1. Which state won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy National Twenty20 Championship-2013?
Gujarat.
Gujarat beat Punjab by 6 wickets in the final held in Indore.
2. Who won the Sony Open Women’s title-2013(Miami Open Tennis Title-2013) defeating Maria Sharapova in the final held in Miami?
Serena Williams.
3. Who won the Sony Open men’s title-2013(Miami Open Tennis Title-2013) defeating David Ferrer in the final held in Miami?
Andy Murray.
4. Which countries recently resumed direct flight service for the first time in 34 years?
Iran and Egypt.
The first direct flight between Egypt and Iran in more than 30 years took off from Cairo and landed in Tehran on March 30, 2013. A flight by Air Memphis, owned by Egyptian businessman Rami Lakah, took off from Cairo to Tehran carrying eight Iranians including diplomats.
5. Which country granted permission to private daily newspapers to publish daily papers from April 1, 2013?
Myanmar.
Private daily newspapers have been banned in Myanmar since 1964. The newspapers granted permission are: Khit Moe, Union Daily, Shwe Naging Ngan Thit (The Golden New Country), Emperor, The Messenger, Mizzima, Myanmar Newsweek and Nout Sone Nay Sin Htote Thadinsar.
6. Which country introduced the controversial “Bedroom Tax” from April 1, 2013?
Britain.
Bedroom Tax (also known as "Spare Bed Room Tax") is a change to Housing Benefit Entitlement that means a person will receive less in housing benefit if he/she live in a housing association or council property that is deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms.
7. Name the oldest living person in the United States who has died at the age of 113, just weeks before her 114th birthday?
Elsie Thompson.
At the time of her death at age 113 years, 350 days, she was the oldest living American and the fourth oldest living person in the world.
8. Indian-American who was confirmed as the first South Asian judge to America's second highest court?
Srikanth Srinivasan
Srinivasan's nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was unanimously approved by the Senate with 97 voting in favour. Srinivasan has become the first Indian-American to be appointed to the top American court.
9. Which cricketer was named as the Assistant coach of the Indian Team by the BCCI (Board of control for the Cricket in India)?
Sourav Ganguly.
10. Palestinian political leader who is reelected as the head of the Palestinian Islamist movement “Hamas”?
Khaled Mashal.
11. Which day in 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the first ever hand held mobile phone call, which was made by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper in 1973?
April 3.
On this day 40 years ago former Motorola vice president and division manager Martin Cooper changed the world while standing in front of the New York Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue. He used a Motorola DynaTAC phone to call the head of research at Bell Labs, and started a revolution in communications.
12. Name the world's lightest substance which has been developed by Chinese scientists?
Carbon aerogel.
It has a density only one sixth of that of the air. Carbon aerogel has a density of only 0.16 mg/cubic centimetre, breaking the previous record of the world's lightest material held by graphite aerogel.
13. The brand ambassador of Kerala’s famed literacy movement who declared Kerala a totally literate State in April 18, 1991, died on April 4, 2013?
Chelakkodan Aysha.
She declared Kerala a totally literate State in front of a mammoth gathering at Mananchira Grounds in Kozhikode. Since then, she had been one of the torchbearers of the State’s literacy movement.
14. Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys who has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2013-14?
Kris Gopalakrishnan.
He succeeds Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group.
15. Which club won the Bundesliga title 2012-2013 season( German Football League title 2012-2013)?
Bayern Munich.
16. In which country a wine-pressing complex covering more than 1,000 square feet (100 square meters) has been uncovered recently among the ruins of an ancient Byzantine settlement?
Israel.
17. The medium-range nuclear capable ballistic misile with a strike range of more than 2,000 km which was successfully test fired by India on April 7, 2013 from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast?
Agni-II.
Agni-II, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is 20 meters long and weighs 17 tonnes. Its two stages are propelled by solid fuel. It can carry a payload weighing one tonne. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
18. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 who died on April 8, 2013?
Iran and Egypt.
The first direct flight between Egypt and Iran in more than 30 years took off from Cairo and landed in Tehran on March 30, 2013. A flight by Air Memphis, owned by Egyptian businessman Rami Lakah, took off from Cairo to Tehran carrying eight Iranians including diplomats.
5. Which country granted permission to private daily newspapers to publish daily papers from April 1, 2013?
Myanmar.
Private daily newspapers have been banned in Myanmar since 1964. The newspapers granted permission are: Khit Moe, Union Daily, Shwe Naging Ngan Thit (The Golden New Country), Emperor, The Messenger, Mizzima, Myanmar Newsweek and Nout Sone Nay Sin Htote Thadinsar.
6. Which country introduced the controversial “Bedroom Tax” from April 1, 2013?
Britain.
Bedroom Tax (also known as "Spare Bed Room Tax") is a change to Housing Benefit Entitlement that means a person will receive less in housing benefit if he/she live in a housing association or council property that is deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms.
7. Name the oldest living person in the United States who has died at the age of 113, just weeks before her 114th birthday?
Elsie Thompson.
At the time of her death at age 113 years, 350 days, she was the oldest living American and the fourth oldest living person in the world.
8. Indian-American who was confirmed as the first South Asian judge to America's second highest court?
Srikanth Srinivasan
Srinivasan's nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was unanimously approved by the Senate with 97 voting in favour. Srinivasan has become the first Indian-American to be appointed to the top American court.
9. Which cricketer was named as the Assistant coach of the Indian Team by the BCCI (Board of control for the Cricket in India)?
Sourav Ganguly.
10. Palestinian political leader who is reelected as the head of the Palestinian Islamist movement “Hamas”?
Khaled Mashal.
11. Which day in 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the first ever hand held mobile phone call, which was made by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper in 1973?
April 3.
On this day 40 years ago former Motorola vice president and division manager Martin Cooper changed the world while standing in front of the New York Hilton Hotel on Sixth Avenue. He used a Motorola DynaTAC phone to call the head of research at Bell Labs, and started a revolution in communications.
12. Name the world's lightest substance which has been developed by Chinese scientists?
Carbon aerogel.
It has a density only one sixth of that of the air. Carbon aerogel has a density of only 0.16 mg/cubic centimetre, breaking the previous record of the world's lightest material held by graphite aerogel.
13. The brand ambassador of Kerala’s famed literacy movement who declared Kerala a totally literate State in April 18, 1991, died on April 4, 2013?
Chelakkodan Aysha.
She declared Kerala a totally literate State in front of a mammoth gathering at Mananchira Grounds in Kozhikode. Since then, she had been one of the torchbearers of the State’s literacy movement.
14. Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys who has been elected as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2013-14?
Kris Gopalakrishnan.
He succeeds Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group.
15. Which club won the Bundesliga title 2012-2013 season( German Football League title 2012-2013)?
Bayern Munich.
16. In which country a wine-pressing complex covering more than 1,000 square feet (100 square meters) has been uncovered recently among the ruins of an ancient Byzantine settlement?
Israel.
17. The medium-range nuclear capable ballistic misile with a strike range of more than 2,000 km which was successfully test fired by India on April 7, 2013 from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast?
Agni-II.
Agni-II, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is 20 meters long and weighs 17 tonnes. Its two stages are propelled by solid fuel. It can carry a payload weighing one tonne. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
18. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 who died on April 8, 2013?
Margaret Thatcher.
She is the first woman to become British prime minister and the Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century. A Soviet journalist called her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.
19. Who won the Family Circle Cup Tennis title-2013 defeating Jelena Jankovic in the final?
Serena Williams.
This is her second consecutive Family Circle Cup title.
20. Who becomes the first Indian PISTOL Shooter to clinch a gold medal in the ISSF World Cup?
Rahi Sarnobat
She beat Kyeongae Kim (South Korea) by 8-6 in the final of the 25m sports pistol event in Changwon, Korea.
21. Who is the first Indian and the 79th person in the world to perform a successful solo and non-stop circumnavigation of the globe under sail?
Lieutenant Commander Abhilash Tomy.
Lt Cdr Tomy started his historic journey, ‘Sagar Parikrama’, on 1 November 2012 from Mumbai in the Indian Navy vessel INSV Mhadei. He cast off from Mumbai on the 1st Nov 2012 and returned after spending 150 days at sea during which time he covered 23000 nautical miles in a sail boat, sailing south of the five great capes of the Southern Hemisphere.
22. Name the two members of Indian Parliament who are included in the list of at least 612 Indians who have stashed huge amounts of money in secretive tax havens, according to a global journalistic investigation?
Vivekanand Gaddam (Member of Loksabha) and Vijay Mallya (Member of Rajyasabha)
23. Who is the new Prime Minister of North Korea?
Park Pong Ju.
He was reportedly sacked as Prime Minister in 2007 after proposing a us-style wage system.
24. Queen of Britain who has received an honorary British Academy Film and Television Award in 2013 in recognition of her support of British film and television?
Queen Elizabeth II.
25. Who has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala?
E. K. Bharat Bhushan.
26. Name the nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range of 900 km which is successfully test fired by Pakistan on April 10, 2013?
Hatf-IV. (Shaheen-1).
27. The British Nobel Laureate who pioneered the development of in vitro fertilisation (IVF ) that led to the birth of the world’s first “test tube baby” , died on April 10, 2013?
Robert Edwards.
Sir Robert, who founded the world’s first IVF clinic at Bourn Hall in Cambridge in 1980 and developed IVF with Dr. Patrick Steptoe, started work on fertilisation in the 1950s.The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in July 1978 at Oldham General Hospital.
28. The 39th G8 summit will be held in?
Northern Ireland.
29. Which countries signed six agreements relating to the field of education, research agriculture, product safety and renewable energy in April 2013?
India and Germany.
30. The Supreme Court on April 10, 2013 dismissed Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist’s plea seeking a review of its verdict refusing to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea by the government. What is the name of that terrorist?
Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.
31. Name of the world’s largest private yacht which is launched by German shipyard on April 5, 2013?
Azzam.
The yacht is designed by Nauta Yachts in Italy and is constructed by German company Lurssen Yachts.
32. The veteran actor who won the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award-2013 for life time achievement?
Pran is the 44th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award that was instituted in 1969. In 2001, the Government of India had honoured Pran with the Padma Bhushan award. In a long and prolific career he appeared in over 350 films. He played the leading man in films like Khandaan (1942), Pilpili Saheb (1954) and Halaku (1956).
33. Veteran playback singer who was known for his playback singing in the Kannada, Telugu and Tamil film industries, died on April 14, 2013?
P.B.Sreenivas.
He had sung around 3000 songs in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Tulu films. His Tamil hits include 'Kaalangalil Aval Vasantham' and 'Mayakkama Thayakkama'.
34. Who is elected as the new president of Venezuela?
Nicolas Maduro.
35. Who was unanimously elected president of the Athletics Federation of India?
Adille Sumariwalla.
C K Valson, was elected unopposed as secretary of the Athletics Federation of India. Satyanarayana is elected as treasurer of the Athletics Federation of India.
36. Indian-American economist who has won the prestigious John Bates Clark medal, often described as the 'Baby Nobel'?
Raj Chetty.
Raj Chetty, a professor in the Department of Economy at the Harvard University since 2009, has been declared the winner of this year's John Bates Clark award. The John Bates Clark medal is awarded to an American economist under the age of 40 who is adjudged to have made a "significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge"
37. South Florida's largest newspaper which has won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its investigation of off-duty police officers who were endangering the lives of citizens?
Sun Sentinel.
A three-part series called "Cops among Florida's Worst Speeders," which detailed how often- and egregiously-off-duty police officers speed on our highways, netted the honor for public service. Sun Sentinel has won it's first Pulitzer Prize.
38. Renowned Telugu Novelist who has won the prestigious Jnanpith award for 2012?
Ravuri Bharadwaja.
He is selected for this esteemed award for his contribution to Telugu literature. He has created 37 collections of short stories, 17 novels, six short novels and eight plays.
39. Parliament of which country has passed marriage equality legislation, making it the first country in the Asia-Pacific region and the 13th country worldwide to legalise same-sex marriage?
New Zealand.
40. Popular South Indian Tamil music composer and violinist who died on April 17, 2013?
T.K.Ramamoorthy.
Ramamoorthy along-with M.S.Viswanathan are popularly known as Mellisai Mannar (Tamil, for "The King of Light Music"). His major works are in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He and M. S. Viswanathan, as the duo Viswanathan Ramamoorthy, composed musical scores for over 100 films in the South Indian film industry during the 1950s and 1960s. The duo parted amicably in 1965 and since then they both composed for films individually but Ramamoorthy could not achieve success as an individual composer and composed music only for 19 films between 1966-1986. The duo rejoined in 1995 after 29 years for “Engirundho Vanthan”.
41. American actor who is best known for his role as Admiral Motti in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), died on April 15, 2013?
Richard LeParmentier.
42. What is the name of the giant galaxy discovered by scientists which is 12.8 Billion light years away from Earth?
HFLS3.
The newly found galaxy is believed to produce 3000 Suns every year. It has stars having a total mass nearly 40 billion times the mass of our Sun.
43. The lone convict in the Pune German Bakery blast case who was sentenced to death by a Pune Sessions Court on 18 April 2013?
Mirza Himayat Baig
He was held guilty on Monday of planning and executing the blast, which killed 17 people and injured more than 60 on February 13, 2010.
44. Name the two life friendly planets discovered by scientists which are most similar in size to Earth ever found in a star’s habitable zone?
Kepler 62e and Kepler 62f.
Both planets orbit the star Kepler-62, which is about two-thirds the size of the Sun and lies about 1,200 light years (368 parsecs) from the Solar System.
45. Mathematical genius from India, popularly known as the "Human Computer" who died on April 21, 2013?
Shakuntala Devi.
Ms Devi was a child prodigy and gained world fame in 1977 when she calculated the 23rd root of a more than 100 digit number in 50 seconds - 12 seconds faster than the best performing computer at that time. Her talents earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records. In 1977 in USA she competed with a computer to see who gives the cube root of 188138517 faster, she won. That same year, at the Southern Methodist University she was asked to give the 23rd root of a 201-digit number; she answered in 50 seconds. Her answer—546,372,891—was confirmed by calculations done at the U.S. Bureau of Standards by the Univac 1101 computer, for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation.
46. Indian who won clinched gold medal in men's 55kg category in the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship-2013 held in Delhi?
Amit Kumar.
Amit (66kg) defeated Mongolia’s M Ganzorig in the final. In the women's category, Vinesh (51kg) and Babita Kumari (55kg) won their bronze medal bouts while Bajrang (men's 60kg) pocketed a bronze. , India finished the championships with nine medals-2 gold, one silver and 6 bronze.
47. Who won the Bahrain Grand Prix-2013 Formula one Title?
Sebastian Vettel.
48. The World Bank Group has recently announced the debarment of a Canadian company and its over 100 affiliates for 10 years following the company’s misconduct in relation to the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project as well as misconduct under another Bank-financed project. Which is that company?
SNC-Lavalin Inc.
49. Former Prime Minister of Britain who tops the list of 10 most admired leaders according to a global survey of CEOs conducted by accountancy firm PwC?
Winston Churchill.
According to that survey, India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi figures in the third position after Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple).
50. Parliamentary Speaker of Bangladesh who was sworn in as the new President of Bangladesh?
Abdul Hamid.
He has been acting President since March 14 when Mr. Zillur Rahman went for medical treatment to Singapore, where he died of respiratory problems on March 20, 2013. Hamid is a member of the Awami League.
51. Celebrated violinist and composer, who carved out a niche for himself in the Carnatic music with his unique style, died in Chennai on April 22, 2013?
Lalgudi Jayaraman.
Jayaraman earned several titles, such as 'Nada Vidya Tilaka' by Music Lovers’ Association of Lalgudi in 1963, 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India in 1972, 'Nada Vidya Rathnakara' by East West Exchange in New York, 'Vadya Sangeetha Kalaratna' by Bharathi Society, New York; 'Sangeetha Choodamani' by Federation of Music Sabhas, Madras in 1971 and in 1972; State Vidwan of Tamil Nadu by the Government of Tamil Nadu and Sangeetha Natak Academy award in 1979 etc.
The First Chowdaiah Memorial National-Level award was given to Sri Jayaraman by the Chief Minister of Karnataka. He also received honorary citizenship of Maryland, U.S. in 1994 and the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2001. He won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the film Sringaram in 2006.
52. After achieving the targeted depth of 15.95 metres, which container terminal will become the deepest container terminal in India?
International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam.
The Kochi International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT), locally known as the Vallarpadam Terminal, is a container trans-shipment facility which is part of the Kochi Port.
53. Music director-singer who has been selected for the Swati Sangeetha Puraskaram for 2012, instituted by the State government of Kerala?
V. Dakshinamoorthy.
54. Which football club won the 2012/13 English Premier League title?
Manchester United.
This is their 13th Premier League title and 20th English title overall by defeating Aston Villa 3–0 at Old Trafford.
55. Parliament of which country has approved a law 0n April 23, 2013 allowing same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children?
France.
France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage.
56. Who is the new prime minister of Italy?
Enrico Letta
On 24 April 2013, Letta was invited to form a government by President Giorgio Napolitano, after the resignation of Pier Luigi Bersani following weeks of political deadlock after the 2013 general election.
57. Legendary playback singer who mesmerised music lovers with classics like Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishaana, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar and Kajra Mohabbat Wala, died on April 23, 2013?
Shamshad Begum.
She had a distinctive voice and was a versatile artist, singing over 6,000 songs in Hindi and the Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages and of them 1287 songs were Hindi film songs.
58. Liverpool striker who has been banned for 10 games by the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic?
Luis Suarez.
59. Kuwaiti writer who was crowned the 2013 winner of International Prize of Arabic Fiction (IPAF) — also known as the Arabic Booker Prize?
Saud Al Sanousi.
His Novel, “The Bamboo Stalk” was declared by the judges as “a daring work which looks objectively at the phenomenon of foreign workers in Gulf countries”.
60. Which country tops the list of top 10 countries where cyber attacks originate according to a report by Akamai Technlogies on global attack traffic in the last quarter of 2012?
China.
61. Who has been selected as the winner of the Tribeca Film Festival’s inaugural Nora Ephron Prize?
Meera Menon.
She won this award for directing the film “Farah Goes Bang”.
62. A Kentucky woman and former Carmelite nun who was ordained a priest on Saturday, April 27 at the St. Andrew United Church of Christ in Louisville, defying Roman Catholic Church doctrine?
Rosemarie Smead.
According to Roman Catholic Church policy, women are not to be ordained priests as the Vatican only has authority to allow men to enter the priesthood because Jesus chose the apostles and they were all men.
63. The former Dean of Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore who passed away on April 28, 2013?
Prof. Sanjay K. Biswas.
Sanjay Biswas was one of the founder-members of CNDP (The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace) and consistently opposed both nuclear weapons and nuclear power.
64. Who won the Barcelona Open Tennis tile -2013?
Rafael Nadal.
Nadal won the title for the eighth time, defeating Nicolas Almagro in the final.
65. Who has been named Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year-2013 and Young Player of the Year-2013?
Gareth Bale.
66. Man of the match winners of two test cricket series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh held in Zimbabwe in April 2013:
First Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh held in Harare from April 17-20:
Man of the Match: Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe). He scored 171 in first innings and unbeaten 102 in second innings.
Result: Zimbabwe won by 335 runs.
Second Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh held in Harare from April 25-29:
Man of the Match: Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh). He scored 60 in first innings and unbeaten 93 in second innings.
Result: Bangladesh won by 143 runs.
Series Result: 2-match series drew 1-1.
67. Who won the Player of the Series award of two test cricket series played between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh held in Zimbabwe in April 2013?
Robiul Islam (Bangladesh).