Globescan - Compiled by Reshma Majithia and Satarupa Bhattacharya

1. Who is the current representative of India to the United Nations?
   a. Hardeep Singh Puri
   b. M.S. Puri
   c. Vijay K.Nambiar
   d. Nirupam Sen
   
   
2. Recipient of the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship (United States' most prestigious honour for a master in the traditional arts), he has composed and recorded many albums and sound tracks, and has received widespread recognition as a composer for his many ensembles and collaborations. Recently he won the Grammy award for the best contemporary world music album. Name him.
   a. Zakir Hussain
   b. Zubin Mehta
   c. Dr.L.Subramaniam
   d. Yogesh Samsi
   
   
3. A 1982 batch officer of the Indian Information Service, she has held various posts in different media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Recently she was appointed Principal Director General, Media and Communications, of the Press Information Bureau. Identify her.
   a. Shalini Kamath
   b. Neelam Kapur
   c. Malavika Sangghvi
   d. Shamni Pande
   
   
4. Who was sworn in as Prime Minister of Nepal after the Maoist government collapsed following their leader Prachanda’s resignation over the issue of re-instatement of an army general that the latter had fired?
   a. Pushpa Kumar Dahal
   b. Jhakku Prasad Subedi
   c. Madhav Kumar Nepal
   d. Girija Prasad Koirala
   
   
5. Hyundai Motors India, the second largest manufacturer of cars in India, is all set to launch a new diesel version of one of its popular models in India this year. This is the:
   a. i10
   b. Sonata
   c. Accent
   d. i20
   
   
6. NDTV, India’s largest private television house has entered into a partnership with a leading English-language Indian daily to launch an English news and entertainment channel. Name the print daily.
   a. The Hindu
   b. The Times of India
   c. Hindustan Times
   d. DNA
   
   
7. An ex-naval chief Admiral, he played a crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM) and the Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM) for his distinguished service in Indian Navy. He passed away on May 11, 2009. He is:
   a. Admiral S M Nanda
   b. Admiral N. Krishnan
   c. Admiral P.C. Lal
   d. Admiral Benjamin Abraham
   
   
8. The Nikkei Asia Prize is given to individuals or institutions from the Asia Pacific region recognizing outstanding achievements that improve the quality of life in Asia. Identify the Indian entrepreneur who has been recently awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize for 2009 for promoting regional growth in Asia.
   a. Lalita Gupte
   b. Anu Aga
   c. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
   d. Ritu Kumar
   
   
9. Who is the new managing director and chief executive officer of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)?
   a. Ravi Narain
   b. Jagdish Capoor
   c. G.N. Bajpai
   d. Madhu Kannan
   
   
10. Microsoft Corporation, the American multinational computer technology company that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices is gearing up to release the next version of its operating system Windows by the end of 2009. This will be
    a. Windows 7
    b. Windows 8
    c. Windows 5
    d. Windows 6
    
    
11. French food giant Groupe Danone ended its 13-year-old relationship with a leading Indian company famous for its brands of biscuit by terminating their existing joint ventures in India and also resolved their dispute over the intellectual property of Tiger brand of biscuits. Name the Indian company.
    a. ITC Foods
    b. Parle
    c. The Royal Indian Food Company
    d. Britannia
    
    
12. One of India’s largest providers of information technology and business process outsourcing services has signed a 5-year deal with Volkswagen UK to deliver IT transformation and support services to the vehicle manufacturer. Is it
    a. Infosys
    b. Accenture
    c. Wipro
    d. TCS
    
    
13. The Interior Minister of which country tendered his resignation after German police at Frankfurt airport detained him for drunken and disorderly conduct?
    a. Yves Leterme, Belgium
    b. Yuri Lutsenko, Ukraine
    c. Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi, Malaysia
    d. Francois Fillon, France
    
    
14. Name the country with which Japan has signed a nuclear deal to enable trade in technology and uranium.
    a. Ukraine
    b. Romania
    c. Russia
    d. Germany
    
    
15. Who is the new President of South Africa?
    a. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki
    b. Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe
    c. Jacob Zuma
    d. Kgalema Motlanthe
    
    
16. With which of the following Indian mobile telephone networks has British football club Manchester United signed a £10 million sponsorship deal, under which subscribers of the network will be able to view Man United content on their phones?
    a. Airtel
    b. Spice
    c. Vodaphone
    d. Aircel
    
    
17. Name the Colombian President who seems strongly poised to win an unprecedented third term in Presidential elections if the Senate votes for a constitutional change allowing him to run (as on May 15, 2009) even though analysts within and outside the country have often brought allegations of autocracy and human rights abuses against him.
    a. Hugo Chavez
    b. Alvaro Uribe
    c. Juan Manuel Santos
    d. Fabio Achevarri
    
    
18. Identify the global IT major which was slapped with a staggering fine of 1.06 billion Euros by the European Commission’s competition regulator. The firm had allegedly used its position of dominance to offer illegal rebates to customers to dissuade them from sourcing items from prime competitors.
    a. IBM
    b. Intel
    c. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
    d. Texas Instruments
    
    
19. Name the noted Indian poet who was contesting elections for the very prestigious post of Professor of Poetry at the Oxford University but subsequently lost to classical scholar Ruth Padel, a direct descendant of naturalist Charles Darwin.
    a. Vikram Seth
    b. Aditi Lahiri
    c. Tabish Khair
    d. Arvind Mehrotra
    
    
20. The Zoozoo advertisements of Vodafone created to convey the different value added services offered by the network company, which have become so immensely popular in IPL season, were conceived by
    a. O&M
    b. JWT India
    c. Madison
    d. Leo-Burnett
    
    
21. Chennai-born Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj is all set to launch a landmark film of his career – the 100th – towards the end of the year to be directed by American actress Madeleine Stowe. Name the film.
    a. Kites
    b. Twilight
    c. The Last Airbender
    d. The Unbound Captives
    
    
22. Name the Indian-origin columnist for The Times who has won the Mind Awards Book of the Year for his book, The Boy with the Topknot, a memoir of coming of age in 1980s Britain.
    a. Anita Ganeri
    b. Hardeep Singh Kohli
    c. Sathnam Sanghera
    d. Akhil Sharma
    
    
23. Which country won their third Asia Cup hockey title after edging past Pakistan 1-0 in a tough title-clash in May 2009?
    a. Japan
    b. India
    c. South Korea
    d. China
    
    
24. The first case of swine flu – the dreaded influenza virus creating panic across the globe – in India was confirmed in a student arriving at
    a. Hyderabad
    b. New Delhi
    c. Bangalore
    d. Kochi
    
    
25. An Academy Award winning American film director, screenwriter, actor, and playwright recently won a $5m (£3.3m) out-of-court settlement from American Apparel after the US company used his image on adverts without consent. Name the personality.
    a. Richard Attenborough
    b. Woody Allen
    c. Matt Damon
    d. Darren Aronofsky

Globescan Answers

1. d 2. a 3. b 4.c 5. d
6.a 7.a 8.c 9.d 10.a
11.d 12.d 13.b 14.c 15. c
16.a 17.b 18.b 19.d 20.a
21.d 22.c 23.c 24.a 25.b