General Knowledge

TEST OF GENERAL AWARENESS

                                                                   Praturi Potayya Sarma

1)In the past year, the Buddhist-arc initiative has been visible in all of Mr. Modi’s visits to Buddhist countries.

(i)During the ASEAN-India summit in Myanmar in November 2014, Mr. Modi discussed packaging a tour of Buddhist sites across ASEAN countries for travellers

(ii)while India has made grants to maintain sites in Bhutan and Nepal during his visits there

(iii)In Japan in September, he prayed at the famous Toji and Kinkakuji Buddhist temples

(iv) in Sri Lanka this March, he addressed Buddhist monks at Colombo’s Mahabodhi Temple and prayed to the Mahabodhi tree in Anuradhapura. As per these sentences, which countries Mr. Modi visited ?

a)Myanmar , Bhutan, Nepal , Japan, Sri Lanka

b)Myanmar, Japan, Mongolia

c)USA, Srilanka ,  Japan

d)Japan, Bhutan, Myanmar

e)None of the above

Ans: a

2) Shri Naqvi launched a scheme,  ‘USTTAD’ . Shri Naqvi said Varanasi has been famous for its ‘ghats’, temples, Banarasi saree, and traditional arts/crafts and silk weavers in the entire world but unfortunately the city’s glory has been affected during last few years as the city and its artisans and craftsmen have been ignored. In the abbreviation USTTAD, the letters TT stands for what ?

a) Teaching

b) Typing

c) Taking

d) Training in Traditional

e) None of the above

Ans : d ( USTTAD: Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)

3) Uttar Pradesh Government in a recent communication sent to Chairman, Central Water Commission has requested that suitable directions may be issued to Government of Madhya Pradesh to release 2000 cusecs of water from Bansagar dam for two months into________  river against the due share of U.P. i.e. one Million Acre-Feet from Bansagar dam as per Bansagar Agreement 1973.

a) Sone

b) Ganga

c) Yamuna

d) Gandaki

e) Hoogly

Ans: a

4) The agreements on establishing a provincial partnership between Karnataka and Sichuan and sister-city relationships between Aurangabad - Dunhuang, Chennai – Chongqing and Hyderabad – Qingdao were welcomed. In which country these agreements were signed by Indian Prime Minister?

a) China

b) Japan

c) USA

d) Mongolia

e) South Korea

Ans : a

5) In the free Legal Aid Services  which of the following services are included 

(a) Payment of court fee, process fees and all other charges payable or incurred in connection with any legal proceedings; 

(b) Providing service of lawyers in legal proceedings; 

(c) Obtaining and supply of certified copies of orders and another documents in legal Proceedings;

(d) Preparation of appeal paper book including printing and translation of document ts in legal proceedings. 

e) All the above              Ans : e

6) The development of Road Asset Management System (RAMS) for the entire National Highways along with collection of requisite data over 3,000 km of the pilot road network is underway as part of the Prime Minister’s “Digital India” initiative. The data collection over the pilot network of 3,000 km has commenced from which place on 5 May 2015 on trial basis.

a) Mumbai

b) Nagpur

c) Pune

d) Gandhinagar

e) Bhopal

Ans : b

7) Shri R.K. Sinha, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission said that nuclear energy is the clean and green source of energy and it is a good option for energy if per capita consumption of power in India has to be increased. This way we can leave a clean planet for the generation to come and fight the challenge of global warming. The word ‘ green’ indicates what ?

a) green colour paint

b) no pollution

c) green shirts

 d) sarees

e) None of the above

Ans : b

8) Who is the author of the  book 'India: A Wounded Civilisation' ?  It is also  praised that "the author  has observed that he found India the only country in the world where history written by foreign historians is taught in textbooks. The Indian historians should pay attention to eminent authors like him  and take corrective measures".

a) Rabindranath Tagore

b) VS Naipaul

c) Romilla Thapar

d) Aravind Panagariya

e) Aravind Ghosh

Ans : b

9) "The Centre has decided to celebrate the 475th birth anniversary year of Maharana Pratap all over the country in a big way and a committee has been formed at the Central level to commemorate the event". "Maharana Pratap became an icon for freedom fighters because his name evoked a strong feeling of love and sacrifice for motherland. Even the Vietnamese people were inspired by him and it helped them in defeating a powerful country like the United States during U.S.-Vietnam war."  Maharana Pratap belongs to which state of India ?

a) Punjab

b) Rajasthan

c) Gujarat

d) Maharastra

e) Goa

Ans : b

10) The Prime Minister of India, recently  presented to Mr. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj   a specially commissioned reproduction of a rare 13th century manuscript on the history of Mongols from the Rampur Raza Library, Rampur.  Called Jamiut Tawarikh, this work was one of the grandest projects undertaken by the Ilkhanate king Ghazan Khan (1295-1304) and was done by the king’s wazir Rasheeduddin Fazlullah Hamedani who wrote it in Persian and chronicled the history up to the reign of Oljeitju (1304-1316). Mr. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj is president of which country ?

a) Bhutan

b) Mongolia

c) Japan

d) South Korea

e) China

Ans : b

11) Commonwealth is home to  about _________  people across 53 countries, with over 60% under the age of 30. In this context, the theme of the discussion , i.e. ‘Universal health coverage, with an emphasis on ageing and good health’ is quite appropriate. This is said  in the recently conducted WHO meeting.

a) 1.24 billion

b) 7 billiion

c) 2.2 billion

d) 1.47 billion

e) None of the above

Ans : c

12) High blood pressure also known as ‘Hypertension’ affects millions of Indians. It can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke-paralysis and loss of memory. It is estimated that hypertension is responsible for 1.1 million deaths annually, accounting for nearly 11% of all deaths in India. When Hypertension day observed?

a) May 17, 2015

b)  May 11

c) July 11

d) November 11

e) March 8

Ans : a

13) China’s  famous scholars like Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang have taught many secrets of Chinese wisdom to Indians. In addition, they discovered many secrets within India itself. It is opined that  Hiuen Tsang had visited  Mr.Narendra Modi’s  own home town in Gujarat. From his works, Indians came to know  that there was a Buddhist Monastery. When Hiuen Tsang returned to China he brought with him Sanskrit scriptures and books of wisdom. The traditional systems of medicine of the two countries based on natural elements also have a lot in common. Can you tell the name of the  place, which is located in Gujarat?  

a) Gandhinagar

b)  Vadnagar

c) Bhavnagar

d) Ahmednagar

e) Surat

Ans: b (The site is referred to as Anandpur in Xuanzang’s writings and recent excavations point to the existence of a thriving Buddhist centre at Vadnagar way back in 2nd century AD)

14) Mr. Narendra Modi  began his  recent journey in China in _______ . In doing so, he  retraced the footsteps of the Chinese monk Xuanzang.

a) Xian

b) Beijing

c) Shanghai

d) Nanjing

e) Tibet

Ans : a

15) The Vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, Mr. Arvind Panagariya has underlined the importance of job creation in industry and services for overall prosperity of the nation. He shared the views with the people in his first blog post published on the newly launched website of NITI Aayog in New Delhi. In the abbreviation NITI, the letter T stands for which word?

a)  Transfer

b) Transformation

c) Tool

d) Tile

e) Tiller

Ans : b

16) “Over long periods, experiences such as that of Madhya Pradesh during 2011-12 to 2013-14 whereby agriculture grew in excess of _____ percent annually are rare.  In the recorded Indian history, the fastest that agriculture has grown nationally over a continuous ten-year period has been under 5 percent.” It is the observation of NITI Ayog.

a) 20     b) 30   c) 40   d) 50  e) None of these

Ans : a

17) “Using the instrumentality of __________ federalism, the government has encouraged states to undertake labor law reforms that would help stimulate jobs.  States of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have taken lead in this area and, going by the reports in the press, the central government is now considering an overhaul of labor-law regime.”  (Clue: Which type of federalism , central government is proposing?)

a) co-operative      b) unitary

c) independent     d)  dependent    e) None of these

Ans: a

18) Advance of southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea normally takes place around______  with a standard deviation of about one week.  During the last few days, in the month of May, 2015,  enhanced convection and increased rainfall activity has been observed over the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.  The cross equatorial flow is likely to strengthen and deepen over the area. 

a) 1^st week of June

b) 20^th May

c) 1^st week of July

d) 1^st week of May

e) None of the above

Ans : b

19) Chairman, Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) who was also present on the occasion said that the recent  seminar would lead to deliberations to decide the feasibility of setting up a Communication University in India. Who is the Chairman of BCCC ?

a) Mukul Rohatgi

b) Justice Mukul Mudgal

c) Mukul Sagma

d) Markandeya Katju

e) P.Sathasivam

Ans : b

20) Which of the following is correct ?

a) Jarkhand  : Draupadi Murmu

b) Mizoram :  Nirbhay Sharma

c) Tripura :  Tathagata Roy

d) Arunachal Pradesh : JP Rajkhowa

e) All the above ( States : Newly appointed Governors)

21) The Official Amendments along with the Amendment Bill 2012 proposes to make the following salient amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986. Employment of children below 14 years prohibited in all occupations and processes and age of prohibition of employment linked to age under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. However, an exception has been made: 

a) where the child helps his family or family enterprises, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations; &  where the child works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, subject to such conditions and safety measures, as may be prescribed and provided that such work does not affect the school education of the child. 

b) employment in hazardous industries

c) employment in hotels

e) employment in bricks manufacturing

Ans : a

22) “Today, Mongolia is also an integral part of India’s Act East Policy” Mr. Narendra Modi said.  This policy relates to what ?

a) Defence Policy

b) Foreign Policy

c) Agriculture Policy

d) Insurance Policy

e) None of the above

Ans : b

23) “I am pleased to announce that India will provide a Line of Credit of $1 billion to support expansion of Mongolia’s economic capacity and infrastructure.” Who announced recently ?

a) Prime Minister of India

b) President of India

c) Chief Justice , Supreme Court of India

d) Union Finance Minister, India

e) None of the above

Ans : a

24) “At the end of his address to lawmakers at the State Great Hural — the Parliament, Mr. Modi turned around and pointed to state emblem, which had a lotus among other symbols. “When I entered the Parliament, I saw this symbol and I found special connection with this Parliament,” he said. Pointing his finger towards the emblem, he told lawmakers that there is a lotus on the emblem and his party BJP’s symbol is also lotus. Which country’s parliament is called as State Great Hural or Khural?

a) China    b) Mongolia   c) United Kingdom  d) Russia   e) United States

Ans : b (It is a unicameral parliament)

25) Coal India Limited (CIL), the Maharatna coal mining monolith had unveiled its road map, of strategies to be adopted, to attain the one Billion Tonne (BT) coal production mark by which year?

a)2019-20

b) 2017

c) 2022

d) 2015-16

e) None of the above

Ans : a