General Affairs
To Choke Terror Funding, Case Registered Against Hafiz Saeed, Kashmiri Separatists
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Weeks after the National Investigation Agency carried out raids targetting Kashmiri separatist leaders, the Enforcement Directorate too moved in, registering a case of money laundering against the separatists and the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed on Friday.
Enforcement Directorate officials said they were probing how funds were received from Pakistani sources through hawala to finance terror activities and fund separatist activities. The agency's case also names the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat.
In raids at over 2 dozen locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana, the National Investigation Agency had claimed to have found letterheads of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), phones, jewellery and over Rs. 2 crore cash.
The NIA's probe had indicated that the separatists allegedly received funds from Lashkar chief Saeed to carry out activities in the valley including throwing stones at security forces.
The ED case, like the one registered by the NIA, has not mentioned names of the Kashmiri separatists to keep the probe open-ended and look at the overarching terror funding pattern that keeps the Kashmir valley on the boil.
Enforcement Directorate officials said they were probing how funds were received from Pakistani sources through hawala to finance terror activities and fund separatist activities. The agency's case also names the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat.
In raids at over 2 dozen locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana, the National Investigation Agency had claimed to have found letterheads of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), phones, jewellery and over Rs. 2 crore cash.
The ED case, like the one registered by the NIA, has not mentioned names of the Kashmiri separatists to keep the probe open-ended and look at the overarching terror funding pattern that keeps the Kashmir valley on the boil.
Stage Set For GSAT-17 To Blast Off From French Guiana
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The Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch the GSAT-17 from French Guiana on June 28, the third launch in less than a month.
"GSAT-17 is getting launched on June 28. We will be working on the replacement satellite for IRNSS-1. Our plan is to have two Mark-II and two Mark-III launches apart from eight to ten PSLV launches per year," ISRO Chairman A S Kiran said after the successful launch of PSLV-C38.
He was addressing the media after ISRO's workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 40th flight (PSLV-C38), successfully launched the Cartosat-2 series satellite, a dedicated one for the defence forces, along with 30 nano satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, ISRO was geared up for the launch of GSAT-17 and lined up more for the future, he said.
On June 5, ISRO had launched its most powerful and heaviest geostationary rocket carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-19, weighing 3,136 kg, from the spaceport.
Mr Kumar said, "We have approvals for Chandrayaan-II and Aditya. Meanwhile, we are finalising Mars Orbiter II and Venus mission. Study teams are looking at them. Very soon, we will be finalising our plan of action. Then we will get the necessary approvals from the government and move ahead."
About IRNSS-IA, the ISRO chief said a replacement satellite would be sent as the "clocks have stopped functioning and there is a need to replace them."
Mr Kumar said PSLV has emerged as a credible launch vehicle for anyone across the globe, because of the frequency at which launches are happening and also the access and timeline within which their satellites can be put into orbit.
"With each (PSLV) launch, we are trying to improve our capability in one new area, like multiple restarts, multiple orbits...different capabilities we are building. As we continue to do so, PSLV will be the in-demand vehicle for satellite launches across the world."
"In future, we are planning communication satellites where electric propulsion systems would be used. Currently, we have put on electric propulsion system in GSAT-9 that has been tested out. The primary advantage is that it will reduce the mass of the satellite by replacing chemical propulsion system.
We have a lot of plans," he said in response to a question on what lies ahead for ISRO.
He lavished praise on the Cartosat-2 team, which soared into space this morning along with 30 other nano satellites from 14 countries apart from India.
Earlier, the mission director B Jayakumar said all the satellites launched today by PSLV-C38 had been positioned in orbit.
"With today's launch, we have acquired the confidence that we can launch multiple satellites in multiple orbits in a single mission," he said.
"GSAT-17 is getting launched on June 28. We will be working on the replacement satellite for IRNSS-1. Our plan is to have two Mark-II and two Mark-III launches apart from eight to ten PSLV launches per year," ISRO Chairman A S Kiran said after the successful launch of PSLV-C38.
On June 5, ISRO had launched its most powerful and heaviest geostationary rocket carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-19, weighing 3,136 kg, from the spaceport.
Mr Kumar said, "We have approvals for Chandrayaan-II and Aditya. Meanwhile, we are finalising Mars Orbiter II and Venus mission. Study teams are looking at them. Very soon, we will be finalising our plan of action. Then we will get the necessary approvals from the government and move ahead."
About IRNSS-IA, the ISRO chief said a replacement satellite would be sent as the "clocks have stopped functioning and there is a need to replace them."
Mr Kumar said PSLV has emerged as a credible launch vehicle for anyone across the globe, because of the frequency at which launches are happening and also the access and timeline within which their satellites can be put into orbit.
"With each (PSLV) launch, we are trying to improve our capability in one new area, like multiple restarts, multiple orbits...different capabilities we are building. As we continue to do so, PSLV will be the in-demand vehicle for satellite launches across the world."
"In future, we are planning communication satellites where electric propulsion systems would be used. Currently, we have put on electric propulsion system in GSAT-9 that has been tested out. The primary advantage is that it will reduce the mass of the satellite by replacing chemical propulsion system.
We have a lot of plans," he said in response to a question on what lies ahead for ISRO.
He lavished praise on the Cartosat-2 team, which soared into space this morning along with 30 other nano satellites from 14 countries apart from India.
Earlier, the mission director B Jayakumar said all the satellites launched today by PSLV-C38 had been positioned in orbit.
"With today's launch, we have acquired the confidence that we can launch multiple satellites in multiple orbits in a single mission," he said.
Maharashtra Government Enters Into Agreement With Ola For Skill Development
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The Maharashtra government today entered into an agreement with Ola, under which the cab aggregator will train 20,000 youth to become micro-entrepreneurs in the field of passenger transport in the next five years.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the concerned departments to extend all possible help towards the initiative and present an interim report in the next 3-months.
"The government intends to develop skills of youth and create jobs. Through the Pramod Mahajan Kaushalya Vikas Yojana, youth in different sectors are being trained to become entrepreneurs," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said.
It further said that Ola has created employment for about 5 lakh youth in the nation and ferries around 4 crore passengers.
"The company, that has a presence in about 100 cities is further looking to expand its operations in other regions as well. As a part of its expansion, the company seeks to train 50 lakh youth across the nation in the next 5 years," it said.
"The company had put up a proposal before the state government and showed its intention of providing skill development training to generate employment," it added. The statement further said that according to the agreement, Ola will train 10,000 youth in the next 2-years to become micro-entrepreneurs.
"Looking out for eligible candidates, providing them with skills, extending trained youth possible help to get employment will be done by Ola," it said.
Youth will be physically, technologically trained and will be extensively taught about passenger transport sector.
The statement said that youth from districts like Palghar, Raigad, Aurangabad, Amravati would be given preference for skill training.
"The company has requested the government to ease the conditions required for youth to obtain permissions to start their businesses.
"We have also been requested to provide financial help to the trained youth to buy vehicles for their business. The final decision on these will be taken once the concerned departments submit their report," the statement added.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the concerned departments to extend all possible help towards the initiative and present an interim report in the next 3-months.
It further said that Ola has created employment for about 5 lakh youth in the nation and ferries around 4 crore passengers.
"The company, that has a presence in about 100 cities is further looking to expand its operations in other regions as well. As a part of its expansion, the company seeks to train 50 lakh youth across the nation in the next 5 years," it said.
"The company had put up a proposal before the state government and showed its intention of providing skill development training to generate employment," it added. The statement further said that according to the agreement, Ola will train 10,000 youth in the next 2-years to become micro-entrepreneurs.
"Looking out for eligible candidates, providing them with skills, extending trained youth possible help to get employment will be done by Ola," it said.
Youth will be physically, technologically trained and will be extensively taught about passenger transport sector.
The statement said that youth from districts like Palghar, Raigad, Aurangabad, Amravati would be given preference for skill training.
"The company has requested the government to ease the conditions required for youth to obtain permissions to start their businesses.
"We have also been requested to provide financial help to the trained youth to buy vehicles for their business. The final decision on these will be taken once the concerned departments submit their report," the statement added.
Passports To Be In Both English, Hindi From Now, Fee Cut By 10 Per Cent For Minors: Sushma Swaraj
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Passports would now be in both Hindi and English, instead of just English, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced today.
In changes aimed at easing the process of getting a passport, the minister also announced 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60 and said ration cards could be submitted while applying for tatkal passports.
Giving the option of submitting submit a ration card would greatly help people in rural areas who do not have a PAN card.
Ms Swaraj said she had received several complaints about personal details being printed in English. "Passports should at least be bilingual. All Arab countries have their passport in Arabic, Germany makes it in German and Russia makes it in Russian. Why can't we make it Hindi?
"Now, we have given an order to Nashik Printing Press that passports should be (printed) in Hindi as well. So you will receive passports in Hindi and English," Ms Swaraj said at an event to mark 50 years of the Passport Act, 1967.
The postal department released a commemorative stamp on the occasion. The event was attended by Communications Minister Manoj Sinha and Ministers of State in the External Affairs Ministry V K Singh and M J Akbar.
Ms Swaraj said there was a rise in the demand for passports for the elderly. "There will be a 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60. And this will be applicable from tomorrow," she announced.
The External Affairs Minister said she had received several complaints about difficulties in getting a passport. After studying passport rules, she realised that some norms were "unnecessary, obsolete or impractical".
She also highlighted the steps taken by her ministry in easing rules for getting the international travel document, especially for orphans, single mothers and divorced women.
While applying for tatkal passports, the minister said, applicants could give a copy of their Aadhar card, PAN card or ration card, voter identification card apart from a self-attested letter that he/she does not have any criminal compliant against him/her.
Police verification, a major part of the passport issuing process, takes time, the minister pointed out.
Ms Swaraj asked other states to emulate Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Goa that complete the police verification process in less than six days.
In changes aimed at easing the process of getting a passport, the minister also announced 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60 and said ration cards could be submitted while applying for tatkal passports.
Giving the option of submitting submit a ration card would greatly help people in rural areas who do not have a PAN card.
Ms Swaraj said she had received several complaints about personal details being printed in English. "Passports should at least be bilingual. All Arab countries have their passport in Arabic, Germany makes it in German and Russia makes it in Russian. Why can't we make it Hindi?
"Now, we have given an order to Nashik Printing Press that passports should be (printed) in Hindi as well. So you will receive passports in Hindi and English," Ms Swaraj said at an event to mark 50 years of the Passport Act, 1967.
The External Affairs Minister said she had received several complaints about difficulties in getting a passport. After studying passport rules, she realised that some norms were "unnecessary, obsolete or impractical".
She also highlighted the steps taken by her ministry in easing rules for getting the international travel document, especially for orphans, single mothers and divorced women.
While applying for tatkal passports, the minister said, applicants could give a copy of their Aadhar card, PAN card or ration card, voter identification card apart from a self-attested letter that he/she does not have any criminal compliant against him/her.
Police verification, a major part of the passport issuing process, takes time, the minister pointed out.
Ms Swaraj asked other states to emulate Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Goa that complete the police verification process in less than six days.
China Asks India, US Not To Disturb Peace In South China Sea
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China today said asked India and the US not to disturb peace in the strategic South China Sea and play a "constructive role" in the disputes there, as the issue was likely to be discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with President Donald Trump.
PM Modi will meet US President Donald Trump on June 26. He will hold talks with Trump on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of common concern.
When asked about cooperation between India and the US on Indo-Pacific region which includes the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the situation in the disputed region was "cooling down".
"With concerted efforts of China and ASEAN countries the situation there is cooling down. We hope other countries especially non-regional countries can respect the efforts by the regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and can play a constructive role in this regard," Mr Geng said.
Although China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea; Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims. China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.
Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade.
The US had recently sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Trump, a move China said challenged its sovereignty in the region.
China termed the US' move as "irresponsible" and warned that America's deliberate provocations would have "extremely dangerous consequences" to regional stability.
PM Modi will meet US President Donald Trump on June 26. He will hold talks with Trump on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of common concern.
"With concerted efforts of China and ASEAN countries the situation there is cooling down. We hope other countries especially non-regional countries can respect the efforts by the regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and can play a constructive role in this regard," Mr Geng said.
Although China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea; Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims. China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region.
Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade.
The US had recently sent a navy warship near an artificial island in the South China Sea as part of the first "freedom of navigation" operation under President Trump, a move China said challenged its sovereignty in the region.
China termed the US' move as "irresponsible" and warned that America's deliberate provocations would have "extremely dangerous consequences" to regional stability.
Business Affairs
Home Ministry and IB caution against Essar-Rosneft multi-billion deal over Vadinar port
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Home Ministry and Intelligence Bureau (IB) have red flagged the consortium between Essar Oil and Russian oil company Rosneft over security concerns, stated a report by the Economic Times.
Quoting government sources, the report stated that the Home Minstry have reservations about the deal originate from the Vadinar port being a part of the deal. Under what has been hailed as India's biggest FDI deal, $13 billion, or Rs 84,000 crores, will be paid by Rosneft, a Russian bank UCP and a Swiss commodity trading form for 98 per cent stake in Essar Oil. This will cover India's second largest oil refinery at Vadinir and around 3,000 fuel stations across the country, the report said.
The objection over the deal comes from the fact that this deal will put the Kremlin-owned Rosneft in control of the Vadinar port in Gujarat. More than Rs 13,000 crores will be paid for the 58 million tonne deep draft port used for importing crude and exporting finished products, the report read. The port is close to the Indo-Pakistan border and even has some defence installations nearby.
The Essar-Rosneft deal was signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the BRICS summit in 2016. Now the Prime Minister's office is expected to decide whether the Vadinar port will be a part of the deal or not, the report said.
"All requisite approvals from Govt of India for the Essar Oil transaction to proceed are available. Your query pertaining to seeking Ministry of Home approval for the port has nothing to do with the present Essar-Roseneft-Trafigura-UCP deal. Hope this clarifies the matter adequately," an Essar spokesperson was quoted in the ET report.
Meanwhile, Essar Oil's Joint Lenders Forum lenders, comprising of 23 banks, approved the Essar-Rosneft deal earlier today. Now the company expects to complete the deal by the earlier half of July. The influx of foreign exchange the deal will bring is expected to boost the banking system of India. Around 90 per cent of the proceeds from the deal will be used to repay the 23 banks including SBI, ICICI, PNB, IOB and others.
Notably, the lenders had refused to award no objection certificate to the deal which led to the deal missing its earlier deadline of March 31 this year.
Home Ministry and Intelligence Bureau (IB) have red flagged the consortium between Essar Oil and Russian oil company Rosneft over security concerns, stated a report by the Economic Times.
Quoting government sources, the report stated that the Home Minstry have reservations about the deal originate from the Vadinar port being a part of the deal. Under what has been hailed as India's biggest FDI deal, $13 billion, or Rs 84,000 crores, will be paid by Rosneft, a Russian bank UCP and a Swiss commodity trading form for 98 per cent stake in Essar Oil. This will cover India's second largest oil refinery at Vadinir and around 3,000 fuel stations across the country, the report said.
The objection over the deal comes from the fact that this deal will put the Kremlin-owned Rosneft in control of the Vadinar port in Gujarat. More than Rs 13,000 crores will be paid for the 58 million tonne deep draft port used for importing crude and exporting finished products, the report read. The port is close to the Indo-Pakistan border and even has some defence installations nearby.
The Essar-Rosneft deal was signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the BRICS summit in 2016. Now the Prime Minister's office is expected to decide whether the Vadinar port will be a part of the deal or not, the report said.
"All requisite approvals from Govt of India for the Essar Oil transaction to proceed are available. Your query pertaining to seeking Ministry of Home approval for the port has nothing to do with the present Essar-Roseneft-Trafigura-UCP deal. Hope this clarifies the matter adequately," an Essar spokesperson was quoted in the ET report.
Meanwhile, Essar Oil's Joint Lenders Forum lenders, comprising of 23 banks, approved the Essar-Rosneft deal earlier today. Now the company expects to complete the deal by the earlier half of July. The influx of foreign exchange the deal will bring is expected to boost the banking system of India. Around 90 per cent of the proceeds from the deal will be used to repay the 23 banks including SBI, ICICI, PNB, IOB and others.
Notably, the lenders had refused to award no objection certificate to the deal which led to the deal missing its earlier deadline of March 31 this year.
Jammu and Kashmir yet to pass GST: Here's what you need to know if you are from J&K
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The nation is inching closer to launch its most historic Goods and Services Tax at the midnight of Jun 30. All the state governments except Jammu and Kashmir have passed the GST bills in their respective assemblies. Jammu and Kashmir enjoys special autonomous status under article 370 that restrict the central government's legislation applicability to only three areas in the state - defence, external affairs and communication.
In this situation, the most obvious questions one faces are:
What will happen to those from Jammu and Kashmir and how will they be a part of new taxation system?
GST Network chairman Navin Kumar spoke to Business Today and said: "The states don't have to do anything at this point. Their role will only come after returns have been filed and they start assessment. At this point, the only thing they need to do is look at the registration applications and say 'yes' or 'no'. The question is when there is no law, what happens to people who apply from J&K. We are in a fix, what to do? Shall we block their application? But there are two parts to GST-CGST and SGST. CGST law is already there. So what we are thinking is that for those applications we will generate a provisional registration. I have already referred the matter to the government to provide a solution."
How will GST be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir?
Jammu and Kashmir will have to pass special laws to be able to implement the GST. The state Assembly will have to pass a legislation saying Central-GST (CGST) and Integrated-GST (IGST) bills are applicable to them. This approval by the state assembly will be in addition to the requirement of all states to approve the State-GST law. Once the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passes the laws, the Central government will have to amend CGST and IGST laws and delete the phrases that they do not apply to the state. Deletion of the phrase will make the laws applicable to the state.
Are you a trader? This is what you need to do
If you are a trader or businessperson registered under existing taxation system you need to apply for provisional registration. The government will provide you a Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN). This number will have 15 digits. GSTIN is somewhat similar to the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN).
The nation is inching closer to launch its most historic Goods and Services Tax at the midnight of Jun 30. All the state governments except Jammu and Kashmir have passed the GST bills in their respective assemblies. Jammu and Kashmir enjoys special autonomous status under article 370 that restrict the central government's legislation applicability to only three areas in the state - defence, external affairs and communication.
In this situation, the most obvious questions one faces are:
What will happen to those from Jammu and Kashmir and how will they be a part of new taxation system?
GST Network chairman Navin Kumar spoke to Business Today and said: "The states don't have to do anything at this point. Their role will only come after returns have been filed and they start assessment. At this point, the only thing they need to do is look at the registration applications and say 'yes' or 'no'. The question is when there is no law, what happens to people who apply from J&K. We are in a fix, what to do? Shall we block their application? But there are two parts to GST-CGST and SGST. CGST law is already there. So what we are thinking is that for those applications we will generate a provisional registration. I have already referred the matter to the government to provide a solution."
How will GST be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir?
Jammu and Kashmir will have to pass special laws to be able to implement the GST. The state Assembly will have to pass a legislation saying Central-GST (CGST) and Integrated-GST (IGST) bills are applicable to them. This approval by the state assembly will be in addition to the requirement of all states to approve the State-GST law. Once the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passes the laws, the Central government will have to amend CGST and IGST laws and delete the phrases that they do not apply to the state. Deletion of the phrase will make the laws applicable to the state.
Are you a trader? This is what you need to do
If you are a trader or businessperson registered under existing taxation system you need to apply for provisional registration. The government will provide you a Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN). This number will have 15 digits. GSTIN is somewhat similar to the existing Tax Identification Number (TIN).
Smart City Mission: 30 more smart cities announced, ten spots remain
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On the occasion of second anniversary of the Smart City Mission, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu announced 30 more cities to be included in the Smart City Mission. With this, total count of prospective Smart Cities rose to 90. This was the third round of city challenge under the Smart City Mission. The Urban Development Department will pump in Rs 57,393 crore in developing the newly chosen 30 cities. Out of this amount, Rs 46,879 crore will be dedicated to developing core infrastructure in the areas demarcated by the denizens of the selected cities and Rs 10,514 crore for developing technology-based solutions for better governance, smooth service delivery and optimum utilisation of infrastructure.
The total budget of the Smart City project has now rose to almost Rs two lakh crore for 90 cities.
Twenty cities will compete in the fourth round of city challenge to secure the last 10 spots under the project.
These 20 cities are Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Biharsharif in Bihar, Diu in Daman and Diu, Silvassa in Dadra and Nager Haveli, Kavaratti in Lakshadweep, Navimumbai, Greater Mumbai and Amaravati in Maharashtra, Imphal in Manipur, Shillong in Meghalaya, Dindigul and Erode in Tamil Nadu, Bidhannagar, Durgapur and Haldia in West Bengal, and Meerut, Rai Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Rampur in UP, Naidu mentioned.
Thiruvananthapuram from Kerala topped the list in the third round of city challenge, followed by Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Rajkot in Gujarat.
Amaravati, the de facto capital of recently divided Andhra Pradesh, also made it to the list. Other capital cities in the list are Srinagar, Patna, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Shimla, Dehradun, Aizawl and Gangtok.
Jhansi, Allahabad and Aligarh from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu from Jammu and Kashmir, Karimnagar from recently formed Telangana are some of the cities on the list.
Along with them are Muzaffarpur from Bihar, Puducherry, Sagar and Satna from Madhya Pradesh, Karnal from Haryana, Tirupur, Tirunelveli, Thootukkudi and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu.
Pimpri Chinchwad from Maharashtra, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Pasighat from Arunanchal Pradesh and Dahod from Gujarat were also cleared in third round of Smart City Mission.
The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship urban development scheme on June 25, 2015 with the motive to develop 100 Indian cities as Smart Cities with advanced amenities and governance. The project is mostly to be planned and executed at municipal level, ensuring public participation.
On the occasion of second anniversary of the Smart City Mission, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu announced 30 more cities to be included in the Smart City Mission. With this, total count of prospective Smart Cities rose to 90. This was the third round of city challenge under the Smart City Mission. The Urban Development Department will pump in Rs 57,393 crore in developing the newly chosen 30 cities. Out of this amount, Rs 46,879 crore will be dedicated to developing core infrastructure in the areas demarcated by the denizens of the selected cities and Rs 10,514 crore for developing technology-based solutions for better governance, smooth service delivery and optimum utilisation of infrastructure.
The total budget of the Smart City project has now rose to almost Rs two lakh crore for 90 cities.
Twenty cities will compete in the fourth round of city challenge to secure the last 10 spots under the project.
These 20 cities are Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Biharsharif in Bihar, Diu in Daman and Diu, Silvassa in Dadra and Nager Haveli, Kavaratti in Lakshadweep, Navimumbai, Greater Mumbai and Amaravati in Maharashtra, Imphal in Manipur, Shillong in Meghalaya, Dindigul and Erode in Tamil Nadu, Bidhannagar, Durgapur and Haldia in West Bengal, and Meerut, Rai Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Rampur in UP, Naidu mentioned.
Thiruvananthapuram from Kerala topped the list in the third round of city challenge, followed by Naya Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Rajkot in Gujarat.
Amaravati, the de facto capital of recently divided Andhra Pradesh, also made it to the list. Other capital cities in the list are Srinagar, Patna, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Shimla, Dehradun, Aizawl and Gangtok.
Jhansi, Allahabad and Aligarh from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu from Jammu and Kashmir, Karimnagar from recently formed Telangana are some of the cities on the list.
Along with them are Muzaffarpur from Bihar, Puducherry, Sagar and Satna from Madhya Pradesh, Karnal from Haryana, Tirupur, Tirunelveli, Thootukkudi and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu.
Pimpri Chinchwad from Maharashtra, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Pasighat from Arunanchal Pradesh and Dahod from Gujarat were also cleared in third round of Smart City Mission.
The Narendra Modi government launched its flagship urban development scheme on June 25, 2015 with the motive to develop 100 Indian cities as Smart Cities with advanced amenities and governance. The project is mostly to be planned and executed at municipal level, ensuring public participation.
MRF, Eicher Bosch, among Dalal street's most expensive stocks
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MRF continues to rule as BSE's most expensive stock on the radar. However, this year, there has been new performers that have climbed up the top 10 that rule over the Indian stock market in terms of stock prices.
Here is a look at why these ten stocks are the darlings of Dalal Street:
MRF Ltd
The tyre manufacturer tops the list on BSE for being the most expensive company. The company surpassed the Rs 60,000 level for the first time in March and is currently treading towards its 70,000-level at 69820.40 (as on June 22, 2017).
Much of this can be attributed to rise in tyre prices across India in May largely because of an increase in raw material costs.
The tyre manufacturer has gained 120.38 per cent in the last one year with a 19.91 price to earnings ratio. The company has a market capitalisation of Rs 29,586.76 crore.
Rasoi Ltd
Rasoi Ltd, a part of Raghu Mody-controlled The Rasoi Group, exited the vanaspati and edible oil business last year in September due to volatility in raw material prices and foreign exchange. The company set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for baby care products at Banganagar, West Bengal.
The company is now ruling at a Rs 378.88 crore market cap and has gained 94.88 per cent since the past one year. As on June 23, 2017, the company scrip is trading 5 per cent higher, surging 1,867.70 points.
Eicher Motors Ltd
Earlier this month, Eicher Motors gained on the announcement of upbeat motorcycle sales. The company sold 60,696 units in May 2017, a 25 per cent rise from the previous year.
The stock had hit a record high of Rs 29,983 on 11 May 2017. The scrip outperformed in the month of May and the past one quarter. Eicher Motors' consolidated net profit rose 33.9 per cent to Rs 459.44 crore on 22.9% rise in net sales to Rs 1876.54 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.
The company has gained 46.20 per cent in the last year with a market cap of Rs 74,358.58 crore.
Bosch Ltd
Bosch Ltd has gained over 11 per cent in the last one year. The scrip has crossed 23 per cent in the BSE Auto index.
However, the company's profit slid a little for the quarter ended in March.
The Bengaluru-based firm is a leading supplier of technology and services in the areas of mobility solutions, industry, consumer goods as well as energy. The Bosch group operates in India through nine companies. It has 14 manufacturing sites and seven development and application centres in the country.
Shree Cement Ltd
Cement firm Shree Cement has added 22.54 per cent in the last one year with a market capitalisation of Rs 59,568.17 crore. The shares of cement companies saw a strong rally in March which have fallen since. However, many analysts see a a buying opportunity in the correction. This, given the improving realisations, better demand trajectory in the second half of the financial year and improving demand-supply equation over time.
The government's initiative to provide affordable housing under the Housing for All scheme has brightened the prospects of companies across sectors that cater to this segment which include the cement industry.
According to news reports, the country is expected to spend approximately Rs 65 lakh crore to build six crore houses in the next seven years. Analysts say that such expenditures will result in 3-8 per cent higher revenue growth for ancillary companies.
Page Industries Ltd
Bengaluru-based Page Industries is the exclusive licensee of Jockey International Inc for manufacture and distribution of the Jockey brand innerwear and leisurewear in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and UAE.
The stock of the company rose 22.46 per cent in the last one year.
Additionally, the company is expected to benefit from the GST rates for apparel priced below Rs 1,000 at 5 per cent. This comes at a time when the company's growth had grown sluggish over the past few quarters.
Polson Ltd
Polson was a three-digit stock five years ago but now trades at Rs 16,433.75. In today's session, the scrip is trading 5 per cent higher, 782.55 points up.
The stock has gained 95.28 per cent in the past one year.
The company Asia's largest manufacturer of vegetable tannin extracts and toll manufacturer of synthetic tanning agents, fat liquors and intermediates for the leather chemical industry.
3M India Ltd
On its website, 3M describes itself as a global technology company delivering innovative solutions to life's everyday needs, serving customers through five business segments.
The maker of Post-it and Scotch-Brite announced that it looks at a double-digit growth in India with locally designed products for industrial, consumers, health care and safety products.
The company gained 12.38 per cent in the past one year.
Honeywell Automation India Ltd
Honeywell Automations is a $ 350 million company that provides integrated automation and software solutions. It has gained 24.74 per cent in the last one year with a market cap of Rs 10,189.32 crore.
MRF continues to rule as BSE's most expensive stock on the radar. However, this year, there has been new performers that have climbed up the top 10 that rule over the Indian stock market in terms of stock prices.
Here is a look at why these ten stocks are the darlings of Dalal Street:
MRF Ltd
The tyre manufacturer tops the list on BSE for being the most expensive company. The company surpassed the Rs 60,000 level for the first time in March and is currently treading towards its 70,000-level at 69820.40 (as on June 22, 2017).
Much of this can be attributed to rise in tyre prices across India in May largely because of an increase in raw material costs.
The tyre manufacturer has gained 120.38 per cent in the last one year with a 19.91 price to earnings ratio. The company has a market capitalisation of Rs 29,586.76 crore.
Rasoi Ltd
Rasoi Ltd, a part of Raghu Mody-controlled The Rasoi Group, exited the vanaspati and edible oil business last year in September due to volatility in raw material prices and foreign exchange. The company set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for baby care products at Banganagar, West Bengal.
The company is now ruling at a Rs 378.88 crore market cap and has gained 94.88 per cent since the past one year. As on June 23, 2017, the company scrip is trading 5 per cent higher, surging 1,867.70 points.
Eicher Motors Ltd
Earlier this month, Eicher Motors gained on the announcement of upbeat motorcycle sales. The company sold 60,696 units in May 2017, a 25 per cent rise from the previous year.
The stock had hit a record high of Rs 29,983 on 11 May 2017. The scrip outperformed in the month of May and the past one quarter. Eicher Motors' consolidated net profit rose 33.9 per cent to Rs 459.44 crore on 22.9% rise in net sales to Rs 1876.54 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.
The company has gained 46.20 per cent in the last year with a market cap of Rs 74,358.58 crore.
Bosch Ltd
Bosch Ltd has gained over 11 per cent in the last one year. The scrip has crossed 23 per cent in the BSE Auto index.
However, the company's profit slid a little for the quarter ended in March.
The Bengaluru-based firm is a leading supplier of technology and services in the areas of mobility solutions, industry, consumer goods as well as energy. The Bosch group operates in India through nine companies. It has 14 manufacturing sites and seven development and application centres in the country.
Shree Cement Ltd
Cement firm Shree Cement has added 22.54 per cent in the last one year with a market capitalisation of Rs 59,568.17 crore. The shares of cement companies saw a strong rally in March which have fallen since. However, many analysts see a a buying opportunity in the correction. This, given the improving realisations, better demand trajectory in the second half of the financial year and improving demand-supply equation over time.
The government's initiative to provide affordable housing under the Housing for All scheme has brightened the prospects of companies across sectors that cater to this segment which include the cement industry.
According to news reports, the country is expected to spend approximately Rs 65 lakh crore to build six crore houses in the next seven years. Analysts say that such expenditures will result in 3-8 per cent higher revenue growth for ancillary companies.
Page Industries Ltd
Bengaluru-based Page Industries is the exclusive licensee of Jockey International Inc for manufacture and distribution of the Jockey brand innerwear and leisurewear in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and UAE.
The stock of the company rose 22.46 per cent in the last one year.
Additionally, the company is expected to benefit from the GST rates for apparel priced below Rs 1,000 at 5 per cent. This comes at a time when the company's growth had grown sluggish over the past few quarters.
Polson Ltd
Polson was a three-digit stock five years ago but now trades at Rs 16,433.75. In today's session, the scrip is trading 5 per cent higher, 782.55 points up.
The stock has gained 95.28 per cent in the past one year.
The company Asia's largest manufacturer of vegetable tannin extracts and toll manufacturer of synthetic tanning agents, fat liquors and intermediates for the leather chemical industry.
3M India Ltd
3M India Ltd
On its website, 3M describes itself as a global technology company delivering innovative solutions to life's everyday needs, serving customers through five business segments.
The maker of Post-it and Scotch-Brite announced that it looks at a double-digit growth in India with locally designed products for industrial, consumers, health care and safety products.
The company gained 12.38 per cent in the past one year.
Honeywell Automation India Ltd
Honeywell Automations is a $ 350 million company that provides integrated automation and software solutions. It has gained 24.74 per cent in the last one year with a market cap of Rs 10,189.32 crore.
GST registrations for ecommerce, new companies to begin on June 25
-
Ecommerce operators and TDS deductors will be able to register with GST Network beginning June 25, when the portal re-opens for fresh registration.
Also, existing excise, service tax and VAT assessees will get another chance to migrate to the GSTN portal as registration for them too opens on Sunday next and will remain open for three months.
The GSTN portal will now start accepting fresh registrations from June 25.
The registration will also start for GST practitioners, Tax Deductors at Source (TDS) and e-commerce operators, which are required to collect tax at source, GSTN said in a statement.
GSTN, the company providing IT backbone for the new tax regime, will offer another opportunity to existing tax payers to migrate, five days before the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Out of the 81 lakh existing assessees, over 65.5 lakh have already migrated to the portal.
Registration with the GSTN is necessary for doing business in the GST regime as businesses will have to upload monthly supply data as well as file return forms on this portal.
"People should not panic. If you are left out, you will get another opportunity because the law says anybody who is registered under taxes which are subsumed under GST if they have a valid PAN then they will be given a valid registration," GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar said.
The portal will also be opened for enrolment of GST practitioners on June 25.
The GSTN portal was open from November 8 till April 30 and then again for 15 days in June for enrolment of existing taxpayers.
It will now be open again from June 25th for a period of 3 months for existing taxpayers registered under Central Excise/Service Tax/VAT etc, the statement said.
Ecommerce operators and TDS deductors will be able to register with GST Network beginning June 25, when the portal re-opens for fresh registration.
Also, existing excise, service tax and VAT assessees will get another chance to migrate to the GSTN portal as registration for them too opens on Sunday next and will remain open for three months.
The GSTN portal will now start accepting fresh registrations from June 25.
The registration will also start for GST practitioners, Tax Deductors at Source (TDS) and e-commerce operators, which are required to collect tax at source, GSTN said in a statement.
GSTN, the company providing IT backbone for the new tax regime, will offer another opportunity to existing tax payers to migrate, five days before the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Out of the 81 lakh existing assessees, over 65.5 lakh have already migrated to the portal.
Registration with the GSTN is necessary for doing business in the GST regime as businesses will have to upload monthly supply data as well as file return forms on this portal.
"People should not panic. If you are left out, you will get another opportunity because the law says anybody who is registered under taxes which are subsumed under GST if they have a valid PAN then they will be given a valid registration," GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar said.
The portal will also be opened for enrolment of GST practitioners on June 25.
The GSTN portal was open from November 8 till April 30 and then again for 15 days in June for enrolment of existing taxpayers.
It will now be open again from June 25th for a period of 3 months for existing taxpayers registered under Central Excise/Service Tax/VAT etc, the statement said.
General Awareness
GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE MCQs FOR ALL BANK EXAMS
-
1. What is India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2017 out of 130 countries?
1) 67
2) 66
3) 69
4) 60
5) 65
2. Who won the prestigious 2017 Man Booker International Prize for his novel ‘A Horse Walks into a Bar’?
1) Mathias Enard
2) David Grossman
3) Roy Jacobsen
4) Don Shaw
5) Amos Oz
3. Where was the second edition of the International Spice Conference held in February 2017?
1) Mysuru
2) Kolkata
3) Thiruvananthapuram
4) Chennai
5) Panaji
4. Which Hindi writer was selected for the 2016 Vyas Samman in February 2017?
1) Hari Ram Meena
2) Satya Narayan
3) Vishwanath Tripathi
4) Surendra Verma
5) None of these
5. India’s first floating elementary school was inaugurated in February 2017 in Loktak Lake in:
1) Assam
2) Manipur
3) West Bengal
4) Jammu & Kashmir
5) Himachal Pradesh
6. Which of the following banks announced its plan to convert ration shops into banking outlets
by recruiting Public Distribution System (PDS) agents as business correspondents in February 2017?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) IDFC Bank
4) Axis Bank
5) IDBI bank
7. Which State is implementing ‘Tejaswini’, a socio-economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women project?
1) Odisha
2) Jharkhand
3) Bihar
4) Chhattisgarh
5) Haryana
8. Which of the following companies will acquire Telenor India?
1) Vodafone
2) Reliance Jio
3) Idea Cellular
4) Bharti Airtel
5) BSNL
9. India’s iconic car brand Ambassador has been sold by Hindustan Motors to Peugeot, a car manufacturer based in:
1) Italy
2) Germany
3) France
4) USA
5) Sweden
10. Which former football legend has been appointed as an ambassador by FIFA, Football’s world
governing body?
1) Marco Van Basten
2) Diego Maradona
3) Pele
4) Michel Platini
5) Lev Yashin
11. National Deworming Day is observed every year on which of the following day?
1) January 10
2) February 10
3) March 10
4) April 10
5) May 10
12. Who is the author of the book “Fearless in Opposition - Power and Accountability”?
1) Sitaram Yechury
2) Kapil Sibal
3) P. Chidambaram
4) Manish Tewary
5) Nitish Kumar
13. Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel won BAFTA Award in February 2017 for the Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film:
1) Moonlight
2) Arrival
3) Lion
4) Nocturnal Animals
5) Hidden Figures
14. Jean-Pierre Lacroix was appointed as Under-Secretary General for United Nations Peacekeeping
Operations on February 14, 2017. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) Bulgaria
3) Macedonia
4) France
5) Latvia
15. Which city will host the 30th World LPG Forum in October 2017?
1) Singapore
2) Florence
3) Marrakech
4) Nice
5) Gold Coast
16. Who is the Chairman of the Committee set up by Union Water Resources Ministry to help Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) in preparing the working manual for sharing
water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?
1) A.K. Bajaj
2) R.P. Pandey
3) P.K. Shukla
4) N.N. Rai
5) D.K. Mehta
17. Which one of the following pair is correctly matched?
COUNTRY - PRESIDENT
1) Italy - Paolo Gentiloni
2) France - Francois Hollande
3) Germany - Frank Walter Steinmeier
4) Brazil - Dilma Rousseff
5) Russia - Dmitry Medvedev
18. Which American businesswoman became the United States Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017?
1) Martha Stewart
2) Ginni Rometty
3) Meg Whitman
4) Betsy De Vos
5) Ruth Porat
19. Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman, came to India recently for medical treatment. She
belongs to which of the following country?
1) Saudi Arabia
2) UAE
3) Egypt
4) Iran
5) Iraq
20. “The Salesman” won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in February 2017. It belongs to:
1) Hungary
2) Iran
3) Romania
4) Poland
5) Egypt
21. Altamas Kabir passed away on February 19, 2017. He was former:
1) Chief Justice of India
2) CBI Director
3) Attorney General
4) Union Minister
5) None of these
22. In which State the tribal bodies opposed 33% reservation for women in urban, local bodies leading to the resignation of the Chief Minister in February 2017?
1) Manipur
2) Nagaland
3) Assam
4) Meghalaya
5) Tripura
23. Which country has committed to completely phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2045?
1) USA
2) UK
3) Sweden
4) Russia
5) Switzerland
24. Which country is planning to send thousands of Rohingya refugees to Thengar Char Island?
1) Myanmar
2) Thailand
3) India
4) Bangladesh
5) Bhutan
25. Which city hosted the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals in February 2017?
1) Jaipur
2) New Delhi
3) Vijayawada
4) Indore
5) Vidisha
26. India’s first heliport was inaugurated on February 28, 2017 at Rohini locality in:
1) Mumbai
2) Pune
3) New Delhi
4) Chennai
5) Hyderabad
27. Which is the first State in India to establish cashless system in its Public Distribution System (PDS) of food grains?
1) Gujarat
2) Telangana
3) Andhra Pradesh
4) Kerala
5) Goa
28. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was established in 1889. It is headquartered in:
1) London
2) New York
3) Paris
4) Geneva
5) Dhaka
29. Where was the World LPG Association (WLPGA) Asia Summit held in February 2017?
1) Udaipur
2) Jaipur
3) New Delhi
4) Chandigarh
5) Kolkata
30. Which of the following schemes is related to clean cooking gas?
1) PAHAL
2) Ujjwala
3) Give it up
4) Both 1 and 2
5) All 1, 2 and 3
31. Who took charge as the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) recently?
1) Dushyant Chautala
2) Dhanraj Choudhury
3) Mahinder Pal Singh
4) B.K. Bawa
5) None of these
32. With reference to Laureus World Sports Awards - 2017 identify the mismatched pair.
1) Sportsman of the Year – Usain Bolt
2) Sportswoman of the Year – Simone Biles
3) Comeback of the Year – Michael Phelps
4) Breakthrough of the Year – Mo Farah
5) Team of the Year – Chicago Cubs
33. Mission XI Million was launched on February 10, 2017. A first of its kind, the program will
encourage children to play the game of:
1) Hockey
2) Cricket
3) Football
4) Chess
5) Kabaddi
34. Which Indian city will host the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup basketball tournament in July 2017?
1) Hyderabad
2) Chennai
3) Mumbai
4) Bangalore
5) Kolkata
35. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is the world governing body for basketball. It is located in Mies in:
1) France
2) Germany
3) Switzerland
4) Spain
5) Portugal
36. John-John Dohmen was crowned the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Male Player of the
Year for 2016. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) France
3) Belgium
4) Spain
5) Netherlands
37. Who won the 2017 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, a premier tennis tournament?
1) Kristina Mladenovic
2) Jelena Ostapenko
3) Simona Halep
4) Roberta Vinci
5) Kiki Bertens
38. Which of the following teams won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Inter - Zonal cricket tournament in February 2017?
1) Central Zone
2) West Zone
3) North Zone
4) East Zone
5) South Zone
39. Whose Test match batting average of 61.87 is second only to Donald Bradman’s incredible
99.94 among batsmen who have played at least 20 Tests?
1) Chris Rogers
2) Brad Haddin
3) Adam Voges
4) Michael Clarke
5) Steve Smith
40. The inaugural Nitro Athletics Meet was held in February 2017 in Lakeside Stadium in?
1) Tokyo
2) London
3) Kingston
4) Melbourne
5) Wellington
ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 2 6) 3 7) 2 8) 4 9) 3 10) 2
11) 2 12) 3 13) 3 14) 4 15) 3 16) 1 17) 3 18) 4 19) 3 20) 2
21) 1 22) 2 23) 3 24) 4 25) 4 26) 3 27) 1 28) 4 29) 3 30) 5
31) 1 32) 4 33) 3 34) 4 35) 3 36) 3 37) 1 38) 4 39) 3 40) 4
1. What is India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2017 out of 130 countries?
1) 67
2) 66
3) 69
4) 60
5) 65
2. Who won the prestigious 2017 Man Booker International Prize for his novel ‘A Horse Walks into a Bar’?
1) Mathias Enard
2) David Grossman
3) Roy Jacobsen
4) Don Shaw
5) Amos Oz
3. Where was the second edition of the International Spice Conference held in February 2017?
1) Mysuru
2) Kolkata
3) Thiruvananthapuram
4) Chennai
5) Panaji
4. Which Hindi writer was selected for the 2016 Vyas Samman in February 2017?
1) Hari Ram Meena
2) Satya Narayan
3) Vishwanath Tripathi
4) Surendra Verma
5) None of these
5. India’s first floating elementary school was inaugurated in February 2017 in Loktak Lake in:
1) Assam
2) Manipur
3) West Bengal
4) Jammu & Kashmir
5) Himachal Pradesh
6. Which of the following banks announced its plan to convert ration shops into banking outlets
by recruiting Public Distribution System (PDS) agents as business correspondents in February 2017?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) IDFC Bank
4) Axis Bank
5) IDBI bank
7. Which State is implementing ‘Tejaswini’, a socio-economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women project?
1) Odisha
2) Jharkhand
3) Bihar
4) Chhattisgarh
5) Haryana
8. Which of the following companies will acquire Telenor India?
1) Vodafone
2) Reliance Jio
3) Idea Cellular
4) Bharti Airtel
5) BSNL
9. India’s iconic car brand Ambassador has been sold by Hindustan Motors to Peugeot, a car manufacturer based in:
1) Italy
2) Germany
3) France
4) USA
5) Sweden
10. Which former football legend has been appointed as an ambassador by FIFA, Football’s world
governing body?
1) Marco Van Basten
2) Diego Maradona
3) Pele
4) Michel Platini
5) Lev Yashin
11. National Deworming Day is observed every year on which of the following day?
1) January 10
2) February 10
3) March 10
4) April 10
5) May 10
12. Who is the author of the book “Fearless in Opposition - Power and Accountability”?
1) Sitaram Yechury
2) Kapil Sibal
3) P. Chidambaram
4) Manish Tewary
5) Nitish Kumar
13. Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel won BAFTA Award in February 2017 for the Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film:
1) Moonlight
2) Arrival
3) Lion
4) Nocturnal Animals
5) Hidden Figures
14. Jean-Pierre Lacroix was appointed as Under-Secretary General for United Nations Peacekeeping
Operations on February 14, 2017. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) Bulgaria
3) Macedonia
4) France
5) Latvia
15. Which city will host the 30th World LPG Forum in October 2017?
1) Singapore
2) Florence
3) Marrakech
4) Nice
5) Gold Coast
16. Who is the Chairman of the Committee set up by Union Water Resources Ministry to help Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) in preparing the working manual for sharing
water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?
1) A.K. Bajaj
2) R.P. Pandey
3) P.K. Shukla
4) N.N. Rai
5) D.K. Mehta
17. Which one of the following pair is correctly matched?
COUNTRY - PRESIDENT
1) Italy - Paolo Gentiloni
2) France - Francois Hollande
3) Germany - Frank Walter Steinmeier
4) Brazil - Dilma Rousseff
5) Russia - Dmitry Medvedev
18. Which American businesswoman became the United States Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017?
1) Martha Stewart
2) Ginni Rometty
3) Meg Whitman
4) Betsy De Vos
5) Ruth Porat
19. Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman, came to India recently for medical treatment. She
belongs to which of the following country?
1) Saudi Arabia
2) UAE
3) Egypt
4) Iran
5) Iraq
20. “The Salesman” won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in February 2017. It belongs to:
1) Hungary
2) Iran
3) Romania
4) Poland
5) Egypt
21. Altamas Kabir passed away on February 19, 2017. He was former:
1) Chief Justice of India
2) CBI Director
3) Attorney General
4) Union Minister
5) None of these
22. In which State the tribal bodies opposed 33% reservation for women in urban, local bodies leading to the resignation of the Chief Minister in February 2017?
1) Manipur
2) Nagaland
3) Assam
4) Meghalaya
5) Tripura
23. Which country has committed to completely phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2045?
1) USA
2) UK
3) Sweden
4) Russia
5) Switzerland
24. Which country is planning to send thousands of Rohingya refugees to Thengar Char Island?
1) Myanmar
2) Thailand
3) India
4) Bangladesh
5) Bhutan
25. Which city hosted the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals in February 2017?
1) Jaipur
2) New Delhi
3) Vijayawada
4) Indore
5) Vidisha
26. India’s first heliport was inaugurated on February 28, 2017 at Rohini locality in:
1) Mumbai
2) Pune
3) New Delhi
4) Chennai
5) Hyderabad
27. Which is the first State in India to establish cashless system in its Public Distribution System (PDS) of food grains?
1) Gujarat
2) Telangana
3) Andhra Pradesh
4) Kerala
5) Goa
28. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was established in 1889. It is headquartered in:
1) London
2) New York
3) Paris
4) Geneva
5) Dhaka
29. Where was the World LPG Association (WLPGA) Asia Summit held in February 2017?
1) Udaipur
2) Jaipur
3) New Delhi
4) Chandigarh
5) Kolkata
30. Which of the following schemes is related to clean cooking gas?
1) PAHAL
2) Ujjwala
3) Give it up
4) Both 1 and 2
5) All 1, 2 and 3
31. Who took charge as the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) recently?
1) Dushyant Chautala
2) Dhanraj Choudhury
3) Mahinder Pal Singh
4) B.K. Bawa
5) None of these
32. With reference to Laureus World Sports Awards - 2017 identify the mismatched pair.
1) Sportsman of the Year – Usain Bolt
2) Sportswoman of the Year – Simone Biles
3) Comeback of the Year – Michael Phelps
4) Breakthrough of the Year – Mo Farah
5) Team of the Year – Chicago Cubs
33. Mission XI Million was launched on February 10, 2017. A first of its kind, the program will
encourage children to play the game of:
1) Hockey
2) Cricket
3) Football
4) Chess
5) Kabaddi
34. Which Indian city will host the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup basketball tournament in July 2017?
1) Hyderabad
2) Chennai
3) Mumbai
4) Bangalore
5) Kolkata
35. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is the world governing body for basketball. It is located in Mies in:
1) France
2) Germany
3) Switzerland
4) Spain
5) Portugal
36. John-John Dohmen was crowned the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Male Player of the
Year for 2016. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) France
3) Belgium
4) Spain
5) Netherlands
37. Who won the 2017 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, a premier tennis tournament?
1) Kristina Mladenovic
2) Jelena Ostapenko
3) Simona Halep
4) Roberta Vinci
5) Kiki Bertens
38. Which of the following teams won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Inter - Zonal cricket tournament in February 2017?
1) Central Zone
2) West Zone
3) North Zone
4) East Zone
5) South Zone
39. Whose Test match batting average of 61.87 is second only to Donald Bradman’s incredible
99.94 among batsmen who have played at least 20 Tests?
1) Chris Rogers
2) Brad Haddin
3) Adam Voges
4) Michael Clarke
5) Steve Smith
40. The inaugural Nitro Athletics Meet was held in February 2017 in Lakeside Stadium in?
1) Tokyo
2) London
3) Kingston
4) Melbourne
5) Wellington
ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 2 6) 3 7) 2 8) 4 9) 3 10) 2
11) 2 12) 3 13) 3 14) 4 15) 3 16) 1 17) 3 18) 4 19) 3 20) 2
21) 1 22) 2 23) 3 24) 4 25) 4 26) 3 27) 1 28) 4 29) 3 30) 5
31) 1 32) 4 33) 3 34) 4 35) 3 36) 3 37) 1 38) 4 39) 3 40) 4
1) 67
2) 66
3) 69
4) 60
5) 65
2. Who won the prestigious 2017 Man Booker International Prize for his novel ‘A Horse Walks into a Bar’?
1) Mathias Enard
2) David Grossman
3) Roy Jacobsen
4) Don Shaw
5) Amos Oz
3. Where was the second edition of the International Spice Conference held in February 2017?
1) Mysuru
2) Kolkata
3) Thiruvananthapuram
4) Chennai
5) Panaji
4. Which Hindi writer was selected for the 2016 Vyas Samman in February 2017?
1) Hari Ram Meena
2) Satya Narayan
3) Vishwanath Tripathi
4) Surendra Verma
5) None of these
5. India’s first floating elementary school was inaugurated in February 2017 in Loktak Lake in:
1) Assam
2) Manipur
3) West Bengal
4) Jammu & Kashmir
5) Himachal Pradesh
6. Which of the following banks announced its plan to convert ration shops into banking outlets
by recruiting Public Distribution System (PDS) agents as business correspondents in February 2017?
1) ICICI Bank
2) HDFC Bank
3) IDFC Bank
4) Axis Bank
5) IDBI bank
7. Which State is implementing ‘Tejaswini’, a socio-economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women project?
1) Odisha
2) Jharkhand
3) Bihar
4) Chhattisgarh
5) Haryana
8. Which of the following companies will acquire Telenor India?
1) Vodafone
2) Reliance Jio
3) Idea Cellular
4) Bharti Airtel
5) BSNL
9. India’s iconic car brand Ambassador has been sold by Hindustan Motors to Peugeot, a car manufacturer based in:
1) Italy
2) Germany
3) France
4) USA
5) Sweden
10. Which former football legend has been appointed as an ambassador by FIFA, Football’s world
governing body?
1) Marco Van Basten
2) Diego Maradona
3) Pele
4) Michel Platini
5) Lev Yashin
11. National Deworming Day is observed every year on which of the following day?
1) January 10
2) February 10
3) March 10
4) April 10
5) May 10
12. Who is the author of the book “Fearless in Opposition - Power and Accountability”?
1) Sitaram Yechury
2) Kapil Sibal
3) P. Chidambaram
4) Manish Tewary
5) Nitish Kumar
13. Indian-origin British actor Dev Patel won BAFTA Award in February 2017 for the Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film:
1) Moonlight
2) Arrival
3) Lion
4) Nocturnal Animals
5) Hidden Figures
14. Jean-Pierre Lacroix was appointed as Under-Secretary General for United Nations Peacekeeping
Operations on February 14, 2017. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) Bulgaria
3) Macedonia
4) France
5) Latvia
15. Which city will host the 30th World LPG Forum in October 2017?
1) Singapore
2) Florence
3) Marrakech
4) Nice
5) Gold Coast
16. Who is the Chairman of the Committee set up by Union Water Resources Ministry to help Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) in preparing the working manual for sharing
water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?
1) A.K. Bajaj
2) R.P. Pandey
3) P.K. Shukla
4) N.N. Rai
5) D.K. Mehta
17. Which one of the following pair is correctly matched?
COUNTRY - PRESIDENT
1) Italy - Paolo Gentiloni
2) France - Francois Hollande
3) Germany - Frank Walter Steinmeier
4) Brazil - Dilma Rousseff
5) Russia - Dmitry Medvedev
18. Which American businesswoman became the United States Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017?
1) Martha Stewart
2) Ginni Rometty
3) Meg Whitman
4) Betsy De Vos
5) Ruth Porat
19. Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman, came to India recently for medical treatment. She
belongs to which of the following country?
1) Saudi Arabia
2) UAE
3) Egypt
4) Iran
5) Iraq
20. “The Salesman” won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in February 2017. It belongs to:
1) Hungary
2) Iran
3) Romania
4) Poland
5) Egypt
21. Altamas Kabir passed away on February 19, 2017. He was former:
1) Chief Justice of India
2) CBI Director
3) Attorney General
4) Union Minister
5) None of these
22. In which State the tribal bodies opposed 33% reservation for women in urban, local bodies leading to the resignation of the Chief Minister in February 2017?
1) Manipur
2) Nagaland
3) Assam
4) Meghalaya
5) Tripura
23. Which country has committed to completely phase out greenhouse gas emissions by 2045?
1) USA
2) UK
3) Sweden
4) Russia
5) Switzerland
24. Which country is planning to send thousands of Rohingya refugees to Thengar Char Island?
1) Myanmar
2) Thailand
3) India
4) Bangladesh
5) Bhutan
25. Which city hosted the South Asian Speakers’ Summit on Achieving the Sustainable Development
Goals in February 2017?
1) Jaipur
2) New Delhi
3) Vijayawada
4) Indore
5) Vidisha
26. India’s first heliport was inaugurated on February 28, 2017 at Rohini locality in:
1) Mumbai
2) Pune
3) New Delhi
4) Chennai
5) Hyderabad
27. Which is the first State in India to establish cashless system in its Public Distribution System (PDS) of food grains?
1) Gujarat
2) Telangana
3) Andhra Pradesh
4) Kerala
5) Goa
28. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was established in 1889. It is headquartered in:
1) London
2) New York
3) Paris
4) Geneva
5) Dhaka
29. Where was the World LPG Association (WLPGA) Asia Summit held in February 2017?
1) Udaipur
2) Jaipur
3) New Delhi
4) Chandigarh
5) Kolkata
30. Which of the following schemes is related to clean cooking gas?
1) PAHAL
2) Ujjwala
3) Give it up
4) Both 1 and 2
5) All 1, 2 and 3
31. Who took charge as the President of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) recently?
1) Dushyant Chautala
2) Dhanraj Choudhury
3) Mahinder Pal Singh
4) B.K. Bawa
5) None of these
32. With reference to Laureus World Sports Awards - 2017 identify the mismatched pair.
1) Sportsman of the Year – Usain Bolt
2) Sportswoman of the Year – Simone Biles
3) Comeback of the Year – Michael Phelps
4) Breakthrough of the Year – Mo Farah
5) Team of the Year – Chicago Cubs
33. Mission XI Million was launched on February 10, 2017. A first of its kind, the program will
encourage children to play the game of:
1) Hockey
2) Cricket
3) Football
4) Chess
5) Kabaddi
34. Which Indian city will host the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup basketball tournament in July 2017?
1) Hyderabad
2) Chennai
3) Mumbai
4) Bangalore
5) Kolkata
35. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is the world governing body for basketball. It is located in Mies in:
1) France
2) Germany
3) Switzerland
4) Spain
5) Portugal
36. John-John Dohmen was crowned the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Male Player of the
Year for 2016. He belongs to:
1) Germany
2) France
3) Belgium
4) Spain
5) Netherlands
37. Who won the 2017 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, a premier tennis tournament?
1) Kristina Mladenovic
2) Jelena Ostapenko
3) Simona Halep
4) Roberta Vinci
5) Kiki Bertens
38. Which of the following teams won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Inter - Zonal cricket tournament in February 2017?
1) Central Zone
2) West Zone
3) North Zone
4) East Zone
5) South Zone
39. Whose Test match batting average of 61.87 is second only to Donald Bradman’s incredible
99.94 among batsmen who have played at least 20 Tests?
1) Chris Rogers
2) Brad Haddin
3) Adam Voges
4) Michael Clarke
5) Steve Smith
40. The inaugural Nitro Athletics Meet was held in February 2017 in Lakeside Stadium in?
1) Tokyo
2) London
3) Kingston
4) Melbourne
5) Wellington
ANSWERS:
1) 4 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4 5) 2 6) 3 7) 2 8) 4 9) 3 10) 2
11) 2 12) 3 13) 3 14) 4 15) 3 16) 1 17) 3 18) 4 19) 3 20) 2
21) 1 22) 2 23) 3 24) 4 25) 4 26) 3 27) 1 28) 4 29) 3 30) 5
31) 1 32) 4 33) 3 34) 4 35) 3 36) 3 37) 1 38) 4 39) 3 40) 4
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