UPSC (PT) CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. What was renamed as Rajiv Gandhi National Park?
1. Nagarhole

2. She was the first woman president of the INC and the first woman Governor of India. Who?
2. Sarojini Naidu

3. He was the first Indian to be the member of the British Parliament and President of INC thrice. Who?
3. Dadabhai Naoroji

4. Her real name was Agnes Gonha Bojaxhiu. She won a Nobel Prize in 1979 and died in 1997 and before her death said ‘Love others as I have loved you’.Who?
4. Mother Teresa

5. The foremost Maratha patriot, his real name was Ramachandra Pandurang. He got his nickname from the fact that he was in charge of the firing of cannons. Who?
5. Tantya Tope

6. This place gets its name because it was here that Lakshmana cut of the nose of Shurpanakha. Which place?
6. Nasik

7. When Ravana set fire to Hanuman’s tail, he set fire to entire Lanka. How was the fire put out?
7. Ravana played the Amruthavarshini raga on his Veena and brought forth rain

8. What was the principle of peace and friendship enunciated by Nehru called?
8. Panchsheel

9. Two famous Indian cricketers starred in a movie called ‘Kabhi Ajnabi The’. Who?
9. Syed Kirmani and Sandeep Patil

10. According to Hindu myth who was the first mortal to die?
10. Yama

11. In the Mahabharatha other than the Kauravas who else had a 100 brothers?
11. Shakuni

12. Whose residence is called ‘Matushri’?
12. Bal Thackeray

13. What does the M.F. in M.F.Hussain’s name stand for?
13. Maqbool Fida

14. What well known verse is actually part of an over all poem titled ‘Bharat Vidhatha’?
14. Jana Gana Mana

15. Who sang the theme song of France’98?
15. Ricky MArtin

16. Whose last words were ‘Don’t worry, relax’?
16. Rajiv Gandhi

17. Who is the only Indian to win a Grand Slam title?
17. Mahesh Bhupati

18. Which place would be the Indian equivalent of the Pakistani Chagai Hills?
18. Pokhran

19. What is common to Clinic All Clear, Pepsi, Nippo, Reebok?
19. Rahul Dravid endorses all of them

20. Who made the popular T.V. serial Malgudi Days?
20. Shankar Nag

21. Who owns a little known software company in Bangalore called D’n’A Systems?
21. Anil Kumble

22. He calls his dog Chewbacca Khan. He won the Sword of Honour in the 12th std. At St. Columbus, Delhi. He made his debut on television as a soldier. Who?
22. Shahrukh Khan

23. In restaurants today, the computerised bill is heavily in use. The items are often abbreviated. If you found MS Dos written on your bill what would you have eaten?
23. Masala Dosa

24. Created by Tnoshiro Honda and Eiji Tsukusuya it was named after a workman at Toho studios in Tokyo. Radioactive and 164 foot high, it breathes fire and made its way to the cover of TIME and Newsweek in the 60s. What?
24. Godzilla

25. If you went to Ooty and asked for a “Filmi Chakkar” what would you get?
25. A tour of the locations where movies are shot in Ooty

26. This man’s first direct contribution to the test field was a leg-break over where he gave nine runs. The place was Port of Spain in 1971. Who?
26. Sunil Gavaskar

27. Which vehicle has the registration no. NCC 1701?
27. Star Trek Enterprise

28. It is called the Hoysala in Bangalore. What is it in Mysore?
28. Garuda

29. What is the duck that appears on Channel 9’s cricket scorecards called?
29. Waddles

30. What would you find at 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue?
30. The White House

31. Who is the daughter of Fred and Wilma Flintstone?
31. Pebbbles

32. It made its first appearance in the New York Times supplement in 1913. What?
32. The Crossword

33. He is the son of accomplished choreographer Sundaram Master. He made his first on screen appearanceas an extra in a song in the movie ‘Agni Nakshatram’. Who?
33. Prabhudeva

34. What does the 31 in Baskin Robbins 31 signify?
34. That it is available in 31 favours

35. His residence is called “Neverland Ranch’. His autobiography is titled Moonwalk. Who?
35. Michael JAckson

36. What is common to Rajnikanth, Johnny Walker, John Major?
36. All were bus conductors at some point of time

37. In the Bofors case who was nicknamed ‘Lotus’?
37. Rajiv Gandhi

38. His heir apparent Baby was killed a year ago. His brother Arjunan and his two associates Ayyandorai and Karanangalur Ramaswamy committed suicide. Who?
38. Veerappan

39. Which brand’s new adline is ‘I Can’?
39. Nike

40. Which cricketer is nicknamed ‘Jammy’ because his father used to work in Kissan?
40. Rahul Dravid

41. His middle name is Fauntleroy. His father’s name is Quackmore. Who?
41. Donald Duck

42. He made his debut as a stunt double for Bruce Lee because Lee refused to jump from 30 feet for a sequence. Who?
42. Jackie Chan

43. Who is the only real life character to appear in Tintin comics?
43. Al Capone

44. Who was the target of the Jackal in the ‘Day of the Jackal’?
44. Charles De GAulle

45. One of the two main components of the dowry given by Catherine Braganza to Charles I was the Moroccan city of Tangiers. What was the other?
45. Bombay

46. Abandoned in front of a cathedral, he was brought up by a priest. His name in Latin means ‘half formed’. He became the church bell ringer by the age of 14 and lost his hearing as a result. He was dubbed the’Pope of Fools’. Who?
46. Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame

47. Which animal gets its name, from Tamil, because it supposedly has the strength to kill an elephant?
47. Anaconda

48. What does the NE in the Premier 118 NE stand for?
48. Nissan Engine

49. Under what category does the Guinness Book of Records enter itself?
49. As the most stolen book from Libraries

50. This linguist knows 13 languages. He recently released a semi-autobiography titled ‘The Insider’. Who?
50. P.V. Narasimha Rao

51. The video of which recent chartbuster is based on Indiana Jones?
51. Aqua’s Dr. Jones

52. Who represents the constituency of Gurdaspur in the current Lok Sabha?
52. Vinod Khanna

53. His father was the dreaded dacoit Bhairav Singh. He is the founder chief of the Citizens Security Force. Who?
53. Bahadur

54. Who would you find with Raveena Tandon on the cover of the latest issue(Aug 9 of Filmfare?
54. Ricky MArtin

55. Which popular comic character made his first appearance in Pep Comics No. 22 in Dec 1941?
55. Archie

56. What did the Romanian Govt. ban in 1935 saying that it frightened children?
56. Mickey Mouse

57. Who wrote romantic novels under the pen name Mary Clarissa Westmacott?
57. Agatha Christie

58. What was the football world cup trophy called before it was renamed the FIFA trophy?
58. Jules Rimet Cup

59. If you were ‘oscitating’ what would you be doing?
59. Walking backwards

60. Who, at a Nobel awards banquet, wished that the dinner could have been packed and carried to the more needy back home?
60. Mother TEresa

61. India is developing an ICBM called Surya and also an underwater missile. What is it called?
61. Sagarika

62. Who is the host of a new Star Plus chat show called “Not a nice man to know” which is also the title ofhis autobiography?
62. Kushwant Singh

63. In Hindu myth it is referred to as the Pralaya, in Christianity as Armageddon. What is it referred to as in Islam?
63. Qayamat
64. A famous lexicographer upon being approached by a lady thanking him for omitting 4-letter words from his dictionary, is said to have replied with consternation “ So you have been looking for them madam”. Who?
64. Noah Webster

65. What is the German word for ‘store’ or ‘storehouse’?
65. Lager, therefore Lager beer

66. If your IQ is below 20, you are an ‘idiot’, if it is between 20 and 49 you are an ‘imbecile’. What are you if it is between 50 and 69?
66. Moron

67. What is a ‘Mexican breakfast’?
67. A glass of water with a cigarette

68. In the world of Indian fiction, who won the ‘All India Rifle Competition’ in 1975?
68. Feluda

69. “We contemplate the ultimate reality which is in the earth, the sky, the heaven,Let us bring our minds to meditate in the glory of the divine earth. May truth inspire our reflection“. This is the last prayer of a cult. Which one?
69. Heaven’s Gate

70. Which sportsman’s name is a corruption of the title ‘Ayo Dele’ which means ‘Joy in the house’ and was bestowed upon him by his Nigerian father while it got corrupted due to a mispronunciation by his Scottish mother?
70. Daley Thompson
71. In Greek myth when Theseus offered to kill the Minotaur, Ariadne, Daughter of the King of Crete gave him a thread to help him find his way back from the Minotaur’s dwelling. What word came into English language from this?
71. Clue

72. What commodity was originally called a ‘delirious drug’ in France and ‘a product that causes the shrivelled look of the orient’ in Germany?
72. Tea

73. Where in the world would you find the only digital Rolex clock?
73. Wimbledon Centre Court

74. She works 10-12 hours a day. She smokes 5 packets of cigarettes a day while working. She is the daughter of the renowned poet, Manish Ghatak and niece of director Ritwik Ghatak. She runs a tribal welfare organisation called ‘Paschim Bangla Keriya Sabar Kalyan Samiti’. Who?
74. Mahashweta Devi

75. ‘RUPTUREWORT’ is the largest word that can be made from the letters on the first row of a typewriter. What is the second largest?
75. Typewriter

76. What is the female equivalent of a ‘runway’?
76. Catwalk

77. The fusion of the Chinese ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ is the symbol of which organisation in India?
77. Doordarshan

78. Who is the first Indian to be appointed the Master of the Trinity College at Oxford?
78. Amartya Sen, now Nobel laureate

79. What did Winston Churchill describe as ‘an ineffectual attempt to direct an uncontrollable object into an inaccessible hole with instruments ill-adapted for the purpose’?
79. Golf

80. In Table Tennis a ball is so spun on the table that the opponent does not reach it. This inspired a person named Bosanquet to invent something. What?
80. The Googly in cricket

81. He was recently in India to inaugurate the India Internet World exhibition in Delhi. Originally from Bangalore, he was the co-founder of the popular Hotmail free e-mail service which he sold to Microsoft for $400 million last year. Who?
81. Sabeer Bahtia

82. It’s official name is ‘The Albert Victor Conservatory’ and is spread over an area of 2180 sq.m. What are we talking about?
82. The Glass House at lalbagh, Bangalore

83. This person originally had the surname ‘Little’. Influenced by Elijah Mohd., he joined the Nation of Islam. After a pilgrimage to Mecca, he returned under the name G Haj Malik el Shahbazz, a Sunni Muslim. Who?
83. Malcolm X

84. In a fit of madness this person killed his wife Megara and their children. In order to atone for his sins he did something. Who and what?
84. Hercules and he performed the 12 tasks

85. He was named so because he was born in the same year as that his father first tasted success, in the movie ‘Choti Behan’. He cleaned carpets, worked on an oil rig and on a horse farm. He is now settled as a farmer in New Zealand. Who?
85. Lucky Ali

86. Its predecessor was codenamed ‘Chicago’. Its codename was ‘Memphis’. It was released about two months ago after a delay of nearly a year. What are we talking about?
86. Windows 98

87. A 2 word answer: The first word is the common name for a South American shrub whose dried leaves are chewed as a stimulant. The second word is a West African tree whose seed is used as a condiment and tonic.
87. Coca Cola

88. ‘The god of wind brought about the winds of change in India’. What was once advertised thus?
88. Maruti

89. Which literary personality’s last work was ‘The Phoenix and the Turtle’?
89. William Shakespeare

90. In Phantom comics what are the names of the Phantom’s two pet dolphins?
90. Solomon and Nefertiti

91. Who recently won the “Businessperson of the Year” Award for 1998 instituted by The Economic Times newspaper?
91. N. Chandrababu NAidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

92. About which music group did the legendary Phil Spector remark “ The only difference between a pornographic movie and them is that the pornographic movie has better music”
92. The Spice Girls

93. In the film Mr. And Mrs. 55 Guru Dutt was a cartoonist. Who actually drew the cartoons?
93. Bal Thackeray

94. His wife said of him “he is frightened of the titles and degrees on peoples visiting cards” and his card reads ‘ senior shoe salesman’. Who?
94. Thomas J. Bata
95. It is called ‘deuce’ in English, ‘egalite’ in French. What is it in German?
95. Einstein

96. So sure were the distributors of the success of this film , that they split up the film into 20 minute segments for a kids morning show. Which film?
96. Star Wars

97. If you were engaged in an altercation with a friend and he gave you a ‘circum orbital Hemotopo’ what would you have?
97. A black eye.

98. What is referred to as ‘blue sky research’?
98. Spending enormous amounts of money on futile projects like finding out why the sky is blue etc.

99. What do psychologists define as ‘a disorder in which strongly felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longing often of a perverse nature’?
99. Love

100. Locals affectionately refer to it as ‘bobby’. It is 90 ft long, has a sinuous body, tail, snake like head and a long neck. What?
100. The Loch Ness Monster.

101. According to legend Allah has 1001 names. To be good men, men need know only 1000 names. Who is the only one to know all 1001 names?
101. The Camel

102. What contribution did a vague movie by name ‘Rooplekha’ make to Indian cinema?
102. First movie with a flashback sequence.

103. The word ‘stadium’ comes from ‘stade’ a unit of distance. What was the unit?
103. The distance that Hercules could walk holding his breath.

104. In Asterix comic Unhygienix buys a plot of land from Obelix. How do we supposedly know this land today?
104. As Stonehenge.

105. Which day to day medical term is derived from the Latin for Cow?
105. Vaccination.

106. Based on Hamlet, it was the first English movie to be dubbed into Zulu and was also the first English movie not to feature a single human. Which movie?
106. The Lion King

107. It was believed that the devil was present at all important occasions during the medieval period. What practice arose from this?
107. The practice of clinking glasses to toast. They believed that the sound made was similar to church bells which scared the Devil away.

108. When King George first met him he asked him ‘Tell me , how did you pee’? Who are we talking about?
108. Sir Charles Lindbergh

109. She is a graduate of the National School of Drama . She replaced Mita Vashist in her most celebrated role to date. She is also starring in Kamal Hassan’s under-production film ‘Ladies Only’. Who
109. Seema Biswas.

110. What is common to hearty, Patiala, silent, cocktail, open heart, dancing and round?
110. All are types of laughter.

111. If you were playing with the Devil’s Book what would you be doing?
111. Playing cards.

112. In medieval times, in Europe, 1/3 of taxes went to the King, 1/3 to the nobility and 1/3 to the common man. How is this immortalised?
112. Through the nursery rhyme ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’

113. Born with the body of a mastiff, looks of a lamb, teeth of a bunny rabbit and is one of those mutations that happen when God plays dice. Who or What are we talking about?
113. Ronaldo

114. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, there were many debates in Parliament regarding what to be done with the disputed land. One of the most popular suggestions came from a first time M.P. from Uttar Pradesh who suggested that a sweet shop be built there. What was his logic?
114. Rama + Babri = Rabri which was a sweetmeat.

115. This bird has the unique distinction of being called by the names of two different countries in different parts of the world. Give both names.
115. Turkey and Peru in Latin America.

116. “There was neither non-exist nor exist. There was neither the realm of space nor the sky beyond”. Opening lines of what?
116. The Rig Veda.

117. In February 1935, the superpolyamide formed from hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid was made by Du Pont. How do we know this compound better?
117. As Nylon

118. This person wrote about himself thus :”Principal virtues : keeps his nails clean. Principal faults : that he has no family, is bad tempered and has a poor digestion. One and only wish : Not to be buried alive. Greatest sin : that he does not worship Mammon. Important events in his life : None”. Who?
118. Alfred Nobel

119. There’s a story that, around 1600, two children were playing with lenses in a shop in Middleburg. What resulted, according to the story, from the game?
119. The telescope. They were playing in Hans Lippershey’s shop. Lippershey is considered to be the probable inventor of the telescope. By holding together the two lenses, the children found, they could magnify the objects kept in the shop. This led Lippershey to construct the telescope.

120. What was patented by Hippolyte Mege Mouries in 1869, after he was commissioned by the Victualing Department of the French Navy to find an alternative for butter at a time of acute butter shortage?
120. Margarine

121. They began to appear in quantities in the 1860s. “I hate those redbreasts”, cried “Punch” in 1869. In 1877 “The Times” magazine declared them a great social evil, and it was following difficulties with them in 1879 that the London Post Office in 1880 cried out “Post Early”. What are we talking about?
121. Christmas Cards
122. His first voyage, in 1607, was intended to find a quick way to China by way of the North Pole, but resulted instead in the establishment of the Spitzbergen whale fisheries. In 1608, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, he sailed 150 miles past the site of New York, but returned back. In 1610, he explored the site that is now known by his name and was frozen in it. Who?
122. Henry Hudson, of Hudson Bay

123. A man by name Friedrich Froebel, walking with two of his disciples over the Steiger Pass on the way to the village of Blankenburg, scratched his head for the right name to give the institution, and then suddenly shouted out “Eureka ! I have it ! It shall be called _______________!”. Fill in the blank.
123. Kindergarten. Froebel, the German educational reformer was the inventor of the Kindergarden system of education.

124. Back in 1890, Johnson & Johnson put together the first of its kind in response to a plea from railroad workers who needed treatment on the scene as they toiled to lay tracks across America. What?
124. First Aid kits

125. To the Hopi Indians, who feared it and filled it with frightening myths, it was the trail made by the God Ta-Vwoats when he took a mourning chief to find his wife in the other world; the river associated with it, according to them was an addition to hold back the unworthy. What?
125. The Grand Canyon and the River Colorado.

126. An author, as a sign of gratitude to the nurse who had cared for his firstborn child, gave a script and asked her to sell it when she was in need of money. Years later, when the nurse was really in want of money, she sold it and lived in comfort for the rest of her life. The manuscript was the first part of a famous work of this author Name the book and author?
126. Rudyard Kipling and the Jungle Book

127. Though Magellan is regarded as the first person to circumnavigate the world, technically he was not, and it was a person by name Juan Sebastian del Cano, who is technically the first circumnavigator. Why?
127. Magellan, while on the expedition, was killed in a squabble with the natives in the Philippines, and it was Cano who assumed command of the expedition and sailed the expedition through the rest of its journey

128. In the United States, currently a small stock of this exists at only one location - at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Some additional stocks are available in Great Britain, Russia and China. Stocks of what?
128. The Small pox virus

129. Masaru Ibuka, after graduating in engineering, failed the entry examination for lifetime employment at Toshiba, and decided to start his own small business. He was fortunate to find a partner who had a flair for finance and salesmanship. Who was this partner?
129. Akio Morita. They together started the company that later became Sony.

130. US banned her entry calling her ‘a communist good’. She was kept in On her journey to the USA from China she got into trouble when the London for time’s sake and became a major attraction there. Who?
130. Chi-Chi the Panda, who became the mascot of the WWF

131. The comic character Yogi Bear lives in a national park that takes its name from the world’s first national park. Name both.
131. Jellystone and Yellowstone

132. The byline of which company, rather ironically went ‘What we do will touch your lives in some way everyday’?
132. Union Carbide Limited (Bhopal Gas Tragedy)

133. Cubatao, in Brazil has certain epithet because it is the world’s most polluted place. What epithet?
133. The Valley of Death

134. Which popular brand takes its name from a particular species of deer native to South Africa?
134. Reebok

135. Which metal was responsible for the fatal brain disease that affected people eating fish caught from the Minamata Bay off the Japanese island of Kyushu?
135. Mercury

136. What is the claim to fame of a body called the Dasohli Gram Swarajya Mandali?
136. Pioneered the Chipko movement

137. A certain kind of bird called Storm Petrels are named after St. Peter. Why?
137. Because they can walk on water

138. The largest flower in the world is named after the person who forced Lord Minto to occupy Java and was at one time the keeper of the London Zoo. We know him best for a city that he founded. Name him and the flower?
138. Sir Stamford Thomas Raffles and the Rafflesia arnoldi

139. In which book would you find the lines ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal’.
139. George Orwell’s ‘Animal farm’

140. The Indian television series ‘Living on the edge’ was the first in Asia to win the prestigious Panda Award. By what popular name is this award known?
140. The Green Oscar

141. Which animal is mentioned as the teacher of Yudhishthira in the Mahabharatha?
141. The Mongoose

142. Which comic character cannot stand trees being cut down?
142. Dogmatix of Asterix

143. Which Banking and Finance corporate major recently tied up with the WWF to issue special WWF branded credit cards wherein the company would donate a certain amount of money on the customer’s behalf to WWF everytime he used the card?
143. Citibank

144. A few years ago a certain insect called the Mexican Beetle was imported into Bangalore in large numbers. Why?
144. To eradicate the weed Parthenium

145. India’s premier environmental magazine is edited by activist Bittu Sahgal. Name it.
145. Sanctuary

146. Who said ‘A nation’s wealth, its real wealth can be gauged by its tree cover ‘?
146. Richard St. Barbe Baker, ‘The Man of Trees’

147. Who is the patron saint of ecology?
147. St. Francis

148. Of which media powerhouse is the Discovery Channel a division?
148. Disney

149. Who authored a bestseller ‘Overload’ which is concerned with a fight between environmentalists and an engineer over the building of a thermal power station?
149. Arthur Hailey

150. This American industrialist donated about 1/5th of his property to WWF in return for which the WWF gives an annual Wildlife Conservation Prize to individuals and organisations for distinguished service to the cause of conservation, in his name. Who?
150. J. Paul Getty