Current Affairs - 23 January 2015

The 8-member committee led by BJP MP Shanta Kumar to recommend a complete overhaul of the functioning of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), submitted its report to the Union Government on 21 January 2015. What are the main recommendations of this committee?

• 

  - The govt. should reduce coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to 40% of the population from the existing 67%.

  - FCI procurement should focus on eastern belt, where farmers do not get minimum support price (MSP)

  - FCI should hand over the task of bulk procurement of foodgrain to state agencies of states like Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha for wheat and rice

  - Food grain under NFSA for those under below poverty line should be raised to 7kg per person from the present norm of 5kg per person

  - Grain storage should be outsourced to private and government agencies like state-owned Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and state warehousing corporations

  - Uniform tax of minimum 3% and maximum 4% and the same to be included in the MSP, in view of some states imposing higher Mandi (market) taxes on wheat and rice

  - “End-to-end computerisation” and setting up of a vigilance committee to strengthen distribution of foodgrains and check leakage in PDS

  - Implementation of cash transfer in 52 cities having 1 million or more population in two years and the option of either supplying grain or cash transfer should be given to deficit states

  This committee was set up in August 2014 under the chairmanship of Shanta Kumar (BJP MP) to give suggestions for a complete overhaul of the functioning of FCI, which is the Union government’s nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains. Other members of the committee are FCI Chairman-cum-Managing Director C Viswanath, Electronic and IT Secretary Ram Sewak Sharma, G Raghuram (IIM, Ahmedabad), G. Nancharaiah (Hyderabad University), chief secretaries of Punjab and Chhattisgarh. Initially, the committee was asked to submit the recommendation in three months, but it sought two-month extension.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” campaign on 22 January 2015. This campaign was launched from which district of Haryana which has amongst the lowest child sex ratios in the country?

• 

  Panipat

  "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” (Save the Daughter, Teach the Daughter) campaign was launched with the objective improving India’s child sex ratio. The scheme was launched at Painpat in Haryana, a state with one of the poorest sex ratio in the country. The Prime Minister administered a pledge to the gathering that they will work to end female foeticide and discrimination against girls. “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” will focus on 100 gender critical districts where the child sex ratio is particularly low by enforcing existing laws that criminalize pre-birth gender selection, and by improving girls’ school attendance, among other measures. India’s child sex ratio dropped from 964 in 1971 to a low of 918 in 2011, according to U.N. data. Between 2001 and 2011, the decline was seen in more than two-thirds of the districts in the nation. On this occasion Sukanya Samridhi Account (SSA) scheme (girl child prosperity scheme) was also launched, under which girl children below 10 years will have bank accounts with more interest and income tax benefits.

Union Government has planned to sell how much of its stake in oil marketing major, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), for which the Finance Ministry has invited proposals from merchant bankers and brokers?

• 

  10%

  Union Government currently owns 68.57% stake in IOC. It expects to get around Rs. 8,000 crore through this sell-off and the effort on is to close the transaction by 31 March 2015. Completing the divestment in IOC this fiscal is crucial as the mop-up via this route is well below target. Until now, the Centre has managed raising a little over Rs. 1,700 crore against the planned Rs. 43,125 crore.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) have tied up to construct Delhi’s first 100-storey building in Karkardooma, East Delhi. This iconic tower is part of which proposed project to develop East Delhi region on lines of ‘Smart City’?

• 

  “East Delhi Hub” project

  A total of 75 acre land has been earmarked for the “East Delhi Hub” project and it will be based on the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) norms and “smart city” principles. There is a proposal to construct one iconic tower having more than 100 storeys, among other buildings under this project. Still at the drawing board stage, the proposal will have to go through a series of clearances, especially on account of the iconic tower.

The BSE Sensex crossed which milestone level for the first time on 22 January 2015?

• 

  29,000 points

  The BSE Sensex scaled the historical 29,000 peak for the first time on 22 January. On this day it ended over this milestone mark. On the other hand the Nifty edged above 8,750 as stock markets opened at record highs for the third consecutive session. Hopes that a low interest rate regime will kick-start the domestic investment cycle and buying of shares by foreign investors were the two big reasons for this record high in stock markets.

What is the name of the Yemeni President who resigned from his post on 22 January 2015 due to pressure from Houthi rebels, with whom he had tried to enter into an agreement?

• 

  Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi

  President Mansour Hadi was held captive by Houthi rebels on 21 January 2015 a day after they seized the presidential palace in capital Sana’a. Later he tried to reach an agreement with rebels to seek their withdrawal from areas overlooking the presidential palace. But the agreement talks reached a deadlock as rebels asked for further concessions. He tendered his resignation to Yemeni Parliament raising doubts that country could again split apart. The Houthis, an ally of Iran, swept into the capital four months ago and have emerged as the dominant force in the country.  President Mansour Hadi was a close ally of US in the fight against Al-Qaida in the region.

GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS

• 1. On 15 January 2015, RBI permitted banks...
  1) to set up insurance joint ventures on risk participation basis.
  2) to set up insurance joint ventures on partial- risk participation basis.
  3) to set up insurance joint ventures on 60% risk participation basis.
  4) to set up insurance joint ventures on 50 : 50 risk participation basis.
  5) None of above

• 2. RBI allowed banks to undertake insurance business as agents of insurance companies...
  1) on fee basis with any risk participation by banks and their subsidiaries.
  2) on no fee basis without any risk participation by banks and their subsidiaries.
  3) on fee basis without any risk participation by banks and their subsidiaries.
  4) on free basis services without any risk participation by banks and their subsidiaries.
  5) None of above

• 3. As per government of India order, Insurance is a permissible business under Section 6(1)(o) of .....
  1) Banking Regulation Act 1949
  2) RBI Act 1934
  3) Banking Regulation Act 1959
  4) FEMA 1999
  5) None of above

• 4. If the Banks want to set up a subsidiary/ JV for undertaking insurance business with risk participation, net worth of the bank should not be less than ..........
  1) Rs.100 crores
  2) Rs.500 crores
  3) Rs.10 crores
  4) Rs.1000 crores
  5) None

• 5. Level of net non-performing assets should be not more than ..... if the Banks want to set up a subsidiary/ JV for undertaking insurance business with risk participation as per RBI.
  1) 10%
  2) 3 %
  3) 4%
  4) 5%
  5) 1%

• 6. Banks undertaking insurance broking/ corporate agency through a subsidiary/ JV need RBI approval. Then those banks CRAR must not be less than .......
  1) 9%
  2) 10%
  3) 11.5%
  4) 8%
  5) None

• 7. CRAR stands for .....
  1) Capital to Risk (Weighted) Average Ratio
  2) Core to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio
  3) Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio
  4) Capital to Roll (Weighted) Assets Ratio
  5) None

• 8. Who is the regulator of insurance business in India?
  1) SEBI
  2) CCI
  3) IRDAI
  4) PFRDA
  5) All of above

• 9. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has been renamed as...
  1) BRDA
  2) IRRDA
  3) IDA
  4) IRDAI
  5) None

• 10. IRDAI stands for ......
  1) Insurance Rules Development Authority of India
  2) Insurance Regulatory Donor Authority of India
  3) Insurance Register Development Authority of India
  4) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
  5) None

• 11. IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) earmarked .... as Insurance day , on which day it came into existence in the year 2000.
  1) 8 Jan
  2) 15 Apr
  3) 20 May
  4) 19 Apr
  5) None

• 12. IRDAI headed by ......
  1) Hemant Contractor
  2) U.K.Sinha
  3) Rahul Khullar
  4) T.S.Vijayan
  5) Ashok Chawla

• 13. Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) covering death and disability insurance for the benefit of rural landless households in the country. The scheme implemented through ......
  1) LIC
  2) SBI Life
  3) Edelweiss Tokio Life
  4) Exide Life
  5) Future Generali

• 14. On 13 January 2015, which bank declared to set up another 50 econnect outlets by 31 March 2015?
  1) SBI
  2) Corporation bank
  3) SBM
  4) SBT
  5) SBH

• 15. Jifi Saver, a savings account managed via Twitter and Facebook launched on 13 Jan 2015 by....
  1) ICICI
  2) HDFC
  3) Yes Bank
  4) TMB
  5) Kotak Mahindra bank

• 16. For optimum utilization of Sports Authority of India's sports facilities in Delhi and across the country, which scheme was introduced?
  1) come and play
  2) go and play
  3) try and win
  4) see and goal
  5) ball and bat

• 17. Gram Santhosh Rural Postal Life Insurance Scheme introduced by .....
  1) LIC
  2) India Post
  3) Bajaj Allianz
  4) Reliance Insurance
  5) None

• 18. To provide separate, specialized and comprehensive health care to the senior citizens, NPHCE was introduced. NPHCE means.....
  1) National Promotion for Health Care of the Elderly
  2) National Programme for Health Code of the Elderly
  3) Nodal Programme for Health Care of the Elderly
  4) National Programme for Hospital Care of the Elderly
  5) National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly

• 19. Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) introduced to empower .......... so as to enable them to take charge of their lives.
  1) adolescent girls
  2) women
  3) widows
  4) employee women
  5) aged women

• 20. PFDF scheme introduced by central government to provide credit enhancement to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to access market borrowings based on their credit worthiness. PFDF stands for ........
  1) Pooled Finance Development Fund
  2) Power Finance Development Fund
  3) Pooled Fund Development Fund
  4) Pooled Finance Dearness Fund
  5) None

• 21. 19th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India is ......
  1) H.S.Brahma
  2) Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi
  3) V.S. Sampath
  4) J.M. Lyngdoh
  5) None of above

• 22. EVM stands for ........
  1) Electric Voting Machine
  2) Electronic Voting Module
  3) Electronic Voting Memory
  4) Election Voting Machine
  5) Electronic Voting Machine

• 23. NOTA button in EVM stands for ........
  1) Notice Of The Above
  2) None Of The Area
  3) Nine Of The Above
  4) None Of The Above
  5) Nice Of The Above

• 24. Maithripala Sirisena became the president of .....
  1) Bhutan
  2) Afghanistan
  3) Sri Lanka
  4) Myanmar
  5) Bangladesh

• 25. Which of the following nation has Rupee as currency?
  1) Bhutan
  2) Afghanistan
  3) Sri Lanka
  4) Myanmar
  5) Bangladesh

• 26. The new Chairman of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is .......
  1) R.K. Srivastva
  2) B. Prasad Rao
  3) Sutirtha Bhattacharya
  4) P. Sudha Kumar
  5) AS Kiran Kumar

• 27. Which of the following is wrongly matched?
  1) Kaziranga National Park - Assam
  2) Khangchendzonga National Park - Sikkim
  3) Murlen National Park - Meghalaya
  4) Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary National Park - Arunachal Pradesh
  5) Hemis National Park - Jammu and Kashmir

• 28. ''Youth for Clean, Green and Progressive India'' is the theme of 19th National Youth Festival concluded in .......
  1) Belur
  2) Raipur
  3) Chicago
  4) Mylapore
  5) Guwahati

• 29. Which state has fixed minimum educational qualifications for contesting polls for local elections on 22 December 2014?
  1) Goa
  2) Bihar
  3) Rajasthan
  4) Gujarat
  5) AP

• 30. 7th Vibrant Gujarat summit held in .....
  1) Ahmedabad
  2) Gandhi Nagar
  3) Vadodara
  4) Somnath
  5) Porbandar

• 31. 11 countries have participated in first Buddha Heritage Walk concluded in....
  1) Bihar
  2) UP
  3) Rajasthan
  4) Delhi
  5) Telangana

• 32. On the eve of 13th edition of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and 7th edition of Vibrant Gujarat, P.M has inaugurated the Dandi Kutir Museum in.......
  1) New Delhi
  2) Ahmedabad
  3) Dandi
  4) Porbandar
  5) Gandhi Nagar

• 33. Dandi Satyagraha also called Salt Satyagraha conducted by Gandhi to protest the tax regime of British India. The Dandi march held in ......
  1) 1942
  2) 1915
  3) 1920
  4) 1930
  5) 1947

• 34. India's first district with 100% rural broadband connectivity is ......
  1) Kancheepuram (Tamilnadu)
  2) Thane (Maharashtra)
  3) Krishna (AP)
  4) Idukki (Kerala)
  5) Medak (Telangana)

• 35. On 5 January 2015, PM Modi launched 'Prakash Path'. It is a ......
  1) Urban Housing Mission
  2) Digital India Project
  3) Primary Education Initiative
  4) Clean India Programme
  5) National energy conservation movement

• 36. International Exchange in Gujarat's GIFT city (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) to be established by .....
  1) KSE
  2) MSE
  3) NSE
  4) BSE
  5) None

• 37. Army day observed on....
  1) 15 January
  2) 4 Dec
  3) 8 Oct
  4) 15 August
  5) 26 January

• 38. Bezbaruah Committee had given recommendations on .....
  1) to examine the constitution of SIT on 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
  2) to look into the concerns of the people of North East living in the other parts of the country.
  3) to interact with trade and industry on taxrelated issues on a regular basis.
  4) government advertisements
  5) giving the recognition to deemed universities on regular basis

• 39. Who has been conferred with the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award, for his contribution to society as a Gujarati?
  1) Arun Jaitley
  2) Arvind Panagariya
  3) Meghnad Desai
  4) Amartya Sen
  5) None

• 40. On 4 January which neighbouring nation of India celebrates Independence day every year?
  1) Sri Lanka
  2) Bangladesh
  3) Maldives
  4) Pakistan
  5) Myanmar

• 41. Singapore-bound Flight QZ8501, which crashed into Java Sea on 28 Dec 2014 after taking off from Surabaya, Indonesia, belongs to ......
  1) Cathay Pacific
  2) Lufthansa
  3) Air India
  4) Air Asia
  5) Garuda

• 42. As the no party/parties unable to form the new government in Jammu and Kashmir, the president rule was imposed under....
  1) Article 356
  2) Article 352
  3) Article 360
  4) Article 19
  5) Article 21

• 43. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir is ......
  1) Krishan Kant Paul
  2) N.N.Vohra
  3) Urmila Singh
  4) Kaptan Singh Solanki
  5) Najeeb Jung

• 44.  Winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir is ....
  1) Srinagar
  2) Ladakh
  3) Jammu
  4) Anantnag
  5) Leh

• ANSWERS:
  1-1, 2-3, 3-1, 4-4, 5-2, 6-2, 7-3, 8-3, 9-4, 10-4
  11-4, 12-4, 13-1, 14-5, 15-5, 16-1, 17-2, 18-5, 19-1, 20-1
  21-1, 22-5, 23-4, 24-3, 25-3, 26-5, 27-3, 28-5, 29-3, 30-2
  31-1, 32-5, 33-4, 34-4, 35-5, 36-4, 37-1, 38-2, 39-3, 40-5,
  41-4, 42-1, 43. 2, 44. 3