Modi’s Yoga Day grips India, and ‘Om’ Meets ‘Ouch!’
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NEW DELHI: On a sticky morning last week, deputy commissioner Chandra Shekhar Sahukar of India's agriculture ministry (animal husbandry department, small ruminant section) found himself in a yoga class for the first time in his 57 years, miserably grasping his ankle.
In his bag he carried a photocopy of a memorandum advising senior officials to familiarize themselves with certain postures ahead of International Yoga Day this Sunday, when they will take part in a mass outdoor yoga session scheduled to begin at 7am. The session is intended to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records, the memo says, warning, "If some officials turn up without practice, there will be risk of the record claim being affected."
At the front of the room, the instructor was folding and unfolding himself like a pocketknife, and pointedly reminding members of the class that they would soon be performing under the scrutiny of "Modi-saab." When he asked the students to press their faces to their knees, Sahukar - whose professional duties, he noted later, include "a lot of sitting" - could keep silent no longer.
"It's not touching!" he exclaimed. "I can't bend anymore!"
Of the major initiatives that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced since taking office, few have generated as much static as Yoga Day, which will feature a 35-minute public demonstration of poses by more than 35,000 government employees, students and other citizens.
Though the Western world regards yoga primarily as physical exercise, Indians are more apt to see its postures and Sanskrit chants as freighted with ideological or religious meaning.
Preparations for the event set off a chorus of criticism, mostly from a handful of Muslim activist groups that say they should not be compelled to chant "Om," a sound sacred in Hinduism, or perform the sun salutation, which they say violates the monotheistic nature of Islam.
Modi's officials have hurried to address those complaints, assuring the public that participation in Yoga Day is optional and that it focuses exclusively on health, not religion. "Om" is not part of the Yoga Day protocol, nor is the sun salutation.
This debate so incensed one right-wing member of Parliament that he suggested that those displeased by the sun salutation "drown in the sea."
Behind the headlines, there is little doubt that the yoga campaign amounts to a cultural challenge, in a capital city powerfully shaped by its British and Mughal past. New Delhi's elites are mostly Anglophiles, fond of their whisky and butter chicken; its clerks spend their days in dim warrens of paper files, tensed against the next supervisory tongue-lashing. Many rank-and-file civil servants have bellies like balconies.
Shripad Naik, India's first minister overseeing yoga and traditional medicine who has helped organize this month's celebration, said it was time to clear away the vestiges of a Western lifestyle left behind by colonial powers.
"Earlier, our people used to get up before sunrise and sleep before sunset, but now our lifestyle has changed. They are going to the pub; they will go in the middle of the night, at 12 or 1, and eat chicken and many, many new dishes," said Naik, who, like the prime minister, rises before dawn and practices yoga daily. He recommends going to sleep by 9pm, gets his news from the Hindi-language press and proudly declares that he has never had an injection.
"There will be a lifestyle change," he said. "Our style will come."
Modi is not the first Indian leader to promote yoga. Indira Gandhi was so devoted to her yoga instructor, Dhirendra Brahmachari, that he accompanied her family when it traveled, and became known as the "flying guru."
In the late 1970s, Brahmachari hosted a weekly television show, and yoga was included in some school curriculums. But after Gandhi's assassination in 1984, his influence waned, and he withdrew behind the walls of his ashram.
Modi has no guru of that importance, but since the 1980s, he has consulted regularly with H.R. Nagendra, a Bangalore guru who focuses his practice on achieving samadhi, a state of profound meditative absorption. Nagendra said Modi drew from the thinking of various popular teachers, including gurus Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Jaggi Vasudev and Mata Amritanandamay.
The strains of yoga arising now are, in many cases, intermingled with Hindu nationalist thought. Sun salutations and Sanskrit chants are part of the daily, military-style drills of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the right-wing Hindu group that started Modi on his political career. The daily shakhas, as the drills are known, were designed to "create an all-Bharat national consciousness." Bharat is the Hindi name for India.
Nagendra, the nephew of a prominent RSS leader, says his techniques have sent cancer into remission in 350 cases, weaned thousands of asthma patients off medications and treated psychiatric disorders, as well as homosexuality.
"It is the extreme stress that takes place, the stressful life, the wrong lifestyle, which makes them go for homosexuality," he said. "We work to reduce the craving at the deeper levels. Once you do that, your desire to have sex or excessive sexual indulgence is gone."
At events, Modi often shares the dais with Baba Ramdev, who presides over an ayurvedic medical empire and has preached against influences he describes as foreign, among them the English language, chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Naik, the yoga minister, himself learned yoga through the RSS, and he said he hoped that the widespread practice of yoga would lower rates of violent crime.
"You see these rapes happening, all these bad habits," he said. "When he is doing something positive, the bad will be out of him."
As for government workers, Naik said, they will become more productive and less corrupt. "There will be a definite change in the way the bureaucracy functions," he said. "When they are thin, all their energy will go into producing better work. There is no need to do it forcefully, once we have put them on the right path."
Last week, that process seemed likely to be a long one. At the morning session recommended for bureaucrats, the instructor issued a series of staccato commands: "Touch the nose to the toes! Open the knees! Don't raise your buttock! Stick the buttock to the floor! Stick the buttock to the floor!" His students assumed expressions of intense concentration, apparently focused on not tipping over.
Kuldip Kumar, 38, a clerk in the administration of All-India Radio, gave a little smirk when asked why he had attended the practice session, his first in 25 years.
"There is a stick hanging over all of us," he said. "When the prime minister comes, if officials do not show up, of course it is bad for their career. The attitude is, we have to beat them with a stick to get the job done."
Others, filing out, said they had been inspired by the asceticism of Modi, who kept to a nine-day religious fast throughout a jam-packed visit to the United States last fall. ("Even Obama had to bow down when he saw Modi so energetic," one of them said.)
Shiv Visvanathan, a sociology professor, said many of Modi's most prominent initiatives as prime minister, like the national cleanup campaign known as "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," involved asking citizens to look within themselves and change their habits.
"He is looking for a new kind of cultural revolution," Visvanathan said. "I like the comic part of it - the fat cops, the bureaucrats, doing exercise. Here is India, getting fat on hamburgers and milkshakes. Modi is the Benjamin Franklin of India in many ways."
Bal Mukund Singh, the yoga instructor, ended the class by urging his students to become Hanuman, the monkey god, and then watched as they dispersed to the offices where they would spend their days handling dusty file folders and eating fritters. When they were out of sight, he checked off the characteristics he had observed, things like "big tummy, rigid body, less flexibility, stress, tension, depression, diabetes." Still, he said cheerfully, these are good days.
"They heard it on TV and they are running toward the yoga," he said. "The Prime Minister is the king. If the king does something, that is very effective. And this time, our king is doing yoga."
In his bag he carried a photocopy of a memorandum advising senior officials to familiarize themselves with certain postures ahead of International Yoga Day this Sunday, when they will take part in a mass outdoor yoga session scheduled to begin at 7am. The session is intended to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records, the memo says, warning, "If some officials turn up without practice, there will be risk of the record claim being affected."
At the front of the room, the instructor was folding and unfolding himself like a pocketknife, and pointedly reminding members of the class that they would soon be performing under the scrutiny of "Modi-saab." When he asked the students to press their faces to their knees, Sahukar - whose professional duties, he noted later, include "a lot of sitting" - could keep silent no longer.
"It's not touching!" he exclaimed. "I can't bend anymore!"
Of the major initiatives that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced since taking office, few have generated as much static as Yoga Day, which will feature a 35-minute public demonstration of poses by more than 35,000 government employees, students and other citizens.
Though the Western world regards yoga primarily as physical exercise, Indians are more apt to see its postures and Sanskrit chants as freighted with ideological or religious meaning.
Preparations for the event set off a chorus of criticism, mostly from a handful of Muslim activist groups that say they should not be compelled to chant "Om," a sound sacred in Hinduism, or perform the sun salutation, which they say violates the monotheistic nature of Islam.
Modi's officials have hurried to address those complaints, assuring the public that participation in Yoga Day is optional and that it focuses exclusively on health, not religion. "Om" is not part of the Yoga Day protocol, nor is the sun salutation.
This debate so incensed one right-wing member of Parliament that he suggested that those displeased by the sun salutation "drown in the sea."
Behind the headlines, there is little doubt that the yoga campaign amounts to a cultural challenge, in a capital city powerfully shaped by its British and Mughal past. New Delhi's elites are mostly Anglophiles, fond of their whisky and butter chicken; its clerks spend their days in dim warrens of paper files, tensed against the next supervisory tongue-lashing. Many rank-and-file civil servants have bellies like balconies.
Shripad Naik, India's first minister overseeing yoga and traditional medicine who has helped organize this month's celebration, said it was time to clear away the vestiges of a Western lifestyle left behind by colonial powers.
"Earlier, our people used to get up before sunrise and sleep before sunset, but now our lifestyle has changed. They are going to the pub; they will go in the middle of the night, at 12 or 1, and eat chicken and many, many new dishes," said Naik, who, like the prime minister, rises before dawn and practices yoga daily. He recommends going to sleep by 9pm, gets his news from the Hindi-language press and proudly declares that he has never had an injection.
"There will be a lifestyle change," he said. "Our style will come."
Modi is not the first Indian leader to promote yoga. Indira Gandhi was so devoted to her yoga instructor, Dhirendra Brahmachari, that he accompanied her family when it traveled, and became known as the "flying guru."
In the late 1970s, Brahmachari hosted a weekly television show, and yoga was included in some school curriculums. But after Gandhi's assassination in 1984, his influence waned, and he withdrew behind the walls of his ashram.
Modi has no guru of that importance, but since the 1980s, he has consulted regularly with H.R. Nagendra, a Bangalore guru who focuses his practice on achieving samadhi, a state of profound meditative absorption. Nagendra said Modi drew from the thinking of various popular teachers, including gurus Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Jaggi Vasudev and Mata Amritanandamay.
The strains of yoga arising now are, in many cases, intermingled with Hindu nationalist thought. Sun salutations and Sanskrit chants are part of the daily, military-style drills of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the right-wing Hindu group that started Modi on his political career. The daily shakhas, as the drills are known, were designed to "create an all-Bharat national consciousness." Bharat is the Hindi name for India.
Nagendra, the nephew of a prominent RSS leader, says his techniques have sent cancer into remission in 350 cases, weaned thousands of asthma patients off medications and treated psychiatric disorders, as well as homosexuality.
"It is the extreme stress that takes place, the stressful life, the wrong lifestyle, which makes them go for homosexuality," he said. "We work to reduce the craving at the deeper levels. Once you do that, your desire to have sex or excessive sexual indulgence is gone."
At events, Modi often shares the dais with Baba Ramdev, who presides over an ayurvedic medical empire and has preached against influences he describes as foreign, among them the English language, chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Naik, the yoga minister, himself learned yoga through the RSS, and he said he hoped that the widespread practice of yoga would lower rates of violent crime.
"You see these rapes happening, all these bad habits," he said. "When he is doing something positive, the bad will be out of him."
As for government workers, Naik said, they will become more productive and less corrupt. "There will be a definite change in the way the bureaucracy functions," he said. "When they are thin, all their energy will go into producing better work. There is no need to do it forcefully, once we have put them on the right path."
Last week, that process seemed likely to be a long one. At the morning session recommended for bureaucrats, the instructor issued a series of staccato commands: "Touch the nose to the toes! Open the knees! Don't raise your buttock! Stick the buttock to the floor! Stick the buttock to the floor!" His students assumed expressions of intense concentration, apparently focused on not tipping over.
Kuldip Kumar, 38, a clerk in the administration of All-India Radio, gave a little smirk when asked why he had attended the practice session, his first in 25 years.
"There is a stick hanging over all of us," he said. "When the prime minister comes, if officials do not show up, of course it is bad for their career. The attitude is, we have to beat them with a stick to get the job done."
Others, filing out, said they had been inspired by the asceticism of Modi, who kept to a nine-day religious fast throughout a jam-packed visit to the United States last fall. ("Even Obama had to bow down when he saw Modi so energetic," one of them said.)
Shiv Visvanathan, a sociology professor, said many of Modi's most prominent initiatives as prime minister, like the national cleanup campaign known as "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," involved asking citizens to look within themselves and change their habits.
"He is looking for a new kind of cultural revolution," Visvanathan said. "I like the comic part of it - the fat cops, the bureaucrats, doing exercise. Here is India, getting fat on hamburgers and milkshakes. Modi is the Benjamin Franklin of India in many ways."
Bal Mukund Singh, the yoga instructor, ended the class by urging his students to become Hanuman, the monkey god, and then watched as they dispersed to the offices where they would spend their days handling dusty file folders and eating fritters. When they were out of sight, he checked off the characteristics he had observed, things like "big tummy, rigid body, less flexibility, stress, tension, depression, diabetes." Still, he said cheerfully, these are good days.
"They heard it on TV and they are running toward the yoga," he said. "The Prime Minister is the king. If the king does something, that is very effective. And this time, our king is doing yoga."
Mount Everest shifted southwest due to Nepal earthquake
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BEIJING: The world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, moved three centimetres (1.2 inches) to the southwest because of the Nepal earthquake that devastated the country in April, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.
The 7.8-magnitude quake reversed the gradual northeasterly course of the mountain, according to a report in the state-run China Daily, citing the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.
Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimetres to the northeast over the past decade at a speed of four centimetres a year, the report said. The mountain also rose three centimetres over the same time period.
The earthquake caused an avalanche on Everest, killing 18 people and leaving its climbing base camp in ruins. It prompted authorities in both China and Nepal to cancel all climbs for this year.
The mountain straddles the border between the two countries.
Two earthquakes, on April 25 and May 12, killed more than 8,700 people in Nepal, triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes, leaving thousands without shelter just weeks ahead of monsoon rains.
The second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, did not move the mountain, China Daily said.
BEIJING: The world's tallest peak, Mount Everest, moved three centimetres (1.2 inches) to the southwest because of the Nepal earthquake that devastated the country in April, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.The 7.8-magnitude quake reversed the gradual northeasterly course of the mountain, according to a report in the state-run China Daily, citing the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.
Before the quake, Everest had moved 40 centimetres to the northeast over the past decade at a speed of four centimetres a year, the report said. The mountain also rose three centimetres over the same time period.
The earthquake caused an avalanche on Everest, killing 18 people and leaving its climbing base camp in ruins. It prompted authorities in both China and Nepal to cancel all climbs for this year.
The mountain straddles the border between the two countries.
Two earthquakes, on April 25 and May 12, killed more than 8,700 people in Nepal, triggered landslides and destroyed half a million homes, leaving thousands without shelter just weeks ahead of monsoon rains.
The second quake, which had a magnitude of 7.3, did not move the mountain, China Daily said.
Blood tests in Pune show high lead levels
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PUNE: It's not just Maggi, there are several sources around that can expose us to lead. In an eye-opening analysis, a city laboratory has found unsafe lead levels in a whopping 43% of the 309 blood samples it tested.
The tests were conducted at Golwilkar Metropolis Health Services, the city's first blood lead level testing centre, over a period of one year from June 1, 2014 to June 1, 2015. A similar analysis done by the testing centre in 2013-14 had found 30% of 123 blood samples with unsafe lead levels.
"Lead poisoning can be hard to detect. Even people who apparently seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their blood. The signs and symptoms of such poisoning usually don't surface until the lead is accumulated in a dangerously high proportion," said pathologist Awanti Golwilkar-Mehendale, adding that lead poisoning can be treated if detected at an early stage.
Puneites who gave the blood samples at Golwilkar Metropolis either did so on their own or on doctors' advice as they were suffering from chronic anaemia or neurological or physiological problems. The symptoms of lead toxicity range from decreased IQ, decreased hearing, anaemia and damage to the nervous system and kidney.
Golwilkar Metropolis is under the auspices of the Bangalore-based National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning Prevention in India (NRCLPI), which was established by the George Foundation with St John's National Institute of Health Sciences. Maharashtra has another such lead clinic at Karad.
Pathologist Manisha Patwardhan of Golwilkar Metropolis, who conducted the analysis, said the lead level in the blood should not exceed 10 micrograms/dL (mcg/dL). "In 7% cases, the level was an alarming 70 mcg/dL. Of the 309 samples tested in Pune, 13 were of children aged below six. Of these 13 children, eight had elevated (abnormal) levels of lead while a six-year-old child had more than 15 micrograms/dL which is considered critical," she said.
Major sources of lead include contaminated soil, drinking water, petrol emissions, household dust, battery recycling, silver refining, paints, pigments, printing presses, ceramic pottery glazes, cosmetics, colours (including kumkum, sindoor, spices and Holi colours), children's toys, plant foods and traditional medicines.
"Diets too high or low in protein, high in fat, low in calcium, iron and zinc can also increase lead levels in the blood," Golwilkar said.
Experts say conditions such as irritability, fatigue, weight and memory loss and abdominal pain among children is often linked to lead poisoning, with toys to blame in many cases. Though reputed firms use lead-free paint and safe plastic, there are daily-use items such as cheap plastic mugs, lead pencils, cheap colours and crayons that can be hazardous, as also cheap toys with toxic paint.
Rajas Deshpande, director of the neurology department at Ruby Hall Clinic, said, "Lead poisoning is indeed quite common, and the same in children is really threatening. Old houses (wadas) and old plumbing present the greatest risks. All our paints are not yet lead-free. Borewell water too often has lead. Then there are roadside eateries that use colours and Chinese foodstalls. Animals grown on farms for food should be tested for lead, mercury, other metals and steroids. Increasing fibre intake helps reduce lead absorption in the gut."
High levels of lead in the blood can cause inflammation as well as degeneration of the brain, Deshpande said. "Such damage is mostly permanent. Medicines can only flush out the lead from the body but there is no medicine to reverse the damage caused by lead toxicity," he added.
Senior neurologist Sudhir Kothari said that apart from people working in battery-related industries, those who take certain ayurvedic medicines also usually have elevated levels of lead in the blood. "Some ayurvedic medicines have been found to have high levels of metals including lead. Patients have symptoms of neuropathy such as tingling, numbness or weakness in the legs or hands. Some have brain-related symptoms like dullness and impaired memory," he said.
Environmental expert Amar Dhere said the pesticides sprayed on vegetables contain toxic metals like lead, mercury and arsenic. "The residue of lead and mercury are found in vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage and capsicums. The concentration of these toxic metals is 12-21% higher than the permissible limits," he said.
Lead poisoning affects over 100 million people in India, especially children, pregnant women and workers in certain occupations. A recent study by The George Foundation in seven major Indian cities had found that more than 50% children less than 12 years of age had elevated levels of lead in their blood.
The tests were conducted at Golwilkar Metropolis Health Services, the city's first blood lead level testing centre, over a period of one year from June 1, 2014 to June 1, 2015. A similar analysis done by the testing centre in 2013-14 had found 30% of 123 blood samples with unsafe lead levels.
"Lead poisoning can be hard to detect. Even people who apparently seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their blood. The signs and symptoms of such poisoning usually don't surface until the lead is accumulated in a dangerously high proportion," said pathologist Awanti Golwilkar-Mehendale, adding that lead poisoning can be treated if detected at an early stage.
Puneites who gave the blood samples at Golwilkar Metropolis either did so on their own or on doctors' advice as they were suffering from chronic anaemia or neurological or physiological problems. The symptoms of lead toxicity range from decreased IQ, decreased hearing, anaemia and damage to the nervous system and kidney.
Golwilkar Metropolis is under the auspices of the Bangalore-based National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning Prevention in India (NRCLPI), which was established by the George Foundation with St John's National Institute of Health Sciences. Maharashtra has another such lead clinic at Karad.
Pathologist Manisha Patwardhan of Golwilkar Metropolis, who conducted the analysis, said the lead level in the blood should not exceed 10 micrograms/dL (mcg/dL). "In 7% cases, the level was an alarming 70 mcg/dL. Of the 309 samples tested in Pune, 13 were of children aged below six. Of these 13 children, eight had elevated (abnormal) levels of lead while a six-year-old child had more than 15 micrograms/dL which is considered critical," she said.
Major sources of lead include contaminated soil, drinking water, petrol emissions, household dust, battery recycling, silver refining, paints, pigments, printing presses, ceramic pottery glazes, cosmetics, colours (including kumkum, sindoor, spices and Holi colours), children's toys, plant foods and traditional medicines.
"Diets too high or low in protein, high in fat, low in calcium, iron and zinc can also increase lead levels in the blood," Golwilkar said.
Experts say conditions such as irritability, fatigue, weight and memory loss and abdominal pain among children is often linked to lead poisoning, with toys to blame in many cases. Though reputed firms use lead-free paint and safe plastic, there are daily-use items such as cheap plastic mugs, lead pencils, cheap colours and crayons that can be hazardous, as also cheap toys with toxic paint.
Rajas Deshpande, director of the neurology department at Ruby Hall Clinic, said, "Lead poisoning is indeed quite common, and the same in children is really threatening. Old houses (wadas) and old plumbing present the greatest risks. All our paints are not yet lead-free. Borewell water too often has lead. Then there are roadside eateries that use colours and Chinese foodstalls. Animals grown on farms for food should be tested for lead, mercury, other metals and steroids. Increasing fibre intake helps reduce lead absorption in the gut."
High levels of lead in the blood can cause inflammation as well as degeneration of the brain, Deshpande said. "Such damage is mostly permanent. Medicines can only flush out the lead from the body but there is no medicine to reverse the damage caused by lead toxicity," he added.
Senior neurologist Sudhir Kothari said that apart from people working in battery-related industries, those who take certain ayurvedic medicines also usually have elevated levels of lead in the blood. "Some ayurvedic medicines have been found to have high levels of metals including lead. Patients have symptoms of neuropathy such as tingling, numbness or weakness in the legs or hands. Some have brain-related symptoms like dullness and impaired memory," he said.
Environmental expert Amar Dhere said the pesticides sprayed on vegetables contain toxic metals like lead, mercury and arsenic. "The residue of lead and mercury are found in vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage and capsicums. The concentration of these toxic metals is 12-21% higher than the permissible limits," he said.
Lead poisoning affects over 100 million people in India, especially children, pregnant women and workers in certain occupations. A recent study by The George Foundation in seven major Indian cities had found that more than 50% children less than 12 years of age had elevated levels of lead in their blood.
Surat diamantaires to discard ‘chitthi’ system
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SURAT: It's 5pm and Naresh Thummar, owner of a diamond polishing unit in Katargam, has struck a deal in the trading hub of Mahidharpura to sell his polished gems for Rs 3 crore. The trader hands him a small paper chit mentioning the size, carat, colour, purity, and, most importantly, the date by which Thummar will get his payment.
The paper chits, which are otherwise thrown into dustbins, have been an important trade instrument in the Rs 90,000 crore diamond industry for over six decades now. But, this 'chitthi system' that is based on mutual trust is set to be banished now.
Following an increase in defaults and cheating cases, the small and medium diamond unit owners are readying to embrace a more reliable system of 'jhangad', a kind of promissory note to arm fraud victims with stronger evidence for legal action. Since September 2014, defaults at least to the tune of Rs 500 crore have been reported in Surat.
Vallabh Borda, a diamantaire in Katargam, has stopped dealing through chithis after losing Rs 50 lakh to a trader. This trader duped 24 diamantaires of Rs 50 crore in January. "I prefer jhangad now. I face a lot of difficulties as many traders in the markets still follow the chit system. I don't want to lose money, especially when the market condition is not good these days," said Borda.
Dinesh Navadia, president of Surat Diamond Association (SDA), said, "We have already launched a campaign to persuade traders and manufacturers to adopt this fool-proof system. Some have switched over but many are expected to adopt in the next few months." Navadia said that all the units will adopt the new system over the next one year.
Arvind Pokia, a diamond unit owner in Varachha, said, "I have sought the help of SDA to guide me on using the jhangad system. My turnover is just Rs 150 crore and I can't afford to lose my diamonds and money to fly-by-night operators."
So precious are the paper chits that diamond unit owners keep them in 15 iron vaults in Varachha and Mahidharpura markets along with the gems. These markets witness diamond trade of nearly Rs 400 crore daily - all done through the chitthis.
"In the 1960s, the diamond industry evolved due to closely knit families of diamond polishers, traders and importers. As most of them knew each other, they traded only through chitthis. The tradition still continues," said Navadia.
None of the technological advances in the last six decades have replaced this system of payment that works on sheer faith.
SURAT: It's 5pm and Naresh Thummar, owner of a diamond polishing unit in Katargam, has struck a deal in the trading hub of Mahidharpura to sell his polished gems for Rs 3 crore. The trader hands him a small paper chit mentioning the size, carat, colour, purity, and, most importantly, the date by which Thummar will get his payment. The paper chits, which are otherwise thrown into dustbins, have been an important trade instrument in the Rs 90,000 crore diamond industry for over six decades now. But, this 'chitthi system' that is based on mutual trust is set to be banished now.
Following an increase in defaults and cheating cases, the small and medium diamond unit owners are readying to embrace a more reliable system of 'jhangad', a kind of promissory note to arm fraud victims with stronger evidence for legal action. Since September 2014, defaults at least to the tune of Rs 500 crore have been reported in Surat.
Vallabh Borda, a diamantaire in Katargam, has stopped dealing through chithis after losing Rs 50 lakh to a trader. This trader duped 24 diamantaires of Rs 50 crore in January. "I prefer jhangad now. I face a lot of difficulties as many traders in the markets still follow the chit system. I don't want to lose money, especially when the market condition is not good these days," said Borda.
Dinesh Navadia, president of Surat Diamond Association (SDA), said, "We have already launched a campaign to persuade traders and manufacturers to adopt this fool-proof system. Some have switched over but many are expected to adopt in the next few months." Navadia said that all the units will adopt the new system over the next one year.
Arvind Pokia, a diamond unit owner in Varachha, said, "I have sought the help of SDA to guide me on using the jhangad system. My turnover is just Rs 150 crore and I can't afford to lose my diamonds and money to fly-by-night operators."
So precious are the paper chits that diamond unit owners keep them in 15 iron vaults in Varachha and Mahidharpura markets along with the gems. These markets witness diamond trade of nearly Rs 400 crore daily - all done through the chitthis.
"In the 1960s, the diamond industry evolved due to closely knit families of diamond polishers, traders and importers. As most of them knew each other, they traded only through chitthis. The tradition still continues," said Navadia.
None of the technological advances in the last six decades have replaced this system of payment that works on sheer faith.
Sushma Swaraj-Lalit Modi row: Congress demands SC-monitored SIT probe; BJP terms it a 'non-issue'
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NEW DELHI: The war of words between Congress and BJP continued on Tuesday over the issue of Sushma Swaraj's help to former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
While Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of protecting Lalit Modi and demanded that the Supreme Court should set up a special investigation team to probe the issue, the BJP said the the opposition party was "frustrated" and had shown its "complete bankruptcy" by using a "non-issue" to target external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that "Modi ministers are hiding facts and they all are protecting a wanted offender".
"What Sushma Swaraj did was unwarranted. Moreover, the row is not about Lalit Modi's travel papers but about protection being given to him," Anand Sharma said.
"We have to ask PM Modi directly, why is he quiet? Can there be different set of rules when you talk of probity," Anand Sharma asked.
"Lalit Modi has declared himself bankrupt but he is holidaying despite bankruptcy," Sharma said.
Sharma said that we also want to know "what have the ED and other government agencies done since 26 May 2014 to apprehend Lalit Modi".
"Not only the external affairs minister but the entire government was keen to help Lalit Modi to get his passport," Anand Sharma added.
'Frustrated' Cong raising a 'non-issue': BJP
"They (Congress) are bereft of ideas. They want to make a non-issue an issue which will never become an issue... it shows the complete bankruptcy of Congress," Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at the Chennai airport.
"Congress has lost the plot and is frustrated because people of the country have reposed their faith in Modi government and Congress cannot digest this," Javadekar said.
Referring to Congress releasing photos showing Lalit Modi with Swaraj besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the Union environment minister said the picture was five years old when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat and also the head of the state cricket association with Shah being his deputy in the board.
Terming as "baseless" the charges against Swaraj, he said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have been clicked "practically with all coal scam accused, 2G (spectrum allocation) scam accused and Aircel-Maxis scam accused," besides those accused of CWG scam.
Seeking to turn the tables on Congress, Javadekar said that even its leaders had been spotted with Lalit Modi.
"We have won the faith of poor people. Congress cannot digest this. So they are levelling these charges. They are baseless charges. After Sushmaji's clarification, there is no issue at all," he said.
NEW DELHI: The war of words between Congress and BJP continued on Tuesday over the issue of Sushma Swaraj's help to former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. While Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of protecting Lalit Modi and demanded that the Supreme Court should set up a special investigation team to probe the issue, the BJP said the the opposition party was "frustrated" and had shown its "complete bankruptcy" by using a "non-issue" to target external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that "Modi ministers are hiding facts and they all are protecting a wanted offender".
"What Sushma Swaraj did was unwarranted. Moreover, the row is not about Lalit Modi's travel papers but about protection being given to him," Anand Sharma said.
"We have to ask PM Modi directly, why is he quiet? Can there be different set of rules when you talk of probity," Anand Sharma asked.
"Lalit Modi has declared himself bankrupt but he is holidaying despite bankruptcy," Sharma said.
Sharma said that we also want to know "what have the ED and other government agencies done since 26 May 2014 to apprehend Lalit Modi".
"Not only the external affairs minister but the entire government was keen to help Lalit Modi to get his passport," Anand Sharma added.
'Frustrated' Cong raising a 'non-issue': BJP
"They (Congress) are bereft of ideas. They want to make a non-issue an issue which will never become an issue... it shows the complete bankruptcy of Congress," Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at the Chennai airport.
"Congress has lost the plot and is frustrated because people of the country have reposed their faith in Modi government and Congress cannot digest this," Javadekar said.
Referring to Congress releasing photos showing Lalit Modi with Swaraj besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, the Union environment minister said the picture was five years old when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat and also the head of the state cricket association with Shah being his deputy in the board.
Terming as "baseless" the charges against Swaraj, he said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have been clicked "practically with all coal scam accused, 2G (spectrum allocation) scam accused and Aircel-Maxis scam accused," besides those accused of CWG scam.
Seeking to turn the tables on Congress, Javadekar said that even its leaders had been spotted with Lalit Modi.
"We have won the faith of poor people. Congress cannot digest this. So they are levelling these charges. They are baseless charges. After Sushmaji's clarification, there is no issue at all," he said.
ACB raids Chaggan Bhujbal's office
-
MUMBAI: The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday carried searches of offices and residences of former deputy chief minister Chaggan Bhujbal in Mumbai in connection with the two offences registered by the ACB last month.
The ACB sources said that three teams are carrying searches of Bhujbal and his residence in Mazgaon office and seized property documents of MET at Bandra properties at Santacruz ,worli, Dadar, Mahim,mazgaon Thane, Belapur in. navi Mumbai , flats and offices and bungalows in pune, bungalows in Lonavala and Nashik.
Director general of police (ACB) Praveen Dixit confirmed the raids saying that they will update the media late in the evening.
On Sunday the ACB had raided residences of nine public work department officials including information commissioner Deepak Deshpande in this connection and had seized huge assets and properties.
This is the first time that the government had given a go ahead signal for registering offences and carrying searches of such influential officials and senior NCP leader Bhujbal.
Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau, had registered an FIR against former public works department minister and NCP strongman Chaggan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj Bhujbal, MLA and nephew former MP Sameer Bhujbal, and 14 others for alleged irregularities in awarding the project for construction of New Delhi's new Maharashtra Sadan, the state guest house.
The SIT was constituted on December 18 last year on the directions of the high court following a PIL that was filed last year in the high court. An open inquiry was being conducted against Mr Bhujbal for irregularities in the allotment of land in Kalina to Indiabulls for construction of a library. In this case, the ACB is also probing if Indiabulls sponsored a show organised by him.
The other accused in the case are identified as Arun Devdhar, Devdatt Marathe, Bipin Sankhe, Krishna Chamankar, Pranita Chamankar, Tanveer Shaikh, Sanjay Joshi, Manik Shah, Deepak Deshpande, Anilkumar Gaikwad, Pravin Chamankar, Prasanna Chamankar, Iram Shaikh and Gita Joshi.
MUMBAI: The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday carried searches of offices and residences of former deputy chief minister Chaggan Bhujbal in Mumbai in connection with the two offences registered by the ACB last month. The ACB sources said that three teams are carrying searches of Bhujbal and his residence in Mazgaon office and seized property documents of MET at Bandra properties at Santacruz ,worli, Dadar, Mahim,mazgaon Thane, Belapur in. navi Mumbai , flats and offices and bungalows in pune, bungalows in Lonavala and Nashik.
Director general of police (ACB) Praveen Dixit confirmed the raids saying that they will update the media late in the evening.
On Sunday the ACB had raided residences of nine public work department officials including information commissioner Deepak Deshpande in this connection and had seized huge assets and properties.
This is the first time that the government had given a go ahead signal for registering offences and carrying searches of such influential officials and senior NCP leader Bhujbal.
Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau, had registered an FIR against former public works department minister and NCP strongman Chaggan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj Bhujbal, MLA and nephew former MP Sameer Bhujbal, and 14 others for alleged irregularities in awarding the project for construction of New Delhi's new Maharashtra Sadan, the state guest house.
The SIT was constituted on December 18 last year on the directions of the high court following a PIL that was filed last year in the high court. An open inquiry was being conducted against Mr Bhujbal for irregularities in the allotment of land in Kalina to Indiabulls for construction of a library. In this case, the ACB is also probing if Indiabulls sponsored a show organised by him.
The other accused in the case are identified as Arun Devdhar, Devdatt Marathe, Bipin Sankhe, Krishna Chamankar, Pranita Chamankar, Tanveer Shaikh, Sanjay Joshi, Manik Shah, Deepak Deshpande, Anilkumar Gaikwad, Pravin Chamankar, Prasanna Chamankar, Iram Shaikh and Gita Joshi.
Islamabad's arms not for decoration: Pakistan defence minister
-
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif has said that if forced into war by India, Islamabad will respond in a befitting manner, adding that "our arms are not meant for decoration".
"If need be, we will use them against India," he said.
While speaking at an event in Islamabad on Monday, the defence minister severely criticized a recent series of hostile statements from Indian politicians, Dawn online reported.
"By issuing provocative statements, Indian politicians want to distract Pakistan's attention from the war on terror," he said, adding that India had been "promoting terrorism in Pakistan."
The defence minister said that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had placed the recent "threatening statements" from India before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent meeting between the two in Tajikistan.
The Senate last week passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning recent provocative statements made by the top Indian leadership, including the threat of attacks on Pakistani territory.
The resolution had said that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be violated by India under any pretext and Pakistan's armed forces are capable of issuing a befitting response to any such incursion.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif has said that if forced into war by India, Islamabad will respond in a befitting manner, adding that "our arms are not meant for decoration"."If need be, we will use them against India," he said.
While speaking at an event in Islamabad on Monday, the defence minister severely criticized a recent series of hostile statements from Indian politicians, Dawn online reported.
"By issuing provocative statements, Indian politicians want to distract Pakistan's attention from the war on terror," he said, adding that India had been "promoting terrorism in Pakistan."
The defence minister said that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had placed the recent "threatening statements" from India before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent meeting between the two in Tajikistan.
The Senate last week passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning recent provocative statements made by the top Indian leadership, including the threat of attacks on Pakistani territory.
The resolution had said that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be violated by India under any pretext and Pakistan's armed forces are capable of issuing a befitting response to any such incursion.
Honda recalls 1.39 million cars with passenger-side Takata air bags
-
DETROIT: Honda Motor Co Ltd on Monday said it will recall 1.39 million Accord and Civic model sedans with potentially faulty front passenger-side air bags made by Japan's Takata Corp.
This will bring to about 2.3 million the number of Accord and Civic sedans with Takata's front passenger-side air bags that have been recalled, the automaker said.
Models affected by the Monday announcement include 2001 to 2005 Civic sedans and 2003 to 2007 Accord sedans sold in the United States.
The Accord and Civic model sedans in this latest recall have already been recalled previously for front driver-side air bags, a Honda spokesman said.
The total number of Honda vehicles recalled, however, did not increase from about 6.3 million as a result of Monday's announcement.
The recall for front driver-side air bags had previously been expanded beyond a regional recall involving states with high humidity. On Monday, the passenger-side air bag recall was expanded to a national scope, Honda said.
As of last week, Honda had replaced 1.99 million inflators in its recalled vehicles. The total number of vehicles in which these inflators were installed was not immediately available.
Some Takata air bags have opened with too much force, sending shrapnel into the vehicle. U.S. safety officials, as well as Takata officials, have said that exposure to humidity over time has been a factor in the erroneous air bag deployments.
Seven people have been killed in Honda cars with Takata air bags, six of them in the United States.
The crash in the most recently reported death, of a 22-year-old woman in Louisiana, occurred two days before a recall notice arrived in the mail from Honda, according to Kenneth St. Pe, the attorney for the woman's family.
Honda said its dealers have been replacing air bag inflators at a rate of 50,000 per week and that the pace will accelerate.
This will bring to about 2.3 million the number of Accord and Civic sedans with Takata's front passenger-side air bags that have been recalled, the automaker said.Models affected by the Monday announcement include 2001 to 2005 Civic sedans and 2003 to 2007 Accord sedans sold in the United States.
The Accord and Civic model sedans in this latest recall have already been recalled previously for front driver-side air bags, a Honda spokesman said.
The total number of Honda vehicles recalled, however, did not increase from about 6.3 million as a result of Monday's announcement.
The recall for front driver-side air bags had previously been expanded beyond a regional recall involving states with high humidity. On Monday, the passenger-side air bag recall was expanded to a national scope, Honda said.
As of last week, Honda had replaced 1.99 million inflators in its recalled vehicles. The total number of vehicles in which these inflators were installed was not immediately available.
Some Takata air bags have opened with too much force, sending shrapnel into the vehicle. U.S. safety officials, as well as Takata officials, have said that exposure to humidity over time has been a factor in the erroneous air bag deployments.
Seven people have been killed in Honda cars with Takata air bags, six of them in the United States.
The crash in the most recently reported death, of a 22-year-old woman in Louisiana, occurred two days before a recall notice arrived in the mail from Honda, according to Kenneth St. Pe, the attorney for the woman's family.
Honda said its dealers have been replacing air bag inflators at a rate of 50,000 per week and that the pace will accelerate.
SBI PROBATIONARY OFFICERS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS
-
1. The Housing Loans also come under Priority Sector Lending (PSL). Why the housing also include in the Priority sector lending?
1) it boosts cement industry
2) it boosts electronics and electrical industry.
3) it provides employment to unorganized labour.
4) it is one of the basic needs of human being.
5) All of the above are the reasons to include housing loan under PSL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. The housing loans consist of....
1) for the construction of a house.
2) repair (maintenance) and / or renewal of a house.
3) clearance of slums and rehabilitation of disaster-stricken masses to temporary refuge shelters
4) 1 & 2 only
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. On 23 April 2015, RBI revamps priority sector lending norms in the case of home loans. As per these norms loans of up to Rs.28 lakh to individuals in metropolitan centres willqualify as Priority Sector Lending, provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit is....
1) Rs.50 lakh
2) Rs.30 lakh
3) Rs.55 lakh
4) Rs.45 lakh
5) Rs.35 lakh
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and insurance firms will deploy ...... of their corpus towards home loans of up to Rs.25 lakh for low-cost housing.
1) 7%
2) 10%
3) 18%
4) 20%
5) 15%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. India's largest mortgage lender is ...
1) SBI
2) Axis Bank
3) Corporation Bank
4) HDFC
5) ICICI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. On 1 June 2015, 'Her Ghar Her Car' scheme launched by which bank, having an objective of reaching out to women in the country and empowering them to take decisions that can change the course of their family and society at large?
1) RBI
2) SBH
3) NHB
4) IDBI
5) SBI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. HUDCO (Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited) was established as a premier techno-financing company set up in 1970 by the Government of India to accelerate the pace of housing and urban development in the country. HUDCO has corporate office located at .....
1) Mumbai
2) Chennai
3) New Delhi
4) Calcutta
5) Hyderabad
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Present Chairman of HUDCO is ....
1) Dr.M. Ravikanth
2) Mohammad Mustafa
3) M. S. Raghavan
4) Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
5) Kshatrapati Shivaji
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. EWS rural housing scheme for the land owning category Village abadi scheme including repairs offered by HUDCO. EWS stands for?
1) Educationally Weaker Sections
2) Economically Women Sections
3) Empowerment Weaker Sections
4) Entertainment Weaker Sections
5) Economically Weaker Sections
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. HUDCO has been striving to make 'Housing for All' a reality. It initiated RTO scheme to see that even a common man should have a house. What is the expansion of RTO?
1) Right To Own
2) Ring To Own
3) Rent To Own
4) Rough To Own
5) None of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs is .......
1) M. Venkaiah Naidu
2) Thaawar Chand Gehlot
3) Jual Oram
4) Chaudhary Birender Singh
5) Narendra Singh Toma
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Loan given for undertaking repairs, renovations and / or up gradation is called .....
1) Home Damage Loan
2) Home Improvement Loan
3) Home Custody Loan
4) Home Consumption Loan
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Important statements of Bridge Loan in Home Loan given. Pick the wrong statement.
1) Bridge Loan also available in Home Loans.
2) It is designed for people who wish to sell the existing home and purchase another.
3) It helps finance the new home, until a buyer is found for the old home.
4) It is not available in Metro cities.
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Balance Transfer Loan is the familiar term used in Bank Loans. How it helps the home loan buyer?
1) It transfer the loan of one person to another person by making personal contract.
2) This loan helps to clear an existing home loan by availing a new loan from another lender.
3) It helps the borrower to transfer his loan to his neighbours.
4) It transfers the loan from one bank to RBI. The customer pays rate of interest to RBI.
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. National Housing Bank (NHB) was set up on 9th July .......
1) 2005
2) 1994
3) 1991
4) 1988
5) 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. For tracking prices of residential properties in India, who launched the index by name 'RESIDEX'?
1) NHB
2) NABARD
3) RBI
4) Syndicate Bank
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. On 2 March 2015, RBI included which filed loans as part of Priority Sector Lending?
1) sanitation
2) health care
3) drinking water
4) renewable energy
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. On 25 February 2015, RBI said ....... given to account holders under Jan Dhan Yozana come under Priority sector holding.
1) zero balance facility
2) free online facility
3) free passbook facility
4) free SMS facility
5) overdraft facility
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. RBI on 5 March 2015 eased the norms for home loans for up to ........ by allowing banks to include stamp duty and registration charges to the cost of a unit?
1) Rs.15 lakh
2) Rs.5 lakh
3) Rs.10 lakh
4) Rs.20 lakh
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Full form of NECS ........
1) National Electronic Clearing Service
2) National Electrical Clearing Service
3) National Electronic Close Service
4) Ninth Electronic Clearing Service
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. AEBAS stands for..?
1) Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System
2) Attendance Enabled Biometric Apply System
3) Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Accuracy System
4) Aadhaar End Biometric Attendance System
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Pick the wrong abbreviation used in Banking and Financial Sectors.
1) ADR - American Donation Receipts
2) CCIL - Clearing Corporation of India Ltd
3) CRISIL - Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd
4) CBLO - Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation
5) CPI - Consumer Price Index
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. First state implemented ABPS [Aadhaar Based Payment System] in country on 30 May 2015?
1) Himachal Pradesh
2) Haryana
3) Jammu and Kashmir
4) Odisha
5) Bihar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. On 28 May 2015, a Mega Food Park was inaugurated at Nalbari in .......
1) Meghalaya
2) Manipur
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) AP
5) Assam
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. 4th North East Youth Festival has celebrated in ......
1) Manipur
2) Meghalaya
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Assam
5) Tripura
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. On 22 May 2015, which state issued an ordinance for formation of a Commission for Forward Communities?
1) AP
2) Telangana
3) MP
4) Delhi
5) Kerala
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27. On 28 May 2015, who was appointed as DRDO chief?
1) Arup Raha
2) Ajith Doval
3) Dalbir Singh Suhag
4) R.K. Dhowan
5) S. Christopher
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28. Who was appointed as the scientific advisor to defence minister on 28 May 2015?
1) Manohar Parikar
2) Rao Inderjit Singh
3) G. Sateesh Reddy
4) Ajith Doval
5) Pranab Mukharjee
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29. 68th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) at ..... between 18-27 May 2015.
1) Geneva
2) Rome
3) New York
4) Canberra
5) London
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30. Which nation assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA)?
1) Canada
2) Thailand
3) India
4) China
5) South Africa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31. Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare is ........
1) Jagat Prakash Nadda
2) Harshavardhan
3) Maneka Gandhi
4) Rajnath Singh
5) Arun Jaitley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32. Who is the chief security advisor to PM?
1) S.Rama dorai
2) C.N.R.Rao
3) Ajith Doval
4) Aravind Subramaniam
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33. Alok Kumar and Jitendra Kumar are appointed as the two advisors of ......
1) Niti Aayog
2) FM
3) Ministry of Defence
4) RBI
5) CBDT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34. On 1 June 2015, the Government has proposed to soon open 1000 more stores under the 'Jan Aushadhi Scheme'. The aim of the scheme is .......
1) to provide water to agriculture land
2) to provide skill training to rural youth
3) to provide pension to workers in unorganized sector
4) to provide life insurance to all at the nominal premium
5) to make available quality generic medicines at affordable prices through these special outlets
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the upgraded steel plant of IISCO (Indian Iron & Steel Company) that has the country’s largest blast furnace on 10 May 2015 at ........... in West Bengal?
1) Burnapur
2) Durgapur
3) Roorkela
4) Bhilai
5) Bokoro
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36. National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a penalty of nearly Rs.140 crore on two builders constructing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Bellandur wetlands. Where is the Bellandur wetlands?
1) Maharashtra
2) Kerala
3) Tripura
4) Karnataka
5) Tamil nadu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37. Lakes list given. Locate the wrong option.
1) Kolleru Lake - AP
2) Dal Lake - Haryana
3) Ulsoor or Halasuru - Karnataka
4) Ashtamudi Lake - Kerala
5) Sambhar Salt Lake - Rajasthan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
38. In which Navy exercise, the two Indian naval ships, INS Satpura and INS Kamorta, have participated in the bilateral naval exercise with the Singapore Navy
1) GARUDA
2) INDRA
3) SURYA KIRAN
4) SIMBEX
5) MAITHRI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39. Union government on 15 May 2015 launched ....... . Award Scheme. The scheme is intended to encourage and incentivize Public Health Facilities (PHFs) in the country for maintaining the facilities clean and hygienic.
1) Kayakalp
2) Pravesthi
3) Shubratha
4) Manovikas
5) Parisuddh
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40. On 31 May 2015, Deepika Kumari won bronze in Archery World Cup. The event held at Antalya in .......
1) USA
2) Saudi
3) India
4) Afghanistan
5) Turkey
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANSWERS:
1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 5-4, 6-5, 7-3, 8-1, 9-5, 10-3
11-1, 12-2, 13-4, 14-2, 15-4, 16-1, 17-5, 18-5, 19-3, 20-1
21-1, 22-1, 23-1, 24-5, 25-4, 26-5, 27-5, 28-3, 29-1, 30-3
31-1, 32-3, 33-1, 34-5, 35-1, 36-4, 37-2, 38-4, 39-1, 40-5.
1) it boosts cement industry
2) it boosts electronics and electrical industry.
3) it provides employment to unorganized labour.
4) it is one of the basic needs of human being.
5) All of the above are the reasons to include housing loan under PSL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. The housing loans consist of....
1) for the construction of a house.
2) repair (maintenance) and / or renewal of a house.
3) clearance of slums and rehabilitation of disaster-stricken masses to temporary refuge shelters
4) 1 & 2 only
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. On 23 April 2015, RBI revamps priority sector lending norms in the case of home loans. As per these norms loans of up to Rs.28 lakh to individuals in metropolitan centres willqualify as Priority Sector Lending, provided the overall cost of the dwelling unit is....
1) Rs.50 lakh
2) Rs.30 lakh
3) Rs.55 lakh
4) Rs.45 lakh
5) Rs.35 lakh
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) and insurance firms will deploy ...... of their corpus towards home loans of up to Rs.25 lakh for low-cost housing.
1) 7%
2) 10%
3) 18%
4) 20%
5) 15%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. India's largest mortgage lender is ...
1) SBI
2) Axis Bank
3) Corporation Bank
4) HDFC
5) ICICI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. On 1 June 2015, 'Her Ghar Her Car' scheme launched by which bank, having an objective of reaching out to women in the country and empowering them to take decisions that can change the course of their family and society at large?
1) RBI
2) SBH
3) NHB
4) IDBI
5) SBI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. HUDCO (Housing & Urban Development Corporation Limited) was established as a premier techno-financing company set up in 1970 by the Government of India to accelerate the pace of housing and urban development in the country. HUDCO has corporate office located at .....
1) Mumbai
2) Chennai
3) New Delhi
4) Calcutta
5) Hyderabad
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Present Chairman of HUDCO is ....
1) Dr.M. Ravikanth
2) Mohammad Mustafa
3) M. S. Raghavan
4) Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
5) Kshatrapati Shivaji
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. EWS rural housing scheme for the land owning category Village abadi scheme including repairs offered by HUDCO. EWS stands for?
1) Educationally Weaker Sections
2) Economically Women Sections
3) Empowerment Weaker Sections
4) Entertainment Weaker Sections
5) Economically Weaker Sections
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. HUDCO has been striving to make 'Housing for All' a reality. It initiated RTO scheme to see that even a common man should have a house. What is the expansion of RTO?
1) Right To Own
2) Ring To Own
3) Rent To Own
4) Rough To Own
5) None of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs is .......
1) M. Venkaiah Naidu
2) Thaawar Chand Gehlot
3) Jual Oram
4) Chaudhary Birender Singh
5) Narendra Singh Toma
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Loan given for undertaking repairs, renovations and / or up gradation is called .....
1) Home Damage Loan
2) Home Improvement Loan
3) Home Custody Loan
4) Home Consumption Loan
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Important statements of Bridge Loan in Home Loan given. Pick the wrong statement.
1) Bridge Loan also available in Home Loans.
2) It is designed for people who wish to sell the existing home and purchase another.
3) It helps finance the new home, until a buyer is found for the old home.
4) It is not available in Metro cities.
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Balance Transfer Loan is the familiar term used in Bank Loans. How it helps the home loan buyer?
1) It transfer the loan of one person to another person by making personal contract.
2) This loan helps to clear an existing home loan by availing a new loan from another lender.
3) It helps the borrower to transfer his loan to his neighbours.
4) It transfers the loan from one bank to RBI. The customer pays rate of interest to RBI.
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. National Housing Bank (NHB) was set up on 9th July .......
1) 2005
2) 1994
3) 1991
4) 1988
5) 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. For tracking prices of residential properties in India, who launched the index by name 'RESIDEX'?
1) NHB
2) NABARD
3) RBI
4) Syndicate Bank
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. On 2 March 2015, RBI included which filed loans as part of Priority Sector Lending?
1) sanitation
2) health care
3) drinking water
4) renewable energy
5) All of above
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. On 25 February 2015, RBI said ....... given to account holders under Jan Dhan Yozana come under Priority sector holding.
1) zero balance facility
2) free online facility
3) free passbook facility
4) free SMS facility
5) overdraft facility
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. RBI on 5 March 2015 eased the norms for home loans for up to ........ by allowing banks to include stamp duty and registration charges to the cost of a unit?
1) Rs.15 lakh
2) Rs.5 lakh
3) Rs.10 lakh
4) Rs.20 lakh
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Full form of NECS ........
1) National Electronic Clearing Service
2) National Electrical Clearing Service
3) National Electronic Close Service
4) Ninth Electronic Clearing Service
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. AEBAS stands for..?
1) Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System
2) Attendance Enabled Biometric Apply System
3) Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Accuracy System
4) Aadhaar End Biometric Attendance System
5) None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Pick the wrong abbreviation used in Banking and Financial Sectors.
1) ADR - American Donation Receipts
2) CCIL - Clearing Corporation of India Ltd
3) CRISIL - Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd
4) CBLO - Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation
5) CPI - Consumer Price Index
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. First state implemented ABPS [Aadhaar Based Payment System] in country on 30 May 2015?
1) Himachal Pradesh
2) Haryana
3) Jammu and Kashmir
4) Odisha
5) Bihar
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. On 28 May 2015, a Mega Food Park was inaugurated at Nalbari in .......
1) Meghalaya
2) Manipur
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) AP
5) Assam
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. 4th North East Youth Festival has celebrated in ......
1) Manipur
2) Meghalaya
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Assam
5) Tripura
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26. On 22 May 2015, which state issued an ordinance for formation of a Commission for Forward Communities?
1) AP
2) Telangana
3) MP
4) Delhi
5) Kerala
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27. On 28 May 2015, who was appointed as DRDO chief?
1) Arup Raha
2) Ajith Doval
3) Dalbir Singh Suhag
4) R.K. Dhowan
5) S. Christopher
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28. Who was appointed as the scientific advisor to defence minister on 28 May 2015?
1) Manohar Parikar
2) Rao Inderjit Singh
3) G. Sateesh Reddy
4) Ajith Doval
5) Pranab Mukharjee
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29. 68th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) at ..... between 18-27 May 2015.
1) Geneva
2) Rome
3) New York
4) Canberra
5) London
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30. Which nation assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA)?
1) Canada
2) Thailand
3) India
4) China
5) South Africa
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31. Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare is ........
1) Jagat Prakash Nadda
2) Harshavardhan
3) Maneka Gandhi
4) Rajnath Singh
5) Arun Jaitley
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32. Who is the chief security advisor to PM?
1) S.Rama dorai
2) C.N.R.Rao
3) Ajith Doval
4) Aravind Subramaniam
5) None
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33. Alok Kumar and Jitendra Kumar are appointed as the two advisors of ......
1) Niti Aayog
2) FM
3) Ministry of Defence
4) RBI
5) CBDT
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34. On 1 June 2015, the Government has proposed to soon open 1000 more stores under the 'Jan Aushadhi Scheme'. The aim of the scheme is .......
1) to provide water to agriculture land
2) to provide skill training to rural youth
3) to provide pension to workers in unorganized sector
4) to provide life insurance to all at the nominal premium
5) to make available quality generic medicines at affordable prices through these special outlets
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35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the upgraded steel plant of IISCO (Indian Iron & Steel Company) that has the country’s largest blast furnace on 10 May 2015 at ........... in West Bengal?
1) Burnapur
2) Durgapur
3) Roorkela
4) Bhilai
5) Bokoro
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36. National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a penalty of nearly Rs.140 crore on two builders constructing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Bellandur wetlands. Where is the Bellandur wetlands?
1) Maharashtra
2) Kerala
3) Tripura
4) Karnataka
5) Tamil nadu
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37. Lakes list given. Locate the wrong option.
1) Kolleru Lake - AP
2) Dal Lake - Haryana
3) Ulsoor or Halasuru - Karnataka
4) Ashtamudi Lake - Kerala
5) Sambhar Salt Lake - Rajasthan
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38. In which Navy exercise, the two Indian naval ships, INS Satpura and INS Kamorta, have participated in the bilateral naval exercise with the Singapore Navy
1) GARUDA
2) INDRA
3) SURYA KIRAN
4) SIMBEX
5) MAITHRI
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39. Union government on 15 May 2015 launched ....... . Award Scheme. The scheme is intended to encourage and incentivize Public Health Facilities (PHFs) in the country for maintaining the facilities clean and hygienic.
1) Kayakalp
2) Pravesthi
3) Shubratha
4) Manovikas
5) Parisuddh
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40. On 31 May 2015, Deepika Kumari won bronze in Archery World Cup. The event held at Antalya in .......
1) USA
2) Saudi
3) India
4) Afghanistan
5) Turkey
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ANSWERS:
1-5, 2-5, 3-5, 4-5, 5-4, 6-5, 7-3, 8-1, 9-5, 10-3
11-1, 12-2, 13-4, 14-2, 15-4, 16-1, 17-5, 18-5, 19-3, 20-1
21-1, 22-1, 23-1, 24-5, 25-4, 26-5, 27-5, 28-3, 29-1, 30-3
31-1, 32-3, 33-1, 34-5, 35-1, 36-4, 37-2, 38-4, 39-1, 40-5.
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