SENTHIL KUMAR: March 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

IPL withdraws Sri Lankan players from Chennai matches

The Indian Premier League (IPL) General Council decided that Sri Lankan players will not play in IPL matches to be held in Chennai. Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that “the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people.”

Chennai is scheduled to host 10 matches, including a qualifier and an eliminator after the league phase. The Chief Minister’s letter prompted the IPL Governing Council to convene an emergency meeting where it was decided that Sri Lankan players and officials will not take part in the matches to be played in Chennai. It was a rather quick response to a strongly worded letter from the Chief Minister. The letter said that, The BCCI may be advised by the Government of India to prevail upon the IPL organisers not to allow Sri Lankan players, officials, umpires and support staff to take part in the tournament in Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu will permit IPL matches to be held in Tamil Nadu only if the organisers provide and undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches.

This would be the second instance of the IPL saying no to players from a neighbouring nation, although, this time, they have been barred from taking part only in one city. Pakistan players have not been picked by any of the franchisees since 2009. Azhar Mahmood is the only Pakistani to have made it — to Kings XI Punjab — because he holds a British passport.

Recently, the Asian Athletics Championship, scheduled to be held in July in Chennai, was shifted. The State government cited pro-Sri Lankan Tamil sentiments among the people as the reason.

Online comments on the Lankan players to be out of Chennai in IPL:-

Why the North Indian media channels are shrieking in horror and wringing our hands in dismay at the decision of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to ban the stylish Lankan cricketers from playing in Chennai? ‘Well, Chennai isn’t India, how can she take a decision impacting the country’s foreign policy, traditionally considered the exclusive preserve of New Delhi?’ Jayalalithaa has decidedly taken her cue from New Delhi’s propensity to lasso sports into politics. Just as 26/11 and Kargil angered and shocked us at the duplicity of the Pakistani state, so has the killing of Tamilians in Lanka shocked their brethren in Tamil Nadu. The Lankan military bombed indiscriminately and relentlessly the civilian population of North and East Lanka in the months before the LTTE was decisively defeated and decimated. Thus, free from the fear of retaliation, the Lankan soldiers killed in cold blood, secure in the knowledge that they enjoyed impunity.

It is a humanitarian act. In fact, the Centre should have ensured that no Sri Lankan player participated in IPL. The move is not against the players or sports. It is an announcement to the international community that Tamil Nadu is sensitive to the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils.

The Shiv Sena ensured that Pakistani players were left out of IPL in 2008 (and still no Pakistani players is in IPL); Telangana agitation succeeded in shifting the venue out of Hyderabad in 2009. But when Tamil Nadu insists, the whole Indian ‘uncivilised’ media cries to a large extent, that Tamil Nadu is dangerous to Federal of India. Politics and sports should not be mixed up. But they forget the same mix up when India cancelled friendly match of Hockey with Pakistan earlier this month.

TN nutritious meal scheme -new food varieties

Thirteen varieties of rice and four types of egg masala, in various permutations and combinations, are to brighten the meal at noon for the school students. The revamped nutritious noon-meal scheme was inaugurated in Chennai Schools by Social Welfare and Nutritious Noon Meal Programme Minister Ms. B. Valarmathi and Mayor Saidai Duraisamy.

There will be one set of menu for the first and third weeks of a month and another set for the second and fourth week. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had announced the revamped scheme to break the monotony in the menu under the scheme introduced by former Chief Minister M.G. Ramchandran 30 years ago. The food was prepared by workers trained by well-known chefs and nutrition experts.

Menu for I and III week of every month
Day	Menu
Monday	Vegetable Briyani Egg pepper masala
Tuesday	Channa Pulav Egg tomato masala
Wednesday	Tomato rice Egg pepper masala
Thursday	Sambar Rice Boiled Egg
Friday	Curry leaf rice/Spinach rice Egg masala & Potato curry

Menu for II and IV week of every month
Day	Menu
Monday	Bisibelabath & egg tomato Onion masala
Tuesday	Vegetable mealmaker rice Pepper egg
Wednesday	Tamarind rice Egg tomato masala
Thursday	Lemon Rice Egg tomato masala
Friday	Curry leaf rice/Spinach rice Egg masala & Potato curry

Menu for Anganwadi Children
Day	Menu
Monday	Tomato rice Boiled egg
Tuesday	Mixed rice Sundal
Wednesday	Vegetable pulav Boiled egg
Thursday	Lemon Rice Boiled Egg
Friday	Mixed rice

Gay marriage equality logo goes viral

Gay marriage supporters across the U.S. have changed their profile pictures to a stark red equal sign as they monitor the Supreme Court’s hearing of California’s Proposition 8. The red equal sign is an alteration of the Human Rights Campaign’s standard blue and yellow logo. The advocacy group, which “seeks to improve the lives of LGBT Americans,” has called on its followers to show support for marriage equality by wearing red.

The special logo has been shared more than 26,000 times. Celebrities like TV star Sophia Bush, N’Sync’s Lance Bass and Star Trek’s George Takei have used the logo on their Facebook or Twitter pages. A number of politicians also followed suit. As sometimes happens in the social media realm, the logo has become so popular that offshoots of it have already been created and are now being shared. Some of the new logos change color scheme, while others attempt to symbolically tweak the message.

One particularly popular choice is a red logo that displays a greater-than sign rather than an equal sign. According to written explanations Facebook users have provided with the picture, many say the greater-than sign offers a critique of the equal sign: Inequality will continue, they say, even if the high court strikes down California’s ban on gay marriage.

India's stand on gay:-

Our Supreme Court is yet to rule on the repeal of the anachronistic Section 377 that criminalized sex against the order of nature. That is the first order of business. Once the basis for discrimination against homosexuals is removed, then one can question all the institutions they are barred from. When the day for that argument for same-sex marriage finally comes in India, we can say that our marriage laws are already “same-sex marriage-ready.” But to imply from that that India is ready for same-sex marriage would be putting the cart well before the horse.

DMDK MLAs suspension - questions ahead

Six MLAs of the Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK) were suspended from the Assembly for one year for their involvement in the attack on S. Michael Rayappan, Radhapuram MLA, in early February. When Speaker P. Dhanapal announced his ruling, many Opposition parties including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress and the Puthiya Tamizhagam staged a walk out, shouting slogans against the decision.

Immediately after question hour, chairman of the Privileges Committee and Deputy Speaker Pollachi V. Jayaraman submitted the panel’s recommendations to the House, which were accepted by voice vote amid protests from sections of the Opposition, which wanted a discussion.

Mr. Dhanapal announced that the six members –

· Mr. V. C. Chandhirakumar (Erode East)

· Mr. K. Nallathambi (Egmore)

· Mr. D. Murugesan (Chengalpattu)

· Mr. S. Senthilkumar (Tiruverumbur)

· Mr. B. Parthasarathy (Virugambakkam)

· Mr. R. Arulselvan (Mayiladuthurai)

would remain suspended from the House for one year and would not draw salary or enjoy other concessions entitled to them.

The Speaker said there was no need for discussion on the issue as all members were witness to what happened on February. The video recording of the incident was shown to the privilege panel members to ascertain the identities of those involved. Moreover, the committee, which discussed the issue before coming out with its recommendations, had representations from various parties. While describing the action of the suspended members as unbecoming of their position, the Speaker asked whether the Opposition felt that nothing had happened. He then ordered the suspended members to leave the House.

On February 8, 2013 a clash erupted between loyal DMDK members and rebels who spoke in support of the ruling party. Some of them exchanged blows with Mr. Michael Rayappan. The Speaker referred the issue to the Privileges Committee under Rule 226 of the Assembly Rules after Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam demanded appropriate action, describing the incident as “barbaric and shameful.” The incident took place after a rebel MLA, K. Tamil Azhagan, raising a supplementary query during question hour, asked other members of the DMDK to follow his example in serving the people of the constituency – a reference to his meeting the Chief Minister to discuss constituency matters.

Can they take part in RS polls?

The suspension of six Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) MLAs has sparked a debate on the question whether the suspended members could take part in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held a few months later. While one school of thought is of the view that the MLAs would not be able to take part in the polls so long as their membership stands suspended, another school says that the punishment of suspension essentially pertains to their functioning as MLAs but cannot be extended to the Rajya Sabha elections, the participation of which does not form part of proceedings of the Assembly.

Asked for his view, Praveen Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, says that when and if the matter comes up before him, it would be referred to the Election Commission. It is up to the EC to take a final view on the matter. The language used in the resolution that was adopted by the Assembly on the punishment would have to be perused, apart from examining precedents, if any. Technically speaking, the DMDK has 29 MLAs, even though five of them are functioning independent of the line of approach of the party leadership. With the suspension of six MLAs, the effective strength comes down to 23 which includes the five rebel MLAs.

This also triggers a question over the status of the DMDK as an important Opposition party.

Thanks to its original strength, the party was recognised so and its leader, Vijayakant, as Leader of Opposition. As per the Assembly rules, a party which has secured more than quorum strength – (For Tamil Nadu it is 24 seats in the Assembly polls) – will be recognised as a legislature party and the one having the largest number of Members other than the ruling party will be the principal Opposition party.

TN Assembly passes resolution on 'Eelam'

The Tamil Nadu Assembly urged the Centre to move a resolution in the United Nations Security Council seeking various measures against

Sri Lanka

, including a referendum on creation of Eelam. Considering the future of Sri Lankan Tamils, such a referendum should be held among Tamils living in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, says the resolution, which the House adopted unanimously through a voice vote after it was moved by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

Urging the Centre to stop calling Sri Lanka a “friendly nation,” the Assembly demanded that an independent international inquiry be conducted into “genocide” and “war crimes” committed in the final phase of the Eelam War in 2009; those found guilty be produced before an international court and given appropriate punishment; and till the Sri Lankan government stopped repression of Tamils, an economic embargo be imposed on the island nation.

Coming down heavily on the Centre government for its approach to the issue, Ms. Jayalalithaa said that even though two years had gone by since the Assembly adopted a resolution (which had demanded, among others, that the government impose economic sanctions on Sri Lanka), the Centre had done nothing. In her speech during the debate on the Governor’s address last month, she appealed to the Centre to get a resolution passed at the United Nations Human Rights Council on the basis of the 2011 Assembly resolution, but the government, which comprised the DMK, did not bother about it.

For the crimes against humanity committed, whole world must boycott the

Sri Lankan Administration. Unfortunately, lives lost are not American or

European lives - The world will ignore this tragedy!

Khurushid rejects T.N. resolution on Eelam:-

The government rejected the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution that asked the Centre to stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly nation and to slap sanctions on it while demanding a referendum on a separate Tamil Eelam. External Affairs Minister Mr. Salman Khurshid told Karan Thapar in Devil’s Advocate programme on CNN-IBN that there is no question of [our] accepting them. That is not the only State that has a stake in this. What about the others? There are many other States. There are many other Assemblies. The rest of

India

is not supporting this.

When Karan Thapar asked about the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s three important resolutions, he said a firm “NO” to each of the three demands. He added that, if all of India was to support, it was another matter. But if one State supports something, it is sensitive to their concerns but do not necessarily have to...

The Assembly resolution urged the Centre to take firm steps against Colombo until the “suppression” of Tamils was stopped and those responsible for “genocide and war crimes” faced a credible international probe. The resolution came on the heels of Ms. Jayalalithaa’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that India boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Colombo in November this year. On the issue of CHOGM in Colombo, he said the government had an open mind about it but made it clear that as of today it was a party to the collective decision.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Jaya's letter to PM on IPL matches in Chennai

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written to the Prime Minister stating categorically that the Sri Lankan cricketers in the Indian Premier League will not be allowed to play matches in her state.

Here's the full text of her letter to the PM:

"I am writing to you on a matter of urgency and importance connected with the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. The recent continuous agitations in Tamil Nadu during the debate in the UNHRC have revealed the great angst and anguish amongst the people of Tamil Nadu with regard to this highly emotive issue. In this surcharged atmosphere the IPL cricket tournament is scheduled to be held at various locations including Chennai from 3rd April, 2013 onwards and will go on for over a month till the 26th May, 2013. I understand that almost all the participating teams have in their ranks Sri Lankan cricketers as their team members.

You are aware that the civil strife in

Sri Lanka

is a lamentable saga of an ethnic pogrom launched by the Sri Lankan Government, using Sri Lankan Army against Tamils, which resulted in the commission of genocide against a defenceless civilian Tamil population and the decimation of thousands of innocent women and children.

These human rights violations have been extensively documented in the international media and internationally condemned.

These painful events of genocide of innocent Sri Lankan Tamils have had a deep impact amongst the people of Tamil Nadu, who have been severely shocked, pained and angered by these barbaric acts.

Recently, against the background of increasing and credible evidence of continuing atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil Nadu witnessed mass agitations, hunger strikes, self immolations and the large scale spontaneous involvement of many sections of Society, including the student community, protesting against the Sri Lankan action against the Tamils.

I have also been regularly writing to you protesting against the repeated and unprovoked attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy on innocent Tamil Nadu fishermen on the high seas, which have caused the deaths of and injuries to scores of Tamil Nadu fisherfolk. Understandably, their sentiments, too, have been hurt by these brutal and hostile acts of the Sri Lankan Navy.

All political parties in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly voiced their grave concern regarding these issues. The atmosphere is, therefore, already surcharged with a groundswell of popular public opinion against the Sri Lankan Government.

In such a hostile and tense environment, we apprehend that the participation of Sri Lankan players in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, will aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people.

In view of the popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Tamil Nadu is of the view that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu.

The BCCI may be advised by the Government of India to prevail upon the IPL organizers not to allow Sri Lankan players, officials, umpires and support staff to take part in the tournament in Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu will permit IPL matches to be held in Tamil Nadu, only if the organizers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches.

I would be grateful for a line in reply in this matter."

IPL matches with Lankan players must not be played in TN: Jayalalithaa

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that no Sri Lankan player should play the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in her state. Raking up the alleged war crimes committed by Sri Lankan armed forces against Tamils in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Jayalalithaa said that there was a lot of anger in the state against what happened in the island nation.

In her letter, Jayalalithaa said, "In view of the popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Tamil Nadu is of the view that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu will permit IPL matches to be held in Tamil Nadu, only if the organizers provide an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches".

Earlier in February, Jayalalithaa had cancelled the Asian Athletics meet saying Sri Lankan players would not be allowed in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK supremo had also asked the Central government to move amendments to the US-backed resolution on Sri Lanka over war crimes against ethnic Tamils. "Don't just support the US-backed resolution on Lankan Tamils issue at UNHRC, but strengthen it through suitable amendments," Jayalalithaa had written in a letter to PM Manmohan. India finally voted against Sri Lanka at the United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

Jayalalithaa said the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) may be advised by the central government to prevail upon the IPL to not allow any Sri Lankans to take part in the tournament in Tamil Nadu.

Referring to the human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government against the Tamils and the continued attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, she said: "All political parties in Tamil Nadu have repeatedly voiced their grave concern regarding these issues. The atmosphere is, therefore, already surcharged with a groundswell of popular public opinion against the Sri Lankan government."

She said the state government apprehended that the participation of Sri Lankans in the IPL tournament, with many games to be played in Chennai, would aggravate an already surcharged atmosphere and further offend the sentiments of the people.

Meanwhile, the participation of Sri Lankan players in the sixth season of the IPL remains doubtful, according to reports on Tuesday. Chennai Super Kings, who have Nuwan Kulasekara and Akila Dhananjaya in their squad, are waiting for the government and the BCCI decision before making a final call on their players' participation.

Sri Lankan Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage said there was no need to communicate with the Tamil Nadu government over the issue and that Sri Lanka is coordinating with the BCCI and the Indian government. He said that, we have asked the BCCI and the Indian government to ensure security for players. If the Indian government doesn't provide security, players will be asked not play in Tamil Nadu. Former Sri Lankan spinner Muralitharan said, "If IPL asks us not to play, we will not play. Cannot comment as no one from IPL has contacted yet".

List of Sri Lankan players contracted to the eight IPL teams:

Sun Risers – Hyderabad (owned by SUN TV Maran – grandson of Karunanidhi)

Kumara Sangakkara (Captain)

Thisera Perera

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Sachithra Senanayake

Chennai Super Kings:

Akila Dananjaya

Nuwan Kulasekara

Delhi Daredevils:

Mahela Jayawardene

Jeevan Mendis

Mumbai Indians:

Lasith Malinga

Pune Warriors:

Angelo Mathews

Ajantha Mendis

Rajasthan Royals:

Kusal Perera

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Tilekaratne Dilshan

Muttiah Muralitharan

Current Affairs Questions - I

CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

SET - I

Total Questions:- 50

(01) The Election Commission awarded the best electoral practices and election management for the year 2012 to three States. Which one of the following in NOT included in that award list?

(a) Gujarat

(b) Uttar Pradesh

(d) West Bengal

(02) Match:

List – I List – II

A Arihant 1 Nuclear missile submarine

B Chakra 2 Nuclear attack submarine

C Brahmos 3 Supersonic missile

D Nirbhay 4 Subsonic missile

Codes:-

A B C D

(a) 4 3 2 1

(b) 1 2 3 4

(d) 4 2 3 1

(03) Match:

List – I (Committee) List – II (Purpose)

A Sam Pitroda 1 Prasar Bharati

B Kasturirangan 2 Delay in infrastructure projects

C Santosh Hegde 3 Manipur fake encounter killings

D Rangarajan 4 Price for LNG

Codes:-

A B C D

(a) 1 2 3 4

(b) 4 3 2 1

(d) 4 2 3 1

(04) Which of the following ministries are involved in Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011?

1. Ministry of social justice and empowerment

2. Ministry of Rural development

3. Ministry of minority affairs

4. Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation

(a) Only 1

(b) Only 2

(d) Only 2 and 4

(05) Jarawa is a tribe located in

(a) North Andaman

(b) Middle Andaman

(d) Little Andaman

(06) Consider the following Statements:-

(I) Constitution of India says that President needs to appoint a tribal commission after 5 years of commencement of Constitution and thereafter as and when he deems fit

(II) So far four tribal commissions have been made

Which of the above statement(s) is/are NOT correct?

(a) I only

(b) II only

(d) Neither I nor II

(07) Which of the following group of North Eastern States has separate High Courts for them?

(a) Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim

(b) Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram and Meghalaya

(d) Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland

(08) According to the Union Ministry of Statistics, which state has the maximum number of manufacturing industries in India?

(a) Gujarat

(b) Maharashtra

(d) Tamil Nadu

(09) The State that has the maximum number of juvenile murders in India is

(a) Madhya Pradesh

(b) Maharashtra

(d) Rajasthan

(10) UNO celebrates 2013 as Year of

(I) Water Cooperation (II) Family Farming

(III) Crystallography (IV) Quinoa

(a) I and II only

(b) II and III only

(d) I and IV only

(11) Pick the incorrect statement

(a) Ms. Tulsi Gabbard is the first Hindu ever elected to the U.S. House of Representative

(b) She is elected from California

(d) She is a Democrat

(12) Minmata Convention is associated with

(a) Chloro fluro carbons

(b) Carbon di-oxide

(d) Endangered Species

(13) “Project Ministers”, a project which aims to include 28 deputy Ministers in the Cabinet taking the tally of total Ministers to 97. Which Asian country we are referring to this?

(a) The Philippines

(b)

Sri Lanka

(d) Kazakhastan

(14) Identify the name of the dams in the following map marked as 1, 2 3 and 4 respectively

(a) Dagu, Jiacha, Jiexu and Zangmu

(b) Jiacha, Jiexu, Dagu and Zangmu

(d) Dagu, Jiexu, Zangmu and Jiacha

(15) John Kerry, the present US Secretary of State is a Democratic senator from

(a) Ohio

(b) Massachusetts

(d) South Dakota

(16) Janko Tipsarevic who won the Chennai Open 2013 belongs to the country of

(a) Spain

(b) Switzerland

(d) France

(17) Consider the following statements:-

(I) By winning the Australian Open 2013, Novak Djokovic became the second person to win the cup three consecutive times

(II) Bob and Mike Bryan won their 13th doubles title together at the Australian Open 2013

Which of the above is/are correct?

(a) I only

(b) II only

(d) Neither I nor II

(18) The tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual convention of Indian Diaspora spread across the globe, held at Kochi, Kerala in 2013. Prime Minister released a stamp on ______ at this event.

(a) Civil disobedience Movement

(b) Non-Cooperation Movement

(d) Khilafat Movement

(19) Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) launched the first fast patrol vessel (FPV), built for the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel is the first in a series of 20 numbers fast patrol vessel (FPVs) contracted by CSL for the Indian Coast Guard. What is the name of the Patrol Vehicle?

(a) Madhusudan

(b) Aadesh

(d) Vishwast

(20) United Nation has released "One Women" album on the occasion of International Women's Day. Name the Indian Artist who was the member of this album?

(a) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

(b) Anoushka Shankar

(d) Amzad Ali Khan

(21) A committee had been constituted to review taxation in IT sector under the Chairmanship of -

(a) Anita Kapur

(b) N. Rangacharya

(d) C. Rangarajan

(22) India signed agreement with which country recently for the Modernisation of Indian Railways?

(a) Belgium

(b) Japan

(d) France

(23) Microsoft announced plans to shut down which service?

(a) MS Office 2007

(b) Skype

(d) Bing

(24) The Government of China recently launched a postage stamp to mark the year 2013. Name the animal depicted on the postage stamp?

(a) Lizard

(b) Snake

(d) Rabbit

(25) Which is not a feature of the American Constitution?

(a) Written Constitution

(b) Federation

(d) Republic

(26) ISRO recently gave clearance for using which frequency band from satellite for internet on trains?

(a) S Band

(b) C Band

(d) 3G Spectrum

(27) Name the first Asian country to Order Chemical Castration of Child Rapist?

(a) South Korea

(b) North Korea

(d) Russia

(28) A centre dedicated to the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore is being proposed to be established at -

(a) St. Petersburg

(b) London

(d) Edinburgh

(29) Which of the following is statements is/are correct?

(I) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) gives loans at zero interest rate to poor countries.

(II) International Development Association (IDA) gives loans at market rates to middle class and poor countries.

(a) I only

(b) II only

(d) Neither I nor II

(30) Correct statement about Dedicated Freight Corridors?

(I) It is made up of three sub-corridors: Western, Eastern and Northern

(II) The Eastern Corridor will connect Punjab to West Bengal

(III) Only electrical trains will be operated on these corridors.

(IV) The Western Corridor will connect Punjab to Karnataka.

(a) Only I and IV

(b) Only I and III

(d) Only II and IV

(31) Which of the following is/are wrongly defined?

(I) Infant Mortality Rate denotes no. of infant deaths in less than 1 year of age per 1000 live births.

(II) Neo-Natal Mortality Rate denotes no. of infant deaths of age less than 2 months per 1000 live births

(III) Growth Rate – excess of births over deaths for every 100 persons.

(a) I and II only

(b) II and III only

(d) All

(32) The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices, weighted with the average export shares of each of the groups. Which among the following commodity group is NOT present in the index?

(a) Meat

(b) Oil/fats

(d) Dairy

(33) Mamoni Scheme meant for reducing Maternal Mortality ratio is implemented in the state of

(a) Madhya Pradesh

(b) Assam

(d) Mizoram

(34) Name the person who was appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations.

(a) Dilip Sinha

(b) Nirupam Sen

(d) Hardeep Singh Puri

(35) National Security Guards was created by the Government of India on the pattern of Special Air Service & GSG-9 of two European Countries. Which are these two countries respectively?

(a) UK & France

(b) France & Germany

(d) None of these

(36) The World Agriculture Congress (WAC), to be held in November 2013 which is likely to see participation from about 600 delegates is scheduled to be held in the city of

(a) Pune

(b) Chandigarh

(d) Hyderabad

(37) “Panjeeyan” is an e-governance project associated with the Indian state of

(a) Punjab

(b) Assam

(d) West Bengal

(38) Match:- (Satellites of PSLV-C20 and their purposes)

List – I List – II

A SAPHIRE 1 Arctic Region

B NEOSSAT 2 Mobile phones in space

C AAUSAT 3 Detection and tracking of Asteroids

D STRand 4 Space Debris

Codes:-

A B C D

(a) 1 2 3 4

(b) 4 3 1 2

(d) 3 4 1 2

(39) In the Railway Budget 2013, a new State has been included for the first time in Indian Railway Map. Which State is that?

(a) Manipur

(b)Meghalaya

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

(40) Modified GAAR norms to be introduce from

(a) 2 014

(b) 2015

(d) 2017

(41) Zhuang Zedong, who passed away recently, was associated with the sport of

(a) Football

(b) Table Tennis

(d) Swimming

(42) Which of the following is/are correctly matched?

(I) Samsung – Rex

(II) Nokia – Asha

(a) I only

(b) II only

(d) Neither I nor II

(43) The State which engaged thousands of differently abled persons in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that has prompted the Union government to replicate the model in the rest of the country

(a) Tamil Nadu

(b) Kerala

(d) Andhra Pradesh

(44) “Iron Fist” is

(a) Indian Naval force’s first day-night exercise

(b) Indian Air force’s first day-night exercise

(d) Indian Defence force’s first day-night exercise

(45) AirAsia is joining with which group to form budget airlines in India?

(a) Reliance

(b) Tata

(d) Sun TV

(46) The Reserve Bank of

India

released new rules that would allow private players and non-banking finance firms to enter the tightly regulated banking sector. As per the new rule, the minimum equity capital required for setting up a bank is Rs. ____

(a) 250 crore

(b) 500 crore

(d) 1000 crore

(47) The armies of (two countries) launched a joint military exercise called “Shanti Praya-II”

(a) USA and Nepal

(b) India and Nepal

(d) India and Bhutan

(48) Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee is appointed for

(a) To review the drought situation in the farm suicide belt of Indian states

(b) To review the arts and science college educational system in India

(d) To review the powers of the Censor Board

(49)

India

’s single-window body to clear foreign investment proposals, FIPB, cleared IKEA’s Rs 10,500-crore project, the largest FDI in single-brand retail so far. Which of the following statements about IKEA is correct?

(a) IKEA is a Japanese Insurance company

(b) IKEA is a South African jewellery company

(d) IKEA is a Swedish furniture company

(50) What is 'Novozymes Avantec'?

(a) a new drug found to combat HIV

(b) a vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis

(d) an enzyme discovered to produce more ethanol from corn

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For attending these questions online, plz click the foll link:-

Simple Current Affairs questions

Total Questions: 50 with negative mark (-0.25) for wrong answers

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=current-affairs1

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Questions (in pdf format):-

http://www.mediafire.com/file/k7t8ztcqsbx5z8c/Current_Affairs_Question_-_I.pdf

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