Union Bank of India P.O. Exam, 2008 : General Awareness

Union Bank of India Probationary Officers Exam., 2008
General Awareness : Solved Paper
(Held on 7-8-2008)

1. As reported in various newspapers many banks have revised their interest rates on home loans, car loans and other such loans. Which of the following phenomenon prompted these banks to make such an upward revision in their interest rates ?

1. RBI has revised the CRR and other such rates upwardly, which has created a liquidity crunch in the market.
2. Stock markets in the country are showing very high fluctuations as visible through their indexes. As a result banks have lost a huge amount of money in trading. Banks now want to recover that money by increasing their interest rates.
3. Banks are in need of a huge amount of money, as they have to give revised pay to all its employees.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

2. Who amongst the following was the chairman of the sixth pay commission for Central Govt. Employees, which submitted its report to the Govt., a few months back ?
(A) Justice K. G. Balakrishnan
(B) Justice B. N. Srikrishna
(C) Justice A. M. Ahmadi
(D) Justice R. C. Lahoti
(E) None of these

3. As reported in some newspapers/magazines the Govt. of India is planning to create a database of ‘Traditional Indian Drugs’. Which of the following is the main objective of creating such database ?

1. To prevent wrong patenting of drugs by other nations.
2. To create awareness that India has vast resource of natural drugs/medicinal plants.
3. Govt. of India is planning to set up a plant, which will produce drugs from herbs and medicinal plants only.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

4. As reported in various newspapers/magazines, India has doubled its credit to Africa for five years from next fiscal year. This decision was taken in which of the following forums ?
(A) Meeting of the G-8 nations
(B) Meeting of the World Trade Organization 2008
(C) India-Africa Forum Summit-2008
(D) Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the SAARC
(E) None of these

5. As reported in various newspapers India exports a good amount of wheat and other commodities to Afghanistan. But the transaction of the same is very troublesome, as one country does not allow such consignments to pass through its territories. Which is this country ?
(A) China
(B) Nepal
(C) Myanmar
(D) Pakistan
(E) Bangladesh

6. As per the reports published in the newspapers about 36 countries are in the grip of food crisis and are dependent on other nations for the same. Most of these countries are in which of the following parts of the globe ?
(A) Africa
(B) Asia
(C) Europe
(D) South East Asia
(E) None of these

7. Which of the following statement(s) is/are true about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2008, which is now extended to all the districts of India ?

1. NREGA was initiated by the Govt. of India in the year 1998 under its Bharat Nirman programme.
2. The programme was launched only in two districts of each state of the country in the beginning.
3. NREGA now provides a guaranteed 130 days of employment to each individual who wants to have a job under the scheme.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

8. The constitution of India mandates that the elections of the Panchayat Raj should be held regularly after a gap of ………
(A) 2 years
(B) 3 years
(C) 4 years
(D) 5 years
(E) 7 years

9. As per the reports published in various newspapers the Govt. of India has decided to set up a strategic reserve of the foodgrain in India. How much will be the quantity of grain in this Strategic Reserve ?
(A) 1 million tonne
(B) 2 million tonnes
(C) 4 million tonnes
(D) 5 million tonnes
(E) None of these

10. The Govt. of India is planning to set up a “Farmers Debt Relief Fund” with an initial corpus of Rs. ………
(A) 5000 crore
(B) 10,000 crore
(C) 30,000 crore
(D) 60,000 crore
(E) 75,000 crore

11. As per the reports published in the newspapers the External Debt of India has increased substantially in the recent past. Which of the following is/are the major reasons for the same ?

1. Increase in overseas borrowings by the corporates.
2. Fluctuations in the currency rates.
3. Rise in inflation in India.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

12. Which of the following statement(s) is/are True about the Grameen Pushti Yojana of the Govt. of India ?

1. Scheme is aimed to provide nutritional food to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
2. Scheme will be implemented in the state of Chhattisgarh only.
3. The finance for the scheme would be provided by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

13. Who amongst the following was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade of India 2008 ?
(A) Hu Jinto of China
(B) Gordon Brown of Britain
(C) Nicolas Sarkozy of France
(D) Abdullah Dardari of Syria
(E) None of these

14. Who amongst the following is elected as the Chairperson of the “Conference of the Speakers and Presiding officers of the commonwealth” for the next two years ?
(A) Somnath Chatterjee
(B) Manmohan Singh
(C) Manohar Joshi
(D) L. K. Advani
(E) None of these

15. Ferenc Gyurcsany who was on a visit to India in January 2008 is the………
(A) Prime Minister of Yemen
(B) Prime Minister of Hungary
(C) President of Ukraine
(D) Prime Minister of Turkey
(E) None of these

16. Which of the following teams won the ‘Ranji Trophy-2008’ ?
(A) Uttar Pradesh
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Delhi
(D) Punjab
(E) None of these

17. Very often we read in the newspapers about various measures taken up to control the flow of the capital in the Indian markets. Who amongst the following is/are the Regulators who can control the flow of the same in India ?

1. Indian Bank’s Association
2. RBI
3. SEBI

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) Both 2 and 3
(E) Both 1 and 2

18. Many times we read a term ‘Hot Money’ in newspapers. What is/are the characteristics of Hot money ?

1. The term is used for fresh currency notes issued by the RBI.
2. It is the fund which flows in the market to take advantage of high interest rates.
3. It is the fund which is thrown in the market to create imbalance in the stock markets.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

19. India’s largest overseas investment in the UK is Tata Corus deal. What is UK’s largest investment in India ?
(A) Vodafone
(B) Idea
(C) Tetley
(D) Allianz
(E) None of these

20. India is one of the largest export market of UK amongst the developing world. Which is one major export to India from UK ?
(A) Wheat
(B) Vegetable
(C) Newsprint
(D) Industrial Machinery
(E) Fertilizers

21. Which of the following is/are correct statement(s) pertaining to India’s relation with China ?

1. China is the focal point of India’s ‘Look East Policy’
2. India is one of the largest investigators of anti-dumping investigations against China.
3. India is China’s most preferred nation for export of minerals and chemicals.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Both 1 and 2
(D) Only 3
(E) All 1, 2 and 3

22. As per the estimates of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) headed by Dr. C. Rangarajan the Indian Economy will grow at which of the following rates in 2008-09 ?
(A) 7%
(B) 7•5%
(C) 8%
(D) 8•5%
(E) 10%

23. Which of the following is/are included in ‘Deficit Financing’ in India ?
(The term is used frequently in economic planning)

1. Borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India.
2. Issue of New Currency Notes.
3. Withdrawal of past balances/surpluses etc.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

24. ‘Barclays’ is planning to set up Private Bank of India was the news in some major financial newspapers recently. Barclays is a company based in………
(A) Britain
(B) France
(C) Germany
(D) Italy
(E) Hong Kong

25. Who amongst the following is the author of the book ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ ?
(A) Meera Nair
(B) Jhumpa Lahiri
(C) Dalai Lama
(D) Salman Rushdie
(E) None of these

26. Which of the following is/are correct about the ‘Operational Risk’ as used in the field of banking ?

1. Risk of loss due to inadequate or failed internal process.
2. Risk of loss due to natural calamities.
3. Loss occurred due to noncompliance of legal procedures.

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

27. Naresh Goyal who was honoured by ‘Man of the Year Award’ is closely associated with which of the following businesses ?
(A) Banking
(B) Textile industry
(C) Aviation
(D) Film production
(E) None of these

28. Who amongst the following Indians was selected as the ‘Man of the Series’ in the series India played with South Africa in April 2008 ?
(A) Harbhajan Singh
(B) Sourav Ganguly
(C) Anil Kumble
(D) M. S. Dhoni
(E) None of these

29. As per the news reports which of the following countries is going to celebrate 2009 as ‘Year of India’ in that country ?
(A) USA
(B) Britain
(C) France
(D) Japan
(E) Russia

30. Which of the following India based organization (NGO) has been approached by the Govt. of Afghanistan and the World Bank to launch a micro credit programme there ?
(A) Bandhan
(B) SEWA
(C) Arunodaya
(D) ASA
(E) None of these

31. The military government of which of the following countries has announced that general elections in that country will be held in the year 2010 ?
(A) Israel
(B) Uganda
(C) Ethiopia
(D) Myanmar
(E) None of these

32. As per the news published in various newspapers ‘SEPA’ has come into force throughout European Union’s 27 Member countries. What is the full form the ‘SEPA’ ?
(A) SAARC and European Provinces Association
(B) South Europe Province Area
(C) Single Euro Payments Area
(D) Senegal and Ecuador Protection Act
(E) None of these

33. Which of the following countries will organize women’s and men’s championship Trophy Hockey-2009 ?
(A) England
(B) India
(C) Australia
(D) China
(E) None of these

34. Anand Pawar of India won the “Austrian Open Men’s singles Trophy 2008”, the matches for which were organized in Vienna. The trophy is associated with the game of ………
(A) Tennis
(B) Badminton
(C) Table Tennis
(D) Golf
(E) None of these

35. India’s first National Defence University is being established in ………
(A) Gurgaon
(B) Hissar
(C) Panipat
(D) Ambala
(E) Jalandhar

36. Under the immunization programme Govt. of India is providing vaccination to prevent some vaccine preventable diseases. Which of the following is not one of them ?
(A) Tuberculosis
(B) Diphtheria
(C) Tetanus
(D) Plague
(E) Measles

37. Which of the following schemes is designed and launched to improve the living standards of urban poors ?

1. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)
2. Janani Suraksha Yojana
3. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)

(A) Only 1
(B) Only 2
(C) Only 3
(D) All 1, 2 and 3
(E) None of these

38. Which of the following is not a social sector programme of the Govt. of India ?
(A) Mid Day Meal scheme
(B) Sarva Siksha Abhiyan
(C) National Rural Health Mission
(D) Integrated Child Development Services
(E) Look East Policy

39. Rahul Dravid recently made a record of earning 10000 runs in test cricket. He made this record while playing against which of the following countries ?
(A) New Zealand
(B) England
(C) Australia
(D) South Africa
(E) Bangladesh

40. Tiger Woods, who won the Arnold Palmer International Golf Tournament, is from which country ?
(A) Australia
(B) Canada
(C) England
(D) New Zealand
(E) U.S.A.

41. Who amongst the following is adjudged as the “WTA Tour Player of the Year” award for 2008 ?
(A) Serena Williams
(B) Justine Henin
(C) Ana Ivanovic
(D) Svetlana Kuznetsova
(E) None of these

42. Manipur State won the 16th Senior National Women’s Football championship held in March 2008 by defeating which of the following teams ?
(A) Orissa
(B) West Bengal
(C) Uttar Pradesh
(D) Maharashtra
(E) Karnataka

43. Which of the following books is written by Aung San Suu kyi ?
(A) The Power and the glory
(B) My childhood Days
(C) Against the grain
(D) Living History
(E) Freedom from fear

44. Tsegaye Kebede who won the men’s title of the Paris Marathon-2008 is from which of the following countries ?
(A) Kenya
(B) Ethiopia
(C) Uganda
(D) Russia
(E) None of these

45. India is largest tea producing country in the world. It is grown in which of the following states mainly ?
(A) Punjab
(B) Haryana
(C) Bihar
(D) Orissa
(E) Assam

46. Which of the following cannot be called as a Rubber producing state ?
(A) Kerala
(B) Uttar Pradesh
(C) Tamil Nadu
(D) Karnataka
(E) All are rubber producing states

47. Which of the following cups/trophies is not associated with the game of Hockey ?
(A) Nehru Trophy
(B) Agha Khan Cup
(C) Bombay Gold Cup
(D) Dhyan Chand Trophy
(E) Duleep Trophy

48. Nobel Prizes are not given for contribution in the field of………
(A) Economics
(B) Literature
(C) Physics
(D) Chemistry
(E) Music

49. Which of the following prizes is given by UNESCO ?
(A) Magsaysay Award
(B) Kalinga Prize
(C) Pulitzer Prize
(D) Booker Prize
(E) None of these

50. Who has written the famous book ‘The Enchantress of Florence’ ?
(A) Kiran Desai
(B) Shobha De
(C) Arundhati Roy
(D) Anita Desai
(E) Salman Rushdie

Answers with Hints
1. (A) 2. (B) 3. (D) 4. (C) 5. (D)
6. (A) According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’ of the 36 countries that are in the grip of a severe food security crisis. Out of 36 countries 21 are in Africa.
7. (E) 8. (D) 9. (D)
10. (D) As per current year budget, the initial corpus of Rs. 60,000 crore was provided for Farmers Debt Relief Fund but the actual amount was Rs. 71680 crore.
11. (A) 12. (C) 13. (C) 14. (E) 15. (B)
16. (C) 17. (B) 18. (B) 19. (A) 20. (D) 21. (A)
22. (D) In January 2008, it was predicted to be 8•5% while in August 2008 Prime Ministers Advisory Council predicted it to be 7•7%.
23. (D) 24. (A) 25. (B) 26. (A) 27. (C) 28. (A) 29. (E)
30. (A) 31. (D) 32. (C) 33. (C) 34. (B) 35. (A) 36. (D)
37. (C) This scheme was started on December 2, 2001. It is operated on the pattern of Indira Avas Yojana meant for rural areas.
38. (E) 39. (D) 40. (E) 41. (E) 42. (A)
43. (E) 44. (B) 45. (E) 46. (B) 47. (E)
48. (E) 49. (B) 50. (E)