Gallantry Awards

Param Vir Chakra (PVC)

Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is the highest gallantry award for officers and other enlisted personnel of all military branches of India for the highest degree of valour in the presence of the enemy. Introduced on 26^th January 1950, this award may be given posthumously.

Literally, Param Vir Chakra means 'Wheel (or Cross) of the Ultimate Brave'. In Sanskrit, 'Param means Ultimate, 'Vir (Pronounced veer) means Brave and 'Chakra means Wheel.

If any recipient of the PVC shall again perform such and act of bravery as would have made him or her eligible to be recorded by a Bar to be attached to the riband by which the Chakra is suspended, and for every such additional act of bravery, an additional Bar shall be added, and any such Bar or Bars may also be awarded posthumously. For every Bar awarded a replica of the 'Indra's Vajra' in miniature shall be added to the riband when worn alone.

The PVC is the equivalent award of the Medal of Honour in the United States, and the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom.

One amongst the luminous recipients of this honour was Flying Officer Nirmal Jiit Singh Sekhon, who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in the year 1971. He is the lone Indian Air Force officer to have been honoured with the Param Vir Chakra till date.

The art of appreciating the brave and gallant is not new. They form one of the most important constituents of a nation’s stability.  History defines gallantry as commanded respect and appreciation. The concept of emancipation of the brave is cognizant in our Epics too. In the Mahabharata, the merit of dying as a martyr in the cause of Dharma is all along appreciated as the easiest way to heaven. In fact, any kind of death on the battlefield was considered glorious.

Whether being the appointed head of a clan, raised memorials in honour of the martyrs/brave souls or granted titles, robe of honour, cash awards or medals etc., recognition of bravery has always been a very prestigious affair. The conclusion of British Rule in India saw the end of the old institution of British honours and awards. Independent India saw the introduction of awards such as Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Shaurya Chakra etc.

Ashok Chakra

The Ashok Chakra series of awards are open to civilians also. Recommendations received in respect of civilians from the State Governments/Union territory Administra-tions and Ministries/Departments of the Central Government are processed by the Ministry of Defence for the consideration of the Central Honours and Awards Committee chaired by the Defence Minister. These awards are biannual and are given on the Republic Day and Independence Day.

Shaurya Chakra

This is awarded for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy. This award may be granted to civilians or to military personnel and may be awarded posthumously.

Nobel Laureates

Amartya Sen (b-1933): Prof. Amartya Sen is the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Economics for the year 1998, becoming the first Asian to have been honoured with the award. The Santiniketanborn economist who is a pioneer in Welfare Economics has to his credit several books and papers on aspects of welfare and development. An economist with a difference, Prof. Sen is a humanist. He has distinguished himself with his outstanding writings on famine, poverty, democracy, gender and social issues. The 'impossibility theorem' suggested earlier by Kenneth Arrow states that it was not possible to aggregate individual choices into a satisfactory choice for society as a whole. Prof. Sen showed mathematically that societies could find ways to alleviate such a poor outcome.

Subramanian Chandrashekhar (1910-1995): The Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 was awarded to Dr S. Chandrashekhar, an Indian-born astrophysicist. Educated in Presidency College, Chennai, Dr Chandrashekhar happened to be the nephew of his Nobel forbear, Sir C.V. Raman. He later migrated to the United States where he authored several books on Astrophysics and Stellar Dynamics. He developed a theory on white dwarf stars which posts a limit of mass of dwarf stars known also as Chandrashekhar Limit. His theory explains the final stages of stellar evolution.

Mother Teresa (1910-1997): The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mother Teresa in 1979. Albanian parentage, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born at Skopje, now in Yogoslavia. She joined the Irish order of the Sisters of Loretto at Dublin in 1928 and came to Kolkata in 1929 as a missionary, only to find the misery of the abandoned and the destitute. Concern for the poor and the sick prompted her to found a new congregation, Missionaries of Charity. Having become an Indian citizen, Mother Teresa served the cause of dying destitutes, lepers and drug addicts, through Nirmal Hriday (meaning Pure Heart), the main centre of her activity. Her selfless service and unique devotion, not only to helpless fellow-Indians but also to the cause of world peace, earned her and India the first Nobel Peace Prize.

Hargobind Khorana (1922-2011): Hargobind Khorana was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968. Of Indian origin, Dr Khorana was born in Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan). He took his doctoral degree in Chemistry from Liverpool University and joined the University of Wisconsin as a Faculty Member in 1960. His major breakthrough in the field of Medicine -interpreting the genetic code and analysing its function in protein synthesis- fetched him the Nobel Prize.

Chandrashekhar Venkataraman (1888-1970): India's first Nobel Prize for Physics was claimed in 1930 by the renowned physicist Sir C.V. Raman. Born at Thiruvanaikkaval near Tiruchirapalli in Tamilnadu, Raman studied at Presidency College, Chennai. Later, he served as Professor of Physics at Calcutta University. Recipient of many honours and awards, including the title of 'Sir', Sir C.V. Raman received the Nobel Prize for an important optics research, in which he discovered that diffused light contained rays of other wavelengths-what is now popularly known as Raman Effect. His theory discovered in 1928 explains the change in the frequency of light passing through a transparent medium.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941): Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian ever to receive a Nobel Prize. Popularly known as Gurudev, India's Poet Laureate Tagore was born on 7th May 1861, in Kolkata. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of his work Geetanjali, a collection of poems, in 1913. Tagore wrote many love lyrics. Geetanjali and Sadhana are among his important works. The poet, dramatist and novelist is also the author of India's National Anthem. In 1901 he founded the famous Santiniketan which later came to be known as Vishwabharati University.

SCHEMES & PROGRAMMES

1. Digital India

Digital India Program was launched in August 2014 to change the face of India digitally and electronically.  This would in turn pave way for a digitally empowered nation and economy.  As per this campaign, all offices and departments of Government of India would be digitally connected to each other and to the target population, thereby making the government mechanism smoother and malpractices-free.  This would also ensure effective governance in the country.  Digital India Program would reduce paperwork to a significant level.  The program which started in 2014 would complete by 2019.

2. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

On his first speech of Independence Day in year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the famous Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which ensures a bank account for every Indian.  In this mass drive, more than 15 million saving accounts were opened across the length and breadth of the country with almost all public sector banks participating in it.  It was the first ever financial inclusion program launched in the country and has seen success so far.  More than Rs 1,500 has been deposited in banks so far by the account holders.

3. Swachh Bharat

This type of campaign was not really new to India, however the name and intent may be new.  Previous governments have already worked on similar campaigns like Nirmal Bharat Program.  However, nothing has been achieved significantly so far and thus the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan comes with a new hope to clean the country’s mess.

The campaign was launched in 2014 with almost every big and small personality of the country taking to the streets and taking part in it.  In fact, the cleanliness drive has more to do with self publicity, whether it is the Prime Minister himself, or other ministers, or film stars or the general public. All have taken pictures of cleaning their locality and posted it on their social media account to ensure that people see that they are involved with a noble cause.  The evaluation of the campaign has to be seen in a longer run.

4. Make in India

This was more of a slogan than a campaign coined by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure self sufficiency in the field of mass production.  The vision has been to attract global investors to invest in domestic market and thus create India a manufacturing hub for the entire world.

Make in India would also ensure that there are sufficient job opportunities for the national youth who are struggling to get a decent job in order to compete with their international counterparts.  The Make in India campaign is being run and administered by the Central Government and the government has identified a total of 25 different sectors on which it would focus.

5. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Inclusive governance is one of the core visions of Shri Narendra Modi.  As per Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, each MP would take out some part of their funds for the development of their constituencies.  Physical and institutional infrastructures are some of the way through which the villages of the country can reach up to their empowerment, as a whole.

The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana ensures the same.  The campaign which started in year 2014 is said to be successfully concluding by year 2019.  The guidelines for rural development under the scheme have already been issued by the honorable prime minister in October 2014.

6. Atal Pension Yojana

Low cost benefits have been the core guiding principles of the Narendra Modi lead Central Government in almost all the schemes they are launching.  Atal Pension Yojana too is one such scheme, which ensures old age pension to those who are not covered under any other pension or social security scheme.

This way, those people who have been working in unorganized sectors and enjoying no pension scheme would be covered and can ensure a healthy and comfortable old age.

7. Awas Yojana (PMAY)

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is primarily a welfare housing scheme launched by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  With PMAY, the intention is to provide housing to all by year 2022.  In order to make the scheme a success and reality, a total of around 2 crore houses would be constructed across the length and breadth of the country by year 2022.

The houses would be distributed to the needy sections of society and a subsidy on loan would be provided by the central government, thereby making housing an affordable thing for the economically weaker people of the country.  Special preference would be given to senior citizens, women and SC/ST in allotment of these houses.

8. Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

The PMJJBY is a term life insurance policy that goes a long way in ensuring a safe financial future for the policy holder and comes with lowest cost on a yearly basis.

Anyone who is within the age group of 18 years to 50 years can get enrolled for PMJJBY, provided they have a functional saving bank account.  Within the scheme, the policy holder would have to pay as a premium is Rs 330 per year and they would be covered with a life insurance of Rs 2 lakhs.

9. Suraksha Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana targets social security through insuring accidental deaths and partial or permanent disabilities.  A large number of population in India live in rural areas and these people do not have access to insurance schemes.  PMSBY is an initiative to cater to such a population so that they can enjoy the insurance benefits at minimum contributions.

In order to get PMSBY scheme for anyone in India, the subscriber is required to just pay Rs 12 per year and enjoy a carefree insured life of up to Rs 2 lakhs insurance cover.  One of the best things about these social security schemes is that they require an insignificant level of paperwork and this leverage has been provided considering the fact that a large number of people living in rural areas do not have all the validation documents available with them.

10. Krishi Sinchai Yojana

India is primarily an agricultural country and irrigation defines the success of agriculture.  This is why it is important for any agricultural economy to have a proper irrigation channel throughout the country.  Prime Minister Modi has identified this need and thus started this new scheme.

As per the scheme details, just 45 per cent of the farm lands in India are accessible to the irrigation channels with remaining 55 per cent depending on traditional methods of irrigation.  This is a huge opportunity and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana would ensure that adequate infrastructural arrangements are made so that maximum fields in the country are connected to the irrigation system properly.

11. Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana would facilitate necessary arrangements so that the younger lot of workforce in India is provided with world class training as far as technical expertise is concerned.  The skills training would be in line with latest technologies coupled with personality development and management skills that would ensure that our youth compete well with their international counterparts.

12. MUDRA Bank Yojana

This is yet another aggressive scheme launched by the Narendra Modi government.  MUDRA stands for Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd., which was initiated to bring into the general public into the normal banking system.  Facilities and benefits like credits, loans, and insurance are not reachable to many in India, especially to those living in rural and far flung areas.

MUDRA bank is not exactly a bank but a banking regulator which would regulate the micro finance to the rural and needy population.

13. Garib Kalyan Yojana

Under this scheme, the government would run several micro campaigns to ensure that that the welfare needs of the poor population are met and taken care of.  It would conduct workshops to meet its agendas.

14. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is one of the most promising and relevant schemes launched by the Narendra Modi Government.  SSY lays special emphasis on financial empowerment of the girl child.  Through this scheme, the parents of any girl child below 10 years can open a saving account for their daughters and operate it till they attain an age of 21 years.

After that time, they can withdraw the money and use it for her marriage or higher education.  The scheme offers a high rate of return, even much higher than PPF and the depositor gets complete tax exemption for whatever amount invested under 80C of income tax.  Ever since the scheme has been launched, lakhs or parents have already got an account opened for their daughters and enjoying the benefits. Read more about this yojana.

15. DigiLocker Scheme

Just like you have a locker to secure your valuable belongings, Digilocker is a facility through which you can secure and keep your valuable documents secure.  Now, when everything has turned out to be digital, online documents are required in order to submit forms and other activities.

Digilocker is a space provided by Government of India where you can upload all your important documents in digital format and use them whenever you have to furnish it anywhere to government authorities.  This drive has paved way for paperless environment and would also curtain the possibilities of corruption to the significant level.

16. Ebasta Scheme

eBasta Scheme is very much similar to the concept of DigiLockers.  eBasta provides an online learning space for the students in the form of digital books.  With this service, students would no more have to go and buy their books from the book shops and neither would publishers need to worry about pirated versions or supply channel flaws.

The content and curriculum of the students can be decided by the school and its teachers and students will have to just login and download their study material, which they can use for learning at their computers and tablets.  This kind of initiative would initiate the era of interactive learning in India.

17. One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme: 

Under the OROP scheme the government said it would revise pension every five years where the veterans protested and demanded that it should be revised every two years.

The government announced that OROP will be implemented from July 1, 2014 and the base year would be 2013 but the ex-servicemen objected and said it should nbe implemented from April 1, 2014 instead of July 1. The veterans even demanded that every person in the army should be a benefiaciary under the OROP scheme. The estimated cost to implement OROP will be between Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.

18. Pradhan Mantri Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana

This programme was launched by PM Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. It is a very significant programme and campaign because of country’s poor record on women related indicators such as child sex ratio, female infanticide, female foeticide and female education etc; especially alarming is the data for child sex ratio i.e. the sex ratio of children 0 to 6 years. The census data of the year 2011 shows child sex ratio at 918 which is lesser than the previous census (2001) data of 927. Thus, child sex ratio (0-6 years) is showing a declining trend which is not a very healthy sign for social development of India. Therefore, ‘Beti Bacha Beti Padhao’ campaign is one of the most important programmes being initiated by the new Government.

19. Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana:

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) has been launched in September 2015 for the welfare of tribals and other affected persons in mining areas. Under this scheme, the mining companies will need to contribute 10 to 30% of royalty for welfare of people directly or indirectly affected by mining.

This scheme is a follow up to Prime Minister’s promise of Rs. 6000 Crore for the development of tribals in mining affected areas in his Independence Day speech. However, the proposal to establish the District Mineral Foundations had come in November 2014 from Union Government side. The idea was to levy additional royalty and then use that fund on welfare of the people / infra development in mining affected areas. For this purpose, on January 12, 2015, President Pranab Mukherjee had signed an ordinance to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act), 1957. This was followed by parliamentary approval to amendment of MMDR Acr 1957 on 26 March 2015. On August 18, 2015; Odisha became the first state in India to issue rules for the District Mineral Foundation.

20. Integrated Power Development Scheme:
Integrated Power Development (IPDS) scheme launched by Modi Government is basically a new avatar of Restructured Accelerated Power Development Programme of UPA. This scheme focuses on improvement of T&D networks across India. It promises help in reduction of AT&C losses, establishment of IT enabled energy accounting / auditing system, improvement in billed energy based on metered consumption and improvement in collection efficiency.

The scheme has been launched with an outlay of Rs. 44,011 crore for 12th and 13th plans. All discoms including private discoms and state power departments are eligible to get financial assistance under it. The discoms can prioritize what fraction of their infrastructure work is to be strengthened and can apply for assistance with their detailed project reports. The projects supported under this scheme need to be completed within 24 months. Like R-APDP, Power Finance Corporation is nodal agency for this scheme. The grant portion of this scheme is 60% for normal  states and 85% for special category states. They can also get 15% additional grant if they do the work within prescribed milestones viz. timely completion of the scheme, reduction in AT&C losses as per trajectory. The discoms need to enter into tripartite agreement with PFC and State Government to be enable to get all support.

21. Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP):
DELP programme has been launched in several states (Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi) to replace the regular bulbs and CFL lights with LED lights. The programme is being implemented by  Discoms in association with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). LED lights are given at lower than market price in this scheme.

22. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana:
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi  approved the New Crop Insurance Scheme,‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ to boost the agricultural sector.
The theme of the Scheme is One Nation – One Scheme. In this, all shortcomings and weaknesses of all previous schemes were removed and incorporated with the best features of all schemes.

Scheme and Programme Launched By Narendra Modi Government

SN	Govt Scheme	Details
1	Make in India	It was Launched on 25th September 2014 To make India a manufacturing hub. Make in India is an initiative of the Government of India to encourage multinational, as well as domestic, companies to manufacture their products in India. The major objective behind the initiative is to focus on job creation and skill enhancement in twenty-five sectors of the economy
2	Digital India	Launched on 1st July 2015 To transform India’s economy Digital India has three core components. These include: The creation of digital infrastructure Delivering services digitally Digital literacy
3	Skill India	Launched on 15th July 2015) To create jobs for youth of the Country Skill Development in Youth Making Skill available to All Youth of India
4	Smart Cities	Launched on 29th April 2015 In first Government of india Will Develop 100 Smart cities in India Under this Scheme Cities from all States Are Selected
5	Unearthen Black Money	Bill Passed on 14th May 2015 Disclosing Black Money Punishment for The Black Money holders
6	Namami Gange	Namami Gange Project or Namami Ganga Yojana is an ambitious Union Government Project which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner. It its maiden budget, the government announced Rs. 2037 Crore towards this mission. The project is officially known as Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project or ‘Namami Ganga Yojana’. This project aims at Ganga Rejuvenation by combining the existing ongoing efforts and planning under it to create a concrete action plan for future.
7	Swachh Bharat Abhiyan	Launched on 2nd October 2014) To have clean India by 2nd October 2019 Eliminate open defecation by constructing toilets for households, communities Eradicate manual scavenging Introduce modern and scientific municipal solid waste management practices Enable private sector participation in the sanitation sector Change people’s attitudes to sanitation and create awareness
8	Swadesh Darshan	Integrated Development of Theme Based Buddhist tourist circuit
9	Sukanya Samridhi Account	Launched on 22nd January 2015 The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. The scheme currently provides an interest rate of 9.2% and tax benefits. The account can be opened at any India Post office or a branch of some authorised commercial banks
10	Bal swachh mission	Launched on 14th November 2014) Awareness about the cleanliness of the children
11	Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana	Launched on 28th August 2014 ) To give financial services to weaker section of society.
12	Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana	Launched on 9th May 2015 Eligibility: Available to people in age group 18 to 70 years with bank account. Premium:  Rs.12 per annum. Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the subscribers account. This is the only mode available. Risk Coverage:  For accidental death and full disability – Rs.2 Lakh and for partial disability – Rs.1 Lakh. Eligibility: Any person having a bank account and Aadhaar number linked to the bank account can give a simple form to the bank every year before 1st of June in order to join the scheme.  Name of nominee to be given in the form.
13	Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana	(Launched on 22nd January 2015)-To generate awareness of welfare service meants for girl child and women.
14	Atal Pension Scheme	(Launched on 9th May 2015)-for unorganised sector ‘s workers
15	HRIDAY (National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme	(Launched on 21st January 2015)-To develop heritage cities.
16	Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana	(Launched on 9th May 2015)-Life insurance scheme by Government
17	MUDRA Bank Yojana	(Launched on 8th April 2015) to provide up to 10 lakh to small entrepreneur.
18	Krishi Amani Bima Yojana	Scheme for farmer
19	Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojana	To provide water to all field in the Country.
20	Pradhan Mantri Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana	(Launched on 11th October 2014)-Each MP to develop three villages by 2019.
21	Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana	(Launched on 25th September 2014)- To provide employmentto youth residing in rural area.
22	Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana	To provide power(electricity) to rural area of the country.
23	Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana	Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana is a special social security scheme which includes Pension and Life Insurance, introduced by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the overseas Indian workers in possession of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports. It is a voluntary scheme designed to help workers to meet their three financial needs: saving for retirement, saving for their return and resettlement, and providing free life insurance offering coverage for death from natural causes.
24	Indradanush Scheme	(Launched on 25th December 2014)
25	Soil Health Card Scheme	Soil Health Card Scheme is a scheme launched by the Government of India in February 2015. Under the scheme, the government plans to issue soil cards to farmers which will carry crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for the individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs. All soil samples are to be tested in various soil testing labs across the country. Thereafter the experts will analyse the strength and weaknesses (micro-nutrients deficiency) of the soil and suggest measures to deal with it. The result and suggestion will be displayed in the cards. The government plans to issue the cards to 14 crore farmers
26	Rani Laxmi Bai Pension scheme	For victims of Muzazafar nagar riot.
27	Udaan Scheme	To provide skill to youth of India.
28	Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission	The Mission aims at development of rural growth clusters which have latent potential for growth, in all States and UTs, which would trigger overall development in the region. These clusters would be developed by provisioning of economic activities, developing skills & local entrepreneurship and providing infrastructure amenities. The Rurban Mission will thus develop a cluster of Smart Villages.
29	Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram	(Launched on 16th October 2014)
30	Kisan Vikas Patra	(Relaunched in 2014) – Saving certificate Scheme
31	AMRUT	Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Development (earlier name JNNURM)
32	PRASAD	Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation-To improve the infrastructure at pilgrimage places.
33	Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana	The Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana It is a new crop insurance scheme to boost farming sector in the country. It is farmers’ welfare scheme The Scheme aims to reduce the premium burden on farmers and ensure early settlement of crop Insurance claim for the full insured sum.We Will cover this Scheme In details in Separate Article

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi  approved the New Crop Insurance Scheme,‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ to boost the agricultural sector.
The theme of the Scheme is One Nation – One Scheme. In this, all shortcomings and weaknesses of all previous schemes were removed and incorporated with the best features of all schemes.
 Highlights of the scheme are:
• Farmers will pay a uniform premium of only 2 percent for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops.
• In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, farmers will pay a premium of only 5 percent. The balance premium, after farmers paying the premium at very low rate, will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
• There will not be any upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.
• Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. This capping limited the Government outgo on the premium subsidy. Now, this capping was removed and farmers will get full sum insured without any reduction against their claim.
• The usage of technology will be encouraged to a great extent. Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.

RIVERS & THEIR PLACES OF ORIGIN

  GANGA : Gangotri (Uttarakhand)
  INDUS : Mansarovar (Tibet)
  NARMADA : Maikal Hills,Amarkantak (MP)
  TAPT/TAPTI : Satpura Range, Betul (MP)
  MAHANADI : Nagri Town (Chhattisgarh)
  BRAHAMPUTRA : Chemayungdung (Tibet)
  SUTLEJ : Mt Kailash (Tibet)
  BEAS : Rohtang Pass (Himachal Pradesh)
  GODAVARI : Nasik (Maharashtra)
  KRISHNA : Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra)
  CAUVERY : Brahmagiri Hills, Coorg (Karnataka)
  SABARMATI : Udaipur, Aravalli Hills (Rajasthan)
  RAVI : Chamba (Himachal Pradesh)
  PENNER : Nandi Hills, Chickballapur (Karnataka)

NABARD Assistant Manager (Grade A and B) Exam General Awareness Solved Paper (Exam Held on 1-3-2015)

1. World's first robot-staffed Hotel is set to open in which of the following countries?
(A) China (B) US (C) Singapore (D) Abu Dhabi (E) Japan (Ans : E) 

2. In which of the following states, the per capita availability of Milk is highest in the country? 
(A) Maharashtra (B) Haryana (C) Guajarat (D) Punjab (E) Tamil Nadu (Ans : D) 

3. In which city is India's first post office ATM opened? 
(A) Ahmedabad (B) Chennai (C) New Delhi (D) Mumbai (E) Hyderabad (Ans : B) 

4. At present how many credit information companies are operating in India? 
(A) Two (B) Three (C) Other than those given as options (D) Four (E) Five (Ans : D) 

5. SWIFT was founded in which of the following cities? 
(A) London (B) Brussels (C) New York (D) Hong Kong (E) Mumbai (Ans : B) 

6. Who is the head of the newly formed Expenditure Management Commission ? 
(A) Dr. Anand Sinha (B) Dr. Urjit Patel (C) Shri Arvind Mayaram (D) Dr. Subir Gokarn (E) Dr. Bimal Jalan (Ans : E) 

7. Vistara airline started its operations in India in January 2015. What is the tagline of this airline? 
(A) Fly the New Feelings (B) Now Everyone Can Fly (C) Fly at the cheapest rates 
(D) World's most favourite airline (E) Fly like a King (Ans : A) 

8. The NITI Aayog is headed by– 
(A) Minister for Planning (B) Prime Minister (C) Finance Minister (D) RBI Governor. (E) President of India (Ans : B) 

9. According to an order issued by the Culture Ministry on January 28, 2015. Who among the following has been appointed as the new chairman of Sangeet Natak Academi ? 
(A) Leela Samson (B) Anant Nag (C) Dr. P. V. Rajamannar (D) Girish Karnad (E) Shekhar Sen (Ans : E) 

10. As per Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the aim of building a clean India is by which year? 
(A) 2021 (B) 2019 (C) 2018 (D) 2020 (E) 2016 (Ans : B) 

11. The first woman officer who led the Guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 26th 2015 is– 
(A) Nisha Thakur (B) Pooja Thakur (C) Punit Arora (D) Namrata Thakur (E) Other than those given as options (Ans : B) 

12. Paulina Vega, a 22-year-old student won the coveted title of Miss Universe 2015. She is from which of the following countries? 
(A) Colombia (B) India (C) Hungary (D) Honduras (E) Lithuania (Ans : A) 

13. Who amongst the following is the present Director of Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL)? 
(A) D. K. Mohanty (B) P. Vijaya Bhaskar (C) H. R. Khan (D) G. Gopalakrishna (E) Dr. K. C. Chakraborty (Ans : D) 

14. Which of the following is the largest stock exchange in the world? 
(A) New York Stock Exchange (B) London Stock Exchange (C) Shanghai Stock Exchange 
(D) Tokyo Stock Exchange (E) NASDAQ OMX (Ans : A) 

15. Which Bank has announced the launch of country's first ‘contact-less' debit and credit cards to enable electronic payments with- out swiping ? 
(A) ICICI bank (B) HDFC bank (C) Axis bank (D) Union Bank of India (E) State Bank of India (Ans : A) 

16. Which of the following state Govt. has recently appointed yoga guru Ramdev as its brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda in a big way? 
(A) Uttarakhand (B) Haryana (C) Madhya Pradesh (D) Himachal Pradesh (E) Uttar Pradesh (Ans : B) 

17. Who is the host of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 ? 
(A) Australia and Newzealand (B) Other than those given as options (C) India and Sri Lanka 
(D) South Africa and Australia (E) England (Ans : A) 

18. Who is the chairperson of RBI? 
(A) Y. V. Reddy (B) K. L. Mohanti (C) Raghuram Rajan (D) Indra Nooyi (E) None of these (Ans : C) 

19. Who amongst the following is the present foreign secretary of India? 
(A) Sujata Singh (B) Ranjan Mathai (C) Shivshankar Menon (D) Nirupama Rao (E) Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (Ans : E) 

20. Recently the Government has notified that One Rupee Currency Notes will be put it to circulation again. The new notes will bear the signature of which of the following authorities? 
(A) Prime Minister (B) Finance Secretary (C) Finance Minister (D) Governor of RBI (E) President of India (Ans : B) 

21. RAM mense ? 
(A) Random Access Memory (B) Read Only Memory (C) Read Access Memory (D) Random Auto Memory (Ans : A) 

22. What is the minimum paid-up equity capital required for starting a small finance bank ? 
(A) Rs. 50 Crore (B) Other than those given as options (C) Rs. 250 Crore (D) Rs. 100 Crore (E) Rs. 500 Crore (Ans : D) 

23. The 'digital village' project to provide services ranging from cashless banking to digitised school teaching was recently started at Akodara village of Gujarat at the initiative of– 
(A) Aziz Premji Trust (B) Govt. of Gujarat (C) ICICI Bank (D) State Bank of India (E) Tata Enterprises (Ans : C) 

24. The year 2015 has been declared by the 68th Session of United Nations General Assembly as– 
(A) International Year of Fruits (B) International Year of Food (C) International Year of Vegetables 
(D) International Year of Good Health (E) International Year of Soils (Ans : E) 

25. Union Government renamed Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG as– 
(A) Other than those given as options (B) PAHAL (C) Ajeevika 
(D) Direct Transfer Scheme (E) Money Transfer Scheme (Ans : B) 

26. At the Asian Games held in September-October 2014, which Indian boxer refused to accept the bronze medal in order to protest a controversial decision by the judges? 
(A) L. Sarita Devi (B) Mary Kom (C) Rolando Bohol (D) Varghese Johnson (E) Kavita Goyal (Ans : A) 

27. As per Union Budget, how much capital is required to be infused in banks to meet Basel-III norms by 2018? 
(A) Rs. 2.40 lakh crore (B) Rs. 0.50 lakh crore (C) Rs. 1.00 lakh crore (D) Rs. 3.40 lakh crore (E) Rs. 5.00 lakh crore (Ans : A) 

28. Banks borrow money from the RBI at which of the following rates? 
(A) Base Rate (B) Reserve Repo Rate (C) Bank Rate (D) CRR (E) Repo Rate (Ans : E) 

29. Banks will soon be able to offer higher rate of interest on unbreakable fixed deposits. What is the minimum amount that is required to be invested in such a deposit scheme? 
(A) Over Rs. 50 lakhs (B) Upto Rs. 51akhs (C) Upto Rs. 10 lakhs (D) Over Rs. 25 lakhs (E) Over Rs. 100 lakhs (Ans : E) 

30. How many applications have been received by RBI, for starting payments bank ? 
(A) 112 (B) 65 (C) 41 (D) 72 (E) 113 (Ans : C) 

31. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD)- 2015 which was celebrated recently, was organized in which of the following States? 
(A) Kerala (B) Gujarat (C) Maharashtra (D) Rajasthan (E) Himachal Pradesh (Ans : B) 

32. A small deposit scheme for girl child, as part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign, was launched by the Govt. recently it is called as– 
(A) Balika Shiksha Account (B) Beti Padhao Deposit Scheme (C) Suraksha Deposit Scheme 
(D) Kanya Jagriti Jyoti Account (E) Sukanya Samridhi Account (Ans : E) 

33. Under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) for resident individuals, what is the maximum amount that can be remitted abroad? 
(A) $ 250,000 (B) $ 350,000 (C) $ 500,000 (D) $ 150,000 (E) $ 50,000 (Ans : A) 

34. Which Indian state has been ranked as the fastest growing state for the year 2013-14 with GDP growth rate of 11-08% in 2013-14 ? 
(A) Madhya Pradesh (B) Haryana (C) Gujarat (D) Maharashtra (E) Bihar (Ans : A) 

35. Who among the following is the chairman of the External Advisory Committee (EAC) set up by RBI to evaluate application received for Payment? 
(A) Dr. Nachiket Mor (B) Smt. Usha Thorat (C) Shri H. R. Khan (D) Shri R. Gandhi (E) Shri S. S. Mundra (Ans : A) 

36. The deadline to exchange pre-2005 currency notes is– 
(A) 31-12-2015 (B) 30-06-2015 (C) 31-03-2015 (D) 30-09-2015 (E) 28-02-2015 (Ans : B) 

37. 'Winds of sarnara' won the new Age Album Trophy at 57th Grammy Awards recently. The album has been launched by– 
(A) A. R. Rahman (B) Ricky Kej and Wouter Kellerman (C) Bennet Veetraag 
(D) Peter Kater and Zakir Hussain (E) Paul Avgernios and Peter Kater (Ans : B) 

38. Which of the following books is written by Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor of the former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, just before the last Lok Sabha Election? 
(A) The Prime Minister with innovative ideas (B) The Accidental Prime Minister (C) The Intelligent Prime Minister 
(D) The Different Prime Minister (E) The Sudden Prime Minister (Ans : B) 

39. The player's auction for the 8th edition of Indian Premier League was concluded recently in Bengaluru. Which player amongst the following fetched highest amount at the auction? 
(A) Dinesh Karthik (B) Yuvraj Singh (C) Darren Sammy (D) Michael Hussey (E) Murali Vijay (Ans : B) 

40. Who among the following is the chairman of the recently constituted 7th Pay Commission? 
(A) Justice B. N. Srikrishna (retd.) (B) Dr. C. Rangarajan (C) Dr. D. Subbarao 
(D) Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur (retd.) (E) Dr. Y. V. Reddy (Ans : D)