Banking Terms

1. What is a Repo Rate?

A: Repo rate is the rate at which our banks borrow rupees from RBI. Whenever the banks

have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from RBI. A reduction in the repo rate will

help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases, borrowing from

RBI becomes more expensive.

2. What is Reverse Repo Rate?

A: This is exact opposite of Repo rate. Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which Reserve

Bank of India (RBI) borrows money from banks. RBI uses this tool when it feels there is

too much money floating in the banking system. Banks are always happy to lend money

to RBI since their money is in safe hands with a good interest. An increase in Reverse

repo rate can cause the banks to transfer more funds to RBI due to this attractive interest

rates.

3. What is CRR Rate?

A: Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with

RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks

comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive

money from the banks.3

4. What is SLR Rate?

A: SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) is the amount a commercial bank needs to maintain in

the form of cash, or gold or govt. approved securities (Bonds) before providing credit to

its customers.
SLR rate is determined and maintained by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in order to

control the expansion of bank credit. SLR is determined as the percentage of total

demand and percentage of time liabilities. Time Liabilities are the liabilities a commercial

bank liable to pay to the customers on their anytime demand. SLR is used to control

inflation and propel growth. Through SLR rate tuning the money supply in the system

can be controlled efficiently.

5. What is Bank Rate?

A: Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest which a central

bank charges on the loans and advances that it extends to commercial banks and other

financial intermediaries. Changes in the bank rate are often used by central banks to

control the money supply.

6. What is Inflation?

A: Inflation is as an increase in the price of bunch of Goods and services that projects the

Indian economy. An increase in inflation figures occurs when there is an increase in the

average level of prices in Goods and services. Inflation happens when there are fewer

Goods and more buyers; this will result in increase in the price of Goods, since there is

more demand and less supply of the goods.

7. What is Deflation?

A: Deflation is the continuous decrease in prices of goods and services. Deflation occurs

when the inflation rate becomes negative (below zero) and stays there for a longer period.

8. What is PLR?
A: The Prime Interest Rate is the interest rate charged by banks to their most

creditworthy customers (usually the most prominent and stable business customers). The

rate is almost always the same amongst major banks. Adjustments to the prime rate are

made by banks at the same time; although, the prime rate does not adjust on any regular

basis. The Prime Rate is usually adjusted at the same time and in correlation to the

adjustments of the Fed Funds Rate. The rates reported below are based upon the prime

rates on the first day of each respective month. Some banks use the name "Reference

Rate" or "Base Lending Rate" to refer to their Prime Lending Rate.

9. What is Deposit Rate?

A: Interest Rates paid by a depository institution on the cash on deposit.

Policy Rates:

· Bank Rate: 6.00%

· Repo Rate: 5.25%

· Reverse Repo Rate: 3.75%

Reserve Ratios:

· CRR: 6.00%

· SLR: 25.0%

Lending/Deposit Rates:

· PLR: 11.00%-12.00%.

· Deposit Rate: 6.00%-7.50%.

. Savings Bank rate: 3.5%.

Note: Rates as on 14-05-10.

10. What is FII?

A: FII (Foreign Institutional Investor) used to denote an investor, mostly in the form of an

institution. An institution established outside India, which proposes to invest in Indian

market, in other words buying Indian stocks. FII's generally buy in large volumes which

has an impact on the stock markets. Institutional Investors includes pension funds, mutual

funds, Insurance Companies, Banks, etc.

11. What is FDI?

A: FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) occurs with the purchase of the “physical assets or a

significant amount of ownership (stock) of a company in another country in order to gain

a measure of management control” (Or) A foreign company having a stake in a Indian

Company.

12. What is IPO?

A: IPO is Initial Public Offering. This is the first offering of shares to the general public

from a company wishes to list on the stock exchanges.

13. What is Disinvestment?

A: The Selling of the government stake in public sector undertakings.

14. What is Fiscal Deficit?

A: It is the difference between the government’s total receipts (excluding borrowings)

and total expenditure. Fiscal deficit in 2009-10 is proposed at 6.8% of GDP.

15. What is Revenue deficit?

A: It defines that, where the net amount received (by taxes & other forms) fails to meet

the predicted net amount to be received by the government. Revenue deficit in 2009-10 is

proposed at 4.8% of GDP.

16. What is GDP?

A: The Gross Domestic Product or GDP is a measure of all of the services and goods

produced in a country over a specific period; classically a year. GDP during 2008-09 is

6.7%.

17. What is GNP?

A: Gross National Product is measured as GDP plus income of residents from

investments made abroad minus income earned by foreigners in domestic market.

18. What is National Income?

A: National Income is the money value of all goods and services produced in a country

during the year.

19. What is Per Capita Income?

A: The national income of a country, or region, divided by its population. Per capita

income is often used to measure a country's standard of living.Per capita income during

2008-09 estimated by CSO: Rs.25, 494.

20. What is Vote on Account?

A: A vote-on account is basically a statement ,where the government presents an estimate

of a sum required to meet the expenditure that it incurs during the first three to four

months of an election financial year until a new government is in place, to keep the

machinery running.
 21. Difference between Vote on Account and Interim Budget?

A: Vote-on-account deals only with the expenditure side of the government's budget, an

interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts.

22. What is SDR?

A: The SDR (Special Drawing Rights) is an artificial currency created by the IMF in

1969. SDRs are allocated to member countries and can be fully converted into

international currencies so they serve as a supplement to the official foreign reserves of

member countries. Its value is based on a basket of key international currencies (U.S.

dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling).

23. What is SEZ?

A: SEZ means Special Economic Zone is the one of the part of government’s policies in

India. A special Economic zone is a geographical region that economic laws which are

more liberal than the usual economic laws in the country. The basic motto behind this is

to increase foreign investment, development of infrastructure, job opportunities and

increase the income level of the people.

Interview question
What is corporate governance?   (For more click here)

The way in which a company is governed and how it deals with the various interests of

its customers, shareholders, employees and society at large. Corporate governance is the

set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation
 (or company) is directed, administered or controlled.Is defined as the general set of

customs, regulations, habits, and laws that determine to what end a firm should be run.

        Functions of RBI?

The Reserve Bank of India is the central bank of India, was established on April 1, 1935

in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The Reserve

Bank of India was set up on the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission. The

commission submitted its report in the year 1926, though the bank was not set up for nine

years.To regulate the issue of Bank Notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing

monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the

country to its advantage." Banker to the Government: performs merchant banking

function for the central and the state governments; also acts as their banker.Banker to

banks: maintains banking accounts of all scheduled banks.

        What is monetary policy?

A Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank, of a country

controls (i) the supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii) cost of money or rate

of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability

of the economy.

        What is Fiscal Policy?

Fiscal policy is the use of government spending and revenue collection to influence the

economy. These policies affect tax rates, interest rates and government spending, in an
 effort to control the economy. Fiscal policy is an additional method to determine public

revenue and public expenditure.

        What is Core Banking Solutions?

Core banking is a general term used to describe the services provided by a group of

networked bank branches. Bank customers may access their funds and other simple

transactions from any of the member branch offices. It will cut down time, working

simultaneously on different issues and increasing efficiency. The platform where

communication technology and information technology are merged to suit core needs of

banking is known as Core Banking Solutions.

        What is bank and its features and types?

A bank is a financial organization where people deposit their money to keep it safe.Banks

play an important role in the financial system and the economy. As a key component of

the financial system, banks allocate funds from savers to borrowers in an efficient

manner.

Regional Rural Banks were established with an objective to ensure sufficient

institutional credit for agriculture and other rural sectors. The RRBs mobilize

financial resources from rural / semi-urban areas and grant loans and advances

mostly to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans.

The area of operation of RRBs is limited to the area as notified by GoI covering

one or more districts in the State.

ii. Banking services for individual customers is known as retail banking.

 iii. A bank that deals mostly in but international finance, long-term loans for

companies and underwriting. Merchant banks do not provide regular banking

services to the general public

iv. Online banking (or Internet banking) allows customers to conduct financial

transactions on a secure website operated by their retail or virtual bank.

v. Mobile Banking is a service that allows you to do banking transactions on your

mobile phone without making a call , using the SMS facility. Is a term used for

performing balance checks, account transactions, payments etc. via a mobile

device such as a mobile phone.

vi. Traditional banking is the normal bank accounts we have. Like, put your money in the

bank and they act as a security and you will get only the normal interests (decided by RBI

in our case, FED bank in US).

vii. Investment banking is entirely different. Here, people who are having so much

money (money in excess which will yield only less interest if in Banks) will invest

their money and get higher returns. For example, If i have more money instead of

taking the pain of investing in share market, buying properties etc. I will give to

investment banks and they will do the money management and give me higher

returns when compared to traditional banks.

        What is E-Governance?

E-Governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies

with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen
 participation in the decision-making process and making government more

accountable,transparent and effective.

        What is Right to information Act?

The Right to Information act is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving citizens of

India access to records of the Central Government and State  overnments.The Act applies

to all States and Union Territories of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir -

which is covered under a State-level law. This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June

2005 and came fully into force on 13 October 2005.

        Credit Rating Agencies in India?

The credit rating agencies in India mainly include ICRA and CRISIL. ICRA wasformerly

referred to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited. Their

main function is to grade the different sector and companies in terms of performance and

offer solutions for up gradation. The credit rating agencies in India mainly include ICRA

and CRISIL(Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited)

        What is Cheque?

Cheque is a negotiable instrument instructing a Bank to pay a specific amount from a

specified account held in the maker/depositor's name with that Bank.A bill of exchange

drawn on a specified banker and payable on demand.“Written order directing a bank to

pay money”.

        What is demand Draft?

 A demand draft is an instrument used for effecting transfer of money. It is a Negotiable

Instrument. Cheque and Demand-Draft both are used for Transfer of money. You can

100% trust a DD. It is a banker's check. A check may be dishonored for lack of funds a

DD can not. Cheque is written by an individual and Demand draft is issued by a bank.

People believe banks more than individuals.

        What is a NBFC?

A non-banking financial company (NBFC) is a company registered under the

Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition

of shares/stock/bonds/debentures/securities issued by government, but does not include

any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity,

sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

NBFCs are doing functions akin to that of banks; however there are a few differences:

(i)A NBFC cannot accept demand deposits (demand deposits are funds deposited at a

depository institution that are payable on demand -- immediately or within a very short

period -- like your current or savings accounts.)

(ii) it is not a part of the payment and settlement system and as such cannot issue cheques

to its customers; and

(iii) Deposit insurance facility of DICGC is not available for NBFC depositors unlike in

case of banks.

        Diff between banking & Finance?

 Finance is generally related to all types of financial, this could be accounting, insurances

and policies. Whereas banking is everything that happens in a bank only.The term

Banking and Finance are two very different terms but are often associated together. These

two terms are often used to denote services that a bank and other financial institutions

provide to its customers.

        What is NASSCOM ?

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the Indian

chamber of commerce is a consortium that serves as an interface to the Indian software

industry and Indian BPO industry. Maintaining close interaction with the Government of

India in formulating National IT policies with specific focus on IT software and services

maintaining a state of the art information database of IT software and services related

activities for use of both the software developers as well as interested companies

overseas. Mr. Som Mittal – President. Chairman-Pramod Bhasin

        What is ASSOCHAM?

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), India's

premier apex chamber covers a membership of over 2 lakh companies and professionals

across the country. It was established in 1920 by promoter chambers, representing all

regions of India. As an apex industry body, ASSOCHAM represents the interests of

industry and trade, interfaces with Government on policy issues and interacts with

counterpart international organizations to promote bilateral economic issues. President-

Swati Piramal
        What is NABARD?

NABARD was established by an act of Parliament on 12 July 1982 to implement the

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981. It replaced the

Agricultural Credit Department (ACD) and Rural Planning and Credit Cell (RPCC) of

Reserve Bank of India, and Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation

(ARDC). It is one of the premiere agency to provide credit in rural areas. NABARD is set

up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for

promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village

industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts.

        What is SIDBI?

The Small Industries Development Bank of India is a state-run bank aimed to aid the

growth and development of micro, small and medium scale industries in India. Set up in

1990 through an act of parliament, it was incorporated initially as a wholly owned

subsidiary of Industrial Development Bank of India.

        What is SENSEX and NIFTY?

SENSEX is the short term for the words "Sensitive Index" and is associated with the

Bombay (Mumbai) Stock Exchange (BSE). The SENSEX was first formed on 1-1-1986

and used the market capitalization of the 30 most traded stocks of BSE. Where as NSE

has 50 most traded stocks of NSE.SENSEX IS THE INDEX OF BSE. AND NIFTY IS

THE INDEX OF NSE.BOTH WILL SHOW DAILY TRADING MARKS. Sensex and
 Nifty both are an "index”. An index is basically an indicator it indicates whether most of

the stocks have gone up or most of the stocks have gone down.

        What is SEBI?

SEBI is the regulator for the Securities Market in India. Originally set up by the

Government of India in 1988, it acquired statutory form in 1992 with SEBI Act 1992

being passed by the Indian Parliament. Chaired by C B Bhave.

        What is Mutual funds?

Mutual funds are investment companies that pool money from investors at large and offer

to sell and buy back its shares on a continuous basis and use the capital thus raised to

invest in securities of different companies. The mutual fund will have a fund manager

that trades the pooled money on a regular basis. The net proceeds or losses are then

typically distributed to the investors annually.

        What is Asset Management Companies?

A company that invests its clients' pooled fund into securities that match its declared

financial objectives. Asset management companies provide investors with more

diversification and investing options than they would have by themselves. Mutual funds,

hedge funds and pension plans are all run by asset management companies. These

companies earn income by charging service fees to their clients.

        What are non-perfoming assets?

Non-performing assets, also called non-performing loans, are loans,made by a bank or

finance company, on which repayments or interest payments are not being made on time.
 A debt obligation where the borrower has not paid any previously agreed upon interest

and principal repayments to the designated lender for an extended period of time. The

nonperforming asset is therefore not yielding any income to the lender in the form of

principal and interest payments.

        What is Recession?

A true economic recession can only be confirmed if GDP (Gross Domestic

Product)growth is negative for a period of two or more consecutive quarters.

        What is foreign exchange reservers?

Foreign exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the

foreign currency deposits and bonds held by central banks and monetary

authorities.However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and

gold,SDRs and IMF reserve positions.

List of Padma Awards - 2011

Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories,

namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in

all disciplines/ fields of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs, science and

engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service,

etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma

Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished

service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every

year.
This year President has approved 128 awards, including one duo case (‘#’counted as

one) and 12 in the category of (*)Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous. These comprise

13 Padma Vibhushan, 31 Padma Bhushan and 84 Padma Shri Awards. There are 31

ladies among the awardees.

List of Padma Vibhusan awardees:

State /
Sl.No. Name Discipline
Domicile
1. Dr. (Smt.) Kapila Vatsyayan Art - Art Administration and Delhi
Promotion.
2. Mrs. Homai Vyarawalla Art - Photography Gujarat
3. Shri A Nageshwara Rao Art- Cinema Andhra
Pradesh
4. Shri Parasaran Kesava Iyengar Public Affairs Delhi
5. Dr. Akhlaq-ur-Rehman Kidwai Public Affairs Delhi
6. Shri Vijay Kelkar Public Affairs Delhi
7. Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia Public Affairs Delhi
8. Shri Palle Rama Rao Science and Engineering Andhra
Pradesh
9. Shri Azim Premji Trade and Industry Karnataka
10. Shri Brajesh Mishra Civil Services Madhya
Pradesh
11. Prof. (Dr.) Ottaplakkal Literature and Education Kerala
Neelakandan Velu Kurup
12. Dr. Sitakant Mahapatra Literature and Education Orissa
13. Late Shri L. C. Jain Public Affairs Delhi *

List of Padma Bhusan awardees:

State /
Sl.No. Name Discipline
Domicile
1. Shri Satyadev Dubey Art - Theatre Maharashtra
2. Shri Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Art - Cinema - Music Maharashtra
Hashmi alias Khayyam
3. Shri Shashi Kapoor Art - Cinema Maharashtra
4. Shri Krishen Khanna Art - Painting Haryana
5. Shri Madavur Vasudevan Nair Art - Dance - Kathakali Kerala
6. Ms. Waheeda Rehman Art - Cinema Maharashtra
7. Shri Rudrapatna Krishna Shastry Art - Music-Vocal Karnataka
Srikantan
8. Ms. Arpita Singh Art - Painting Delhi
9. Dr. Sripathi Panditharadhyula Art - Playback Singing, Tamil Nadu
Balasubrahmanyam Music Direction & acting
10. Shri C.V. Chandrasekhar Art - Classical Dance- Tamil Nadu
Bharatanatyam
11. Shri Dwijen Mukherjee Art West Bengal
12. Smt. Rajashree Birla Social work Maharashtra
13. Mrs. Shobhana Ranade Social work Maharashtra
14. Dr. Suryanarayanan Science and Engineering  Tamil Nadu
Ramachandran
15. Shri S.(Kris) Gopalakrishnan Trade and Industry Karnataka
16. Shri Yogesh Chander Deveshwar Trade and Industry West Bengal
17. Ms. Chanda Kochhar Trade and Industry Maharashtra
18. Dr. K. Anji Reddy Trade and Industry- Andhra
Pharmacy Pradesh
19. Shri Analjit Singh Trade and Industry Delhi
20. Shri Rajendra Singh Pawar Trade and Industry Haryana
21. Dr. Gunapati Venkata Krishna Trade and Industry Andhra
Reddy Pradesh
22. Shri Ajai Chowdhary Trade and Industry Delhi
23. Shri Surendra Singh Civil Services Delhi
24. Shri M. N .Buch Civil Services Madhya
Pradesh
25. Shri Shyam Saran Civil Services Delhi
 26. Shri Thayil Jacob Sony George Literature and Education Karnataka
27. Dr. Ramdas Madhava Pai Literature and Education Karnataka
28. Shri Sankha Ghosh Literature and Education West Bengal
29. Late Shri K. Raghavan Medicine - Ayurveda. Kerala*
Thirumulpad
30. Late Dr. Keki Byramjee Grant Medicine - Cardiology Maharashtra *
31. Late Shri Dashrath Patel Art Gujarat *

List of Padma Shri awardees:

Sl.No. Name Discipline State / Domicile

1. Ms. Neelam Mansingh Art - Theatre Chandigarh
Chowdhry
2. Shri Makar Dhwaja Darogha Art- Chhau Dance Jharkhand
3. Shri Shaji Neelakantan Art - Film Direction Kerala
Karun
4. Shri Girish Kasaravalli Art - Film making Karnataka
5. Ms. Tabassum Hashmi Art - Cinema Maharashtra
Khan alias Tabu
6. Shri Jivya Soma Mase Art - Warli Painting Maharashtra
7. Guru (Ms.) M.K. Saroja Art - Dance- Bharatnatyam Tamil Nadu
8. Shri Jayaram Subramaniam Art - Cinema Tamil Nadu
9. Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty Art - Music-Indian Classical West Bengal
Vocal
10. Smt. Mahasundari Devi Art - Mithilia/ Madhubani Bihar
Painting.
11. Shri Gajam Govardhana Art - Handloom Weaving Andhra
Pradesh
12. Ms. Sunayana Hazarilal Art - Dance - Kathak Maharashtra
13. Shri S.R. Janakiraman Art - Carnatic Vocal Music Tamil Nadu
14. Shri Peruvanam Kuttan Art - Chenda Melam- Drum Kerala
Marar concert
15. Smt. Kalamandalam Art - Dance - Mohiniattam Kerala
Kshemavathy Pavithran
16. Shri Dadi Dorab Pudumjee Art - Puppetry Delhi
17. Shri Khangembam Mangi Art - Traditional Music of Manipur
Singh Manipur (Pena)
18. Shri Prahlad Singh Tipaniya Art - Folk Music Madhya
Pradesh
19. Smt. Usha Uthup Art - Music. West Bengal
20. Smt. Kajol Art- Cinema Maharashtra
21. Shri Irfan Khan Art- Cinema Maharashtra
22. Shri Mamraj Agrawal Social work West Bengal
23. Shri Jockin Arputham Social work Maharashtra
24. Ms. Nomita Chandy Social work Karnataka
25. Ms. Sheela Patel Social work Maharashtra
26. Ms. Anita Reddy Social work Karnataka
27. Shri Kanubhai Hasmukhbhai Social work Gujarat
Tailor
28. Shri Anant Darshan Shankar Public Affairs Karnataka
29. Prof. M. Annamalai Science and Engineering Karnataka
30. Dr. Mahesh Haribhai Mehta Science and Engineering - Gujarat
Agricultural Science
31. Shri Coimbatore Narayana Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu
Rao Raghavendran
32. Dr. (Mrs.) Suman Sahai Science and Engineering Delhi
33. Prof.(Dr.) E.A. Siddiq Science and Engineering - Andhra
Agricultural Science Pradesh
34. Shri Gopalan Nair Shankar Science and Engineering - Kerala
Architecture
35. Shri Mecca Rafeeque Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
Ahmed
36. Shri Kailasam Raghavendra Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu
Rao
37. Shri Narayan Singh Bhati Civil Services Andhra
 Pradesh
38. Shri P K Sen Civil Services Bihar
39. Ms. Shital Mahajan Sports - Adventure Sports- Maharashtra
Para Jumping
40. Ms. Nameirakpam Kunjarani Sports - Weightlifting Manipur
Devi
41. Shri Sushil Kumar Sports - Wrestling Delhi
42. Shri Vangipurapu Venkata Sports - Cricket Andhra
Sai Laxman Pradesh
43. Shri Gagan Narang Sports - Shooting Andhra
Pradesh
44. Smt. Krishna Poonia Sports - Discus Throw Rajasthan
45. Shri Harbhajan Singh Sports - Mountaineering Punjab
46. Dr. Pukhraj Bafna Medicine - Padeatrics Chhattisgarh
47. Prof. Mansoor Hasan Medicine- Cardiology Uttar Pradesh
48. Dr. Shyama Prasad Mandal Medicine - Orthopaedic Delhi
49. Prof. (Dr.) Sivapatham Vittal Medicine - Endocrinology Tamil Nadu
50. Prof. (Dr.) Madanur Ahmed Medicine - Gastroenterology Tamil Nadu
Ali
51. Dr. Indira Hinduja Medicine - Obstetrics and Maharashtra
Gynaecology.
52. Dr. Jose Chacko Medicine - Cardio-Thoracic Kerala
Periappuram Surgery.
53. Prof. (Dr.) A. Marthanda Medicine - Neurosurgery Kerala
Pillai
54. Shri Mahim Bora Literature and Education Assam
55. Prof. (Dr.) Pullella Srirama Literature and Education- Andhra
Chandrudu Sanskrit Pradesh
56. Dr. Pravin Darji Literature and Education Gujarat
57. Dr. Chandra Prakash Deval Literature and Education Rajasthan
58. Shri Balraj Komal Literature and Education Delhi
59. Mrs. Rajni Kumar Literature and Education Delhi
60. Dr. Devanooru Mahadeva Literature and Education Karnataka
61. Shri Barun Mazumder Literature and Education West Bengal
62. Dr. Avvai Natarajan Literature and Education Tamil Nadu
63. Shri Bhalchandra Nemade Literature and Education Himachal
Pradesh
64. Prof. Riyaz Punjabi Literature and Education Jammu and
Kashmir
65. Prof. Koneru Ramakrishna Literature and Education Andhra
Rao Pradesh
66. Ms. Buangi Sailo Literature and Education Mizoram
67. Prof. Devi Dutt Sharma Literature and Education Uttarakhand
68. Shri Nilamber Dev Sharma Literature and Education Jammu and
Kashmir
69. Ms. Urvashi Butalia # Literature and Education Delhi
70. Ms. Ritu Menon # Literature and Education Delhi
71. Prof. Krishna Kumar Literature and Education Delhi
72. Shri Deviprasad Dwivedi Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh
73. Ms. Mamang Dai Literature and Education Arunachal
Pradesh
74. Dr. Om Prakash Agrawal Others - Heritage Uttar Pradesh
Conservation
75. Prof. Madhukar Keshav Others - Archeology Maharashtra
Dhavalikar
76. Ms. Shanti Teresa Lakra Others-Nursing Andaman &
Nicobar
77. Smt. Gulshan Nanda Others - Handicrafts Delhi
promotion
78. Dr. Azad Moopen Social work UAE *
79. Prof. Upendra Baxi Public Affairs -Legal Affairs United Kingdom
*
80. Dr. Mani Lal Bhaumik Science and Engineering USA *
81. Dr. Subra Suresh Science and Engineering USA *
82. Prof. Karl Harrington Potter Literature and Education USA *
83. Prof. Martha Chen Social work USA *
 84. Shri Satpal Khattar Trade and Industry Singapore *
85. Shri Granville Austin Literature and Education USA *

Quiz 2010-11

1.      Who is the present Telecom Minister?

a)Manmohan Singh    b)A Raja     c)Kapil Sibal     d)Sachin Pilot   e)none

2.      Which organization has launched ‘Awaaz Do’ with the support of GOI?

a)UNESCO    b)UNICEF   c)UN   d)WHO    e)none

3.      Which Country will build country’s first industrial solar power station near Black sea?

a)Russia    b)China    c)India    d)Japan   e)none

4.      Which country has supplied F-16 combat jets to Pakistan?

a)China    b)Russia    c)US    d)France    e)Britain

5.      Which of the following countries has test fired intercontinental ballistic missile ‘Bulava’?

a)Russia    b)China    c)North Korea    d)Iran    e)none

6.      Which country has approved world’s biggest Solar Power Project?

a)US   b)India    c)Britain    d)China    e)Russia

7.      India has lifted ban on emigration clearance for employment on which of the following

country?

a)Pakistan    b)Australia    c)Libya    d)Nepal    e)China

8.      ‘World Food Day’ is observed on which of the following days?

a)July 16    b)September 16     c)June 16    d)October 16    e)none

9.      In the recent past the name ‘Julian Assange’ has came in most of the news channels and

news papers. He belongs to which of the following?

a)Facebook     b)Wikipidea     c)Google    d)Wikileaks    e)none

10. Which of the following is not a direct tax?

a)Income tax    b)Wealth tax    c)Corporate tax    d)a,b & c    e)Sales tax

Posted by Varun Reddy at 22:00 7 comments

Reactions: 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Current Events - November 2010

1.      The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the country's largest trading partner in

term of total trade exchange in the first half of 2010.

2.      The Government has launched a special scheme for the health and well-being of

adolescent girls as a pilot project in 200 most backward districts of the country. 'Sabla'
 or the 'Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls' would be launched in 22 districts of

Uttar Pradesh, 15 districts of Madhya Pradesh, 12 of Bihar, 12 of Sikkim, 11 districts of

Maharashtra and 10 districts of Rajasthan.

3.      Former Test captain Anil Kumble elected as the President of the Karnataka State Cricket

Association while former pace duo of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad were

elected as Secretary and Vice President respectively.

4.      Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan honoured with Teacher's People Achiever Award.

5.      India and Norway joined hands to set up a centre in Chennai to protect the bio-diversity

to help tackle threats of climate change.

6.      India has pledged to provide a grant assistance of Rs 16.19 million to Nepal for

construction of 350 tube-wells in the southern region of the country.

7.      State-run Coal India has become the third most powerful Indian company with a total

market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 2,09,671.57 crore and is only lagging behind RIL and

ONGC.
8.      Punjab Government has brought Sain Samaj under Shagun scheme to provide financial

assistance of Rs 15000 to the daughters of Sain Samaj at the time of their marriage.

9.      Noted Malayalam film and stage actress Shanta Devi died.

10. Malaysia has emerged as one of the the most favourite destinations in the Asia Pacific

for Indian travellers, according to a new survey.

Posted by Varun Reddy at 20:22 0 comments

Labels: Anil Kumble, Brijesh Patel, India, Javagal Srinath, Karnataka State Cricket Association, Roger
Binny, United Arab Emirates, Venkatesh Prasad

Reactions: 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Current Affairs Quiz 2010-11

1.      Who is the head of the committee constituted by Prime Minister to probe corruption in

2010 Commonwealth Games?

a)Sam Pitroda     b)Shantanu Consul    c)Pargat Singh    d)V K Shunglu  e)none

2.      2010 United Nations Climate Conference was held in ______?

a)Washington     b)Geneva     c)Cancun     d)New York    e)none

3.      Which Country has launched the World’s first Synthetic jet fuel?

a)US    b)France    c)South Africa     d)Japan   e)India

4.      Who won the 2010 ATP World Tour Title?

a)Rafael Nadal      b)Andy Murray    c)Andy Roddick    d)Roger Federer   e)none

5.      Tertiary sector contributes maximum to Indian GDP. Tertiary sector is also known as

_________ sector?

a)Banking Sector     b)Primary Sector    c)Secondary Sector    d)Agriculture Sector   

e)Service Sector

6.      Armando Emilio Guebuza recently visited India. He is the _______?

a)Prime Minister of Mozambique  

b)President of Madagascar

c)President of Mozambique

d)Prime Minister of Madagascar

e)none

7.      Who won the 2010 Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award?

a)John Brumby    b)Aund San Suu Kyi     c)Sheikh Hasina    d)Barack Obama   e)none
8.      Who is the author of the book ‘The Masque of Africa’?

a)V S Naipaul     b)Salman Rushdie     c)K R Narayanan     d)Nelson Mandela    e)none

9.      Which two countries have agreed to resume direct flights between their capitals for the

first time in three decades?

a)India and Iran    b)Egypt and Iran     c)Cuba and US     d)US and Iran    e)none

10. Recently Shimla has been declared the fourth ‘smoking free’ city in India after

Chandigarh, Kottayam and Sikkim?

Posted by Varun Reddy at 23:13 9 comments

Labels: 2010 ATP World Tour, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Armando Guebuza, Rafael Nadal, Sam
Pitroda, Tertiary sector of the economy, Tomáš Berdych

Reactions: 

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

November Current Affairs -2010

        India has become Israel's second largest export destination after the United States, as

the Jewish state focusses on tapping potential in the Asian markets.

        Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan has been named the

next Maharashtra Chief Minister. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar,

nephew of party chief Sharad Pawar and a minister named Maharashtra's next deputy

chief minister after Chhagan Bhujbal.

        Iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who is set to become only the second

player(After Javed Miandad)  in the history of cricket to play six ODI World Cups, named

the official ambassador of the event to be held in the sub-continent next year.

        Rajkumar Hirani's "3 Idiots" continued with its award-winning spree bagging top

honours at the Global Indian Music Awards (GIMA) which was held in Mumbai. The

movie took home the best film album.

        As part of its administrative reforms process, Punjab aims to become the first state in

the country to achieve complete computerisation of land records by March 31, 2011.

        India owns over 18,000 tonnes of above ground gold stocks worth approximately $ 800

billion and representing at least 11 per cent of global stock, according to estimates of

World Gold Council. In 2009, total Indian gold demand reached $ 19 billion, or Rs 974

billion, which accounts for 15 per cent of the global gold market, according to WGC.

        Noted Telugu film producer D V S Raju passed away.

        India is set to become the fastest growing major economy in the world by 2012 and will

be third largest by GDP-size in the next two decades, behind China and the USA, a global

study by British banking giant Standard Chartered said.

        China has overtaken US in the global supercomputing race as it has been confirmed as

the creator of the world's fastest supercomputer, according to a latest survey. The
 Tianhe-1A, which means meaning Milky Way is capable of 2.67 quadrillions of

computing operations per second, earning it the number one spot in the Top 500 list of

the world's most powerful supercomputers.

        Free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Canada will help push bilateral trade to

USD 15 billion in 5 years. Bilateral trade was close to USD 4.2 billion last year.

Posted by Varun Reddy at 22:37 0 comments

Labels: Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Chief Minister, Nationalist Congress Party, Prithviraj Chavan, Sachin
Tendulkar, Sharad Pawar, United States

Reactions: 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Current Affairs 2010-11

1.      Who has been elected as the President of Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2010-

11?

a)K.N Tilak Ram     b)Rakesh Sharma     c)Kundan R.Vyas     d)V.Shankaran      e)none

2.      Recently who among the following conferred with ‘Taj Enlighten Tareef Award’?

a)Leela Naidu     b)Shabana Azmi      c)Javed Akthar    d)Both a& b    e)none

3.      Base Rate of banks is fixed by ______?

a)RBI     b)Finance Minister     c)Both a & b     d)Banks    e)none

4.      India is the ___ Largest Producer of Vehicles in the World?

 a)third       b)fifth     c)seventh     d)second     e)none of these

5.      ______ is a Insurance Regulator in India?

a) TRAI    b)SEBI     c)BSE      d)RBI     e)IRDA

6.      Micro Credit in India comes under ________?

a)Private Banking      b)NBFC    c)Rural Banking     d)Cooperative Banking    e)none

7.      What is the present limit for money transfer in RTGS?

a)`1,00,000     b)`1,50,000      c)`2,00,000    d)`2,50,000    e)`5,00,000

8.      Which is the only Asian country represented in the G-8 group?

a)India      b)South Korea     c)China    d)Japan   e)none

9.      Bad Loans can be described as NPA (Non Performing Assets) in banking terminology?
10. A/c to the recent report of ADB, what is India’s urbanization rank in Asia(% of population

living in urban areas)? 34th.

Posted by Varun Reddy at 23:27 8 comments

Labels: Amitabh Bachchan, India, Indian Newspaper Society, Leela Naidu, Rakesh Sharma, Run batted in,
Securities and Exchange Board of India, Shabana Azmi

Reactions: 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Gk Quiz 2010
1.      RBI has approved the merger of ‘Bank of Rajasthan' with ICICI bank.

2.      Who got the 2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the book ‘Solo' - Rana Dasgupta.
3.      Which day has been observed as the International Day of Older Persons(IDOP) - Oct 1st.

4.      What is the India’s rank in the new Global Hunger Index by the International Food Policy

Research Institute - 67.

5.       ‘Gourde’ is the currency of which country?

a)Bhutan     b)Haiti     c)Norway    d)Chile     e)none

6.      India has won 101 medals in 2010 Commonwealth Games. In which sport India has won

maximum no. of gold medals?

a)Wrestling      b)Boxing     c)Shooting     d)Badminton    e)Weightlifting

7.      Which of the following country is not elected to UNSC as a non-permanent member for

a two year term on the council starting from Jan 1st 2011?

a)India     b)Kazakhstan    c)South Africa    d)Germany    e)Portugal

8.      Which of the following ministry has re-launched the PURA(Provision of Urban Amenities

in Rural Areas) Scheme?

a)Ministry of Urban Development 

b)Ministry of Rural Development

 c)Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

d)Ministry of Finance

e)Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

9.      Who among the following has been chosen for ICC Cricketer of the Year 2010?

a)Sachin Tendulkar     b)A B de Villiers     c)Virender Sehwag      d)M S Dhoni    e)none of

these

10. Who won the 2010 Champions League Twenty20?

a)Mumbai Indians     b)Royal Challengers Bangalore     c)Warriors    d)Chennai Super Kings  

e)none

Posted by Varun Reddy at 21:59 6 comments

Labels: Barack Obama, Global Hunger Index, India, International Day of Older Persons, United Nations,
United Nations Security Council, United States, UNSC

Reactions: 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

General Awareness Quiz 76 - 2010

1.      Based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), the annual rate of inflation stood at ___

percent for the month of September 2010?

a)8.51     b)5.44    c)8.6      d)11.6    e)none

2.      Who is the winner of 64th edition of Santhosh Trophy?

a)Goa     b)Punjab     c)Tamil Nadu     d)Goa    e)West Bengal

3.      Who is the present Chief Minister of Jharkhand?

a)Shibu Soren     b)Madhu Koda     c)Arjun Munda     d)Sudesh Mahto    e)none of these

4.      Which of the following is the first team to play 900 Test matches in cricket history?

a)Australia     b)England     c)India    d)West Indies    e)none

5.      Who is the most powerful women in the world in 2010, compiled by Forbes?

a)Angela Merkel   b)Indra Nooyi    c)Sonia Gandhi    d)Michelle Obama   e)Irene

Rosenfeld

6.      What is the present Repo rate?

a)5.75     b)6.00   c)6.25    d)5.25    e)none

7.      Howard Jacobson won the 2010 Man Booker Prize for his novel _____?

a)The Finkler Question     b)The Act of Love    c)Wolf Hall    d)Kalooki Nights   e)none

8.      Recently Pranab Mukherjee has won which of the following award?

a)World’s Best Finance Minister of the year 2010

b)Asia’s Best Finance Minister of the year 2010 

 c)India’s Best Finance Minister of the year 2010

d)Both b & c

e)none

9.      Who among the following is the world’s highest paid female athlete by Forbes

magazine?

a)Maria Sharapova     b)Serena Williams    c)Danika Patrick     d)Kim Yu-Na    e)none

10. Who has become the first Indian to qualify for 2012 London Olympics?

a)Abhinav Bhindra     b)Saina Nehwal    c)Mary Kom     d)Pankaj Advani    e)Gagan Narang

11. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has released a commemorative stamp on _________?

a) J S Mohammed Ali Shihab Thangal   b)Maulana Mohammad Ali    c)S Ubaidur

Rahman    d)Syed Ahmad Khan    e)none

12. Which country has won the 2010 Women's Hockey World Cup?

a)Netherlands     b)England    c)Germany    d)Argentina     e)Australia   

13. What is present interest rate on Savings bank account?

a)3%    b)3.25%     c)3.5%    d)3.75%    e)4.0%

14. Who has been bagged the prestigious Akshaya Samman award for the year 2010?
 a)Manna De      b)Ilaiyaraja     c)A R Rehman     d)Hari Prasad Chaurasia   e)none

15. Which of the following films has been nominated for 2011 Oscar awards in Best fim in

Foreign Category?

a)Paa     b)Rajneeti     c)Kites    d)Peepli Live   e)none of these

16. Who among the following has been awarded with ‘The World Statesman Award’?

a)Manmohan Singh     b)Sonia Gandhi    c)Pratibha Patil     d)A P J Abdul Kalam    e)none

17. Who has been awarded 'Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize' 2010?

a)Nafisa Ali     b)Irom Chanu Sharmila     c)Jyotirmoyee Devi     d)Anasuyaben Sarabhai   

e)none

18. Who among the following has chosen for Jnanpith Award for the year 2008?

a)O.N.V.Kurup      b)Satya Vrat Shastri     c)Ravindra Kelekar      d)Akhlaq Khan Shahryar    

e)none of these

19. Who among the following has chosen for 2009 Indira Gandhi National Integration

Award?

a)A R Rehman       b)Balraj Puri      c)Ramakrishna Mission Ashram     d)Javed Akhtar    

e)Both a & c

20. Recently Puttaraj Gawai has been passed away. He was a famous ______?
 a)Social Activist      b)Hindustani Classical musician     c)Journalist    d)Politician   e)none

Posted by Varun Reddy at 20:03 10 comments

Labels: All Jharkhand Students Union, Arjun Munda, Bharatiya Janata Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha,
List of Chief Ministers of Jharkhand, Madhu Koda, Shibu Soren, Sudesh Mahto

Reactions: 

Friday, November 12, 2010

Nobel Prize Winners 2010

Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry,

physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize in Economics was first awarded in the

year 1969. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in

Stockholm, Sweden. Each recipient, or laureate, is presented with a gold medal, a diploma, and a sum of

money which depends on the Nobel Foundation's income that year.

List of 2010 Nobel Prize Winners:

        The Nobel Prize in Peace has been given to Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for

fundamental human rights in China".

        The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been given to Robert G. Edwards "for the development of in vitro

fertilization".
        The Nobel Prize in Literature has been given to Mario Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of structures of

power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".

        The Nobel Prize in Physics has been given to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov "for groundbreaking

experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene".

        The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been given to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki "for

palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis"

        The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been given to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and

Christopher A. Pissarides "for their analysis of markets with search frictions".

Posted by Varun Reddy at 21:55 4 comments

Reactions: 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Current Affairs Quiz 75 - 2010

1.      Which of the following Indian city has been named among the top four Livable cities in

the world?

a)Mumbai     b)New Delhi     c)Ahmedabad     d)Bangalore    e)Hyderabad

2.      Recntly which country has become full fledge member of Financial Action Task

Force(FATF)?
 a)Bangladesh     b)Pakistan    c)China    d)India     e)none

3.      Which country is building the World’s largest telescope in Antarctica?

a)China     b)US    c)Russia    d)India    e)Britain

4.      Who won the Next Step Foundation 2010 Award?

a)Veerappa Moily     b)Sharad Pawar      c)Manmohan Singh    d)Sonia Gandhi   e)none

5.      Who has been sworn in as 59th President of Colombia?

a)Michael Bloomberg     b)Julia Gillard    c)Christian Wulff     d)Juan Manuel Santos   e)none

6.      Who has been appointed as the new vice president of ICC?

a)John Howard      b)Sharad Pawar     c)Alan Isaac    d)Malcom Speed    e)none

7.      Who has been chosen for the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for Excellence in public

administration, academics and management for 2010?

a)Aditi Lahiri     b)Aruna Roy     c)Bharat Bhasker    d)Girish Tewari   e)none

8.      Ravindra Kelekar has been presented the coveted 2006 Jnanpith Award for his

contribution to the world in Literature. He was a famous write in which language?

a)Konkani     b)Hindi     c)Bengali    d)Sanskrit     e)none

9.      Who among the following received the 2010 National Amity Award?
 a)Yash Chopra     b)Amir Khan    c)Amitabh Bachchan    d)Kareena Kapoor    e)Sunil Dutt

10. Who has been conferred as Businessman of the Decade Award?

a)Narayana Murthy     b)Mukhesh Ambani    c)Ratan Tata    d)Lakshmi Mittal    e)Azim

Premji

11. Which is the first state in the country to launch the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram

Yojana(PMAGY)?

a)Gujarat     b)Rajasthan     c)Uttar Pradesh     d)Bihar    e)Assam

12. With which country India has inked a deal for purchase of 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer

Aircraft?

a)US     b)Britain     c)Israel     d)Russia    e)none

13. What is the present Retirement age of High court judges?

a)58    b)60     c)62      d)65    e)none

14. Who is the head of National Innovation Council to prepare road map for the decade of

Innovation 2010-2020?

a)Kapil Sibal     b)A S Murthy    c)Manmohan Singh     d)Sam Pitroda    e)none

15. How many crores has been allocated for the Leh Cloudburst Victims?

a)50    b)75      c)100   d)125     e)150

16. ‘2010Stand Up, Take Action’ is a campaign against ______?

a)Commonwealth Games      b)Poverty    c)Inflation    d)Per capita Income    e)Illiteracy

17. The Winner of 2010 Man Booker Prize?

a)Kiran Desai     b)Anne Enright    c)Hillary Mantel     d)Aravind Adiga     e)Howard Jacobson

18. The 2010 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit was held in ______?

a)Beijing    b)Bangkok    c)Seoul    d)Brussels     e)London

19. Which Country has won highest gold  medals in XIX Common wealth Games 2010?

a)India    b)China     c)Australia    d)Canada    e)none

20. XX Commonwealth Games 2014 will be held at _____?

a)Rome     b)London      c)Beijing     d)Glasgow       e)Melbourne

57th National Film Awards 2010:

The 57th National film awards were announced on 16-09-2010.

Amitabh Bachchan bags his third National Award for his performance in “Paa”,

previously he got for the films ‘Agneepath’(1991) and ‘Black’(2001).

 List of 2010 Winners:

        Best Actor – Amitabh Bachchan for ‘Paa’.

        Best Actress –  Ananya Chatterjee for Abohoman (Bengali).

        Best Director - Rituparno Ghosh for Abohoman.

        Best Film - 'Kutty Shrank'(Malayalam).

        Best Popular Film – ‘3 Idiots’.

        Best Film on Social Issues - Shyam Benegal's 'Well Done Abba'.

        Best Film on National Integration - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Dilli-6'.

        Best Music Director - Amit Trivedi for Dev D.

        Best lyrics - Swananad Kirkirey for 3 Idiots.

        Best Playback Singer (Male) - Rupam Islam.

        Best Playback Singer (Female) - Niranjana Sarkar (Housefull).

        Best Sound Engineer - Rasool Pookutty.

        Best Supporting Actor - Farooq Sheikh for 'Lahore'.

        Best Supporting Actress - Arundhati Nag for ‘Paa’.

        Best Choreography - K Shivashankar for film Magadheera.

        Best Special Effects - Kamalakannan for film Magadheera.

US OPEN 2010:      

The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships is one of the four

grand slam tennis tournament held every year.

List of 2010 winners:

 S.no                Winners            Runners

   1. Men’s Single Rafael Nadal(ESP) Novak Djokovic(SRB)

   2. Women’s Single Kim Clijsters(BEL) Vera Zvonareva(RUS)

   3. Mixed Doubles Liezel Huber, Bob Kveta Peschke(CZE), Aisam-

Bryan(US) Ul-Haq Quereshi(PAK)

   4. Men’s Doubles Bob Bryan, Mike Bopanna(IND), Qureshi(PAK)

Bryan(US)

   5. Women’s Doubles N. Petrova(RUS), L Yung-Jan Chan(TPE), Jie

Huber(US) Zheng(CHN)
 Posted by Varun Reddy at 19:19 5 comments

Labels: Amitabh Bachchan, Arts and Entertainment, Delhi-6, India, Movies, National Film Awards,
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Shyam Benegal

Reactions: 

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Latest Current Affairs - 2010

        India lags behind several developing countries in terms of doing business, but is ahead

of China. It is ranked 77th in the Forbes Best Countries for Business list.
        Movie moghul D. Ramanaidu, a veteran producer with 130 films in a dozen languages in

five decades, has been conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2009 for

rendering outstanding contribution to the world of Indian cinema.

        The Planning Commission has finalised a Rs 13,742-crore Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for

Naxal-affected districts.The scope of IAP, earlier envisaged to cover 35 Naxal-affected

districts, has been widened to cover governance reforms and devolution of power to

grassroot institutions in 60 districts over the next three fiscal.

        Former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman and one of the guiding lights behind

India's first nuclear test, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna has died.

        The International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary

lending arm, has approved a $220 million credit to support rebuilding efforts in areas

affected by the 2008 Kosi floods in Bihar. The Bihar Kosi Flood Recovery Project will

finance flood recovery efforts through the reconstruction of about 100,000 houses, 90

bridges and 290 kilometres of rural roads.

        Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, 22, was crowned Miss Universe 2010, beating off

competition from 82 contestants including Miss India.

        Japan approved an $ 11 billion stimulus package to tackle deflation and shore up a

recovery threatened by the surging yen, as the government heaped pressure on the

central bank to do more.

        After becoming the first state to accord the status of second official language to

Sanskrit, Uttarakhand has now finalised a proposal to have signboards of names of

places, departments and officials in the language, a move aimed at making it popular

among common people.

        Julia Gillard becomes Australia's first female and 27th prime minister prime minister.

        China successfully launched its "SinoSat-6" satellite for live radio and television

broadcast from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan
 Province. The satellite was carried on the Long March 3B rocket which took the SinoSat-

6 into a geostationary transfer orbit 26 minutes after the launch.

        Japan said it has detected its first case of an antibiotic-resistant "superbug" that

surfaced in South Asia and has triggered a global health alert.

        India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was nominated as Uttarakhand's first

honorary wildlife warden as part of the hill state's tiger conservation campaign.

        The Punjab government has approved a new media policy providing more facilities to

journalists in the state. Under the new policy, 286 accredited journalists will get an

insurance cover of Rs five lakh. The state government has also set up Rs 10 crore 'Punjab

Chief Minister Relief Fund' for media persons.

        Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has been ranked second in the list of world's 10

biggest 'sustainable value creators' -- companies that have been successful in creating

the most shareholder value over the last decade -- prepared by Boston Consulting

Group.

        Srilanka defeated India to win the Triangular Series 2010 held in Srilanka.
        Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has been ranked second in the list of world's 10

biggest 'sustainable value creators' -- companies that have been successful in creating

the most shareholder value over the last decade -- prepared by Boston Consulting

Group.

        The Parliament of Sri Lanka passes the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka

which removes the two-term limit on the presidency and allows him to choose the

judges and commissioners monitoring elections, human rights, and other affairs.

Posted by Varun Reddy at 10:44 13 comments

Labels: Dadasaheb Phalke, India, International Development Association, Jimena Navarrete, Miss
Universe, Miss Universe 2010, World Bank

Reactions: 

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Monetary Policy and Current Affairs of August - 2010

First Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2010-11:

Monetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank of a country

controls (i) the supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii)cost of money or rate

of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and

stability of the economy.

As expected, RBI has raised the policy rates in the first quarter review of monetary

policy on 27-07-2010. This is the fourth rate hike since March this year raising the Repo

by a total of 100 bps and Reverse Repo by 125 bps.

 Highlights of the policy:

        Repo rates hiked by 25 bps to 5.75% with immediate effect.

        Reverse Repo rates hiked by 50 bps to 4.50% with immediate effect.

        CRR, SLR and Bank rate kept unchanged at 6%, 25% and 6%, respectively.

        Estimated for GDP growth for 2010-11 revised to 8.5% from 8%.

        Inflation projection for March 2010 increased to 6% from 5.5%.

The next mid-quarter review of Monetary Policy for 2010-11 will be announced through

a press release on September 16, 2010.

The second quarter review of Monetary Policy 2010-11, including developmental and

regulatory policies, is scheduled on November 2, 2010.

August Current Affairs:

        China has eclipsed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy after three decades of

blistering growth that put overtaking the U.S. in reach within 10 years.

        Former Union Power Secretary Harishankar Brahma has been appointed as the Election

Commissioner in the Election Commission of India.

        Britain’s Andy Murray won the 2010 Rogers Cup over Roger Federer 7–5, 7–5 on Sunday

in Toronto.

        The President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil this evening conferred the prestigious Best

Parliamentarian Awards to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Mohan Singh and Dr. Murali
 Manohar Joshi at an impressive function in the Central Hall of Parliament. The Awards

were given for the year 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively for their

outstanding contributions to parliamentary debates.

        Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's book, "Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a

Parliamentarian", which was released by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

        The Centre cleared for implementation the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of

Adolescent Girls — known as ‘Sabla' — aimed at enhancing their nutritional and

economic status. The scheme will be run along with the Integrated Child Development

Services (ICDS) project in anganwadi centres in 200 select districts, targeting girls in the

age group 11-18.

        Senior IPS officer R K Medhekar will be the new Director General of elite commando

force -- National Security Guard. Medhekar, a 1975 batch officer of Kerala cadre,

currently serving as Special Director General of Border Security Force. He will take over

from 1972 batch IPS officer N P S Aulakh.

        Vineet Jain, Managing Director, The Times of India (TOI) Group, has been elected as the

new chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI), the leading news agency of India. Jain

succeeds Vjiay Kumar Chopra, Editor, Punjab Kesari Group.

        Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh launched the Green

Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative(GANDHI) project in the historic coastal

village in south Gujarat. It was at Dandi that Mahatma Gandhi launched his salt

Satyagraha 80 years ago.

        The postal department released a stamp(of Rs.5) in Visakhapatnam to commemorate

the first death anniversary of the former chief minister late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.