Daily G.K Bits:- 04-09-2015

1. In which country India is going to set up CESDT? (1)

1. Myanmar
2. Srilanka
3. Nepal
4. Maldives
5. Nigeria

Expl:- India and Myanmar on 6 August 2015 inked an agreement to set up Centre of Excellence in Software Development and Training (CESDT) in Myanmar.
The project to be set up with the financial support through ASEAN-India Cooperation fund will be implemented by C-DAC. The project envisages setting up of a state of the art Information and Communication Technology Centre, imparting intensive teachers training, extending support for ICT curriculum development, and will be accredited as an authorized Centre of C-DAC. The agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the visit of Minister of State for External Affairs of India Gen (Retd) VK Singh. Singh was in Malaysia to attend the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meet.

2. Which state High court, has banned Santhara ritual in Jain Community? (2)

1. New Delhi
2. Rajasthan
3. Guwahati
4. Allahabad
5. Lucknow

Expl:- Rajasthan High Court on 10^th August banned the Santhara ritual prevailing in the Jain Community. Pronouncing its judgment, the court considered it a criminal act amounting to suicide and directed to register cases under section 306 of IPC. The Court banned this ritual, following a Public Interest Litigation filed by human rights activist a decade ago, claiming that the ritual is a social evil and should be considered as a suicide. The ancient ritual, also called Sallekhana, is the voluntary starvation to embrace death.

3. In which country India is going to set up Skill Development Centre in Agriculture? (3)

1. Nepal
2. Bhutan
3. Srilanka
4. South Africa
5. China

Expl:- India will establish a Centre for Skill Development for the Faculty of Agriculture at the Kilinochchi Campus of Jaffna University in Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Following competitive bidding, the contract to construct the building complex was awarded to a private company in the presence of Indian High Commissioner Mr. Y.K. Sinha, Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Higher Education Mr. P. Ranepura and Vice Chancellor of Jaffna University Prof. Vasanthy Arasaratnam in Colombo. The project, that is a part of India’s development partnership with Sri Lanka, will cost 15 crore rupees. It includes construction of building, supply of equipment and furniture, training and curriculum development. The project is a result of India’s commitment towards capacity building in the Tamil majority Northern Province that was devastated by a 30 year long war between LTTE militants and the Sri Lankan security forces

4. In which field, Railways and Power Ministry signed an agreement for cooperation? (4)

1. Electricity transmission
2. Energy conservation
3. Promotion of renewable energy
4. All the above
5. None of these

Expl:- Railway Ministry on 12^th August signed four MoUs with Power Ministry for cooperation in the areas of electricity transmission, energy conservation and promotion of renewable energy in a time bound manner. This will pave way for efficient and reliable utilization of resources in the power sector and also in renewable energy sector for making it possible for the railway to take benefits of various development taking place in the power sector. According to Railway Minister Mr Sureshy Prabhu, in the coming years, Railways will become the largest producer of renewable energy.

5. India has decided to construct a petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul in India to Amlekhgunj of ____ (4)

1. Bangladesh
2. Bhutan
3. Myanmar
4. Nepal
5. Pakistan

Expl:- Union Cabinet on 12^th August approved the Memorandum of Understanding between India and Nepal for construction of petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal. The MoU will promote bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector and secure long term supply of petroleum products to Nepal. It will also help to preserve the environment along the route and decongest the international border at Raxaul. On behalf of Indian Government, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been entrusted with the job of construction of the pipeline and re-engineering of the Amlekhgunj Depot and allied facilities. In the first phase, a petroleum products pipeline from Raxaul to Amlekhgunj will be constructed by IOC at a cost of 200 crore rupees.

6. Which of the following country, India signed an MoU for cooperation in Railway sector? (3)

1. Nigeria
2. North Korea
3. China
4. Slovakia
5. Italy

Expl:- India and Slovak have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation in railway sector. Railway Ministry said the MoU was signed in New Delhi for cooperation in the management of station development and workshop modernisation.  Under the agreement the two countries will cooperate in the modernisation of signaling, telecom, information and communication technologies, especially for passenger

7. Which of the following were reduced in the recent monetary policy? (5)

1. Repo rate
2. CRR
3. SLR
4. MSF
5. No rate altered

Expl:- Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has kept its key policy rates unchanged in its third bi-monthly monetary policy review with Governor Raghuram Rajan saying that the headline inflation is at elevated levels and banks are yet to pass on the full benefits of previous rate cuts. In Mumbai, RBI announced that repo rate at which the RBI lends to the system, will remain unchanged at 7.25 per cent. The cash reserve ratio (CRR) which is the proportion of deposit banks have to park with the central bank, will remain at 4 per cent, it announced. Inflation in June rose to an eight-month high of 5.4 percent, while the overall wholesale price index based inflation was at minus 2.4 percent in the same month. RBI in its policy statement trimmed consumer inflation forecast for January-March 2016 by 0.2 percent and said that growth was beginning to look up gradually. Meanwhile, central bank has retained its growth target at 7.6 per cent for the current fiscal year. It said that hardening of inflation, excluding food and fuel, is most worrisome.

8. As per latest decision of Union Cabinet, the wages of MGNREGA workers will be given through….? (2)

1. Gram Panchayats
2. Into the workers account
3. Through state government
4. Through the District planning committee
5. None

Expl:- The Union Cabinet has approved release of wages directly to the accounts of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MGNREGA).  The decision in this regard was taken by the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi. As per the scheme, the wage component of MGNREGA will be released following the State Employment Guarantee Fund window directly to the worker’s accounts based on a fund transfer order to be generated by states’ implementing agencies in accordance with procedures prescribed by Rural Development Ministry.  The decision is aimed at further streamlining the flow of funds and to empower state governments to deliver entitlements as per the objectives of the Act.

9. With which of the following organization, ILO has signed an MoU for training to MSME sector? (3)

1. CII
2. FICCI
3. NASSCOM
4. ABD
5. SDA

Expl:- The International Labour Organisation and FICCI 5^th August took their partnership to the next level by signing an MoU to impart training to MSMEs to make them competitive and boost productivity. This is the second phase of the signing of Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Global Programme, wherein national institutes provide training to MSMEs.  In line with the objective of SCORE, ILO is entrusted with building capacity of FICCI in three phases to enable the industry body to effectively coordinate and manage SCORE training services. Each phase will be approximately for a year or more and will be governed by a technical partnership agreement

10. In recent policy, RBI allowed banks to shift, merge or close branches except in…? (1)

1. Rural areas
2. Urban areas
3. Semi-urban areas
4. Cosmopolitan cities
5. Municipal areas

Expl:- Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to shift, merge or close branches, except in rural areas, at their own discretion. In a notification issued from Mumbai on 5^th August, RBI said the move will allow banks greater operational freedom. The central bank said that customers of the branch should be informed well in time before actual shifting, merger or closure of the office.  The banks should ensure that they continue to fulfill the role entrusted to these branches under the government sponsored programmes and Direct Benefit Transfer Schemes. RBI further said that shifting, merger, or closure of any rural branch as well as a sole semi urban branch would require approval of the District Consultative Committee or District Level Review Committee. However, banking activity, that is deposit or loan business should not be maintained at both places, and the new location for part shifting would have to be within 1 km of the existing location.