General Knowledge & Current Affairs on a Daily Basis

1.Ques. Who among the following sportspersons was in news recently for featuring in the 2011 calender of the Indian Air Force?
a) Bajrang Lal Thakkar
b) Gagan Narang
c) Vishwanathan Anand
d) Sachin Tendulkar
e) None of the above
Answer:
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar can now be seen in Indian Air Force fatigues with Sukhoi fighter aircraft in the backdrop in the IAF’s 2011 calendar. The batsman features in the calendar wearing a green flying suit with helmet tucked under his left arm on the January page with a Su-30MKI in the background.Tendulkar is the only person appearing in the calendar which otherwise carries the pictures of various fighter planes and transport aircraft of the IAF. On September 3, the IAF conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain on Tendulkar for his cricketing achievements and contribution to the nation. He is the first person with no aviation background to receive the honor.

2.Ques. India Connect is a monthly newsletter published by _________.
a) Ministry of Tourism
b) Ministry of Civil Aviation
c) Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
d) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
e) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Answer:
India Connect is a monthly newsletter published by Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) under the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.


3.Ques. Parliament of which of Central Asian country has voted to scrap the next two Presidential elections recently?
a) Kyrgyzstan
b) Tajikistan
c) Turkmenistan
d) Uzbekistan
e) Kazakhstan
Answer:
Kazakhstan’s parliament on December 29, 2010 approved a plan to scrap the next two presidential elections, allowing Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has led the country since separation from the Soviet Union in 1991, to stay in power until 2020. The proposal would now go to a referendum. His supporters say he has ensured stability and successfully channelled the country’s oil wealth into rapid growth. But critics accuse him of stifling any opposition, rigging elections, and concentrating power in the hands of his family.


4.Ques. The government has decided to set up the ‘Hospitality Development and Promotion Board’ to:
a) improve services at government owned hotels
b) facilitate investments in healthcare sector
c) facilitate investments in hotel projects
d) promote India as a tourist destination in foreign countries
e) None of the above
Answer:
The Union Cabinet on December 30, 2010 approved the creation of ‘Hospitality Development and Promotion Board (HDPB)’ for approving and facilitating of hotel projects at the Central level. The main function of the Board would be to monitor and facilitate the clearances/approvals of Hotel Projects both at the Central and the State Government level.
The Board would be a single point for receiving applications for various clearances; for fast track approval/clearances of hotel project proposals in a time bound manner, review hotel project policies to encourage the growth of hotel/hospitality infrastructure in the country. The Secretary (Tourism), Government of India would be the Chairman of the Board at the Central level whereas the Chief Secretary of the State Government would be Chairman of the Board at the State level.


5.Ques. Which of the following states is an interested party in sharing of Krishna River’s waters?
a) Tamil Nadu
b) Kerala
c) Orissa
d) Goa
e) All the above
Answer:
The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) in its final award, declared on December 30, 2010, allocated the river’s water to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Chennai (Tamil Nadu).