Andhra Bank Probationary Officers (General Awareness) Paper (Held on 5-7-2009)

Andhra Bank

Probationary Officers (General Awareness) Paper
(Held on 5-7-2009)

1. The Govt. of India decided to scrap the import duty on cotton and also withdraw incentives on the export of the same. How will this action of the govt. affect the cotton market in India ?1. More and more traders will be able to import cotton as there is no import duty on it.
2. The price of the cotton in domestic market will come down.
3. More and more farmers will no start growing cotton.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

2. As per the reports in the financial newspapers CCEA cleared many FDI proposals recently. What is the full form of CCEA ?(A) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(B) Congress Committee on Economic Affairs
(C) Cabinet Committee on Emergency Accounts
(D) Clearance Committee on Export Accounts
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

3. The Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydel power project is being developed on which of the following rivers ?(A) Ganga
(B) Alaknanda
(C) Yamuna
(D) Sabarmati
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

4. Despite the rampant volatility in the market trends and rising costs all over the world, some countries were able to grab the business of outsourcing IT and BPO services from some big countries. Which of the following had been the most favoured nation during 2008-09 for the same ?(A) China
(B) South Korea
(C) India
(D) Brazil
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

5. The facility which allows mobile subscribers to switch from one service provider to another without changing their mobile number is known as Mobile Number—(A) Protectability
(B) Portability
(C) Promotability
(D) Permeability
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

6. Which of the following economies is not in the top 10 economies of the world ?(A) USA
(B) Japan
(C) Germany
(D) China
(E) South Africa
Ans : (E)

7. Which of the following banks has opened the country’s first ‘Cash Factory’ in Lucknow which will issue currency notes to all its branches and ATM in that area ?(A) Bank of India
(B) Bank of Baroda
(C) State Bank of India
(D) Union Bank of India
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

8. Many times we read in newspapers that the RBI has revised certain rates/ratios under LAF. What is the full form of LAF ?(A) Legal Adjustment Facility
(B) Liquidity Adjustment Facility
(C) Longterm Achievement Facility
(D) Legal Adjustment Formality
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

9. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) launched by the Union Govt. ?1. The scheme is drawn to include another one crore beneficiaries in the scheme by the end of September 2009.
2. The scheme was announced to provide insurance cover to those women workers who come for job under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
3. Under the scheme, the central govt. bears the entire amount of the premium which is around Rs. 6,000 per year for each beneficiary.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

10. As per the Interim Budget of the Union Govt. for 2009-10, around Rs. 1,31,000 crores were allocated for various flagship programmes of the Govt. of India. Amongst these, one particular programme is given at Rs. 41,000 crores as it is aimed at development of infrastructure in the rural areas of the country. What is that programme ?(A) Rajiv Gandhi Rural Drinking Water Mission
(B) Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(C) Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Scheme
(D) National Rural Health Mission
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

11. Who amongst the following was the chairperson of the committee set up for Financial SectorAssessmentby the Govt. of India and RBI ?
(A) Dr. Rakesh Mohan
(B) Dr. D. Subbarao
(C) Mr. Pranab Mukherjee
(D) Mr. P. Chidambaram
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

12. As per the reports published in the newspapers the use of credit cards in India has gone down by about 8% during 2008-09. What are the main reasons for the same ?1. High interest rate charged by the card companies.
2. Rise in delinquency level related to use of credit cards.
3. Govt. policies which do not allow the launch of new credit cards by the banks.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

13. As per the reports in the media the exports from India has gone down by 13% in the last few months. What steps has the Union Govt. taken to boost the same ?1. Customs duty under export promotion capital goods scheme was cut to 3% from the earlier 5%.
2. Special incentives of Rs. 325 crore were announced for sectors like handmade carpets, leather and textiles.
3. Excise duty on the goods produced exclusively for exports is withdrawn fully.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 2
(E) All 1, 2, and 3
Ans : (D)

14. Which of the following states in India is at the top of the Investment Index prepared by the World Bank ?(A) Gujarat
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Karnataka
(D) Tamil Nadu
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

15. The G-20 Summit was organized in London on 2nd April 2009. Which of the following announcement(s) was/were made in the summit ?1. US $ 1•1 trillion will be provided to restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy.
2. A wider global regulation will be launched to protect banks from the toxic assets.
3. A Financial Stability Forum will be established with the assistance of IMF.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 2
(E) All 1, 2, and 3
Ans : (A)

16. The Govt. of India recently provided an amount of Rs. 65,300 crores to about 3•6 crore farmers in India. What was the purpose of the distribution of this much amount to the farmers ?(A) To enable them to purchase tractors and other hi-tech agricultural machines
(B) This was given to them as a debt waiver and relief package
(C) To provide them fertilizers and advanced high yielding seeds for the next harvesting season
(D) To help them to avail internet services and update their knowledge about the farming techniques and adopt new methods of the same
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

17. Which of the following is true about Value Added Tax (VAT) ?1. It is a consumption tax levied on value added to the product on every stage of its production.
2. VAT is levied by the Union Govt. and only a small part goes to State Govts.
3. The income tax on retailers is now decided on the basis of their VAT collection in a year.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

18. Mr. Najib Razak is the new Prime Minister of —(A) Myanmar
(B) Indonesia
(C) Malaysia
(D) Thailand
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

19. India recently signed an agreement with the European patent office. How would this agreement be helpful to our country ?1. It will help India to protect its traditional knowledge of medicines.
2. India’s Traditional Knowledge Library which is in digital form will now be available to the Patent Examiners at the European Patent Office.
3. India will have the right to grant patents for all its traditional medicines and herbs.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

20. The 21st Arab League Summit was held in which of the following countries in March 2009 ?(A) Saudi Arabia
(B) Iran
(C) Qatar
(D) UAE
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

21. India recently got a consignment of 60 tonnes of uranium from which of the following countries to be used in Rajasthan Atomic Power Station ?(A) USA
(B) Canada
(C) France
(D) South Korea
(E) China
Ans : (C)

22. India and Chile recently agreed to allow Free Trade between both the countries. What does it really mean ?1. India can sell any product to Chile and Chile can also sell any product to India.
2. India and Chile both will sell goods or services to each other but the payment for the same will be only in return goods. No hard cash will be paid for such transactions.
3. Whatever goods both of them will import or export, the payment will be made only in US dollars and only cash transactions will take place.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 2
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

23. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the Global Hunger Index published recently ?1. The Index is prepared every year by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
2. As per the report about 27% of world’s undernourished population lives in India.
3. The number of undernourished is more in urban areas than the rural one.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

24. The President’s Rule was imposed in which of the following North-Eastern States in March 2009 ?(A) Nagaland
(B) Assam
(C) Arunachal Pradesh
(D) Meghalaya
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

25. Arvind Bhat won the 23rd National Badminton Championship held in Indore by defeating —(A) Nikhil Kanetkar
(B) P. Gopichand
(C) Nandu Natekar
(D) P. Kashyap
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

26. Who amongst the following became the first woman pilot in the world to fly MIG-35 fighter plane ?(A) Suman Sharma
(B) Saudamini Deshmukh
(C) Kirsty Moore
(D) Nicole Malachowski
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

27. The 14th Summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was organized in which of the following countries ?(A) Vietnam
(B) Myanmar
(C) Indonesia
(D) Thailand
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

28. India recently signed a Defence Deal with Israel. Which of the following statement(s) is/are true about the same ?1. India will purchase a stateof-the-art air defence system from Israel at a whopping cost of US $ 1•4 billion.
2. A complex of 5 ordinance plants would be established in Nalanda.
3. Israel will develop a seaborne and shore-based system to protect India from missile attacks on it.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (A)

29. Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai is the new —(A) President of Zimbabwe
(B) Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
(C) President of Kenya
(D) Prime Minister of Kenya
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

30. Which of the following teams won the ICC Women’s World Cup Cricket Finals held in March 2009 ?(A) Australia
(B) India
(C) England
(D) New Zealand
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

31. As we all can notice, the nature of agribusiness in India has changed a lot in the last few years. This is because the food habits of the people have changed. What are these changes ?1. The consumption of high value food like fruits, vegetables, fishery and livestock has increased. Hence, farmers are shifting attention to these.
2. The demand for processed food and ready-to-eat food has increased. Hence, agro business has become a lucrative option.
3. The use of genetically modified seeds has started giving bumper crops and 60% of the same is sold as processed food in local and foreign markets.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

32. Which of the following countries is not a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which was in news recently ?(A) Russia
(B) India
(C) China
(D) Kyrgyzstan
(E) Tajikistan
Ans : (B)

33. Under the Project 2011, the All India Football Federation is preparing players for the matches to be held in the year 2011 for which of the following events ?(A) Olympics
(B) Asian Cup
(C) FIFA World Cup
(D) National Championship
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

34. As per reports some state governments in India have put a ban on the sale of Ammonium Nitrate or its other combinations in the open market as the same is being used by some people as an explosive. Ban on open sale of such chemicals can be put under which of the following Acts ?(A) Explosive Substance Act
(B) Narcotics Act
(C) The Trade and Merchandise Act
(D) Dangerous Drugs Act
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

35. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Flight into Fear’ ?(A) Capt. Devi Sharan
(B) Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat
(C) Dr. Kiran Bedi
(D) Sri Jaswant Singh
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

36. Which of the following is an international forum to discuss and implement supervisory norm in all the banks of the world ?(A) Basel Committee
(B) UN Charter on Commercial Laws
(C) International Board of Banks and Finance
(D) World Trade Organisation
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

37. Which of the following states ranked first in implementation of the Central Govt. sponsored scheme “Artificial Recharge of Ground Water Through dug Wells in Hard Rock Areas” ?(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Karnataka
(D) Tamil Nadu
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

38. Which of the following is/are true about the Competition Commission which is set up recently ?1. The Commission is established to prevent practices which do not support healthy business competition.
2. The Commission will have five members including the Chairman.
3. The Commission has to ensure that the financial operations of any business entity does not get concentrated in the hands of few people.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

39. ‘Anti Tobacco Day’ is observed in India on which one of the following days ?(A) 11th April
(B) 11th May
(C) 11th June
(D) 31st May
(E) 30th June
Ans : (D)

40. Which of the following teams won the National Women’s Football Championship Final (Seniors) held in March 2009 ?(A) Manipur
(B) West Bengal
(C) Tamil Nadu
(D) Maharashtra
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

41. Who amongst the following was chosen for the award of Hoover Medal 2008 for his/her contribution to upliftment of poor and rural people ?(A) Shri Rahul Gandhi
(B) Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(C) Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
(D) Dr. Manmohan Singh
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

42. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Cricket My Style’ ?(A) Sunil Gavaskar
(B) Ravi Shastri
(C) Kapil Dev
(D) Sachin Tendulkar
(E) Saurav Ganguly
Ans : (C)

43. Many times we read about Foreign Direct Investment in the country for various project schemes. Why should government promote the idea of Foreign Direct Investment particularly when it can provide funds from its own resources ?1. It is a supplement to domestic investments and is preferred to bridge the investment-savings gap.
2. Foreign Direct Investment helps in providing better and advanced technology which is sometimes not available domestically.
3. It generates new employment opportunities.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 2
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (C)

44. The name of Mr. Jacob Zuma was in news recently as his party has won the general election in his country with landslide victory. Mr. Zuma is from which country ?(A) Algeria
(B) Lebanon
(C) South Africa
(D) Venezuela
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

45. As we all know, lot of people from underdeveloped states migrate to various progressive states as agricultural labour. What are the major problems of agriculture in India owing to which people have to leave their own land and work as labourer on somebody else’s farm/land ?1. Lack of irrigation facilities, low productivity of land and uncertain monsoon.
2. Non-availability of fertilizers, etc. on subsidized rates.
3. Single crop cultivation.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

46. Yuki Bhambri who won an international tournament recently is a famous ………(A) Badminton player
(B) Chess player
(C) Pistol shooter
(D) Lawn Tennis player
(E) Table Tennis player
Ans : (D)

47. Who amongst the following is not a recipient of the Padma Shri Award given away recently ?(A) Penaz Masani
(B) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
(C) Sonam Kapur
(D) Kumar Sanu
(E) M. S. Dhoni
Ans : (C)

48. As we read these days, many world economies are passing through recession at present. When can an economy be called ‘in recession’ ?1. When a decline occurs in almost all major economic activities.
2. When the inflation reaches at a very high rate or becomes double digit inflation.
3. When big financial scams and frauds start taking place.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All the three
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

49. Vyas Samman is given for excellence in the field of ………(A) Film
(B) Literature
(C) Dance
(D) Music
(E) Science and Technology
Ans : (B)

50. Which of the following is true about the ‘Village Grain Bank Scheme’ ?1. The Scheme was launched to provide safeguards against starvation during the period of natural calamities or lean season.
2. The grain banks are set up in food scarce areas like drought prone areas, hot and cold desert areas, tribal areas and inaccessible hilly areas.
3. Village Panchayats who were running village grain banks earlier are now not authorized to run the same. Instead the authority is now given to NGOs and SHGs in the village.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 2
(E) All 1, 2 and 3
Ans : (A)