Current Affairs

Essential Economic Terms
Economic Terms

Understanding of the following economic terms may be of benefit, from interview point of view.
• Ad valorem: Value added. An example of an ad valorem tax would be VAT.
• Advances: Loans given by financial institutions.
• Appreciation: An increase in the value of an asset.
• Arbitrage: Movements of funds to take advantage of differences in exchange or interest rates, and this quickly eliminates any such differences.
• Average cost pricing: Setting price equal to average cost.
• Average propensity to consume: The proportion of disposable income spent:
APC = C/Y
• Amortization: Writing down the value of an asset in a company's books to reflect its loss of value through age and use. Called depreciation in the UK. Amortization is also an accounting term to pay off a loan in gradual increments.
• Barter: The direct exchange of goods and services without the use of money
• Birth rate: The number of live births per thousand of the population in a year
• Black economy: Unrecorded production.
• Backward integration: Occurs when a company joins with a firm that is involved at an earlier stage of the production chain.
• Balance of payments: Statement of a country's net financial transactions with other countries. Current account measures balance of imports and exports and payments and receipts for services such as shipping, banking and tourism. Capital account measures movements of capital (bank deposits, securities, shares, property).
• Balance of trade: The difference between the value of visible exports and visible imports
• Black markets: Created when buyers and sellers meet to negotiate the exchange of a prohibited or illegal good. More generally any unofficial market in which prices are inordinately high.
• Bull market: Period of rising share prices; an optimistic state of affairs; the opposite of a bear market.
• Buyer's market: The quantity of goods for sale exceeds the amount consumers are willing and able to buy at the current market price; characterised by low prices
• Bonds: Certificate of debt issued to raise funds. It normally has a fixed rate of interest and is repayable at a fixed date. See also convertible bonds, mortgage-backed securities.
• Break-even: When a firm's short-run total revenue equals its short-run total cost
• Bretton Woods system: An arrangement of fixed exchange rates which operated between 1945 and 1971.
• Capital gains: The difference between the sale and purchase price of an asset.
• Ceteris paribus: All other influencing factors are held constant.
• Call option: The right but not the obligation to buy a security at a specified price at a specified date in the future.
• Call rates: The interest rate on money loaned overnight. Also known as the overnight rate. Widely used measure of money market rates.
• Consumer surplus: This occurs when people are able to buy a good for less than they would be willing to pay. They enjoy more utility than they had to pay for.
• Closed economy: An economy which does not engage in international trade.
• Collusion: Agreements between firms to restrict competition.
• Complementary goods: Two goods consumed at the same time, e.g. cars and petrol
• Corporation tax: A tax on a firms' profits.
• Consumer's price index: Measure of the change in the cost of consumer goods and services. It is used as an indicator of a nation's inflation rate.
• Cost benefit analysis: A method of assessing investment projects which takes into account social costs and benefits.
• Cost of living: The general level of prices in the economy, usually measured by the retail price index.
• Cost plus pricing: Setting prices by adding a profit margin to average cost.
• Cost push inflation: When a cost of production (e.g. wages) increases and firms put up prices to maintain profits.
• Credit creation: The ability of the banking sector to create money by giving advances.
• Crowding out: A decline in private sector spending resulting from a rise in public sector expenditure.
• Current account: Usually taken to mean the current account of the balance of payments.
• Current account balance: A record of a country's earnings from the sale of visible and invisible items minus its expenditure on visible and invisible items from abroad.
• Current account deficit: When a country spends more on visible and invisible items from abroad than it earns from the sale of visible and invisible items.
• Death rate: The number of deaths per thousand of the population in a year.
• Debentures: Long-term fixed interest loans to companies.
• Demand pull inflation: Occurs when aggregate demand exceeds aggregate supply.
• Depreciation of sterling: When market forces lower the value of the sterling (£) from one fixed rate to another.
• De-merging: One company splits up to form two new firms. These new firms are frequently companies which used to be separate prior to the initial merger.
• Demand curve: A graph which shows the amount of a good consumers are willing and able to buy at various prices.
• Demand-pull inflation: This occurs when the excess of aggregate demand over aggregate supply causes an increase in the general level of prices.
• Deregulation: The removal of controls on a particular market, e.g. abandonment of a licensing system for taxis.
• Devaluation of sterling: Occurs when the UK Government lowers the value of the sterling (£) from one fixed rate to another.
• Developed countries: Countries with high levels of real national income per head and relatively large tertiary sectors.
• Developing countries: Countries with low levels of real national income per head and relatively large primary sectors.
• Direct taxation: Taxes on income and wealth.
• Discounting: Future costs and benefits are difficult to measure. The present value (P) of future benefits less costs is found by discounting.
• Disequilibrium: A state of imbalance in which there is tendency for change.
• Double counting: Including transfer payments, intermediate expenditures or outputs and stock appreciation in national accounts.
• Dumping: The sale of goods in a foreign country at a price below what cost in the home market.
• Engel curve: A curve showing the relationship between income and consumption.
• Economies of scale: A reduction in long-run unit costs which arise form an increase in production.
• Elasticity of demand: The responsiveness of demand to a given change in price or income.
• Elasticity of supply: The responsiveness of supply to a given change in price.
• Earnings per share: Net income of a company; net of preferred dividends divided by a weighted average of total shares outstanding for the period. One of the most widely watched indicators of the profitability of a company.
• Exchange rate: The price of one currency in terms of another currency. More generally, the price at which any good is being traded for another good.
• Exchange rate mechanism (ERM): A system operated by some members of the European Union where the Central Banks of members intervene to stabilise the exchange rate of currencies within agreed limits.
• Factor cost: The value of output measured in terms of the cost of the factors of production used to produce it.
• Factor incomes: Rewards to the factors of production, e.g. labour receives wages.
• Fisher`s quantity theory of money: The view that changes in the money supply have a direct and proportionate effect on the price level.
• Forward market: A market in forward contracts of a commodity or currency, which are agreements to buy or sell the commodity or currency at a future date. The contracts are not negotiable.
• Free goods: A good in unlimited supply at zero price, e.g. air
• Free trade area: A group of countries which removes tariff barriers between member countries but allows each member to decide on its own tariff policy towards non-members
• GDP: The total value of all goods and services produced domestically each year by a country. It equals gross national product minus income from abroad. Most countries use this definition; US official statistics use gross national product.
• GNP: The total value of goods and services produced each year by a country. Real growth in GNP measures the increase in output after subtracting the effect of inflation.
• Giffen good: An increase in income results in a fall in demand for the good.
• Gross domestic fixed capital formation: Total spending on fixed investment, e.g. machines, factories, offices.
• Horizontal integration: Two companies merge in the same industry and at the same stage of production.
• Human development index: An index devised by the UN to assess comparative levels of development in countries. Its three main matrices are literacy, life expectancy, and purchasing power parity (PPP)-adjusted income.
• Income tax: Tax levied by the government on wages, rent, interest and dividends
• Indifference curves: Curves which show the different combinations of two goods which give equal satisfaction.
• Index: A benchmark against which financial or economic performance is measured, such as the FTSE 100 or a consumer price index. Created by statistical sampling of broad set of data. To reflect the importance of the biggest companies, stock market indices tended to be weighted either by price, e.g. the Dow Jones Industrial Average or market capitalisation, e.g. the S&P500 and most European stock indices.
• Index funds: Mutual fund that aims to track the performance of a specific stock market index. Such funds are passively managed and thus tend to have lower charges than actively managed funds.
• Indirect taxation: A surcharge on price imposed on the sale of goods and services by the government.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF): An organisation established to encourage international cooperation in the monetary field, the stabilisation of exchange rates and the removal of foreign exchange restrictions.
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: More commonly known as the World Bank. It gives long-term loans to member countries for high priority infrastructure, agricultural, industrial and educational projects.
• IS-LM: A model of income determination that integrates the goods market (represented by investment and saving) and the money market (demand and supply of money)
• J effect: The tendency for a fall in the value of the currency to worsen the balance of trade before it improves the position.
• Keynes: UK economist who urged state intervention to achieve full employment.
• Liabilities: Money owed.
• Limited companies: Companies which have limited liability.
• Liquidity ratio: The proportion of a commercial bank's assets which can be converted into cash quickly.
• Liquidity trap: When the rate of interest is so low (and the price of bonds is so high) that everyone anticipates a future fall in the price of bonds.
• Long-run: Period of time when all factor inputs, including capital, can be changed.
• Lorenz curve: A curve showing the proportion of income earned by a cumulative percentage of the population.
• Macroeconomic policies: Policies designed to influence the level of employment, the price level, economic growth and the balance of payments.
• Marginal cost curve: A curve showing the addition to total cost resulting from producing one more unit.
• Most favoured nation (MFN): US trade policy that gives to a trading partner the same customs and tariff treatment as the most favoured nation.
• Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA): Provision of GATT governing international trade in textiles that lets a country apply numerical restrictions on textile imports when it considers them necessary to prevent market disruption. MFA provides a framework for regulating international trade in textiles and apparel. It covers wool, man-made (synthetic) fibers, silk blends and other vegetable fiber textiles and apparel.
• Marginal propensity to consume: The proportion of each extra pound of disposable income spent by households.
• Marginal propensity to save: The proportion of each extra pound of disposable income not spent by households.
• Monopolistic competition: An industry made up of a large number of small firms who produce goods which are only slightly different from that of all other sellers.
• Monopsony: A market where there is only a single buyer.
• Marginal revenue: The income received from the sale of one extra unit.
• Microeconomics: The behaviour of an individual consumer, firm and industry.
• Monetarists: A group of economists who believe that changes in the money supply have a significant impact on the economy.
• Money illusion: May occur where people confuse changes in nominal balances with changes in real balances.
• Mutual Fund: US name for an open-ended managed fund not quoted on a stock exchange, equivalent to a unit trust in the UK. Mutual funds are a popular way for individuals to spread the risk of investing in bonds and equities and are much used for retirement savings.
• NASDAQ: Started in the US, 1971, as an automated over-the-counter securities quotes system — the acronym stands for National Association of Securities Dealers' Automated Quotation. Nasdaq evolved into the world's first electronic stock market.
• Neo-classical theory: The view that markets operate efficiently and that the way to increase output and employment is to raise aggregate supply.
• Net asset value (NAV): The market value of a fund share, usually calculated daily after the close of trading.
• North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA): Free trade agreement involving Canada, the US and Mexico entered into in January 1994. It progressively eliminates almost all bilateral trade barriers between the three countries.
• Offer curve of labour: The number of hours of labour is prepared to work at different levels of income.
• Oligopolies: Markets dominated by a few sellers who account for a large proportion of output.
• Open market operations: Where the Bank of England sells short-term government securities and bills, thereby reducing retail banks' liquid assets and raising interest rates.
• OECD: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• Opportunity cost: The decision to produce or consume a product involves giving up another product; the real cost of an action is the next best alternative forgone.
• OTC (over the counter): Trading in shares away from organised exchanges; it is usually carried out over the telephone or via a computer network.
• Pareto criteria: A reallocation of resources is desirable only if someone gains and no one loses.
• Perfect competition: An industry made up of a large number of small firms, each selling homogeneous (identical) products to a large number of buyers.
• Phillips curve: Shows the relationship between the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation.
• Price discrimination: When the same product is sold in different markets for different prices.
• Price elasticity of demand: Measures the responsiveness of demand to a given change in price.
• Price elasticity of supply: Measures the responsiveness of supply to a given change in price.
• Primary sector: That part of the economy concerned with agriculture and the extraction of raw materials.
• Primary markets: The placing of new stocks, shares, bonds, etc. Existing securities are traded in the secondary market.
• Producer surpluses: The difference between the minimum price a producer would accept to supply a given quantity of a good and the price actually received.
• Progressive income tax: A tax which takes a higher percentage of the income of the rich than the poor.
• Purchasing power parity theory: Suggests that the prices of goods in countries will tend to equate under floating exchange rates so that people would be able to purchase the same quantity of goods in any country for a given sum of money.
• Quantity theory of money: The view that changes in the money supply have a direct and proportionate effect on the price level.
• Repo rate: The interest rate at which a central bank will lend against the security of its government's paper.
• SDRs (special drawing rights): A form of international money created by the IMF which is acceptable in settlement of debts among the countries.
• Secondary sector: That part of the economy concerned with the manufacture of goods.
• Shadow prices: Estimated prices in situations where market prices do not exist.
• Shares: Securities issued by companies as a way of raising long-term capital. Holders are owners of the company.
• Spot market: That part of the foreign exchange market concerned with the buying and selling of currencies for immediate use.
• Subsidies: Payments to producers or consumers designed to encourage an increase in output.
• Subsistence: The minimum income needed to survive.
• Supply side economics: The branch of economies concerned with the productive potential of the economy and how to increase it.
• Tertiary sector: That part of the economy concerned with the provision of services.
• Trade-off: What has to be sacrificed in order to obtain a good, it is equivalent to opportunity cost.
• Transfer pricing: Setting internal prices to charge other branches of the same company.
• VAT: Value Added Tax.
• Zero based budgeting: Setting a budget in which all spending must be justified each year, not just amounts in excess of the previous year.

Current Affairs: September 2009: 2

1. A recent test shows that a moon rock, one of those brought to earth by Apollo 11 and Apollo 17, kept in a museum in the Netherlands, is fake. Who was the President of the Unbited States that time?
a. Richard M Nixon
b. Gerald R Ford
c. John F Kennedy
d. Woodrow Wilson
2. Norman Borlaug, who received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize, died recently. He was a US….
a. Senator
b. Agricultural scientist
c. Social activist
d. Economist
3. Jet Airways gave discount on its total fare in economy class for domestic flights. What was the percentage of the discount?
a. 35
b. 70
c. 22
d. 50
4. Which film has won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festivel?
a. ‘Lebanon’
b. ‘Zanan Bedoone Mardan’
c. ‘A Single Man’
d. ‘Head On’
5. Who has won the tennis Women’s singles final at the US Open?
a. Kim Clijsters
b. Venus Williams
c. Serena Williams
d. Evonne Goolagong Cawley
6. Where did the World Championship in which boxer Vijender win a bronze, take place?
a. Manila
b. Beijing
c. Milan
d. None of the above
7. Launch vehicle PSLV-C14 will be lift-off from spaceport at Sriharikota. How many satellites will it put in orbit?
a. Eight
b. Eleven
c. Nine
d. Seven
8. China has objected to visit of spiritual Tibetan leader Dalai Lama to an Indian state. Name the state.
a. Sikkim
b. Arunachal Pradesh
c. Nagaland
d. Meghalaya
9. The current Russian prime minister … has hinted that he might run for the country’s president in 2012.
a. Vladimir Putin
b. Dmitry Medvedev
c. Boris Yeltsin
d. Sergei Stepashin
10. With whom did Leander Paes pair to win the US Open men’s doubles final?
a. Mark Knowles
b. Mahesh Bhupathi
c. Lukas Dlouhy
d. Max Mirnyi
11. The national mission for female literacy has been launched to make around 60 million women literate by the year ....
a. 2010
b. 2012
c. 2020
d. 2025
12. This southern state recently announced that it would release water from Krishna from Kandaleru reservoir in Nellore district for Chennai. Name this state.
a. Karnataka
b. Kerala
c. Andhra Pradesh
d. Puducherry
13. Name this 24-year-old Indian billiard champion who has won the world professional billiards itle.
a. Dhruv Sitwala
b. Geet Sethi
c. Arvind Savur
d. Pankaj Advani
14. According to news reports, Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of ... , infamous for one of the biggest scams, who was admittd to hospital after he complained of chest pain is also suffering from Hepatitis C.
a. Microsoft
b. Satyam Computers
c. TCS
d. IBM
15. The apex court rapped ... goverment for constructing memorials and statues, spending huge amount of taxpayer's money.
a. Madhya Pradesh
b. Chhattisgarh
c. Bihar
d. Uttar Pradesh
16. The Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang ruled that the killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others was a case of 'fake encounter' by the Narendra Modi government. The killings took place in ...
a. June 2004
b. September 2004
c. January 2006
d. October 2008
17. The West Bengal government recently announced that the state cannot go ahead with the proposed joint sector Kolkata Link IT township project due to land grabbing allegations and arrest of a senior official of a private partner. The project was to come up in near Rajarhat in...
a. Mednipur district
b. Bardhman district
c. North 24 Paraganas district
d. South 24 Paraganas district
18. Adoor Gopalakrishnan has won the best director award at the 55th natoinal award for the film....
a. ‘Naalu Pennungal’
b. ‘Mukhamukham’
c. ‘Anantaram’
d. ‘Mathilukal’
19. Which of these films has won the best feature film award at the 55th national awards this year?
a. ‘Chak De! India’
b. ‘Taare Zameen Par’
c. ‘Gandhi My Father
d. ‘Kanchivaram’
20. As a tribute to Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajashekhara Reddy, which of these centrally sponspored schemes has been named after the demised leader?
a. Madhyamika shiksha abhiyan
b. National mission on medicinal plants
c.Arogyasri community health insurance
d. None of the above
21. Leander Paes played doubles finals in the US Open with Lukas Dlouhy of ... as his partner.
a. Poland
b. Czech Republic
c. Georgia
d. Ukraine
22. In the UK, the most common name is Jack. The second-most common name is...
a. Tom
b. Peter
c. Amit
d. Mohammed
23. A reporter from the western media world was rescued recently from the Taliban clutches. WHich media organisation did he cover?
a. Washington Post
b. Der Spiegel
c. New York Times
d. BBC
24. A gold watch of this former Prime Minister has been stole. Whom are we talking about?
a. Jawaharlal nehru
b. Lal Bahadur Shastri
c. Indira Gandhi
d. Rajiv Gandhi
25. This person allegedly rigged votes in the Parliamentary elections, according to media recent reports.
a. Prakash Jha
b. Raj Babbar
c. Shatrughn Sinha
d. None of these
26. This personality will spread the message for education in the US, using TV. We are talking about...
a. Barack Obama
b. Bill Clinton
c. Hillary Clinton
d. Bill Gates
27. In the latest 'Doing Business' Index prepared by the World Bank, India stands at ... position, way behind Pakistan at 85th, Nepal at 123rd and Bangladesh at 119th rank.
a. 130th
b. 131st
c. 132nd
d. 133rd
28. "Gandhi belongs to all humanity and it is up to citizens to judge a man who was an original minimalist in life," says this personality, advising against Government trying to acquire every memorablia thatis up for sale.
a. Rajmohan Gandhi
b. Tara Gandhi
c. Ambika Soni
d. SM Krishna
29. Rahul Gandhi has invited this actor-politician to join the Congress.
a. Rajnikant
b. Jayaprada
c. Hema Malini
d. Dharmendra
30. Here's one more reason to worry after Swine Flu. Plasmodium Knowlesi Strain of malaria, according to scineitsts in Malaysia, is affecting humans too. This strain was earlier known to affect only...
a. Cows
b. Pigs
c. Dogs
d. Monkeys
Answers
1. a. Richard M Nixon
2. b. Agricultural scientist
3. d. 50
4. a. ‘Lebanon’
5. a. Kim Clijsters
6. c. Milan
7. d. Seven
8. b. Arunachal Pradesh
9. a. Vladimir Putin
10. c. Lukas Dlouhy
11. b. 2012
12. c. Andhra Pradesh
13. d. Pankaj Advani
14. b. Satyam Computers
15. d. Uttar Pradesh 16. a. June 2004
17. c. North 24 Paraganas district
18. a. ‘Naalu Pennungal’
19. d. ‘Kanchivaram’
20. a. Madhyamika shiksha abhiyan
21. b. Czech Republic
22. d. Mohammed
23. c. New York Times
24. b. Lal Bahadur Shastri
25. a. Prakash Jha
26. d. Bill Gates
27. d. 133rd
28. b. Tara Gandhi
29. a. Rajnikant
30. d. Monkeys


NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 8:33 PM Posted by ajeet yadav
I. Literature
Herta Müller (German)
Profile:
She is a German novelist, born in Romanian. She has been awarded for her poetic and prose writings. She writes about the hardships faced under Communist Romania, the history of the Germans in Banat, and the persecution of Romanian ethnic Germans by Stalinist Soviet occupying forces in Romania.
II. Physics
1. Charles Kao
Profile:
A Chinese physicist who proposed using fibre optics in telecommunications. He is also called the father of fibre optic communications
2. Willard Boyle
Profile:
He is a Canadian physicist who co-invented the charge-coupled device (CCDs) used in digitizing images (scanners, cameras etc use CCDs).
3. George Smith
Profile:
He is an American scientist who co-invented CCDs with Willard Boyle at Bell Labs in 1969.
III. Medicine
1. Elizabeth Blackburn:
Australia born American Scientist. She Conducted ground-breaking research on DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and cell division that has provided a new line of inquiry into the chemical bases of life. She helped in discovery of a key enzyme, telomerase, which is necessary for chromosomes to make copies of themselves before cell division. This discovery will have lasting impact on cancer cure.
2. Carol W Greider
An Americam molecular biologist at the Johns Hopkins University. She helped co-discover telomerase, an enzyme that maintains the length and integrity of telomeres.
3. Jack W. Szostak
London born Canadian A biologist and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. He was awarded for his contributions to the field of genetics.
IV. Chemistry
1. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India, He is a structural biologist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council located in Cambridge, England. He has Citizenship of United States.
2. Thomas A. Steitz
He is a Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University in the USA
3. Ada E. Yonath
She is an Israeli crystallographer best known for her pioneering work on the structure of ribosome. She is the director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
V. Peace
Barack Obama
He is the current President of the USA. He was awarded for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples

Current Affairs :Quiz 1
1) 1)The national of which country won the Miss Universe 2009 contest?
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
Venezuela
Australia
2)The first death in the state of Gujarat due to swine flu was in the form of NRI Pravin Patel. Which place did he return from?
California, US
Atlanta, US
Dublin, Ireland
London, UK
3)Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad apologised to the mother of Reeda Shaikh, 14, who died of swine flu in Pune for ….
saying that the girl would have infected many others while changing hospitals
having failed to provide proper healthcare against swine flu
negligence on part of the doctors
being unable to stop foreigners from coming to India
4)Which city of India will host the World Tiger Summit in 2010?
Bhopal
Ranthambore
Thiruvananthapuram
Gowhati
5)With which country will India hold 2010 as the Year of Friendship under which many confidence building measures will be initiated?
Russia
UK
China
France
6)The newly appointed chief of the LTTE was captured by the Sri Lankan army. Name him.
Velupillai Prabakaran
Keheliya Rambukwella
Selvarasa Pathmanathan
None of the above
7)Who has become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice of the US?
Song Min-soon
Yu
Sonia Sotomayor
Dai Bingguo
8)In which country did India win a hockey test series?
Austria
The Netherlands
Poland
Belgium
9)The Indian Parliament has adopted the ‘Right of Children to free and compulsory Education Bill, 2009’. It envisages free and compulsory ducation to children in the … age group.
6-12
10-16
6-14
6-18
10)A corruption case has been filed by the Himachal Pradesh Vigilance Bureau against the union steel minister ....
Ram Vilas Paswan
Virbhadra Singh
Kapil Sibal
Shivraj Patil
11)The labour department will carry out a survey of children of migrant labourers who come to Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram and make necessary arrangements for them. Name the Tamil Nadu labour minister.
TM Anbarasan
Rajendra Shingne
Parithi Ellamvazhuthi
None of the above
12)Sports minister … has fully supported the World Anti-Doping Agency Code.
N Srinivasan
MS Gill
Sandipan Chakravorty
Mani Shanker Aiyer
13)Name the Iranian President who was chosen for the second time in the recent elections, in 2009.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Mir Hossein Mousavi
Mahdi Karroubi
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
14)Renowned social activist Deep Joshi, who is known for his work for the development of rural communities, was recently chosen for which award?
Nobel Prize
Pulitzer Prize
Ramon Magsaysay Award
Bharat Ratna
15)With which IIT has an interactive science learning programme been developed for elementary school teachers and students?
IIT-Madras
IIT-Kanpur
IIT-Delhi
IIT-Bombay
16)A law commission appointed by the government of India has stated that the Supreme Court should work more, holiday less. How many working days does the Supreme Court have?
180
190
200
210
17)This state government’s decision to create a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has led to strong objection from various political quarters.
Uttar Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Haryana
Rajasthan
18)A CBI Court has granted bail to Sarobjit Singh, who is son of ....
Prakash Singh Badal
Arminder Singh
Beant Singh
Buta Singh
19)The CAG of India has raised questions about a Rs 48 crore airstrip in Saifai Village which was a dream project of ....
Mayawati
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Nitish Kumar
Rabri Devi
20)This statesman’s North Korea visit has brought him into limelight once again.
Tony Blair
Michael Gorbachev
Bill Clinton
George W Bush

Mail your answers to gkspecialist@gmail.com by 27th Oct'09 and win a free ebook
POSTED BY GKSPECIALIST AT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2009 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
LABELS: CURRENT AFFAIRS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009
Nobel Prize Winners: 2009

Medicine
Elizabeth H. Blackburn
Carol W. Greider
Jack W. Szostak
Physics
Charles K. Kao
Willard S. Boyle
George E. Smith
Chemistry
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Thomas A. Steitz
Ada E. Yonath
Literature
Herta Müller
Peace
Barak Obama
Economics
Elinor Ostrom
Oliver E. Williamson
POSTED BY GKSPECIALIST AT TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
LABELS: CURRENT AFFAIRS, PERSONALITY
Current Affairs : October 2009: 3

1. The embarkation points for Haj pilgrims have been increased to 19 in India. Which are the two new places added?
a. Ranchi and Mangalore
b. Patna and Gowahati
c. Aurangabad and Bangalore
d. Thane and Panaji
2. What is the colour of glove worn by pop legend Michael Jackson which was sold for $66,000 at an auction?
a. Pink
b. Black
c. White
d. Off-white
3. What is the amount that the Indian government has given to Sri Lanka for rehabilitation of Tamils who have been displaced by the civil war there?
a. Rs 600 cr
b. Rs 350 cr
c. Rs 450 cr
d. Rs 500 cr
4. In a recent decision by the HRD ministry, from now on the IIM directors will be chosen through an independent collegium. The strength of the board will be not more than….
a. 12
b. 13
c. 10
d. 11
5. Along with Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Sigh, which actor has been named in a case of corruption filed in Lucknow?
a. Amitabh Bachchan
b. Salman Khan
c. Md Azharuddin
d. Sanjay Dutt
6. G Madhavan Nair, eminent scientist who has been behind most of the recent successful space missions of India, is due to retire from his position by month-end. He is the chairman of ….
a. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre ( BARC )
b. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
c. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
d. None of the above
7. The Supreme Court of which country came into existence recently?
a. Australia
b. France
c. The United Kingdom
d. Brazil
8. In which state did more than 30 people died owing to fire in a cracker godown?
a. Andhra Pradesh
b. Tamil Nadu
c. Sikkim
d. Jharkhand
9. At which place in Goa did the Hindu fundamentalist organisation Sanathan Sangsthan planned a major bomb-blast?
a. Mapusa
b. Panaji
c. Quepem
d. Margao
10. Which island country’s government held world’s first ever underwater cabinet meeting to draw world’s attention towards climate change?
a. Maldives
b. Jamaica
c. Trinidad and Tobago
d. Malta
11. Amidst match fixing allegations, which cricket team captain recently handed in his resignation?
a. India
b. Pakistan
c. South Africa
d. Australia
12. One of country’s premier business school Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) recently announced the set up of its fifth institute. Where is this campus going to be located?
a. New Delhi
b. Chennai
c. Chandigarh
d. Mangalore
13. Name the two nuclear-capable, medium range surface-to-surface missiles that were recently successfully test-fired by the armed forces from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.
a. Agni II
b. Akash II
c. Ghauri II
d. Prithvi II
14. Who has recently been named as the Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal?
a. Girija Prasad Koirala
b. Manisha Koirala
c. Sujata Koirala
d. Shekhar Koirala
15. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, believed to be the mastermind behind last year’s November 26 Mumbai terror attack, was recently let off by the Lahore High Court. Of which organisation is he the founder?
a. Lashkar-e-Tayyeba
b. Al-Qaida
c. Harkatul Mujahideen
d. Al-Badr
16. This line is a line agreed to by British India and Tibet as part of Simla Accord, a treaty signed in 1914. Although its legal status is disputed, it is the effective boundary between China and India. Name this line.
a. Line of Control
b. McMahon Line
c. Radcliffe Line
d. Wagah Border
17. Many migratory birds like Northern Pintails and Flamingos come from Yakut in Siberia to Orissa. Which water body of Orissa is their favourite destination?
a. Subarnarekha Copenhegan
b. Chilika
c. Barehipani
d. Hirakud
18. The shipbreaking yards of Alang has recently been hit by a controversy regarding anchoring of an allegedly contaminated ship from the US. Name the controversial French warship that was headed for Alang but was returned to France after being denied access in 2006.
a. Arrogante
b. Galissonnière
c. Bouledogue
d. Clemenceau
19. Mother’s Teresa’s remain is recently being claimed by her native country. She left home at 18 and joined the Sisters of Loreto, arriving in India in 1931. Name the country she was born in.
a. Algeria
b. Athens
c. Albania
d. Andorra
20. A previously unknown painting titled ‘Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress’, believed to be painted by a famous renaissance painter, was recently discovered through a fingerprint on the painting. Name the painter.
a. Titian
b. Georgione
c. Rembrandt
d. Leonardo da Vinci
21. This city will host the final match of 2011 World Cup. Name it.
a. Delhi
b. Mumbai
c. Bangalore
d. Calcutta
22. In the recent barrage between India and China, which comment was not made?
a. We have not said anything against their military activities in Tibet. They should say nothing when we build defence capabilities in our areas: Air Marshal PK Barbora
b. Chinese workers can come to India only on employment visas, no more on business visas: Home Minister P Chidambaram
c. We are glad to witness the smooth progress of a number of major cooperative projects under the joint efforts of both sides (China and Pakistan): Chinese President Hu Jintao
d. Worries of China and Pakistan joining hands in Kashmir are ill-founded: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
23. A UN-backed Tsunami warning exercise was recently conducted, kicking off in Indonesia. How many nations were a part of it?
a. 10
b. 13
c. 15
d. 18
24. This leader is set to lose his/her front row seat in Lok Sabha.
a. Jaswant Singh
b. Yashwant Sinha
c. Renuka Chowdhary
d. Lalu Yadav
25. What rank does India occupy in the Global Hunger Index, 2009?
a. 55th
b. 60th
c. 65th
d. 70th
26. Name the person who has been appointed director of cricket operations of the National Cricket Academy.
a. Karsan Ghavri
b. Sandeep Patil
c. Madan Lal
d. Mohinder Amarnath
27. Who is the author of the recently-released ‘Nine Lives’?
a. Mark Tully
b. Gurcharan Das
c. William Dalrymple
d. Dr Karan Singh
28. At the couture week, this person is set to bring together top stars of the industry on the ramp for his charity, Being Human. Name him.
a. Shah Rukh Khan
b. Salman Khan
c. Aamir Khan
d. Saif Ali Khan
29. This person was recently honoured as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea. Name him.
a. Karan Johar
b. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
c. Vishal Bharadwaj
d. Yash Chopra
30. India has inked a pact with this Latin American country in civilian nuclear cooperation.
a. Argentina
b. Brazil
c. Chile
d. Peru
Answers
1. a. Ranchi and Mangalore
2. c. White
3. d. Rs 500 cr
4. b. 13
5. a. Amitabh Bachchan
6. b. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
7. c. The United Kingdom
8. b. Tamil Nadu
9. d. Margao
10. a. Maldives
11. b. Pakistan
12. c. Chandigarh
13. d. Prithvi II
14. c. Sujata Koirala
15. a. Lashkar-e-Tayyeba
16. b. McMahon line 17. b. Chilika
18. d. Clemenceau
19. c. Albania
20. d. Leonardo da Vinci
21. b. Mumbai
22. d. Worries of China and Pakistan joining hands in Kashmir are ill-founded: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
23. d. 18
24. a. Jaswant Singh
25. c. 65th
26. b. Sandeep Patil
27. c. William Dalrymple
28. b. Salman Khan
29. d. Yash Chopra
30. a. Argentina