IMPORTANT GK-2012

1. Abel Prize is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829). It is given
annually to outstanding mathematicians by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Who
won this prize in 2012?
Endre Szemeredi

2. The Inter State Council was set up in 1990 following the recom-mendation of the Sarkaria Commission
on Centre-State relatio-ns. Who is its present Chairman?
Manmohan Singh

3. Which state has recently started a programme called 'Anandadhara' for Self Help Groups?
West Bengal

4. Which country's lower house of the Parliament is called State Duma?
Maldives

5. Who was appointed as the Prime Minister of France on May 15, 2012?
Jean-Marc Ayrault

6. Golden Globe Awards are given for excellence in which of the following fields?
Film & Television

7. Who won her first world cup individual recurve gold medal in archery at Antalya, Turkey in May
2012?
Deepika Kumari

8. Who was presented Ashok Chakra posthumously on January 26, 2012?
Lt.Navdeep Singh

9. According to the Prime Minister, the research and development spending would be doubled by
which of the following years?
2017

10. What is the bilateral trade target between India and Thailand for 2014?
 14 billion dollars

11. Which of the following is a pilot less target aircraft?
Lakshya

12. Amjad Ali Khan has been prese-nted the Mallikarjun Mansur award, which is named after the
legendary Hindustani singer. He is an expert in playing which of the following instruments?
Sarod

13. What does 'I' denote in the abbreviation FIPB?
Investment

14. With regard to the 57th Filmfare Awards for 2011 which of the following pairs is matched
correctly?
1) Best Film - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
3) Best Music - A.R. Rahman
4) Lifetime Achievement - Aruna Irani
5) Best Director - Zoya Akhtar

15. Who was recently honoured with a Knighthood by the British royal establishment?
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

16. The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 was given to Shehan Karunatilaka for his book
'Chinaman'. To which country does this author belong?
Sri Lanka

17. Who among the following was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2012?
T.V.Rajeshwar

18. Where was the largest literary festival in Asia-Pacific held in January 2012?
Jaipur

19. Laurent Lamothe became the Prime Minister of which of the following countries on May 16,
2012?
Haiti

20. Goolam Vahanavati was reappoi-nted to which of the following posts for two more years with
effect from June 8, 2012?
Attorney General

21. Who was given the Phalke Ratna Award in May 2012?
Amitabh Bachchan

23. Hillary Clinton visited India in May 2012. She is the United States?
Secretary of State

24. Edvard Munch's painting 'The Scream' was sold for a record $ 120 million at an auction in May

2012. Munch belonged to which of the following countries?
Norway

25. Who was awarded the Ernst & Young Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the
emergence of financial Services in India?
Deepak Parekh

26. Jana Gana Mana, India's National Anthem, completed 100 years recently. It was sung for the
first time at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress on which of the following dates?
December 27, 1911

27. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in the President of which of the following African countries
for the second time on January 16, 2012?
Liberia

28. Viswanathan Anand won the world chess championship for the fifth time in Moscow in May
2012 by defeating which of the following players?
Boris Gelfand

29. Which is the largest bank in the private sector in India in terms of number of branches?
ICICI Bank

30. Which organization was set up to boost overall rural development in India?
NABARD

31. Indian Overseas Bank celebrated Platinum Jubilee (75 years) in 2012. Where is its
headquarters located?
Chennai

32. Which of the following is a private bank in India?
South Indian Bank

33. The Head Office of which of the following banks is in Kolkata?
UCO Bank

34. Amar Kant is an eminent author in which of the following languages?
Hindi

35. Which of the following organizations work for the welfare of women?
SEWA

36. Who is the author of the book 'A Bend in the River'?
V.S.Naipaul

37. Which of the following countries is not a member of SAARC?
Myanmar

38. The Kyoto Protocol is aimed at fighting?
Global warming

39. David Ferrer is a Lawn Tennis player of which of the following countries?
Spain

40. Which agency was set up to boost foreign investments in India?
FIPB




2. Which country will host the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament?
France

3. The Vyas Samman, instituted by the K.K.Birla Foundation, is given annually for an outstanding
literary work in Hindi language published during the past 10 years. Who was selected for this
award for 2011 for his collection of poems "Aam Ke Patte"?
Ramdarash Mishra

4. Which of the following awards is given for outstanding achievements in the music industry?
 Grammy

5. Hiren Bhattacharya, winner of Sahitya Akademi Award, passed away in July 2012. He was a
popular poet in which of the following languages?
 Assamese

6. Pritzker Prize is considered as the Nobel Prize in architecture. Who is the 2012 winner?
 Wang Shu (China)

7. M.R.Venkatesh became India's 28th Chess Grand Master in July 2012. He is from which of the
following states?
 Tamil Nadu

8. Leading vaccine firm Serum Institute of India has acquired Bilthoven Biologicals for Rs.550
crore. In which country is Bilthoven Biologicals based?
 Netherlands


9. Which of the following Commit-tees has been constituted to revi-ew the use of cartoons in the
Na-tional Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks?
 S.K.Thorat

10. Who won the 2012 Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award?
 Novak Djokovic

11. Chandra Bahadur Dangi is the shortest man in the world, measuring 21.5 inches. He is from
wh-ich of the following countries?
Nepal

12. Which of the following countries won the Africa Cup of Nations football championship in
Gabon in February 2012?
 Zambia

13. Which of the following countries retained the FIH Champions Trophyhockey title for women at
Rosario, Argentina in 2012?
 Argentina

14. Who was named as West Beng-al's brand ambassador by the State's Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee in February 2012?
 Shah Rukh Khan

15. Who was conferred the prestigious National Medal of Arts and Humanities Award by the US President
Barack Obama recently?
 Amartya Sen

16. Sean Chen is the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries?
 Taiwan

17. Who is the new Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India?
 D.K.Mehrotra

18. According to Assocham, an apex industry body, which state attrac-ted the highest number of
live investment proposals worth Rs.16.28 lakh crore at the end of 2011?
 Gujarat

19. Dr. Navichandra Ramgoolam visited India recently. He is the Prime Minister of which of the
following countries?
 Mauritius

20. Which of the following social activists has rejected Karnataka's Basava Puraskar citing the
government's inability to take action on the mining scam and resolve the Lokayukta controversy?
 Medha Patkar

21. AAY is a scheme launched by the Government of India for the poorest of the poor. What is its
full form?
Antyodaya Anna Yojana

22. Lack of access to financial services is called?
 Financial exclusion

23. Which of the following is not a function of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Develop-ment (NABARD)?
 It formulates, implements and monitors the monetary policy.

24. What does the letter 'M' denotes in the abbreviation MFI?
 Micro

25. The bank rate is set by?
 The Reserve Bank of India

26. Which of the following is not a name of the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
approved Indian Credit Rating Agency?
 Lintas India Pvt.Ltd.

27. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are the international reserve assets created by which of the
following institutions in 1969 to supplement its member countries' official reserves?
 International Monetary Fund

28. India has signed an agreement to revive Kankesanthurai (KKS) port by clearing sunken ships
and deepening the harbor. In which country is KKS port situated?
 Sri Lanka

29. The minimum interest rate fixed by individual banks below which they cannot lend funds is
called?
 Base Rate

30. In which of the following accou-nts the amounts are deposited and are withdrawn as per the
requirement of the customers?
 Savings bank accounts

31. Where is the Central Drug Research Institute located?
 Lucknow

32. Who is the author of the book Alice in Wonderland?
 Lewis Carrol

33. Which of the following terms is not used in the game of hockey?
Deuce

34. The headquarters of the World Bank is located in?
 Washington

35. Which of the following awards is presented annually by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in
the fields of Classical Music, Classical Dance, Theatre and Plastic Arts?
 Kalidas Samman

36. Which of the following is the currency of South Korea?
 Won

37. Who is known as the "Father of Indian Nuclear Programme"?
 Homi J. Bhabha

38. Business Correspondents (BCs) are used by banks to achieve?
 Financial Inclusion

39. Which of the following is a foreign bank having branches in India?
 Standard Chartered Bank

40. Kalinga Prize is given for contribution in the field of?
 Science