Current Affairs May 2011

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1. which team has won DLF Indian Premiere League champions for the second time in a row at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai ?
Chennai Super Kings,
Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 58 runs, Bangalore could make only 147 runs in reply of Chennai’s huge total of 205 runs. Earlier a record 159-run
partnership between openers Murali Vijay (95, 52b, 6 x 6, 4 x 4) and Michael Hussey (63, 54b, 3 x 6, 3 x 4) powered the Chennai Super Kings to 205 for five in 20 overs against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
2. The alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings who has been arrested in Pakistan recently?
Umar Patek.

Patek is one of the main suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings that left 202 people dead, including 88 Australians and 114 others.

3. British detective writer, best known to fans of the genre as the creator of Inspector Ghote of the Mumbai CID, who has died at the age of 84?
HRF Keating.

He introduced the character “Ghote” in his 1964 novel The Perfect Murder. Inspector Ganesh Ghote is an inspector in the Mumbai Police who appeared in twenty-four novels.

4. Alleged underworld gangster and former independent MLA, popularly known as ”Godmother”, died of a heart attack in Porbandar?
Santokben Jadeja.

She was elected on the Janata Dal ticket from the Kutiyana constituency in Porbandar district. She took over the underworld after the murder of her husband, Sarman Munja, was also a MLA for one term in the early Nineties. She was alleged to be behind the murder of 14 people who, she believed were responsible for her husband’s murder.

5. The world’s most wanted terrorist, was killed early by US special forces in a helicopter-borne operation at Abbottabad near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, climaxing a over 10-year long massive manhunt. Name of that Terrorist ?
- Osama bin Laden
6. Who takes over as Chairman of Infosys ?
K.V. Kamath.
7. Recently which country has release Postal stamp on Rabindranath Tagore ?
Sri Lanka.
The government of Sri Lanka will release on May 7, a postal stamp and first day cover on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary celebrations.
8. Recently ISRO develops India’s fastest supercomputer, Name of that Supercomputer?
SAGA-220.
9. Who has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh ?
Jarbom Gamlin

After the official confirmation on Dorjee Khandu’s death, Congress did not take time to assign Khandu’s successor for his job. In a core party meeting, Jarbom Gamlin has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. Gamlin was sworn as the new CM on May 5.

10. Which pair won the Miami Sony Ericsson Open Doubles title beating Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in final?
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
With this win, they became number one in the ATP World Tour Doubles Team Rankings.
11. Who is the new Prime Minister of Syria?
Adel Safar.
He previously served as Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform from 2003 to 2011.
12. Name of the Chinese painting which sold for record 10 million dollars at an auction in Hong Kong recently?
“Forever Lasting Love”.

The painting, by Zhang Xiaogang, features three scenes of semi-naked figures in a sparse desert-like background surrounded by symbolic images.

13. Who defeated Rafael Nadal to win the Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Title held in Miami?
Novak Djokovic.
14. Who has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)?
Sushil Munhot.
15. Who has been awarded the 20th Saraswati Samman for 2010?
S. L. Bhyrappa.

Kannada writer S. L. Bhyrappa was chosen for the prestigious Saraswati Samman for his novel Mandra. The award, constituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation, consists of Rs.7.50 lakh, a citation and a plaque. He has so far published 22 novels, the first being Bheemakaya in 1959 and the latest Aavarana in 2007. The first recipient of Saraswati Samman award was Harivansh Rai Bachchan in 1991 for his autobiography.

16. Popular South Indian actress who died of a cardiac arrest on 6 April 2011 after undergoing treatment for a heart ailment at her residence in Chennai?
Sujatha.

Sujatha was introduced to the Tamil film industry by veteran director K. Balachander as a protagonist in “Aval Oru Thodar Kathai” (1974). She won Kalaimamani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu. She got Nandi Award for Pelli in 1998.

17. Indian prisoner who has been released on April 7,2011 after spending 27 years in prison in Pakistan on spying charges?
Gopal Das.

He was set free after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari remitted his sentence on humanitarian grounds following an appeal by the Indian Supreme Court.

18. Prominent Kashmiri religious leader, a trenchant critic of last year’s stone throwing youngsters, who was killed on April 8, 2011, in a powerful bomb explosion outside a mosque?
Maulana Showkat Shah.

He is a leader of the Jamiat-e-Ahilhadith which is a highly puritanical group of Muslims closer to the Wahabi school of thought in Saudi Arabia.

19. Who has taken over as the new chairman of State Bank of India, the country’s top lender?
Pratip Chaudhuri.
Chaudhuri was the deputy managing director in the international banking division of the bank.
20. Indian Ambassador to Ivory Coast, who was evacuated from her residence on 08-04-2011 by United Nations and French forces in capital Abidjan in the wake of heavy fighting?
Shamma Jain.
21. Red Bull driver who won the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix title-2011?
Sebastian Vettel.
22. Who is Winner of the Man Booker International 2011?

Philip Roth
23. Man of the Match winners of Three ODI cricket Series played between Australia and Bangladesh held in Bangladesh in April 2011.
Man of the Match of First ODI played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on 09-04-2011:
Michael Clarke (Australia). He scored 101 runs.
Result: Australia beat Bangladesh by 60 runs.
Man of the Match of Second ODI played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on 11-04-2011:
Shane Watson (Australia). He scored unbeaten 185 runs and took one wicket.
Result: Australia beat Bangladesh by 9 wickets.
Man of the Match of Third ODI played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on 13-04-2011:
Michael Hussey (Australia). He scored 108 runs.
Result: Australia beat Bangladesh by 66 runs
Series Result: Australia wins the 3 ODI series 3-0.
24. Who won the Player of the series award in the three ODI cricket Series played between Australia and Bangladesh held in Bangladesh in April 2011?
Shane Watson (Australia).
25. who has been chosen for the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for 2009 for her enormous efforts toward sustainable and equitable development ?
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
26. Who has been broken his own record for most climbs of Mount Everest by scaling the world’s tallest peak for the 21st time?
-Nepalese guide Sherpa
27. On 5 April 2011, an Indian social activist started a ‘fast unto death’ to exert pressure on the government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law to establish a Lokpal (ombudsman) with the power to deal with corruption in public offices. Name of that social activist?
Anna Hazare.

His real name is Kisan Baburao Hazare. His fast led to nationwide protests in support of Hazare. The fast ended on 9 April 2011, the day after all of Hazare’s demands were agreed by the government of India.

28. Wisden, regarded as the Bible of cricket, has named which Cricket Player as the leading cricketer in the world for the year 2010?
Sachin Tendulkar, Indian batting maestro.

He became the seventh recipient of the Wisden award after teammate Virender Sehwag, Australians Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne, England’s Andrew Flintoff, Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and South African Jacques Kallis.

29. The 2011 BRICS summit took place in?
Sanya on the island of Hainan, China, on 14 April 2011.

Member countries of BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This was the third BRICS summit since 2009. Following a meeting in Brasilia in 2010, to which South Africa was invited as a guest, the group invited South Africa to join as a full member in 2011 and the group formerly called BRIC officially became BRICS.
The 2012 BRICS summit will be held in India.

30. Chief of Blackberry who ordered a BBC reporter to end an interview after he was asked about his problems with India and Middle Eastern countries over security issues?
Mike Lazaridis.
31. Who is appointed as the Commander-in Chief of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command?
Vice Admiral D K Joshi.
32. Which countries signed seven pacts on April 16, 2011, including a framework agreement in civil nuclear field and a stake-sharing accord in oil sector?
India and Kazakhstan
The pacts including a civil nuclear agreement and one between state oil companies that gives an Indian firm 25 percent stake in the Satpayev oil block in the Caspian Sea.
Other agreements signed by the two countries are:
* Inter-governmental pact on peaceful uses of atomic energy
* Joint action plan for furthering strategic ties
* Cyber security cooperation
* Mutual legal assistance treaty
* Cooperation in agricultural fields.
33. The world’s certified oldest man who has passed away aged 114 in U.S.A on April 14, 2011?
Walter Breuning.

He is currently the oldest person who has died in 2011. He was born in Melrose, Minnesota in September 21, 1896. Breuning was 26 days younger than Besse Cooper of Georgia, USA, whom the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles lists as the world’s oldest person at 114.

34. A court in Chile has recently ordered the exhumation of the remains of former president as part of an investigation into the cause of his death in 1973. Name of that former president?
Salvador Allende.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Allende killed himself, or was killed by soldiers in the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power. An official post mortem report found he committed suicide using a rifle given to him by his friend, Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

35. Who has been awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation’s Gold Medal for “exceptional courage in the pursuit of human rights” ?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
36. The European Parliament (EP) recently passed two declarations against an Asian country condemning it for its support to Taliban and instructed the European Commission to re-evaluate the size of financial packages provided to them to eradicate terrorists from its soil. Name of that country?
Pakistan.
37. Who won his seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title (2011)by beating David Ferrer 6-4, 7-5 in the final?
Rafael Nadal.
38. Who was named ] captain of Sri Lankan Cricket Team in all three formats of the game for next month’s tour of England , following Kumar Sangakkara’s resignation after the World Cup?
Tillakaratne Dilshan.
39. Which Bollywood film has won the best feature film award at the Geneva International Film Festival- 2011?
`The desire- A Journey of a woman’. The film is directed by noted director R Sarath.
40. One person was killed in police firing and several were injured as the protest against a new proposed 9900 MW nuclear power plant in Maharashtra turned violent on April 18, 2011. Name of that nuclear project?
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

It is the project of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. It will be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net electrical power rating once completed.

41. The former communist revolutionary and Cuban political leader who confirmed that he had resigned from the top leadership of the Cuba Communist Party in an article published on April 19, 2011?
Fidel Castro.
He served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party’s foundation in 1961 until 2011.
42. Who has become the fourth person of Indian origin to bag the prestigious Pulitzer Prize 2011 in the general non-fiction category for his acclaimed book on cancer, ‘The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer.’?

Siddhartha Mukherjee.

India-born Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff cancer physician at Columbia University Medical Centre.

43. Name of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launched by ISRO on April20,2011 which carries 3 satellites including India’s latest remote sensing satellite ‘Resourcesat-2’
PSLV C16.

The rocket was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
The three satellites are Indian satellite RESOURCESAT-2 (1206kg), Indo-Russian joint satellite YOUTHSAT (92kg) and the first satellite of Singapore X-SAT (106kg). Resourcesat-2 will help in facilitating a variety of applications including natural resource monitoring, environmental assessments and disaster management related activities.

44. Which country recently announced to lift 44-year-old emergency from the country that was imposed in 1968?
Syria.

Syria was under Emergency Law from 1962–2011. Syria’s government passed a draft law on Tuesday to lift 48 years of emergency rule on April 19, 2011.

45. Name of the US serviceman suspected of passing classified information to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, who is being transferred to a new prison by Pentagon recently?
Bradley Manning.
46. The inaugural AIBA Women’s Junior and Youth World Boxing Championships held in?
Turkey.
47. Which film has won the Golden Palm award 2011 at the Mexico International Film Festival (May 20 and 21, 2011)?
Viola.(English).
The film is directed by Biju Viswanath, the filmmaker from Kerala.
48. Who is appointed as the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) ?
Chandresh Kumari.
49. 25-year-old Nigeria international defender who has died in a car accident on April 18,2011 when he was driving to Thessaloniki Airport to return to Nigeria to finalise plans for his upcoming wedding?
Olubayo Adefemi.
50. Name of the two award-winning photographers who have been killed while covering the conflict in the Libyan city of Misrata?
Briton Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros.

Tim got nominated for the prestigious Oscar award this year for one of his documentary that he had co-directed with a journalist named Sebastian Junger, it was the documentary Restrepo. Chris was the master of war photography and his work has appeared in the New York Times, Economist and several other media papers, he had also been nominated for the Pulitzer-Prize.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS MAY – 2010

>1. Who is appointed Australia’s first women prime minister ?

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia.
2. Who has been appointed the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India?
Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia.
He will be taking over from incumbent Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan on May 12.
3. Name of the fourth woman judge of Supreme Court of India?
Gyan Sudha Mishra, Former Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice.
4. Name of the bill passed by the Lok Sabha on April 30, 2010 which provides for setting up a special court for speedy disposal of environmental cases?
The National Green Tribunal Bill.
The Tribunal will be located in Bhopal and will have at least 10 judicial members. The Tribunal will have four benches across the country.
5. The 48-year-old Football club of India which will be disbanded at the end of current I-League season with focus of the parent company shifting towards developing talent at school level.
Mahindra United Football Club.
6. Which communist country marked the 35th anniversary of the end of its war with a grand military parade through the former Saigon, with the government basking more in its economic achievements than its historic military defeat of the United States?
Vietnam.
The cost of the Vietnam War was huge for the United States. More than fifty eight thousand Americans died in combat, and it damaged the United States economy.
7. Name the nine Indians who figured in Time magazine’s annual list of 100 most influential people?
1. Manmohan Singh: Manmohan Singh is placed at 19th spot in the Leaders list headed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
2. Sachin Tendulkar: Sachin Tendulkar gets the 13th place among 25 ‘Heroes’ headed by former US president Bill Clinton who is recognised for his work as a fund-raiser and anti-poverty activist.
3. Amartya Sen: Economist Amartya Sen is 20th on the ‘Thinkers’ list.
4.Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy : Sixth placed among heroes, Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy, 70, was recognised for performing cataract surgery at the Aravind Eye Care Hospitals since 1976 and having treated 3.6 million surgeries to date – a new one every 15 minutes.
5. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: He gets the 16th spot among ‘heroes’ for donating $2 million to support health insurance coverage for 100,000 Indian villagers and another $10 million for creating the 1,400-bed Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre in Bangalore.
6. Atul Gwande: Indian-American doctor and Harvard professor Atul Gwande is fifth on the list of ‘thinkers’ for his contribution to medicine.
7. Chetan Bhagat: Chetan Bhagat, author of bestsellers, ‘One Night @ the Call Centre’ and ‘Five Point Someone’ is the lone Indian in the list of artists headed by extravagantly outfitted singer Lady Gaga.
8. Rahul Singh. He in 22nd place is recognised for his relief work in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit on Jan 12.
9. Sanjit Bunker Roy: Humanitarian worker, Sanjit Bunker Roy’s Barefoot College has trained more than three million people for jobs in the modern world.
8. Who is appointed as the fourth woman judge in the history of the Supreme Court of India since its inception in 1959?
Justice Syan Sudha Misra.
She is the first Supreme Court woman judge since Justice Ruma Pal retired in June 2006.
Justice Fathima Beevi, was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court from Oct 10, 1989, to April 29, 1992
Justice Sujata Manohar became an apex court judge Nov 8, 1994. She retired Aug 27, 1999.
Justice Ruma Pal was the third woman Supreme Court judge, from Jan 28, 2000, to June 6, 2006.
9. Which High Court of India has the highest representation of women in the judiciary, with 8 women judges?
Delhi High Court.
The Bombay High Court comes a close second with 7 women judges.
10. Which player won the Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year 2010 award?
Wayne Rooney.
11. Karnataka food and civil supplies minister who resigned from the cabinet on 02-05-10, charged with raping his friend’s wife five months ago in Shimoga?
Haratal Halappa.
12. Which country has been ranked first in the list of “dirty dozen” spam relaying countries, accounting for over more than 13 per cent of world’s total junk mails, sent during the first quarter of the year, according to a new study?
U.S.A.
India has been ranked second in the list while China has successfully pulled itself out of the list.
13. Name of the veteran Indian diplomat who has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General for UN’s Peacekeeping Operations?
Atul Khare
14. Name of the Special Court Judge who handed death sentence to the Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab for the Mumbai terror attacks?
M L Tahaliyani. He has been promoted as the Principal Sessions Judge of the City civil and sessions Court in Mumbai.
15. Euro-region ministers recently agreed to a 110 billion-Euro ($146 billion) rescue package for which country to prevent a default and stop the worst crisis in the currency’s 11-year history?
Greece.
16. The leader of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group in Jerusalem, noted for serving as Minister for Jewish Affairs in Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian government who died on May 2, 2010, aged 86?
Moshe Hirsch.
17. Who has won the Rome Masters Tennis title for the fourth time?
Rafael Nadal.
He defeated the Serbian player Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-2 in the final.
18. Name of the world’s oldest person who has died a week before her 115th birthday?
Kama Chinen. She is a Japanese woman on the southern island of Okinawa who witnessed three centuries, born on May 10, 1895, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks individuals of extremely old age.
19. First Indian-origin Sikh to be knighted this year by the Queen for his services to the administration of justice in the United Kingdom, has been chosen for the Pride of Sikh Community Award?
Sir Mota Singh QC
20. The Indian Company which has been barred from doing any business with World Bank for violating “procurement guidelines”, for a period of three years, beginning January 11, 2010?
Videocon Industries Ltd.
World Bank has blacklisted this Indian company for three years, ending January 11, 2013.
21. Who resigned as India’s chief football coach following his differences with All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary general Alberto Colaco?
Bob Houghton
22. Which state won the overall title of National senior Federation Cup Athletic Championship held in Ranchi?
Kerala.
Kerala won the overall title with 11 gold medals (1 silver, 3 bronze) followed by Haryana (6) and Uttar Pradesh (5).
23. Which developing country offers the best conditions for maternity in the world, according to a report entitled “The State of the World Mothers 2010,” released by the Save the Children NGO?
Cuba.
24. Name of the 1932 Pablo Picasso painting of his mistress which has sold for $106.5 million US, a world record price for any work of art at auction?
“Nude, Green Leaves and Bust”
Nude Green Leaves, and Bust, a 1932 painting by Pablo Picasso, sold for more than $100 million US at Christie’s auction house. (Christie’s, New York/Associated Press)
25. Indian-born business administration scholar who is set to become the tenth Dean of Harvard Business School (HBS)?
Dr Nitin Nohria.
26. Which team clinched the I-League title for the fourth time after beating Lajong FC 1-0, with one round of the country’s premier football league still to go?
Dempo Sports Club.
27. Which club won the Coppa Italia (Italian FA Cup beating Roma in the final (1-0)?
Inter Milan.
Diego Milito hit the goal for Inter Milan.
28. Which club clinched their ninth French League title beating Rennes (3-1)?
Olympique de Marseille.
Olympique de Marseille is a French professional football club which became the first and only French club to win the UEFA Champions League in 1993.
29. Name of the American weekly news magazine hard hit by the internet and the recession, has been put up for sale by its owner, the Washington Post Company?
Newsweek.
This weekly is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S published in four English language editions and 12 global editions written in the language of the circulation region.
30. President of Nigeria died on May 5, 2010 at the age of 58 after more than five months of battling with a heart ailment?
Umaru Yar’Adua.
He is the first university-educated president of Nigeria. He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. He was a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as President in a ceremony in the capital Abuja.
31. Who won a landmark ruling in the country’s highest court in a dispute with his brother over how to split the riches from the family’s gas business?
Mukesh Ambani.
India’s Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Mukesh Ambani in his long-running feud with his brother Anil Ambani over supplies from a huge natural gas discovery.
32. Who is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Britain?
David Cameron. (Conservative Party)
He will head the government which is formed by the coalition between the Conservative Party and the left-leaning Liberal Democrats.
33. Who is the Deputy Prime Minister of Britain?
Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats)
34. For the first time in the history of UK elections, two Indian-origin women have been elected to the House of Commons. Who are they?
Priti Patel and Valerie Vaz.
Priti Patel of Conservative party was elected from the Witham constituency and she has become the first Asian Woman MP (Member of Parliament) in Britain. Valerie Vaz of Labour party was elected from Walsall South constituency.
35. Largest Beaver Dam recently discovered in Canada using Google satellite technology located in?
Northern Alberta’s Wood Buffalo National Park.
Ecologist Jean Thie located the 2,788-foot (850-meter) dam using Google Earth and NASA technology and the dam stretches more than eight football fields long.
36. Which are the first countries to have country codes in Arabic scripts using a system that will also allow web addresses in Chinese, Thai and Tamil scripts?
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Internet regulator ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) recently enabled full web addresses in non-Latin characters.
37. A ban on which African country competing at the next two African Nations Cup finals was formally lifted by the Confederation of African Football recently, ratifying an agreement brokered by FIFA in Zurich?
Togo
38. Which country has recently initiated steps to build its first indigenous civilian transport aircraft?
India.
Government has set up a 15-member high-power committee (HPC) on National Civil Aircraft Development with former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair as its Chairman for management and development of the key project.
39. Which club won English soccer’s Premier League after an 8-0 home win over Wigan Athletic in the final round of games?
Chelsea.
Manchester United finishes second.
40. Who is sworn in as Costa Rica’s first female president?
Laura Chinchilla. She has become the third female president in Central America.
41. Who is named as Captain of the Indian Cricket Team on the tour to Zimbabwe from May 28 for the tri series involving Sri Lanka?
Suresh Raina
42. Who retained World Chess Championship title by winning a thrilling 12th and final game, beating Veselin Topalov of Russia?
Viswanathan Anand
Besides being the first Asian to win the World Championship in 2000, Anand now has the distinction of creating a hat trick with three World Championship titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
43. Which country became the fifth major emitter of Green House Gases after the US, China, the European Union and Russia?
India.
India’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased by 41.66 percent between 1994 and 2007 making it the fifth major emitter to contribute to global warming.
44. BSNL, the state-owned telecom operator in India, recently has banned the Chinese telecom equipment makers from the bidding for the GSM projects in the northern and eastern zones in India. Name those companies.
Huawei and ZTE.
According to security assessments of Huawei Technologies put together by RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) of India, the Chinese firm not only shares ties with the Chinese security establishment but is also suspected to be a part of its intelligence set-up. RAW clearly point out that PLA (People Liberation Army) remains a customer of that company and has become more involved with it.
45. The first Hindi film which has been selected to be screened in the ‘Un Certain Regard Section’ of the Cannes film festival?
Udan.
The film is debut film of director Vikramaditya Motwane. The last Indian film to make it to the Golden Palm Award category was Swam (Malayalam). Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection.
46. Who was declared the winner of the Philippine presidential elections?
Benigno Aquino.
Former president Joseph Estrada finished in second place.
47. The Central Government of India recently appointed five independent directors for Air India. Who are they?
M.A. Yousafali, prominent Malayalee industrialist in Gulf countries.
Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and MD of Mahindra group.
Fali Major, former Air Force head.
Harshvardhan Niyothiya, Ambuja reality chairman.
Amith Mithra, FiCCI secretary general.
48. Who has been selected J.C Daniel award for the year 2009?
K.S Sethumadhavan.
He is the renowned film director from early 60s to late 80s. The J.C Daniel award has been instituted by the State government as a part of Kerala State Film awards, since 1992.
49. Indian Government has given in principle approval for the setting-up of the Indian National Defence University in Haryana. The university is to be set up in which district of Haryana?
Binola in Gurgaon district of Haryana
50. Who is the first Muslim woman to serve in a British cabinet?
Sayeeda Warsi.

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Current Affairs April 2011

>1. Who has been crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2011 ?

Kanishtha Dhankhar
2. Name of the new revised income tax return form to be introduced for small tax papers?
‘Sugam’
3. Minimum Alternate Tax which is payable by companies has been Hiked in budget 2011-12. The tax is hiked to?
18%
4. Rs.500 Crores have been given to NGRBA in Central Budget for the financial year 2011-12. What is NGBRA?
National Ganga River Basin Authority.
5. Who has been selected by the International Magicians Society(IMS) of the US for the International Merlin Award,2011

- Illusionist Gopinath Muthukad

He is the second Indian Magician, after P.C Sorcar Jr of west Bengal, to receive the award.
Magician Franz Harary who is one of the Board of Directors of IMS. The Merlin Award to magic is what Oscar is to Cinema. The Jury selected Mr Muthukad for his contributions to the development and popularization of magical art and science over the last 35 years

6. According to the Union Budget, economy of India is expected to grow in 2012 at?
9%
7. As per Union Budget how much amount is to be provided during 2011-12 to enable public sector banks to maintain a minimum of Tier I CRAR of 8 per cent?
Rs.6,000 crore.
8. Veteran Malayalam film producer and director who has been selected for JC Daniel award -2011 of the state government for his overall contribution to cinema?
MC Punnoose (Navodaya Appachan).
9. Which club has won the Carling Cup after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the final at Wembley?
Birmingham.
10. Who has won 2011 Sony world photography award ?

- Amit Madheshiya

Indian photographer Amit Madheshiya has been named ‘Arts and Culture Photographer of the Year’ at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2011. Mumbai-based Madheshiya was one of 13 professional category winners presented with an award held at the ceremony at the Odeon in Leicester Square, London

11. Indian Defence budget increased by how much percentage for 2011 – 2012?
- 11.6%
12. Who has been appointed as new BSNL chief ?

-Rakesh Kumar Upadhyay as the Chairman and Managing Director of telecom giant BSNL
13. Bangladeshi Nobel laureate who has been ousted from Grameen Bank by Bangladesh Government on the grounds that he had stayed on past the legal retirement age of 60?
Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, set up Grameen, which means village in Bengali, and has been its managing director since 2000.
14. Who claimed the first hat-trick of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Netherlands on 28 February, 2011 with a bowling figure of 6/27 at Delhi?
Kemar Roach.

This West Indies pace bowler removed Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Berend Westdijk off the last three deliveries of the match to lead West Indies to a 215-run victory.

15. Who became the youngest player to make a debut in World Cup cricket?
Nitish Kumar (Canada)
When he played against Zimbabwe on 28 February 2011 at Nagpur, India, he was 16 years and 283 days.
16. Who was the first bowler to take 2 hat-tricks in Cricket World Cup?
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka).

He took six wickets for 38 runs, as Sri Lanka thrashed Kenya by nine wickets in a Cricket World Cup Group A match in Colombo in 2011.His first hat-trick is against South Africa in the 2007 Cricket World Cup He is the only bowler in cricketing history to take four wickets in four consecutive balls in international cricket (vs. South Africa).

17. Who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2010 ?

-K. Balachander

K. Balachander, the veteran film maker, has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2010. The award is conferred by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal, a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs and a shawl.

18. Egyptian Prime Minister who submitted his resignation from his post on March 3,2011amid ongoing protests in the North African nation?
Ahmed Shafiq.
Shafiq will be replaced by former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf.
19. Indian scientist from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research who has helped NASA to predict Solar Flare?
Dibyendu Nandi

He and his colleagues have unraveled the mystery behind an occurrence that has intrigued scientists across the world – the disappearance for nearly two years of sun spots on the surface of the sun. There was a huge solar flare in 1859. It was so large that it could be seen with the naked eye. In 1989, a solar storm wiped out Canada’s northern electric grid. Canada was out of power for almost three days.

20. Who has been appointed as chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum allocation issue:?
P.C.Chacko.
The JPC, having 20-members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
21. Union Minister of Human Resource Development in the Manmohan Singh cabinet from 2004 to 2009 who died on 4 March 2011 due to a heart attack?
Arjun Singh

Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh when the deadly gas leak from the Union Carbide factory occurred. It is widely alleged that on the fateful night between December 2, 1984 and December 3, 1984, when the gas leak occurred.

22. Name the $424 million satellite launched by NASA on March 4, 2011 intended to study how radiation from the sun impacts the Earth’s climate which failed to achieve orbit?
Glory
23. Which country becomes the first European country to enforce burqa ban?
France.
Burqa ban enforced in France from April 11, 2011.
24. The last surviving founding leader of Nepali Congress (NC) and former Prime Minister of Nepal died recently at the Norvic International Hospital?
Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.

Bhattarai was twice the Prime Minister of Nepal, once heading the Interim Government from 19 April 1990 to 26 May 1991, and then as elected Prime Minister from 31 May 1999 to 22 March 2000.Bhattarai was the officiating President of the Nepali Congress for nearly 26 years from February 12, 1976, and was elected to the post of president of party in 1992 till 1996.

25. The last Maharaja of Jaipur, who died recently on 16 April at the age of 80 years?

The last titular Maharaja of Jaipur, Sawai Bhawani Singh, died at a private hospital in Gurgaon on 16 April night after prolonged illness

26. An Egyptian criminal court began the first hearing in the case against former Interior Minister of Egypt, on 05-03-2011 charged with money laundering and profiteering. Name of that minister?
Habib al-Adli.
27. The friend and companion of the guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara in his youth on a motorcycle trip around South America, who died in Havana at the age of 88?
Alberto Granado.

He was an Argentine-Cuban biochemistry doctor, writer, and scientist. He founded the Santiago School of Medicine in Cuba and wrote the book “Travelling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary”.

28. Name of the two surface-to-surface missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which were successfully test-fired by India on March 11, 2011?
Prithvi II and Dhanush.

The two missiles, products of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), were test-fired within five days of the successful demonstration of the Ballistic Air Defence Missile System on March 6 by DRDO. Prithvi II surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 350 km was launched from Chandipur, some 230 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar. Dhanush, the naval version of Prithvi with the same range, was launched from Indian Naval Ship INS Suvarna off the Puri coast.

29. Who becomes first women to “unfurl” the national tricolor at a depth of 30 metres under the sea?
Archana Sardana.

She has created history of by scuba diving at Neil Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and “unfurling” the national tricolour at a depth of 30 metres under the sea.

30. Name of the Minister of the Interior of Egypt who was appointed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on 5 March 2011?
General Mansour el Essawy
31. Who has become the first Indian-American to be elected to the Chicago City Council?
Ameya Pawar.
32. The 2011 edition of the 10th Imagineindia International Film Festival will take place in?
Madrid(Spain) from May 17-31.
33. Name of the American unmanned vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing (VTHL) space plane which was launched on 5 March 2011 with the mission designation USA-226?
X-37 B.

This is the second X-37B space plane used by the Air Force. It is called the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2. The first X-37B space plane, appropriately named “Orbital Test Vehicle 1, was launched on April 22, 2010. USA-226 is the first flight of the second Boeing X-37B.

34. The Supreme Court of India has rejected the mercy killing of a nurse from Haldipur, Karnataka after she had been in a vegetative state for 37 years. Name of that nurse?

Aruna Shanbaug .

While working at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, she was sexually assaulted and has been in a vegetative state since the assault. On 24th January 2011, the Supreme Court of India responded to the plea for euthanasia filed by Aruna’s friend journalist Pinki Virani, by setting up a medical panel to examine her. The court turned down the mercy killing petition on 7 March, 2011. However in its landmark judgment, it allowed passive euthanasia in India.

35. Former Prime Minister of Fiji was denied travel to the United States of America by the High Court in Suva. Name of that former Prime Minister?
Mahendra Chuadhry.
Chaudhry is charged on 12 counts of money laundering, tax evasion and giving false information to the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority.
36. Who is the new Foreign Minister of Japan?
Takeaki Matsumoto.

Mr. Matsumoto replaces Seiji Maehara who stepped down after just six months in the job, after he acknowledged accepting political donations from a foreign national – illegal in Japan if done intentionally.

37. Which team has lifted the Deodhar Trophy title(2011) after defeating West Zone by 5 wickets in the final match at in Jaipur?
North Zone.
38. Name the man who owes India a whopping Rs. 70,000 crore in taxes, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act?
Hasan Ali Khan.
39. A US court has issued an arrest warrant against an elderly Hindu religious leader recently, convicted of molesting two young girls, after he failed to appear before it on the day of his sentencing. Name of that Hindu leader?
Prakashanand Saraswati.
He, known to his devotees as Shree Swamiji, is the head of the 200-acre Hindu ashram in Texas.
40. Mexican billionaire who remained the richest person in the world with USD 74 billion in assets according to the US magazine Forbes annual list of world’s top billionaires?
Carlos Slim.
41. A bronze statue by French sculptor, “Naked Balzac with folded arms”, was stolen from Israel Museum in Jerusalem during the Museum’s recently completed renovation. Which sculpture’s statue was stole?
Auguste Rodin.
The sculpture, one meter and 60 centimeter tall, was cast between 1892 and 1893.
42. Which country has frozen the assets of the Libyan Central Bank and other state-run agencies in an attempt to cut off funding to Moammar Gadhafi’s embattled regime?
Germany.
43. Name the Space shuttle of U.S.A which ended its career on March 9, 2011 as the world’s most flown spaceship, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece?
Discovery.
44. Which University has been ranked as the top university in the world for the sixth consecutive year according to the latest edition of The Times Higher Education, world reputation ranking report?
Harvard University.
United States dominates the rankings of 200 world class universities. None of the Indian institutes of higher education figure in that list.
45. Japan experienced the worst ever earthquake disaster in its modern history followed by a deadly tsunami leading to massive destruction in the northern part of the country. On which day the Powerful quake, tsunami hit Japan?
March 11,2011.
46. Who is appointed as the new American ambassador to China?
Gary Locke.
47. On which day of 2011, the moon made its closest approach to Earth in almost 20 years?
March 19.

The phenomenon called lunar perigee Supermoon happens when the moon reaches its absolute closest point to Earth. On March 19, the natural satellite will be only 221,567 miles away from our planet.

48. Which country has surpassed China to become the world’s largest importer of conventional weapons during the 2006 to 2010 period according to statistics released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)?
India.
49. U.S. State Department spokesman who resigned from his position on March 13, 2011 as a result of comments he made over the treatment of WikiLeaks suspect Bradley E. Manning?
Philip J Crowley.
50. Which country declared a three-month state of emergency as a second contingent of forces from Gulf States arrived in the kingdom to support its government following persistent protests?
Bahrain
51. American working for the Central Intelligence Agency who was released in Pakistan after compensating the families of people he killed in self-defense?
Raymond Allen Davis.
52. Which country has recalled its ambassador from Bahrain in protest against the killing of Shi’ite Muslim demonstrators in the island state?
Iran.
53. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Korean firm SsangYong Motor Company?
Pawan Goenka

He is currently the President of Automotive & Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd acquired the Korean automobile manufacturer SsangYong in August 2010.

54. Which country declared a state of emergency on March 18, 2011 after a massacre at an anti-government rally?
Yemen.
55. Noted Bollywood actor, who appeared in over 100 feature films, passed away on March 19,2011 after a massive heart attack?
Navin Nischol.

He made his debut with the Hindi film Sawan Bhadon in 1970. He was the first gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India. At one time, he was popularly known as the “poor man’s Rajesh Khanna” – an allusion to his being an inferior copy of the much-more-in-demand Rajesh Khanna.

56. Who won the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold trophy with a straight-game victory in the summit clash against Ji Hyun Sung of Korea in Switzerland?
Saina Nehwal(India).
57. Which city becomes the first capital city in the world to be entirely covered with a fibre optic network ?

Abu Dhabi
58. Who won the Association of Tennis Player (ATP) Indian Wells title by beating world number one Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in final?
Novac Djokovic.
59. The double Oscar-winning actress and one of the 20th Century’s biggest movie stars who has died in Los Angeles at the age of 79?
Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8 (1960), played the title role in Cleopatra (1963). She won a second Academy Award for the film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “(1966),

60. U.S Name of the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations resolution to prevent Colonel Gadhafi’s forces attacking civilians?
Operation Odyssey Dawn.
Operation ELLAMY is the name given to UK military action in Libya.
Operation Harmattan is the name given to French military action in Libya.
Operation MOBILE is the name given to military action by Canada in Libya.

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Current affairs April- 2010

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1. A controversial bronze statue of an American President as a 10-year-old boy has been removed recently by Indonesian authorities from a park in the capital Jakarta due to a public backlash when it was erected. Who is that president?
Barack Obama
The statue moved to a nearby elementary school that Obama once attended.

2. Indian businessman who bought the formerly British-owned East India Company recently?
Sanjiv Mehta.

3. Bangladesh’s Zia International Airport is to be renamed after 13th century Sufi saint after deleting the name of former president Ziaur Rahman. What is the name of that Sufi Saint?
Hazarat Shah Jalal.

4. Who became the 35th batsmen in the history of Test Matches to accumulate 7000 career runs in Test Matches?
V.V.S.Laxman

5. The Afghan Taliban leader, who was captured by U.S. and Pakistani forces in Pakistan on February 8, 2010, in the southern port city of Karachi?
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
He is a co-founder of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

6. Which country has recently stopped issuing visas to citizens of 25 European nations?
Lybia.
Britain was exempted from the ban.

7. Who is appointed as the special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference by US President Obama?
Rashad Hussain.
Obama has appointed a deputy White House counsel Rashad Hussain to be his representative to the Muslim world. Organization of the Islamic Conference is an intergovernmental group with 57 member countries from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia .

8. According to a recent Commonwealth report, presidential polls in an Asian country did not ‘fully meet’ key benchmarks for democratic elections. Which is that country?
Sri Lanka.

9. Which district in Kerala is all set to be declared the first fully electrified district in India?
Palakkad

10. The Operation launched by Afghan and NATO forces in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province on February 13, 2010, aiming at eradicating Taliban militants in Marjah district of this region?
Operation Moshtarak (“Operation Together”)

11. The celebrated Egyptian pharaoh, who ruled from around 1351-1334 BC, died of malaria and had a club foot, according to a new study that used the latest genetic testing to try and find out more about his life, and death?
Tutankhamun
He is often referred to as King Tut , died just nine years into his reign, which lasted from 1333-1324 BC.

12. Who is appointed as the Chairman of the high level Empowered Committee to go into all aspects (except legal and constitutional issues) of the Maullaiperiyar dam dispute between the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala?
A. S. Anand.
He is the former Chief Justice of India.

13. The government of Kerala recently decided to constitute a Pay Commission to recommend revision of scales for government employees and teachers in the state. The pay commission is headed by?
Justice Rajendra Babu.

14. The second tiger reserve in Kerala after the Periyar Tiger Reserve which will be integrated ecologically with the 960 sq km Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu situated at?
Parambikulam.
The proposed 460.30 sq km Parambikulam tiger reserve inaugurated on February 17, 2010.

15. Name of the military junta that seized power in a military coup in the African country Niger?
Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (SCRD).
They captured President Mamadou Tandja and his ministers in a four-hour gun battle
Salou Djibo is the leader of CSRD.
Junta means the ruling council of a military dictatorship.

16. India’s premier international airline, which recently announced that it will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14,2010?
Jet Airways.

17. The United Nations’ (UN) top climate official, unexpectedly announced that he will resign in July – after December’s failed summit in Copenhagen dealt a blow to his climate change ambitions?
Bonn – Yvo de Boer.

18. Who won the first British female Winter Olympic gold in 30 years with victory in women’s skeleton?
Amy Williams

19. Name of the Buddhist monk who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Myanmar for violating immigration laws in relation to a trip he took to Taiwan, unlawful association, and for failing to declare foreign currency?
Gaw Thita.
He was arrested at Yangon International Airport in August along with seven other monks who were later released without charge.

20. Who was elected unopposed as the working chairman of NDA(National Democratic Alliance) till incumbent Atal Bihari Vajpayee recovers from ill-health?
L K Advani
Sharad Yadav has been elected as the convenor.

21. Which film won the 2010 Writers Guilds Award for original screen play?
The Hurt Locker

Awards List:
Original Screen Play: Mark Boal (Film:The Hurt Locker)
Adapted Screen Play: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn(Film:Up in the Air)
Documentary film: The cove (Written by Mark Monroe)

Actor, comedian and singer Jason Alexander, who is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series “Seinfeld”, presented the 2010 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television to writer/actor/producer Larry David.

22. Who won Silver Bear for best director for the film ‘Ghost Writer’ at 60th Berlin film festival?
Roman Polanski.

23. Which film won the Golden Bear for best picture at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival?
“Bal” (Honey)
The film is a Turkish-German production directed by Semih Kaplanoglus

24. Who won the Morgan Keegan Tennis Championships in Memphis beating Sharapova former Memphis champion Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-1 in final?
Maria Sharapova

25. Who won the WTA Dubai Tennis title defeating Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-3 7-5 in the final?
Venus Williams.

26. Which film won six BAFTA Awards in London including the award of best film?
Hurt Locker.
BAFTA AWARDS:
Best Film – The Hurt Locker
Leading Actor – Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Leading Actress – Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique (Precious)
Outstanding British Film – Fish Tank
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer – Duncan Jones (director – Moon)
Director – Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Original Screenplay – The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Adapted Screenplay – Up In The Air (Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner)
Film not in the English language – A Prophet
Animated Film – Up
Music – Up (Michael Giacchino)
Cinematography – The Hurt Locker
Editing – The Hurt Locker
Production design – Avatar
Costume Design – The Young Victoria
Sound – The Hurt Locker
Special visual effects – Avatar
Make-up & hair – The Young Victoria
Short animation – Mother Of Many
Short film – I Do Air
The Orange Rising Star Award (voted for by the public) – Kristen Stewart

27. Who becomes the first woman to win ‘Best Director’ award in BAFTA awards?
Kathryn Bigelow
She is the director of the film “Hurt Locker “.

28. Name of the New Unmanned Aircraft that can remain in the air for over 24 hours which has been added to Israeli Air Force family?
‘Eitan’
The drone named ‘Eitan’ meaning ‘Strong’ in Hebrew is said to be 24 meters long and 26 meters wide wingspan. The drone which weighs about 4.5 tones and it can fly to and from Persian Gulf.
Drone means a pilotless aircraft operated by remote control.

29. The leader of the Sunni Muslim militant group “Jundullah” arrested recently by Iran authorities?
Abdolmalek Rigi.

30. Leaders of 32 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting in Mexico, decided to exclude two countries from membership of a new organization for countries on the American continents. Name of that countries?
United States of America (U.S.A) and Canada.

31. Indian-origin woman who has became the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Trinidad and Tobago parliament, ousting former premier Basdeo Panday from the post?
Kamla Persad-Bissessar

32. Which country has swept the Commonwealth Shooting Championship with a whopping 49 medals?
India.
India won 23 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze medals. England finished a distant second with 31 medals and badges, while Wales ended third on the table after winning 13 medals and badges.

33. A prominent Indian hotelier who has been presented the Community Award in recognition of his outstanding philanthropic work in the UK?
Joginder Sangar

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