Solved Questions of Postal/Sorting Assistant Exam held on 12 May 2013 in Kerala Circle

Solved Questions of Postal/Sorting Assistant Exam held on 12 May 2013 in Kerala Circle

Q1. Which of the following articles of Constitution says that the executive power of every state shall be so exercised as not to impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive power of Union?

(A) Article 258

(B) Article 355

(C) Article 356

(D) Article 257

Ans. (D) Article 257

Q2. The distance between earth and sun is greatest during:

(A) Winter Solstice

(B) Aphelion

(C) Perihelion

(D) Summer Solstice

Ans. (B) Aphelion

Q3. Which company has developed AKASH, the cheapest tablet computer?

(A) IBM   

(B) HCL   

(C) Datawind   

(D) Lenovo

Ans. (C) Datawind   

Q4. Bhopal Gas tragedy is associated with leakage of: 

(A)  Carbon dioxide 

(B) Methyl ISO cyanate   

(C) Sulphur Dioxide    

(D) Nitrogen dioxide

Ans. (B) Methyl ISO cyanate  

Q5. Who is the General Secretary of CPI(M)?

(A) Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy   

(B) Basudev Acharia             

(C) Prakash Karat               

(D) None of these

Ans. (C) Prakash Karat            

   

Q6. The central Government on 1^st Jan, 2013 launched the pilot phase of direct cash benefits transfer scheme. Under this scheme the cash will be directly transferred to the intended beneficiaries through.

(A) Permanent Account Number linked Bank Account  

(B) Voter I D linked Bank Account   

(C) Aadhar-Linked Bank Accounts    

(D) Ration Card linked Bank Accounts

Ans. (C) Aadhar-Linked Bank Accounts    

Q7. Identify three leader states in wind energy among the following:

(A) Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar              

(B)  Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal

(C) Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh

(D) TamilNadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat

Ans. (D) TamilNadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat

Q8. Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia said recently that the term “Bimaru” states should be done away with. Which states was/were termed as Bimaru states?

(A) Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh

(B) Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh   

(C) Bihar, Uttar Pradesh

(D) Bihar

Ans. (B) Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh   

 Note: The term 'Bimaru' was coined by a demographer Ashish Bose in the early 1980s, whereby he had classified Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as laggards struggling to keep up in comparison with the growth rates set by other states.

Q9. Who was recently elected as vice President of Indian National Congress?

(A) Kapil Sibal

(B) Manmohan Singh

(C) P.Chidambaram  

(D) Rahul Gandhi

Ans. (D) Rahul Gandhi

Note: Rahul Gandhi on 19 January 2013 was formally elevated and was appointed at the position of party Vice-President of Congress at the Chintan Shivir organised at Jaipur in January 2013.

Q10. Recently consensus on GST have been arrived by center and states. What does GST mean?

(A) Gross Sales Tax

(B) Graded Sales Tax   

(C) Global Sales Tax 

(D) Goods and service Tax

Ans. (D) Goods and service Tax

Note: The proposed nationwide GST is intended to usher in a uniform market for goods and services, cut business costs, and boost government revenue. The indirect tax would replace existing levies such as excise duty, service tax and value-added tax (VAT).

Q11. The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to ensure withdrawal of Non-CTS 2010 standard cheques with CTS standard-2010 cheques by:

(A)  30^th April, 2013   

(B) 31^st December,  2013   

(C) 31^st March, 2013 

(D) None of these

Ans. (D) None of these.

Note:- On March 19, 2013 the RBI has once again extended the deadline for issuance of new format cheque till July-end. It has asked the banks to issue new cheque books only under the new format and gave them time till July-end to withdraw the old format cheques . In December, the RBI had extended the deadline to convert to the new standard CTS-2010 by three months to March 31, based on the representations from stakeholders.

Q12. How many gold medals were won by India at Copa-Brasil-2012 Tournament of wrestling?

(A) Eight  

(B) Nine  

(C) Seven 

(D) Six

Ans. (B) Nine  

Note: The Indian wrestling contingent finished with a rich-medal haul, including 9 golds and four bronze in the Copa Brasil-2012 tournament held in Rio from November 29 to December 2.

Q13. Who was named AIFF (All India football federation) player of the year 2012?

(A) Gouramangi Singh

(B) Sunil Chhetri  

(C) Syed Rahim Nabi

(D) Subrata Paul

Ans. (C) Syed Rahim Nabi

Q14. India on Oct-4, 2012 successfully test fired nuclear capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile from a test range at Balasore. This was a:

(A) Air to Air Missile      

(B)  Surface to Air Missile

(C) Surface to Surface Missile                           

(D) Air to Surface Missile

Ans. (C) Surface to Surface Missile                           

Q15. The National Development Council has approved recently the 12^th five year plan and set an annual average growth target of:

(A) 10%               

(B) 11%              

(C) 8.2%       

(D) 9%

Ans. (C) 8.2%       

Q16. Who was world biggest exporter of rice in 2012 as per the latest report by Food & Agriculture organization?

(A) China              

(B) Pakistan                     

(C) Thailand   

(D) India

Ans. (D) India

Note: India in 2012 surpassed Thailand as the top exporter for the first time in three decades, shipping 10.3 million tons of milled rice compared with Thailand’s 7.0 million.India could export 8.3 million tons of rice in 2013, making it the world’s leading rice exporter for two years in a row, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on May 07, 2013.

Q17. The government of India has given ……………..” languages of the 8^th Schedule” the status of official language.

(A) 23    

(B) 26   

(C) 24    

(D) 22

Ans. (D) 22

Q18. Who is credited with the discovery of Electron?

(A)    James Chadwick

(B)     Rutherford

(C)     E. Goldstein

(D)    J.J. Thompson

Ans. (D)    J.J. Thompson

Q19. During the time of which Mughal emperor did the English East India Company establish its first factory in India?

(A)  Shahjahan

(B) Aurangazeb

(C) Akbar

(D) Jahangir

Ans. (D) Jahangir

Q20. The first temporary president of Constituent Assembly was:

(A) Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar

(B) Sardar Vallabhai Patel

(C) Dr. Rajendra Prasad

(D) Dr. Sachidanand Sinha

Ans. (D) Dr. Sachidanand Sinha

Note: Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was the first president (temporary chairman) of the Constituent Assembly when it met on December 9, 1946.

Q21. Which among the following was the major demand of the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) organized under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhai Patel?

(A) Rollback of newly enhanced revenue rate

(B) Supply of Agricultural Inputs to farmers at subsidized rate

(C) Land to the tiller

(D) Increase of rates of labour wage

Ans. (A) Rollback of newly enhanced revenue rate

Q22. Find the incorrect statement:

(A) Full moon occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and Sun

(B) The difference in minutes between the Greenwhich time and the local time at a place can be derived by multiplying the longitude of place by four

(C) Spring Tide is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun together in the same direction

(D) A line on a map that joins all places of the same height above sea level is called contour line

Ans. (A) Full moon occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and Sun

Q23. The refractive indices of Kerosine, Turpentine and water are 1.44, 1.47 and 1.33 respectively. Light will have maximum speed in:

 (A) Water

(B) Speed remains same for all

(C) Kerosine

(D) Turpentine

Ans. (A) Water

Note: Refractive Index= Speed of light in air/ speed of light in medium

Speed of light will be maximum in the medium which has lowest refractive index

Q24. Which of the following gases are given out during photosynthesis:  

(A) Nitrogen

(B) Hydrogen

(C) Oxygen

(D) Carbon dioxide

Ans. (C) Oxygen

Q25. What is the script of Ashoka’s inscriptions:

(A) Gurumukhi

(B) Hieroglyphics

(C) Dev Nagri

(D) Brahmi

Ans. (D) Brahmi

 Disclaimer: Comment in case there is discrepancy in answers given to any questions. AnswerKey of Postal Department will be final.

Courtesy : http://currentaffairs4examz.blogspot.in/

SYLLABUS FOR DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR THE POST OF POSTMASTER GRADE- I IN POST OFFICES

SYLLABUS FOR DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR THE POST OF POSTMASTER GRADE- I IN POST OFFICES.

1.  The examination for Postmaster Grade– I, will consist of two papers of 100 questions & 90 minutes duration each. The questions will be on the pattern of objective type multiple choice questions.(MCQ)

2.  Syllabus for these two papers is given below.

PAPER – I

1.  CUSTOMER SERVICE & GRIEVANCES:-

a.  Post Office Guide Part – I        

b.  Compendium of Processing & Disposal of Public Complaints  

c.  Knowledge about DOPG, DOARPG & RTI Cases      

d.  Consumer forum/Post forum/Citizen Charter        

e.  C.C.S (C.C.A) Rules        

f.  C.C.S Conduct Rules        

g.  General Financial Rules        

2.  POSTAL OPERATIONS

a.  Postal Manual Volume V        

b.  Postal Manual Volume VI part I, II & III    

c.  Financial Handbook Volume – II      

d.  Post Office Savings Bank Manual Volume I & II

e.  Project Arrow- Blue Book      

PAPER –II 

a.  Knowledge of products & services of Department of Posts.

b.  Marketing:- Principles of Marketing assessment of related products & services.

c.  PLI/RPLI, Post Office Insurance Fund Rules: Outline knowledge about insurance schemes, Mutual fund & other financial products & services in the market.

d.  General Awareness & Current affairs, including general mental ability test covering reasoning (verbal & non-verbal), Numerical analysis(arithmetic) & basic mathematical equations & statistical tools like mean, median, mode, graphical representation of data, comprehension & basic language skills.

e.  General principles of technology.

f.  Basic technology requirement- Computer, server, laptop.

g.  Connectivity of Computers.

PRICE LIST FOR DEPARTMENTAL COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION FOR THE POST OF POSTMASTER GRADE- I IN POST OFFICES.

PAPER – I

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE & GRIEVANCES:-

1.  Post Office Guide Part – I            155.00

2.  Universal’s Right to Information Act,2005 (Bare Act)      50.00

3.  C-69 Swamy’s Right to Information Act        180.00

4.  C-8 Swamy’s C.C.S (C.C.A) Rules          300.00

5.  C-9 Swamy’s C.C.S Conduct Rules          180.00

6.  C-13 Swamy’s General Financial Rules        255.00

2. POSTAL OPERATIONS

1.  Postal Manual Volume V            135.00

2.  Postal Manual Volume VI part I, II & III        420.00

3.  Financial Handbook Vol – II            145.00

4.  Post Office Savings Bank Manual Vol I & II By Kawaljit Singh  520.00

5.  MASTER GUIDE TO PAPER I & II  by V.K.BALAN(with MCQ)  800.00

PAPER –II 

1.  PLI/RPLI, Post Office Insurance Fund Rules        80.00

2.  General Awareness & Current affairs by Sura       80.00

INFORMATION TO THE CANDIDATES:

1.  All books that are listed above are of  DESCRIPTIVE  TYPE ONLY.

2.  Books will NOT be Published/Printed according to revised syllabus.

3.  No Model papers are available. If printed in future, it shall be intimated.

4.  Books pertaining to previous syllabus are also available.

5.  Books once sold will not be taken back or exchanged. Postage charges extra.

6.  Information about new books will be intimated through email only. Hence register your

email.

7.  Prices are subject to revision. Price ruling on the date of supply will be charged. No Discount is allowed.

PROCEDURE FOR ORDERING BOOKS: (For Outstation Candidates)

Kindly send an advance of Rs. 200/- in favour of   “BOOK CENTRE” by MO/EMO with your Name, full address with PINCode and Phone number clearly written on the M.O Form. If advance is sent by EMO, we request a separate letter or an email, as no message is printed on the coupon. Title of the book should be written clearly. Books will be sent by V.P.P after adjusting the advance. We regret that the books will NOT be sent without an advance. Books will be dispatched on the date of receipt of your advance. We are not responsible for any delay in transit.

BOOK CENTRE
32, Payappa Garden Street, Queens Road Cross, Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore 560 051
Phone No.080-22862152    email: swamybookcentre@gmail.com

NPS - Swavalamban : Frequently Asked Questions

NPS - Swavalamban : Frequently Asked Questions

Written By Admin on 08 May 2013 | Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Frequently Asked Questions on NPS - Swavalamban

1. What is pension and why do I need it? 

A pension provides people with a monthly income when they are no longer earning. 

Need for Pension: 

One is not as productive in the old age as in youth. 

The rise of nuclear family -Migration of younger earning members. 

Rise in cost of living Increased longevity 

Assured monthly income ensures dignified life in old age 

2. What is NPS - Swavalamban and why is it the right pension scheme for  me? 

"NPS -Swavalamban Model" is designed to ensure ultra-low administrative and transactional costs, so as to make small investments viable. 

Swavalamban Yojana is a scheme announced by the Government of India under which Government will contribute Rs. 1000 per year to each NPS - Swavalamban account opened in year 2010-2011,2011-2012 ,2012-2013 for five years as under:-

·                     Account opened in 2010-2011 will get the benefit till 2014-2015 

·                     Account opened in 2011-2012 will get the benefit till 2015-2016 

·                     Account opened in 2012-2013 will get the benefit till 2016-2017 

NPS - Swavalamban account opened in the period 2013-2014 to 2016-2017 will get the Swavalamban benefit up to 2016-17. 

Distinguishing Features of NPS -Swavalamban: 

Voluntary - Open to eligible citizens of India, in the age group of 18-60 years. Subscriber is free to choose the amount he/she wants to invest every year. 

Simple - Eligible individuals in the unorganized sector can open an account through their Aggregator and get an Individual subscriber (NPS - Swavalamban) Account. 

Safe - Regulated by PFRDA, with transparent investment norms, regular monitoring and performance review of fund managers by NPS Trust. 

Economical - Ultra-low cost structure with no minimum amount required per annum or per contribution. 

3.Why should I contribute for such a long period in this pension scheme? 

The contribution into NPS - Swavalamban is an investment for the future income for you & your family. When you contribute a part of your current income, you get pension out of this long term savings when you are not working. A longer period of investment would ensure a larger corpus being invested and hence higher pension returns during your old age. Longer duration of investment in NPS -Swavalamban ensures that high benefits accrue for long periods. 

4. How different is NPS - Swavalamban from other products like savings in the bank? 

NPS - Swavalamban is a pension product to ensure a monthly income after the retirement age has been attainted. 

NPS - Swavalamban invests a portion of the contributions in the equity (stock) market and hence there are possibilities of returns much higher than what banks & similar financial institutions are able to offer. A portion of the corpus is invested in equity markets which enables the corpus to grow quickly. However, unlike other equity based investment schemes where risk of losing the money is high, in NPS - Swavalamban; the risk is reduced considerably as up to 55% of money is invested in Government securities and up to 40% in corporate bonds. 

5. NPS -Swavalamban invests my contributions in the equity markets. How safe is this? 

Investments are regulated by PFRDA/GOI. NPS - Swavalamban invests only up to 15% of the 

total funds in the equity or stock markets. The balance funds are invested into fixed income instruments such as corporate bonds and Government securities. 

6. Why do I not know the return on my investment through NPS -Swavalamban as I do in the case of PPF, FDs and other such investment tools? 

PPF and FDs are investments that have a fixed interest rate and maturity period, hence it is 

possible to calculate the long-term returns of these investments. 

NPS - Swavalamban is a long term scheme which is based on flexible contribution and market returns that are subject to change as per the market conditions. 

7. Who can subscribe to NPS -Swavalamban? 

A citizen of India, who belongs to the unorganized sector, can open NPS -Swavalamban account 

based on the following conditions: 

1. Should be between 18 - 60 years of age as on the date of submission of his/her application by Aggregator. 

2.  Should comply with the KYC process carried out by an Aggregator. 

3. Subscriber should not covered under social security scheme like Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act , The Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act etc 

8. What is the procedure to open NPS -Swavalamban account? 

1. Contact the aggregator. 

2. Fill up the registration form. 

3. Provide KYC documents. Identity Proof &Address Proof. 

4. Minimum contribution of Rs.100/- at the time of registration. 

5. Receive "Your" Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) card through an aggregator. 

9. How do I continue making contributions once I have been registered into NPS -Swavalamban? 

You are required to make your contributions at the time of registration and subsequently through an Aggregator. You are required to make the contributions subject to following conditions: 

1. Minimum contribution amount at the time of Registration - Rs 100 

2. Though there is no minimum contribution requirement per year, minimum contribution of Rs. 1000/-per year is recommended to avail Swavalamban benefit. However it may be remembered the higher contribution amount will yield higher pension and since Swavalamban benefit is available for contribution upto Rs 12000/- it may be desirable to save higher amounts in your NPS-Swavalamban account. 

10. How much should I invest in NPS-Swavalamban? Is there a minimum contribution limit per year? 

At the point of registration, you will have to invest a sum of Rs.100. Though there is no minimum contribution requirement per year, it is recommended that a contribution of at least Rs.1000 per year is made to ensure reasonable pension after retirement. 

11. How many times should I invest in a year? 

There are no lower or upper limits to the number of contributions per year. The subscriber is 

free to manage the frequency and amounts of contributions. 

12. Where will my savings be invested? 

The contributions under NPS-Swavalamban are invested in a single scheme consisting of Equity, 

Corporate Bonds and Government Securities in terms of guidelines prescribed by GOI, Ministry of Finance. 

13. What rate of return will my contributions earn? 

There is no investment return guarantee. Returns in NPS -Swavalamban are market based. The 

benefits will entirely depend upon the amounts contributed and the investment growth upto the point of exit from NPS. 

14. When will I be permitted to withdraw from my account? 

The normal exit from NPS - Swavalamban account is at the age of 60. However early exit is also permitted with certain conditions. Withdrawal process details are as follows: 

1. Exit on 60 yrs 

Subscriber would be required to invest minimum 40% of accumulated savings (pension wealth) to purchase annuity. 

Subscriber will provide the bank account and withdrawal details to the aggregator to upload the information for execution to CRA System. 

At the time of exit, the effort is to give a monthly pension of Rs.1000/-. If 40% of corpus is not sufficient to give pension of Rs.1000/- higher percentage or entire pension wealth (corpus) would be subject to annuitisation. 

2. Exit before 60 yrs 

Subscriber would be required to invest minimum 80 % of accumulated savings (pension wealth) to purchase annuity. 

Subscriber can withdraw balance 20%. 

3. Withdrawal on Death of Subscriber : In case of death, the entire corpus will be transferred to the nominee/ legal heirs. The nominee/ legal heir will approach the aggregator with necessary documents such as Death Certificate, Identity proof of the nominee etc. 

15. How will I know the status of my investment and how much it has accumulated to? 

You will receive a physical annual Statement of Transaction (SOT) of your NPS-Swavalamban 

account, which will indicate the details of contribution made and current value of the corpus in the individual retirement account. However you can access your account anytime through the aggregator to check the status of your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). 

16. In case of Death of the Subscriber, how would the nominee get the amount? 

Please explain the operational procedure. 

Option 1: 

The nominee can receive 100% of the NPS pension wealth in lump sum. 

Contact the aggregator and submit necessary documents such as death certificate, identity proof etc. 

Option 2: 

If the nominee wishes to continue with the NPS, he/she shall have to subscribe to NPS individually after following prescribed KYC norms, contact the aggregator for subscribing into NPS - Swavalamban. 

17. At the time of subscribing no bank account details are required.What will happen at the time of exit if the Bank a/c details are not provided by the Subscriber? 

Though a bank account is not mandatory at the time of entry into NPS-Swavalamban, it is highly desirable to have one. However, bank A/c is mandatory for exit from NPS-Swavalamban since no cash transactions are permitted at the time of withdrawal. This is in the interest of the subscriber. 

18. If I move my residence/city, will the scheme still be valid? How do I make contributions in that eventuality? 

Subscriber can retain his/her PRAN when he/she changes residence/city. The same PRAN would be valid across the country to continue making investments, through an aggregator who is operational in your locality/city. 

19. What is the Swavalamban scheme and am I eligible for it? 

The Swavalamban Scheme is a Govt. of India incentive for unorganized sector. This is a pension 

scheme available to provide the retirement benefit to unorganized sector and under this scheme, the Govt. of India will contribute Rs.1000/- per year to every NPS-Swavalamban account provided the contribution is between Rs.1000/-to Rs.12000/- per year. 

Source: PFRDA

Courtesy : http://karnmk.blogspot.in/

STRIKE CALLED OFF

CIRCLE  JCA   DECIDED TO CALL OFF THE STRIKE IN CENTRAL REGION AFTER WRITTEN ASSURANCE GIVEN BY CPMG.   CHELUR AND  ALACODE POST OFFICES WILL BE  REOPENED.RMS NIGHTSET/L1 OFFICE WILL BE RESTORED. ALL OTHER ISSUES FAVOURABLY SETTLED  DIRECTORATE HAS GIVEN FULL POWER TO CPMG TO IMPLEMENT THE ASSURANCES.  NO OTHER VICTIMISATION EXCEPT " NO WORK ON PAY ". NO FR-17 A.

CELEBRATE THE VICTORY ...............

RED SALUTE TO ALL...........


M KRISHNAN
GENERAL SECRETARY P3

MTS RESULTS

CONGRATULATIONS..........

The undermentioned candidates are declared selected in the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination   for MTS-2011, conducted on  28.04.2013.

Roll No.	Name of the candidate	Marks scored					REMARK
		Paper A	Paper B	Paper C (i)	Paper C(ii)	Total
K/P-75	AMBILI S, GDSBPM PANNIYANKARA	18	25	23	23	89	Against UR category
K/P-71	PRAMOD S, GDSMD NEMMARA COLLEGE	21	23	23	18	85	Against OBC category