General Awareness Test (May - 15) - Set 3

ANSWER: V. Shanmuganthan

Explanation:
V. Shanmuganthan has been appointed as Meghalaya Governor.

ANSWER: 21st June 2015

Explanation:
Indian Ambassador to the US Arun K Singh said, the event is being organised by the Indian Embassy in the US in association with the Friends of Yoga, which is an association of Yoga organisations in the region. Indian Embassy is organising a series of curtain raiser Yoga events during the months of May-June 2015, including at the World Bank, at Durga Temple and Rajdhani Temple in Virginia.

ANSWER: Woman of Algiers

Explanation:
Picasso's 'Women of Algiers' has become the most expensive painting to sell at auction, going for 179.3 million dollar at Christie's in New York. The previous world record for a painting sold at auction was 142.4 million dollar for British painter Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud.

ANSWER: Uttar Pradesh

Explanation:
To begin with, this facility has been installed at Charbagh of Lucknow and other 100 bus stations of the state. Through it the passengers will get best potable water at the most affordable price of two Rupees per liter.

ANSWER: Fifth

Explanation:
The party seems to wait for the directions from Jayalithaa and then O Paneerselvam will resign as Chief Minister. Only then AIADMK party MLAs can elect Jayalaithaa as the legislative party leader. After that the letter of support by party MLAs will be given to Governor Dr K Rosaiah. Then the day of taking over as Chief Minister will be announced. Jayalalithaa had taken over as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu four times in 1991, 2001, 2002 and 2011.

ANSWER: 4.87%

Explanation:
The inflation for March 2015 was at 5.11 percent. Data released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 12th May’15 mentioned that Inflation in food items like pulses and products was recorded at 12.52 percent highest in the category. Milk and its products registered a price hike of 8.21 percent , Spices at 8.7 percent. Whereas the inflation in vegetables and meat stood at 6.63 percent and 5.50 percent. The ministry also said that the rural inflation stood at 5.37 percent whereas urban centres registered CPI of 4.36 percent.

ANSWER: 2.1%

Explanation:
The government released factory output data that showed that industrial production growth in March slowed to 2.1 percent, compared to 5 percent a month ago.

ANSWER: Dinesh Kumar

Explanation:
Mr. Kumar, representing M/s Orient Art &Crafts, New Delhi, is a leading exporter of handicrafts from India. He has been associated with the handicrafts sector for more than four decades. Mr. Kumar runs retail business of handicrafts products and has manufacturing units as well. He has served in various capacities as member of the Committee of Administration, President - Trade Fairs, and Vice-Chairman - EPCH. Mr. Kumar is also one of the Directors of India Exposition Mart Ltd., Greater Noida.

ANSWER: K Satish Reddy

Explanation:
Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, K Satish Reddy, has been appointed as the new chairman of the National Safety Council (NSC). He will succeed Venu Srinivasan who steered the working of the council since July 2011.

ANSWER: Hyderabad

Explanation:
The theme of Indo-Global Pharma Expo and Summit 2015 will be Innovation and Advances.

ANSWER: Nikesh Arora

Explanation:
Indian-born Nikesh Arora was on 11 May 2015 appointed as the President of Japan’s multinational telecommunications and internet company SoftBank Corp. He succeeds Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of the Softbank Corp.

ANSWER: Extension of their spectrum licenses

Explanation:
Petitioners were seeking extension of their 20-year spectrum licenses by another 10 years. The telecom operators had also challenged the government's decision to reject their applications for extension of their licenses and auction the spectrum surrendered by them.

ANSWER: Xian

Explanation:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks at Xian in China. The talks lasted for about 90 minutes during which the two leaders discussed wide ranging issues including peace and tranquility on the border, trade imbalance and investment climate.

ANSWER: Ustad Yojna

Explanation:
Under the scheme, the artisans and weavers will not only get training and skill orientation but also they will be given help to sell their products.

ANSWER: Tolkappiyar Award

Explanation:
President Pranab Mukherjee on 14th May’15 conferred the Presidential Awards for Classical Tamil for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 on scholars for their outstanding contribution to the development of Classical Tamil language and literature.

ANSWER: Eva Maria Wilden

Explanation:
Kural Pitam Award is given to eminent scholars of Classical Tamil of non-Indian origin.

ANSWER: Gurgaon

Explanation:
The National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) is the apex National Centre of research and development in Solar Energy under administrative control of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India. It coordinates solar energy research & technology related work in the country under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM).

ANSWER: Amtrak Train

Explanation:
According to safety experts an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing at least seven people, was travelling at twice the speed limit.

ANSWER: Sikkim

Explanation:
The Khangchendzonga National Park was reportedly selected as one of the top 100 Green destinations in the world last year, while a proposal to nominate it as a World Heritage Site has been posed to the UNESCO. The conference assumes significance in view of a proposal from the State Government for declaration of the Kanchenjungha National Park as a World heritage site remains under consideration of the UNESCO.

ANSWER: Rajasthan

Explanation:
The division bench headed by Chief Justice Sunil Ambwani gave the orders while hearing a PIL which had raised suspicion on the credibility of the societies in terms of the deposits taken from non-members.

The court observed that these societies are carrying out banking activities without any permission from RBI.

The court also considered the ATM installations by these societies as a banking activity. In its order, the bench said that the societies' directors will have to return the entire deposited amount to the depositors as per rules.

ANSWER: Panchkula

Explanation:
The work to set up museum at Panchkula would commence within next 3 to 4 months, the work on museum at Rakhigarhi would be taken up within a month. A state-level museum at a cost of Rs 5 crore will also be set up at Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district to display various items excavated at Rakhigarhi which is the biggest site of Harappan civilization in the South-east Asia.

ANSWER: -2.65%

Explanation:
This was largely due to a fall in the prices of fuel and manufactured items. Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, was 5.55 percent in April 2014.

ANSWER: 5.25%

Explanation:
India's food grain production is estimated to have declined by 5.25 percent to 251.12 million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year. The country had registered a record food grain production of 265.04 million tonnes in 2013-14 crop year. The production of most of the Kharif crops fell because of the poor monsoon last year and Rabi crops due to the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorms.

ANSWER: Tejaswini

Explanation:
In the event that concluded at Pattaya, Tajaswini - Aurangabad-girl defeated Kavinya Miyuni Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka in the ninth and final round.

ANSWER: Punjab

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!

ANSWER: 24

Explanation:
These agreements include enhancing cooperation in Railways, mineral and mining sectors, space, tourism, trade, vocational education and skill development. Both the countries will also establish Additional Consulate General. Both the countries have also agreed to establish China-India think tank forum and three sister cities.

ANSWER: Doordarshan

Explanation:
Prasar Bharathi CEO Jawhar Sircar, who signed the agreement on behalf of India in Beijing on 15th May’15, said that the agreement enables both Doordarshn and CCTV to share programmes on their networks free of cost.

ANSWER: Ministry of Home Affairs

Explanation:
On 15th May’15 the Ministry said, it has invited proposals from reputed companies to participate in the competitive bidding process for implementation and maintenance of the Nationwide Emergency Response System. It was felt that various emergency call numbers like Police, Fire and Ambulance could be integrated into one to not only act as receivers of emergency calls but also as responders in a very quick time. The project will also integrate all smart communication facilities like calls, SMS and online chat platforms into one.

ANSWER: 15th May 2015

Explanation:
Shaheed Sukhdev was the close associate of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru. The trio laid down their lives for the freedom of the country. Punjab government has organised a state level function in the memory of Sukhdev at Ludhiana.

ANSWER: Anurradha Prasad

Explanation:
Anurradha Prasad, Editor-in-Chief-News-24 Channel awarded in the field of Journalism, Writing and Social Services. Pt. Haridutt Sharma was a renowned journalist and eminent writer. In his memory, this Annual award is given in the field of Journalism, Writing and Social Services for the outstanding contribution in their respective field.

ANSWER: Nuclear Energy: A ‘Clean’ Energy option

Explanation:
No explanation is available for this question!

ANSWER: Kayakalp Award

Explanation:
The Health Minister stated that the “Kayakalp” initiative will encourage every public health facility in the country to work towards standards of excellence to help the facilities stay clean and hygienic. This does not apply only to physical cleanliness, but to develop and put in place systems and procedures for activities such as bio-waste disposal or protocols etc.

ANSWER: Laser Technology

Explanation:
The outcome of integrated data collection system will assist in developing an accurate and scientific maintenance planning mechanism, finalizing road safety measures and development of the National Highways network in India. The data collected will be stored and managed through a web based application, which will be hosted in the public domain. The application, when fully developed, can also be accessed by smart phones. Information collected from this project will be useful for Transport Ministry, Finance Ministry, NHAI, State PWDs, Police departments, funding agencies, developers and citizens. The software will be equipped to interface with the indigenous Bhuvan satellite images. The survey vehicle is equipped with three cameras including pavement view, 15 advanced Lasers and GPS connected to Gagan satellite.

ANSWER: Bloomberg Philanthropies

Explanation:
Bloomberg Philanthropies will act as Knowledge Partner for the Smart Cities Mission. The Mission for building 100 Smart Cities was approved by the Union Cabinet on April 29, 2015. Under this Mission, central government will spend Rs. 48,000 Cr. over the next five years for providing an assistance of Rs.100 cr per year for each selected city.

ANSWER: 30%

Explanation:
The US has committed to a 26 percent to 28 percent cut by 2025 from 2005 levels. The European Union has a target of 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Japan is proposing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 26 percent by 2030.

ANSWER: 40th

Explanation:
It was on this day in 1975 that this erstwhile Kingdom joined the Indian Union as its 22nd State following the 38th Constitution amendment.

ANSWER: sbiINTOUCH

Explanation:
With these cards, a customer can transact by just tapping or waving it against the reader of the point-of-sale machine.

ANSWER: Maharashtra

Explanation:
The decision came in wake of increase in the digging of new borewells by farmers and private players due to water scarcity during the summers.

ANSWER: Japan

Explanation:
The research provides important clues about how the interplay between the electronic structure of the molecules and their spacing within the lattice can strengthen interactions between electrons that cause superconductivity.

ANSWER: Arvind Panagariya

Explanation:
The Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, Dr. Arvind Panagariya launched the website of NITI Aayog in New Delhi. The website www.niti.gov.in will provide details of the constitution, functions and current activities of the Aayog. The reports prepared by the institution in its initial stages have also been shared on the website. The website has a unique feature of NITI Blogs, which will incorporate articles, field reports, work in progress, and opinions by NITI officials.