General Affairs
Central interlocutor to J-K manages to break ice with Hurriyat, meets leader Abdul Gani Bhat
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Centre's Special representative to J&K Dineshwar Sharma's meeting with Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Bhat has been kept a closely guarded secret. However, sources both close to the Government and Hurriyat leaders confirmed that the meeting happened last week.
Sources said that Sharma met Bhat in Wazirbagh Bunglow in Srinagar on November 27. The meeting is said to have taken place in the wee hours of the night.
Bhat may have been isolated in Hurriyat in talking to Sharma, but emphasised to the interlocutor the need to involve 'Pakistan in talks for a breakthrough in Kashmir.'
Speaking further he said, "India and Pakistan should engage in dialogue, a higher stand and understanding is needed to solve the issue."
There have been active back channel talks to get Hurriyat leaders, who are playing hardball to come to the table for talks.
Sources said, Sharma has said to have engaged with another Hurriyat leader as well. The move came after Bhat said he was open to meeting the interlocutor. However, the Hurriyat leader described it as "individual opinion."
Bhat however refused to divulge the details of the meeting. He however told India Today, "I am pro talks. I say openly people should talk with Dineshwar Sharma."
Sharma also remained tight lipped about the meeting with Hurriyat leader.
Bhat known as "Professor" heads the Muslim Conference is part of the Hurriyat Conference. He is not part of the new caucus "Joint Resistance leadership" which has only three leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik. The trio have stayed away from the emissary of the centre.
On October 23, Centre had appointed Sharma as special representative to J&K to initiate dialogue with stakeholders especially youth in an effort to reach out to the people of trouble torn Kashmir Valley.
Sources said that Sharma met Bhat in Wazirbagh Bunglow in Srinagar on November 27. The meeting is said to have taken place in the wee hours of the night.
Bhat may have been isolated in Hurriyat in talking to Sharma, but emphasised to the interlocutor the need to involve 'Pakistan in talks for a breakthrough in Kashmir.'
Speaking further he said, "India and Pakistan should engage in dialogue, a higher stand and understanding is needed to solve the issue."
There have been active back channel talks to get Hurriyat leaders, who are playing hardball to come to the table for talks.
Sources said, Sharma has said to have engaged with another Hurriyat leader as well. The move came after Bhat said he was open to meeting the interlocutor. However, the Hurriyat leader described it as "individual opinion."
Bhat however refused to divulge the details of the meeting. He however told India Today, "I am pro talks. I say openly people should talk with Dineshwar Sharma."
Sharma also remained tight lipped about the meeting with Hurriyat leader.
Bhat known as "Professor" heads the Muslim Conference is part of the Hurriyat Conference. He is not part of the new caucus "Joint Resistance leadership" which has only three leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik. The trio have stayed away from the emissary of the centre.
On October 23, Centre had appointed Sharma as special representative to J&K to initiate dialogue with stakeholders especially youth in an effort to reach out to the people of trouble torn Kashmir Valley.
Indian women prove they are brainier than men, says President Kovind
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Addressing a large gathering of academicians and students at the 83rd convocation of the historic Dr BR Ambedkar University, Agra, President Ram Nath Kovind today said that women of the country were strides ahead of men in academic excellence.
He added that this presented a golden picture of the country's future.
Addressing a large gathering of academicians and students at the varsity's 83rd convocation, the President said India will grow far quickly if these young women are given an equal opportunity in the employment sector. He said that the Dr BR Ambedkar University, which was earlier known as Agra University, is one of the country's oldest Universities that catered to students from Lahore to Kolkata in the pre-independence era.
He said today, the university has over 1,000 affiliated degree colleges and over 7 lakh students.
A number of important national personalities, including Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors and several Chief Ministers have studied in this University, apart from numerous Civil Servants, Doctors, Engineers, Scientists. Their life stories will continue to inspire the future students of this university.
Following a brief address, the President awarded degrees to students. He was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and DRDO scientist Tessy Thomas, both of whom were awarded honorary doctorates during the convocation.
Apart from the President, other dignitaries present at the convocation included UP Governor Ram Naik, UP Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma, National SC/ST Commission Chairman Ram Shankar Katheria and other MPs and MLAs of Agra.
He added that this presented a golden picture of the country's future.
Addressing a large gathering of academicians and students at the varsity's 83rd convocation, the President said India will grow far quickly if these young women are given an equal opportunity in the employment sector. He said that the Dr BR Ambedkar University, which was earlier known as Agra University, is one of the country's oldest Universities that catered to students from Lahore to Kolkata in the pre-independence era.
He said today, the university has over 1,000 affiliated degree colleges and over 7 lakh students.
A number of important national personalities, including Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors and several Chief Ministers have studied in this University, apart from numerous Civil Servants, Doctors, Engineers, Scientists. Their life stories will continue to inspire the future students of this university.
Following a brief address, the President awarded degrees to students. He was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and DRDO scientist Tessy Thomas, both of whom were awarded honorary doctorates during the convocation.
Apart from the President, other dignitaries present at the convocation included UP Governor Ram Naik, UP Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma, National SC/ST Commission Chairman Ram Shankar Katheria and other MPs and MLAs of Agra.
After 17-year wait, India to get 1st conventional submarine, PM Modi to commission INS Kalvari next week
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The Indian Navy will get her first conventional submarine in 17 years when Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissions the INS Kalvari in Mumbai on December 14.
The Kalvari's commissioning willo take place just six days after the Golden Jubilee of the navy's submarine arm on December 8, when President Ramnath Kovind will present the colours to the Navy's submarine arm at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
Another highlight of the Kalvari's commissioning in Mumbai is that it will be done in the presence of 92-year-old Commander KS Subramanian. He was commanding officer of the first Indian submarine, also called the INS Kalvari.
Commodore Subramanian, now based in the US, commanded the Kalvari, the first of eight Foxtrot class submarines, when she was commissioned at the erstwhile Soviet Union's naval base Riga in Latvia on 8 December 1967.
The day is now known as Submarine Day. The Kalvari was decommissioned in 1996 after 29 years of service.
The new Kalvari is the first of six Scorpene class conventional diesel-electric submarines built at the Mazagon Docks Ltd under a $3 billion contract with DCNS (now Naval Group) of France.
Her induction was plagued by construction delays. The submarine was to enter service in 2013.
The Indian navy presently has a fleet of 13 ageing conventional submarines, a majority of which will need to be replaced within the next decade as they reach the end of their 30-year service lives.
The commisioning of the Kalvari is the longest gap between acquistions of these underwater platforms.
The acquisition of all six Kalvari-class submarines by 2021 will give the navy's submarine arm a much needed boost.
The Kalvari's commissioning willo take place just six days after the Golden Jubilee of the navy's submarine arm on December 8, when President Ramnath Kovind will present the colours to the Navy's submarine arm at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
Another highlight of the Kalvari's commissioning in Mumbai is that it will be done in the presence of 92-year-old Commander KS Subramanian. He was commanding officer of the first Indian submarine, also called the INS Kalvari.
Commodore Subramanian, now based in the US, commanded the Kalvari, the first of eight Foxtrot class submarines, when she was commissioned at the erstwhile Soviet Union's naval base Riga in Latvia on 8 December 1967.
The day is now known as Submarine Day. The Kalvari was decommissioned in 1996 after 29 years of service.
The new Kalvari is the first of six Scorpene class conventional diesel-electric submarines built at the Mazagon Docks Ltd under a $3 billion contract with DCNS (now Naval Group) of France.
Her induction was plagued by construction delays. The submarine was to enter service in 2013.
The Indian navy presently has a fleet of 13 ageing conventional submarines, a majority of which will need to be replaced within the next decade as they reach the end of their 30-year service lives.
The commisioning of the Kalvari is the longest gap between acquistions of these underwater platforms.
The acquisition of all six Kalvari-class submarines by 2021 will give the navy's submarine arm a much needed boost.
Rebel JD(U) leaders Sharad Yadav, Ali Anwar disqualified from Rajya Sabha
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Rebel Janata Dal (United) leaders Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar have been disqualified from Rajya Sabha, the party's leader in the upper house, RCP Singh said in a Facebook post. The two rebel JD(U) leaders were expelled from Rajya Sabha by chairman Venkaiah Naidu on the basis of a petition filed by the party.
The party in its petition had said Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar should be expelled from Rajya Sabha since they had been indulging in anti-party activities for a long time.
Sharad Yadav has been at loggerheads with party boss and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ever since the latter broke ranks with the JD(U)-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 'mahagathbandhan' and partnered with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Patna in July.
Meanwhile, Sharad went public with his disapproval of Nitish Kumar's move form a government in Bihar with the help of the BJP.
Sharad also attended an anti-BJP rally called by RJD supremo Lalu Yadav in August this year. This infuriated Nitish, who was so upset with Sharad speaking against the party that the JD(U) met Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaih Naidu and asked him to terminate the membership of Sharad and Ali Anwar for indulging in anti-party activities.
Recently Sharad Yadav, backed by other Opposition leaders claimed the JDU headed by Nitish Kumar was not the real JD(U) and he approached the Election Commission, staking claim to the party and its symbol.
The party in its petition had said Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar should be expelled from Rajya Sabha since they had been indulging in anti-party activities for a long time.
Sharad Yadav has been at loggerheads with party boss and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ever since the latter broke ranks with the JD(U)-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 'mahagathbandhan' and partnered with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Patna in July.
Meanwhile, Sharad went public with his disapproval of Nitish Kumar's move form a government in Bihar with the help of the BJP.
Sharad also attended an anti-BJP rally called by RJD supremo Lalu Yadav in August this year. This infuriated Nitish, who was so upset with Sharad speaking against the party that the JD(U) met Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaih Naidu and asked him to terminate the membership of Sharad and Ali Anwar for indulging in anti-party activities.
Recently Sharad Yadav, backed by other Opposition leaders claimed the JDU headed by Nitish Kumar was not the real JD(U) and he approached the Election Commission, staking claim to the party and its symbol.
Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute: Supreme Court to begin final hearing today
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The Supreme Court is likely to commence the final hearing in the long-standing Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from Tuesday, a day before the 25th anniversary of the demolition of medieval-era structure.
A specially constituted bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer will be hearing a total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits.
The high court had then ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77-acre area at Ayodhya among the parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Lord Ram Lalla.
A sect of Muslims, under the banner of Shia Central Waqf Board of UP, had earlier approached the court offering a solution that a mosque could be built in a Muslim- dominated area at a reasonable distance from the disputed site in Ayodhya.
However, its intervention was opposed by the All India Sunni Waqf Board that had claimed that judicial adjudication between the two sects had already been done in 1946 by declaring the mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, as one which belongs to the Sunnis.
Recently a group of civil rights activists also moved the apex court seeking intervention in the Ayodhya dispute and urged it to consider the issue saying it is not just a dispute over property but has several other aspects which would have farreaching effects on the secular fabric of the country.
WILL THERE BE AN EARLY VERDICT FROM THE SC?
No. the problem is neither mythological nor legal. The litigation has records dating back to the 16th century and written in several languages, including Arabic and Persian. They all have to be translated into English for the court. The HC judgment itself runs to 8,000 pages.
WHAT WAS THE HC RULING? WHO ARE PARTIES TO THE DISPUTE?
The Allahabad HC ruled that the 2.77 acres of Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with 1/3 going to Ram lalla represented by Hindu Mahasabha, 1/3 going to Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining 1/3 going to a Hindu religious denomination Nirmohi Akara.
While the 3-judge bench was not unanimous that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. The other parties in the case are Shia Waqf Board and UP government.
WHAT DID THE HC JUDGES SAY?
Justices Sudhir Agarwal and DV Sharma concluded that Lord Ram was born within the 1,482.5 square yards of the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid premises over 9 lakh years ago during the Treta Yuga.
Justice S.U. Khan, said his finding was an "informed guess" based on "oral evidences of several Hindus and some Muslims" that the precise birthplace of Ram is under the central dome.
Appeals question the HC's decision to order the partition of the disputed site equally among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla, on the hope that a decree for partition and separate possession of the land would prevent further litigation in the Ayodhya dispute
A specially constituted bench of CJI Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and Abdul Nazeer will be hearing a total of 13 appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in four civil suits.
The high court had then ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77-acre area at Ayodhya among the parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Lord Ram Lalla.
A sect of Muslims, under the banner of Shia Central Waqf Board of UP, had earlier approached the court offering a solution that a mosque could be built in a Muslim- dominated area at a reasonable distance from the disputed site in Ayodhya.
However, its intervention was opposed by the All India Sunni Waqf Board that had claimed that judicial adjudication between the two sects had already been done in 1946 by declaring the mosque, which was demolished on December 6, 1992, as one which belongs to the Sunnis.
Recently a group of civil rights activists also moved the apex court seeking intervention in the Ayodhya dispute and urged it to consider the issue saying it is not just a dispute over property but has several other aspects which would have farreaching effects on the secular fabric of the country.
WILL THERE BE AN EARLY VERDICT FROM THE SC?
No. the problem is neither mythological nor legal. The litigation has records dating back to the 16th century and written in several languages, including Arabic and Persian. They all have to be translated into English for the court. The HC judgment itself runs to 8,000 pages.
WHAT WAS THE HC RULING? WHO ARE PARTIES TO THE DISPUTE?
The Allahabad HC ruled that the 2.77 acres of Ayodhya land be divided into three parts, with 1/3 going to Ram lalla represented by Hindu Mahasabha, 1/3 going to Sunni Waqf Board and the remaining 1/3 going to a Hindu religious denomination Nirmohi Akara.
While the 3-judge bench was not unanimous that the disputed structure was constructed after demolition of a temple, it did agree that a temple or a temple structure predated the mosque at the same site. The other parties in the case are Shia Waqf Board and UP government.
WHAT DID THE HC JUDGES SAY?
Justices Sudhir Agarwal and DV Sharma concluded that Lord Ram was born within the 1,482.5 square yards of the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid premises over 9 lakh years ago during the Treta Yuga.
Justice S.U. Khan, said his finding was an "informed guess" based on "oral evidences of several Hindus and some Muslims" that the precise birthplace of Ram is under the central dome.
Appeals question the HC's decision to order the partition of the disputed site equally among Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla, on the hope that a decree for partition and separate possession of the land would prevent further litigation in the Ayodhya dispute
Business Affairs
Google for India: Now pay your utility bills through Tez app
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If internet is an important part of life, especially in urban India, Google is the most vital component of it. From Google search, Android apps, to Google maps and YouTube, urban India, especially youth, swears by Google. Within a few years after big tech companies realised India as a lucrative market for internet and related services - thanks to our enormous population - there has been an exponential rise in the internet penetration. But, don't be mistaken, India is still in its tender age when it comes to the internet usage. The country with over 1.3 billion people - and just 400 million internet users so far - has so much more to offer to these tech giants that it is imperative for them to put India on top of their priority when it comes to research, innovation, product launch and customer base. And, being a market leader, Google is eager to own the Indian internet market with an array of products and features.
'Google for India ', an event that started in New Delhi on Tuesday, is a part of the company's "commitment to India's next billion users" and its "role as a growth engine for the country". The first speaker of the event, Rajan Anadan, VP South East Asia and India for Google, talked about the internet usage and its future for India. He said with India becoming a huge broadband market - a connected mobile user in India consumes 4GB data a month - the figure could reach 11GB in the next four years. According to Google, the company's newly launched digital payment mobile app, Tez, has over 12 million users, and has seen 140 million transactions. The app would soon feature payments for merchants too.
The app also allows users to make all kinds of payments, big or small, directly from your bank account with Tez. Business owners and shops can use the Tez app with their individual current account to start accepting digital payments. Payment goes directly to your bank account - all with no fees. The company also announced the launch of bill payments on Tez. So from Tuesday onwards, one can even pay bills for Airtel, ACT, Tata Power, DishTV, DoCoMo, and other utility providers. The app also has a feature to detect all unpaid bills.
Google has also partnered with Reliance Jio to launch Google Assistant for the Mukesh Ambani-led company's JioPhone, a feature phone that comes for Rs 1,500, and has features similar to a smartphone (it's a 4G LTE phone). Google Assistant would provide the JioPhone users quick information on searches through text and voice-related searches. Google said India holds the number one spot when it comes to Google Play, with over 1 billion app downloads every month. During the event, it was also revealed that over 28 per cent of search queries in India were done by voice, and that there's been over 400 per cent year on year rise in Hindi voice searches.
Recently, Google, in association with Pluralsight and Udacity, said it would offer scholarships to 130,000 developers and students across India. In this joint effort, Google is sponsoring 100,000 scholarships on the Pluralsight learning platform and 30 thousand scholarships on Udacity to help developers gain access to advanced learning curriculum and further their employability in emerging technologies such as Mobile and Web development, Machine Learning, AR/VR, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Platforms. This scholarship programme is in continuation of Google's plans to train two million developers in India, to help spur innovation and support the growth of India's start-up ecosystem. Since the last year and a half, Google has trained over a thousand faculty over 400 colleges and 11 state universities for the technologies of the future which has already benefited 75000 students, said William Florance, Developer Products Group and Skilling Lead for India, Google.
Google launches Android Oreo Go, repackaged version of Android One
Google's also announced the formal rollout of Android Oreo Go Edition, an operating system designed for entry-level devices, in India on Tuesday. Android Go is a re-packaged version of Android One with several apps and features for bare-bone devices even as Android One now caters to slightly more premium hardware. Devices with Android Oreo Go Edition will start shipping from next year, Google further announced. Android Go was first announced at Google I/O 2017 as a special configuration of Android Oreo for entry-level handsets with less than 1GB of RAM. The OS aim, much like it is in the case of Android One devices, is to offer high-quality handsets with high-quality software at rock-bottom prices. Android One demands handsets to ship with 1GB and more of RAM, but Android Go handsets will be able to support RAM as low as 512MB.
Google unveils 'Go' and two-wheeler mode in Google Maps
Tech giant Google on Tuesday unveiled a slew of new solutions, such as Android Oreo Go edition for low-cost smartphones and a bike mode for Maps, aimed at driving Internet adoption across markets, including India. The technology giant also announced the launch of yet another India first feature for Google Maps - a two-wheeler mode with voice navigation. The feature will be available on Google Maps in India from Tuesday and will offer accurate travel times to reflect speed, customised routing and voice guided navigation and enhance landmark navigation for two-wheeler drivers. Caesar Sengupta, Vice-President, Next Billion Users, said Google's India-first suite of products and features are aimed to help more people discover how the Internet can make life easier and more convenient. "These products and features are India-first, but they are not India-only. When we build better products for India, we ultimately build better products for everyone," he added. Citing the example of the bike mode on Google Maps and addition of bill payment feature in Tez, Sengupta said, "These additions both speak to the specific lifestyles of a large number of Indians". "Then you have those who are just adopting Internet. For them, Android Oreo (Go edition) will help improve the experience on entry-level phones while new apps like Files Go will ensure their experience is smooth and they consume less data," he said.
Google, Tata Trusts to create jobs via Internet Saathi
Google said on Tuesday that it will expand its Internet Saathi programme in India -- run in partnership with Tata Trusts -- to create "digitally-enabled livelihood opportunities" for women. Launched in July 2015, Internet Saathi programme aims to facilitate digital literacy among women in rural India. It has so far, trained 30,000 Internet Saathis, who have in turn influenced 12 million women in the country. "Internet usage by women in rural areas is a challenge. Earlier, only 1 in 10 Internet users in rural India was a woman. Two years later, this has grown to 3 in 10," Google Marketing Head (South East Asia and India) Sapna Chadha said. Citing a study, she said women, who were part of the Internet Saathi programme, felt their social and economic standing had improved after the training. "Many have set up their own businesses and this inspired us to look at creating a sustainable framework to deliver employment opportunities to the Internet Saathis," she said. Tata Trusts has set up Foundation for Rural Entrepreneurship Development (FREND), which will help companies and institutions to utilise the services of Internet Saathis in dissemination of information and services in rural areas. This will create newer avenues of income generation for Internet Saathis in rural India, Chadha said. Tata Trusts Head (Strategy) Raman Kalyanakrishnan said the intent of bringing income-generating opportunities to these women was to ensure that they become self-dependant and further encourage women in their communities to emulate them.
If internet is an important part of life, especially in urban India, Google is the most vital component of it. From Google search, Android apps, to Google maps and YouTube, urban India, especially youth, swears by Google. Within a few years after big tech companies realised India as a lucrative market for internet and related services - thanks to our enormous population - there has been an exponential rise in the internet penetration. But, don't be mistaken, India is still in its tender age when it comes to the internet usage. The country with over 1.3 billion people - and just 400 million internet users so far - has so much more to offer to these tech giants that it is imperative for them to put India on top of their priority when it comes to research, innovation, product launch and customer base. And, being a market leader, Google is eager to own the Indian internet market with an array of products and features.
'Google for India ', an event that started in New Delhi on Tuesday, is a part of the company's "commitment to India's next billion users" and its "role as a growth engine for the country". The first speaker of the event, Rajan Anadan, VP South East Asia and India for Google, talked about the internet usage and its future for India. He said with India becoming a huge broadband market - a connected mobile user in India consumes 4GB data a month - the figure could reach 11GB in the next four years. According to Google, the company's newly launched digital payment mobile app, Tez, has over 12 million users, and has seen 140 million transactions. The app would soon feature payments for merchants too.
The app also allows users to make all kinds of payments, big or small, directly from your bank account with Tez. Business owners and shops can use the Tez app with their individual current account to start accepting digital payments. Payment goes directly to your bank account - all with no fees. The company also announced the launch of bill payments on Tez. So from Tuesday onwards, one can even pay bills for Airtel, ACT, Tata Power, DishTV, DoCoMo, and other utility providers. The app also has a feature to detect all unpaid bills.
Google has also partnered with Reliance Jio to launch Google Assistant for the Mukesh Ambani-led company's JioPhone, a feature phone that comes for Rs 1,500, and has features similar to a smartphone (it's a 4G LTE phone). Google Assistant would provide the JioPhone users quick information on searches through text and voice-related searches. Google said India holds the number one spot when it comes to Google Play, with over 1 billion app downloads every month. During the event, it was also revealed that over 28 per cent of search queries in India were done by voice, and that there's been over 400 per cent year on year rise in Hindi voice searches.
Recently, Google, in association with Pluralsight and Udacity, said it would offer scholarships to 130,000 developers and students across India. In this joint effort, Google is sponsoring 100,000 scholarships on the Pluralsight learning platform and 30 thousand scholarships on Udacity to help developers gain access to advanced learning curriculum and further their employability in emerging technologies such as Mobile and Web development, Machine Learning, AR/VR, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Platforms. This scholarship programme is in continuation of Google's plans to train two million developers in India, to help spur innovation and support the growth of India's start-up ecosystem. Since the last year and a half, Google has trained over a thousand faculty over 400 colleges and 11 state universities for the technologies of the future which has already benefited 75000 students, said William Florance, Developer Products Group and Skilling Lead for India, Google.
Google launches Android Oreo Go, repackaged version of Android One
Google's also announced the formal rollout of Android Oreo Go Edition, an operating system designed for entry-level devices, in India on Tuesday. Android Go is a re-packaged version of Android One with several apps and features for bare-bone devices even as Android One now caters to slightly more premium hardware. Devices with Android Oreo Go Edition will start shipping from next year, Google further announced. Android Go was first announced at Google I/O 2017 as a special configuration of Android Oreo for entry-level handsets with less than 1GB of RAM. The OS aim, much like it is in the case of Android One devices, is to offer high-quality handsets with high-quality software at rock-bottom prices. Android One demands handsets to ship with 1GB and more of RAM, but Android Go handsets will be able to support RAM as low as 512MB.
Google unveils 'Go' and two-wheeler mode in Google Maps
Tech giant Google on Tuesday unveiled a slew of new solutions, such as Android Oreo Go edition for low-cost smartphones and a bike mode for Maps, aimed at driving Internet adoption across markets, including India. The technology giant also announced the launch of yet another India first feature for Google Maps - a two-wheeler mode with voice navigation. The feature will be available on Google Maps in India from Tuesday and will offer accurate travel times to reflect speed, customised routing and voice guided navigation and enhance landmark navigation for two-wheeler drivers. Caesar Sengupta, Vice-President, Next Billion Users, said Google's India-first suite of products and features are aimed to help more people discover how the Internet can make life easier and more convenient. "These products and features are India-first, but they are not India-only. When we build better products for India, we ultimately build better products for everyone," he added. Citing the example of the bike mode on Google Maps and addition of bill payment feature in Tez, Sengupta said, "These additions both speak to the specific lifestyles of a large number of Indians". "Then you have those who are just adopting Internet. For them, Android Oreo (Go edition) will help improve the experience on entry-level phones while new apps like Files Go will ensure their experience is smooth and they consume less data," he said.
Google, Tata Trusts to create jobs via Internet Saathi
Google said on Tuesday that it will expand its Internet Saathi programme in India -- run in partnership with Tata Trusts -- to create "digitally-enabled livelihood opportunities" for women. Launched in July 2015, Internet Saathi programme aims to facilitate digital literacy among women in rural India. It has so far, trained 30,000 Internet Saathis, who have in turn influenced 12 million women in the country. "Internet usage by women in rural areas is a challenge. Earlier, only 1 in 10 Internet users in rural India was a woman. Two years later, this has grown to 3 in 10," Google Marketing Head (South East Asia and India) Sapna Chadha said. Citing a study, she said women, who were part of the Internet Saathi programme, felt their social and economic standing had improved after the training. "Many have set up their own businesses and this inspired us to look at creating a sustainable framework to deliver employment opportunities to the Internet Saathis," she said. Tata Trusts has set up Foundation for Rural Entrepreneurship Development (FREND), which will help companies and institutions to utilise the services of Internet Saathis in dissemination of information and services in rural areas. This will create newer avenues of income generation for Internet Saathis in rural India, Chadha said. Tata Trusts Head (Strategy) Raman Kalyanakrishnan said the intent of bringing income-generating opportunities to these women was to ensure that they become self-dependant and further encourage women in their communities to emulate them.
Promoters' equity will be eventually cancelled after resolution under bankruptcy: Corporate lawyer Shardul Shroff
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With each passing day, more doubts and questions are emerging about the recent amendments introduced in the bankruptcy code. There are some who are even talking of more changes in the code. In a quick chat with Anand Adhikari of Business Today, top corporate lawyer Shardul Shroff, who is also executive chairman of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, sheds light on some of the issues that are still in the minds of bidders, bankers and promoters. Here are the excerpts...
Are promoters with NPAs also debarred from bidding in the liquidation process under bankruptcy code ?
Yes, they would be disqualified from both; bidding for assets and bidding at eventual liquidation.
Isn't there a stand still clause preventing promoters from settling their dues?The promoters with NPAs would be allowed to pay up only for the purpose of enabling them to bid for the assets. There is no standstill of insolvency proceedings. Once the insolvency process is on, there will be no standstill ( of the process).
So if the promoters pay up , the assets is no longer a NPA. It actually become a standard asset and hence out of bankruptcy?But the fact is that it was a NPA and, therefore, once the insolvency process has begun, there is no power to withdraw it.
Can promoter challenge the fact that the asset no longer qualifies for bankruptcy ?
Promoters may challenge it. They can challenge it by saying why there is an insolvency if it is a regular ( standard ) account. That 's the question not answered by any judge or authority as of today.
How to deal with SME cases where there will be no bidders and the eventual route would be liquidation ?
Now there is no leeway. The bankruptcy law applies universally to all. There may be a case for some amount of leeway where there are no bidders or promoter is the only bidder.
Is there a possibility of extension of 270 days for resolution or liquidation ?
The 270 days is the outer limit in which the committee of creditors ( CoC) has to consider a resolution plan. It is not effectively what the NCLT is bound by. here is no time limit for NCLT to approve a resolution plan. There is no pressure of 270 days on the NCLT.
Can promoters also challenge the one year cut off for NPAs to debar them from bidding ?
I don't think the courts will interfere. That's not a ground to challenge.
The debarred promoters, theoretically, still hold their shareholding in their companies post the new bidder taking it over?They will lose all that. It's meaningless. Their equity will be cancelled. It will be zero. It would be part of the entire plan where banks would take haircut.
What about the non promoters' equity ?That remains. It's only the promoters equity that goes out.
Are promoters with NPAs also debarred from bidding in the liquidation process under bankruptcy code ?
Yes, they would be disqualified from both; bidding for assets and bidding at eventual liquidation.
Isn't there a stand still clause preventing promoters from settling their dues?The promoters with NPAs would be allowed to pay up only for the purpose of enabling them to bid for the assets. There is no standstill of insolvency proceedings. Once the insolvency process is on, there will be no standstill ( of the process).
So if the promoters pay up , the assets is no longer a NPA. It actually become a standard asset and hence out of bankruptcy?But the fact is that it was a NPA and, therefore, once the insolvency process has begun, there is no power to withdraw it.
Can promoter challenge the fact that the asset no longer qualifies for bankruptcy ?
Promoters may challenge it. They can challenge it by saying why there is an insolvency if it is a regular ( standard ) account. That 's the question not answered by any judge or authority as of today.
How to deal with SME cases where there will be no bidders and the eventual route would be liquidation ?
Now there is no leeway. The bankruptcy law applies universally to all. There may be a case for some amount of leeway where there are no bidders or promoter is the only bidder.
Is there a possibility of extension of 270 days for resolution or liquidation ?
The 270 days is the outer limit in which the committee of creditors ( CoC) has to consider a resolution plan. It is not effectively what the NCLT is bound by. here is no time limit for NCLT to approve a resolution plan. There is no pressure of 270 days on the NCLT.
Can promoters also challenge the one year cut off for NPAs to debar them from bidding ?
I don't think the courts will interfere. That's not a ground to challenge.
The debarred promoters, theoretically, still hold their shareholding in their companies post the new bidder taking it over?They will lose all that. It's meaningless. Their equity will be cancelled. It will be zero. It would be part of the entire plan where banks would take haircut.
What about the non promoters' equity ?That remains. It's only the promoters equity that goes out.
63% of kirana stores in tier 2-3 towns want to embrace digital payment options
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It's well known that demonetization of the currency last year had led to a sharp rise in digital transactions. Since then, while the month-on-month rise may not be as high, a recent report by the Centre For Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) shows a clear growth in the intent to go digital among the 600,000-odd traditional grocery retailers or kirana stores.
The report says that 63% of the kirana stores, especially in the tier two-three markets and semi-urban areas want to go cashless. Around 45% of these stores are willing to buy POS (point of sales)machines. "They all have to pay merchant discount rates and that's the biggest barrier. Not only are they willing to go cashless, they are also prepared to pay the transaction charges as they see a sustainable business model," points out Krishnan Dharmarajan, Executive Director, CDFI.
Earlier, only 5% of the retailers were using POS machines. "While people are saying that this number had gone up during the demonitisation days and is now coming down, we are saying that the story has not started yet," says Dharmarajan.
However, it is mobile payments that is actually seeing a surge. Not only are the kirana store owners opting to pay distributors and wholesalers through their mobile wallets, the report says that even consumers living in smaller towns are equally excited about buying using mobile wallets. "People are willing to take the first step of signing up, then they will move to the second stage and the real transaction will happen that's when the boom will come," explains the CDFI head honcho, according to whom 42-45% of the small town retailers are wanting to use mobile wallets.
He says that 94% of the kiranas store owners have mobile phones, out of which 41% have smart phones. Out of that 80% have internet. Similarly, 86% of the consumers in smaller towns, as per the report, had mobile phones out of which 36% were smart phones. Only 16% of the smart phone owners actually used mobile payment. "These numbers are actually going up because of 4G. Only 3% of the kiranas were actually offering mobile payments till March this year. There is a huge difference between aspiration levels and what they were actually doing. If one taps the market, it will definitely become big," says Dharmarajan.
There is awareness that mobile is cheaper than POS and that is what is attracting the kirana stores them to mobile payments.
"Month on month if you compare it with the previous year, there is a significant difference. What you need to understand is what you observed as the peak during demonetisation was only the 5% usage on the kirana segment. The real story has to unfold," reiterates Dharmarajan.
It's well known that demonetization of the currency last year had led to a sharp rise in digital transactions. Since then, while the month-on-month rise may not be as high, a recent report by the Centre For Digital Financial Inclusion (CDFI) shows a clear growth in the intent to go digital among the 600,000-odd traditional grocery retailers or kirana stores.
The report says that 63% of the kirana stores, especially in the tier two-three markets and semi-urban areas want to go cashless. Around 45% of these stores are willing to buy POS (point of sales)machines. "They all have to pay merchant discount rates and that's the biggest barrier. Not only are they willing to go cashless, they are also prepared to pay the transaction charges as they see a sustainable business model," points out Krishnan Dharmarajan, Executive Director, CDFI.
Earlier, only 5% of the retailers were using POS machines. "While people are saying that this number had gone up during the demonitisation days and is now coming down, we are saying that the story has not started yet," says Dharmarajan.
However, it is mobile payments that is actually seeing a surge. Not only are the kirana store owners opting to pay distributors and wholesalers through their mobile wallets, the report says that even consumers living in smaller towns are equally excited about buying using mobile wallets. "People are willing to take the first step of signing up, then they will move to the second stage and the real transaction will happen that's when the boom will come," explains the CDFI head honcho, according to whom 42-45% of the small town retailers are wanting to use mobile wallets.
He says that 94% of the kiranas store owners have mobile phones, out of which 41% have smart phones. Out of that 80% have internet. Similarly, 86% of the consumers in smaller towns, as per the report, had mobile phones out of which 36% were smart phones. Only 16% of the smart phone owners actually used mobile payment. "These numbers are actually going up because of 4G. Only 3% of the kiranas were actually offering mobile payments till March this year. There is a huge difference between aspiration levels and what they were actually doing. If one taps the market, it will definitely become big," says Dharmarajan.
There is awareness that mobile is cheaper than POS and that is what is attracting the kirana stores them to mobile payments.
"Month on month if you compare it with the previous year, there is a significant difference. What you need to understand is what you observed as the peak during demonetisation was only the 5% usage on the kirana segment. The real story has to unfold," reiterates Dharmarajan.
Government unveils mid-term review of foreign trade policy to boost exports
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Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday unveiled Mid-Term Review of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 by announcing a slew of incentives to boost country's exports. Prabhu said that mid-term review of FTP will leverage the long term advantages of GST in terms of reduced compliance and logistics costs.
Mid-term review of Foreign Trade Policy will focus on finding new markets and new products as well as increasing India's share in the traditional markets and products, the minister said. To achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of doubling farmers' incomes, FTP will have a focused policy for agricultural exports.
"Mid-term review aims to promote exports by simplification of processes, enhancing support to high employment sectors, leveraging benefits of GST, promoting services exports,monitoring exports performance through state-of-the-art analytics," Suresh Prabhu added.
The minister said the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) incentive rate will be raised by 2 per cent across the board for labour intensive/MSME sectors. Services exports from India Scheme (SEIS) incentives for sectors such as education, health, hospitality, business, legal, accounting, architectural, engineering to be increased by 2 per cent.
The increase in annual incentive by 34 per cent to Rs 8,450 crore will benefit leather, handicraft, carpets, sports goods, agriculture, marine, electronic components and project exports, the minister said in a tweet.
The FTP will provide "additional annual incentive of Rs 749 crore for the leather sector, Rs 921 crore for hand-made carpets of silk, handloom, coir, jute products, Rs 1,354 crore for agri products, Rs 759 crore for marine products, Rs 369 crore for telecom, electronic components, Rs 193 crore for medical equipment," the ministry said in a tweet.
It further said MEIS incentives for two sub-sectors of textiles - ready-made garments and made-ups - have already been increased to 4 per cent from 2 per cent, with an additional annual incentive of Rs 2,743 crore.
Validity period of Duty Free Credit Scrips has already been increased from 18 to 24 months to enhance their utility in the GST framework. GST rate on sale/transfer of scrips has been reduced to zero, the ministry said.
A new Logistics Division has also been created in Department of Commerce for integrated development of the logistics sector. The move is likely to positively impact exports by lowering transaction cost, increasing speed & ease of goods movement, improving Logistics Performance Index.
Prabhu said introduction of the new tax regime "would be the catalyst for spurring growth in the export sector. The lower duty on most of items and reduction of cascading effect of various duties would lower the cost and make exports competitive".
He added that green shoots in export growth are distinctly visible now with positive export growth in 13 of the past 14 months.
The five-year FTP was announced on April 1, 2015, and set an ambitious target of India's goods and services exports at $900 billion by 2020. It also has a goal of increasing India's share of world exports to 3.5 per cent, from 2 per cent.
FTP will continue to be reviewed and amended for addressing exporters concerns, simplification of procedures and for promotion of exports, Prabhu said
Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia further stated that ITC and IGST refunds for exporters are being expedited and incentives have been increased for labour intensive MSME sectors.
The government also said that support to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation will be enhanced to provide increased insurance cover to exporters particularly MSMEs exploring new or difficult markets
FTP will also focus on 'Ease of Trading' across borders. A professional team will handhold, assist and support exporters in their export related problems, accessing export markets, meeting regulatory requirements, the ministry added.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday unveiled Mid-Term Review of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 by announcing a slew of incentives to boost country's exports. Prabhu said that mid-term review of FTP will leverage the long term advantages of GST in terms of reduced compliance and logistics costs.
Mid-term review of Foreign Trade Policy will focus on finding new markets and new products as well as increasing India's share in the traditional markets and products, the minister said. To achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of doubling farmers' incomes, FTP will have a focused policy for agricultural exports.
"Mid-term review aims to promote exports by simplification of processes, enhancing support to high employment sectors, leveraging benefits of GST, promoting services exports,monitoring exports performance through state-of-the-art analytics," Suresh Prabhu added.
The minister said the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) incentive rate will be raised by 2 per cent across the board for labour intensive/MSME sectors. Services exports from India Scheme (SEIS) incentives for sectors such as education, health, hospitality, business, legal, accounting, architectural, engineering to be increased by 2 per cent.
The increase in annual incentive by 34 per cent to Rs 8,450 crore will benefit leather, handicraft, carpets, sports goods, agriculture, marine, electronic components and project exports, the minister said in a tweet.
The FTP will provide "additional annual incentive of Rs 749 crore for the leather sector, Rs 921 crore for hand-made carpets of silk, handloom, coir, jute products, Rs 1,354 crore for agri products, Rs 759 crore for marine products, Rs 369 crore for telecom, electronic components, Rs 193 crore for medical equipment," the ministry said in a tweet.
It further said MEIS incentives for two sub-sectors of textiles - ready-made garments and made-ups - have already been increased to 4 per cent from 2 per cent, with an additional annual incentive of Rs 2,743 crore.
Validity period of Duty Free Credit Scrips has already been increased from 18 to 24 months to enhance their utility in the GST framework. GST rate on sale/transfer of scrips has been reduced to zero, the ministry said.
A new Logistics Division has also been created in Department of Commerce for integrated development of the logistics sector. The move is likely to positively impact exports by lowering transaction cost, increasing speed & ease of goods movement, improving Logistics Performance Index.
Prabhu said introduction of the new tax regime "would be the catalyst for spurring growth in the export sector. The lower duty on most of items and reduction of cascading effect of various duties would lower the cost and make exports competitive".
He added that green shoots in export growth are distinctly visible now with positive export growth in 13 of the past 14 months.
The five-year FTP was announced on April 1, 2015, and set an ambitious target of India's goods and services exports at $900 billion by 2020. It also has a goal of increasing India's share of world exports to 3.5 per cent, from 2 per cent.
FTP will continue to be reviewed and amended for addressing exporters concerns, simplification of procedures and for promotion of exports, Prabhu said
Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia further stated that ITC and IGST refunds for exporters are being expedited and incentives have been increased for labour intensive MSME sectors.
The government also said that support to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation will be enhanced to provide increased insurance cover to exporters particularly MSMEs exploring new or difficult markets
FTP will also focus on 'Ease of Trading' across borders. A professional team will handhold, assist and support exporters in their export related problems, accessing export markets, meeting regulatory requirements, the ministry added.
Prosecution evidence suggests 'zero' chance of fraud; no proof that Vijay Mallya didn't intend to repay loans, says defence council
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Trashing all charges put forward by the government of India against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, his defence team submitted before a London court on Tuesday that there's no proof that Mallya defrauded the Indian banks. Mallya's legal team, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, said that the Crown Prosecution Service's arguments represented a "critical failing" on part of the Indian government. The 61-year-old owner of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines was also present in the dock on the second day of his extradition hearing at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
Mallya faces charges relating to Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on loans to the tune of Rs 9,400-crore from a consortium of 17 banks in India. There's another case going on against him involving a loan worth Rs 900-crore from IDBI Bank. Arguing on behalf of the Indian government, the CPS had cited "a case of fraud" as a reason for his extradition. Montgomery opened her arguments on Tuesday by stating that the CPS evidence suggested "zero" chance of fraud, and that the Indian government had failed to establish that Mallya had no intention to pay back the loans.
"The reality is that the profitability of an airline depends on economic factors, which are largely cyclical and largely out of the control of the airline itself," she said, reported PTI. Concluding that there was no attempt to mislead the government sector banks by over-valuing the brand value, Montgomery submitted the internal company assessments and bank papers to prove her point. The prosecution on Monday apprised the court of Mallya's "three chapters of dishonesty", with the first being misrepresentation to different public sector banks to secure loans, the loan money misuse and his secret departure from the country as the banks recalled the loans. "Instead of acting as an honest person and doing what he could to meet his obligations, he sets about erecting lines of defence," CPS barrister Mark Summers said, reported PTI, adding that though the airline industry, including Kingfisher Airlines, was in "intensive care", the high profile businessman chose to palm off the losses to private as well as state-owned banks.
Mallya, who has been staying near London since March 2016, had objected to his extradition to India saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has converted the Kingfisher Airlines loans case into a criminal matter and had no case against him. His extradition trial will now determine whether he could be legally forced to go back to face the Indian courts. In October, it was reported how the plush London residence of Mallya, called Lady Walk, was bought using the Indian tax payer's money routed through companies located in the UK. Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had discovered that Mallya paid 6.1 million US dollars (Rs 39.7 crore) from the Kingfisher Airline's HSBC account in London to a British company, Continental Administrative Services, which has "is having ownership interests in the property at Lady Walk, London". For India to extradite Mallya, it has to satisfy a "dual criminality clause" as per the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Trashing all charges put forward by the government of India against fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, his defence team submitted before a London court on Tuesday that there's no proof that Mallya defrauded the Indian banks. Mallya's legal team, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, said that the Crown Prosecution Service's arguments represented a "critical failing" on part of the Indian government. The 61-year-old owner of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines was also present in the dock on the second day of his extradition hearing at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.
Mallya faces charges relating to Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on loans to the tune of Rs 9,400-crore from a consortium of 17 banks in India. There's another case going on against him involving a loan worth Rs 900-crore from IDBI Bank. Arguing on behalf of the Indian government, the CPS had cited "a case of fraud" as a reason for his extradition. Montgomery opened her arguments on Tuesday by stating that the CPS evidence suggested "zero" chance of fraud, and that the Indian government had failed to establish that Mallya had no intention to pay back the loans.
"The reality is that the profitability of an airline depends on economic factors, which are largely cyclical and largely out of the control of the airline itself," she said, reported PTI. Concluding that there was no attempt to mislead the government sector banks by over-valuing the brand value, Montgomery submitted the internal company assessments and bank papers to prove her point. The prosecution on Monday apprised the court of Mallya's "three chapters of dishonesty", with the first being misrepresentation to different public sector banks to secure loans, the loan money misuse and his secret departure from the country as the banks recalled the loans. "Instead of acting as an honest person and doing what he could to meet his obligations, he sets about erecting lines of defence," CPS barrister Mark Summers said, reported PTI, adding that though the airline industry, including Kingfisher Airlines, was in "intensive care", the high profile businessman chose to palm off the losses to private as well as state-owned banks.
Mallya, who has been staying near London since March 2016, had objected to his extradition to India saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has converted the Kingfisher Airlines loans case into a criminal matter and had no case against him. His extradition trial will now determine whether he could be legally forced to go back to face the Indian courts. In October, it was reported how the plush London residence of Mallya, called Lady Walk, was bought using the Indian tax payer's money routed through companies located in the UK. Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had discovered that Mallya paid 6.1 million US dollars (Rs 39.7 crore) from the Kingfisher Airline's HSBC account in London to a British company, Continental Administrative Services, which has "is having ownership interests in the property at Lady Walk, London". For India to extradite Mallya, it has to satisfy a "dual criminality clause" as per the extradition treaty between the two countries.
General Awareness
CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE QUESTIONS FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS
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1. Which among the following Yoga Institutes has been selected as the first recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution to promotion and development of Yoga in June 2017?
a) Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute
b) Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram
c) Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and Ashrams, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
d) Yoga Institute, Mumbai
2. Who is the current Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India?
a) T.M. Bhasin
b) K.V. Chowdary
c) Rajiv
d) K. Santhanam
3. Who has been has renominated as its serving candidate at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by India in June 2017?
a) Justice Jasti Chelameswar
b) Justice Ranjan Gogoi
c) Justice Dalveer Bhandari
d) Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $ 275 million loan on 19th June, 2017 for improving urban services in 64 small towns in the State of which of the following?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Madhya Pradesh
5. Which among the following countries plans to host a summit for start-ups from SAARC nations in 2018?
a) India
b) Nepal
c) Sri Lanka
d) Bangladesh
6. According to Fitch Ratings, India's GDP growth will steadily rise from 7.4% to ........ in 2018-19.
a) 8.2%
b) 7.5%
c) 7.8%
d) 8.0%
7. Which among the following countries became the 71st country to ratify the United Nations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention, a move that will help boost trade through smoother movement of goods across territories?
a) Japan
b) Russia
c) Germany
d) India
8. Indian Navy's first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2), developed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T), and was launched at:
a) L&T's Shipyard in Kattupalli
b) Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam
c) Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai
d) Goa Shipyard Limited in Goa
9. The BIO International Convention 2017 was held in:
a) Dhaka
b) San Diego
c) Tokyo
d) Jakarta
10. Who is the current CEO of International Cricket Council's (ICC)?
a) Zaheer Abbas
b) Shashank Manohar
c) David Richardson
d) Narayanaswami Srinivasan
11. Who earned the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the Supreme Court?
a) Mr. Jasti Chelameswar
b) Mr. Ranjan Gogoi
c) Mr. CS Karnan
d) Mr. Pinaki Chandra Ghose
12. International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on:
a) June 21
b) May 21
c) June 19
d) July 21
13. The 5th International Forum for Technological Development TECHNOPROM- 2017 was held in:
a) Russia
b) USA
c) France
d) Japan
14. The oldest yoga trainer or teacher in the world is .....
a) Elena Brower
b) Seane Corn
c) Tao Porchon-Lynch
d) Amma Nanammal
15. Who among the following is appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to India?
a) Tim Wirth
b) Kenneth Juster
c) Frank E. Loy
d) Paula Dobriansky
16. Who among the following was appointed as Crown Prince of the Saudi Arabia?
a) Mohammed Rehman
b) Mohammed Sultan
c) Mohammed Bin Salman
d) Mohammed Ali Khan
17. Which among the following Municipal Corporations has become the first local body in the country to issue municipal bonds?
a) Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
b) Mumbai Municipal Corporation
c) New Delhi Municipal Corporation
d) Pune Municipal Corporation
18. Name the Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer, who has resigned under mounting pressure from investors over his leadership in June 2017.
a) Bob Igor
b) Elon Musk
c) James Dimon
d) Travis Kalanick
19. SEBI has decided to levy a 'Regulatory Fee' of ........... on each subscriber of offshore derivative instrument (ODI), which will have to be collected by the registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that issues the ODIs.
a) $2,000
b) $1500
c) $2500
d) $1,000
20. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural ........... and rural ......... have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India.
a) Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
b) Bihar, Sikkim
c) Uttarakhand, Haryana
d) Karnataka, Punjab
21. Who has been selected unanimously as the Opposition candidate for the presidential election to be held in July 2017?
a) Mayawati
b) Meira Kumar
c) Sushilkumar Shinde
d) Sharad Power
22. Who has been taken oath as the Bihar Governor in June 2017?
a) Vijay Kumar Choudhary
b) Keshri Nath Tripathi
c) Rajendra Menon
d) Shankar Sharma
23. Who is the current Prime Minister of Sweden?
a) Fredrik Reinfeldt
b) Stefan Lofven
c) Goran Persson
d) Ingvar Carlsson
24. Which among the following countries has cleared the sale of 22 unmanned Guardian drones to India in June 2017?
a) France
b) Russia
c) USA
d) Germany
25. India signed Loan Agreement for co-financing of part funding through World Bank for USD 240 million and USD 160 Million from AIIB for 24X7 Power for All in:
a) Andhra Pradesh Project
b) Madhya Pradesh Project
c) Uttar Pradesh Project
d) Himachal Pradesh Project
26. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expanded its Oversight Committee - formed to advice banks on which of the following issues?
a) Stressed asset resolution
b) Interest rates
c) Unaccounted money deposited in the bank accounts
d) All of the above
27. RBI has asked banks to resolve .......... high value cases of bad loans within six months or face the prospect of being directed to go in for the new insolvency resolution mechanism as part of the strategy to rein in unacceptable level of non-performing assets (NPAs).
a) 25
b) 55
c) 35
d) 45
28. The Central government has placed an order for 37 lakh doses of a rotavirus vaccine that promises to beat heat issues and requires no refrigeration. Rotavirus, is the leading cause of which of the following diseases?
a) Small Pox
b) Diarrhoea
c) Dengue
d) Polio
29. The Ministry of External affairs celebrated the completion of 50 years of the Passport Act 1967 as the 5th Passport Seva Divas on -
a) 24th May
b) 24th June
c) 24th March
d) 24th April
30. 'City Liveability Index' for measuring the quality of life in 116 major cities was launched by .....
a) NITI Aayog
b) Ministry of Urban Development
c) Central Pollution Control Board of India
d) Both a and c
31. Central government announced another list of 30 cities for development as smart cities taking the total cities picked up so far to 90 under Smart City Mission launched on:
a) July 25, 2016
b) June 25, 2014
c) June 25, 2015
d) April 25, 2015
32. Child victims of cyber crimes can now lodge their complaints at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)'s POCSO e-box. Which of the following is/ are the cyber crime/ cyber crimes included in complaints?
a) Cyber bullying
b) Cyber stalking
c) Child pornography
d) All of the above
33. How many Arab States or Countries boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism?
a) 6
b) 4
c) 8
d) 7
34. Tata Power, has offered to sell a majority 51% stake in its debt-laden 4,000 megawatt (MW) Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) for just Rs.1. This Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) is located in:
a) Rajasthan
b) Haryana
c) Punjab
d) Gujarat
35. Who among the following is/ are the recipients of this year Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy?
a) Mei Hing Chak
b) Julian Robertson
c) Azim Premji
d) All of the above
36. According to a U.N. 'The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision' report, India to have bigger population than China by...
a) 2050
b) 2030
c) 2024
d) 2075
37. SRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLVC38 successfully launched the 712 kg ........ Series Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
a) Cartosat-1
b) Cartosat-2
c) Cartosat-3
d) Cartosat-4
38. Which among the following country/ countries cricket team has/ have been granted Test status by the International Cricket Council in June 2017?
a) Afghanistan
b) Ireland
c) UAE
d) Both a and b
39. New 'Incredible India 2.0 campaign' will be launched by which of the following ministries of Government of India?
a) Ministry of External Affairs
b) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
c) Ministry of Tourism
d) Ministry of Science and Technology
40. Name the minister in the Madhya Pradesh, who was disqualified by the Election Commission from membership of any State legislature and contesting polls for the next three years for filing wrong accounts of election expenditure.
a) Gopal Bhargava
b) Dr. Gaurishankar Shejwar
c) Narottam Mishra
d) Jayant Mallayya
41. The Government has granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at:
a) Jewar in Uttar Pradesh
b) Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh
c) Mangalore in Karnataka
d) Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh
42. India and Portugal have signed 11 bilateral agreements recently, who is the current Prime Minister of Portugal?
a) Jorge Sampaio
b) Antonio Costa
c) Pedro Passos Coelho
d) Jose Socrates
43. The annual plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group 2017 was held in:
a) Berne
b) Beijing
c) Rome
d) Moscow
44. Who has become first turbaned Sikh woman Supreme Court judge of Canada in June 2017?
a) Gulab Kaur
b) Parbinderkaur Shergill
c) Bibi Bhag Bhari
d) Sahib Kaur
45. Which space agency is launching a new Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (Chess) sounding rocket on 27 June to study the vast interstellar clouds to understand more about the earliest stages of star formation?
a) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
b) Russian Federal Space Agency
c) National Aeronautics and Space Administration
d) Indian Space Research Organisation
ANSWERS:
1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d, 5-a, 6-b, 7-d, 8-a, 9-b, 10-c
11-c, 12-a, 13-a, 14-c, 15-b, 16-c, 17-d, 18-d, 19-d, 20-c
21-b, 22-b, 23-b, 24-c, 25-a, 26-a, 27-b, 28-b, 29-b, 30-b
31-c, 32-d, 33-b, 34-d, 35-d, 36-c, 37-b, 38-d, 39-c, 40-c
41-a, 42-b, 43-a, 44-b, 45-c
1. Which among the following Yoga Institutes has been selected as the first recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution to promotion and development of Yoga in June 2017?
a) Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute
b) Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram
c) Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and Ashrams, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
d) Yoga Institute, Mumbai
2. Who is the current Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India?
a) T.M. Bhasin
b) K.V. Chowdary
c) Rajiv
d) K. Santhanam
3. Who has been has renominated as its serving candidate at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by India in June 2017?
a) Justice Jasti Chelameswar
b) Justice Ranjan Gogoi
c) Justice Dalveer Bhandari
d) Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $ 275 million loan on 19th June, 2017 for improving urban services in 64 small towns in the State of which of the following?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Madhya Pradesh
5. Which among the following countries plans to host a summit for start-ups from SAARC nations in 2018?
a) India
b) Nepal
c) Sri Lanka
d) Bangladesh
6. According to Fitch Ratings, India's GDP growth will steadily rise from 7.4% to ........ in 2018-19.
a) 8.2%
b) 7.5%
c) 7.8%
d) 8.0%
7. Which among the following countries became the 71st country to ratify the United Nations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention, a move that will help boost trade through smoother movement of goods across territories?
a) Japan
b) Russia
c) Germany
d) India
8. Indian Navy's first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2), developed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T), and was launched at:
a) L&T's Shipyard in Kattupalli
b) Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam
c) Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai
d) Goa Shipyard Limited in Goa
9. The BIO International Convention 2017 was held in:
a) Dhaka
b) San Diego
c) Tokyo
d) Jakarta
10. Who is the current CEO of International Cricket Council's (ICC)?
a) Zaheer Abbas
b) Shashank Manohar
c) David Richardson
d) Narayanaswami Srinivasan
11. Who earned the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the Supreme Court?
a) Mr. Jasti Chelameswar
b) Mr. Ranjan Gogoi
c) Mr. CS Karnan
d) Mr. Pinaki Chandra Ghose
12. International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on:
a) June 21
b) May 21
c) June 19
d) July 21
13. The 5th International Forum for Technological Development TECHNOPROM- 2017 was held in:
a) Russia
b) USA
c) France
d) Japan
14. The oldest yoga trainer or teacher in the world is .....
a) Elena Brower
b) Seane Corn
c) Tao Porchon-Lynch
d) Amma Nanammal
15. Who among the following is appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to India?
a) Tim Wirth
b) Kenneth Juster
c) Frank E. Loy
d) Paula Dobriansky
16. Who among the following was appointed as Crown Prince of the Saudi Arabia?
a) Mohammed Rehman
b) Mohammed Sultan
c) Mohammed Bin Salman
d) Mohammed Ali Khan
17. Which among the following Municipal Corporations has become the first local body in the country to issue municipal bonds?
a) Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
b) Mumbai Municipal Corporation
c) New Delhi Municipal Corporation
d) Pune Municipal Corporation
18. Name the Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer, who has resigned under mounting pressure from investors over his leadership in June 2017.
a) Bob Igor
b) Elon Musk
c) James Dimon
d) Travis Kalanick
19. SEBI has decided to levy a 'Regulatory Fee' of ........... on each subscriber of offshore derivative instrument (ODI), which will have to be collected by the registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that issues the ODIs.
a) $2,000
b) $1500
c) $2500
d) $1,000
20. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural ........... and rural ......... have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India.
a) Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
b) Bihar, Sikkim
c) Uttarakhand, Haryana
d) Karnataka, Punjab
21. Who has been selected unanimously as the Opposition candidate for the presidential election to be held in July 2017?
a) Mayawati
b) Meira Kumar
c) Sushilkumar Shinde
d) Sharad Power
22. Who has been taken oath as the Bihar Governor in June 2017?
a) Vijay Kumar Choudhary
b) Keshri Nath Tripathi
c) Rajendra Menon
d) Shankar Sharma
23. Who is the current Prime Minister of Sweden?
a) Fredrik Reinfeldt
b) Stefan Lofven
c) Goran Persson
d) Ingvar Carlsson
24. Which among the following countries has cleared the sale of 22 unmanned Guardian drones to India in June 2017?
a) France
b) Russia
c) USA
d) Germany
25. India signed Loan Agreement for co-financing of part funding through World Bank for USD 240 million and USD 160 Million from AIIB for 24X7 Power for All in:
a) Andhra Pradesh Project
b) Madhya Pradesh Project
c) Uttar Pradesh Project
d) Himachal Pradesh Project
26. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expanded its Oversight Committee - formed to advice banks on which of the following issues?
a) Stressed asset resolution
b) Interest rates
c) Unaccounted money deposited in the bank accounts
d) All of the above
27. RBI has asked banks to resolve .......... high value cases of bad loans within six months or face the prospect of being directed to go in for the new insolvency resolution mechanism as part of the strategy to rein in unacceptable level of non-performing assets (NPAs).
a) 25
b) 55
c) 35
d) 45
28. The Central government has placed an order for 37 lakh doses of a rotavirus vaccine that promises to beat heat issues and requires no refrigeration. Rotavirus, is the leading cause of which of the following diseases?
a) Small Pox
b) Diarrhoea
c) Dengue
d) Polio
29. The Ministry of External affairs celebrated the completion of 50 years of the Passport Act 1967 as the 5th Passport Seva Divas on -
a) 24th May
b) 24th June
c) 24th March
d) 24th April
30. 'City Liveability Index' for measuring the quality of life in 116 major cities was launched by .....
a) NITI Aayog
b) Ministry of Urban Development
c) Central Pollution Control Board of India
d) Both a and c
31. Central government announced another list of 30 cities for development as smart cities taking the total cities picked up so far to 90 under Smart City Mission launched on:
a) July 25, 2016
b) June 25, 2014
c) June 25, 2015
d) April 25, 2015
32. Child victims of cyber crimes can now lodge their complaints at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)'s POCSO e-box. Which of the following is/ are the cyber crime/ cyber crimes included in complaints?
a) Cyber bullying
b) Cyber stalking
c) Child pornography
d) All of the above
33. How many Arab States or Countries boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism?
a) 6
b) 4
c) 8
d) 7
34. Tata Power, has offered to sell a majority 51% stake in its debt-laden 4,000 megawatt (MW) Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) for just Rs.1. This Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) is located in:
a) Rajasthan
b) Haryana
c) Punjab
d) Gujarat
35. Who among the following is/ are the recipients of this year Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy?
a) Mei Hing Chak
b) Julian Robertson
c) Azim Premji
d) All of the above
36. According to a U.N. 'The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision' report, India to have bigger population than China by...
a) 2050
b) 2030
c) 2024
d) 2075
37. SRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLVC38 successfully launched the 712 kg ........ Series Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
a) Cartosat-1
b) Cartosat-2
c) Cartosat-3
d) Cartosat-4
38. Which among the following country/ countries cricket team has/ have been granted Test status by the International Cricket Council in June 2017?
a) Afghanistan
b) Ireland
c) UAE
d) Both a and b
39. New 'Incredible India 2.0 campaign' will be launched by which of the following ministries of Government of India?
a) Ministry of External Affairs
b) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
c) Ministry of Tourism
d) Ministry of Science and Technology
40. Name the minister in the Madhya Pradesh, who was disqualified by the Election Commission from membership of any State legislature and contesting polls for the next three years for filing wrong accounts of election expenditure.
a) Gopal Bhargava
b) Dr. Gaurishankar Shejwar
c) Narottam Mishra
d) Jayant Mallayya
41. The Government has granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at:
a) Jewar in Uttar Pradesh
b) Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh
c) Mangalore in Karnataka
d) Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh
42. India and Portugal have signed 11 bilateral agreements recently, who is the current Prime Minister of Portugal?
a) Jorge Sampaio
b) Antonio Costa
c) Pedro Passos Coelho
d) Jose Socrates
43. The annual plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group 2017 was held in:
a) Berne
b) Beijing
c) Rome
d) Moscow
44. Who has become first turbaned Sikh woman Supreme Court judge of Canada in June 2017?
a) Gulab Kaur
b) Parbinderkaur Shergill
c) Bibi Bhag Bhari
d) Sahib Kaur
45. Which space agency is launching a new Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (Chess) sounding rocket on 27 June to study the vast interstellar clouds to understand more about the earliest stages of star formation?
a) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
b) Russian Federal Space Agency
c) National Aeronautics and Space Administration
d) Indian Space Research Organisation
ANSWERS:
1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d, 5-a, 6-b, 7-d, 8-a, 9-b, 10-c
11-c, 12-a, 13-a, 14-c, 15-b, 16-c, 17-d, 18-d, 19-d, 20-c
21-b, 22-b, 23-b, 24-c, 25-a, 26-a, 27-b, 28-b, 29-b, 30-b
31-c, 32-d, 33-b, 34-d, 35-d, 36-c, 37-b, 38-d, 39-c, 40-c
41-a, 42-b, 43-a, 44-b, 45-c
a) Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute
b) Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram
c) Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and Ashrams, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
d) Yoga Institute, Mumbai
2. Who is the current Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India?
a) T.M. Bhasin
b) K.V. Chowdary
c) Rajiv
d) K. Santhanam
3. Who has been has renominated as its serving candidate at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by India in June 2017?
a) Justice Jasti Chelameswar
b) Justice Ranjan Gogoi
c) Justice Dalveer Bhandari
d) Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $ 275 million loan on 19th June, 2017 for improving urban services in 64 small towns in the State of which of the following?
a) Andhra Pradesh
b) Haryana
c) Uttar Pradesh
d) Madhya Pradesh
5. Which among the following countries plans to host a summit for start-ups from SAARC nations in 2018?
a) India
b) Nepal
c) Sri Lanka
d) Bangladesh
6. According to Fitch Ratings, India's GDP growth will steadily rise from 7.4% to ........ in 2018-19.
a) 8.2%
b) 7.5%
c) 7.8%
d) 8.0%
7. Which among the following countries became the 71st country to ratify the United Nations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention, a move that will help boost trade through smoother movement of goods across territories?
a) Japan
b) Russia
c) Germany
d) India
8. Indian Navy's first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2), developed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T), and was launched at:
a) L&T's Shipyard in Kattupalli
b) Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam
c) Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai
d) Goa Shipyard Limited in Goa
9. The BIO International Convention 2017 was held in:
a) Dhaka
b) San Diego
c) Tokyo
d) Jakarta
10. Who is the current CEO of International Cricket Council's (ICC)?
a) Zaheer Abbas
b) Shashank Manohar
c) David Richardson
d) Narayanaswami Srinivasan
11. Who earned the dubious distinction of being the first sitting high court judge to be awarded a jail term by the Supreme Court?
a) Mr. Jasti Chelameswar
b) Mr. Ranjan Gogoi
c) Mr. CS Karnan
d) Mr. Pinaki Chandra Ghose
12. International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on:
a) June 21
b) May 21
c) June 19
d) July 21
13. The 5th International Forum for Technological Development TECHNOPROM- 2017 was held in:
a) Russia
b) USA
c) France
d) Japan
14. The oldest yoga trainer or teacher in the world is .....
a) Elena Brower
b) Seane Corn
c) Tao Porchon-Lynch
d) Amma Nanammal
15. Who among the following is appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to India?
a) Tim Wirth
b) Kenneth Juster
c) Frank E. Loy
d) Paula Dobriansky
16. Who among the following was appointed as Crown Prince of the Saudi Arabia?
a) Mohammed Rehman
b) Mohammed Sultan
c) Mohammed Bin Salman
d) Mohammed Ali Khan
17. Which among the following Municipal Corporations has become the first local body in the country to issue municipal bonds?
a) Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
b) Mumbai Municipal Corporation
c) New Delhi Municipal Corporation
d) Pune Municipal Corporation
18. Name the Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer, who has resigned under mounting pressure from investors over his leadership in June 2017.
a) Bob Igor
b) Elon Musk
c) James Dimon
d) Travis Kalanick
19. SEBI has decided to levy a 'Regulatory Fee' of ........... on each subscriber of offshore derivative instrument (ODI), which will have to be collected by the registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that issues the ODIs.
a) $2,000
b) $1500
c) $2500
d) $1,000
20. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural ........... and rural ......... have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India.
a) Andhra Pradesh, Odisha
b) Bihar, Sikkim
c) Uttarakhand, Haryana
d) Karnataka, Punjab
21. Who has been selected unanimously as the Opposition candidate for the presidential election to be held in July 2017?
a) Mayawati
b) Meira Kumar
c) Sushilkumar Shinde
d) Sharad Power
22. Who has been taken oath as the Bihar Governor in June 2017?
a) Vijay Kumar Choudhary
b) Keshri Nath Tripathi
c) Rajendra Menon
d) Shankar Sharma
23. Who is the current Prime Minister of Sweden?
a) Fredrik Reinfeldt
b) Stefan Lofven
c) Goran Persson
d) Ingvar Carlsson
24. Which among the following countries has cleared the sale of 22 unmanned Guardian drones to India in June 2017?
a) France
b) Russia
c) USA
d) Germany
25. India signed Loan Agreement for co-financing of part funding through World Bank for USD 240 million and USD 160 Million from AIIB for 24X7 Power for All in:
a) Andhra Pradesh Project
b) Madhya Pradesh Project
c) Uttar Pradesh Project
d) Himachal Pradesh Project
26. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has expanded its Oversight Committee - formed to advice banks on which of the following issues?
a) Stressed asset resolution
b) Interest rates
c) Unaccounted money deposited in the bank accounts
d) All of the above
27. RBI has asked banks to resolve .......... high value cases of bad loans within six months or face the prospect of being directed to go in for the new insolvency resolution mechanism as part of the strategy to rein in unacceptable level of non-performing assets (NPAs).
a) 25
b) 55
c) 35
d) 45
28. The Central government has placed an order for 37 lakh doses of a rotavirus vaccine that promises to beat heat issues and requires no refrigeration. Rotavirus, is the leading cause of which of the following diseases?
a) Small Pox
b) Diarrhoea
c) Dengue
d) Polio
29. The Ministry of External affairs celebrated the completion of 50 years of the Passport Act 1967 as the 5th Passport Seva Divas on -
a) 24th May
b) 24th June
c) 24th March
d) 24th April
30. 'City Liveability Index' for measuring the quality of life in 116 major cities was launched by .....
a) NITI Aayog
b) Ministry of Urban Development
c) Central Pollution Control Board of India
d) Both a and c
31. Central government announced another list of 30 cities for development as smart cities taking the total cities picked up so far to 90 under Smart City Mission launched on:
a) July 25, 2016
b) June 25, 2014
c) June 25, 2015
d) April 25, 2015
32. Child victims of cyber crimes can now lodge their complaints at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)'s POCSO e-box. Which of the following is/ are the cyber crime/ cyber crimes included in complaints?
a) Cyber bullying
b) Cyber stalking
c) Child pornography
d) All of the above
33. How many Arab States or Countries boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism?
a) 6
b) 4
c) 8
d) 7
34. Tata Power, has offered to sell a majority 51% stake in its debt-laden 4,000 megawatt (MW) Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) for just Rs.1. This Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) is located in:
a) Rajasthan
b) Haryana
c) Punjab
d) Gujarat
35. Who among the following is/ are the recipients of this year Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy?
a) Mei Hing Chak
b) Julian Robertson
c) Azim Premji
d) All of the above
36. According to a U.N. 'The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision' report, India to have bigger population than China by...
a) 2050
b) 2030
c) 2024
d) 2075
37. SRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLVC38 successfully launched the 712 kg ........ Series Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
a) Cartosat-1
b) Cartosat-2
c) Cartosat-3
d) Cartosat-4
38. Which among the following country/ countries cricket team has/ have been granted Test status by the International Cricket Council in June 2017?
a) Afghanistan
b) Ireland
c) UAE
d) Both a and b
39. New 'Incredible India 2.0 campaign' will be launched by which of the following ministries of Government of India?
a) Ministry of External Affairs
b) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
c) Ministry of Tourism
d) Ministry of Science and Technology
40. Name the minister in the Madhya Pradesh, who was disqualified by the Election Commission from membership of any State legislature and contesting polls for the next three years for filing wrong accounts of election expenditure.
a) Gopal Bhargava
b) Dr. Gaurishankar Shejwar
c) Narottam Mishra
d) Jayant Mallayya
41. The Government has granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at:
a) Jewar in Uttar Pradesh
b) Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh
c) Mangalore in Karnataka
d) Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh
42. India and Portugal have signed 11 bilateral agreements recently, who is the current Prime Minister of Portugal?
a) Jorge Sampaio
b) Antonio Costa
c) Pedro Passos Coelho
d) Jose Socrates
43. The annual plenary meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group 2017 was held in:
a) Berne
b) Beijing
c) Rome
d) Moscow
44. Who has become first turbaned Sikh woman Supreme Court judge of Canada in June 2017?
a) Gulab Kaur
b) Parbinderkaur Shergill
c) Bibi Bhag Bhari
d) Sahib Kaur
45. Which space agency is launching a new Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (Chess) sounding rocket on 27 June to study the vast interstellar clouds to understand more about the earliest stages of star formation?
a) Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
b) Russian Federal Space Agency
c) National Aeronautics and Space Administration
d) Indian Space Research Organisation
ANSWERS:
1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d, 5-a, 6-b, 7-d, 8-a, 9-b, 10-c
11-c, 12-a, 13-a, 14-c, 15-b, 16-c, 17-d, 18-d, 19-d, 20-c
21-b, 22-b, 23-b, 24-c, 25-a, 26-a, 27-b, 28-b, 29-b, 30-b
31-c, 32-d, 33-b, 34-d, 35-d, 36-c, 37-b, 38-d, 39-c, 40-c
41-a, 42-b, 43-a, 44-b, 45-c
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