BRAIN TREE

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION – 2008

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

March, 2008 to April, 2008

1.The BSE Sensex lost over 1000 points marking one of the biggest falls in the history of the
Bombay Stock Exchange. This downward trend is attributed to the turmoil in the global market.
BACKGROUNDER

First compiled in 1986, the Sensitive Index, in short, SENSEX is a basket of 30 constituent stocks
(30 points) representing a sample of large, liquid and representative companies. These companies
have the largest and most actively traded stocks and are representative of various sectors, on the
Exchange. They account for around one-fifth of the market capitalization of the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE). The base year of SENSEX is 1978-79 and the base value is 100. The index is
widely reported in both domestic and international markets through print as well as electronic media.

The Sensex is generally regarded as the most popular and precise barometer of the Indian stock
markets. Incorporated in 1992, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) is one of the largest and most
advanced stock markets in India. The NSE is the world’s third largest stock exchange in terms of
transactions. There are a total of 23 stock exchanges in India, but the BSE and NSE comprise
majority of the volumes. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), established in 1992,
regulates the stock markets and other securities markets of the country.
2. The Gujarat government has withdrawn the Gujarat Freedom of Religion ( Amendment) Bill
passed in 2006 permitting conversions from one denomination to another in the same religion.
3. The UN Security Council has imposed fresh sanctions and tightened the existing ones to force
Iran to abandoned its Uranium enrichment programme. Tehran has rejected the resolution
encompassing the embargo as illegal and aimed at furthering the national policies of some
member states.
4. A nation wide survey is to be conducted to gauge how far the Right to Information Act has been
able to achieve its objectives of bringing transparency and accountability in bureaucracy and
government functioning.
5. Shivani Sud, a 17 year old Indian American student has won the $100,000 Intel Science Talent
Search scholarship, the US’s most coveted school prize that is commonly referred to as the
‘Junior Nobel’.
6. The government has issued a formal notification for raising Foreign Direct Investment limit in
public sector refineries to 49 per cent.
7. India has the most number of fatal road accidents in the world with 1.05 lakh fatalities in the year
2006-07.
8. According to the annual report for the year 2007-08 of the Defence Ministry, the modernisation plans
of the Indian Army are on track with special focus on six core areas. The upgradation covers the
entire spectrum of the Army with streets on operational preparedness and fighting capabilities
during day and night and in all weather conditions. Climate scientists at the Kathmandu-based
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have mooted a
comprehensive regional approach to fight the looming human induced climate crisis and avert
future social conflicts over dwindling of natural resources, especially water.
9. With gratitude for their revered kings, who ruled, who ruled the Himalayan nation for 100
years, people in Bhutan bid adieu to monarchy by voting in the maiden parliamentary poll to
make the Buddhist Shangri-La the world’s newest democracy.
10. India and Vietnam signed a memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) for bilateral cooperation in
security matters which, among others, would include international terrorism, illicit drug
trafficking and trans-national crime.

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 BRAIN TREE
CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION – 2008
CURRENT AFFAIRS & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

March, 2008 to April, 2008

11. Concerned over ballooning inflation, the Reserve Bank hinted at tighter monetary measures in
its forthcoming credit policy, saying it was in ‘full readiness” for appropriate action to contain
prices.
12. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is extended to all the 604 districts of the
country.
13. India more than doubles credit assistance to Africa at the opening of the India-Africa Forum
Summit in New Delhi.
14. The Supreme Court upholds law enacted by the Centre in 2006 providing a 27 per cent quota for
OBCs in higher educational institutions. Creamy layer to be excluded.
15. “Maitree Express” is flagged off from the Kolkata station on its inaugural journey to Dhaka.
The train services have been resumed after 43 years.
16. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announces a Rs. 1600 crore package for refugees in Jammu
and Kashmir. The nations longest cantilever bridge over the Chenab which links Rajouri and
Poonch districts with the rest of the country is inaugurated.
17. The PSLV-9 puts 10 satellites in orbit in a precisely timed sequence after lift-off from the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
18. The Lok Sabha Privileges Committee draws up a code of conduct for MPs.
19. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed three Bills seeking to increase reservation for women in
Panchayati Raj Institutions, Municipal bodies and Shimla Municipal Corporation from existing 33
per cent to 50 per cent.
20. The controversy over the contentious Ram Setu erupted yet again with the Supreme Court
witnessing an uproar over a remark by the chief justice of India on whether Ram Setu befits to
be called “a place of worship”.
21. India’s Kamlesh Sharma took over as the Commonwealth Secretary General.

BACKGROUNDER
The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British
Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of fifty-three independent sovereign states. Most of them
were formerly parts of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values
and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy,
human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade,
multilateralism, and world peace.
The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which
countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status. Its
activities are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat, biennial Meetings
between Commonwealth Heads of Government, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which
facilitates activities of non-governmental organisations in the so-called 'Commonwealth Family'. The
symbol of this free association is the Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II, this position,
however, does not imbue her with any political or executive powers over any other commonwealth
states and it is the secretary-general who is the chief executive of the organization and holds the
executive power in the commonwealth.

DISCLAIMER
The information presented above has been collected from a variety of sources. Brain Tree
exercises due care and caution in collecting the data before publication. Inspite of this, if any
omission, inaccuracy or printing errors occur with regard to the data, Brain Tree will not be held
responsible or liable.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

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