Current Affairs QUIZ: FEB 18, 2014

Current Affairs QUIZ: FEB 18, 2014

1. Which movie won the best Film award at Britain’s at this year’s BAFTA Awards?

[A] 12 Years a Slave

[B] Django Unchained

[C] Lincoln

[D] Glory

2. Name the Kingfisher airlines chief executive officer who quits his post on 17th February 2014?

[A] Neeraj Metha

[B] Ankit Batra

[C] Mohan Sinha

[D] Sanjay Aggarwal

3. Who became the first Indian cricketer to take hat-trick in ICC Under-19 World Cup?

[A] Mohammad Aftab

[B] Kuldeep Yadav

[C] Irfanullah Shaikh

[D] Ajit Sheth

4. Who has been won the best Actor award for 12 Years a Slave at the 2014 BAFTA Award in London?

[A] Michael Fassbender

[B] Steve McQueen

[C] Chiwetel Ejiofor

[D] Matthew McConaughey

5. Who has been nominated as youngest prime minister of Italy?

[A] Matteo Renzi

[B] Pier Luigi Bersani

[C] Silvio Berlusconi

[D] Angelino Alfano

6. Which university scientist discovered a new layer in the human cornea that could help cure blindness due to glaucoma?

[A] University of Nottingham

[B] University of Maryland

[C] University of Birmingham

[D] University of Leeds

7. Who has been appointed as Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India?

[A] Mishari Rashid

[B] Saud Al-Shuraim

[C] Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais

[D] Abdul Basit

8. Who has been won the best Actress award for Blue Jasmine at the 2014 BAFTA Award in London?

[A] Sally Hawkins

[B] Cate Blanchett

[C] Kate Winslet

[D] Sandra Bullock

9. Which among the following Hindi littérateur passes away at 89 on 17th February 2014?

[A] Sri Lal Sukla

[B] Chandrashekhara Kambara

[C] Kunwar Narayan

[D] Amarkant

10. President Pranab Mukherjee has imposed President’s rule in-

[A] Delhi

[B] Jharkhand

[C] Andhra Pradesh

[D] Assam

11. Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented the Vote-on-Account on 17 February 2014, which would take care of union expenses until the government’s term ends in May 2014. What the expected fiscal deficit was for 2013-14, as announced in this vote-on-account?

12. What is the expected agricultural growth rate for 2013-14 as announced in the Vote-on-Account on 17 February 2014?

13. Union govt. announced a moratorium for educational loans in the Vote-on-Account presented on 17 February 2014. With this announcement 9 lakh student borrowers are expected to benefit to the extent of Rs. 2,600 crore. Educational loans taken before which year would be given moratorium?

14. What is the total outlay for defence for 2014-15 as announced in the Vote-on-Account on 17 February 2014?

15. A venture capital fund for scheduled castes (SCs) with an initial capital of Rs. 200 crore was announced in the Vote-on-Account presented on 17 February 2014. Which financial entity would set up this VC fund?

16. Which two business segments were exempted from the service tax in the Vote-on-Account presented on 17 February 2014?

17. Justices Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana on 17 February 2014 assumed charge as Supreme Court judges. With their inclusion Supreme Court’s strength of judges has gone to

18. Who was asked by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new government on 17 February 2014 and is poised to become Italy’s youngest Prime Minister to take place of his predecessor Enrico Letta?

19. New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum and B J Watling broke the world record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership with a 352-run stand against India in the ongoing second cricket Test in Wellington on 17 February 2014. They broke record of which partnership?

20. Who is the new CEO of Microsoft?

[A] Satya Nadella

[B] Steve Ballmer

[C] Bill Gates

[D] John W. Thompson

21. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a certificate of authorization to set up white label ATMs in India. What are white label ATMs?

[A] ATMs set up by foreign banks

[B] ATMs set up by non-bank entities

[C] ATMs of Post Office saving banks

[D] ATMs set up by any financial institutions in India

22. Which is the first non-bank entity to launch first White label ATM in India?

[A] Vakrangee Ltd.

[B] Muthoot Finance

[C] Prizm

[D] Tata Communications

23. How many personalities have received the country’ highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna?

[A] 45

[B] 40

[C] 41

[D] 43

24. Who has been selected for the prestigious Vyas Samman for the year 2013?

[A] Vishwanath Tripathi

[B] Narendra Kohli

[C] Ramadarash Mishra

[D] Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari

25. Which team won the Ranji Trophy 2013-14?

[A] Mumbai

[B] Maharashtra

[C] Karnataka

[D] Bengal

26. The 2014 Winter Olympics Games began in –

[A] Sochi, Russia

[B] Vancouver, Russia

[C] London, United Kingdom

[D] Tokyo, Japan

27. Recently, Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station awarded a gold shield on 4 February 2014 for its meritorious performance. It is located on –

[A] Ganga River

[B] Satluj River

[C] Yamuna River

[D] Ravi River

28. The leading stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has started trading in IRF in long tenure government bonds. IRF stands for –

[A] Interest Rate Forward

[B] Interest Rate Free

[C] Interest Rate Futures

[D] None of the above

29. Which among the following state became the first state in India to achieve 100 per cent sanitation?

[A] Goa

[B] Haryana

[C] Tripura

[D] Sikkim

1. 12 Years a Slave: The harrowing drama “12 Years a Slave” won the Best Film award at Britain’s at this year’s BAFTA Awards.

2. Sanjay Aggarwal: Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) CEO Sanjay Aggarwal has resigned and now the groundedsince-October-2012 airline has no non-UB Group person in its management as all the professionals hired from outside have quit.

3. Kuldeep Yadav: Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav became the first Indian bowler to grab a hat-trick in the Under-19 World Cup against Scotland on Monday.

4. Chiwetel Ejiofor: British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has won Best Actor at the Bafta’s for his role as Solomon Northup in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave.

5. Matteo Renzi: Matteo Renzi was on Monday nominated to be the PM of Italy, the youngest in the European Union.

6. University of Nottingham: An Indian doctor Harminder Dua from the University of Nottingham in Britain has discovered a new layer in the human cornea that could help cure blindness due to glaucoma.

7. Abdul Basit: Pakistan on Monday appointed career diplomat Abdul Basit as its new High Commissioner to India, replacing former foreign secretary Salman Bashir.

8. Cate Blanchett: Cate Blanchett won the award for Best Actress at Britain’s top film honours on Sunday for her portrayal of a riches-to-rags socialite in Woody Allen’s tragic comedy “Blue Jasmine”.

9. Amarkant: Noted Hindi litterateur and Jnanpith award winner Amarkant on Monday breathed his last at his residence in Allahabad following a prolonged illness. He was 89.

10. Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has imposed President’s rule in Delhi and accepted the Arvind Kejriwal government’s resignation.

11. 4.6% of GDP (The fiscal deficit, which is the gap between expenditure and revenue, was 4.9% of GDP in the previous financial year. Earlier fiscal deficit was expected to be around 4.8%. As per current indications, the fiscal deficit has come down mainly on account of expenditure compression and higher realisation from the 2G spectrum auction)

12. 4.6%

13. 2009 (P. Chidambaram proposed a moratorium period for all education loans taken up to 31 March 2009, and outstanding at the close of the 2012-13 fiscal. However, such student-borrowers, estimated to be in the vicinity of nine lakh, would have to pay interest for the period beginning 1 January 2014)

14.  Rs. 2,24,000 crore, which is 10% more than that of 2013-14

15. IFCI

16. Blood banks and provider of rice warehousing facilities

17. Thirty one (This strength includes Chief Justice P. Sathasivam. The sanctioned strength of judges in the apex court is 31 including the Chief Justice)

18.  Matteo Renzi (39-year old Renzi is a leftist leader and he was nominated as Italy’s youngest-ever prime minister after a daring power grab that has been welcomed by investors but has left many Italians skeptical. As head of the Democratic Party, Renzi engineered the ouster of his predecessor Enrico Letta- a member of his own party- accusing him of failing to live up to reform pledges in his stormy 10 months in government. Renzi could become Italy’s youngest ever prime minister, two months younger than Benito Mussolini when he came to power in 1922)

19. Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene (Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene’s record stood at 351 runs, which they scored against India for 6th wicket in 2009. In the course of the partnership, McCullum became only the sixth player in history and the first from New Zealand to score two double centuries in back-to-back Test matches. Watling joined McCullum on 16 February when New Zealand were tottering at 94 for the loss of five wickets)

20. Satya Nadella.  Nadella is only the 3^rd CEO of Microsoft after founder Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Before being named CEO in February 2014, Nadella held leadership roles in both enterprise and consumer businesses across the company. Most recently, Nadella was executive vice president of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise group. Originally from Hyderabad, India, Nadella lives in Bellevue, Wash. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago.

21. White label Automated Teller Machines (WLAs) are the ATMs that are owned and operated by non-bank entities. Non-bank entity must have a net worth of at least Rs 100 crore to be eligible for white label ATMs.

22. Tata Communications Payment Solutions is the first non bank entity to launch WLA in India. Tata Communications  named it as ‘Indicash’.

23. 43. Eminent scientist Prof. C N R Rao and legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar were conferred with the Bharat Ratna on 4 February 2014.

24. Vishwanath Tripathi. Tripathi has been chosen for the coveted annual literacy award instituted in 1991 by the K K Birla Foundation for his memoir ‘Vyomkesh Darvesh’, a biography of noted Hindi scholar Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwiwedi. This award carries an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh. It is given to an outstanding literacy work in Hindi published during the last 10 years. Narendra Kohli was awarded for the year 2012 for his novel Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati

25. Karnataka. Karnataka won their seventh Ranji Trophy title after beating a spirited Maharashtra side by seven wickets in the final match.

26. Sochi, Russia. The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, is a major international multi-sport event being held in Sochi, Russia. The 2018 Winter Olympics is scheduled to take place in South Korea.

Scheduled for 7–23 February 2014, opening rounds in figure skating, skiing, and snowboard competitions were held on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, 6 February 2014. Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics are being organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC). Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007, during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City. It is the first Olympics in Russia since the breakup of the USSR in 1991. The USSR was the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

27. Satluj River. The Nathpa Jhakri Hydroelectric Station of 1500 MW capacity is the country’s largest hydropower plant. The run of the river project is located on River Sutlej, a major tributary on the Indus basin, in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh in North India.

28. In a bid to develop debt market in India, the SEBI has allowed stock exchanges to introduce cash-settled interest rate futures (IRF) on 10-year government securities. An IRF is a contract between the buyer and seller agreeing to the future delivery of any interest-bearing asset. The product allows the buyer and seller to lock in the price of the interest-bearing asset for a future date.

29. Sikkim. Sikkim has become India's first state with 100 percent sanitation coverage, according to a report of the drinking water and sanitation ministry.

Sikkim, one of the eight northeastern states nestled prettily in the eastern Himalayas, ranked first among the 28 states and seven union territories in terms of sanitation coverage for both urban and rural areas in households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres. With 610,577 residents (2011 census), Sikkim is India's least populated and second smallest state in area after Goa.