CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS –JANUARY 2012.

1. Who has been formally named supreme commander of armed forces of North Korea?

Kim Jong-un.

2. Indian-origin scientist and winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for chemistry who will be honoured with knighthood in 2012?

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan.

He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath, "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". Ramakrishnan was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to Molecular Biology. He received India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2010.

3. Name of the very severe cyclonic storm that crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on December 30, 2011 morning, claimed many lives, and left behind a trail of destruction and human suffering?

Cyclone Thane

Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Thane (also known as Cyclone Thane) was the strongest tropical cyclone of 2011 within the North Indian Ocean. Thane became a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm during December 28, 2011 before as it approached the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, it weakened slightly. Thane then made landfall early on December 30, on the north Tamil Nadu coast between Cuddalore and Pondicherry and rapidly weakened into a depression.

4. Which player named the top South American Footballer of 2011 by the Uruguayan daily El País?

Neymar. (Santos)

South American Footballer of the Year is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper “El Mundo”, whom awarded it from 1971 to 1985. Uruguayan newspaper “El País took “over from 1986 onwards. The inaugural winner was Tostao of Cruzeiro. Argentine club River Plate have had the most winners with five awards.

5. Which country has won a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term, securing 129 out of 193 votes in the United Nations General Assembly?

Pakistan.

Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Togo, the five new non-permanent members of the 15-nation UN Security Council, began serving their two-year terms on January 1, 2012. The five other temporary members who will remain on the Council through 2012 are: Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa. The Council has 15 members: five permanent—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—and 10 elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms.

6. Man of the Match winners of 3 Test Cricket matches played between Australia and India held in Australia in January 2012.

Second Test played at Sydney from January 3, 2012:

Man of the Match: Michael Clarke. (Australia).

He scored unbeaten 329 runs in first innings.

Result: Australia beat India by an innings and 68 runs.

Third Test played at Perth from January 13, 2012:

Man of the Match: David Warner. (Australia).

He scored unbeaten 180 runs in first innings.

Result: Australia beat India by an innings and 37 runs.

Fourth Test played at Adelaide from January 24, 2012:

Man of the Match: Peter Siddle. (Australia).

He took 5 wickets in first innings and one wicket in second innings.

Result: Australia beat India by 298 runs.

Series Result: Australia won the series 4-0.

7. Who won the Player of the Series Award in the 4 test Cricket Series played between Australia and India held in Australia in 2011-2012?

Michael Clarke. (Australia).

8. Cow Slaughter ban bill of which Indian state is approved by the President of India on 22 December 2011?

Madhya Pradesh.

According to the Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Bill 2010, anyone who consumes preserves and transforms cow meat can be punished as well. A person found guilty of cow slaughter would be liable for 7 years imprisonment, instead of the present 3 years, besides a minimum fine of Rs. 5000.

9. Name of two long-range ultra-advanced surface-to-surface missiles successfully test fired by Iran in January 2012?

Qader and Nour.

10. Who won the Man of the match award in the third test played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in South Africa from January 3, 2012?

      Jacques Kallis. (South Africa). He scored 224 runs in the first innings.

Result: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets.

11. Who won the Player of the Series Award in the 3 test Cricket Series played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in South Africa in 2011-2012?

AB de Villiers. (South Africa).

South Africa wins the 3 Test series 2-1.

12. Man of the Match winners of 5 ODI Cricket matches played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in South Africa in January 2012.

First ODI played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in Paarl       on January 11, 2012:

Man of the Match: Morne Morkel. (South Africa).

He took 4 wickets conceding just 10 runs in his 6 over spell.

Result: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 258 runs.

Second ODI played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in East London on January 14, 2012:

Man of the Match: JP Duminy. (South Africa).

He scored unbeaten 66 runs.

Result: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets.

Third ODI played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in Bloemfontein on January 17, 2012:

Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis. (South Africa).

He scored 72 runs.

Result: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 4 runs. (D/L Method)

Fourth ODI played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in Kimberley on January 20, 2012:

Man of the Match: Thisara Perera. (Sri Lanka).

He scored 69 runs and took 2 wickets.

Result: Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 5 wickets.

Fifth ODI played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in Johannesburg on January 22, 2012:

Man of the Match: Kumar Sangakkara. (Sri Lanka).

He scored 102 runs.

Result: Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 2 wickets.

Series Result: South Africa wins the 5 ODI Cricket series 3-2.

13. Who won the Player of the Series Award in the 5 ODI Cricket Series played between South Africa and Sri Lanka held in South Africa in 2012?

AB de Villiers. (South Africa).

14. A former head of the Turkish armed forces who has been detained and accused of leading a terror organization and conspiring to bring down the Turkish government?

General Ilker Basbug.

15. Which country is bowled out for a dismal 43 runs in the ODI Cricket match against South Africa and holds the record for the third-largest margin of defeat in terms of runs?

Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka collapsed to a humiliating 258-run defeat to South Africa in that match.

16. Who have claimed the 2012 Brisbane International women’s doubles title beating American duo Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in finals?

Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja.

17. Who won the 2012 Brisbane International women’s single title?

Kaia Kanepi.

She defeated Daniela Hantuchova in the final.

18. Who won the 2012 Brisbane International men’s single title?

Andy Murray.

He defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in final.

19. Australian Player who has signed a three-year bat sponsorship deal for $1m with bat manufacturer Spartan Sports?

Michael Clarke.

The new bat has been manufactured in a factory in Jalandhar in North India.

20. Who won the ATP Chennai Open 2012 Singles Title?

Milos Raonic. (Canada)

He defeated Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in the final. Raonic became the first player since Roger Federer in 2008 to win a ATP title without losing a serve.

21. Which pair won the ATP Chennai Open 2012 Men’s Doubles Title?

Leander Paes (India) and Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia)

They defeated the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.

22. Name of the world’s first Hydrogen powered three-wheeler which has been unwrapped at 2012 Auto Expo Delhi?

‘HyAlfa’

HyAlfa is an outcome of the joint-venture of Mahindra & Mahindra, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and IIT Delhi.

23. Name of the proposed economic and political union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and other Eurasian countries, in particular the post-Soviet states?

The Eurasian Union (EAU).

On 18 November 2011, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement, setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015. The agreement included the roadmap for the future integration and established the Eurasian Commission (modeled on the European Commission) and the Eurasian Economic Space, which started work on 1 January 2012.

24. Editor in Chief of "The Hindu" group of publications who has resigned and stepped down form his posts on Jan, 18, 2012 after nine years of holding the top post?

N.Ram.

25. Who has been appointed as the Editor in Chief of “The Hindu”, one of India's leading English language newspapers?

Siddharth Varadarajan.

26. Who won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award 2012?

Lionel Messi.

He became the first player to win FIFA player of the year award three times in a row. In 2010, the FIFA player of the year award was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball).

27. Iranian nuclear scientist linked to Iran’s nuclear program who was killed in a blast in Tehran on January 11, 2012?

Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan.

Ahmadi-Roshan (aged 32) was a graduate of Sharif University and supervised a department at Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan province.

28. Which state won the 60^th senior National Volleyball Men’s title-2012 defeating Uttarakhand in the final?

Kerala.

Railway won National Volleyball Women’s title-2012 defeating Kerala in the final. Tom Joseph was judged the Man of the Tournament while Terin Antony emerged Woman of the tournament.

29. Which country signed an agreement with Mali in January 2012 on issuance of 100 million US dollar credit for a power transmission project in Mali?

India.

The two countries signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on co-operation in the field of geology and mineral resources between the Ministry of Mines of the Government of India and Ministry of Mines of the Government of the Republic of Mali.

30. Which university of India conferred honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) on the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina during its ninth convocation on January 12?

Tripura Central University.

31. Name of the world's smallest frog which has been discovered in Papua New Guinea by a US-based team of Scientists?

Paedophryne amauensis.

At 7mm (0.27 inches) long, Paedophryne amauensis may be the world's smallest vertebrate - the group that includes mammals, fish, birds and amphibians.

32. Which player holds the record for the fastest century by an opener in Test cricket?

David Warner.

He scored fourth fastest Test century (from 69 balls) during the third Test against India at the WACA in Perth.

33. Which batsman shared an Indian record for most ducks as an opener in Test Cricket?

Virender Sehwag.

Sehwag has recorded his 15th duck in Tests - 14 as an opener and one as number seven batsman.  Sehwag has equalled Pankaj Roy's unwanted feat of 14 ducks as an opener.

34. Who won the 2012 Apia International Sydney Women Singles title?

Victoria Azarenka (Belarus).

She defeated Li Na of China in the final.

35. Who won the gold medal in 10-meter air rifle event of the Asian Shooting Championships, held in Doha on January 13, 2012?

            Abhinav Bindra

36. Name of the Russian spacecraft built to explore the Martian moon which crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 700 miles west of Chile on January 15, 2012?

      The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft.

            The crash cut short what was to have been an ambitious two-and-a-half-year voyage to Phobos, one of Mars’s two small moons, and back again. The mission to retrieve the first soil sample from a Martian moon would have been a milestone for Russia.

37. Who has been awarded the Kusumagraj National Literary Award-2011?

K Satchidanandan.

He has been honoured for his contributions to poetry in Malayalam and his translations of poems from various languages, including international ones.

Noted Kannada poet and writer Jayant Kaikini was awarded the first Kusumagraj Rashtriya Bhasha Sahitya Puraskar.

38. The Italian cruise ship which sank in the Tyrrhenian Sea on the night of 13 January 2012 after hitting rocks near Giglio, an island on Italy's Tuscan coast?

In the disaster, all but 32 of the 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew were saved.

39. India's first woman photo-journalist, who died at the age of 98 in the western Indian city of Baroda in Gujarat state?

Homai Vyarawala.

She photographed events such as the departure of Lord Mountbatten from India, and the funerals of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. She also covered the visits of Queen Elizabeth II and former US President Dwight Eisenhower to India.

40. The Iranian president's press adviser who has been sentenced to a year in prison on charges of "publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms?

            Ali Akbar Javanfekr.

            Javanfekr was convicted of publishing an article and pictures in local Iran daily's August 13 special edition which allegedly insulted the Islamic women's dress code. He has also been banned from journalism activities for three years.

41. Which country tops the first-ever index of security of nuclear materials compiled by a US nuclear think-tank Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)?

Australia.

According to the index of security of nuclear materials, India is among the last -- just above Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. The 32-country list is topped by Australia, followed by Hungary and Czech Republic. The United States is ranked 13 among the nations.

42. Supreme Court of which country has charged its prime minister, with contempt of court for his refusal to reopen old corruption cases against its president?

Pakistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been charged with Contempt of Court Proceedings for his refusal to reopen old corruption cases against the president Asif Ali Zardari.

43.  Complete list of the 2012 Golden Globe Film Award winners:

Best Drama: The Descendants

Best Comedy/Musical: The Artist

Best Animated Film: The Adventures of TinTin

Best Actor in a Drama: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Actress in a Drama: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen

Best Score - Motion Picture: The Artist - Ludovic Bource

Best Original Song - Motion Picture: “Masterpiece" - Madonna

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation, Iran

Cecil B. Demille Award: Morgan Freeman

Television:

Best TV Comedy or Musical: Modern Family

Best Television Series – Drama: Homeland

Best Mini-Series: Downton Abbey

Best Actor in a TV Drama: Kelsey Grammer, Boss

Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy: Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie:
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Best Actress in a TV Drama: Claire Danes, Homeland

Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy: Laura Dern, Enlightened

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie:
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Best Actor in a TV Movie: Idris Elba, Luther

Best Actress in a TV Movie: Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

44. Co-founder of Yahoo who has resigned from Yahoo’s board of directors and all his other positions with the company on January 17, 2012?

Jerry Yang.

Mr. Yang has also resigned from the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba Group.

He founded the online company in 1995 with David Filo and was its chief executive from June 2007 until January 2009.

45. Man of the Match winners of 2 Test Cricket matches played between Pakistan and England held in UAE in January 2012.

First Test played at Dubai from January 17, 2012:

Man of the Match: Saeed Ajmal. (Pakistan).

He took 7 wickets in first innings and 3 wickets in second innings.

       Result: Pakistan beat England by 10 wickets

Second Test played at Abu Dhabi from January 25, 2012:

Man of the Match: Abdur Rehman. (Pakistan).

He took 2 wickets in first innings and 6 wickets in second innings.

       Result: Pakistan beat England by 72 runs.

46. Who has been appointed as Communication Advisor to Prime Minister ‘Manmohan Singh’?

Pankaj Pachauri.

47. Media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is resigned on 19-01-12 after serving more than two years in the Prime Minister’s Office?.

Harish Khare.

48. Which country won the five match Hockey test series against South Africa held in South Africa in January, 2012?

India.

India won the 5 match test series 3-1. India had won the first two test matches 4-0 and 2-1, while South Africa won the third test match 3-1. India won the fourth test match 4-3 and fifth test match ends in a draw. (3-3).

49. Name the popular file-sharing site which is blocked by FBI on charges that it systematically abetted widespread piracy of copyrighted music, movies, video and other intellectual property?

Megaupload.com

           Seven people affiliated with the company, including its founder Kim Dotcom, were arrested for conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering besides the expected charges of willful copyright infringement.

Megaupload Limited, best known for its closed websites including the top-15 file hosting service megaupload.com, is an online Hong Kong–based company established in 2005 that ran a number of online services related to file storage and viewing. The domain names were seized and the sites shut down by the U.S. Justice Department on 19 January 2012, following the indictment and arrests of the owners for allegedly operating as an organization dedicated to copyright infringement. HK$330 million worth of assets was frozen by the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong.

50.  The chief executives of Blackberry maker Research in Motion Inc, (RIM) who have resigned from their posts as the firm struggles to compete with Apple and Android?

Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.

            Mr Lazaridis, who founded RIM in 1984, will continue to be active in the company as vice-chairman and head of a new board committee focused on innovation. Mr Balsillie will remain a director and continue to sit on RIM’s board, but will no longer have an operational role. Stiff competition from the Apple iPhone and phones using Google's Android software have severely weakened RIM’s grasp on the market

51. Who is appointed as the president and chief executive of Blackberry?

Thorsten Heins.

Thorsten Heins, a former Siemens AG executive who joined RIM in late 2007 took over as CEO on January 21, 2012.

52. Which state won the overall team title for the 15th consecutive year in the 55th National schools athletic meet held at the Guru Nanak stadium in Ludhiana?

Kerala.

Punjab claimed the second spot.

53. Which state have lifted Ranji Trophy 2012 to become only the fifth team to win the crown in successive years?

Rajasthan.

Rajasthan beat Tamil Nadu on the basis of first innings lead.

54. Famous Malayalam writer, critic and orator, acknowledged for his contributions to Malayalam language and insights on Indian philosophy who died on 24 January 2012 at the age of 85 at Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, in Thrissur due to cancer?

Sukumar Azhikode.

He was a scholar in Sanskrit, Malayalam, and English languages. Azhikode's most famous work is Thathvamasi (1984, Malayalam), an authoritative book on Indian Philosophy, Vedas and Upanishads. Thathvamasi won twelve awards, including the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahithya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award and the Rajaji Award.  In January 2007, Azhikode refused to accept the Padma Shri conferred on him stating that such honours are against the Constitution. "The Constitution says everyone should be treated as equal. Giving such honours at different levels, the State discriminates between people. I see the Padma Shri conferred on me as an opportunity to expose this discrimination.”

55. Who is elected as the captain of Sri Lankan Cricket Team for the Tri-nation series (India-Sri Lanka-Australia) to be held in Australia in February, 2012?

Mahela Jayawardene.

56. Complete list of Winners of Padma Awards (Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri)-2012.

Please click the below link to know the complete list of winners of Padma Awards-2012.

http://questionforall.blogspot.in/2012/03/complete-list-of-winners-of-padma.html

57. Name of the former ISRO chief and three other senior scientists, who were barred from holding any government posts and have been indicted by the country's top space body-appointed committee for acts of commission in the Antrix-Devas deal?

G. Madhavan Nair (Former ISRO Chief), A Bhaskaranarayana, K R Sridhara Murthi and KN Shankara.

The report is prepared by a committee headed by Pratyush Sinha, former Chief Vigilance Commissioner.

58. Name of the novel adapted on screen for the movie DAM999, which has been selected by the Oscar Library for its core collection?

DAM999.

The movie directed by Sohan Roy failed to enter the final nomination list of the Oscar run. It's for the first time that a novel version of any Indian movie has been adorned with such recognition.

Though Indian films like 'Chak De! India' 'Devdas' and 'Lagaan' are already a part of this prestigious library collections; 'Dam999' is the first movie to enter the Library even before its theatrical release anywhere around the globe. The movie is released in three regional languages - Hindi, Tamil and Telugu along with English.

                 

59. An award-winning Greek filmmaker known for his slow and dreamlike style as a director who was killed in a road accident on 24 January 2012 while working on his latest movie “The Other Sea.”?

Theo Angelopoulos.

He is a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. In 1995, he won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Ulysses' Gaze, starring American actor Harvey Keitel. Three years later, he won the main prize at the festival, the Palme d'Or, for Eternity and a Day, starring Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.

60. Indian director who won the prestigious 2012 Sundance Institute-Mahindra Global Filmmaking award, which recognises and supports independent talent from around the world?

Shonali Bose.

She won the award for the film Margarita. With A Straw. Bose’s first feature, Amu, based on the 1984 genocide against Sikhs, won two National Awards (Best Film, Best Director), the FIPRESCI Critics Award amongst ten international awards. The film was an official selection at the Berlin Film Festival, followed by Toronto and many others.

The other winners of 2012 Sundance Institute-Mahindra Global Filmmaking award  are Ariel Kleiman (Australian director) for "Partisan", Etienne Kallos (South African filmmaker) for "Vrystaat" (Free State) and Dominga Sotomayor from Chile for "Late To Die Young". Each of the winning filmmakers received a cash award of USD 10,000.

61. Three time Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Pondicherry and Governor of Kerala who died on 26 January 2012 due to multiple myeloma and kidney and other ailments?

M.O.H. Farook.

He was the youngest chief minister of any state of India. He served from April 9, 1967 to March 6, 1968 and March 17, 1969 to January 3, 1974 and from 1985 to 1990. He was thrice elected to the Lok Sabha from Pondicherry in 1991, 1996 and 1999 and served as a Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism during June 1991- December 1992. He was appointed as the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia in September 2004. In 2010, Farook was appointed as Governor of Jharkhand. He was appointed as Governor of Kerala on 25 August 2011. He took office on 8 September 2011. He is the shortest served governor of Kerala.

62. Veteran Indian diplomat who has been appointed as UNSC’s (United Nations Security Council) special adviser on Myanmar?

Vijay Nambiar.

63. The 2012 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held on 25-29 January 2012 in which city?

      Davos, Switzerland.

The theme of the 2012 meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is "The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models". The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva. It describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

64. Australian Open Tennis -2012 Winners:

Australian open Men’s Singles Title -2012 Winner:

Novak Djokovic. (Serbia).

He defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain) in the final. It was the longest match in the history of the Australian Open, and in fact, the longest ever singles final in the Open Era in Grand Slam history; clocked at 5 hours and 53 minutes.

At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut in the world's longest tennis match. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes.

Australian open Women’s Singles Title -2012 Winner:

Victoria Azarenka. (Belarus).

She defeated Maria Sharapova (Russia) in the final. This is her first Grand Slam title. She became the first Belarusian player to win a Grand Slam in singles.

Australian open -2012 Men’s Doubles Winners:

Leander Paes (India) and Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic).

They defeated  Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan of United States in the final.

Australian open -2012 Women’s Doubles Winners:

Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) and Vera Zvonareva (Russia).

They defeated Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy in the final.

Australian open -2012 Mixed Doubles Winners:

Bethanie Mattek-Sands (United States) and Horia Tecau (Romania).

They defeated Leander Paes (India) and Elena Vesnina (Russia) in the final.

65. Who won the Player of the Match award in the only Test Cricket match played between Zimbabwe and New Zealand held in New Zealand in January 2012?

Chris Martin. (New Zealand).

He took 2 wickets in first innings and 6 wickets in second innings.

Result: New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 301 runs.

66. Renowned Indian singer who was killed in a tragic road accident in Kuwait on her way from the airport to the hotel?

Deepali Joshi.

67. In January, 2012 an airport of India was renamed as Swami Vivekanand Airport. Which is that airport?

          Raipur airport.

68. Finance minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee on January 29, 2012 dedicated a plaque of a spiritual leader at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago. Name of that spiritual leader?

Swami Vivekananda.

India will give USD 500,000 to Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) to conduct 'Vivekananda Memorial Programme for Museum Excellence' that will allow professional exchange of ideas between it and various museums in India.

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