Daily GK Quiz 27th February 2015

Q. : 1 As proposed in the Railway Budget for 2015-16, tickets can be booked ________in advance instead of 60 days to tackle tout menace.

1) 30 days 

2) 90 days

3) 120 days 

4) 150 days

5) None of these 

Q. : 2 Indian priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar had been abducted in Jun 2014 and was released recently. He was abducted in

1) Afghanistan 

2) Pakistan

3) Bangladesh 

4) Sri Lanka

5) Myanmar 

Q. : 3 Who among the following has won the women’s singles title of the 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships?

1) Karolina Pliskova 

2) Simona Halep

3) Serena Williams 

4) Eugenie Bouchard

5) Maria Sharapova 

Q. : 4 The third Tortoise Festival was organised on the banks of Hajong Lake in Dima Hasao district of __________recently. The Lake is popularly known as the tortoise lake and is a natural habitat of the few unique tortoises.

1) Sikkim 

2) Odisha

3) Assam 

4) Jharkhand

5) Karnataka 

Q. : 5 The Railway Minister has proposed to introduce a modern train system similar to bullet trains in design, and that can run on existing tracks to save 20 per cent of journey time. These trains will be called

1) train sets 

2) track trains

3) track-run-bullet trains 

4) high speed trains

5) None of these 

Q. : 6 As per the Rail Budget for 2015-16, Indian Railways aims to improve the operating ratio, a key measure of efficiency, to ________during the next fiscal.

1) 93.6 per cent 

2) 91.8 per cent

3) 89.9 per cent 

4) 88.5 per cent

5) None of these 

Q. : 7 Who among the following is the new US Secretary of Defense?

1) Leon Panetta 

2) Chuck Hagel

3) Michele Flournoy 

4) Ashton Carter

5) None of these 

Q. : 8 In the Railway Budget for 2015-16, investment of __________ has been envisaged over the next five years.

1) Rs 2.5 lakh cr 

2) Rs 3.5 lakh cr

3) Rs 5.5 lakh cr 

4) Rs 7.5 lakh cr

5) Rs 8.5 lakh cr 

Q. : 9 The Union Cabinet on 25 Feb cleared the creation of the proposed 5-nation BRICS bank. Which country will hold the Presidency of the USD 100-bn bank based in Shanghai for the first six years?

1) China 

2) Russia

3) South Africa 

4) Brazil

5) India 

1. (3) 120 days
2. (1) Afghanistan
3. (2) Simona Halep
4. (3) Assam
5. (1) train sets
6. (4) 88.5 per cent
7. (4) Ashton Carter
8. (5) Rs 8.5 lakh cr
9. (5) India

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Daily GK Update 26th February 2105

Railway Budget 2015

(i) Missed the presentation of this year's Railway Budget? Here's a quick recap of all major announcements made by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

(ii) The key themes of the Budget were in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives - Swachch Bharat Mission, Make in India and Digital India.

1. The most-expected part about this year's Railway Budget - there is no increase in passsenger rail fares.
2. Rs.8.5 lakh crore will be invested in Railways in next 5 years.
3. 'Operation 5 mins', wherein passengers travellling unreserved can purchase a ticket in 5 minutes.
4. Bio toilets and airplane-type vaccum toilets in trains.
5. Surveillance cameras in select coaches and ladies compartments for women's safety without compromising on privacy.
6. Rail tickets can now be booked 120 days in advance.
7. Speed on nine railway corridors to go up to 200 km per hour.
8. Wi-Fi in more stations, mobile phone charging facilities in all train compartments.
9. Facility of online booking of wheelchair for senior citizens.
10. Satellite railway terminals in major cities.
11. Centrally managed Rail Display Network is expected to be introduced in over 2K stations over the next 2 years.
12. All india 24/7 helpline - 138 from March 2015 ; Toll free No.182 for security.
13. 917 road under-bridges and over-bridges to be constructed to replace 3,438 railway crossings; at a cost of Rs. 6,581 crore.
14. Four Railway Research Centres to start in four universities.
15. Details about new trains and increased frequency will be announced later in this session of Parliament after review.

Union Cabinet approved creation of two additional benches of the Authority for Advance Rulings

(i) Union Cabinet on 25 February 2015 approved the creation of two additional benches of the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR).

(ii) Two additional benches of the AAR will be established in New Delhi and Mumbai.

(iii) For these two benches, there will be a creation of two posts of Vice-Chairmen in the Apex scale and four posts of Members (two posts of Revenue Members and two posts of Law Members) in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG+).

(iv) Moreover, two posts of Secretary at the level of Commissioner of Income Tax or Joint Secretary will also be created.

(v) The cabinet also approved one time expenditure of 7.48 crore rupees for establishment of the two additional benches and additional annual recurring expenditure of 6.61 crore rupees for running these two additional benches.

(i) EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis have neither proved effective, nor met the expectations of those who imposed them, but brought huge losses, said Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiadis ahead of a visit to Moscow.

(ii) The sanctions have not only complicated the economic situation in many European countries, but brought no prospects of peace for the Ukrainian people, said Anastasiadis in an interview to TASS.

(iii) EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis have neither proved effective, nor met the expectations of those who imposed them, but brought huge losses, said Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiadis ahead of a visit to Moscow.

(iv) The sanctions have not only complicated the economic situation in many European countries, but brought no prospects of peace for the Ukrainian people, said Anastasiadis in an interview to TASS.

(v) The heads of other EU countries such as Greece, and Hungary have repeatedly said the sanctions primarily hurt the ones who impose them.

Government Approves NTPC's 15,000 MW Solar Power Projects

(i) The union cabinet on Wednesday approved state-run power producer NTPC Ltd's plans to set up 15,000 megawatt of grid-connected solar projects, which would be completed in three tranches.

(ii) The rapidly falling cost of solar power has ignited interest in its potential in Asia's third-largest economy, which relies on coal for three-fifths of its energy needs while solar supplies less than 1 per cent.

(iii) Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to make India one of the world's largest renewable energy markets, targeting 100,000 MW of output by 2022 from just 3,000 MW currently.

India bans Islamic State terror group

(i) Dreaded terror group IS and all its affiliate organisations responsible for a series of savage attacks and killings in Iraq and Syria, have been banned in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

(ii) Recruitment of youths to the outfit from India and their radicalisation is a matter of serious concern for the country, especially with regard to its likely impact on national security when such youth return to India, the Home Ministry said while banning the terrorist group.

(iii) The Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/ Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Daish and all its manifestations have been declared as outlawed in India under UAPA, a notification issued by the Ministry said.

Iranian wins award for ‘giving voice to the voiceless’

(i) An Iranian journalist has received a human rights award in Geneva for creating a Facebook page inviting women in Iran to post pictures of themselves without their headscarves in defiance of rules requiring them to wear a hijab.

(ii) Masih Alinejad (38) launched Stealthy Freedoms of Iranian Women last year, attracting more than half a million likes on Facebook in a matter of weeks. 

(iii) Thousands of women took off their veils in public and sent in their photos to be published.

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Daily GK Quiz 25th and 26th February 2015

Q. : 1 Which of the following states is all set to become the country's first state to present a 'paperless' budget on Mar 11?

1) Himachal Pradesh 

2) Haryana

3) Andhra Pradesh 

4) Telangana

5) Delhi 

Q. : 2 Who among the following has won the best actor Oscar at the 87th Academy Awards?

1) Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) 

2) Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)

3) Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) 

4) Michael Keaton (Birdman)

5) Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) 

Q. : 3 Who among the following has won the best actress Oscar at the 87th Academy Awards?

1) Reese Witherspoon (Wild) 

2) Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

3) Julianne Moore (Still Alice) 

4) Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

5) Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night) 

Q. : 4 Which of the following telecom service providers and UNICEF has joined hands to provide education and health related information to its customers in some 17 African countries?

1) Bharti Airtel 

2) Vodafone

3) Orascom Telecom 

4) Telkom

5) None of these 

Q. : 5 Name the batsman who hit the first ever double century in the ICC Cricket World Cup playing against Zimbabwe on 24 Feb. It is the fastest double century till date.

1) AB de Villiers 

2) Chris Gayle

3) Virat Kohli 

4) Dwayne Bravo

5) Kieron Pollard 

Q. : 6 Who among the following has NOT hit a double century so far in ODIs?

1) Virendra Sehwag 

2) Sachin Tendulkar

3) Rohit Sharma 

4) AB de Villiers

5) None of these 

Q. : 7 As per the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, the central govt has agreed to transfer ___________ share to states from the divisible pool of centre’s net taxes.

1) 22 per cent 

2) 32 per cent

3) 42 per cent 

4) 52 per cent

5) None of these 

Q. : 8 Who among the following headed the 14th Finance Commission?

1) Vijay Kelkar 

2) C Rangarajan

3) Duvvuri Subbarao 

4) Bimal Jalan

5) Y Venugopal Reddy 

Q. : 9 India successfully test-fired N-capable Prithvi-II missile recently. It is a

1) air-to-air missile 

2) air-to-surface missile

3) submarine-launched missile 

4) surface-to-surface missile

5) None of these 

Q. : 10 Ram Naresh Yadav stepped down as the governor of which of the following states recently after he was named in a multi-crore scam in the state?
1) Rajasthan 
2) Odisha
3) Uttar Pradesh 
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Maharashtra 

Q. : 11 Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has been sworn in as the first woman president of which of the following countries?
1) Serbia 
2) Slovakia
3) Montenegro 
4) Hungary
5) Croatia 

Q. : 12 PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a Permanent Judicial Museum at which of the following high courts, set up as part of its Sesquicentennial Celebrations recently?
1) Bombay High Court 
2) Delhi High Court
3) Guwahati High Court 
4) Allahabad High Court
5) Punjab and Haryana High Court 

Q. : 13 The TRAI amended the mobile number portability regulations on 25 Feb. Now subscribers will be able to retain same number while relocating to anywhere in India starting
1) 31 Mar 
2) 1 Apr
3) 1 May 
4) 3 May
5) 3 Jun 

Q. : 14 The prestigious Dr Y Nayudamma Memorial Award 2014 will be conferred on Tessy Thomas and Geeta Varadan. While Geeta Varadan is associated with ISRO, Tessy Thomas is associated with
1) HAL 
2) DRDO
3) OFB 
4) BARC
5) None of these 

Q. : 15 Film ‘Dhanak’ has been honoured with The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the best feature-length film at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. It is a film by
1) Neeraj Pandey 
2) Vishal Bhardwaj
3) Madhur Bhandarkar 
4) Nagesh Kukunoor
5) None of these 

Q. : 16 A special court on 25 Feb sentenced gangster Abu Salem in the two-decade old murder of Mumbai builder Pradeep Jain case. Salem has been sentenced
1) to life 
2) capital punishment
3) to 10 years in prison 
4) to 5 years in prison
5) None of these 

Q. : 17 Actor Louis Jourdan, best known for his role in the multi-Oscar winning 1958 musical Gigi, has died. He was a ________actor.
1) US 
2) Canadian
3) French 
4) Spanish
5) Italian 

Q. : 18 Faisal Siddiqui has been named by which of the following mobile phone makers as its new South Asia chief? He was head of its Indian operations.
1) Samsung 
2) HTC
3) Acer 
4) Asus
5) Xiaomi 

Q. : 19 The Cabinet Minister of Railways ____________presented his maiden budget on 26 Feb.
1) Ramvilas Paswan 
2) DV Sadananda Gowda
3) Suresh Prabhu 
4) Manohar Parrikar
5) Nitin Gadkari 

Answer :-

1. (1) Himachal Pradesh
2. (5) Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
3. (3) Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
4. (1) Bharti Airtel
5. (2) Chris Gayle
6. (4) AB de Villiers
7. (3) 42 per cent
8. (5) Y Venugopal Reddy
9. (4) surface-to-surface missile
10. (4) Madhya Pradesh
11. (5) Croatia
12. (1) Bombay High Court
13. (4) 3 May
14. (2) DRDO
15. (4) Nagesh Kukunoor
16. (1) to life
17. (3) French
18. (2) HTC
19. (3) Suresh Prabhu

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Daily GK Update 25th February 2015

Oscar Awards 2015

(i) 87th Academy Award, popularly called Oscar Awards, was conferred on 22 February

2015. The award ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

(ii) The Oscar Awards for the year 2015 were presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 24 categories.

(iii) The awards were produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony for the first time.

(iv) The list of winners of 87th Academy Awards

Best Picture: Birdman

Best Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for Birdman

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything

Best Actress: Julianne Moore for Still Alice

Best Supporting Actor: JK Simmons for Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood

Achievement in Costume Design: Milena Canonero for The Grand Budapest Hotel

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier for The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Foreign Language Film: Ida directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Best Live Action Short Film: The Phone Call

Best Documentary Short Subject: Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1

Original Screenplay: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo for Birdman

Achievement in Sound Mixing: Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, Thomas Curley for Whiplash

Achievement in Sound Editing: Alan Robert Murray Bub Asman for American Sniper

Achievement in Visual Effects: Ian Hunter, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley and Paul Franklin for Interstellar

Best Animated Short Film: Feast directed by Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

Best Animated Movie: Big Hero Six 6

Achievement in Production Design: Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock for The Grand Budapest Hotel

Achievement in Cinematograph: Emannuel Lubezki for Birdman

Achievement in Film Editing: Tom Cross for Whipalsh

Best Documentary Feature: Citizen Four directed by Laura Poitras

Best Original Song: John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn for Glory

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat for The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Adapted Screenplay: Graham Moore for The Imitation Game

Maria Golovnina, Reuters bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, found dead

(i) She was found collapsed and unconscious in the bureau and was rushed to hospital, but medical teams were unable to save her.

(ii) However, the cause of Golovnina's death could not be determined immediately and the authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain the facts of the case.

(iii) She had joined Reuters in Tokyo in 2001 and subsequently worked in London, Singapore and Seoul as part of the graduate trainee program. She was posted to Russia from 2002 to 2005. 

(iv) She became Chief Correspondent in Central Asia in 2005.

Moody's said, GDP growth to 6.9%

(i) Moody's said the revision in GDP growth to 6.9 percent for FY14, up from the earlier estimate of 5 percent, do not change ratios for government finances, private external leverage and bank asset quality. 

(ii) Policies to address fiscal and supply side constraints will determine whether India's current growth momentum and macro-economic balance can be maintained over the coming years," it added. 

(iii) With the revised base year, the economy is projected to clock 7.4 percent growth in current fiscal ending March 31.

(iv) Fiscal and structural reform policies will determine the extent to which accelerating growth will buttress the sovereign credit profile," Moody's said.

R.K. Pachauri steps down as IPCC chair

(i) After facing allegations of sexual harassment, Dr Rajendra K Pachauri has stepped down as Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with effect from Tuesday. 

(ii) The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) also announced that Dr Pachauri, who is its director general, has proceeded on leave for the time being.

(iii) A spokesperson for Dr Pachauri issued a statement that he has informed the IPCC that he has resigned from his position effective today. 

(iv) Dr. Pachauri is also a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change. He was elected to the first of two terms as Chair of the IPCC in April 2002 and had been scheduled to complete his second term in October.

Badal wants Punjab to be included in ‘Digital India’ programme

(i) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to include the state in the country’s flagship ’Digital India’ programme.

(ii) Mr. Badal on Wednesday urged the Prime Minister to fund the state government’s ambitious programme for establishing 2,174 Unified Citizen Service Delivery Centres at a cost of nearly Rs. 550 crore under integrated approach towards e-Governance, according to an official statement.

(iii) The Digital India programme includes projects that aim to ensure that government services are available to citizens electronically and people get benefit of the latest information and communication technology.

Centre asks Madhya Pradesh Governor to resign

(i) A day after registration of an FIR against him in a recruitment scam, the Centre has asked Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav to quit from the post.

(ii) The Home Ministry has conveyed its decision in this regard to the Governor as he has been named in the case, official sources said, adding that his position has become untenable in view of the FIR.

(iii) A report has been sought from the State government and Governor’s office on the entire matter,” they said.

Govt. hopeful that GST will be passed in Budget session

(i) Government on Tuesday said it was hopeful that the much-de

layed Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill will be passed during the ongoing Budget Session.

(ii) Government had introduced the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2014 in Lok Sabha in December last year to facilitate introduction of the new indirect tax regime in the country. Replying to questions in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said the government proposes to take up the bill for consideration and passage in the current session.

(iii) Hopefully, we will do it in the Budget Session,” he said. GST is expected to improve generation of the revenue of the States.

Iran launches naval drill in strategic Hormuz Strait

(i) Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Wednesday started a naval drill in the strategic waterway of Hormuz Strait.

(ii) Codenamed “Great Prophet 9”, the military exercise was broadcast live on the state-run IRIB TV with the participation of high-ranking Iranian political and military officials, Xinhua reported.

(iii) The IRGC’s missile bases onshore were shown launching massive strikes against the positions of the mock enemy and its naval bases.

Arrest warrant issued against Bangladesh ex-PM Khaleda Zia

(i) A Bangladesh court issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for ex-Prime Minister Khaelda Zia in two graft cases after she failed to appear in court for the fourth time.

(ii) Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadder issued the decision in a makeshift court in the nation’s capital, Dhaka, after he refused a bail plea by the defence, which sought more time, saying Ms. Zia was sick and concerned over her security because of ongoing political unrest.

(iii) It was not clear immediately whether Ms. Zia will soon be arrested. The court order will go to a police station where the cases were registered.

Ravi Chaudhary appointed as Executive Director for Regions and Centre Operations at FAA

(i) Indian-American Ravi Chaudhary was on 24 February 2015 appointed as Executive

Director for Regions and Centre Operations at Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

(ii) Under this key position, Chaudhary will oversee aviation operations in nine different regions.

(iii) Chaudhary will be responsible for executing a 288 million US dollars operating budget of FAA and will lead over 2100 Federal Employees in nine nationwide regions. 

(iv) He will also be responsible for providing Department of Transportation and FAA-wide services in the areas of operations, safety, policy, corporate outreach, emergency readiness, facilities management, besides centralised support for the National Aerospace System.

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Last Date Union Bank Recruitment

Union Bank of India, a leading listed Public Sector Bank with Head Office in Mumbai and having Pan India, as well as, Overseas presence, invites ON-LINE applications for recruitment to the following posts in Specialized Segment -

Forex Officer - Scale - I

Forex Officer - Scale - II

Economist

Important Dates -

Start Date for submitting the ON-LINE application and payment of fees/ intimation charges. 13.02.2015

Last Date for submitting the ON-LINE application and payment of fees/ intimation charges - 28.02.2015

Number of Vacancies - 

Forex Officer - Scale - I - 36

Forex Officer - Scale - II - 11

Economist - 2

Application Fee - 

For Gen & OBC - Rs. 600

For SC/ST/PWD - Rs. 100

Click here to View the Notification.

Click here to Apply Online.

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SBI Assistant Final Results Out

State Bank of India has declared final result for the Recruitment of ASSISTANTS in Clerical Cadre for which Written Test was conducted in July / August 2014 and Interviews held in December 2014.


Click Here to see the Final Result

Many congratulations to all the successful candidates.

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Daily GK Quiz 23rd and 24th February 2015

Q. : 1 India’s Shiv Kapur is associated with which of the following games?

1) Golf 

2) Badminton

3) Tennis 

4) Billiards

5) Shooting 

Q. : 2 The govt is considering merging OCI and PIO schemes on the eve of the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), to be held in Gujarat from Jan 7 to 9. So far, NRIs holding OCI cards are entitled to get lifelong visas while PIOs get visas for

1) 5 years 

2) 10 years

3) 15 years 

4) 20 years

5) None of these 

Q. : 3 The govt has scrapped the idea to sell Specified Undertaking of UTI's (Suuti's) stake in private-sector companies through the ETF route. The term ETF stands for

1) Externally-Traded Fund 

2) Estimate-Traded Fund

3) Exchange-Traded Fund 

4) Eco-Traded Fund

5) None of these 

Q. : 4 Which of the following Indian films has been named best first feature film by Toronto Film Critics?

1) Yellow 

2) City Lights

3) Liar’s Dice 

4) The Lunchbox

5) Fandry 

Q. : 5 Which of the following countries has won the fifth men's Kabaddi World Cup title?

1) Pakistan 

2) India

3) Iran 

4) New Zealand

5) None of these 

Q. : 6 Who among the following has been named ambassador for 2015 ICC World Cup?

1) Sourav Ganguly 

2) Virender Sehwag

3) Rahul Dravid 

4) Mahendra Singh Dhoni

5) Sachin Tendulkar 

Q. : 7 What is the theme of the new Govt of India calendar 2015?

1) Clean India, Green India 

2) Make in India

3) Incredible India 

4) Good governance

5) None of these 

Q. : 8 What is the new deadline set by the RBI to exchange pre-2005 currency notes? The earlier deadline was to end on 1 Jan.

1) Jan 31 

2) Mar 1

3) Mar 31

4) Apr 1

5) Jun 30 

Q. : 9 Which of the following three countries have inaugurated a 925km long new railway route that will improve resource-rich Central Asia's access to markets in the Middle East and South Asia?

1) Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran 

2) Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran

3) Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Iran 

4) Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran

5) None of these 

Q. : 10 Inmates of Delhi's Tihar jail will soon get life and accidental insurance cover as their accounts are being opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. Under the PMJDY scheme, what are the accidental and life insurance covers respectively?

1) Rs 50,000, Rs 20,000 

2) Rs 75,000, Rs 30,000

3) Rs 1 lakh, Rs 30,000 

4) Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 50,000

5) None of these 

Q. : 11 The 11th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand from 14th Feb to 29th Mar. Apart from the 10 Full Members, four qualifiers will take part in the tournament. Which of the following is NOT among the qualifiers?

1) United Arab Emirates 

2) Scotland

3) Ireland 

4) Afghanistan

5) Iran 

Q. : 12 Which of the following countries has won the women’s Kabaddi World Cup 2014 title?

1) Pakistan 

2) India

3) Iran 

4) New Zealand

5) None of these 

Q. : 13 Who among the following has been named the Business Standard Banker of the Year for 2013-14?

1) Romesh Sobti 

2) Chanda Kochhar

3) Aditya Puri 

4) Abraham Koshy

5) Uday Kotak 

Q. : 14 Which of the following political parties has become the first in 14 years to form single-party govt in Jharkhand?

1) INC 

2) BJP

3) JMM 

4) Janata Dal (U)

5) RJD 

Q. : 15 The Winter session of Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on 23 Dec after passing a 'record' number of _____ legislations in 22 sittings.

1) 13 

2) 16

3) 18 

4) 21

5) 23 

Q. : 16 Beji Caid Essebsi has won the first free presidential election in which of the following countries recently?

1) Tunisia 

2) Yemen

3) Libya 

4) Nigeria

5) None of these 

Q. : 17 Which of the following state govts has fixed minimum educational qualifications for contesting polls for panchayat samiti and district council elections recently?

1) West Bengal 

2) Bihar

3) Uttar Pradesh 

4) Rajasthan

5) Madhya Pradesh 

Q. : 18 Which of the following states has started ‘Prati Inta e-Sakshatha’ programme under National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) to e-literate 30,000 persons in the state?

1) Andhra Pradesh 

2) Kerala

3) Karnataka 

4) Telangana

5) Tamil Nadu 

Q. :19 The govt has ordered a cut of nearly 20 per cent in its 2014-15 healthcare budget due to fiscal strains. India spends about what per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on public health?

1) 1 per cent 

2) 3 per cent

3) 5.3 per cent 

4) 8.3 per cent

5) None of these 

Q. : 20 Who among the following has won the inaugural $500,000 Dubai Open golf tournament?

1) Jyoti Randhawa 

2) Gaganjeet Bhullar

3) Shiv Kapur 

4) Wang Jeung-hun

5) Arjun Atwal 

1. (1) Golf
2. (3) 15 years
3. (3) Exchange-Traded Fund
4. (4) The Lunchbox
5. (2) India
6. (5) Sachin Tendulkar
7. (1) Clean India, Green India
8. (5) Jun 30
9. (1) Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran
10. (3) Rs 1 lakh, Rs 30,000
11. (5) Iran
12. (2) India
13. (1) Romesh Sobti
14. (2) BJP
15. (3) 18
16. (1) Tunisia
17. (4) Rajasthan
18. (4) Telangana
19. (1) 1 per cent
20. (5) Arjun Atwal

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Daily GK Update 20th February 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Soil Health Card Scheme

(i) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 launched the nationwide Soil Health

Card Scheme in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar district, Rajasthan. 

(ii) The nationwide scheme will help farmers to scientifically analyse the soil of farms in the country. 

(iii) The scheme aims at helping farmers in improving productivity by appropriate use of nutrients or fertilisers. 

(iv) Under the plan, 14 crore Soil Health Cards will be issued to farmer of the country in a span of 3 years. 

(v) Around 3 crore farmers will be covered under the project in financial year 2014-15.

Vistara launches maiden flight service to Goa

(i) Tata’s full service passenger carrier Vistara Friday launched its maiden flight between New Delhi and Goa and said that it will expand its fleet to six aircraft by April.

(ii) The airline had earlier announced the launch of new services to Goa and Hyderabad from February 20 and March 1, respectively.

(iii) The company, which initially started operations with 68 flights weekly in January, is expected to operate 164 flights a week by March.

(iv) The joint venture (JV) airline between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines started commercial operations from January 9.

Labour trafficking suit: Indian workers awarded $14.1 million

(i) A federal court has awarded $14.1 million to five Indian workers who were brought to the U.S. as guest workers but then subjected to squalid conditions in isolated, guarded labour camps and denied immigration benefits that they were allegedly promised n return for paying recruiters between $10,000 and $20,000 in fees.

(ii) When the workers arrived in the U.S., they, however, discovered that the recruiters’ promise of green cards were false, and that they would have to live in the cramped quarters of “man camps” adjacent to the shipyard, with no option to switch to other jobs or return home to heaving debt.

(iii) Signal International said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees” with Wednesday’s verdict and is considering an appeal. It had said last month that it was confident the evidence would demonstrate “this case involves paid workers who could leave their job at any time, were well paid and free to come and go as they pleased.”

Amartya Sen to leave Nalanda post

(i) Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Thursday withdrew his candidature for a second term as Chancellor of Nalanda University in Bihar, since the Narendra Modi government had not given its approval to his nomination.

(ii) It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the Chancellor of Nalanda University after this July,” Dr. Sen said.

(iii) Dr. Sen said academic governance in the country remained “deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government,” where it chose to make political use of special provisions in a university’s statute.

CCI approves Kotak Mahindra Bank’s purchase of ING Vysya

(i) India’s antitrust regulator has approved Kotak Mahindra Bank’s record $2.4 billion purchase of ING Vysya, it said in an order published on Friday. 

(ii) Kotak had announced its plan to buy ING Vysaya in November 2014, in what analysts predicted was the beginning of a long-awaited consolidation in a crowded banking sector.

(iii) The deal is the first major bank takeover since top privately held lender ICICI Bank bought Bank of Rajasthan more than four years ago.

Prime Minister presented Krishi Karman Awards 2013-14 to State Government functionaries

(i) The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 presented Krishi Karman Awards 2013-14 to State Government functionaries. 

(ii) The awards were presented during the launch of the Soil Health Card scheme nationwide at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

(iii) The Prime Minister presented the Krishi Karman Awards to State Government functionaries led by Chief Ministers of States and progressive farmers belonging to the states of Punjab, Odisha, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat. 

(v) The Commendation Awards were also presented to the State Government functionaries led by Agriculture Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka. 

Nitish Kumar to be sworn in as CM on February 22

(i) Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar was on Friday invited by governor Keshari Nath

Tripathi to form the government in Bihar after Jitan Ram Manjhi quit as chief minister.

(ii) Nitish and his team of ministers will be sworn in on February 22, Raj Bhavan officials said.

(iii) Earlier, Nitish promised good governance once he takes over as chief minister and apologised for his decision to quit last year after his party's rout in the Lok Sabha elections.

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