General Knowledge for Preparing Various Exams in India Chapter 10

136. The Railways have cut by half to 60 days, the maximum period for advanced reservation of tickets with effect from May 1.

137. In the wake of an alleged fraud involving thousands of crores by Kolkata-based Saradha group, the Centre ordered a SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe into suspected misuse of the public money by various chit fund companies.

138. Indian death-row prisoner Sarabjit Singh sustained serious head injuries and went into coma when he was attacked in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.

139. The India Meteorological Department forecast normal rainfall — at 98 per cent of the long period average of 89 cm, with a model error of plus or minus five per cent — during the coming south monsoon season.

140. Anil Goswami has been appointed Union Home Secretary.

141. After a gap of over 20 months, India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) will meet at the summit level in New Delhi on June 6.

142. The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) conferred its lifetime achievement award on Jai Chandiram, former Deputy Director-General of Doordarshan.

143. Narinder Nath Vohra, Governor of Jammu and Kashmir appointed Governor of the State for a second five-year term. In his capacity as Governor, he also heads Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

144. The rates of Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a median 11 per cent for the Centre and 13 per cent by the states, according to a sub-committee of states and Central government officials working on the subject.

145. Nearly half of India's population would have the Aadhaar card by 2014 and nearly one in three Indians by the end of this year, Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani said. Nilekani said. "we have enrolled 380 million of the 1.2 billion people. Our daily processing is about a million people a day.”

146. Wall Street brokerage Goldman Sachs projected an 'above-consensus' growth of 6.4 per cent for the current fiscal.

147. UN pegged the calender 2013 growth at 6.4 per cent.

148. In the budget, the government had pegged growth at between 6.1 and 6.7 per cent.

149. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its outlook for the world economy this year to 3.3 per cent this year, down from its forecast in January of 3.5 per cent. India is projected to expand 5.7 per cent this year and 6.2 per cent in 2014.

150. With the loading target exceeding 1007 million tonnes (MT) by the end of March, Railways entered the select group of billion plus club in freight movement with China, Russia and USA.

151. India's total external debt was USD 376.3 billion as of December end, up 8.9 per cent from March, on account of long-term and short-term components.

152. A new virus 'Win32/Ramnit' has been found to be "spreading widely" in the Indian cyberspace which cleverly steals bank account details and passwords of the user once it is clicked.

153. The Reserve Bank of India will shortly cancel licences of 26 loss-making cooperative banks.