IIFT 2016: 10 hot GK topics; must read to add 14% to your total score

General Awareness section with 28 questions in IIFT 2016 will play a major role in taking your percentile score up or down in the merit list. Although the section has a weightage of 14% in entire exam score, in case you do not score well and do not clear the GK section cut off which remains as low as 1 mark, you are out of the race to IIFT Delhi or Kolkata campus.

With 2 days to go for IIFT 2016, countdown to the exam has begun and now is not the time to prepare and start something new but the need is how to revise and update your GK and use it smartly in the testing room on November 27, 2016.
The paper pen mode written admission test to MBA (IB) Programme 2017-19 batch in IIFT is divided in 4 sections consisting of multiple choice objective type questions. The 4 sections comprise the questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis.

Since IIFT has sectional cut offs in all the 4 sections of the question paper and the B-school advises the test takers to spend time judiciously on different sections, the important clue that you can get from IIFT test pattern is to attempt the questions from all sections equally well and must not undermine the importance of GK.

GK: Marks in decimal equally important
IIFT exam scoring pattern recognizes the significance of even minute decimal fraction of scores to a great extent. If you lose even a minute fraction of 0.01 mark, you may go out of admission race to MBA (IB) 2017-19 batch. The exam is not about number of questions but it is all about score weightage awarded to each section. This is the reason that despite containing more than 120 questions, the total maximum score is restricted to 100 marks in IIFT entrance exam and GK section is considered as important as other 3 sections.

Your updated General Knowledge in IIFT 2016 can push your score up by 14% and can place you in merit. In fact GK sectional score in IIFT entrance exam commands high importance and the candidate has to qualify in this section also along with other 3 sections.

GK section apart from being a score booster with 28 questions carrying 14 out of 100 marks, requires no special skill to prepare as your regular reading of news papers, editorials, periodicals and good memory can turn the table in your favour in IIFT entrance exam.

You may face questions on all 10 hot GK topics, it is advisable to go through them as they are from current happenings
10 Hot GK topics to go through

1. Demonetisation 2016
The announcement of 8 November 2016, which is considered as fight against Black money has cast a great impact on common man and has created a havoc in India.
Thestep to demonetizeRs.500 andRs.1000currency notes was taken by theGovernment of India to cease the usage of all Rs.500 and Rs. 1000 banknotes of theMahatma Gandhi seriesas a form oflegal tenderin India from 12 midnight on November 8, 2016.
The announcement was made by the Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modisuddenly in the live televised address to the nation at 8.15 PM on November 8. The demonetisation was done in an effort to stop counterfeiting of the current banknotes allegedly used for funding terrorism and as a crack down onblack money.The move also aims at reducingcorruption, drug menace andsmuggling.

2. GST Bill
TheGoods and Services Tax BillorGST Bill, officially known asThe Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014, proposes a nationalValue Added Tax to be implemented in India. GST stands for Goods and Services Tax, and will replace all indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Indian Central and State governments. It is aimed at being comprehensive for most goods and services
A right step to move forward with the Make in India vision implementation of GST will get rid of multi tier and multiple taxation system in the country. The bill was tabled in Parliament in 2014 by the newly elected BJP Government. However, the main opposition party Congress as well as other opposition parties in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament - wanted certain modifications to be carried out before agreeing to the passing of GST Bill 2014. It now appears that the GST Bill might get safe passage as the Congress has agreed to a debate on the bill and other political parties also show inclination to support the GST bill.

3. Brexit
TheUnited Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union is commonly known asBrexit - British exit. Following areferendum held in June 2016, in which 52% of votes were cast in favour of leaving the EU, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the government intended to invokeArticle 50 of the Treaty on European Union, to withdraw by the end of March 2017. As per the treaty terms, it would put UK on a course to leave the EU by the end of March 2019. The terms of withdrawal have not yet been negotiated. In the meantime, the UK remains a full member of the European Union.
The UK joined theEuropean Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, and confirmed its membership in a 1975 referendumby 67% of the votes. Historical opinion polls 1973-2015 mostly revealed majorities in favour of remaining in the EEC, EC or EU. In the 1970s and 1980s, withdrawal from the EEC was advocated mainly by someLabour Partyandtrade unions.

4. Surgical strike
On 29 September 2016, India conducted amilitary operation against the Pakistan sponsored terrorism. The operation was on selective basis and was known as Surgical Strikes against militant launch pads across the Line of Controlin Pakistani Occupied Kashmir (PoK). It resulted in killing of 38-50 militants.
The surgical strike was the result of 4 militants killing 19 soldiers in Urion 18 September in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

5. Cyrus Mistry removed from Chairmanship of Tata Group
Cyrus Pallonji Mistry was the chairman ofTata Group from 2012 to 2016.He was the 6th chairman of the group, and only the second afterNowroji Saklatwala not bearing the surname Tata.In mid-2012, he was chosen by a selection panel to head the Tata Groupand took charge in December 2012. On 24 October, 2016, the board of Tata Sons - groups holding company, voted to remove Cyrus Mistry from the post of chairman. Former chairmanRatan Tata was named interim chairman, and a selection panel has been appointed to determine a successor.

6. Trump as US President
Donald Trump of the Republican Party has been elected the 45th president of the United States for a term of 4 years and his term will end in 2010. He will be eligible for second term also as is the practice in the United States. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton of Democratic Party in a close election. In his victory speech at the New York Hilton he promised to focus on economic growth when he is sworn in next January. We have a great economic plan, he said. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world.
Trump wants more Indian entrepreneurs and students in America. He is a hardliner against terrorism and thinks that Pakistan is a safe haven for terrorists.

7. India at Olympics & Paralympics 2016
India won 2 medals in Summer Olympics 2016 held at Rio-de-Janeiro, Brazil from August 5 to 21, 2016. While P V Sindhu secured a silver medalin Badminton, Sakshi malik won Bronze in Wrestling.
India alsocompeted at the2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of theSummer Paralympic Games since 1968 except 1976 and 1980.
The 4IndianRioParalympicsmedal winners Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati were felicitated by a host of personalities, including cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Indian contingent won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze in the games.

8. Gold Monetisation Scheme
Gold Monetisation Scheme is a hot current affairs topic and more GK questions in recent entrance exams including MBA entrance tests have been framed on it. Gold Monetization Scheme is basically a new deposit tool to ensure mobilization of gold possessed by various families and institutions in India. Gold Monetisation scheme (GMS) facilitates the depositors of gold to earn interest on their metal accounts. Once the gold is deposited in metal account, it will start earning interest on the same.
It is expected that the scheme would turn gold into a productive asset in India. GMS is a modification of the existing Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) and Gold Metal Loan Scheme (GML), and it would replace the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999.

9. Net Neutrality
Net Neutrality in India is one of the current hot topics and in all probability top MBA entrance exams in 2016 may ask one or two questions in their GK section on Net Neutrality. Net neutrality implies that all Internet users be treated equally without discrimination on charges of any type to access any legal site by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.

10. United Nations Climate Change Conference
United Nations Climate Change Conference, an yearly meet to find out the ways & means to reduce the green house effects on the world population is a current affairs topic. Global negotiations on climate change have been carrying on for more than 20 years. Physicists have been theorising about the role of greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. Several suggested that the warming effect would increase alongside the levels of these gases in the atmosphere.
To set a goal of limiting Global Warmingto less than 2 degreesCelsius compared to pre-industrial levels, the2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference,COP 21orCMP 11was held in Paris, France, from 30 November to 12 December 2015.

11. Start Up India
Startup India, according to the document released by the Government, is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country that will drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.
The Government through the Startup initiative aims to empower Startups to grow through innovation and design. In order to meet the objectives of the initiative, Government of India has also announced a comprehensive Action Plan that addresses all aspects of the Startup ecosystem.

The campaign was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his 15 August, 2015 address from theRed Fort. The Prime Minister of India formally launched the initiativeon January 16, 2016from Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
While IIFT will conduct the entrance test for its Delhi and Kolkata campuses in 20 cities across India on November 27, CAT 2016 for admission to IIMs and other top rated B-schools will be held a week after on December 4, 2016. Both the exams will have similar sections except for the fact that IIFT 2016 will have GK questions also, placed in a separate section and will be a paper pen based exam.

GK: Equally important
It has become a time constraint for the candidates preparing for both the important exams IIFT 2016 and CAT 2016. Something new is added on GK section every day. So what to study and what to leave, is another constraint.
In fact Business, Finance & Economy is one of the most important parts of GK that appear in the IIFT entrance examination. Business and finance oriented General Knowledge improves your understanding of economic environment, strengthening your IQ and making you better equipped to face the Group discussions and Personal Interviews. Try to cover hot topics in Business, Finance and Economy. Going through them will help you to gear up better for your IIFT 2016 examination going to be held on November 27, 2016.