1. Who is elected as the United States Ambassador to India?
Nancy Jo Powell.
Powell has previously served as US envoy in Pakistan and Nepal and holds the prestigious rank of career ambassador.
2. Who is the new Chief Secretary of Kerala?
K. Jayakumar.
He is a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from Kerala. He is also a popular Malayali poet, lyricist, and scriptwriter.
3. Former union minister and Congress veteran who worked with three successive prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao, died in New Delhi on April 1, 2012?
NKP Salve.
Narendra Kumar Salve remained a member of the Lower House, Lok Sabha (1967–1977) from Betul (Lok Sabha constituency) and that of Upper House of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra state for four consecutive terms, from 1978 to 2002. He was the chairman of the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha from 1975 to 1977. He is appointed as Union cabinet minister in 1982, under Indira Gandhi. He again remained Union Minister of State under two more Prime Ministers, Rajiv Gandhi and followed by P. V. Narasimha Rao, working Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Steel and Mines, Parliamentary Affairs and Power. He also remained chairman of the 9th Finance Commission of India (1984–89). In 2003, along with former central cabinet minister Vasant Sathe, he formed the Vidarbha Rajya Nirman Congress to push the demand for a separate Vidarbha state.
NKP Salve, who had been the president of the BCCI when India won the World Cup in 1983. He is credited with helping India and Pakistan win rights to hosting the 1987 World Cup.
4. Who became the 24th player in ATP Tour history to complete 50 doubles title?
Leander Paes.
Indian tennis veteran Leander Paes became only the 24th player in the ATP World Tour history to win 50 doubles titles after he and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek clinched the Sony Ericsson Open. Paes who had already won this title two times with Lukas Dlouhy in 2010 and Mahesh Bhupathi in 2011.
5. Former resistance fighter and the widow of Artur London who wrote "The Confession" about his 1951 Stalinist show trial, died on March 31, 2012?
Lise London.
She was a French, Communist politician and activist. She participated in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War and the French Resistance during World War II. She was the widow of Artur London, a Czechoslovak communist politician and co-defendant in the Slansky Trial. Following her husband's show trial and imprisonment, she became a strong critic of Stalin and Stalinism.
6. Which American Oil company signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 5 April 2012 with Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS) for cooperation in exploration and development of shale gas resources in India, North America and other geographies?
ConocoPhillips (COP.N)
ConocoPhillips is a major player in shale gas as well as deep-water exploration.
7. From 1 April 2012, cheques, drafts, pay orders and banker's cheques will be valid for?
Only three months
The existing validity period of 6 (six) months of cheques etc. has been reduced by the Reserve bank of India to 3 (three) months from the date of the instrument, which will be effective on and from April 1, 2012.
8. Who are the winners of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open (also known as 2012 Miami Masters), a men's and women's tennis tournament, which was held from March 19 to April 1, 2012?
Winner-Men's Singles: Novak Djokovic. (Serbia)
Winner-Women’s Singles: Agnieszka Radwanska. (Poland)
Winner -Men's Doubles: Leander Paes (India) and Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic).
Winner-Women's Doubles: Maria Kirilenko (Russia) and Nadia Petrova (Russia).
9. Which party has claimed a landslide victory in a series of by-election contests in Myanmar which hold the key to Burma's return from international isolation?
National League for Democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi, chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has won Myanmar's parliamentary by-elections. National League for Democracy stormed to victory in 43 of the 44 constituencies where it fielded candidates. In 1989, the military took over the Burman government and controlled the country for more than 20 years.
10. Three-time Olympian and former captain of the Indian hockey team who became the first sportsperson to be named India's Chef-de-Mission for Olympic Games?
Ajit Pal Singh.
11. The 2012 BRICS summit held at?
New Delhi, India.
BRICS summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The summit held at Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, on 29 March 2012.This is the first time that India has hosted a BRICS summit.
12. Canadian film director who reached the Earth's deepest point ‘The Mariana Trench’ on March 26, 2012 and returned, in a seven-hour solo journey to explore a place only two men have gone before?
James Cameron.
James Cameron, the director of Titanic and Avatar, has become only the third person to reach the deepest point of the ocean after his submarine Deepsea Challenger made it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The exploration was co-sponsored by The National Geographic Foundation and Rolex. The first was the manned descent by Swiss-designed, Italian-built, United States Navy-owned bathyscaphe Trieste which reached the bottom at 1:06 pm on 23 January 1960, with U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard on board. This was followed by the unmanned ROVs Kaiko in 1996 and Nereus in 2009.
The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about 2,550 kilometers long but has a mean width of only 69 kilometers. It reaches a maximum-known depth of 10.994 km.
13. Tamil writer who has been chosen for the 'Saraswati Samman' 2011 for his book on Ramayana?
A. A. Manavalan.
He won the prestigious awards for his 2005 work 'Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum' (Ramakatha and Ramayanas).The award-winning book is a comparative study of 48 Ramayanas in the languages of Pali, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tibetan, Tamil, Old Javanese, Japanese, Telugu, Assamese, Thai and Kashmiri. The Saraswati Samman carries award money of Rs 7.5 lakh, a citation and a plaque
14. Who won the Player of the Match award in the second test between Sri Lanka and England held in Sri Lanka in April 2012?
Kevin Pietersen. (England). He scored 151 runs in first innings and unbeaten 42 runs in second innings.
Result: England beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets.
Series Result: 2 Test series level 1-1.
15. Who won the Player of the Series award in the two test Cricket matches played between Sri Lanka and England held in Sri Lanka in 2012?
Mahela Jayawardena. (Sri Lanka).
16. Pakistani-Canadian who has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for providing material support to the Sikh militant group Khalistan Commando Force, blamed for carrying out assassinations and bombings in India?
Khalid Awan.
He was convicted in 2006 by a US federal jury in Brooklyn for providing financial aid to Khalistan Commando Force (KCF).
17. Who is the new Chairperson of Kerala State Women's Commission (KSWC)?
K. C. Rosakutty.
18. Who is appointed as the chairman of the prestigious Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC)?
Vijayan Thomas.
K P Nooruddeen is appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIC).
19. The President of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and former Assam Minister who died on April 6, 2012?
Promode Gogoi.
He was also Vice President of World Federation of Trade Union, played an active role in the refinery movement, the language movement and anti-dam movement in Assam.
20. Heroine of Nirmala, the first film produced in Malayalam by a Malayali, who died recently following a heart attack?
Baby Joseph.
She played the title role in the 1948 film Nirmala opposite her husband, Joseph Cherian. The film produced by her father-in-law PJ Cherian was her first and last movie. Nirmala, written by Puthezhathu Raman Menon, ran to full house for several days after its release in February, 1948. G. Sankara Kurup wrote the lyrics and E.I. Warrier set them to music. The first Malayalam playback song was recorded for her by singer C. Sarojini. The film ‘Nirmala’ Famous Play Back singer Smt. P.Leela came to Malayalam film world through ‘Nirmala’ which introduced the concept of playback singing in Malayalam.
21. Man of the match winners of 3 Test Cricket series played between Australia and West Indies held in West Indies in April 2012:
First test match between Australia and West Indies held in Bridgetown from April 7-11, 2012:
Man of the Match: Ryan Harris (Australia). He scored unbeaten 68 runs in first innings and took 5 wickets (2 in first innings and 3 in second).
Result: Australia beat West Indies by 3 wickets
Second test match between Australia and West Indies held in Port of Spain from April 15-22, 2012:
Man of the Match: Kemar Roach (West Indies). He took 5 wickets in both the innings.
Result: West Indies drew with Australia.
Third test match between Australia and West Indies held in Dominica from April 23-27, 2012:
Man of the Match: Matthew Wade (Australia). He scored 106 runs in first innings.
Result: Australia beat West Indies by 75 runs.
Series Result: Australia wins the 3 Test series 2-0.
22. Who won the Player of the Series award in the three test Cricket matches played between Australia and West Indies held in West Indies in April, 2012?
Shivnarine Chanderpaul. (West Indies).
23. Which telecom network becomes the first company to start 4G wireless services in India?
Bharti Airtel.
Bharti Airtel announced the launch of the country’s first ever fourth generation mobile services in Kolkata.The 4G service has the potential to provide download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second when a user is on the move, and can go up to 1 Gigabits per second at a fixed location.
24. Startup Village, India’ first telecom business incubator on public-private partnership, is inaugurated at?
Kochi, Kerala.
Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys Co-founder, opened Startup Village at Kinfra Hi-tech Park, Kalammassery. It is being set up jointly by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) and the Kerala Government-run Techno Park, in collaboration with MobME Wireless, a private firm.
25. Former Italy under 21 and Livorno midfielder who has died after collapsing on the pitch with a cardiac arrest during an Italian second division soccer game at Pescara?
Piermario Morosini.
26. Who is appointed as Pakistan’s new High Commissioner to India?
Salman Bashir.
Bashir was the Pakistan Ambassador to China and Mongolia from 2005 to 2008. He then replaced Riaz Mohammad Khan as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in April 2008.
27. Name of the four-year old British girl who has been hailed as a “child genius'' after being ranked just one point below Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking in IQ?
Heidi Hankins.
Hankins from Winchester, Hampshire, has an IQ of 159 as against the average adult IQ of 100. She has become the second youngest ever child to be accepted into the elite Mensa society for people with high IQs. The record for the youngest Mensa member remains with Oscar Wrigley who was just two and a half years old when she was accepted into Mensa with an IQ of 160.
Mensa: Mensa is the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test.
28. Mercedes driver who won the Chinese Grand Prix Formula One title-2012?
Nico Rosberg.
This is his first career Formula One victory.
29. Korean-born doctor who has been elected as the twelfth president of the World Bank?
Jim Yong Kim.
He became the first physician and Asian-American to head the lender. He defeated Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and he will succeed Robert Zoellick, whose term ends June 30.
30. Bangladesh Cricket team head coach who has resigned his post due to his personal reasons?
Stuart Law.
Bangladesh appointed him as a coach of its national team in June 2011, replacing compatriot Jamie Siddons.
31. Congress spokesperson and Chairperson of Parliament's Standing Committee who resigned on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice, days after a video involving the high-profile lawyer went viral on social media sites?
Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
32. Name of the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) successfully test fired by India on April 19, 2012 from Wheeler Island in Odisha?
Agni-5.
Agni-5, with a range of over 5,000 km, is a three-stage, all solid fuel powered, 17-metre tall missile with capability to carry various forms of payload. The missile was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Only the United States, Russia, France and China possess the capability to operate an ICBM.
33. Which football club remains the world’s richest football club, according to Forbes magazine?
Manchester United.
Manchester United topped Forbes magazine’s list for the eighth year and the club valued at a massive £1.39billion. Real Madrid are ranked second, valued at £1.17bn, while Barcelona are third with an estimated value of £816m.
34. Who has been elected president of the World Heart Federation, a global, non governmental organisation?
Dr.Srinath Reddy.
He is the first Indian to be conferred this honour. He succeeds Dr.Sydney Smith of U.S.A and will serve a 2 year term, commencing in January 2013.
35. Which country decided to forgive 300 billion yen ($ 3.7 billion) of Myanmar’s debt and resume development aid as a way to support the country’s democratic and economic reforms?
Japan.
36. Who won the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) held on 22 April 2012?
Sebastian Vettel.
The Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix motor race held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.
37. An adviser to President Richard Nixon who was involved in the Watergate scandal and later became an evangelical preacher, who died on April 21, 2012?
Charles Colson.
He was a Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973 and later a noted Evangelical Christian leader and cultural commentator. Once known as President Nixon's "hatchet man," Colson gained notoriety at the height of the Watergate affair for being named as one of the Watergate Seven, and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg. He became a Christian in 1973, and the following year served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. . In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush.
38. Who won the Monte Carlo Masters Tennis Title-2012?
Rafael Nadal.
He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final.
39. Which club won the 2011-12 Bundesliga, a professional association football league in Germany?
Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German League Cup final.
It’s Dortmund’s second successive Bundesliga title and the fifth overall that the club has won.
40. Arsenal striker who was named the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) player of the year on Sunday after scoring 27 league goals to revive his club's season?
Robin van Persie.
41. Microsoft Corp's chairman for Africa, who has been appointed Mali's interim prime minister, tasked with helping to restore civilian rule to the West African country?
Cheick Modibo Diarra.
42. Well-known Malayalam film-maker, who is credited with producing the first 3-D movie in India, 'My Dear Kuttichathan' died on April 23, 2012?
'Navodaya' Appachan.
He is best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of Navodaya Studio. The first cinemascope film in Malayalam, ‘Thacholi Ambu’ was directed by him, and the first 70mm Indian movie, Padayottam, was produced by him. He founded Kishkinta, India's first theme park, in Chennai. He was given the 2011 J. C. Daniel Award for contributions to Malayalam cinema. 'My Dear Kuttichathan', released in 1984, was later made in Hindi as 'Chota Chetan'.
43. Which sports Club won the I-League 2011-2012 Season?
Dempo Sports Club, Goa.
Dempo was the I-League champion in 2007-08 and 2009-10 season.
44. The first African-American coach of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field team who died on April 23, 2012?
Dr. LeRoy Walker.
He is the first African-American president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and former longtime coach at N.C. Central. In 1991 Walker was awarded the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Walker for his significant contributions to international sport.
45. Who won the overall championship of the 16th Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championship held in Patiala?
ONGC. (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.)
ONGC took the overall championship title with nine gold, six silver and five bronze medals. Defending champions Kerala finished runners-up with 7-7-5.
46. Who has overtaken Rahul Dravid to become Test cricket's second-highest run-scorer?
Ricky Ponting.
Ponting, who made his test debut in 1995, moved past Dravid's career total of 13,288 during the third test against West Indies. India's Sachin Tendulkar has the highest total of test runs.
47. Which city came on top of the list of Tier-3 cities in providing employment during the fourth quarter (January-March, 2012) of the financial year 2011-12, according to a study released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham)?
Kozhikkode, Kerala.
Ambala came second, while Dehradun, Jammu and Agra followed in that order.
48. Name of the nuclear-capable intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile successfully test fired by Pakistan on April 25, 2012?
Hatf IV (Shaheen 1A)
Shaheen 1 is estimated to have a payload capacity of 1,000 kilograms and a range of 750 kilometres.
49. Which African country has banned political parties based on religion, tribe or ethnicity in connection with the forthcoming elections in June, 2012?
Libya.
50. Name of the first indigenous 'spy satellite' of India which is successfully test fired from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh on April 26, 2012?
RISAT-1.
Weighing 1,858 kilograms, RISAT-1 is the heaviest satellite ever launched from India. It took ISRO 10 years to make this sophisticated satellite. The total cost of the mission is about Rs. 500 crores. RISAT-1's project director N Valarmathi is the first woman to head a remote-sensing satellite project. Apart from RISAT-1, India already has another spy satellite RISAT-2 which was launched in 2009. It was acquired from Israel for ABOUT $110 million.
51. Name the three personalities who have been approved by the President of India for a nominated seat in the Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Parliament?
Sachin Tendulkar (Cricketer), Rekha (Bollywood actor), and Anu Aga (Business woman).
52. Bollywood Actor who has been summoned by a local court for smoking in the stadium during an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals?
Shah Rukh Khan.
53. Former BJP President who has been sentenced to four years imprisonment and imposed with a fine of Rs 1 lakh by the CBI Court in fake arms deal case?
Laxman, a former Union Minister, was caught on camera in a sting operation, accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh in his room at party headquarters. The on-camera Tehelka sting operation took place 11 years ago, forcing Laxman to give up his post as BJP President then.
54. New Governors of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa, Uttrakhand and Rajasthan:
Andra Pradesh Governor: E.S.L. Narasimhan.
Maharashtra Governor: K. Sankaranarayanan.
Goa Governor: B.V. Wanchoo. He is the former chief of the Special Protection Group (SPG).
Uttrakhand Governor: Aziz Qureshi.
Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva.
55. Veteran batsman who became only the 10th player in history to make 10,000 Test runs?
Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
He is the second player of the West Indies after Brian Lara to achieve this feat.
56. French President who allegedly received nearly 42 million pounds from former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi during his election campaign in 2007?
Nicolas Sarkozy.
The French investigative website Mediapart claims to have seen a confidential note suggesting Gaddafi contributed up to €50m (£42m) to Sarkozy's election fund.
57. Who becomes only the third Indian ever to clinch the Asian Snooker Championships?
He defeated compatriot and seven-time world champion Pankaj Advani to win 28th Asian snooker title (Asian Snooker Tilte-2012) concluded in Doha, on 29 April 2012.
58. Which news paper has won the prestigious How-Do newspaper of the year award for 2012?
Asian Lite.
Asian Lite, a fortnightly focusing on British Asian events and issues and edited by Indian-origin journalist Anasudhin Azeez, is the only British ethnic media title short listed in the 18 award categories. Azeez hails from Palakkad district in Kerala.
59. Who has been conferred with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest honour accorded to people of Indian-origin oversees?
S R Nathan, former president of Singapore.
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