GENERAL AWARENESS QUESTIONS FOR IRMA – 2011

(Paper-I)
Directions for questions 1 to 60: Select the correct alternative from the given choices.

1. RBI norms prescribe that banks should extend _____ % of their total advances to agriculture.
(1) 40% (2) 25% (3) 60% (4) 18% (5) 15%

2. The Agriculture Insurance Co ltd [AICIL] was formed in 2002. 35% of the stake of AICIL is held by
(1) GIC (2) NABARD (3) NIA (4) UII (5) NIC

3. DFID which is a development partner of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) is a funding agency of the
(1) IBRD. (2) USA. (3) UK. (4) OECD. (5) Netherlands.

4. Administered interest rate system in banks at present applies only to

(1) current accounts. (2) savings deposits. (3) fixed deposits.
(4) recurring deposits. (5) call deposits.

5. Which is not a major coral reef area?

(1) The Sunderbans (2) The Gulf of Mannar (3) The Gulf of Kachch
(4) The Lakshadweep (5) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands

6. Which bank/agency is financing phase-II of the Yamuna Action Plan under the National River Conservation Plan
[NRCP]?
(1) JBIC (2) ADB (3) IDA (4) BIS (5) NABARD

7. Which convention deals with the problem of persistent organic pollutants [pop]?
(1) Stockholm (2) Basel (3) Berne (4) Rio De Janeiro (5) Rotterdam

8. The phenomenon of gregarious flowering of Muli Bamboo is observed in the

(1) Western Ghats. (2) Satpura range. (3) Eastern Ghats. (4) Deccan Plateau. (5) North Eastern States.

9. The Saraswath Cooperative Bank, the biggest such bank in the country, is based in
(1) Karnataka. (2)Maharashtra. (3) Goa. (4) Gujarat. (5) None of the above.

10. The Dairy Venture Capital Fund scheme initiated in the 10th plan is implemented by the
(1) NDDB. (2) GCMMF. (3) NABARD. (4) ICAR. (5) Planning Commission.

11. Which company has partnered with the NGO PRADAN to launch a low cost hybrid digital slate for micro – finance
institution? [The slate allows both paper based and digital record keeping]
(1) Microsoft. (2) HCL. (3) IBM. (4) C – DAC. (5) TCS.

12. Which of the following threatened breeds is native to Gujarat?

(1) Attapaddy Goat (2) Beetal Goats (3) Zanskari pony (4) Kachchhi camel (5) Jerdon’s couser

13. The New Silk Road initiative is a global initiative to help _____ build a self-reliant and sustainable economy.
(1) Iraq (2) Libya (3) Afghanistan (4) Myanmar (5) Pakistan

14. Which country introduced more than a decade back a resolution in the UNO seeking a Comprehensive Convention
on International Terrorism (CCIT)?
(1) Pakistan (2) USA (3) UK (4) India (5) China

15. Which country was not “fully infected” with the 'Arab spring'?
(1) Saudi Arabia (2) Egypt (3) Tunisia (4) Syria (5) Libya

16. The Helmand province in Afghanistan has attracted global attention because it is the largest _____ producing
region in the world
(1) Apple (2) Wheat (3) Cotton (4) Heroin (5) Maize

17. The Union Government approved a special industry initiative scheme for Jammu & Kashmir based on the
recommendations of an expert group headed by
(1) Sam Pitroda (2) C.Rangarajan (3) Wajahat Habibullah
(4) Usha Thorat (5) Y.V.Reddy

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18. According to a Indian Institute of Science Bangalore Study, on the impact of global warming on India's forests;
which is projected as the most vulnerable area?
(1) Upper Himalayas (2) Satpura Range (3) Western Ghats
(4) Parts of Eastern Ghats (5) Deccan Plateau

19. Which of the following states are currently providing an unemployment allowance?
(1) Chhattisgarh (2) Haryana (3) Kerala (4) All of the above (5) None of the above

20. India signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) in August 2011 with
(1) Georgia . (2) Mauritius. (3) Liechtenstein. (4) Isle of Man. (5) Cayman Islands.

21. Which agency is to launch in December 2011 a National Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System as part of e-
governance?
(1) Interpol (2) NCRB
(3) Central Vigilance commission (4) NCAER
(5) CBI

22. The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) World Disaster Report released in September 2011 focussed on
hunger, food, scarcity and malnutrition in the world. The report has placed India at the 128th position among the
(1) Mediterranean countries. (2) Polynesian countries. (3) Balkans.
(4) Sub - saharan countries. (5) Latin American countries.

23. According to WHO which is the major cause of death in the world?
(1) Non Communicable Diseases [NCDS] (2) Traumas
(3) Communicable Diseases (4) Injuries
(5) Perinatal and Nutritional Deficiencies

24. Who is the Chairman of the expert group on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which submitted its report to the
Planning Commission in September 2011?
(1) Naresh Trehan (2) T S Vijayan (3) Binayak Sen (4) K Srinath Reddy (5) Sam Pitroda

25. Which pair of biosphere reserves is mismatched?

(1) Nokrek – Meghalaya (2) Agasthyamalai – Karnataka (3) Simlipal – Orissa
(4) Dehang Debang - Arunachal Pradesh (5) Manas - Assam

26. The RBI appointed K.C.Chakrabarthy Committee on Regional Rural Banks [RRB’s] has suggested a capital
adequacy ratio [CAR] of _____ % for RRB's from March 31 2012
(1) 7% (2) 8% (3) 9% (4) 6% (5) 5%

27. Which state tops the Education Development Index (EDI) developed by the HRD Ministry for providing better
primary and upper primary education?
(1) Kerala (2) Tamil Nadu (3) Gujarat
(4) Himachal Pradesh (5) Bihar

28. Which of the following is not an urban poverty eradication programme?

(1) SJSRY (2) SJGRY (3) BSUP (4) IDSMT (5) SHASHU

29. Which country is the first to introduce -auction of tea?

(1) China (2) Kenya (3) India (4) Vietnam (5) None of the above.

30. To encourage development of Horticulture in the North East the Central Government sanctioned in 2006 a Central
Institute of Horticulture at Medziphema in
(1) Bihar. (2) Orissa. (3) Bhutan. (4) Nagaland. (5) Jammu and Kashmir.

31. Suzlon Energy, the world’s fifth biggest player in wind turbine business, is based in
(1) Denmark. (2) Switzerland. (3) China. (4) India. (5) None of the above.

32. India has _____ of the global forest and pasture lands.
(1) 5% (2) 7% (3) 1.5% (4) 4% (5) 6%

33. Which global giant has announced, in the context of global concern over safety of nuclear power, its decision to
keep itself away from nuclear power projects?
(1) Areva (2) General Electric (3) Siemens (4) NPCIL (5) Lockheed Martin

34. According to the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC] which state tops the list of states in reporting cases
of bonded labour?
(1) UP (2) Punjab (3) Haryana (4) Rajasthan (5) Bihar

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35. The Teesta stage III hydel project site at Chungthang is in the news. The project site is in
(1) Arunachal Pradesh. (2) Sikkim. (3) Assam.
(4) Himachal Pradesh. (5) Meghalaya.

36. India is to host its first ever Summit on Higher Education in October 2011 with
(1) The USA. (2) Australia. (3) The UK. (4) Canada . (5) New Zealand.

37. Which Indian movie has made it to the all time 25 best sports movies list compiled by Time Magazine?
(1) Chak de (2) Lagaan (3) Golconda School
(4) Iqbal (5) Shatranj ke Khiladi

38. What percent of the area sown in the country is dependent on monsoon?
(1) 75.5 (2) 81.7 (3) 55.7 (4) 43.2 (5) 64.6

39. Who among the following was not an activist advocating the rights of farmers?
(1) M.S.Tikait (2) Sharad Joshi (3) Charan Singh (4) N G Ranga (5) Datta Samant

40. Which agency has certified Delhi Metro as the first metro rail based system to get carbon credits? (Delhi Metro has
helped in reducing pollution levels by 6.3 lakh tonnes every year)
(1) UNFCCC (2) WEF (3) IAEA (4) Green peace (5) IEA

41. Which statement is not true of the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006?
(1) It has come into force on August 5, 2011.
(2) A Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) established under the Act will lay down standards for
food items.
(3) It will ensure prevention of fraudulent, unfair and deceptive trade practices.
(4) The data collected by the FSSAI will help in the implementation of the, proposed Food Security Bill.
(5) The Central Food and Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore has been established under the
provisions of the Act.

42. The current level of infant mortality rates (IMR) in the country is 50 per 1000 live births. The NHRM target for IMR is
30 per 1000 live births by
(1) 2015. (2) 2020. (3) 2012. (4) 2018. (5) 2014.

43. Which statement is not true of the proposed reforms in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural- Employment
Programme [MGNREP] approved by the Union Government in August 2011?
(1) The Gram Panchayat will be the administrator of the programme.
(2) Registration of jobs can be done through call centres.
(3) Mandatory payment of wages within 15 days at doorstep.
(4) The scheme has been extended to the urban poor through a pilot project in Dharavi slum in Mumbai.
(5) Unemployment allowance will be provided if employment is not provided with in 15 days.

44. As per the 2001 census the urban population in urban areas is
(1) 350 million. (2) 377.1 million. (3) 250 million. (4) 300 million. (5) 200 million.

45. The Puga geothermal fields are located in

(1) Ladakh. (2) Himachal Pradesh. (3) Jharkhand.
(4) Uttarakhand. (5) Sikkim.

46. Which is not a disease transmitted by animals/birds/insects?

(1) Encephalitis (2) Malaria (3) Avian flu (4) Anthrax (5) Anorexia

47. There are about _____ clear sunny days in most parts of the country.
(1) 175 (2) 250 (3) 300 (4) 150 (5) 325

48. Who among the following is a face book venture capitalist and hedge fund billionaire?
(1) Warren Buffett (2) George Soros (3) L.N.Mittal (4) Vinod Khosla (5) Peter Thiel

49. Which is India's hypersonic missile launched from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur in September 2011?
(1) Shourya (2) Pinaka (3) Brahmos (4) Nag (5) Astra

50. In September 2011 over 2000 events were observed in 175 countries for "moving planet" a global day of action to
move the planet away from
(1) poverty. (2) terrorism. (3) fossil fuels. (4) carbon credits. (5) LED lights.

51. Financial Literacy Agenda for Mass Empowerment (FLAME) is an initiative of

(1) IBA. (2) Banking Ombudsman. (3) RBI.
(4) IIFL. (5) SBI.

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52. Iran supplies about 12% of India's oil requirement. Which is the biggest Indian buyer of Iranian crude oil?
(1) IOC (2) BPCL (3) RIL (4) OIL (5) MRPL

53. The new Prime Minister of Nepal Baburam Bhattarai is a nominee of the
(1) Nepali Congress. (2) Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
(3) UDMF. (4) MJF.
(5) Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist).

54. Which credit rating agency downgraded the credit rating of USA in August 2011 from AAA To AA?
(1) Moody's (2) Fitch (3) Standard & Poor's
(4) Goldman Sachs (5) Bloomberg Financial Services

55. As of August 30, 2011, which key indicator of the economy has remained unchanged at 6% for a long period?
(1) Bank rate (2) Repo (3) Reverse repo (4) CRR (5) SLR

56. India's largest power company with an installed capacity of 34854 MW and contributing 1/3 of the country's entire
power generation is
(1) the Jaypee Group. (2) Jindal Steel and Power. (3) NTPC.
(4) Reliance Power. (5) NTPC.

57. The USA has expressed concern over the Haqqani terror network which it says operates from safe havens in
(1) Iran. (2) Libya. (3) Saudi Arabia. (4) Pakistan. (5) Somalia.

58. The defunct Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite [UARS] which has completed its twenty year mission was
launched by
(1) ISRO. (2) NASA. (3) Roskosmos. (4) EADS. (5) JSA.

59. The 2008 global financial crisis did not have a crippling effect on the Indian economy because of
(1) The conservative policies of the RBI.
(2) a fairly strong domestic demand.
(3) prudent lending by banks.
(4) a fundamental propensity among Indians to save.
(5) All of the above.

60. Proceeds from disinvestment of PSU's are credited into the

(1) Contingency Fund. (2) Universal Service Obligation Fund. (3) NIF.
(4) Consolidated Fund. (5) NPS

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 Key for IRMA – 2011 – Paper-I
1. 4 7. 1 13. 3 19. 4 25. 2 31. 4 37. 2 43. 4 49 1 55. 1
2. 1 8. 5 14. 4 20. 1 26. 3 32. 3 38. 3 44. 2 50. 3 56. 3
3. 3 9. 2 15. 1 21. 2 27. 1 33. 3 39. 5 45. 1 51. 4 57. 4
4. 2 10. 3 16. 4 22. 4 28. 2 34. 1 40. 1 46. 5 52. 5 58. 2
5. 1 11. 1 17. 2 23. 1 29. 3 35. 2 41. 5 47. 3 53. 2 59. 5
6. 1 12. 4 18. 3 24. 4 30. 4 36. 1 42. 3 48. 5 54. 3 60. 3