Current Affairs Current Affairs - 23 March 2015 - Vikalp Education

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Current Affairs - 23 March 2015

Rupee third on fake foreign currency list in Switzerland!
  • With Switzerland remaining in focus in India's fight against black money stashed abroad, the quantum of counterfeit Indian rupee seized by Swiss Police is third highest among all foreign currencies despite a sharp fall from the previous year.

    As per the latest 'counterfeit statistics' released by the the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), the total number of counterfeit Indian rupee notes seized during 2014 stood at 181, down from 403 in the previous year.

    This is third highest among all foreign currencies after the euro (2,860) and the US dollar (1,101). The quantum of fake Swiss francs remained much higher at 16,054 during 2014, the data shows.

    However, the number of fake Swiss franc notes has also more than halved from the previous year, although the numbers have increased for the euro and the US dollar from 2013 levels.
    Among other major currencies, the Swiss police seized 71 counterfeit Chinese yuan notes and 77 British pound notes during 2014.

    According to the Fedpol data, the number of fake euro notes seized in the year 2013 stood at 2,394, while there were 1,101 fake US dollar bills.

    The fake Indian rupee notes seized during 2014 included 145 for five-hundred denomination, 35 one-thousand-bills and one for one-hundred denomination.

    The number of fake Indian rupee notes found in Switzerland was third highest in 2013, which included 380 fake Rs 500 notes and another 23 counterfeit Rs 1,000 notes.

    The numbers have declined considerably since 2012 when Fedpol found as many as 2,624 fake rupee notes -- the second highest among foreign currencies after 5,284 counterfeit US dollar notes at that time. The number of fake Euro notes was third highest during that year at 2084.The number of fake Swiss franc notes stood at 4,309 during 2012.

India overtakes US as 3rd biggest steel producer
  • India has overtaken the US to become the third-largest steel producer in the world with a production of 14.56 million tonnes (MT) in first two months of the year.

    India has been the fourth-largest steel producer for the past five years, behind China, Japan and the US.

    Data compiled by World Steel Association (WSA) showed that the country’s production growth was the highest during the January-February period at 7.6 per cent as compared to the global average of just 0.6 per cent at 127.6 MT.

    Production in China, which accounts for nearly half of the global steel production, fell during the period by 1.5 per cent. It produced 65 MT steel during the period.

    Japan, the second-largest producer, reported a total output of 17.4 MT, but production in the country fell 2.2 per cent.

    The US, which was the third-largest steel producer since 2010, produced 13.52 MT during the January-February period, giving away its position to India.

    On a yearly basis, India may retain the position given the fact that a lot of capacities are set to be commissioned during the year from its present installed manufacturing capacity of a little over 100 MT.

    Production in the US, on the other hand, is heading for a stagnation with no signs of growth in the immediate future.

    Output in the US has been hovering between 86 MT and 88 MT for the last four years.

    The gap of production between the two countries was just 5 MT last year.

    Interestingly, the US snatched the third slot from India in 2009.

New age limit for IAS, IPS induction applicable from this year
  • The recent two-year increase in the age limit of 54 years for induction into IAS and IPS from state civil services will be applicable from this year onwards, the Centre has said.

    The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had on Tuesday notified new rules raising the age limit for the three all-India services -- Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS).

    Now, DoPT has clarified in an order that the amendments are applicable for select lists of 2015, that is vacancies arising between January and December this year, and onwards.

    "For example, for the select list of 2015, the upper age limit for consideration will be 56 years with crucial date for determination of age as January 1, 2015," it said.

    The new rules will not be applicable for select list of previous years. For select lists up to 2014, the upper age limit for induction into IAS, IPS and IFS from state civil services and non-state civil services would be 54 years, the DoPT has clarified.

    As per the rules, a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) committee is responsible for making selection to IAS, IPS and IFS from state services.

    "The committee shall not consider the cases of the members of the state civil service, who have attained the age of 56 years on the first day of January of the year for which the select list is prepared," says the recently notified rules for the three all-India services.

    Earlier, the maximum age limit for consideration of officers from state services for induction into IAS, IPS and IFS was 54 years as on January 1 of the year for which the select list was prepared.

    DoPT has asked the states not to recommend names of officers for selection who are over 56 years of age.

    The move to increase the age limit had come following a representation from some state services officers to Supreme Court challenging the threshold of 54 years. They had contended that the maximum age bar should be increased as retirement age in the central government has been increased from 58 years to 60 years.

    The Centre had thereupon sought views from the state governments, cadre controlling authorities, i.e. Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate, state civil services, non-state civil services, state police and forest service officers and their associations on the issue.

    The increase in age limit is likely to help Centre fill the vacancies in the three all-India services, DoPT officials said.

    As per the latest government data, there are 4,619 IAS, 3,798 IPS and 2,668 IFS officers working against the sanctioned strength of 6,270, 4,728 and 3,131, respectively.

800 SFURTI Clusters to be set up
  • To promote traditional industries and create employment in rural areas and prepare action plan to ensure successful interaction and create platform for the exchange of ideas/thoughts on cluster developments, a National level workshop on revamped SFURTI (Scheme of fund for regeneration of traditional industries) ‘was organized by Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises here today.

    Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister, Ministry of MSME in his key note address announced that during this 5 year plan 800 SFURTI clusters will be set up which will a great boost to the khadi and village industries. During the last five decades, KVIC has been promoting millions of traditional rural artisans and entrepreneurs of the country and is providing employment opportunities, the Minister said.

    The Minister stated that modernization of Khadi and village industries is the key to increase more number of job opportunities at the rural and grass root level without affecting the environment. He further stated that this new phenomenon would enhance sustainable opportunities in this field.

    Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister of State, for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises was the guest of honor.

    Books on SFURTI Guidelines, Success stories of Coir Cluster and EDP/SDP training with RSETIs were released on the occasion.

    The scheme was announced with the financial allocation of Rs.72.94 crores with a target to implement 75 clusters (25 Khadi & 50 V.I.) in KVI sector. However, the Steering Committee of SFURTI approved 79 clusters (i.e. 29 Khadi and 50 Village Industries).

    The overall progresses of SFURTI are as under:

     51642 No. of Artisans have been covered, out of which 55% are women Artisans

     34292 Artisans have been trained.

     126 Common Facility Centers have been established.

     1706 No. of Self Help Group (SHGs) are formed.

     About 55 percent beneficiaries of SFURTI scheme are women and this has been able to provide the due status, equity, empowerment to the women.

     The benefit has gone to marginalised section of the community (70 percent in Khadi and 82 percent V.I.).

     16 Technical Agencies took part in the process of implementation of programme

     132 Sales outlets covering 62796 sq. ft area have been renovated

     Income of Artisans have been enhanced by 65% in Khadi and 38% in V.I.

     Mott Mac Donald a private agency conducted Evaluation Study across the country has the following findings:

     About 55 percent beneficiaries of SFURTI scheme are females and this has been able to provide the due status, equity, empowerment to the women.

     The benefit has gone to marginalised section of the community (70 percent in Khadi and 82 percent V.I.).

     New Model Charkha (NMC) for spinning were introduced and that has increased not only productivity but also their earnings as well as improved quality of the product.

     Hundreds of new designs across the clusters is an asset to the industry. The programme given life to the clusters up to a great extent.

    The Target for the revamped SFURTI Clusters under 12th five Year Plan to setup 800 Clusters under KVI and Coir with an outlay of Rs.850 Cr. to cover 4 Lakh Artisans across the Country. Assistance from Multilateral Development Bank is also to be leverage to extend support under SFURTI Programme.

    Shri S.N. Tripathi, Jt. Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Shri B.H. Anil Kumar, Commissioner/CEO KVIC/Jt. Secretary, MSME were also present on the occasion. Technical agencies, implementing agencies, NGOs, Banks officials from Ministries, Govt. Departments KVIC, State Khadi Boards, Coir Board also participated in the workshop.

World Cup Semi-final: India, Australia set for verbally hostile showdown
  • Rival captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni of India and Michael Clarke of Australia may have their hands full trying to keep frayed tempers in check during a potentially explosive World Cup semi-final on Thursday.

    The two teams have shared a tumultuous relationship both on and off the field in recent years and another flare-up cannot be ruled out in front of a packed Sydney Cricket Ground.
    It was at the same venue in 2008 where the infamous 'Monkeygate' incident involving Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds and Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh took place and almost saw a Test series being called off.
    Harbhajan was suspended for three matches for allegedly calling Symonds a "monkey", but the ban was overturned when India threatened to walk out of the tour, claiming the off-spinner was wrongly accused.
    The bad blood continued during India's Test and one-day series in Australia prior to the World Cup when heated on-field exchanges led to several players being penalised.
    Three Indian players, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, and Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc were charged for a breach of the International Cricket Council's Code of Conduct.
    Australian opener David Warner was the worst offender, having been reported both in the Test and one-day series, and was publicly told off by Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland to "stop looking for trouble."
    Warner risks missing the World Cup final should Australia qualify if he is found guilty of a third breach of the Code of Conduct on Thursday.
    Team-mate Glenn Maxwell is certain Warner, who squared up to Rohit Sharma during the Test series telling the batsman "to speak English", will not get into trouble again.
    "He is fine," the all-rounder said. "He does not say much -- any more."
    Allrounder Shane Watson will be another one under the radar of Sri Lankan match referee Ranjan Madugalle, who fined him 15 percent of his match fees for a heated exchange with Pakistan's Wahab Riaz during tense moments of Friday's quarter-final in Adelaide.
    ICC chief executive David Richardson said before the tournament that match referees would come down hard on misbehaviour on the field and repeat offenders will be hit with bans.
    But Maxwell is confident the involvement of Australian players in the Indian Premier League will help to keep the lid on -- even though that was not seen in the preceding bilateral matches.
    The belligerent batsman, who has turned out for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, said the glitzy Twenty20 tournament helped him get closer to Indian players.
    "Personally, I get along with them really well," he said. "Playing in the IPL, you get to know a lot of them, spend time with them, go to dinners with them and you start to develop real friendships and you stay in touch with them as well.
    "It makes it hard when you play against them because you've got to still have that fine line of keeping it competitive on the field but they're also your mates.
    "So you've got to continue trying to play as if you're playing your worst enemy every time."

practice set of reasoning questions for AFSAT

  • 1. After walking 6 km, I turned right and covered adistance of 2 km, then turned left and covered a
    distance of 10 km. In the end, I was moving towardsthe north. From which direction did I start my
    journey?
    (a) North
    (b) South
    (c) East
    (d) West
  • 2. In a certain code language EDITION is written asIDETNOI.
    How will the word MEDICAL be written in that code language?
    (a) DEMILAC
    (b) LACJM
    (c) DIEMCAL
    (d) MCADILE
  • 3.Find the odd one—
    (a) Shelley
    (b) Keats
    (c) Chaucer
    (d) Churchill
  • 4. In a row of boys Ganesh is 12th from the left and Rajan is 15th from the right. When they interchange
    their positions Rajan becomes 20th from the right. How many boys are there in the row?
    (a) 29
    (b) 31
    (c) 32
    (d) 30
  • 5. There are four roads. You are coming from South and want to go to the temp1e The road to your left
    leads away from coffee house. The front straight road leads to the college only. In which direction isthe
    temple located?
    (à) North
    (b) South
    (c) East
    (d) West
  • 6. Satellite : Planetary path
    (a) Missile : Projectile Path
    (b) Arrow : Plunge
    (c) Bullet : Pipe
    (d) Elevator : Axle
  • 7. Fill in the missing letter in the following series— S,V,Y,B,?
    (a) C
    (b) D
    (c) E
    (d) C
  • 8. Fill in the missing letter in the following series—
    A, Z, C, X, E?
    (a) C
    (b) D
    (c) W
    (d) V
  • 9. In a map south-east has be shown as north, north-east has been shown as west and so on. In this
    map what will west represent?
    (a) South-west
    (b) South-east
    (c) South
    (d) North-west
  • 10. In an imaginary system 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, are represented by z, y, x, w, v, u, t, s, r,q
    respectively. In such a system 23 *4 *5 will be written as (* indicates symbol of multiplication)
    (a) xyr
    (b) rvu
    (c) ysr
    (d) vtz
  • 11. Anand is related to Vinod and Cinderella. Deepais Cinderella’s mother. Also Deepa is Vinod’s sister
    and Ela is Vinod’s sister. How is Ela related to Cinderella?
    (a) Niece
    (b) Cousin
    (c) Sister
    (d) Aunt
  • 12. In certain code language the word NUMERICAL is written as LMUIREACN. How will the word
    PUBLISHED be written in that language?
    (a) DUBSILEHP
    (b) DBULISEHP
    (c) DUBLSEHP
    (d) DBUSILEHP
  • 13. If Dog is called Cat, Cat is called Lion, Lion is called Ox, Ox is called Cock, Cock is called Elephant, and
    Elephant is called Donkey, then farmer ploughs withwhich animal?
    (a) Dog
    (b) Lion
    (c) Donkey
    (d) Cock
  • 14. A debt becomes time-barred after:
    a) One year
    b) Two and a half year
    c) Three years
    d) Five years
    e) Six years
  • 15. In the matter of handling bills of exchange for collection, the relationship between customer and
    the bank is:
    a) Trustee and the beneficiary
    b) Principal and agent
    c) Bailor and bailee
    d) All of the above
    e) None of the above
  • 16. Hypothecation is:
    a) A transaction of conditional sale
    b) A legal transaction whereby goods may be made available as security for a debt
    c) Transfer of ownership by the borrower to the lender
    d) Either a or b
    e) None of the above
  • 17. Payment of a cheque may be countermanded by the ___
    a) Payee
    b) Drawer
    c) True owner
    d) Drawee
    e) None of these
  • 18. J.S. Verma Committee Report relates to:
    a) Strengthening of weak banks
    b) Corporate Governance
    c) Bank Mechanization
    d) All of the above
    e) None of the above
  • 19. AUsance Bill when presented for acceptance has to be accepted/ dishonoured within:
    a) 24 hours
    b) 36 hours
    c) 48 hours
    d) 60 hours
    e) 26 hours
  • 20. Invoice is a:
    a) Accounting document
    b) Legal document
    c) Commercial document
    d) All of the above
    e) None of the above
  • 21. When does a person become insolvent?
    a) When he left with no property of his own
    b) When he declares an insolvent by the Court
    c) When he terminates from a job he was holding
    d) When he declares himself to be an insolvent
    e) None of the above
  • 22. When two parties make an arrangement to exchange future cash flows, it is called:
    a) Options
     b) Arbitrage
    c) Swap
    d) Futures
    e) None of the above
  • 23. Which of the following banks enjoys the reputation of being at the top in market capitalization among all the private banks?
    a) ICICI Bank
    b) HDFC Bank
    c) Axis Bank
    d) Yes Bank
    e) IDBI Bank
  • 24. "Claused Bill of Landing" is one which indicates:
    a) Remaining constant in project cost
    b) Escalation in Project Cost
    c) Decrease in Project Cost
    d) All of the above
    e) None of the above
  • Answers:
    1) c 2) a 3) a 4) b 5) c 6) a 7)c  8) d 9) b 10) c
    11) a 12) d 13) d 14) c 15) b 16) b 17) b 18) a 19) c 20) c
    21) b 22) c 23) b 24) b

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