Monday, June 28, 2010

CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR APPSC GROUP-1

International Current Affairs 2010
Current Affairs [May 2010]

* G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May.
* Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
* National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
* EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.
* Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

* Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa.
* Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s power to dissolve parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s powers.
* USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of 1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the Progue Castle.
* Emergency was imposed in Thailand.
* Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.
* PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India- Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).
* 16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

* China will launch in 2011 unmammed space mode ‘ Tiangong I’ for its future space laboratory.
* US internet giant Google close its business in China.
* India’s largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel buy Zain’s Africa operations for an enterprise value of $ 10.7 billion (Rs 49000 crore). Currently Bharti’s non-India operations include Sri Lanka & Bangladesh.
* Russia abolished two of its eleven time Zones.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

* NATO forces carried out Marjah operation (dubbed Moshtarak) against Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
* European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van Rompuy.
* Iran’s President Mahmood Ahmedinejad declared that Iran had produced first batch of 20 % enriched uranium and now Iran became a nuclear state.
* Iran launched ‘Kavoshger -3 rocket’ capable of carrying a satellite. It carried a mouse, worms & two turtles.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

* Gilgit Baltistan region elected its first Chief Minister Mehdi Shah on the basis of Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment & Self Governance Order 2009. The new appointed CM declare the Gilgit Baltistan region as 5th province of Pakistan. The Indian Govt has, however, of the view that the region was part of J & K, and thus objected to the remarks of CM.
* Venezuela devalued it currency ‘Bolivar’.
* A massive earthquake strike Haiti, the Carribbean nation. Capital of Haiti is Port-au-Prince.
* Mahinda Rajapaksa won a second term as Sri Lanka’s President. He belongs to Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Current National Issues

Current Affairs [May 2010]

* Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
* Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
* Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit.
* National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

* Naxals killed about 75 CRPF personal at Chintalnar-Tarmetla village in Dantewada distt ,Chhattisgarh. Government appoint E.N. Rammohan, to probe the incident.
* Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
* NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
* Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
* Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction; No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.
* Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

* Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral convergence of all pro- women programmes.
* Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
* Yamunanagar (Haryana) and Vishakhapatnam (AP) are choosen for a pilot project on saving household energy by replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).
* Earth Hour 2010 has been celebrated on 27 March organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, India. Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru are official Earth Hour Cities among 15 Indian cities.
* Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia visit India in March 2010.
* Supreme Court allowed religion based 4 % reservations in Govt jobs & educational institutes in Andhra Pradesh. It extended the benefit to 14 OBC in muslims in the state. The matter is further referred to Constitutional bench of Supreme Court.
* ’Bold Kurushetra’ a joint armour exercise between India and Singapore was held at Jhansi(UP).
* Prohibition of unfair practices in technical, medical educational institutions & universities Bill is passed by Govt. It provided for 3 year imprisonment and a fine of upto Rs 50 lakh for higher education providers guilty of misleading students.
* Govt approved Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry & Operation) Bill 2010. It provides foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
* Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
* Govt starts the scheme for creation of the National Population Register (NPR) of Indian residents. The project will cover an estimated 1.2 billion people and total cost of the project will be Rs. 3539.24 crore.
* India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
* Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu visit India in March 2010.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

* Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce the subsidy on LPG.
* India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
* Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
* India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
* Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Saudi Arabia in Feb 2010. He was the first Indian PM in 28 years to visit the gulf country. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest supplier of crude oil ( 23 %) followed by Iran ( 17 %) and Nigeria ( 11 %). India is offering upto 10 % equity to Saudi petroleum firm Saudi Aramco in a refinery being built in Orissa. PM addressed the Shoura council of Saudi Arabia.
* Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
* Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight countries so far.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

* Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visit India in Jan 2010. She belongs to Awami League Party. The two countries signed five agreements – on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, on transfer of sentenced persons and on combating international terrorism, organized crime & illicit drug trafficking besides MOU on cooperation in the power sector and on cultural exchanges. India give Bangladesh a $ 1 billion line of credit, the biggest it has given to any country so far.
* South Korea President Lee Myung Bak visit India in Jan 2010. The two countries decided to double the bilateral trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. Four facts were signed between two countries – cooperation in peaceful use of outer space, IT, science & technology for the year 2010-12 and transfer of sentenced persons. South Korean President was also the chief guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
* Gujarat Local Authorities Law (amendment) Bill 2009- The Bill makes it the duty of a qualified voter to vote during elections to local bodies. Voting is compulsory, but the Bill allows voters to cast their vote in favour of none of the candidates. Election officers will declare those who fail to vote defaulter, and serve them a notice.
* India and China has decided to start joint military exercise from 2011.
* Najib Razak, Malaysia Prime Minister visit India in Jan 2010.
* Govt launched Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. Key highlights of the mission are :
o To create an enabling policy framework for the deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020.
o To create favourable conditions for solar manufacturing capability for indigenous production and market leadership.
o To promote programmes for off grid applications, reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2022.
o To achieve 15 million sq. meters solar thermal collector area by 2017 and 20 million by 2022.
o To deploy 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.
* New Governors appointed : a) M K Narayanan – West Bengal, b)Shivraj Patil – Punjab, c) Mohsina Kidwai – Jharkhand, d) Shekhar Dutt – Chhattisgarh, e) E S L Narasimhan – Andhra Pradesh.
* Govt plans to create a National Gas Highway Development Authority. The present Gas Pipeline Density in India is 3.29 Km per 1000 Sq.Km.
* Govt plans to set up a National Green Tribunal to control Carbon Emissions and pollution. It will be responsible for implementing the low carbon roadmap to be set forth in the 12th Five Year Plan.

Sports Current Affairs 2010
Current Affairs [May 2010]

* England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at South Africa. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.
* Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
* India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
* China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
* In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
* India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
* World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010.

Current Affairs [April 2010]

* IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians.
* Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010.
* World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan.
* Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
* ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot.
* World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup Kabbadi 2010 held at Ludhiana.
* Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist for the consecutive third time.
* Badminton Asia Championship, Delhi :
o Men’s singles – Lin Dan defeated Wang Zhenguing
o Women’s singles-Li Xiurei defeated Liu Xin.

Current Affairs [March 2010]

* Tamil Nadu defeated West Bengal to won Vijay Harare Cricket Trophy.
* Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at 8th place.
* India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.
* Two new IPL teams, Kochi was auctioned for Rs 1533 crore and Pune was auctioned for Rs 1702 crore. Kochi was auctioned to Rendezvous Adventure Sports Ltd. Pune was auctioned to Sahara Adventure Sports Ltd.

Current Affairs [February 2010]

* Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.
* 11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports, including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S 36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.
* West Zone won Duleep Trophy ( 2009-10) defeating South Zone.
* India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar won the Asian Tour International Trophy 2010. It is his 2nd consecutive title.
* Euro 2012 to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
* 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held at Vancouver, Canada. Mascot of the game was MIGA (a sea bear), QUATCHI( a sasquatch) and SUMI (animal guardian spirit). The logo of the games was Ilnaaq meaning Friend in Inuktut. There were 86 events in 7 sports. The games were held from 12 Feb to 28 Feb. Final medal tally. Canada- 14 G 7 S 5 B, Germany- 10 G 13 S 7 B, USA- 9 G 15 S 13 B.
* IOC (International Olympic Committee ) has approved ICC (International Cricket Council) bid to join the Olympic games 2020. The first time cricket was included in the Olympic games was in Paris Olympic 1900.
* 11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting. India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971. Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India & Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.
* Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first place with 35 Gold 25 Silver and 14 Bronze. England stood at 2nd place with 4 gold and Wales stood at 3rd place.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

* U-19 World Cup 2010 held in New Zealand from 15 – 30 Jan 2010. Javagal Srinath from India appointed as one of the match referee for the tournament.
* Australia won the U-19 World Cup for the third time defeating Pakistan. India is placed at 6th rank. Australia won the cup for the third time.
* Rafael Nadal won the Capitala World Tennis Championsip, held at Abu Dhabi defeating Robin Soderling.
* Magnus Carlsen becomes the youngest World No.1 chess player at the age of 19 years breaking the Garry Kasparov’s record when he became the world’s top ranked chess player at the age of 22 years in 1985. Magnus Carlsen is the 5th player after Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and V.Anand (India) to cross the 2800 ELO rating. In the Jan 2010 FIDE ranking, Carlsen stood at 1st place, Topalov at 2nd place and V Anand at 3rd place.
* Marin Cilic defeated Staniglas Wawrinka to won Men’s singles title of Aircel Chennai Open.
* Pakistan’s cricketer Shahid Afridi was banned for two T20 internationals after he was found guilty of ball tempering in a ODI against Australia.
* Corus Chess Grandmaster Tournament won by Magnus Carlsen. V.Anand of India ranked at 4th place. Hopman Cup 2010- Spain defeated Great Britain.
* Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s 5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie Jean King.
* Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title.
* Men’s Double- Mike Bryan & Bob Bryan defeated Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic.
* Women’s Double – Serena Williams & Venus Williams defeated Cara Black & L Huber.
* Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova & Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title.

Science & Technology 2010
Current Affairs [February 2010]

* USA Space agency NASA launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to discover the causes of extreme solar activity such as sun spots and solar winds & flares.
* ‘GANGES’- Global Advisory Network Group on environmental sciences. It was created by Govt for environment research work.
* Agni-III ballistic missile with a range of 3500 Km was successfully launched from Wheeler Island, Orissa.
* Ht Cotton – Herbicide Tolerant Cotton. The variety of Ht Cotton in MON 1445. The variety can withstand herbicides (weed killers) for better productivity and is under trail.
* Cervical cancer is caused by HPV- Human Papilloma Virus.
* South Korea has world’s highest average connection speed at 14.6 Mbpd in Internet links. Japan has 2nd highest average speed.
* Scientist deciphered the genetic blueprint of South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Titu.

Current Affairs [January 2010]

* 97th Indian Science Congress held at Tiruvananthapuram in Jan 2010. The theme of this year congress was ‘ Science & Technology of 21st Century- National Perspective’.
* The longest annular solar eclipse on the third millennium occur on 15 Jan 2010. The next annular solar eclipse will be visible in year 3043. Annular eclipse is occurred when the sun is visible like a ring of fire, with the moon darkening its centre. The last annular solar eclipse visible from India was occurred in 1976. In July 2010 also, a total solar eclipse will be occurred.
* There are three strains of wild Polio virus namely P1, P2 & P3. Type 2 wild Polio virus (P2) was eliminated from the world in 1999.
* First public hearing on the introduction of Bt Brinjal (First Genetically Modified Food Crop in India) was held in Kolkatta. Seven such public hearing are being organized by Centre for Environment Education, for opinion of public in respect of introduction of Bt Brinjal. 2nd hearing was held at Hyderabad.
* 50th anniversary of creation of LASER is being celebrated in 2010. Theodore Maiman constructed the first LASER in May 1960. LASER stands for Light Amplification for Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Charles H Townes was father of MASER.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

APPSC JUNIOR LECTURERS NOTIFICATION NO 19/2008 AND 5/2008 HALL TICKETS

APPSC JUNIOR LECTURERS NOTIFICATION NO 19/2008 AND 5/2008 HALL TICKETS CLICK HERE

Heads of Important Offices in India


● Dr. Manmohan Singh: Chairman, Planning Commission.

● Ms. Meira Kumar: Speaker, Lok Sabha.

● Mohammad Hamid Ansari: Chairman, Rajya Sabha.
● Mr. K. Rahman Khan: Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha.
● Mr. Gopinath Munde: Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha.
● Ms. Sushma Swaraj : Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha).
● Mr. Arun Jaitley: Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha).
● Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
● Mr. Navin Chawla: Chief Election Commissioner
● Mr. V. S. Sampath : Election Commissioner.

● Mr. S. Y. Qiuaishi : Election Commissioner.
● Mr. Vinod Rai : Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
● Mr. K. M. Chandrasekhar: Cabinet Secretary.
● Mr. T. K. A. Nair : Principal Secretary to Prime Minister.
● Mr. Justice M. Narayana Rao: Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes.
● Ms. Shanta Sinha: Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
● Dr. Buta Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes
● Mr. Kunwar Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
● Prof. D. P. Agrawal: Chairman, UPSC.
● Dr. M. S. Swaminathan : Chairman, National Commission on Farmers.
● Mr. Shiv Shankar Menon: National Security Adviser and Special Adviser to PM (Internal Security).
● Mr. R.V. Raju : Director-General, National Investigation Agency (NIA).
● Mr. S. S. Khurana: Chairman, Railway Board.
● Mr. Vivek Kumar Agnihotri: Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha
● Mr. P. D. T. Achary : Secretary-General, Lok Sabha.
● Mr. Rajiv Mathur: Director, IB.
● Mr. Ashwani Kumar: Director, CBI.
● Mr. K. C. Verma: Director, Research and Analysis Wing.
● Mr. N .P. S. Aulakh: Director-General, NSG.
● Mr. Vikram Srivastava : Director-General, CRPF.
● Mr. Raman Srivastava : Director-General, Border Security Force (BSF).
● Mr. Niraj Ranjan Das : Director-General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
● Mr. Ranjit Sinha: Director-General, Railway Protection Force.
● Mr. R.L. Bhatia: Director-General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
● Mr. Gopal Sharma: Director-General, Sashastra Seema Bal.
● Vice-Admiral R.F. Contractor: Director-General, Coast Guard.
● Lt. Gen. Avtar Singh: Director-General, Defence Intelligence Agency.
● Mr. Sukhadeo Thorat : Chairman, UGC.
● Mr. M. Natarajan : Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Defence Research & Development Organisation.
● Dr. R. Chidambaram : Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government.
● Mr. K. Radhakrishnan: Chairman, Space Commission and ISRO.
● Mr. Srikumar Banerjee : Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy.
● Mr. N. K. Raghupathy : Chairman, SSC.
● Mr. Justice (Retd.) B. N. Kirpal: Chairman, National Forest Commission.
● Dr. Amrita Patel: Chairperson, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
● Lt. Gen. M. C. Badhani : Director-General, Border Roads Organisation.
● Dr. Vishwa Mohan Katoch : Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research.
● Mr. D. K. Sikri : Registrar-General of India and Census Commissioner.
● Mr. P. Venkatarami Reddy: Chairman, Law Commission.
● Mr. Duvvuri Subbarao : Governor, RBI.
● Mr. Justice G. N. Ray: Chairman, Press Council of India.
● Mr. Subroto Chattopadhyay : Chairman, Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).
● Mr. N. B. Singh: Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
● Mr. A. K. Singh: Chairman, Central Board of Excise & Customs.
● Justice Arijit Pasayat : Chairperson, Competition Appellate Tribunal
● Mr. S. K. Garg : CMD, NHPC.
● Mr. R. S. Sharma: CMD, ONGC.
● Mr. U. D. Choubey : CMD, GAIL.
● Mr. S. Behuria : Chairman, IOC.
● Mr. N. M. Borah: CMD, Oil India Ltd.
● Mr. Vineet Joshi: Chairman, CBSE.
● Mr. C. B. Bhave: Chairman, Securities & Exchange Board of India.
● Mr. U. C. Sarangi: Chairman, NABARD.
● Mr. O. P. Bhat : Chairman, SBI.
● Mr. V. P. Shetty : Chairman, IDBI.
● Mr. S. Balasubramanian : Chairman, Company Law Board.
● Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri : India's Permanent Representative to UN.
● Mr. T. S. Vijayan : Chairman, LIC
● Mr. A. K. Bajaj : Chairman, Central Water Commission.
● Ms. Girija Vyas : Chairperson, National Commission for Women.
● Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar: Chairman, 13th Finance Commission.
● Prof. Suresh D. Tendulkar : Chairman, National Statistical Commission.
● Ms. Shafmila Tagore : Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification.
● Ms. Anshu Vaish : Director-General, Archaeological Survey of India.
● Mr. Ranjan Mittal : President, FICCI.
● Mr. J. S. Sarma: Chairman, TRAI
● Mr. R. N. Das : Director, Enforcement Directorate.
● Mr. D. Swarup : Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority.
● Mr. Pratyush Sinha: Central Vigilance Commissioner.
● Mr. S. Banerjee: Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
● Mr. Wajahat Habibullah : Information Commissioner.
● Mr. Suresh Kalmadi : President, Indian Olympic Association.
● Prof. Krishan Kumar: Director, NCERT.
● Mr. Venu Srinivasan: President, CII.
● Mr. Sam Pitroda : Chairman, National Knowledge Commission.
● Ms. Mrinal Pande : Chairman, Prasar Bharti Board.
● Mr. Ratan Tata : Chairman, Investment Commission.
● Mr. Pramod Bhasin
: Chairman, NASSCOM.
● Mr. Swati Piramal: President, ASSOCHAM.
● Mr. Om Puri : Chairman, National Film Development Corporation.
● Mr. Ravindra Kumar: Chairman, United News of India.
● Mr. N. Ravi : Chairman, PTI.
● Mr. Hormusji N. Cama: President, Indian Newspaper Society.
(As on 23-06-2010)

HEAD OF IMPORTANT OFFICES (WORLD)

Ban Ki-moon : Secretary-General, United Nations Organisation.

Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro : First Deputy Secretary-General, UN.
Robert Zoellick : President, World Bank.
Dominic Strauss-Kahn: Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Irina Bokova: Director-General-UNESCO.
Dr. Margaret Chan: Director-General, WHO.
Jacques Diouf: Director-General, Food and Agricultural Organisation.
Juan Somavia : Director-General, International Labour Organisation.
Ann M. Veneman: Executive Director, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
Antonio Guterres : UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi : Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Angel Gurria : Secretary-General, Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Ms. Rosalyn Higgins: President, International Court of Justice.
Haruhiko Kuroda: President, Asian Development Bank.
Donald Kaberuka : President, African Development Bank.
Jacques Rogge: President, International Olympic Committee.
Kamalesh Sharma: Secretary-General, Commonwealth. .
Muammar Qaddafi : Chairman, African Union.
Pascal Lamy : Director-General, WTO.
Ms. Navanethan Pillay : High Commissioner, UN High Commission for Human Rights.
● Jerzy Buzek : President, European Union
David Morgan: President, International Cricket Council.
Raul Castro: Secretary-General, Non-Aligned Movement.
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso: President, European Commission.
Kandeh K. Yumkella : Director-General, UNIDO.
Abdul-Rahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah: Secretary-General, Gulf Co-operation Council.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu : Secretary-General, Organisation of Islamic Conference.
Abdallah Salem el-Badri: Secretary-General, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Jose Miguel Insulza Salinas: Secretary-General, Organisation of American States.
Hifikepunye Pohamba : President, South-West African People's Organisation (SWAPO).
Mr. Yukiya Amano : Director- General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer: Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
Dr. Abdul Waheed Khan: Director, Commonwealth of Learning.
Hashim Abdul Halim : Chairman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid : Executive Director, UNFPA.
Dr. Surin Pitsuwan : Secretary-General, ASEAN.
Q. A. M. A. Rahim : Secretary-General, SAARC
Lamine Diack : President, International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).
Michael Griffin : Chief of NASA (USA).
Saleel Shetty: Secretary-General, Amnesty International.

WORLD PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS

Afghanistan: President - Hamid Karzai; Capital - Kabul.

Algeria: President - Abdelaziz Bouteflika; Prime Minister - Ahmed Ouyahia; Capital-
Algiers.

Argentina: President- Ms. Cristina Fernandez Kirchner; Capital- Buenos Aires.

Australia: Governor-General- Ms. Quentin Bryce; PRIME MINISTER- Kevin Rudd; Capital (Federal)- Canberra.

Austria: President- Heinz Fischer; Chancellor-Werner Faymann, Capital- Vienna.

Bahrain: King - Hamad ibn al-Khalifah; Prime Minister - Sheikh Khalifah Sulman al-Khalifah; Capital- Manama.

Bangladesh: President - Zillur Rahman; PRIME MINISTER - Ms. Sheikh Hasina; Capital- Dhaka.

Belarus: President- Alexander Lukashenko; Prime Minister - Sergei Sidorsky; Capital- Minsk.

Belgium: King - Albert II; Prime Minister-Herman Van Rompuy; Capital- Brussels.

Bhutan: King - Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk; Prime Minister-Jigmi Y. Thinley;
Capital – Thimphu

Bolivia: President- Evo Morales; Capital – La Paz.

Brazil: President- Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; Capital - Brasilia.

Bulgaria: President - Georgi Purvanov; Prime Minister - Boyko Borisov; Capital-
Sofia.

Cambodia: King - Norodom Sihamoni; Prime Minister - Hun Sen; Capital – Phnom Penh.

Canada: Governor-General Ms. Michaelle Jean; PRIME MINISTER - Stephen Harper; Capital- Ottawa.

Chile: President - Ms. Michelle Bachelet; Capital - Santiago.

China: President- Hu Jintao; Prime Minister-Wen Jiabao; Capital- Beijing.

Colombia: President- Alvaro Uribe Velez; Capital - Bogota.

Croatia: President - Stjepan Mesic; Prime Minister -Dr. Ivo Sanader; Capital-Zagreb.

Cuba: President- Raul Castro; Capital -Havana.

Czech Republic: President- Vaclav Klaus; Prime Minister -Jan Fischer; Capital-Prague.

Denmark: Queen - Margrethe II; Prime Minister- Lars Lokke Rasmussen; Capital - Copenhagen.

Egypt: President - Hosni Mubarak; Prime Minister - Ahmed Najief; Capital-Cairo.

Finland: President - Ms. Tarja Halonen; Prime Minister - Matti Vanhanen; Capital-Helsinki.

France: President- Nicolas Sarkozy; Prime Minister - Francois Fillon; Capital- Paris.

Germany: President - Horst Koehler; Chancellor - Ms. Angela Merkel; Capital-Berlin.

Guyana: President - Bharrat Jagdeo; Prime Minister - Samuel Hinds; Capital- Georgetown.

Greece: President – Karolos Papoulias; Prime Minister – George Papandreou; Capital - Athens.

Hungary: President- Laszlo Solyom; PRIME MINISTER - Gordon Bajnai; Capital- Budapest.

Indonesia: President - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; Capital- Jakarta.

Iran: President - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Capital- Teheran.

Iraq: President -Jalai Talabani; Prime Minister - Nuri al-Maliki, Capital- Baghdad.

Ireland: President- Ms. Mary McAleese; Prime Minister - Brian Cowen, Capital- Dublin.

Israel: President - Shimon Peres; PRIME MINISTER - Benjamin Netanyahu; Capital- Jerusalem.

Italy: President - Georgio Napolitano; Prime Minister- Silvio Berlusconi; Capital- Rome.

Japan: Emperor- Akihito; Prime Minister: Yukio Hatoyama; Capital- Tokyo.

Jordan: King - Abdullah II; Prime Minister-Nader al-Dahabi; Capital- Amman.

Kazakhstan: President - Nursultan A. Nazarbayev; Prime Minister – Karim Masimov; Capital- Astana.

Kenya: President - Mwai Kibaki; Prime Minister - Raila Odinga; Capital - Nairobi.

Korea, North: President – Marshal Kim Jong II; Prime Minister – Hong Song Nam;
Capital- Pyongyang.

Korea, South: President-, Lee Myung-Bak; Prime Minister - Chung Un-chan; Capital -
Seoul.

Kuwait: Emir - Sheikh Sabah ai-Ahmad al-Sabah; Capital - Kuwait.

Kyrgyzstan: President (Interim) – Kurmanbek Bakiyey; Prime Minister - Daniyar Usenov
Capital - Bishkek.

Madagascar: President - Andy Rajoelina; Prime Minister - Eugene Mangalaza; Capital-
Antananarivo.

Malaysia: King - T. S. S. Syed Putra Jamalullail; Prime Minister- Najib Tun Razak; Capital-Kuala Lumpur.

Maldives: President - Mohammed "Anni" Nasheed; Capital - Male.

Mauritius: President - Anerood Jugnauth; Prime Minister - Navinchandra Ramgoolam; Capital - Port Louis.

Mongolia: President - Nambaryn Enkhbayar; Prime Minister - Sukhbaatar Batblod; Capital - Ulan Bator.

Montenegro: President - Filip Vujanovic; Prime Minister-Milo Dukanovic; Capital – Podgorica

Morocco: King - Mohammed VI; Prime Minister - Abbas El Fassi; Capital - Rabat.

Myanmar (Burma) : Head of Govt. : Gen. Than Shwe; Capital - Nyapidaw.

Nepal: President - Dr. Ram Baran Yadav; Prime Minister – Madhav Kumar Nepal; Capital -Kathmandu.

Netherlands: Queen - Beatrix; Capital-Amsterdam.

New Zealand: Governor-General – Anand Satyanand; PrimeMinister - John Key; Capital-
Wellington.

Nigeria: President - Umaru Yar'Adua; Capital - Abuja.

Norway: King - Harald V; Prime Minister – Jens Stoltenberg; Capital - Oslo.

Pakistan: President - Asif Ali Zardari; Prime Minister - Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani; Capital -Islamabad. .

Panama: President - Ricardo Martenelli; Capital - Panama City.

Paraguay: President - Fernando Lugo; Capital – Asuncion

Peru: President - Alan Garcia; Prime Minister -Javier Velasquez; Capital- Lima.

Philippines: President - Ms. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo; Capital - Manila.

Poland: Prime Minister- Donald Tusk; Capital- Warsaw.

Portugal: President - Amibal Cavaco Silva; Prime Minister - Jose Socrates; Capital-
Lisbon.

Romania: President - Traian Basecue; Prime Minister - Emil Boc; Capital - Bucharest.

Russia: President - Dmitry Medvedev; Prime Minister - Vladimir Putin; Capital - Moscow.

Rwanda: President - Paul Kagame; Prime Minister - Bernard Makuza; Capital -Kigali.

Saudi Arabia : King - Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud; Capital- Riyadh.

Serbia: President - Boris Tadic; Prime Minister - Mirko Cvetkovic; Capital - Belgrade.

Singapore: President - S. R. Nathan; PRIME MINISTER - Lee Hsien Loong; Capital - Singapore.

Slovakia: President - Ivan Gasparovic; Prime Minister - Robert Fico; Capital-Bratislava.

South Mrica : President- Jacob Zuma; Capital-Cape Town (Legislative) and Tshwane
(Formerly Pretoria) (Administrative).

Spain: King - Juan Carlos I; Prime Minister-Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; Capital -Madrid.

Sri Lanka: President - Mahinda Rajapaksa; Prime Minister - Ratnasiri Wickremanayake; Capital- Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (Colombo).

Sudan: President - Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir; Capital - Khartoum.

Sweden: King - Carl XVI Gustaf; PRIME MINISTER – Fredrik Reinfeldt; Capital - Stockholm.

Switzerland: President - Hans-Rudolf Merz; Capital – Berne

Syria: President - Bashar Al-Assad; Prime Minister - Muhammad Naji al-Otari; Capital- Damascus.

Taiwan: President - Ma Ying-jeou; Prime Minister -Wu Den-yih; Capital – Taipei.

Turkey: President - Abdullah Gul; Prime Minister - Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Capital- Ankara.

Ukraine: President - Victor Yushchenko; Prime Minister- Yulia Tymoshenko; Capital- Kiev.

United Arab Emirates: Prime Minister- Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum;
Capital- Abu Dhabi.

United Kingdom: Queen - Elizabeth II; Prime Minister - Gordon Brown; Capital - London.

United States of America: President – Barack Obama; Secretary of State -Ms. Hillary Clinton; Capital- Washington, D.C.

Uzbekistan: President - Islam A. Karimov; Prime Minister - Shavkat Mirziyayev; Capital- Tashkent.

Venezuela: President - Hugo Chavez Frias; Capital - Caracas.

Vietnam: President - Nguyen Minh Triet; Prime Minister - Nguyen Tan Dung; Capital-
Hanoi.

Zimbabwe: President - Robert G. Mugabe; PRIME MINISTER - Morgan Tsvangirai; Capital- Harare.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WORLD TIME

WORLD TIME

Hours fast (+) or slow (-) on Greenwich Mean Time (clock time); where summer time (which is normally +1 on the hour shown) is observed the hour is marked with (*)

Afghanistan + 4½
Albania + 1*
Algeria GMT
Andorra + 1
Angola + 1
Antigua - 4
Argentina - 3
Australia
• New South Wales
Tasmania, Victoria
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Northern Territory
• Western Australia


+ 10*
+ 10
+ 9½
+ 9½
+ 8
Austria + 1
Bahamas + 5*
Bahrain + 3
Bangladesh + 6
Barbados - 4
Belgium + 1*
Belize - 6
Benin + 1
Bermuda - 4*
Bhutan + 6
Bolivia - 4
Bosnia & Herzegovina + 1
Botswana + 2
Brazil
• East
• West
• Acre

- 2
- 4
- 5
Brunei + 8
Bulgaria + 2
Burkina Faso GMT
Burundi + 2
Cambodia + 7
Cameroon + 1
Canada
• Newfoundland
• Atlantic
• Eastern
• Central
• Mountain
• Pacific
• Yukon-Whitehorse and Wastson Lake
• Dawson City

- 3½
- 4*
- 5*
- 6*
- 7*
- 8*

-8*
-9
Cape Verde - 1
Cayman Islands - 5
Central African Republic + 1
Chad + 1
Chile - 4*
China + 8
Colombia - 5
Moscow + 3
Omsk + 6
Vladivostok + 10
Anadyr +13
Congo (formerly Zaire)
Congo, Republic of + 1
Costa Rica - 6
Croatia + 1
Cuba - 5*
Cyprus
• North
• South

+ 2*
+ 2
Czech Republic + 1
Denmark + 1
Djibouti + 3
Dominica - 4
Dominican Republic - 4
Ecuador - 5
Egypt + 2*
El Salvador - 6
Equatorial Guinea + 1
Ethiopia + 3
Fiji + 12
Finland + 2
France + 1*
Gabon + 1
Gambia GMT
Germany + 1
Ghana GMT
Gibraltar + 1
Greece + 2*
Guinea GMT
Guinea-Bissau GMT
Guyana - 3
Haiti - 5
Honduras - 6
Hong Kong + 8*
Hungary + 1
Iceland GMT
India + 5½
Indonesia : Java + 7
Iran + 3½
Iraq + 3
Ireland GMT*
Israel + 2*
Italy + 1*
Jamaica

INDIAN HISTORY BITS

1. As a prince where was Ashoka sent to suppress the revolt?
1 Taxila
2 Kalinga
3 Ujjain
4 Deccan
Ans:1
2. Which one of the following travelers is not associated with the description of the glories of Vijayanagar kingdom?
1 Paes
2 Abdul Razzaq
3 Ibn Batutach
4 Nuniz
Ans:3
3. What was Sher Shah’s precious legacy to the Mughals?
1 Organization of Army
2 Land Revenue System
3 Mansabdari System
4 Provincial Administration
Ans:2
3. The main emphasis of Upnishads is on which aspect of philosophy?
1 Bhakti
2 Gyan
3 Karma
4 Tapa
Ans:2
4. Panini, the first Grammarian of Sanskrit language in India, lived during the:
1 2nd Century B. C.
2 6th -5th Century B. C.
3 2nd Century A. D.
4 5th-6th Century A. D.
Ans:2
5. With reference to the Indian Freedom Struggle, which one of the following events occurred earliest?
1 Surat Split
2 Lucknow Pact
3 Rowlatt Satyagraha
4 Communal Award
Ans:1
6. What was the most important gainto Ahmad Shah Abdali as a result of the Third Battle of Panipat?
1 Control over Delhi
2 Enormous wealth
3 Control over Punjab
4 Opportunity to expand his empire in India
Ans:2
7. The scholar who accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni in India was
1 Ibn Batuta
2 Al-Beruni
3 Al-Firdausi
4 Al-Razi
Ans:2
8. The father of Asoka was:
1 Bimbisara
2 Bindusara
3 Mahendra
4 Namda
Ans:2
9. Azad Hind Fauj was founded in 1943 in
1 Mandalay
2 Singapore
3 Midnapore
4 Kuala Lumpur
Ans:2
10. The main emphasis of Upnishads is on which aspect of philosophy?
1 Bhakti
2 Gyan
3 Karma
4 Tapa
Ans:2
11. Who was the founder of Vijaynagar kingdom?
1 Harihar and Bukka
2 Krishna Dev Roy
3 Narsingha
4 Devroy
Ans:1
12. Among the four dynasties listed below, which one minted coins made of lead?
1 Mauryas
2 Satvahanas
3 Western Kshatrapas
4 Guptas
Ans:2
13. Which of the following is associated with Lord Wellesley, the Governor General of India from 1798 to 1805?
1 Doctrine of Lapse
2 Subsidiary Alliance
3 First Mysore War
4 Conquest of Rajputana
Ans:2
14. With reference to the Indian Freedom Struggle, which one of the following events occurred earliest?
1 Surat Split
2 Lucknow Pact
3 Rowlatt Satyagraha
4 Communal Award
Ans:1
15. Which factor influenced Ghandhi’s ideas on Indian Culture most?
1 Brief in the fundamentals of ancient culture.
2 Influenced by western ideas
3 ’Sermon on the Mount’
4 Tolstoy’s idea
Ans:1
16. The most important divinity in the Rig Veda is
1 Agni
2 Marut
3 Varuna
4 Indra
Ans:3
17. Alexander’s general who attacked India and was defeated by Chadragupta Maurya was
1 Ptolemy
2 Seleucus
3 Nearchus
4 Arrian
Ans:2
18. The foreign traveler who visited India during the rule of the Guptas was
1 Hiuen Tsang
2 Beriner
3 Fa-Hein
4 Manucci
Ans:3
19. Which of the following factors was most important for the rapid development of trade in pre-Gupta period?
1 Needs of the Roman Empire
2 Success of the banking system
3 Better system of coinage
4 Encouragement from the Kings
Ans:1
20. In the year 1946, who among the following joined the Viceroy’s Executive Council with the finance portfolio?
1 Mohammad Ali Jinnah
2 Liaqat Ali Khan
3 Nawab Salimullah
4 Shaukat Ali
Ans:2
21. The battle that was fought between Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Marathas in 1761 was
1 2nd battle of Panipat
2 1st battle of Panipat
3 3rd battle of Panipat
4 the battle of Tarain
Ans:3
22. Which one of the following is correctly matched?
1 Second Battle of Panipat - Akbar and Ibrahim Lodi
2 Battle of Khanwa - Akbar and Rana Sanga
3 Battle of Chausa - Humayun and Sher Shah
4 First battle of Tarian - Mahmud Ghaznavi and Prithviraj Chauhan
Ans:3
23. Why was the Swaraj Party established?
1 To co-operate with Government
2 To place obstacles in the functioning of the legislative council
3 To form an organization parallel to the Congress
4 Because of schism in the Congress
Ans:2
24. Identify the famous ruler of the Gupta period
1 Kumaradevi
2 Rajyashri
3 Kuber-Naga
4 Prabhavati-Gupta
Ans:4
25. ’Tipu Sultan’ had his capital at
1 Srirangapatnam
2 Mysore
3 Bangalore
4 Bhagyanagar
Ans:1
26. Among the following foreign travellers who was the first to visit India?
1 Bernier
2 Ibn Batuta
3 Abdur Rajjak
4 Vasco-da-Gama
Ans:2
27. In ancient peninsular India, who among the following assumed the title ’Vatapikonda’?
1 Mayurasharman
2 Narasimhavarman
3 Pulakesi II
4 Vikramaditya II
Ans:2
28. Chandragupta Maurya built the first great empire in India with the help of
1 Mahapadmananda
2 Bindusara
3 Seleucus
4 Kautilya
Ans:4
29. Which ruler went to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism
1 Ashoka
2 Samudragupta
3 Sanghamitra
4 Chitragupta
Ans:3
30. The Temples at Khajuraho were build by -
1 Chandelas
2 Pallavas
3 Chalukyas
4 Qutubuddin
Ans:1
31. Which among the following was defeated by Ahmad Shah Abdali in the 3rd battle of Panipat
1 Sawai Jai Singh
2 Badam Singh
3 Suraj Mal
4 Guru Govind Singh
Ans:3
32. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, who led the ’Red Shirts’ of North-Western India?
1 Abdul Kalam Azad
2 Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
3 Mohammad Ali Jinnah
4 Shaukat Ali
Ans:2
33. Which among the following dynasties had the strongest navy?
1 Chalukya
2 Chola
3 Gupta
4 Pallava
Ans:2
34. Which one of the following travelers is not associated with the description of the glories of Vijayanagar kingdom?
1 Paes
2 Abdul Razzaq
3 Ibn Batutach
4 Nuniz
Ans:3
35. Put in correct chronological sequence, the successors of Shivaji 1.Sahu 2.Shivaji 3.Rajaram 4.Sambhaji 5.Ram Raja
1 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
2 2, 1, 5, 3, 4
3 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
4 1, 2, 3, 5, 4
Ans:1

1)
What was the type of marriage in the Vedic period in which, in place of the dowry, there was a token bride price of a cow and a bull -
1. Asura
2. Arsa
3. Gantharva
4. Rakshsa
Ans:1
2) In which field of art extraordinary progress was made in the Gupta period?
1 Architecture
2 Sculpture
3 Painting
4 Coinage
Ans:3
3) Which one of the following is correctly matched?
1 Brahmo Samaj - Annie Basant
2 Arya Samaj - Lala Lajpat Rai
3 Ram Krishna Mission - Keshab Chandra Sen
4 Theosophical Society - vivekananda
Ans:2
4) Which one of the following is the correct sequence of the victories of Babur?
1 Panipat, Chanderi, Ghaghara and Khanwah
2 Panipat, Ghaghara, Khanwah and Chanderi
3 Panipat, Khanwah, Chanderi and Ghaghara
4 Ghaghara, Panipat, Khanwah and Chanderi
Ans:3
5) The battle at Waihind in 1008-09 A.D was fought between
1 Mahmud of Ghazni and Jayapala
2 Mahmud of Ghazni and Anandapala
3 Muhammad Ghori and Prithviraj
4 Muhammad Ghori and Jaichandra
Ans:2
6) As a prince where was Ashoka sent to suppress the revolt?
1 Taxila
2 Kalinga
3 Ujjain
4 Deccan
Ans:1
7) Among the following foreign travellers who was the first to visit India?
1 Bernier
2 Ibn Batuta
3 Abdur Rajjak
4 Vasco-da-Gama
Ans:2
8) Against whom Skandagupta had to wage long wars on the North West border?
1 Shakas
2 Yavanas
3 Huns
4 Greeks
Ans:3
9) The oldest Veda is
1 Atharva Veda
2 Rig Veda
3 Yajur Veda
4 Sama Veda
Ans:2
10) Over Which territory there were frequent clashes between Bahamani Kingdom and Vijaynagar Kingdom?
1 The Raichur Doab
2 Warangal
3 Madurai
4 Malabar
Ans:1
11) The Hathigumpha inscription (near Bhubaneshwar, Orissa) relates to the king
1 Susharma
2 Hala
3 Kharavela
4 Pulamayi
Ans:3
12) The entry port for trade between the Indus trading centres and Mesopotamia was
1 Elam
2 Oman
3 Behrain
4 Afganistan
Ans:3
13) Among the four dynasties listed below, which one minted coins made of lead?
1 Mauryas
2 Satvahanas
3 Western Kshatrapas
4 Guptas
Ans:2
14) During whose period Al-Beruni came to India?
1 Mahmud Ghaznavi
2 Balban
3 Firoz Tughluq
4 Ibrahim Lodhi
Ans:1
15) Against whom Skandagupta had to wage long wars on the North West border?
1 Shakas
2 Yavanas
3 Huns
4 Greeks
Ans:3
16) Where did Aurangzeb die?
1 Agra
2 Asirgarh
3 Daultabad
4 Ahmadnagar
Ans:4
17) Ashoka called the Third Buddhist Council at
1 Pataliputra
2 Magadha
3 Kalinga
4 Sarnath
Ans:2
18) The main historical source regarding the information about village government under the Cholas is the
1 Halmidi inscription
2 Jatwai inscription
3 Uttaramerur inscription
4 Chandravallo inscription
Ans:3
19) What was Sher Shah’s precious legacy to the Mughals?
1 Organization of Army
2 Land Revenue System
3 Mansabdari System
4 Provincial Administration
Ans:2
20) Who among the following taught the doctrine of ’Shunyata’?
1 Nagarjuna
2 Shankaracharya
3 Harisena
4 Vallabhacharya
Ans:1
21) Which factor influenced most to eliminate caste-system in India?
1 Rationalism
2 Job Opportunities
3 Legislations
4 Liberal Education
Ans:1
22) The earliest tribal assembly was
1 Gana
2 Vidhata
3 Samiti
4 Sabha
Ans:2
23) The foreign traveler who visited India during the rule of the Guptas was
1 Hiuen Tsang
2 Beriner
3 Fa-Hein
4 Manucci
Ans:3
24) The entry port for trade between the Indus trading centres and Mesopotamia was
1 Elam
2 Oman
3 Behrain
4 Afganistan
Ans:3
25) At the earlier stage backward classes movement means?
1 Santal movement
2 Non-Brahmin movement
3 Harijan movement
4 Antirulers movement
Ans:2
26) Which of the following dynasties patronised the famous Kailash temple at Ellora?
1 Vakataka
2 Gupta
3 Early Chalukya
4 Rastrakuta
Ans:4
27) Which organization had proposed first to constitute the Constitution Assembly to form the Indian Constitution?
1 Swaraj Party in 1928
2 Indian National Congress in 1936
3 Muslim League in 1942
4 By all parties convention in 1946
Ans:2
28) During the Indian freedom Struggle, who of the following founded the Parthana Samaj?
1 Atmaram Pandurang
2 Gopal Hari Deshmukh
3 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
4 Keshab Chandra Sen
Ans:1
29) The main historical source regarding the information about village government under the Cholas is the
1 Halmidi inscription
2 Jatwai inscription
3 Uttaramerur inscription
4 Chandravallo inscription
Ans:3
30) Among the following who was in chronological order, the last famous ruler of Vijayanagar?
1 Harihar-II
2 Devarai-I
3 Vir Narsingh
4 Krishna Deva Rai
Ans:4
31) ’Ratti’ used by jewellers is obtained from seed of a -
1 Gymnospermous plant
2 Angiospermous plant
3 Algae
4 Fungi
Ans:2
32) During the Civil Disobedience Movement, who led the ’Red Shirts’ of North-Western India?
1 Abdul Kalam Azad
2 Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
3 Mohammad Ali Jinnah
4 Shaukat Ali
Ans:2
33) During whose tenure as the Viceroy of India were the great martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged?
1 Lord Curzon
2 Lord Irwin
3 Lord Minto
4 Lord Chemsford
Ans:2
34) How did Hiuen Tsang undertake journey from and to India?
1 He came by land route and also returned by land route
2 He came by land route but returned by sea route
3 He came by sea route and returned by land route
4 He came by sea route and also returned by sea route
Ans:1
35) Where did Aurangzeb die?
1 Agra
2 Asirgarh
3 Daultabad
4 Ahmadnagar
Ans:4
36) Sir Thomas Rose visited the court of
1 Akbar
2 Jehangir
3 Shajahan
4 Aurangazeeb
Ans:2
37) Which of the following is wrongly matched
1 The Pitt’s India Act (1784) : Board of Control to guide and control company’s affairs
2 Charter Act of 1813 : Company’s monopoly of trade with India ended
3 Charter Act of 1833 : Company’s debt taken over by the government of India
4 Charter Act of 1853 : To regulate company’s affairs
Ans:4
38) Which one of the following battles was fought between babar and the Rajputs in 1527?
1 The First Battle of Panipat
2 The Battle of Khanwa
3 The Battle of Ghagra
4 The Battle of Chanderi
Ans:2
39) Which was the only Indus city without a citadel?
1 Kalibangan
2 Harappa
3 Mohenjodaro
4 Chanhudraro
Ans:2
40) Even though India became independent in 1947 but Daman and Diu remained a European colony till 1961. Which country ruled over it ?
1 France
2 Britain
3 Netherlands
4 Portugal
Ans:4

WORLD GEOGRAPHY - TIME ZONES

WORLD GEOGRAPHY - TIME ZONES


Local Time

Parallels of longitude determine the time at a place. Local time is 12 noon when the sun is exactly overhead. Local time varies, from Greenwich time (London) at the rate of four minutes/degree of longitude. The time of a place depends on whether it lies east or
west of Greenwich. As the earth rotates from west to east, the places that lie to the east of Greenwich are the first to receive sunlight. The earth rotates through 360° in 24 h or15° in1hor 1° in 4 min. Therefore the local time varies at the rate of 4 min/degree of longitude from the Greenwich time.

For example, Kolkata is approximately 90° east of Greenwich. So, Kolkata will be (90° x4)
or 6 h ahead of the time in London.

Standard Time:

Standard Time is the uniform time fixed by each country. As the local time is found to vary constantly from one plain to another, there is an arrangement by which all places in a certain region agree to use the same time. It is the uniform time fixed in relation to the mean time of a certain meridian which passes through it.

For this purpose, the earth is divided into 24 longitudinal zones, each, being 15° or 1 h apart in time. The zero is at Greenwich (London) which gives us the Greenwich Mean Time {GMT). The 12th zone is divided by the 180th meridian, the International Date Line.

The zones to the east of this line are numbered from 1-12 with the prefix minus (-) indicating the number of hours to be subtracted to obtain the Greenwich Time. The zones to the west are also numbered 1-12 with the prefix plus (+) which means the number of hours that must be added to get the Greenwich Time.

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Greenwich Mean Time is the UK standard time. It is based on the local time of the meridian passing through Greenwich near London.

International Date Line

The 180° east meridian and 180" west meridian are one and the same line, running over the Pacific Ocean, deviating at Fiji, Samoa, and Gilbert Islands. The International Date Line roughly corresponds to 180° east or west , meridians of longitude, which fall on the opposite side of the Greenwich meridian. When one crosses the date line from east to west, date is to be advanced by one day.

Similarly, when one crosses the date line from west to east, the date is to be set back by one day.