PAPER : Bank of Maharashtra PO's 2oo8 Solved

Paper

General Awareness

1. The Govt. of India has taken a decision to open more IITs during the year 2008-09. These
IITs will be in which of the following groups of States?
(A) Bihar,Rajasthan,Andhra Pradesh
(B) Andhra Pradesh,Orissa,Karnataka
(C) Karnataka,Tamilnadu,Kerala
(D) Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh,Bihar
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

2. Which of the following is /are NOT the highlights of the Union Budget 2008-09 ?
(1) A risk Capital fund is to be set up and maintained by one of the financial Institutes.
(2) Allocation for defence is reduced by 10% to make it Rs. 10,000 Crore.
(3) Several new scheme to be introduced for providing social security to the people in
unorganized sectors.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1) & (2)
(E) All 1,2 & 3
ANS (B) The amount allocated for for defence in the budget 2008-09 is Rs. 105600 Crore which
is higher than that in the Budget 2007-08.

3. To help farming community the Govt. of India has decided to raise the minimum support
price of Paddy for current Kharif marketing season. What is that Price ?
(A) Rs. 800/quintal
(B) Rs. 900/quintal
(C) Rs. 950/quintal
(D) Rs. 1200/quintal
(E) none of these
ANS (D) The purchase price recommended by the CACP fOR The Crop Year 2008-09 for general
category Rice is Rs. 1000 per quintal and for A- Grade is Rs. 1050 per quintal.

4. Wchich of the following is the correct definition of the term commercial paper ?
(1) It is nothing but the popular name of the judicial stamp papers used to register financial
transactions.
(2) It is one of the instrument through which corporate raise debt from the market.
(3) It is the name of the "Certificate of Deposits" provided by the banks to its retail customers.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1) & (2)
(E) All (1),(2) & (3)
ANS (B)

5. As per the Railway Budget 2008-09 the operating ratio of Railways is pitched at which of
the following levels? Approximately---
(A) 70%
(B) 75%
(C) 98%
(D) 90%
(E) 81%
ANS (E) As per the Railway Budget 2008-09 the operating ratio of Railways is pitched at 81.4% .

6. As per the new figures released in recent past what has been the ratio of taxes to gross
domestic product (Tax-GDP)in 2007-08 ? Approximately ---
(A) 8%
(B) 9%
(C) 10-%
(D) 11.5%
(E) 12.5%
ANS (E)

7. Which of the following companies has got "Navratna Status" recently ?

(A) National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC)
(B) National Textile Corporation (NTC)
(C) Maruti Udyog Ltd.
(D) IDBI Bnak Ltd.
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

8. Who amongst the following established the "Anandvan" a rehabilitation centre for
Leprocy patients in Maharashtra ?
(A) Baba Amte
(B) Pandurang Shashtri Athawle
(C) Medha Patkar
(D) Asaram Bapu
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

9. Thaksin Shinawatra's name is associated with which of the follwing countries ?

(A) Singapore
(B) Thailand
(C) North Korea
(D) Soth Korea
(E) None of these
ANS (B)

10. Who amongst the following agreed to supply aircraft carrier "Gorshkov" to India for its
defense services ?
(A) Russia
(B) France
(C) Germany
(D) Italy
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

11. Bhupen Hazarika is the recipient of the life time achievement award and is provided
the status of the cabinet minister . Which of the following Stae Govt. has honoured him in
this manner ?
(A) Orissa
(B) Assam
(C) West Bengal
(D) Maharashtra
(E) None of these
ANS (B)

12. Who amongst the following is the recipient of the "Kishore Kumar Award" given by the
Madhya Pradesh Govt. ?
(A) Shabana Azmi
(B) Amitabh Bachchan
(C) Manoj Kumar
(D) Dev Anand
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

13.The Under -19 Cricket world cup 2008 was won by which of the following contries ?
(A) Malysia
(B) India
(C) Pakistan
(D) Australia
(E) England
ANS (B) India defeated South Africa in the final match by seven runs.

14. Who amongst the following was the chief guest in India's Republic Day Function ?
(A) Samak Sundaravej
(B) Gordon Brown
(C) Boris Tadic
(D) Nikolas Sarkozy
(E) None of these
ANS (E)
15. Who amongst the following is the recipient of Padma Vibhushan given away recently ?
(A) Anu Malik
(B) Shan
(C) Asha Bhosle
(D) Sonu Nigam
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

16. Which of the following Staes tops in primary ,upper primary education in India ?
(A) Tamilnadu
(B) Haryana
(C) Gujarat
(D) Kerala
(E) None of these
ANS (D)

17. The 11th five year paln wishes to raise the existing 2% growth in agriculture and allied
activities to which of the following levels by the year 2012 ?
(A) 8%
(B) 6%
(C) 5%
(D) 4%
(E) None of these
ANS (D)

18. As a policy the Reserve Bank of India wishes to contain inflation at which of the
following levels ?
(A) 5%
(B) 4.5%
(C) 4%
(D) 6%
(E) None of these
ANS (A)
19. World Day of Water is observed on which of the following days ?
(A) March 22
(B) February 22
(C) January 22
(D) May 22
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

20. Who amongst the following players has completed 16000 runs in One Day International
Cricket matches recently ?
(A) Anil Kumble
(B) Rahul Dravid
(C) Saurav Ganguly
(D) Irfan Pathan
(E) Sachin Tendulkar
ANS (E)

21. Why was the name of Anatolyevic Medvedev in news recently ?

(A) He has taken over as the president of Russia
(B) He has taken over as the prime minister of Russia
(C) He is the new president of South Korea
(D) He is the new prime minister of South Korea
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

22. International Desert Festival 2008 was organized in February 2008 in ---
(A) Bhuj Ganganagar
(B) Ganganagar
(C) Bikaner
(D) Jaisalmer
(E) None of these
ANS (D)
23. The first ever Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in 2010. These games will
be orgsnized in --
(A) Moscow
(B) New Delhi
(C) Beijing
(D) Quala Lumpur
(E) None of these
ANS (E) The first ever Youth Olympic Games are scheduled to be held in 2010 in Singapore.

24. Who amongst the following has taken over as the president of Serbia ?
(A) Raul castro
(B) Stefen Spielberg
(C) Boris Tadic
(D) Jose Manual Ramos Horta
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

25. The general election in Iran are due in 2008. Iran elects its parliament for a period of
---
(A) 2 years only
(B) 3 years only
(C) 4 years only
(D) 5 years only
(E) 6 years only
ANS (C)

26. Luciana Aymar who aws adjudged the world hockey player 2007 is from which of the
following countries ?
(A) Germany
(B) Argentina
(C) Italy
(D) Russia
(E) None of these
ANS (B)

27. which of the following State Government has decided to provide ownership rights to
Tribal over forest land being cultivated by them since last 10 years ?
(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Andhra Pradesh
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

28. Which of the following committees recommended the revival of Cooperative Credit
Institutions in States ?
(A) Vaidyanathan Committee
(B) Rangrajan Committee
(C) Sachchar Committee
(D) Rakesh Mohan Committee
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

29. As we all know the Chinese economy is a booming economy and its export have played
a significant role in it. What was the share of China's Export as compared to its GDP in 2007
?
(A) 20%
(B) 30
(C) 40%
(D) 50%
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

30. Delhi won the Ranji Trophy for the seventh time in January 2008 by defeating -------
(A) Railways
(B) Haryana
(C) Mharashtra
(D) Guajarat
(E) Uttar Pradesh
ANS (E)

31. Gagan Nrang , who got a silver medal in an International Championship held in
Munich,is a/an ---
(A) 100 metre runner
(B) Badminton Player
(C) Chess Player
(D) Swimmer
(E) Air Fifle Shooter
ANS (E)

32. As per the decision taken by the Govt. of India two financial inclusion funds are set up
with an overall corpus of Rs. 500 Crore each. These funds- financial inclusion fund and
financial inclusion technology funds are to be set up by the initial contribution made by the
--
(A) SIDBI,NABARD & UTI
(B) NABARD,UTI & RBI
(C) Govt. of India,NABARD & RBI
(D) SIDBI,Govt. of India & IDBI Bank
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

33. As per the Govt. Policy the provision of the subsidy for interest subvention to
Coopeartive Sugar Mills is done by which of the following agencies/organizations ?
(A) Commission for Agriculture cost & price
(B) Nationa Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development
(C) Ministry of Agriculture
(D) Natioanl Commission on Farmers
(E) None of these
ANS (B)
34. Banks these days have launched a new scheme product known as "Reverse Mortage" .
The scheme is designed keeping which of the following groups of society in consideration ?
(A) Youngers who have just started earning
(B) Defense personnel whose life is always at high risk
(C) Senior Citizen
(D) Women who do not have independent source of income
(E) None of these
ANS (C)

35. Which of the following countries is governed by the Norweigen-mediated ceasefire

Agreement to end its dispute with a group of rebellions ?
(A) Nepal
(B) Myanmar
(C) Afghanistan
(D) Sri Lanka
(E) None of these
ANS (D)

36. As per the news report SEBI has allowed short selling by FIs/MFs from ist February,2008
. What is "Short Selling" ?
(1) Selling of shares that the seller does not own at the time of trading
(2) Selling of shares on the same day or on the day they were alloted to the trader.
(3) Selling of shares on a much lower price due to turbulent market situations
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1,2 & 3
(E) None of these
ANS (A)

37. Prime minister os India on his visit to China a few months back signed a detailed
agreement with the sama. What is/are the major highlights of the agreement ?
(1) Both the countries agreed to continue high level exchange of views. Indian President is
invited to China.
(2) India to host joint millitary exercise in 2008.
(3) India has decided to raise the issue of Tibet in UNO. China has agreed for the same.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both 1 & 2
(D) Only 3
(E) All 1,2 & 3
ANS (C)

38. As per the reports in the leading newspapers Securities & Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) has asked the Mutual Fund Industry to stop "MISSELLING" their scheme to investors.
What is misselling of Products ?
(1) Misselling takes place when mutual funds are sold without telling the likely returns.
(2) When agents sell the products without telling investors what are the risk involved in
investing in mutual funds.
(3) When agents invest somebody's money in mutual funds without their knowledge , it is called
Misselling.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1,2 & 3
(E) None of these
ANS (B)

39. The sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchsange keeps on changing positively and
negatively both. Which of the following is/are the main reasons which contributed for his
sudden change in the same ?
(1) Higher GDP growth
(2) Continuous foreign funds flow
(3) High volume of forex reserves
(4) Only 1 Recession in USA
(A) Only 1 & 2
(B) Only 2 & 3
(C) Both 3 & 4
(D) Only 2
(E) All 1,2 ,3 & 4
ANS (B)

40. The USA , as reported in the leading newspapers is proceeding towards 'recession'.
What happens when an economy goes in the grip of 'recession'?
(1) GDP growth slow down
(2) People lose their jobs
(3) Foreign exchange reserve goes up substantially as lot of loans/grants star pouring in .
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 & 2
(E) None of these
ANS (D)

PAPER : ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE PROBATIONARY OFFICERS

SOLVED PAPER (Held on 16–3–2008)

GENERAL AWARENESS

1. Jayasuriya who decided to take retirement from Test Cricket is from which of the
following countries ?
(A) Pakistan
(B) India
(C) West Indies
(D) South Africa
(E) Sri Lanka

2. In order to give impetus to agri-culture which of the following states has launched
Contract Farming Scheme ?
(A) Jammu and Kashmir
(B) Orissa
(C) West Bengal
(D) Haryana
(E) None of these

3. Dola Banerjee who won a Gold Medal in an international games event in November 2007
is asso-ciated with :
(A) Archery
(B) Badminton
(C) Table tennis
(D) Swimming
(E) None of these

4. Who amongst the following is the highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket in
the world ?
(A) R. Hadlee
(B) Kapil Dev
(C) Anil Kumble
(D) Shane Warne
(E) Mutthiah Muralidharan

5. Late Benzair Bhutto was associa-ted with which of the following political parties ?
(A) Muslim League
(B) Pakistan National Congress
(C) Pakistan People’s Party
(D) National Forum of Pakistan
(E) None of these

6. Zhang Zilin who was adjudged as the Miss World 2007 is from which of the following
coun- tries ?
(A) South Africa
(B) Russia
(C) South Korea
(D) Vietnam
(E) China

7. Which of the following is not considered as a green House Gas ?

(A) Methane
(B) Carbon dioxide
(C) Nitrous oxide
(D) Oxygen
(E) All these are not green house gases

8. Which of the following terms is not a financial term ?

(A) Investment
(B) El Nino effect
(C) Core banking Solution
(D) RTGs
(E) All are financial terms

9. Who amongst the following is the Chairperson of the 13th Finance Commission ?
(A) Dr. C. Rangarajan
(B) Dr. Bimal Jalan
(C) Dr. Rakesh Mohan
(D) Dr. Vijay Kelkar
(E) None of these
10. The Green revolution in India was the outcome of the efforts of who amongst the
following ?
(A) Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
(B) Dr. C. Rangarajan
(C) Mr.K. V. Kamath
(D) Dr. Rakesh Mohan
(E) None of these

11. Which of the following is a project to develop watersheds in India ?

(A) DRDO
(B) CARE
(C) AVARD
(D) NWDPRA
(E) None of these

12. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘The Namesake’ ?
(A) Salman Rushdie
(B) Steve Waugh
(C) Monica Ali
(D) V. S. Naipaul
(E) Jhumpa Lahiri

13. Which of the following countries launched its first Lunar Orbiter ‘Change–I’ ?
(A) India
(B) South Korea
(C) China
(D) France
(E) None of these

14. Who amongst the following is ranked No. 1 Tennis players amongst the women players ?
(as per recent ranking)
(A) Maria Sharapova
(B) Ana Ivanovic
(C) Sania Mirza
(D) Justine Henin
(E) None of these

15. The Information and Broadcas-ting Ministry has selected which of the following pairs for
its prestigious ‘Life Time Achieve-ment Award’ given away recen-tly ?
(A) Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan
(B) Rajesh Khanna and Dilip Kumar
(C) Asha Bhosle and Lata Man-geshkar
(D) Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar
(E) None of these
16. Many a times we read in news-paper about the benefits of National Electronic, Funds
Trans-fer (NEFT) a delivery service launched by the bank. Why banks advocate for such
delivery channels ?
1. It is a system in which no physical transfer takes place hence risk is very low.
2. In this system banks are not required to transfer any money actually to the account of the
customer. Only book adjustment is done. Hence actual fund is not needed.

3. This facility is available to anybody at any place. Even having a bank account is not at
all necessary.
(A) Only (1) is correct
(B) Only (2) is correct
(C) Only (3) is correct
(D) Both (1) and (2) are correct
(E) All (1), (2) and (3) are correct

17. The prestigious Indira Gandhi National Award for Peace Disar-mament and Development
2006 was conferred upon whom amongst the following ?
(A) Prof. Wangari Maathai
(B) Mr. Phillips Talbot
(C) Mr. Damilo Turk
(D) Ms. Doris Lessing
(E) None of these

18. As reported in the newspapers China has asked its banks to put 12·5% money instead of
earlier 12% as CRR. This correction in CRR is made for the seventh time in last one year.
Why did China have to take this step again and again and so frequently ?
1. It will put a curb on lending of the money by the banks.
2. It will help Govt. of China to tame the rate of inflation.
3. It will help poor to get easy loans at cheaper rates from the banks as higher CRR brings
more money for acti-vities of the social sector.
(A) Only (1) is correct
(B) Only (2) is correct
(C) All (1), (2) and (3) are correct
(D) Only (3) is correct
(E) Both (1) and (2) are correct

19. NRI Day is observed on which of the following days ?

(A) 9th February
(B) 9th January
(C) 19th February
(D) 19th March
(E) 9th March

20. Which of the following isnot a mode of foreign capital inflow to India ?
(A) FDI
(B) FII
(C) NRI Accounts
(D) No Frills Accounts
(E) All these are valid for foreign capital inflow

21. India-European Union Summit 2007 was organized in November 2007 at New Delhi. Which of
the following is true about the same ?
1. A landmark MOU was signed by both the parties which envisages that EU would help India to
achieve millennium Goals.
2. EU will plead India’s case of more subsidy to agro sector in WTO meets.
3. Both the parties reaffirmed their commitment to the rule based multilateral trading
system.
(A) Only (1) is correct
(B) Only (2) is correct
(C) Only (3) is correct
(D) Both (1) and (3) are correct
(E) All (1), (2) and (3) are correct

22. Mr. Kevin Rudd is the new :

(A) President of Australia
(B) Prime Minister of Australia
(C) President of Argentina
(D) Prime Minister of Argentina
(E) Secretary General of UNO

23. The 53rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHO-GM) was organized at
which of the following places in Novem-ber 2007 ?
(A) Kampala
(B) London
(C) New Delhi
(D) Perth
(E) None of these

24. As per the reports published in the news papers/magazines the overall credit (credit by
banks) grew by over Rs. 1,00,000 crores in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Which of the
following sectors was one single main contributor to this boom ?
(A) Housing and real estate sector
(B) Agriculture sector
(C) Business loans to doctors and account professionals
(D) Manufacturing Sector
(E) None of these

25. Many times we see banks adver-tise—“Anywhere Banking : Any-time Banking”. Which of
the following products/facilities launched by banks make it possible for the customers
to avail banking services 24 hours all seven days ?
1. ATM
2. Internet Banking
3. Universal Cheque book facility
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Both (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)
26. Which of the following organiza-tion/agencies has asked all the banks in India to form
customer service panels at branch levels ?
(A) Indian Bank’s Association
(B) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
(C) Supreme Court of India
(D) Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
(E) None of these

27. As we all know Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken some corrective
steps to restrict functioning of Partici-patory Notes (P-Notes) in Indian Stock Markets.
Why are P-Notes considered dangerous for the financial markets of a country ?
1. This allows a foreign inves-tor to invest funds without knowing the history/finan-cial health
of a company. If Company fails foreign investors lose their money. Govt. of India does
not want this as this will bring a bad name to the country.
2. P-Notes allow foreign inves-tors to buy shares of blue chip companies without following
know Your Custo-mer (KYC) norms. Hence money invested here may not be from a valid
and legal source.
3. P-Notes are launched to arrange funds only for social schemes. Due to huge funds available
with NRI for investment they are sending it in bulk. Hence cost of such investments is
very high and it is not commercially viable for banks to accept such investments.
(A) Only (1) is correct
(B) Only (2) is correct
(C) Only (3) is correct
(D) Both (1) and (2) are correct
(E) None of these

28. The Banking Industry a few years back was badly in the grip of Non Performing Assets
(Bad loans) for which the RBI and banks took special measures. As per the latest
financial reports of the industry, what is the status of NPAs at present ?
1. There are no NPAs now as not a single loan of Rs. 5 lakhs and above is given by the bank
without proper paperwork.
2. As reported of 2006-07 the NPAs have declined.
3. As the interest rates are very high banks are not providing loans to middle class and poor
general borrows. Hence NPAs in private and personal bank-ing area are ‘zero’ where as
in industrial credit sector NPAs are still at the level of 22 per cent.
(A) Only (1) is correct
(B) Only (2) is correct
(C) Both (1) and (2) are correct
(D) Only (3) is correct
(E) None of these

29. Which of the following car com-panies has launched a small cheaper car ‘Nano’ ?
(A) Maruti Suzuki Udhyog Ltd.
(B) Hyundai Motor India Ltd.
(C) Tata Motors Ltd.
(D) Hindustan Motors Ltd.
(E) None of these

30. The Govt. of India in general and the Banks in particular are very much after the
‘Financial Inclu-sion’ a goal which both of them wish to achieve as early as pos-sible.
What is the actual meaning of ‘Financial Inclusion’ ?
1. Each and every individual above the age of 21 years should have an employ-ment and/or
independent source of income enough for him/her to sustain.
2. It is a concept which envi-sages that maximum people in India should have access to
banking services.
3. Banking services should be provided only to those who have a valid and legal source of
income as Govt. of India wants each and every per-son in the income tax net
irrespective of the level of their income.
(A) Only (1) is true
(B) Only (2) is true
(C) Only (3) is true
(D) Both (1), (2), (3) are true
(E) None of these

31. As per the reports in the major financial newspapers India has urged China to redress
imba-lance in trade. What does it really mean ? It means…………
(A) India exports more items to China whereas China does not export much to India
(B) India is not able to export much to China whereas its import from China is of higher value
(C) China and India are not at all trade partners. Hence there is no transaction between the
two countries
(D) As per WTO laws India is supposed to export food grains to China. But China has not placed
any order for the same in 2006-07. It has also refused to accept 200 lakh tonnes of wheat
exported to it by India.
(E) None of these

32. As reported in the newspapers the collection of Direct Taxes which includes IT, FBT,
STT and BCTT grew by about 50% during the current fiscal year. Which of the following
is the name of the tax levied on a cash withdrawal or deposit from/to a bank ?
(A) IT (B) FBT
(C) STT (D) BCTT
(E) None of these

33. As reported in some financial newspapers some banks in India (including major banks)
these days are not accepting US dollar transactions from Iranian buyers. Which of the
following is the major reason of banks not accep-ting such transactions from Iran ?
1. USA has put a ban on major iranian Banks hence Indian banks are also not accepting
transaction from Iran as they do not get return of the same from it.
2. Iran is facing a major Reces-sion hence all Banks have stopped major transactions with
Iranian banks.
3. Iran has declared itself as an Islamic country and hence its banking is also Islamic Banking.
This is the reason owing to which most of the countries are not able to develop
financial ties with it.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1) and (2)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

34. As reported in some major financial news papers many times it is said that ‘Other
Income’ boosts the profit of a bank to a substantial level. What is this other income for
a bank ? (Pick up the option (s) which are the part (s) of this other income)
1. Commission for selling insurance policies.
2. Fee for providing various services (like ATM/Extra cheque etc.)
3. Interest on advances and loans.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Both (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

35. Amongst the BRIC nations the GDP of which of the following took a fast growth of 11·5%
in recent past ?
(A) None (B) Brazil
(C) Russia (D) India
(E) China

36. Which of the following is the achievement/outcome of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi’s visit to China
in October 2007 ?
1. A working group is estab-lished to prepare a frame-work for the settlement of boundary
issue.
2. China has agreed to support India’s claim to have a permanent seat in UN Security Council.
3. China agreed to stop all exports to Pakistan till it switches over to a democra-tically elected
government.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1), (2) and (3)
(E) None of these

37. As reported time and again and in the media most of the Indian Industrialists are
against a regional trade pact with China. Why China is not a preferred partner in trade
and business activities in India ?
1. India has already instigated maximum number of cases against China under anti dumping
laws.
2. China is not a quality cons-cious country. Hence the products are not of good market value.
3. China has maximum trade agreements with those countries whose activities are not liked by
India and some major countries of E.U. China is importing goods from them and
redirecting it to India.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) All (1), (2) and (3)
(E) None of these

38. India has a regional trade pact SAFTA. This pact is with mem-bers of which of the
following group of countries ?
(A) IBSA (B) EU
(C) OPEC (D) BRIC
(E) SAARC
39. As reported in some news-papers/magazines some banks have decided to install
Biometric ATMs so that fraudulent with-drawals can be prevented. Bio-metric ATMs will
be able to do so as it also checks—
1. Signatures of the card holdes.
2. Finger prints of the card holders.
3. Skin colour of the card holders.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1) and (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

40. Which of the following schemes is launched specifically for helping Senior Citizens to
avail loan by mortgage of their resi-dential property ?
(A) English mortgage scheme
(B) Senior Capital Loan scheme
(C) Reverse Mortgage Loan scheme
(D) DEMAT Account Scheme
(E) None of these

41. Who amongst the following received the Nobel Prize 2007 for Medicine ?
1. Martin Evans
2. Mario Capecchi
3. Oliver Smiths
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Only (3)
(D) Both (1) and (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3) jointly

42. A summit of which of the follo-wing two countries took place for the first time recently
which is being considered a big leap in the direction of diffusing conflict between them
from last 50 years ?
(A) China–Russia
(B) Vietnam–USA
(C) China–Pakistan
(D) Russia–USA
(E) South-Korea–North Korea

43. The Gorkha Hill Council is in function in which of the follo-wing districts of West Bengal
(Since October 2007) ?
(A) Midnapore
(B) Birbhum
(C) Nadia
(D) Howrah
(E) Darjeeling
44. Prime Minister of India was on a visit to Russia in November 2007. Which of the
following is/are the outcome of his meeting with Russian Leaders ?
1. Both the countries signed an agreement for their joint space programme.
2. India signed a nuclear deal with Russia for construction of four new Nuclear Reac-tions in
Tamil Nadu.
3. India and Russia agreed to take a joint military action to stop insurgency problem in some
parts of India.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Both (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

45. The Govt. of India has decided to take a major stake in Sakhalin IV and Sakhalin V oil
fields. Both these oil fields are situated in which of the following countries ?
(A) Brazil
(B) Russia
(C) China
(D) Saudi Arabia
(E) None of these

46. The Planning commission of India has established a National Fund to improve the
distribution of which of the following in the country ?
(A) Electricity
(B) Cooking gas
(C) Food grains through public distribution system
(D) Fresh currency notes
(E) None of these

47. The US economy is in a bad shape these days as a slow down is noticed in it in recent
past. What will be its impact on ‘Global economy’ in general ?
1. Dollar will be depreciated.
2. Export from European mar-kets will gain strength.
3. Interest rates of short term loans in money market will shoot up sharply as demand for
short term rupee loan will shoot up.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Both (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

48. As published in the newspapes the RBI has issued certain guide-lines to be followed by
the Recovery Agents appointed by the banks. In addition to this the Indian Bank
Association (IBA) has to formulate a special training course for them. Why RBI and IBA
has to come into picture for such an issue which is the res-ponsibility of the banks ?
1. RBI and Govt. were getting many complaints from the public about the misbeha-viour of
Recovery agents.
2. Govt. of India is paying much emphasis on provi-ding banking services to the poor section of
society. News about ill treatment by agents or suicides due to inability to payback
loans create a negative picture. RBI do not want this to hap-pen.
3. Despite banks efforts to recover loans many people still do not wish to repay their loans
intentionally. Recovery agents will help banks to get their money back by all possible
means.
(A) Only (1)
(B) Only (2)
(C) Both (1) and (2)
(D) Only (3)
(E) All (1), (2) and (3)

49. The imports of which of the following items from Indiahas been lesser than its Exports
of the same during 2007-08 ?
(A) Oil (B) Chemicals
(C) Steel (D) Tea
(E) None of these

50. The Planning commission of India decided to fix the target growth of GDP during 11th
Five year plan at 9%. What was the growth rate in 10th plan period ?
(A) 4% (B) 8%
(C) 5·5% (D) 7·6%
(E) 6·7%

Answers with Explanations :

1. (E) 2. (D) 3. (A) 4. (E) 5. (C)
6. (E) 7. (D)
8. (B) ‘El-Nino’ is the nature’s Vicious Cycle caused due to deranged weather pattern, as
happed the giant El-Nino of 1997-98, killed about 2,100 people.
9. (D) 10. (A)
11. (D) ‘NWDPRA’ (National Water- shed Development Project for Rainfed Area) was
launched in 1990-91 for 25 states and 2 UTs in the country for rainfed farming.
12. (E) 13. (C)
14. (D) With 6330 Points, Justine Henin is at the First Place.
15. (D) 16. (D) 17. (A) 18. (E) 19. (B)
20. (D) 21. (D) 22. (B) 23. (C) 24. (B)
25. (E) 26. (B) 27. (D) 28. (C) 29. (C)
30. (B) 31. (A) 32. (D) 33. (D) 34. (D)
35. (E) 36. (A) 37. (B) 38. (E) 39. (E)
40. (C)
41. (E) The ‘Nobel Prize, 2007’ in Medicine/or Physiology was awarded jointly to Mario R.
Capecchi (USA), Sir Martin J. Evans (UK) and Oliver Smiths (USA) i.e., 1/3 of the prize to
each, announced on 8th Oct., 2007 at Karolinska Institute by the Nobel Assembly.
42. (E) 43. (E) 44. (A) 45. (B) 46. (C)
47. (E) 48. (A) 49. (D)
50. (B) In 10th Plan (2002-07), ‘NDC’ (National Development Council) envisaged an average
growth rate of 8%
SAMPLE PAPER – Bank Probationary Officer
Recruitment Exam
July 15th, 2008 Posted in Sample Question Papers 14,653 Views

SAMPLE PAPER - Bank Probationary Officer Recruitment Exam

(Practice Questions for SBI, Corporation Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda
Exam)

Download this Sample Paper as PDF

REASONING - MENTAL ABILITY - APTITUDE

1. ‘Captain’ is related to a ‘Team’ in the same way as ‘Director’ is related to

(1) Supervisor (2) Employee

(3) Organisation (4) Union

(5) Customer

2. Find the odd one out of the following options

(1) Aunt (2) Child

(3) Father (4) Niece

(5) Relation

3. Pointing to a photograph of Mahesh, Ram said. “The father of his sister is the husband
of my wife’s mother”. How is Ram related to Mahesh?

(1) Brother (2) Brother-in-law

(3) Father-in-law (4) Data not sufficient

(5) None of these

4. If ‘fork’ is called ‘plate’, ‘plate’ is called ‘knife’, ‘knife’ is called ‘jug’, ‘jug’ is called
‘glass’, ‘glass’ is called ‘cup’ and ‘cup’ is called ‘fork’, by what do we cut fruit?

(1) spoon (2) jug

(3) glass (4) saucer

(5) none of these

5. If ‘a’ is substituted by 26,’B’ by 25 and so on up to ‘Z’ which is substituted by 1, what

will be the sum of the numbers substituted for the word ‘XRAY’?

(1) 33 (2) 40

(3) 37 (4) 73

(5) None of these

6. In a certain code COIMBATORE is written as DPJNCBUPSF. How is INDORE

written in that code?

(1) JOENQF (2) JMCPQD

(3) JOEPSF (4) HMCNQD

(5) None of these

7. Geeta is elder to Seeta but not to Deepa. Gayatri is younger than Deepa. No one is
elder to Fatima. Who is youngest of them all?

(1) Seeta (2) Geeta

(3) Gayatri (4) Data not sufficient

(5) None of these

8. Raman is sitting to the immediate left of Harry but not next to Kamal. Mahesh is
sitting to the right of Kamal. If the four friends are sitting in a circle who is sitting to the
immediate right of Harry?

(1) Mahesh (2) Kamal

(3) Raman (4) Harry

(5) Cannot be determined

9. How many three letter meaningful English words can be formed from the word NOTE
beginning with ‘T’ and without repeating any letter?

(1) Three (2) One

(3) Two (4) None

(5) None of these

Directions (11-15): Answer question 11 to 15 based on the following sequence:

A $ B # 9 G 3D K « M ? C Q 2 X 7 P 5 U 8 I 4 Y ə J

11. How many elements in the above arrangement are both immediately preceded and
immediately followed by a number?

(1) One (2) Two

(3) Three (4) Five

(5) None of these

12. Which of the following will be the fifteenth element from the left end if all the
numbers are arranged in descending order from left to right, keeping the position of the
other elements in arrangement un-changed?

(1) 5 (2) 4

(3) 7 (4) 8

(5) None of these

13. How many letters in the above arrangement are immediately followed by a symbol?

(1) Two (2) Five

(3) Four (4) Three

(5) None of these

14. Which of the following will be eighth to the left of the twelfth from the left end of the
arrangement?

(1) # (2) 7

(3) U (4) 9

(5) None of these

15. Four of the following five are alike in a certain way based on their position in the
above arrangement and so form a group. Which is the one that does not belong to that
group?

(1) G$M (2) K9Q

(3) ?D7 (4) 2MU

(5) PCI

16. In a certain code language’ In ba pe’ means ‘he has won’,'le ki ba’ means ‘she has
lost’ and ‘in se pe’ means ‘he always won’. Which word in that language means ‘he’?

(1) in (2) pe

(3) se (4) Data not sufficient

(5) None of these

17. X is Y’s brother. S is T’s mother and X’s aunt. How is T related to X?

(1) Sister (2) Cousin

(3) Aunt (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

18. If the letters of the word OBSERVANT are interchanged, such that the first becomes
ninth, second becomes eighth, and so on, and the position of the fifth letter remains
unchanged then what will be the new arrangement of letters?

(1) TNAVERSBO (2) TNVARESBO

(3) NTAVERSBO (4) VANTRESBO

(5) None of these

19. If 1 is coded as Ś, 5 is coded as %, 6 is coded as «, 3 is coded as +, 7 is coded as # and

4 is coded as ? What will be the correct form of the number 435671?

(1) ? + % « # Ś (2) ? + % Ś # «

(3) ? + « % # Ś (4) Ś # « % + ?

(5) None of these

20. Which of the following have the same relationship as BREAD:DBARE?

(1) SWORN: NSOWR (2) FUNDS: FSDUN

(3) GLAZE : EGZAL (4) LOWER: RLEWO

(5) None of these

Directions (21-25): Read the following information and attempt the given questions:

Six executive Aman, Bindu, Deepa, Jitu, Kamal and Priyanka have to advertise four
products i.e. soap, watches, computers and chocolates on 3 different channels, i.e. Go,
Come and Fun either alone or in pairs. An executive can visit only one channel and
advertise only one product. No more than two executives can advertise on a channel.

(i) Bindu and Jitu both visit the same channel but advertise different products.

(ii) Aman who visits ‘Go’ advertises neither soap nor computers.

(iii) Kamal does not advertise chocolates.

(iv) No girl advertises soap.

(v) The two executives who advertise chocolates visit Spice

(vi)

21. Who advertises watches?

(1) Deepa (2) Kamal

(3) Aman (4) Priyanka

(5) None of these

22. Which of the following Channel-product pairs in definitely incorrect?

(1) Go-watch (2) Come-computer

(3) Go-soap (4) Come-soap

(5) Come-watch

23. Which channel does Kamal visit?

(1) Go (2) Fun

(3) Come (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

24. If Bipasha advertises computers which of the following must be true?

(1) Jitu advertises soap (2) Jitu advertises watches

(3) Kamal advertises computers (4) Kamal works for Fun

(5) None of these

25. What will Jitu advertise?

(1) Chocolates (2) Watches

(3) Computers or watches (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

26. Swaroop and Simple want to attend a seminar together between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Friday. Simple cannot leave till after her lunch break which begins at 1.30 p.m. Swaroop
is free after her meeting which ends at noon. For how many hours can the two of them
attend the seminar?

(1) 3 ½ hours (2) 2 ½ hours

(3) 4 ½ hours (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

27. How many pairs of letters are there in the word ANSWER each of which has as many
letters between them in the word as there are in the English language?

(1) One (2) Two

(3) Four (4) Three

(5) None of these

28. Find the odd one out

(1) 2 (2) 7

(3) 11 (4) 13
(5) 9

29. If all the letters in the word MERCIFUL are rearranged in alphabetical order and
substituted by the alphabet preceding them in the English alphabet what will be the new
arrangement of letters?

(1) BDHEKLQT (2) BDEHKLQT

(3) BDEHLKQT (4) BDEJMLQT

(5) None of these

30. Out of 38 families in a housing society 5 subscribe to Hindi news-papers alone, 12

subscribe to both Hindi and Marathi newspapers. Find the number of Maranthi news-
paper subscribers.

(1) 9 (2) 21

(3) 17 (4) Cannot be determined

(5) None of these

Directions (31-35): Below are given letters and their numeric codes. Below that are
given some conditions to be followed while codifying the given letter groups in each
question. Study them and find out the correct numeric coded form of the given letter
group in each question. If none of the coded forms is correct, your answer will be (5) i.e.
‘None of these’.

Letters M Q I N E Y U G R
Numeric 2 5 3 7 1 8 4 6 9
Codes

Conditions:

(i) If the first and last letters are vowels both are to be coded as Ś.

(ii) If the second letter is a vowel and the third letter is a consonant a single code is to be
used and both are to be coded jointly as %.

(iii) If the first letter is a consonant and the last letter is a vowel both are to be coded as?

31. ENIMY

(1) 1%28 (2) ?732?

(3) 17328 (4) ?7328

(5) None of these

32. GENIR

(1) ?173? (2) 6%39

(3) 6%79 (4) 61739

(5) None of these

33. QUERI

(1) 5%93 (2) ?413?

(3) ?4139 (4) ?419?

(5) None of these

34. EINUM

(1) 1%72 (2) 0%42

(3) 1374? (4) 1%43

(5) None of these

35. UNGRE

(1) Ś769 Ś (2) 4769 Ś

(3) 47691 (4) Ś7691

(5) None of these

Directions (36-40): In each question below are two statements followed by two
conclusions numbered I and II. You have to take the two given statements to be true even
if they seem to be at variance from commonly known facts and then decide which of the
given conclusions logically follows from the two statements disregarding commonly
known facts.

Give answer (1) if only conclusion I follows.

Give answer (2) if only conclusion II follows.

Give answer (3) if either conclusion I or II follows.

Give answer (4) if neither conclusion I nor II follows.

Give answer (5) if both conclusions I or II follow.

36. Statements: Some pencils are lead. All lead are ink

Conclusions:

I. Some ink are pencils.

II. All ink are lead.

37. Statements: Some ovens are refrigerator. Some refrigerators are ACs.

Conclusions:

I. Some ACs are ovens.

II. No. AC is oven.

38. Statements: All planes are birds. All birds are clouds.

Conclusions:

I. Some planes are clouds.

II. Some clouds are birds.

39. Statements: Some sweets are salt. No salt in spice.

Conclusions:

I.. Some sweets are spice.

II. No spice is salt.

40. Statements: Some papers are plastics. All papers are clothes.

Conclusions:

I. Some plastics are clothes.

II. Some plastics are papers.

Directions (41-45): Each of the following questions below consists a question and two
statements numbered I and II given below it. You have to decide if the data provided in
the statements are sufficient to answer the question. Read both statements and:

Give answer (1) if the data in statements I alone is sufficient to answer the question
while the data in statement II is not sufficient to answer the question.

Give answer (2) if the data in statement II alone is sufficient to answer the question,
while the data in statement I alone is not sufficient to answer the question.

Give answer (3) if the data either in statement I alone or in statement II alone is
sufficient to answer the question.

Give answer (4) if the data in both the statements I and II are not sufficient to answer the
question.

Give answer (5) if the data in both the statements I and II together are necessary to
answer the question.

41. How is ‘cricket’ written in a code language?

I. ‘Dinesh play cricket’ is written as ‘do si ha’.

II. ‘play cricket now’ is written as ‘ha si ma’.

42. Who is the oldest among L, M, N, O,P?

I. P is older than M and N but not O.

II. L is older than O.

43. When is Rahul’s birthday?

I. Rahul and Shivani are twins.

II. Rahul was born on the last day of February in a leap year.

44. What is the strength of the class?

I. Shekhar stood 28 ranks below the top ranker and Mahesh who stood 5 ranks below him
stood last.

II. Jayesh was 9 ranks below Ramesh who stood 27th from the top.

45. How far does Shruti live from the school?

I. Shruti has to cycle 3 kms. To her friend Mina’s house which is 4 kms. From thee
school.

II. Gitanjali lives exactly opposite the school and walks 2 kms. to reach Shruti’s house.

Directions (46-50): The following questions are based on the five three digit numbers
given below:

972 526 487 359 251

46. If the positions of the firs and second digits are interchanged which of the following
will be third if they are arranged in ascending order?

(1) 359 (2) 972

(3) 526 (4) 487

(5) 251

47. If 2 is added to the sum of the digits of each of the above numbers how many will be
multiples of 5?

(1) None (2) One

(3) Two (4) Three

(5) None of these

48. If 1 is subtracted from the last digit of each of the above numbers the sum of the
digits of how many of them are prime numbers?

(1) None (2) Two

(3) One (4) Three

(5) All five

49. If the digits in each of the above numbers are written in reverse order which will be
the second highest number?

(1) 251 (2) 359

(3) 487 (4) 526

(5) 972
50. If the positions of the digits of each of the numbers are interchanged such that the first
becomes second, second becomes third and third becomes firs, which, of the following
will be the highest?

(1) 972 (2) 526

(3) 487 (4) 251

(5) 359

Answer Key for Mental Aptitude Reasoning

1. (3) 2. (5) 3. (2) 4. (2) 5. (2)

6. (3) 7. (4) 8. (2) 9. (1) 10. (1)
11. (4) 12. (3) 13. (2) 14. (1) 15. (5)
16. (4) 17. (2) 18. (5) 19. (1) 20. (5)
21. (3) 22. (4) 23. (1) 24. (2) 25. (3)
26. (1) 27. (2) 28. (5) 29. (2) 30. (5)
31. (3) 32. (2) 33. (4) 34. (5) 35. (1)
36. (1) 37. (3) 38. (5) 39. (2) 40. (5)
41. (4) 42. (5) 43. (2) 44. (1) 45. (3)
46. (1) 47. (4) 48. (3) 49. (3) 50. (5)