GK OF THIS WEEK

Daily GK Update: 15th December, 2015

1. Maharashtra Government constituted a task force for setting up an IFSC in Mumbai

i. The Maharashtra government on 11 December 2015 constituted a task force for setting up an International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) in Mumbai. The task force will be headed by Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.

ii. The task force includes, Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha (chairman), Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North Central Poonam Mahajan (deputy chairman), Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshtriya, MMRDA Commissioner UPS Madan, Principal Secretary Urban development Nitin Kareer, A representative from the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Government, OSD in the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) Kaustubh Dhavse will be Member Convenor.

iii. The task force will be required to plan and oversee the development of designated areas at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). They will also review the process of all stakeholders, take various decisions and issue directives to departments of the state and the Union Government.

iv. Apart from this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will also assist the task force in arranging meetings with various groups and site visits. Logistics shall be provided by MMRDA as required by the committee.

v. As per plan, the IFSC will be developed within the BKC in suburban Bandra. Developing a designated area in BKC is one of the most ambitious projects of the Maharashtra Government. 

Earlier in the first week of December 2015, the state government issued a Government Resolution (GR) to make sure that the initiative is completed within time.

2. United Nations Human Development Report 2015 released

i. The United Nations Human Development Report 2015 was released on 14 December 2015 with the title Work for Human Development in Ethiopia. As per the report, 2 billion people lifted out of low human development in last 25 years.

ii. The report urges governments to act to ensure no one is left behind in the fast-changing world of work. It calls for equitable and decent work for all.

iii. In the 2015 report, India with a score of 0.609 has been ranked 130 out of 188 countries in terms of Human Development Index (HDI). In the 2014 report, India was ranked 135 out of 187 countries.

iv. The report proposes a three-pronged action agenda for creating work opportunities and ensuring workers’ well-being. The agenda A New Social Contract between governments, society, and the private sector, to ensure that all members of society, especially those working outside the formal sector, have their needs taken into account in policy formulation.

v. It encourages governments to look beyond jobs to consider the many kinds of work, such as unpaid care, voluntary, or creative work that are important for human development. It calls to reduce the inequality between men and women, societies need new policies, including better access to paid care services.

3. Mahindra Group acquired Italian auto design firm Pininfarina

i. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, part of the Mahindra Group, on 14 December 2015 acquired Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA for 165 million US dollars in an all-cash deal. Pininfarina is well-known for designing cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Cadillac.

ii. For the acquisition of Milan-listed Pininfarina, Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra have formed a 60:40 joint venture. The joint venture will acquire 76.06 percent in Pininfarina from its controlling shareholder Pincar Srl at a price of 25.3 million euros.

iii. The joint venture will buy out the remaining 23.94 percent ordinary shares of Pininfarina through an open offer. The JV will also infuse 20 million euros into Pininfarina by way of a rights issue, which would be executed before the end of 2016.

iv. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra and Mahindra have also signed definitive agreements with the lenders and creditors of Pininfarina to restructure the existing debt. It will also provide a corporate guarantee not exceeding 114.5 million euros to the lenders, creditors and lessors of Pininfarina.

4. West Bengal Government honoured Bappi Lahiri and Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards

i. The West Bengal Government on 14 December 2015 honoured music composer Bappi Lahiri and singer Kumar Sanu with Lifetime Achievement Awards. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee handed over the awards at the inauguration of the annual Bangla Sangeet Mela.

ii. Besides, Bollywood musician Shantanu Moitra was awarded with the Sangeet Mahasamman Award. The Bishesh Sangeet Samman was awarded to Dwijen Mukhyopadhyay, Ajoy Chakraborty and Sandhya Mukherjee.

iii. Vocalists Nachiketa, Sriradha Bandyopadhyay, Dileep Kumar Bose and Fakir Alamgir were honoured with Special Sangeet Samman.

iv. In addition, it was announced at the function that Sangeet Mela will be held for the next 10 days at different venues where 5000 artists will participate. A monthly honorarium of 1000 will be given to 50000 folk artists.

5. Union Government appointed L Narasimha Reddy to head Judicial Committee on OROP

i. The Union Government on 14 December 2015 appointed Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of Patna High Court, to head the Judicial Committee which will look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for the ex-servicemen.

ii. The Committee has been given a six-month deadline for submission of its recommendations. It may give interim reports to the Government on any of the matters related to its terms of reference.

iii. In making its recommendations, the Committee shall take into account the financial impact of its recommendations. The Committee will devise its own procedure and may call for such information and take such evidence, as may be considered necessary. Ministries and Departments of Government of India will furnish such information and documents and other assistance as may be required by the Committee.

iv. The Committee will have its headquarters in Delhi. All administrative support to the committee will be provided by Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence.

6. Operation Smile-II to start from 1 January 2016

i. Union Government on 14 December 2015 requested the states and Union Territories (UT) to start Operation Smile-II from 1 January 2016. The operation will end on 31 January 2016. 

ii. In this regard, the Union Home Secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi has written a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories for participation in Operation Smile-II in their respective State/UT.

iii. Operation Smile-II is a campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. It is a follow up of the exercise Operation Smile that helped in rescuing and rehabilitating 9146 missing children.

iv. All children residing in shelter homes, platforms, bus stands, roads, religious places and others will be screened by trained police personnel. Before 1 January 2016, the Police Personnel from each state will be properly trained in methodology to extract information from such children tactfully without their getting intimidated.

v. The police personnel will also be trained about various provisions like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) JJ Act, Protection of Child Right Act and others.

7. Indian-origin politician Pravin Gordhan becomes South Africa’s Finance Minister

i. An Indian-origin politician, Pravin Gordhan has been appointed as South Africa’s new Finance Minister. With this he becomes country’s third Finance Minister in a week. He replaces David van Rooyen who was appointed on 10 November 2015. Earlier President Jacob Zuma had sacked incumbent Nhlanhla Nene from Finance Ministry.

ii. Born 12 April 1949 in Durban. He is trained and worked as a pharmacist in Durban He was one of the main negotiators in the drafting of South Africa’s democratic constitution from 1991-1994.

iii. He had served as a commissioner in South Africa’s revenue service (SARS) from 1999-2009 Gordhan had served as Finance Minister from 2009-2014 and was widely respected for his work.

iv. Prior to this appointment he was serving as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

8. GIFT City Phase-2 work launched

i. Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) on Monday announced the launch of the Phase-2 development, which will be focused on International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to be set up in GIFT SEZ.

ii. With the launch of Phase-2 development, GIFT City has invited proposals from developers to build office towers in SEZ and non-SEZ areas, an official statement said here.

iii. GIFT City’s Phase 1 has received overwhelming response from realty developers as well as leading BFSI and IT players. So far, allotments of over 14 million square feet of built up area (BUA) has been made in the SEZ and Non-SEZ area for development of office towers, residential apartments and social facilities to be developed at an estimated investment of around Rs. 9,600 crore.

iv. GIFT IFSC has already made allotment to around 20 institutions, including leading names such as SBI, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and YES Bank. GIFT has also signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various leading Capital Market players namely, BSE, NSE, MCX and DMCC.

v. India’s first IFSC is already operational with the commencement of IFSC banking units by Yes Bank & Federal Bank in November 2015.

9. Anirban Lahiri wins Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour

i. India’s star golfer Anirban Lahiri (28) has won the coveted Order of Merit crown of Asian Tour for year 2015. In the 2015 season world No. 41, Lahiri has earned $1,139,084 a way ahead of second-placed Scott Hend of Australia who has earned $491,631.

ii. With this he became only the fourth Indian golfer to win this coveted award after Jeev Milkha Singh (2006, 2008), Arjun Atwal (2003) and Jyoti Randhawa (2002). Anirban Lahiri has won twice on the Asia’s premier Tour to be ranked into the world’s top-50 golfers.

iii. He has posted a top-five finish in a Major (PGA Championship) that helped him to mak his maiden appearance at the Presidents Cup and earning his PGA Tour card. Earlier in 2015 Season, Lahiri had won the Malaysian Open and the Indian Open within a span of three weeks in February 2015. He recorded five other top-10 finishes around the world in the season.

SIDBI-Recruitment Of Officers In Grade 'A'- General Stream:2016

SIDBI invites the online application for  the post of officers in Grade 'A'- Genral Stream :2016.  Total number of vacancies are 100. Eligible candidates can apply from banks website.

On-line Registration starts from : 21st  December 2015

On-line Registration closes from: 11th January 2016

Read more: http://www.bankersadda.com/2015/12/recruitment-of-officers-in-grade.html#ixzz3uTleIXWJ

Test of the Day

Directions (1-5): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical or idiomatic error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is ‘No error’, the answer is 5). (Ignore errors of punctuation, if any.).

1.All we could find (a)/ from his neighbours are (b)/that he has (c)/ a job in the competition. (d)/ No error (e).

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (2)

2.None of the rooms (a)/ are available (b)/for occupation (c)/ at present. (d)/ No error (e).

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (2)

3. Drawing water from the well (a)/ is preferable (b)/that depending on (c)/ the erratic tap-water supply. (d)/ No error(e).

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (3)

4.May I know (a)/ whom (b)/you wish (c)/to see now? (d)/ No error (e).

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (2)

5.Sumitra appealed (a)/ to the managing committee (b)/ that she may be (c)/ allowed to join the volunteer force. (d)/No error (e).

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (3)

Directions (6-8): Read the information given below to answer these questions:

1)Aarti is older than Sanya.
2)Muskan is elder than Aarti but younger than Kashish.
3)Kashish is elder than Sanya.
4)Sanya is younger than Muskan..
5) Gargi is the eldest. 

6. Who is the youngest?

Kashish
Aarti
Muskan
Sanya
None of these

The answer is (4)

7. Age wise, who is in the middle?

Kailash
Aarti
Muskan
Sanya
None of these

The answer is (3)

8.Which of the given statements is/are superfluous and can be dispensed with while answering the above questions?

Either (i) or (iii)
Only (iv)
Either (i) or (iv)
Both (iii) and (iv)
None of these.

The answer is (4)

9.A, B, C, D and E are five friends. A is shorter than B but taller than E. C is the tallest. D is shorter than B and taller thanA. Who has two persons taller and two persons shorter than him/her?

A
B
C
D
E

The answer is (4)

10.Five children were administered psychological tests to know their intellectual levels. In the report, psychologists pointed out that the child A is less intelligent than the child B. The child C is less intelligent than the child D. The child Bis less intelligent than the child C and child A is more intelligent than the child E. Which child is the most intelligent?

A
B
D
E
None of these.

The answer is (3)

11.The average of three consecutive positive integers is 5. What is the difference between the first and the third numbers?

1
2
3
4
None of these

The answer is (2)

12.In a class of 63 children, the children are seated in rows and columns such that there are two more children in each column that the number of children seated in each row. How many children are there in each row?

9
7
11
13
None of these

The answer is (2)

13.After distributing the sweets equally among 25 children, 8 sweets remain. Had the number of children been 28, 22 sweets would have been left after equally distributing. What was the total number of sweets?

328
348
458
Cannot be determined
None of these

The answer is (4)

14.Shri Goyal sold a piece of land in Rs. 1200000. He gave one-third of the selling price to his wife. 2/5 of the rest he invested in his son’s business. 1/6 of the rest he gave as the donation for the cultural activity of a school. What amount did he give for the cultural activity in the school?

Rs. 400000
Rs. 12000
Rs. 320000
Rs. 80000
None of these

The answer is (4)

15.The product of two numbers is 36 times the difference between these two. What is definitely the sum of these two numbers?

30
40
60
Cannot be determined
None of these

The answer is (4)

November Revision 2015: Class 11

1.Who took over the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy?
Answer. Shekhar Basu


2.Who was elected as the  President of Guatemala?
Answer. Jimmy Morales 
3.Who has been selected for the Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Award?
Answer. Prashant Damle


4.Who was awarded the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize?
Answer. Raif Badawi


5.Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot announced the launching of how many new/revised schemes for the disabled persons in New Delhi?
Answer. 10 Schemes


6.What is the full form of AMRIT?
Answer. Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment


7.What is the name of the navy exercise between Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy which held recently?
Answer. SLINEX

8.Where will be the first international film festival for the persons with disabilities (IFFPD) will be held ?
Answer. New Delhi


9.The Union Government declared which militant outfit as a terrorist organisation recenlty?
Answer. National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K)


10.RBI recently allowed NRIs to subscribe to which system?
Answer. National Pension System

Quest for Clerk: Reading Comprehension

Directions (Qs. 1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given after the passage. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

 The National Green Tribunal’s decision to bar the registration of new and old diesel vehicles in Delhi till its next hearing on January 6 comes as a blow — though a temporary one for now — to passenger vehicle manufacturers. Automobile-makers have, in recent years, been building (from scratch, in a few cases) and scaling up their production capacities for diesel cars, driven by the surge in demand for diesel-powered vehicles as the fuel was subsidised and far cheaper than petrol. The differential between petrol and diesel prices has narrowed substantially since the government commenced the deregulation of diesel pricing in 2013, and diesel now is only 22 per cent cheaper than petrol. But diesel vehicles, including the sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, that are ubiquitous status symbols in the National Capital Region and beyond, now constitute 50 per cent of the auto industry’s passenger car sales. That vehicular exhaust from diesel cars, SUVs and freight trucks has been identified as one of the major contributors to the alarming levels of particulate matter in Delhi’s atmosphere is well-established. The tribunal has asked the Delhi and Central governments to decide whether a more permanent injunction prohibiting the registration of diesel vehicles in the NCR would be advisable, given the “serious contribution of vehicular pollution” to the city’s air quality. Separately, the Supreme Court is set to hear on December 15 an independent plea to ban diesel vehicles in Delhi. Industry has reacted predictably, terming the move as unfair and discriminatory, and calling for a more holistic solution, while questioning the overall policy approach to diesel. With most of them investing to upgrade their technology to meet the more stringent BS-V (Bharat Stage-V) standards due in 2019, they suggest fleet modernisation to replace the older commercial transport vehicles, considered an equally major source of polluting exhaust emissions. Rating agency ICRA expects the share of diesel vehicles in annual auto sales to decline to 30-35 per cent by 2017 as the price difference between diesel and petrol narrows further. That may not help much in Delhi, the nation’s largest urban market for cars and SUVs. By way of comparison, the U.S. has decided to curb emissions from vehicles by moving towards higher fuel efficiency standards for new cars, though economists say it may only encourage people to drive even more. India is pursuing similar goals, but as Volkswagen’s ‘defeat device’ to rig emission tests for diesel vehicles shows, governments aren’t capable of enforcing such norms efficiently. In the backdrop of the latest climate change commitments and the toxic air that hangs over Delhi, it could be an opportune moment for Indian policymakers to use the tools of behavioural economics to alter people’s commuting preferences. Tax and other fiscal incentives to shift both freight haulage and public road transportation to cleaner CNG- and LPG-based technologies is one thing. But it’s perhaps time to take a bolder step and levy a hefty green tax on diesel-fuelled private vehicles and SUVs.

Source:The Hindu

1. What was the reason behind the deregulation of disel prices in 2013?

a. diesel vehicles  have ubiquitous status symbol.

b. NGT has advised the Delhi and central governments to prohibit the registration of diesel vehicles.

c. diesel vehicles produce more pollution than petrol 

d. both a and b

e. None of these

2. Why Indian policy makers using the tools of behavioural economics?

a. To decrease the level of pollution.

b. To change people's commuting choices.

c. To shift to more clear LPG and CNG technologies.

d.To reduce diesel cars, SUVs and fright trucks.

e. None of the above

3. Which of the following would be the suitable title?

a. Pollution free delhi

b. Get smart on diesel cars

c. Powered vehicles

d. Reducing diesel demand.

e. NGT decision: A big relief

4. According to the passage Which of the following is true?

a. ICRA  expects increase in diesel vehicles by 2017.

b. CNG and LPG are contributing in reducing Pollution.

c. Diesel is 22 per cent heaper than petrol.

d. All the above

e. None of the above

5.According to the passage, Which of the following is not true?

a. Industry is investing to upgrade their technology to meet the more stringent BS-V standards by 2017.

b. SUVs are one of the major contributor to particulate matter in delhi's atmosphere.

c. The U.S is moving towards higher fuel efficiency standards for new cars.

d.Both A and C

e. None of these

 Directions (6 to 8): Choose the word which is most similar in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

6. Surge

a. decrease

b. alleviate

c. growth

d. assugae

e. decline

7. Exhaust

a. weaken

b. strengthen

c. enable

d. feeble

e. aid

8. Opportune

a. unhappy

b. unsuitable

c. convenient

d. untimely

e.disadvantage

Directions (9 to 10): Choose the word which is most OPPOSITE in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.

9. Curb

a. deterrent

b. hindrance

c. freedom

d. stop

e. ledge

10. Stringent

a. amenable

b. infexible

c. acrimonious

d. callous

e. stiff

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

10.a

Quest for Clerk: Computer Quiz

1: Which of the following functions are not performed by servers?

1 Email

2.Databae sharing

3.Processing websites

4.Storage

5.Word Processing

2.Which media have the ability to have data stored on them by users more than once?

1.CD-R

2.CD-RW disks

3.Zip disks

4.OptiDisks

5.Both CD disks and Zip disks

3.To insert a copy of the clipboard contents, _____________ whatever was last cut or copied at the insertion point?

1)paste

2)stick in

3)fit in

4)push in

5)None of these

4.In a punched card system, data is processed by a?

1)Keypunch machine, sorter and posting machine 

2)Accounting machine, posting machine, and billing machine 

3)Sorter, posting machine, and billing machine 

4)Accounting machine, keypunch machine and sorter

5)None of the above

5.Special effect used to introduce slides in a presentation are called .........

1)Effect 

2)Custom animation

3)Transition 

4)Animation

5)Preset animation

6.Which is the slowest internet connection service?

1)Digital Subscriber Line 

2)T1

3)Cable modem 

4)Leased Line

5)Dial-up Service

7.For separating channels in FDM, it is necessary to use?

1)Time slots     

2)Bandpass filters

3)Differentiation             

4)All of the above

5)None of these

8.A computer-intensive problem runs on a _______?

1)server 

2)mainframe 

3)supercomputer

4)super PC 

5)None of these

9.IP address contains ........... bits?

(1)8 bits   

(2)16 bits  

(3)32 bits  

(4)40 bits   

(5)None of these

10.In a ring topology , the computer in possession of the______ can trasmit data?

(1)packet 

(2)data  

(3)access method 

(4)token 

(5)None of these

Answers:
1.5
2.2
3.1
4.4
5.3
6.5
7.2
8.3
9.3
10.4