Tartt
  3) Jhumpa Lahiri
  4) Audrey Magee
  5) Ludia Davis
• 33. According to a data released on 2014 April 30 by the International Comparison Program
  (ICP), India overtook which country as the world's third largest economy in 2011 in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP)?
  1) UK
  2) France
  3) Japan
  4) Brazil
  5) Germany
• 34. Which Indian company joined the league of top 10 global IT companies in April 2014?
  1) Cognizant
  2) Infosys
  3) Wipro
  4) HCL
  5) Tata Consultancy Services
• 35. Which company leads the list of top ten global IT companies?
  1) IBM
  2) Fujitsu
  3) Hewlett-Packard
  4) Accenture
  5) NTT
• 36. Which of the following pharmaceutical companies announced that it would acquire 100 per cent
  of Ranbaxy Laboratories?
  1) Johnson & Johnson
  2) Novartis
  3) Pfizer
  4) Sun Pharmaceuticals
  5) Glaxo Smithkline
• 37. In April 2014, the Union Government approved the recruitment of women as Combat Officers in?
  1) Indo Tibetan Border Police
  2) Sashastra Seema Bal
  3) Rapid Action Force
  4) National Security Guards
  5) None of these
• 38. The Queen of Britain conferred the rank of Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of
  the British Empire (KBE) on?
  1) Mukesh Ambani
  2) Ratan Tata
  3) Azim Premji
  4) Anil Ambani
  5) None of these
• 39. Badakhshan province is in the news recently. It is in?
  1) Afghanistan
  2) Pakistan
  3) Iran
  4) Iraq
  5) Syria
• 40. Lee Chong Wei won the Indian Open Super Series badminton tournament men's singles title in New Delhi recently. He is from?
  1) China
  2) Malaysia
  3) Singapore
  4) South Korea
  5) North Korea
• ANSWERS:
  1) 5 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 5 6) 4 7) 3 8) 2 9) 3 10) 1
  11) 4 12) 5 13) 3 14) 2 15) 3 16) 4 17) 3 18) 5 19) 1 20) 2
  21) 3 22) 4 23) 3 24) 5 25) 5 26) 1 27) 5 28) 3 29) 3 30) 5
  31) 4 32) 2 33) 3 34) 5 35) 1 36) 4 37) 2 38) 2 39) 1 40) 2