General Studies & Current Affairs for Bank, SSC, CLAT, Civil Services and other Competitive Exams

The economic survey 2011-12 was presented in the parliament by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee on 14 March 2012. According to the e...

The Economic Survey of India 2011-12: Highlights


The economic survey 2011-12 was presented in the parliament by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee on 14 March 2012. According to the economic survey 2011-12 the Indian GDP pegged at 6.9% in the fiscal year 2010-11. Figure for the agriculture, services and industry sector stood at 2.5%, 9.4% and 4-5% respectively. The survey, which is presented annually by the Ministry of Finance, of government of India, maintained that the Indian economy despite global slowdown remained exuberant and was among the fastest growing economies of the world.

Given below are the highlights of economic survey 2011-12
 

•    Growth Rate is estimated to be 6.9%. Outlook for growth and stability is promising as the real GDP growth expected to pick up to 7.6% in 2012-13 and 8.6% in 2013-14.
•    At 2.5 %, Agri sector performed well. Services sector grew by 9.4 %, its share in GDP grew up to 59%.
•    Industrial sector growth stood at 4-5 %
•    Inflation on WPI which was on a upward trajectory in the initial part of the year witnessed a sharp slow down by the year-end.
•    WPI food inflation dropped from 20.2% in February 2010 to 1.6% in January 2012. The low inflation rate is likely to improve promote investment 
•    India remains among the fastest growing economies of the world. Country’s sovereign credit rating rose by a substantial 2.98 percent in 2007-12.
•    Fiscal consolidation on track - savings & capital formation expected to rise. 
·         Exports grew 40.5% in the first half of this fiscal and imports grew by 30.4%.
·         The trade deficit stood at 8% of the GDP. 
·         Forex reserves enhanced - covering nearly the entire external debt stock
•    Central spending on social services goes up to 18.5% this fiscal from 13.4% in 2006-07.
•    MNREGA coverage increases to 5.49 crore households in 2010-11.
•    Sustainable development and climate change concerns on high priority.

1. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted clearance to Jindal Power Limited (JPL) for its 2,400 MW power project at...

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY Current Affair-Feb/Mar 2012 for IBPS & CLAT



1. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted clearance to Jindal Power Limited (JPL) for its 2,400 MW power project at Tamnar, which is located in:
a. West Bengal
b. Jharkhand
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Chhattisgarh

2. IT fi rm Hexaware Technologies recently bagge d a five-year outsourcing deal worth $250 millionfrom which one of the following countries?
a. Germany
b. United Kingdom
c. France
d. Netherlands

3. Which of the following private sector banks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to allow policyholders to receive policy payments through Electronic Funds Transfer?
a. ICICI
b. HDFC
c. Dhanlaxmi Bank
d. ING Vysya bank

4. Which one of the following Defence Public Sector Undertakings received the prestigious Raksha Mantri's Awards in
fi ve categories for the year 2009-10?
a. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
b. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
c. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
d. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML)

5. Siemens AG announced it woill invest 250 million euro in India to develop new baseline products, especially for the Indianurban and rural markets, as part of its new global strategy. Siemens AG belongs to which one of the following countries?
a. Italy
b. Germany
c. United States of America
d. Canada

6. Facing fi nancial pressure, which one of the following companies recently has increased the international call rate tariffs by up to 10 per cent for some destinations for all customers and reduced certain benefits on add-on services for its pre-paid subscribers?
a. Vodafone
b. Tata Indicom
c. Airtel
d. Reliance

7. Titan Industries has acquired watch brand Favre Leuba, which is based in:
a. Norway
b. Sweden
c. Spain
d. Switzerland

8. A US-based leading manufacturer of high-technology integrated information, communication and sensor system
solutions for military and commercial markets, has announced a joint venture with which one of the following Indian
companies recently?
a. Mahindra Satyam
b. Mahindra & Mahindra
c. Wipro Technologies
d. Infosys

9. Japanese carmaker Nissan is setting up a diesel engine plant inside its manufacturing facility at Oragadam, which is
located in:
a. Tamil Nadu
b. Karnataka
c. Rajasthan
d. Haryana

10. Lupin is going to acquire I'rom Co of Japan. Lupin and the I'rom Co are related with which one of the following sectors?
a. Power
b. Education
c. Transport infrastructure
d. Health

1. Recently, 139 greater flamingos were electrocuted at which one of the following Wildlife Sanctuaries? a. Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanct...

Current Affair -Feb/March 2012 for CLAT & IBPS


1. Recently, 139 greater flamingos were electrocuted at which one of the following Wildlife Sanctuaries?
a. Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
b. Keoladev Ghana Wildlife Sanctuary
c. Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary
d. Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

2. The Government of India has set up a mechanism to access all intelligence data.The name of this mechanism is:
a. Indian Intelligence Grid (INTEL GRID)
b. National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)
c. Indian Spy
d. Third Eye

3. Which one of the following Indian photographers was declared the Grand Prix winner among 60,000 entries in the International Nikon Photo Contest?
a. Raghu Rai
b. Homai Vyarawalla
c. S Paul
d. Debarshi Duttagupta

4. Who is the current Chief Justice of India?
a. KG Balakrishnan
b. YK Sabharwal
c. RC Lohati
d. HS Kapadia

5. The South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) Championship was recently organised in:
a. Chennai
b. Mumbai
c. Panaji
d. New Delhi

6. An enclave has been named as ‘Mahatma Gandhi District’ in which of the following cities of the USA?
a. New York
b. Los angles
c. Chicago
d. Houston

7. Which one of the following personalities was recently appointed as the Chairperson of the Press Council of India (PCI)?
a. Altamas Kabir
b. Raju Ramachandran
c. Markandey Katju
d. Mrs Vibha Bhargava

8. According to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) - 2010, which of the following countries leads
the world in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges?
a. Switzerland
b. Iceland
c. New Zealand
d. Australia

9. Stem cell therapy is best suitable for:
a. Leukemia
b. Parkinson's disease
c. Spinal cord injuries
d. All of the above

10. The term ‘Jasmine Revolution’ is best defined as:
a. A women’s uprising in Yemen
b. A code name given to the ‘SlutWalk movement’ in Canada
c. A pro-democracy demonstration in Tunisia
d. An anti-apartheid drive in South Africa

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget for the year 2012-13, his seventh. At the very beginning of his speech Mr ...

Union Budget 2012-13 - Highlights

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget for the year 2012-13, his seventh. At the very beginning of his speech Mr Mukherjee said that a "year of recovery interrupted" meant that it was time to take tough decisions. The idea ahead of the budget was that fiscal deficit needed to be controlled by cutting subsidies and raising taxes. The finance minister has raised taxes and promised cuts in subsidies. Here are the highlights of the Budget.










  • Income tax exemption limit raised to Rs.2 lakh to provide relief of Rs.2,000 for all assesses; 20 per cent tax on income over Rs.10 lakh, up from Rs.8 lakh.
  • Deduction of up to Rs.10,000 from interest from savings bank accounts.
  • Defence to get Rs.1.93 lakh crore during 2012-13.
  • Service tax rate raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent to bring in Rs.18,660 crore.
  • Number of proactive steps taken on black money (stashed away abroad); information has started flowing in, prosecution to be initiated; White Paper in current session.
  • No change in corporate taxes but measures to enable them better access funds.
  • Withholding tax on external commercial borrowings reduced from 20 per cent to five per cent for power, airlines, roads, bridges, affordable houses and fertiliser sectors.
  • National Skill Development Fund allocated Rs.1,000 crore.
  • Four thousand residential quarters to be constructed for paramilitary forces with an allocation of Rs.1,185 crore.
  • National Population Register to be completed in two years.
  • Excise duty raised from 10 to 12 per cent.
  • Cinema industry exempted from service tax.
  • Branded silver jewellery fully exempt from excise duty.
  • Customs duty on warning systems/track upgrade equipment for railways reduced from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent.
  • Import duty on equipment for iron ore mining reduced from 7.5 to 2.5 per cent.
  • Allocation of Rs.200 crore for research on climate change.
  • Irrigation and water resource company to be operationalised.
  • National mission on food processing to be started in cooperation with state governments.
  • Integrated Child Development Scheme to be strengthened and restructured with allocation of Rs.15,850 crore.
  • Allocation of Rs.14,000 crore for rural water supply and sanitation.
  • Infusion of Rs.15,888 crore in public sector banks, regional rural banks and NABARD in 2012-13.
  • Infrastructure will require Rs.50 lakh crore in 12th Plan, half of this from the private sector.
  • Completion of highway projects 44 per cent higher than in previous fiscal.
  • External commercial borrowing of up to $1 billion permitted for airline sector.
  • External commercial borrowings permitted to low-cost housing sector.
  • From 2012-13, full subsidies for providing food security; in other sectors to the extent the economy can bear this.
  • Hope to raise Rs.30,000 crore from disinvestments.
  • New equity savings scheme to provide for income tax deduction of 50 per cent for those who invest Rs.50,000 in equity and whose annual income is less than Rs.10 lakh.
  • Corporate market reforms to be initiated.
  • Bills on micro-finance institutions, national land bank and public debt management among those to be introduced in 2012-13.
  • Addressing malnutrition, black money and corruption in public life among five priorities in year ahead.
  • India's inflation structural, driven largely by agricultural constraints.
  • Current account deficit 3.6 per cent in 2011-12; this put pressure on exchange rate.
  • Growth in 2012-13 estimated at 7.6 per cent; expect inflation to be lower.
  • Better monitoring of expenditure on government schemes.
  • Fiscal 2011-12 year of recovery interrupted; reality turned out to be different.
  • GDP growth in 2011-12 estimated at 6.9 per cent; had to battle double digit inflation for two years.
  • Good news: agriculture and services continued to perform well; economy is now turning around; recovery in core sectors.
  • Now at juncture where it is necessary to take hard decisions; have to accelerate pace of reforms.