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Test your General Knowledge - XXXVI

1. Who said that Directive Principles are "aimed at furthering the goals of the social revolution or to foster this
revolution by establishing the conditions necessary for its achievement"?
a. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
b. B. N. Rau
c. Granville Austin
d. M. C. Chagla

2. Which of the following Articles provides for securing for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory
of India?
a. Article 44
b. Article 45
c. Article 46
d. Article 47

3. Which of the following words was not added to the Preamble of the Constitution of India by the 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976?
a. Sovereign
b. Socialist
c. Secular
d. Integrity

4. Which British Prime Minister announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known
as Communal Award in 1932?
a. Ramsay Mac Donald
b. Clement Atlee
c. Winston Churchill
d. None of the Above

5. Which of the following is known as the Act for the Good Government of India?
a. Indian Council Act 1861
b. Government of India Act 1885
c. Pitts India Act of 1784
d. Government of India Act 1919

6. With which one of the following rivers is the Omkareshwar Project associated?
a. Chambal
b. Narmada
c. Tapi
d. Bhima

7. Which one of the following was a journal brought out by Abul Kalam Azad?
a. Al-Hilal
b. Comrade
c. The Indian Sociologist
d. Zamindar

8. Who among the following translated the Autobiography of Madam Curie in Hindi?
a. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b. Lal Bahadur Shastri
c. Choudhary Charan Singh
d. Gobind Ballabh Pant

9. On planet Earth, there is no centrifugal force at the


a. Equator
b. Tropic of Cancer
c. Tropic of Capricorn
d. Poles

10. Which among the following planets is smaller in size than the Earth?
a. Neptune
b. Venus
c. Saturn
d. Uranus

11. Which of the following committees is associated with reforms in small industries?
a. K.L.Rekhi Committee
b. R.Chelliah Committee
c. Abid Hussain Committee
d. None of the above

12. Who among the following was the advisor to the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly?
a. B. Shiva Rao
b. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
c. Sachidananda Sinha
d. B. N. Rau

13. Who among the following was the author of Tarikh-i-Alai,which contains the details of the first few years of
Sultan Alauddin Khilji?
a. Ziauddin Barani
b. Shams Siraj Afif
c. Amir Khusrau
d. Yahiya bin Ahmad

14. "Let a hundred flowers bloom and let a thousand schools of thought contend" was said by
a. Lenin
b. Karl Marx
c. Tolstoy
d. Mao Tse-tung

15. The Magsaysay Award is given for proficiency in which of the following?
a. Literature
b. Mountaineering
c. Science
d. Social Science
Answers
1. c 2. a 3. a 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. b 11. c 12. d 13. c 14. d 15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XXXV


1. Which of the following Won Women's hockey Gold in Olympic Game 2008?
a. Holland
b. Australia
c. Germany
d. USA

2. 'Romancing with Life' is a book written by


a. Dilip Kumar
b. Debasheesh Dutta
c. Dev Anand
d. Hema Malini

3. Who among the following is the recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award?
a. England
b. Akkineni Nageshwar Rao
c. Manoj Kumar
d. Subhash Ghai

4. Who is known as the father of Sanskrit Grammar?


a. Panini
b. Patanjali
c. Kalidas
d. None of the above

5. Which of the following award is associated with Agriculture?


a. Bourlog Award
b. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar
c. Arjun Award
d. Vyasa Samman

6. The recommendations of the 11th Finance Commission covered the period


a. April 1,2002 to March 31,2007
b. April 1, 2002 to March 31, 2005
c. April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2012
d. April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2006

7. National Food for Work Programme was launched on -


a. November 20,2004
b. December 1, 2005
c. November 14, 2004
d. October 5,2007

8. Who was the first scholar to use the term "Indus Civilization"?
a. Rakhal Das Bannerji
b. John Marshall
c. Dayaram Sahani
d. R. S. Bist

9. The Provision of Contingency Fund of India has been made under -


a. Article 266
b. Article 265
c. Article 267
d. Article 268

10. By which Constitutional Amendment Acts, was it provide that Parliament has the power to abridge or take
away any of the enactment of Constitutional Amendment Act?
a. The 25th Constitutional Amendment Act 1971
b. The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act 1971
c. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976
d. None of the above

11. Dakar is the capital of


a. Romania
b. Senegal
c. Syprus
d. Mozambique

12. Matatilla Multi-purpose Project is located on


a. River Betwa
b. River Rihand
c. River Tapi
d. River Mahi

13. Theorphrastus is called the father of


a. Botany
b. Zoology
c. Anatomy
d. Astrology

14. The Hockey World Player for 2009 is


a. Rajpal Singh
b. Jamie Dwyer
c. Grant Shubert
d. dhanraj pillay

15. National Youth Day is observed on


a. January 15
b. January 12
c. January 20
d. January 28

Answers
1. c 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. a 6. b 7. c 8. b 9. c 10. b 11. b 12. a 13. a 14. b 15. b

Test your General Knowledge - XXXIV

1. Who won the Chinese Grand Prix recently?


a. Jenson Button
b. Sebastian Vettel
c. Valentino Rossi
d. Mark Webber

2. Which of the following won the Sony Ericsson Tennis Championship men's title?
a. Lucky Dlouhy
b. Mahesh Bhupati
c. Leander Peas
d. Andy Roddick

3. Which of the European countries recently came into news for eruption of volcano?
a. England
b. Finland
c. Iceland
d. Denmark

4. The World's first Homeopathy University is being established in-


a. Karnataka
b. Rajasthan
c. Tamil Nadu
d. Kerala

5. ......IBSA Summit 2010 was recently held in Brasilia.


a. Third
b. Fourth
c. Fifth
d. Sixth

6. 'United People's Freedom Alliance' recently won a majority in the parliamentary elections in-
a. Sri Lanka
b. Nepal
c. Maldives
d. Vietnam

7. Where was the sixteenth ASEAN Summit held?


a. Delhi
b. Beijing
c. Hanoi
d. Kuala Lumpur

8. Which of the following Constitutional Amendment Bills in Pakistan aimed at stripping the president of key
powers?
a. 15th constitution Amendment Bill
b. 18th constitution Amendment Bill
c. 20th constitution Amendment Bill
d. 22nd constitution Amendment Bill

9. The Central Asian country which recently came into news for political turmoil is-
a. Uzbekistan
b. Kyrgyzstan
c. Tajikistan
d. Turkmenistan

10. The deal 'New START' has recently been signed between-
a. Russia and USA
b. UK and Japan
c. India and China
d. China and Russia

11. INS Kamorta is country,s first-


a. Anti-submarine warfare corvette
b. Nuclear Submarine
c. First naval aircraft carrier
d. None of the above

12. Which of the following states does not have legislative council?
a. Andhra Pradesh
b. Jammu & Kashmir
c. Kerala
d. Uttar Pradesh

13. India recently signed a major deal on education with-


a. Japan
b. Australia
c. Russia
d. U.S.A

14. Which of the following organisations has its headquarters in Rome?


a. World Food Programme
b. Food and Agriculture Organisation
c. International Labour Organisation
d. European Free Trade Association

15. Which of the following is known as 'Queen of the Adriatic'?


a. Stockholm
b. Chicago
c. Venice
d. Strait of Gibraltar

Answers
1. a 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. b 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. b 15. c

Test your General Knowledge - XXXIII

1. Who is the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Studio18


a. Rajat Girdhar
b. Kaushik Roy
c. Sandeep Bhargava
d. Vikram Malhotra
2. Which country was on the top in medal tally in South Asian Games 2010?
a. Pakistan
b. India
c. Sri Lanka
d. Afghanistan

3. Which south Asian country in April 2010 experienced heavy quake?


a. Nepal
b. China
c. India
d. Afghanistan

4. Who has been re-elected M&M chief despite Bhopal conviction


a. Kishore Kamdar
b. JN Mukund
c. Vijay Gokhle
d. Keshub Mahindra

5. Euromoney, one of Europe's largest business and financial magazine publishers which has interests in financial
publishing and event organization has named Citigroup CEO as banker of the year, in addition to bestowing 13
major product and regional awards to the US banking giant, in its annual Euromoney awards for excellence.
Name the CEO of Citigroup
a. Dr. KC Chakraborthy
b. Vikram Pandit
c. T.M. Bhasin
d. Dr.V A Joseph

6. Who is the winner of the prestigious 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Awards-


a. Russell Kane
b. Russell Peters
c. Russell Brand
d. Russell Crowe

7. Asko Parpola recently bagged-


a. Classical Tamil Award
b. Padma Vibhushan
c. Jnanpeeth Award
d. Padma Bhushan

8. Who is the winner of Indianapolis MotoGP


a. Giacomo Agostini
b. Dani Pedrosa
c. Mike Hailwood
d. John Surtees

9. Praduman Singh Jindrahia whose composition Geet Sarovar was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award 2009 is a
noted and famous poet of-
a. Assamese
b. Dogri
c. Gujarati
d. Konkani

10. Who among the following personalities awarded Padam Vibhushan is percussionist and Mrudangam Vidwan?
a. Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman
b. Zohra Segal
c. Bipin Chandra
d. Prathap C.Reddy

11. The Best feature film chosen at the 56th National Film Award is-
a. Antaheen
b. Jogva
c. Rock on
d. Fashion

12. How many teams participated in ICC World Twenty-20 Cup?


a. Ten Teams
b. Twelve Teams
c. Eight Teams
d. Seven Teams

13. India's 15th National Census Exercise began on-


a. April 10,2010
b. March 10,2010
c. April 1,2010
d. April 30,2010

14. The best batsman award of Indian Premier League-III was received by-
a. Suresh Raina
b. M.S.Dhoni
c. Sachin Tendulkar
d. Pragyan Ojha

15. The Best Parliamentarian Award for 2009 has been conferred on-
a. Jaipal Reddy
b. Murli Manohar Joshi
c. Mohan Singh
d. Hamid Ansari
Answers
1. d 2. b 3. b 4. d 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. a 12. b 13. c 14. c 15. b

Global Indices - Test your General Knowledge - XXXII

1. Which clearing house is the wholly owned subsidiary of NSE?


a. National Securities Clearing Corporation Ltd. (NSCCL)
b. India Index Services & Products Ltd. (IISL)
c. Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL)
d. None of the above

2. Bombay Stock Exchange has SENSEX as its one of the major indices. What does SENSEX stands for?
a. SENSor IndEX
b. SENSitive indEX
c. SENSitive EXchange
d. Sensitive Stocks

3. In which year NSE launched Currency Derivatives?


a. 2009
b. 2008
c. 2003
d. 2006

4. Which is the principal stock exchange of Switzerland?


a. Swiss Exchange
b. Stockholm Stock Exchange
c. Electronic Share Information
d. Santiago Stock Exchange

5. There are three exchanges in China among them are Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock
Exchange. Which is the third one?
a. Hong Kong Futures Exchange
b. Tokyo Stock Exchange
c. Shenzhen Stock Exchange
d. Osaka Securities Exchange

6. Which is the largest Stock exchange in the world in terms of dollar value of its listed companies’ stocks?
a. NYSE
b. Chicago Stock Exchange
c. Ftse
d. Stockholm Stock Exchange

7. How many indices exist in the ‘Sector Series’ (indices representing several sectors such as FMCG, capital
goods) of Bombay Stock Exchange?
a. 10
b. 11
c. 13
d. 9

8. Recently Dow Jones crashed 1000 points on an intraday trade what was this crash called?
a. Flash Crash
b. Black Tuesday
c. Black Monday
d. Mini Crash

9. Which was the first Indian company to list on NYSE?


a. ICICI Bank
b. Wipro
c. Tata Motors
d. Infosys

10. What is the full form of SEBI?


a. Stock Exchange Bureau of India
b. Stock Exchange Board of India
c. Securities Exchange Bureau of India
d. Securities and Exchange Board of India

11. CAC 40 is the prominent stock index of which country?


a. Germany
b. France
c. US
d. Japan

12. What is Dollex-30?


a. Dollar Version of Nifty
b. Dollar Version of BSE-200
c. Dollar Version of BSE Sensex
d. Dollar Version of BSE-100

13. What is full form of NEAT which is the online trading system of the National Stock Exchange?
a. Nation’s Exchange for Automated Trading
b. National Exchange for Automated Trading
c. Nationwide Exchange for Automated Trading
d. None of the Above

14. Which is the oldest exchange in Asia?


a. National Stock Exchange
b. Hong Kong Stock Exchange
c. Bombay Stock Exchange
d. Tokyo Stock Exchange

15. On which date did the Sensex surge by a record 2110.79 points in a day?
a. May 18, 2009
b. January 8, 2008
c. October 30, 2006
d. March 30, 1992

Answers
1. a 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. b 8. a 9. a 10. d 11. b 12. c 13. b 14. c 15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XXXI

1. NASDAQ stands for…


a. National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation
b. National Stocks Data and Automated Quotes
c. North American Securities Data and Automated Quotations
d. Nation Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation

2. What does NYSE stands for?


a. New York Shares Exchange
b. New York Stock Exchange
c. New York Sugar Exchange
d. New York Securities Exchange

3. When was BSE Sensex index launched?


a. 1986
b. 1980
c. 1978
d. 1989

4. S&P CNX Nifty is a well diversified 50 stock index accounting for how many sectors?
a. 22
b. 5
c. 15
d. 10

5. Xetra is the electronic securities trading system based in


a. India
b. China
c. Germany
d. USA

6. Who is the regulator of financial services industry in UK?


a. Bank of England
b. Securities Exchange Commission
c. Federal Reserve System
d. Financial Services Authority (FSA)

7. Which will be the first foreign company to issue IDR’s (Indian Depository Receipt)?
a. Citibank
b. Standard Chartered Bank
c. Deutsche Bank
d. HSBC

8. What is market capitalization?


a. Share Price multiplied by number of shares outstanding
b. Value of shares of the company held by Foreign investors
c. Value of shares held by the promoters of the company
d. Value of shares in the company held by the public

9. How many stocks does Nifty Index comprise of?


a. 30
b. 100
c. 500
d. 50

10. Funds which invest only in stocks comprising an index and gives returns commensurate with the index return
are called
a. Index Funds
b. Active Funds
c. Dormant Funds
d. None of the above

11. Nifty Index is used in


a. Derivatives
b. Index Funds
c. Exchange traded funds (ETFs)
d. All the above

12. How many stocks does Hang Seng index comprise of?
a. 35
b. 43
c. 30
d. 50

13. National Commodity Clearing Limited (NCCL) is the joint venture between which companies?
a. NSE and MCX
b. MCX and NCDEX
c. NSE and NCDEX
d. BSE and NCDEX

14. How many stocks does DAX index comprise of?


a. 100
b. 30
c. 50
d. 40

15. Which was the first company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange?
a. Citigroup
b. Ford Motor
c. Bank of New York
d. General Electric

Answers
1. a 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. b 8. a 9. d 10. a 11. d 12. b 13. c 14. b 15. C

Test your General Knowledge - XXX

1. Name the company in the news, which formed a search committee to select the successor to the current
chairman.
a. TATA Group
b. Infosys
c. Wipro
d. Ruia Group

2. Who is the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bharti Infratel


a. Mr.L.N.Gupta
b. Dr. Gitesh K Shah
c. Devender Singh Rawat
d. V Narayanan

3. Who has been named brand ambassador of the upcoming Airtel Champions League Twenty20 by the
tournament's official broadcaster and commercial partner ESPN Star Sports.
a. Salil Ankola
b. Bobby Deol
c. Shahrukh Khan
d. Amitabh Bachchan

4. Who has received the Voice and Data Telecom Person of the Year 2010 award.
a. Anil Sardana
b. Anil Sharma
c. Jayant Dua
d. Gopal D

5. Natrajan Chandrasekaran has been ranked as India’s best CEO according to FinanceAsia magazine. He is the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which of the following companies
a. Infosys
b. Wipro
c. Arcelor Mittal
d. TCS

6. Which of the following business tycoons has been selected for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
fellowship
a. Ratan Tata
b. Sunil Mittal
c. Lakshmi Mittal
d. Rahul Bajaj

7. The new police commissioner of Pune has said she will place special emphasis on the "fitness and
preparedness" of staff deployed to respond to terrorist threats in the city, which was rocked by the February
13 blast at the German Bakery, claiming 17 lives. Who is she.
a. Meeran Borwankar
b. Malini Shinde
c. Letika Saran
d. Kiran Bedi

8. Taufik Hidayat is associated with which of the following sports


a. Billiards
b. Badminton
c. Basketball
d. Snooker

9. Who authored Johnny gone Down


a. Karan Bajaj
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. Kiran Desai
d. Salman Rushdie
10. What does CBDT stand for
a. Cabinet Board of Direct Taxes
b. Central Board of Direct Taxes
c. Center Board of Direct Taxes
d. Consulting Board of Direct Taxes

11. Who is the President of International Federation of Company Secretaries (IFCS)


a. G. Nizamuddin
b. Keyoor Bakshi
c. Zafar A. Khan
d. Saquib Javed

12. Who is the governor of Maharashtra


a. Kateekal Sankaranarayanan
b. R.S Gavai
c. S.C. Jamir
d. S.M. Krishna

13. We make the things that make India proud is the punchline of which of the following companies
a. Philips
b. Voltas
c. LG
d. L&T

14. Which of the following cities in Scotland is also known as the Granite City
a. Aberdeen
b. Dundee
c. Edinburgh
d. Glasgow

15. Which of the following actresses has agreed to be India's national green ambassador to initiate eco-friendly
campaigns in India
a. Deepika Padukone
b. Preity Zinta
c. Priyanka Chopra
d. Sushmita Sen Answers
1. a 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. d 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. a 10. b 11. b 12. a 13. d 14. a 15. c
Test your General Knowledge -– XXIX
Who is the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix

a. Michael Schumacher
b. Mark Webber
c. Nicolas Prost
d. Adrien Tambay

1. Who was presented the prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2006. The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary award in
India.
a. Ravindra Kelekar
b. Umashankar Joshi
c. U. R. Ananthamurthy
d. C. Narayanareddy

2. Who is the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prudential Life Insurance
a. Rajesh Menon
b. Nagesh Alai
c. S Bakshi
d. D. A. Prasanna

3. He was a former Editor in Chief of leading Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama. He launched many
publications such as the women’s magazine Vanitha in Malayalam and Hindi, the English magazine The Week,
the farmer’s magazine Karshakasree, children’s magazines Balarama, Amar Chitra Katha and Kalikudukka in
Malayalam and Magic Pot in English and encyclopedic Manorama Yearbook in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil
and Bengali. He passed away on August 1st 2010. Name him.
a. K. M. Oommen
b. Cash Reverse Ratio
c. Basava Premanand
d. K M Mathew

4. Who is the new Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
a. Gopal Das
b. Kuldeep Goyal
c. Amit Shankar
d. B S Nagesh

5. An American stand-up comedian, television host and actress, she has been a judge on American Idol for one
year, having joined the show in its ninth season. Recently she quit the show. Name her.
a. Jennifer Lopez
b. Kara DioGuardi
c. Ellen DeGeneres
d. Paula Abdul

6. Well-known International Newsweek magazine, owned by The Washington Post Co., has been sold to an
American businessman who has been active in education, government, industry, and publishing. Name him
a. Rupert Murdoch
b. Sidney Harman
c. Brian Gruseke
d. Bill Lane

7. Who is the 12th President of India


a. Pratibha Patil
b. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
c. K. R. Narayanan
d. Hamid Ansari

8. Who authored Around the World in Eighty Days


a. DBC Pierre
b. Charles Dickens
c. Jules Verne
d. Michael Palin

9. Which is the smallest union territory of India


a. Daman and Diu
b. Lakshadweep
c. Dadra and Nagar Haveli
d. Andaman and Nicobar

10. Who owns the Dainik Bhaskar group of newspapers


a. Raghav Bahl
b. Samir Jain
c. Jagran Prakashan
d. Ramesh Chandra Agarwal

11. _________ is the national sport of India


a. Hockey
b. Cricket
c. Volleyball
d. Baseball

12. Which of the following cities in the US is popularly known as the city of skyscrapers
a. Los Angeles
b. New York
c. Philadelphia
d. Dallas

13. What does AAFI stand for


a. Amateur Athletics Federation of India
b. All Athletics Federation of India
c. All Football Federation of India
d. Associated Athletics Federation of India

14. The Commonwealth games 2010 will be held in


a. Toronto
b. Melbourne
c. Manchester
d. N.Delhi
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. d 5. a 6. c 7. b 8. a 9. c 10. b 11. d 12. a 13. b 14. a 15. d

Test your General Knowledge - XXVIII

1. Who has been ranked the most trusted name in India in a list compiled by popular magazine Reader's Digest.
a. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
b. Ratan Tata
c. Lakshmi Mittal
d. Narayan Murthy
2. Who is the Chairman of the Expert Committee on National Film Awards
a. Dilip Kumar
b. Shyam Benegal
c. Amitabh Bachchan
d. Anupam Kher

3. Who has been reappointed as Prime Minister of Mauritius


a. Angidi Chettiarb
b. Raouf Bundhun
c. Paul Berenger
d. Navinchandra Ramgoolam

4. What does CRR stand for


a. Cyclic Reserve Ratio
b. Cash Reverse Ratio
c. Cash Reserve Ratio
d. Cyclic Reverse Ratio

5. Who authored Catch 22


a. Ernest Hemmingway
b. James Baldwin
c. Joseph Heller
d. Jack London

6. Which of the following politicians has been arrested by CBI in Shorabuddin Case
a. Suresh Mehta
b. Amit Shah
c. Narendra Modi
d. Keshubhai Patel

7. Who is India’s new home secretary


a. Dhirendra Singh
b. G K Pillai
c. SM Krishna
d. Anand Sharma

8. Lee Trevino is associated with which of the following sports


a. Basketball
b. Football
c. Golf
d. Billiards

9. Who was known as the Morning Star of Indian Renaissance


a. Bipin Chandra Pal
b. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
c. Rabindranath Tagore
d. Ram Mohan Roy

10. Which was the first country to issue stamps


a. Great Britain
b. Greece
c. Germany
d. Guyana

11. Right to Information (RTI) was passed in the year


a. 2001
b. 2005
c. 2003
d. 2006

12. Federation cup is associated with which of the following games


a. Archery
b. Badminton
c. Chess
d. Golf

13. _______ is the largest fresh water lake in India


a. Dal Lake
b. Wular Lake
c. Surinsar Lake
d. Mansar Lake

14. Who is the founder of Nirma group


a. Jagdish Khattar
b. Jyoti Naik
c. Karsanbhai Patel
d. Brijmohan Lall Munjal

15. Who founded the Indian Express in 1936


a. Ramnath Goenka
b. Ramesh Gelli
c. Ramesh Chandra Agarwal
d. M.S.Banga

Answers
1. a 2. b 3. d 4. c 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. c 9. d 10. a 11. b 12. a 13. b 14. c 15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XXVII

1. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the


a. Elected members of the legislative assembly
b. Prime Minister
c. President
d. Elected members of the legislative council

2. An American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter, he has been chosen to receive an Emmy award
for his humanitarian efforts. Name him.
a. Tom Hanks
b. George Clooney
c. Denzel Washington
d. Melvin Kaminsky.

3. A French film actress, author, television screenwriter and director, she starred in many films and won the
Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival and was especially famous in France for her TV series for children, Poly
(a boy and a horse) and Belle et Sébastien, adapted for television from her books. She passed away on July 19,
2010. Name her.
a. Marion Cotillard
b. Ginette Garcin
c. Cécile Aubry
d. Juliette Binoche

4. Who has been elected as the President of the Delhi Archery Association (DAA)
a. Sanjay Gupta
b. RC Venkateish
c. Nikhil Kilpady
d. Virender Sachdeva

5. Dabur India is talks to buy Turkish personal care products maker. Name the personal care products maker.
a. Hunca Cosmetics
b. Hobi Kozmetik
c. Arçelik
d. Poliya

6. Dhyan Chand is associated with which of the following sports


a. Hockey
b. Cricket
c. Golf
d. Billliards

7. Which of the following countries has taken its anti-smoking crusade one step further by now banning smokers
from applying for high-ranking executive jobs in the government.
a. Iran
b. Iraq
c. Israel
d. Ireland

8. Which of the following cities in India is known as the Sun City


a. Jamnagar
b. Jodhpur
c. Jabalpur
d. Jagdalpur

9. Which of the following Indian states is also known as the ‘Abode of Clouds’
a. Nagaland
b. Manipur
c. Meghalaya
d. Uttarakhand
10. Who is the minister of Environment and forests?
a. Dinsha J. Patel
b. Srikant Jena
c. Jairam Ramesh
d. E. Ahamed

11. An English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre,
and films, he won the prestigious children's fiction prize - the Cilip Carnegie Medal - for his fantasy tale The
Graveyard Book. Name him
a. Neil Gaiman
b. Mark Adlard
c. Brian Aldiss
d. Nick Harkaway

12. Who is the new Chief Vigilant Officer (CVO) of Steel Authority of India (SAIL)
a. C S Verma
b. SK Roongta
c. Chandra Bhushan Paliwal
d. G Elias

13. Who has been appointed the new deputy chief financial officer of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)
a. Pankaj Vaish
b. V. Srikanth
c. Aloke Ghosh
d. Amrita Bhalla

14. Which of the following countries is not a member of Gulf Cooperation Council
a. Yemen
b. Oman
c. Bahrain
d. Kuwait

15. What does NSDL stand for?


a. National Stock Depository Limited
b. National Securities Depository Limited
c. Nascent Securities Depository Limited
d. Nascent Stock Depository Limited

Answers
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. c 10. c 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. a 15. b

Test your General Knowledge - XXVI

1. An American underground comic book writer, he was best known for his autobiographical American Splendor
series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same. He passed away on July
12, 2010. Name him
a. Harvey Pekar
b. Brian Michael Bendis
c. Peter David
d. Clifford Meth

2. Which of the following cricketers has snapped a 3- year deal with sports and talent management firms Rhiti
sports management and mindscapes one
a. Sourav Ganguly
b. Virender Sehwag
c. Sachin Tendulkar
d. M.S. Dhoni

3. Insurance broker Aon corp has agreed to buy a Human resources company for $ 4.9 billion in cash and stock
to expand its consulting operations. Name the Human Resources company.
a. Ma Foi Management Consultants Limited
b. Ernest & Young Private Limited
c. Global Hunt
d. Hewitt Associates

4. Who is the new Managing Director (MD) of Zee news


a. Punit Goenka
b. Laxmi Goel
c. Vineet Jain
d. Sunil Lulla

5. Who won the main prize at the Karlovy Vary film festival in the Czech republic for his film ‘The Mosquito Net’
beating 11 other contenders.
a. Pedro Almodóvar
b. Agusti Vila
c. Alejandro Amenábar
d. Juanma Bajo Ulloa

6. Who won a gold medal in the 48-kg gold in the International Wrestling tournament “Gran Premio de Espana
“that was held from July 10-11 at Madrid, Spain
a. Geetika Jakhar
b. Nirmal Devi
c. Sumit Morya
d. Prakash Kumar

7. Who has won the Golden Boot award for top scorer at the World Cup and was also named best young player
of the tournament
a. Manuel Neuer
b. Mesut Oezil
c. Thomas Mueller
d. Jerome Boateng

8. Which of the following counties has been in news for armed conflict taking place between rival drug cartels
and government forces
a. Mexico
b. South Africa
c. Turkey
d. Thailand

9. What does GPI stand for?


a. Global Price Index
b. Global Peace Index
c. Genuine Price Index
d. Genuine Progress Index

10. Which of the following countries has recently announced a permanent suspension of Google’s Mail service
claiming that it will be replaced by a new National service
a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. Pakistan

11. Who is the author of ‘Lajja’


a. Arundhati Roy
b. Shobha De
c. Taslima Nasreen
d. Anita Desai

12. Who was the first Indian to win the World Amateur Billiards title?
a. Geet Sethi
b. Ashok Shandilya
c. Wilson Jones
d. Michael Ferreira

13. __________ is the largest carnivore on land


a. Tiger
b. Polar bear
c. Lion
d. Leopard

14. ________ is the National animal of India


a. Bald Eagle
b. Leopard
c. Tiger
d. Gallic rooster

15. Snooker originated in which of the following countries


a. India
b. Belgium
c. Canada
d. Gabon

Answers
1. a 2. d 3. d 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. a 9. b 10. c 11. c 12. c 13. b 14. c 15. a
Test your General Knowledge - XXV

1. _____________notched up his 12th Grand Slam title after he and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched
the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship with a straight set victory on Sunday.
a. Mahesh Bhupathi.
b. Leander Paes
c. Somdev Devvarman
d. Prakash Amritraj.

2. Who authored the Voyage of the Beagle


a. Charles Darwin
b. Charles Dickens
c. David Almond
d. David Attenborough

3. __________ is the only internal organ that can regenerate itself


a. Gall Bladder
b. Pancreas
c. Liver
d. Spleen

4. Who has been honoured with the 2010 national award by the technology Development Board of the Ministry of
Science and Technology?
a. A.R. Sharma
b. Dr. O.P. Katare
c. Martti Ahtisaari
d. Volodymyr Semynozhenko

5. The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the cash withdrawal limit for ATMs to Rs _____________ in
a single day
a. 75,5000
b. 50,000
c. 1 lakh
d. 1,25000

6. Who is the governor of Maharashtra


a. Nikhil Kumar
b. Hans Raj Bhardwaj
c. Rameshwar Thakur
d. K. Sankaranarayanan

7. Which of the following Bollywood actresses has been banned by the South Indian Film Artistes Association
(SIFAA) for offending them by shooting for the movie ‘Ready’ in Sri Lanka
a. Asin Thottumkal
b. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
c. Rekha Ganesan
d. Trisha Krishnamurthy

8. Pankaj Advani is associated with which of the following sports


a. Badminton
b. Tennis
c. Billiards
d. Hockey

9. An Indian weightlifter, she has joined training for the Commonwealth games to be held in Delhi in October
after serving a two-year ban for a dope in flunk in 2008 after clearing a confirmatory test
a. Nandini Devi
b. Pratima Kumari
c. Kunjarani Devi
d. Monika Devi

10. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has conferred the chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy with
the title of `Wind Visionary of Asia'. The award is in recognition of Suzlon's commitment to building the case
for wind across the world and highlights a decade of tremendous work in key markets of Asia. Who is the
managing director and chairman of Suzlon
a. Tulsi R Tanti
b. Kushal Pal Singh
c. Pallonji Mistry
d. Anurag Dikshit

11. ________ is the world’s largest diamond producing country


a. South Africa
b. Saudi Arabia
c. Zambia
d. Zaire

12. Who is the founder of Business India group of publications


a. Jai Prakash Gaur
b. Khalid Ansari
c. Ashok Advani
d. KV Mathew

13. The South Asian Association for regional cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight
countries in Southern Asia. When was it formed
a. September 2, 1987
b. December 8, 1985
c. August 8, 1989
d. December 5, 1986

14. The constitution of India is divided in how many parts


a. 22
b. 25
c. 21
d. 23

15. Who is known as the father of computers


a. James Gosling
b. Don Bissell
c. Alan Turing
d. Charles Babbage

Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. a 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. a 15. d

Test your General Knowledge - XXIV

1. An Indian politician and Member of Parliament, he has rejoined BJP after he was unceremoniously thrown out
for writing a controversial book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 2009. Name him
a. Jaswant Singh
b. Jagdish Mukhi
c. Y.G.Mahajan
d. Ramswaroop Koli

2. Which of the following country has been knocked out of the world cup 2010.
a. Nigeria
b. Germany
c. Argentina
d. Brazil

3. Who is the new ICC president?


a. Ray Mali
b. Sharad Pawar
c. David Morgan
d. Ehsan Mani

4. Which of the following countries has ruled out that it is not a criminal offence to cut off the life support of a
dying person if that person has given consent.
a. Philippines
b. Germany
c. France
d. Austria

5. Who is the new President of Germany


a. Christian Wulff
b. Horst Köhler
c. Johannes Rau
d. Roman Herzog

6. An industrialist and philanthropist, he was one of the first to enter into the television business. He was the
proprietor of the firm that sold the popular Dyanora TV sets and was also the former managing director and
founder of Nippo batteries. He passed away on June 30, 2010. Identify him.
a. Armand Hammer
b. P. Obul Reddy
c. Tony Toldo
d. Dr. S. K. Somaiya

7. In which year did India became a member of The United Nations Organisation (UNO)
a. 26th January, 1950
b. 15th August, 1947
c. 27th September, 1945
d. 30th October, 1945

8. The first five-year plan came into existence in which year


a. 1949
b. 1950
c. 1951
d. 1952

9. Swaythling cup is associated with which of the following games


a. Table Tennis
b. Badminton
c. Basketball
d. Hockey

10. ________ is the largest island in the Mediterranean


a. Corsica
b. Sicily
c. Sardinia
d. Cyprus

11. Arachnophobia is
a. fear of spiders
b. fear of lightning and thunderstorms
c. fear of the number 13
d. fear of birds

12. What does FIEO stand for


a. Forum of Indian Export Organization
b. Federation of Indian Export Organization
c. Foundation of Indian Export Organization
d. Foreign Indian Economic Organisation

13. Who authored The Binding Vine


a. Salman Rushdie
b. Shashi Tharoor
c. Shashi Deshpande
d. Anita Desai

14. An Indian film director and producer, she has won a number of awards, including a National Film Award and
various international film festival awards, and was a nominee at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA
Awards and Filmfare Awards. She was also awarded the India Abroad Person of the Year-2007, which was
presented by Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc, and India Abroad Person of the Year-2006. Name
her
a. Deepa Mehta
b. Aparna Sen
c. Gurinder Chadha
d. Mira Nair
15. Who is the minister of youth affairs and sports
a. GK Vasan
b. CP Joshi
c. Dr. MS Gill
d. MK Alagiri

Answers
1. a 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. b 7. d 8. c 9. a 10. b 11. a 12. b 13. c 14. d 15. c

World Cup Fever: Test your General Knowledge

1. Who is the president of FIFA


a. Jack Warner
b. Geoff Thompson
c. Sepp Blatter
d. João Havelange

2. What was the World Cup known as before 1970


a. Henri Delaunay Trophy
b. Silvio Gazzanigi
c. Kamari Stu Cup
d. Jules Rimet Trophy

3. Which of the following countries is hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup
a. South Africa
b. Germany
c. Italy
d. France

4. What is the 2010 FIFA World Cup mascot


a. Footix
b. Zakumi
c. Juanito
d. Tip and Tap

5. What is the 2010 FIFA World Cup theme song


a. The Cup of Life
b.We are the champions
c. Waka Waka
d. The Time of our Lives

6. Lionel Messi plays for which of the following countries


a. England
b. Italy
c. Germany
d. Argentina

7. Which is the only country to have played in every tournament of World Cup football
a. Brazil
b. France
c. Italy
d. Germany

8. Which of the following countries has never made it to a World Cup final game
a. France
b. Spain
c. Argentina
d. England

9. The 2014 World Cup will be held in which of the following countries
a. Japan
b. South Korea
c. Germany
d. Brazil

10. ________ was the first country to win a World Cup in 1930
a. USA
b. Yugoslavia
c. Uruguay
d. Argentina

11. How many countries have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
a. 208
b. 200
c. 204
d. 202

12. Who is the overall top goal scorer in all the World Cup tournaments
a. Cristiano Ronaldo
b. Wayne Rooney
c.Lionel Messi
d. Pele

13. Chritiano Renaldo plays for which of the following teams


a. Bayern Munich
b. Real Madrid
c. Manchester United
d. Bordeaux

14. FIFA means


a. Federation Internationale de Framebox Association
b. Federation Internationale de Football Association
c. Federation Internationale de Frameball Association
d. Federation Internationale de Foot Association

15. FIFA was formed in


a. 1901
b. 1908
c. 1904
d. 1907

Answers
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. d 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. c 11. c 12. a 13. c 14. b 15. c

Test your General Knowledge - XXIII

1. A US-based investment banking giant has been fined a record £33.32 million by the UK regulator for failing to
keep billions of dollars of client money separate from the firm's money in segregated accounts. Name the US-
based investment giant.
a. Wells Fargo
b. Morgan Stanley
c. JP Morgan
d. Goldman Sachs

2. An Indian multi-business conglomerate with diversified business interests that include finance, insurance, real
estate, media & entertainment, tourism & hospitality, and services & trading has retained the sponsorship rights
of the Indian cricket team for a whopping Rupees 30.34 million (653,000 dollars) per match till December 2013.
Name the conglomerate.
a. Yahoo! India
b. Sahara India
c. Reliance
d. Star India

3. Who is the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka?


a. Mahinda Rajapaksa
b. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
c. D.M Jayaratne
d. Ranil Wickremesinghe

4. The 2010 International Indian Film Academy Awards is going to be held in which of the following countries:
a. Singapore
b. Malaysia
c. Mauritius
d. Srilanka

5. A UAE-based telecommunications service provider, Etisalat is in talks to buy a quarter of an Indian mobile
carrier for $ 180 billion rupees. Name the service provider.
a. Reliance
b. Tata
c. Airtel
d. Idea

6. Which Indian pharmaceutical company has received an approval from the Drug Controller General of India
(DCGI) to market its H1N1 vaccine in the country?
a. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
b. Ranbaxy Laboratories
c. GlaxoSmithKline
d. Cadila Healthcare Ltd
7. Who was crowned with the coveted Miss India World beauty pageant for the year 2010?
a. Pooja Chopra
b. Ekta Choudhary
c. Manasvi Mamgai
d. Shriya Kishore

8. Who is known as the father of western political thought?


a. Socrates
b. Plato
c. Archimedes
d. Robert E. Goodin

9. How many countries are part of the European Union?


a. 18
b. 15
c. 27
d. 20

10. Which of the following places in India is known as Emerald islands?


a. Caculo
b. Daman & Diu
c. Lakshadweep
d. Andaman and Nicobar

11. Limba Ram is associated with which of the following sports:


a. Archery
b. Table Tennis
c. Shooting
d. Golf

12. Who authored The Inheritance of Loss?


a. Amit Verma
b. Kiran Desai
c. Arvind Adiga
d. Amit Chaudhuri

13. Which company launched the first mobile phone operation in India?
a. Bharti
b. Modi Telstra
c. Loop
d. Essar

14. What does APEC stand for?


a. Asia Pacific Election Commission
b. Asia Pacific European Commission
c. All India Election Commission
d. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

15. A novelist and essayist, he achieved notability with his second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), which won the
Booker Prize in 1981. Much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses
(1988), was the centre of a major controversy, drawing protests from Muslims in several countries. Name him.
a. Salman Rushdie
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. Vikram Seth
d. Khushwant Singh

Answers
1.c2.b3.c4.d5.a6.d7.c8.b9.c10.d11.a12.b13.b14.d15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XXII

1. Recently a ship laden with medical equipment, books and building materials, as well as a number of dignitaries
including members of various parliaments, a Holocaust survivor and a Nobel peace prize laureate was attacked
in international waters; under international law. Name the country that undertook such a drastic action.
a. Turkey
b. Israel
c. USA
d. China

2. An Italian carmaker recently launched the limited edition of its fastest sports car Murcielago LP 670-4
SuperVeloce in India. Name the Italian carmaker.
a. Alfa Romeo
b. Maseratti
c. Lamborghini
d. Edonis

3. Which of the following radio channels has just launched the first of its kind SMS services under the SMS VAS
umbrella brand of 'ANY TIME MUSIC - ATM'
a. 98.3 Radio Mirchi
b. 94.3 Radio One
c. 107.1 Rainbow
d. 104.8 Meow

4. Who is the new commissioner police of Mumbai


a. Sanjeev Dayal
b. Hasan Gafoor
c. D Sivanandan
d. A N Roy

5. Who is the new mayor of Mumbai


a. Murli Deora
b. Mahadeo Deole
c. Dr. Shubha U. Raul.
d. Shraddha Jadhav

6. Name the country that has recently developed a super computer that runs at more than one quadrillion (one
thousand million) calculations per second
a. China
b. Japan
c. India
d. Germany

7. ________ has become the first country to initiate a new law proposing strict packaging rules for tobacco
companies to sell their cigarette packs 'plain' without display of logo or imagery on the cover by January 1,
2012.
a. Germany
b. India
c. Austria
d. Australia

8. The G-20 summit was held in which of the following countries


a. Spain
b. Washington
c. Germany
d. France

9. Deodhar trophy is associated with which of the following games


a. Badminton
b. Basketball
c. Cricket
d. Tennis

10. Who authored The Jungle Book


a. Timothy Ash
b. Rudyard Kipling
c. John Arden
d. John Ash

11. What is the retirement age of a Supreme Court judge


a. 55
b. 60
c. 65
d. 68

12. The organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organization. How
many countries are a member of this organization
a. 31
b. 35
c. 48
d. 29

13. Who is the minister of corporate affairs?


a. M. S. Gill
b. Oscar Fernandes
c. Vilas Muttemwar
d. Prem Chand Gupta

14. Name the place in Mangalore, which saw an air disaster of such magnitude in which 158 lives perished.
a. Bajpe
b. Kavoor
c. Udipi
d. Kadri

15. What does ILO stand for?


a. Indian Labour Organisation
b. Indian Law Organisation
c. International Law Organisation
d. International Labour Organisation

Answers
1.b 2.c 3.b 4.a 5.d 6.a 7.d 8.b 9.a 10.b 11.d 12.a 13.d 14.a 15.d

Test your General Knowledge - XXI

1. Which Thai film has won the Palme d'Or top prize at the 2010 Cannes film festival??
a. Pleasure Factory
b. Ploy
c. The Love of Siam
d. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2. The American drug-maker Abott is all set to acquire India's second largest pharmaceutical healthcare company
for USD 3.72 billion. Name the healthcare company.
a. Cipla
b. GlaxoSmithKline
c. Piramal Healthcare
d. Ranbaxy

3. He was an Indian born Scottish inventor, who pioneered the development of the Automated Teller Machine
(ATM). He passed away in May 2010. Name him
a. Luther George Simjian
b. John Shepherd-Barron
c. James Goodfellow
d. Don Wetzel

4. An Indian FMCG major is all set to acquire 100 percent stake in Latin American Issue group for an undisclosed
amount. Name the FMCG major.
a. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited
b. Hindustan Unilever Limited
c. Godrej Consumer Products Limited
d. Britannia Industries Ltd

5. Who is the new prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago?


a. Kamla Persad-Bissessar
b. Patrick Manning
c. Basdeo Panday
d. A. N. R. Robinson
6. Who is the current chief justice of the United States of America?
a. John G. Roberts Jr.
b. Anthony Kennedy
c. John Paul Stevens
d. Stephen Breyer

7. India has created a joint river commission with which of the following countries?
a. Bangladesh
b. Bahrain
c. Bhutan
d. Myanmar

8. Which island is known as the land of cloves?


a. Trinidad and Tobago
b. Zanzibar
c. Spaatz
d. Oahu

9. Baichang Bhutia is associated with which of the following sports?


a. Cricket
b. Hockey
c. Football
d. Boxing

10. He is a versatile writer and his novels have won many literary awards. His first novel, 'The Circle of Reasons'
won the Prix Medicis Etrangere, one of the top literary awards of France. His second novel, 'Shadow Lines' won
the famous Sahitya Akademi award of 1990, India's most prestigious literary prize. Name him.
a. Amitav Ghosh
b. Salman Rushdie
c. Vikram Seth
d. Khushwant Singh

11. Who is the chairman and managing director of Biocon Ltd?


a. M.B. Chinappa
b. Arun Chandavarkar
c. John Shaw
d. Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

12. Who is the Minister of Communications and Information Technology?


a. Kumari Selja
b. CP Joshi
c. A Raja
d. Anand Sharma

13. "Powered by Intellect; Driven by Values" is the punchline of which of the following companies?
a. Tata
b. Wipro
c. Infosys
d. Accenture
14. What does WIPO stand for?
a. World Internet Project Organisation
b. Warner Independent Pictures Organisation
c. Wireless Industry Partnership Organisation
d. World Intellectual Property Organisation

15. Who is the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?


a. P G Wodehouse
b. Norman Mailer
c. Mark Twain
d. Badminton

Answers
1. d 2.c 3. b 4. c 5. a 6. a 7.a 8. b 9. c 10. a 11. d 12.c 13. c14. d 15. c

Test your General Knowledge - XX

1. Who has been appointed as the President of BJP in New Delhi?


a. Vijendra Gupta
b. O P Kohli
c. Nitin Gadkari
d. Gopal Shetty

2. Which company recently made an open offer to its Indian subsidiary at Rs.900/- per share?
a. ABB
b.Pfizer
c.Novartis
d.Fresenius Kabi

3. He was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002- July 21, 2007, after losing
the presidential election to Pratibha Patil. He also served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state three times,
from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992, and 1993 to 1998. He passed away on May 15, 2010. Name him
a. K. R. Narayanan
b. Krishna Kant
c. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
d. Shankar Dayal Sharma

4. A NRI entrepreneur, he has been awarded the prestigious Global Green Award in recognition of his leadership
and success in promoting renewable energy solutions in emerging markets such as India. He was presented
the award at World Trade Week in New York. Name him
a. Amar Bose
b. Sourabh Sen
c. Swaraj Paul
d. Vinod Khosla

5. Who is the new Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Mudra MAX?


a. Vikas Bhambri
b. Madhur Kamat
c. Pratap Bose
d. Anurag Gupta

6. Amazon.com Inc. uses an e-reader for the rendering and displaying of e-books and other digital media. Name
the software and hardware platform.
a. Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad
b.Barnes and Noble’s Nook
c. Kindle
d. Sony Reader

7. Popular social networking site Facebook can now be accessed through mobile devices for free or without any
data charges in 45 countries, including India, on select mobile networks. Name the network in India.
a.Vodafone
b.Idea
c.Airtel
d. Reliance Communications and Videocon

8. The Deepwater Horizon Oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico is being described as the worst oil leak disaster in
decades, and has reached marshlands along the southeastern coast of Louisiana and threatened three other US
states. The company undertaking the offshore oil drilling operations in this location was
a. BP
b. Australian Oil and Gas Corporation
c. Royal Dutch Shell
d. Petronas

9. Who authored The Godfather?


a. Wayne Dyer
b. Mario Puzo
c. Anthony Robbins
d. J.D.Salinger

10. Who is the minister of steel of the Republic of India?


a. Anand Sharma
b. Mallikarjun Kharge
c. S M Krishna
d. Virbhadra Singh

11. What was the former name of Sri Lanka?


a. Dahomey
b. Gandhara
c. Ceylon
d. Mesopotamia

12. ‘Making the Sky the best place on Earth’ is the punchline of which of the following airlines
a. IndiGO
b. Kingfisher Airlines
c. Air India
d. Air France
13. India's largest private sector bank ICICI Bank is set to buy_____________, one of the country's oldest private
lenders in a share swap worth about $650 million. Name the bank
a. Bank of Travencore
b. Bank of Maharshtra
c. Bank of Rajasthan
d. Dhanalakshmi Bank

14. Who is the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bharti Retail?
a. Vinod Sawhny
b. Andrew Levermore
c. Ajjay Bijli
d. Sunil Tandon

15. Pablo Aimar is associated with which of the following sports?


a. Soccer
b. Football
c. Basketball
d. Badminton

Answers
1. a 2.a 3. c 4. b 5. d 6. c 7.d 8. a 9. b 10. d 11. c 12.d 13. c14. a 15. b

Test your General Knowledge - XIX

1. Who has President Barack Obama nominated as Solicitor for the US Supreme Court?
a. Robert Gates,
b. Elena Kagan
c. Janet Napolitano
d. Lawrence Summers

2. Who has been awarded the prestigious Sydney Peace Prize this year in recognition of her works in social
justice?
a. Vandana Shiva
b. Pat Dodson
c. Irene Khan
d. Muhammad Yunus

3. A global diversified and integrated metals and mining group has acquired Anglo American's entire zinc
business in Ireland and Africa for USD1.34 billion. Name it.
a. Sagar
b. Baldota
c. Kudremukh
d. Vedanta

4. A Bollywood actor, he started his Hindi film career with Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat in 1964. He had acted in
more than 190 films. He was mostly known for his role in Ramesh Sippy's popular film Sholay in 1975. He
passed away on May 10, 2010. Name him.
a. A.K. Hangal
b. Satyendra Kapoor
c. Mac Mohan
d. Vikas Anand

5. Gemini Communication Ltd, a Chennai-based communication and network solution provider, has acquired a
telecom and Internet service provider in Africa, for an undisclosed sum. Name the company
a. Zain
b. VSAT
c. MegaTech
d. Rosy Blue Wireless

6. Which bank has won the prestigious Asian Banker Achievement Award for being the strongest bank in Asia
Pacific region, instituted by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and the Asian Banker magazine?
a. State Bank of India
b Oriental Bank of Commerce
c. Union Bank of India
d. United Bank of India

7. Who is the vice-president of India?


a. Mohammad Qasim Fahim
b. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
c. Hamid Ansari
d. Karim Khalili

8. A cricketer, commentator and politician, he made his international debut against the West Indies in 1983, but
could not fare well. He played in the 1987 cricket World Cup for India. His highest ODI score was 134 against
England at Gwalior in 1993. One of his best performances was his score of 201 against the West Indies in 1996-
97. He retired from cricket in December 1999. Identify him.
a. Mohammed Azharuddin
b. Sunil Gavaskar
c. Ravi Shastri
d. Navjot Singh Sidhu

9. An Indian economist, he currently serves on the Academic Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch (Asia) and is
a Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His book, In Defense of Globalization, published in May
2004 received widespread acclaim. He received the Padma Vibhushan award in 2000 and the Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in 2004. Name him.
a. Jagdish Bhagwati
b. Amartya Sen
c. Dr Y K Alagh
d. Rahul Arora

10. Who is considered to be the father of the Indian space programme?


a. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
b. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
c. Dr. Anil Kakodkar
d. Arun N. Netravali
11. Anup Sridhar is associated with which of the following games?
a. Basketball
b. Tennis
c. Badminton
d. Golf

12. BRIC stands for


a. Brazil, Russia, India and China
b. Bahrain, Russia, India and Chile
c. Bangladesh, Russia, Indonesia and China
d. Brazil, Russia, India and Cambodia

13. An Indian social activist, she is known for her role in Narmada Bachao Andolan. Name her.
a.Maneka Gandhi
b. Shanta Sinha
c. Kiran Bedi
d. Medha Patkar

14. Who is the founder and the Executive Chairperson of New Delhi Television (NDTV)?
a. RP Goenka
b. Pranav Mistry
c. Prannoy Roy
d. Prasoon joshi

15. Who is the author of the White Mughals?


a. Romila Thapar
b. William Dalrymple
c. Jeanne DuPrau
d. Cassandra Clare

Answers
1. b 2. a 3. d 4. c 5. d 6. a 7. c 8. d 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. d. 14. c 15. b

Test your General Knowledge - XVIII

1. The world’s biggest payments network, Visa has agreed to buy a provider of electronic payment and risk
management services for $ 2 billion. Name it.
a. Cyber source
b. Modulesoft
c. VeriSign
d. Paypal

2. Who bagged the best bowler honour at the glitzy IPL Awards 2010?
a. A Agarkar
b. RP Singh
c. S Sreesanth
d. Pragyan Ojha

3. A Nottingham-born novelist, he emerged in the 1950s as one of the "Angry Young Men" of British fiction. His
novels included Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, both of
which were made into films. He passed away on April 25, 2010. Name him.
a. Ian Carmichael
b. Robert Jordan
c. Alan Sillitoe
d. Harry Carpenter

4. An Indian author, has won the Dan David prize for his depictions of 20th century life and will share the million
dollar prize with Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. Name him.
a. Vikram Seth
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. Salman Rushdie
d. Upamanyu Chatterjee

5. An inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker, he is also the advisor to Prime Minister on infrastructure and
innovation and has been selected for a honorary doctorate in Human Letters by the University of Illinois. Name
him.
a. Sam Pitroda
b. Lalit Modi
c. Raunaq Singh
d. K.P. Singh

6. An English actress, she appeared in several films, including Tom Jones (1963), and Georgy Girl (1966) which won
her a New York Film Critics Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She
passed away on May 2, 2010. Name her.
a. Natasha Richardson
b. Lynn Redgrave
c. Audrey Hepburn
d. Carrie Hamilton

7. The Union Government's ambitious unique identity project which aims at giving a 16-digit number to all
citizens of the country has been renamed
a. Aadhaar
b. Umeed
c. Shakthi
d. Neev

8. Who authored Carrie?


a. Alberto Moravia
b. Alan Smithee
c. Stephen King
d. Al Trace

9. Magyar Nemzeti is the Central Bank of


a. Hungary
b. Greece
c. Croatia
d. Serbia

10. Which businessman has a joint venture with Walt Disney called MEN?
a. Anil Ambani
b. Mukesh Ambani
c. Ratan Tata
d. Lalit Modi

11. Gagan Ajit Singh is associated with which of the following games/sports?
a. Basketball
b. Badminton
c. Hockey
d. Volleyball

12. Who is the minister of Overseas Indian affairs and Minister of Parliamentary affairs?
a. Shri Shankersinh Vaghela
b. Shri Vayalar Ravi
c. Shri P.R. Kyndiah
d. Shri Mahavir Prasad

13. The Wailing Wall is in which of the following cities?


a. Hadera
b. Holon
c. Jerusalem
d. Haifa

14. The Times of India Group and the Jang Group came together to energize a peace process between India and
Pakistan, christened ___
a. Only Hearts
b. StarPeace Project
c. Peace Corridor
d. Aman ki Asha

15. Who recently launched a low-priced handset X2 in the Indian market?


a. Nokia
b. Maxx
c. Samsung
d. Carbon

Answers

1. a 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. a 6. b 7. a 8.c 9. a 10. d 11. c 12. b 13. c 14. d 15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XVII


1. A famous film personality, he was awarded the Raj Kapoor Special Contribution State Award by the
Maharashtra State government. Name him.
a. Sachin Pilgaonkar
b. Manoj Kumar
c. Ashutosh Gowariker
d. Dilip Kumar

2. Who won the 2010 Volvo China Open in Golf?


a. Lee Chong Wei
b. Wong Mew Choo
c. Peter Ebdon
d. Y E Yang

3. Who is the new chairman of the Fiat group?


a. Giovanni Agnelli
b. Sergio Marchionne
c. Luca di Montezemolo
d. John Elkann

4. Who won the women’s title at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, USA in March 2010?
a. Jelena Jankovic
b. Caroline Wozniacki,
c. Dinara Safina
d. Serena Williams

5. A former professional footballer, he wrote and staged a number of plays himself, and was the founder of the
Mandeko Theatre in the Malian capital Bamako. He was also the “Best Actor” at the Berlin Film Festival last
year, winning an award for playing a French Muslim waiting for news of his son in the wake of the 7/7
bombings in the film London River. He passed away on April 17, 2010. Name him.
a. Dennis Weaver
b. Don Knotts
c. Sotigui Kouyate
d. Steve Irwin

6. A leading export company set up by an NRI entrepreneur has won the Queens Award for Enterprise 2010 for
the second consecutive year. Name the firm.
a. Panoramic
b. Sun Mark Ltd
c. O'Keefe
d. Gopio

7. An Indian American, he has topped the list of the 10 greenest billionaires chosen by Forbes as those "who are
most active in green, sustainable causes and who are working to have the greatest impact." Name him.
a. Neal Kumar
b. Raju Kucherlapati
c. Rashad Hussain
d. Vinod Khosla
8. Who has been appointed interim chief of IPL in the wake of the scam affecting the tornament?
a. Ravi Shastri
b. Chirayu Amin
c. Shashank Manohar
d. Sundar Raman

9. The Toronto-based Schulich School of business is to set up its campus in which of the following locations?
a. Bangalore
b. Mumbai
c. Hyderabad
d. Haryana

10. The 16th SAARC summit 2010 is to be hosted by


a. Bhutan
b. Sri Lanka
c. Nepal
d. Maldives

11. Who is the author of A Wounded Civilization?


a. Shashi Tharoor
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. V.S. Naipaul
d. Upamanyu Chatterjee

12. Which of the following Indian actors was named at birth as Yusuf Khan?
a. Naseeruddin Shah
b. Raaj Kumar
c. Dev Anand
d. Dilip Kumar

13. __________ is the chairman of the UNO Human Rights commission


a. N.A. Hajjaji
b. Omar Khabaj
c. Domingo Siazan
d. Kiarn Bedi

14. Which of the following is not a member of the G-20?


a. Brazil
b. China
c. Pakistan
d. Japan

15. Which of the following global automotive majors announced its decision to divest 30% stake in an engine
company in Iran, in order to avoid links to the country facing tougher sanctions over its nuclear plans?

a. General Motors
b. Daimler
c. Toyota
d. Ford
Answer
1. c. 2. d. 3. d 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. d 8. b 9. c 10. a 11. c 12. d 13. a 14. d 15. b

Test your General Knowledge - XVI

1. What is the theme of World Health Day for the year 2010?
a. To protect Health from Climate Change
b. Save lives, Make Hospitals Safe in Emergencies
c. Urbanisation and Health
d. Working together for health

2. Who has been conferred the 'entrepreneur of the year' award by the All India Management Association, at its
Managing India Awards 2010?
a. Rajiv Kaul
b. Roopen Roy
c. Sanjiv Goenka
d. Chaitan Maini

3. Who is the winner of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2010?


a. Rafael Nadal
b. Roger Federer
c. Novak Djokovic
d. Mikhail Youzhny

4. A globally known figure, he has authored several International best sellers, including ‘Competing for the Future’
with Gary Hamel (1994), ‘The Future of Competition’ with Venkat Ramaswamy (2004) and ‘The Fortune at the
Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits', Wharton School Publishing, 2004. He passed away
on April 16, 2010. Name him
a. Rakesh Khurana
b. Ram Charan
c. C.K. Prahalad
d. Vijay Govindrajan

5. Who won the Pulitzer Prize for the year 2010 for feature writing?
a. Gene Weingarten
b. Kathleen Parker
c. Tod Robberson
d. Kathleen Parker

6. Which of the following development programmes has recently been launched by the government of India
Government of India to achieve the goal of universalisation of secondary education (USE)?
a. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)
b. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
c. Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY)
d. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

7. Which of the following international organizations has appointed a three-member independent panel to probe
the assassination of Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto?
a. United Nations
b. Interpol
c. Red Cross
d. Scotland Yard

8. Who was the winner of IPL 2009?


a. Mumbai Indians
b. Deccan Chargers
c. Kolkatta Knight Riders
d. Kings XI Punjab

9. James Fenimore Cooper is the author of which of the following books?


a. Around the World in Eighty Days
b. Uncle Tom's Cabin
c. The Grapes of Wrath
d. The Last of the Mohicans

10. In which year was India’s first paperless newspaper ‘The News Today’ launched?
a. 2001
b. 1999
c. 2005
d. 2000

11. Which country is slated for general elections on May 6 2010?


a. Australia
b. United Kingdom
c. France
d. Sweden

12. William Jones cup is associated with which of the following games?
a. Baseball
b. Volleyball
c. Tennis
d. Basketball

13. Costantino Rocca is associated with which of the following sports?


a. Golf
b. Tennis
c.Volleyball
d. Basketball

14. Which was the first Indian newspaper?


a. The Times of India
b. The Bengal Gazette
c. NavBharat Times
d. The Telegraph

15. China is building a hydropower project on the river


a. Brahmaputra
b. Tapi
c. Beas
d. Ravi

Answers
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. c 5. a 6. d 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. a 11. b 12. d 13. a 14. b 15. a

Test your General Knowledge - XV

1. Who is the new Maharashtra BJP President?


a. Yashwant Sinha
b. Syama Prasad Mookerjee
c. Sudhir Mungantiwar
d. Nitin Gadkari

2. Who was named ‘Wisden Cricketer of the Year’ for the second time in a row on April 14, 2010?
a. Sachin Tendulkar
b. Virender Sehwag
c. Ricky Ponting
d. Adam Gilchrist

3. Who has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of Religare Enterprise?
a. Aditya Mishra
b. Steven Kalczynski
c. Malvinder Mohan Singh
d. Sunil Godhwani

4. Citi has appointed __________ as the head of its global banking in India
a. Ravi Kapoor
b. Mark Khambatta
c. Vivek Mohan
d. Vindi Banga

5. Who has been named the richest Asian in Britain for the year 2010?
a. Anil Ambani
b. Lakshmi Mittal
c. Mukesh Ambani
d. Vijay Mallya

6. Who is referred to as the “gentleman of Indian politics?”


a. Dr. Rajendra Prasad
b. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
c. Jawaharlal Nehru
d. Mahatma Gandhi

7. Who has been appointed the new chairman of the National Commission for Farmers?
a. Ms Sushma Swaraj
b. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
c. K. C. Pant
d. Sharad Pawar
8. The Olympic Games are held at an interval of ___________ years
a. 7 years
b. 3 years
c. 4 years
d. 5 years

9. ______________ is the old name for Indonesia


a. Batavia
b. Dutch Guiana
c. Dutch East Indies
d. Loro See

10. What frequency range is the High Frequency Band?


a. 100 kHz
b. 1 GHz
c. 30 to 300 MHz
d. 3 to 30 MHz

11. How many stock exchanges are there in India?


a. 19
b. 22
c. 23
d. 24

12. Who became the first Asian to win the Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 for her book "Interpreter
Of Maladies?"
a. Kiran Desai
b. Arvind Adiga
c. Arundhati Roy
d. Jhumpa Lahiri

13. What is the study of fingerprints called?


a. Graphology
b. Botany
c. Dactyloscopy
d. Biology

14. __________ is the national flower of China


a. Tree Peony
b. Rose
c. Lily
d. Daffodil

15. What does APEC stand for?


a. Asia-Pacific Economic Consulate
b. Asia-Pacific Economic Climate
c. Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation
d. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Answers
1.c 2.b 3.d 4.a. 5.b 6.a 7.b 8.c 9.c 10.d 11.c 12.d 13.c 14.a 15.d

Test your General Knowledge - XIV

1. Which cellular service provider in India is all set to acquire the African assets of Kuwaiti telecom company Zain
for $ 10.7 billion?
a. Idea
b. Reliance
c. Vodafone
d. Bharti Airtel

2. Which country does not have the rupee as its currency?


a. Indonesia
b. Bangladesh
c. India
d. Sri Lanka

3. Which airline is the official umpire partner of the IPL tournament 2010 being held now?
a. Kingfisher Airlines
b. Indigo
c. Spicejet
d. None of the above

4. Who is the current US Treasury Secretary?


a. Timothy Geithner
b. Paul Krugman
c. Nancy Pelosi
d. Alan Greenspan

5. Who is the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Air India?


a. M M Nambiar
b. Brock Friesen
c. Venkatesh Valluri
d. Gustav Baldauf

6. What is the scientific name for fingers and toes?


a. Lenolanges
b. Phalanges
c. Philolanges
d. Panalanges

7. A professional American tennis player faces a two-year ban from tennis after eight vials, each containing six
milligrams of a performance-enhancing substance, were found in his luggage by Australian Customs officers,
ahead of a tournament leading up to the Australian Open. Name him.
a. Jose Acasuso
b. Wayne Odesnik
c. David Adams
d. Ronald Agenor
8. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China's largest private-run car maker has agreed to buy _________ for $1.8
billion.
a. Ford Motor’s Volvo Unit
b. Chrysler’s Caravan minivan
c. GM’s Hummer
d. Tata Motors’ Jaguar brand

9. An American engineer, entrepreneur and medical doctor, he designed the first commercially successful personal
computer in 1975 and is most often known as the father of the personal computer. He passed away on April 1,
2010. Name him.
a. Michael Dell
b. Howard Hughes
c. Adam Osborne
d. H Edward Roberts

10. Who has been appointed as chairman of Morgan and Stanley Investment Banking India?
a. Vivek Mohan
b. Pramit Jhaveri
c. V K Bansal
d. Bob Patel

11. Who is the author of ‘My Experiments with Truth’?


a. Jawaharlal Nehru
b. Rabindranath Tagore
c. Mahatma Gandhi
d. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

12. Which of the following Asian countries is referred to as “Nippon” by the natives of the land?
a. Japan
b. South Korea
c. China
d. Malaysia

13. Which is the largest pyramid in the world?


a. The Pyramid of Khafre
b. The Great Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico.
c. The Bosnian Pyramid
d. The Great Pyramid of Giza

14. The Prince of Wales Cup is associated with which of the following games?
a. Tennis
b. Golf
c. Badminton
d. Volley ball

15. With which of the following international aviation majors has Spanish Airline Iberia inked a merger deal to form
one of the largest airline groups in the world?
a. US Airways
b. Air France- KLM
c. British Airways
d. Lufthansa

Answers
1. d 2. b 3. a 4. a. 5. d 6. b 7.b 8. a 9. d 10.c 11.c 12.a 13 .b 14 .b 15.c

Test your General Knowledge - XIII

1. Apni Beti Apna Dhan is a scheme introduced by which of the following Indian states for welfare of the girl
child
a. Rajasthan
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Haryana
d. Meghalaya

2. Name the controversial film which was directed by Shekhar Kapur and was banned by the Indian authorities in
1994
a. Bandit Queen
b. The Guru
c. The Four Feathers
d. Elizabeth

3. Which of the following Indian states was separated from Bengal on April 1, 1912
a. Manipur
b. Orissa
c. Assam
d. Bihar

4. __________ Ocean is also called the ‘Herring Pond’


a. Indian
b. Atlantic
c. Pacific
d. Artic

5. Who has been appointed the US chief agriculture negotiator


a. Vivek Kundra
b. Amy K Singh
c. Jon Stewart
d. Islam Siddiqui

6. _________ is the National bird of India


a. Greater Flamingo
b. Indian Roller
c. Peacock
d. Asian Koel

7. The Ochterlony Monument was built in 1848 by Sir David Ochterlony to commemorate his victory in the Nepal
War (1814 – 1816). What was it renamed as after India achieved independence?
a. Victory Tower
b. Qutub Minar
c. Shaheed Minar
d. Char Minar

8. Red corpuscles are formed in


a. Pancreas
b. Bone marrow
c. Kidney
d. Liver

9. Who is the author of Twilight


a. Stephanie Meyer
b. Stephen King
c. Mary Higgins Clark
d. J K Rowling

10. __________ award is annually conferred for outstanding contribution to public service, community leadership,
journalism, literature, creative arts and international understanding
a. Right Livelihood
b. Pulitzer
c. The Golden Peacock
d. Magsaysay

11. What does WMO stand for


a. Windows Mobile Organisation
b. World Mimicry Organisation
c. World Meteorological Organisation
d. World Mobile Organisation

12. Which foreign influence is seen in the rock cut architecture of India?
a. Arabic
b. Persian
c. Indo-European
d. Greek

13. __________ is the highest gallantry award in India


a. Shaurya Chakra
b. Ashok Chakra
c. Maha Vir Chakra
d. Param Vir Chakra

14. Who is the union tourism and culture minister


a. Sheila Dixit
b. Ambika Soni
c. Naveen Patnaik
d. Parkash Singh Badal

15. Shakespeare's character named "Beatrice" appears in which play?


a. The Tempest
b. Othello
c. A Midsummer Night's Dream
d. Much Ado About Nothing

Answers
1. c 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. d 6. c 7. c 8. b 9. a 10. d 11. c 12. b 13. d 14. b 15. d

Test your General Knowledge - XII

1. _________ is the largest country with only one time zone.


a. Canada
b. Argentina
c. Sudan
d. China

2. The permanent secretariat of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is located at
_____________
a. Pokhara
b. Kathmandu
c. Bhaktapur
d. Patan

3. Koraput is related to which of the following industry.


a. Aeroplane
b. Ship Building
c. Iron and Steel
d. Electric Locomotives

4. __________ is known as the father of English poetry


a. John Keats
b. John Milton
c. Geoffrey Chaucer
d. Walt Whitman

5. ________ is a professional sport in Thailand


a. Soccer
b. Boxing
c. Football
d. Kite flying

6. Which country has 13 months in a year?


a. Ethiopia
b. Estonia
c. East Timor
d. Eritrea

7. ‘The Gathering’, written by Anne Wright won the Man Booker Prize in the year
a. 2006
b. 2007
c. 2005
d. 2009

8. Who is the Secretary- General of Lok Sabha?


a. Somnath Chatterjee
b. M.A. Ayyangar
c. G.C. Malhotra
d. P.D.T Achary

9. Who is the chairman of the Railway Board?


a. K C Jena
b. Jai Prakash Batra
c. S.S. Khurana
d. S.K Agarwal

10. Jeff Bezos is the founder of which of the following websites?


a. Ebay.com
b. Overstock.com
c. Kidsreads.com
d. Amazon.com

11. In which year were banks in India nationalized?


a. 1969
b. 1980
c. 1985
d. 1978

12. In which state is Jawahar Tunnel located?


a. Himachal Pradesh
b. Uttaranchal
c. Goa
d. Jammu and Kashmir

13. The ________ nerve is related to the sense of smell in the human body
a. Olfactory
b. Optic
c. Cranial
d. Sciatic

14. Thumba in Kerala is famous because...?


a. It has several industries
b. It is a rocket launching station
c. It is a harbour
d. It has an international airport

15. Located in India it is Asia's largest residential university. Name it.


a. Banaras Hindu University
b. The Utkal University
c. Jawaharlal Nehru University
d. Anna University
Answers
1.d 2.b 3.a 4.c 5.d 6.a 7.b 8.d 9.c 10.d 11.a 12.d 13.a 14.b 15.a

Test your General Knowledge - XI

1. Who defeated Belgium’s Justine Henin to win the women’s singles title for the fifth time and her 12th Grand
Slam title?
a. Monica Seles
b. Jesse Levine
c. Venus Williams
d. Serena Williams

2. Who is the author of Indian War of Independence?


a. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
b. V.D.Savarkar
c. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
d. Deve Gowda

3. Kangra valley is in which of the following Indian states?


a. Himachal Pradesh
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Arunachal Pradesh

4. Mein Kampf is the autobiography of __________


a. Che Guevara
b. Mario Adorf
c. Adolf Hitler
d. Madam Curie

5. _________ is the study of fungus and fungi diseases


a. Seismology
b. Etiology
c. Zoology
d. Mycology

6. _________ is India’s first indigenously built super computer


a. Param
b. Eka
c. Blizzard
d. Blue Gene Watson

7. Who was the first Muslim invader of India?


a. Mohd. Bin Kasim
b. Mahmud Ghazni
c. Kutubuddin Aibak
d. Mohammed Gori
8. Which is the world’s principal producer of soyabean followed by Brazil and China?
a. Japan
b. The Philippines
c. USA
d. Poland

9. The Right To Information (RTI) act came into force in __________


a. 1995
b. 1998
c. 2000
d. 2005

10. Tiananmen Square is in which of the following countries?


a. Singapore
b. China
c. Burma
d. Romania

11. ________ in Rajasthan is known for a wild life sanctuary which is included in the world heritage list
a. Bharatpur
b. Sariska
c. Mount Abu
d. Ranthambore

12. __________ relates to fish farming


a. Orange revolution
b. Red revolution
c. Green revolution
d. Blue revolution

13. Which article of the Indian constitution declares Hindi as the official language?
a. Article 344
b. Article 341
c. Article 343(1)
d. Article 351

14. What is the minimum age to become a member of the Lok Sabha?
a. 35
b. 21
c. 30
d. 25

15. __________ was made the 25th state of the Indian republic as per the constitution act 1987
a. Tamil Nadu
b. Mizoram
c. Goa
d. Punjab

Answers
1. d. 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. d 6. a 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. b 11. a 12. d 13. c 14. d. 15. c
Test your General Knowledge - X

1. What is the old name of Taiwan?


a. Batavia
b. Sam
c. Basutoland
d. Formosa

2. Which is the union territory of India that has a legislature?


a. Dadra and Nagar Haveli
b. Daman and Diu
c. Lakshadweep
d. Pondicherry

3. Which state was formed as the 24th state of India as per the constitution 55th amendment act, 1987? (Hint: The
state is best suited for growth of rare orchids)
a. Himachal Pradesh
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Arunachal Pradesh
d. Madhya Pradesh

4. Where is the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) located?


a. Vienna
b. Salzburg
c. Sydney
d. Albury

5. Which state in the US is also known as beehive state?


a. Illinois
b. Utah
c. Ohio
d. Idaho

6. 6. A former prime minister of India, he is the only Indian to have received the highest civilian awards from
both India and Pakistan, the Bharat Ratna and Nishaan-e-Pakistan. Name him.
a. Gulzarilal Nanda
b. Morarji Desai
c. Charan Singh
d. Rajiv Gandhi

7. Who is the CEO of Google?


a. Terry Semel
b. Eric. E.Schmidt
c. Steve Ballmer
d. Vittoria Colao

8. The science of the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code is called
a. Cryptanalysis
b. Cryptosystem
c. Ciphertext
d. Cryptology

9. _________ is the parliament of Sweden


a. Liblandla
b. Staten
c. Riksdag
d. Storting

10. Who is the author of Discovery of India?


a. Jawaharlal Nehru
b. A P J Abdul Kalam
c. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
d. Indira Gandhi

11. Which city in Madhya Pradesh is called the ‘Detroit of India’?


a. Pachor
b. Panna
c. Porsa
d. Pithampur

12. Who is known as the father of genetics?


a. Gregor Mendel
b. Adam Smith
c. Dr. Vinton Cerf
d. Archimedes

13. Who is the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in lawn tennis?
a. Vijay Amritraj
b. Leander Paes
c. Mahesh Bhupathi
d. Sania Mirza

14. Iron is a sports term associated with which of the following games?
a. Baseball
b. Tennis
c. Golf
d. Volleyball

15. Which film won the National Award for the best film on family welfare?
a. Little Zizou (English)
b. Gubbachigalu (Kannada)
c. Antaheen (Bengali)
d. Naan Kadavul (Tamil)

Answers

1. d 2. d 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. b 8. d 9. c 10. a.11. d 12. a 13. b 14. c 15. a


Test your General Knowledge - IX

1. The song Vande Mataram, declared India's National song in 1937 through a resolution, was composed in
Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The song was set to tune by Rabindranath Tagore. In which of the
novels penned by Bankimchandra does the song appear?
a. Durgeshnandini
b. Anand Math
c. Kapalkundala
d. Parineeta

2. Name the religious leader whose murder triggered the “Kandhamal riots ” in Orissa.
a. Swami Laxmananand
b. Swami Dayanand
c. Swami Laxman prasad
d. Swami Saraswati

3. Starbucks, an international cafe chain based in Seattle, Washington is the world’s largest coffee-house
company. Name the chairman and CEO of the company, who is largely credited for making Starbucks the
hugely successful business that it is today by convincing the ownership of the company to sell traditional
espresso and beverages (in addition to the whole bean coffee and leaf teas that they traditionally used to).
a. Clay Bennett
b. Marvin Herb
c. Steven Cohen
d. Howard Schultz

4. India's first silent movie was made by N G Chitre and R G Torney in 1912 which was half British in its make.
Name the first fully indigenous silent feature film by Budhiraj Govind Phalke which hit the screens on May 3,
1913.
a. Satyavan Savitri
b. Raja Harishchandra
c. Pundalik
d. Nala-Damayanti

5. The operations of this organization was formally launched in 1936 with an objective to inform, educate and
entertain the masses. It covers 24 languages and 146 dialects. The coverage is 90% in terms of area and 97.3% in
terms of population. Name the organization
a. The Times of India Group
b. Doordarshan
c. All India Radio
d. Asiatic Society

6. Name the leader who has taken over the post of Rajasthan Chief Minister from Ms Vasundhara Raje in the
recently concluded state assembly elections.
a. Ashok Gehlot
b. Shivraj Chouhan
c. Ashok Chavan
d. Raman Singh
7. September 1987 saw the conversion of the nuclear power board into NPCIL. NPCIL has recently been in the
news for inking a pact with French energy firm, Areva, which is also the world's largest nuclear power
company.What does NPCIL stand for
a. Nuclear Power Center of India Ltd
b. Nuclear Power Company of India Ltd
c. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd
d. Nuclear Power and Co-operation Industries Ltd.

8. Which of the following is not a neighboring state of Zimbabwe?


a. Botswana
b. Zaire
c. South Africa
d. Mozambique

9. This nation state in Europe had its security and justice operations overlooked by the UN since it declared
independence. The European Union has however taken over this position recently. Name this nation.
a. Serbia
b. Georgia
c. Kosovo
d. Ukraine

10. An international agreement linked to the UN Framework conventions on Climate Change, it came into force in
2005 and sets legally binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Name the environmental treaty.
a. The Kyoto Protocol
b. The Clean Development Mechanism Treaty
c. Treaty of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
d. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme

11. Toshihide Maskawa,Makoto Kobayashi were two of the three scientists who shared the Nobel prize in Physics
for 2008. Name the third physicist.
a. Thomas Kyle
b. Steven Chu
c. Albert Fert
d. Yoichiro Nambu

12. He was the last monarch of Nepal before he was ousted from his throne in 2008 by the Maoists who are the
ruling party in Nepal. Name the last king of Nepal.
a. King Gyanendra
b. King Dipendra
c. King Birendra
d. King Mahendra

13. Shortly after disturbing stories relating to child reality shows hit the headlines, fresh guidelines to protect child
artistes were put forward by this statutory body on September 27, 2008. According to these guidelines,
participation of every child artist is entitled to a set of conditions which should be ensured by the producers
and parents. Name the body that has enacted this set of guidelines.
a. CRY
b. UNICEF
c. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
d. Film and Television Institute of India

14. Name the cricketer who faced the first ball in the first ever one-day international cricket match.
a. Don Bradman
b. Geoffrey Boycott
c. John Traicos
d. Sunil Gavaskar

15. A “baker's dozen” would signify which of the following numbers?


a. 14
b. 12
c. 13
d. 15

16. The river Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of the length, discharge and watershed. It flows through
the western part of Russia. Which sea does the River Volga flow out into?
a. Red Sea
b. Caspian Sea
c. Mediterranean Sea
d. Dead Sea

17. The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honor which is generally conferred on the 23rd of January each year
for rendering outstanding services to the world community. It was instituted on 2 January, 1954 by then
President of India. Name him.
a. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
b. Govind Ballabh Pant
c. Dr Rajendra Prasad
d. Jawaharlal Nehru

18. This is part of an immortal speech given by a famous Indian and is addressed to “Sisters and Brothers in
America” – “Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful
earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed
civilization and sent whole nations to despair.” Name the personality who rocked the entire world with his
rousing rhetoric in this speech delivered in 1893.
a. Rabindranath Tagore
b. Mahatma Gandhi
c. Swami Vivekananda
d. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

19. He is the number two FBI official of the 1970s. He was also called “Deep Throat” and is known for bringing
down US president Richard Nixon by providing the Washington Post with information exposing the Watergate
scandal. Name the person
a. Bob Woodward
b. Mark Nelson
c. Rob Jones
d. Mark Felt
20. Which amendment act of the Indian Constitution lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years?
a. (60th amendment) Act,1988
b. (61st amendment) Act,1989
c. (50th amendment) Act,1987
d. (65th amendment) Act,1990

Answers

1. b 11. d
2. a 12. a
3. d 13. c
4. b 14. b
5. c 15. c
6. a 16. b
7. c 17. a
8. b 18. c
9. c 19. d
10. a 20. b

Test your General Knowledge - VIII

1. 60-year old Dennis Tito made history when he became the first private tourist to outer space in April 2001,
paying $20-million for his eight-day holiday aboard the International Space Station. Mr. Tito was a former
employee of
a. Microsoft
b. NASA
c. Russian Federal Space Agency
d. Apple Computers

2. The feature film Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai Bacchan is based on the life of an Indian wife in Britain who
set her husband on fire after years of being physically abused by him. Sentenced to life imprisonment under
the British judicial system, she was however released after three years thanks to human rights activists, and
her case led to British courts recognising provocation in cases of domestic homicide. Name her.
a. Rahila Gupta
b. Baby Halder
c. Kamal Sandhu
d. Kiranjit Ahluwalia

3. Which former governor of the Reserve Bank of India has written a book called India’s Politics – A View from
the Backbench, in which he outlines the deficiencies of the Indian system of governance and suggests
solutions?
a. C. Rangarajan
b. Bimal Jalan
c. Venugopal Reddy
d. I G Patel

4. Who is the present Chief Justice of India, also the first Dalit member of judiciary to occupy the post?
a. Y K Sabharwal
b. K G Balakrishnan
c. R C Lahoti
d. None of the above

5. An actor identified most often with the iconic character that he has played on the big screen, he has also won
critical acclaim for his performance on stage as Alan Strang, a stable boy obsessed with horses, in the British
play Equus. He also became the youngest non-royal ever to have an individual portrait in Britain’s National
Portrait Gallery. Identify him.
a. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
b. Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films)
c. Daniel Craig (James Bond)
d. William Shatner (Captain James Kirk in the Star Trek movies)

Corporate

6. Skoda India, a fully owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group’s SkodaAuto of the Czech Republic, launched its
small car in India under the name
a. Superb
b. Octavia
c. Fabia
d. Scout

7. Which of the following Indian IT majors has a contract with the Federation Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA) to provide technical services and support for the World Cup events in 2010 and 2014?
a. Patni Computer Services
b. Tata Consultancy Services
c. Satyam Computers Ltd.
d. Wipro Technologies

8. The juice brand Minute Maid is a product of which food and beverage major?
a. Coca Cola
b. Pepsico
c. Godrej Beverages and Foods
d. Dabur Foods

9. Infosys Technologies Ltd., the global Indian leader in IT services and consulting, is listed in which of the
following international stock exchanges?
a. Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)
b. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
c. S&P
d. NASDAQ

10. Which of the following corporate offices/campuses in India has recently been awarded the prestigious LEED
platinum rating, which recognizes commitment to superior standards of quality, and efficient utilization and
conservation of energy, water and natural resources?
a. Patni Knowledge Centre, Noida
b. Infosys Global Education Centre, Mysore
c. Technopolis Knowledge Park, Mumbai
d. RMZ Ecospace, Bangalore
Politics

11. A plutocracy could be typically characterized by all of the following EXCEPT


a. disproportionate influence of the wealthy on political processes
b. ownership and control of mass media by the wealthy
c. low social mobility
d. ban on public religious gatherings

12. Who succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister upon his death in May 1964, and is often referred to as the
first acting Prime Minister of India?
a. Lal Bahadur Shastri
b. V V Giri
c. Gulzari Lal Nanda
d. Gopal Swarup Pathak

13. The United Kingdom is


a. a Federal Republic
b. a constitutional monarchy
c. a totalitarian state
d. none of the above

14. The President of the United States of America is all of the following EXCEPT
a. the head of state
b. the chief justice of the Supreme Court
c. the leader of the executive branch of the federal government
d. the commander-in-chief of the armed forces

15. Who is the current President of Israel?


a. Shimon Peres
b. Ehud Olmert
c. Ehud Barak
d. Tzipi Livni

Current Affairs

16. Which Indian industrialist has been honoured by the Italian Government for his contribution towards
strengthening economic and social relations between the European country and India?
a. R Seshasayee
b. Pawan Munjal
c. L. V. Subrahmanyam
d. Sunil Mittal

17. Name the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008.
a. Narayana Murthy
b. Guy Laliberté
c. Michael Dell
d. Dr Jean-Paul Clozel

18. Who was elected President of the Board of Control for cricket in India(BCCI) on September 27, 2008?
a. Mr. S.K. Sharma
b. Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya
c. Mr.Shashank Manohar
d. Mr. Sharad Pawar

19. Name the Indian IT Company that has been presented with two prestigious Banker Technology Awards
(awarded by The Banker magazine of the FT group) in June 2008 for its outstanding work in the field of
wholesale and capital markets.
a. Accenture
b. TCS
c. Infosys
d. Wipro

20. The sale of successful Indian drug major Ranbaxy to Japanese pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo created a
flutter in media in June 2008. Who is the CEO of the new group post acquisition?
a. Takashi Shoda
b. Malvinder Singh
c. Kensi Masuzoe
d. Shivinder Singh

Answers

1. b 1. d
2. d 2. c
3. b 3. b
4. b 4. b
5. a 5. a
6. c 6. a
7. c 7. d
8. a 8. c
9. d 9. c
10. a 10. b

Test your General Knowledge - VII

1. A leap year occurs once in


a. 3 years
b. 6 years
c. 5 years
d. 4 years

2. The construction of the Qutub Minar in Delhi was completed during the reign of
a. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
b. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
c. Qutb-ud-din Aibak
d. Raziya Sultan

3. An American author of novels, essays and short stories, he was best known for his for his 1996 novel Infinite
Jest, which Time included in its All-Time 100 Greatest Novels (1923-2006). He died on September 14th 2008.
Identify him.
a. David Foster Wallace
b. Horatio Alger
c. Park Benjamin
d.John Peale Bishop

4. The world’s largest desert is


a. the Libyan Desert
b. the Namib Desert
c. the Kalahari Desert
d. the Sahara Desert

5. Who is the first and the youngest Indian to have won the Miss Universe pageant?
a. Priyanka Chopra
b Diana Hayden
c. Aishwarya Rai
d. Sushmita Sen

6. Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was the


a. 12th President of India
b. 14th President of India
c. 11th President of India
d. none of the above

7. Who was appointed as the Indian Finance Minister by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in 1991?
a. Manmohan Singh
b. P Chidambaram
c. Madhav Rao Scindia
d. Jaswant Singh

8. Who is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha?


a. The Vice-President
b. The Prime Minister
c. The President
d. The Speaker

9. Which of the following is not among the New Seven Wonders of the World?
a. The Taj Mahal, India
b. The Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
c. The Eiffel Tower, France
d. Chichen Itza, Mexico

10. Who was the founder of the Mughal empire?


a. Babur
b. Akbar
c. Humayan
d. Ala-ud-din Khilji

11. What does UPSC stand for?


a. Uttar Pradesh Service Commission
b. Union Police Service Commission
c. Union Public Service Commission
d. Union Postal Services Company

12. A financial condition in which there is an undue decrease in the amount of money available relative to its
buying power, leading to a consistent reduction in general price levels, is termed
a. Inflation
b. Deflation
c. Demonetization
d. Destabilization

13. How many fundamental rights are guaranteed under the constitution of India?
a. 6
b. 9
c. 7
d. 5

14. Which among the four canonical texts of the Vedas consists of sacrificial chants written in prose?
a. Rigveda
b. Yajurveda
c. Samaveda
d. Atharvaveda

15. Novelis, a leading company in aluminium rolling and recycling, belongs to the
a. Tata Group
b. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
c. Aditya Birla Group
d. Reliance Industries Ltd. (Mukesh Ambani)

16. Which state is going to host the 2011 National Games of India?
a.Madhya Pradesh
b. Karnataka
c.Sikkim
d. Goa

17. Name the Indian journalist and novelist who recently received the 'National Amity Award' in recognition of his
commendable service towards national integration and unity of the people.
a. Dr. Khushwant Singh
b. Vikram Chandra
c. Arvind Adiga
d. Sagarika Ghosh

18. Who won the Italian Grand Prix 2008?


a. Klaus Graf
b. Michael Schumacher
c. Anthony Davidson
d. Sebastian Vettel

19. She is an Indian-origin jurist and has recently been appointed as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Identify her.
a. Navanethan Pillay
b. Tanika Gupta
c. Renuka Chowdhury
d. Reeta Sinha

20. Which of the following is NOT a group company of Indian automotive major TVS, named after its founder T V
Sundaram Iyengar?
a. Royal Sundaram Insurance Co Ltd.
b. Sundaram Textiles Ltd.
c. Sundaram Clayton Ltd.
d. Brakes India Ltd.

21. When was the Reserve Bank of India established?


a. January 1938
b. April 1932
c. Jan 1935
d. April 1935

22. Who is the present leader of the opposition of the Rajya Sabha?
a. Anbumani Ramadoss
b. Jaswant Singh
c. T.R Balu
d. A.R Antulay

23. What famous incident, in the history of Indian Freedom Movement, took place on March 12, 1930?
a. Civil Disobedience Movement
b. Quit India Movement
c. Dandi March
d. Promulgation of the Government of India Act

24. The tag line of Louis Philips is


a. Honestly Impressive
b. The Upper Crest
c. The Complete Man
d. Bond with the Best

25. The first Indian to contest election to the British House of Commons was_________
a. S.N.Banerjee
b. W.C.Banerjee
c. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
d. Dadabhai Naoroji

26. An AFFIDAVIT is
a. A written statement made on oath
b. A pardon for wrong doers
c. A written document that outlines the legal arguments in a case.
d. A legal promise to abide by certain norms of state

27. Who is the Managing Director of Google India?


a. Richard Kimbar
b. Shailesh Rao
c. Mark Howe
d. Phil Santora

28. The earth, the third planet from the sun, is placed between:
a. Mars and Jupiter
b. Venus and Mars
c. Jupiter and Venus
d. Mercury and Venus

29. Who discovered penicillin?


a. Alexander Fleming
b. Paul Ehrlich
c. Gregory Mendel
d. Dr. Jonas E.Salk

30. We feel breathless at very high altitudes because:


a. of exhaustion and the cold.
b. there is more of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there is oxygen
c. the density of air is less on the hill so there is a reduction of oxygen content
d. the density of air on the hill is very high which means reduced oxygen content

Answers

1. d 1. d
2. a 2. a
3. a 3. d
4. d 4. a
5. d 5. a
6. c 6. d
7. a 7. b
8. a 8. c
9. c 9. b
10. a 10. d
11. c 11. a
12. b 12. b
13. a 13. b
14. b 14. a
15. c 15. c

Test your General Knowledge - VI

1. The largest river of Asia is:


a. Mekong
b. Indus
c. Yenisei
d. Yangtze

2. When was the treaty of Versailles signed?


a. 1919
b. 1918
c. 1914
d. 1920

3. The study of origin and history of words is called


a. Ethology
b. Etymology
c. Genealogy
d. Linguistics

4. Which country is called the “The Land of the Rising Sun?”


a. China
b. Germany
c. Japan
d. Australia

5. The capital of Belgium is:


a. Brussels
b. Minsk
c. Manama
d. Sofia

6. What is the fear of spiders called?


a. Acrophobia
b. Xenophobia
c. Spyrophobia
d. Arachnophobia

7. Who discovered America?


a. Sir John Ross
b.Christopher Columbus
c. Leif Ericsson
d. Sir James Clark

8. The study of the sign system language is:


a. Penology
b. Phytology
c. Phonology
d. Psephology

9. The total strength of the Rajya Sabha is


a. 545
b. 540
c. 525
d. 250

10. Who was the first President of India?


a. Dr. Rajendra Prasad
b. N. Sanjeeva Reddy
c. Dr. S Radhakrishnan
d. Mahatma Gandhi
11. The sea route to India was discovered by:
a. Columbus
b. Magellan
c. Hopkins
d. Vasco de Gama

12. How Many planets are there in our Solar System?


a. 7
b.13
c. 9
d. 8

13. In which year was the World Health Organization (WHO) established?
a. 1948
b. 1947
c. 1945
d. 1950

14. Who was the first Roman Catholic and the youngest American to be elected to the office of the President of
USA?
a. Harry S. Truman
b. John Adams
c. John. F. Kennedy
d. Theodore Roosevelt

15. Who was the founder of the Brahma Samaj?


a. Rabindranath Tagore
b. Raja Rammohan Roy
c. Dayanand Saraswati
d. V.V Giri

16. In which year and where the first Asian Games held?
a. Canada, 1951
b.New Zealand, 1948
c. Kenya, 1958
d. Scotland, 1995

17. The law of gravitation was defined by


a. Faraday
b. Galileo
c. Archimedes
d. Newton

18. Shortsightedness can be corrected using


a. Convex lens
b. Concave lens
c. Planar lens
d. None of the above
19. Who has been selected for this year's KR Narayanan award for his contributions to Indian science?
a. Madhavan Nair
b. Dr. Ajoy K. Ghatak
c. M Annadurai
d. Dr. Devi Shetty

20. Who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2008?


a. Harold Pinter
b. Orhan Pamuk
c. Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio
d. Dorris Lessing

21. Who has been ranked the third powerful woman in business by Forbes in its 2008 list of the top 100 women,
based on power, economic component, job title and past career accomplishments and press coverage in August
2008?
a. Roopa Purushottam
b. Angela Merkel
c. Indra Nooyi
d. Kalpana Morparia

22. Somalian pirates hijacked a Japanese vessel carrying 18 Indian crewmembers in October 2008. Name the ship
a. MV Faina
b. MT Stolt Valor
c. TM Liner
d. Lifeline

23. An Indian conductor was recently honoured with Japan's Praemium Imperiale, one of art's richest awards, for
his lifetime work with orchestras around the world. Identify him.
a. Prateek Chaudhury
b. L. Subramaniam
c. Zubin Mehta
d. Abraham Mazumder

24. Who won the Belgian Grand Prix 2008?


a. Jack Brabham
b. Felipe Massa
c. Michael Schumacher
d. Lewis Hamilton

25. He is an English musician. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts and has been named
Ambassador of Conscience 2008 by human rights group Amnesty International. Identify him.
a. Peter Gabriel
b. Elton John
c. David Bowie
d. Ralph Vaughan Williams

26. Who among the following is the National Security Advisor of India?
a. M.K Narayanan
b. Brijesh Mishra
c. J N Dixit
d. Ashok Chaturvedi

27. What is the full form of RAW?


a. Records and Analysis Wing
b. Research and Anti-terrorism Wing
c. Records Amalgamation Wing
d. Research and Analysis Wing

28. Who is India’s Petroleum Minister?


a. Oscar Fernandez
b. Murli Deora
c. Mahavir Prasad
d. Sushilkumar Shinde

29. The rivers Beas and Sutlej bring water to the Thar Desert through a canal. What is the name of the canal?
a. Sethu Canal
b. Indra Gandhi Canal
c. Kalingarayan Canal
d. Lower Bhavani Project Canal

30. Who was elected Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister in 1944?
a. Wijeyananda Dahanayake
b. Sirimavo Bandaranaike
c. Don Stephen Senanayake
d. John Lionel Kotalawela

31. Of which Asian country is Phnom Penh the capital?


a. Thailand
b. Vietnam
c. Cambodia
d. North Korea

32. Which is the first Indian Bank to open an office in Qatar?


a. Standard Chartered Bank
b. ICICI Bank
c. State Bank of India
d. Bank of India

33. Who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India?


a. K.V Sundaram
b. S.B Sen Verma
c. Sukumar Sen
d. T.N Seshan

34. Who among the following is the Chief of the Trinamool Congress?
a. Mamata Banerjee
b. Partha Chatterjee
c. Soumen Roy
d. Subroto Mukherjee
35. Of which country are Pashto and Dari the official languages?
a. Pakistan
b. Afghanistan
c. Bhutan
d. Turkey

36. When a person suffers from goitre, which part of the body is enlarged?
a. Gall Bladder
b. Thyroid
c. Liver
d. Lymph Nodes

37. Which of the following states has the largest coastline in India?
a. Gujarat
b. Tamilnadu
c. Kerala
d. Karnataka

38. What is the patella commonly known as?


a. Elbow
b. Knee Cap
c. Big Toe
d. Stomach

39. Solid Carbon Dioxide is commonly called


a. Ice Cubes
b. Icicles
c. Crystal
d. Dry ice

40. The omission of words from a sentence, indicated by a set of three dots is commonly known as
a. Guillemots
b. Ampersand
c. Interpunct
d. Elipsisis

41. Which famous French fashion designer passed away on June 1st 2008?
a. Yves Saint Laurent
b. Coco Chanel
c. Christian Dior
d. Louis Vuitton

42. Which of the following districts in Orissa was in the news, following violence sparked off by the killing of VHP
leader Swami Lakshmanananda?
a. Phulbani
b. Barakhama
c. Kandhamal
d. Tikabali
Answers

1. d 21. c

2. a 22. b

3. b 23. c

4. c 24. d

5. a 25. a

6. d 26. a

7. b 27. d

8. c 28. b

9. d 29. b

10. a 30. c

11. d 31. c

12. d 32. b

13. a 33. c

14. c 34. a

15. b 35. b

16. a 36. b

17. d 37. a

18. b 38. b

19. a 39.d

20. c 40. d
41. a
42. c

Test your General Knowledge - V

1. What is the full form of SEZ?


a. Special Economic Zone
b. Special Educational Zone
c. Social and Economic Zone
d. Special Execution Zone

2. Which of the following words does NOT appear in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution?
a. Justice
b. Opportunity
c. Peace
d. Faith

3. Which of the following countries is NOT a member of BRIC?


a. Brazil
b. Russia
c. India
d. Cambodia

4. When was the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly held?


a. August 1947
b. September 1947
c. December 1946
d. August 1950

5. Who is the present Director General of the WTO?


a. Pascal Lamy
b. Rufus H. Yerxa
c. Alejandro Jara
d. Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza

6. In the context of Indian trade policy, what does the EPCG scheme stand for?
a. Export Promotion Consumer Goods Scheme
b. Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme
c. Earnings Provided by Consumer Goods Scheme
d. Exim Policy Capital Goods Scheme

7. Who is India’s Foreign Secretary?


a. Shivshankar Menon
b. Shashi Tharoor
c. Oscar Fernandez
d. Dr M.S Gill

8. The first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize was:


a. Rabindranath Tagore
b. Dr C.V Raman
c. Dr. M.S Swaminathan
d. Dr Hargobind Khorana

9. Who is India’s Power Minister?


a. Sharad Pawar
b. Sushilkumar Shinde
c. S. Jaipal Reddy
d. Mani Shankar Aiyar

10. Which famous world leader was assassinated in Memphis, USA in 1968?
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. J F Kennedy
c. Harper Lee
d. Martin Luther King Jr.

11. In the book ‘Maximum City’ by Suketu Mehta, which city does he write about?
a. Kolkata
b. Delhi
c. Mumbai
d. Chennai
12. The Kol Dam Hydro Electric project is being built in which of the following states?
a.Jammu & Kashmir
b.Himachal Pradesh
c.Uttaranchal
d.Tamil Nadu

13. Where are the passenger coaches for the Indian Railways built?
a. Benares
b. Vijayawada
c. Chittaranjan
d. Kochi

14. The pollen grains in a plant are produced in the:


a.flowers
b.root
c.stalks
d.leaves

15. The Declaration of Rights for American Independence was drafted in:
a.1779
b.1778
c.1773
d.1776

16. Who among the following has been nominated by Barack Obama as the US Secretary of State?
a. Bill Clinton
b. Hillary Clinton
c. Janet Napolitano
d. Eric Holder

17. Which of the following rivers was declared the national river of India in November 2008?
a. The Ganges
b. The Cauvery
c. The Narmada
d. The Tapti

18. Which of the following banks have been adjudged Global Bank of the Year 2008 by London-based magazine,
‘The Banker’ published by the Financial Times group?
a. BNP Paribas
b. HSBC
c. Royal Bank of Scotland
d. Bank of America

19. The number of the Rajya Sabha members elected by the President is:
a.14
b.10
c.12
d.11
20. Sunita Williams is associated with:
a. Geophysics
b. Space Sciences
c. Water Conservation
d. Nuclear Science

21. What is the radio code signal of extreme distress called?


a. Morse
b. SOS
c. Dots and Dashes
d. 009

22. What is the full form of INTERPOL?


a. International Crime Police Commission
b. International Political Conference
c. International Committee of Police Officers
d. International Police

23. Who is India’s Defence Secretary?


a. Vijay Singh
b. Suresh Mehta
c. M. L. Naidu
d. M K Narayanan

24. All of the following are fibre crops except:


a. Flax
b. Jute
c. Cotton
d. Rubber

25. What is the acronym used to refer to the elite special operations commando unit of the Indian Navy?
a. NAVCOS
b. MARCON
c. MARCOS
d. NAVCOF

26. The Boston Tea Party was a major protest incident leading to the:
a. French Revolution
b. American Revolution
c. Russian Revolution
d. Irish Revolution

27. What are the temperate grasslands of Asia and Europe called?
a. Pampas
b. Veldt
c. Savannah
d. Steppes

28. The country topping global production of wool is:


a. Australia
b. Argentina
c. USA
d. China

29. Who is the current Foreign Minister of Pakistan?


a. Abdul Sattar
b. Asif ali Zardari
c. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
d. Shah Mehmood Qureshi

30. Who is the Director General of the National Security Guards (NSG)?
a. A.N. Roy
b. JK Dutta
c. Hassan Gaffor
d. Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary

31. Who is the present ISI chief of Pakistan?


a. Lt Gen Ehsan ul Haq
b. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha
c.Lt Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
d.Lt Gen Nadeem Taj

32. Who is the current Chief of Naval staff in India?


a. Admiral Madhavendra Singh
b. Admiral Sushil Kumar
c. Admiral Arun Prakash
d. Admiral Sureesh Mehta

Answers

1. a 1. a
2. c 2. a
3. d 3. c
4. c 4. b
5. a 5. b
6. b 6. a
7. a 7. a
8. b 8. d
9. b 9. c
10. d 10. b
11. c 11. d
12. b 12. a
13. c 13. d
14. a 14. b
15. d 15. b
16. b 16. d

Test your General Knowledge - IV

1. How many (number) fundamental duties have been enumerated in the Constitution of India?
a.11
b.12
c.13
d.14

2. The 55th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by Lok Sabha on December 8,1986, to grant statehood to:
a. Arunachal Pradesh
b. Mizoram
c. Meghalaya
d. Manipur

3. Who among the following was the first Minister of Law in India?
a. Hansraj Bhardwaj
b. Arun Jaitley
c. Sir Dinshaw Mulla
d. Dr. B.R Ambedkar

4. Dmitri Medvedev is the President of :


a. Ireland
b. Poland
c. Romania
d. Soviet Russia

5. During any sitting of the Lok Sabha, the first hour of sitting is called the:
a. Question hour
b. Review hour
c. Zero hour
d. Eleventh hour

6. What is the full form of MODVAT?


a. Modified Value Additional Tax
b. Modified Value Added Tax
c. Multiplied Value Added Tax
d. Modified Value Added Tariff

7. The Mid Day Meal scheme was launched by the


a. Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
b. Union Ministry of Rural Development
c. Union Ministry of Human Resource Development
d. Union Ministry of Labour and Employment

8. Two countries were suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on 6/6/2008. Which were they?
a. Pakistan and Fiji
b. Uganda and Fiji
c. Indonesia and Pakistan
d. Sudan and Uganda

9. When was the first Constitution Amendment Act passed?


a. 1950
b. 1956
c. 1951
d. 1952

10. The Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is________________.
a. Mr E. Sreedharan
b. Nirmal Shekar
c. Mr. J Harinarayan
d. Sunil Mittal

11. Who is the present Secretary General of Amnesty International?


a. Pierre Sané
b. Irene Zubaida Khan
c. Mary Robinson
d. Hans Blix

12. Where would you find the world’s longest sea-bridge?


a. Tokyo
b. China
c. Bosnia
d. Germany

13. When was Bal Gangadhar Tilak given the epithet of ‘Lokmanya’?
a. During the Home Rule Movement
b. During the Swadeshi Movement
c. During the Quit India Movement
d. When he was imprisoned in 1908

14. This divides India into two parts. Which is it?


a. The Tropic of Cancer
b. The Line of Control
c. The Tropic of Capricorn
d. The MacMohan Line

15. Which of the following is not a primary fuel?


a. Coal
b. Wood
c. Kerosene
d. Natural gas

16. Who is the present Chief Minister of Kerala?


a. A. K. Antony
b. Oommen Chandy
c. V.S. Achuthanandan
d. E. K. Nayanar

17. Who became Australia’s first ever-female Governor General in September 2008?
a. Ursula Stephens
b. Kate Ellis
c. Justine Elliot
d. Quentin Bryce
18. Who among the following won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Chemistry?
a,. Mr Roger Tsien
b. Mr Yochiro Nambu
c. Mr Harald zur Hausan
d. Mr Luc Montagnier

19. On which of the following days in 2008 did the Sensex crash below 8,000?
a. October 27 2008
b. September 2 2008
c. September 15 2008
d. October 02 2008

20. In October 2008, an Indian cricketer was banned for a test match by match referee Chris Broad of England.
Who was he?
a. Sourav Ganguly
b. Sachin Tendulkar
c. Gautam Gambir
d. M S Dhoni

21. Who was the founder of theRamakrishna Mission?


a. Dayananda Saraswati
b. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa
c. Swami Vivekananda
d. Acharya S

22. Long-sightedness is medically known as


a. Hypermetropia
b. Myopia
c. Presbyopia
d. Byopia

23. What does CLASP stand for?


a. Comprehensive, Lightweight Application Security Process
b. Child Labour Action and Support Project
c. Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program
d. Concealed Lightweight Application Security Process

24. What does ad valorem mean?


a. It refers to the duty or tax imposed on the commodity depending upon the value of the commodity
b. It is a tax based on the value of a real-estate property
c. It is a customs duty or tax imposed on the value of an imported commodity,
d. Import duty and export rebate/tax rates

25. Where did the Olympic games originate?


a. France
b. Switzerland
c. Ancient Greece
d. Great Britain
26. Which of the following is not a fundamental right of an Indian citizen as per the Constitution?
a. Right to property
b. Right to equality
c. Right against exploitation
d. Right to constitutional remedies

27. Who built the Red Fort?


a. Bahadur Shah II
b. Bahadur Shah I
c. Jahandar Shah
d. Emperor Shah Jahan

28. The capital of Bhutan is ___________


a. Thimphu
b. Bogota
c. Tbilisi
d. Tallinn

29. Which is the largest and heaviest planet in our solar system?
a. Neptune
b. Jupiter
c. Uranus
d. Saturn

30. How many time zones are there in the USA?


a. Four
b. Two
c. Three
d. Five

31. When and where did the worst volcanic disaster in history occur?
a. China, 1782
b. Togo, 1784
c. Japan, 1792
d. Peru, 1791

32. What is the national sport of India?


a Hockey
b.Cricket
c. Kabaddi
d. Volleyball

33. Where is the Golden Temple located?


a. Chandigarh
b. Jalandhar
c. Amritsar
d. Ludhiana

34. The first recipient of the Indian Science Award in 2004 was (the award was instituted in 2003):
a. Prof. C.N.R Rao
b. G S Sirohi
c. Dr. Giri Raj Singh
d. G S R Murti

35. By how many hours is Indian Standard Time (IST ) ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), when calculated
according to longitudinal location?
a. 3 ½ hrs
b. 9 ½ hrs
c. 4 ½ hrs
d. 5 ½ hrs

36. Who is the new Governor of Maharashtra?


a. Mr. S.C. Jameer
b. Shivinder Singh Sidhu
c. Mr. R. L. Bhatia
d. Rameshwar Thakur

37. Who was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year 2008?
a. Mr. Kelly Tien
b. Mr Wong Ngit Liong
c. Dr. Jean-Paul Clozel
d. Joseph Wilson

38. Name the director of Bollywood movies who has been conferred the title of ’ Officier de la Legion d’Honneur’,
the highest French distinction for his contribution to Indian cinema.
a. Madhur Bhandarkar
b. Prakash Mehra
c. Govind Nihalani
d. Yash Chopra

39. India's largest IT company has emerged the lowest bidder for the country’s largest e-governance contract to
computerise Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and provide smart cards to around 1.5 crore industrial
workers across the country. Name the company.
a. Wipro
b.Infosys
c. TCS
d. Accenture

40. Name the former US President who, along with Nepalese leader Prachanda has won the country’s top peace
prize awarded by the Dr. Dilli Raman Regmi Foundation for his dedication in choosing the path of peace.
a. Jimmy Carter
b. Gerald Ford
c. Ronald Reagan
d. Lyndon B. Johnson

Answers

1. a 1. c
2. a 2. a
3. d 3. b
4. d 4. a
5. a 5. c
6. b 6. a
7. c 7. d
8. a 8. a
9. c 9. b
10. a 10. a
11. b 11. c
12. b 12. a
13. d 13. c
14. a 14. a
15. c 15. d
16. c 16. a
17. d 17. c
18. a 18. d
19. a 19. c
20. c 20. a

Test your General Knowledge - III

1. Which is the longest canal in the world?


a. Grand China canal
b. Suez canal
c. Beloye- More Baltic
d. Volga Baltic

2. The capital of Rwanda is:


a. Basseterre
b. Kigali
c. Mbabane
d. Lusaka

3. Who is the author of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’?


a. L. C. Douglas
b. Chester Bowles
c. Charles Lamb
d. Charles Dickens

4. What does GATT stand for?


a. General Agreement on Trading Technologies
b. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
c. General Agreement on Transportation Technologies
d. General Agreement on Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

5. The law of gravitation was defined by:


a. Newton
b. Archimedes
c. Galilio
d. Faraday
6. Who invented the radio?
a. Laennec
b. Darwin
c. Marconi
d. Baird

7. Potamology means:
a. The study of potted plants
b. The study of rivers
c. The study of fossils and ancient life forms
d. The study of organisms as affected by climate

8. How many articles are there in the constitution of India?


a. 359
b. 395
c. 400
d. 399

9. The constitution of India is regarded as


a. Federal in form and unitary in spirit
b. Federal
c. Parliamentary
d. Unitary

10. The National bird of India is the


a. Nightingale
b. Parrot
c. Peacock
d. Sparrows

11. The currency of Bhutan is


a. Pa’anga
b. Lira
c. Peso
d. Ngultrum

12. Which American President was involved in the Watergate scandal?


a. President Richard Nixon
b. President Gerald Ford
c. President Ronald Reagan
d. President Lyndon B. Johnson

13. The Grand Canyon is situated in which American state?


a. Nevada
b. Utah
c. Colorado
d. Arizona

14. The largest living reptiles are:


a. Komodo dragon
b. Crocodiles
c. Giant anaconda
d. Iguana

15. How many states are there in America?


a. 44
b. 32
c. 40
d. 50

16. Which singer has won country music's top prize - entertainer of the year for a fourth time at the Country
Music Association Awards (CMA) on November 13, 2008?
a. Jack Greene
b. Kenny Chesney
c. Carrie Underwood
d. George Strait

17. Who was re-elected Prime Minister of Canada on October 15, 2008?
a. Mr. Stephen Harper
b. Paul Martin
c. John Turner
d. Joe Clark

18. Who won the Japanese Grand Prix Championship in Fuji (Japan) on October 12, 2008?
a. Rubens Barrichello
b. Kimi Räikkönen
c. Lewis Hamilton
d. Renault Fernando Alonso

19. Who is the new chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)?
a. Dr. Anup K. Ghosh
b. Prof. Andre Beteille
c. Mr. Javed Alam
d. Prof. Rajat Baisya

20. What does the third schedule in the Constitution of India list?
a. Emoluments for High-Level Officials
b. The oaths of offices for elected officials and judges
c. States and Union Territories
d. The Official Languages

21. Who founded the Indian Express group of newspapers in India?


a. Mr. Vivek Goenka
b. Mr. G. Subramanya Aiyer
c. Mr. Ramnath Goenka
d. Mr. N. Ram

22. Who is the present Secretary General of Amnesty International?


a. Pierre Sané
b. Mary Robinson
c. Irene Zubaida Khan
d. Hans Blix
Ans: Irene Zubaida Khan

23. These words have been added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution after the 42nd Amendment. What are
they?
a. socialist, secular
b. sovereign, independent
c. justice, liberty
d. democratic, fraternity

24. The concept of Directive Principles of State Policy was adopted into the Indian Constitution from the
constitution of_____________.
a. Japan
b. Germany
c. Ireland
d. Spain

25. The book ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ was set in_____________.
a. Amsterdam
b. Berlin
c. Prague
d. Budapest

26. The Oxford University stands on the banks of the river ____________.
a. Thames
b. Seine
c. Rhine
d. Severn

27. Who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2008?


a. Martti Ahtisaari
b.Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
c. Paul Krugman
d. Professor Per Carlson

28. Who among the following Presidents of India was the only one to be elected unopposed to the office?
a. Giani Zail Singh
b. Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
c. R.Venkataraman
d. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

29. Who among the following claimed the gold medal in the Girl’s Singles event of the World Junior Badminton
Championships at the third Commonwealth Youth games held in Pune?
a. Sayaka Sato
b. Shixian Wang
c. Prajakta Sawant
d. Saina Nehwal
30. What is Absorbic acid better known as?
a. Yeast
b. Baking Soda
c. Vitamin C
d. Bleaching powder

Answers

1. c 1. b
2. b 2. a
3. d 3. d
4. b 4. c
5. a 5. b
6. c 6. c
7. b 7. c
8. b 8. a
9. a 9. c
10. c 10. a
11. d 11. a
12. a 12. c
13. d 13. d
14. b 14. d
15. d 15. c

Test your General Knowledge - II

1. The constitutional head of the executive of the Indian Union is________.


a. The Prime minister
b. The Vice President
c. The President
d. The members of the Lok Sabha

2. The first chairman of the Rajya Sabha was ______________.


a. Shri S.V.Krishnamoorthy Rao.
b. Mr Jawaharlal Nehru
c. Dr S. Radhakrishnan
d. Shri Sardar Vallabhai Patel

3. The members and the Chairman of the states’ Public Service Commission are appointed by the _____________.
a. The Vice President
b. The Prime Minister
c. The Chief Ministers of the States
d. The Governors of the States

4. The State Bank of India opened its _______ in March 2008 in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu?
a. 1,000 th
b. 10,000 th
c. 5,000 th
d. 12,000 th
5. The European Union (EU) was earlier known as the ________________.
a. The Economic Union
b. The Economic Market
c. European Market
d. The Common Market

6. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was _________.
a. Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan,
b. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
c. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
d. Baddrudin Tyabji

7. He was the first Indian to become the Chief of army staff and Commander in chief of the Indian army. Who
was he?
a. Field Marshall KM Cariappa
b. Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw
c. Shri Rajendrasinhji
d. General K S Thimayya

8. The present Director General of the WTO is ____________________.


a. Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi
b.Mr. Pascal Lamy
c. Mr. Mike Moore
d. Mr. Renato Ruggiero

9. This part of the human body is called the pollex. What is it commonly known as?
a. Ear
b. Big Toe
c. Thumb
d. Liver

10. Pakistan is linked to _______________ by the Karakoram Highway.


a. India
b. China
c. Afghanistan
d. Myanmar

11. This gas is known by the name ‘Marsh Gas’ and it is usually used in chemical labs and industries. What is its
scientific name?
a.Methane
b.Helium
c.Neon
d. Argon

12. All the members of the cat family are able to retract their claws, except for the _________.
a. Lion
b. Hyena
c. Cheetah
d. Jaguar
13. The Anemometre is used to measure _____________
a. surface speed winds
b. electric current in a circuit.
c. detecting and measuring electric current
d. electrical resistance

14. There are lime stone formations that hang down from the ceilings of roofs. What are they called?
a. Lavacicle
b. Stalactites
c. Rusticle
d. Stalagmite

15. This animal is the symbol for the World Wide Fund for Nature. Name the animal.
a. The Okapi
b. The Giant Panda
c. The Tiger
d. The One Horned Rhinoceros

16. The river Indus originates from _________________ in the upper Himalayas.
a. Mount Kailash
b. Gangotri
c. Mansarovar
d. Bundar Poonch Glacier

17. Who won the US open 2008 mixed doubles title?


a. Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber
b. Cara Black and Jelena Jankovic,
c. Leander Paes and Cara Black
d. Nenad Zimonjic and Katarina Srebotnik

18. Who was sworn in as President of South Africa on September 25th 2008?
a. Thabo Mbeki
b. Jacob Zuma
c. Joe Seremane
d. Kgalema Motlanthe

19. Who has recently been elected as the Chairman of the World Steel Association?
a. Ku-Taek Lee
b. Lakshmi Mittal
c. Hajime Bada
d. Daniel DiMicco,

20. Who won the third World Chess Championship on October 29th 2008?
a. Vishwanathan Anand
b. Vladimir Kramnik
c. Levon Aronian
d. Veselin Topalov

21. The work of General Purpose Committee is to advise:


a. the members of the Rajya Sabha.
b. the members of the Lok Sabha.
c. the Speaker
d. the Vice President

22. Who among the following has been given the power to declare National Emergency?
a. The President
b. The Prime Minister
c. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
d. The Vice President

23. Till 1973 the state of Karnataka was called________________.


a. Bangalore
b. Mysore
c. Belur
d. Vijayanagar

24. Who is/are the presiding officer/s of the Lok Sabha?


a. Speaker
b. Deputy Speaker
c. Speaker and Deputy Speaker
d. The President and Vice President

25. The supply of sugar from the blood to the muscles is controlled by this hormone. Name the hormone?
a. Melatonin
b. Seratonin
c. Leptin
d. Insulin

26. The President of India is elected by ______________.


a. the elected members of the Vidhan Sabhas, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha.
b. the elected members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
c. the elected members of the Rajya Sabha.
d. the elected members of the Vidhan Sabhas.

27. In which schedule of the Constitution is the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha contained?
a. Fourth Schedule
b. Fifth schedule
c. Sixth schedule
d. Second schedule

28. The reddish variety of the mineral Conondrum is generally known by the name ______
a. Rose Quartz
b. Garnet
c. Ruby
d. Topaz

29. Name the capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.


a. Siliguri
b. Silvassa
c. Kavaratti
d. Shillong

30. In which of the following sports is the Ryder Cup awarded?


a. Hockey
b. Basketball
c. Polo
d.Golf

31. Name the Indian Chief Minister of State who has found a place in the list (2008) compiled by the Forbes
magazine of the World’s 100 most powerful women.
a. Dr J. Jayalalitha
b. Mayawathi
c.Vasundara Raje Scindia
d. Sheila Dikshit

32. Who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkand on August 27 2008?
a. Naveen Patnaik
b. Shibu Soren
c. B. C. Khanduri
d. Digambar Kamat

33. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2008 was given to:
a. Madhur Bhandarkar
b. Raj Kumar Hirani
c. Tapan Sinha
d. Dilip Prabhavalkar

34. This Swiss adventurer made a historic flight across the English Channel from France on September 26th 2008
on a jet-powered wing? Who was he?
a. Yves Rossy
b. Jean-Pierre Blanchard
c. Louis Bleriot
d. John Jeffries

35. Who was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Thailand on September 17, 2008?
a. Somchai Wongsawat
b. Thaksin Shinawatra
c. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
d. Banharn Silpa-archa

Answers

1. c 1. b
2. c 2. a
3. d 3. c
4. b 4. a
5. d 5. b
6. d 6. c
7. a 7. d
8. b 8. a
9. c 9. a
10. b 10. c
11. a 11. b
12. c 12. d
13. a 13. b
14. b 14. b
15. b 15. c
16. c 16. a
17. c 17. a
18. d

Test your General Knowledge - I

1. The Indian constitution borrowed the concept of a five- year plan from the constitution of
________________.
a. Russia
b. Japan
c. China
d. Germany

2. A judge of the Supreme Court retires at the age of___________.


a. 62
b. 65
c. 64
d. 58

3. Where in India is its largest parliamentary constituency?


a. Haryana
b. Madhya Pradesh
c. Ladakh – Jammu and Kashmir
d. Rajasthan

4. The Governor of a state in India is appointed by the____________.


a. Vice President
b. Mayor
c. Chief Minister
d. President

5. Who is the new President of Cuba who was elected on February 24 th 2008?
a. Raúl Castro
b. José R. Machado Ventura
c. Juan Almeida Bosque
d. Abelardo Colomé Ibarra

6. Pokhran the test site for India' s first underground nuclear weapon detonation is in the state
of________________.
a. Gujarat
b. Orissa
c. Rajasthan
d. Punjab

7. India’ s first national park, earlier known as the Hailey National park is the ______________.
a. Anshi National Park
b. Dachigam National Park
c. Dudhwa National Park
d. Corbett National Park

8. What is another name for the tympanic membrane, which stretches across the end portion of the
auditory canal in the human body?
a. voice box
b. nose
c. Eardrum
d. eyeball

9. What is the term used for the corrective surgery of the cornea ( eye)?
a. Keratoplasty
b. Angioplasty
c. Laser eye surgery
d. Oculo-plasty

10. The largest school lunch programme in the world, which covered 11.4 crore children is the
__________________.
a. Right to Food Campaign
b. Midday meal scheme
c. World Food Programme
d. Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger programme

11. This scheme was set up to address the issue of equity in the education of girls belonging to
minority communities. So far, 1,754 schools have been started under it and in the Union Budget
of 2008, the Finance Minister proposed to provide a sum of Rs.80 crore to set up new or upgrade
existing hostels attached to the schools. Name the scheme.
a. Dhan Lakshmi
b. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
c. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
d. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya

12. What is the name for the kind of energy that is produced from coal?
a. Chemical Energy
b. Potential Energy
c. Kinetic Energy
d. Thermal Energy

13. The Surgeons at London' s Moorfields Eye Hospital used this implant in two blind patients. It was
the first operation of its kind. What did they use for the implant?
a. bionic eyes
b. silicon retina microchips
c. occular implant
d. cochlear implant

14. The dance form that Sonal Mansingh is famous for is_________________.
a. Kathak
b. Odissi
c. Bharatnatyam
d. Kuchipudi

15. The term Arboreals is used for animals that live in/ on______________.
a. deserts
b. mountains
c. trees
d. river and creeks

16. The NSG ( The Nuclear Suppliers Group) finally waived off the 16- year- old embargo on nuclear
relations with India on the:
a. 7th of August 2008
b.6th of September 2008
c. 8th of October 2008
d. 9th of September 2008

17. Who is the Finance Secretary of India as on September 23 rd 2008?


a. D Subbarao
b. Mr Arun Swaminathan
c. S. Narayan
d. Dr Arvind Virmani

18. Pope Benedict XVI announced the canonization of a person Indian origin of to be canonized as a
saint by the Roman Catholic Church in Bharananganam, Kerala. Who is this person?
a. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
b. Kuriakose Elias
c. Gonsalo Garcia
d. None of the above

19. Who was awarded the Humanitarian Award for 2008?


a. Former South African President Nelson Mandela
b. Former Cuban President Fidel Castro
c. Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda
d. Actor Richard Gere

20. The new tagline of the Department of Posts released on September 24 –2008
is______________________.
a. Dare to Dream
b. Giving Wings to your Dreams
c. The Power on your side
d. "At the edge of the world, his journey begins"

21. The Government levies this tax on goods and services. It is the _________
a. VAT
b. Service Tax
c. Octroi
d. Securities Transaction Tax

22. The rules for the working of the WTO are provided by the ________________.
a. World Trade Agreement
b. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
c. General Agreement on Trade in Services
d. Security Council

23. How many member countries does the EU have?


a. 14
b. 15
c. 18
d. 17

24. What is the full form of GDP?


a. Gross Domestic Product
b. General Domestic Product
c. Gross Domestic Process
d. General Domestic Process

25. Who appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India?
a. The Prime Minister
b. The Vice President
c. The President
d. The members of the Rajya Sabha

26. What system of government does the Constitution of India provide?


a. Bicameral System of Government
b. Parliamentary System
c. Cabinet System of Government
d. Presidential form of Government

27. Which country is a member of the WTO despite the fact that it became a part of China?
a. Taiwan
b. Tibet
c. Hongkong
d. Thailand

28. Who defeated the Muslim invader Mohammed Ghori at the battle of Tarain in 1191 AD?
a. Maharan Prathap
b. Prithviraj Raso
c. Prithvi Raj Chauhan
d. None of the above

29. The capital of Israel is ______________.


a. Tel Aviv
b. Bethlehem
c. Jerusalem
d. Nazareth

30. Which is the least populated country in the world?


a. Luxemburg
b. Zaire
c. The Vatican
d. Mongolia

31. The rate of a heartbeat per minute in a normal human being is:
a. 73-80 beats per minute
b. 72-80 beats per minute
c. 70-85 beats per minute
d. 75-85 beats per minute

32. This constituent in the blood defends the body against infectious disease and foreign bodies.
Which is it?
a. platelets
b. thrombocytes
c. red blood cells
d. white blood cells

33. What is another name for white blood cells?


a. Erythrocytes
b. Leukocytes
c. Thrombocytes
d. Lymphocytes

34. On which river is the Tehri dam located?


a. The Narmada
b. The Godavari
c. The Brahmaputra
d. The Bhaghirathi River

35. Which is the tallest mammal in the world?


a. elephant
b. monitor lizard
c. blue whale
d. giraffe

36. Which company won the award for ‘ Company of the Year’ at the Economic Times awards for
Corporate Excellence in September 2008?
a. Tata Steel
b. Tata Communications
c. Crompton Greaves
d. Dabur

37. According to the World Investment Report 2008 released in September by the UNCTAD the most
preferred investment location in the world is ______________.
a. India
b. China
c. Taiwan
d. Indonesia

38. Who is the present chairman of the ISRO responsible for launching Chandrayaan-1 to the moon’ s
orbit?
a. Dr Kasturirangan
b. Dr B N Suresh,
c. Dr. R R Navalgund
d. G. Madhavan Nair

39. Who has recently been elected as the new Vice President of the USA?
a. Richard Bruce Cheney
b. Joe Biden
c. Sarah Palin
d. Hilary Clinton

40. The eldest son of the 4 th king of this country became the world ‘ s youngest reigning monarch
and the head of the newest democracy on November 6 th. Who is he and which country is he
from?
a. Albert 11 Prince of Monaco
b. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
c. Jigme Kesar Namgyei Wangchuck of Bhutan
d. Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan

Answers

1 a 21 a

2 b 22 b

3 c 23 b

4 d 24 a

5 a 25 c

6 c 26 c

7 d 27 c

8 c 28 c

9 a 29 c

10 b 30 c

11 b 31 b

12 d 32 d

13 a 33 b

14 b 34 d

15 c 35 d
16 b 36 a

17 b 37 b

18 a 38 d

19 b 39 b

20 b 40 c

Social and Rural Issues in India

What is India’s rank in the UNDP 2007-08 report ranking countries on the basis of their Human Development Index or
HDI?

What is the proportion of seats reserved for women by the mandate of the Indian Government in any local self-
governing body?

Which of the following is not specifically articulated among the eight Millenium Goals set by the United Nations
through the Millenium Declaration in 2000 as targets to be achieved by 2015?
a. Improvement of Maternal Health b. Eradication of Poverty and Hunger c. Building of Global Partnership for
Development d. Ensuring universal access to housing and shelter

Which state of India saw the recent launch of an exclusive community radio station (90.4 FM) started “by Dalit women,
for Dalit women” at the initiative of a local NGO?

Name the Bangalore-based agency that was ranked second in Forbes magazine’s first- ever list of the top 50
microfinance institutions in the world (2007).

Which period is covered in India’s Eleventh Five Year Plan?

What is the proportion of total central budgetary support allocated to education as per the 11th Five –year Plan,
labeled by the Prime Minister as ‘India’s educational plan’?

What is the minimum number of employees that a (power-using) factory should have in order to come under the
application of the Employee State Insurance Act?

According to data published in the 11th Five-year plan, which state in India has the highest rate of malnutrition
among children below 3 years?

Name the Indonesian conglomerate that was allotted land for a chemical hub in the Nandigram area of West Bengal,
leading to conflict and brutal violence in the region that drew national and international condemnation and led to
eventual shifting of the project.

Name the primary anti-SEZ committee involved in protesting against the state’s alleged forcible acquisition of
farmlands for setting up the proposed chemical hub in Nandigram.

According to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, what is the minimum number of days for which
employment is legally guaranteed to every rural household?

Which Indian state has the highest proportion (to total state population) of people belonging to scheduled caste
communities?

To which state of India does the Gujjar community, recently in news for their agitation demanding induction into ST
status, belong?

According to the latest round of the National Sample Survey Organization, what proportion of the population of India
resides below poverty line?
According to data published in the Economic Survey 2007-08, which Indian state has the highest infant mortality rate?

On September 29, 2006 four members of Dalit farmer Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange’s family was brutally tortured, assaulted
and murdered by fellow villagers. Recently a local court awarded death sentence to six of the accused and life
imprisonment to two others. Name the village in Maharashtra where this gruesome incident had taken place.

Name the revolutionary initiative from ITC Corporation which has given rural Indian farmers access to technology and
Internet, therefore allowing them to directly negotiate and sell their produce to ITC.

According to 2007 reports from the National AIDS Control Organization, what is the prevalence rate of HIV infections
among the general adult population in India?

The TERI Corporate Awards in India recognize leadership in corporate environmental management, social responsibility
and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Name the joint winners of the most recent TERI Award for business response to HIV/AIDS.

Answers

1.

1. 128 1. The Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh


Committee
2. One-third
2. 100
3. d – Ensuring universal access to housing
and shelter 3. Punjab
4. Andhra Pradesh 4. Rajasthan
5. Bandhan 5. 27.5%
6. 2007-12 6. Madhya Pradesh
7. 19% 7. Khairlanji
8. 10 8. eChoupal
9. Madhya Pradesh 9. 0.36% (roughly 2 to 3.1 million people)
10. The Salim Group 10. Ballarpur Industries and Tata Steel

Indian Agriculture, Demography and Natural Resources

1. What is the process of shifting cultivation through slash and burn methods practiced in hilly rural areas of
North east India better known as?

2. Which was the first transgenic crop approved for commercial cultivation in India?

3. In which state of India is the Silent Valley National Park located?

4. In terms of global output, which place does India occupy in the production of sugarcane?

5. The Sardar Sarovar Project proposes the construction of a dam on which Indian river?
6. Which state in India ranks first in wheat production in terms of absolute output?

7. In terms of global output, which place does India occupy in the production of cotton?

8. The Indian population census is held once in every __ years.

9. When was the last Census count held?

10. According to findings from the last Census exercise, India accounts for approximately __ per cent of the
world’s population.

11. According to findings from the last Census, which Union Territory of India has the highest literacy rate?

12. Which state in India has the lowest female sex ratio?
13. According to findings from the last Census, which state has the highest proportion of rural population?

14. The Lepchas, also known as Rongpas, are aboriginal inhabitants of which state in India?

15. In which state, and on which river, is the Tehri Dam, the primary dam in the Tehri Development Project
located?

16. Where is India’s largest oil refinery located?

17. In which present day Indian state did the “Chipko movement” of the 70s and 80s – a movement initiated by a
group of female peasants against the cutting of trees and restoration of their forest rights – originate?

18. The water of the Cauvery river has been a bone of contention in a serious conflict between two prominent
South Indian states. Which are they?

19. Name the village in Maharashtra which agreed to be relocated in entirety through a gram sabha resolution in
order to facilitate inviolate space for the endangered tiger through development of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger
Reserve.

20. In which state is the Sariska Tiger Reserve, infamous for poaching of tigers, located?

Answers
1. Jhum cultivation 11. Lakshadweep
2. Cotton 12. Haryana
3. Kerala 13. Himachal Pradesh
4. Second 14. Sikkim
5. Narmada 15. Uttarakhand, River Bhagirathi
6. Uttar Pradesh 16. Jamnagar, Gujarat
7. Third 17. Uttarakhand
8. Ten 18. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
9. 2001 19. Jamni
10. 16.8 20. Rajasthan

21.

Awards

1. It is a 2007 crime thriller film adapted for the screen and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Tommy Lee
Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, it tells the
story of a botched drug deal and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's
paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Name this film, which won four Oscars in 2008.

2. Who beat former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to the Grammy Awards-2008 for the Best Spoken
Word for the audio version of the book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream?

3. An English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz, rock &
roll, she won the ‘Record of the Year’, ‘New Artist of the Year’, ‘Female Pop Vocal Performance of the Year’,
‘Pop Vocal Album of the Year’ in the Grammy Awards 2008. Identify her.

4. A Dominican-American writer, he is one of the top 20 writers of the 21st century and is best known for his two
major works: the short story collection Drown (1996) and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007).
Both were published to critical acclaim and he won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the latter. Identify him.

5. It is the largest and the most circulated newspaper in America and has six Pulitzer Prizes for reporting in 2008.
Name the publication.

6. An English actor, he has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for portraying Christy Brown in My Left
Foot(1989). Earlier this year he also won the Best Actor Oscar for his meaty, intense performance as larger-
than-life oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood.
7. Name the people who jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2007 for their discovery of giant
magnetoresistance, which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disks drives.

8. A German physicist, he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of chemical processes
on solid surfaces. Identify him.

9. A distinguished scientist of Indian-origin has been awarded the prestigious International Meteorological
Organization (IMO) prize for his research on climate change and predictability. Identify him.

10. He was an Academy Award-winning American actor of film, theatre and television. In the 1950s and 60s, he was
one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak openly against racism and was an active supporter of the Civil
Rights Movement. This on screen and off screen icon passed away on April 6, 2008. Name him.

11. An American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and, of late, disc jockey, this person has been a major
figure in popular music for five decades. Recently he won a special Pulitzer Prize for his "profound impact" and
"poetic power”. Identify him.

12. She is a social activist and has been awarded the Annemarie-Maddison Prize for her exemplary contribution to
prison reforms and human rights in the country. Identify her.

13. He is an Indian businessman and has been awarded the JRD Tata corporate leadership award for his
outstanding contribution to Indian industry. Identify him

14. Name the English-Language Indian TV news channel that won PC World India’s best news website award for
the year 2008.

15. Who won the Cannes’ Best Actor award for his role as “Che” Guevara in the film titled Che?
16. Who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007

17. He is an Indian industrialist, software engineer and one of the seven founders of a global consulting and IT
services company based in India. He was recently given the Legion of honour, the highest civilian distinction of
the government of France for the most admired business leader of India. Identify him.

18. He is an Indian-Bengali author. His book The Shadow Lines won the Sahitya Akademi Award, India's most
prestigious literary award and his latest work of fiction, Sea of Poppies has been shortlisted for the 2008 Booker
prize award. Identify him.

Answers

1. No Country for Old Men 10. Charlton Heston


2. Barack Obama 11. Bob Dylan
3. Amy Winehouse 12. Kiran Desai
4. Junot Díaz 13. Sunil Mittal
5. Washington Post 14. IBN Live
6. Daniel Day-Lewis 15. Benicio Del Toro
7. Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg 16. Doris Lessing
8. Gerhard Ertl 17. Narayan Murthy
9. Dr Jagadish Shukla 18. Amitav Ghosh

Test your Tech Knowledge

TEST YOUR TECH KNOWLEDGE

1. What does the term GPS stand for?


a. Global Positioning System

b. Government Positioning Satellites

c. Global Positioning Satellites

d. Going Places Sometimes

2. When was the first GPS satellite launched?

a. 1978

b. 1985

c. 1992

d. 1998

3. What does Mp3 stand for?

a. Media Player 3

b. Nothing in particular, just Mp3

c. Microsoft Player 3

d. MPEG Audio layer 3

4. An Mp3 player runs on rechargeable batteries. Which of the following is not a rechargeable battery?

a. Nickel Metal Hydride

b. Nickel Cadmium

c. Alkaline

d. Lithium ion

5. What does DOS stand for?

a. Data Operating System

b. Disk Operating system

c. Digital Operating system

d. Data on synergy

6. There are two Stevens credited with the making of Apple Computers. One is Steven Jobs, what is the other Stevens’
last name?

a. Macintosh

b. Mac

c. Apple

d. Wozniac

7. A TI-83 is a

a. Old Antique Computer

b. Scientific calculator

c. Intel processor

d. Slide Rule Model

8. After a gigabyte comes a

a. Terabyte
b. Zedabyte

c. Kilobyte

d. Mezobyte

9. An electrode is the same as

a. circuit

b. terminal

c. battery

d. neutron

10. What does a laser do?

a. it generates a beam of light

b. it focuses heat rays

c. it converts electrons into light energy

d. it blocks the visible spectrum

11. Which of these are satellites?

a. Sputnik

b. The moon

c. Ganymede

d. All of the above

12. What is a watt?

a. a degree of brightness

b. a closed circuit

c. a charge of electricity

d. a unit of power

13. For what is Guglielmo Marconi best known?

a. the invention of the steam engine

b. the development of the incandescent lamp

c. development of wireless telegraphy

d. invention of the polygraph test

14. On 16th September, 2008, Intel rolled out its Xeon 7400 series of CPUs, code named Dunnigton, that was designed
out of the company's Bangalore development centre. What is the maximum number of cores the chip can have?

a. 3

b. 4

c. 6

d. 8

15. What did Anton Van Leeuwenhoek invent?

a. the thermometer

b. the microscope
c. the bifocal lens

d. the telescope

16. In what year did the Wright brothers successfully design and fly a motorized aircraft?

a. 1900

b. 1896

c. 1910

d. 1903

17. What does a television transmitter transmit?

a. sound waves

b. radio waves

c. light waves

d. video waves

18. The level of light on a surface is called illuminance. What is the unit of illuminance called?

a. Flux

b. Lux

c. Candelas

d. Lumens

19. What is the gas present in fluorescent lamps?

a. Mercury vapour

b. Tungsten vapour

c. Neon

d. Sodium Vapour

20. On October 4th,1957 what satellite was launched , becoming the first satellite to officially orbit the earth?

a. Oscar 10

b. Vanguard 1

c. Sputnik 1

d. Explorer 1

ANSWERS

1. a 11. d
2. a 12. d
3. d 13. c
4. c 14. c
5. b 15. b
6. d 16. d
7. b 17. b
8. a 18. b
9. b 19. a
10. a 20. c

Who' s who?

1. He is the chairman of India’s largest conglomerate. He serves in senior capacities in various organisations in
India and is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. He also serves as a board
member on the Republic of South Africa’s International Investment Council and is an Asia-Pacific advisory
committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. In May this year he made it to Time magazine's 2008 list
of the World's 100 most Influential people.

2. An Indian businessman and a pioneer of the Information Technology industry in India, he is the chairman of
one of the largest companies in India, and has been recognised by Business Week as one of the “Greatest
Entrepreneurs of all time” for his vision and leadership. His story and how he built one of the largest Indian
tech companies inspired Steve Hamm’s book “Bangalore Tiger.”

3. He is called the father of the White Revolution in India. He is also known as the Milkman of India and is
recognised as the man behind the success of the Amul brand.

4. An inventor, entrepreneur and a policymaker, he is the chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited, an
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative and is widely considered to have been responsible for
India's communications revolution. He is also currently the chairman of India’s National Knowledge Commission,
a high level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India.

5. An Indian entrepreneur, she was termed India's Biotech Queen by The Economist and Fortune, and India's
mother of invention by New York Times. She was also conferred the Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime
Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions in the field of biotechnology, business and industry.

6. An Indian billionaire industrialist, he was reported to be the 4th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes
Magazine in 2004 and recently has been conferred with the third Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award, its
highest award for global business success. The award honours heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism and those
who embody and exemplify the ideals of free enterprise.

7. An engineer by education and one of the founders of an Indian multinational in the area of IT services and
consulting, he began his career with IIM Ahmedabad as a systems programmer. He also worked with Patni
Computers before joining six others to start their own firm which is today a behemoth renowned globally. He
was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2008, the second highest civilian award by India and Légion d'honneur,
the highest civilian award by France.

8. The chairwoman of one of the world's fourth-largest food and beverage company, she has been named the
Most Powerful Business Woman in the world in 2006 and 2007 by Fortune magazine and was elected to the
fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.

Answers
1. Ratan Tata
2. Azim Premji
3. Verghese Kurien
4. Sam Pitroda
5. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
6. Lakshmi Mittal
7. Narayan Murthy
8. Indra Nooyi
A History of the Modern Olympics

1. The Olympic Games of 1980 has gone down in history for having witnessed the largest boycott in Olympic
history in which USA and 61 other countries withdrew their participation. What were the boycotting nations
protesting against?

2. Which of the following sports debuted at the Summer Olympic Games only post 1990? – Badminton, Cycling,
Table Tennis or Judo?

3. Which of the following games, though contested in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, have been dropped from the
schedule of the 2012 Games – Taekwondo, Flatwater Canoeing, Baseball or Beach Volleyball?

4. A Palestinian terrorist group invaded the Olympic village and broke into the apartment of the Israeli delegation.
They killed two Israelis and held 9 others as hostages. The terrorists demanded that Israel release numerous
prisoners. When the Israeli government refused their demand, a tense stand-off ensued while negotiations
continued. Eventually the captors, still holding their hostages, were offered safe passage and taken to an
airport, where they were ambushed by German security forces. In the firefight that followed, 15 people,
including the nine Israeli athletes and five of the terrorists, were killed. After much debate, it was decided that
the Games would continue, but proceedings were obviously dominated by these events. Which Games are we
talking of?

5. What do the five rings on the Olympics emblem stand for?

Answers
1. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
2. Badminton
3. Baseball
4. Games of the XX Olympiad, Munich, 1972
5. The Five Continents

International Business Figures

1. Born in August 1930 in the state of Nebraska, USA, he is often called the “Oracle of Omaha.” One of the world’s
largest investors in the equity market, this Columbia Business School graduate and Chairman and CEO of US
firm Berkshire Hathaway is also a noted philanthropist. In 2006, he announced a plan whereby he pledged 83%
of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In February 2008, he was named by Forbes magazine
as the richest person of the world. Name him.

2. Most notably known for his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s, this Pennsylvania born industrialist,
who started his career as an engineer with the Ford Motor Company, is also the author of several bestsellers,
which include his autobiography and the book Where Have All the Leaders Gone? He is also the founder of
Olivio Premium Products, a line of food products made from olive oil. He donates all profits from the company
to diabetes research, a cause he has committed himself to ever since he lost his wife to the disease. Identify
him.

3. There is an anecdote that in 1970, she visited the San Francisco Bay Area, and encountered a store in Berkeley
selling shampoos, lotions and body creams. The store, founded by two local entrepreneurs, publicized
environmental concerns and incentivised recycling. This inspired her to found her own chain, The Body Shop, a
British cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products, and famous for promoting ethical
consumerism and associating itself with a variety of causes such as campaigns against animal testing and in
support of community trade, environmental protection, and human rights. She also founded Children on the
Edge, a charitable organization which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe and Asia. In 2003, Queen
Elizabeth II appointed her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2007, this legendary
entrepreneur lost her battle to Hepatitis C but is remembered and respected all over the world for her
commitment to ethics in business. Who is she?

4. A graduate from the Harvard School of Business, he is the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer at General electric. He has been with GE since 1982 and was chosen as the successor to Jack Welch,
when the latter retired in 2000. Previously, he served as President and CEO of GE’s Medical Systems Division,
now known as GE Healthcare. He is also on the Board of Robin Hood Foundation, a non profit organization
working to alleviate problems of poverty in New York City. Name him.

5. Chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation since 1999, he has been with the organization for 50 years. In 1998,
he was selected as a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Strategy Council of Japan and became
chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations in 1999. He has also held the position of chairman
of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association since 2000 and is one of the pioneers of the engine
technology that heralded the era of fuel efficiency and zero-emission vehicles. Who are we talking of?

Answers

1. Warren Buffett

2. Lee Iacocca

3. Dame Anita Roddick

4. Jeffrey Immelt

5. Hiroshi Okuda

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