1.Consider the following Statement(s) regarding 'White-label ATMs'?
1.White label ATMs refer to the machines which are owned by private operators seeking to earn a rent from banks for transactions carried out by their customers.
2.The investment, installation and maintenance of a White label ATM is by a private operator but the licence and branding is of a commercial bank.
Which of the above Statement(s) is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2
Only 1
Corporate entities have been allowed to set up 'white label' automated teller machines (ATMs) under new norms issued by the Reserve Bank to grow the ATM network in the country. However, there is a stiff entry barrier of Rs 100 crore networth and high investment targets, ranging from 9,000 to 25,000 machines, over a three-year period. White label ATMs refer to the machines which are owned by private operators seeking to earn a rent from banks for transactions carried out by their customers.
At present there are around one lakh ATMs in the country, most of which are owned by banks. There is also a sizeable number of 'Brown Label' machines - ATMs where the investment, installation and maintenance is by a private operator but the licence and branding is of a commercial bank.
2.The Red list of threatened species, prepared by the IUCN has listed 132 species of plants and animals as 'Critically Endangered' from India. In this context consider the Statements given below:
1.The great Indian bustard, Siberian Crane and sociable Lapwing are there in the list of Critically Endangered birds.
2.The Pookode Lake Barb and Nilgiri Mystus are included in the Critically Endangered fishes of India.
Which among the above Statement(s) is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2
Option [C]
According to the latest figures, 15 species of Indian birds, including the great Indian bustard, Siberian crane and sociable lapwing are there in the list of Critically Endangered birds. In the lower risk categories, the agency included 14 bird species as Endangered, and 51 as Vulnerable ones. Four fish species from Kerala, including the Pookode Lake Barb and Nilgiri Mystus, are included in the Critically Endangered fishes of India. Two plant species were reported to be extinct in the wild, including the Euphorbia mayuranthanii of Kerala. A leaf frog species and six plants were recorded as extinct.
3.Which among the following trains of India has become the first in the country whose coaches have been converted to solar-based power system?
[A]The Himalayan Queen
[B]The Deccan Odessey
[C]The Golden Chariot
[D]Palace on Wheels
Option [A]
The 96 km-long Kalka-Shimla rail track for the toy train is on the heritage list of UNESCO and the train on this passage passes through 102 tunnels and 864 bridges and is considered as an engineering marvel. Each coach has been fitted with a 100-watt solar panel at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh with which the coaches can function for two days without the sun and can make two trips to Shimla. The railways will also earn carbon credits through this green initiative.
4.Which company has bagged the 2012 World Business & Development Award for its transformational rural initiatives in social and farm forestry programmes in India at the Rio+20 United Nations Summit in Rio de Janeiro?
[A]Adani Group
[B]ITC Limited
[C]DLF Universal Limited
[D]Suzlon Energy
Option [B]
ITC is among five large global companies to win this honour. ITC’s social and farm forestry programmes provides sustainable livelihoods to rural wasteland owners by helping convert their wastelands into pulpwood plantations. Currently the programmes cover over 1.25 lakh hectares.
5.In August 2012, the government will be rolling out the country's first project for cashless treatment of road accident victims on which among the following National Highways?
[A]NH-2 Mathura to Agra Stretch
[B]NH-15 Pathankot to Amritsar Stretch
[C]NH-4 Dharwad to Hubli Stretch
[D]Ahmedabad - Vadodara Expressway
Option [B]
In this pilot project which will be implemented on the Pathankot-Amritsar stretch (the national highway linking the Golden Temple and Vaishno Devi),the government will bear all medical expenses during the first 48 hours of hospitalization of road accident victims. Road transport and highways ministry, which will implement the scheme across the country, claims it will ensure "right to emergency care for all road accident victims". Before country-wide rollout of the project on all NHs, the government will run five such pilot projects.
6.Consider the following Statements regarding the Competition Commission of India (CCI):
1.Ashok Chawla is the current Chairperson of the CCI.
2.Recently, the CCI slapped a penalty of over Rs 6,300 crore on 10 cement companies.
3.The CCI is a Constitutional body which ensures fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country.
Which among the Statement(s) given above is/are correct?
[A]Only 2
[B]1 and 2
[C]2 and 3
[D]1, 2 and 3
Option [B]
The Competition Commission of India is a Statutory body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to prevent activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India. It was established on 14 October 2003.
7.Consider the following Statements:
1.The INDRA Series of joint military exercises are conducted by India-Russia.
2.INDRA-2012 is aimed at testing the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency skills of the two armies.
Which of the above Statement(s) is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2
Option [C]
Moscow and New Delhi have begun preparing for the INDRA-2012 joint military exercises scheduled for August in Russia. An Indian military delegation visited Ulan-Ude in Russia’s far-east region earlier this year to hold discussions on the drills.
8.Which among the following nations of the PIGS group recently elected 'Antonis Samaras' as its 4th Prime Minister in 8 months?
[A]Portugal
[B]Ireland
[C]Greece
[D]Spain
Option [C]
PIGS (also PIIGS)is an acronym used to refer to the economies of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. Since 2008, the term has included Ireland, either in place of Italy or with an additional 'I'. Originally, the term referred to Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, which were notable as similar economic environments. Since the European sovereign debt crisis, with the addition of Ireland, the term is used to group European economies facing particular financial crisis.
9.The World Health Organization, in its first-ever negative policy recommendation, has recently called on governments to immediately ban blood tests prescribed and used to detect ________ :
[A]Tuberculosis
[B]Malaria
[C]Hepatitis-B
[D]AIDS
Option [A]
Blood tests, commonly used in India to detect tuberculosis (TB), have been banned. The Union health ministry has banned the import of sero-diagnostic kits, saying it is giving inconsistent and imprecise results leading to wrong diagnosis of the deadly air-borne disease. Experts say these blood tests more often test positive when the patient does not have TB (false positive) and test negative when the patient actually has TB (false negative).
10.What is the name of 'the tropical depression' which is building up in South China Sea (southwest of Hong Kong) and is expected to develop into a typhoon which may temporarily weaken Monsoon's progress in India?
[A]Talim
[B]Guchol
[C]Zaina
[D]Zosimo
Option [A]
11.The country's first ever river-lake linking project has been launched in the water-scarce regions of which among the following States of India?
[A]Rajasthan
[B]Gujarat
[C]Madhya Pradesh
[D]Andhra Pradesh
Option [C]
The Madhya Pradesh government claims to have launched the country's first ever river-lake linking project in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region.The Harpura irrigation and river-lake link project, launched in the Tikamgarh district, will be implemented under the Centre's Rs.7266 crore Bundelkhand package. It will link the perennial Jamni river to the nearby lakes and water bodies built during the Chandel era. Under the project, an additional 1,980 hectares of land are expected to come under irrigation.Incidentally, the country's first ever river linking project the Ken-Betwa river link was expected to be launched in the Bundelkhand region. However, it was shelved in 2011 after the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests refused environmental clearance, citing the probable submergence of major portions of the Panna Tiger Reserve.
12.Saina Nehwal has clinched her third Indonesia Open Super Series title after she beat :
[A]Yihan Wang of China
[B]Li Xuerui of China
[C]Juliane Schenk of Germany
[D]Tine Baun of Denmark
Option [B]
13.China has reached a new milestone in its Space Programme. In this context, consider the following Statements:
1.The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft of China linked with the Tiangong-1 module just over a week into a manned space mission which included China's first female astronaut 'Liu Yang'.
2.It marked the successful completion of China's first Manual Space-Docking Mission.
Which of the above Statement(s) is/are correct?
[A]Only 1
[B]Only 2
[C]Both 1 and 2
[D]Neither 1 nor 2
Both 1 and 2
14.The world's tallest and longest steel rail bridge is being constructed in Jammu and Kashmir over river ______ :
[A]Indus
[B]Jhelum
[C]Chenab
[D]Nubra
Option [C]
The world's highest rail bridge being constructed over Chenab river in Jammu & Kashmir's will be ready by December, 2015. It will be 359 metres (1,180 feet) above the river-bed five, times the height of Qutub Minar and 35 metres taller than Eiffel Tower. It will be an engineering marvel considering the steep topography and fragile geology of the region. Observing that wind speed at the height of 359 metres may go up to 266 kmph, the engineers have decided not to allow trains crossing the Chenab bridge if the wind velocity is more than 90 kmph. It will also be the safest in the country from the security point of view as it will be blast-proof.
15.The 'Maxio' series of robots designed and developed by Perfint Healthcare Corporation as the new versions of :
[A]Cancer-fighting Robots
[B]Assistive Robots in drug delivery
[C]Assistive Robots in ante-natal care
[D]Fire-fighting Robots
Option [A]
The Maxio's cancer-fighting capabilities come in most handy in interventional oncology, especially tumour ablation that is rapidly turning an effective alternative to surgical treatment of cancer. In fact, tumour ablation is in many cases the go-to option for oncologists faced with inoperable or inaccessible tumours, and this holds especially true in the case of liver cancer patients of whom barely 20 per cent are suited for surgery.
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