SEBI

The government of India created the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with a view to control and regulate the foreign investment in the capital markets, new issues of capital brought out by the companies and grievances of the companies and the investors. In addition, SEBI has been created with the broader aim of protecting the interests of the investors in securities and promoting and regulating the securities markets in the country. 

 

Based in Mumbai, SEBI has eight divisions and departments which look after several functions to achieve the above mentioned broad objective. The Depositors and Custodians Division looks after the work of registration of depository participants/custodians, as well as their renewal of registration or cancellation of registration. Foreign Institutional Investors Division, on the other hand, deals with registration/renewal of registration of such investors. FII Division looks after the FIPB proposals and the government correspondence connecting with this function.

 

While Collective Investment Schemes Division deals with registration and renewal of the registration for collective investment schemes, Secondary Market Department is the major department of SEBI which carries out the functions like registration and renewal of registration of the credit rating agencies in the country, in addition to the registration of the brokers and sub-brokers, registration under the Stock Lending Scheme and deposit of various fees by the brokers and refund of fees to them.

 

With a view to protect the interests of the investors, Investors Grievances and Guidance Division has been set up which carries out the registration of the Investors’ Associations, looks into the grievances of such associations and other investors and carries out the tasks of guiding the investors through the registered Associations or otherwise.

 

Mutual Fund and Venture Capital Division of the SEBI looks into the tasks like registration of trustees for Mutual Funds, processes the applications for foreign securities, ADRs/GDRs, allow changes from closed ended to open ended schemes, observations on offer documents etc. Primary Market Department is also an important department of SEBI and deals with the matters like fresh registration/cancellation of intermediaries, observations on the offer documents and list-related matters pertaining to the new issues.

 

The complete control and regulation by the SEBI has enhanced the confidence of the general public in the securities market of the country.

India's Knowledge Economy

Private higher education is one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing segments of post-secondary education at the turn of the 21st century. A combination of unprecedented demand for access to higher education and the inability or unwillingness of governments to provide the necessary support has brought private higher education to the forefront. Private institutions, with a long history in many countries, are expanding in scope and number, and are increasingly important in parts of the world that have relied on the public sector. A related phenomenon is the "privatization" of public institutions in some countries. With tuition and other charges rising, public and private institutions look more and more similar.

Private higher education has long dominated higher education systems in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. There has been a dramatic shift from public to private post-secondary education in Latin America, and Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela now have at least half of their students in private universities. Private higher education is the fastest-growing sector in many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as also in India. For the most part, this unprecedented growth in the private sector stems from an inability of the governments to fund expansion.

There is tremendous differentiation in private higher education internationally. Harvard University, with its endowment measured in billions of dollars, could hardly be more different from a newly established "garage university" in El Salvador offering specialized training in a few fields. Some private institutions are highly focused in specific fields, such as the world-renowned INSEAD international management school in Paris. Others are large multipurpose universities like the Far East University in Manila, with more than 100,000 students. Some are among the most prestigious institutions, like Waseda or Keio in Japan, Yale in the United States, the Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines, or Javieriana University in Colombia.

Higher education in India is gasping for breath, at a time when India is aiming to be an important player in the emerging knowledge economy. With about 300 universities and deemed universities, over 15,000 colleges and hundreds of national and regional research institutes, Indian higher education and research sector is the third largest in the world, in terms of the number of students it caters to. However, not a single Indian university finds even a mention in a recent international ranking of the top 200 universities of the world, except an IIT ranked at 41, whereas there were three universities each from China, Hong Kong and South Korea and one from Taiwan.

On the other hand, it is also true that there is no company or institute in the world that has not benefited by graduates, post-graduates or Ph.D.s from India: be it NASA, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Bell, Sun, Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Cambridge or Oxford, and not all those students are products of our IITs, IIMs IISc/TIFR or central universities, which cater to barely one per cent of the Indian student population. This is not to suggest that we should pat our backs for the achievements of our students abroad, but to point out that Indian higher educational institutions have not been able to achieve the same status for themselves as their students seem to achieve elsewhere with their education from here.

The experience over the last few decades has clearly shown that unlike school education, privatization has not led to any major improvements in the standards of higher education and professional education. In higher education and professional courses, relatively better quality teaching and infrastructure has been available only in government colleges and universities, while private institutions of higher education in India capitalized on fashionable courses with minimum infrastructure.

The last decade has witnessed many sweeping changes in higher and professional education: For example, thousands of private colleges and institutes offering professional courses, especially engineering courses, appeared all across the country by the late 1990s and disappeared in less than a decade, with devastating consequences for the students and teachers who depended on them for their careers. This situation is now repeating itself in management, biotechnology, bioinformatics and other emerging areas. No one asked any questions about opening or closing such institutions, or bothered about whether there were qualified teachers at all, much less worry about teacher-student ratio, floor area ratio, class rooms, labs, libraries etc. All these regulations that existed at one time have now been deregulated or softened under the self-financing scheme of higher and professional education adopted by the UGC.

It is not that the other well established departments and courses in government funded colleges and universities are doing any better. Decades of government neglect, poor funding, frequent ban on faculty recruitment and promotions, reduction in library budgets, lack of investments in modernization leading to obsolescence of equipment and infrastructure, and the tendency to start new universities on political grounds without consolidating the existing ones today threatens the entire higher education system.

The economics of imparting higher education are such that, barring a few courses in arts and humanities, imparting quality education in science, technology, engineering, medicine etc. requires huge investments in infrastructure, all of which cannot be recovered through student fees, as high fees will make higher education inaccessible to a large section of students. Unlike many better-known private educational institutions in Western countries that operate in the charity mode with tuition waivers and fellowships (which is one reason why our students go there), most private colleges and universities in India are pursuing a profit motive. This is the basic reason for charging huge tuition fees, apart from forced donations, capitation fees and other charges. Despite huge public discontent, media interventions and many court cases, the governments have not been able to regulate the fee structure and donations in these institutions.

It is not only students but also teachers who are at the receiving end of the ongoing transformation in higher education. The nation today witnesses the declining popularity of teaching as a profession, not only among the students that we produce, but also among parents, scientists, society and the government. The teaching profession today attracts only those who have missed all other "better" opportunities in life, and is increasingly mired in bureaucratic controls and anti-education concepts such as "hours" of teaching "load", "paid-by-the-hour", "contractual" teachers etc. With privatization reducing education to a commodity, teachers are reduced to tutors and teaching is reduced to coaching. The consumerist boom and the growing salary differentials between teachers and other professionals and the value systems of the emerging free market economy have made teaching one of the least attractive professions that demands more work for less pay. Yet, the society expects teachers not only to be inspired but also to do an inspiring job!

On the other hand, many teachers are also exploiting the situation. Due to acute shortage of teachers the Universities, especially the new Universities, are found to be at the receiving end because of constant job hopping by teachers for better pay packets. Sometimes, this job hopping goes to the level of professional black mailing.

Yet another worrisome trend in higher education and research is the emerging government policy of according deemed university status to national labs and research institutes, so that these institutes can award their own Ph.D. degrees, without having to affiliate themselves to a university or fulfilling any other role of being a university. It was expected that these national (or regional) laboratories would employ selected scientific manpower generated from the colleges/universities and nurture their talents towards specific applied goals. But this did not happen, as the national labs became more sophisticated versions of university departments drawing better monetary and infrastructural support and publishing research papers, for which they need research students, who cannot be retained and tapped unless they are promised research degrees.

Traditionally, colleges and universities have been non-profit institutions, operating under legal authority from the State to provide education and engage in research and other education-related activities. These institutions have been owned by non-profit agencies, such as religious organizations, educational societies, and others that have legal authority to own and manage them. For the most part, these arrangements do not permit the institutions to earn a profit, while they are guaranteed a high level of autonomy. In some cases, the university is "owned" by a sponsoring organization, in others by the academic staff and administrators, and in still others by boards of trustees or governors that may be partly composed of academics or dominated by outsiders.

With the stress on cost-recovery measures, many areas of study, including the humanities and social sciences and even the natural and physical sciences, have come under great pressure. Only the marketable areas of study may survive. With the universities emphasizing revenue-generating programs, Darwin's law might come into operation, and other areas of study, however important they may be, could fade away. A significant increase in fees for general education might shift enrollment from general education to professional education.

The trend toward privatization has also created serious problems concerning equity in higher education. While the government is to a great extent able to ensure that protective discrimination policies are followed in government colleges and private aided colleges, resistance to such policies is much higher in the case of self-financing institutions. While the overall elasticity of demand may not be high, such elasticity may certainly be high for the economically weaker sections. In other words, under privatization even if the size of total enrollment does not change, the composition might change in favour of the better-off sections of society.

The government's inability to control the quality of education in private colleges is also being increasingly felt. The first choice of parents and students in general is the government colleges, and when they fail in that endeavour they seek admission in private colleges, where admissions criteria are relaxed for those who can pay the high fees. Unfortunately, even strong proponents of private higher education call for government to take responsibility for regulating quality in the system. But given social, political, and economic factors, the government seems to feel severely handicapped in regulating quality in private institutions. Generally, once recognition is granted to a private institution, which is not a very difficult process, the government is unable to enforce any of its conditions. This is true to some extent even in the case of State-aided private colleges. State grants are rarely delayed for any reason. Massive erosion of quality in private colleges might lower the overall quality of higher education.

Conflicts that arise between national manpower needs and the short-term market signals that influence private higher education institutions have also had serious impacts. The long-term consequences can include manpower imbalances--both shortages and gluts.

In the whole process of privatization, universities might well become more and more efficient, but the important question is: "efficient to do what?" They become financially efficient, generating more and more resources, but in the process lose sight of their main academic goals and objectives. Activities hitherto peripheral to universities tend to become the dominant ones. Universities tend to undertake increasingly more commercial and quasi-commercial activities--such as, consultancy, sale of physical products and services, publication of books, training, and so on. Herein lies the great danger of privatization and to the very development of higher education in India.

Crisis in Higher Education

Way back in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his convocation address at the University of Allahabad, said “a University stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for progress, for the adventure of ideas, and for the search of truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race towards even higher objectives. If the Universities discharge their duty, then it is well with the nation and the people.”

The definition of a university, so succinctly summed up by the first Prime Minister of Independent India, has undergone a sea change over the last five decades. The Universities today are found wanting in many of the once cherished ideals. The primary reasons for the fast deterioration of these ideals is the continuous political interference in the academic administration of Universities and the grave situation in the financial sphere of higher education.

Unless some urgent steps are taken, it may lead to a real crisis. The current financial trends are so alarming as to drive many intellectuals to give a call for launching an “education emergency”.

The current situation
Few would contest that our universities and colleges, including those imparting professional education, are in bad shape today. Barring the rare exception, campuses across the country present a picture of breakdown-run-down and ill-managed buildings, libraries without books and journals, laboratories without equipment, derelict classrooms, and the list can be extended ad nauseum.

Equally depressing is the intellectual environment, with teachers often not teaching and students not learning. Of course, the former complain of being ill-paid, saddled with unrealistic workloads and that too without adequate facilities, constrained by outdated and irrelevant syllabi, buffeted by an intrusive bureaucracy and politicians and, worse, denied the social respect they once enjoyed.

As for the students, one often wonders what and how they learn. An unwelcoming environment, adverse teacher-student ratios, poor infrastructure and low access to learning aids, often absent teachers and frequent strikes-all contribute to engendering a crass attitude towards the university, a near exclusive focus on somehow acquiring the necessary degree, usually with the help of crammers and, for those who can afford it, private tuitions.

While India has the second largest system of higher education, next only to the US, the total number of students hardly represent 6 per cent of the relevant age group aged between 18 and 23 years, which is much below the average of developed countries (47 per cent) and less than that of developing countries, which is 7 per cent. With the expansion of school education, the pressure on the higher education system to expand is expected to continue in India.

For a country which, a few decades back, prided itself for being at least a Third World leader in matters of higher education, claimed to have the third largest scientific and technical work force in the world, and hoped to piggyback its growth path on its human resources, such a situation can only be described as alarming.

Higher education in India, which is predominantly a State funded and directed activity, is in deep financial strain, with escalating costs and increasing needs, on the one hand, and shrinking budgetary resources, on the other.

Faced with financial crises, the State and Central governments have not been able to allocate adequate resources for higher education. We are far behind the target of spending 6 per cent of GNP on education, as recommended by the Education Commission (1964-66).

Public expenditure on higher education as a share of GNP increased consistently until the 1980s. In fact, in the late 1970s, India was spending almost one per cent of GNP on higher education. This trend changed in the 1980s and its share reduced to 0.56%.

From the mid-1980s onwards, especially after the National Policy on Education, the focus of discussions and priority in allocation shifted towards elementary education. From 1970s onwards there was a consistent decline in the share of allocations to higher education, reaching the lowest share of 7% in the Eighth Plan.

The actual expenditure on higher education, however, increased manifold, from Rs 14 crore in the first Five-Year plan to Rs 84,943 crore in the eleventh Plan, at current prices.

In 1950-51, the government and private sources shared the expenditure on higher education equally. More importantly, fees accounted for nearly 37% of the total recurring expenditure on higher education. However, by 1985-86 more than 80% of the expenditure came from government sources. Correspondingly, there was a decline in other sources of funding for higher education. The trends in the financing of higher education in India show that: (i) the share of the government in total educational expenditure has increased; (ii) the share of higher education in the total public education expenditure has declined, both in plan allocation and in recurring expenditure; and (iii) student fees and endowments as a share of total resources for higher education have declined. Consequently, the share of government expenditure in total spending on higher education has increased.

Thus, higher education in India is characterised by massive public investment, though the investment is still regarded as much below optimum.

Reforms needed
Most of the reform measures recommended in higher education centre around two major propositions—improving efficiency in the functioning of public institutions, on the one hand, and mobilizing resources from non-governmental sources, on the other. The former category of reform measures focus on efficiency in resource use so that more resources are available even when additional resources are not allocated to the sector. A general trend in these reform measures is to shift the burden of cost from the public to private and household domains.

In the Indian context, two important committees were appointed to recommend measures to respond to the demand for funds for education. The Swaminathan Committee (AICTE, 1994) looked into possibilities of resource mobilization in technical education and the Punnayya Committee (UGC 1993) looked into the funding of central universities. The AICTE panel felt that institutions of technical education should have enrolments in the range of 1,500-2,000, with a minimum annual intake of 180, and with an intake of 40-60 for every course discipline. The Committee also suggested staff-student ratios to vary between 1 : 15 and 1 : 20. The report on technical education strongly advocated the possibility of rationalizing teaching workload and reducing the share of salaries in recurring expenditure from 80% to 60%. It also advocated reducing the share of regular faculty to 60% and appointing the remaining 40% of the staff on a part-time and contract basis.

Other experts have suggested that universities must reduce their staff drastically and ideal of ratio of teaching and non-teaching staff 1:1.5 should be achieved, which would mean massive outsourcing of various activities like security, sanitation, messenger services, data entry, maintenance of buildings, etc.

The universities could also resort to innovative methods of saving the money by optimum utilisation of space, centralised purchase system, centralised admission process, development of a network of higher education institutions and sharing of physical and faculty resources.

Reforms relating to mobilisation of resources include, promotion of distance learning, encouragement of private sector and cost-recovery methods. The overall constraint in resources calls for private initiative and community support. In the mixed economy of India, while the contribution of private sector has been significant in general, its contribution to higher education has not been encouraging.

In the 1980s a large number of 'capitation fee colleges' (aided or unaided), offering professional courses, especially engineering and medical, were set up in the private sector. The system of capitation fee began first in Karnataka and soon spread to Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The July 1992 judgement by the Supreme Court, however, held that the capitation fee system represented a potent denial of a citizen's right to education under the Constitution.

It was not just lack of State funds that allowed the unbridled growth of the capitation fee phenomenon. Most such private initiatives came from caste-based associations of lower and middle castes in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. They had been looking at their own socio-economic upliftment in the face of oppression from upper caste Brahmins. However, over a period of time these objectives underwent change and acquired an entrepreneurial character, wherein profit became a major motivator.

Such private colleges mushroomed with little concern for providing quality education. Rather than using the rush of admissions to professional courses to impose higher academic standards, the State governments allowed the managements of these private colleges their quota of seats, which were filled for political and other non-academic considerations.

There were compelling reasons why State governments yielded to the pressure of various sectional minorities and entrepreneurial interests in order to protect the private managements of such institutions. The managements maintained a close link with vested interests-caste leaders, politicians, businessmen and government officials. Community and caste colleges were often supported by religious leaders and their mutts and served as vote banks for caste leaders.

Efforts to privatise higher education in India, by encouraging private agencies to set up institutions of higher learning, have enjoyed limited success in general education. Pure or “unaided” private colleges do provide financial relief to the government in providing higher education, but at huge and long-term economic and non-economic cost to the society. The growth of private sector has led to two types of distortions: (i) it encourages only certain courses, especially professional courses; (ii) it adversely affects equity considerations in education, since admissions are based more on the ability to pay principle than on merit.

Advocates of privatization say that it would at least take care of those segments of the demand for higher education that can afford to pay the prices charged by the private institutions. State universities are over centralised, bureaucratic and monopolistic, thwarting the impending ideas of students and professors subordinate to the government. They often play the tune of political masters, who keep changing.

Most of the times, the vice-chancellors are appointed on political considerations. They bring politics in universities and the scholarship is driven out. Research is given a back seat. Private universities have existed in the US for last hundred years. The standard of education in them, and the quality of research output, vis-a-vis that of the State controlled universities, is superior. The best universities (like MIT, Boston) are private. Private universities in India will break the monopoly of the State universities and provide relief from all ills of State universities

However, while setting private colleges, utmost care must be taken to ensure that the same does not lead to rampant commercialization of higher education. To this end, necessary control and monitoring mechanism must be developed to ensure quality education at reasonable cost.

Cost recovery and current issues in financing
Heeding the advice of their American counterparts, many experts have declared higher education a non-merit good deserving little or no subsidy. Basically, the argument that higher education is a non-merit good proceeds as follows: College education enables a student to get better paid jobs, more prestigious jobs and more secure jobs too. Therefore, the college graduate earns a private benefit from higher education. Hence, it is not fair to burden the taxpayer with the cost of such education. So, higher education does not merit a subsidy, at any rate not much subsidy.

However, this is only one side of the story. Graduates may earn a lot, but they may contribute a lot more to the economy and to society. For example, a scientist working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre may earn ten times the national average wage. That is undoubtedly an enormous private benefit. At the same time, if poor but capable students are prevented from studying, and therefore, less able persons alone are available for space research, who would suffer more—the individual or the economy at large?

Cost-recovery implies a reduction in subsidies in higher education. The best way to reduce subsidies is to diversify the sources of funding for higher education. This could be done by shifting the financial burden either to the beneficiaries (students) or to their users (employers). Student loans, graduate tax and enhancing fees are some of the suggestions made in this regard. Loan scholarships have been suggested as a cost recovery method. One advantage of the student loan scheme is that the incidence of liability is confined to those persons who take advantage of the public provision.

A student loan scheme can create two types of distortions. First, professional courses which enjoy a premium in the employment market will be preferred, at the expense of others which are important from the point of social and national concerns, both by the providers of loans and borrowers. Second, when banks try to provide educational credits to students they look for surety and security deposits, which poor students are not in a position to provide. Moreover, even if poor students get loans, education does not guarantee employment. With no employment or no ability to repay, people from relatively poorer sections will be worst affected.

Another commonly suggested measure to recover the cost of higher education is through a graduate tax. The graduate tax is an education specific tax levied on those companies in production sector that use educated manpower. The major drawback with the scheme is that it might create distortions in the employment market as many employers may use lower level educated manpower as a substitute, instead of recruiting university graduates.

Another cost recovery method in higher education is to increase fee rates. Generally, it is felt that the levels of fees in higher education in India are very low and that there exists much scope for increase in the fee and for rationalisation of the fee structure. This is more so in case of higher technical education.

In order to avoid deprivation of poor but deserving person to avail of such education, the provision of scholarship and loan funds may be made. Schemes such as "earn while learning", under which students work in labs, libraries, etc., and earn money, could also be launched. The cross-subsidisation of education will, thus, ensure equitable access to higher education. In view of the resource crunch, to optimise cost effectiveness, financial assistance to universities should be based on vigorous assessment of their performance.

The present "covering the deficit" approach of university funding discourages saving, economy or generation of internal funds. Universities should also open their campuses abroad or tie up with universities and institutions to offer their programmes for mobilizing funds and providing education in the countries where such education is in demand. This assumes importance, as education in 21st century will be international in character, placing emphasis on quality, with partnerships and networks being important.

Similarly, universities may engage in consultancy services and patents should be taken out for the discoveries and innovations made by the faculty and students. Universities may also rent out their premises during vacations / after class hours on commercial and semi-commercial basis.

Other sources of income will also have to be boosted up by encouraging private donations and endowments, strengthening community participation and establishing industry-university linkages.

Quality improvement
Quality of higher education in the country is deteriorating with expansion. It is said that only about five per cent of the colleges in India are maintaining anything like satisfactory academic standards. Evaluation of the performance of the students in the examinations is the common method by which the quality of education is determined.

However, the subjective elements that are inextricably linked with the quality determining methods in the education system, make the task of measuring the quality of education a difficult one.

The quality of education of a student depends on various factors, like the teaching to which he is exposed, educational facilities and environment available in the institution and his own temperament and approach to studies. By subjecting the students to a test for a few hours at the end of a course and classifying the students into different categories on the basis of performance in examinations, is only to make the superficial, unrealistic and unfair classification.

For improving the academic standards, steps must also be expeditiously taken for (a) improving the efficiency of teachers (b) to provide the minimum required infrastructure (c) to see that examinations in all colleges are conducted in a fair manner without malpractices.

Decentralization and autonomy to institutions of higher education is perhaps one solution to the problems connected with evaluation reforms. If colleges become autonomous, continuous assessment of students, performance and use of diversified methods, instead of only written tests, can be adopted. But care must be taken by some supervisory mechanism to see that subjectivity is not increased in these institutions.

However, it is to be noted that quality assurance in education cannot be only student-centric, but should also be society-oriented, as society supports the education system. Every educational institution needs to set out its mission to meet the expectations of society and its people and the country at large. In the context of quality control and maintenance of quality in higher education,
UGC has set up an autonomous Inter-University Institution for quality assessment and accreditation. This is named as National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and it was set up in 1994.

Objective of NAAC is to assess and accredit institutions of higher learning in India, including universities and colleges, with an objective of stimulating the academic environment and quality of teaching and research, encouraging innovations, self-evaluation and accountability in higher education. Several universities and colleges have offered themselves for this assessment, which is a voluntary process.

Modernising higher education
A student pursuing higher education in India gets much less choice than his peer in the West, where one can specialise in aeronautical engineering and can also learn to play the piano as a part of the overall credit requirement, or can study biochemistry, calculus and linear algebra at the same time—a possibility unthinkable in India where the higher education system rigidly follows the anachronous Oxford-Cambridge model of education supply (fixed courses with watertight syllabus for each degree programme).

Also, we certainly need to take a second look at the current pre-degree programme. Does a student' need such an over-specialisation at such a young age? What if a student who has chosen a medical stream does not get into medicine, but would like to major in physics or chemistry, both of which require a sound knowledge of mathematics.

A credit-based semester system is ideal since it offers maximum flexibility in terms of course offerings, course selection, faculty and student schedules, and optimum use of existing facilities.

Recommended changes in college education system include, review of pre-degree programme, the value of a four-year undergraduate study, credit based semester system, the need of an orientation programme for new students, diverse majors and minors, 'double major system, change from teacher centered method to learner centre method of learning, and the relevance of technology in the classroom.

Other challenges include, framing an academic calendar, providing for the stipulated minimum working days, annual up-dation of curricula, examination reform, restoring quality to distance education courses, evaluation and assessment of performance of teachers, skill up-gradation of faculty, making foolproof evaluation of doctoral dissertations to improve research work, clear policy for granting permanent affiliation to courses and colleges and fixing
norms for teachers.

A disturbing development of the 1990s has been the influx of foreign universities that prefer to enter into partnership with professional organisations and little-known institutes that do not form part of the Indian higher education system. The activities of such universities need to be discouraged.

There is also an urgent need for making vocational courses more purposeful, result-oriented and rewarding. At present, most vocational courses are seen as inferior and expensive.

Despite the expansion that has occurred, it is evident that the system is under stress to provide a sufficient volume of skilled human power, which is equipped with the required knowledge and technical skills to cater to the demands of the economy. The accelerated growth of our economy has already created shortages of high-quality technical manpower. Unlike the develop countries, where the young working age population is fast shrinking with higher dependency ratios, India has a demographic advantage with about 70% of the population below the age of 35 years. But this advantage can only be realised if we expand opportunities for our youth on a massive scale and in diverse fields of basic science, engineering and technology, health care, architecture, management, etc. This is possible only if we initiate rapid expansion along with long overdue reforms in the higher, technical, and professional education sectors.

Last, but not the least, effective measures should be initiated to check the canker of corruption. There is considerable degradation of quality standards, thanks to corrupt practices prevalent in many universities. The sycophancy culture has spoiled the academic atmosphere. Negative trade unionism and petty politics should have no place in temples of learning.

To meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, and to acquire a competitive edge, the higher education system has to transform to make it more socially relevant, information and technology-oriented, diversified, going beyond areas of specialisation and of high quality. The skills and specialisation of graduates produced by our system should match the real needs of the productive sectors in the market place, and the changing needs of our society.

Govt lowers GDP growth estimate to 6.9 per cent

The economic growth is likely to fall to a three-year low of 6.9 per cent in 2011-12, mainly due to sharp slowdown in manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors, against 8.4 per cent expansion in the last fiscal.

Agriculture and allied activities are likely to grow at 2.5 per cent in 2011-12, compared to a robust growth of 7 per cent in 2010-11, according to the Advanced Estimates released on February 6 by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

Manufacturing growth is also expected to drop down to 3.9 per cent in this fiscal from 7.6 per cent last year.

The CSO’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection is a tad lower than the 7 per cent forecast made by the Reserve Bank of India in its quarterly monetary policy review last month.

In its mid-year Economic Review, the government had also pegged growth at around 7.5 per cent. The current estimate is a sharply lower than the 9 per cent growth projection for 2011-12 made by the government in its pre-Budget survey in February last year.

The latest GDP growth estimate of 6.9 per cent for the entire fiscal means that the pace of economic expansion slowed in the second half of 2011-12, given that GDP growth in the April-September, 2011, period stood at 7.3 per cent.

According to the advance estimates, mining and quarrying is likely to witness a decline of 2.2 per cent, compared to a growth of 5 per cent a year ago.

Growth in construction is also likely to slip to 4.8 per cent in 2011-12, against an 8 per cent in 2010-11.

Furthermore, the finance, insurance, real estate and business services sectors are likely to grow by 9.1 per cent this fiscal, against 10.4 per cent last fiscal.

Commenting on the GDP growth estimates, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said, “The 6.9 per cent is consistent with what we have been saying.

“We said 7 per cent for year (2011—12) as whole. (With) 7.3 per cent in the first half and 6.9 in the third quarter, 7 per cent is possible.”

According to the data, growth in electricity, gas and water production is, however, likely to be better this year.

The segments are expected to grow up by 8.3 per cent in 2011-12, against 3 per cent in 2010-11.

During the current fiscal, the trade, hotel, transport and communication sectors are projected to grow by 11.2 per cent, against 11.1 per cent last fiscal.

Community social and personal services are pegged to witness a growth of 5.9 per cent, compared to 4.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

The government and the RBI had earlier said that global economic slowdown and the high domestic interest rate regime is likely to act as a dampener in this fiscal’s growth.

However, the 6.9 per cent growth projected in the advanced estimates is lower than what experts have been forecasting.

The Indian economy had expanded by 8.4 per cent in both 2010-11 and 2009-10, while growth in 2008-09 was 6.7 per cent.

The advance GDP estimates are released before the end of a financial year to enable the government to formulate various estimates for inclusion in the Budget.

NABARD offers incentive to banks for warehouse loans

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on  announced a refinance scheme which offers an incentive to the banks to give loans for setting up warehouses for agricultural commodities.

“Under the scheme, NABARD will extend financial assistance by way of refinance to banks against the loans disbursed by them for construction of warehouse infrastructure for the agricultural commodities,” NABARD Ahmedabad CGM, H R Dave, said.

“NABARD will charge interest of 8 per cent p.a., while interest rate on loans to the borrowers would be decided by the banks,” he said, speaking at a gathering of bankers here.

“We will also extend an interest rebate of 1.5 per cent to borrowers who repay loans on schedule,” Dave said.

The scheme has been conceptualised out of a Rs 2,000 cr dedicated fund in the Union Budget 2011-12.

Authorities hope it will help create 9 million tonnes of additional storage capacity for the agricultural produce.

The scheme is open to all kinds of banks.

As per the recently announced central scheme, all Kisan Credit Card holding farmers can now avail loans at 7 per cent interest rate for maximum six months for storage of produce post-harvest.

Mr. Dave stressed the need for good warehouses to meet the requirements of the growing agriculture sector. He put a special emphasis on the need to encourage accredited warehouses - as stipulated by the Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) - so as to make farmers eligible for benefits of the loan scheme.

M.P. chosen for ‘National e-governance Award’

Madhya Pradesh has been selected for “National e-governance Award” for its initiatives in the IT sector, official sources said today.

The award will be given to the state during the two-day 15th national conference on e-governance to be held at Bhubaneshwar from February 10.

The Chief Minister, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has congratulated the officials whose efforts have led to the honour for the state.

The awards were announced under seven categories and Madhya Pradesh bagged honour in one of them. The award is given every year by the Union Government.

The State Government’s e-governance project in Gwalior district has bagged the award. Under the project, 75 public services spanning 13 departments were successfully delivered through 48 Janmitra Samadhan Kendras benefiting 3.86 lakh applicants, they added.

Foodgrains output set to touch 250 mt

Bolstered by a record production of wheat and rice this year, foodgrains output in 2011-12 is set to touch an all-time high of 250.42 million tonnes, surpassing last year's best of 244.78 million tonnes.

Significant rise in paddy production in the eastern belt has boosted the overall foodgrains situation this year despite slight shortfall in coarse cereals and pulses production. Overall, good monsoon too helped the situation.

“About 12-13 million tonnes more of rice has come from the eastern belt alone and, as a result, the overall foodgrains output is estimated at a record 250.42 million tonnes,” Union Agriculture Secretary P. K. Basu told journalists here on Friday after the release of the second advance estimates. Mr. Basu pointed out that “Bihar and Jharkhand, known as laggard states in farm production and productivity, had outperformed in paddy yields.”

Rice output in Bihar has more than doubled to 6.75 million tonnes from 3.10 million tonnes. It has trebled in Jharkhand to 3.3 million tonnes from 1.11 million tonnes last year. West Bengal also has shown a significant improvement in rice output.

Rice and wheat production are expected to set new records this crop year (July to June). Rice output is projected at 102.75 million tonnes against 95.98 million tonnes last year.

Helped by winter rains, wheat production is set for an all-time record of 88.31 million tonnes as compared to 86.87 million tonnes. However, the output of pulses is expected to be slightly lower at 17.28 million tonnes as also of oilseeds at 30.53 million tonnes due to diversification of significant area to cotton in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan, Mr. Basu said. The output of coarse cereals is expected to be lower at 42.08 million tonnes against 43.68 million tonnes in 2010-11.

Cotton production has increased to 34.09 million bales from 33 million bales of 170 kg each last year.

Sugarcane output is expected to be higher than last year at 347.87 million tonnes against 342.38 million tonnes.

Climate change: India for roping in rich to shoulder burden

The Minister for Environment and Forests, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, made it clear on Friday that India would put pressure on richer nations to shoulder a larger burden of the climate change responsibility at the Rio meet in June.

She said the principle of “equity” for cutting greenhouse gas emissions should be the “bottomline” of negotiations on climate change. She was addressing a session in the ongoing Delhi Sustainable Development Summit.

World leaders are meeting in Rio de Janeiro in June for the United Nations Conference on sustainable development, known as Rio+20.

India and China have differences with the developed countries that are seeking to make the commitments at the conference binding and enforceable.

Meanwhile, the European Union climate head, reacting to India's position on equity and the right of countries to develop, said the EU realised that those who industrialised before others had a special responsibility, but India and others also needed to come up with what exactly they mean when they talk about equity. At a media interaction here on Friday, the EU Climate Commissioner, Ms Connie Hedegaard, said, “We are open to discussions,”, but added that “in a world where we are mutually inter-dependent, we need to be mutually accountable as well.”

RENEWABLE ENERGY

The EU climate head called upon all countries to pledge to double the share of renewable energy by 2030 along with ensuring universal access to energy. Ms Hedegaard said the EU may recommend the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies before 2020 at the Rio+20 meet. “The notion that fossil fuels are cheaper is changing. With crude oil prices going up, the world will need to reflect on alternatives,” she said.

She said in 2010, the world subsidised fossil fuels worth $400 billion. Of this, only 10 per cent were targeted at the poor, according to International Energy Agency data.

ECONOMY BASED MCQs

1. Oman Investment Fund (OIF), the Sultanate of Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, filed application with the government to buy a stake in which of the software solutions company, IT People promoted exchange?
a. Universal Commodity Exchange
b. Agri bourse  NCDEX
c. Intercontinental Exchange
d. National Spot Exchange Limited
Answer: (a)


2. Which company on 27 Deember 2011 mentioned that it would acquire the remaining 51 per cent stake from BP Alternative Energy Holdings in the joint venture that it formed with BP?
a. Reliance Power
b. Tata Power
c. Adani Power Limited
d. ABB Ltd
Answer: (b)


3. Which paharmaceutical company announced in December 2011 the launch of Supamovecream used for treating pain and inflammation in India?
a. Cipla
b. Ranbaxy
c. Dr. Reddy’s
d. Sun Pharmaceuticals
Answer: (c)



4. Name the state-run Mumbai-headquartered bank which on 29 December 2011 surprised the market by cutting its base rate, the minimum lending rate, by 10 basis points, thereby becoming the first banker this year to do so when others are waiting for a signal from the central bank.
a. State Bank of India
b. Union Bank
c. United Bank of India
d. Allahabad Bank
Answer: (b)


5. The $35-billion Aditya Birla group plans to set up a viscose staple fibre (VSF) plant in the Adana Organised Industrial Zone in which of the following countries?
a. Tunisia
b. Tanzania
c. Turkey
d. Tibet
Answer: (c)



6.    Reserve Bank of India deregulated non-resident external (NRE) deposits on 16 December 2011 allowing banks  to offer higher interest rates to dollar-denominated accounts. Which of the following facts related to the above statement is/are not true?
2.    Reserve Bank freed the rates on non-resident external accounts, offering interest as high as 9.6% per annum
3.    Following RBI’s deregulation five Indian banks, including HDFC Bank and Yes Bank on 23 December 2011 raised their interest rates on such deposits in order to lure foreign money
4.    Private lender Yes Bank increased the interest rates on fixed deposits held by non-resident Indians (NRIs) to 8.4 per cent from 3.82 per cent
5.    The new rates are effective from 24 December for fresh deposits as well as those being renewed on maturity.
a.    1 & 2
b.    Only4
c.    Only 3
d.    1 & 4
Answer: (c)

7. According to the RBI data, India's foreign exchange reserves fell by what amount to $302.1 billion during the week ended 16 December  2011 on account of a fall in foreign currency assets?
a.    $4.67 billion
b.    $3.33 billion
c.    $5 billion
d.    $5.75 billion
Answer: (a)

8. According to the Tea Board data released in December 2011, tea imports declined by what per cent to 9.91 million kg in the April-October period of 2011?
a.    10%
b.    12.5%
c.    14%
d.    15.3%
Answer: (c)

9. Infrastructure sector recorded a growth of what per cent in Novemberr 2011 after touching five-year low of 0.3% in October 2011 due to an impressive growth in cement, electricity and refinery products?
a.    2.3%
b.    3.9%
c.    4.6%
d.    6.8%
Answer: (d)

10.    Telecom Commission, the decision-making body of the Department of Telecommunications recommended a uniform licence fee of what per cent of adjusted gross revenues (AGR) as against the prevalent rate of 6-8 per cent?
a.    10%
b.    8%
c.    5.2%
d.    9.3%
Answer: (b)



11.    Theatre director, screenplay writer and actor Satyadev Dubey, credited with introducing existential and absurd theatre, passed away on 25 December 2011. Which facts about the concerned person is/are not true?
2.    he got attracted to the post-1947 theatre and joined Theatre Unit, the theatre group-cum-school founded by Ebrahim Alkazi
3.    Dubey came into prominence with Dharamvir Bharati’s radio-play Andha Yug that brought to the fore the pervasive criminal and homicidal tendencies during the times of war.
4.    He penned screenplays/dialogue of some acclaimed films in the 1970s, including Shyam Benegal's Nishant, Ankur, Kalyug and Bhumika
5.    He won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue in 1980 for the film Ankur
a.    Only 1
b.    Only4
c.    2 & 3
d.    Only 2
Answer: (b)

12. Identify the veteran politician and former Chief Minister of Karnataka with the help of the following clues.
1.    He was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1990-92 and died on 26 December 2011
2.    The three time Lok Sabha member represented Bellary constituency
3.    He was on the national political stage as a Lok Sabha member for three terms in 1996, 1999 and 2003.
4.    He was instrumental in holding the first Indian international film festival in Bengaluru in 1993
a.    H. D. Kumaraswamy
b.    J. H. Patel
c.    S. M. Krishna
d.    S.Bangarappa
Answer: (d)

13. India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) showed a 3 point decline, dropping to what number per 1,000 live births, as per government data released on 28 December 2011?
a.    43
b.    55
c.    47
d.    50
Answer: (c)

14.  Maharashtra government planned to provide free medicare for poor families. Consider the following statements:
i) The plan will benefit 50 lakh families.
ii) The plan will cover eight districts in state.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer:  (a) Both i and ii are correct

15.  Lok Sabha on 27 December 2011 passed the Lokpal and Lokayukta bill, 2011. Consider the following statements:
i) The setting up of Lokayuktas by the states would not be mandatory.
ii) The constitutional amendment bill fell through.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer: (a) Both i and ii are correct



16.    Name the Mumbai skipper who on 22 December 2011 overtook former teammate as the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy by scoring a total of 8242 runs.
a.    Wasim Jaffer
b.    Amol Muzumdar
c.    Amarjeet Kaypee
d.    Pankaj Dharmani
Answer: (a)
17.    Who won his first Men’s Singles title of 2011 at the 2011 $120,000 Syed Modi India Open Grand Prix Gold badminton championship?
a.    Sourabh Verma
b.    Taufik Hidayat
c.    Anup Sridhar
d.    Hendra Setiawan
Answer: (b)

18.    Which team won both the men's & women’s title in the 10th All-India Invitational volleyball tournament for the Vajpayee Cup?
a.    Andhra Pradesh
b.    Punjab
c.    Kerala
d.    Southern Railway
Answer: (c)

19.    Identify the Indian footballer with the help of the following clues.
1.    This Indian football team defender announced his retirement from international football on 26 December 2011
2.    He captained the Indian team in one match (against Malaysia) in November 2011
3.    He had scored one goal against Bhutan in SAFF Cup in 2005
4.    He was part of the Indian teams which won SAFF Cup (2005), Nehru Cup (2007 and 2009), AFC Challenge Cup (2008) apart from the recent SAFF championship
a.    Arnab Mondal
b.    Gurwinder Singh
c.    Anas Edathodika
d.    Mahesh Gawli
Answer: (d)

20.    The Indian team finished at the fourth position in the World Women's Team Chess Championship at Mardin,Turkey on 27 December 2011. Which team won gold and emerged at the top in the competition?
a.    Ukraine
b.    Russia
c.    China
d.    Greece
Answer: (c)



21.  Name the Cyclone, which hit the coast of Chennai and south-eastern coastal areas.
a) Thane
b) Nargis
c) Rita
d) Katrina
Answer:  (a) Thane

22.  Name the gene, which controls memory in human brain.
a) Npas4
b) Npas3
c) Mpas4
d) Npas2
Answer:  (a) Npas4

23.  WGEEP designated entire Western Ghats as an ecologically sensitive area. What is the full form of WGEEP?
a) Western Ghats expert panel
b) Western Ghats environmental panel
c) Western Ghats environmental expert panel
d) Western Ghats ecology expert panel
Answer: (d) Western Ghats ecology expert panel

24. China launched a High-Speed Bullet Train in Quingdao, Shandong.   Consider the following statements:
i)  Its speed can reach up to 500 kilometres per hour.
ii) The train was launched by China’s largest rail vehicle maker, CSR Corp. Ltd.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer: (a) Both i and ii are correct

25. Scientists discovered a Way to Transform Ordinary Tissue into Heart Muscle Cells.   Consider the following statements:
i) It could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for making a damaged heart to repair itself.
ii) Scientists used a zebrafish system to develop a small and robust molecule, which can transform stem cells into beating heart muscle cells.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only  i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer:  (a) Both i and ii are correct



26.     People’s national party  recently won Parliamentary elections in Jamaica. What is the capital of Jamaica?
a)    New Delhi
b)    Kingston
c)    Paris
d)    London
Answer:  (b)  Kingston

27.  India and Pakistan concluded their sixth round of talks in__ on 27 December 2011.
a) Islamabad
b) New Delhi
c) London
d) Paris
Answer:  (a) Islamabad

28.  USA and Saudi Arabia inked an agreement worth__ US dollars.
a) 29.4 billion
b) 20 billion
c) 25 billion
d) 23 billion
Answer:  (a)  29.4 billion US dollars
29.  India approved the acquisition of French advanced missile systems to arm the Mirage-2000 fighter jets. Consider the following statements:
i)  The cabinet committee on Security cleared the contract for the fire and forget MICA with French company MBDA.
ii) MICA are interception and aerial combat missiles.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer:  (a) Both i and ii are correct

30.  The Union government approved Katra-Quazigund Railway line project. The project is located in__.
a) Jammu and Kashmir
b) Bihar
c) Punjab
d) Haryana
Answer:  (a) Jammu and Kashmir

31.  India became free from bird flu,__.
a) H5N1
b) H4N1
c) H5N2
d) H3N3
Answer: (a) H5N1



32.    Which PSU announced on 2 January 2012 that its board approved in a meeting held on 30 December 2011 the switching over to internationally-accepted Gross Caloric Value-based pricing mechanism?
a.    BHEL
b.    ISPAT
c.    CIL
d.    IOC
Answer: (c)

33.    Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) entered the media and entertainment sector by making a major investment in one of India’s largest broadcast companies. Name the broadcast company.
a.    Network18 Group
b.    Adlabs Films
c.    Balaji Telefilms
d.    Bag Films
Answer: (a)

34.   Credit Suisse upgraded which company to neutral from underperform, citing valuation comfort at current?
a.    Essar Energy
b.    Reliance Power
c.    Bajaj Auto
d.    Tata Steel
Answer: (d)
35.    Which PSU lender called off its plans to set up a joint venture with Visa Inc and Elavon Inc to enter the merchant acquiring business over differences on sharing technology?
a.    Union Bank
b.    State Bank of India
c.    Syndicate Bank
d.    Corp Bank
Answer: (b)

36.    This company acquired Star more than 500 films like blockbusters like Salman Khan's Dabangg, Ready, Golmaal 3, Tees Maar Khan, Thank You, No One Killed Jessica, Guzaarish, Kites and Raavan from a general entertainment channel owned by the Viacom 18 Group?
a.    Sony
b.    UTV movies
c.    Colors
d.    Sab TV
Answer: (c)



37.    Union government raised the ad valorem duty (export duty) on iron ore exports to what per cent from 20 per cent?
a.    30%
b.    33%
c.    41%
d.    43%
Answer: (a)

38.    As per the to Commerce Ministry data released on 2 January 2012, India’s exports recorded their slowest pace of growth in two years in November 2011. What was the per centage of growth recorded?
a.    4.2%
b.    3.8%
c.    2.2%
d.    0.94%
Answer: (b)

39.    Union government on 3 January 2012 approved Reliance Industries' (RIL) investment plan for developing four satellite fields in the flagging KG-D6 block. What was the proposed sum to be invested for developing the satellites?
a.    $1.500 billion
b.    $1.692 billion
c.    $1.529 billion
d.    $1.375 billion
Answer: (c)
40.    The capital market regulator SEBI on 3 January 2012 allowed auctioning of securities through stock exchanges and introduced a new method for institutional placement of stocks. Which of the following facts related to the above statement is/are not true?
1.    Under the institutional placement programme (IPP), shares can be sold only to qualified institutional buyers.
2.    There shall be at least 25 allottees in every IPP issuance. No single investor shall receive allotment for more than 25% of the offer size
3.    The IPP method can be used to increase public holding by 10% and could be offered to only qualified institutional buyers with 25% being reserved for mutual funds and insurance companies
4.    Under the IPP, companies will have to announce the ratio of buy-back, as is done in the case of rights issues and fix a record date for determination of entitlements as per shareholding on record date
a.    Only 1
b.    Only 3
c.    Only 2
d.    Only 4
Answer: (c)

41.    What is the Finace Ministry’s decision on the rates applicable on small savings instruments schemes that would be announced on April 1 each year?
a.    rate would remain valid till the maturity of the scheme
b.    rate would change in the first qurter of that respective year
c.    rates would change depending on different maturity period
d.    rates would remainvalid for six months post the maturity
Answer: (a)



42.  Scientists for the first time produced mixed embryo monkeys. Consider the following statements:
i) Scientists produced monkeys composed of cells taken from separate embryos.
ii) The cells stay together and work together to form tissues and organs.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only  i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer:  (a) Both i and ii are correct

43.  Scientists discovered unknown species off the coast of Antarctica. Consider the following statements: i) The temperature in this region rises to 380 degree Celsius. Ii) There is plenty of light in this region.
Which of the above statements is/ are correct?
a)    Only i
b)    Only ii
c)    Both i and ii
d)    Neither i nor ii
Answer:  (a)  Only i; There is complete absence of light in this region

44.  The world’s first hybrid sharks was discovered by the researchers in Australian waters. The hybrid shark is the result of cross-breeding between which one of the following set of shark species?
a) Common black tip Shark and Australian black-tip shark
b) Indian black-tip Shark and Australian black-tip Shark
c) Blue Whale and Common black-tip Shark
d) Blue Whale and Australian black-tip Shark
Answer:  (a) Common black-tip Shark and Australian black-tip Shark

45.  Scientists produced artificial human semen to help infertile men.  Consider the following statements: i) The scientists grew the sperm by enveloping the germ cells in a special compound called agar jelly. ii) The artificial human semen could help infertile men father their own children.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer: (a)  Both i and ii are correct
46.  Health Authorities in Australia recently detected Deadly Disease, Murray Valley Encephalitis.  The disease is caused by the__.
a) Flies
b) Mosquitoes
c) Birds
d) Dogs
Answer: (a) Mosquitoes


47.    Kiro Gligorov, the former president of Macedonia died in Skopje on 1 January 2012. Which facts about Gligorov given below are not true?
2.    Gligorov was the first democratically elected president of Macedonia.
3.    He joined the partisan movement fighting against the Nazi occupation and was one of the organizers of the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People’s Liberation of Macedonia, or ASNOM in 1945
4.    Gligorov served four consecutive presidential terms, leading the nation from January 1991 to November 2009
5.    The early days his presidency were overshadowed by a bitter dispute with Greece over the newly independent nation’s name , the dispute that continues till date
a.    Only 1
b.    1 & 2
c.    Only 3
d.    2 & 4
Answer: (c)
48. Who was presented the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation on 4 January 2011, the fourth day of the ten-day Kalachakra initiations?
a.    Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama
b.    South African leader Nelson Mandela
c.    Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere
d.    Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Answer: (c)

49. European Union agreed in principle to ban import of Iranian Crude oil. Consider the following statements:
i) The European Union( EU) is one of Iran’s biggest markets for oil.
ii) The EU is a political and economical union of 27 member states.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer: (a) Both i and ii are correct
50. The Israel-Palestine talks, in the first week of January 2012 was held in Amman. Amman is the capital of__
a) Jordan
b) Syria
c) Iraq
d) Iran
Answer: (a) Jordan
51. Maldives on 4 January 2012 lifted ban on Spas in the upmarket tourist destination. Consider the following statements:
i) The tourism industry is an important foreign exchange earner in the Maldives.
ii) Maldives in 2011 received more than 850000 tourists.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer: (a) Both i and ii are correct



56.  India signed MoU( Memorandum of Understanding) on tourism with ASEAN on 12 January 2012. The agreement took place in__.
a) Manado
b) Jakarta
c) Malaysia
d) Manila
Answer: (a) Manado

57. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012 was held in Jaipur. Jaipur is the capital of which one of the following states?
a) Rajasthan
b) Bihar
c) UP
d) Bihar
Answer: (a) Rajasthan
58.  India and Japan on 12 January 2012 agreed to enhance their cooperation in the ___sector.
a) Infrastructure
b) Tourism
c) Road and Transport
d) Coal and Mining
Answer: (a) Infrastructure
59. Newly crowned Miss Belgium 2012, Laura Beyne mentioned that she mostly supports gay marriages. In which year did Belgium become the second country after the Netherlands to legalize gay marriage?
a.    2000
b.    2003
c.    2005
d.    2009
Answer: (b)
60. TiE Chennai (The Indus Entrepreneurs), dedicated to promote entrepreneurship in January 2012 launched a book Dream to destiny — the driving spirit of Chennai's entrepreneurs in January 2012. TiE Chennai is a _.
a.    Non-profit organisation
b.    Committee of Entrepreneurs
c.    Multinational organisation
d.    Entrepreneur arm of the Commerce Ministry
Answer: (a)



61.    State-run Northern Coalfields (NCL) agreed to surrender land required to mine two blocks attached to the Sasan ultra mega power plant to which of the following companies giving the comapany the benefit of over Rs 6000 crore over the life of the venture?
a.    Reliance Power
b.    Adani Power
c.    Birla Power Solutions
d.    DLF Power
Answer: (a)
62.    Which car took home the crown of Indian Car Of The Year 2012 in January 2012?
a.    Toyota Etios Liva
b.    Maruti Suzuki Swift
c.    Hyundai Verna
d.    Hyundai Eon
Answer: (b)

63. B. D. Park was appointed the President and CEO of this electronic major’s South West Asia Operations and Managing Director of its India operations. Which electronic major is in question here?
a. Phillips
b. Videocon
c. Samsung
d. LG
Answer: (c)

64.    Maldives authorities allowed Male International Airport operator to collect airport development and insurance charges from passengers, nearly a month after a local court barred the Bangalore-based company from doing so. Name the operator.
a.    GMR Infrastructure
b.    International Air Transport Association (IATA)
c.    Fraport AG
d.    DIAL
Answer: (a)

65.    Which French construction major entered the Indian market by buying out 100 per cent stake in NAPC, a Chennai-based construction company?
a.    Sinopec Engineering
b.    Uhde
c.    Vinci
d.    Snamprogetti
Answer: (c)



66.    According to the draft sports policy of this state Government released on 11 January 2012, a special life-time achievement award, in memory of G.V. Raja, the founder-president of the State Sports Council  is to be instituted. Which State is being referred to?
a.    Karnataka
b.    Kerala
c.    Tamil Nadu
d.    Andhra Pradesh
Answer: (b)
67.    Which team defeated Uttarakhand 25-22, 25-22, 25-13 in the men’s category to win the National title for the fourth time, in the 60th senior National volleyball championship, at the Balbir Juneja Indoor Stadium, Raipur on 11 January 2012?
a.    Kerala
b.    Andhra Pradesh
c.    West Bengal
d.    Tamil nadu
Answer: (a)

68.    Which team extended their hegemony by defeating Kerala 25-12, 25-14, 25-16 in a one-sided final in the women’s category at the 60th senior National volleyball championship?
a.    Punjab
b.    Services
c.    Railways
d.    Delhi
Answer: (c)

69.    This footballer was awarded the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or on 9 january 2012 in Zurich. He won the award for the third consecutive year for the world's outstanding footballer. Identify the footballer.
a.    Cristiano Ronaldo
b.    Xavi
c.    Sergio Ramos
d.    Lionel Messi
Answer: (d)



70.    Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India went up by what per cent to $2.53 billion in November 2011, indicating an improvement in investor sentiment?
a.    56%
b.    49%
c.    33%
d.    26%
Answer: (a)

71.    As per the Forward Markets Commission data released on 9 January 2012 that the turnover of the 21 commodity exchanges in India increased by 66% to what amount till December 2011?
a.    Rs 123 lakh crore
b.    Rs 137.22 lakh crore
c.    Rs  100.57 lakh crore
d.    Rs 93 lakh crore
Answer: (b)
72.    Indirect tax collections increased by what per cent to Rs 285787 crore during April-December 2011 driven by an increase in service tax mop-up?
a.    15%
b.    14.56%
c.    16.1%
d.    16.33%
Answer: (c)

73.    The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notified that the Commerce Ministry on on 11 January 2012 lowered the minimum export price of onions by $100 a tonne to boost exports. What is the changed minimum export price of onion?
a.    $200 a tonne
b.    $250 a tonne
c.    $300 a tonne
d.    $150 a tonne
Answer: (d)

74.    Prime Minister's Office on 11 January 2012 directed cash-rich public sector undertakings (PSUs) to invest around Rs.1.76 lakh crore to act as a stimulus in the next fiscal 2012-13. What is the amount to be invested domestically?
a.    Rs.1.41 lakh crore
b.    Rs 1.57 lakh crore
c.    Rs 2.50 lakh crore
d.    Rs 3.19 lakh crore
Answer: (a)



75.    He was conferred with the first S K Singh Award for excellence in the Indian Foreign Service on 6 January 2012. Identify the diplomat.
a.    Ranjan Mathai
b.    Shivshankar Menon
c.    D Bala Venkatesh Verma
d.    K. Raghunath
Answer: (c)

76.    Which Ministry prepared draft policy seeking to increase private participation and opens the doors for foreign direct investors for expanding its network?
a.    Railways Ministry
b.    Ministry of Rural Development
c.    Ministry of Commerce and Industry
d.    Defence Ministry
Answer: (a)
77.    Six researchers from five science streams were honoured with this prize by the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Bangalore on 9 January 2012. Name the prize in question.
a.    Infosys Prize
b.    India Science Prize
c.    Rolls-Royce Science Prize
d.    Young Scientist Award
Answer: (a)
78.  Which one of the following state governments launched Panch Parmeshwar scheme?
a) Madhya Pradesh
b) Bihar
c) UP
d) Kerala
Answer:  (a) Madhya Pradesh
79.  The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the setting up of NCTC. What is the full form of NCTC?
a)  National Counter Terrorism Centre
b) National Trade Cooperation
c) National Central Terrorism Centre
d) National Council for Trade Cooperation
Answer:  (a) National Counter Terrorism Centre



80.    Which of the following companies infused Rs 520 crore equity into BSES Delhi distribution companies as part of Rs 5,100 crore financial package being worked by IDBI
a.    NTPC
b.    RIL
c.    Adani Power Ltd
d.    Birla Group
Answer: (b)

81. Suzlon Energy signed a memorandum of understanding with this State Government as a part of the CII's Partnership Summit that concluded on 13 January 2012. As per the MoU, Suzlon Energy will develop wind power projects totalling 3,000 MW in Andhra Pradesh over the next four years, involving potential investment of up to Rs.18,000 crore. Name the state government with which the MoU was signed.
a.    Andhra Pradesh government
b.    Gujarat governemnt
c.    Orissa government
d.    Arunachal Pradesh government
Answer: (a)

82.    Name the auto making company which launched three new variants of the Eon-D — Lite plus, Era plus and Magna plus in the Indian market in January 2012.
a.    Tata Motors
b.    Hyundai Motor India
c.    Volkswagen
d.    Maruti Suzuki
Answer: (b)
83.    The Government of which of the following countries acquired 1.09 per cent stake, currently worth about Rs.2500 crore, in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), the company's latest shareholding data show?
a.    Malaysia
b.    Japan
c.    Phillipines
d.    Singapore
Answer: (d)
84.    Which Photography Pioneer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 19 January 2012 making it likely for the 132-year-old trailblazer to become the most storied casualty of a digital age?
a.    Eastman Kodak Company
b.    Fuji
c.    Nikon
d.    Canon
Answer: (a)

85.    Which company retained its top position in Interbrand's list of the top 100 global brands in 2011?
a.    Apple
b.    Coca cola
c.    Microsoft
d.    Google
Answer: (b)



86.    As per the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, industrial production bounced back with a growth of what per cent in November 2011, marking a five-month high in a reversal from the negative trend witnessed in October 2011?
a.    5.9%
b.    6.5%
c.    7%
d.    8.2%
Answer: (a)

87.    India on 13 January 2012 extended for how many years an anti-dumping duty on import of four Chinese products like nylon filament yarn, Saccharin, cellophane transparent film etc?
a.    3 years
b.    5 years
c.    10 years
d.    12 years
Answer: (b)

88.    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 13 January 2012 issued guidelines on compensation of wholetime directors, chief executive officers and other risk takers in private and foreign banks. Which of the following facts regarding the above statement is/are not true.
1.    The central bank’s directions are aimed at preventing greed from destabilising the institution.
2.    The guiderlines include provisions to clawback pay if transactions fail years after origination
3.    The norms  provided also include capping the variable component of the compensation at 48% of the fixed pay in a year
4.    As per the guidelines issued, banks are permitted to exclude the Employees Stock Option Plan from variable pay
a.    Only 2
b.    Only 4
c.    Only 3
d.    2 & 4
Answer: (c)

89.    Which of the following bodies unveiled rules for direct investment in stocks by foreign investors, including individuals to put curbs on opaque structures to prevent routing of funds by resident Indians?
a.    IRDA
b.    FICCI
c.    CCI
d.    SEBI
Answer: (d)
90.    As per the Wholesale Price Index, published by the government on 16 January 2012, Reduced food prices caused the inflation to dip to a year low at what per cent in  December 2011?
a.    7.47%
b.    7.65%
c.    6.33%
d.    5.41%
Answer: (a)



91.  Scientists identified a new gene in maize plants called__.
a) Meg1
b) Meg2
c) Meg3
d) Meg4
Answer:  (a) Meg1

92.  Researchers discovered new earthworm species in Port Blair. What is the name of the new species?
a) Moniligaster ivaniosi
b) Annelida
c) Nematoda
d) Onychophora
Answer:  (a): Moniligaster ivaniosi

93.  Scientists recently developed a new wireless device to detect the presence of termites. Consider the following statements: i) when the new device detects the presence of termites, it sends an SMS or email to a pest control firm. ii) The device is made of a tiny sensor, even smaller than a fingernail.
Choose the right option:
a)    Both i and ii are correct.
b)    Only i is correct.
c)    Only ii is correct.
d)    Neither i nor ii is correct.
Answer:  (a): Both i and ii are correct

94.  The scientists claimed that the Meteorite, which fell in Morocco in July 2011, was from Mars. The event happened for the first time in__ years.
a) 50
b) 100
c) 200
d) 150
Answer:  (a) 50
95.  Scientists found the Extinct Monkey, the Miller’s Grizzled Langur in the forests of___.
a) Indonesia
b) Malaysia
c) India
d) Africa
Answer:  (a) Indonesia



96.  10th PBD( Pravasi Bhartiya Divas) was held at which one of the following Indian cities?
a) Jaipur
b) Patna
c) New Delhi
d) Chennai
Answer:  (a) Chennai

97.  Planning Commission of India on 18 January 2012 approved Rudrasagar development scheme. The scheme is related__.
a) Tripura
b) Assam
c) Manipur
d) Sikkim
Answer:  (a) Tripura

98. Writer/diplomat Pavan K. Varma's new book set in contemporary India and in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, was launched in the New Delhi by Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Queen Mother of Bhutan in January 2012. The protagonist Anand is wrongly diagnosed with cancer. He quits his high-power job and loses himself in a Bhutanese retreat.
Name the book.
a.    When Loss is Gain
b.    Ghalib: The Man
c.    The Great Indian Middle Class
d.    The Times
Answer: (a)
99. Identify the photographer with the help of the following clues.
1.    She was India’s first woman photo-journalist and was the only professional woman photojournalist between 1939 and 1970
2.    She was commonly known by her pseudonym Dalda 13
3.    She also captured the first flag-hoisting ceremony at the Red Fort on August 16 1947, the departure of Lord Mountbatten from India and the funerals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
4.    The Padma Bhushan Awardee breathed her last on 15 January 2012.
a.    Ronika Kandhari
b.    Asha Kochar
c.    Prabuddha Dasgupta
d.    Homai Vyarawala
Answer: (d)

100.    Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 11 January 2012 launched the signature tune of the Indian Customs Pragati ki Dhadkan in New Delhi.  The signature tune was composed by which of the noted music directors?
a.    A. R. Rahman    
b.    Aadesh Shrivastava    
c.    Adnan Sami
d.    Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Answer: (b)



101.  Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago visited India from 5 January 2012 to 14 January 2012. Who among the following is the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago?
a) Kamla Persad Bissessar
b) Hosni Mubarak
c) Manmohan Singh
d) Naresh Goyal
Answer:  (a) Kamla Persad Bissessar
102.  The fifth edition of the World Future Energy summit began in__.
a) Abu Dhabi
b) New Delhi
c) Tehran
d) Dhaka
Answer:  (a) Abu Dhabi
103. Memogate scandal is related to which one of the following countries?
a) Pakistan
b) Sri Lanka
c) China
d) India
Answer: (a) Pakistan
104. Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and International Asociation of Sanskrit Studies jointly organised the 15th World Sanskrit conference from 5 to 10 January 2012 at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. Where was the 14th World Sanskrit conference held?
a.    Kyoto, Japan
b.    Beijing, China
c.    Colombo, Sri Lanka
d.    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Answer: (a)

105. Identify this politicial with the help of the following clues.
1.    Leader of the Sandinista movement which overthrew the US-backed Somoza dictatorship in 1979
2.    After the Nicaraguan Revolution resulted in the overthrow and exile of the Somoza's government in 1979, he became a member of the ruling multipartisan Junta of National Reconstruction. 
3.    He was elected as the 83rd Nicaraguan president in 2006. He had previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990.
4.    He made alliances with fellow Latin American socialists and signed Nicaragua up to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.
a.    Enrique Bolaños
b.    Arnoldo Alemán
c.    Daniel Ortega
d.    Hugo Chávez
Answer: (c)



106.    The Bangalore-based pharmaceutical major, Strides Arcolab, sold its 94 per cent stake in Ascent Pharmahealth, a subsidiary with operations in Australia and Southeast Asia, to which of the following U.S.-based pharma companies?
a.    Watson Pharmaceuticals
b.    Abbott Laboratories
c.    Pfizer
d.    Derma Sciences
Answer: (a)
107.    The Board of Approval (BoA) under the Commerce Ministry on 24 January 2012 approved the proposal of this company to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Identify the company.
a.    Reliance Industries
b.    Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
c.    Hero Motors
d.    Infosys
Answer: (b)

108.    Which private life insurance company from India on 25 January 2012 launched its first international operations with the opening of its representative office in Dubai?
a.    Kotak Insurance
b.    New India Insurance
c.    HDFC Life
d.    Religare Insurnce
Answer: (c)
109.    Name the world’s largest biotechnology company, agreed to buy Micromet in a $1.16 billion deal to gain an experimental leukemia drug.
a.    Celgene Drug
b.    B B Biotech
c.    Dechert
d.    Amgen
Answer: (d)

110.    Which channel developed a 52-week special India: Wild Encounters to focuss on India's enchanting wildlife s well as take viewers on an exploration spree ?
a.    Discovery India
b.    Animal Planet
c.    Sony
d.    National Gepgraphy
Answer: (b)



111.    Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimated Corporate India’s sales to grow by what per cent in 2011-12?
a.    21.6%
b.    20.8%
c.    22
d.    23.7%
Answer: (a)

112.    According to the report  by Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) released in January 2012, gems and jewellery exports fell into the negative zone to $3 billion in December 2011. What per cent fall did it register in the month in question?
a.    10.33%
b.    12.17%
c.    13.33%
d.    15%
Answer: (d)

113.    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 24 January 2012 cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis point. The current CRR stands at what percent?
a.    5%
b.    5.5%
c.    6%
d.    6.5%
Answer: (b)

114.    The Reserve Bank of India on 24 January 2012 also kept the repo rate unchanged for the second consecutive time after raising it 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011. What is the present repo rate?
a.    8%
b.    7.5%
c.    8.5%
d.    9%
Answer: (c)

115.    The poor performance of National Pension System, or NPS led the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) to change the incentive structure for the distributors. Which of the following statements in this regard is/are not true?
1.    The pension regulator on the basis of the recommendation of the G.N. Bajpai committee constituted by PFRDA to review NPS,  fixed the incentive at 0.25% of the subscription amount
2.    As per PFRDA’s measures announceds, a distributor will get a flat Rs 50 on initial subscription and 0.05% of the initial subscription amount
3.    Every year on subsequent investments, the point of presence will be entitled to 0.25% of that amount.
4.    The minimum that a point of presence can charge is Rs 20 and the maximum Rs 25000.
a.    Only 1
b.    Only 2
c.    Only 3
d.    Only 4
Answer: (b)



116.    FIPB headed by Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan had in a meeting held on 5 August 2011 cleared how many FDI proposals of a total worth of Rs 3844.7 crore?
a.    31
b.    12
c.    18
d.    23
Answer: (a)

117.    According to the public debt management report released by the finance ministry on 17 August 2011, by what percentage did the Centre's debt rise in the first quarter (April to June) of the current fiscal 2011-12?
a.    5.5%
b.    6%
c.    6.7%
d.    8.1%
Answer: (b)

118.    According to a report from CRISIL Research, how many additional jobs does India need to create by 2015 to maintain the current ratio of employed people to total population at 39 per cent?
a.    40 million
b.    47 million
c.    55 million
d.    57 million
Answer: (c)

119.    Headline inflation eased to its eight-month low to what percentage in July from 9.44 per cent in the previous month?
a.    8.20%
b.    9.22%
c.    7.36%
d.    8 %
Answer: (b)

120.    Which regulatory body on 16 August 2011 suggested that the Centre and the State governments should come out with a regulatory framework for the realty sector to protect consumers from unfair trade practices?
a.    IRDA
b.    SEBI
c.    FICCI
d.    CCI
Answer: (d)