SBI ASSOCIATE BANKS CLERKS EXAM GENERAL AWARENESS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. Who was sworn in as Hong Kong's new chief executive on July 1, 2012?
1) Leung Chun-Ying
2) Donald Tsang
3) Ronald Arculli
4) Chung Sze-Yuen
5) None of these

2. The Templeton Prize honors a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension. Who won the 2012 Templeton Prize, the largest annual monetary award given to an individual?
1) Martin Rees
2) Michael Heller
3) The Dalai Lama
4) Charles Taylor
5) Francisco Jose Ayala

3. Gulab Kothari has won which of the following awards for the year 2011?
1) Saraswati Samman
2) Moorti Devi Award
3) Jnanpith Award
4) Vyas Samman
5) None of these

4. Ramadevarabetta in Ramana-garam district has been declared as a vulture sanctuary. In which state is this sanctuary located?
1) Kerala
2) Tamil Nadu
3) Karnataka
4) Maharashtra
5) None of these

5. "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness" is a book written by?
1) Barack Obama 2) Joe Biden
3) George Bush 4) Mitt Romney
5) Bobby Jindal

6. Who received the 2011 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema given annually by the Govern-ment of India for lifetime contribution?
1) Tapan Sinha
2)Shyam Benegal
3) D.Ramanaidu
4) Mrinal Sen
5) Soumitra Chatterjee

7. Which of the following films was declared the Best Children Film at the 59th National Film Awards for the year 2011?
1) Stanley Ka Dabba
2) The Blue Umbrella
3) Keshu
4) Chillar Party
5) None of these

8. As per a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in March 2012, which country is the world's largest importer of arms?
1) India
2) South Korea
3) Pakistan
4) China
5) Singapore

9. Who was crowned as the Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012 on March 30, 2012 in Mumbai?
1) Prachi Mishra
2) Ankita Shorey
3) Vanya Mishra
4) Rochelle Maria Rao
5) Hasleen Kaur

10. Which Indian has been chosen for the Ramon Magsaysay Award for the year 2012, for economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts in Tamil Nadu?
1) Dr.Shanta Sinha
 2) Kulandei Francis
3) Sandeep Pandey
4) Arvind Kejriwal
5) Neelima Misra

General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR)

The General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR)- proposed by the then Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the annual budget 2012-13- is anti-tax avoidance rule, drafted by the Union Government of India, which prevents tax evaders, from routing investments through tax havens like Mauritius, Luxemburg, Switzerland.
According to the draft, GAAR will come into effect from 1 April 2013. As per the guidelines, FII not opting for treaty benefits and ready to pay taxes will not come under GAAR, but those who do opt for dual taxation avoidance agreements will come under its purview.
The Union Government was forced to defer the rules until 1 April 2013, as foreign investors had expressed their reservation about the language used in the rules. Investors had maintained that the ambiguous language used in the draft of the GAAR could lead to the misuse of the rule.

 Tax Havens:

Tax havens are countries which have low tax regimes which provide individuals and business opportunities of tax avoidance or tax evasion. There are roughly 45 tax havens in the world today. In Indian context, Mauritius is considered to be the most significant tax havens or tax evading route.
In more precise words the Mauritius route can be described as a channel used by individuals and Multi National Companies to evade paying taxes in India. The tax evasion in India through this route is estimated to be in tune with 55 billion dollar, mostly attributed to the loopholes in a bilateral agreement on double taxation.

State Bank of Patiala launched Gold Loan (Swarn Shakti) for Farmers

State Bank of Patiala (SBOP) on 2 July 2012 launched gold loan (Swarn Shakti) for farmers against the security of gold ornaments to provide free loans to the farmers without taking loan on land. It would make farmers to meet their small and long term agricultural needs with crop production, investment and consumption.

The maximum amount of loan is 10 lakh rupees and 30 percent margin will be given by the farmers. The loan for crop production will be charged at 7 percent per year up to 3 lakh rupees. Further, 3 percent interest of financial support will be given to farmers who refund their loans in time. Therefore, the actual rate of interest charged will be 4 percent. The total period to refund the amount will be 36 months counting with harvesting season