Current Affairs Quiz: 26 May 2015

1) Who recently won the Rome Masters Tennis title?

(A) Roger Federer

(B) Novak Djokovic

(C) Rafael Nadal

(D) Andy Murray

2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 May 2015 became the first ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Mongolia. Name the capital of Mongolia?

(A) Victoria

(B) Tashkent

(C) Phnom Penh

(D) Ulaanbaatar

3) Draupadi Murmu recently sworn in as the first woman Governor of which Indian state?

(A) Bihar

(B) Arunachal Pradesh

(C) Jharkhand

(D) Karnataka

4) India recently assumed the presidency of the 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) after a gap of 19 years. 68th World Health Assembly (WHA) was held at?

(A) Geneva

(B) Tokyo

(C) Ottawa

(D) Cambodia

5) US president Barack Obama on 18 May 2015 joined which social networking site with his official handle @POTUS?

(A) Facebook

(B) Twitter

(C) LinkedIn

(D) Google Plus

6) Vice chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya recently launched its new website. Name the URL?

(A) Niti.gov.in

(B) Nitiaayog.gov.in

(C) Aayodniti.org

(D) Nitiaayog.nic.in

7) Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia was recently appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of Parliament that will look into?

(A) Women's Reservation Bill

(B) GST Bill

(C) FDI Bill

(D) Land Acquisition Amendment Bill

8) Federal Bank on 18 May 2015 enetered into credit card segment through the launch of co-branded credit cards in partnership with which bank?

(A) ICICI

(B) HDFC

(C) SBI

(D) Kotak Mahindra Bank

9) Nelong Valley in which state was opened recently for tourists for the first time since the 1962 Indo-China war?

(A) Madhya Pradesh

(B) Bihar

(C) Uttarakhand

(D) Himachal Pradesh

10) Supreme Court has recently banned photos of politicians in government advertisements based on which committee recommendation?

(A) N S Madhava Menon Committee

(B) T S R Subramanian Committee

(C) Ajay Chauhan Committee

(D) Not based on any committee recommendation

Answers

1) Ans. (B) Novak Djokovic

2) Ans. (D) Ulaanbaatar

3) Ans. (C) Jharkhand

4) Ans. (A) Geneva

5) Ans. (B) Twitter

6) Ans. (A) Niti.gov.in

7) Ans. (D) Land Acquisition Amendment Bill

8) Ans. (C) SBI

9) Ans. (C) Uttarakhand

10) Ans. (A) N S Madhava Menon Committee

Read More

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 25 May 2015

1) ICICI Bank launched voice password facility for users:

--> Country's largest private lender ICICI Bank has on 25 May 2015 launched a service through which customers can make transactions using just their voice, without using other means of authentication like a password.

--> The voice recognition service authenticates customers based on their speech patterns and allows them to execute banking transactions through the bank's call centre, the bank said in a statement.

--> Normally customer use authentication like entering card numbers, answering security questions and entering a personal identification number (PIN) to carry out a phone banking transaction.

--> Now their voice will act as the password for banking transactions through the call centre and it is secure.

2) Manoj Mishra appointed as CMD of National Fertilizers:

--> Government has appointed Manoj Mishra as Chairman and Managing Director of state-run National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL).

--> Mishra, currently posted as Director Finance at State Trading Corporation (STC), is likely to assume the charge of CMD of the fertiliser firm this week.

3) Government cleared 21 FDI proposals worth Rs. 281 crore:

--> The government has cleared 21 foreign direct investment (FDI) deals worth Rs. 281 crore but deferred Kotak Mahindra Bank’s proposal to hike foreign investment limit in the bank to 55 per cent.

--> FDI proposals under approval route are cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

4) Sunil D'Souza, former PepsiCo executive, appointed as Whirlpool India MD:

--> Home appliances maker Whirlpool of India has appointed Sunil D'Souza as managing director.

--> He will come on board effective June 22, 2015.

--> He joins appliances manufacturer Whirlpool from PepsiCo where he was the Head of PepsiCo’s VIMAPS Business Unit in Malaysia.

5) Bank staff to get 15% wage hike:

--> Around one million employees of 43 banks, including state-owned ones, will get a 15% hike in salaries as the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) on 25 May 2015 signed a wage agreement with unions and officers' associations.

--> The revision, applicable with effect from November 1, 2012, will benefit employees and officers in public sector banks, old private sector banks and a few foreign banks.

--> The 15% hike would put an extra burden of Rs 4,725 crore on banks, IBA chairman T M Bhasin said. 

6) Ajinkya Rahane, Kumar Sangakkara conferred with CEAT awards:

--> Ajinkya Rahane won the CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year award while former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara clinched the International Cricketer of the Year honour at a ceremony held in Mumbai on 25 May 2015.

--> Former India captain Kapil Dev, who led the country to the first of two World Cup titles in 1983, was conferred with the International Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th edition of the awards.

--> The award winners:

1) International Lifetime Achievement Award: Kapil Dev

2) International Cricketer of the Year: Kumar Sangakkara

3) Indian Cricketer of the Year: Ajinkya Rahane

4) International Batsman of the Year: Hashim Amla

5) International Bowler of the Year: Rangana Herath

6) T20 Player of the Year: Dwayne Bravo

7) Popular Choice Award: Kieron Pollard

8) Special Award: Rohit Sharma

9) Domestic Cricketer of the Year: R Vinay Kumar

10) Young Player of the Year: Deepak Hooda.

7) 200 rallies to mark 1 year of Modi government:

--> BJP will celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s one year in office with a week-long campaign called “Jan Kalyan Parv” or “People’s Welfare Festival” .

--> The party will hold 200 rallies across the country with Mr. Modi scheduled to address the first meeting at Nagla Chandrabhan village in Mathura, the birthplace of Deendayal Upadhyaya, on May 25.

Read More

Indian Forest Service Exam 2015 Notification

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has published that a Screening Test for selection to Indian Forest Service (Main) Examination, 2015 will be conducted through Civil Services Preliminary) Examination, 2015. Eligible candidates may apply online from 23-05-2015 to 19-06-2015 till 11.59 PM.

Total No.of Posts: 110

Name of the Exam: Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2015

Important Dates:

Starting Date for Submission of Online Application: 23.05.2015

Last Date for Submission of Online Application: 19.06.2015 till 11.59 PM

Last Date for Payment of Fee through ‘Pay by Cash’: 18.06.2015 at 23.59 hrs

Last Date for Payment of Fee through Online mode: 19.06.2015 at 23.59 hrs

Written Exam Date for Preliminary Exam 2015:  23.08.2015

Age Limit: Candidates age must have attained 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years as on 01-08-2015, i.e must have been born not earlier than 02-08-1983 & not earlier than 01-08-1994. Age relaxation will be applicable as per rules.

Educational Qualification: Candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least one of the subjects namely Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics and Zoology or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Forestry or in Engineering of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University Under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

Selection Process: Selection will be comprises two successive stages i.e. Preliminary Examination (Objective type) & Main Examination (Written and Interview).

Application Fee: Candidates have to Pay Rs.100/- either by online or offline mode. No Fee for Female/ SC/ ST/ PH candidates.

For more details regarding age limit, educational qualification, selection process, application fee, how to apply and other information, please refer the official notification from the below link.

Check official notification: Click Here

Apply Online: Click Here

Read More

Employment News: 23rd May - 29th May 2015

1. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION (U.P.S.C), INDIAN FOREST SERVICE AND CIVIL SERVICES EXAMIATION, 2015.

No. of Vacancies – 1239

Last Date     -    19.06.2015 Check Details from here

2. KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN (HQ), NEW DELHI.

Name of Post – Vice- Principal, Fineace Officer, U.D.C, L.D.C, etc.

Last Date     -    Online 22.06.2015 upto 11:59 hours.

3. BANK NOTE PRESS, DEWAS, M.P,

Name of Post – Junior Office Assistant

Private     Secretary, Prosecutor-II.

No. of Vacancies - 25

Last Date     - 21 days from the date of publication of this advertisement.

4.  ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (A.I.M.S),NEW DELHI.

Name of Post – Lab. Assistant

No. Of Vacancies- 22 Posts

Last Date    - Online till 15.06.2015 till midnight

5. NATIONAL THERMAL POWER CORPORATION LTD. (NTPC),

730 Various Posts

 Last Date     - Online till 14.06.2015 upto 5:00 P.M

6. MIN. OF AGRICULTURE, DEPT. OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, DAIRYING AND FISHERIES, NEW DELHI.

29 Various Posts

Last Date – 30 days after the publication of this notice in Employment News

Read More

Current Affairs MCQ: 25 May 2015

1) Indian-origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer recently became the first Asian elected mayor in which country?

(A) USA

(B) Japan

(C) South Korea

(D) UK

2) Suchitra Bhattacharya who died on 13 May 2015 was a celebrated writer in which language?

(A) Bengali

(B) Marathi

(C) Tamil

(D) Kannada

3) Lok Sabha on 13 May 2015 passed The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2015. The Bills seeks to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act of which year?

(A) 1857

(B) 1881

(C) 1947

(D) 1951 

4) On 13 May 2015, who took over as the new Election Commissioner of India?

(A) Basanth Seth

(B) H S Brahma

(C) Achal Kumar Jyoti

(D) Nasim Zaidi

5) PM Narendra Modi on 16 May 2015 inaugurated which bank's first Chinese branch in Shanghai?

(A) HDFC Bank

(B) Punjab National Bank

(C) ICICI Bank

(D) State Bank of Travancore

6) Mohamed Morsi who was sentenced to death by country's court recently, was the former president of which country?

(A) Egypt

(B) Syria

(C) Yemen

(D) Iraq

7) Government has recently allocated Rs 5000 crore for development of AYUSH. Name the Union Minister for AYUSH Ministry?

(A) Shri Shripad Yesso Naik

(B) Shri Sarbananda Sonowal

(C) Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar

(D) Shri Anant Geete

8) Which country won their sixth consecutive Sudirman Cup(for Badminton) on 17 May 2015?

(A) Malaysia

(B) China

(C) Singapore

(D) India

9) Vikas Gowda recently won a bronze medal in the second leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League series on 17 May 2015. Vikas Gowda is related with which sport?

(A) Tennis

(B) Discus Throw

(C) Weight Lifting

(D) Shooting

10) Indian technology major Infosys on 17 May 2015 announced establishing its first overseas centre outside India, in which country?

(A) China

(B) Australia

(C) Mangolia

(D) South Korea

Answers

1) Ans. (D) UK

2) Ans. (A) Bengali

3) Ans. (B) 1881

4) Ans. (C) Achal Kumar Jyoti

5) Ans. (C) ICICI Bank

6) Ans. (A) Egypt

7) Ans. (A) Shri Shripad Yesso Naik

8) Ans. (B) China

9) Ans. (B) Discus Throw

10) Ans. (A) China

Read More

Daily Current Affairs Updates: 23 May 2015

1) Jayalalithaa sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister:

--> Ms. Jayalalithaa took oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time at a ceremony held at the Centenary Hall of the University of Madras on 23 May 2015.

--> Her return to office comes less than a fortnight after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her and three others of corruption charges in a disproportionate assets case.

--> Governor of Tamil Nadu K. Rosaiah administered the oath of office and secrecy to her.

--> Apart from Jayalalithaa, 28 other ministers also took oath of office and secrecy.

2) Ireland becomes first country in the world to approve same-sex marriage:

--> Republic of Ireland on 23 May 2015 became first country in the world to constitutionally legalise same-sex marriage.

--> The referendum on this issue to amend country’s written constitution was passed with a resounding 62.1 per cent ‘Yes’.

--> Off the total voter turnout of 60.5 per cent, 1,201,607 people voted in favour of same-sex marriage, while 734,300 voted against it.

--> With this passage of same-sex marriage referendum, now Irish constitution gives equal status to marriage between two people of the same sex as compared to a marriage between a man and a woman.

3) India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise began:

--> Bilateral naval exercise SIMBEX-15 between India and Singapore commenced on 23 May 2015 in Singapore.

--> SIMBEX-15 will be held between May 23-26, 2015.

--> Indigenously-built guided missile stealth frigate INS Satpura and anti-submarine corvette INS Kamrota are participating in SIMBEX-15.

--> The annual bilateral exercise SIMBEX started in 1999.

4) Masaan won critics prize at 68th Cannes film festival:

--> debutant director Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan won the prestigious critics prize in the Un Certain Regard category, which runs parallel to the competition for the main prize, Palme d’Or, at the 68th Cannes Film Festival, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).

--> It stars Vicky Kaushal, Shweta Tripathi along with Richa Chadda and Sanjay Mishra.

--> The film is a narrative set based in Varanasi and its characters connected with the Ganga.

Read More

Pattern of Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2015

Friends.. last day we have posted the detailed notification of Civil Service Preliminary Exam 2015 published by UPSC. In case you missed that post don't worry Click Here. Eligible candidates may apply online from 23-05-2015 o 19-06-2015 till 11.59 PM. Many of you might be still wondering about the pattern of Civil Service Preliminary Exam this year, as UPSC had made a lot of changes, of late. So in this post, we are discussing about the pattern of Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2015. Pattern of Mains Exam will be discussed in another post.

Here are the important things that you should know about Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2015.

* Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2015 will be of objective type.

* The Preliminary Examination will consist of two papers of Objective type (multiple choice questions) and carry a maximum of 400 marks (200 marks for each paper).

* This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.

* The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination will be about twelve to thirteen times the total approximate number of vacancies to be filled in the year through this examination.

* Only those candidates who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year will be eligible for admission to the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.

Scheme and subjects for the Preliminary are as follows:

* The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

* Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions).

* The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%. The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.

* Each paper will be of two hours duration.

* There will be negative marking for incorrect answers for all questions except some of the questions where the negative-marking will be inbuilt in the form of different marks being awarded to the most appropriate and not so appropriate answer for such questions.

* There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (0.33) of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

Syllabi for the Preliminary Examination 2015

 Preliminary Examination- Paper I - (200 marks) Duration : Two hours

1) Current events of national and international importance.

2) History of India and Indian National Movement.

3) Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.

4) Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

5) Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.

6) General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialisation.

7) General Science.

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

1) Comprehension.

2) Interpersonal skills including communication skills;

3) Logical reasoning and analytical ability

4) Decision-making and problemsolving

5) General mental ability

6) Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs,tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level)

It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in both the Papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination for the purpose of evaluation. Therefore a candidate will be disqualified in case he/she does not appear in both the papers of Civil Services (Prelim) Examination. In case of any further doubts, please feel free to comment.

Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2015 Notification: Click Here

Apply Online: Click Here

Read More

Know about Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana for Bank/Insurance Exams

Friends..As you know Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 launched three ambitious social security schemes, relating to the insurance and pension sector and intended at widening the process of financial inclusion. The three schemes were "Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana" (accident insurance), "Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana" (life insurance) and "Atal Pension Yojana". It's important to keep in mind the features of these schemes as they will surely be part of upcoming bank exams. Hence today we are going to look into the important aspects of each schemes, in detail. So starting, in this post we have chosen the first one "Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana".

1. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 

When announced: In Union Budget 2015-16 presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Loksabha on 28 February 2015.

When launched: 9 May 2015

Who launched: Prime Minister of India Shri.Narendra Modi

Launched from where: Kolkata

Note: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is meant for Accidental Death Insurance. Here are the features of this scheme.

Eligibility: Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account.

Premium:  Rs.12 per annum.

Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available.

Risk Coverage:  For accidental death and full disability - Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh.

Eligibility: Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme.  Name of nominee to be given in the form.

Terms of Risk Coverage: A person has to opt for the scheme every year. He can also prefer to give a long-term option of continuing in which case his account will be auto-debited every year by the bank.

Who will implement this Scheme?: The scheme will be offered by all Public Sector General Insurance Companies and all other insurers who are willing to join the scheme and tie-up with banks for this purpose.

Government Contribution:

(i)       Various Ministries can co-contribute premium for various categories of their beneficiaries from their budget or from Public Welfare Fund created in this budget from unclaimed money. This will be decided separately during the year.

(ii)     Common Publicity Expenditure will be borne by the Government.

Read More