Bank of Maharashtra Probationary Officer Exam. GA

General Awareness 
(Exam Held on 19-12-2010)

1. Which of the following statements is/are correct about the economy of China ? (It was recently in news).
1. China is the world’s fastest growing economy with average growth rate of 10% for the last 30 years.
2. China is the world’s second largest economy by purchasing power parity.
3. China’s economy was valued a little higher than that of Japan’s.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) All 1, 2 and 3
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) Only 1 and 2
Ans : (D)

2. As per the news published a few days back Reliance Power got a huge loan from the US Export-Import Bank for building a coal fired based power plant in India. The plant will be developed in—
(A) Sasan (MP)
(B) Angul (Odisha)
(C) Banswara (Rajasthan)
(D) Barauni (Bihar)
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

3. As per the reports published in various newspapers, the Reserve Bank of India has directed all core investment companies in India to register themselves with it if their asset size is 100 crore or more. Which of the following is True about the Core Investment Companies (CICs) ?
1. CICs are non-banking finance companies.
2. CICs invest in shares for the purpose of taking stake in a company rather than for trading.
3. CICs are required to register with RBI as most of them were found involved in business in foreign countries and not in India.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 1 and 2
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)


4. As per newspaper reports, the RBI recently divested its stake in NABARD. Now RBI’s stake in it is only—
(A) 10%
(B) 5%
(C) 3%
(D) 1%
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

5. The Union Commerce and Industry Minister, while talking to press expressed his desire that India and USA both should work together for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). How will this help India ?
1. It is the agreement which allows liberalization of trade in goods by cutting/eliminating tariffs on most or all goods from both the sides.
2. It will help in easing of the flow of investment and special treatment to each other.
3. It will help USA to outsource more jobs to Indian companies and also to employ more Indians without any restriction.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 1
(C) Only 2 and 3
(D) Only 1 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

6. Immediately prior to Prithviraj Chavan who amongst the following was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra ?
(A) Vilasrao Deshmukh
(B) Ashok Chavan
(C) Ajit Pawar
(D) R.R. Patil
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

7. The RBI has been asked to study and give a report on the loan waiver scheme announced by the United Progressive Alliance Govt. for farmers in 2008. How much amount was given by the Govt. for the scheme ? About—
(A) 10,000 crore
(B) 20,000 crore
(C) 50,000 crore
(D) 71,680 crore
(E) 2,00,000 crore
Ans : (D)


8. Which of the following organizations/agencies has sought an emergency fund of 1000 crore from banks to tackle acute liquidity crisis, which is coming in the way to give loans to micro borrowers ?
(A) Regional Rural and Cooperative Banks
(B) RBI
(C) Micro Finance Institutions
(D) NABARD
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

9. The ministry of Finance recently released a comprehensive paper on Govt. debt. Which of the following is/are true about the same ?
1. The paper presents the road map for general debt to be raised by the Govt. of India during the period of 2011-2015 which is the period of the awards of the 13th Finance Commission.
2. As per the estimates, the target debt in the terminal year 2014-15 will be lower than whatever recommended by the 13th Finance Commission.
3. The paper has recommended that the Govt. should try to generate resources in such a way that it does not have to depend much on debt.’ The total debt should not be more than 1/3rd of the total requirements.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 1 and 2
(D) Only 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

10. As a measure to check inflation, the RBI on November 2, 2010 increased its short term indicative rates Repo and Reverse Repo by—
(A) 25 basis points
(B) 50 basis points
(C) 75 basis points
(D) 100 basis points
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

11. What is the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at present ?
(A) 4%
(B) 4•5%
(C) 5%
(D) 5•5%
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

12. The Finance Ministry has decided to provide 8,700 crore as equity support to public sector banks so that they can raise funds from the capital market without diluting the Govt. holding in them. What is the Govt. holding in most of the public sector banks ?
(A) 49%
(B) 50%
(C) 51%
(D) 59%
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

13. Which of the following is not amongst the core industries/sectors ?
(A) Coal
(B) Service sector
(C) Crude oil
(D) Power
(E) Steel
Ans : (E)

14. Who amongst the following Indian players won maximum number of Gold Medals (4 gold) in Commonwealth Games 2011 held in Delhi ?
(A) Saina Nehwal
(B) Deepika Kumari
(C) Sushil Kumar
(D) Gagan Narang
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)

15. Mr. Zhou Yong Kang was recently on a visit to India. Who is Mr. Zhou Yong Kang ?
(A) President of China
(B) Member of the Polit Bureau of China
(C) Prime Minister of Vietnam
(D) Member of the Polit Bureau of Vietnam
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

16. The countries these days are most worried about the currency war. They are arguing about whose actions harmed the world economy the most. What are the views of the rich countries, particularly USA, in this regard ?
1. They feel that it was China who was unwilling to allow the Yuan to rise.
2. They feel that it was India who had snatched jobs in most of the European countries and USA. This made
the situation more grim.
3. Some countries feel that it was Japan who allowed swapping of its currency with other nations and created a grim situation in world market.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

17. As per reports in various newspapers, Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve has predicted a bleak outlook for the economy in his country. This means the economy in which of the following countries is likely to be gloomy in the days to come ?
(A) UK
(B) Australia
(C) Canada
(D) Germany
(E) USA
Ans : (E)

18. India recently signed some agreements of strategic importance with Japan. Which of the following areas are covered under these agreements ?
1. Some mega infrastructure projects in North-Western India.
2. Implementation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
3. India’s role in resolving crisis in Sudan.
(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Only 1 and 2
(E) Only 2 and 3
Ans : (D)

19. Which of the following is true about the Sudanese Civil War which is going on since last several years ?
1. The war started in 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement Army and some others took up arms against the Govt. of Sudan.
2. The main accusation was that the Govt. is involved in genocide of blacks in favour of Arabs.
3. The main cause of the war is Govt.’s support to European Nations and non willingness to join OPEC. The other party feels Sudan should play active role in OPEC as it is one of the main oil producing nations.
(A) Only 1 and 2
(B) Only 2 and 3
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

20. ‘FBTR’ is a term/abbreviated name related to the area of—
(A) Nuclear Power
(B) Agriculture
(C) Economy
(D) Medical Science
(E) Sports
Ans : (A)

21. World’s largest Diamond Bourse was recently inaugurated in—
(A) New Delhi
(B) Kolkata
(C) Hyderabad
(D) Jaipur
(E) Mumbai
Ans : (E)

22. Which of the following summits (17th summit) was organized in Hanoi in October 2010 in which Dr. Manmohan Singh took part ?
(A) G-8
(B) G-15
(C) OPEC
(D) EU
(E) ASEAN
Ans : (E)

23. The European Union is recently considering its membership to Serbia. Years back Serbia decided to become an independent nation by breaking up from—
(A) Russia
(B) Yugoslavia
(C) Armenia
(D) Lithuania
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

24. Busher Nuclear Plant was recently in news. The plant is located in—
(A) Iraq
(B) Russia
(C) Iran
(D) UAE
(E) North Korea
Ans : (C)

25. N. K. P. Salve Challenger Series is a tournament associated with which of the following games ?
(A) Hockey
(B) Football
(C) Cricket
(D) Lawn Tennis
(E) Badminton
Ans : (C)

26. ‘Irani Trophy’ is associated with—
(A) Hockey
(B) Badminton
(C) Football
(D) Lawn Tennis
(E) Cricket
Ans : (E)

27. Trecia Kaye Smith’s name was in news recently. She is a well known—
(A) Athlete
(B) Journalist
(C) Film Actress
(D) Politician
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

28. Dilma Rousseff has taken over as the first female President of—
(A) Japan
(B) Brazil
(C) Cameroon
(D) Romania
(E) Portugal
Ans : (B)

29. Miss World 2010 contest in which Alexandria Mills was crowned ‘Miss World’ was organized in —
(A) China
(B) India
(C) Britain
(D) France
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)

30. Roger Federer won the Stockholm open 2010 by defeating—
(A) Leander Paes
(B) Mikhail Youzhny
(C) Rafael Nadal
(D) Gael Monfils
(E) Florian Mayer
Ans : (E)

31. Harward Jacobson’s name was recently in news. Who is Harward Jacobson ?
(A) Film Actor
(B) Politician
(C) Author
(D) Sports person
(E) Journalist
Ans : (C)

32. Which of the following is recognized as the biggest cause of Global Hunger in the world ?
(A) Inflation
(B) Poor management of public distribution system
(C) Unemployment and/or underemployment
(D) Malnutrition
(E) All of these
Ans : (D)

33. What is the purpose of National Green Tribunal, which started functioning recently ?
(A) It is a Save Earth Campaign
(B) It will hear the cases related to environmental degradation
(C) It is launched to promote awareness towards climatic changes
(D) Its main aim is to give suggestions–how to protect and increase forest cover in India
(E) None of these
Ans : (B)

34. Shri Nitish Kumar who won the recent elections held in Bihar is from which of the following parties ?
(A) Congress (I)
(B) BSP
(C) JD (U)
(D) Communist Party of India
(E) None of these
Ans : (C)

35. ‘‘The Bridge–The Life and Rise of Barack Obama’’, is a book written by—
(A) Cynthia Tucker
(B) Sarah Palin
(C) Barbara Walters
(D) Michelle Obama
(E) David Remnick
Ans : (E)

36. Human Rights Day is observed on which of the following dates ?
(A) December 15th
(B) December 20th
(C) December 10th
(D) November 15th
(E) November 20th
Ans : (C)

37. The 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was organized in October 2010 in—
(A) New Delhi
(B) Paris
(C) Dhaka
(D) London
(E) Brussels
Ans : (E)

38. Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides are the joint winners of the Nobel Prize 2010 in—
(A) Medicine
(B) Economics
(C) Literature
(D) Peace
(E) Physics
Ans : (B)

39. Mr. O. N. V. Kurup who is the winner of the Jnanpith Award, announced recently, writes in—
(A) Tamil
(B) Telugu
(C) Malayalam
(D) English
(E) Hindi
Ans : (C)

40. The Govt. of India recently brought an IPO to offload its 10% stake in which of the following companies ?
(A) Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd.
(B) Electronics Corporation of India Ltd.
(C) Steel Authority of India Ltd.
(D) Air India Ltd.
(E) Coal India Ltd.
Ans : (E)

41. Which of the following terms is not used in the field of banking and finance ?
(A) Blue chip companies
(B) Commercial paper
(C) Hedge
(D) Premium Bonds
(E) Wobbe Index
Ans : (E)

42. Which of the following prizes/award is not given for excellence in literature ?
(A) Murtidevi Award
(B) Arjuna Award
(C) Vyas Samman
(D) Pulitzer Prize
(E) Saraswati Samman
Ans : (B)

43. Which of the following schemes is not launched by the Govt. of India ?
(A) Mid Day Meal Scheme
(B) Rural Health Mission
(C) Programme for Control of Blindness
(D) Jeevan Anurag
(E) ASHA
Ans : (E)

44. Which of the following programmes is run by the Govt. of India to provide safeguard against starvation during the period of natural calamities ?
(A) Targeted Public Distribution System
(B) Antyodaya Anna Yojana
(C) National Food for work programme
(D) Village Grain Bank Scheme
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

45. India is not self-sufficient in the production of—
(A) Sugar
(B) Milk
(C) Wheat
(D) Edible oil
(E) Jute
Ans : (E)

46. Which of the following is a famous Pharma Company in India ?
(A) HCL
(B) BPCL
(C) IDPL
(D) Infosys Technology
(E) Grasim Industries
Ans : (C)

47. Rohan Bopanna who represented India in International events is a famous—
(A) Football player
(B) Lawn Tennis player
(C) Cricket player
(D) Hockey player
(E) Athlete
Ans : (B)

48. As per Fortune Magazine who amongst the following Indians is ‘The Businessman of the Year’ ?
(A) Anil Agarwal
(B) Kumarmangalam Birla
(C) Mukesh Ambani
(D) Ratan Tata
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)

49. The World Habitat Day is observed on which of the following dates ?
(A) October 24
(B) October 14
(C) November 4
(D) November 14
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)


50. Chewang Norphel who was given prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Award 2010 recently, has made contributions in the field of—
(A) Rural development
(B) Literature
(C) Folk art/music
(D) Sports
(E) Film production
Ans : (A)