GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

Important Economic news 1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the policy rates by 50 Basis points in Annual monetary policy of April 2012. Revised Rate of RBI a. Bank Rate 9% (Decreased 50 basis point in April 2012) b. Cash Reserve Ratio 4.75% (Decreased 75 basis point in March 2012) c. Statutory Liquidity Ratio 24% (Unchanged) d. Repo Rate 8% (Decreased 50 basis point in April 2012) e. Reverse Repo Rate 7% (Decreased 50 basis point in April 2012) f. Marginal Standing Facility Rate 9% (Decreased 50 basis point in April 2012) g. Growth Rate of GDP (2010-11) 8.4% 2. Growth Rate of GDP (2011-12) 6.9% a. Agriculture sector - 2.5% b. manufacturing sector - 3.9% c. service sector - 11.2% 3. Target for Growth Rate of GDP (2012-13) a. Budget 7.6% b. Monetary policy 7.3% c. United Nation 7.5% d. OECD 7.5% in 2013 4. Inflation rate a. Whole price index - April - 7.23%, March - 6.89% b. Consumer Price index - April 10.36%, March 9.38% 5. Per capita income (2011-12) per year a. At constant prices (2004-05) - Rs.38,005 b. At current prices - Rs. 60,972. 6. Per capita income (2010-11) per year a. At constant prices (2004-05) Rs. 35,993 b. At current prices - Rs. 53,331. 7. 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) a. Theme Faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth b. $ 1 trillion (50 Lakh Crore Rs.) investments in Infrastructure in which USD 500 billion will be met by private sector. c. 9 - 9.5% GDP growth d. 4% agriculture growth e. Literacy rate 100% f. Extra Power generation capacity 76000 MW 8. 11th Five year plan recorded 8.2% GDP Growth. Agriculture growth 3.3% 9. Power generation capacity in India now more than 2,00,000 MW. In 11th Five year plan 54,964 MW capacity added. 10. The Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2012 a. RBI has regulatory power to fix the maximum interest rates that MFIs can charge and also decide on the fair and reasonable method of loan recovery. b. MFIs have to register in RBI c. Net worth of MFIs 5 Lac Rs d. Micro Finance Development council will be set up e. Loan to MFIs will be consider in priority lending sector for bank 11. In 2011-12 => Import - $488.6 billion (32% Increased) Export - $303.7 billion (21% Increased) Trade deficit - $184.9 billion

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

12. Export Target for 2012-13 - $350 billion 13. Basel norms will be implemented in India from 1 January 2013 to 2018 (in world 2013 to 2019) 14. Indian banks would need Rs 3,90,000-5,00,000 crore capital over the next six years in the wake of Basel III capital regulations announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 15. To attract foreign capital and stabilise the rupee, the Centre has permitted residents of six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations and all 27-nation European Union to invest directly in stock markets and individual overseas investors better known as QFIs (qualified foreign investors) to bring up to $1 billion to the debt market. 16. Earlier In January, the government had permitted QFIs from 34 FATF (Financial Action Task Force) member countries to invest in the stock market. 17. The Reserve Bank is holding gold reserves of 557.75 tonne valued at USD 27.02 billion, which accounts for 9.2 per cent of foreign exchange reserves of USD 294.6 billion. 18. Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam has written to Indian prime minister requesting India not to apply the proposed GAAR (General anti avoidance rule) on companies which have been given a tax residency certificate (TRC) by Mauritius. 19. Government deferred the introduction of GAAR (General Anti Avoidance Rules) provisions on foreign investors to the next fiscal year. 20. Largest home loan provider - State Bank of India (one lakh crore Rs. to 20 lakh families) 21. The government set up Rangarajan committee to review the Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty. 22. According to Planning Commission, Poverty line for rural areas is Rs 672 (daily 22.42 Rs.) and for urban areas is Rs 859 (daily 28.65 Rs.) (2009-10) (average 26 Rs daily). 23. Based on the Tendulkar committee, Planning Commission had announced earlier this year that poverty in the country has come down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 29.8 per cent in 2009-10 and the number of poor stood effectively reduced from 40.7 crore to 35.5 crore during the period. 24. Switzerland had agreed to provide details of secret bank accounts to India. 25. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) imposed penalty of $80,000 against India's national carrier Air India. 26. Oil Ministry slapped penalty of $1 billion on Reliance Industries for failing to meet gas output targets. 27. Top three according to per capita income: - Goa, Delhi, Haryana. 28. Tax collection at source (TCS) by sellers on cash purchases of jewellery - Rs 5 lakh and on bullion Rs. 2 lakh. PAN card is compulsory. 29. Finance Minister withdrew 1% excise duty on branded and unbranded precious metal jewellery. 30. Rupee plunged to its historic low of 56 against the U.S. dollar due to uncertainty in the euro zone and fresh crisis in Greece. 31. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) - India has become the largest importer of arms during 2007-11 (10 per cent of global arms). 32. RBI has decided to set up a $2 billion swap facility for SAARC (South-Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) member-nations. This facility will be available in foreign currency and Indian rupee. 33. The government said gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) of nationalised banks stood at Rs 59,397 crore at the end of December 2011. 34. India and Pakistan have agreed to do away with requirement of a visa to cross the border on both sides within a radius of 400 metres at the Attari-Wagah point in Punjab for Customs and other related border officials. 35. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in the Myanmar meets President Thein Sein 36. India and Myanmar expect to double their trade in three years, and despite a delay in introducing a bus link, hope to be connected not just over land and by air but also by rail. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) singed of US$ 500 million Line of Credit.

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

37. NPAs of public sector banks stood at about 3.3 per cent of the assets in 2011-12 as against 2.3 per cent a year ago. Several companies are opting for corporate debt restructuring (CDR) to tide over the difficult financial situation in the backdrop of slowdown. 38. Bank of India re-entered the mutual fund business by forging a joint venture with AXA Investment Managers with 51 per cent stake. 39. OECD (Organization of economic cooperation and development) said India's economic growth is likely to rise to more than 7.5 percent in calendar year 2013 40. All foreign exchange earners were permitted to retain their entire foreign exchange earnings in Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency (EEFC) Account with any authorised dealer in India. On a review of this scheme, RBI said, 50% of the balances in the EEFC accounts should be converted forthwith into rupee balances and credited to the rupee accounts as per the directions of the account-holder. 41. The Reserve Bank will shortly put in circulation new coins of Rs 5 denomination to commemorate 150th year of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The coin will bear the logo of CAG along with year "1860-2010" on the bottom of the logo. 42. The government said gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) of nationalised banks stood at Rs 59,397 crore at the end of December 2011. 43. Moody's downgraded three top private sector banks ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank on growing concerns over the country's sovereign debt ratings and low level of cross-border diversification of their operations. Moody's also downgraded Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) following its recent investments in the oil and gas giant Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). 44. Seoul-headquartered Woori Bank has set up its first Indian branch in Chennai. 45. IMF lowered India's growth projection to 6.9 per cent for 2012. 46. RBI has made it mandatory for all banks to print the MICR and IFSC code on the passbook and statement of account of the customers. 47. Reserve Bank asked banks not to levy any penalty on pre-payment of loans taken on floating rate 48. Record food grain production in India 2011-12 => 252.56 million tones Wheat production => 90.23 million tones Rice production =>103.41 million tones 49. The interest rate on the Employees' Provident Fund will be increased to 8.6 per cent from 8.25 per cent for the current fiscal. 50. RBI permitted RRB and cooperative bank to participate in Centralized Payment systems. Now these banks can transfer fund through NEFT and RTGS. 51. Foreign exchange reserves in India on March 2012 $296 billion dollar 52. Centre launched a $2 billion infrastructure debt fund (IDF) to catalyse long-term lending to core sectors. The fund, which will be set up jointly by private sector lender ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Citibank and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) 53. Cheque and Draft will be valid for 3 month from 1 April 2012. 54. Tele density in India in December 2011 76.86% 55. After SBI and NABARD ownership of National Housing Bank (Now RBI hold 100% share) will be transferred from RBI to Government Important Organization and Summit 1. New Member a. United Nation Total Member 193 (Last member South Sudan) b. WTO Total Member 157 (Last member - Russia, Samoa, Montenegro) c. World bank and International Monetary Fund Total Member 188 (Last member South Sudan) d. European Union Total member 27 (Next member will be Croatia in July 2013) th 2. 38 G 8 Meeting 2012 - David camp, USA (Last meeting 2011 Deauville, France)

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

3. 7th G 20 Meeting 2012 Los Cabos, Mexico (Last Meeting 2011 Cannes, France) 4. 7th SAARC (South Asian Association for regional cooperation) Meeting 2011 Addu, Maldives (Next Meeting 2012 Nepal) 5. 20th ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nation)Meeting 2012 Phnom penh, Cambodia (Last Meeting 2011 Bali, Indonesia) 6. 5th IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) summit 2011 Pretoria, South Africa (Next Meeting 2012 Brazil, and In 2013 - India) 7. 4th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit 2012 New Delhi (Next Meeting 2013 South Africa) 8. 8th WTO (World Trade Nation) ministerial conference 2011 Geneva, Switzerland 9. 23rd APEC (Asia pacific Economic cooperation) summit 2011 Honolulu, USA (Next Meeting 2012 Vladivostok, Russia) 10. 16th NAM (Non aligned Movement) summit 2012 Tehran, Iran (Last meeting 2009 Sharm el sheikh, Egypt) 11. SCO (Shanghai cooperation organization) Meeting 2011 Astana, Kazakhstan (Next meeting 2012 Beijing, China) 12. 5th OPEC (organization of Petroleum Exporting countries) International seminar 2012 Vienna, Austria 13. NATO (North Atlantic treaty organization) international conference on Afghanistan will be held in Chicago (USA) 14. 45th annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held in Manila (Philippines) attended by Pranab mukharji. Next will be in India in 2013. 15. Exercise Shoor Veer conducted by the Army, came to an end in the Thar Desert. 16. United Nations framework convention on Climate - Durban (South Africa) in 2011 17. 10th BASIC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change - New Delhi 18. Arab summit 2012 - Baghdad (Iraq) 19. Nuclear security summit 2012 Seoul (South Korea) 20. 12th Annual summit of European Union and India - New Delhi 21. G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting - Mexico City 22. Friends of Syria Meeting Istanbul (Turkey) 23. 5th Ministerial level India-UK Economic Financial Dialogue New Delhi 24. United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 Rio de janeiro (Brazil) 25. 17th National youth Festival Mangalore (Karnataka) 26. World Economic Forum Davos (Switzerland) 27. World Polio Summit 2012 - New Delhi Budget (2012-13) 1. Income tax :Category/Tax Rate General Ladies Senior citizen 60-80 years Senior citizen More than 80 years 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

0% Upto 2,00,000 Upto 2,00,000 Upto 2,50,000 Upto 5,00,000

10% 2,00,001 - 5,00,000 2,00,001 - 5,00,000 2,50,001 - 5,00,000

20% 5,00,001 - 10,00,000 5,00,001 - 10,00,000 5,00,001 - 10,00,000 5,00,001 - 10,00,000

30% More than 10,00,000 More than 10,00,000 More than 10,00,000 More than 10,00,000

Corporate tax: - 30% unchanged. Excise duty:- 12% (2% increased) Service tax: - 12% (2% increased). MAT (Minimum alternative tax):- 18.5% (unchanged) Direct Tax Code (DTC) will be implemented from 2013-14. Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be implemented from 2013-14. Reduction in Securities transaction tax (STT) by 20 % on cash delivery transactions (now 0.1%). Proposal to tax all services except those in the negative list comprising of 17 heads.

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Fiscal Deficit for 2011-12 = 5.9% and for 2012-13 = 5-1% Total Expenditure 1490925 Plan Expenditure - 521025 Interest Payments - 319759 Defence Services 193407 Subsidies 190015 Aajeevika (National Rural Livelihood Mission) - 3915. India infrastructure finance corporation limited (IIFCL) 400. Indira Awaas Yojana 11075. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA)- 33000 Mid Day Meals 11937. National bank for agriculture and rural development (NABARD) 500 for increasing capital of NABARD and 10000 allocated to NABARD to fund RRB. National Food Security Mission - 1850. National Rural Health Mission - 20542. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 24000. Public Sector Banks 14588. Railways - 24000. Regional Rural Banks - 200. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan - 25555. Current account deficit at 3.6 % of GDP for 2011-12. To keep central subsidies under 2 % of GDP in 2012-13. Over next 3 year, to be further brought down to 1.75 % of GDP. Based on recommendation of task force headed by Shri Nandan Nilekani, a mobile-based Fertilizer Management System has been designed to provide end to end information on movement of fertilisers and subsidies. Endeavour to scale up and roll out Aadhaar enabled payments for various government schemes in at least 50 districts within next 6 months. For 2012-13 => 30,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment. At least 51 % ownership and management control to remain with Government. Efforts to arrive at a broad based consensus in consultation with the State Governments in respect of decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail upto 51 %. Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme to allow for income tax deduction of 50 % to new retail investors, who invest upto 50,000 directly in equities and whose annual income is below 10 lakh to be introduced. The scheme will have a lock-in period of 3 years. A central Know Your Customer depository to be developed in 2012-13 to avoid multiplicity of registration and data upkeep. Out of 73,000 identified habitations that were to be covered under Swabhimaan campaigns by March, 2012, about 70,000 habitations have been covered. Rest likely to be covered by March 31, 2012. In 2012-13, Swabhimaan campaign to be extended to more habitations. As a next step, Ultra Small Branches are being set up at these habitations. Out of 82 RRBs in India, 81 have successfully migrated to Core Banking Solutions and have also joined the National Electronic Fund Transfer system. First Infrastructure Debt Fund with an initial size of 8,000 crore launched earlier this month. National Manufacturing Policy announced with the objective of raising, within a decade, the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 % and creating of 10 crore jobs. Direct import of Aviation Turbine Fuel permitted for Indian Carriers as actual users. 5,000 crore India Opportunities Venture Fund to be set up with SIDBI.

36. 37.

38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43.

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

44. To enable greater access to finance by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), two SME exchanges launched in Mumbai recently. 45. Initiative of Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) has resulted in increased production and productivity of paddy. Allocation for the scheme increased to 1,000 crore in 2012-13 from 400 crore in 2011-12. 46. 2,242 crore project launched with World Bank assistance to improve productivity in the dairy sector. 47. Target for agricultural credit raised by 1,00,000 crore to 5,75,000 crore in 2012-13. 48. Interest subvention scheme for providing short term crop loans to farmers at 7 % interest per annum to be continued in 2012-13. Additional subvention of 3 % available for prompt paying farmers. 49. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme to be modified to make KCC a smart card which could be used at ATMs. 50. A national information utility for computerisation of PDS is being created. To become operational by December, 2012. 51. Major initiative proposed to strengthen Panchayats through Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan. 52. 6,000 schools proposed to be set up at block level as model schools in 12th Plan. 53. National Urban Health Mission is being launched. 54. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana being expanded to cover upgradation of 7 more Government medical colleges. 55. Projects approved by National Skill Development Corporation expected to train 6.2 crore persons at the end of 10 years. 56. 1,000 crore allocated for National Skill Development Fund in 2012-13. 57. Himayat scheme introduced in J&K to provide skill training to 1 lakh youth in next 5 years. Entire cost to be borne by Centre. 58. In the ongoing Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme for BPL beneficiaries, pension amount to be raised from `200 to `300 per month. 59. Scheme to create National Population Register likely to be completed within next 2 years. 60. Enrolment of 20 crore persons completed under UID mission. Adequate funds to be allocated to complete enrolment of another 40 crore persons. Important Personality 1. Managing Director of International Fund Christine Lagarde (France) 2. Vice President of African World Bank Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili 3. General Secretary of United Nation Ban ki-moon (South Korea) 4. Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia 5. President of Asian Development Bank Haruhiko Kuroda (Japan) 6. Executive Director of India in IMF Arvind Virmani 7. Secretary of IMF Siddharth tiwari 8. President of European Union Herman Van Rompuy 9. Director General of WTO Pascal Lami (France) 10. Governor of RBI Dr. D. Subbarao 11. Deputy Governor of RBI a. Subir Gokarn b. K C chakrabarti c. Anand sinha d. Haroon Rashid khan 12. Deputy chairman of Planning commission Montek singh ahluwalia 13. President of Insurance regulatory development authority (IRDA) J. Harinaranyan 14. Chief Information commissioner Satyanand Mishra 15. CMD of NABARD Prakash Bakshi 16. Chairman of PFRDA (Pension fund regulatory and development authority) Yogesh Agrawal

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

17. Chairman of NASSCOM Rajendra Pawar 18. Chief Economic adviser of India Kaushik Basu 19. Chairman of 13th Finance commission Vijay Kelkar 20. Human development adviser of UNDP (United nation development programme) Amartya sen 21. Chairman of SEBI ( Securities and Exchange Board of India) U K Sinha 22. Chairman of Prime minister economic advisory council Dr. C Rangrajan 23. Chairman of LIC D K Malhotra 24. Chairman of CII (confederation of Indian Industry) Adi Godrej 25. Chairman of NHRC (National Human Right commission) K G Balkrishnan 26. Chairman of Unique Identification authority of India Nandan Nilekani 27. President of Indian bank association M D Malya 28. Chairman of SBI Group Pratip Chowdhary 29. Chairman of Competition commission of India Ashok Chawla 30. Lok sabha Speaker Meera Kumar 31. Leader of opposition in Lok sabha Sushma swaraj Leader of opposition in Rajya sabha Arun Jaitely New Appointment 1. Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission - Ratan Kumar Sinha (replaced Srikumar Banerjee) 2. Attorney-General - Goolam E. Vahanvati (re-appointed) 3. Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for six-year tenure - Dalveer Bhandari (Judge of Supreme Court) 4. Russia's President for third term - Vladimir Putin (Belong to united Russia party, Previously Prime minister of Russia) 5. Russias Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev (Belong to united Russia party, Previously President of Russia) 6. Frances President - Francois Hollande (Belong to Socialist Party, Previously Nicolas Sarkozy) 7. Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for three years - Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar (Previously J.S. sarma) 8. President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for four-year term - India-born Suma Chakrabarti 9. Chairman and MD of General Insurance Corporation (GIC) - Mr Ashok Kumar Roy 10. New Pakistan High Commissioner to India - Salman Bashir 11. New president of World Bank - Jim Yong Kim (Korean-born) American citizen. 12. Governor of Uttarakhand - AzizQureshi 13. Governor of Goa - Vanchu 14. Governor of Andhra Pradesh - E S L Narasimhan (re-elected) 15. Governor of Maharashtra - K. Sankaranarayanan (re-elected) 16. US Ambassador to India - Nancy J Powell 17. Army-Chief - Lt General Bikram Singh 18. President of International Chamber of Commerce India (ICC India) - Harsh Pati Singhania 19. President of Germany - Joachim Gauck 20. Chairman & MD of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)- Smt. Rita Menon 21. Secretary General of SAARC Ahmad Saleem 22. President of the European Council - Herman Van Rompuy (re-elected) 23. President of Maldives - Dr Mohamed Waheed 24. President of Yemen - Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi 25. President of Malawi - Joyce Banda 26. President of Nicaragua - Daniel Ortega (re-elected) 27. President of Nigeria - Goodluck Jonathan (re-elected) 28. President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) - M. Rafeeque Ahmed

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation 's new MD - Mr. Mangu Singh (previously E Sreedharan) CEO of Prasar Bharti Jawhar Sircar Chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation - Ramesh Sippy Next General president of the Indian Science Congress Manmohan singh India's ambassador to Belgium - Rahul Khullar CMD of Coal India Limited S Narsing Rao President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) - Mr Rajkumar Dhoot Indian High commissioner to U.K. Jaimini Bhagwati President of FICCI - Mr R.V. Kanoria Directors of RBI's central board - DK Mittal President of Asian organisation of the Institution of the Accountants General (ASOASI) - Mr Vinod Rai (Comptroller and Auditor General of India). President of Guyana - Donald Ramotar Editor-In-Chief of The Hindu group Siddharth varadarajan New king of Malaysia - Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy (Previously Dinesh trivadi, Party - Trinamool congress) Union Aviation Minister Ajit Singh (Party Rashtriya Lok dal) Chief Minister of U.P. Akhilesh Yadav (Party Samajwadi party) Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash singh badal (Party Akali dal) Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parikar (Bharatiya Janata party) Chief Minister of Uttrakhand Vijay Bahuguna (Party Indian national congress) Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh (Party Indian national congress)

Awards 1. 1.1 million Templeton Prize by Templeton Foundation of USA Dalai Lama for his contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension. 2. Power Line Award 2012 in the best performing nuclear power station category - Kaiga generating Station (KGS) units 1 and 2 (Karnataka) 3. Honorary degree by New York University's Polytechnic Institute - Sam Pitroda (Chairman of National Knowledge commission and advisor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) 4. West Bengal's highest award Banga Bibhusan - Actor Suchitra Sen 5. Maharashtra Bhushan Award (2011-12) - Anil Kakodkar 6. National Awards Winners for 2012 a. Best Film Kannada film Byari and Marathi film Deool b. Best Hindi Film I Am c. Best Actor Girish Kulkarni (Marathi film Deool) d. Best Actress Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture) e. Best Director Gurvinder Singh (Punjabi film Anhe Ghore Da Daan) f. Salman Khans Chillar Party team won 3 National awards including Best Childrens film g. Vidya Balan bagged the Best Actress award for her superlative performance in The Dirty Picture 7. Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2011 - Soumitra Chatterjee (Bengali actor) 8. Saraswati Samman (2011) - Dr AA Manavalan (Tamil) for his work 'Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum' (Ramakatha and Ramayanas). 9. Moorti Devi Award (2011) - Dr Gulab Kothari for his book Mein Hi Radha, Mein Hi Krishna 10. Bihari Puraskar (2011) - Rajasthani poet Dr Arjundeo Charan for his work Ghar To Ek Naam Hai Bharose Ro 11. Vyas Samman (2011) - Hindi writer Ramdarash mishra for his work aam ke patte 12. Life time achievement award at 8th Dubai International film festival A.R. Rahman 13. V. Shantaram Life Time Achievement Award - environmental filmmaker Mike Pandey

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Best Friend of American Worker - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Kalidas Samman (2009-10) - Dr. N. Rajam and Saroja Vaidyanathan Lata Mangeshkar Award (2011) by the Madhya Pradesh government - Rajesh Roshan National Medals of Arts and Humanities award USA (2011)- Amartya Sen Templeton Prize (2012)- Dalai lama 54th Grammy award - 2012 a. Album of the Year: "21," Adele b. Record of the Year: "Rolling in the Deep" Adele c. Song of the Year: "Rolling in the Deep" Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth d. British singer Adele got 6 Grammy award 20. Laureus award in sports - 2012 a. Sports man of the year - Novak Djokovic (Serbia) b. Sports woman of the year Vivian Cheruiyut (Kenya) 21. 65th BAFTA award 2012 a. Best film - The Artist b. Best Actor - Jean Dujardin (Film - The Artist) c. Best Actress - Meryl Streep (Film - The Iron Lady) d. Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius (Film - The Artist) e. Film The Artist directed by Michel Hazanavicius got 6 awards 22. 84th Oscar awards 2012 a. Best Picture - The Artist (Directed by Thomas Langmann) b. Best Director - Michel Hazanavicius (Film - The Artist) c. Best Actor - Jean Dujardin (Film - The Artist) d. Best Actress - Meryl Streep (Film - The Iron Lady) e. The Artist and Hugo both movie got 5 awards 23. 69th Golden Globe award 2012 a. Best Film in Drama - The Descendants and In Comedy or Musical - The Artist b. Best Actor in Drama - George Clooney (Film -The Descendants) and in Comedy or Musical - Jean DuJardin (Film - The Artist) c. Best Actress in Drama - Meryl Streep (Film - The Iron Lady) and in Comedy or Musical - Michelle Williams (Film - My Week With Marilyn) 24. Best Football player male (FIFA) 2011 Lional Messi ( Barcelona player) 25. Best Football player female (FIFA) 2011- Homare Sawa (Japan) 26. Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation - Dalai Lama 27. Bankers of the year by business standard Rana kapoor MD of Yes bank 28. Person of the year by TIME Magazine The Protester 29. Best Indian Football player AIFF 2011 Sunil Chhetri Important Obituaries 1. NKP Salve - Union Minister and Ex-BCCI President 2. Homai vyarawala First Indian photographer 3. Kim Jong-il North Korean leader 4. P K iyengar - Indian nuclear physicist 5. Indira Goswami - Assamese novelist 6. Runako Morton - West Indies batsman 7. MOH Farooq - Governor of Kerala 8. Dev Anand actor 9. S. Bangarappa ex-chief minister of Karnataka 10. Vaclav Havel Ex-President of czech republic

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

11. Sailen Manna - Football captain 12. Joy Mukhurji - Actor Important Operation and committee 1. India and USA navy exercise Malabar 2012 2. The IAF's Eastern Air Command commenced Exercise codenamed Pralay 3. Vohra Committee - nexus among politicians, government officials and mafia 4. Ashok Chawla committee to ensure transparency in allocation and pricing of natural resources 5. Rangrajan committee Financial Inclusion and Sugar industry 6. Kakodkar committee - railway safety 7. Sam pitroda committee - railways 8. Shyamala Gopinath committee Financial frauds 9. M.V. Nair committee Priority lending sector 10. Shivraj patil committee Productivity in Agriculture sector 11. B.K. chaturvedi committee Power sector reform Indias Rank in Important world Index 1. Human development Index 134th 2. World Hunger Index 67th 3. World Corruption Index 95th 4. World Competitiveness Index 56th 5. Annual Global Innovation Barometer 6th Important National Events 1. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has tested a missile defence shield, which can protect at least two cities from incoming ballistic missile with the range of up to 2,000 km can be destroyed. The system is to be upgraded to the range of 5,000 km by 2016. 2. Parliament passed the Right of Children to Free and compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2012, for differentlyable children. 3. Center Government will set up the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) with consultation with state government. 4. The U.P. government has decided to give an allowance of Rs. 1,000 a month to unemployed persons in the 30-40 age group who have passed the Class X examination. 5. EPF account is now online. 6. Eminent journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, who headed the group for Jammu and Kashmir ruled out return to the pre1953 position. 7. Chief guest of republic day 2012 Yingluck Shinwatra (first woman Prime minister of Thailand) 8. The Centre proposed to make it mandatory for MBBS doctors to do a one-year stint in rural areas 9. The National Green Tribunal has rejected a petition challenging the environment clearance granted to the 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Park in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district. 10. India is setting up kudankulam nuclear power plant (Tamil Nadu) with the help of Russia. 11. Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Chennai Super Kings by five wickets with two balls to spare in IPL final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai 12. A flight-trial by the Army of the surface-to-air missile Akash (Developed by DRDO) failed to hit the target after it was launched from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore in Orissa. The target was a pilotless aircraft, Lakshya. 13. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh will soon move the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) with the proposal to develop and maintain new airports in various townships across the country on private public partnership (PPP) mode. 14. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that tea would be declared the National drink by next year.

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

15. India successfully test fired nuclear-capable Agni-V (ICBM), which covered a range of more than 5,000 km from Wheeler Island in Orissa. 16. Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Balan will be brand ambassadors sanitation 17. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the world. 18. Abhishek Manu Singhvi resigned as Congress spokesperson and Chairperson of Parliament's Standing Committee. 19. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched heaviest, indigenous radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1 satellite into space aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C19) from Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh). RISAT1's radar will be able to see through clouds and work in darkness. 20. India's second moon mission Chandrayaan-2 will be launched in 2014. 21. New members of Rajya sabha :a. Arun Jaitley (BJP) b. Mayawati (BSP) c. Vilasrao Deshmukh (central minister) d. Rajeev Shukla (central minister) e. Chiranjeevi (Actor) f. Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party) g. Dilip Singh Tirkey (former hockey captain) 22. Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga were nominated in Rajya sabha 23. The Reserve Bank of India asked banks to allow intra-bank account portability in cases where full KYC (know your customer) details of the concerned account have been ascertained. 24. President Pratibha Patil visited Seychelles and South Africa 25. Russian submarine K-152 Nerpa inducted in Indian Navy as INS Chakra 26. India opened third research centre Bharti after Dakshin Gangotri and Matri 27. Supreme court judge Dalveer Bhandari elected in International court of justice 28. Bengal Government will launch own daily newspaper and TV channel named Paschim Banga and Dainik 29. India joined in project of largest thirty meter telescope (TMM) in Hawai island (USA) 30. Rajasthan State Assembly passed a resolution to form Legislative Council 31. According to Stockholm international peace research institute - Largest importer of arms is India (2nd China) 32. Bihar Day, celebrated on 22 March when it was separated from Bengal 100 years ago (1912) 33. French company Dassault Rafaletoday bagged India's biggest contract for supplying 126 combat aircraft for the Air Force 34. The World Health Organization has confirmed that India has gone a whole year without having a new case of polio 35. The Supreme Court quashed all 122 spectrum licenses (2G licenses) granted during the tenure of former communications minister A Raja. 36. India tested interceptor missiles from Wheeler Island in Orissa 37. The Supreme Court of India has urged that the project for the linking of the rivers of India be accelerated and implemented 38. 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) held from 7-9 January, 2012 in Jaipur. Kamla persad-bissessar (Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago) was the Chief Guest. 39. India cleared a $1.23-billion deal for purchasing 490 French air-to-air missiles MICA for the Indian air force Mirage 2000 fleet Important International Events 1. Japan is now atomic energy free nation for electricity for the first time in 42 years because its last rector went for mandatory maintenance. 2. A nine-member Pakistani delegation has arrived in India to learn from its experience of polio eradication. Pakistan is one of the three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where the infectious viral disease is still prevalent.

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

India became polio-free in January this year, after one full year without a single case being reported. It has subsequently been removed from the WHO list of polio-endemic countries. 3. Nepal's President Ram Baran Yadav has termed the current Baburam Bhattarai-led government as a caretaker arrangement, and has called for political consensus. 4. Pakistan tested Hatf III (Ghaznavi), a short-range ballistic missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads across 290 km. 5. The Congress and the United Russia Party (URP) signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in Moscow. 6. Facebook (Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg) lunched its public issue. 7. U.S. private company SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket became the first commercial outfit to launch its own craft toward the International Space Station. 8. United States troops will leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014 9. Standard and Poors (S&P) lowered Indias long-term rating from stable (BBB+) to negative (BBB-) (which is the lowest investment grade rating) 10. Pakistan test-fired the nuclear-capable Hatf-4 Shaheen-1A ballistic missile range 700 KM. 11. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited India 12. India and its new energy partners signed TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline agreements. Length -1,680-km line. Cost $7.6 billion. It will be operational in 2018. 13. Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is wealthiest man in Britain, according to The Sunday Times 14. The Army cleared its pending Rs. 3,000-crore proposal to buy 145 ultra-light howitzer (ULH) guns from USA. 15. 61 Indian companies are included in Global-2000 list of Forbes -2012 16. According to Forbes magazine richest person of world Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico) and richest person of India Mukesh ambani. 17. South Korean steel company will establish a steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa. 18. Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has resigned after weeks of unrest 19. Maldive expelled from commonwealth ministerial action group 20. Prime minister of mauritius Navinchandra ramgoolam visit to india 21. Kofi annan special envoy of united nation to Syria 22. Highest per capita income - Qatar 23. Pakistan elected as a temporary member of United Nation security council for 2012-13 24. Canada announces exit from kyoto climate treaty 25. The Bangladeshi parliament has passed bill that will enable the return of property seized from the country's Hindu minority. 26. All American soldiers have been returned from Iraq 27. India and Nepal signed Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAA) Abbreviation in News 1. CDR - Corporate Debt Restructuring 2. NCTC - National Counter-Terrorism Centre 3. GAAR - General anti avoidance rule 4. TCS -Tax Collection at Source 5. DTAA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement 6. TIEA Tax Information exchange Agreement 7. EFSF European Financial Stability Facility 8. NPS New Pension Scheme 9. MMRCA Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft 10. DRDO - Defence Research and Development Organisation 11. GSLV - Geo-Synchronous Launch Vehicle 12. ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation 13. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency

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GK & Current Affairs IBPS PO Exam 2012

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. NDMA National Disaster Management Authority BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa BASIC Brazil, South Africa, India and China PPP Public Private Partnership and Purchasing Power parity MTCR Missile Technology Control Regim NSG Nuclear Suppliers Group IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency CEPA Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CECA - Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement FIPB Foreign Investment Promotion board PSLV Polar Satellite Launch vehicle ICBM Inter-continental Ballistic missile CCEA Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs IDF Infrastructure Debt Fund CRIS Comparative Rating Index for Sovereign GRAIL Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory NCHER National Commission for Higher Education and Research NCHRH - National Commission for Human Resources for Health FII Foreign Institutional Investor DII Domestic Institutional Investor GST Goods and Services Tax DTC Direct Tax Code MPLADS MP Local Area Development Scheme FCNRA Foreign Currency Non Resident account MFI - Micro Finance Institutions MFDC Micro Finance Development Council TRAI - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India CIC - Central Information Commission BCCI - Board of Control for Cricket in India SAARC - South-Asian Association for Regional Co-operation ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nation TAPI - Turkmenistan-Aghanistan-Pakistan-India NLD National League for Democracy MSF Marginal Standing Facility MIRV - Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle ECBs - External Commercial Borrowings NHRC - National Human Rights Commission NEFT - National Electronic Funds Transfer RTGS - Real Time Gross Settlement NIA - National Investigation Agency S&P - Standard and Poors

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