The European country which ordered shutdown of its seven (total
seventeen) oldest nuclear power plants pending safety review after nuclear
accidents in the Japan
is
|
Germany
|
The first country to have fired first foreign shots in Libya
after UN mandated No Fly Zone is
|
France
|
The major party of Ireland
which has to face crushing defeat in recent elections for the manner in which
it handled the economic crisis is
|
Fianna Fail
|
The country in which the Human Rights Protection Party led by
incumbent PM Tuilaepa Aiona Sailele Malielegaoi won the recent elections is
|
Samoa
|
New Foreign Minister of Japan after the resignation of Seiji Maehara
amidst political donations scandals is
|
Takeaki Matsumoto
|
Country which has recently introduced Yoga for the 1st time
for physical fitness for its army personnel is
|
USA
|
Western nation whose Public Relations firms were criticized for
advising some of controversial regimes (including Libya’s Gaddafi) following
unrest in countries of North African nations
|
UK
|
The director of London School of Economics who resigned after
allegations of liasioning with Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi
|
Howard Davies
|
Popular name of Secret Intelligence Service of UK (currently in news
in context of Libyan crisis) is
|
MI6
|
The Acting President of Tunisia who called for elections on July 24th
2011 to rewrite constitution is
|
Fouad Mebazza
|
Gulf country conducted a successful test of its first domestically
developed radar-evading aircraft
|
Iran
|
The first major world leader to visit Egypt after the ouster of its
President, Hosni Mubarak
|
D Cameroon, PM, UK
|
The new name given by Obama Administration to the war in Iraq to reflect the reduced role to be played
by US troops in securing the country (now only 50,000 US troops in Iraq)
is
|
Operation New Dawn
|
In early March, there have been protests in Sarajevo after arrest of former Bosnian
General following international warrants by
|
Serbia
|
China has made a substantial increase of 13% in
its military budget, now it stands at
|
$92 billion
|
The countries to which natural gas supplies were suspended after an
explosion in Arab Gas Pipeline in Egypt’s
North Sinai region are
|
Israel and Jordan
|
The name of diplomatic effort consisting of four entities – US, UN, EU
and Russia
established in 2002 to mediate the peace process in the Israel-Palestinian
conflict
|
Middle East (Madrid) Quartet
|
India-EU summit was held in December 2010 in
|
Brussels (Belgium)
|
The 10th RIC (Russia,
India and China)
meeting was held I n November, 2010 in
|
Wuhan
(China)
|
BRIC may soon become BRICS, the country which is likely to be extended
a formal invitation during the scheduled meeting in April-May 2010 in China
is
|
South Africa
|
Two day meeting of BCIM (Bangladesh,
China, India and Myanmar) was held in January 2011
in
|
Kunming, China
|
In the largest $24 billion nuclear agreement, six European Pressurized
Reactors (EPRs) each of 1650 MW, will be set up by French firm Areva in
|
Jaitapur (Maharashtra)
|
As per UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) ‘Global
Investment Trends Monitor report’, FDI attracted by developing and emerging
nations as %age of total global during 2010 is
|
$1,122 billion
|
Country to cede 1000 sq km of land to China to settle a 130 year old
territorial dispute is
|
Tajikistan
|
The country with which India
signed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) to give more
market access to on reciprocal basis is
|
Japan
|
NATO is US led security umbrella organization, mainly of Western
nations. Its 2010 summit was held in Lisbon (Portugal)
in November 2010. The number of member nations in NATO is
|
28
|
A new cabinet of Egypt
is sworn by Chairman of Supreme Council of Armed Forces
|
Hussain Tantawi
|
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is regional organization of
six nations – Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India, Iran,
Mongolia and Pakistan
have been given the status of observers. Its meeting was held in November
2010 in
|
Dushanbe (Tajikistan)
|
Secretary-General of Interpol who was re-elected to the post for a 3rd
five-year term is
|
Ronald Noble
|
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation is the 21 member forum to discuss
economic issues. Its meeting was held on November 14, 2010 in
|
Yokohama (Japan)
|
India concluded its first-ever Tax Information
Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with
|
Bermuda
|
An Intergovernmental regional organization, Economic Cooperation
Organization was set up by Iran,
Pakistan and Turkey
in 1985. In 1992, 7 nations including Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
joined it. Its 11th summit was held in December 2010 in
|
Istanbul (Turkey)
|
The world’s biggest ever nuclear submarine (launched by Britain)
which can fire guided missiles to pulverize target more than 1600 km away. It
does not need refueling, can circumnavigate globe without any need of
surfacing and able to make oxygen and fresh water from sea water. Its name is
|
HMS Ambush
|
G20 comprises of 19 member countries and EU. EU is represented by two
governing bodies – European Council and European Commission. It was for the
first time that G20 meeting was hosted by a non-G8 nation, (2010 G20 meeting
to discuss post crisis world) was held
in November 2010 in
|
Seoul
(South Korea)
|
The person of Indian-origin and also Deputy Speaker of Britain’s
House of Lords who resigned from his position after his four month suspension
from House over parliamentary expenses claim is
|
Lord Swaraj Paul
|
The former top aide to Saddam Hussein who has been sentenced to death
by an Iraqi court for crimes against members of rival Shia political parties
is
|
Tariq Aziz
|
The G20 for the year 2011 summit will be held in
|
Cannes, France
|
The G20 for the year 2012 will be held in
|
Mexico
|
A ten member regional association consisting of Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam is
|
Association of
South East Asian Nations
|
The year in which US opened diplomatic relations with People’s
Republic of China
is
|
1979
|
President of Italy
who is currently facing corruption charges is
|
Silvio Berlusconi
|
The group which accounts for 90% of world’s GNP and two third of
world’s population is
|
G20
|
A rare original King James Bible has been found in a church in
|
Wiltshare (UK)
|
President of Ivory Coast
(capital Abdijan) who recently nationalized its biggest Coffee and Cocoa industries is
|
Laurent Gobago
|
Eight national group consisting of USA,
UK, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, Canada
and Russia
is
|
G8
|
The current head of Middle East (or Madrid) Quartet’s who is also (ex-British
PM), is
|
Tony Blair
|
Stealth fighters can’t be detected by radars. Nighthawks were the
world’s first stealth fighters by USA and F-22 Raptor is the
successor of Nighthawk. China
also developed this technology and its inaugural flight took place in
January, 2011. The name of stealth fighter developed by China is
|
Chengdu J-20
|
China allegedly developed stealth technology by
applying reverse engineering from a F-117 Nighthawk which was shot down
during Serbian war in
|
1999
|
G7 originally consisting of Canada,
France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, UK and USA was set up in the year
|
1976
|
Recently India
signed Preliminary Design Contract with Russia to jointly develop Fifth
Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) which is
|
Sukhoi T 50
|
Pablo Picasso’s the most expensive painting ever sold which has recently gone for public exhibition at
Tate Gallery in London
is
|
Nude, Green Leaves
and Bust
|
New PM elected by Parliament of Nepal, thus ending seven months of
political deadlock, is
|
Jhala Nath Khanal
|
In a significant development, Prime Minister who has been named as
President of Myanmar following the 2010 general elections is
|
Thein Sein
|
The youngest son of Kim Jong II, who will succeed his father as the
next leader of North Korea
is
|
Kim Yong – Un
|
In an apparent case of cyber war, a mysterious worm targeted Iran’s
nuclear programme and destroyed up to a fifth of centrifuges at the country’s
nuclear facility in Natanz. Its name is
|
Stuxnet
|
In Operation “Dawn of Gulf of Aden”, South Korean Navy rescued the
crew of hijacked chemical carrier (ship) killing eight Somali pirates. The
name of ship is
|
Samho Jewelry
|
European Capital of Culture (ECC) is a city designated by EU for a
period of one calendar year during which it organizes a series of cultural
events. Athens (Greece) as First ECC (1985).
Cities designated as ECC’s for 2011 are Turku
and Tallinn
which are in
|
Finland and Estonia
|
The name of islands which is a disputed territory between North Korea and South Korea, is
|
Yeonpyeong
|
Name of Joint Naval exercises of India
and Russia
which are being conducted since 2003, is
|
INDRA
|
The Islands which are bone of contention between Russia and Japan is
|
Kuril
|
Group of more than 750 small islands predominantly coral reef
structures in South China sea which are bone of contention between Vietnam, Philippines,
China, Malaysia and Brunei
|
Spratly Islands
|
Year 2011 has been officially designated by the UN as the
International Year of
|
Chemistry
|
An UN organization which has dropped references to J&K and
Arunachal Pradesh as ‘independent entities’ in its 2010 report also initiated
a review of system for designating countries/territories is
|
Food and
Agricultural Organization
|
Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by US Govt. with
three goals – providing technical assistance, helping outside people to
understand US culture and helping US citizens understand cultures of other
nations. Its founder Director who died recently is
|
Sargent Shriver
|
Orinoco Belt in a South American country consists of 297 billion barrel
oil reserves, one of the largest in the world and claims to overtake Saudi Arabia
as world leader in proven oil reserves is
|
Venezuela
|
Ex-chairman of Federal Reserve who was the brain behind legislation
relating to proprietary trading and branded hedge funds and who resigned as
the head of US President’s advisory panel – Economic Recovery Advisory Board
is
|
Paul Volcker
|
India and UK formed a task force relating
to
|
Corporate
Governance
|
An environmental documentary about the effects of shale gas extraction,
which was nominated for a “best documentary” Oscar. Its name is
|
Gasland
|
Following merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, critics apprehend
greater media consolidation in US, thus hurting consumers. The size of deal
is
|
$28 billion
|
Year 2011 has also been officially designated as International Year of
|
Forests
|
International organization which criticized British government for
spending nearly £1 billion on 30 Watchkeeper WK450 unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) which Israel’s
military allegedly “field-tested on Palestinians” during the Gaza War is
|
Amnesty
International
|
The first ever Russian President to pay a visit to West Bank in Palestine is
|
Dmitry Medvedev
|
African nation whose Parliament approved a new constitution to abolish
direct President elections is
|
Angola
|
The name of former Swiss banker who passed on files detailing tax
evasion attempts by hundreds of politicians, celebrities and business leaders
to Wikileaks is
|
Julius Baer
|
The autonomous region of Somalia that says that it is
‘breaking away’ from the federation until a legitimate government is put in
place
|
Puntland
|
Latin American country against whom many travel and other restrictions
were eased by US is
|
Cuba
|
The country which is laying undersea optical cable of 1,500 kms length
to Cuba
so as to provide it high speed internet connectivity is
|
Venezuela
|
The country has the highest wind power capacity after adding 16 GW in
2010, bringing its total to 41.8 GW, pushing US to the 2nd place
(with 40.2 GW with installed capacity) is
|
China
|
The leader of Israeli Labour Party is Ehud Barak and four other Labour
Party MPs announced their resignation from party and announced the formation
of a new ‘centrist Zionist and democratic’ faction called
|
Independence
|
The former President of Haiti who was arrested amidst corruption and
theft charges
|
Jean-Claude
Duvalier
|
President of Armenia
has accused Turkey
of ‘destroying’ a bid to normalize relations between two countries, which are
currently locked in a dispute over mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks during
|
World War I
|
Country which sought an arrest warrant against Israeli Opposition
leader, Tzipi Livni (of Kadima Party) for war crimes committed when she was
Foreign Minister during 2008-09 Gaza War is
|
South Africa
|
While Rotterdam (Netherlands) enjoyed the status of being the
busiest container airport in Europe, the world’s busiest container port in
2010 after replacing Singapore
port is
|
Port of Shanghai
|
As Arctic ice is melting, Russia,
Norway, Canada, Denmark
and USA
are laying claims over maritime borders. Their main motive is to exploit its
mineral wealth of Arctic. As per UN
Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS), the limit up to which a coastal nation can
claim exclusive economic rights to natural resources or beneath the sea floor
is
|
200 Nautical miles
(370 km)
|
Foued Mebazaa, speaker of parliament, took over as interim President
(after its President fled the country after riots) and called for the
formation of National Unity Government under PM Mohammed Ghannouchi. The
country is
|
Tunisia
|
The most industrialized Asian country where PM has effected cabinet
reshuffle with motive of fiscal consolidation and trade liberalization is
|
Japan
|
Eurozone has 17members as on January 17, 2011. The country to join
Eurozone in 2011 is
|
Estonia
|
Executive Director of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is
|
Antony Lake
|
Country known as Sick Man of Europe, active supporter of Iran’s
Nuclear Programme and candidate for inclusion into European Union is
|
Turkey
|
The oil rich country in Africa where
large scale riots took place in 2010 and elections are scheduled to be held
on April 9th 2011 is
|
Nigeria
|
Member of Democratic Party and 3rd woman in Arizona’s history to be elected to serve in the US
Congress, who was shot at among 12 people in Tucson
in Arizona, USA
|
Gabrielle Giffords
|
India signed the Nuclear Liability Treaty under
the aegis of IAEA. The number of countries which have signed the treaty so
far is
|
14
|
Ex-Brazilian President who was selected for the prestigious Indira
Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2010 that is
|
Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva
|
One of the world’s most volatile and dangerous volcanoes started
erupting on November 23, 2010 is
|
Mt. Merapi (Indonesia)
|
Under the 1994 Bogor (Indonesia) Goals, year 2010 was
the deadline for APEC’s industrialized nations to issue a report on their
progress in liberalizing trade and facilitating investment. But during its
annual session in November 2010, it accepted its failure to achieve the
objectives. The session was held in
|
Yokohama, Japan
|
India ranked 119th among 169 countries
in the latest edition of the Human Development Index (HDI). UN agency which
annually releases HDI is
|
UNDP
|
South Asian Nation which has been chosen to head IAEA, despite its
refusal to accept NPT and its dubious record in supplying nuclear parts and
technology to Iran and North Korea
is
|
Pakistan
|
The top country in contributing to space debris is
|
China
|
During Indo-Pak water talks although many pending issues were resolved
but differences persisted over the construction of
|
Baglihar dam
|
South East Asian nation with which India recently signed a Social
Security Agreement to enhance the movement of professions between the two
nations and strengthen bilateral trade and investment is
|
South Korea
|
CEO and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace, an Indo-Russian joint
venture is
|
Sivathanu Pillai
|
As per UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the country
which has been replaced as the second most desired place of FDIs is
|
USA
|
The Asian country with which EU agreed to sign a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) is
|
South Korea
|
The number of nuclear reactors in India operating under
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards are
|
7
|
Country with which India
signed a major pact to expand exchanges in education sector is
|
Australia
|
China is building a new airport near Mount Everest, which has been named as
|
Peace Airport
|
The ousted PM of Thailand
who took up the Montenegrin citizenship is
|
Thaksin Shinawatra
|
The first country to sign a civil nuclear accord with India
was
|
France
|
The region in Sudan
which is a hotbed of revolutionary activities and fighting among warlords
|
Darfur
|
With expected trade of $12 billion, the India’s
largest trading partner in Africa is
|
Nigeria
|
Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia which have been recognized by Russia
basically belong to
|
Georgia
|
The name of US
space shuttle was launched from NASA’s Kennedy
Space Center,
Cape Canaveral (Florida)
for a 13-day trip to the International Space Station is
|
Endeavour
|
International Space Station (ISS) remains in the earth’s atmosphere at
an average height of
|
300-350 km
|
India’s rank in World Uranium Production as per
the latest data of World Nuclear Association is
|
13th
|
India, Brazil
and Russia
have found place in the Top 10 ranks of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
for the first time. Presently, the number of members in IMF is
|
187
|
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
the largest buyer country of warplanes (out of the total 995 warplanes sold)
during 2005-09 is
|
India
|
Country hosting of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games is
|
Brazil
|
International Energy Agency reported that global oil demand is
expected to reach 87.3 million barrels per day by 2011. China and India alone are expected to
consume almost a third of world’s energy by
|
2030
|
The country producing 90% of opium in the world is
|
Afghanistan
|
The memoir of former US President George W Bush, highlight the major
decisions Bush made in his personal life as well as during his presidency
|
Decision Points
|
In a significant gesture, US has allowed a waiver on restrictions on
export of C-130 cargo aircraft to
|
China
|
Offshore Southeast Asia Exhibition (OSEA 2010) was held during first
week of December, 2010 as a platform to explore oil and gas business avenues,
expand market share and penetrate emerging markets. It was held in
|
Singapore
|
The Phase I of the new port was constructed by Chinese Company, at a
cost of $360 million in a South Asian Country. It is
|
Hambantota, Sri Lanka
|
The country with which Russia
has recently ended a 40 year dispute over their maritime borders in Arctic
region and signed a treaty that will allow it to explore new oil and gas in
the area is
|
Norway
|
Founded in 1985, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) includes Bhutan, Bangladesh, India,
the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The 16th SAARC summit was held in Thimphu
in April 2010. The 17th summit will be held in November 2011 in
|
Male (Maldives)
|
National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship is a political
pressure group in Thailand.
The popular name for the group is
|
Red Shirts
|
According to “Doing Business Report” by UN, the best country in the
world to do business with is
|
World Bank
|
Indian Business conglomerate to give a whopping $50 million to Harvard
Business School the largest gift received by it from an international donor
in its 102-year old history) is
|
Tata Group
|
The only European country to have a female President and PM is
|
Finland
(in 2003)
|
The country which sells oil to Bangladesh at a subsidized price
and also employs over 2 million of its people is
|
Saudi Arabia
|
The country which successfully launched Plano Real in 1994 to contain
inflation was
|
Brazil
|
The country where four New York Times journalists were captured and
released later
|
Tunisia
|
The country with which USA
announced its largest ever arms deal worth $60-70 billion to sell aircraft,
helicopters and other weapons is
|
Saudi Arabia
|
According to US Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the largest
circulated newspaper in US is
|
The Wall Street
Journal
|
The US
state to approve $6 billion Blythe solar power project (the world’s largest
solar plant that would save one million tons of carbon dioxide annually) is
|
California
|
The central American country that is looking to spark India’s interest
in a joint venture in carbon-neutral agriculture as well as adaptation of its
technology from India aerospace industry
|
Costa Rica
|
India along with Pakistan,
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, has signed the gas sales
purchase agreement (GSPA) for trans-national pipeline project, will transport
gas from Turkmenistan
to all these countries. International organization which is likely to fund
project, fully or partially, is
|
Asian Development
Bank
|
According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global food
prices rose to their highest level in two years due to a sharp rise in wheat
prices. FAO is headquartered in
|
Rome
|
As per the latest World Economic Outlook Database, European country
having the highest GDP is
|
Germany
|
The African country with which India signed an MoU to conduct a
feasibility study for setting up a urea plant with an annual capacity of at
least one million tonnes is
|
Ghana
|
The right to develop huge Trebs and Titov deposits in oil-rich
Timan-Pechora province in Russia
has been won by Bashneft oil company in December, 2010. Russian subsidiary of
ONGC which applied for participation in the bidding process was
|
Nord Imperial
|
Latin American country to have signed 18 agreements with China
covering infrastructure, energy and railway projects is
|
Argentina
|
The country with which Russia
has signed an agreement to jointly develop a five million tonnes capacity LNG
plant in city Vladivostok
is
|
Thailand
|
African country conducted nation’s first democratic election since
independence in 1958
|
Guinea
|
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a three-year
partnership with an auto company through which the company will become a
global partner with a major presence at all ICC events. The auto company in
question is
|
Hero Honda
|
The Indian-origin man was given the Order of the Baobab in Silver, one
of South Africa’s
highest honours
|
Imtiaz Sooliman
|
India’s biggest trade partner in EU is
|
Germany
|
According to a recent report, both India
and China
buy their maximum defence equipments from
|
Russia
|
The Chairman of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), which is the world’s largest regional security club is
|
Kazakhstan
|
USA and China lead the list of Top 10
countries with the highest military expenditure. The country stands at number
three spot is
|
France
|
A mechanism developed for energy efficiency by India which is to cover production units
accounting for more than 50% of the fossil fuel consumption in India
and help reduce CO2 emissions by 25 million tonnes per annum by 2014-15 is
|
Perform, Achieve
and Trade (PAT)
|
USA is the biggest arms supplier in the world,
accounting for nearly 30 percent of weapons exports. It has entered into
agreement to supply weapons worth $60 billion to
|
Saudi Arabia
|
According to UNIDO’s ‘Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2010’, India’s
rank in the world’s top ten countries in industrial production is
|
Ninth
|
Aditya Birla Group announced the acquisition of Compass BPO which
belongs to
|
United Kingdom
|
The two countries in Latin America, which does not enjoy common border
with Brazil
are
|
Chile, Ecuador
|
Public Sector oil exploration company which has emerged as the world’s
top oil and gas exploration and production company, overtaking China National
Offshore Oil Corporation
|
ONGC
|
President of Iraq
which formally asked the PM Nouri al-Maliki, to form a new government thus
ending the eight nations of deadlock that plunged the country into
uncertainty. President of Iraq
is
|
Jalal Talabani
|
India is currently the world’s fifth largest
importer of oil and likely to become the 3rd largest one after USA and China by 2025 (or even earlier).
According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, India’s primary energy
consumption in 2009 was 469 million tonnes of oil equivalent that is
|
4.2% of global
consumption
|
Yamal-Nenets, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the world’s
natural gas production is located in
|
Russia (North West Siberia)
|
The country which hosted a four day summit of the global wildlife
experts and politicians from 13 countries to discuss plan to revive the
world’s tiger population
|
Russia
|
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was the Chief Guest on the Republic Day of
January 26, 2011. He is the President of
|
Indonesia
|
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is headquartered in
|
Montreal, Canada
|
The country which declared end of 6 year conflict with Houthi fighters
in the country’s north is
|
Yemen
|
Indian-American chosen by World Economic Forum for its 2010 class of
Young Global Leaders is
|
Sanjay Gupta
|
The largest export market for Australia is
|
China
|
The island country which is the only country in the world to be a
simultaneously member of African Union, Francophonie, Organization of the
Islamic Conference, Arab League and Indian Ocean Commission is
|
Comoros
|
The EU was established in 1957 with
headquarters at
|
Brussels, Belgium
|
The three largest creditors to US Government are China (mainland), Japan
and UK
with respective debts of (in billions $)
|
906.8; 877.4; and
477.6
|
Goodluck Jonathan is the President of
|
Nigeria
|
Nestor Kirchner was elected as the first Secretary General of South
American Nations (UNASUR). He was the former President of
|
Argentina
|
French-American mathematician, who explored a new class of
mathematical shapes known as ‘fractals’ and died recently is
|
Benoit Mandelbrot
|
Iran and Pakistan have signed the natural
gas pipeline deal. The project was first conceptualized and proposed by
|
Rajiv Gandhi
|
The Asia’s largest residential
university is
|
BHU, Allahabad
|
As per commitment on nuclear deal with US, India signed the “Convention of
Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage” at IAEA Headquarters in
|
Vienna
|
The African country whose President Bingu Wa Mutharika on a state
visit to India was
conferred an honorary degree by Delhi
University for his
stupendous works in the African Union
is
|
Malawi
|
The four countries which doled out higher food subsidies in 2008 that
what they had committed (as per WTO subsidy norms) and which was protested by
USA and India are
|
Costa Rica, Poland, Israel and Norway
|
The total number of Landlocked developing countries in the world is
|
33
|
The Indian business leader who has been included in a 19 member group
of notables that will assist the UK government in preparing
business strategies and highlight priorities for the British economy
|
Ratan Tata
|
The person who is known as George Washington of South
America is
|
Simon Bolivar
|
The annual bilateral ‘SIMBEX’ exercise is conducted between the navies
of India
and
|
Singapore
|
Jose Ramos Horta, the Nobel Prize winner was the President of
|
East
Timor
|
African country where Mango Cooperative Program is being implemented
in collaboration with UN Development Programme is
|
Mali
|
International Centre for Agriculture in Dry Areas (ICARDA) was visited
by our President during her visit to Gulf countries in 2010. It is located in
|
Aleppo city (Syria)
|
World record holder from Ethiopia who recently announced
his retirement, to drop out of the New York City Marathon, is
|
Haile Gebrselassie
|
In January 2011, the country ready to buy 4 to 5 billion euros (around
$6.6 billion) of Portuguese sovereign debt to help the country ward off
pressure in debt markets, is
|
China
|
UN General Assembly adopted a resolution appealing nations to impose a
moratorium on the use of death penalty, 3rd such step by world
body against capital punishment since 2007. The number of countries which
have abolished the death penalty in law or practice are
|
136 (out of 192 UN
members)
|
The name of Turkish humanitarian aid ship that was the scene of
bloodshed during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May, 2010
and welcomed by thousands of pro-Palestinian activists when it sailed into Istanbul’s Sarayburnu port after repairs at a port on Turkey’s
Mediterranean coast is
|
Mavi Marmara
|
The promoter of Red Cross in 1864 was
|
Jean Henri Durant
|
The Organization that considered that right activist Binayak Sen is
the prisoner of conscience and the life sentence handed down to him violates
international standards of fair trail and has warned that it is likely to
‘inflame’ tension in the conflict-affected area, is
|
Amnesty
International
|
The oil tycoon and once richest person of Russia who is serving a
eight year prison term and now found guilty of stealing oil from his own
company in second trail, is
|
Khodorkovsky
|
The first western country to declare caste discrimination unlawful by
organization it as a form of racial prejudice (subject to acceptance of study
commissioned to help it take a decision)
|
Britain
|
The WTO which replaced the earlier GATT, was set up in the year
|
1995
|
The country whose satellite namely X-Sat is to be placed into orbit by
Indian Space Research Organization through Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV-C16), is
|
Singapore
|
Temasek is the investment arm of
|
Singapore
|
The Britain
longest MP of Indian origin is
|
Keith Vaz
|
The world’s 3rd largest transmission utility, has decided to
diversify in telecommunication is
|
Power Grid
Corporation
|
The country gave Myanmar’s
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi honorary citizenship in 2007, not its
PM invited her to visit the country and personally accept the honorary
citizenship is
|
Canada
|
The Indian who has been elected to Advisory Committee on
Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), which controls the purse
strings of UN and has an annual budget of $22 billion is
|
Namgya Khampa
|
New UN agency to promote equality for women and India has also been elected as
its member is
|
UN Women
|
The former President of Argentina, who served as president from 2003
to 2007 and was being tipped to stand for election again in 2011 has died
recently is
|
Nestor Kirchner
|
The chairman of UN’s Foundation and the founder of Cable News Network
(CNN) who has donated $1 billion towards the eradication of polio in Nigeria
is
|
Ted Turner
|
While the common name of People’s Republic of China is China, the Republic of China is
known as
|
Taiwan
|
Saturday, May 5, 2012
INFOLINES – INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Labels:
CURRENT AFFAIRS 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
Highlight of Civil Services Exam, 2011 Results
Following are the important
highlights of the Civil Services Examination, 2011, for which final result has
been declared today.
Ø The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination,
2011 was conducted on 12th June, 2011. A record number of 4,72,290 candidates applied
for this examination, out of which 2,43,003 candidates have actually appeared.
Ø 11984 candidates were declared qualified for
the Main written examination held in October-November, 2011 out of which 2417
candidates were selected for the Personality Test conducted in March-April,
2012. Finally, 910 candidates (715 male
& 195 female) have been recommended for appointment to the IAS, IFS, IPS
and other Central Services against 1001 reported vacancies. Vacancies unfilled presently are on account
of 91 reserved community candidates qualifying on general standards. Depending on the options exercised by them
finally, these vacancies will be filled by candidates recommended for the
Reserve List that is maintained by the Commission.
Ø The First two positions have been taken by
female candidates. The top 25 candidates
include 19 male (including 01 visually challenged candidate) and 06 female
candidates. In the top 100 candidates, there are 21 female candidates.
Ø Ms. Shena Aggarwal (Roll No. 233541) has topped
the Examination. She has done MBBS from
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
This is her 3rd attempt.
Ø The 2nd ranker is Ms. Rukmani Riar
(Roll No. 27895). She has done Master of
Arts (Social Entrepreneurship) from Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Mumbai. The is her 1st
attempt.
Ø The 3rd position is bagged by Shri
Prince Dhawan (Roll No. 1804). He has
done M. Tech (Elect. Engg.) from IIT, Delhi.
This is his 1st attempt.
Ø The result also showcases the pan-Indian
distribution of successful candidates of this Examination. Amongst the top 25
candidates, there are candidates claiming domicile from as many as 16 States,
i.e., Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu &
Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh.
Ø The top 25 candidates include alumni from some
of the premier educational institutions of the country including AIIMS, IIM and
IITs. An alumnus of London School of
Economics also figures in the top 25.
Ø The family background of top 25 candidates show
diverse representation from all walks of the life which include farmer, teacher,
businessman, army personnel, low and middle level govt. servants, doctors,
advocate, professor & civil servants.
Ø Amongst top 25 candidates, 6 have made to the
merit lift in their 1st attempt; 07 in 2nd attempt; 09 in
3rd attempt; and 01 each in 4th, 5th & 6th
attempts. As many as 12 have already
been recommended to services other than IAS on the basis of Civil Services
Examinations of previous years.
Ø Of the top 25 candidates – 13 appeared from
Delhi; 3 from Jaipur, 2 each from Mumbai & Chandigarh; and 1 each from
Hyderabad, Chennai, Dispur, Patna & Jammu Centres.
Labels:
UPSC
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Vidya Balan appointed Brand Ambassador for promoting Sanitation in India
Noted Bollywood actor Vidya Balan was roped in by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as brand ambassador to spread awareness about sanitation and cleanliness in the country. Talking to the media after meeting Balan here, Union Rural Development Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh said she will appear in ad campaigns to propagate construction and use of toilets. The Minister informed that Balan is the first brand ambassador of the Ministry. According to UNICEF-WHO Joint Monitoring Programme Report 2010, nearly 60 per cent of India`s 1.1 billion people still practice open defecation and close to 58% of all open defecations in the World is in India. Shri Ramesh said that Vidya’s involvement will make the campaign to end open defecation a national obsession. The key areas of intervention on sanitation that may be focused upon are- propogating construction and use of toilets by all, habits of hand washing, personal hygiene and managing waste.
Talking to reporters, Vidya Balan said that this role will work a lot because they are working on a national movement. She said that it is a matter of great honour for her to become the brand ambassador of sanitation campaign and added that it needs to become a national obsession. She has agreed to give her time for the campaign for two years and will be fully involved in the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan--the restructured version of the Total Sanitation Campaign. It may be recalled that India loses 54 billion US dollars that is about 24,000 crore rupees a year due to poor sanitation and hygiene.
Labels:
CURRENT AFFAIRS 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
'Solar' India
World's production and use of energy over the past two
decades have shown striking changes. Use of electricity has risen
phenomenally resulting in a remarkable difference in the pattern of energy
consumption. The initial options that we had for switching fuel resource
presented larger challenges in terms of global warming coupled with almost
dwindling fossil fuel resources.
When we look at the world's energy resources, oil, natural
gas and coal seem to be still riding the crest and the contribution of
renewable seems marginal at this juncture.
Solar energy seems to enjoy a better
edge over the others at this juncture due to vigorous pursuit to transform it
into an attractive and economic option. Power consumption in India has been
increasing fast due to population growth and economic development. India has
tremendous energy needs and faces an uphill task in meeting these requirements
through traditional means of power generation.
The Indian economy faces increasing challenges because
energy supply is struggling to keep pace with demand, and there are energy
shortages of 10-13% daily almost everywhere in the country. Because India has so
many black-outs, many factories and households use emergency generators and
inverters as back-ups. This back-up power could be supplied by solar energy.
Solar has the potential to transform the Indian
economy in the same way as the Information Technology (IT). India is in a
unique position to introduce clean energy solutions on an enormous scale to
provide affordable energy for everyone – especially the poor. From an
energy security perspective, solar is the most secure of all sources, since it
is abundantly available. Theoretically, a small fraction of the total incident
solar energy (if captured effectively) can meet the entire country’s power
requirements. It is also clear that given the large proportion of poor and
energy un-served population in the country, every effort needs to be made to
exploit the relatively abundant sources of energy available to the country. The
National Solar Mission has targeted to deploy 20 million solar lighting systems
for rural areas by 2022.
India is blessed with about an estimated 5000 TWh of
solar radiation. This vast resource can be tapped to meet the growing energy
demand. Even if a tenth of this potential is utilised, it could solve the
country’s power problems. India
could lead the world by embracing solar power, if favourable policies
and business models are evolved and implemented nationwide.
India should take full advantage of this golden
opportunity because solar energy has particular relevance in remote and rural
areas, where around 289 million people live without access to electricity.
Solar energy is the most cost-effective option for India to reduce energy poverty
without having to extend national grid services to provide power for individual
homes and buildings. Solar energy to power computers to assist learning in
schools and hostels, Management Information System (MIS) to assist better
management of forests, powering milk chilling plants, empowering women Self
Help Groups (SHGs) involved in tussar silk
reeling, cold chain management for Primary Health Centres (PHCs) are
some examples of new areas, being tried successfully in the country.
A State/UT wise list of grid solar power projects
commissioned so far is as follows:
S.No.
|
State / UT
|
Capacity (kWp)
|
1
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
100
|
2
|
Arunanchal Pradesh
|
25
|
3
|
Gujarat
|
5000
|
4
|
Karnataka
|
6000
|
5
|
Kerala
|
25
|
6
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
100
|
7
|
Maharashtra
|
1000
|
8
|
Punjab
|
2325
|
9
|
Rajasthan
|
4950
|
10
|
Tamil Nadu
|
5050
|
11
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
375
|
12
|
Uttarakhand
|
50
|
13
|
West Bengal
|
1150
|
14
|
Andaman & Nicobar
|
100
|
15
|
Delhi
|
2142
|
16
|
Lakshadweep
|
750
|
17
|
Puducherry
|
25
|
18
|
Others
|
790
|
|
Total
|
29957
|
Launching the National Action Plan on Climate
Change on June 30, 2008, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said “our vision
is to make India’s
economic development energy-efficient. Over a period of time, we must pioneer a
graduated shift from economic activity based on fossil fuels to one based on
non-fossil fuels and from reliance on non-renewable and depleting sources of
energy to renewable sources of energy. In this strategy, the sun occupies
centre-stage, as it should, being literally the original source of all energy.
We will pool our scientific, technical and managerial talents, with sufficient
financial resources, to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to
power our economy and to transform the lives of our people. Our success in this
endeavour will change the face of India. It would also enable India to help
change the destinies of people around the world.”
The National Solar Mission is a major initiative
of the Government of India and State Governments to promote ecologically
sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security
challenge. It will also constitute a major contribution by India to the
global effort to meet the challenges of climate change. The National Action
Plan on Climate Change also points out: “India is a tropical country, where
sunshine is available for longer hours per day and in great intensity.
Solar energy, therefore, has great potential as future energy source. It
also has the advantage of permitting the decentralized distribution of energy,
thereby empowering people at the grassroots level”.
Solar is currently high on absolute costs
compared to other sources of power such as coal. The objective of the
Solar Mission is to create conditions, through rapid scale-up of capacity and
technological innovation to drive down costs towards grid parity. The Mission has set an
ambitious target to create an enabling policy framework for the deployment
of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022 and to ramp up capacity of
grid-connected solar power generation to 1000 MW. The Solar Mission has set a
target of 1000 MW by 2017, which may appear small, but its reach will add up to
bringing changes in millions of households .For the first phase,a target has
been fixed to set up 1,100 MW of grid connected solar power plants by March,
2013.
Asia’s first and largest Solar Park
has been set up at Charanka in Gujarat. The
3000 acre state of the art park has generation capacity of 500 MW with training
facilities as well. Incidentally, Gujarat has
taken the lead in solar power generation and has been contributing 2/3rds of total 900 MW
solar power generated in the country. The state government is also working on a solar energy
policy, which is likely to be launched soon.
India is endowed with vast solar energy potential.
About 5,000 trillion kWh per year energy is incident over India’s land
area with most parts receiving 4-7 kWh per sq. m per day. Hence both technology
routes for conversion of solar radiation into heat and electricity, namely,
solar thermal and solar photovoltaic, can effectively be harnessed providing
huge scalability for solar in India.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has demonstrated
unprecedented growth over the recent past, with increased demand for solar
power attracting more and more players into the market. The price of solar
panels has come down considerably. This has made solar technology more competitive.
The Government may consider favourable tax structures as well as provide
financial resources for community solar farms as part of the energy development
programmes.
Solar irradiance, economic installation costs,
Government support and financing conditions in all probability, are likely to
drive the growth of the solar photo-voltaic technology. The falling generation
cost is another encouraging factor for the technology to emerge as the largest
and most stable demand segment. Power cannot be produced at night or cloudy
days is history as concentrated solar power plants and Nano-antennas are being
developed to capture residual heat to overcome this limitation. Remote communities could eventually make
their own solar cells using waste vegetation, thanks to a design developed by
researchers in Switzerland
and the United States.
The technology is inspired by photosynthesis
Most of the solar installations are supported by
incentives. However, until the efficiency of solar cell improves and the cost
of generation competes with that of conventional energy, solar energy can only
have a limited role.
Solar energy is a win-win for India
and the environment, and India
should make it a mainstream component of its energy diversification. There is
really no better economical choice for the country. Renewable energy is also an
attractive investment opportunity because it will provide long-term economic
growth for the country. A favourable renewable energy policy could create
millions of jobs.
As
American economist and author Jeremy Rifkin rightly said, India can usher
in a third industrial revolution by properly utilising its renewable energy
resources. In fact, progress on renewable energy front could determine the
future road map for human sustainability.
Solar Energy has the potential to
re-energise India’s
economy by creating millions of new jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce
the trade deficit and propel the nation forward as a ‘green nation’. In short,
solar power offers too many benefits for India to ignore or delay its
development.
Labels:
CURRENT AFFAIRS 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
PSLV-C19 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES RISAT-1
The PSLV-C19, the newest in the series of polar satellite launch
vehicles of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), burst off the
launch-pads of Sriharikota in the wee hours of April 26 on its space
mission of placing indigenously developed Radar Imaging Satellite the RISAT-1 in a polar circular orbit.
After a customarily tense countdown at the ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota, at precisely 5.47 a.m., the launch vehicle’s core
stage igniters and set of six strap-on motors ignited within seconds of
each to signal the successful lift-off of the PSLV-C19 with the RISAT
-1 firmly docked inside its metal frames.
The RISAT-1 with a payload of 1858 kg, the heaviest satellite being
launched yet by the PSLV, is a state-of-the-art Active Microwave Remote
Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload that
will operate in the C-band. In simpler terms, the RISAT-1 can beam back
imaging of the earth surface features during day and night and under
all imagined weather conditions. The SAR which gives the RISAT-1 its
magic lens also makes it superior to the generation of optical remote
sensing satellites in terms of clearer imaging at all times and under
any condition.
Once the PSLV-C19 successfully completed each of the four stages of its
flight in a span of 18 minutes and reported normal parameters,
congratulatory scenes broke out at the Mission Directorate at
Sriharikota.
According to ISRO scientists, once the satellite onboard propulsion
system will raise the orbital altitude to 536 km with orbital
inclination of approximately 97 degrees to place the RISAT-1 into a
polar sun-synchronous orbit, the satellite will begin its daily routine
of 14 orbits with a of 25 days. During its mission life of five years,
RISAT-1 will use its active microwave remote sensing capability for
cloud penetration and day-night imaging of the earth surface and provide
critical data inputs for a range of applications.
The satellite’s applications will range across agriculture — paddy
monitoring in the kharif season — and management of natural disasters
like flood and cyclone and could greatly assist food security planning
in India.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 21st flight (PSLV-C19),
launches India’s first Radar Imaging Satellite – RISAT-1 into a Polar
Circular Orbit with an altitude of 480 km (+ 40.5 km) and orbital inclination of 97.552 (+ 0.2). RISAT-1 weighing 1858 kg is the heaviest satellite being launched by PSLV.
This is the third flight of the high end version (PSLV-XL) with six extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant. (The two earlier flights of PSLV-XL were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 and GSAT-12 Communication Satellite)
This is the third flight of the high end version (PSLV-XL) with six extended strap-on motors, each carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant. (The two earlier flights of PSLV-XL were used to launch Chandrayaan-1 and GSAT-12 Communication Satellite)
RISAT-1
Radar Satellite-1 (RISAT-1) is a state of the art Microwave Remote
Sensing Satellite carrying a Synthetic Aperture Reader (SAR) Payload
operating in C-band (5.35 GHz), which enables imaging of the surface
features during both day and night under all weather conditions.
Lift-off Mass | 1858 kg |
Orbit | Circular Polar Sun Synchronous |
Orbit Altitude | 536 km |
Orbit Inclination | 97.552o |
Orbit Period | 95.49 min |
Number of Orbits per day | 14 |
Local Time of Equator Crossing | 6:00 am / 6:00 pm |
Power | Solar Array generating 2200 W and one 70 AH Ni-H2 battery |
Repetivity | 25 days |
Attitude and Orbit Control | 3-axis body stabilised using Reaction Wheels, Magnetic Torquers and Hydrazine Thrusters |
Nominal Mission Life | 5 years |
Launch date | April 26, 2012 |
Launch site | SDSC SHAR Centre, Sriharikota, India |
Launch vehicle | PSLV- C19 |
Labels:
CURRENT AFFAIRS 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Changes in Civil Services Exam
There is no proposal to introduce changes in the Main
Examination of the Civil Services Examination, at present. However,
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has appointed a committee of
experts, headed by Prof. Arun S. Nigavekar, Ex. Chairman, UGC, to review
the existing structure of Civil Services (Main) examination and suggest
necessary changes.
Also there is no proposal to increase the number of attempts for all candidates appearing in Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.
This was stated by Shri V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and PMO in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
Also there is no proposal to increase the number of attempts for all candidates appearing in Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.
This was stated by Shri V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and PMO in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
Labels:
UPSC
VACANCY ADDENDUM - REGARDING GROUP-II SERVICES (39/2011)
GROUP-II SERVICES
(GENERAL RECRUITMENT)
NOTIFICATION NO. 39/2011
VACANCY ADDENDUM
Name of the Service Existing Read as
Executive Posts 119 119
Non-Executive Posts 406 502
Online submission is scheduled between 27/04/2012 to 27/05/2012 and Written Examination will be held on 15/07/2012. Candidates are advised to view the Commission’s Website: (www.apspsc.gov.in) for details.
(GENERAL RECRUITMENT)
NOTIFICATION NO. 39/2011
VACANCY ADDENDUM
Name of the Service Existing Read as
Executive Posts 119 119
Non-Executive Posts 406 502
Online submission is scheduled between 27/04/2012 to 27/05/2012 and Written Examination will be held on 15/07/2012. Candidates are advised to view the Commission’s Website: (www.apspsc.gov.in) for details.
Labels:
APPSC GROUP-2,
MISCELLANIOUS
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
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