GENERAL AWARENESS

Compiled by Deepesh Chaalie , Faculty ( GS Section)

1.The finance ministry has set up a Technology Advisory Group to create a roadmap to an
effective tax administration and financial governance system through IT projects. This
panel is headed by
Nandan Nilekani

2. Govt of India has launched a new social initiative scheme to increase the nutritional status of
adolescent girls . Rajiv Gandhi scheme for empowerment of adolescent girls or 'Sabla'
scheme is being implemented through the platform of ICDS programme across the country.

3. The United Nation's three day summit has been conducted with a view to review the
implementation of Millenium Development Goals all over the world. This summit has come to
an end with the agenda of achieving Millenium Development Goals( MDGs) by 2015.
4. Recently, Govt.of India has set up a high level committee on financing of infrastructure.
This committee is headed by Rakesh Mohan .

5. 'Kinnauri Shawl', a traditional product acclaimed for its ethnicity has got registered under
Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999, Popularly known as GI tag. Kinnauri shawl is
being produced from Himachal Pradesh .

6. Sydney Peace Prize 2010 was awarded to Vandana Shiva.

7.Govt of India has decided to set up a Central Institute of Himalayan Culture

Studies( CIHCS) to promote national integration. It will be located in Arunachal Pradesh
8. UPA govt conducted the auction of 3G Mobile licence spectrum and through which 67,710
crore has been mobilized .

7.Recently, three performing art forms have been recognised by UNESCO in the list of the
intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The are Mudiyettu, chhau, Kalbelia

8. IOC, NTPC,ONGC,SAIL , the leading Public sector undertakings have formally been
conferred the prestigeous 'Maharatna status' by union govt recently.

9. Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010 was awarded to Luiz
Lula DaSilva, former Brazilian President.

10. SAARC International University is being established in New Delhi

11.The census commissioner for the census 2010- 11. C. Chandramauli

12. According to World Economic Outlook Report 2010 published by IMF, India's
growth rate is projected at 8.5%

13.India's first indigenous 700MV Nuclear power plant is located in Maharashtra

14.86th constitutional amendment act provides the guarantee of Right to Education in India

15. The NASSCOM chief Som Mittal.

16.Operation Triton is related to Costal security
17. India is the third country in the world which has set up The National Green Tribunal for
dealing with all matters pertaining to environmental issues.

18.The prestigious Man Booker 2010 was awarded to Howard Jocobson

19. Govt. of India has set up a high level committee to probe into the financial irregularities
in the Common Wealth Games 2010. This panel is headed by VK Shunglu

20. The document '' Planning commission's India Vision 2020' has been proposed by

Shyam prasad Gupta committe

21. Irom Sharmila ,noted Human Right Activist who came up in news as a strong voice against
the enforcement of Armed Force Special powers Act in Manipur.

23.Belgium banking and insurance group KBC is being acquired by Hinduja

24.Commerce ministry has proposed to raise Foreign Direct Investment ceiling from
26% to 74%

25. Elephant has been declared as the National heritage animal by the Govt.of India

26.A high level expert committee was set up by Planning commission to

suggest measures for efficient management of public expenditure . This panel
is headed by
C. Rangarajan

27..Newly introduced Gratuity amendment bill 2010 proposes increase in the

gratuity limit for employees from Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh

28..India's first electricity museum -'CLP Electro dome'- has been established in Ahmedabad

29..BRIC recently adopted Moscow Declaration regarding Agriculture .

30. The first woman president of Kyrgyzstan Rosa Otunbayeva.

31. State Bank of India has received the Asian banker achievement award 2010.

32. State bank of India was selected as the first registrar of UIDAI ( Unique Identification
Authority of India) Scheme.

33.The president of ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of commerce and Industry in India.

Dilip Modi

34.Punjab National Bank has been honoured with Excellence branding and Marketing
award for the year of 2010

35. Punjab National Bank bagged the Asia's Best Employer branch award 2010, instituted
by CMO Asia.
36.SKS Microfinance, Bangalore is the first microfinance company in India to approch the
capital market

37.Punjab and Sind bank is the only public sector bank which has still not issued its shares to
the general public.

38.Credit Information Bureau India Ltd. is an independent organization to assist banks which
Maintains credit history about all bank borrowers.

40..The projected GDP growth rate for 2010-11 by CSO - 8.5%

41.In 3G spectrum auction, Bharti, Reliance and Aircel are the major telecom companies
which got the allocation of maximum circles by UnionGovt.

42. Vietnam and Myanmar , the ASEAN countries have been included in the group of nations
having FTA with India w.e.f June 2010.

43. Tata Consultancy Service , the software major has bagged 600 million Euro contract from
UK govt.for managing National Employment Saving Trust to be launched by 2012.

44.Financial Inclusion was included in the objectives of planning for the first time in the
11 th five year plan.

45. .In Union budget 2010-11, the MAT(minimum alternative tax) has been altered from
15% to 18%

46..Economics Nobel prize was bagged by

Peter A Diamond ,Dale Mortenson and Christopher Pissariues

47. .Elinore Ostrom is the first woman to have nobel prize on Economics

48.Four chola inscriptions have been found recently from Kanchipuram.

49.Orissa high court set aside the Govt's decision for granting permission to set up Rs. 51,000
crore POSCO,a leading steel major belongs to South Korea , steel plant at Paradeep.

50.MUTP ( Mumbai Urban Transport Project) has been financed by World Bank

51 Jantar Mantar of Jaipur has recently been included in the UNESCO's World Cultural
Heritage List.

52..'An Inconvenient Truth' is a film directed by Davis Guggenheim to promote public

awareness about Global warming

53. India is planning to set up a global centre for nuclear energy partnership in Haryana.

54.According to the latest data released by TRAI, the tele density in India 62.51 %.
55. In the Eleventh five year plan, Social sector accounts for maximum expenditure. In the
Union Budget 2010-2011 ,Infrastructure development accounts for 46 % of the total plan
allocation and social sector accounts for 37%.

56. The govt has fixed Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugar cane for the year of 2010-
2011 - Rs. 139.12 per quintal.

57. M.M. Punchhi commission, apponted by Govt. of India in 2005 to look into the various
aspects of Central –State relationship, has submitted its report recently.

58.The Supreme court of India has appointed a committe on Mullaperiyar issue. This
committee is headed by Justice A S Anand.

59. Govt. Of India has constituted a Group of Ministers (GOM) to go into the relief
and rehabilitation measures for the victims in Bhopal Gas tragedy and this panel is headed by
P. Chidambaram

60.According to Global Peace Index Report(GPI) published by the Institute for

Economics and Peace (IEP), India holds 128 th Rank.

61. Ronald Noble has been re-elected as the Chief of Interpol for three times consecutively.

62. Justice B Sudharsan Reddy committee has been appointed to probe into the alleged
misappropriation of Justice Soumitra sen .

63. Newly elected first ever woman President of Brazil- Dilma Rousseff .

64. Recently, the year for the population stabilisation has been extended from 2045 to 2070.

65. According to the latest WHO survey Sikkim has topped in the suicide index among Indian
sates.

66. Govt. of India has proposed a new apex body to regulate the entire functioning of existing
regulatory bodies like SEBI, PFRDA, TRAI and IRDA etc. This high level regulatory body will
be known as ‘Financial Stability and Development Council(FSDC)

67. In the Union budget 2010-2011, Govt.of India has proposed to set up Financial Sector
Legislative Reforms Commission(FSLRC) to review the existing financial legislations and to
make suggestions to formulate new legislations with a view to strengthen the economic
spectrum ensuring transparency and accountability.

68. Public Sector Bank Capitalisation:

Rs.16,500 crore provided to ensure that the Public Sector Banks are able to attain
a minimum 8 per cent Tier-I capital by March 31, 2011.
Recently, Govt.of India has decided to infuse an additional capital of Rs. 6000 crore in 10
Public Sector banks to raise Government holding to a minimum 58 per cent in all state-run
banks .

69. Recently Govt. of India has set up an expert group to create a road map to secondary
agricultural activities across the country.This panel will be headed by K.Kasthurirangan.
70. Sashtra Ramanujan Prize , the most prestigious prize n Mathematics, was awarded to Wei
Zhang on 22nd December 2010.

71. Rs. 66,100 crore has been provided for Rural Development in the Union budget 2010-
2011.

72.Allocation for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises sector - Rs.2,400 crore for the year
2010-11.

73.Rs 1,900 crore allocated to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
for 2010-11.

74.Allocation for Defence increased to Rs. 1,47,344 crore

75.An amount of Rs.48,000 crore allocated for rural infrastructure programmes under
Bharat Nirman.

76.Rs.1,270 crore allocated for Rajiv Awas Yojana.

77.Health & Family Welfare - Rs 22,300 crore for 2010-11.

78.Plan allocation for school education - Rs.31,036 crore

79.Rs.200 crore has been provided as a Special Golden Jubilee package for Goa to preserve
the
natural resources of the State, including sea beaches and forest cover.

80.Rs 1,73,552 crore provided for infrastructure development which accounts for over
46 per cent of the total plan allocation.

81.Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI) has recently proposed to set up a National
Broad band Network at the cost of 60,000 crore to achieve 16 % broadband connectivity by
the year 2014.

82. Hambantota , a major port was opened in SriLanka recently. It was built by SriLankan Govt
with the financial assistance of China.

83. The Union Govt has recently set up two Special Task Forces(STF) to review the
development needs in Jammu& Kashmir region and Ladhak region . The STF on Jammu&
Kashmir is headed by Abhijith Sen and STF on Ladhak region is led by Narendhra Jadhav.

84. The New Reliable Statistical model is being implemented by Registrar General of India as a
part of Census 2010-2011 to enumerate people in Urban slum.

85.Huawei Technologies , the leading telecom company in China is planning to make a large
investment in Indian Telecom sector which is considered to be the one of the largest FDI in
Indian telecom industry in recent years.
86.The Millenium Development Goals(MDGs) are eight international development goals that
all United Nations member countries have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. Recently a high
level meeting was held by UN to accelerate progress towards the MDG's. This summit was held
in New York.

87. R P Goenka bagged Lifetime Achievement Award 2010

88. Indian Academy of Cerebral palsy has decided to observe National Cerebral Palsy day to
address the growing rate of cerebral palsy. OCTOBER 3rd has been selected as National
Cerebral palsy day.

89.The Planning commission has appointed an expert group headed by Mr. Tej Prathap to
suggest measures to give a boost to organic agriculture in the country. Govt of India has
sanctioned an amount of Rs.1500 crore for the period of 2007-2012.

90. Recently, Reserve Bank of India has divested its stakes from NABARD,aggregating to Rs.
1430 crore and that paved the way for raising Govt's holding to 99%. Previously, RBI has
72.5% stakes in NABARD.

91.The Global Hunger Index ( GHI) is being developed by International food policy research
institute(IFPRI) to measure and track global hunger accurately. According to the latest Global
Hunger Index report, India holds
67th rank.

92.Anna Hazare, a noted social activist led a campaign against corrupt practices in Lavasa
project recently. This campaign- Jail Bharo Andholan -was aiming at opposing irregularities in
the project which is being launched in Maharashtra.

93. Union Govt. has recently set up an expert group to examine the recommendations of the
National Advisory Council on the proposed National Food Security Bill 2010. This expert
group is headed by Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic advisory council, C Rangarajan.

94. Pradhan Manthri Aadharsh Gram Yojana, a new social initiative programme launched by
Govt.of India,for integrated development of the selected 1,000 villeges with higher rate of
scheduled caste population and to create ' Model villeges' across the country.

95.” Global crisis, Recession and uneven recovery” is a sequel to the best selling book “India
and Global financial crisis : managing money and finance”. is written by
YV Reddy.

96. Govt of India set up an expert committee to look into the demand of new Telangana
statehood and feasibility of United Andhra Pradesh. This committee,headed by BN Srikrishna,
has submitted its report to the Goverment.

97. The Sixteenth conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change(UNFCCC) and Sixth conference of the Kyoto Protocol were held recently to
address various forestry issues and to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest
Degradation (REDD). It was held in Cancun.
98.National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India's biggest iron ore miner, has
recently signed a MOU with Severstal, a leading mining company in Russia, for setting up a 5
million tonne steel plant in India. This joint venture is considered to be one of the most biggest
foreign direct investment in steel sector. It will be established in Karnataka.

99. According to the latest IIP( Index of Industrial Production) data, the industrial growth
for the year 2010-2011 is estimated at 10.8%.

100. Recently, RBI has decided to conduct an open market operations (OMO) for purchase of
govt.securities to ensure liquidity on an enduring basis. Rs. 48,000 crore has been estimated as
an aggregate amount through this Open market operation.