WEST BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE
EXAMINATION,-2011
COMPULSORY PAPER
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
Group A (50 Marks)
Separate answer book should be used (In case a candidate writes answer to questions on Group B in the answer book meant for Group A and vice-versa, such answers will not be evaluated).
Answer any five questions.
1. (a) Who is the first woman President of Brazil who was elected on November 1, 2010 ?
(b) Where was Osama-bin-Laden hiding in Pakistan before he was killed in an operation by US special force ?
(c) What was the mascot of FIFA World Cup 2010 ?
(d) How many countries participated in Commonwealth Games held in India ?
(e) Which country hosted the 16th SAARC Summit in April 2010 ?
(f) Which Indian wrestler became the first Indian to win a world wrestling championship gold medal on September 12, 2010 in Moscow ?
(g) Who is the First President elected under the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar on February 4, 2010 ?
(h) When was the Shimla Summit held between India and Pakistan ?
(i) Whose self-immolation in Tunisia ultimately led to much wider protests and finally the ousting of the Tunisian President ?
(j) Who received the David Dixon Award for outstanding performance in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on October 14, 2010 ? 1x10
2. (a) Which political prisoner and a prodemocracy leader was released from years of house arrest in Myanmar on November 13,2010 ?
(b) Who got the 'Adidas Golden Ball' for being the Best Player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup ?
(c) How many gold medals was won by India in the Commonwealth Games 2010 ?
(d) Who is the present foreign secretary of India ?
(e) Which Princely State was forcefully integrated into India by 'Operation Polo' ?
(f) Which part of Sudan would secede from Sudan on 9 July, 2011 ?
(g) When was the Yom Kippur War fought ?
(h) Where was the 2010 UN Climate change conference held ?
(i) What is the capital of Singapore ?
(j) Which is the smallest state in the World ? 1x10
3. Match List I with List II:
List-I List-II
Disease Causative agent
A. Cholera 1. Salmonella Typhosa
B. Plague 2. Mucobacterium tuberculosis
C. Pneumonia 3. Mycobacterium Leprae
D. Typhoid 4. Diplococcus Pneumoniae
E. Leprosy 5. Vibrio Cholerae 2x5
4. (a) Which Chinese political activist received the Nobel Peace Prize 2010 on October 8, 2010 ?
(b) Who is the main accused in Bhopal gas tragedy who is absconding throughout the trial period and is in USA ?
(c) Who is the present Secretary General of the United Nations ?
(d) Which Russian high level dignitary visited India in December 2010 completing the visits from P-5 countries to India ?
(e) What was the venue of Commonwealth Games opening ceremony of 2010 which was also the main stadium of the event in New Delhi ?
(f) Which leader of India's neighbouring country received the 'Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development' during that person's visit to India ?
(g) Who was the last chairperson of OAU when it was disbanded on 9 July, 2002 and succeeded by the African Union ?
(h) When did the action by international forces start against Libya ?
(i) Which Shakespearean Character is linked with Goneril, Regan and Cordelia ?
(j) Where is the NATO headquarters located ? 1x10
5. (a) What do these abbreviations stand for ?
(i) IMF (ii) CBI (iii) ECOSOC (iv) IAEA (v) NABARD 1 x5
(b) (i) Who wrote 'The Interpreter of Maladies : Stories of Bengal, Boston and Beyond' ?
(ii) What was the former name of Belarus ?
(iii) When did Lok Sabha adopt the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 ?
(iv) When was the new Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation signed between Russia and India during the visit of President Yeltsin ?
(v) Which country hosted the April, 2011 BRICS Summit ? 1x5
6. (a) What is the name of the US special force which carried out the operation to Kill Osama-bin-Laden ?
(b) Where did Britain's Royal Wedding Ceremony of Prince Willaim and Catherine Middleton take place on 29 April, 2011 ?
(c) Where did the nuclear disaster in Japan take place which has become the third major nuclear disaster in the World ?
(d) Where was the 16th Asian Games held in November, 2010 ?
(e) What is the name of the Fifa World Cup 2010 football ?
(f) Who was invited to deliver the 146th Convocation address of Calcutta University for the year 2010 ?
(g) Who is the Vice-President of India ?
(h) Who is the present President of Sri Lanka ?
(i) When was the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949 substantially revised and the new Indo Bhutan Friendship Treaty came into existence ?
(j) On 14 August 1941 what was that historic Charter which was signed by Roosevelt and Churchill which marked the beginning of the United Nations ? 1x10
7. Match List A with List B :
List-A List-B
Character Creator / Author
1. Don Quixote A. Jerome K. Jerome
2. Ivan Hoe B. Leo Tolstoy
3. Three men in a Boat C. Mary Shelly
4. Anna Karenina D. Walter Scott
5. Frankenstein E. Miguel de Cervantes 2x5
8. (a) Which cricket player was declared the 'Man of the Series' in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 ?
(b) Who has been re-appointed as the Chairman of the Public Ac¬counts Committee in May, 2011 ?
(c) Who is the author of 'Harry Potter' series ?
(d) How many digits are there in ISBN, the International Standard Book Number ?
(e) Which Sudanese President has been charged with war crimes as described in the Rome Statute by International Criminal Court (ICC) ?
(f) When did China occupy Tibet creating a security threat for India ?
(g) Which country hosted the G-20 2010 Summit ?
(h) Where in India is France building an atomic plant which has invited much public protests ?
(i) How many votes did India secure in the election for the 10 non-permanent seats in the UN Security Council ?
(j) Who scored the Final goal in the FIFA World Cup football for Spain ? 1x10
9. Match List I with List II:
List-I List-II
Organisation Chairperson / President/Secretarv-General
1. European Union A. Anders Fogh Rasmussen
2. ASEAN B. Masoud Mir Kazami
3. African Union (AU) C. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
4. OPEC D. Surin Pitsuwan
5. NATO E. Jose Manuel Barroso 2x5
10. (a) Which country holds the current chair of the Group of 77 (G- 77) ?
(b) Which was the central place of people's protest in Egypt in 2011 ?
(c) Who is the present President of Palestinian National Authority since January, 2005 after Yasser Arafat ?
(d) When was the Indian Peace-Keeping Forces (IPKF) dispatched for Sri Lanka ?
(e) Who is the author of 'Ignited Minds' ?
(f) Which city is known as 'Pink Cirty' ?
(g) Which day is observed as International Women's Day every year ?
(h) Whose famous dictum is this : "A neighbour is either an actual or potential enemy of a country",
(i) Which of these is a far-soluble vitamin ?
(a) Vitamin E, (b) Vitamin C, (c) Niacin, (d) Thiamin.
(j) Who is the author of "The Alchemist" ? 1x10
Group-B
Answer any four questions.
Each question carries 121/2 marks.
An answer should not exceed 200 words.
11. In the face of growing corruption do you think that India should have Jan Lokpal Bill as soon as possible ?
12. Do you think that the death of Osama-bin-Laden will bring an end to international terrorism ?
13. Do you think that in Bhopal Gas Tragedy case justice was denied ?
14. Bring out the significance of the visits of Heads of States/Governments to India.
15. Do you think that Women's Reservation Bill willensure full fledged participation of women in politics ?
16. Do you believe that India can play a more effective role in the issues of international peace and security if it secures a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council ?
17. The Nuclear Liability Bill will be able to mitigate the miseries of the victims if a nuclear holocaust takes place in the future in India. Argue.
18. A more active and rejuvenated United Nations is required to meet crisis situations as in the case of political unrests in North Africa. Argue your case.
ANSWERS General Knowledge & Current Affairs 1. (a) Dilma Roussef (b) Abbottabad (c) Zakumi (d) 71 countries (e) Bhutan (Thimpu) (f) Sushil Kumar (g) Thein Sein (h) 1972 (i) Mohammed Bouazizi (j) Jamaican Triple Jumper Trecia-Kaye Smith 2. (a) Aung San Syu Ki (b) Diego Forlan ( Uruguay ) (c) 38 (d) "Till 31st July-Nirupama Rao From 1st Aug -Ranjan Mathai (e) State of Hyderabad, in 1948 (f) Southern Part- South Sudan , (g) Oct 6 to Oct 25, 1973 [Arab Israeli War 1973] [ It is also known as October war or Ramadan war \ (h) Cancun - Mexico (i) Singapore City (j) Vatican City 3. A. Cholera — 5. Vibrio Cholerae B. Plague — 2. Yersinia Pestis C. Pneumonia — 4. Diplococcus Pneumoniae D. Typhoid — 1. Salmonella Typhosa E. Leprosy — 3. Mycobacterium Leprae 4. (a) Liu Xiabao (b) Waren Anderson (c) Ban Ki Moon (d) Dimitry Medvedev (e) Jawahar Lai Nehru Stadium (f) Sheikh Hasina Wazed (g) South African President Thabo Mbeki (h) When Military forces of Gaddafi continued their assault in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi despite a tentative dead line by the U.S., E.U., Arab Govt, to cease military operation. [Mar 19, 2011] i) King Lear j) Brussels ( Belgium ) 5. (b) (i) Jhumpa Lahiri (ii) Belorussia or White Russia /White Ruthenia (Hi) 30 Aug, 2010 (iv) January, 1993 (v) China (City : Sanya) 6. (a) US Navy SEALS (b) Westminster Abbey (c) Fukushima Daiichi (d) China, Guangjhou (e) Adidas Zabulani (f) King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyl Wangchuk (g) Hamid Ansari (h) Mahindra Rajapaksha (i) 2nd March, 2007 (j) Atlantic Charter 7. 1 — E, 2 — D, 3 — A, 4 — B, 5 — C 8. (a) Yuvraj Singh (b) Murli Manohar Joshi (c) J. K. Rowling (d) 10 Digits (e) Umar al-Bashir (f) 1950** (g) Seoul (h) Jaitapur (Maharashtra) (i) 187 (j) Andres Iniesta [** The Incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China (PRC) was a process by which the PRC gained control of the area com¬prising the present-day Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The area comprising the present-day TAR, had been under the control of the Government of Tibet since shortly after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. These regions came under the control of the PRC after a military conflict in the Qamdo (or Chamdo) area of Western Kham in October 1950, and the eventual acceptance of the Seven¬teen Point Agreement by the Government of Tibet and the PRC in October 1951. The Government of Tibet and Tibetan social struc¬ture remained in place intheTAR under the authority of the PRC until the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when the Dalai Lama fled into exile and after which the Government of Tibet was dissolved.] 9. 1 — E, 2 — D, 3 — C, 4 — B, 5 — A 10. (a) Argentina (b) Tahir's Square (c) Mahmud Abbas (d) 1987 (e) A. P. J. Kalam (f) Jaipur (g) 8th March (h) Kautilya expressed this opinion in Arthasashtra (i) Vitamin E (j) Paulo Coelho