Dec 2011 National

Controversial film, Dam999 directed by Sohan Roy made it to a shortlist for the Oscars under the Best Picture category. The film, based on a catastrophe caused by a 100-year-old dam in India giving way, is among the 265 films in contention for the Best Picture. Tamil Nadu government imposed a ban citing that it may cause animosity between Kerala and TN people as the film was dealing with the subject of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar dam on the Kerala-TN border. Directed by Kerala-based naval architect Sohan Roy, Dam999 is an English film that features Indian actors Rajit Kapur, Vimala Raman, Vinai Rai and Ashish Vidhyarthi. It has been dubbed in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh was inducted into the Union Cabinet as civil aviation minister on 18 December 2011. The Jat leader will face the challenge of reviving the aviation sector in general and the government-owned Air India in particular as the new Civil Aviation minister. The Civil Aviation Ministry was held by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi after the elevation of Praful Patel as Cabinet Minister.

The Union Cabinet of India approved a draft National Food Security Bill that seeks to give legal entitlement of cheaper food-grains to 62.5 per cent of the country's population. The total financial liability to implement the law would be 3.5 lakh crore rupees, as funds will be required to raise agriculture production, create storage space and publicity among others. The bill aims to provide Indian citizens access to nutritional food at affordable prices. This bill proposes to give a legal entitlement to food to 75 percent of our rural population and 50 percent of our urban population. The bill also provides for 7 kg of rice, wheat and coarse grains per person per month to priority households at 3 Rupees, 2 rupees and 1 rupee per kg respectively.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha. The bill was aimed at setting up the body of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas at the level of the States. Government also introduced a Bill for amending the Constitution for conferment of Constitutional status on both bodies. Government also withdrew earlier Lokpal Bill, 2011 and decided to introduce a new comprehensive Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 Bill after consideration of the suggestions made by the Parliamentary Committee, which recommended significant changes in the scope and content of the earlier Bill.

The Union cabinet of India on 22 December 2011 approved 4.5 percent share for minorities within the 27% OBC quota in jobs and university seats. The approval will come in force from 1 January 2012. It suggests that minorities can get 4.5 jobs out of every 100 government jobs and university seats. As per the data released by the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the OBC population was 52 percent of India’s population, of which minorities constitute 8.4 percent. Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee Report-released in November 2006- had found the minority community under-represented in all spheres of professional and public life.

A bench of the Supreme Court including Justices BS Chauhan and TS Thakur ruled that even animals are entitled to accident compensation. The court upheld an award of 13.48 lakh rupees for the death of a temple elephant. A KSRTC (Kerala State Transport Corporation) bus hit the animal. The court refused to accept the contention that the Motor Vehicles Act would be applicable to human beings and not to animals. It clarified that the definition of property in the Motor Vehicles Act is very inclusive and wide. Therefore, animal should be included under this act. The court added that the elephant was owned by the temple and it was God’s property.

The Supreme Court of India on 20 December 2011 ruled that courts can interfere in the case of contractual job if the decision taken by the management is arbitrary. A bench of the apex court, however, said that scope of such judicial review is not all pervasive. It said a writ Court is entitled to judicially review of the action and determine whether there was any illegality, perversity, unreasonableness, unfairness or irrationality that would vitiate the action. The court passed the order on a petition filed by Grid Corporation of Orissa Ltd challenging the Orissa High Court's order. In its order Orissa high court asked the grid corporation to reinstate one of its employee whose contractual job was terminated.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram inaugurated a new administrative block and training facilities exclusively designed for National Security Guard’s (NSG) Chennai hub. National Security Guard’s (NSG) Chennai hub was formed in 2009. After the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror strikes, a decision to set up regional NSG hubs at Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai was taken on 30 June 2009. Of these, the Kolkata and Hyderabad hubs will be upgraded into bigger facilities to cater to the eastern and southern regions. A regional centre is also to be established at Hyderabad from where commandos can be moved for counter-terror operations in South India. The Hyderabad centre will be on the lines of the NSG's Manesar facility in Delhi.

The Government decided to set up a village water and sanitation committee in each Gram Panchayat, village and ward to ensure safe drinking water supply. The committee will be set up as a standing committee in each Gram Panchayat for planning, monitoring, implementation and maintenance of water supply schemes in the area with active participation of the villagers. The membership of the committee will consist of 6 to 12 persons comprising elected Panchayat members and at least 50 percent women with due representation to Scheduled castes and Tribes. The committee will be an integral part of the village panchayat. This initiative has been taken under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme to decentralize power and responsibilities and to give greater focus on water and sanitation issues.

The Supreme Court directed state governments to build adequate number of night shelter to ensure that no homeless person has to sleep under sky this winter. A bench of justices Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Dipak Misra asked the governments to file their detailed report by 3 January 2012 on the status of night shelters, which are operating in their states. The bench, which passed separate orders for different states, asked the Chief Secretaries to ensure construction of sufficient number of shelters for the homeless and poor people.

Hyderabad city ranked as no. sixth best to live in the country as per the survey conducted by Times of India - IMRB market research firm. Ahmedabad grabs the first place, Pune gets second, Delhi gets third and Mumbai stood at fourth place.

The Lok Sabha passed the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2011. The Cable Bill is aimed at controlling the cable TV operators and converting the analog cable to digital cable.

The Indian government approved the setting up of an Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) to be fully funded by the government of India. The IEO will evaluate the impact of flagship programmes. Also it will be allowed to engage the services of leading institutions working in the field of social science research and other fields for the purpose. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission will be the chair of the governing body of the IEO. IEO will be an independent body with full functional autonomy to discharge its functions.

The Empowered Committee in its meeting on 5 December 2011 decided to send two technical members to inspect the Mullaperiyar dam before finalising its report following apprehensions raised by Kerala about the safety of the dam after mild tremors occurred in the area. The Empowered Committee is headed by former Chief Justice of India, A.S. Anand. The other members of the committee include Justice K.T. Thomas, a retired Supreme Court judge representing Kerala; Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, a retired Supreme Court Judge representing Tamil Nadu; C.D. Thatte, former Secretary to the Ministry of Water Resources and D.K. Mehta retired Chief Engineer, Central Water Commission. The committee had conducted a spot inspection of the dam in December 2010.

Three-day World Telugu Conference was inaugurated at Phoenix in Mauritius. Ministers from Andhra Pradesh Vatti Vasanth Kumar and S Sailajanath joined the celebrations with Mauritius Minister Deva Veera Swamy who has roots in Andhra Pradesh.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 1 December 2011 approved 1656 crore rupees scheme for phase-3 of Yamuna Action plan. Under this project, the sewage treatment plants situated in Kondli, Rithala and Okhla will be rehabilitated. At present, the project is operational in 21 cities of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana. The Indian government will execute the phase-3 of Yamuna Action Plan with help from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA is providing financial help since 1993.

Sep 2011 international

India on 22 September 2011 took over the presidency of the G-24 group of 24 developing countries after a gap of 28 years. Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee took over the Presidency of the group from South African finance minister Pravin J Gordhan. Egypt was elected the Vice Chair of the group.

Members of G-24 group are spread equally over Asia, Africa and Latin America. From Asia, the members include Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Iran, the Philippines, Syria and Sri Lanka. There are eight members each from Africa and Latin America. G-24 was established in 1971. It coordinates the position of developing countries on monetary and development issues, particularly issues on the agendas of the IMF and the World Bank. The group was formed to balance the influence of the G-10 economic grouping.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on 25 September 2011 granted women the right to vote and run in future municipal elections. In his announcement, the king said that women would also be appointed to the Majlis Al-Shura, a consultative council that advises the monarchy on matters of public policy. Women in Saudi Arabia endure strict gender separation, including a ban against driving. The recent uprisings in the Arab world for the past nine months coupled with sustained demand for women’s rights and a more representative form of government in Saudi Arabia prompted the decision.

Danish opposition leader Helle Thorning - Schmidt emerged victorious in the elections held on 15 September 2011 and will take over as the Denmark's first female Prime Minister. She belongs to the Social Democrats party. The result ended the center-right government's 10 years in office. Thorning - Schmidt succeeded Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

India on 17 September 2011 announced support for Libya’s Transitional National Council in the UN. The Union government of India supported the acceptance of credentials of the delegation of the TNC, to attend the 66th session of UN General Assembly in New York. The TNC delegation was headed by its President Mustafa Abdel Jalil. India participated as an observer in the Libyan Contact Group meeting in Istanbul in July 2011. India’s charge d’ affaires to Libya, at present based in Tunis, formally established contact with the TNC mission in Tunis. India recently gave humanitarian assistance of 1 million dollars to Libya.

India donated 1 million US dollars to the core voluntary budget of UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women or UN Women, for the year 2011. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Permanent UN Representative handed the amount to Michele Bachelet, Under Secretary general and executive director of UN Women on 9 April 2011. India demonstrated its firm support to the promotion of UN efforts in the field of gender equality and the empowerment of women through its contribution. India is presently one of the members of the Executive Board of the UN Women.

A team of archaeologists has ‘sensationally’ discovered the ruins of a Roman gladiator school on the outskirts of the Austrian capital Vienna. The find is one of the many schools that the Romans built to train the fighters before they got involved in a brutal combat with each other. The group from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna discovered the school, which contains sleeping cells, a bathing area and a training hall with heated floors and a cemetery.

A new Chair in Contemporary Indian Studies is to be created at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural relations. Chairs focused on Indian studies have been established at some universities in England, but this is the first such Chair in Scotland.

Oct 2011 international

An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale killed many people in eastern Turkey on 23 October 2011. Approximately, 93 people died in Van province alone and 45 in the Ercis district. The death toll is likely to increase. Serious damage and casualties were also reported in the district of Celebibag, near Ercis. The earthquake struck at at a depth of 20 kilometres with its epicentre 16 kilometres north-east of Van in eastern Turkey. It was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks, also centred north of Van, including two of magnitude 5.6 soon after the quake and one of 6.0. Turkey is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major geological fault lines.

The fifth IBSA (India Brazil South Africa) summit concluded on 18 October 2011 in Pretoria. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the administrative capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital. India, Brazil and South Africa, issued a joint declaration at the end of the summit, which condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. IBSA leaders described terrorism as one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. At their summit meeting, the IBSA leaders said the United Nations should play a central role in coordinating international action against terrorism within the framework of the UN Charter and in accordance with the international law.

The 125th Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary union was held in Bern, Switzerland from 16 October 2011 to 19 October 2011.

European Union on 11 October 2011 launched a Visa Information System (VIS) for Indians and other non-EU citizens applying for a Schengen visa. It will help prevent fraud and process visa applications faster due to the use of biometrics (fingerprints and a digital facial image). The system will also help in quick and effective exchange of data on short-stay visas among Schengen countries. In addition, the new system will make the verification process of visas a more efficient and secure. It should be noted that Indian citizens need the Schengen visa to visit the 25 countries in the Schengen area in European Union. At present, approximately 13 million Schengen visas are issued every year by the 25 countries of the Schengen area. The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985.

India took over as the Chairman of United Nations South Asian Regional Commission for tourism. This was announced on 10 October 2011 at the ongoing United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference at Gyeongju in South Korea. The chairmanship of the Commission was with Iran for the last four years. It signifies the confidence of various countries in India and the efforts of the Indian government in the promotion of tourism in the country as well as across the globe in a responsible and sustainable manner to achieve inclusive growth.

Nov 2011 international

The Justice and Development Party (PJD) won the parliamentary elections in Morocco according to the poll results announced on 27 November 2011. The party is the second Islamist party to win an election after the Arab Spring. Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, recently won the election in that country. The king responded by modifying the constitution to give the next parliament and prime minister more powers and held early elections. Morocco has had a multi-party system since independence in 1956. Morocco is the North African Kingdom. King Mohammed VI is the head of the state.

Kuwait’s Prime Minister Nasser Mohammad Sheikh al-Ahmad al-Sabah and the Cabinet resigned on 28 November 2011 amid accusations of corruption. Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, accepted the resignation. The opposition accused Sheikh Nasser of transferring public funds into his overseas bank accounts.

The Arab League imposed a set of sanctions against Syria for its failure to comply with the League mediated peace plan to end violence in the country. These include freezing of financial assets, a halt on dealing with Syria’s central bank and stopping investments and a travel ban on high- ranking officials. The sanctions go into effect immediately. The League also banned financial transactions and trade with the Syrian government. Syrian government is under economic and political pressure to end an eight-month crackdown against demonstrators.

Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh finally agreed to step down amidst massive public protests. Saleh signed a Gulf co-operation council (GCC) brokered peace Initiative in Riyadh on 22 November 2011 to transfer his power within 30 days to his Vice President, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. Under the deal, he and his relatives get immunity from prosecution on handing over power to the Vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in 30 days. It will be followed by early presidential elections within 90 days. Yemen has been besieged with violence and protests by the powerful tribals, army dissidents, the opposition and the people who called for the ouster of Saleh on charges of nepotism and corruption. The Gulf mediated Initiative will put an end to a 33-year old reign of one of the longest serving Presidents in the region

India was elected to the United Nations' Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and returned to this oversight body after a gap of 35 years. India’s five-year term with the body will start from 1 January 2013.

India defeated China to get a place on the JIU. India had served only once on the JIU, 35 years ago from 1968 to 1977.The JIU is an independent external oversight body of the United Nations system, mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations. It is composed of not more than 11 Inspectors serving for a term of five years.

The US Army conducted the test flight of Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) from the military's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai located in Hawaiian archipelago. The new weapon is capable of travelling five times the speed of sound. The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon is part of the military's programme to develop global strike weapons that would allow the US to strike targets anywhere in the world with conventional weapons in as little as an hour.

A study published in medical journal Lancet mentioned that India has the highest number of flu-related pneumonia deaths among children. Flu-related pneumonia is also responsible for 28000 to 115000 deaths of children around the globe. The University of Edinburgh with support from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and US Centers conducted the study for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to a survey conducted by the City Mayors Foundation, a global think tank on urban affairs, there are 37 Indian cities among the world's 300 fastest growing urban centres. The Indian city of Ghaziabad is the second fastest growing city in the world. The general parameter used to consider the growth of a city is the rate of its urbanization. According to the report- The Transition to a Predominantly Urban World and its Underpinnings released by International Institute for Environment and Development, eleven cities in India are amongst the 100 fastest growing cities of the world. The 11 cities in the list of 100 fastest growing cities are- Durg – Bhilai, Ghaziabad, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Surat, Asansol, Dhanbad, Visakhapatnam, Faridabad. India is second to only China in this growth race. Beihai in China is the fastest growing city in the world, with a population growth rate of 10.58 per cent, says the survey. The five fastest growing cities in the world are- Beihei (China), Ghaziabad (India), Sana (Yemen), Surat (India) and Kabul (Afghanistan).

The Arab League on 16 November 2011 confirmed the suspension of Syria from the organisation and decided to impose economic sanctions on the nation in case it refuses to accept an observer mission sent by the former. The league also asked Syria to stop the violence within three-days. The U.N. estimated that more than 3500 people were killed in Syria’s 8-month-old uprising. The Arab League officially called the League of Arab States is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia (Middle East). It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945.

International conference on the threat from cyber security attacks was held in London .A major international conference on the threat from cyber-security attacks was held in London on 1 November 2011. The conference aims to have nations work together to combat international cyber crime. Representatives of 60 nations gathered to discuss how to deal with the rising levels of cybercrime.

The 6th G20 (industrialist and developing countries) summit was held in Cannes, France on November 3 and 4, 2011 to discuss key issues in the global economy. Eurozone debt crisis dominated the Summit in Cannes. The other issues discussed in the summit were global imbalances, financial transactions tax, tax evasion and reform of the international monetary system. Agreements made in G20 Cannes Summit The G20 leaders’ affirmed their commitment to work together and took decisions to reinvigorate economic growth. They agreed to create jobs, ensure financial stability, promote social inclusion and make globalization serve the needs of the people. They agreed on an Action plan for Growth and Jobs to address short-term vulnerabilities and strengthen medium-term foundations for growth. An affirmation was made on G20’s commitment to move more rapidly toward more market-determined exchange rate systems and enhance exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying economic fundamentals, avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies.
India pitched for a consensus among G-20 nations on sharing of tax and banking information with retrospective effect. India stressed on the fact that the era of banking secrecy laws was over, and it was vital to build a consensus on sharing of past banking data as it would help in investigation of earlier cases of tax evasion. The G20 leaders finally were unable to agree upon a boost to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help distressed countries. Debt-ridden Italy, was seen as the epicenter of the euro crisis, was forced to put its austerity programme under the fund's control.

Palestine won the membership of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on 31 October 2011 with 107 votes in favour and 14 votes against. Eighty-one votes were required for approval with 173 UNESCO member delegations present. The USA, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia and the Czech Republic voted against. UNESCO is the first UN agency Palestine has joined as a full member. UNESCO protects historic heritage sites and works to improve world literacy and cultural understanding. Its headquarters are located at Place de Fontenoy in Paris, capital of France. In fact, Palestine is seeking full membership in the UN (United Nations), but USA has threatened that it will veto it unless there is a peace deal with Israel.

The 17th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit (the heads of states) held in Hithadhoo, Addu, Maldives on 10 November and 11 November 2011. A 20-point Addu Declaration was adopted on 11 November 2011 to forge effective cooperation among the member states in a host of areas including economy, connectivity, climate change and food security. The theme of the 17th SAARC Summit was ‘Building Bridges’. The Summit recognized the importance of bridging differences, creating better understanding and promoting amity and mutually beneficial and comprehensive cooperation in order to promote effective linkages and connectivity for greater movement of people, enhanced investment and trade in the SAARC members region.

World population crossed seven hundred crores on 31 October. Nargis from India is declared as seven billionth child on earth by United Nations. Nargis was born in Lucknow Monday morning at 7:20 AM. Nargis is the first daughter of Vinita (23 years) and Ajay (25 years) from UP. Russia announced that the 7 billionth child was born in the country’s far East in Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky city. The boy named Alexander, born on the night of Oct 31, was the seven billionth inhabitants on earth. Philippines too declared that a little girl called Danica May Camacho was the world’s 7 billionth baby.

Dec 2011 International

The leaders of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation) nations on 21 December 2011 agreed that the deployment of foreign bases in their territory would be done with the approval of all partners of the defence alliance. The CSTO summit was held in Moscow. CSTO includes Armenia, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

The Protester was named Time magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year on 14 December 2011.
2011 witnessed unprecedented rise in both peaceful and sometimes violent unrest and dissent from the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street movement. People across the globe in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya dissented and demanded even when they were answered with tear gas or a hail of bullets. The Mideast was the centerpiece of the year’s protests. US Special Operations Command and overall commander of the secret US mission into Pakistan in May 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden, came in at second place on the Time list. Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei came in at No 3. In 2010, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was named the Person of the Year.

The National Constituent Assembly (ANC) of Tunisia elected the leader of the party, Council for the Republic (CPR), Moncef Marzouki as the new President of Tunisia on 12 December 2011. He became Tunisia's first elected president since the North African country's revolution sparked the Arab Spring.

The Government of Canada announced that women who aspire for Canadian citizenship can’t wear burqa or Islamic hijab when they take oath of citizenship. Belgium, France, Australia and Netherlands have also banned women from covering their face in public. The government received complaints from lawmakers and judges that they found it difficult to know whether women who masked their faces were actually reciting the oath or not.

The US military officially ended its mission in Iraq on 15 December 2011. As per Pentagon statistics, approximately 4487 US soldiers lost their lives in Iraq war in action. Despite the official declaration of ending its mission in Iraq, US military still has 2 bases in Iraq and 4000 troops. While in 2007, there were 505 bases and more than 170000 troops. However, these two military bases will be closed and the final US troops will be withdrawn by 31 December 2011.

The 34-member cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa of Yemen's national unity government sworn in to lead a three-month transition period until early polls in February 2012.

Greek Parliament on 7 December 2011 approved a budget for 2012 pledging tough fiscal goals demanded by European Union partners in return for fresh loans. The austerity budget projects a modest primary surplus excluding interest payments on debt. A broad majority of the parties backing Lucas Papademos' caretaker administration secured the economic blueprint's passage by 258 votes to 41, after the vote concluded. Greek has been relying on loans from other euro zone countries and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) since May 2010. In return, Greece cut salaries and pensions and hike taxes to reduce budget deficits.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has seen sharp drop in parliament elections of Duma from 64 percent in 2007 to 50 percent in 2011. The ruling party won 238 seats out of 450 total number of seats in Duma. This is a decline from 315 seats in 2007 to 238 seats in 2011.

Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah dissolved the State Parliament by issuing a decree in the interests of the nation. The Parliament has been dissolved for four times during the last six years by the Emir.

Gk Bits3

1. A banker should not grant loans and advances against (c)

(a) Unquoted shares (b) Partly paid-up shares

(c) Its own shares (d) Third party’s shares

2. In the case of a life policy, the banker should see (d)

(a) The existence of insurable interest

(b) The surrender value

(c) The admission of age

(d) All of the above

3. The most risky document of title to goods from the banker’s point of

view is (c)

(a) Delivery order (b) Bill of lading

(c) Warehouse keeper’s certificate (d) Railway receipt

4. A legal title over shares is created (d)

(a) By simply depositing the shares

(b) By depositing the shares along with a blank transfer

(c) By depositing shares along with a memorandum

(d) By executing a transfer deed

5. The rules framed in the Clayton’s case have been incorporated in (c)

(a) The Banking Regulation Act

(b) The Reserve Bank of India Act

(c) The Indian Contract Act

(d) The Negotiable Instruments Act

6. The limitation period in case of a bank deposit begins from (b)

(a) The date on which deposit was made

(b) The date on which the demand for payment was made

(c) The date on which first withdrawal is made

(d) None of the above

7. When a debtor owes several debts to a banker and makes a payment, the

right of appropriation lies with (b)

(a) The banker (b) The debtor

(c) The court (d) None of the above

8. A Garnishee order is served on A and B jointly. They maintain a joint account

as well as individuals accounts with the bank. The order shall attach (c)

(a) Only the joint account of A and B

(b) Only the individual accounts of A and B

(c) The joint as well as individual accounts of A and B

(d) None of the above

9. In terms of Section 31 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 a demand

draft payable to bearer may be issued only by (c)

(a) Nationalised Banks (b) Scheduled Commercial Banks

(c) Reserve Bank of India (d) Foreign Banks

10. The payment of a lost demand draft is made to the (a)

(a) Purchaser (b) Payee

(c) Nominee (d) None of the above

11. In case of original demand draft is presented after the duplicate has already

been paid, the bank will (a)

(a) Pay the original demand draft as well and recover the amount from the purchaser

on the strength of the indemnity bond

(b) Return with remarks “Draft reported lost, duplicate already paid will pay on

collecting bank’s guarantee. In case the original draft is again presented, it

should be honoured.”

(c) Return with the remarks payment stopped by the payee

(d) None of the above

12. Unsigned demand draft is presented for payment, the drawee branch will (b)

(a) Honour it

(b) Dishonour it since it does not have a mandate of the drawer

bank to pay it.

(c) Honour it after seeking confirmation from the collecting bank

(d) Honour it if it is for small amount

13. Traveller’s cheques are valid for (d)

(a) Three months (b) Six months

(c) One year (d) No limit-are valid till encashed

312 Banking

14. Do the banks issue traveller’s cheques to non-customers also? (a)

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) No - only people of repute

(d) No - only to people having annual income above Rs. 60,000

15. Are the traveller’s cheques subject to stamp duty in India? (b)

(a) Yes

(b) No

(c) Yes, all traveller’s cheques above the value of Rs. 1,000

(d) Yes, all the traveller’s cheques above the value of Rs. 5,000

16. Minimum balance required to be maintained for cheque book facility (d)

(a) Rs. 100 (b) Rs. 200

(c) Rs. 500 (d) Rs. 1000

17. The committee on Banking Sector Reforms under the chairmanship of Sri.

M. Narasimham was appointed in (c)

(a) 1991 (b) 1995

(c) 1998 (d) 1999

18. The Government of India passed the “Recovery of Debts due to Banks and

Financial Institutions Act” in (a)

(a) 1993 (b) 1992

(c) 1994 (d) 1990

19. Where the Apellate Tribunal for recovery of debts due to banks and financial

institutions is set up? (c)

(a) Chennai (b) Bangalore

(c) Mumbai (d) Kolkata

20. Documentations is (a)

(a) Proper execution of documents (b) Stamping of document

(c) Cancellation of stamps (d) None of the above

21. Collateral securities can be (d)

(a) Tangible

(b) Intangible in the shape of personal guarantee of a third party

(c) None of the above

(d) Both of the above

22. The Central Bank of India is (a)

(a) The Reserve Bank of India (b) The State Bank of India

(c) The Andhra Bank (d) Global Trust Bank

Multiple Choice Question with Answers 313

314 Banking

23. Stock exchange securities do not include (d)

(a) Debentures of companies

(b) Small debentures issued by port trusts

(c) Government promissory notes

(d) Participation certificates

24. Under Section 19(i) a banking company can hold shares in a limited company

to the extent of (c)

(a) The paid-up capital and free reserve of that company

(b) The paid-up capital of the bank

(c) 30% of the paid-up capital of the company or 30% of its own

paid-up capital and reserves which ever is higher

(d) 30% of the paid-up capital of the company or 30% of its own

paid-up capital and reserves which ever is higher

25. The Definition of ‘Banking’ is given in (c)

(a) Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881

(b) RBI Act, 1934

(c) The Banking Regulation Act, 1949

(d) Contract Act

Gk Bits2

1.Durand cup is associated with-----

a)football        b)hockey         c)cricket     d)lawn tennis   e)table tennis

2.Santhosh trophy is assocated with-----

a)football        b)hockey         c)cricket     d)lawn tennis   e)table tennis

3.Merdeka cup is associated with------

a)football        b)hockey         c)cricket     d)lawn tennis   e)table tennis

4.Kuppuswamy  Naidu cup is associated with-----

a)football        b)hockey         c)cricket     d)lawn tennis   e)table tennis

5.the following are not belongs to cricket cups or trophies------

a)ashes   b)Davis cup          c)reliance cup   d)duleep trophy    e)vizzy trophy

6.world diabets day is observed on----

a)may 11    b)december 14     c)june 5      d)march 22         e)feb 28

7.the following book is not belongs to V.S.Naipaul

a)bend in the river        b)the middle passage      c)half life     d)a bend in the river      e)My days

8.Uber cup is associated with

a)golf     b)cricket     c)badminton        d)hockey     e)football

9).RBI nationalised in the year

a)1949  b)1935  c)1955   d)1945  e)1985

10)in EMI 'E' stands for

a)equal   b)equated    c)enterprise     d)eloctronic     e)emergence

11)'THE NAME YOU CAN BANK UPON' is punch line of which of the following

a)pnb     b)BOB    c)BOI     d)andhra bank     e)IDBI

12)the following country is not belongs to G8

a)russia   b)japan       c)turkey      d)japan      e)UK

13)the following country is not belongs to G20

a)russia   b)japan       c)pakistan       d)india       e)UK

14)india in not in the following

a)OPEC  b)G20    c)SAARC     d)BRICS      e)none of these

15)the head quarters of NABARD is in

a)delhi    b)mumbai    c)chennai        d)Banglore  e)none of these

ANSWERS:

--------

1.a        2.a        3.a        4.b        5.b        6.b        7.e        8.c        9.a

10.b  11.a     12.c  13.c 14.a    15.b

State Capitals, Cm's & Governor

STATE	CAPITAL	CHIEF MINISTER (CM)	GOVERNOR
Andhra Pradesh	Hyderabad	Shri Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy	Shri E.S Lakshmi Narasimhan
Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	Shri Nabam Tuki	General (Rtd.) J.J. Singh
Assam	Dispur	Shri Tarun Gogoi	Shri Janaki Ballav Pattanaik
Bihar	Patna	Shri Nitish Kumar	Shri Devanand Konwar
Chhattisgarh	Raipur	Dr. Raman Singh	Shri Shekhar Dutt
Delhi	.........	Smt Sheila Dikshit	.........
Goa	Panaji	Shri Manohar Parrikar	Shri K. Sankaranarayanan
Gujarat	Gandhinagar	Shri Narendra Modi	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Haryana	Chandinagar	Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda	Shri Jagannath Pahadia
Himachal Pradesh	Simla	Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal	Smt. Urmila Singh
Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar(Summer) Jammu(Winter)	Shri Omar Abdullah	Shri N. N. Vohra
Jharkhand	Ranchi	Shri Arjun Munda	Dr. Syed Ahmed
Karnataka	Bangalore	Shri D V Sadananda Gowda	Shri H.R. Bhardwaj
Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	Shri Oommen Chandi	Shri H.R. Bhardwaj (Additional Charge)
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan	Shri Ram Naresh Yadav
Maharashtra	Mumbai	Shri Prithviraj Chavan	Shri Kateekal Sankaranarayanan
Manipur	Imphal	Shri Okram Ibobi Singh	Shri Gurbachan Jagat
Meghalaya	Shillong	Dr. Mukul Sangma	Shri Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary
Mizoram	Aizawl	Shri Pu Lalthanhawla	Shri Vakkom Purushothaman
Nagaland	Kohima	Shri Neiphiu Rio	Shri. Nikhil Kumar
Orissa	Bhubaneshwar	Shri Naveen Patnaik	Shri Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare
Puducherry	........	Shri N. Rangasamy	........
Punjab	Chandigarh	Shri Parkash Singh Badal	Shri Shivraj Patil
Rajasthan	Jaipur	Shri Ashok Gehlot	Shri Shivraj Patil (Governer of Punjab Additional Charge)
Sikkim	Gangtok	Shri Pawan Chamling	Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh
Tamil Nadu	Chennai	Shri Jayalalitha	Dr. K. Rosaiah
Tripura	Agartala	Shri Manik Sarkar	Shri Dnyandeo Yashwantrao Patil
Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	Shri Akhilesh Yadav	Shri B.L. Joshi
Uttarakhand	Dehradun	Shri Vijay Bahuguna	Smt. Margaret Alva
West Bengal	Calcutta	Shri Mamta Benerji	Shri M.K. Narayanan

Current Affairs 4 Bank Exams: Cabinet Ministers in 2012

Current Affairs 4 Bank Exams: Cabinet Ministers in 2012: No. Portfolio Name of Minister 1. Prime Minister and also in-charge of the Ministries/Departments not specifically allocated to the char...

Cabinet Ministers in 2012

No.	Portfolio	Name of Minister
1.	Prime Minister and also in-charge of the Ministries/Departments not specifically allocated to the charge of any Minister viz.: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Ministry of Planning, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space	Manmohan Singh
2.	Minister of Finance	Pranab Mukherjee
3.	Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Food Processing Industries	Sharad Pawar
4.	Minister of Defence	A.K. Antony
5.	Minister of Home Affairs	P. Chidambaram
6.	Minister of External Affairs	S.M. Krishna
7.	Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises	Virbhadra Singh
8.	Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences	Vilasrao Deshmukh
9.	Minister of Health and Family Welfare	Ghulam Nabi Azad
10.	Minister of Power	Sushilkumar Shinde
11.	Minister of Corporate Affairs	M. Veerappa Moily
12.	Minister of New and Renewable Energy	Farooq Abdullah
13.	Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas	S. Jaipal Reddy
14.	Minister of Urban Development	Kamal Nath
15.	Minister of Civil Aviation	Ajit Singh
16.	Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs	Vayalar Ravi
17.	Minister of Information and Broadcasting	Mrs. Ambika Soni
18.	Minister of Labour and Employment	Mallikarjun Kharge
19.	Minister of Human Resource Development and Minister of Communications and Information Technology	Kapil Sibal
20.	Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of Textiles	Anand Sharma
21.	Minister of Road Transport and Highways	C.P. Joshi
22.	Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Minister of Culture	Ms. Selja
23.	Minister of Tourism	Subodh Kant Sahay
24.	Minister of Shipping	G.K. Vasan
25.	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of Water Resources	Pawan Kumar Bansal
26.	Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment	Mukul Wasnik
27.	Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers	M.K. Alagiri
28.	Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises	Praful Patel
29.	Minister of Coal	Shriprakash Jaiswal
30.	Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Minority Affairs	Salman Khursheed
31.	Minister of Tribal Affairs and Minister of Panchayati Raj	V. Kishore Chandra Deo
32.	Minister of Steel	Beni Prasad Verma
33.	Minister of Railways	Mukul Roy
34.	Minister of Rural Development	Jairam Ramesh

Cmd & Ceo's Of banks

SBI & Associates
State Bank of India		Pratip Chaudhuri, CMD
State Bank of Bikaner And Jaipur		Shiv Kumar,MD
State Bank of Hyderabad		M Bhagavantha Rao,MD
State Bank of Mysore		Dilip Mavinkurve,MD
State Bank of Patiala		Ashok Nayar,MD
State Bank of Travancore		P. Nanda Kumaran,MD
Nationalised Banks
Allahabad Bank		J. P. Dua,CMD
Andhra Bank		B.A Prabhakar,CMD
Bank of Baroda		M D. Mallya,CMD
Bank of India		Alok Kumar Mishra,CMD
Bank of Maharashtra		Anup Sankar Bhattacharya,CMD
Canara Bank		S Raman,CMD
Central Bank of India		M.V.Tanksale,CMD
Corporation Bank		Ajai Kumar,CMD
Dena Bank		Smt. Nupur Mitra,CMD
IDBI Bank Ltd		R. M. Malla,CMD
Indian Bank		T. M. Bhasin,CMD
Indian Overseas Bank		M.Narendra,CMD
Oriental Bank of Commerce		Nagesh Pydah,CMD
Punjab And Sind Bank		Devendra Pal Singh, IAS,CMD
Punjab National Bank		K. R. Kamath,CMD
Syndicate Bank		Basant Seth,CMD
UCO Bank		Arun Kaul,CMD
Union Bank of India		M. V. Nair,CMD
United Bank of India		Bhaskar Sen,CMD
Vijaya Bank		H.S Upendra Kamath,CMD
Private Banks
Axis Bank		Smt. Shikha Sharma,MD & CEO
Catholic Syrian Bank		Shri.V.P Iswardas ,MD & CEO
City Union Bank		Balasubramanian S,
Development Credit Bank		Murali M. Natrajan,MD & CEO
Dhanalakshmi Bank		Amitabh Chaturvedi,MD & CEO
Federal Bank		Shyam Srinivasan,MD & CEO
HDFC Bank		Adtya Puri, MD & CEO
ICICI Bank		Smt Chanda Kochar, MD & CEO
Indusind Bank		Romesh Sobti, MD & CEO
ING Vysya Bank		Shailendra Bhandari, MD & CEO
Jammu & Kashmir Bank		Mushtaq Ahmad, MD & CEO
Karnataka Bank		P. Jayarama Bhat, MD & CEO
Karur Vysya Bank		K. Venkataraman, MD & CEO
Kotak Mahindra Bank		Uday Kotak , MD
Lakshmi Vilas Bank		P.R. Somasundaram, MD
Nainital Bank		Animesh Chauhan,Chairman CEO
Ratnakar Bank		Vishwavir Ahuja, MD & CEO
South Indian Bank		Dr.V.A.JOSEPH, MD & CEO
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank		Thiru A.K. Jagannathan, MD & CEO
Yes Bank's Ltd		Rana Kapoor, Founder/MD & CEO
Foreign Banks : Country Heads India
City Bank		Pramit Jhaveri, Citi Country Officer, India
HSBC Bank		Naina Lal Kidwai,Country Head, HSBC
Standard Chartered Bank		Sunil Kaushal, chief of India operations