NOBEL PRIZES 2013

Category	Name of the Person	Contribution
Physiology or Medicine	James Rothman	for their groundbreaking work on how the cell organises its transport system
	Randy Schekman
	Thomas Suedhof
Physics	Peter Higgs	for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles.
	Francois Englert
Chemistry	Michael Levitt	for the development of multi scale models for complex chemical systems
	Martin Karplus
	Arieh Warshel
Peace	The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)	for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons
Literature	Alice Munro	master of the contemporary short story
Economics	Eugene Fama	for their work on creating a deeper knowledge of how market prices move
	Lars Peter Hansen
	Robert Shiller

CURRENT AFFAIRS PRACTICE MCQs

1. The World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Who is the Director General of WTO?
a) Roberto Azevedo
b) Christine Legarde
c) Raghuram Rajan
d) Oliver Ralph Kahn
e) None of the above

2. RBI on October, 7th 2013, has reduced Marginal Standing Facility(MSF) rate from 9.5% to 9% to improve liquidity in the system. What is MSF?
a) MSF rate is the rate at which banks lodge funds overnight with RBI buying approved government securities.
b) MSF rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds overnight from other banks against approved government securities.
c) MSF rate is the rate at which banks borrow funds overnight from RBI against approved government securities.
d) MSF rate is the minimum rate at which banks lend to the borrowers.
e) None of the above

3. Between 2007-08 to 2012-13,the value of Card spending rose to Rs.1.97 Lakh Crores. A raise in Cards spending indicates?
a) Transformation to 'Cashless Economy'
b) Low inflation
c) Raising incomes
d) Falling prices
e) None of the above

4. What is NOT true with regard to 'Carbon Credit'?
a) It is a tradable certificate or permit.
b) It represents the right of an Industry to emit certain quantity of Carbon Dioxide.
c) Carbon Credits mechanism was formalized in Kyoto Protocol.
d) Carbon Credits are currently traded on 5 exchanges across the globe.
e) None of the above.

5. Arundhati Bhattacharya is in news recently. She is going to be?
a) 1st woman Deputy Governor of RBI
b) 1st woman Chair Person of SBI
c) 1st woman Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission
d) 1st woman Finance Secretary to Govt. of India
e) None of the above

6. National Spot Exchange (NSEL) is the news for defaulting payments to investors. Who is the founder promoter of FT?
a) Jignesh Shah
b) Harshad Mehta
c) Ketan Parekh
d) A K Telgi
e) None of the above

7. Find the 'odd man out' of the following?
a) Walmart
b) Tesco
c) Carrefour
d) Big Bazar
e) Ikea

8. One of the Primary functions of IMF is to provide short term capital assistance to member countries through SDR (Special Drawing Rights). What is NOT true about SDR?
a) Currency code of SDR is XDR
b) SDR is the Unit of Account of IMF
c) Asian Development Bank (ADB) also uses SDR as its Currency
d) SDR can be exchanged only for US Dollar, British Pound, Euro & Japanese Yen
e) None of the above

9. Main functions of Money?
a) Medium of Exchange
b) Unit of Account
c) Store of Value
d) Only 'a' and 'b' of the above
e) 'a', 'b' & 'c' of the above

10. M/s XYZ company has got an order to supply Machinery to M/s ABC Co of Nigeria. Who has to get a Letter of Credit issued from a Bank?
a) M/s ABC since they are the importers
b) M/s XYZ since they are the exporters
c) Both since they are the parties to the agreement
d) RBI since they regulate the Foreign Trade in India
e) None of the above

11. What is 'Packing Credit'?
a) Finance extended to Packing materials industry
b) Finance extended to an Importer to pack the goods imported
c) Finance extended to Warehouses for keeping the goods packages
d) Finance extended to an Exporter to meet the costs of buying and/ or making products to be exported
e) None of the above

12. What is NOT true with regard to Currency Chests in India?
a) They are managed by different banks on behalf of RBI
b) Deposits in Currency Chests are taken into account for calculation of CRR(Cash Reserve Ratio)
c) Standard Chartered Bank a Foreign Bank also maintains Currency Chest
d) Coins are also stored in Currency Chests
e) None of the above

13. Recently Parliament has pass-ed Companies Act 2013. What is NOT true with regard to some of the features of the Act?
a) An Individual can set up "One person Private Ltd Company"
b) An independent Director can hold 3 consecutive terms of 3 years
c) Listed Companies must have at least 1/3rd independent Directors
d) Prescribed Companies must have at least 1 woman Director on the Board
e) A Private Ltd Company can have a maximum of 200 members

14. What is 'Net Interest Margin' of a Bank?
a) Margin of Interest earned on Trading in Govt Securities
b) Difference between the Base Interest Rate and the Average Lending Rate
c) Difference between the interest income and the amount of interest paid out
d) Difference between Interest on Term Loans and Interest on Cash Credits
e) None of the above

15. What is the World's largest functioning Oil Refinery?
a) Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat
b) IOC Refinery in Digboi, Assam
c) HPCL Mumbai Refinery
d) Paraguana Refinery, Venezuela
e) Exxon Mobil Refinery, Singapore

16. IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd) is wholly-owned Govt. of India Company. Who is selected to take over as the Chairman and Managing Director?
a) C B Bhave
b) S B Nayar
c) T S Vijayan
d) Yogesh Agarwal
e) None of the above

17. Till 30th June, 1955 State Bank of India(SBI) was known as?
a) State Bank of British India
b) Imperial Bank of India
c) India Central Bank
d) Central Bank of British India
e) None of the above

18. Where is the Asian Development Bank(ADB) located?
a) Mumbai, India
b) Hiroshima, Japan
c) Shanghai, China
d) Manila, Philippines
e) Jakarta, Indonesia

19. Structured Financial Messa-ging System (SFMS) is a secure messaging standard developed to serve as a platform for intra-bank and inter-bank applications in India. Which of the following have interface with SFMS?
a) RTGS(Real Time Gross Settlement)
b) Negotiated Dealing System (NDS)
c) Security Settlement System (SSS)
d) 'a' and 'c' of the above
e) 'a', 'b' & 'c' of the above

20. Which Country is the largest producer of Tea in the world?
a) India
b) Brazil
c) Peoples Republic of China
d) Srilanka
e) None of the above

21. Who is the CEO & MD of TCS(Tata Consultancy Servi-ces)?
a) Cyrus Mistry
b) S Ramdorai
c) N Chandrasekharan
d) Ratan Tata 
e) None of the above

22. Qualitative Credit Contro is one of the methods used by RBI to control credit. Which of the following is NOT a Qualitative Credit Control tool?
a) Moral Suasion
b) Marginal Requirement
c) Rationing of Credit
d) Bank Rate
e) 'a' & 'd' of the above

23. Who is the Chairperson of 14th Finance Commission?
a) Dr Yaga Venugopal Reddy
b) Dr Vijay L Kelkar
c) Dr C Rangarajan
d) Dr Duvvuri Subbarao
e) None of the above

24. The 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) is approved by Union Cabinet on 4th October, 2012. The aims of the plan are?
a) 8% average growth rate
b) Reduce Poverty by 10% during the Plan
c) Faster, Sustainable and More inclusive Growth
d) All the 3 above
e) None of the above

25. Which State is the largest producer of Cotton in India in the year 2012-13?
a) Gujarat
b) Maharashtra
c) Andhra Pradesh
d) Karnataka
e) Madhyapradesh

26. Who sets up the Bench Mark Interest Rate for Germany?
a) German Central Bank
b) Deutsche Bundes Bank
c) European Central Bank(ECB)
d) Deutsche Bank
e) None of the above

27. What is India's Apex Tax body?
a) CBDT
b) GAAR
c) IT Department
d) RBI
e) None of the above

28. FICCI is an Association of Business Organizations in India.  Who is the President of FICCI?
a) Shikha Sharma
b) Usha Thorat
c) Naina Lal Kidwai
d) Indra Nooyi
e) None of the above

29. Banks in India are governed by BR Act 1949.  What does  'BR' stands for?
a) Banks Registration
b) Banking Re-organization
c) Banking Regulation
d) Banking Rights
e) None of the above

30. In India, Scheduled Commercial Banks are those Banks included?
a) In the 2nd Schedule of RBI Act 1934
b) In the 2nd Schedule of BR Act 1949
c) In the 2nd Schedule of NI Act 1881
d) In the 2nd Schedule of Companies Act 1956
e) None of the above

31. Periodically Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  reviews a few SLR norms.  SLR stands for?
a)  Statutory Liquidity Ratio
b)  Statutory Liquidity Rate
c)  Statutory Liquidity Return
d)  Statutory Liquidity Repo
e)  None of the above

32. In the recent months, Indian Rupee depreciated heavily against US Dollar.  Rupee depreciation means?
a) Value of Rupee decreasing against a basket of currencies
b) Less number of Rupees per US Dollar
c) More number of Rupees per US Dollar
d) Less number of Dollars per Rupee
e) None of the above

33. In India, Commodities Market is regulated by?
a)  Forward Market Commission
b)  Forward Market Committee
c)  Forward Market Corporation
d)  Forward Market Council
e)  None of the above

34. Food Security Bill is recently passed by Parliament.  What does the Food Security Bill intend to achieve?
a) At least 3kg of food grains per person per month to be given to general category households, at prices not exceeding 50% of Minimum Support Price.
b) Up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of urban population are to be covered under Targeted Public Distribution System.
c) Children aged six months to 14 years would get take-home ration or hot cooked food.
d) The oldest adult woman in each house would be considered the head of that household when issuing the ration card.
e) All of the above

35. FIPB stands for?
a) Foreign Investment and Production Board
b) Foreign Investment and Promotion Board
c) Foreign Investment and Promotion Bureau
d) Foreign Investment and Protection Board
e) None of the above

36. In India, Capital Markets are regulated by?
a) Securities and Exchange Board of India
b) Reserve Bank of India
c) State Bank of India
d) International Monetary Fund
e) None of the above

37. RAND is the currency of ?
a)  Chinab)  Japan
c)  North Koread)  South Africa
e)  None of the above

38. Recently RBI took several steps to control Rupee depreciation.  Due to Rupee depreciation?
a)  Exports become costlier
b)  Imports become costlier
c)  Imports become cheaper
d)  Both (a) &(c)
e)  None of the above

39. India's GDP growth is slowing down.  GDP means?
a)  Gross Domestic Product
b)  Gross Domestic Poverty
c)  Gross Demand Production
d)  Gross Demand Product
e)  None of the above

40. Chakravarthy Rangarajan is?
a) Governor of Reserve Bank of India
b) Director of Securities and Exchange Board of India
c) Chairman of Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council
d) Chairman of State Bank of India
e)  None of the above

41. International Monetary Fund (IMF)  works to foster global monetary cooperation, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth.  Who is the current managing director of IMF?
a)  Kaushik Basu
b)  Dr.  Y V Reddy
c)  Jim Yong Kim
d)  Christine Lagarde
e)  None of the above

42. Air-Asia India is the new proposed Airline in India.  It tied up with the following Industrial group for its launch in India?
a)  TATAs
b)  Reliance group
c)  Aditya Birla group
d)  Infosys
e)  None of the above

43. Raghuram Rajan became the 23rd RBI Governor on 5th September 2013.  Whom did he succeed?
a)  Dr Y V Reddy
b)  D Subba Rao
c)  Bimal Jalan
d)  Dr Rangarajan
e)  None

44. IRDA headquarters located in which City?
a)  Mumbai
b)  Bangalore
c)  Hyderabad
d)  Chennai
e)  None of the above

45. Arundathi Battacharya was recently in the news.  She is?
a)  Managing Director of SBI
b)  Chairman of Punjab National Bank
c)  CEO of ICICI Bank
d)  CEO of Axis Bank
e)  None of the above

46. India's CAD was 4. 8% of GDP in 2012-13.  CAD means?
a)  Current Amount Deficit
b)  Current Account Deficit
c)  Current Asst Debt
d)  Common Account Deficit
e)  None of the above

47. Which of the following is NOT matched?
a)  C B Bhave - SEBI
b) Rangarajan - Planning Commission
c)  Raghuram Rajan - RBI
d)  T S Vijayan - IRDA
e)  Yogesh Agarwal - PFRDA

48. Who is the Chairman of the Planning Commission?
a)  P.  Chidambaram
b)  Monteksingh Ahluwalia
c)  Raghuram Rajan
d)  Manmohan Singh
e)  None of the above

49. As per findings of the recent Raghuram Rajan Committee report which State is the most developed?
a)  Kerala
b)  Goa
c)  Gujarat
d)  Tamilnadu
e)  None of the above

50. As per the insurance bill, 2013, Foreign Investors can hold up to?
a) 51% of the capital in an Indian insurance company
b) 39% of the capital in an Indian insurance company
c) 49% of the capital in an Indian insurance company
d) 29% of the capital in an Indian insurance company
e)  None of the above

51. Statutory liquidity ratio(SLR)  refers to the amount that the commercial banks require to maintain with RBI. 
What are the permitted SLR investments?
a)  Only Gold
b) Gold or Govt approved Securities
c)  Only Govt approved Securities
d)  Only Cash
e)  None of the above

52. Direct Taxes Code (DTC)  is intended to be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament.  DTC seeks to replace?
a)  Indian Contract Act
b)  Indirect Tax Act
c)  Income-Tax Act
d)  Banking Regulation Act
e)  None of the above

53. In July 2013, RBI notified that Non-CTS Cheques are valid till the end of year 2013.  CTS means?
a)  Cheque Truncation System
b)  Cheque Transaction System
c)  Cheque Transmission Service
d)  Cheque Transport Service
e)  None of the above

54. In July 2013, SEBI Act was amended to curb Ponzi schemes.  Ponzi Scheme means?
a) Name of a Mutual Fund Scheme to earn higher returns
b) Collective investment Schemes floated by fly by night operators
c) Name of a Bank Deposit Product
d) Name of a Health Insurance scheme
e) None of the above

55. The minimum rate of Interest charged by a Bank from Customers on the loans is?
a)  Base Rate
b)  Bank Rate
c)  Prime Rate
d)  Prime Lending Rate
e)  None of the above

56. Which of the following is NOT true with regard to FCNR Accounts?
a) NRIs can open the Account
b) Can be opened in 'Permitted Currency' only
c) Minimum Term is 1 year
d) Maximum Term 5 years
e)  None of the above

57. REPO rate means?
a) Rate at which the RBI will borrow from the banks
b) Rate at which banks will borrow from other banks
c) Rate at which the RBI lends to banks
d) Rate at which banks lend to customers
e) None of the above

58. Fiscal Deficit Refers to?
a) The difference between the government's total expenditure and its total receipts (including borrowing)
b) The difference between the government's total expenditure and its total receipts (excluding borrowing)
c) The difference between the government's Tax collections and Salary payments
d) The difference between the government's Tax collections and government's Borrowings
e) None of the above

59. "DAX" is the stock market in?
a)  Germany
 b)  USA
c)  France
d)  Hongkong
e)  None of the above

60. After retirement, Ratan Tata was made the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons.  Who succeeded Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons?
a)  Cyrus Mistry
b)  Niira Radia
 c)  Mukesh Ambani
d)  Nandan Nilekani
e)  None of the above

61. Yellow Metal refers to?
a)  Copper
b)  Silver
c)  Platinum
d)  Gold
e)  None of the above

62. Who is the Chairman of the committee set up to scrutinize applications for new Bank licenses?
a)  Usha Thorat
b)  Bimal Jalan
c)  C B Bhave
d)  S Damodaran
e)  None of the above

63. Who is the World Bank President?
a)  Christine Legrade
b)  Jim Yong Kim
c)  Raghuram Rajan
d)  Monteksingh Ahluwalia
e)  None of the above

64. Ben Bernanke is the Chairman of Federal Reserve.  What is Federal Reserve?
a) Central Bank of UK
b) Financial wing of the World Bank
c) Central Bank of USA
d) European Union Central Bank
e) None of the above

ANSWERS:

1) A	2) C	3) A	4) E	5) B	6) A	7) D	8) E
9) E	10) A	11) D	12) E	13) B	14) C	15) A	16) B
17) B	18) D	19) E	20) C	21) C	22) C	23) A	24) D
25) A	26) C	27) A	28) C	29) C	30) A	31) A	32) C
33) A	34) E	35) B	36) A	37) D	38) B	39) A	40) C
41) D	42) A	43) B	44) C	45) A	46) B	47) B	48) D
49) B	50) C	51) B	52) C	53) A	54) B	55) A	56) E
57) C	58) B	59) A	60) A	61) D	62) B	63) B	64) C

Nobel Prize Winners 2013 List

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2013
François Englert and Peter W. Higgs
"for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider"

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013
Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel
"for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems"

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013
James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof
"for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells"

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2013
Alice Munro
"master of the contemporary short story"

The Nobel Peace Prize 2013
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
"for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons"

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2013
Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller 
"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"

Heads of Important Offices - World 2013

● Ban Ki-moon : Secretary-General, United Nations Organisation.
● Jan Eliasson : Deputy Secretary-General, UN.
● Dr. Jim Yong Kim : President, World Bank.
● Christine Lagarde: Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
● Ms. Irina Bokova: Director-General-UNESCO.
● Dr. Margaret Chan: Director-General, WHO.
● Jose Graziano da Silva : Director-General, Food and Agricultural Organisation. 
● Guy Ryder : Director-General, International Labour Organisation.
● Anthony Lake : Executive Director, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
● Antonio Guterres : UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
● Ms. Helen Clark : Administrator, United Nations Development Programme.
● Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi : Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
● Jose Angel Gurria : Secretary-General, Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
● Peter Tomka : President, International Court of Justice. 
● Takehiko Nakao: President, Asian Development Bank.
● Donald Kaberuka : President, African Development Bank.
● Jacques Rogge: President, International Olympic Committee.
● Kamalesh Sharma: Secretary-General, Commonwealth.
● Hailemariam Desalegn : Chairman, African Union Assembly.
● Ms. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma : Chairperson, African Union Commission.
● Roberto Azevedo : Director-General, WTO.
● Ms. Navanethan Pillay : High Commissioner, UN High Commission for Human Rights.
● Herman Van Rompuy : President, European Union
● Alan Isaac: President, International Cricket Council.
● Jose Manuel Durao Barroso: President, European Commission.
● Li Yong : Director-General, UNIDO.
● Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani: Secretary-General, Gulf Co-operation Council.
● Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu : Secretary-General, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. 
● Abdallah Salem El-Badri: Secretary-General, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
● Jose Miguel Insulza Salinas: Secretary-General, Organisation of American States.
● Hifikepunye Pohamba : President, South-West African People's Organisation (SWAPO).
● Mr. Yukiya Amano : Director- General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
● Anders Fogh Rasmussen : Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
● Hashim Abdul Halim : Chairman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
● Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin : Executive Director, UNFPA. 
● Le Luong Minh : Secretary-General, ASEAN.
● Ahmed Saleem : Secretary-General, SAARC 
● Lamine Diack : President, International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).
● Charles F. Bolden, Jr. : Chief of NASA (USA).
● Salil Shetty: Secretary-General, Amnesty International.
● Lt.-Gen.Chikadibia Obiakor: Military Adviser to UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
● Hosni Mubarak: Secretary-General, Non-Aligned Movement.
● Burchell Whiteman, O.J. : Director, Commonwealth of Learning.
● Mireille Ballestrazzi : President, INTERPOL