India Business Quiz

Weekly Business Quiz # 115

businessbaatein — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:44:13 +0000

Q 1. To whom did President Obama say “Happy to meet a world leader who has an ear bigger than mine “?

Ans. Mickey Mouse

Q 2. Which major data sharing site on the net has shut down after its founder was arrested ?

Ans. MegaUpload

Q 3. What is the contribution of John Brager’s Robot wisdom to social media ?

Ans. The word blog

Q 4. The men’s hair cream brand Brylcreem changed hands in India recently. Who is the new owner of this brand ?

Ans. HUL from Godrej Sara Lee

Q 5. How is Oscar awards connected to the Kodak company ?

Ans. The award function is held at Kodak theatre in LA

Q 6. As per Indian building by laws what is essential for those who seek permission to build houses in plots above 120 sq.m ?

Ans. Plant a tree

Q 7. Moheet Nagrath, an Indian from Hyderabad, heads Global HR of which MNC globally ?

Ans. Proctor and Gamble

Compiled By G.Mohan Twitter @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 114

businessbaatein — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:59:31 +0000

Q 1What signifiant change has been made in the duty structure for gold and silver in india recently ?

Ans. From a fixed amount to a % of price to take advantage of the rising prices

Q 2. Name this Chief Yahoo of Yahoo who resigned from the board of the co he founded yesterday.

Ans. Jerry Yang

Q 3. Today large parts of the net have a black out protesting against SOPA and PIPA. Expand them.

Ans. Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act

Q4. How do we better know UBISLATE 7+ from Datawind ?

Ans. The AAKASH tablet

Q 5. Name the two european countries that lost their AAA status given by S&P yesterday.

Ans. Austria and France

Q 6. What surgery was done on 30yr old woman Timmie Jean Lindsay of Texas in 1962 for the first time ? Today it is a full fledged industry

Ans. Breast implant

Q 7. How is the birth of the international finance industry and Renaissance intimately connected ?

Ans. In Florence where bankers commissioned art to assuage their guilt arising out of moneylending

Q 8. Which company invented the term ‘ civil servant’ ?

Ans.East india company

Q9. Beer is to __ as wine is to France. Name the country.

Ans.Belgium

Q 10. Which group has signed an MOU with AP govt to set up a sports university on the outskirts of Hyd ?

Ans. Yash Birla Group

Q 10. In which new car did Farooq Abdullah drive down to FM’s office ?

Ans. A solar powered Reva

Q 11. Which ivy league business school has appointed an indian Soumitra Dutta as dean. ?

Ans. The B-School at Cornell University

Q 12. What is the minimum height for a building to be called a skyscraper ?

Ans. 240m

Q 13. Which product was once called “an armour against pleasure and a cobweb against infection” ?

Ans. Condom

- Compiled by G.Mohan Twitter @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 113

businessbaatein — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:08:55 +0000

Q 1Name the legendary footballer who said “ Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary . What matters is joy”. ?

Ans. Socrates, the Brazilian footballer who died last month

Q 2.Which ad agency did ad veteran Bal Mundkur who passed away yesterday found ?

Ans. Ulka, now called Draft FCB Ulka

Q3.As per UN what is the replacement rate of fertility ?

Ans. 2.1 percent per annum

Q4. Which is the worlds largest direct selling company ? Clue not Amway

Ans. Avon

q5. Which is the world largest natural gas company ?

Ans. Gazprom

Q 6. What connects G N Bajpai SA Dave UKSinha DR Mehta ?

Ans. SEBI chiefs

Q 7. In Hindustani music muslims are called ustads Hindus are called Pandits. What are PARSIS called ?

Ans. Pandits

Q 8. The govt has made hallmarking of gold jewellery a must in india. What is hallmarking ?

Ans. Certificate from BIS about purity

Q 9.About what has Ratan Tata said that it is not a flop but it was a lost opportunity ?

Ans. Tata Nano

Q 10.Today is AR Rahman’s bday. For which bank ad does his mother Kareema Begum under the tag line ‘your dreams are not your dreams alone’ ?

Ans. Union Bank of India

Q 11. Name this heritage brand of cod liver oil from Merck.

Ans. Seven seas

Q 12. What are the two new ways of raising money by company promoters approved by SEBI recently ?

Ans. Institutional Placement Programme and Block sale by promoters through stock exchanges

Q 13. Name the four wheeler,not a car, launched by Bajaj ?

Ans. Bajaj RE 60

- Compiled by G.Mohan Twitter @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 112

businessbaatein — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:06:49 +0000

Q 1. If Ericsson is the technology leader in mobile phone networks who is considered the cost leader ?

Ans. Huawei

Q2. Name this indian start up led by Naveen Tiwari that is emerging as a strong competitor to Google in mobile advertising.

Ans. InMobi

Q3. Who are the partners of the finance e learning academy started by Mukesh Ambani ?

Ans. PWC and HBS

Q4. On retirement of the metro man E Sreedharan who has taken over as the new DMRC chief ?

Ans. Mangu Singh

Q5. Fittingly in a year bad for business and markets which newspaper has chosen NOBODY as the businessman of the year ?

Ans. Financial Chronicle

Q6. Which PE firm was the Republican nominee Mitt Romney a joint founder of ?

Ans.Bain Capital

Q7. Name this pioneering computer scientist who wrote a book called Mirror Worlds in 1991 where he foresaw the modern internet.

Ans. David Gelernter

Q8. What is RHEOLOGY a study of ?

Ans. Flow of materials

Q9. Name this innovator who created GMAIL, Adsense and gave the mantra ‘Dont be evil ‘ as the 23rd employee of Google.

Ans. Paul Burchheit

Q10. What simple invention by Marc Koska has prevented an estimated 10m infections and 5m lives ?

Ans. Auto disposable syringe

Q11.Which govt authority has a NFO for a tax free bond that is currently on and is attracting lot of investments ?

Ans. NHAI and PFC

Q12. How are Deepti Salgaonkar and Neena Kothari linked to the Ambani family ?”

Ans. Sisters of Mukesh and Anil

- Compiled by G.Mohan @go_mohan

Happy New Year

businessbaatein — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:29:24 +0000

Wishing all the readers of this blog a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. May all your wishes come true.

Happy Quizzing !

-G.Mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 111

businessbaatein — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:34:53 +0000

Q1. What new SUV has been launched with Big B endorsing it ? Hope it is not another Versa !

Ans. Force One

Q2. Which FMCG co will soon have Prabha Parameswaran as MD ?

Ans. Colgate Palmolive India Ltd

Q3. Which big group is rumoured to take over the media group Network 18?

Ans. Reliance

Q4. Which is the only item sourced by Rolls Royce from india ?

Ans. Malabar wood

Q5. Which car group is likely to replace Toyota as the largest car mfr in the world ?”

Ans. Volkswagen

Q6. What is the interest rate in EPF being proposed for 2011 12 ?

Ans. 8.25 %

- Compiled by G.Mohan Twitter @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 110

businessbaatein — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:14:55 +0000

Q1 Which co has decided to withdraw its logo from London Olympics after protests from many incl india ?
Ans. Dow chemicals
Q2 Which two brands have eaten into the market share of Britannia in biscuits recently ?
Ans. Oreo and Sunfeast
Q3. Connect Lee Iacocca Steve Jobs and now the RIM Co CEOs ?
Ans. All took 1 $ salary as CEOs of loss-making cos
Q4. Who has authored the marketing book CULT which even Steve Jobs would have loved ? Alas Jobs is not alive to refute it!
Ans. Arindam Chaudhuri
Q5. Name this nearly 300 year old brand that is the first name in Cognac
Ans. Remy Martin
Q6. Which hot internet gaming company had a lukewarm IPO recently ?
Ans. Zynga of Farmville fame
Q7. Using what example has Rahul Gandhi tried to explain the benefits of FDI in retail to the farmers in UP ?
Ans. Converting potato into Potato chips is remunerative
Q8. Who is the new Union Civil Aviation minister ?
Ans. Ajit Singh
Q9. Which car co owns the web-site http://www.thinkblue.co.in ?
Ans. Volkswagen
Q10. As per the New Companies Act how many persons are required minimum to start a company ?
Ans. One
Q11. Which star channel is closing down and being relaunched as LIFE OK ?
Ans Star One
Q12. What is unique about RANG DE
Ans. A onlne microlending co that collects voluntary contributions from many to lend

Q13. Which popular tool was created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin in the ’80s and later acquired by MS for 14m $. It was also the first to receive VC funding from Apple ?
Ans.Powerpoint
Q14. Expand HDMI ?
Ans.High Definition Multi-media interface
Q15. Richard Branson has described his unrelated businesses as based on a growth philosophy of ABCD. What is ABCD ?
Ans.Always Be Connected Dots

-Compiled by G.Mohan Twitter @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 109

businessbaatein — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:58:43 +0000

Q 1. For which publication did late Mario Miranda create such endearing characters like Miss Nimboopani, Miss Fonseca, Moonswami etc?

Ans. Illustrated weekly of India

Q2. Tvc of which brand uses a very old S D Burman song on Maa ?

Ans.Fortune oil from Adani

Q3. In the 70s Rekha appeared in the ad for which soft drink ?

Ans. Gold spot.

Q4. Fill in the blank. Pranabda said the economy is difficult, but we dont have to eat __.

Ans. Lizards

Q5. What are EMOJIs ?

Ans. These are graphic symbols in smart phones to express emotions. Next generation emoticons.

Q6. After seeing a decline in the Oct IIP numbers which agency may lose its contract to compute IIP ?

Ans. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy ( CMIE )

Q7. Why have the automobile cos purchased large quantity of platinum ?

Ans. Catalytic converters

Compiled by G.Mohan Twitter handle @go_mohan

Weekly Business Quiz # 108

businessbaatein — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:56:30 +0000

Q1. How did the Dev Anand production house Navketan get its name ?

Ans. Named after Chetan Anand’s son Ketan

Q2. Which indian businessman has just released his auto biography titled WHATEVER THE ODDS ?

Ans. KP Singh of DLF

Q3 .Which co was called as ‘the No.1 wholesale seller of plumbing supplies’ by NYT mockingly?

Ans. Microsoft

Q4. Which is the first indian brand of jewellery to be sold at Harrod’s London

Ans. Amrapali’s

Q5. In a case filed by SAS a European court has ruled that a programming language cannot be copyrighted. Why ?

Ans. Programming language has been compared to a language

Q6. Recently a car Honda Brio loved you back. Now a snack loves you back. Name the brand.

Ans. Britannia Nutrichoice snacks

Q7. KHALO EVERY , KHALO EVERY, KHALO EVERYDAY set to KOLAVERI rhythm is an ad from which brand ?

Ans. Amul butter

Q8. Connect Equis, AMBA, AASCB …

Ans. All are B-School certifications for Europe, UK and US respectively

Q9. Who has Amul sued for copyright issues for use of A+ ?

Ans. Nestle

- Compiled by G.Mohan @ go_mohan

Goodbye DD, Welcome NEFT

businessbaatein — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:42:16 +0000

This is from Kolkata in the early 90s. The city has its fair share of migrant workers from the interiors of Bihar. These workers would send money to their family back home. They would buy an envelope from the Post office and since most of them were illiterate, they would approach one of the many men sitting on the pavement with a desk (called letter writers) around the GPO. They would dictate their home address and also a small note to their family members, the wife in most cases. Then they would put the currency notes inside the envelope and go to the post office counter and do an insured parcel, the insurance being the value of the currency inside. The letter writers would charge a nominal fee for their service. The dishonest among them, would occasionally pocket a currency note, when the client is not watching.

I once asked one of the workers why he was using this method rather than the more popular instrument of a Money order. His rationale was that he wanted to be sure that his family received the exact currency notes for which he had worked so hard. In the case of Money order, he was sure that the currency notes he deposited in Kolkata would certainly not be given to his family back home. How cute !

The need for sending or receiving money is a common need for everyone, not just migrant workers. Among the educated middle class who have a bank account, cheques and drafts (DDs) are popular instruments for transferring money. DDs though safe are inconvenient too. You have to visit a branch, fill up a form, deposit cash or a cheque and then wait to collect the draft. Then you would have to search for an envelope, write a note and put the DD inside. Then look for a post office or a courier. The money is not transferred until the recipient deposits into his/her account and wait for a day to get the credit. Depending on the amount and the bank, the DD charges are not insignificant. In addition, there are courier or registered post charges.

The RBI introduced electronic fund transfer between accounts through a scheme called National Electronic Fund Transfer in 2008. If you have to send money to a person in another city, all you need to know is their bank, branch (preferably the IFSC) and savings account number. Once you add the payee, you could go to your online banking account and make the transfer. For safety, many banks send an auto generated code through SMS for verification purpose. The transfer is done within two hours. Both the parties receive SMS confirmation. As per RBI, there is a charge of only Rs 6 for transfers upto Rs 1 lakh. NEFT is very convenient, safe, fast and inexpensive too.

After some initial teething troubles, this mode of transferring money has really become successful. A look at the RBI’s latest annual report confirms this. Since 2008-09, the volume of transactions and the value of trasactions have been doubling year-on-year. From 32.2 million transactions in 2008-09, it has reached 132.3 million transactions in 2010-11. In terms of value the amounts transferred have grown from Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2008-09 to Rs 9.39 lakh crore in 2010-11.

Retail customers have shifted in a big way from DDs to NEFT. A conversation with a Bank manager confirmed this. He mentioned that from about 100 odd DDs every day, banks now do not have more than 5 or 6 DDs everyday. DDs are now only used for paying exam fees or tender fees etc. Personal remittances are shifting fast to NEFT.

Much that we crib about our government, bureaucrats and other institutions, let us acknowledge some services like NEFT that make our life easy.

( This post first appeared in The South Reports http://www.tsr.net.co)