June 2013
1. Who clinched this year’s Indian Premier League Cricket Trophy?
Answer: Mumbai Indians
2. Who tops the list of the world’s most powerful women, released by Forbes Magazine recently?
Answer: Angela Merkel, she has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005.
3. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Navigation Centre was set up at:
Answer: Byalalu, about 40km from Bangalore
The ISRO Navigation Centre will be the nerve centre of India’s forthcoming Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The IRNSS will consist of a constellation of seven satellites. The first satellite, R1A launched on June 12.
4. The Muttathu Varkey literary award was presented to:
Answer: C.V Balakrishnan
5. Thakazhi Cherukatha Puraskaram was awarded to .........?
Answer: Rehman Kidangayath
6. Who received this year’s Man Asian Literary Prize?
Answer: Tan Twan Eng. He got the award for his novel ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’.
7. How many languages in India have been conferred classical statuses so far?
Answer: Five (Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam)
8. The Japanese historian and writer who was awarded Padmashree this year?
Answer: Noboru Karashimna
9. Which Keralite was appointed as Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court?
Answer: Justice Pius C Kuriakose
10. Who received this year’s Swathithirunal Sangeetha Award?
Answer: V Dakshinamoorthy
11. M.R Venkatesh became India’s 28th Chess Grand Master in July 2012. He belongs to which state?
Answer: Tamil Nadu
12. Who won the 2012 Laureus Sportsman of the year Award?
Answer: Novak Djokovic
13. What is the name given to India’s mission to Mars in November 20, 2013?
Answer: Mars Orbiter Mission
14. 7th G-20 Summit was held in which country?
Answer: Mexico
15. The current winners of the UEFA Champions League.
Answer: Bayern Munich
16. The award winning and internationally known Bengali Film director who passed away on May 30?
Answer: Rithuparno Ghosh
17. ......... in India has been declared by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve under its ‘Man and the Biosphere’ (MAB) Programme?
Answer: Nicobar Islands
18. The eminent Malayalam grammarian, poet, linguist and translator whose 150th birth anniversary was celebrated this year:
Answer: A.R Rajaraja Varma
19. N.R Narayana Murthy has again taken over as the Executive chairman of which major IT company?
Answer: Infosys
20. As per the new rule of the Telecom Regulatory Authority, advertisements shown on TV channels are restricted to ......... minutes for one hour programming.
Answer: 12 minutes. The rule will come into effect on October 1 2013.
21. Who has become the youngest Indian to climb Mount Everest?
Answer: Raghav Joneja (15 years and 7 months)
22. Rami Hamdallah has become the new prime minister of:
Answer: Palestine
23. Who won the US Open golf tournament 2013?
Answer: Justin Rose
24. Which airport in India has been ranked as the world’s second best by the Airport Council International?
Answer: Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
25. Who won Iran presidential election 2013?
Answer: Hassan Rouhani
26. Who won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony of the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival?
Answer: Oliver Stone
27. When the first Under-17 Football World Cup event is scheduled in India?
Answer: 2017
28. Which state won the Junior Men’s National Hockey title 2013?
Answer: Punjab
29. Who is appointed as chairman of the National Technical Research Organization?
Answer: R. Chandrashekar
30. Which Indian state launched country’s first seaplane service?
Answer: Kerala
31. Who is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan?
Answer: Nawaz Sharif
32. Nation’s highest Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) will be set up at:
Answer: Nyoma, Leh district of Jammu & Kashmir
33. Dubai launched World’s tallest Twisted Tower named:
Answer: Cayan Tower
SET 4, May 2013
1. Who has been elected as the chairman of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD)?
Answer: P.J Kurien
2. .........., the developer of the first successful oral vaccination for Polio passed away recently?
Answer: Hilary Koprowski
3. The international Monetary Fund has recently recognized the Government of .......... After 22 years?
Answer: Somalia
4. The Indian-American economist who won the John Bates Clark Medal 2013?
Answer: Raj Chetty, John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association. The award often described as the ‘Baby Nobel’, is considered by many economists to be second only to the Nobel Prize.
5. What is the full form of NOFN?
Answer: National Optical Fibre Network. The scheme recently approved by the Union Government will connect 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats in the country through Optical Fibre Cable.
6. Which power generation company has recently been conferred with the ‘Mini Ratna Category 1’ status by the Government of India?
Answer: North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO)
7. Who wrote the novel ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2013?
Answer: Adam Johnson
8. The veteran play back singer .......... who had sung around 3000 songs in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Tulu passed away on 14th April?
Answer: P.B Srinivas
9. World Earth Day was observed on:
Answer: April 22
10. What was the theme of 2013 World Earth day (April 22)?
Answer: The face of climate change
11. Who has been elected as the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)?
Answer: Takehiko Nakao (Japan)
12. Who has been appointed as the Chairperson of the State Child Rights Commission, Kerala?
Answer: Neela Gangadharan
13. The 200th birth anniversary of .........., the ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore is being celebrated now?
Answer: Swati Tirunal
14. Which Indian has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce?
Answer: Sunil Bharti Mittal
15. The famous Indian Violinist who passed away on April 22?
Answer: Lalgudi Jayaraman
16. Who is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Italy?
Answer: Enrico Letta
17. The space observatory of the European Space Agency which stopped functioning recently?
Answer: Herschel. It is the largest infrared space telescope ever built.
18. National Civil Services Day was observed on:
Answer: April 21
19. According to the data released by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), which state accounts for the largest number of mobile subscribers in India?
Answer: Uttar Pradesh
20. Who has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala?
Answer: E.K Bharat Bhooshan
21. World Asthma Day was observed on:
Answer: May 7
Note: The First Tuesday of May is observed every year as World Asthma Day.
22. The Reserve Bank of India on May 4 reduced the Repo rate to:
Answer: 7.25%
23. Where in Haryana India’s first defence university is to be setup?
Answer: Gurgaon
24. Who is the new Prime Minister of Nepal?
Answer: Khil Raj Regmi
25. Who is the new Prime Minister of North Korea?
Answer: Pak Pong-ju
26. Who is the new president of Bangladesh?
Answer: Abdul Hamid
27. Who becomes the first woman speaker of Bangladesh?
Answer: Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury
28. Who is the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India?
Answer: Shashi Kant Sharma
29. Who become the first Pakistani women to scale the Everest?
Answer: Samina Baig
30. What was the theme of 2013 International Biological diversity Day (May 22)?
Answer: Water and Biodiversity
31. The Reserve Bank of India has projected a GDP growth percent of .......... for 2013-14?
Answer: 5.7%
32. World Press Freedom Day was celebrated on:
Answer: May 3
33. Who was honoured by this year’s UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award?
Answer: Reeyot Alemu (Ethiopia). She has been imprisoned for more than a year branded as Terrorist.
34. The movie named …… produced by IBM Research, has been recognized as the World’s smallest movie ever created?
Answer: A Boy and His Atom. The one minute movie was made by moving carbon monoxide atoms viewed through a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, magnifying them 100 million times.
35. Najib Razak has been sworn in for a second term as the Prime Minister of:
Answer: Malaysia
36. Which Indian shuttler has won the Malaysia Open Women’s title?
Answer: P. Sindhu
37. .......... and .......... Are nominated by India for World Heritage Site status in 2013.
Answer: Hill Forts in Rajasthan and the Great Himalayan National Park.
38. The Indian discus thrower who clinched gold in the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Challenge Meet held in Kingston?
Answer: Vikas Gowda
39. Who got the ISRO Young Scientist Award 2013?
Answer: Jenita Mary Nongkynrih from Meghalaya
40. Who is sworn in as the 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka?
Answer: Siddaramaiah
41. Government of India will observe Year 2013 as:
Answer: Water Conservation Year
42. Who becomes the first Indian amputee to conquer Mt Everest?
Answer: Arunima Sinha
43. Which country signed new constitution into law on 22nd May 2013?
Answer: Zimbabwe
44. Who won the 5th Man Booker International Prize?
Answer: Lydia Davis
45. Who is crowned as the Miss India Worldwide 2013?
Answer: Nehal Bhogaita. Britain’s Nehal Bhogaita has won the title of Miss India Worldwide, making her the first deaf to win the beauty pageant.
46. Who is appointed as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court?
Answer: Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta
SET 3
1.The President of which country recently suggested a five-point formula to improve relations with India?
ANSWER :- China
2. Who has been declared as the winner of 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize the most prestigious and richest award of Architecture, also often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Architecture?
ANSWER :- Toyo Ito
3. The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on which date?
ANSWER :- March 20
4. The Cenral Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd (CMPDI) is located at which place?
ANSWER :- Ranchi
5. The first all-women court was setup recently in which Indian city?
ANSWER :- Mumbai
6. 'The Test of My Life' is the autobiography of which cricket player?
ANSWER :- Yuvaraj Singh
7. Asia's largest solar power project has been recently commissioned in which state?
ANSWER :- Rajasthan
8. The lowest dropout rate of school students in the country is in which state?
ANSWER :- Kerala (0.53%)
9. The Socialist and successor of the late leader Hugo Chavez who has won the Venezuela's President poll?
ANSWER :- Nicolas Maduro
10. Violin Maestro son of Lalgudi Gopala Iyer and exponent of Lalgudi bahani style who died recently at the age of 80?
ANSWER :- Lalgudi Jayaraman (April 22)
11. Who heads the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) ?
ANSWER :- Madav Gadgil
12. Pakisthani Former Militant ruler and President arrested on charges relating to the 2007 arrests of judges?
ANSWER :- Pervez Musharraf
13. The first state of country to implement the e-payment facility in tendering processes thereby ensuring transparency and confidentiality ?
ANSWER :- Kerala
14.Former Chief Justice of India and head of the government appointed committee for framing law to tackle crime against women in the wake of the December Delhi Gang rape incident, who died recently?
ANSWER :- Justis.J.S.Verma
15. The RBI has recently issued guidlines for new bank licences. As per these guidelines, what is the minimum paid-up capitation for setting up a bank?
ANSWER :- Rs.500 Crore
SET 2
1. As per the recently released Government data, which state has the highest percentage households availing of banking service?
Answer :- Himachal Pradesh
2. Who has appointed as the president of International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) India?
Answer :- Rajan Bharati Mittal
3. New STAR(Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is signed between which countries?
Answer :- USA and Russia
4. At which location, India's first all women Post Office was recently inaugurated ?
Answer :- New Delhi
5. Which was the them for 'International Women's Day 2013'?
Answer :- 'A Promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women'
6. With which European country did India sign the Tax Information Exchange Agreement(TIEA) on March ?
Answer :- Liechtenstein on 28th March 2013 [A central European Country]
7. Babili Project situated in which state ?
Answer :- Maharastra
8.Which state won the Mushtaq Ali Twenty-20 Champianship Title?
Answer :- Gujarath
9. Who won the 67th Santosh Trophy tournament in March 2013?
Answer :- Services
10. Who is famous for 'Hole in the Wall' experiment?
Answer :- Sugata Mitra
11. The Spraty Island, which are under dispute are located at which sea?
Answer :- South China Sea
12. Who has created history by becoming the first Indian on solo non stop trip across the world in a sail boat ?
Answer :- Abhilash Tomy
13. The opening ceremony of the 2013 Indian Premier League was held at ?
Answer :- Kolkata
14. India started Visa on Arrival facility for the senior citizens of which country?
Answer :- Pakisthan
15. World Health Day was observed on ?
Answer :- April 7
SET 1
1. Who has recently won the first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering?
ANSWER :- Tim Berners Lee
2. Which neighbouring country of India is constructed a temple for goddes Sitha?
ANSWER :- Sri Lanka
3. Shanthi Prayas-II is the joint military exercise recently held between which countries?
ANSWER :- Nepal and United States
4. Who has been named to lead the Indian women cricket team for limited-overs series against Bangladesh?
ANSWER :- Harmanpreet Kaur
5. Who was recently in news as the first non-American Editor of "Time International"?
ANSWER :- Bobby Ghosh
6. Which term is used for Convention on International Trade in Endagered Species (CITES)?
ANSWER :- Washington Convention
7. Who was awarded the 2012-2013 Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding Women Mediaperson?
ANSWER :- Alka Dhupkar
8. The famous quot "Finance is the brain of economy" was given by which Economist?
ANSWER :- Joseph Stiglitz
9. The top secret 'Operation Lal Dora' which is recently in news is related to which incident ?
ANSWER :- Landing of Indian Troops in Mauritius
10. Who has been choosen for the prestigious Saraswathi Samman 2012 ?
ANSWER :- Sugathakumari
11. Which company has launched it's all-electrical Four seated passenger car,the e2o on India?
ANSWER :- Mahindra and Mahindra
12. In which country, the world's biggest dinosaur park is slated to come up?
ANSWER :- Australia
13. Who is the first director of research for Brookings India?
ANSWER :- Subir Gokarn
14. Which is the second male cloned buffalo calf in the world?
ANSWER :- Swaran
15. Who heads the ministerial panel formed recently to discuss impact of retail FDI and minimum support prices?
ANSWER :- Sharad Pawar
16. AS per first ever survey of slum housholds by the Census of India, which city has the most number of households in slums?
ANSWER :- Vishakhapatnam
17. The rebel alliance Seleka has been making news frequently in context with which African Country?
ANSWER :- Central African Republic
18. Who heads the Expert Committee for the purpose of reviewing the institutional frame work of Prasar Bharathi?
ANSWER :- Sam Pitroda
19. Who has became the head of an interim government in Nepal and tasked with steering the country towards election by June?
ANSWER :- Khilraj Regmi
20. Which is the first ever massive exercise conducted by the Indian Air Force to test battle efficiency in a wartime scenario?
ANSWER :- Operation Livewire
