30 Jun

  • By Vidya Guru
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1. Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure has won the arbitration proceedings initiated against the Govt of which of the following countries after the latter unilaterally cancelled the $500-mn contract given to GMR? A. Sri Lanka B. Maldives C. Myanmar D. Malaysia                      

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

GMR, the Indian infrastructure giant on 19 June 2014 won the arbitration award against Maldivian government for wrongful termination of Airport project contract. The legal battle between GMR and Maldives government lasted for a period of 18-month. The battle started after the government led by President Mohamed Waheed in 2012 suspended a lease contract that was signed by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government. Following the suspension, GMR sued Maldives for 1.6 billion dollar compensation under the contract. Under the contract, GMR was supposed to develop and operate Male International airport in Maldives. Maldives tribunal in its decision said that the government’s rejection of the contract was wrongful. The tribunal in its decision has directed Maldives and the state-owned Maldives Airports Company (MACL) to pay 4 million dollar legal damages to GMR within 42 days. Apart from this, GMR has also demanded a compensation of 1.4 billion dollar losses incurred by it in last one year on its bid amount and investments in developing the airport.

2. _________ has been appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A. Sanjeev Dixit B. T K Narayan C. Rajeev Topno D. Bhupender Chaube

Ans. C 

BACKGROUND:

Rajeev Topno was appointed Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) approved the name of Topno on 18 June 2014. He is a 1996 batch Indian Administrative Service officer (IAS) from the Gujarat cadre. He was a part of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under former PM Manmohan Singh.

3. myCopter Project Day is going to be held in Braunschweig, Germany in November 2014. This project aims to design: A. Personal Aerial Vehicles B. Cars with Air as fuel C. Toilets with no use of water D. Paper without mass destruction of trees

Ans. A

BACKGROUND:

myCopter Project Day will be held in Braunschweig in Germany on 20 November 2014. This was announced by myCopter coordinator Prof. Dr. Heinrich Bülthoff. myCopter Project conceived in 2007 aims to design Personal Aerial Vehicles and an effective, efficient and user-friendly Personal Aerial Transportation System. The initial project is almost complete, and the next phase of MyCopter will end on myCopter Project Day. For the project, six research institutions of Europe have collaborated to study the feasibility of developing small commuter helicopters. The European Union had granted 4.7 million US dollar for the project.

4. Former Captain of Bangladesh ­­­­Cricket team, _______ has been banned for eight years. A. Aminul Islam B. Mohammad Ashraful C. Habibul Bashar D. Naimur Rahman

Ans. B 

BACKGROUND:

Former Captain of Bangladesh Mohammad Ashraful on 18 June 2014 was banned for eight years by the disciplinary panel set up by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He was found guilty on four charges of fixing matches in Bangladesh Premier League of 2013. Ashraful has also been ordered to pay a fine of one million taka (12280 US dollar). The 29-year old was under suspension since June 2013 after he admitted to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit that he had indulged in fixing BPL matches.

5. Who among the following was arrested in the US on Nazi death camp charges? A. Mathew Auge B. Johann Breyer C. Guntar Grass D. Herman Hesse

Ans. B 

BACKGROUND:

Johann Breyer (89-year-old) a former Nazi camp guard accused of aiding and abetting the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews was arrested without bail in Philadelphia on 17 June 2014. The pending extradition hearing will be held on 21 August 2014. Federal authorities will extradite Breyer, a US citizen who is wanted in Germany for his war crimes committed during the World War II. Breyer was an Auschwitz guard and a member of the SS Death’s Head battalion during the World War II and has lived in the United States since 1952, the year when he migrated to the US and claimed citizenship as a displaced person.

6. Which of the following leading Indian software exporters has become the world’s third largest employer of people in the IT sector, with over 3 lakh employees? A. Infosys B. Wipro C. TCS D. HCL

Ans. C

7. 40 Indian workers have gone missing from________ in Iraq. A. Kurdistan B. Mosul C. Qom D. Yazd

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

40 Indian workers on 17 June 2014 were reported to be missing from Mosul, Iraq. The groups of workers were working on a government construction project in Mosul. Mosul was over-run by ISIS militants in June 2014. Former ambassador to Iraq Suresh Reddy was sent to Mosul to ensure the safety of Indian placed in Iraq.

About Mosul
Mosul is a city in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-controlled part of northern Iraq. Mosul is located some 400 km northwest of Baghdad. Mosul is the second largest city of Iraq after Baghdad.

8. US President Barack Obama has announced the creation of world’s biggest MPA in the Pacific Ocean.  What does MPA stand for? A. Metropolitan Planning Area B. Marine Protected Area C. Maritime Patrol Aircraft D. Mean Predicted Area

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

Barack Obama, the US President, on 17 June 2014 announced the plans of creating the world’s biggest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the middle of Pacific Ocean. Obama used his executive authority for the creation of the protected area. The area will be finalised after consultations with scientists, fishing and conservation organisatons. The aim is to further extend the existing zone of protected area of the US known as the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. With this fishing and drilling activities for exploitation would be banned from an area that would eventually cover 2 million square kilometers. The extended zone would double the world’s fully protected marine reserves. Till date, President Obama has used his executive authority 11 times to safeguard the areas on land. But he used his authority for 12th time in context of Ocean after scientists and activists have pressed him to do the same for untouched underwater regions.

9. Which of the following countries gives importance to ‘Gross National Happiness’ rather than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the parameter for measuring its economic development? A. Bangladesh B. Thailand C. Bhutan D. Singapore  

Ans. C

10. A panel headed by Parthasarathi Shome submitted its recommendations, recently. Which of the following is NOT correct with respect to these recommendations? A. The post of revenue secretary should be abolished as part of needed reforms in the tax administration. B. The Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Central Board of Excise & Customs should be merged to achieve efficiencies. C. A separate budget allocation to ensure time-bound tax refund and a passbook scheme for Tax Deduction at Source. D. The retrospective amendments to tax laws should be adopted to avoid tax losses.        

Ans. D

BACKGROUND:

The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC) headed by Parthasarathi Shome submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Finance on 15 June 2014. The Shome Panel has recommended abolition of the post of Revenue Secretary and merger of CBDT and CBEC among others.

  • A separate budget allocation is recommended to ensure time-bound tax refund and a passbook scheme for Tax Deduction at Source (TDS).
  • The retrospective amendments to tax laws should be avoided as a principle and Income Tax Return should also include wealth tax details.
  • The present functions of the Department of Revenue should be allocated to the two Boards (CBDT and CBEC). This will empower the tax departments to carry out their assigned responsibilities efficiently.
  • Two Boards (CBDT and CBEC) should move towards a unified management structure with common Board for both direct and indirect taxes called the Central Board of Direct and Indirect Taxes. This selective convergences of two Boards will achieve immediate better governance in five years.

11. Who has become first woman director on the board of Reliance Industries? A. Priety Jinta B. Nita Ambani C. Tina Ambani D. Medha Patkar

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

Nita Ambani on 18 June 2014 was appointed as the Director of Reliance Industries. With this appointment she became the first woman to be appointed on the board of the RIL. Nita Ambani, 50-year-old succeeded uncle of Mukesh Ambani, Ramniklal H Ambani, who retired from the board. Her appointment as a Director of RIL was approved by the shareholders of RIL. She is the wife of Mukesh Ambani. This appointment of Nita Ambani has helped RIL to meet a new law that requires one woman in the boardroom of the listed companies. The law has been made with an aim to boost gender diversity.

12. The Govt. is mulling Centre of National Excellence status for the institutions FTII, SRFTI as announced by the Information and Broadcasting Minister _________, recently. A. Ramvilas Paswan B. Prakash Javadekar C. Nitin Jairam Gadkari D. M Venkaiah Naidu

Ans. B

13. Railway passenger fares have been increased by ____ percent and freight charges by ____ percent respectively.

Ans. 14.2 and 6.5

BACKGROUND:

Indian Railways on 20 June 2014 increased the passenger fare by 14.2 percent in all classes and freight charges by 6.5 percent. The revised rates will be effective from 25 June 2014. Under the passenger fare hike, there was a flat 10 percent increase in all classes and an additional 4.2 percent increase under fuel adjustment component (FAC) linked revision scheme has been made. With this one of the biggest hike, the cash-strapped railways will be able to garner 8000 crore rupees annually through the pre-budget decision. The Railways had earlier issued a notification on May 16 effecting hike in passenger fare by 14.2 percent across the board and freight charges by 6.5 percent from May 20. However, it was withdrawn by the UPA government in light of the Lok Sabha elections.

14. Who has won the Tang Prize 2014 for sustainable development?

Ans. Gro Harlem Brundtland

BACKGROUND:

Tang Prize Foundation announced the inaugural Tang Prizes on 18 June 2014. The Prize will be given in four categories of Sustainable Development, Sinology, Biopharmaceutical Science and The Rule of Law. The following are the category wise winners of Tang Prize 2014:
• Sustainable Development – Gro Harlem Brundtland former Premier of Norway. She was awarded for her innovation, leadership and implementation of sustainable development that laid out the scientific and technical challenges.
• Sinology – Chinese American, Historian Yu Ying-shih. He was awarded for his mastery of and insight into Chinese intellectual, political, and cultural history with an emphasis on his profound research into the history of public intellectuals in China.
• Biopharmaceutical Science – James P Allison of US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan. They were awarded for their discoveries of CTLA-4 and PD-1 as immune inhibitory molecules, revealing ways to harness our incredibly powerful immune system to fight cancer and marking the beginning of the immunotherapy revolution.
• The Rule of Law – Albie Sachs, former justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was awarded for his contributions to human rights and justice around the world.  He is a lawyer and human rights activist who spent his lifetime fighting apartheid, helped write the new Constitution of South Africa.

About Tang Prize
Taiwanese Business Magnate, Samuel Yin founded Tang Prize Foundation in December 2012. The Tang prize is the first international academic award to be based in Taiwan and commenced its inaugural year in 2014. The prize is awarded biennially. Each category conferred carries a cash prize of 40 million New Taiwan dollar (NT$) a d a research grant of 10 million New Taiwan dollar.  The aim of the prize is to continue to innovate while cultivating and nurturing new talent in their respective fields. The prize encourages a more holistic and cross-disciplinary approach to reflect the new challenges humanity faces in modern complicated world. The Prize covers the categories which are not included in the Nobel Prize.

15. Who has been elected first Assembly speaker of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation? A. N T Rama Rao B. Kodela Siva Prasada Rao C. N. Chandrababu Naidu D. None of these

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

Kodela Siva Prasada Rao on 20 June 2014 was elected as the first Assembly speaker of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation. Kodela of Telugu Desam Party was the only person to be nominated for the Speaker of Assembly. He is a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Sattenapalli constituency. The role and function of Speaker of the state Assembly is similar to that of Lok Sabha Speaker. Article 178 of the Constitution of India   provides for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

16. Noted Hindi poet, ___________ has been selected for Jnanpith Award 2013. A. Kedarnath Singh B. Amit Kumar Sinha C. Yashveer Jain D. Nitish Jha

Ans. A

BACKGROUND:

Noted Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh on 20 June 2014 was chosen for the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2013. He is the 10th Hindi writer to receive the honour and is the 49th recipient of Jnanpith award.  Kedarnath Singh (80-year-old) was born in Balia of Uttar Pradesh and is known for his work Abhi bilkul abhi and Yahan se dekho.

About Kedarnath Singh
• He became famous with a book entitled teesra saptak edited by Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan whose pen name was Agyeya
• He was born in 1934 in Chakiya village of Balia district of Uttar Pradesh
• He completed his MA and PhD from Banaras Hindu University in 1956 and 1964
• He has been a professor and Head of Department of Hindi department of Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi)
Major works of Kedarnath Singh:
• Poem Collection- Abhi Bilkul Abhi, Zameen pak Rahi Hai, Yahan se Dekho, Akaal mein Saaras, Baagh, Tolstoy aur cycle
• Essay and Stories- Mere Samay ke Shabd,Kalpana aur chhayavad, Hindi kavita mein bimb vidhan, Kabristan mein Panchayat
• Others- Taana Baana

About Jnanpith Award
Jnanpith award is one of the prestigious literary awards in India and was instituted in 1961. The award is given to any Indian citizen who writes in any official languages of India mentioned in VIII Schedule of Constitution of India. It is presented by Bharatiya Jnanpith, a trust founded by the Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain family. The award includes 11 lakh rupees and a citation. The name of award is taken from a Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha (knowledge-seat).

17. Dmitry O Rogozin, who visited India recently, is the deputy Prime Minister of which of the following countries? A. Uzbekistan B. Kyrgyzstan C. Turkmenistan D. Russia          

Ans. D

BACKGROUND:

Dmitry O Rogozin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia was on a two-day visit to India. He was on a visit to India from 18 June to 19 June 2014. During the visit, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. During the meet discussions on a range of bilateral and international issues of mutual interest were made.  Major discussions during the visit included:
• The two countries decided to step up their cooperation in the field of hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, cooking coal and infrastructure
• It was decided to increase the bilateral trade beyond the present ten billion dollars
• Meet of the two leaders, Rogozin and Swaraj was focused on improving the untapped potential between the two countries in terms of economic and commercial engagement.
• Swaraj and Rogozin also deliberated on cooperation in nuclear energy sector, particularly issues relating to signing of a deal for unit 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
• India has also proposed to have a trade show in Moscow in September 2014

18. Who among the following has bagged FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship? A. Garry Kasparov B. Viswanathan Anand C. Magnus Carlsen D. Vladimir Kramnik

Ans. C 

BACKGROUND:

Magnus Carlsen, the world number one chess player on 18 June 2014 bagged the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship title in Dubai. To win the Gold medal, he scored 11 of 15 points. The silver medal was won by Fabiani Caruana who was positioned at the second position. India’s Vishwanathan Anand clinched the bronze medal after being at the third position in the tournament. Former World Champion Viswanathan Anand settled for the bronze medal after finishing the tournament undefeated.

19. ___________ has been selected for 2014 Pen Pinter prize. A. George Abbot B. Kenneth Allsop C. John Ash D. Salman Rushdie

Ans. D

BACKGROUND:

Salman Rushdie, the India-born Booker Prize winning author on 20 June 2014 was named as the winner of 2014 Pen Pinter Prize. Rushdie (67-year-old) was chosen for the prestigious award for his outstanding literary output and support for freedom of expression. He will be given the award at the British Library in London on 9 October 2014. Rushdie’s famous books are Midnight’s Children (won Booker Prize), Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor’s Las Sigh, The Satanic Verses and others. His book The Satanic Verses became most famous due to fatwa issued against the book by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini claiming that the novel was an insult to Islam. The prize will be shared with an International Writer of Courage selected by him in association with English Pen’s Writers at Risk committee.

20. Who among the following is the new president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)? A. Naushad Forbes B. Sumit Mazumder C. Kris Gopalakrishnan D. Ajay Shriram

Ans. D

BACKGROUND:

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is an association of Indian businesses which works to create an environment conducive to the growth of industry in the country. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry managed organization, playing a proactive role in India’s development process. Founded in 1895, CII has over 7300 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 90,000 enterprises from around 257 national and regional sectoral industry bodies. CII works closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages. With 64 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 224 counterpart organizations in 90 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community. The CII Theme for 2014-15 is ‘Accelerating Economic Growth,to strengthen a growth process that meets the aspirations of today’s India.

About Ajay Shriram

Ajay S. Shriram, Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram, has been elected President of CII for the year 2014-15. Sumit Mazumder, Chairman and Managing Director of TIL Ltd, has been named President Designate. Dr Naushad Forbes, Director, Forbes Marshall, has been elected Vice President. Chandrajit Banerjee is the Director General

21. In which of the following types of banking, the banks offer all types of financial services to expand their business? A. Narrow banking B. Social banking C. Universal banking D. Wholesale banking   

Ans. C 

BACKGROUND:

Narrow banking is a proposed type of bank called a narrow bank also called a safe bank. Narrow banking would restrict banks to holding liquid and safe government bonds. Loans would be made by other financial intermediaries. That is, the deposit taking and payment activities would be separated from financial intermediation activities

Social Banking is a new-age term to state that banks are, now, no longer solely concentrated on earning profits but also interested in aiding society as a whole. This new element often focuses on the environment, charity, poverty and education but there can be a large number of topics and subtopics.

A Universal bank participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank as well as providing other financial services such as insurance. These are also called full-service financial firms, although there can also be full-service investment banks which provide asset management, trading, and underwriting.

Wholesale Banking is the provision of services by banks to organisations such as Mortgage Brokers, large corporate clients, mid-sized companies, real estate developers and investors, international trade finance businesses, institutional customers (such as pension funds and government entities/agencies), and services offered to other banks or other financial institutions. (Wholesale finance means financial services, which are conducted between financial services companies and institutions such as banks, insurers, fund managers, and stockbrokers) Modern wholesale banks are engaged in: finance wholesaling, underwriting, market making, consultancy, mergers and acquisitions, fund management.

Retail banking is when a bank executes transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, and credit cards. The term is generally used to distinguish these banking services from investment banking, commercial banking or wholesale banking. It may also be used to refer to a division of a bank dealing with retail customers and can also be termed as Personal Banking services.

22. Triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice recently announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 25. She belongs to which of the following countries? A. Australia B. US C. France D. Spain  

Ans. A 

BACKGROUND:

Australia’s triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 25 on Wednesday. Rice had a stunning Olympic debut at Beijing’s Water Cube in 2008, winning the 200 and 400 metres individual medley titles as well as gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, all in world record times. She struggled with a shoulder injury heading into the 2012 London Olympics, where her failure to win a medal contributed to a disappointing Games for Australia.

23. Which among the following bodies releases Exchange Control Manual regarding foreign exchange in India? A. FIPB B. CCI C. SEBI D. RBI      

Ans. D

24. Sam Kutesa has been recently elected president of the UN General Assembly. He was the erstwhile foreign minister of which of the following countries? A. Chile B. Uganda C. Jordan D. South Korea           

Ans. B 

BACKGROUND:

Sam Kahamba Kutesa is a Ugandanlawyer and politician. He is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ugandan Cabinet, a position he has held since 13 January 2005. He is also the elected Member of Parliament (MP) for “Mawogola County”, Sembabule District. In the cabinet reshuffles of 1 June 2006, of 16 February 2009, and that of 27 May 2011, Sam Kutesa retained his cabinet post. He will be the president of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations GeneralAssembly.

25. India became a permanent member of Washington Accord (WA), recently. WA is an international agreement among prominent nations of the world, with the charter of promoting mobility and quality assurance of _________across international boundaries. A. Engineers B. Doctors C. Nurses D. Software developers 

Ans. A 

BACKGROUND:

The Washington Accord is an international accreditation agreement for professional engineeringacademic degrees, between the bodies responsible for accreditation in its signatory countries. Established in 1989, the signatories as of 2014 are AustraliaCanada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, SingaporeSouth Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.  The agreement recognizes that there is substantial equivalence of programs accredited by those signatories. Graduates of accredited programs in any of the signatory countries are recognized by the other signatory countries as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering. Recognition of accredited programs is not retroactive but takes effect only from the date of admission of the country to signatory status.

26. Name the Ugandan writer who has recently won the overall Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize for ‘Let’s Tell This Story Properly’. A. Thomas Piketty B. Damon Galgut C. Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi D. Ranjit Hoskote         

Ans. C

BACKGROUND:

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize unearths, identifies and develops original voices from the 53 countries of the  Commonwealth. The winning story is about a grieving widow who arrives at Entebbe Airport from Manchester with her husband’s coffin, but events take such a dramatic turn that she must relinquish her widowhood and fight.

27. India has recently established ATS Message Handling System (AMHS) connectivity with which of the following countri es? It is a part of India’s commitment to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). A. Sri Lanka B. Nepal C. Bangladesh D. Bhutan 

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

ATS Message Handling System (AMHS) also known as Aeronautical Message Handling System is a standard for aeronautical ground-ground communications E.g. for the transmission of NOTAM, Flight Plans or Meteorological Data. based on X.400 profiles. It has been defined by the ICAO.

28. India’s largest warship INS Vikramaditya was recently dedicated to the nation by PM Narendra Modi. Which of the following is correct about INS Vikramaditya? A. It is a 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier with an overall length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres. B. It has been acquired from Russia for over Rs 15,000 cr and the deal for the aircraft carrier was signed during the previous NDA regime in 2004. C. Various naval aircraft, including MiG 29K, Sea Harriers, P 8I and IL-38SD along with Kamov and Sea King helicopters will operate from it. D. All the above     

Ans. D

29. Banks park excess liquidity with the Reserve Bank of India through which of the following tools? A. Repo B. Reverse Repo C. Bank rate D. SLR

Ans. B

BACKGROUND:

Repo is a practice in which a bank or other financial institutionbuyssecurities with the proviso that the seller repurchases the same securities for an agreed-upon price on a certain day more than one day after the establishment of the agreement. Investors and financialinstitutions do this in order to raise short-term capital. A term repo differs from other types of repo because the term is more than one day. Reverse Repo is the purchase of securities with the agreement to sell them at a higher price at a specific future date. For the party selling the security (and agreeing to repurchase it in the future) it is a repo; for the party on the other end of the transaction (buying the security and agreeing to sell in the future) it is a reverse repurchase agreement.

30. The visiting Indian cricket team has recently won a three match ODI series against which of the following countries? A. Sri Lanka B. Bangladesh C. New Zealand D. Australia         

Ans. B

31. Which of the following teams has recently won the women’s World Cup hockey title? A. Australia B. Netherlands C. USA D. Argentina         

Ans. B 

BACKGROUND:

The Women’s Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and final tournament is similar to the men’s. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since they merged with the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1982. Since 1986, it has been held regularly once every four years, in the same year as the men’s competition, which is mid cycle between Summer Olympic games. The World Cup will expand to 16 teams again in 2018, and the FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022. The 2014 tournament was held in The Hague, Netherlands from 2 to 14 June, with Netherlands winning a record seventh title after beating Australia 2–0 in the final. The 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup will be the 14th edition of the Women’s Hockey World Cup. It will be held in July 2018 in London, England

32. Which of the following teams has won the men’s World Cup hockey title, recently? A. Australia B. Germany C. Netherlands D. Malaysia          

Ans. A

BACKGROUND:

The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. Five countries have dominated the event’s history. Pakistan is the most successful team, having won the tournament four times. The Netherlands and Australia have won three titles, and Germany has each won two titles. India won the tournament once. The 2014 tournament was held in The Hague, Netherlands from June 2 to 14. Australia defeated Netherlands 6–1 in the final, to win their third World Cup title. The 2018 tournament will be held in India in th month of December with the city of Bhubaneswar being a possible host. The World Cup will expand to 16 teams in 2018, and FIH will evaluate the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022.

33. Andhra Pradesh is considering taking help from space agencies, ISRO and NASA to trace the 17 missing engineering students after a sudden release of water from a reservoir in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. The incident took place on which of the following rivers? A. Sutlej B. Ganges C. Chenab D. Beas      

Ans. D

34. Militant separatist group ISIS is in news for its activities in which of the following countries? A. Iraq B. Iran C. Libya D. Nigeria

Ans. A

35. The state govt of which of the following states has recently passed a law to ban dance bars? A. Gujarat B. Uttar Pradesh C. Maharashtra D. Goa     

Ans. C

36. Public sector thermal and hydro power generation company NTPC has sought lifting of embargo on Lata Tapovan project work. The project was to come up in which of the following states? A. Himachal Pradesh B. Sikkim C. Arunachal Pradesh D. Uttarakhand     

Ans. D

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