MCQs about US Presidential Elections

1. When is the US Presidential Election Day 2012 ?
a) November 15
b) November 10
c) November 06
d) November 14
Answer: November 06

2. The Electoral College will formally elect President and Vice President of US on?
a) December 06, 2012
b) December 17, 2012
c) December 15, 2012
d) December 30, 2012
Answer: December 17, 2012

3. When will be the 113th congress sworn ?
a) December 14 ,  2012
b) November 15 , 2012
c) January 16, 2013
d) January 3, 2013
Answer: January 3, 2013

4. Electoral Votes will formally be counted on ___________ before a joint session of Congress.
a) January 06, 2013
b) Janurary 10, 2013
c) December 06, 2012
d) December 30, 2012
Answer : January 6, 2013

5. Innauguration oath will be taken on _______ & the new presidential term will start this day?
a) January 13, 2013
b) January 06, 2013
c) January 20, 2013
d) January 15, 2013
Answer : January 20, 2013

6. When is the Innauguration Day of US Presidential Election?
a) January 14, 2013
b) January 07, 2013
c) January 21. 2013
d) January 16, 2013
Answer:  January 21, 2013

7. Forward- 2012 U.S. Presidential slogan of?
a) Barack Obama
b) Mitt Romney
c) Ron Paul
d) Jill Stein
Answer: Barack Obama

8. Believe in America- 2012 U.S. Presidential slogan of?
a) Ron Paul
b) Jill Stein
c) Mitt Romney
d) Gary Johnson
Answer: Mitt Romney

9. Restore America Now- 2012 U.S. Presidential slogan of ?
a) Ron Paul
b) Jill Stein
c) Mitt Romney
d) Gary Johnson
Answer: Ron Paul

10. The People's President- is the campaign slogan of?
a) Ron Paul
b) Jill Stein
c) Mitt Romney
d) Gary Johnson
Answer:Gary Johnson

11. A Green New Deal for America- is the Official slogan of the ______________campaign.
a) Ron Paul
b) Jill Stein
c) Mitt Romney
d) Gary Johnson
Answer: Jill Stein

Council of Ministers

Cabinet Ministers

Serial Number	Portfolio	Name of Minister
1.	Prime Minister Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Ministry of Planning Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space	Dr. Manmohan Singh
2.	Minister of Railways	Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal
3.	Minister of Finance	Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram
4.	Minister of Agriculture Minister of Food Processing Industries	Shri Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar
5.	Minister of Defence	Shri A.K. Antony
6.	Minister of Home Affairs	Shri Sushil Kumar Sambhajirao Shinde
7.	Minister of External Affairs	Shri Salman Khurshid
8.	Minister of Science and Technology Minister of Earth Sciences	Shri Jaipal Sudini Reddy
9.	Minister of Health and Family Welfare	Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad
10.	Minister of New and Renewable Energy	Dr. Farooq Abdullah
11.	Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas	Dr.(Shri) M. Veerappa Moily
12.	Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs	Shri Vayalar Ravi
13.	Minister of Civil Aviation	Shri Ajit Singh
14.	Minister of Labour and Employment	Shri Mallikarjun Kharge
15.	Minister of Human Resource Development	Dr. M. Mangapati Pallam Raju
16.	Minister of Communications and Information Technology	Shri Kapil Sibal
17.	Minister of Commerce Industry and Minister of Textiles	Shri Anand Sharma
18.	Minister of Road Transport and Highways	Shri C. P. Joshi
19.	Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation	Shri Ajay Maken
20.	Minister of Culture	Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch
21.	Minister of Shipping	Shri G.K. Vasan
22.	Minister of Urban Development Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	Shri Kamal Nath
23.	Minister of Water Resources	Shri Harish Rawat
24.	Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment	Kumari Selja
25.	Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers	Shri M. K. Alagiri
26.	Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises	Shri Praful Manoharbhai Patel
27.	Minister of Coal	Shri Sriprakash Jaiswal
28.	Minister of Law and Justice	Ashwani Kumar, Shri
29.	Minister of Minority Affairs	Khan, Shri K. Rahman
30.	Ministry of Mines	Shri Dinsha J. Patel
31.	Minister of Tribal Affairs Minister of Panchayati Raj	Shri V. Kishore Chandra Deo
32.	Minister of Steel	Shri Beni Prasad Verma
33.	Minister of Rural Development	Shri Jairam Ramesh

Ministers of State with Independent Charge

Serial Number	Portfolio	Name of Minister
1.	Ministry of Women and Child Development	Smt. Krishna Tirath
2.	Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports	Shri Jitendra Singh
3.	Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution	Prof. Kuruppassery Varkey Thomas
4.	Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation	Shri Srikant Kumar Jena
5.	Ministry of Environment and Forests	Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan
6.	Minister of Information and Broadcasting	Shri Manish Tewari
7.	Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region	Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar
8.	Minister of Tourism	Chiranjeevi, Dr. K.
9.	Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation	Shri Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki
10.	Minister of Power	Shri Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia
11.	Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises	Shri K.H. Muniyappa
12.	Minister of Corporate Affairs	Shri Sachin Pilot

Ministers of State

Serial Number	Portfolio	Name of Minister
1.	Ministry of External Affairs	Shri E. Ahamed
2.	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare	Shri S. Gandhiselvan
3.	Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment	Shri D. Napoleon
4.	Ministry of Human Resource Development	Shri Jitin Prasada
5.	Ministry of Human Resource Development	Dr. Shashi Tharoor
6.	Ministry of Home Affairs	Shri Ramachandran Mullappally
7.	Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Prime Minister Office	Shri V. Narayanasamy
8.	Ministry of Commerce and Industry	Smt. Daggubati Purandeswari
9.	Ministry of Railways	Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
10.	Ministry of Railways	Shri Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy
11.	Ministry of Textiles	Smt. Lakshmi Panabaka
12.	Ministry of Finance	Shri Namo Narain Meena
13.	Ministry of Finance	Shri S.S. Palanimanickam
14.	Ministry of Road Transport and Highways	Shri Sathyanarayana Sarvey
15.	Ministry of External Affairs	Smt. Preneet Kaur
16.	Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Food Processing Industries	Dr. Charan Das Mahant
17.	Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Food Processing Industries	Tariq Anwar, Shri
18.	Ministry of Tribal Affairs	Smt. Ranee Narah
19.	Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment	Shri Porika Balram Naik
20.	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare	Shri Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury
21.	Ministry of Road Transport and Highways	Shri Tushar Amarsinh Chaudhary
22.	Ministry of Communications and Information Technology	Shri Milind Murli Deora
23.	Ministry of Communications and Information Technology	Dr. (Smt.) Kruparani Killi
24.	Ministry of Coal	Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil
25.	Ministry of Minority Affairs	Shri Ninong Ering
26.	Ministry of Rural Development	Shri Pradeep Kumar Jain Aditya
27.	Ministry of Home Affairs	Shri Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh
28.	Ministry of Planning Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs	Shri Rajeev Shukla
29.	Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers	Shri Srikant Kumar Jena
30.	Minister of Urban Development	Smt. Deepa Dasmunsi
31.	Minister of Labour and Employment	Shri Suresh Kodikunnil
32.	Minister of New and Renewable Energy	Shri S. Jagathrakshakan
33.	Minister of Civil Aviation	Shri K. C. Venugopal
34.	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs	Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar
35.	Ministry of Defence	Shri Jitendra Singh
36.	Ministry of Defence	Shri Lalchand Kataria

V Narayan Murthy honoured with 2012 Hoover Medal

V. Narayan Murthy was honoured with 2012 Hoover Medal at the Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle in Washington on 22 October 2012. Murthy, who is the 70th recipient since the medal's inception, was recognized for establishing a foundation that forges outstanding improvements in healthcare, social rehabilitation, rural uplift and education. Previous awardees include former US presidents Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower and James Earl Carter.
Narayan Murthy co-founded Infosys limited in 1981. He contributed significantly in India's success in information technology outsourcing.

The Hoover Medal was established in 1930 to recognize great, unselfish, non-technical services by engineers to humanity. The Infosys Science Foundation was established in 2009 to promote science research in India.

The Hoover Medal is administered by a board representing five engineering organizations: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Gov. of Bangladesh Awarded Babu Jagjivan Ram with Friends of Liberation War Honour

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of India, Babu Jagjivan Ram was awarded with the Friends of Liberation War Honour by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution in the 1971 War.

He was given the honour by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina and President of Bangladesh, Mohammad. Zillur Rahman.

The award was received by Babuji's grandson, Anshul Avijit at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. Anshul Avijit, is a journalist and academician and also the son of Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar.

Babu Jagjivan Ram as the Defence Minister and chief strategist of India in 1971, helped in liberation of Bangladesh. He assured that the war for liberation of Bangladesh ended in the remarkably short time of 13 days.

 He was among the remarkable figure that had helped in creation of the Joint Command of Bangladesh and the Indian forces for the final outrage which led to the victory.

An Insight into Political Career of Babu Jagjivan Ram

Babu Jagjivan Ram was born near Arrah in Bhojpur district of Bihar in 1908 and had joined the freedom struggle while student in BHU in Benares and at Calcutta University.

• He as a freedom fighter founded the All India Depressed Classes League.

• He was the youngest serving member of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Interim Government of 1946 as the Minister of Labour and had also hold a number of critical portfolios including Agriculture, Railways, Communications and Defence.

• He holds the record for having an uninterrupted Parliamentary career that spanned almost half a century – from 1936 as a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly to 1986 as a member of the Eighth Lok Sabha.

Sharmila Tagore gets honorary degree from Edinburgh University

Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore on 25 October 2012 was Awarded with an Honorary Doctorate of Arts for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema by the Edinburgh Napier University. The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University Dame Joan Stringer called her as an excellent ambassador for the Indian Culture.

Sharmila Tagore whose films are appreciated and enjoyed all over the world is also a strong advocate of educational rights of Indian children. At present, she is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF that is working for literacy, maternal health and AIDS-related issues and is also an active spokesperson for Indian Children Child Rights and YOU (CRY).

The University stressed its strong links with India and Indian Culture and pointed out that to promote and establish a relationship with Indian culture, philosophy, education, art and literature it has created a Scottish Center for Tagore Studies (ScoTs), which highlights the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore the first Asian, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature in the Year 1913. This study center is first of its kind in United Kingdom.

The 67 year old Indian actress announced that her recognition and honour from the University proves the role of Indian Cinema and its cultural influence across the world.

Career of Sharmila Tagore in the Indian Film Industry
Sharmila Tagore started her career as an actress in 1959 with Satyajit Ray's Bengali film Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). Some more films of Sharmila Tagore includes Kashmir Ki Kali in 1964, Evening in Paris in 1967, Aradhana in 1969 and Amar Prem in 1972, Safar in 1970, Daag in 1973, Maalik in 1972and many more. For Mausam,a film directed By Gulzar based on the novel named The Judas Tree by A.J. Conin, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 1976 and received the Silver Lotus Award at the 23rd National Film Festival for this film.

Awards and Honours
•    Filmfare Best Actress Award for Aradhana in 1969
•    Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award for Safar in the year 1970
•    National Film Award for Best Actress in 1976 for her role in the movie Mausam
•    Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997
•    Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 2002
•    National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Abar Aranye in the year 2004
•    Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 2004
•    In the year 2006 was nominated for Filmfare Best Actress Award in Viruddh- Family Comes First
•    Lifetime Achievement National Award (Actress) in the year 2007 honoured by Journalist Association of India
•    In 2011was awarded with Outstanding Achievement in Indian cinema at Floriana IIFA Awards, Toronto

Sharmila Tagore has also served the Central Board of Film Certification in India as its Chairperson.

CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS OCTOBER 2012

CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS SEPTEMBER 2012

Sachin Tendulkar to be awarded Order of Australia membership

Sachin Tendulkar is set to another feather to his already crowded cap as Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on October 16 announced that the iconic Indian cricketer will be conferred the membership of the Order of Australia, an honour “rarely” awarded to non-Australians.

Sachin Tendulkar will become only the second Indian after former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee to get the honour. Mr. Sorabjee was made an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for service to Australia-India bilateral legal relations” in 2006.

Tendulkar is not the first cricketer to be made an Order of Australia AM as in 2009, West Indies legend Brian Lara was also made an honorary member.

Another West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is an Honorary Officer in the Order of Australia, having been conferred the award way back in 1985.

The right-handed Tendulkar, considered the finest batsman in contemporary cricket, has 15,533 runs in 190 Tests besides a mammoth 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs.

FDI in multi-brand retail and aviation

India opened its retail, aviation, broadcasting and power sectors to foreign supermarkets on September 14, a major economic reform that has been stalled for months by political gridlock and came as part of a package of measures aimed at reviving growth.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India's largely unorganised retail sector will help curb inflationary pressure by easing supply side constraints and revive economic growth, analysts said.
However, some experts have the opinion that it could hamper firms hoping to set up shop in the world's second-most populous country.

key aspects of the policy:
States to decide on implementation
Individual state governments will decide whether to allow foreign supermarket chains to enter. The Congress party-led government hopes this will take the sting out of opposition from regional parties who say the policy will destroy jobs.
Opponents of the reform include Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and the most powerful ally in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government.
FOR: Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are in support of the UPA government’s move.
AGAINST:  Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha have formally stated their opposition.
Sourcing from small companies
Foreign retailers will have to source almost a third of their manufactured and processed goods from industries with a total plant and machinery investment of less than USD 1 million. Supermarket chains will certify compliance with this themselves.
The government will reserve the first right to procure food produce from farmers before companies do, in order to provide stocks for its food subsidy schemes for poor households.
Minimum investments
Foreign retailers will have to invest a minimum of USD 100 million, and put at least half of their total investment into so-called 'back-end' infrastructure, such as warehousing and cold storage facilities.
This requirement has to be met within three years of a retailer setting up shop.
The aim is to meet one of the key justifications for opening the supermarket sector to foreign players -- revamping the country's crumbling infrastructure and unclogging bottlenecks.
The bottlenecks fan inflation, which has proved a major headache for the government and the Reserve Bank of India.
Policymakers argue opening the sector will help ease prices for a country where hundreds of millions live in dire poverty.
Big cities
Foreign retailers will only be allowed to set up shop in cities with a population of more than 1 million. In states where there are no cities with such a big population, individual state governments can choose where to allow foreign chains to open.
Critics of the new retail policy, including from opposition parties and domestic traders, say opening the doors to the likes of Wal-Mart will wipe out the country's small, family-run neighbourhood stores and trigger mass unemployment.
By restricting foreign firms to cities, the government hopes the supermarkets will become accessible to the country's swelling middle class, while protecting the livelihoods of shopkeepers in smaller towns and rural areas.

Indian Economy: FACTBOX
According to the latest Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) data, the Indian economy grew at a sluggish 5.5 percent in the April-June 2012 period as compared to 8 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The GDP growth had slumped to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the quarter ended March.
The decision to push forward the reform process has come at a time when business sentiments have taken a beating, GDP growth is near decade low, inflation remained stubbornly high and the government was criticised for "policy paralysis".
India an ideal FDI destination
A recent UNCTAD survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (after China) for transnational corporations during 2010–2012. India has seen an eightfold increase in its FDI in March 2012.
As per the data, the sectors which attracted higher inflows were services, telecommunication, construction activities and computer software and hardware.
Mauritius, Singapore, US and UK were among the leading sources of FDI for India.
According to Ernst and Young, foreign direct investment in India in 2010 was USD 44.8 billion, and in 2011 experienced an increase of 13 percent to USD 50.8 billion.


FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN INDIA

• 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail

• 49 percent FDI in civil aviation 

• FDI cap in broadcasting raised from 49 percent to 74 percent

• Sale of equities in four PSUs including Hindustan Copper Ltd (9.59 percent), Nalco (12.15 percent), Oil India Ltd (10 percent) and MMTC (9 percent) 

• Foreign investment in power exchanges

• Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli are in support of the UPA government’s move

• Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha have formally stated their opposition

Ninth World Hindi Conference held at Johannesburg

The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India with the support of Hindi Shiksha Sangh, South Africa and other stakeholders is organizing the Ninth World Hindi Conference [WHC] in Johannesburg, South Africa from 22-24 September, 2012.  The Conference will be held at Johannesburg, South Africa.  

 

The tradition of the World Hindi Conferences began with the first conference having been organized in Nagpur in the year 1975.  Since then, these conferences have achieved a global profile and momentum of their own.  The subsequent eight World Hindi Conferences were organized in different world cities, namely, twice in Port Louis (Mauritius), twice in India, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), London (UK), Paramaribo (Suriname) and New York (USA).   All these conferences have always attracted a galaxy of renowned scholars and followers of Hindi.  In keeping with this growing reach and popularity of this event, the Government has decided to organize the next conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, which would also be an apt recognition of India’s historic, close and growing ties with the whole of the African continent.  South Africa also carries the profound memories of Mahatma Gandhi’s association with that region.

 

The 9th World Hindi Conference would deliberate on a series of traditional and contemporary themes related with both classical and modern aspects of Hindi.  The theme of the conference this year will be “Bhasha ki Asmita Aur Hindi Ka Vaishvik Sandarbh”.  The conference would also have nine academic sessions on such subjects as Mahatma Gandhi’s linguistic vision; Hindi and modern technology; role of Indian epics in propagation of Hindi; contribution of foreign scholars in dissemination of Hindi; Mass media and Hindi, etc.

 

            The last eight World Hindi Conferences have been held at the following places:

 

First WHC  - Nagpur [India]  :  10-12 January, 1975

Second WHC - Mauritius  :  28-30 August, 1976

Third WHC - New Delhi [India] :  28-30 October, 1983

Fourth WHC - Mauritius :  2-4 December, 1993

Fifth WHC - Port of Spain [Trinidad & Tobago] : 4-8 April, 1996

Sixth WHC - London [UK] : 14-18 September, 1999

Seventh WHC - Paramaribo [Suriname] : 6-9 June, 2003

Eighth WHC - New York [USA] : 13-15 July, 2007

Kaushik Basu appointed as World Bank Chief Economist

On 5 September 2012, The World Bank appointed Kaushik Basu, as its chief economist and senior vice president. Basu, an Indian national and a Cornell University professor most recently served as chief economic adviser of the India's Union Ministry of Finance. He has to take over as the chief economist at the World Bank on October 1.

Kaushik Basu, 60, holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and has also founded the Centre for Development Economics at the Delhi School of Economics in 1992 is also a founding member of the Madras School of Economics.
He had his wide contributions in the field span development economics, welfare economics, industrial organisation and public economics

He has earlier served as chairman of Cornell's economics department and was a director of its Center for Analytic Economics. He was awarded with one of the country's highest civilian awards, the Padma Bhushan in May 2008.

In his two-and-a-half-year stay in the Union finance ministry, Basu gave some constructive thoughts on food coupons and innovative ways to tackle corruption among other advices.

CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE MCQs

  1.  India and Pakistan have agreed to increase their bilateral trade from existing  USD 2   billion   to     ____________ dollars by 2014.
        a) USD 4 billion
       b) USD 6 billion
       c) USD 7 billion
       d) USD 8 billion
       e) None of the above
 
  2.  Prithvi-II, India’s medium range surface-to-surface ballistic missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads in a range of up to ________.
       a) 300 km
       b) 350 km
       c) 400 km
       d) 450 km
       e) None of the above

  3.  Which is the amount of subsidy provided by the governemnt on 14.2-kg LPG cylinder?
       a) Rs. 22.58 /-per cylinder
       b) Rs. 21.62 /-per cylinder
       c) Rs. 24.54 /-per cylinder
       d) Rs. 28.38 /-per cylinder
       e) None of the

  4.  The rate of duty on import of crude oils is:
       a) 1%
       b) 2%
       c) 3%
       d) 5%
       e) zero percent

  5.  Which one of following is the maximum speed limit (km/h) for cars over Yamuna Expressway highway?
       a) 100
       b) 110
       c) 115
       d) 120
       e) None of the above

  6.  In a bid to normalize the trade relations between India and Pakistan, the Indian banking regulator RBI gave its nod to which of the followings bank(s) to set up their branches in Pakistan?
       1. Bank of India
       2. Punjab National Bank
       3. State Bank of India
      a) Only 1      
      b) Only 2      
      c) Only 3      
      d) Both 1 & 2      
      e) Both 1 & 3

  7.  Presently, which bank is the largest issuer of credit cards in the country?
       a) SBI
       b) PNB
       c) IDBI
       d) HDFC
       e) ICICI

Girisha bags silver at Paralympic Games

Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Games after bagging silver in the men’s high jump F42 event in London. The 24-year-old from Karnataka, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m using scissors technique in the final of the event to finish second in the presence of an 80,000 capacity crowd.

Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze. Although Delana finished on the same height of 1.74m as Girisha and Mamczarz but won gold on the basis of taking less jumps. 

India at Paralympics

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1960 Rome	did not participate
1964 Tokyo	did not participate
1968 Tel Aviv	0	0	0	0
1972 Heidelberg	1	0	0	1
1976 Toronto	0	0	0	0
1980 Arnhem	0	0	0	0
1984 Stoke Mandeville/New York	0	2	2	4
1988 Seoul	0	0	0	0
1992 Barcelona	0	0	0	0
1996 Atlanta	0	0	0	0
2000 Sydney	0	0	0	0
2004 Athens	1	0	1	2
2008 Beijing	0	0	0	0
2012 London	0	1	0	1
Total	2	3	3	8

APPOINTMENTS IN INDIA 2012

• Parvin Sinclair appointed as  Director of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on Jan 2, 2012.
• Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar  appointed as President, Indian Economic Association.
• Samir K. Brahmachari reappointed as Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He got extension for a period of two years.
• Arvind Gupta appointed as Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
• Vice Admiral M.P. Muralidharan  appointed as Director General, Indian Coast Guard in Jan 2012. Earlier served as the first Commandant fo the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala.
• M. Rafeeque Ahmed  appointed as  President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) in Jan 2012, he is chairman of the Farida Group; was FIEO President from 2002 to 2004
•  

CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQs

1. Pranab Mukherjee has been recently elected as the ____ th President of India?
A) 12th
B) 13th
C) 15th
D) 14th
Answer- B) 13th
2. Which Indian Bank has taken step to form India’s first Mortgage guarantee entity just like other developed countries?
A) SBI
B) National Housing Bank
C) LIC Housing
D) HDFC
Answer- B) National Housing Bank
3. Which only Indian President won the Presidential Election without any contest?
A) APJ Abdul Kalam
B) Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
C) Rajendra Prasad
D) Pratibha Patil
Answer- B) Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
4. Eminent Freedom Fighter and social activist Captain Lakshmi Sehgal passed away in Kanpur on 23 July 2012. She was one of the most important members of S C Bose’s Indian National Army. She contested Presidential election in 2002 against whom?
A) APJ Abdul Kalam
B) Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
C) Rajendra Prasad
D) Pratibha Patil
Answer- A) APJ Abdul Kalam
5. Which Country is the largest producer of Cocoa, which is mainly used for Chocolate?
A) Ghana
B) Ivory Coast
C) Kenya
D) Zimbabwe
Answer- B) Ivory Coast
6. Leader of National Advisory Council, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the UPA government’s manifesto, the Common Minimum Programme (CMP)?
A) Sonia Gandhi
B) Kausik Basu
C) Pranab Mukherjee
D) Manmohan Singh
Answer- A) Sonia Gandhi
7. Who has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Egypt?
A) Hosni Mubarak
B) Hisham Kandil
C) Mohamed Morsi
D) None of these
Answer- B) Hisham Kandil
8. International donor conference on Afghanistan was held recently to donate funding for Afghanistan development. It was held in?
A) Kabul
B) Tokyo
C) Hong Kong
D) Singapore
Answer- B) Tokyo
9. Which country will host the 4th Champions League T20 in October this year?
A) India
B) Australia
C) South Africa
D) England
Answer- C) South Africa
10. QFI (Qualified Foreign Investment) is regulated in India by?
A) RBI
B) Financial Action Task Force
C) SEBI
D) IRDA
Answer- B) Financial Action Task Force

Aamir Khan on Time magazine cover

Superstar Aamir Khan, fresh from the success of his debut TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, has been featured on the cover of Time magazine.

Aamir Khan features on the cover of the Asia edition of the magazine, which will be out next week. With a close-up picture of his face, the title for the cover reads: “Khan’s Quest” – He is breaking the Bollywood mold by tackling India’s social evils. Can an actor change a nation?”

The 47-year-old actor’s show, which wrapped up on August 15, highlighted social evils like female foeticide, sexual abuse and domestic violence. 

Other Indian actors to feature on the cover of the magazine are Parveen Babi and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. 

World’s Highest Railway Bridge Over Chenab River

The Railway bridge being constructed over the Chenab River in Jammu & Kashmir is planned to have a height of 359 meters from river bed level which, as per available information, is the highest railway bridge in the world.

            The railway bridge over river Chenab is a part of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla new line project which, on completion, is expected to connect Anantnag, Pulwama, Sopian, Badgam, Srinagar and Baramulla districts of Jammu & Kashmir State to the Railway network.

            Special quality structural steel is being used in the construction of the bridge involving very high degree of precision and latest welding technology.  Special painting scheme is being used for arch portion which is designed considering a number of additional parameters such as fatigue, seismic effect, blast load, global stability and composite action.  Various latest safety measures like measuring wind velocity, ground acceleration in case of earthquake, temperature monitor etc. are also being planned.

            The estimated cost of the bridge as per the contract agreement of 2004 is Rs. 512.74 crore.  The bridge falls in the Katra-Banihal section of the project which is targeted to be completed by December 2017.

Cabinet nod for ban on child labour below 14

The Union Cabinet on August 28 approved a proposal for amending the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, to ban employment of children aged up to 14 in any form of industry.

It will be an offence to employ such children not only in factories or industries but also in homes or on farms, if their labour is meant to serve any commercial interest.

The Ministry of Labour is likely to introduce the amendment bill in Parliament soon.

Quoting the National Sample Survey Organisation’s figures, official sources said the amendment would benefit 46 lakh children, who have been working in various industries now, and they can concentrate on education.

The Cabinet also approved another amendment to define children aged 14-18 as “adolescents” and prohibit their employment in mines, explosives industries, chemical and paint industries and other hazardous establishments.

The government’s decision is in line with the convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which prohibits any form of child labour until the age of 14.

Since the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or RTE now stipulates compulsory and free education of children up to the age of 14, the upper age limit in the Child Labour Act has been kept at 14.

The RTE, which makes education the fundamental right of a child, was passed by Parliament on August 4, 2009. It sets forth the modalities of free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14. The Act came into effect on April 1, 2010.

PJ Kurien elected the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

PJ Kurien was unanimously elected the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh moved the motion for the election of Kurien.
Kurien has been the member of national parliament for the last three decades representing Idukki, and Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituencies. Since 2005 he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
The Deputy Chairman is elected in the meeting of the Rajya Sabha as decided by Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from amongst the members of the Rajya Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain impartial.
Deputy Chaiman of Rajya Sabha acts as the Presiding Officer in case of leave or absence of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President of India.

Miss China crowned Miss World 2012

China's Yu Wenxia has been crowned the 2012 Miss World.

This is the second time Miss China has been awarded the title. The last time was in 2007 when Zhang Zilin took the honor.

The first runner-up is Sophie Elizabeth Moulds of Wales and the second runner-up is Jessica Michelle Kahawaty of Australia.

The 23-year-old Yu is a music student who says she wants to become a music teacher.

This is the first time for the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos to host the international beauty pageant.

The city is one of the richest regions in China thanks to its abundant natural resources. It hopes the world event will raise its profile for economic development and tourism.

Sanya, another Chinese city, has hosted the contest several times.

India's Vanya Mishra made it to the top seven spot but failed to progress further. She, however, did bag the titles of Miss Social Media and Miss Beauty with a Purpose.

In the semi-finals, the contestants were asked to perform on the music of their country and Vanya chose to dance on "Dil cheez kya hai" from 1981 film "Umrao Jaan", which landed her a spot in the top seven finalists.
Rita Faria was the first Indian to bag the title in 1966, followed by Aishwarya Rai (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000). China has already hosted the competition five times.

Miss World contest has several preliminary rounds, the winners of these major rounds of the pageant are:
1. Beach Fashion: Miss Wales
2. Talent Champion: Miss China
3. Top Model: Miss Sudan
4. Beauty with a Purpose: Miss India
5. Social Media Award: Miss India