Thursday, November 24, 2011

Council of Ministers - I

Portfolio

Name of Minister

Prime Minister
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Ministry of Planning
Department of Atomic Energy
Department of Space

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Minister of Finance

Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Food Processing Industries

Shri Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar

Minister of Defence

Shri A.K. Antony

Minister of Home Affairs

Shri Palaniappan Chidambaram

Minister of External Affairs

Shri S.M. Krishna

Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Shri Virbhadra Singh

Minister of Science and Technology
Minister of Earth Sciences

Shri Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh

Minister of Health and Family Welfare

Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad

Minister of Power

Shri Sushil Kumar Sambhajirao Shinde

Minister of Corporate Affairs

Shri M. Veerappa Moily

Jasmine Revolution:

Tunisia
Goal: To overthrow the corrupt and unpopular regime of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunisia: Home of the ancient city of Carthage, Tunisia has long been an important player in the Mediterranean. French colonial rule ended in 1956, and Tunisia was led for three decades by Habib Bourguiba.

Self immolation by a young unemployed man (Mohamed Bouazizi) on 17 December (Officials in his town prevented him from selling vegetables on the streets of Sidi Bouzid without permission.) sparked the events that led to the overthrow of the President.

Egypt
Goal: To overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and bring about free democratic elections.

Yemen:
Sizeable protests continue on and off against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, 33 years.

Libya:
Gaddafi received army training in the UK before returning to Libya to overthrow King Idris in a bloodless coup on 1 September 1969.

The rebels' National Transitional Council - was recognised as the country's interim government. The Libyan prime minister: Mahmoud Jibril

Bahrain:
The Ruling dynasty is al-Khalifa.

ASEAN

The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”. Here is a list of its members and some details about them:

Brunei Darussalam
Head of State : His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah
Capital : Bandar Seri Begawan
Language(s) : Malay, English
Currency : B$ (Brunei Dollar)

Cambodia
Head of State : His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni
Head of Government : Prime Minister Hun Sen
Capital : Phnom Penh
Language : Khmer
Currency : Riel

Indonesia
Head of State : President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Capital : Jakarta
Language : Indonesian
Currency : Rupiah

Lao PDR
Head of State : President Choummaly Sayasone
Head of Government : Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong
Capital : Vientiane
Language : Lao
Currency : Kip

Malaysia
Head of Government : The Honourable Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Capital : Kuala Lumpur
Language(s) : Malay, English, Chinese, Tamil
Currency : Ringgit

Myanmar
Head of State : President Thein Sein
Capital : Nay Pyi Taw
Language : Myanmar
Currency : Kyat

Philippines
Head of State : President Benigno S. Aquino III
Capital : Manila
Language(s) : Filipino, English, Spanish
Currency : Peso

Singapore
Head of State : President Tony Tan Keng Yam
Head of Government : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Capital : Singapore
Language(s) : English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil
Currency : S$ (Singapore Dollar)

Thailand
Head of State : His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Head of Government : Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
Capital : Bangkok
Language : Thai
Currency : Baht

Viet Nam
Head of State : President Nguyen Minh Triet
Head of Government : Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
Capital : Ha Noi
Language : Vietnamese
Currency : Dong

UN - II

Org: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
HQ: New York, USA

Org: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
HQ: Paris, France
.
Org: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
HQ: Nairobi, Kenya

Org: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
HQ: Bonn, Germany

Org: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the (UNHCR)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: University for Peace (UPEACE)
HQ: San Jose, Costa Rica

Org: World Health Organization (WHO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

UN - I

Org: Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) (Preparatory Commission)
HQ: Vienna, Austria

Org: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
HQ: Rome, Italy

Org: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
HQ: Vienna, Austria

Org: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
HQ: Washington, USA [World Bank Group]

Org: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
HQ: Montreal, Canada

Org: International Court of Justice (ICJ)
HQ: The Hague, The Netherlands

Org: International Labour Organization (ILO)
HQ: Geneva, Switzerland

Org: International Monetary Fund (IMF)
HQ: Washington, USA

Org: Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA)
HQ: Vienna, Austria

GK

‘Save Money. Live Better’ is the slogan of which MNC?
Wal-Mart.

A UK lawsuit alleged that this series was inspired by a book called 'Willy the Wizard'. Which book series?
Harry Potter series

'We Open Governments' is the slogan of which organisation?
WikiLeaks

This is a Japanese surname (also a brand name now) that means 'below the pine tree'. Matsushita

Which Indian group acquired English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers?
Venky

It started as Tradewinds Charters. What's it known as now?
SilkAir

A graduate in history from Oxford University he was responsible for conceptualising the Air India Maharajah. Who was he?
Bobby Kooka.

Which British tabloid exposed cases of spot-fixing in UK?
News of the World

How do we better know William Sydney Porter?
O. Henry

When is the 'Anti Untouchability Week' celebrated?
The week after Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, that is, 2nd October to 8th October.

Quotations

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again, but already it was impossible to say which was which.
George Orwell.

All hell broke loose.
John Milton.

Abandon all hope, you who enter.
Dante Alighieri

To err is human, to forgive divine.
Alexander Pope

The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
Rudyard Kipling

Co-op & their Brands

Brand: Vijaya
Co-op: Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Ltd (APDDCF)

Brand: Amul
Co-op: Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF)

Brand: Verka
Co-op: Punjab State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd (MILKFED)

Brand: Saras
Co-op: Rajasthan Cooperative Dairy Federation Ltd (RCDF)

Brand: Nandini
Co-op: Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd (KMF)

Brand: Milma
Co-op: Kerala State Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (KCMMF)

Brand: Gokul
Co-op: Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Maryadit Dugdh Mahasangh (Mahasangh)

Brand: Vita
Co-op: Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Ltd. (HDDCF)

Brand: Bhagirathi
Co-op: West Bengal Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd. (WBCMPF)

Brand: Aavin
Co-op: Tamilnadu Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd (TCMPF)

Economic Definition - Contingency Fund of India

The Contingency Fund of India established under Article 267 (1) of the Constitution is in the nature of an imprest (money maintained for a specific purpose) which is placed at the disposal of the President to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the Parliament.

Approval of the legislature for such expenditure and for withdrawal of an equivalent amount from the Consolidated Fund is subsequently obtained to ensure that the corpus of the Contingency Fund remains intact. The corpus for Union Government at present is Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) and is enhanced from time to time by the Union Legislature. The Ministry of Finance operates this Fund on behalf of the President of India.

Economic Definition - Base Rate

Base rate is the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it is not viable to lend.It replaces the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) ,the interest rate which commercial banks charged their most credit worthy customer.

A working group was constituted under the chairmanship of Shri Deepak Mohanty to review the benchmark prime lending rate. It was observed that the benchmark prime lending rate, which was introduced in 2003, had failed in its objective. The banks were lending below BPLR rates due to competitive pressures. Hence a need was felt for transition to a more transparent and effective interest rate mechanism.