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March 3rd Week 2015 current affairs
Category : Economy Current Affairs
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 1)`Punjab Kesari` title was given to which freedom fighter?

 

 Ans : (4)

1. Bhagat Singh

2. Chandrashekhar Azad 

3. Dhyanchand

4. Lala Lajpat Rai

5. None

Explanation: Indian Punjabi author and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for independence from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari meaning The Lion of Punjab also known as "Sher-E- Punjab" in Punjabi. He was part of the Lal Bal Pal trio. He was also associated with activities of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company in their early stages. He sustained serious injuries by the police when leading a non-violent protest against the Simon Commission and died less than three weeks later. His death anniversary (17 November) is one of several days celebrated as Martyrs` Day in India.

 

 2)Who was appointed as the Foreign Secretary of India on 28th Jan`15? 

Ans : (2)

1. Nirupma Rao

2. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

3. Richard Rahul Roy

4. Devyani Khobragade

5. None

Explanation: He was appointed as India`s ambassador to United States in September 2013. He has replaced Sujata Singh who had nearly seven more months to go.

 

 3)What was the order of High Court of Bombay about the The Cabinet of India accepted the order of the High Court of Bombay dated 10.10.2014; and not to file SLP against Vodafone India Services Pvt. Ltd before the Supreme Court of India? 

Ans : (2)

1.Vodafone liable to pay Rs 320 crore in additional tax in a transfer pricing case

2. Vodafone liable to pay only Rs 3,200 crore in additional tax in a transfer pricing case

3. Vodafone is not liable to only Rs 32 crore in additional tax in a transfer pricing case 

4. Vodafone is not liable to pay Rs 3,200 crore in additional tax in a transfer pricing case.

5. None

Explanation: The High Court had in its October 10, 2014 order handed a big relief to the UK-based mobile service provider by ruling that it is not liable to pay the income tax demand of Rs 3,200 crore.

 

 4) Who is the Social activist who said that he will launch a fresh stir against the Narendra Modi government as it has failed to fulfill the promises on bringing back black money and appointing a Lokpal? 

Ans : (3)

1. Kumar Vishwas

2. Prashant Bhushan

3. Anna Hazare 

4. Both 1 & 2

5. None of these.

Explanation: According to Anna Hazare, the government is not serious on the issue of corruption which is why an agitation will be launched once again on Lokpal, Land Acquisition Act and black money.

 

 5) The Supreme Court recently ordered search engines to strictly comply with the laws and block advertisements on which among the following? 

Ans : (1)

1. Sex determination

2. Sex Transformation

3. Dowry Proposals

4. Both 2 & 3

5. All of these

Explanation: The court also directed the search engines to upload on their policy page and the terms of service page its order that they would not advertise or sponsor any advertisement which violated Section 22 of Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-natal determination of sex (PC-PNDT) Act.

 

 6)How many Countries held talks with Iran in Istanbul on 28th Jan`15 to discuss on Tehran`s Nuclear program? 

Ans : (1)

1. 3

2. 4

3. 5

4. 1

5. 2.

Explanation: Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi and Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi will pursue nuclear talks with the European deputy foreign ministers in Istanbul.

 

 7) Which country is the only one that produces purple tea? 

Ans : (3)

1. SriLanka

2. India

3. Kenya

4. Nepal

5. Australia

Explanation: Purple Tea contains lower caffeine and high in antioxidants. It also improves vision and lowers cholesterol. It is three to four times expensive in comparison to black tea

 

 8) Which state has decided to implement the National Livelihood Mission (NLM) in the state? 

Ans : (4)

1. West Bengal

2. Karnataka

3. Uttarakhand

4. Uttar Pradesh

5. Gujarath

Explanation: The National Livelihood Mission will be implemented in the cities having a population of one lakh and above as per census of 2011. Currently, there are 82 such cities and towns which also include all the 75 district head quarters. The population living below the poverty line in these cities will be the target of the Mission. The NLM programme of the government of India will replace the Swarna Jayanti Urban Programme run by Housing and urban poverty alleviation ministry.

 

 9) Which material will be mandatory for packaging of food grains and sugar as announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs? 

Ans : (3)

1.Rubber

2.Paper

3.Jute

4.Cotton

5.None

Explanation: It will be minimum 90 per cent of production in case of food grains and 20 per cent for sugar. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has approved providing financial support to the Jute Corporation of India, JCI. The subsidy will be provided subsidy to JCI on a continuous basis to off-set the losses on account of Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations.

 

 10) The government will sell up to how much per cent stake in state owned Coal India Ltd.To meet the fiscal deficit?

 Ans : (2)

1.5%

2.10%

3.25%

4.40%

5.13%

Explanation: The decision will help the government to raise revenue of 24,000 crore rupees at the current market price. Currently, the government holds 89.65 per cent stake in CIL. As per the minimum shareholding norms for listed companies, the government needs to lower its stake in the state-run behemoth to 75 percent.

 

 11)the International Cricket Council (ICC) launched the official ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 App on 28th Jan`15, with which company partnership ? 

Ans : (4)

1.TCS

2.Infosys

3.MindTree Ltd.

4.Reliance Communications

5.None

Explanation: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the 11th edition of cricket`s flagship event, gets underway on 14th February.

 

 12) According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which currency has recently topped the chart of Most-Used Currency in the world? 

Ans : (4)

1.Canadian Dollar

2.Australian Dollar

3.Chinese Yuan

4.U.S. Dollar

5.Indian Rupee

Explanation: U.S. Dollar topped the chart with 44.6%, followed by the Euro and the British Pound with 28.3% and 7.92%, respectively. Whereas Chinese Yuan accounted for a record 2.17% of global payments in December 2014, up from 1.59% in October 2014.

 

 13) Which company reported largest profit in global corporate history on 27th Jan`15?

 Ans : (3)

1.Samsung 

2.Sony

3.Apple

4.IBM

5.Micromax

Explanation: Apple recorded quarterly profits of $18 billion on 27th Jan`15. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter ended December 2014.

 

 14) Facebook was hacked by which hacking group on 27th Jan`14 due to which users were not able to access it upto 2 hours? 

Ans : (1)

1. Lizard Squad

2. Legends

3. Dawn of the Net

4. Leaders

5. Racers

Explanation: Lizard Squad group claimed responsibility for hacking everyone`s favourite pop star Taylor Swift`s Twitter and Instagram accounts. The group also said they were responsible for a series of hacks on Microsoft and Sony`s online gaming networks over the Christmas period.

 

 15) Who is the author of the book `When God is a Traveller`? 

Ans : (3)

1. Vikram Chandra

2. Jhumpa Lahiri

3. Arundhati Subramaniam 

4. Arundhati Roy

5. None

Explanation: Arundhati Subramaniam won the inaugural Khushwant Singh Memorial Prize for poetry of her work `When God is Traveller` at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

 16) Which player was awarded with the Allan Border Medal and also named both Test and One-Day player of the year?

 

Ans : (3)

1.Virat Kohli

2.M S Dhoni

3.Steve Smith

4.Sean Abbott

5.None

 

Explanation: As of January 2015, Smith is ranked as the 4th best Test batsman in the world according to the ICC Player Rankings. Smith was the leading run scorer in 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. In 2014 he won the award of Australian Cricketer of the Year.

 

 17) Which player won Australia`s Young Cricketer of the Year award? 

Ans : (3)

1.Steve Smith

2. Philip Hughes

3. Sean Abbott

4. Mark taylor

5. Shane Warne

Explanation: Australian`s Young Cricketer of the year is also known as Bradman Award.

 

 18) Mahatma Gandhiji`s........ death anniversary was observed on 30th Jan`15? 

Ans : (1)

1. 67

2. 68

3. 69

4. 65

5. 70

Explanation: On this day in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated at a prayer meeting.

 

 19) 30th January is also observed as......day in India?

 Ans : (2)

1. Environmental day

2. Martyrs` Day

3. Peace Day

4. Assassination day

5. Gandhi day 

Explanation: Martyrs` Day. In India, there are several days declared as Martyrs` Day (at national level also known as Sarvodaya day) it is named in the honour those who recognised as martyrs for the nation

 

 20) Shekhar Sen has been appointed as the chairman of which akademi on 29th Jan`15? 

Ans : (3)

1. Nataraja Natya akademi

2. Sangeetha vibhavari akademi

3. Sangeet Natak Akademi

4. Natya Kalakara akademi

5. Kalakara Sanskrithi Akademi

Explanation: He is famous for his mono act musical plays Tulsi, Kabeer, Vivekananda, Sanmanti, Saahab and Soordas which have been highly acclaimed.

 

 21) How many Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) were disqualified for holding office of profit while drawing salaries as MLA in Uttar Pradesh? 

Ans : (4)

1. 1

2. 4

3. 3

4. 2

5. 5

Explanation: BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh from Rasrha and BJP MLA Bajrang Bahadur Singh from Pharenda were found guilty of using their position for acquiring government contracts.

 

 22) Name the Cabinet among the following that has approved rules under which descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Portugal more than 500 years ago can claim citizenship? 

Ans : (1)

1. Portuguese Cabinet

2. Israel Cabinet

3. United Nation Cabinet

4. International Cabinet

5. None of these

Explanation: Many Sephardic Jews were killed, forced to convert to Christianity or leave at the end of the 15th Century. From now on, descendants of Sephardic Jews who can prove a strong link to Portugal can apply for a passport.

 

 23) Katsuhiro Otomo has became the first Manga cartoonist to win a lifetime achievement award at which country`s renowned international Angouleme comics festival? 

Ans : (1)

1. France

2. Britain

3. Spain

4. Argentina

5. Brazil

Explanation: The awarding of the Grand Prix, which last year awarded "Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson, to Otomo highlights the importance of mangas in France, where they represent a quarter of all comic book sales.

 

 24) Mohammad Amir is the Pakistani fast bowler who has been cleared to return early from his how many years ban for spot fixing in Jan`15? 

Ans : (2)

1. 4

2. 5

3. 6

4. 2

5. 1

Explanation: Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were handed bans in February 2011. Mohd. Amir`s ban was due to expire on 2 September, 2015 but he has been cleared to play domestic cricket in Pakistan.

 

 25) Which among the following countries will host the ICC T-20 World Cup 2016? 

Ans : (3)

1.Australia 

2.West Indies

3.India

4.South Africa

5.Pakistan

Explanation: In the year 2016, it will be the 6th edition of T-20 World Cup.

 

26) Who among the following is the impeached Sri Lankan Chief Justice who was reinstated by the new government led by President Maithiripala Sirisena on 28th January`15?

 Ans : (4)

1.Sarath N Silva

2.Asoka De Silva

3.Mohan Peiris PC

4.Shirani Bhandaranayake

5.None

Explanation: She is the first woman to hold Judicial position in the year 2011.

 

 27) In which country 2016 Summer Olympic Games are going to be held? 

Ans : (4)

1. Delhi, India 

2. Madrid, Spain

3. Copenhagen, Denmark

4. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

5. Beijing, China

Explanation: It will be the first time a South American and Lusophone city will host the event.

 

 28) The logo of NHIDCL signifies........? 

Ans : (4)

1. Building India`s Future-Our country

2. Building the Nation---India across the world

3. Building Infrastructure---India structure

4. Building Infrastructure - Building the Nation

5. None

Explanation: Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) on 28th Jan`15 launched a Website, Logo, Vision and Mission of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). The Vision of NHIDCL is to be an instrument for creation and management of infrastructure of the highest standard in the country with focus on the North East and Border areas and contribute significantly towards nation building.

 

 29) World bank has released a report on 28th Jan`15 titled `Scaling the Heights: Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development in......, which is the first report of its kind for.....state? 

Ans : (3)

1. Arunacahal Pradesh

2. Uttar Pradesh

3. Himachal Pradesh

4. Kerala

5. Rajasthan

Explanation: As per the report, Per capita income in Himachal Pradesh is the second highest in the country - an impressive achievement given that more than 90 percent of its residents live in rural areas.

 

 30)According to the report released by which Bank, that the state Himachal Pradesh in India is the first state in the country to have banned the use of plastic bags? 

Ans : (1)

1. World Bank

2. Reserve Bank

3. State Bank of india

4. Federal bank

5. Bank of Baroda

Explanation: Himachal Pradesh is also a trail-blazer in sanitation and is the first among its north Indian neighbours to come close to becoming open defecation free.

  31) Recently , CCEA on 28th Jan`15 approved a proposal of which bank to raise the foreign holding limit to 74 per cent?

 

 Ans : (3)

1. Axis Bank

2. Federal Bank

3. HDFC

4. Canara Bank

5. State Bank of India

Explanation: HDFC Bank would raise the fund through issuing of equity shares to non-resident Indians (NRIs) or foreign institutional investors (FIIs) or foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) subject to aggregate foreign shareholding not exceeding 74 per cent of the post issue paid up capital.

 

 32) Steve Easterbrook has been appointed as the new President and CEO of.....company? 

Ans : (2)

1. Coca-Cola

2. McDonald`s

3. Shopper`s Stop

4. King fisher

5. Brand Power

Explanation: McDonald`s is the world`s leading global food service retailer with over 36,000 locations . More than 80% of McDonald`s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.

 

 33) Which scheme was criticized by the Supreme Court On 30th Jan`15, about on the slow pace in implementing the scheme that provides hostels to students belonging to Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes.? 

Ans : (4)

1. Deen Dayal Chhatrawas Yojana

2. Kaashiram Chhatrawas Yojana

3. Dalit Chhatravas Yojana

4. Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana

5. Mahatma Gandhi Chhatrawas Yojana

Explanation: The court directed the centre and State governments to carry out a survey and inform about the status of hostels being constructed under the scheme within four months. A social justice bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit also directed that construction of new hostels under the scheme should be expedited and posted the matter for further hearing on 20th July.

 

 34) Jayanthi Natarajan is the former Environment Minister to quit which party on 20th Jan`15 

Ans : (3)

1. BJP

2. CPI

3. Congress

4. CPM

5. Janatha Dal

Explanation: She claimed that she followed Rahul Gandhi`s directions on green nod to projects but was humiliated and sidelined by central leadership. Jayanthi Natarajan has also quit as the trustee of the Tamil Nadu unit Congress.

 

35) Recently In which country, 40 people were killed and many more injured in a powerful bomb blast at a Shia mosque after Friday prayers in January 2015? 

Ans : (3)

1. Afghanistan

2. Iraq

3. Pakistan

4. India

5. Iraq

Explanation: The attack came as Mr Sharif visited the city of Karachi, the capital of Singh province.in the Shikarpur district.

 

 36) Which country`s annual fiscal revenue growth dropped to a 23 year low of 8.6 percent in year 2014.? 

Ans : (4)

1. Japan

2. India

3. Nepal

4. China

5. America

Explanation: Growth was down by 4.3 percentage points compared to 2012 and 1.6 percentage points lower than that for 2013. China`s annual economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent last year, the weakest expansion in 24 years. The Ministry said, slower growth is in line with the weak performance of industrial output, consumption, investment and corporate profits.

 

 37) Identify the new base year which is used for computing the economic growth rate in India? 

Ans : (2)

1.2014-15

2.2011-12

3.2013-14

4.2010-11

5.2013-14

Explanation: The base year was last revised in January 2010. Earlier, year 2004-05 was the base year for computing the economic growth rate. India Ratings (Ind-Ra), a leading rating agency of the county, on 28th Jan`15 said that the revision in base year of India`s national accounts will increase the size of the economy to Rs. 111.7 trillion in the financial year 2014-15.

 

 38) A change in base year for computing national accounts pushed up the economic growth rate for 2013-14 to how much percent, while old series was 4.7 percent. 

Ans : (4)

1.5.5%

2.5.1%

3.6.5% 

4.6.9%

5.7.0%

Explanation: These changes follow a revision in the base for calculating national accounts to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

 

 39) Who is the Deputy Governor of RBI?

 Ans : (2)

1.Dr. Urjit R Patel

2.Shri R Gandhi

3.Shri S S Mundra

4.Shri MahaSwetha

5.None of these.

Explanation: RBI has constituted a High Powered Committee under the Chairmanship of Deputy Governor to re-examine and recommend appropriate set of businesses, size, conversion and licensing terms for the Urban Cooperative Banking Sector. The committee will examine the line of businesses that UCBs may be permitted to undertake and their benchmark in terms of size of business, capital requirement, regulatory regime etc. It will also suggest the appropriate size up to which a UCB may be able to grow without undue risk to the system. The committee will further suggest the criteria for allowing voluntary conversion by a UCB. RBI has also asked the committee to examine whether the time is opportune to give license to new UCBs.

 

 40) Recently, 10 per cent stake sale in Coal India Limited Public sector company was over-subscribed by how many times?

 Ans : (2)

1.2 times

2.1.07 times

3.1.55 times

4.3 times

5.2.57 times

Explanation: This is the biggest share sale by any private or public sector company in the country, and exceeds the previous stake sale record of over Rs 15,000 crore by Coal India itself, in 2010.

 

 41) Recently according to the UNCTAD how much percent India`s Foreign Direct Investment has increased in the year 2014? 

Ans : (4)

1. 49% 

2. 36% 

3. 39% 

4. 26%

5. 40%

Explanation: According to the latest `Global Investment Trade Monitor` report released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India`s Foreign Direct Investment has increased to 26%

 

 42) Recently which country has topped the list in terms of the world`s largest recipient of the FDI?

 Ans : (2)

1. India

2. China

3. United States

4. Canada

5. Japan

Explanation: As per the latest `Global Investment Trade Monitor` report released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD ,China toppled the US in 2014 as the world`s largest recipient of the FDI-a position that the US had been holding almost consistently since the 1980`s-though with a modest increase of 3 per cent. The top five FDI hosts in 2014 were China with 128 billion US dollar, followed by Hong Kong 111 billion dollar, the United States 86 billion, Singapore 81 billion dollar and Brazil 62 billion dollar.

 

 43)On 29th Jan`15, Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off how many Express trains from Bengaluru remotely through Telepresence Service of RailTel? 

Ans : (2)

1. 2

2. 4

3. 5

4. 6

5. 7

Explanation: Telepresence offers a more engaging video conference with cutting edge technology, so that the parties involved feel the immersive presence of participants at different locations. The service is designed to improve collaboration, save executive time, reduce costs and carbon footprint with no capital investment and obsolescence risk.

 

 44) Which country player broke the world record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in one-day internationals (ODIs) on 29th January 2015? 

Ans : (2)

1. Dhoni, India

2. Kumara Sangakkara, Srilanka

3. Kamran Akmal, Pakistan

4. Adam gilchrist, Australia

5. Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh

Explanation: He achieved his 473rd dismissal in ODIs when he caught Corey Anderson in the final ODI against New Zealand that was played at Wellington.

 

 45) Dr. V K Saraswat is the former Director General of which Organisation to assume the charge as a Member of NITI Aayog? 

Ans : (1)

1. DRDO

2. DRDL

3. NGRI

4. CCMB

5. National Institute of Nutrition (NIN)

Explanation: National Institution for Transforming India Aayog is a policy think-tank of Government of India that replaces Planning Commission and aims to involve the states in economic policy-making in India. It will be providing strategic and technical advice to the central and the state governments. The Prime Minister heads the Aayog as its chairperson. On the first meet took place at Delhi with sign board labelled as TEAM INDIA on 07/02/2015 Union Government of India had announced formation of NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015. Union Government of India had announced formation of NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.

 

 46) Who is the person who has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of (National Institution for Transforming India) NITI Aayog on 5th Jan`15? 

Ans : (3)

1. Arun Prayag

2. Arvin Shukla

3. Arvind Panagariya

4. Arjun Rathod

5. Akul Srivasathav

Explanation: Shri Arvind Panagariya, Economist. He was an Economics professor at Columbia University in New York. Full Time Members will be Shri Bibek Debroy, Economist, and Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Former Secretary Defence R&D.

 

 47) Maitree express is the train that started running from Kolkata to which place with its own rake from 4th January 2015?

 Ans : (4)

1. Colombo

2. Myanmar

3. Islamabad

4. Dhaka

5. Karachi

Explanation: Maitree Express. The Government has decided to run one additional trip of Kolkata-Dhaka Cantonment Maitree Express each week. On the completion of six months, this arrangement will get reversed and Bangladesh Railway rake will start running from Dhaka Cantonment from 5th July 2015 every Sunday and from Kolkata every Monday in the existing timings, in addition to the existing days of service on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

 

 48) Under domestic efficient lighting programme, Prime Minister launches scheme for LED distribution in which place on 5th Jan`15? 

Ans : (3)

1. Kanpur

2. Pune

3. Delhi

4. Hyderabad

5. Secunderabad

Explanation: Under the domestic efficient lighting programme in Delhi; and a National Programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting. The Prime Minister launched a web-based system to enable consumers in Delhi to register requests for procuring LED bulbs under "Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme" (DELP). Consumers can register either through the programme website (www.eeslindia.org/Delhi-Launch) or by sending an SMS to a designated number.

 

 49) Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir has been appointed as the Chief Justice of which state High Court w.e.f 5th Jan`15?

 Ans : (2)

1. Uttar Pradesh

2. Jammu & Kashmir

3. Telengana

4. Andhra Pradesh

5.Karnataka

Explanation: Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, senior most Judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court. He succeed Justice Mahesh Mittal Kumar, Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court.

 

 50) Sutirtha Bhattacharya has been appointed as CMD of which company ? 

Ans : (2)

1. OIL

2. Coal India Limited

3. ONGC

4. GAIL

5.Indian Oil Ltd

Explanation: Sutirtha Bhattacharya. He served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited from June 1, 2012 to 2014.