Canara Bank Probationary Officers (General Awareness) Paper (Held on 15-3-2009)

Canara Bank

Probationary Officers (General Awareness) Paper
(Held on 15-3-2009)

1. As per the recent reports published in newspapers/magazines, India ranks at a lower level in Hunger Index. The Hunger Index is measured on which of the following indicators?1. Child Malnutrition
2. Rate of Child Mortality
3. Rate of Literacy
4. No. of people who are calories deficient
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2 and 3
(C) Only 1, 2 and 4
(D) All 1, 2, 3 and 4
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

2. Who amongst the following economists gave the concept of ‘economies of scale’, which says ‘many goods and services can be produced more cheaply in long series’ ?(A) Edward C. Prescott
(B) Amartya Sen
(C) Gary S. Becker
(D) Edmund S. Phelps
(E) Paul Krugman
Ans : (E)

3. As per the recent report which of the following countries emerged as India’s top trading partner during 2008-09 ?(A) Russia
(B) Brazil
(C) USA
(D) China
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

4. In its mid term review of the economy the Reserve Bank of India pegged the country’s economic growth for fiscal year 2008-09 at which of the following levels ?(A) 6%
(B) 6.5%
(C) 7%
(D) 7.7%
(E) 8.7%
Ans : (D)

5. Which of the following countries has elected Joe Biden as its Vice President in its general elections held in November 2008 ?(A) Britain
(B) Canada
(C) Australia
(D) USA
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

6. Very often we read in newspapers/magazines about ‘Sovereign Wealth Funds’. Which of the following is/are the correct description of the same ?1. These are the funds or the reserves of a government or central bank of a country which are invested further to earn profitable returns.
2. These are the funds, which were accumulated by some people over the years but were not put in active circulation as they retain them as Black Money for several years.
3. The funds which are created to be used as relief funds or bailouts packages are known as sovereign funds.
(A) Both 2 and 3 only
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

7. The Govt. of India has decided to declare which of the following rivers a National River ?(A) Brahmaputra
(B) Yamuna
(C) Ganga
(D) Kaveri
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

8. Very often we read about Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in newspapers. What was the purpose of promoting SEZs in India ?1. They are established to promote exports.
2. They are established to attract investments from foreign countries.
3. They are established to help poorest of the poors in India as the activities of these zones are reserved only for poors and those living below poverty line.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 and 2 only
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

9. The Asian Cooperation Dialogue Conference of 31 nations was organized in October 2008 in—(A) New Delhi
(B) Seoul (S. Korea)
(C) Beijing (China)
(D) Dhaka (Bangladesh)
(E) Astana (Kazakhastan)
Ans : (E)

10. The White Tiger is a book written by—(A) Amitav Ghosh
(B) Arundhati Roy
(C) V. S. Naipaul
(D) Kiran Desai
(E) Aravind Adiga
Ans : (E)

11. The Ratio of the Cash Reserves that the banks are required to keep with RBI is known as—(A) Liquidity Ratio
(B) SLR
(C) CRR
(D) Net Demand & Time Liability
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

12. A Rs. 35000 crore JSW Steel Plant was inaugurated in November 2008 in—(A) Kota
(B) Nandigram
(C) Pune
(D) Jamshedpur
(E) Salboni
Ans : (E)

13. The Govt. of India in order to provide some relief to the exporters announced a relief package of Rs.—(A) 1000 crores
(B) 2500 crores
(C) 4000 crores
(D) 5000 crores
(E) 7000 crores
Ans : (D)

14. Which of the following awards/honours was conferred upon Pt. Bhimsen Joshi recently ?(A) Man of the year
(B) Kala Shikhar Samman
(C) Dada Saheb Phalke Award
(D) Kalidas Samman
(E) Bharat Ratna
Ans : (E)

15. Which of the following Space Craft was launched recently to prepare a 3 dimensional Atlas of the lunar surface and also for chemical mapping of entire lunar surface ?(A) PSLV-II
(B) Chandrayan II
(C) Chandrayan III
(D) Chandrayan-I
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

16. As per new revised rules now Foreign Direct Investment in Insurance sector is possible upto the limit of—(A) 26%
(B) 40%
(C) 49%
(D) 70%
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

17. Who amongst the following players recently became the first ever Indian to win a World Championship in Badminton ?(A) P. Gopichand
(B) Saina Nehwal
(C) Aparna Popat
(D) Nandu M. Natekar
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

18. Which of the following countries got Wanchuck as its fifth King recently ?(A) Bhutan
(B) Nepal
(C) Japan
(D) Spain
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

19. As per the news reports members of the SAARC agreed to establish a ‘SAARC Food Bank’ to ensurefood security for members in case of any emergency. Which of the following nations agreed to provide maximum quantity of food for the bank ?
(It will provide 1,53,200 tonnes)
(A) India
(B) Pakistan
(C) Bhutan
(D) Nepal
(E) Sri Lanka
Ans : (A)

20. The availability of Cash and other cash like marketable instruments that are useful in purchases and investments are commonly known as—(A) Cash crunch
(B) Liquidity
(C) Credit
(D) Marketability
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

21. India recently signed an agreement with which of the following countries so that they are allowed to deal smoothly with the problem of fishermen who cross International Maritime Boundary Line ?(A) Bangladesh
(B) Sri Lanka
(C) Pakistan
(D) Myanmar
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

22. The World Development Report 2009 was released recently. Who publishes the World Development Report every year?(A) Asian Development Bank
(B) World Bank
(C) International Monetary Fund
(D) United Nations Organizations
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

23. The 3rd IBSA Summit took place in New Delhi in October 2008. Which of the following statements about the same is/are correct ?1. Leaders agreed to set a trilateral trade target of US$ 25 million by 2015.
2. Leaders adopted a 50 point Delhi Summit Declaration which has their views on global governance.
3. IBSA agreed to provide its membership to China and Russia from 2011
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 & 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

24. As per newspaper reports India’s Trade gap is showing a negative growth since last few months ‘Trade Gap’ means what ?(A) Gap between total GDP and total consumption
(B) Gap between total Imports and total Exports
(C) Gap between available liquidity and expected demand in next five months
(D) Gap between budgeted revenue collection and actual collection of the same
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

25. Mr. Kgalema Motlanthe who was on a visit to India in October 2008 is the—(A) President of South Africa
(B) Prime Minister of South Africa
(C) President of Kenya
(D) Prime Minister of Kenya
(E) Deputy Director General of UNO
Ans : (A)

26. As per the reports published in newspapers India allowed to open Cross-LOC Trade after a gap of about 60 years. Which of the following routes was thrown open for the same ?(A) Srinagar-Muzaffarabad
(B) Kolkata-Dhaka
(C) Varanasi-Kathmandu
(D) Imphal-Yangon
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

27. Who amongst the following scored his 40th century in the Test cricket while playing against Australia in Nagpur in November 2008 ?(A) Sachin Tendulkar
(B) Anil Kumble
(C) M. S. Dhoni
(D) Harbhajan Singh
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

28. Mr. Mohammed Anni Nasheed’s name was in news in recent past as he has taken over as President of—(A) Bangladesh
(B) Maldives
(C) Malaysia
(D) Indonesia
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

29. The financial turmoil all over the world in recent past has also put some effect on Indian economy. What measures RBI had taken to improve the situation ?1. SLR has been reduced by one percentage points and at present is 24%
2. An advance of Rs. 25,000 crore provided to banks/financial institutions under the Agricultural debt waiver
and Debt Relief Schemes.
3. RBI allowed banks to raise their capital by issuing Investment Bonds. Almost all big banks have issued such bond in recent past.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 & 3
(E) Only 1 & 2 both
Ans : (A)

30. Shivraj Chauhan has taken over as the Chief Minister of—(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Rajasthan
(C) Bihar
(D) Chhattisgarh
(E) Delhi
Ans : (A)

31. ‘Jnanpith Award’ is given for excellence in the field of—(A) Music
(B) Literature
(C) Sports
(D) Films
(E) Social Services
Ans : (B)

32. Who amongst the following recently announced his Retirement from the cricket world ?(A) Sachin Tendulkar
(B) M. S. Dhoni
(C) Harbhajan Singh
(D) Rahul Dravid
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

33. The second ‘BIMSTEC Summit’ was organized in November 2008 in—(A) Dhaka
(B) Kathmandu
(C) Thimpu
(D) New Delhi
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

34. The Govt. of India recently signed an agreement with Malaysia to facilitate employment of workers between the two countries. Which of the following was/were the reason(s) owing to which both the nations decided to make an agreement for the same ?1. Malaysia is an important destination for Indian workers as Malaysia has almost 1.5 lakh Indian workers.
2. Most of the Indians are employed with the plantation and construction sectors where they were not getting a fair treatment.
3. In the last few years there was a strong opposition to employ Indians as the unemployment rate in Malaysia is almost 30%
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 & 2 only
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

35. Besides USA and France, India has also a Civil Nuclear Deal with—(A) Britain
(B) Russia
(C) Germany
(D) Canada
(E) Australia
Ans : (B)

36. Which of the following countries signed an agreement with Russia so that, the country did not attack on it in future and Russia also did not do the same ?(A) Georgia
(B) Croatia
(C) Slovakia
(D) Tajikistan
(E) Mangolia
Ans : (A)

37. The third Commonwealth Youth Games were organized in October 2008 in—(A) Chandigarh
(B) Bangalore
(C) Pune
(D) Lucknow
(E) Jaipur
Ans : (C)

38. Miss Karla Paula Henry won which of the following titles when she participated in an event in November 2008 in Philippines ?(A) Miss Earth
(B) Miss World
(C) Miss Universe
(D) Miss Asia Pacific
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

39. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Development as Freedom’ ?(A) Amartya Sen
(B) C. Rangarajan
(C) Y. V. Reddy
(D) Bimal Jalan
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

40. Who amongst the following cine star of India became the first upon whom Malaysian title ‘Datuk’ was conferred recently ?(A) Amitabh Bachchan
(B) Akshay Khanna
(C) Salman Khan
(D) Shah Rukh Khan
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

41. Mr. Stephen Harper whose name was in news recently is the—(A) President of New Zealand
(B) President of Australia
(C) President of Sweden
(D) President of Canada
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

42. Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is observed on which of the following days ?(A) 9th March
(B) 9th February
(C) 9th January
(D) 19th February
(E) 19th January
Ans : (C)

43. Gold Mines in India are located mainly in—(A) Kolar
(B) Raniganj
(C) Jadugoda
(D) Veeranam
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

44. Which of the following two programmes are the parts of the National Social Assistance programme of the Govt. of India?1. Indira Awas Yojana &
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
2. National Food for Work & Mid day Meal Scheme
3. National Old Age pension scheme & National Family Benefit Scheme
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Either 1 or 2
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

45. Which of the following programmes was launched to tackle special problems faced by those areas, which are affected by drought conditions frequently ?1. Desert Development Programme
2. Drought Prone Areas Programme
3. Watershed Development Programme
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 1 & 2
(E) All 1, 2 & 3
Ans : (E)

46. Ms. Kiran Desai is the author of which of the following books ?(A) God of small things
(B) The inheritance of loss
(C) Midnight’s children
(D) A House for Mr. Biswas
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

47. Which of the following is the duration of the present Five-Year Plan ?(A) 2008–12
(B) 2009–13
(C) 2007–12
(D) 2006–11
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

48. Which of the following Ministries was Mr. Shivraj Patil looking after immediately prior to his resignation from the cabinet ?(A) Foreign Affairs
(B) Home Affairs
(C) Rural Development
(D) Agriculture
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

49. Which of the following schemes launched by the Govt. of India provides a guaranteed 100 days employment to rural employment seekers in India ?(A) Bharat Nirman
(B) Swarnjayanti Grameen Rozgar Yojana
(C) National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(D) National Food for Work Programme
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

50. ‘Satyam’ which was in news recently was operating in which of the following areas ?(A) Textile
(B) Mining
(C) Pharma
(D) Automobiles
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)