Biz Quizzard 530

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week May 19 - 24. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Captain CP Krishnan Nair, 92, passed away on May 17. He was the founder chairman of which company?

2. Rustomji Homusji Mody, popularly known as Russi Mody, 95, passed away on May 16 at a nursing home in Kolkata. He was the former CMD of which company?

3. Which MNC is acquiring American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster DirecTV in a $49-billion deal?

4. Singapore's Natsteel will sport a new name. What will it be known as?

5. Zee Entertainment Enterprises has announced the launch of a new Hindi general entertainment channel for the Indian diaspora. What has it been branded as?

6. London-based OwnFone is claiming a first with a new phone put on sale. What is its claim to fame?

7. Which company has set up a $100 million joint venture with Relativity Media LLC, the US film and television production company?

8. Which company has acquired a 100 percent stake in the equity capital of Earth Rules, Australia, engaged in coffee business under the MAP brand?

9. Which MNC has said it will acquire Pune-based electronic payment software firm ElectraCard Services (ECS) for an undisclosed amount?

10. Which MNC has overtaken rival technology titan Apple as the world’s top brand in terms of value, according to global market research agency Millward Brown?

11. Which company has launched daily moisturiser cream Rebask in the domestic market?

12. Which brand, in association with The Viral Fever, has produced a web series titled Office Romance Wars?

13. Which country has topped the global list in migrant talent, attracting the maximum talent, according to ‘Talent Migration’, a blog post by professional networking site LinkedIn?

14. Which company has roped in actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the face of its smartphone brand?

15. Why was Mumbai-based Francesco’s Pizzeria in news last week?

16. Which company will, from this year, administer the Common Admission Test for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)?

17. Who has emerged as the second wealthiest actor on a Wealth-X Hollywood and Bollywood Rich List?

18. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made what features mandatory on all new ATMs installed from July 1, 2014?

19. Which jewellery brand has unveiled its first television campaign, coinciding with the launch of its third store?

20. Tata Motors launched a new range of trucks last week. Name the brand?

21. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation has announced the launch of the hotel ‘AB Celestial’. Why is this hotel special?

22. Which MNC has agreed to sell its North American pasta sauce business under the Ragu and Bertolli brands to the Mizkan Group of Japan for $2.15 billion?

23. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has announced its entry into the Thailand market with the launch of a new channel. What has it been branded as?

24. Which media group has appointed Parry Ravindranathan as the first managing director for Asia-Pacific?

25. Which company has bought fashion portal Myntra in a deal estimated to be worth $370 million (about Rs. 2,000 crore)?

26. Which apparel brand has launched its new campaign 'Brighten up'?

27. Which Indian company has been ranked 31st globally on the Forbes World's 100 most innovative growth companies list?

28. Which MNC is extending its presence in the wholesale business in India to the virtual marketplace by launching a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform?

29. Which global financial messaging service provider, which helps wire funds across the world, is looking at using its network for domestic financial messaging?

30. India-born, Abu Dhabi-based billionaire entrepreneur B R Shetty is buying which foreign exchange specialist from private equity group Apax Partners in a 1billion-pound deal?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 530 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 529

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week May 12 - 17. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Who have emerged the richest persons in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Super-Rich List?

2. Which MNC has agreed to stop using terms such as "All Natural" and "100% Natural" on some of its Kashi and Bear Naked brand product labels to settle a class-action consumer fraud lawsuit?

3. Which MNC has brought together Brazilian football star Neymar Jr and global rally icon Ken Block in an innovative experiment called 'Footkhana'?

4. Which online marketplace has partnered with offline payments and remittances company Suvidhaa to help buyers in small towns make payments though cash before delivery (CBD)?

5. Which nation is the cheapest major economy, according to a report by Germany’s Deutsche Bank?

6. New Jersey-based Kirusa, which develops technology to support voice messaging in emerging markets has acquired which Bangalore-based messaging app maker?

7. Microsoft Devices last week announced the launch of its first dual-SIM Lumia phone. What has it been branded as?

8. India Drivers Network Services has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from global impact investment firm Unitus Seed Fund. It owns and operates which mobile commerce ordering service for auto rickshaws?

9. Casual footwear maker Crocs Inc. has launched its virtual store in India on which ecommerce portal?

10. Which MNC has become the latest to enter the Indian pouched milk segment with its launch in Pune?

11. Which company last week raised around $2 billion in what it claimed was the first ever dual currency issuance and also largest ever fund raising exercise at a single time by an Indian issuer?

12. BlackBerry launched a low-cost touchscreen device in Jakarta last week. What has it been branded as?

13. Satish Reddy has been named the new chairman of which company?

14. On the occasion of Mother’s Day, 92.7 Big FM, in association with Clinic Plus, launched a two-hour feature film titled ‘Maa ke Aanchal Mein’. What is its claim to fame?

15. Which country became the world's biggest wine market last year, beating France into second place for the first time as consumption slides in the country widely seen as the drink's natural home?

16. The world’s oldest salon will soon start operations in India. Name it?

17. Which MNC has bought Blink, a mobile messaging startup whose app lets users send messages that will self-destruct at a time set by the sender?

18. Which company has announced the incorporation of its joint venture with Alkemal Singapore Pte Ltd as private limited company in Singapore?

19. Which MNC has decided to acquire the remaining 45 per cent stake in kitchen appliance maker Maharaja Whiteline for an undisclosed amount?

20. Which MNC has launched a two-film campaign titled 'Bhaag', featuring cricketers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli?

21. Which business personality’s residence is the most expensive billionaire home in the world, according to a Forbes list?

22. Which automobile company has appointed VRV Sriprasad as its managing director?

23. Which online fashion brand has launched its very own music video featuring brand ambassador Farhan Akhtar?

24. Which US-based outsourcing services firm is advertising its new brand logo with the tagline 'Speed. Agility. Imagination'?

25. Which MNC has launched what it claims as India's cheapest Android KitKat powered smartphone?

26. US-based life sciences company Cancer Genetics has acquired which Hyderabad-based genomics services provider for $1.9 million (Rs `11 crore)?

27. Which MNC has launched its campaign ‘Because you are my role model’?

28. Which company has signed a definitive agreement with the 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro to buy Dhamra Port for an enterprise value of Rs 5,500 crore?

29. Raveena Tandon has been roped in as brand ambassador for which kitchen appliances brand?

30. Which well known personality is all set to join the board of India's largest private sector company Reliance Industries Ltd?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 529 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 528

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week May 05 - 10. Hope you enjoy it.

1. As a part of its 150th year celebration, WPP agency JWT will change its name. What will it be known as?

2. Which company has signed up Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan to develop games based on characters they portray in films?

3. Which well known comic book series from India has made its digital debut?

4. Which company has teamed up with Lingotes Especiales S.A. of Spain to form a joint venture, Lava Cast Pvt. Ltd., to develop and manufacture fully machined ferrous casting?

5. Which company has launched ‘The Residence’, the world’s first private multi-room cabin on a commercial passenger aircraft?

6. Which online fashion portal has launched a fashion magazine titled 'The Juice'?

7. Which MNC has agreed to buy Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, the romance novel publisher, from Torstar Corp, owner of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper by circulation?

8. Which shopping portal has launched its new campaign pegged on the theme ‘Your fashion fantasy comes true’?

9. Which MNC has emerged as the most reputed company in America for the second consecutive year, according to 24/7 Wall Street?

10. In a first, which airline in India has announced it would compensate passengers for any flight delays or cancellations arising out of reasons in the airline’s control?

11. Which company has launched a new line of menswear under the brand CP-BRO?

12. Which company has positioned its range of domestic appliances as gender-neutral products in its latest campaign, titled 'Respect Women'?

13. ING Vysya Life Insurance will be renamed. What will it be known as?

14. Which international beauty brand has roped in actor Jacqueline Fernandez as its new brand ambassador in India?

15. Which MNC has launched The Connected Car Fund, a USD 100 million venture fund to invest in auto technology across the globe, including India?

16. Zee News Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand has been rebranded. What is the new name?

17. Which Bangalore-based drug-discovery product startup has signed an out-licensing deal with German pharma major Boehringer Ingelheim for a set of anti-diabetes molecules?

18. Which well known MNC has added human rights & livelihood issues to its blueprint for growth?

19. Which company will soon begin manufacturing cricket bats in a move aimed at complying with international cricket rules pertaining to companies that display their logos on sporting equipment?

20. Which MNC has agreed to sell its consumer care business to Germany’s Bayer for $14.2 billion?

21. Which company is buying a 75% stake in the homegrown denim company Spykar Lifestyle for around Rs 100 crore in an attempt to shore up its fashion and lifestyle play?

22. Nasdaq-listed Pegasystems is acquiring which IIM-Bangalore-incubated text mining and analytics software startup to bolster its social media solutions to clients?

23. Which company last week launched the Movus utility vehicle?

24. The National Basketball Association (NBA) last week announced the launch of the first official NBA online store in India in association with which portal?

25. This TVC has been on air for quite some time now with its catchy ‘Wiggle, wobble’ jingle. Which brand?

26. Dabur India has launched a new variant of Pudin Hara for instant relief from acidity. What has it been branded as?

27. Beats by Dr Dre is using the latest single of which Indian artist for an ad campaign for Beats Pill XL portable Bluetooth speaker in the US?

28. Which well known advertising personality has joined digital agency SapientNitro as chief creative officer?

29. Which portal has acquired the online school supplies retailer SkoolShop?

30. Joh A Benckiser, the investment arm of the billionaire Reimann family, has agreed to pay which MNC $5 billion in cash to create the world’s second-biggest coffee company?

31. Which bank and Tata group’s trusts have come together to address poverty and rural development?

32. Mouli Raman has resigned as the CEO and MD of which Bangalore-based company?

33. Rajiv C Lochan has been appointed MD and CEO of which media entity effective June 1, 2014?

34. The book ‘Winning in India’- Secrets of the World’s Most Complex Market was launched last week. It is written with Pooja S Mehta by Samarjit Singh and which other business personality?

35. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration for National Stock Exchange (NSE), which business school, in association with the exchange, has set up a trading laboratory at its campus?

36. Which company has introduced Sheen, a new range of women’s watches, in India?

37. Which MNC has acquired analytics firm Adometry to gauge online ad success rates?

38. Dabur India has extended its brand of digestives Hajmola in the pure confectionary segment. What has it been sub-branded as?

39. Flipkart.com has launched a fee-based membership programme. What is it called?

40. How many Indian companies have made it to Forbes' annual list of the world’s 2000 largest and most powerful public companies?

41. Which MNC has dethroned Deutsche Bank as the world’s biggest currency trader after a 9-year reign, according to a Euromoney Institutional Investor survey?

42. Which company has launched the Spectra range of automatic pressure cookers, an upgraded product available in multiple metallic colours?

43. A bunch of professionals have come together to launch Kerala's first Radio Taxi service. What is it called?

44. Which MNC last week unveiled its first standalone lingerie and beauty store in the country in Mumbai?

45. Which company has agreed to sell its Whyte & Mackay spirits business to Philippines-based brandy maker Emperador Inc. for $726 million (Rs 4,358 crore)?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 528 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli

Biz Quizzard 527

Presenting the current affairs quiz for the week April 28 - May 03. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Dairy major Amul will launch a premium ice cream brand next month in a bid to take on rival Hindustan Unilever’s Magnum. Name the brand?

2. Which company has entered into an agreement with Japanese firm Yanmar Co Ltd and Mitsui & Co (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, to establish a joint venture for manufacturing and marketing of Yanmar branded rice transplanters and harvesters?

3. More than 12 Indian business personalities are backing the launch of India’s first liberal arts university. What is it called?

4. Which fast food chain has gone regional and is offering pizzas with southern flavours in Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu?

5. Which city has been ranked number one globally for best deals in five-star hotels in 2013, according to a report by Hotels.com?

6. Which brand is reprimanding men for using their "Biwi ka shampoo" in its latest campaign (TVCs currently on air)?

7. Which 76-year-old stock exchange in India will cease to exist from May 30 after it failed to adhere to several new regulatory requirements?

8. Which MNC last week launched its first 125cc automatic scooter in the country?

9. Lintas Group’s agency Pickle Advertising has been renamed. What is the new name?

10. Who has been named the new chief executive and president of Nokia from May 1?

11. Which MNC has been promoting sustainability of food with its month-long ‘Care4Food’ campaign?

12. Which MNC has launched it’s first-ever campaign – ‘There is more to a picture’ – for its range of Alpha cameras?

13. Which company will soon launch its new campaign with the tagline “With all our heart”?

14. Kamal Bali has been appointed the India MD of which automobile MNC?

15. Which country has displaced Japan to become the world’s third-biggest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), according to a World Bank report released last week?

16. Four-and-a-half years after first stepping into the hygiene space with a range of hand sanitisers, Godrej Consumer (GCPL) will relaunch which brand next month?

17. Which are the world's most expensive economies, according to a new ranking by the World Bank?

18. Which MNC has launched its first ad, with the tagline ‘Not Like Everybody Else’, for its newly acquired brand?

19. Which company is set to take on rival McDonald's head-on in the kids meals space by launching ‘Juniors Joybox’ in India, a product modelled on the latter’s global property Happy Meals?

20. Which airline will become the first from India to join Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, in July?

21. Which Indian business personality has figured on the list of Asia's top ten wealthiest self-made billionaires, compiled by intelligence and prospecting firm Wealth-X?

22. Anand Kripalu has been appointed as the CEO of which company with effect from May 1?

23. Google has unveiled a new service that guarantees audiences for advertisers on You-Tube. What has it been branded as?

24. French packaging services firm Diadeis has acquired which pre-media packaging firm for an undisclosed amount?

25. Mark Fields will be the new chief executive officer of which MNC, effective on July 1?

26. Which company has acquired Mumbai-based Forefront Capital Management, a high networth focused asset management company in the alternative as well as the traditional investment space?

27. Which MNC has announced that Greg Creed will become its CEO from Jan 1, 2015?

28. Which MNC has unveiled its new logo in the country through its ‘Live with Fire’ campaign?

29. Ashish Guha has resigned as the chief executive officer and managing director of which cement company?

30. MoFirst Solutions Ltd is launching a made-for-India device that allows users to translate text written in English to Indian languages and vice-versa. What has it been branded as?

31. Which company has decided to shut its manufacturing plant at Detroit, US, owned by its subsidiary Caraco Pharma?

32. Indian handset manufacturer Wham! Mobiles has roped in which cricketer as its brand ambassador?

Please mail your answers on or before next Sunday to rajeevkondapalli@gmail.com with Biz Quizzard 527 as the subject.

Happy learning!
rajeev kondapalli