Test Your General Knowledge
Test Your General Knowledge
Test Your General Knowledge
1. Who said that Directive Principles are "aimed at furthering the goals of the social revolution or to foster this
revolution by establishing the conditions necessary for its achievement"?
a. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
b. B. N. Rau
c. Granville Austin
d. M. C. Chagla
2. Which of the following Articles provides for securing for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory
of India?
a. Article 44
b. Article 45
c. Article 46
d. Article 47
3. Which of the following words was not added to the Preamble of the Constitution of India by the 42nd
Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976?
a. Sovereign
b. Socialist
c. Secular
d. Integrity
4. Which British Prime Minister announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known
as Communal Award in 1932?
a. Ramsay Mac Donald
b. Clement Atlee
c. Winston Churchill
d. None of the Above
5. Which of the following is known as the Act for the Good Government of India?
a. Indian Council Act 1861
b. Government of India Act 1885
c. Pitts India Act of 1784
d. Government of India Act 1919
6. With which one of the following rivers is the Omkareshwar Project associated?
a. Chambal
b. Narmada
c. Tapi
d. Bhima
7. Which one of the following was a journal brought out by Abul Kalam Azad?
a. Al-Hilal
b. Comrade
c. The Indian Sociologist
d. Zamindar
8. Who among the following translated the Autobiography of Madam Curie in Hindi?
a. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b. Lal Bahadur Shastri
c. Choudhary Charan Singh
d. Gobind Ballabh Pant
10. Which among the following planets is smaller in size than the Earth?
a. Neptune
b. Venus
c. Saturn
d. Uranus
11. Which of the following committees is associated with reforms in small industries?
a. K.L.Rekhi Committee
b. R.Chelliah Committee
c. Abid Hussain Committee
d. None of the above
12. Who among the following was the advisor to the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly?
a. B. Shiva Rao
b. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
c. Sachidananda Sinha
d. B. N. Rau
13. Who among the following was the author of Tarikh-i-Alai,which contains the details of the first few years of
Sultan Alauddin Khilji?
a. Ziauddin Barani
b. Shams Siraj Afif
c. Amir Khusrau
d. Yahiya bin Ahmad
14. "Let a hundred flowers bloom and let a thousand schools of thought contend" was said by
a. Lenin
b. Karl Marx
c. Tolstoy
d. Mao Tse-tung
15. The Magsaysay Award is given for proficiency in which of the following?
a. Literature
b. Mountaineering
c. Science
d. Social Science
Answers
1. c 2. a 3. a 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. b 11. c 12. d 13. c 14. d 15. a
3. Who among the following is the recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award?
a. England
b. Akkineni Nageshwar Rao
c. Manoj Kumar
d. Subhash Ghai
8. Who was the first scholar to use the term "Indus Civilization"?
a. Rakhal Das Bannerji
b. John Marshall
c. Dayaram Sahani
d. R. S. Bist
10. By which Constitutional Amendment Acts, was it provide that Parliament has the power to abridge or take
away any of the enactment of Constitutional Amendment Act?
a. The 25th Constitutional Amendment Act 1971
b. The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act 1971
c. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976
d. None of the above
Answers
1. c 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. a 6. b 7. c 8. b 9. c 10. b 11. b 12. a 13. a 14. b 15. b
2. Which of the following won the Sony Ericsson Tennis Championship men's title?
a. Lucky Dlouhy
b. Mahesh Bhupati
c. Leander Peas
d. Andy Roddick
3. Which of the European countries recently came into news for eruption of volcano?
a. England
b. Finland
c. Iceland
d. Denmark
6. 'United People's Freedom Alliance' recently won a majority in the parliamentary elections in-
a. Sri Lanka
b. Nepal
c. Maldives
d. Vietnam
8. Which of the following Constitutional Amendment Bills in Pakistan aimed at stripping the president of key
powers?
a. 15th constitution Amendment Bill
b. 18th constitution Amendment Bill
c. 20th constitution Amendment Bill
d. 22nd constitution Amendment Bill
9. The Central Asian country which recently came into news for political turmoil is-
a. Uzbekistan
b. Kyrgyzstan
c. Tajikistan
d. Turkmenistan
10. The deal 'New START' has recently been signed between-
a. Russia and USA
b. UK and Japan
c. India and China
d. China and Russia
12. Which of the following states does not have legislative council?
a. Andhra Pradesh
b. Jammu & Kashmir
c. Kerala
d. Uttar Pradesh
Answers
1. a 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. b 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. b 15. c
5. Euromoney, one of Europe's largest business and financial magazine publishers which has interests in financial
publishing and event organization has named Citigroup CEO as banker of the year, in addition to bestowing 13
major product and regional awards to the US banking giant, in its annual Euromoney awards for excellence.
Name the CEO of Citigroup
a. Dr. KC Chakraborthy
b. Vikram Pandit
c. T.M. Bhasin
d. Dr.V A Joseph
9. Praduman Singh Jindrahia whose composition Geet Sarovar was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award 2009 is a
noted and famous poet of-
a. Assamese
b. Dogri
c. Gujarati
d. Konkani
10. Who among the following personalities awarded Padam Vibhushan is percussionist and Mrudangam Vidwan?
a. Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman
b. Zohra Segal
c. Bipin Chandra
d. Prathap C.Reddy
11. The Best feature film chosen at the 56th National Film Award is-
a. Antaheen
b. Jogva
c. Rock on
d. Fashion
14. The best batsman award of Indian Premier League-III was received by-
a. Suresh Raina
b. M.S.Dhoni
c. Sachin Tendulkar
d. Pragyan Ojha
15. The Best Parliamentarian Award for 2009 has been conferred on-
a. Jaipal Reddy
b. Murli Manohar Joshi
c. Mohan Singh
d. Hamid Ansari
Answers
1. d 2. b 3. b 4. d 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. a 12. b 13. c 14. c 15. b
2. Bombay Stock Exchange has SENSEX as its one of the major indices. What does SENSEX stands for?
a. SENSor IndEX
b. SENSitive indEX
c. SENSitive EXchange
d. Sensitive Stocks
5. There are three exchanges in China among them are Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock
Exchange. Which is the third one?
a. Hong Kong Futures Exchange
b. Tokyo Stock Exchange
c. Shenzhen Stock Exchange
d. Osaka Securities Exchange
6. Which is the largest Stock exchange in the world in terms of dollar value of its listed companies’ stocks?
a. NYSE
b. Chicago Stock Exchange
c. Ftse
d. Stockholm Stock Exchange
7. How many indices exist in the ‘Sector Series’ (indices representing several sectors such as FMCG, capital
goods) of Bombay Stock Exchange?
a. 10
b. 11
c. 13
d. 9
8. Recently Dow Jones crashed 1000 points on an intraday trade what was this crash called?
a. Flash Crash
b. Black Tuesday
c. Black Monday
d. Mini Crash
13. What is full form of NEAT which is the online trading system of the National Stock Exchange?
a. Nation’s Exchange for Automated Trading
b. National Exchange for Automated Trading
c. Nationwide Exchange for Automated Trading
d. None of the Above
15. On which date did the Sensex surge by a record 2110.79 points in a day?
a. May 18, 2009
b. January 8, 2008
c. October 30, 2006
d. March 30, 1992
Answers
1. a 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. b 8. a 9. a 10. d 11. b 12. c 13. b 14. c 15. a
4. S&P CNX Nifty is a well diversified 50 stock index accounting for how many sectors?
a. 22
b. 5
c. 15
d. 10
7. Which will be the first foreign company to issue IDR’s (Indian Depository Receipt)?
a. Citibank
b. Standard Chartered Bank
c. Deutsche Bank
d. HSBC
10. Funds which invest only in stocks comprising an index and gives returns commensurate with the index return
are called
a. Index Funds
b. Active Funds
c. Dormant Funds
d. None of the above
12. How many stocks does Hang Seng index comprise of?
a. 35
b. 43
c. 30
d. 50
13. National Commodity Clearing Limited (NCCL) is the joint venture between which companies?
a. NSE and MCX
b. MCX and NCDEX
c. NSE and NCDEX
d. BSE and NCDEX
15. Which was the first company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange?
a. Citigroup
b. Ford Motor
c. Bank of New York
d. General Electric
Answers
1. a 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. b 8. a 9. d 10. a 11. d 12. b 13. c 14. b 15. C
1. Name the company in the news, which formed a search committee to select the successor to the current
chairman.
a. TATA Group
b. Infosys
c. Wipro
d. Ruia Group
3. Who has been named brand ambassador of the upcoming Airtel Champions League Twenty20 by the
tournament's official broadcaster and commercial partner ESPN Star Sports.
a. Salil Ankola
b. Bobby Deol
c. Shahrukh Khan
d. Amitabh Bachchan
4. Who has received the Voice and Data Telecom Person of the Year 2010 award.
a. Anil Sardana
b. Anil Sharma
c. Jayant Dua
d. Gopal D
5. Natrajan Chandrasekaran has been ranked as India’s best CEO according to FinanceAsia magazine. He is the
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which of the following companies
a. Infosys
b. Wipro
c. Arcelor Mittal
d. TCS
6. Which of the following business tycoons has been selected for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
fellowship
a. Ratan Tata
b. Sunil Mittal
c. Lakshmi Mittal
d. Rahul Bajaj
7. The new police commissioner of Pune has said she will place special emphasis on the "fitness and
preparedness" of staff deployed to respond to terrorist threats in the city, which was rocked by the February
13 blast at the German Bakery, claiming 17 lives. Who is she.
a. Meeran Borwankar
b. Malini Shinde
c. Letika Saran
d. Kiran Bedi
13. We make the things that make India proud is the punchline of which of the following companies
a. Philips
b. Voltas
c. LG
d. L&T
14. Which of the following cities in Scotland is also known as the Granite City
a. Aberdeen
b. Dundee
c. Edinburgh
d. Glasgow
15. Which of the following actresses has agreed to be India's national green ambassador to initiate eco-friendly
campaigns in India
a. Deepika Padukone
b. Preity Zinta
c. Priyanka Chopra
d. Sushmita Sen Answers
1. a 2. c 3. d 4. a 5. d 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. a 10. b 11. b 12. a 13. d 14. a 15. c
Test your General Knowledge -– XXIX
Who is the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix
a. Michael Schumacher
b. Mark Webber
c. Nicolas Prost
d. Adrien Tambay
1. Who was presented the prestigious Jnanpith Award for 2006. The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary award in
India.
a. Ravindra Kelekar
b. Umashankar Joshi
c. U. R. Ananthamurthy
d. C. Narayanareddy
2. Who is the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prudential Life Insurance
a. Rajesh Menon
b. Nagesh Alai
c. S Bakshi
d. D. A. Prasanna
3. He was a former Editor in Chief of leading Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama. He launched many
publications such as the women’s magazine Vanitha in Malayalam and Hindi, the English magazine The Week,
the farmer’s magazine Karshakasree, children’s magazines Balarama, Amar Chitra Katha and Kalikudukka in
Malayalam and Magic Pot in English and encyclopedic Manorama Yearbook in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil
and Bengali. He passed away on August 1st 2010. Name him.
a. K. M. Oommen
b. Cash Reverse Ratio
c. Basava Premanand
d. K M Mathew
4. Who is the new Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
a. Gopal Das
b. Kuldeep Goyal
c. Amit Shankar
d. B S Nagesh
5. An American stand-up comedian, television host and actress, she has been a judge on American Idol for one
year, having joined the show in its ninth season. Recently she quit the show. Name her.
a. Jennifer Lopez
b. Kara DioGuardi
c. Ellen DeGeneres
d. Paula Abdul
6. Well-known International Newsweek magazine, owned by The Washington Post Co., has been sold to an
American businessman who has been active in education, government, industry, and publishing. Name him
a. Rupert Murdoch
b. Sidney Harman
c. Brian Gruseke
d. Bill Lane
12. Which of the following cities in the US is popularly known as the city of skyscrapers
a. Los Angeles
b. New York
c. Philadelphia
d. Dallas
1. Who has been ranked the most trusted name in India in a list compiled by popular magazine Reader's Digest.
a. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
b. Ratan Tata
c. Lakshmi Mittal
d. Narayan Murthy
2. Who is the Chairman of the Expert Committee on National Film Awards
a. Dilip Kumar
b. Shyam Benegal
c. Amitabh Bachchan
d. Anupam Kher
6. Which of the following politicians has been arrested by CBI in Shorabuddin Case
a. Suresh Mehta
b. Amit Shah
c. Narendra Modi
d. Keshubhai Patel
Answers
1. a 2. b 3. d 4. c 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. c 9. d 10. a 11. b 12. a 13. b 14. c 15. a
2. An American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter, he has been chosen to receive an Emmy award
for his humanitarian efforts. Name him.
a. Tom Hanks
b. George Clooney
c. Denzel Washington
d. Melvin Kaminsky.
3. A French film actress, author, television screenwriter and director, she starred in many films and won the
Golden Lion at the Venice Film festival and was especially famous in France for her TV series for children, Poly
(a boy and a horse) and Belle et Sébastien, adapted for television from her books. She passed away on July 19,
2010. Name her.
a. Marion Cotillard
b. Ginette Garcin
c. Cécile Aubry
d. Juliette Binoche
4. Who has been elected as the President of the Delhi Archery Association (DAA)
a. Sanjay Gupta
b. RC Venkateish
c. Nikhil Kilpady
d. Virender Sachdeva
5. Dabur India is talks to buy Turkish personal care products maker. Name the personal care products maker.
a. Hunca Cosmetics
b. Hobi Kozmetik
c. Arçelik
d. Poliya
7. Which of the following countries has taken its anti-smoking crusade one step further by now banning smokers
from applying for high-ranking executive jobs in the government.
a. Iran
b. Iraq
c. Israel
d. Ireland
9. Which of the following Indian states is also known as the ‘Abode of Clouds’
a. Nagaland
b. Manipur
c. Meghalaya
d. Uttarakhand
10. Who is the minister of Environment and forests?
a. Dinsha J. Patel
b. Srikant Jena
c. Jairam Ramesh
d. E. Ahamed
11. An English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre,
and films, he won the prestigious children's fiction prize - the Cilip Carnegie Medal - for his fantasy tale The
Graveyard Book. Name him
a. Neil Gaiman
b. Mark Adlard
c. Brian Aldiss
d. Nick Harkaway
12. Who is the new Chief Vigilant Officer (CVO) of Steel Authority of India (SAIL)
a. C S Verma
b. SK Roongta
c. Chandra Bhushan Paliwal
d. G Elias
13. Who has been appointed the new deputy chief financial officer of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)
a. Pankaj Vaish
b. V. Srikanth
c. Aloke Ghosh
d. Amrita Bhalla
14. Which of the following countries is not a member of Gulf Cooperation Council
a. Yemen
b. Oman
c. Bahrain
d. Kuwait
Answers
1. a 2. b 3. c 4. d 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. b 9. c 10. c 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. a 15. b
1. An American underground comic book writer, he was best known for his autobiographical American Splendor
series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same. He passed away on July
12, 2010. Name him
a. Harvey Pekar
b. Brian Michael Bendis
c. Peter David
d. Clifford Meth
2. Which of the following cricketers has snapped a 3- year deal with sports and talent management firms Rhiti
sports management and mindscapes one
a. Sourav Ganguly
b. Virender Sehwag
c. Sachin Tendulkar
d. M.S. Dhoni
3. Insurance broker Aon corp has agreed to buy a Human resources company for $ 4.9 billion in cash and stock
to expand its consulting operations. Name the Human Resources company.
a. Ma Foi Management Consultants Limited
b. Ernest & Young Private Limited
c. Global Hunt
d. Hewitt Associates
5. Who won the main prize at the Karlovy Vary film festival in the Czech republic for his film ‘The Mosquito Net’
beating 11 other contenders.
a. Pedro Almodóvar
b. Agusti Vila
c. Alejandro Amenábar
d. Juanma Bajo Ulloa
6. Who won a gold medal in the 48-kg gold in the International Wrestling tournament “Gran Premio de Espana
“that was held from July 10-11 at Madrid, Spain
a. Geetika Jakhar
b. Nirmal Devi
c. Sumit Morya
d. Prakash Kumar
7. Who has won the Golden Boot award for top scorer at the World Cup and was also named best young player
of the tournament
a. Manuel Neuer
b. Mesut Oezil
c. Thomas Mueller
d. Jerome Boateng
8. Which of the following counties has been in news for armed conflict taking place between rival drug cartels
and government forces
a. Mexico
b. South Africa
c. Turkey
d. Thailand
10. Which of the following countries has recently announced a permanent suspension of Google’s Mail service
claiming that it will be replaced by a new National service
a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Iran
d. Pakistan
12. Who was the first Indian to win the World Amateur Billiards title?
a. Geet Sethi
b. Ashok Shandilya
c. Wilson Jones
d. Michael Ferreira
Answers
1. a 2. d 3. d 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. a 9. b 10. c 11. c 12. c 13. b 14. c 15. a
Test your General Knowledge - XXV
1. _____________notched up his 12th Grand Slam title after he and his Zimbabwean partner Cara Black clinched
the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship with a straight set victory on Sunday.
a. Mahesh Bhupathi.
b. Leander Paes
c. Somdev Devvarman
d. Prakash Amritraj.
4. Who has been honoured with the 2010 national award by the technology Development Board of the Ministry of
Science and Technology?
a. A.R. Sharma
b. Dr. O.P. Katare
c. Martti Ahtisaari
d. Volodymyr Semynozhenko
5. The Reserve Bank of India has decided to increase the cash withdrawal limit for ATMs to Rs _____________ in
a single day
a. 75,5000
b. 50,000
c. 1 lakh
d. 1,25000
7. Which of the following Bollywood actresses has been banned by the South Indian Film Artistes Association
(SIFAA) for offending them by shooting for the movie ‘Ready’ in Sri Lanka
a. Asin Thottumkal
b. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
c. Rekha Ganesan
d. Trisha Krishnamurthy
9. An Indian weightlifter, she has joined training for the Commonwealth games to be held in Delhi in October
after serving a two-year ban for a dope in flunk in 2008 after clearing a confirmatory test
a. Nandini Devi
b. Pratima Kumari
c. Kunjarani Devi
d. Monika Devi
10. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has conferred the chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy with
the title of `Wind Visionary of Asia'. The award is in recognition of Suzlon's commitment to building the case
for wind across the world and highlights a decade of tremendous work in key markets of Asia. Who is the
managing director and chairman of Suzlon
a. Tulsi R Tanti
b. Kushal Pal Singh
c. Pallonji Mistry
d. Anurag Dikshit
13. The South Asian Association for regional cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight
countries in Southern Asia. When was it formed
a. September 2, 1987
b. December 8, 1985
c. August 8, 1989
d. December 5, 1986
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. a 11. a 12. c 13. b 14. a 15. d
1. An Indian politician and Member of Parliament, he has rejoined BJP after he was unceremoniously thrown out
for writing a controversial book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 2009. Name him
a. Jaswant Singh
b. Jagdish Mukhi
c. Y.G.Mahajan
d. Ramswaroop Koli
2. Which of the following country has been knocked out of the world cup 2010.
a. Nigeria
b. Germany
c. Argentina
d. Brazil
4. Which of the following countries has ruled out that it is not a criminal offence to cut off the life support of a
dying person if that person has given consent.
a. Philippines
b. Germany
c. France
d. Austria
6. An industrialist and philanthropist, he was one of the first to enter into the television business. He was the
proprietor of the firm that sold the popular Dyanora TV sets and was also the former managing director and
founder of Nippo batteries. He passed away on June 30, 2010. Identify him.
a. Armand Hammer
b. P. Obul Reddy
c. Tony Toldo
d. Dr. S. K. Somaiya
7. In which year did India became a member of The United Nations Organisation (UNO)
a. 26th January, 1950
b. 15th August, 1947
c. 27th September, 1945
d. 30th October, 1945
11. Arachnophobia is
a. fear of spiders
b. fear of lightning and thunderstorms
c. fear of the number 13
d. fear of birds
14. An Indian film director and producer, she has won a number of awards, including a National Film Award and
various international film festival awards, and was a nominee at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA
Awards and Filmfare Awards. She was also awarded the India Abroad Person of the Year-2007, which was
presented by Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo, Inc, and India Abroad Person of the Year-2006. Name
her
a. Deepa Mehta
b. Aparna Sen
c. Gurinder Chadha
d. Mira Nair
15. Who is the minister of youth affairs and sports
a. GK Vasan
b. CP Joshi
c. Dr. MS Gill
d. MK Alagiri
Answers
1. a 2. c 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. b 7. d 8. c 9. a 10. b 11. a 12. b 13. c 14. d 15. c
3. Which of the following countries is hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup
a. South Africa
b. Germany
c. Italy
d. France
7. Which is the only country to have played in every tournament of World Cup football
a. Brazil
b. France
c. Italy
d. Germany
8. Which of the following countries has never made it to a World Cup final game
a. France
b. Spain
c. Argentina
d. England
9. The 2014 World Cup will be held in which of the following countries
a. Japan
b. South Korea
c. Germany
d. Brazil
10. ________ was the first country to win a World Cup in 1930
a. USA
b. Yugoslavia
c. Uruguay
d. Argentina
11. How many countries have qualified for the 2010 World Cup
a. 208
b. 200
c. 204
d. 202
12. Who is the overall top goal scorer in all the World Cup tournaments
a. Cristiano Ronaldo
b. Wayne Rooney
c.Lionel Messi
d. Pele
Answers
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. d 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. c 11. c 12. a 13. c 14. b 15. c
1. A US-based investment banking giant has been fined a record £33.32 million by the UK regulator for failing to
keep billions of dollars of client money separate from the firm's money in segregated accounts. Name the US-
based investment giant.
a. Wells Fargo
b. Morgan Stanley
c. JP Morgan
d. Goldman Sachs
2. An Indian multi-business conglomerate with diversified business interests that include finance, insurance, real
estate, media & entertainment, tourism & hospitality, and services & trading has retained the sponsorship rights
of the Indian cricket team for a whopping Rupees 30.34 million (653,000 dollars) per match till December 2013.
Name the conglomerate.
a. Yahoo! India
b. Sahara India
c. Reliance
d. Star India
4. The 2010 International Indian Film Academy Awards is going to be held in which of the following countries:
a. Singapore
b. Malaysia
c. Mauritius
d. Srilanka
5. A UAE-based telecommunications service provider, Etisalat is in talks to buy a quarter of an Indian mobile
carrier for $ 180 billion rupees. Name the service provider.
a. Reliance
b. Tata
c. Airtel
d. Idea
6. Which Indian pharmaceutical company has received an approval from the Drug Controller General of India
(DCGI) to market its H1N1 vaccine in the country?
a. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
b. Ranbaxy Laboratories
c. GlaxoSmithKline
d. Cadila Healthcare Ltd
7. Who was crowned with the coveted Miss India World beauty pageant for the year 2010?
a. Pooja Chopra
b. Ekta Choudhary
c. Manasvi Mamgai
d. Shriya Kishore
13. Which company launched the first mobile phone operation in India?
a. Bharti
b. Modi Telstra
c. Loop
d. Essar
15. A novelist and essayist, he achieved notability with his second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), which won the
Booker Prize in 1981. Much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses
(1988), was the centre of a major controversy, drawing protests from Muslims in several countries. Name him.
a. Salman Rushdie
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. Vikram Seth
d. Khushwant Singh
Answers
1.c2.b3.c4.d5.a6.d7.c8.b9.c10.d11.a12.b13.b14.d15. a
1. Recently a ship laden with medical equipment, books and building materials, as well as a number of dignitaries
including members of various parliaments, a Holocaust survivor and a Nobel peace prize laureate was attacked
in international waters; under international law. Name the country that undertook such a drastic action.
a. Turkey
b. Israel
c. USA
d. China
2. An Italian carmaker recently launched the limited edition of its fastest sports car Murcielago LP 670-4
SuperVeloce in India. Name the Italian carmaker.
a. Alfa Romeo
b. Maseratti
c. Lamborghini
d. Edonis
3. Which of the following radio channels has just launched the first of its kind SMS services under the SMS VAS
umbrella brand of 'ANY TIME MUSIC - ATM'
a. 98.3 Radio Mirchi
b. 94.3 Radio One
c. 107.1 Rainbow
d. 104.8 Meow
6. Name the country that has recently developed a super computer that runs at more than one quadrillion (one
thousand million) calculations per second
a. China
b. Japan
c. India
d. Germany
7. ________ has become the first country to initiate a new law proposing strict packaging rules for tobacco
companies to sell their cigarette packs 'plain' without display of logo or imagery on the cover by January 1,
2012.
a. Germany
b. India
c. Austria
d. Australia
12. The organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organization. How
many countries are a member of this organization
a. 31
b. 35
c. 48
d. 29
14. Name the place in Mangalore, which saw an air disaster of such magnitude in which 158 lives perished.
a. Bajpe
b. Kavoor
c. Udipi
d. Kadri
Answers
1.b 2.c 3.b 4.a 5.d 6.a 7.d 8.b 9.a 10.b 11.d 12.a 13.d 14.a 15.d
1. Which Thai film has won the Palme d'Or top prize at the 2010 Cannes film festival??
a. Pleasure Factory
b. Ploy
c. The Love of Siam
d. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2. The American drug-maker Abott is all set to acquire India's second largest pharmaceutical healthcare company
for USD 3.72 billion. Name the healthcare company.
a. Cipla
b. GlaxoSmithKline
c. Piramal Healthcare
d. Ranbaxy
3. He was an Indian born Scottish inventor, who pioneered the development of the Automated Teller Machine
(ATM). He passed away in May 2010. Name him
a. Luther George Simjian
b. John Shepherd-Barron
c. James Goodfellow
d. Don Wetzel
4. An Indian FMCG major is all set to acquire 100 percent stake in Latin American Issue group for an undisclosed
amount. Name the FMCG major.
a. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited
b. Hindustan Unilever Limited
c. Godrej Consumer Products Limited
d. Britannia Industries Ltd
7. India has created a joint river commission with which of the following countries?
a. Bangladesh
b. Bahrain
c. Bhutan
d. Myanmar
10. He is a versatile writer and his novels have won many literary awards. His first novel, 'The Circle of Reasons'
won the Prix Medicis Etrangere, one of the top literary awards of France. His second novel, 'Shadow Lines' won
the famous Sahitya Akademi award of 1990, India's most prestigious literary prize. Name him.
a. Amitav Ghosh
b. Salman Rushdie
c. Vikram Seth
d. Khushwant Singh
13. "Powered by Intellect; Driven by Values" is the punchline of which of the following companies?
a. Tata
b. Wipro
c. Infosys
d. Accenture
14. What does WIPO stand for?
a. World Internet Project Organisation
b. Warner Independent Pictures Organisation
c. Wireless Industry Partnership Organisation
d. World Intellectual Property Organisation
Answers
1. d 2.c 3. b 4. c 5. a 6. a 7.a 8. b 9. c 10. a 11. d 12.c 13. c14. d 15. c
2. Which company recently made an open offer to its Indian subsidiary at Rs.900/- per share?
a. ABB
b.Pfizer
c.Novartis
d.Fresenius Kabi
3. He was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002- July 21, 2007, after losing
the presidential election to Pratibha Patil. He also served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state three times,
from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992, and 1993 to 1998. He passed away on May 15, 2010. Name him
a. K. R. Narayanan
b. Krishna Kant
c. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
d. Shankar Dayal Sharma
4. A NRI entrepreneur, he has been awarded the prestigious Global Green Award in recognition of his leadership
and success in promoting renewable energy solutions in emerging markets such as India. He was presented
the award at World Trade Week in New York. Name him
a. Amar Bose
b. Sourabh Sen
c. Swaraj Paul
d. Vinod Khosla
6. Amazon.com Inc. uses an e-reader for the rendering and displaying of e-books and other digital media. Name
the software and hardware platform.
a. Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad
b.Barnes and Noble’s Nook
c. Kindle
d. Sony Reader
7. Popular social networking site Facebook can now be accessed through mobile devices for free or without any
data charges in 45 countries, including India, on select mobile networks. Name the network in India.
a.Vodafone
b.Idea
c.Airtel
d. Reliance Communications and Videocon
8. The Deepwater Horizon Oilspill in the Gulf of Mexico is being described as the worst oil leak disaster in
decades, and has reached marshlands along the southeastern coast of Louisiana and threatened three other US
states. The company undertaking the offshore oil drilling operations in this location was
a. BP
b. Australian Oil and Gas Corporation
c. Royal Dutch Shell
d. Petronas
12. ‘Making the Sky the best place on Earth’ is the punchline of which of the following airlines
a. IndiGO
b. Kingfisher Airlines
c. Air India
d. Air France
13. India's largest private sector bank ICICI Bank is set to buy_____________, one of the country's oldest private
lenders in a share swap worth about $650 million. Name the bank
a. Bank of Travencore
b. Bank of Maharshtra
c. Bank of Rajasthan
d. Dhanalakshmi Bank
14. Who is the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bharti Retail?
a. Vinod Sawhny
b. Andrew Levermore
c. Ajjay Bijli
d. Sunil Tandon
Answers
1. a 2.a 3. c 4. b 5. d 6. c 7.d 8. a 9. b 10. d 11. c 12.d 13. c14. a 15. b
1. Who has President Barack Obama nominated as Solicitor for the US Supreme Court?
a. Robert Gates,
b. Elena Kagan
c. Janet Napolitano
d. Lawrence Summers
2. Who has been awarded the prestigious Sydney Peace Prize this year in recognition of her works in social
justice?
a. Vandana Shiva
b. Pat Dodson
c. Irene Khan
d. Muhammad Yunus
3. A global diversified and integrated metals and mining group has acquired Anglo American's entire zinc
business in Ireland and Africa for USD1.34 billion. Name it.
a. Sagar
b. Baldota
c. Kudremukh
d. Vedanta
4. A Bollywood actor, he started his Hindi film career with Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat in 1964. He had acted in
more than 190 films. He was mostly known for his role in Ramesh Sippy's popular film Sholay in 1975. He
passed away on May 10, 2010. Name him.
a. A.K. Hangal
b. Satyendra Kapoor
c. Mac Mohan
d. Vikas Anand
5. Gemini Communication Ltd, a Chennai-based communication and network solution provider, has acquired a
telecom and Internet service provider in Africa, for an undisclosed sum. Name the company
a. Zain
b. VSAT
c. MegaTech
d. Rosy Blue Wireless
6. Which bank has won the prestigious Asian Banker Achievement Award for being the strongest bank in Asia
Pacific region, instituted by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and the Asian Banker magazine?
a. State Bank of India
b Oriental Bank of Commerce
c. Union Bank of India
d. United Bank of India
8. A cricketer, commentator and politician, he made his international debut against the West Indies in 1983, but
could not fare well. He played in the 1987 cricket World Cup for India. His highest ODI score was 134 against
England at Gwalior in 1993. One of his best performances was his score of 201 against the West Indies in 1996-
97. He retired from cricket in December 1999. Identify him.
a. Mohammed Azharuddin
b. Sunil Gavaskar
c. Ravi Shastri
d. Navjot Singh Sidhu
9. An Indian economist, he currently serves on the Academic Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch (Asia) and is
a Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. His book, In Defense of Globalization, published in May
2004 received widespread acclaim. He received the Padma Vibhushan award in 2000 and the Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in 2004. Name him.
a. Jagdish Bhagwati
b. Amartya Sen
c. Dr Y K Alagh
d. Rahul Arora
13. An Indian social activist, she is known for her role in Narmada Bachao Andolan. Name her.
a.Maneka Gandhi
b. Shanta Sinha
c. Kiran Bedi
d. Medha Patkar
14. Who is the founder and the Executive Chairperson of New Delhi Television (NDTV)?
a. RP Goenka
b. Pranav Mistry
c. Prannoy Roy
d. Prasoon joshi
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. d 4. c 5. d 6. a 7. c 8. d 9. a 10. b 11. c 12. a 13. d. 14. c 15. b
1. The world’s biggest payments network, Visa has agreed to buy a provider of electronic payment and risk
management services for $ 2 billion. Name it.
a. Cyber source
b. Modulesoft
c. VeriSign
d. Paypal
2. Who bagged the best bowler honour at the glitzy IPL Awards 2010?
a. A Agarkar
b. RP Singh
c. S Sreesanth
d. Pragyan Ojha
3. A Nottingham-born novelist, he emerged in the 1950s as one of the "Angry Young Men" of British fiction. His
novels included Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, both of
which were made into films. He passed away on April 25, 2010. Name him.
a. Ian Carmichael
b. Robert Jordan
c. Alan Sillitoe
d. Harry Carpenter
4. An Indian author, has won the Dan David prize for his depictions of 20th century life and will share the million
dollar prize with Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. Name him.
a. Vikram Seth
b. Amitav Ghosh
c. Salman Rushdie
d. Upamanyu Chatterjee
5. An inventor, entrepreneur and policymaker, he is also the advisor to Prime Minister on infrastructure and
innovation and has been selected for a honorary doctorate in Human Letters by the University of Illinois. Name
him.
a. Sam Pitroda
b. Lalit Modi
c. Raunaq Singh
d. K.P. Singh
6. An English actress, she appeared in several films, including Tom Jones (1963), and Georgy Girl (1966) which won
her a New York Film Critics Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She
passed away on May 2, 2010. Name her.
a. Natasha Richardson
b. Lynn Redgrave
c. Audrey Hepburn
d. Carrie Hamilton
7. The Union Government's ambitious unique identity project which aims at giving a 16-digit number to all
citizens of the country has been renamed
a. Aadhaar
b. Umeed
c. Shakthi
d. Neev
10. Which businessman has a joint venture with Walt Disney called MEN?
a. Anil Ambani
b. Mukesh Ambani
c. Ratan Tata
d. Lalit Modi
11. Gagan Ajit Singh is associated with which of the following games/sports?
a. Basketball
b. Badminton
c. Hockey
d. Volleyball
12. Who is the minister of Overseas Indian affairs and Minister of Parliamentary affairs?
a. Shri Shankersinh Vaghela
b. Shri Vayalar Ravi
c. Shri P.R. Kyndiah
d. Shri Mahavir Prasad
14. The Times of India Group and the Jang Group came together to energize a peace process between India and
Pakistan, christened ___
a. Only Hearts
b. StarPeace Project
c. Peace Corridor
d. Aman ki Asha
Answers
4. Who won the women’s title at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, USA in March 2010?
a. Jelena Jankovic
b. Caroline Wozniacki,
c. Dinara Safina
d. Serena Williams
5. A former professional footballer, he wrote and staged a number of plays himself, and was the founder of the
Mandeko Theatre in the Malian capital Bamako. He was also the “Best Actor” at the Berlin Film Festival last
year, winning an award for playing a French Muslim waiting for news of his son in the wake of the 7/7
bombings in the film London River. He passed away on April 17, 2010. Name him.
a. Dennis Weaver
b. Don Knotts
c. Sotigui Kouyate
d. Steve Irwin
6. A leading export company set up by an NRI entrepreneur has won the Queens Award for Enterprise 2010 for
the second consecutive year. Name the firm.
a. Panoramic
b. Sun Mark Ltd
c. O'Keefe
d. Gopio
7. An Indian American, he has topped the list of the 10 greenest billionaires chosen by Forbes as those "who are
most active in green, sustainable causes and who are working to have the greatest impact." Name him.
a. Neal Kumar
b. Raju Kucherlapati
c. Rashad Hussain
d. Vinod Khosla
8. Who has been appointed interim chief of IPL in the wake of the scam affecting the tornament?
a. Ravi Shastri
b. Chirayu Amin
c. Shashank Manohar
d. Sundar Raman
9. The Toronto-based Schulich School of business is to set up its campus in which of the following locations?
a. Bangalore
b. Mumbai
c. Hyderabad
d. Haryana
12. Which of the following Indian actors was named at birth as Yusuf Khan?
a. Naseeruddin Shah
b. Raaj Kumar
c. Dev Anand
d. Dilip Kumar
15. Which of the following global automotive majors announced its decision to divest 30% stake in an engine
company in Iran, in order to avoid links to the country facing tougher sanctions over its nuclear plans?
a. General Motors
b. Daimler
c. Toyota
d. Ford
Answer
1. c. 2. d. 3. d 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. d 8. b 9. c 10. a 11. c 12. d 13. a 14. d 15. b
1. What is the theme of World Health Day for the year 2010?
a. To protect Health from Climate Change
b. Save lives, Make Hospitals Safe in Emergencies
c. Urbanisation and Health
d. Working together for health
2. Who has been conferred the 'entrepreneur of the year' award by the All India Management Association, at its
Managing India Awards 2010?
a. Rajiv Kaul
b. Roopen Roy
c. Sanjiv Goenka
d. Chaitan Maini
4. A globally known figure, he has authored several International best sellers, including ‘Competing for the Future’
with Gary Hamel (1994), ‘The Future of Competition’ with Venkat Ramaswamy (2004) and ‘The Fortune at the
Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits', Wharton School Publishing, 2004. He passed away
on April 16, 2010. Name him
a. Rakesh Khurana
b. Ram Charan
c. C.K. Prahalad
d. Vijay Govindrajan
5. Who won the Pulitzer Prize for the year 2010 for feature writing?
a. Gene Weingarten
b. Kathleen Parker
c. Tod Robberson
d. Kathleen Parker
6. Which of the following development programmes has recently been launched by the government of India
Government of India to achieve the goal of universalisation of secondary education (USE)?
a. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)
b. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
c. Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY)
d. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)
7. Which of the following international organizations has appointed a three-member independent panel to probe
the assassination of Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto?
a. United Nations
b. Interpol
c. Red Cross
d. Scotland Yard
10. In which year was India’s first paperless newspaper ‘The News Today’ launched?
a. 2001
b. 1999
c. 2005
d. 2000
12. William Jones cup is associated with which of the following games?
a. Baseball
b. Volleyball
c. Tennis
d. Basketball
Answers
1. c 2. d 3. a 4. c 5. a 6. d 7. a 8. b 9. d 10. a 11. b 12. d 13. a 14. b 15. a
2. Who was named ‘Wisden Cricketer of the Year’ for the second time in a row on April 14, 2010?
a. Sachin Tendulkar
b. Virender Sehwag
c. Ricky Ponting
d. Adam Gilchrist
3. Who has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of Religare Enterprise?
a. Aditya Mishra
b. Steven Kalczynski
c. Malvinder Mohan Singh
d. Sunil Godhwani
4. Citi has appointed __________ as the head of its global banking in India
a. Ravi Kapoor
b. Mark Khambatta
c. Vivek Mohan
d. Vindi Banga
5. Who has been named the richest Asian in Britain for the year 2010?
a. Anil Ambani
b. Lakshmi Mittal
c. Mukesh Ambani
d. Vijay Mallya
7. Who has been appointed the new chairman of the National Commission for Farmers?
a. Ms Sushma Swaraj
b. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
c. K. C. Pant
d. Sharad Pawar
8. The Olympic Games are held at an interval of ___________ years
a. 7 years
b. 3 years
c. 4 years
d. 5 years
12. Who became the first Asian to win the Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 for her book "Interpreter
Of Maladies?"
a. Kiran Desai
b. Arvind Adiga
c. Arundhati Roy
d. Jhumpa Lahiri
1. Which cellular service provider in India is all set to acquire the African assets of Kuwaiti telecom company Zain
for $ 10.7 billion?
a. Idea
b. Reliance
c. Vodafone
d. Bharti Airtel
3. Which airline is the official umpire partner of the IPL tournament 2010 being held now?
a. Kingfisher Airlines
b. Indigo
c. Spicejet
d. None of the above
7. A professional American tennis player faces a two-year ban from tennis after eight vials, each containing six
milligrams of a performance-enhancing substance, were found in his luggage by Australian Customs officers,
ahead of a tournament leading up to the Australian Open. Name him.
a. Jose Acasuso
b. Wayne Odesnik
c. David Adams
d. Ronald Agenor
8. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, China's largest private-run car maker has agreed to buy _________ for $1.8
billion.
a. Ford Motor’s Volvo Unit
b. Chrysler’s Caravan minivan
c. GM’s Hummer
d. Tata Motors’ Jaguar brand
9. An American engineer, entrepreneur and medical doctor, he designed the first commercially successful personal
computer in 1975 and is most often known as the father of the personal computer. He passed away on April 1,
2010. Name him.
a. Michael Dell
b. Howard Hughes
c. Adam Osborne
d. H Edward Roberts
10. Who has been appointed as chairman of Morgan and Stanley Investment Banking India?
a. Vivek Mohan
b. Pramit Jhaveri
c. V K Bansal
d. Bob Patel
12. Which of the following Asian countries is referred to as “Nippon” by the natives of the land?
a. Japan
b. South Korea
c. China
d. Malaysia
14. The Prince of Wales Cup is associated with which of the following games?
a. Tennis
b. Golf
c. Badminton
d. Volley ball
15. With which of the following international aviation majors has Spanish Airline Iberia inked a merger deal to form
one of the largest airline groups in the world?
a. US Airways
b. Air France- KLM
c. British Airways
d. Lufthansa
Answers
1. d 2. b 3. a 4. a. 5. d 6. b 7.b 8. a 9. d 10.c 11.c 12.a 13 .b 14 .b 15.c
1. Apni Beti Apna Dhan is a scheme introduced by which of the following Indian states for welfare of the girl
child
a. Rajasthan
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Haryana
d. Meghalaya
2. Name the controversial film which was directed by Shekhar Kapur and was banned by the Indian authorities in
1994
a. Bandit Queen
b. The Guru
c. The Four Feathers
d. Elizabeth
3. Which of the following Indian states was separated from Bengal on April 1, 1912
a. Manipur
b. Orissa
c. Assam
d. Bihar
7. The Ochterlony Monument was built in 1848 by Sir David Ochterlony to commemorate his victory in the Nepal
War (1814 – 1816). What was it renamed as after India achieved independence?
a. Victory Tower
b. Qutub Minar
c. Shaheed Minar
d. Char Minar
10. __________ award is annually conferred for outstanding contribution to public service, community leadership,
journalism, literature, creative arts and international understanding
a. Right Livelihood
b. Pulitzer
c. The Golden Peacock
d. Magsaysay
12. Which foreign influence is seen in the rock cut architecture of India?
a. Arabic
b. Persian
c. Indo-European
d. Greek
Answers
1. c 2. a 3. c 4. b 5. d 6. c 7. c 8. b 9. a 10. d 11. c 12. b 13. d 14. b 15. d
2. The permanent secretariat of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is located at
_____________
a. Pokhara
b. Kathmandu
c. Bhaktapur
d. Patan
7. ‘The Gathering’, written by Anne Wright won the Man Booker Prize in the year
a. 2006
b. 2007
c. 2005
d. 2009
13. The ________ nerve is related to the sense of smell in the human body
a. Olfactory
b. Optic
c. Cranial
d. Sciatic
1. Who defeated Belgium’s Justine Henin to win the women’s singles title for the fifth time and her 12th Grand
Slam title?
a. Monica Seles
b. Jesse Levine
c. Venus Williams
d. Serena Williams
11. ________ in Rajasthan is known for a wild life sanctuary which is included in the world heritage list
a. Bharatpur
b. Sariska
c. Mount Abu
d. Ranthambore
13. Which article of the Indian constitution declares Hindi as the official language?
a. Article 344
b. Article 341
c. Article 343(1)
d. Article 351
14. What is the minimum age to become a member of the Lok Sabha?
a. 35
b. 21
c. 30
d. 25
15. __________ was made the 25th state of the Indian republic as per the constitution act 1987
a. Tamil Nadu
b. Mizoram
c. Goa
d. Punjab
Answers
1. d. 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. d 6. a 7. a 8. c 9. d 10. b 11. a 12. d 13. c 14. d. 15. c
Test your General Knowledge - X
3. Which state was formed as the 24th state of India as per the constitution 55th amendment act, 1987? (Hint: The
state is best suited for growth of rare orchids)
a. Himachal Pradesh
b. Uttar Pradesh
c. Arunachal Pradesh
d. Madhya Pradesh
6. 6. A former prime minister of India, he is the only Indian to have received the highest civilian awards from
both India and Pakistan, the Bharat Ratna and Nishaan-e-Pakistan. Name him.
a. Gulzarilal Nanda
b. Morarji Desai
c. Charan Singh
d. Rajiv Gandhi
8. The science of the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code is called
a. Cryptanalysis
b. Cryptosystem
c. Ciphertext
d. Cryptology
13. Who is the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in lawn tennis?
a. Vijay Amritraj
b. Leander Paes
c. Mahesh Bhupathi
d. Sania Mirza
14. Iron is a sports term associated with which of the following games?
a. Baseball
b. Tennis
c. Golf
d. Volleyball
15. Which film won the National Award for the best film on family welfare?
a. Little Zizou (English)
b. Gubbachigalu (Kannada)
c. Antaheen (Bengali)
d. Naan Kadavul (Tamil)
Answers
1. The song Vande Mataram, declared India's National song in 1937 through a resolution, was composed in
Sanskrit by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The song was set to tune by Rabindranath Tagore. In which of the
novels penned by Bankimchandra does the song appear?
a. Durgeshnandini
b. Anand Math
c. Kapalkundala
d. Parineeta
2. Name the religious leader whose murder triggered the “Kandhamal riots ” in Orissa.
a. Swami Laxmananand
b. Swami Dayanand
c. Swami Laxman prasad
d. Swami Saraswati
3. Starbucks, an international cafe chain based in Seattle, Washington is the world’s largest coffee-house
company. Name the chairman and CEO of the company, who is largely credited for making Starbucks the
hugely successful business that it is today by convincing the ownership of the company to sell traditional
espresso and beverages (in addition to the whole bean coffee and leaf teas that they traditionally used to).
a. Clay Bennett
b. Marvin Herb
c. Steven Cohen
d. Howard Schultz
4. India's first silent movie was made by N G Chitre and R G Torney in 1912 which was half British in its make.
Name the first fully indigenous silent feature film by Budhiraj Govind Phalke which hit the screens on May 3,
1913.
a. Satyavan Savitri
b. Raja Harishchandra
c. Pundalik
d. Nala-Damayanti
5. The operations of this organization was formally launched in 1936 with an objective to inform, educate and
entertain the masses. It covers 24 languages and 146 dialects. The coverage is 90% in terms of area and 97.3% in
terms of population. Name the organization
a. The Times of India Group
b. Doordarshan
c. All India Radio
d. Asiatic Society
6. Name the leader who has taken over the post of Rajasthan Chief Minister from Ms Vasundhara Raje in the
recently concluded state assembly elections.
a. Ashok Gehlot
b. Shivraj Chouhan
c. Ashok Chavan
d. Raman Singh
7. September 1987 saw the conversion of the nuclear power board into NPCIL. NPCIL has recently been in the
news for inking a pact with French energy firm, Areva, which is also the world's largest nuclear power
company.What does NPCIL stand for
a. Nuclear Power Center of India Ltd
b. Nuclear Power Company of India Ltd
c. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd
d. Nuclear Power and Co-operation Industries Ltd.
9. This nation state in Europe had its security and justice operations overlooked by the UN since it declared
independence. The European Union has however taken over this position recently. Name this nation.
a. Serbia
b. Georgia
c. Kosovo
d. Ukraine
10. An international agreement linked to the UN Framework conventions on Climate Change, it came into force in
2005 and sets legally binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Name the environmental treaty.
a. The Kyoto Protocol
b. The Clean Development Mechanism Treaty
c. Treaty of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
d. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme
11. Toshihide Maskawa,Makoto Kobayashi were two of the three scientists who shared the Nobel prize in Physics
for 2008. Name the third physicist.
a. Thomas Kyle
b. Steven Chu
c. Albert Fert
d. Yoichiro Nambu
12. He was the last monarch of Nepal before he was ousted from his throne in 2008 by the Maoists who are the
ruling party in Nepal. Name the last king of Nepal.
a. King Gyanendra
b. King Dipendra
c. King Birendra
d. King Mahendra
13. Shortly after disturbing stories relating to child reality shows hit the headlines, fresh guidelines to protect child
artistes were put forward by this statutory body on September 27, 2008. According to these guidelines,
participation of every child artist is entitled to a set of conditions which should be ensured by the producers
and parents. Name the body that has enacted this set of guidelines.
a. CRY
b. UNICEF
c. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
d. Film and Television Institute of India
14. Name the cricketer who faced the first ball in the first ever one-day international cricket match.
a. Don Bradman
b. Geoffrey Boycott
c. John Traicos
d. Sunil Gavaskar
16. The river Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of the length, discharge and watershed. It flows through
the western part of Russia. Which sea does the River Volga flow out into?
a. Red Sea
b. Caspian Sea
c. Mediterranean Sea
d. Dead Sea
17. The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honor which is generally conferred on the 23rd of January each year
for rendering outstanding services to the world community. It was instituted on 2 January, 1954 by then
President of India. Name him.
a. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
b. Govind Ballabh Pant
c. Dr Rajendra Prasad
d. Jawaharlal Nehru
18. This is part of an immortal speech given by a famous Indian and is addressed to “Sisters and Brothers in
America” – “Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful
earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed
civilization and sent whole nations to despair.” Name the personality who rocked the entire world with his
rousing rhetoric in this speech delivered in 1893.
a. Rabindranath Tagore
b. Mahatma Gandhi
c. Swami Vivekananda
d. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
19. He is the number two FBI official of the 1970s. He was also called “Deep Throat” and is known for bringing
down US president Richard Nixon by providing the Washington Post with information exposing the Watergate
scandal. Name the person
a. Bob Woodward
b. Mark Nelson
c. Rob Jones
d. Mark Felt
20. Which amendment act of the Indian Constitution lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years?
a. (60th amendment) Act,1988
b. (61st amendment) Act,1989
c. (50th amendment) Act,1987
d. (65th amendment) Act,1990
Answers
1. b 11. d
2. a 12. a
3. d 13. c
4. b 14. b
5. c 15. c
6. a 16. b
7. c 17. a
8. b 18. c
9. c 19. d
10. a 20. b
1. 60-year old Dennis Tito made history when he became the first private tourist to outer space in April 2001,
paying $20-million for his eight-day holiday aboard the International Space Station. Mr. Tito was a former
employee of
a. Microsoft
b. NASA
c. Russian Federal Space Agency
d. Apple Computers
2. The feature film Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai Bacchan is based on the life of an Indian wife in Britain who
set her husband on fire after years of being physically abused by him. Sentenced to life imprisonment under
the British judicial system, she was however released after three years thanks to human rights activists, and
her case led to British courts recognising provocation in cases of domestic homicide. Name her.
a. Rahila Gupta
b. Baby Halder
c. Kamal Sandhu
d. Kiranjit Ahluwalia
3. Which former governor of the Reserve Bank of India has written a book called India’s Politics – A View from
the Backbench, in which he outlines the deficiencies of the Indian system of governance and suggests
solutions?
a. C. Rangarajan
b. Bimal Jalan
c. Venugopal Reddy
d. I G Patel
4. Who is the present Chief Justice of India, also the first Dalit member of judiciary to occupy the post?
a. Y K Sabharwal
b. K G Balakrishnan
c. R C Lahoti
d. None of the above
5. An actor identified most often with the iconic character that he has played on the big screen, he has also won
critical acclaim for his performance on stage as Alan Strang, a stable boy obsessed with horses, in the British
play Equus. He also became the youngest non-royal ever to have an individual portrait in Britain’s National
Portrait Gallery. Identify him.
a. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)
b. Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films)
c. Daniel Craig (James Bond)
d. William Shatner (Captain James Kirk in the Star Trek movies)
Corporate
6. Skoda India, a fully owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group’s SkodaAuto of the Czech Republic, launched its
small car in India under the name
a. Superb
b. Octavia
c. Fabia
d. Scout
7. Which of the following Indian IT majors has a contract with the Federation Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA) to provide technical services and support for the World Cup events in 2010 and 2014?
a. Patni Computer Services
b. Tata Consultancy Services
c. Satyam Computers Ltd.
d. Wipro Technologies
8. The juice brand Minute Maid is a product of which food and beverage major?
a. Coca Cola
b. Pepsico
c. Godrej Beverages and Foods
d. Dabur Foods
9. Infosys Technologies Ltd., the global Indian leader in IT services and consulting, is listed in which of the
following international stock exchanges?
a. Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)
b. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
c. S&P
d. NASDAQ
10. Which of the following corporate offices/campuses in India has recently been awarded the prestigious LEED
platinum rating, which recognizes commitment to superior standards of quality, and efficient utilization and
conservation of energy, water and natural resources?
a. Patni Knowledge Centre, Noida
b. Infosys Global Education Centre, Mysore
c. Technopolis Knowledge Park, Mumbai
d. RMZ Ecospace, Bangalore
Politics
12. Who succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister upon his death in May 1964, and is often referred to as the
first acting Prime Minister of India?
a. Lal Bahadur Shastri
b. V V Giri
c. Gulzari Lal Nanda
d. Gopal Swarup Pathak
14. The President of the United States of America is all of the following EXCEPT
a. the head of state
b. the chief justice of the Supreme Court
c. the leader of the executive branch of the federal government
d. the commander-in-chief of the armed forces
Current Affairs
16. Which Indian industrialist has been honoured by the Italian Government for his contribution towards
strengthening economic and social relations between the European country and India?
a. R Seshasayee
b. Pawan Munjal
c. L. V. Subrahmanyam
d. Sunil Mittal
17. Name the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008.
a. Narayana Murthy
b. Guy Laliberté
c. Michael Dell
d. Dr Jean-Paul Clozel
18. Who was elected President of the Board of Control for cricket in India(BCCI) on September 27, 2008?
a. Mr. S.K. Sharma
b. Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya
c. Mr.Shashank Manohar
d. Mr. Sharad Pawar
19. Name the Indian IT Company that has been presented with two prestigious Banker Technology Awards
(awarded by The Banker magazine of the FT group) in June 2008 for its outstanding work in the field of
wholesale and capital markets.
a. Accenture
b. TCS
c. Infosys
d. Wipro
20. The sale of successful Indian drug major Ranbaxy to Japanese pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo created a
flutter in media in June 2008. Who is the CEO of the new group post acquisition?
a. Takashi Shoda
b. Malvinder Singh
c. Kensi Masuzoe
d. Shivinder Singh
Answers
1. b 1. d
2. d 2. c
3. b 3. b
4. b 4. b
5. a 5. a
6. c 6. a
7. c 7. d
8. a 8. c
9. d 9. c
10. a 10. b
2. The construction of the Qutub Minar in Delhi was completed during the reign of
a. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
b. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
c. Qutb-ud-din Aibak
d. Raziya Sultan
3. An American author of novels, essays and short stories, he was best known for his for his 1996 novel Infinite
Jest, which Time included in its All-Time 100 Greatest Novels (1923-2006). He died on September 14th 2008.
Identify him.
a. David Foster Wallace
b. Horatio Alger
c. Park Benjamin
d.John Peale Bishop
5. Who is the first and the youngest Indian to have won the Miss Universe pageant?
a. Priyanka Chopra
b Diana Hayden
c. Aishwarya Rai
d. Sushmita Sen
7. Who was appointed as the Indian Finance Minister by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in 1991?
a. Manmohan Singh
b. P Chidambaram
c. Madhav Rao Scindia
d. Jaswant Singh
9. Which of the following is not among the New Seven Wonders of the World?
a. The Taj Mahal, India
b. The Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
c. The Eiffel Tower, France
d. Chichen Itza, Mexico
12. A financial condition in which there is an undue decrease in the amount of money available relative to its
buying power, leading to a consistent reduction in general price levels, is termed
a. Inflation
b. Deflation
c. Demonetization
d. Destabilization
13. How many fundamental rights are guaranteed under the constitution of India?
a. 6
b. 9
c. 7
d. 5
14. Which among the four canonical texts of the Vedas consists of sacrificial chants written in prose?
a. Rigveda
b. Yajurveda
c. Samaveda
d. Atharvaveda
15. Novelis, a leading company in aluminium rolling and recycling, belongs to the
a. Tata Group
b. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
c. Aditya Birla Group
d. Reliance Industries Ltd. (Mukesh Ambani)
16. Which state is going to host the 2011 National Games of India?
a.Madhya Pradesh
b. Karnataka
c.Sikkim
d. Goa
17. Name the Indian journalist and novelist who recently received the 'National Amity Award' in recognition of his
commendable service towards national integration and unity of the people.
a. Dr. Khushwant Singh
b. Vikram Chandra
c. Arvind Adiga
d. Sagarika Ghosh
19. She is an Indian-origin jurist and has recently been appointed as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Identify her.
a. Navanethan Pillay
b. Tanika Gupta
c. Renuka Chowdhury
d. Reeta Sinha
20. Which of the following is NOT a group company of Indian automotive major TVS, named after its founder T V
Sundaram Iyengar?
a. Royal Sundaram Insurance Co Ltd.
b. Sundaram Textiles Ltd.
c. Sundaram Clayton Ltd.
d. Brakes India Ltd.
22. Who is the present leader of the opposition of the Rajya Sabha?
a. Anbumani Ramadoss
b. Jaswant Singh
c. T.R Balu
d. A.R Antulay
23. What famous incident, in the history of Indian Freedom Movement, took place on March 12, 1930?
a. Civil Disobedience Movement
b. Quit India Movement
c. Dandi March
d. Promulgation of the Government of India Act
25. The first Indian to contest election to the British House of Commons was_________
a. S.N.Banerjee
b. W.C.Banerjee
c. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
d. Dadabhai Naoroji
26. An AFFIDAVIT is
a. A written statement made on oath
b. A pardon for wrong doers
c. A written document that outlines the legal arguments in a case.
d. A legal promise to abide by certain norms of state
28. The earth, the third planet from the sun, is placed between:
a. Mars and Jupiter
b. Venus and Mars
c. Jupiter and Venus
d. Mercury and Venus
Answers
1. d 1. d
2. a 2. a
3. a 3. d
4. d 4. a
5. d 5. a
6. c 6. d
7. a 7. b
8. a 8. c
9. c 9. b
10. a 10. d
11. c 11. a
12. b 12. b
13. a 13. b
14. b 14. a
15. c 15. c
13. In which year was the World Health Organization (WHO) established?
a. 1948
b. 1947
c. 1945
d. 1950
14. Who was the first Roman Catholic and the youngest American to be elected to the office of the President of
USA?
a. Harry S. Truman
b. John Adams
c. John. F. Kennedy
d. Theodore Roosevelt
16. In which year and where the first Asian Games held?
a. Canada, 1951
b.New Zealand, 1948
c. Kenya, 1958
d. Scotland, 1995
21. Who has been ranked the third powerful woman in business by Forbes in its 2008 list of the top 100 women,
based on power, economic component, job title and past career accomplishments and press coverage in August
2008?
a. Roopa Purushottam
b. Angela Merkel
c. Indra Nooyi
d. Kalpana Morparia
22. Somalian pirates hijacked a Japanese vessel carrying 18 Indian crewmembers in October 2008. Name the ship
a. MV Faina
b. MT Stolt Valor
c. TM Liner
d. Lifeline
23. An Indian conductor was recently honoured with Japan's Praemium Imperiale, one of art's richest awards, for
his lifetime work with orchestras around the world. Identify him.
a. Prateek Chaudhury
b. L. Subramaniam
c. Zubin Mehta
d. Abraham Mazumder
25. He is an English musician. He has also been involved in various humanitarian efforts and has been named
Ambassador of Conscience 2008 by human rights group Amnesty International. Identify him.
a. Peter Gabriel
b. Elton John
c. David Bowie
d. Ralph Vaughan Williams
26. Who among the following is the National Security Advisor of India?
a. M.K Narayanan
b. Brijesh Mishra
c. J N Dixit
d. Ashok Chaturvedi
29. The rivers Beas and Sutlej bring water to the Thar Desert through a canal. What is the name of the canal?
a. Sethu Canal
b. Indra Gandhi Canal
c. Kalingarayan Canal
d. Lower Bhavani Project Canal
30. Who was elected Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister in 1944?
a. Wijeyananda Dahanayake
b. Sirimavo Bandaranaike
c. Don Stephen Senanayake
d. John Lionel Kotalawela
34. Who among the following is the Chief of the Trinamool Congress?
a. Mamata Banerjee
b. Partha Chatterjee
c. Soumen Roy
d. Subroto Mukherjee
35. Of which country are Pashto and Dari the official languages?
a. Pakistan
b. Afghanistan
c. Bhutan
d. Turkey
36. When a person suffers from goitre, which part of the body is enlarged?
a. Gall Bladder
b. Thyroid
c. Liver
d. Lymph Nodes
37. Which of the following states has the largest coastline in India?
a. Gujarat
b. Tamilnadu
c. Kerala
d. Karnataka
40. The omission of words from a sentence, indicated by a set of three dots is commonly known as
a. Guillemots
b. Ampersand
c. Interpunct
d. Elipsisis
41. Which famous French fashion designer passed away on June 1st 2008?
a. Yves Saint Laurent
b. Coco Chanel
c. Christian Dior
d. Louis Vuitton
42. Which of the following districts in Orissa was in the news, following violence sparked off by the killing of VHP
leader Swami Lakshmanananda?
a. Phulbani
b. Barakhama
c. Kandhamal
d. Tikabali
Answers
1. d 21. c
2. a 22. b
3. b 23. c
4. c 24. d
5. a 25. a
6. d 26. a
7. b 27. d
8. c 28. b
9. d 29. b
10. a 30. c
11. d 31. c
12. d 32. b
13. a 33. c
14. c 34. a
15. b 35. b
16. a 36. b
17. d 37. a
18. b 38. b
19. a 39.d
20. c 40. d
41. a
42. c
2. Which of the following words does NOT appear in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution?
a. Justice
b. Opportunity
c. Peace
d. Faith
6. In the context of Indian trade policy, what does the EPCG scheme stand for?
a. Export Promotion Consumer Goods Scheme
b. Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme
c. Earnings Provided by Consumer Goods Scheme
d. Exim Policy Capital Goods Scheme
10. Which famous world leader was assassinated in Memphis, USA in 1968?
a. Abraham Lincoln
b. J F Kennedy
c. Harper Lee
d. Martin Luther King Jr.
11. In the book ‘Maximum City’ by Suketu Mehta, which city does he write about?
a. Kolkata
b. Delhi
c. Mumbai
d. Chennai
12. The Kol Dam Hydro Electric project is being built in which of the following states?
a.Jammu & Kashmir
b.Himachal Pradesh
c.Uttaranchal
d.Tamil Nadu
13. Where are the passenger coaches for the Indian Railways built?
a. Benares
b. Vijayawada
c. Chittaranjan
d. Kochi
15. The Declaration of Rights for American Independence was drafted in:
a.1779
b.1778
c.1773
d.1776
16. Who among the following has been nominated by Barack Obama as the US Secretary of State?
a. Bill Clinton
b. Hillary Clinton
c. Janet Napolitano
d. Eric Holder
17. Which of the following rivers was declared the national river of India in November 2008?
a. The Ganges
b. The Cauvery
c. The Narmada
d. The Tapti
18. Which of the following banks have been adjudged Global Bank of the Year 2008 by London-based magazine,
‘The Banker’ published by the Financial Times group?
a. BNP Paribas
b. HSBC
c. Royal Bank of Scotland
d. Bank of America
19. The number of the Rajya Sabha members elected by the President is:
a.14
b.10
c.12
d.11
20. Sunita Williams is associated with:
a. Geophysics
b. Space Sciences
c. Water Conservation
d. Nuclear Science
25. What is the acronym used to refer to the elite special operations commando unit of the Indian Navy?
a. NAVCOS
b. MARCON
c. MARCOS
d. NAVCOF
26. The Boston Tea Party was a major protest incident leading to the:
a. French Revolution
b. American Revolution
c. Russian Revolution
d. Irish Revolution
27. What are the temperate grasslands of Asia and Europe called?
a. Pampas
b. Veldt
c. Savannah
d. Steppes
30. Who is the Director General of the National Security Guards (NSG)?
a. A.N. Roy
b. JK Dutta
c. Hassan Gaffor
d. Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary
Answers
1. a 1. a
2. c 2. a
3. d 3. c
4. c 4. b
5. a 5. b
6. b 6. a
7. a 7. a
8. b 8. d
9. b 9. c
10. d 10. b
11. c 11. d
12. b 12. a
13. c 13. d
14. a 14. b
15. d 15. b
16. b 16. d
1. How many (number) fundamental duties have been enumerated in the Constitution of India?
a.11
b.12
c.13
d.14
2. The 55th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed by Lok Sabha on December 8,1986, to grant statehood to:
a. Arunachal Pradesh
b. Mizoram
c. Meghalaya
d. Manipur
3. Who among the following was the first Minister of Law in India?
a. Hansraj Bhardwaj
b. Arun Jaitley
c. Sir Dinshaw Mulla
d. Dr. B.R Ambedkar
5. During any sitting of the Lok Sabha, the first hour of sitting is called the:
a. Question hour
b. Review hour
c. Zero hour
d. Eleventh hour
8. Two countries were suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on 6/6/2008. Which were they?
a. Pakistan and Fiji
b. Uganda and Fiji
c. Indonesia and Pakistan
d. Sudan and Uganda
10. The Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is________________.
a. Mr E. Sreedharan
b. Nirmal Shekar
c. Mr. J Harinarayan
d. Sunil Mittal
13. When was Bal Gangadhar Tilak given the epithet of ‘Lokmanya’?
a. During the Home Rule Movement
b. During the Swadeshi Movement
c. During the Quit India Movement
d. When he was imprisoned in 1908
17. Who became Australia’s first ever-female Governor General in September 2008?
a. Ursula Stephens
b. Kate Ellis
c. Justine Elliot
d. Quentin Bryce
18. Who among the following won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Chemistry?
a,. Mr Roger Tsien
b. Mr Yochiro Nambu
c. Mr Harald zur Hausan
d. Mr Luc Montagnier
19. On which of the following days in 2008 did the Sensex crash below 8,000?
a. October 27 2008
b. September 2 2008
c. September 15 2008
d. October 02 2008
20. In October 2008, an Indian cricketer was banned for a test match by match referee Chris Broad of England.
Who was he?
a. Sourav Ganguly
b. Sachin Tendulkar
c. Gautam Gambir
d. M S Dhoni
29. Which is the largest and heaviest planet in our solar system?
a. Neptune
b. Jupiter
c. Uranus
d. Saturn
31. When and where did the worst volcanic disaster in history occur?
a. China, 1782
b. Togo, 1784
c. Japan, 1792
d. Peru, 1791
34. The first recipient of the Indian Science Award in 2004 was (the award was instituted in 2003):
a. Prof. C.N.R Rao
b. G S Sirohi
c. Dr. Giri Raj Singh
d. G S R Murti
35. By how many hours is Indian Standard Time (IST ) ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), when calculated
according to longitudinal location?
a. 3 ½ hrs
b. 9 ½ hrs
c. 4 ½ hrs
d. 5 ½ hrs
37. Who was named the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year 2008?
a. Mr. Kelly Tien
b. Mr Wong Ngit Liong
c. Dr. Jean-Paul Clozel
d. Joseph Wilson
38. Name the director of Bollywood movies who has been conferred the title of ’ Officier de la Legion d’Honneur’,
the highest French distinction for his contribution to Indian cinema.
a. Madhur Bhandarkar
b. Prakash Mehra
c. Govind Nihalani
d. Yash Chopra
39. India's largest IT company has emerged the lowest bidder for the country’s largest e-governance contract to
computerise Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and provide smart cards to around 1.5 crore industrial
workers across the country. Name the company.
a. Wipro
b.Infosys
c. TCS
d. Accenture
40. Name the former US President who, along with Nepalese leader Prachanda has won the country’s top peace
prize awarded by the Dr. Dilli Raman Regmi Foundation for his dedication in choosing the path of peace.
a. Jimmy Carter
b. Gerald Ford
c. Ronald Reagan
d. Lyndon B. Johnson
Answers
1. a 1. c
2. a 2. a
3. d 3. b
4. d 4. a
5. a 5. c
6. b 6. a
7. c 7. d
8. a 8. a
9. c 9. b
10. a 10. a
11. b 11. c
12. b 12. a
13. d 13. c
14. a 14. a
15. c 15. d
16. c 16. a
17. d 17. c
18. a 18. d
19. a 19. c
20. c 20. a
7. Potamology means:
a. The study of potted plants
b. The study of rivers
c. The study of fossils and ancient life forms
d. The study of organisms as affected by climate
16. Which singer has won country music's top prize - entertainer of the year for a fourth time at the Country
Music Association Awards (CMA) on November 13, 2008?
a. Jack Greene
b. Kenny Chesney
c. Carrie Underwood
d. George Strait
17. Who was re-elected Prime Minister of Canada on October 15, 2008?
a. Mr. Stephen Harper
b. Paul Martin
c. John Turner
d. Joe Clark
18. Who won the Japanese Grand Prix Championship in Fuji (Japan) on October 12, 2008?
a. Rubens Barrichello
b. Kimi Räikkönen
c. Lewis Hamilton
d. Renault Fernando Alonso
19. Who is the new chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)?
a. Dr. Anup K. Ghosh
b. Prof. Andre Beteille
c. Mr. Javed Alam
d. Prof. Rajat Baisya
20. What does the third schedule in the Constitution of India list?
a. Emoluments for High-Level Officials
b. The oaths of offices for elected officials and judges
c. States and Union Territories
d. The Official Languages
23. These words have been added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution after the 42nd Amendment. What are
they?
a. socialist, secular
b. sovereign, independent
c. justice, liberty
d. democratic, fraternity
24. The concept of Directive Principles of State Policy was adopted into the Indian Constitution from the
constitution of_____________.
a. Japan
b. Germany
c. Ireland
d. Spain
25. The book ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’ was set in_____________.
a. Amsterdam
b. Berlin
c. Prague
d. Budapest
26. The Oxford University stands on the banks of the river ____________.
a. Thames
b. Seine
c. Rhine
d. Severn
28. Who among the following Presidents of India was the only one to be elected unopposed to the office?
a. Giani Zail Singh
b. Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
c. R.Venkataraman
d. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
29. Who among the following claimed the gold medal in the Girl’s Singles event of the World Junior Badminton
Championships at the third Commonwealth Youth games held in Pune?
a. Sayaka Sato
b. Shixian Wang
c. Prajakta Sawant
d. Saina Nehwal
30. What is Absorbic acid better known as?
a. Yeast
b. Baking Soda
c. Vitamin C
d. Bleaching powder
Answers
1. c 1. b
2. b 2. a
3. d 3. d
4. b 4. c
5. a 5. b
6. c 6. c
7. b 7. c
8. b 8. a
9. a 9. c
10. c 10. a
11. d 11. a
12. a 12. c
13. d 13. d
14. b 14. d
15. d 15. c
3. The members and the Chairman of the states’ Public Service Commission are appointed by the _____________.
a. The Vice President
b. The Prime Minister
c. The Chief Ministers of the States
d. The Governors of the States
4. The State Bank of India opened its _______ in March 2008 in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu?
a. 1,000 th
b. 10,000 th
c. 5,000 th
d. 12,000 th
5. The European Union (EU) was earlier known as the ________________.
a. The Economic Union
b. The Economic Market
c. European Market
d. The Common Market
6. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was _________.
a. Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan,
b. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
c. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
d. Baddrudin Tyabji
7. He was the first Indian to become the Chief of army staff and Commander in chief of the Indian army. Who
was he?
a. Field Marshall KM Cariappa
b. Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw
c. Shri Rajendrasinhji
d. General K S Thimayya
9. This part of the human body is called the pollex. What is it commonly known as?
a. Ear
b. Big Toe
c. Thumb
d. Liver
11. This gas is known by the name ‘Marsh Gas’ and it is usually used in chemical labs and industries. What is its
scientific name?
a.Methane
b.Helium
c.Neon
d. Argon
12. All the members of the cat family are able to retract their claws, except for the _________.
a. Lion
b. Hyena
c. Cheetah
d. Jaguar
13. The Anemometre is used to measure _____________
a. surface speed winds
b. electric current in a circuit.
c. detecting and measuring electric current
d. electrical resistance
14. There are lime stone formations that hang down from the ceilings of roofs. What are they called?
a. Lavacicle
b. Stalactites
c. Rusticle
d. Stalagmite
15. This animal is the symbol for the World Wide Fund for Nature. Name the animal.
a. The Okapi
b. The Giant Panda
c. The Tiger
d. The One Horned Rhinoceros
16. The river Indus originates from _________________ in the upper Himalayas.
a. Mount Kailash
b. Gangotri
c. Mansarovar
d. Bundar Poonch Glacier
18. Who was sworn in as President of South Africa on September 25th 2008?
a. Thabo Mbeki
b. Jacob Zuma
c. Joe Seremane
d. Kgalema Motlanthe
19. Who has recently been elected as the Chairman of the World Steel Association?
a. Ku-Taek Lee
b. Lakshmi Mittal
c. Hajime Bada
d. Daniel DiMicco,
20. Who won the third World Chess Championship on October 29th 2008?
a. Vishwanathan Anand
b. Vladimir Kramnik
c. Levon Aronian
d. Veselin Topalov
22. Who among the following has been given the power to declare National Emergency?
a. The President
b. The Prime Minister
c. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
d. The Vice President
25. The supply of sugar from the blood to the muscles is controlled by this hormone. Name the hormone?
a. Melatonin
b. Seratonin
c. Leptin
d. Insulin
27. In which schedule of the Constitution is the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha contained?
a. Fourth Schedule
b. Fifth schedule
c. Sixth schedule
d. Second schedule
28. The reddish variety of the mineral Conondrum is generally known by the name ______
a. Rose Quartz
b. Garnet
c. Ruby
d. Topaz
31. Name the Indian Chief Minister of State who has found a place in the list (2008) compiled by the Forbes
magazine of the World’s 100 most powerful women.
a. Dr J. Jayalalitha
b. Mayawathi
c.Vasundara Raje Scindia
d. Sheila Dikshit
32. Who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkand on August 27 2008?
a. Naveen Patnaik
b. Shibu Soren
c. B. C. Khanduri
d. Digambar Kamat
33. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 2008 was given to:
a. Madhur Bhandarkar
b. Raj Kumar Hirani
c. Tapan Sinha
d. Dilip Prabhavalkar
34. This Swiss adventurer made a historic flight across the English Channel from France on September 26th 2008
on a jet-powered wing? Who was he?
a. Yves Rossy
b. Jean-Pierre Blanchard
c. Louis Bleriot
d. John Jeffries
35. Who was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Thailand on September 17, 2008?
a. Somchai Wongsawat
b. Thaksin Shinawatra
c. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
d. Banharn Silpa-archa
Answers
1. c 1. b
2. c 2. a
3. d 3. c
4. b 4. a
5. d 5. b
6. d 6. c
7. a 7. d
8. b 8. a
9. c 9. a
10. b 10. c
11. a 11. b
12. c 12. d
13. a 13. b
14. b 14. b
15. b 15. c
16. c 16. a
17. c 17. a
18. d
1. The Indian constitution borrowed the concept of a five- year plan from the constitution of
________________.
a. Russia
b. Japan
c. China
d. Germany
5. Who is the new President of Cuba who was elected on February 24 th 2008?
a. Raúl Castro
b. José R. Machado Ventura
c. Juan Almeida Bosque
d. Abelardo Colomé Ibarra
6. Pokhran the test site for India' s first underground nuclear weapon detonation is in the state
of________________.
a. Gujarat
b. Orissa
c. Rajasthan
d. Punjab
7. India’ s first national park, earlier known as the Hailey National park is the ______________.
a. Anshi National Park
b. Dachigam National Park
c. Dudhwa National Park
d. Corbett National Park
8. What is another name for the tympanic membrane, which stretches across the end portion of the
auditory canal in the human body?
a. voice box
b. nose
c. Eardrum
d. eyeball
9. What is the term used for the corrective surgery of the cornea ( eye)?
a. Keratoplasty
b. Angioplasty
c. Laser eye surgery
d. Oculo-plasty
10. The largest school lunch programme in the world, which covered 11.4 crore children is the
__________________.
a. Right to Food Campaign
b. Midday meal scheme
c. World Food Programme
d. Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger programme
11. This scheme was set up to address the issue of equity in the education of girls belonging to
minority communities. So far, 1,754 schools have been started under it and in the Union Budget
of 2008, the Finance Minister proposed to provide a sum of Rs.80 crore to set up new or upgrade
existing hostels attached to the schools. Name the scheme.
a. Dhan Lakshmi
b. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme
c. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
d. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
12. What is the name for the kind of energy that is produced from coal?
a. Chemical Energy
b. Potential Energy
c. Kinetic Energy
d. Thermal Energy
13. The Surgeons at London' s Moorfields Eye Hospital used this implant in two blind patients. It was
the first operation of its kind. What did they use for the implant?
a. bionic eyes
b. silicon retina microchips
c. occular implant
d. cochlear implant
14. The dance form that Sonal Mansingh is famous for is_________________.
a. Kathak
b. Odissi
c. Bharatnatyam
d. Kuchipudi
15. The term Arboreals is used for animals that live in/ on______________.
a. deserts
b. mountains
c. trees
d. river and creeks
16. The NSG ( The Nuclear Suppliers Group) finally waived off the 16- year- old embargo on nuclear
relations with India on the:
a. 7th of August 2008
b.6th of September 2008
c. 8th of October 2008
d. 9th of September 2008
18. Pope Benedict XVI announced the canonization of a person Indian origin of to be canonized as a
saint by the Roman Catholic Church in Bharananganam, Kerala. Who is this person?
a. Alphonsa Muttathupadathu
b. Kuriakose Elias
c. Gonsalo Garcia
d. None of the above
20. The new tagline of the Department of Posts released on September 24 –2008
is______________________.
a. Dare to Dream
b. Giving Wings to your Dreams
c. The Power on your side
d. "At the edge of the world, his journey begins"
21. The Government levies this tax on goods and services. It is the _________
a. VAT
b. Service Tax
c. Octroi
d. Securities Transaction Tax
22. The rules for the working of the WTO are provided by the ________________.
a. World Trade Agreement
b. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
c. General Agreement on Trade in Services
d. Security Council
25. Who appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India?
a. The Prime Minister
b. The Vice President
c. The President
d. The members of the Rajya Sabha
27. Which country is a member of the WTO despite the fact that it became a part of China?
a. Taiwan
b. Tibet
c. Hongkong
d. Thailand
28. Who defeated the Muslim invader Mohammed Ghori at the battle of Tarain in 1191 AD?
a. Maharan Prathap
b. Prithviraj Raso
c. Prithvi Raj Chauhan
d. None of the above
31. The rate of a heartbeat per minute in a normal human being is:
a. 73-80 beats per minute
b. 72-80 beats per minute
c. 70-85 beats per minute
d. 75-85 beats per minute
32. This constituent in the blood defends the body against infectious disease and foreign bodies.
Which is it?
a. platelets
b. thrombocytes
c. red blood cells
d. white blood cells
36. Which company won the award for ‘ Company of the Year’ at the Economic Times awards for
Corporate Excellence in September 2008?
a. Tata Steel
b. Tata Communications
c. Crompton Greaves
d. Dabur
37. According to the World Investment Report 2008 released in September by the UNCTAD the most
preferred investment location in the world is ______________.
a. India
b. China
c. Taiwan
d. Indonesia
38. Who is the present chairman of the ISRO responsible for launching Chandrayaan-1 to the moon’ s
orbit?
a. Dr Kasturirangan
b. Dr B N Suresh,
c. Dr. R R Navalgund
d. G. Madhavan Nair
39. Who has recently been elected as the new Vice President of the USA?
a. Richard Bruce Cheney
b. Joe Biden
c. Sarah Palin
d. Hilary Clinton
40. The eldest son of the 4 th king of this country became the world ‘ s youngest reigning monarch
and the head of the newest democracy on November 6 th. Who is he and which country is he
from?
a. Albert 11 Prince of Monaco
b. Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
c. Jigme Kesar Namgyei Wangchuck of Bhutan
d. Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
Answers
1 a 21 a
2 b 22 b
3 c 23 b
4 d 24 a
5 a 25 c
6 c 26 c
7 d 27 c
8 c 28 c
9 a 29 c
10 b 30 c
11 b 31 b
12 d 32 d
13 a 33 b
14 b 34 d
15 c 35 d
16 b 36 a
17 b 37 b
18 a 38 d
19 b 39 b
20 b 40 c
What is India’s rank in the UNDP 2007-08 report ranking countries on the basis of their Human Development Index or
HDI?
What is the proportion of seats reserved for women by the mandate of the Indian Government in any local self-
governing body?
Which of the following is not specifically articulated among the eight Millenium Goals set by the United Nations
through the Millenium Declaration in 2000 as targets to be achieved by 2015?
a. Improvement of Maternal Health b. Eradication of Poverty and Hunger c. Building of Global Partnership for
Development d. Ensuring universal access to housing and shelter
Which state of India saw the recent launch of an exclusive community radio station (90.4 FM) started “by Dalit women,
for Dalit women” at the initiative of a local NGO?
Name the Bangalore-based agency that was ranked second in Forbes magazine’s first- ever list of the top 50
microfinance institutions in the world (2007).
What is the proportion of total central budgetary support allocated to education as per the 11th Five –year Plan,
labeled by the Prime Minister as ‘India’s educational plan’?
What is the minimum number of employees that a (power-using) factory should have in order to come under the
application of the Employee State Insurance Act?
According to data published in the 11th Five-year plan, which state in India has the highest rate of malnutrition
among children below 3 years?
Name the Indonesian conglomerate that was allotted land for a chemical hub in the Nandigram area of West Bengal,
leading to conflict and brutal violence in the region that drew national and international condemnation and led to
eventual shifting of the project.
Name the primary anti-SEZ committee involved in protesting against the state’s alleged forcible acquisition of
farmlands for setting up the proposed chemical hub in Nandigram.
According to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, what is the minimum number of days for which
employment is legally guaranteed to every rural household?
Which Indian state has the highest proportion (to total state population) of people belonging to scheduled caste
communities?
To which state of India does the Gujjar community, recently in news for their agitation demanding induction into ST
status, belong?
According to the latest round of the National Sample Survey Organization, what proportion of the population of India
resides below poverty line?
According to data published in the Economic Survey 2007-08, which Indian state has the highest infant mortality rate?
On September 29, 2006 four members of Dalit farmer Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange’s family was brutally tortured, assaulted
and murdered by fellow villagers. Recently a local court awarded death sentence to six of the accused and life
imprisonment to two others. Name the village in Maharashtra where this gruesome incident had taken place.
Name the revolutionary initiative from ITC Corporation which has given rural Indian farmers access to technology and
Internet, therefore allowing them to directly negotiate and sell their produce to ITC.
According to 2007 reports from the National AIDS Control Organization, what is the prevalence rate of HIV infections
among the general adult population in India?
The TERI Corporate Awards in India recognize leadership in corporate environmental management, social responsibility
and HIV/AIDS initiatives. Name the joint winners of the most recent TERI Award for business response to HIV/AIDS.
Answers
1.
1. What is the process of shifting cultivation through slash and burn methods practiced in hilly rural areas of
North east India better known as?
2. Which was the first transgenic crop approved for commercial cultivation in India?
4. In terms of global output, which place does India occupy in the production of sugarcane?
5. The Sardar Sarovar Project proposes the construction of a dam on which Indian river?
6. Which state in India ranks first in wheat production in terms of absolute output?
7. In terms of global output, which place does India occupy in the production of cotton?
10. According to findings from the last Census exercise, India accounts for approximately __ per cent of the
world’s population.
11. According to findings from the last Census, which Union Territory of India has the highest literacy rate?
12. Which state in India has the lowest female sex ratio?
13. According to findings from the last Census, which state has the highest proportion of rural population?
14. The Lepchas, also known as Rongpas, are aboriginal inhabitants of which state in India?
15. In which state, and on which river, is the Tehri Dam, the primary dam in the Tehri Development Project
located?
17. In which present day Indian state did the “Chipko movement” of the 70s and 80s – a movement initiated by a
group of female peasants against the cutting of trees and restoration of their forest rights – originate?
18. The water of the Cauvery river has been a bone of contention in a serious conflict between two prominent
South Indian states. Which are they?
19. Name the village in Maharashtra which agreed to be relocated in entirety through a gram sabha resolution in
order to facilitate inviolate space for the endangered tiger through development of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger
Reserve.
20. In which state is the Sariska Tiger Reserve, infamous for poaching of tigers, located?
Answers
1. Jhum cultivation 11. Lakshadweep
2. Cotton 12. Haryana
3. Kerala 13. Himachal Pradesh
4. Second 14. Sikkim
5. Narmada 15. Uttarakhand, River Bhagirathi
6. Uttar Pradesh 16. Jamnagar, Gujarat
7. Third 17. Uttarakhand
8. Ten 18. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
9. 2001 19. Jamni
10. 16.8 20. Rajasthan
21.
Awards
1. It is a 2007 crime thriller film adapted for the screen and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, starring Tommy Lee
Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, it tells the
story of a botched drug deal and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's
paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas. Name this film, which won four Oscars in 2008.
2. Who beat former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to the Grammy Awards-2008 for the Best Spoken
Word for the audio version of the book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream?
3. An English singer-songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including soul, jazz, rock &
roll, she won the ‘Record of the Year’, ‘New Artist of the Year’, ‘Female Pop Vocal Performance of the Year’,
‘Pop Vocal Album of the Year’ in the Grammy Awards 2008. Identify her.
4. A Dominican-American writer, he is one of the top 20 writers of the 21st century and is best known for his two
major works: the short story collection Drown (1996) and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007).
Both were published to critical acclaim and he won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the latter. Identify him.
5. It is the largest and the most circulated newspaper in America and has six Pulitzer Prizes for reporting in 2008.
Name the publication.
6. An English actor, he has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for portraying Christy Brown in My Left
Foot(1989). Earlier this year he also won the Best Actor Oscar for his meaty, intense performance as larger-
than-life oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood.
7. Name the people who jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2007 for their discovery of giant
magnetoresistance, which brought about a breakthrough in gigabyte hard disks drives.
8. A German physicist, he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of chemical processes
on solid surfaces. Identify him.
9. A distinguished scientist of Indian-origin has been awarded the prestigious International Meteorological
Organization (IMO) prize for his research on climate change and predictability. Identify him.
10. He was an Academy Award-winning American actor of film, theatre and television. In the 1950s and 60s, he was
one of a handful of Hollywood actors to speak openly against racism and was an active supporter of the Civil
Rights Movement. This on screen and off screen icon passed away on April 6, 2008. Name him.
11. An American singer-songwriter, author, musician, poet, and, of late, disc jockey, this person has been a major
figure in popular music for five decades. Recently he won a special Pulitzer Prize for his "profound impact" and
"poetic power”. Identify him.
12. She is a social activist and has been awarded the Annemarie-Maddison Prize for her exemplary contribution to
prison reforms and human rights in the country. Identify her.
13. He is an Indian businessman and has been awarded the JRD Tata corporate leadership award for his
outstanding contribution to Indian industry. Identify him
14. Name the English-Language Indian TV news channel that won PC World India’s best news website award for
the year 2008.
15. Who won the Cannes’ Best Actor award for his role as “Che” Guevara in the film titled Che?
16. Who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007
17. He is an Indian industrialist, software engineer and one of the seven founders of a global consulting and IT
services company based in India. He was recently given the Legion of honour, the highest civilian distinction of
the government of France for the most admired business leader of India. Identify him.
18. He is an Indian-Bengali author. His book The Shadow Lines won the Sahitya Akademi Award, India's most
prestigious literary award and his latest work of fiction, Sea of Poppies has been shortlisted for the 2008 Booker
prize award. Identify him.
Answers
a. 1978
b. 1985
c. 1992
d. 1998
a. Media Player 3
c. Microsoft Player 3
4. An Mp3 player runs on rechargeable batteries. Which of the following is not a rechargeable battery?
b. Nickel Cadmium
c. Alkaline
d. Lithium ion
d. Data on synergy
6. There are two Stevens credited with the making of Apple Computers. One is Steven Jobs, what is the other Stevens’
last name?
a. Macintosh
b. Mac
c. Apple
d. Wozniac
7. A TI-83 is a
b. Scientific calculator
c. Intel processor
a. Terabyte
b. Zedabyte
c. Kilobyte
d. Mezobyte
a. circuit
b. terminal
c. battery
d. neutron
a. Sputnik
b. The moon
c. Ganymede
a. a degree of brightness
b. a closed circuit
c. a charge of electricity
d. a unit of power
14. On 16th September, 2008, Intel rolled out its Xeon 7400 series of CPUs, code named Dunnigton, that was designed
out of the company's Bangalore development centre. What is the maximum number of cores the chip can have?
a. 3
b. 4
c. 6
d. 8
a. the thermometer
b. the microscope
c. the bifocal lens
d. the telescope
16. In what year did the Wright brothers successfully design and fly a motorized aircraft?
a. 1900
b. 1896
c. 1910
d. 1903
a. sound waves
b. radio waves
c. light waves
d. video waves
18. The level of light on a surface is called illuminance. What is the unit of illuminance called?
a. Flux
b. Lux
c. Candelas
d. Lumens
a. Mercury vapour
b. Tungsten vapour
c. Neon
d. Sodium Vapour
20. On October 4th,1957 what satellite was launched , becoming the first satellite to officially orbit the earth?
a. Oscar 10
b. Vanguard 1
c. Sputnik 1
d. Explorer 1
ANSWERS
1. a 11. d
2. a 12. d
3. d 13. c
4. c 14. c
5. b 15. b
6. d 16. d
7. b 17. b
8. a 18. b
9. b 19. a
10. a 20. c
Who' s who?
1. He is the chairman of India’s largest conglomerate. He serves in senior capacities in various organisations in
India and is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. He also serves as a board
member on the Republic of South Africa’s International Investment Council and is an Asia-Pacific advisory
committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. In May this year he made it to Time magazine's 2008 list
of the World's 100 most Influential people.
2. An Indian businessman and a pioneer of the Information Technology industry in India, he is the chairman of
one of the largest companies in India, and has been recognised by Business Week as one of the “Greatest
Entrepreneurs of all time” for his vision and leadership. His story and how he built one of the largest Indian
tech companies inspired Steve Hamm’s book “Bangalore Tiger.”
3. He is called the father of the White Revolution in India. He is also known as the Milkman of India and is
recognised as the man behind the success of the Amul brand.
4. An inventor, entrepreneur and a policymaker, he is the chairman and CEO of World-Tel Limited, an
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiative and is widely considered to have been responsible for
India's communications revolution. He is also currently the chairman of India’s National Knowledge Commission,
a high level advisory body to the Prime Minister of India.
5. An Indian entrepreneur, she was termed India's Biotech Queen by The Economist and Fortune, and India's
mother of invention by New York Times. She was also conferred the Indian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime
Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions in the field of biotechnology, business and industry.
6. An Indian billionaire industrialist, he was reported to be the 4th wealthiest person in the world by Forbes
Magazine in 2004 and recently has been conferred with the third Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award, its
highest award for global business success. The award honours heroes of entrepreneurial capitalism and those
who embody and exemplify the ideals of free enterprise.
7. An engineer by education and one of the founders of an Indian multinational in the area of IT services and
consulting, he began his career with IIM Ahmedabad as a systems programmer. He also worked with Patni
Computers before joining six others to start their own firm which is today a behemoth renowned globally. He
was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2008, the second highest civilian award by India and Légion d'honneur,
the highest civilian award by France.
8. The chairwoman of one of the world's fourth-largest food and beverage company, she has been named the
Most Powerful Business Woman in the world in 2006 and 2007 by Fortune magazine and was elected to the
fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008.
Answers
1. Ratan Tata
2. Azim Premji
3. Verghese Kurien
4. Sam Pitroda
5. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
6. Lakshmi Mittal
7. Narayan Murthy
8. Indra Nooyi
A History of the Modern Olympics
1. The Olympic Games of 1980 has gone down in history for having witnessed the largest boycott in Olympic
history in which USA and 61 other countries withdrew their participation. What were the boycotting nations
protesting against?
2. Which of the following sports debuted at the Summer Olympic Games only post 1990? – Badminton, Cycling,
Table Tennis or Judo?
3. Which of the following games, though contested in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, have been dropped from the
schedule of the 2012 Games – Taekwondo, Flatwater Canoeing, Baseball or Beach Volleyball?
4. A Palestinian terrorist group invaded the Olympic village and broke into the apartment of the Israeli delegation.
They killed two Israelis and held 9 others as hostages. The terrorists demanded that Israel release numerous
prisoners. When the Israeli government refused their demand, a tense stand-off ensued while negotiations
continued. Eventually the captors, still holding their hostages, were offered safe passage and taken to an
airport, where they were ambushed by German security forces. In the firefight that followed, 15 people,
including the nine Israeli athletes and five of the terrorists, were killed. After much debate, it was decided that
the Games would continue, but proceedings were obviously dominated by these events. Which Games are we
talking of?
Answers
1. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
2. Badminton
3. Baseball
4. Games of the XX Olympiad, Munich, 1972
5. The Five Continents
1. Born in August 1930 in the state of Nebraska, USA, he is often called the “Oracle of Omaha.” One of the world’s
largest investors in the equity market, this Columbia Business School graduate and Chairman and CEO of US
firm Berkshire Hathaway is also a noted philanthropist. In 2006, he announced a plan whereby he pledged 83%
of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In February 2008, he was named by Forbes magazine
as the richest person of the world. Name him.
2. Most notably known for his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s, this Pennsylvania born industrialist,
who started his career as an engineer with the Ford Motor Company, is also the author of several bestsellers,
which include his autobiography and the book Where Have All the Leaders Gone? He is also the founder of
Olivio Premium Products, a line of food products made from olive oil. He donates all profits from the company
to diabetes research, a cause he has committed himself to ever since he lost his wife to the disease. Identify
him.
3. There is an anecdote that in 1970, she visited the San Francisco Bay Area, and encountered a store in Berkeley
selling shampoos, lotions and body creams. The store, founded by two local entrepreneurs, publicized
environmental concerns and incentivised recycling. This inspired her to found her own chain, The Body Shop, a
British cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products, and famous for promoting ethical
consumerism and associating itself with a variety of causes such as campaigns against animal testing and in
support of community trade, environmental protection, and human rights. She also founded Children on the
Edge, a charitable organization which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe and Asia. In 2003, Queen
Elizabeth II appointed her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 2007, this legendary
entrepreneur lost her battle to Hepatitis C but is remembered and respected all over the world for her
commitment to ethics in business. Who is she?
4. A graduate from the Harvard School of Business, he is the current Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer at General electric. He has been with GE since 1982 and was chosen as the successor to Jack Welch,
when the latter retired in 2000. Previously, he served as President and CEO of GE’s Medical Systems Division,
now known as GE Healthcare. He is also on the Board of Robin Hood Foundation, a non profit organization
working to alleviate problems of poverty in New York City. Name him.
5. Chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation since 1999, he has been with the organization for 50 years. In 1998,
he was selected as a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Strategy Council of Japan and became
chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations in 1999. He has also held the position of chairman
of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association since 2000 and is one of the pioneers of the engine
technology that heralded the era of fuel efficiency and zero-emission vehicles. Who are we talking of?
Answers
1. Warren Buffett
2. Lee Iacocca
4. Jeffrey Immelt
5. Hiroshi Okuda