Articles from General Knowledge Today

Gk & Current Affairs April 2, 3 2013

2013- 04- 04 13:04:05 GKToday
1. It was recent ly report ed in media t hat t he Nat ional Pension Scheme (NPS)
f unds f or government workers have not been able t o beat t he debt -based
Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) by a signif icant margin in last f ew years.
Which among t he f ollowing is t he Fund manager f or NPS?
[A]Kot ak Pension Fund
[B]SBI Pension Fund
[C]UTI Ret irement Solut ions
[D]Kot ak Pension Fund
UTI Ret irement Solut ions
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2. Recent ly, t he Income-Tax Depart ment has f ound t hat several resident
individuals in India have been f loat ing companies in t he Brit ish Virgin Islands
(BVI), a t ax haven, t o evade t axes. Which among t he f ollowing is / are also
known as Tax havens?
1. Bahamas
2. Cyprus
3. Liecht enst ein
4. Luxembourg
Choose t he correct opt ion f rom t he codes given below:
[A]Only 1 & 2
[B]Only 2 & 3
[C]Only 1, 2 & 3
[D]1, 2, 3 & 4
1, 2, 3 & 4
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3. As per t he lat est dat a, India has 150 Million int ernet users. This populat ion of
net izens ranks__:
[A]First in world
[B]Second in world
[C]Third in world
[D]Fourt h in world
Third in world
Third behind US and China but st ill int ernet penet rat ion is way below china.
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4. In recent t imes, which among t he f ollowing companies has been t he single-
largest buyer of government bonds in India?
[A]UTI
[B]LIC
[C]SBI
[D]NHB
LIC
LIC remains t he single-largest buyer of government bonds because of it s
cont rol over more t han t hree-f ourt hs of t he lif e insurance indust ry and t he
mandat ory 50% invest ment it has t o make in government securit ies. The
st at e-run insurer's purchase of government bonds rose 20%, and it bought
nearly 40% of t he shares sold via of f er f or sale (OFS) in f our out of t ot al
seven PSU issues, said people f amiliar wit h t he invest ment s.(ET)
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5. In recent t imes, t he t erm "Abenomics" has been making round in media,
which ref ers t o t he economic approach or philosophy of t he prime minist er /
president of a count ry. Ident if y t his count ry f rom t he given opt ions:
[A]France
[B]Japan
[C]Sout h Korea
[D]It aly
Japan
Abenomics, as t he Japanese PM's economic approach or philosophy has been
christ ened, involves a combinat ion of monet ary easing, t arget ing an inf lat ion
of 2%, a f lexible f iscal policy marked by higher spending in t he short run and
f iscal consolidat ion in t he long t erm besides a growt h st rat egy. (ET)
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6. Recent ly, t he Reserve Bank of India has simplif ied t he know your cust omer
or KYC norms f or ___:
[A]Self Help Groups
[B]Joint Liabilit y Groups
[C]Primary Agricult ure Credit Societ ies
[D]All of t hem
Self Help Groups
Recent ly, t he Reserve Bank of India has simplif ied t he know your cust omer or
KYC norms f or Self help groups or SHG f or opening new account s and while
borrowing f rom banks.
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7. In order t o garner an addit ional Rs 4,700 crore f rom indirect t ax during 2013-
14, India's budget included a f ew more services under t he service t ax ambit .
Which among t he f ollowing is among t he new services t hat have been brought
under t ax ambit ?
[A]AC Rest aurant s
[B]Vocat ional Educat ion Courses
[C]Domest ic Air Travel
[D]3 & 4 st ar hot els
AC Rest aurant s
Eat ing out at an air-condit ioned rest aurant and parking vehicle at places like
malls have become more expensive as t hese will at t ract 12 per cent service
t ax f rom April 1, 2013.
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8. The Supreme Court of India has recent ly reject ed a Swiss based Pharma
company's plea f or get t ing it s blood cancer drug Glivec pat ent ed in India and
t o rest rain Indian companies f rom manuf act uring generic drugs. Which among
t he f ollowing is t hat company?
[A]Novart is
[B]Galderma
[C]Anavex Lif e Sciences
[D]Fenjal
Novart is
Swiss pharma major Novart is AG has lost a seven-year long legal bat t le f or
get t ing it s blood cancer drug Glivec pat ent ed in India and t o rest rain Indian
companies f rom manuf act uring generic drugs, wit h t he Supreme Court
reject ing t he mult inat ional company's plea. This will help poor pat ient s t o have
easier access t o qualit y medicines. While a one-mont h dose of Glivec cost s
around Rs 1.2 lakh, generic drugs, manuf act ured by Indian companies, f or t he
same period are priced at Rs 8,000.
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9. Which among t he f ollowing privat e sect or bank has been recent ly acquit t ed
in t he insider t rading case?
[A]HSBC
[B]Axis Bank
[C]Cit ibank
[D]ICICI Bank
Axis Bank
Market regulat or Sebi has disposed of t he case against Axis Bank t hat had
alleged t he privat e sect or lender of violat ing various norms, including t hose
relat ed t o insider t rading as well as regulat ions f or merchant bankers. The
mat t er relat es t o a period in 2011 when Axis Bank was act ing as a merchant
banker f or t he open of f ers in KSK Energy Vent ure and Bombay Rayons
Fashion. (ET)
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10. It is report ed in media t hat India may of f er as many as 68 blocks or areas
f or explorat ion of oil and gas in t he 10t h round of New Explorat ion Licensing
Policy (NELP) in 2013. The New Explorat ion Licensing Policy was launched in
which year?
[A]1999
[B]2001
[C]2003
[D]2004
1999
India may of f er as many as 68 blocks or areas f or explorat ion of oil and gas in
t he 10t h round of New Explorat ion Licensing Policy (NELP) t his year. This will
be t he second highest of f ering of block since t he advent of NELP 1999. Of t he
blocks being considered f or of f ering in NELP-X, 25 are deep wat er, 20 shallow
wat er and 23 onland blocks. (ET)
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