Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) Scheme

The “Integrated Low Cost Sanitation” Scheme basically aims at conversion of individual dry latrine into pour flush ones thereby liberating manual scavengers from the age old, obnoxious practice of manually carrying night soil.

The ILCS Scheme was initially started in 1980-81 through the Ministry of Home Affairs and later through Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme was transferred in 1989-90 to Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation and from 2003-04 onwards to Ministry of UEPA/HUPA. The scheme has helped in constructing/converting over 28 lakh latrines to liberate over 60952 scavengers so far.

To make the Scheme more attractive and implementable the Guidelines have been revised with effect from 17^th January 2008.

At the time of revision of guidelines of the scheme the State of Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh together showed six lakh dry latrines. Later the State of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu Kashmir have declared that they have no dry latrines in their States. These figures changed during the implementation, after the house to house survey of all municipal areas for identification. Presently, the State of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have reported existence of dry latrine and funds have eventually been sought to eliminate these.

Presently, only states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar have to declare themselves dry latrine free. The revised ILCS Scheme envisages conversion of all existing dry latrines within a period of three years (2007-2010). In the video conference held on September 28, 2010, with the representatives of States of Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, these states have assured that the conversion task will be completed by 31^st December 2010 and they would be able to declare themselves dry latrine free.

Government's Plan, Programme & Policies

(1) Prerna:- The ‘janasankhya sthirata kosh (national population stabilization fund) has to promote & under take activities aimed at achieving population stabilization at a level consistent with the needs of sustainable economic growth. Social development and environment protection by 2070

Prerna is responsible for parenthood strategy. It is monetary incentive strategy aimed at pushing up the age of marriage of girls and delay the birth of the first child.

(2) National Rural Health Mission:-Launched in April 2005 the mission seeks to provide universal access to equitable, affordable and quality health care which is accountable and at the same time responsible to the needs of the people.

• It also aims to achieve the goals set out under the national policy and the millennium development goals during the mission period.

(3) Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna:-Launched by ministry of labour & employment, govt of India to provide health insurance coverage for BPL families.

• Beneficiaries are entitled to hospitalization coverage up to Rs 30,000 for most of the disease that require hospitalization.

(4) National Food Security Mission:-Sponsored scheme launched in august 2007.

• Objective is to increased production and productivity of wheat, rice and pulses.

(5) 15 Point Programme:-In Oct 2009 govt decided to include 3 more schemes in the Prime minister’s new 15 point programme for the welfare of minorities.

Those are: -

• National rural drinking water programme.
• Urban infrastructure developed scheme for small and medium town.
• Urban infrastructure and governance scheme.

(6) Bharat Nirman Yojna:- It is a time bound business plan for action in rural infrastructure .Under Bharat nirman , action was proposed in the areas of:-

• Irrigation.
• Rural housing.
• Rural water supply.
• Rural electrification.
• Rural telecommunication connectivity.

(7) National Mission On Education:-It is a mission in which education is provide through information and communication technology. “SAKSHAT” one stop education portal was launched on Oct 30, 2006 by the president of India.

• Head of National knowledge commission:- Sam Pitroda.

(8) Right To Education Act 2009:- Article 21-(A), as inserted by the constitution (86th Amendment Act) 2002, provides for free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as a fundamental rights. Consequently the parliament has enacted this in April 2009.

Salient features:-

(a) Free and compulsory education 6 to 14 age group.
(b) Will apply to all India except J&K.
(c) Provide for 25% reservation for economically disadvantaged communities in admission in private school.
(d) A child who completes elementary education (up to class 8) shall be awarded a certificate.

(9) Female Literacy:- It is a scheme to provide education & related facilities to ST Students launched by ministry of tribal affairs in December 11, 2009.

(10) Anil Kakodkar Committee on reforms in IITS:- it will suggest reforms to make these elite institutions a global brand.

(11) Yashpal Committee Report:- It was set up in 2008 for higher education and research.

• It has suggested the scrapping of all higher education regulatory /monitoring bodies and creation of a super regulation.
• It also recommended that the deemed university status be abandoned and that all deserving universities be either converted into full fledged universities or scrapped.

(12) National Rural Livelihood Mission:- Ministry of rural development and panchyati raj proposed to restructure the existing swarnjayanti gram swarojgar yojana into rural livelihood mission to have a focused approach to rural poverty eradication in a time bound manner.

• Objective is to reduce poverty among rural BPL by promoting diversified and gainful self employment and wage employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable increase in sustainable basis.

(13) NREGA Renamed After Mahatma Gandhi:- On Oct 2, 2009 Government has changed the name of National Rural Employment guarantee Act to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Act.

(14) Chandra Sheker Panel:- on the recomandation of a committee headed by cabinet secretary K.M Chander shaker. Centre had increased the pension for retired service man.

(15) Rajiv Awas Yojna:- Ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation had launched the housing project called the Rajiv awas yojna for slum dwellers and the urban poor.

• Aimed at making India slum free in the next five years.

PRATIYOGITA DARPAN APRIL 2011 ISSUE

FOR PRATIYOGITA DARPAN APRIL 2011 ISSUE CLICK HERE

MULTIPLE CHOICE CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

1. Where is Gulf Cooperation Council session headquartered?

a. Riyadh b. Oman c. Qatar d. Al Khurtum

2. Liu Xiaobo is the … person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention.

a. First b. Second c. Third d. Fourth

3. Who is the CEO of Bajaj Hindustan Ltd.?

a. Kushagra Bajaj b. Sanjeev Kumar c. Shishir Bajaj d. None of these

4. Who was the fi rst Indian to win the Miss Universe title?

a. Lara Dutta b. Sushmita Sen c. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan d. None of these

5. Changthangi is a breed of which of the following animals?

a. Buffalo b. Goat c. Tiger d. Elephant

6. Mullaperiyar Dam is constructed on which of the following rivers?

a. Periyar b. Kaveri c. Ganga d. Yamuna

7. When was Prasar Bharti established?

a. 1967 b. 1988 c. 1967 d. 1927

8. Oud is a …

a. Car b. Language c. Folk Dance d. Musical instrument

9. Khan Research Laboratories, which designed Hatf V is located in which city of Pakistan?

a. Kahuta b. Karachi c. Lahore d. None of these

10. How many times was K. Karunakaran selected as the Chief Minister of Kerala?

a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 d. 5

11. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was a bilateral treaty between the United States of

America and …

a. China b. USSR c. India d. None of these

12. Who is the author of Hard Times?

a. Raj Rao b. Charles Dickens c. H. G. Wells d. H. O. Hume

13. Which is the most spoken language in the world?

a. Mandarin b. English c. Hindi d. German

14. The art of communicating through fi ngers is called …

a. Danology b. Cytology c. Oncology d. Dactyology

15. Who built Eiffel Tower?

a. Louis Williams b. Gustave Eiffel c. Brendon Eiffel d. Quin Nan Mian

16. Atom Bomb was invented in which of the following countries?

a. USA b. France c. Germany d. Russia

17. Which is the driest place on the earth?

a. Sahara Desert b. Atcama Desert c. Both a and b d. Atacama Desert

18. When was the fi rst movie made in India?

a. 1957 b. 1927 c. 1961 d. 1988

19. Which city in Rajasthan is known as Sun City?

a. Rajasthan b. Jaipur c. Jodhpur d. Bikaner

20. Which hockey player is also recognised as Magician of Hockey?

a. Dhyan Chand b. Dhanraj Pillai c. Ajay Singh d. Rajesh Tomar

21. The author of God of Small Things is …

a. Nirupama Rao b. Vikram Seth c. Salman Rushdie d. None of these

22. In which year did the Bengal division take place?

a. 1919 b. 1905 c. 1962 d. 1988

23. Who gave the slogan “Yes we can” during his Presidential election?

a. Pratibh Patel b. Barak Obama c. George Bush d. None of these

24. Who is the current Secretary General of United Nations?

a. Kofi Annna b. Shiv Shankar Menon c. Ban Ki moon d. None of these

25. Which city is also known as Empire City?

a. Jaipur b. New York c. Delhi d. Katmandu

26. Where is the world's largest gravity dam located?

a. India b. Burma c. Pakistan d. Nepal

27. Who invented the wrist-watch?

a. Charles Babbage b. Patek Phillippe c. Adam Smith d. None of these

28. In the absence of both President and Vice President, who serves the offi ce of the President of India?

a. Prime Minister b. Speaker of Lok Sabha c. The Chief Justice of India d. Governor of a state

29. Where is the Great Slave Lake located?

a. USA b. Canada c. UK d. Saudi Arabia

30. Which is the longest National Highway in India?

a. NH 24 b. NH 8 c. NH 7 d. NH 2

31. Who is the supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces?

a. Defence minister of India b. Prime minister of India c. President of India d. None of these

32. Who invented Nylon?

a. William Makepeace b. Andrew Pitt c. Wallace Carother d. None of these

33. Who is the only lady who has won Nobel Prize for Chemistry twice?

a. Madam Curie b. Carla Arthur c. Roselyn Black d. None of these

34. Who is the architect of St. Peter’s Basilica?

a. James Spencer b. Albert Ivanovich c. Donate Bramante d. None of these

35. The national Aquatic animal of India is …

a. Dolphin b. Whale c. Pirana d. Python

36. National Youth Day is celebrated in memory of …

a. Swami Vivekanand b. Shaheed Bhagat Singh c. Chandra Shekhar Azad d. None of these

37. Which Indian state has the largest forest area?

a. Maharashtra b. West Bengal c. Tamil Nadu d. Madhya Pradesh

38. Which of the following animals can survive longest without water?

a. Camel b. Dog c. Rat d. None of these

39. Which African country is in the shape of a horn?

a. Sudan b. Morrocco c. Somalia d. Libya

40. Daughter of the East has been authored by …

a. Jawahar Lal Nehru b. Nelson Mandela c. Benazir Bhutto d. None of these

41. When is the World Population Day observed?

a. December 8 b. August 17 c. October 21 d. July 11

42. Which of the following countries has a 13 month calendar?

a. Brazil b. Ethopia c. Siberia d. Finland

43. When did the Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) enter the Indian Market?

a. 1992 b. 1999 c. 1993 d. 1996

44. The Ryder Cup is associated with which game?

a. Cricket b. Football c. Golf d. Lawn Tennis

45. The Longest Railway Tunnel of the World, Gotthard Base Tunnel, is located in …

a. India b. Switzerland c. Germany d. None of these

46. Hepatology is the study of …

a. Lungs b. Liver c. Brain d. Kidneys

47. Name the fi rst Indian Woman to receive the Nobel Prize.

a. Mother Teresa b. Fritz Robert c. Jonathan Brown d. None of these

48. Bagalihar Project lies on which river?

a. Ravi b. Kosi c. Chenab d. None of these

49. The Tribal Group Kolam belongs to which state?

a. Andra Pradesh b. Tamil Nadu c. Bihar d. Kerala

50. Wular Lake is located in …

a. Jammu and Kashmir b. Uttar Pradesh c. Bihar d. Orissa

ANSWERS:

1. a. Riyadh

2. d.Fourth

3. a. Kushagra Bajaj

4. b. Sushmita Sen

5. b. Goat

6. a. Periyar

7. c. 1967

8. d. Musical instrument

9. a. Kahuta

10. c. 4

11. b. USSR

12. b. Charles Dickens

13. a. Mandarin

14. d. Dactyology

15. b. Gustave Eiffel

16. a. USA

17. d. Atacama Desert

18. c. 1961

19. c. Jodhpur

20. a. Dhyan Chand

21. d. None of these

22. b. 1905

23. b. Barak Obama

24. c. Ban Ki moon

25. b. New York

26. a. India

27. b. Patek Phillippe

28. c. The Chief Justice of India

29. b. Canada

30. c. NH 7

31. c. President of India

32. c. Wallace Carother

33. a. Madam Curie

34. c. Donate Bramante

35. a. Dolphin

36. a. Swami Vivekanand

37. d. Madhya Pradesh

38. a. Camel

39. c. Somalia

40. c. Benazir Bhutto

41. d. July 11

42. b. Ethopia

43. a. 1992

44. c. Golf

45. b. Switzerland

46. b. Liver

47. a. Mother Teresa

48. c. Chenab

49. a. Andra Pradesh

50. a. Jammu and Kashmir

QUESTIONS ABOUT UNION BUDGET 2011-12

1) Who presented the Union Budget 2011-12 in the Parliament on February 28, 2011?
a) Manmohan Singh b) Pratibha Devisingh Patil c) Hamid Ansari d) D.Subbarao e) Pranab Mukherjee

2) The first Union budget of independent India was presented by?
a) R.K.Shanmukham Chetty b) Jawaharlal Nehru c) Morarji Desai d) Indira Gandhi
e) Manmohan Singh

3) Disinvestment Target for 2011-12 has been placed at?
a) Rs. 10000 crore b) Rs. 20000 crore c) Rs. 30000 crore d) Rs. 40000 crore
e) None of these

4) Foreign Institutional Investor-(FII) limit for investment in Indian corporate bonds raised from $20 billion to?
a) $30 billion b) $40 billion c) $50 billion d) $60 billion e) None of these

5) As per Union Budget 2011-12, Indian Micro Finance Equity Fund of Rs.100 crore to be created with?
a) SBI b)ICICI
c) NABARD d)IDBI e) SIDBI

6) Rural Infrastructure Develo-pment Fund (RIDF) was set up by the Government in?
a) 1995-96 b) 1996-97 c) 1997-98 d)1998-99 e) None of these

7) The corpus allocated for Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for 2011-12 is?
a) Rs.16000 b) Rs.17000 c) Rs.18000 d) Rs.19000 e) None of these

8) The target of credit flow to farmers has been raised from Rs.3,75,000 crore of 2010-11 to ……in 2011-12?
a) Rs.4,75,000 crore b) Rs.5,75,000 crore c) Rs.6,75,000 crore d) Rs.7,75,000 crore
e) None of these

9) Rural Infrastructure Develo-pment Fund (RIDF) is maintained by?
a) RBI b) SBI c) NABARD d) IDBI Bank e) None of these

10) Eligibility for pension under Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for BPL beneficiaries reduced from 65 years of age to?
a) 64 years b) 63 years c) 62 years d) 61 years e) 6o years

11) Exemption limit for the general category of individual taxpa-yers enhanced from 1,60,000 to?
a) 1,70,000 b) 1,80,000 c) 1,90,000 d) 2,00,000 e) None of these

12) As per Union Budget 2011-12, standard rate of Service Tax is?
a) 10 % b) 11 % c) 12 %d) 13 % e) None of these

13) As per Union Budget 2011-12, Defence allocation is?
a) 1.64 lakh crore b) 1.74 lakh crore c) 1.84 lakh crore d) 1.94 lakh crore e) None of these
14) In the Constitution of India, the Union Budget of India referred to as the?
a) Economic Survey b) Monetary and Credit Policy c) Foreign Trade Policy
d) Annual Financial Statement
e) None of these

15) Which of the following department is not a part of Finance Ministry of India?
a) Department of Economic Affairs
b) Department of Expenditure
c) Department of Revenue
d) Department of Disinvestments
e) Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion

16) Which Department principal responsibility is the prep-aration of the Union Budget annually (excluding the Railway Budget)?
a) Department of Economic Affairs
b) Department of Expenditure
c) Department of Revenue
d) Department of Disinvestments
e)Department of Financial Servies

17) Which of the following is a government body that offers a single window clearance for proposals on foreign direct investment in the country that are not allowed access through the automatic route?
a) Securities and Exchange Board of India
b) Reserve Bank of India
c) Export-Import Bank of India
d) Foreign Investment Promo-tion Board
e) Bombay Stock Exchange

18) The first woman Finance Secretary of India?
a) Sushma Nath
b)Shyamala Gopinath
c) Chanda Kochhar
d) Shikha Sharma
e) None of these

19) The only woman to hold the post of the finance minister of India?
a) Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit b) Sarojini Naidu
c) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur d) Indira Gandhi e)None of these

20) The Union Budget is always presented first in ?
a) Lok Sabha b) Rajya Sabha c) Joint Session of the Parliament d) State Assemblies
e) None of these

21) Which of the following presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget?
a) RBI b) Ministry of Finance c) Ministry of Commerce d) Planning Commission
e) Finance Commission

22) The financial year in India starts on?
a) 1st January b)1stMarch c) 1st April d) 1st July e) None of these

23) A fiscal year in India ends on?
a) February 28 b) March 31
c)April1 d)July1
e)December 31

24) A. Gross Tax receipts are estimated at 9,32,440 crore.
B. Non-tax revenue receipts estimated at 1,25,435 crore.
C. Total expenditure proposed at 12,57,729 crore.
D. Increase of 18.3 per cent in total Plan allocation.
E. Increase of 10.9 per cent in the Non-plan expenditure.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B b) B and C
c) C and D d) D and E e) All of the above

25) A.Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated to have grown at 8.6 per cent in 2010-11 in real terms.
B. Government expects econo-my to grow at 9 % in 2011-12.
C. Fiscal Deficit target at 4.6% for 2011-12, down from 5.1% estimated for 2010-11.
D. Central Government debt estimated at 44.2 per cent of GDP for 2011-12 as against 52.5 per cent recomm-ened by the 13th Finance Commission.
E. 40,000 crore to be raised through disinvestment in 2011-12.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B b) B and C
c) C and D d) D and E e) All of the above

26) A. Government committed to retain at least 51 per cent ownership and management control of the Central Public Sector Undertakings.
B. "India Microfinance Equity Fund" of ’100 crore to be created with SIDBI. Gover-nment considering putting in place appropriate regulatory framework to protect the interest of small borrowers.
C."Women's SHG's Develo-pment Fund" to be created with a corpus of ’ 500 crore.
D. Corpus of RIDF XVII to be raised from Rs. 16,000 crore to 20,000 crore.
E. 1,000 crore to be provided to SIDBI for refinancing incre-mental lending by banks to these enterprises.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and D b) A, B and C c) C and D d) D and E e) None of these

27) A.Allocation under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased from Rs. 6,755 crore to 7,860 crore.
B.Rs.10,000 crore to be contributed to NABARD's Short-term R-ural Credit fund for 2011-12.
C. Allocation for Bharat Nirman programme proposed to be increased by Rs.10,000 crore from the current year to Rs. 58,000 crore in 2011-12.
D. Rs. 21,000 crores for primary education to implement Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
E. Defence budget hiked to Rs. 1.64 lakh crore
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) A and B b) B and C c) C and D d) D and E
e) All of the above

28) Consider the following statements:
1) Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled the Union Budget 2011-12 on February 28, 2011.
2) Economic Survey 2010-11 was presented in the Parliament on Feb 25, 2011.
3) India's Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee presented the new Railway Budget for the year 2011-12 in the parliament on February 25, 2011.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only b) 2 only
c) 3 only d) All of the above e) None of these

Answers:

1) e, 2) a, 3) d, 4) a, 5) e, 6) a, 7) c, 8) a, 9) c, 10) e, 11) b, 12) a, 13) a, 14) d, 15) e, 16) a, 17) d, 18) a, 19) d, 20) a, 21) b, 22) c, 23) b, 24) e, 25) e, 26) b, 27) e, 28) d

CURRENT AFFAIRS MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Where will the French Open be held this year?

a. Tennis Club de Paris

b. Île de Puteaux

c. Racing Club de France

d. Stade Roland Garros

2. Who is the CEO of Devas Multimedia that was in news recently regarding its agreement with

Antrix?

a. Ramachandran Vishwanathan

b. M.G. Chandrasekhar

c. Raja Mohan

d. None of these

3. Who among the following is the secretary to the Department of Space and also the chairman of

the Space Commission, ISRO and Antrix?

a. M.G. Chandrasekhar

b. Raja Mohan

c. K Radhakrishnan

d. None of these

4. The President of Egypt recently handed over the power of the country to the state military. Name him.

a. Hoshni Mubarak

b. Blaise Compaoré

c. Ahmed Abdallah

d. Isaias Afewerki

5. Rory McIlroy is associated with which of the following games?

a. Tennis

b. Cricket

c. Volley Ball

d. Golf

6. A Pakistani anti-terrorism court issued an arrest warrant for which former President of the country over the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto?

a. Muhammad Rafi q Tarar

b. Wasim Sajjad

c. Muhammad Mian Soomro

d. Pervez Musharraf

7. TecSar is an … satellite.

a. American

b. Israeli

c. Chinese

d. None of these

8. BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is jointly prepared by Russia and …

a. America

b. China

c. India

d. Germany

9. Who was awarded the Jnanpith Award in the year 2007?

a. O. N. V. Kurup

b. Akhlaq Mohammed Khan

c. Ravindra Kelekar

d. Kunwar Narayan

10. Indipex 2011 is an exhibition of …

a. Coins

b. Stamps

c. Vintage Cars

d. Stationary

11. Name the person who is the founding member and former chairman of the Association of Combatant Clerics party of Iran. He is also the Secretrary General of National Trust Party of Iran. Currently, he is under house arrest for his calls to support of anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.

a. Mahdi Karroubi

b. Adel Labib

c. Talaat Sadat

d. Hossam Badrawi

12. According to Wall Street Journal, which of the following blogging websites has discussed

the prospect of acquisition with Google and Facebook?

a. Blogster

b. Fitfi nder

c. Fotolog

d. Twitter

13. Justice Shivraj Patil Committee is associated with …

a. Telangana State

b. 2G Scam

c. Babri Masjid

d. None of these

14. Where was the 17th Commonwealth Law Conference held?

a. India

b. London

c. Nairobi

d. None of these

15. Who among the following was the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2005, who took active part in Egypt protests this year?

a. Yukiya Amano

b. Hans Blix

c. Shirin Ebadi

d. Mohamed Mustafa El

Baradei

16. Julian Assange is associated with …

a. Wikileaks

b. Microsoft

c. Hyundai

d. None of these

17. Name the CEO of Bajaj Hindustan Ltd.

a. Kushagra Bajaj

b. Sanjeev Kumar

c. Shishir Bajaj

d. None of

18. Which day is observed as Kashmir Solidarity Day?

a. 21st December

b. 12th July

c. 18th October

d. 5th February

19. Who is the current President of Burma?

a. Than Shwe

b. Maung Maung Saw Maung

c. Sein Lwin

d. Thein Sein

20. In which year was Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi awarded the Bharat Ratna?

a. 2002

b. 2003

c. 2005

d. 2008

21. Who is the current Finance Secretary of India?

a. Ashok Chawla

b. Sushma Nath

c. Ranjan Roy

d. Amrita Bhargava

22. Who is the current Prime Minister of Nepal?

a. Jhalanath Khanal

b. Pushpa Kamal Dahal

c. Bijay Kumar Gachhedar

d. None of these

23. On which date did the Census 2011 began?

a. January 11

b. February 9

c. March 21

d. April 18

24. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve is situated in …

a. Kerala

b. Tamil Nadu

c. Andra Pradesh

d. None of these

25. Who is the current President of Yemen?

a. Ali Abdullah Saleh

b. Hosni Mubarak

c. Ali Mohammed Mujur

d. Faisal Bin Shamlan

26. The oil giant, Rosneft, is based in which of the following countries?

a. Russia

b. Germany

c. Saudi Arabia

d. None of these

27. Pradeep Vasant Naik, Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal recently visited which country to discuss the need to build a peace-time relationship between the armed forces of the two countries?

a. Sri Lanka

b. Nepal

c. USA

d. None of these

28. India recently renewed Inland Water Transit & Trade Protocol with which of the following companies?

a. Nepal

b. Pakistan

c. Srilanka

d. Bangladesh

29. Where are the 34th National Games being held?

a. Uttar Pradesh

b. Jharkhand

c. Bihar

d. Madhya Pradesh

30. Russia began construction of new space centre at …

a. Vostochny

b. Arsk

c. Asha

d. None of these

31. Agenda 21 is associated with which of the following?

a. IMF

b. World Bank

c. UN

d. Red Cross

32. Where is National Biodiversity Authority located?

a. Chennai

b. Delhi

c. Bangalore

d. Pune

33. Nagoya Protocol is associated with which of the following?

a. Health Ministry

b. Finance Ministry

c. Biodiversity

d. None of these

34. "Nomadic Elephant", a two-week long joint counterinsurgency exercise, was organised jointly by India and …

a. Malaysia

b. Sri Lanka

c. Mongolia

d. Myanmar

35. Jasmine Revolution took place in which of the following places?

a. Tunisia

b. France

c. Egypt

d. None of these

36. Panchasiddhantika, an ancient book, is written by …

a. Valmiki

b. Kabir

c. Surdas

d. Varāhamihira

37. Who heads the committee created for examination of the Food Security Bill?

a. C. Rangrajan

b. Bimal Jalan

c. Sonia Gandhi

d. Jean Dreze

38. Jean- Claude Trichet is associated with …

a. Red Cross

b. World Bank

c. European Central Bank

d. IMF

39. The slogan for Census 2011 is …

a. Everyone counts

b. You count, so we count

c. Count on me, everyone counts

d. Include me

40. Rail Bandhu is a …

a. Railway volunteer

b. Magazine

c. Hotel

d. Credit Card

41. The Naive and The Sentimental Novelist is the work of …

a. Günter Grass

b. J. M. Coetzee

c. Orhan Pamuk

d. V. S. Naipaul

42. Who has been appointed to succeed Rajiv Mathur, IB Chief?

a. Nehchal Sandhu

b. Ajay Garg

c. Sanjeev Uppal

d. None of these

43. Jal Hans is India’s first …

a. Floating hospital

b. Sea-cargo service

c. Water boat

d. Seaplane service

44. Name the political party in West Bengal that celebrated its 85th foundation day recently.

a. Forward Bloc

b. Revolutionary Socialist Party

c. Communist Party of India

d. None of these

45. Google has recently decided to give a $5 million grant to which of the following organisations?

a. WHO

b. Bharati Foundation

c. CRY

d. None of these

46. Who is the COO of World Trade Centre Association?

a. Kofi A. Boateng

b. Mad Catz

c. Ian Watmore

d. None of these

47. Birla Carbon will acquire … for $875 million dollars.

a. Columbian Chemicals

b. Europian Chemicals

c. Hinduja Chemicals

d. None of these

48. India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project is located near …

a. Anamalai Hills

b. Nilgiri Hills

c. Khasi Hills

d. Patkai Hills

49. Mullaperiyar Dam is constructed on river …

a. Periyar

b. Kaveri

c. Ganga

d. Yamuna

50. Naoto Kan, the Prime Minister of Japan was preceded by …

a. Yukio Hatoyama

b. Yon Ki

c. Chiang Zell

d. Yukoto Ziang

ANSWERS:

1. d. Stade Roland Garros

2. a. Ramachandran Vishwanathan

3. c. K Radhakrishnan

4. a. Hoshni Mubarak

5. d. Golf

6. d. Pervez Musharraf

7. b. Israeli

8. c. India

9. a. O. N. V. Kurup

10. b. Stamps

11. a. Mahdi Karroubi

12. d. Twitter

13. b. 2G Scam

14. a. India

15. d. Mohamed Mustafa El Baradei

16. a. Wikileaks

17. a. Kushagra Bajaj

18. d. 5th February

19. d. Thein Sein

20. d. 2008

21. b. Sushma Nath

22. a. Jhalanath Khanal

23. b. February 9

24. b. Tamil Nadu

25. a. Ali Abdullah Saleh

26. a. Russia

27. a. Sri Lanka

28. d. Bangladesh

29. b. Jharkhand

30. a. Vostochny

31. c. UN

32. a. Chennai

33. c. Biodiversity

34. c. Mongolia

35. a. Tunisia

36. d. Varāhamihira

37. a. C. Rangrajan

38. c. European Central Bank

39. b. You count, so we count

40. b. Magazine

41. c. Orhan Pamuk

42. a. Nehchal Sandhu

43. d. Seaplane service

44. c. Communist Party of India

45. b. Bharati Foundation

46. a. Kofi A. Boateng

47. a. Columbian Chemicals

48. b. Nilgiri Hills

49. a. Periyar

50. a. Yukio Hatoyama

PSLV - C 16 launch successfully

India’s PSLV—C16 rocket April 2o, successfully launched into orbit the latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat—2 that would study and help manage natural resources along with two nano satellites.

ISRO’s homegrown workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle placed in a ‘Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit’ Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat about 18 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre launch pad at 10.12 am.

“PSLV-C16 Resourcesat-2 mission is successful,” a jubilant Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced shortly after all the three satellites were hurled into space one after another 822 km above earth in a text book launch.

The ISRO chief’s announcement was cheered by the battery of scientists at the mission control centre who heaved a sigh of relief as they were gripped by an added anxiety following two successive failures of GSLV missions last year.

The 1,206 kg Resourcesat-2 with a space life of five years replaces Resourcesat-1 launched in 2003 and would provide data with enhanced multispectral and spatial coverage on natural resources.

The GSLV mission in December last year failed when the homegrown GSLV F06 carrying communication satellite GSAT-5P exploded mid-air less than a minute after lift-off and fell into the Bay of Bengal.

GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, plunged into the sea when the destruct command was issued as the rocket veered from its flight path.

Earlier, the GSLV-D3 mission carrying GSAT-4 had also failed in April 2010, dealing a blow to India’s space programme.

PSLV—C16 flight was its 17th successive mission after the failure of its maiden voyage in September 1993.

PSLV-C16 Details:

PSLV-C16, is the eighteenth flight of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV. In this flight, the standard version of PSLV with six solid strap-on motors is used.

PSLV-C16 will place three satellites with a total payload mass of 1404 kg - RESOURCESAT-2 weighing 1206 kg, the Indo-Russian YOUTHSAT weighing 92 kg and Singapore's X-SAT weighing 106 kg – into an 822 km polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). PSLV-C16 will be launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

The major changes made in PSLV since its first launch include changes in strap-on motors ignition sequence, increase in the propellant loading of the first stage and strap-on solid propellant motors as well as the second and fourth stage liquid propellant motors, improvement in the performance of the third stage motor by optimising motor case and enhanced propellant loading and employing a carbon composite payload adapter.

PSLV has also become a more versatile vehicle for launching multiple satellites in polar SSOs as well as Low Earth Orbits (LEO) and Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). With sixteen successful launches, PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO and is offered for launching satellites for international customers also. During 1994-2010 period, PSLV has launched a total of 44 satellites, of which 25 satellites are from abroad and 19 are Indian satellites.

PSLV- C16 Stages at a Glance STAGE-1 STAGE-2 STAGE-3 STAGE-4 Nomenclature Core Stage(PSI) + 6 Strap-on Motors PS2 PS3 PS4 Propellant Solid (HTPB Based) Liquid (UH25+N2O4) Solid (HTPB Based) Liquid (MMH + MON-3) Mass (Tonne) 138.0 (Core) + 6 x 9.0 (Strap-on) 41.0 7.6 2.5 Max Thrust (kN) 4703 (Core) 6 x 635(Strap-on) 804 244 7.3 x 2 Burn Time (Sec) 107 (Core) 50 (Strap-on) 151 116 510 Stage Dia (m) 2.8 (Core) 1.0 (Strap-on) 2.8 2.0 2.8 Stage Length (m) 20 (Core) 11.3 (Strap-on) 12.8 3.6 2.6

RESOURCESAT-2: RESOURCESAT-2 is a follow on mission to RESOURCESAT-1 and the eighteenth Remote Sensing satellite built by ISRO. RESOURCESAT-2 is intended to continue the remote sensing data services to global users provided by RESOURCESAT-1, and to provide data with enhanced multispectral and spatial coverage as well. Important changes in RESOURCESAT-2 compared to RESOURCESAT-1 are: Enhancement of LISS-4 multispectral swath from 23 km to 70 km and improved Radiometric accuracy from 7 bits to 10 bits for LISS-3 and LISS-4 and 10 bits to 12 bits for AWIFS. Besides, suitable changes, including miniaturisation in payload electronics, have been made in RESOURCESAT-2. RESOURCESAT-2 also carries an additional payload known as AIS (Automatic Identification System) from COMDEV, Canada as an experimental payload for ship surveillance in VHF band to derive position, speed and other information about ships. RESOURCESAT-2 carries two Solid State Recorders with a capacity of 200 Giga Bytes each to store the images taken by its cameras which can be read out later to ground stations.

Mission Remote Sensing Orbit Circular Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit altitude at injection 822 km + 20 km (3 Sigma) Orbit Inclination 98.731º + 0.2º Lift-off Mass 1206 kg Orbit Period 101.35 min Number of Orbits per day 14 Local Time of Equator crossing 10:30 am Repetivity 24 days Attitude and Orbit Control 3-axis body stabilised using Reaction Wheels, Magnetic Torquers and Hydrazine Thrusters Power Solar Array generating 1250 W at End Of Life, two 24 AH Ni-Cd batteries Launch date April 20, 2011 Launch site SHAR Centre Sriharikota India Launch vehicle PSLV- C16 Mission life 5 years

YOUTHSAT: YOUTHSAT is a joint Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite mission with the participation of students from Universities at graduate, post graduate and research scholar level. With a lift-off mass of 92 kg, Youthsat is a mini satellite and the second in the Indian Mini Satellite (IMS) series. Youthsat mission intends to investigate the relationship between solar variability and thermosphere-Ionosphere changes. The satellite carries three payloads, of which two are Indian and one Russian. Together, they form a unique and comprehensive package of experiments for the investigation of the composition, energetics and dynamics of earth's upper atmosphere. The Indian payloads are: RaBIT (Radio Beacon for Ionospheric Tomography)- For mapping Total Electron Content (TEC) of the Ionosphere. LiVHySI (Limb Viewing Hyper Spectral Imager) - To perform airglow measurements of the Earth's upper atmosphere (80- 600 km) in 450-950 nm. The Russian payload: SOLRAD - For monitoring the solar X- and gamma ray fluxes and to study solar cosmic ray flux parameters and conditions of their penetration in the Earth's magnetosphere.

Lift-off Mass 92 kg Orbit Period 101.35 min Dimension 1020 (Pitch) x 604 (Roll) x 1340 (Yaw) mm3 Attitude and Orbit Control 3-axis body stabilised using Sun and Star Sensors, Miniature Magnetometer, Miniature Gyros, Micro Reaction Wheels and Magnetic Torquers Power Solar Array generating 230 W, one 10.5 AH Li-ion battery Mechanisms Paraffin Actuator based Solar Panel Hold Down and Release Mechanism Launch date April 20, 2011 Launch site SHAR Centre Sriharikota India Launch vehicle PSLV- C16 Orbit Circular Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit altitude at injection 822 km + 20 km (3 Sigma) Orbit Inclination 98.731 º + 0.2 º Mission life 2 years

X-SAT:

X-SAT, the third payload of PSLV-C16, is Singapore's first satellite. Weighing 106 kg at lift-off, X-SAT is a Mini Satellite with a multispectral camera IRIS as its primary payload. X-SAT mission mainly intends to demonstrate technologies related to satellite based remote sensing and onboard image processing.