IAS / IPS STUDIES -1

RAPID GK SERIES
QUESTIONS

1. The Largest Bay of the World is
2. The Chinese Revolution was happened in this year
3. According to the 2001 Census, the All India Male Literacy Rate is
4. A defect of Eye in which near Objects are not distinctly visible.
5. This is a line joining all the Points on a Graph that correspond to the same temperature
6. Onges is the tribal people who lives in this Indian Union Territory
7. In 2009, the Bank of Rajasthan was merged with this bank
8. The famous Character ADAM was created by this author
9. The famous author Kabir belongs to this language
10. The last Governor General of India’s Pre-Independence era was

ANSWERS

1. Hudson Bay (Northern Canada)
2. 1911
3. 75.85%
4. Hypermetropia or Long Sightedness
5. Isothermal
6. Andaman & Nicobar Islands
7. ICICI (Industrial Credit & Investment Corporation of India)
8. John Milton
9. Hindi
10. Lord Canning




Will support growth in all countries: IMF, World Bank

With turbulence and widespread fiscal strain threatening the global economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Saturday vowed to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all of its member countries.

"We commit to do everything within our means to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth in all our member countries," said a joint communiqu? issued by the IMF and World Bank at the end of its annual meeting in Washington.

"We reaffirm the need to work cooperatively to meet our development commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to support the poor in developing and emerging countries through this period of instability, as well as in the long-term," the joint communiqu? said.

Commending the G20 for making development the cornerstone of its agenda, the IMF and World Bank noted that the turbulence in global financial markets and widespread fiscal strains has put the robustness and sustainability of the global economic recovery at risk.

"Volatile commodity prices and pressures on food security are critical challenges. We are alert to the possible global impacts of these issues, particularly for the poor. While developing countries have been the main contributors to recent global economic growth, the economic crisis has reduced their capacity to withstand further shocks," the joint communiqu? said.

Observing that jobs are vital to translating growth into lasting poverty reduction and broad-based economic opportunities, the IMF and World Bank reiterated their commitment to job creation, especially by supporting the expansion of a vibrant private sector.

"In this connection, we recognise the important role the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) play in poorer countries and in challenging markets," the communiqu? said.

"We welcome and encourage the cooperation of the World Bank Group (WBG) with member governments and other partners, such as the G20, the International Labor Organisation and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to pursue a comprehensive approach to job creation for women and men," it said.

Asserting that the World Bank Group must continue to help member countries build their resilience and respond to crises, the joint communiqu? said to do this effectively, the WBG must remain prepared with human, knowledge and financial capacity.

"We welcome the WBG's enhanced focus on innovative approaches to support countries in the Middle East and North Africa region to address the social and economic consequences of their current transition. We call on the WBG to scale up support and strengthen collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, in particular other Multilateral Development Banks," it said.



IMF urges ECB to play bigger crisis-fighting role

A top IMF official on Sunday said the European Central Bank was the only player powerful enough to "scare" financial markets and keep the euro zone's debt crisis from further damaging the global economy.

Ahead of a high-stakes meeting on Sunday afternoon between IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the finance minister of Greece -- where the crisis is now centered -- officials were wrestling with how to bolster Europe's banking system and keep the crisis contained.

The IMF said the European Union's bailout fund could not go it alone.

"It is very important that we see a combination of the ECB and the EFSF," said Antonio Borges, the head of the IMF's European department, referring to the European Financial Stability Facility of 440 billion euros (USD 594 billion) .

"The ECB is the only agent that can really scare the markets," he added -- a vital consideration because investors are increasingly skeptical Greece can avoid a default and policymakers can prevent the crisis rolling to other nations.

Analysts say the bailout fund would be far to small if the crisis were to spread beyond Greece, Portugal and Ireland to hit the much larger economies of Italy and Spain.

Germany stands opposed to chipping in more to help nations it sees as profligate and the focus has now turned on ways to leverage existing bailout funds, possibly through the ECB.

The European Union's top economic official, Olli Rehn, said on Saturday that as soon as the region's governments confirm new powers for the EFSF, attention will turn to how to get more impact from the existing money.

"We need to find a mechanism where we can turn one euro in the EFSF into five, but there is no decision on how we could do that yet," another senior European official said.

The rescue fund would need to be at least 2 trillion euros to safeguard Italy and Spain if the crisis spread, analysts estimate.

Throughout a weekend of IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, European officials have been under pressure to get a grip on the debt crisis before it spirals out of control.

While signs have mounted that Europe was preparing to step up its crisis response, there were still doubts that officials were moving swiftly enough.

"There is some risk of market disappointment due to the fact there were no further, more specific pledges from the euro countries at this time," Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg told reporters.

"It is clear they want to build a firewall (but) it will take time before we see the decisions necessary in place."

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed the ECB on Saturday to take on a pivotal role in fighting the crisis. "The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table," he told the steering committee of the 187-nation IMF.

In a measure of the global concern about the potential for renewed recession, Brazil's central bank chief also appealed for a better coordinated and stronger European approach.

"Brazil's experience with past crises suggests you have to confront the problems in a fast, consistent manner," said Alexandre Tombini.

"The longer it takes, the higher the cost, the more contagion spreads. You have to act with overwhelming force."



Salman Khurshid’sshri Visit to Kabul for Fateha Prayers for Late President of Afghanistan

Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Law & Justice and Minority Affairs,represented the people and Government of India at the offering of ‘Fateha’ prayers, in Kabul yesterday, for late Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, Chairman of High Peace Council and former President of Afghanistan, who was assassinated on September 20, 2011. During the visit, Shri Khurshid called on Shri Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and also met Mr. Salahuddin Rabbani, son of late Professor Rabbani to convey condolences and express solidarity with the people and Government of Afghanistan in their hour of grief.


RTI ‘transgressing into govt functioning’, Moily wants a debate

Denying any rift between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily today called for a “national debate” on the scope of the Right to Information Act (RTI), saying it “transgresses into the independent functioning of the government”.

This came in the context of Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy citing a Finance Ministry note that has brought the spotlight on Chidambaram’s role in the 2G spectrum allocation, which was obtained through RTI.

“We call it argumentative India. Every person or ministry has the right to express views but you cannot interpret it as differences between Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram. In the context of RTI exposures, people are misreading things. Transparency, yes, but it cannot scuttle the independence of individuals and ministries expressing difference of opinion. It’s time for a national debate on this issue,” Veerappa Moily told The Sunday Express.
As for the Finance Ministry’s purported letter regarding the role of Chidambaram, the Corporate Affairs Minister said it could not be construed as infighting in the government. The note sent to the PMO says that had the Finance Ministry, then under Chidambaram, stuck to the auction option, the grant of licences could have been cancelled. It adds that the note “had been seen by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee”.

“Just because there is exchange of views on administrative matters, one cannot call it infighting. In a democratic process that our Cabinet system follows, there is free exchange of views to arrive at a correct decision. Even at the Prime Minister’s level, we express our differences. How can democracy function otherwise? But RTI obtain some extracts of such exchange of views and attribute motives to them. If this continues, no officer or minister will discuss anything. Even the judiciary should appreciate it. Time has come to re-visit the issue of (making public) file notes and discussions,” said Moily.


6.5 ton NASA satellite crash lands, probably in Pacific

A 6.5 ton defunct satellite hurtling uncontrolled towards Earth has likely plunged into a remote section the Pacific Ocean off the western US coast, American space agency NASA said.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) crossed over portions of Indian Ocean and Africa before splashing down sometime between 11:23 pm (local time) Friday and 1:09 am yesterday, NASA officials said.

NASA said all debris from the research satellite, the biggest piece of US space junk to fall uncontrolled in 32 years, appears to have dropped in a remote section of the Pacific Ocean well "away from the western coast of the US," but the precise spot may never be pinpointed.

There was a 1-in-3,200 chance of a person getting hit by falling debris, but there is no such report yet. "NASA is not aware of any reports of injury or property damage," the officials wrote in a statement. Nick Johnson, chief scientist for orbital debris at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told reporters the fiery trajectory of the 13,000-pound satellite ended as it crossed eastward over portions of the Indian Ocean and Africa for the final time.

It then most likely disintegrated and scattered debris over a roughly 500-mile stretch across the northern portion of the Pacific.

About 11 hours after the plunge, he said there is no credible report about debris falling on land or anyone recovering satellite parts -- contrary to widespread Internet speculation about purported remnants of the satellite falling to the ground in Canada or elsewhere.


Bank lobby rejects imposing losses on Greek private investors

The international bank lobbying group that has been taking a leading role in negotiations on giving debt-ridden Greece easier terms for its bonds on Sunday rejected calls to impose larger losses on private investors.

Forcing private creditors to write down their Greek bond holdings by more than the 21 per cent tentatively agreed to in a July deal would quickly cause a "domino effect" that would see the crisis spread to other parts of Europe, warned Josef Ackermann, the outgoing chairman of the Institute of International Finance.

Such a move would ultimately cost taxpayers much more than just bailing out Greece and erode confidence in the euro, warned Ackermann, who is also the CEO of Germany's Deutsche Bank, a major lender to Greece. Germany and other rich eurozone nations have been pushing for a re-negotiation of the July deal, arguing that the economic situation in Greece has significantly deteriorated since then and may require a steeper cut in the country's debt burden.

However, Ackermann quickly rejected that push, saying that the agreement was fair and already placed a heavy burden on banks at atime of major market turmoil. "If we now start reopening this Pandora's box we will lose a lot of time and I'm not sure people would be willing to participate," Ackermann told a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the IMF.

Under the July deal, Greece is asking banks and other large private investors to swap their existing Greek bonds for ones with longer repayment deadlines, a lower face value or lower interest rates.


RBI annual report imparts ‘downward bias' to India's growth rate

The Annual Report for 2010-11, a statutory publication of the Reserve Bank of India's central board, covers two broad areas — assessment of macroeconomy in 2010-11 as well as prospects for 2011-12 and working and operations of the RBI and its financial accounts.

The latest report released on August 25, like its predecessors, is a snapshot of the economy in the previous year even while it assesses its strengths and weaknesses during the current year.

Excerpts from the report covering growth prospects, inflation outlook and certain other aspects of the macroeconomy in the current year are given here.

The economy returned to a high growth path in 2010-11. However, there were significant challenges: investment slowed, fiscal consolidation was achieved through one-off and cyclical factors and inflation remained sticky on the back of new pressures.

In response, the RBI has raised the policy rates by 475 basis points (on a cumulative basis) since March, 2010. The central bank's medium-term target for inflation has been 3 per cent.

The current account deficit was contained within a reasonable limit, mainly due to an upswing in exports and a turnaround in invisibles.

Growth prospects

After growing slightly above its recent trend in 2010-11, the economy can be expected to decelerate this year. But quite significantly, the growth rate will still be around 8 per cent. However, there is a possibility of global problems getting magnified and imparting a ‘downward bias' to India's growth rate.

In general, growth prospects in the current year appear to be more subdued than last year. Apart from global uncertainties, high prices of oil and certain other commodities have a dampening effect. Other factors weighing on growth are persistent inflationary pressures, rising input costs, higher cost of capital (due to monetary tightening) and slow project execution.

While industrial growth may suffer because of loss of business confidence, the services sector is expected to make up for the shortfall and support the overall growth process.

Investment may remain soft in the near-term, while private consumption may decelerate. In the face of moderating demand, ‘expenditure switching' from government consumption expenditures to public investments would help. Inflation is expected to remain high and moderate only towards the latter part of the year to about 7 per cent by March, 2012. The decline in global commodity prices has not been significant so far. However, if the global recovery weakens further in the days ahead, commodity prices may fall and that may have a salutary effect on the Indian economy.

The ultra soft monetary policy pursued by the U.S. can keep commodity prices elevated. If the global oil prices stay at current levels, further increase in prices of administered oil prices will become necessary to control subsidies. Fertilizer and electricity prices will also require an upward revision in view of sharp rise in input costs.

Monetary policy by itself faces inherent limitations in tackling inflation in the absence of adequate supply side responses.

However, it can still play an important role in curbing the second round effects of supply-side inflation. In the face of nominal rigidities and price-stickiness, there are dangers of accepting the current elevated inflation level as the new normal.

The twin deficits
The fiscal deficit is likely to overshoot the budgeted provisions. If the economy slows down further as is anticipated, the erosion in revenue will magnify the fiscal slippage. Also, the space for counter-cyclical fiscal policies is more limited than it was at the time of the global crisis in 2008.

On a more positive side, the current account deficit (CAD) is expected to be contained within a sustainable 2.7-3 per cent of GDP. The export performance has been robust in 2010-11.

However, by all accounts exports are expected to slowdown later this year due to the deceleration in the advanced economies. Software exports too will be affected as bulk of them are to the U.S. and Europe.

Capital flows are more difficult to anticipate. Their ebb and flow depend on the degree of risk aversion. If the global crisis deepens, capital flows will moderate. However, capital flows can increase in spells on a relative return basis and due to interest differentials.

Medium-term challenges
The immediate challenge to sustaining high growth lies in bringing down inflation. Over the medium-term, however, growth can be sustained only by addressing the structural bottlenecks.

The medium-term challenges are: Lowering inflation and inflation outlook to acceptable levels; harnessing technology for agriculture productivity enhancements; maintaining right balance between consumption and investment; facilitating energy security; facilitating infrastructure finance; and promoting financial inclusion and inclusive growth.


10 Indians among 19 killed in plane crash near Kathmandu

Flight BHA-103 of Buddha Air, crashed in the Kathmandu valley on Sunday morning, killing all 19 persons, including 10 Indians, onboard.

The Beechcraft plane had completed a flight around Mount Everest when it lost contact with the Tribhuvan International Airport tower at 7.31 a.m. It crashed four minutes later at Kotdanda in Lalitpur district, around 15 km south of the airport.

The others killed were six Nepalis, including three crew members; two Americans and a Japanese.

According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here, the Indians were: Pankaj Mehta and his wife Chhaya Mehta, M. Maruthachalam, M. Manimaran, A.K. Krisunan, V.M. Kanakasabesan, T. Dhanasekaran, Kattoor Mahalingam, Meenakshi Sundaram, and K. Thyagarajan.

While Pankaj Mehta was with the UNICEF here, the other eight men were from Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu. They came here on Saturday evening and checked into the Grand Hotel.

Hotel manager Phurba Sherpa told The Hindu, “All the eight persons were part of the Tiruchirapalli Centre Builders Association. They first communicated with us on August 21 and booked rooms for three nights and four days. They checked into the hotel on Saturday at 5 p.m., and were scheduled to check out on September 27. They left for their mountain flight this morning at 5.45 a.m.”