General Awareness 2018

1.Who won Times Power Woman 2017 Award?

Chanda Kochhar Kiran Mazumdar Shabnam Asthana Shobhana Bhartia

2.Name the India's first integrated mobility platform launched by a Health-tech startup 'mCURA'.

Smart Card Smart Cura Smart OPD Smart Service

3.Who was appointed the Vice Chairman of US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) Board?

John Kern Ajay Singh Nivedita Mehra Shantanu Narayen

4.Who has been apponted as the Chef-de-Mission for Commonwealth Games (CWG) by Indian Olympic Association (IOA)?

Vikram Singh Sisodia Abhay Singh Narayana Ramachandran Narinder Dhruv Batra

5.This country launches World's Longest Zip Line.

South Afria France China UAE

Aadhaar mandatory for University students availing scholarship: Government

• Union Human Resource Development Ministry has made Aadhaar mandatory for students to avail benefit under the Central Sector Scholarship Scheme for College and University. 
• This moves aims to bring transparency and enable beneficiaries get entitlements directly to them in a convenient and seamless manner.
• Besides, single Aadhaar proof will also obviate the need for producing multiple documents to prove identity. Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique number linked with an individual’s demographic and biometric information, which serves as an authentication tool throughout India. 

Science Express train flagged off to create climate change awareness 

• Science Express Climate Action Special train was flagged off to spread awareness about climate change across the country.
•  It is collaborative efforts of ministries of Railways, Environment and Science and Technology.
•  The 16-coach train will be on a seven-month journey that will cover 68 stations across the country.
•  The eight coaches of train are devoted to information, caste studies and materials related to various aspects of climate change.
•  It will also showcase the underlying science, impacts, mitigation solutions, adaption activities and policy approaches

 NRAI gets highest WHO ratings for vaccine regulations

•  India’s vaccine regulatory body NRAI (National Regulatory Authority of India) was given the maximum ratings by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for vaccine regulations. 
• The ratings were given by WHO after completing the assessment of the status of the NRAI system against WHO NRA Global Benchmarking Tool and measured the maturity of the system in India.

General Awareness

1.Who has won the 2016 Formula One German Grand Prix ?
Nico Rosberg Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Daniel Ricciardo

2.Luke Aikins, who became the first person in the world to jump and land without parachute, is belonged to which country?
United Kingdom France Spain United States

3.Which state government of India will launch its Anti Corruption Index to measure the graphs of corruption in all spheres of society?
Odisha Assam Tripura Kerala

4.Which kabaddi team has won the 2016 STAR Sports-ProKabaddi League?
Jaipur Pink Panthers Puneri Paltan Patna Pirates Telugu Titans

5.The Keibul Lamjao National Park is located in which state of India?
Tripura Nagaland Manipur Assam

GK Concepts

Anil Kumble, former Indian captain and leg-spinner, has been appointed as the new coach of the Indian Cricket Team for one-year tenure. His tenure will begin from the upcoming West Indies’s tour which starts on July 9, 2016. With this, Kumble has become the first Indian to be appointed as the head coach of the national team since Kapil Dev in 1999-2000.

Boxing 

The Asian Games champion Vikas Krishan (75kg) and Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Manoj Kumar (64kg) has recently booked their berth for 2016 Rio Olympic after advancing to the semifinals of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) World Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Apart from them, Shiva Thapa (56 kg) has already booked his ticket to Rio Olympics 2016 during the Asian Qualifiers in March 2016 and is the Indian boxer to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The International Olympic Day is observed every year on June 23 to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.

The Vice President of India M Hamid Ansari has inaugurated “The International Conference on Social Statistics in India” in Patna, Bihar. The conference has been organised by Asian Development Research of India.

Shanay Jhaveri 

The book “Chandigarh is in India” has been authored by Shanay Jhaveri. The book is the first-ever compilation of works of art on Chandigarh, presenting a unique perspective on the city. It tells the stories of the city of Chandigarh through the works of Indian and Western artists.

Current Affairs

India and Switzerland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish formal cooperation in the fields of skill development and vocational and professional education and training. The MoU was signed in Winterthur city in Zurich between State Secretary Mauro Dell’ Ambrogio and Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

Hydrography – the key to well-managed seas and waterways The World Hydrography Day is observed every year on June 21 to create awareness about hydrography which is an essential science before undertaking any activity on or under the sea. The 2016 theme is “Hydrography – the key to well-managed seas and waterways”.

Ken Miyauchi has been appointed as the new President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group. He succeeded Nikesh Arora.

Mahasthangarh, the 3rd century BC archaeological site in Bogra, Bangladesh, has been declared as the SARRC cultural capital for 2016-17. The historic place will host festivals on literature, films, foods and dances from October 2016 to September 2017. Every year, an archeologically and culturally rich city of one of the 8- South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries is declared the cultural capital for that year to create a bridge among the people of those countries. Bamiyan, a historic city of Afghanistan, is the current SAARC cultural capital for 2015-16. 

March 2017 

The Union Government has extended the timeline for states to join Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme by a year to March 2017. The move would help states which could not enroll in or operationalise the scheme due to various reasons such as elections and regulatory approvals. Earlier, states were required to join the scheme last fiscal and issue bonds to pay off discoms’ 50 % debt in 2015-16. The main purpose of UDAY scheme is to get these discoms out of the vicious circle of debt and enable them to purchase power to increase consumption in the country. 

National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, 2016

The Union Government has approved National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, 2016 to promote the IP regime and to encourage innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in India. The first of its king policy in the country seeks to strengthen legislative and legal framework of IPRs, their commercialization and reinforce enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for IPR infringements. 

The National IPR Policy will endeavour for a “Creative India; Innovative India: रचनात्मक भारत; अभिनव भारत”.

 The Policy lays down seven objectives 

IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion- It seeks to create public awareness about the social, economic and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society. 

Generation of IPRs: It seeks to stimulate the generation of IPRs. 

Legal and Legislative Framework: It call for a strong and effective IPR laws, which will have balance the larger public interest and interests of rights owners. 

Administration and Management: It seeks to strengthen and modernize service-oriented IPR administration. 

Commercialization of IPRs: Provide appropriate value for IPRs through commercialization. 

Enforcement and Adjudication: Seeks to strengthen the adjudicatory and enforcement mechanisms for combating IPR infringements. 

Human Capital Development: Seeks to expand and strengthen human resources, capacities and institutions for teaching, research, training and skill building in IPRs.

 Other highlights of the Policy 

Recognises abundance of innovative and creative energies in the country and prioritizes the need to tap and channelise these energies towards a better and brighter future for all. 

Exploit and create synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned agencies and statutes in the country. Sets in place an institutional mechanism for monitoring, implementation and review of IP regime. Aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario. 

Makes the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under the Union Commerce Ministry nodal agency for regulating IP rights in the country. 

Seeks to weave in the strengths of the Government, R&D organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities including start-ups, MSMEs and other stakeholders in the creation of an innovation-conducive environment. 

Facilitates a transparent, stable and service-oriented IPR administration in the country. Recognizes that India has well-established TRIPS-compliant administrative, legislative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs.

 Meets international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. 

Reiterates India’s commitment to the Doha Declaration on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health.

GK 2016

• Master Gaurav Menon has won the award for Best Child Artist at the 63rd National film awards 2015 for Malayalam movie Ben.
• Leicester City football club has won the 2016 English Premier League (EPL) title . With this win, Leicester City has become the champions for the first time in their 132-year history. The Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year 2016 has been awarded to Jamie Vardy, footballer of Leicester City.
• The book “Politics of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations” has been authored by Yeshi Choedon. This book investigate deep into military personnel and financial management by the United Nations in its peacekeeping efforts around the world, which the author claims to be the most important and evident method to control conflicts around the world.
• The United Nations’World Press Freedom Day is observed every year on May 3 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press. The 2016 Theme is “Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms – This Is Your Right!”. On this day, the 2016 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize has been honoured to Khadija Ismayilova, an investigative journalist from Azerbaijan, in Helsinki, Finland.
• Nico Rosberg, a German Formula One driver for Mercedes Formula One team, has won the 2016 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, Russia.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. Prof. Sriram Ramaswamy, Director of TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TCIS), Hyderabad, has been on the list of 50 scientists elected as the Fellows of the Royal Society (FRS) of London, a premier scientific academy of the U.K. and the Commonwealth. Besides him, two other Indian viz.biochemist Ramanujan Hegde, MRC Laboratory of Microbiology, U.K. and applied mathematician Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan, Harvard University were also elected. The Royal Society elects new Fellows and Foreign Members every year. Its mission is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.
2. In the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and the Pacific, India’s growth forecast for 2016 and 2017 has retained at 7.5%. The key to boost India’s economic growth are structural reforms like Goods and Services Tax(GST) and in areas like land and labour.
3. The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has recently constituted R.M. Lodha committee to monitor the functioning of the Medical Council of India (MCI) for at least a year. The apex court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the Article 142 of the Constitution as the Government of India (GoI) had not acted on the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare. The 3-member committee will have the authority to oversee all statutory functions under the MCI Act and will be free to issue appropriate remedial directions. All policy decisions of the MCI will require approval of the oversight committee.
4. The World Asthma Day (WAD) is an annual event organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) to improve asthma awareness and care around the world. It takes place on the first Tuesday of May. The theme of 2016’s event is “You Can Control Your Asthma”.
5. The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam. It is a home to a great variety of wildlife, including many endangered species viz. tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant.

Economic Essay

Do you think this brain drain is making the rich countries richer and poor countries poorer?

Qualified people from poor countries move from poor to rich countries in search of a better position, profile, work and money.

Do you think this brain drain is making the rich countries richer and poor countries poorer? What can be done to stop this phenomenon?

“Brain Drain”, burning issue of this decade, is continuously letting our nation down, in the race for pride and power in the world. The hunger for money has taken us far beyond the ability to think wisely and lead a life of honour and prestige. Money has risen above any other thing or emotion in this world.

On a wider spectrum, for a country to be rich, its economy needs to grow, every citizen’s average lifestyle should rise. On this same ground, coming to the stand of our own nation, our brilliance is working for others, their economy is growing above us. What we are marching towards is, to the era of slavery. We Indians have forgotten the pain of slavery and the taste of democracy. We are failing to utilize our valuable resource of manpower. We don’t care to honour our qualified men with appropriate profile and designation. Unemployment to the literate youth is the biggest drawback in our country. Corruption, self-centred management, status consciousness; all these virtues have victimised an enthusiastic and energetic person with high qualification and sophisticated ideas for its implementation. Since he is getting a respectful welcome in terms of designation and salary, our youth chooses to serve other country for their development.

The term Brain Drain is not just restricted to the NRIs and those working abroad, but the Indian citizens who are working with their hands tied up to the MNCs are also equally ditching our country. Brain drain is definitely helping the developed, rich countries, getting richer. Our brains are getting appropriate profile, designation, power, prestige and above all the red hot salary by other rich nations. 

Current Affairs 2015

Rajasthan Assembly has passed -Rajasthan Special Backward Classes Reservation Bill, 2015 : This bill provides 5 % reservation to Gujjars and other communities under Special Backward Classes (SBC). Five communities namely Banjara/Baldiya/Laba na, Gadiya/Lohar/Gadoliya, Gujar/Gurjar, Raika/Rebari/Debasi and Gadariya/Gadri/Gaya ri have been included in this bill.

Rajasthan Economically Backward Classes Reservation Bill, 2015 : This bill provides 14 % quota to Economically Backward Classes (EBC) of unreserved categories.

Rajasthan Assembly has also passed the Rajasthan Vexation Litigation Prevention Bill, 2015 by voice vote.

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

Bombay High Court restrains Maharashtra government from releasing water from Gangapur dam for ‘Shahi Snaan’ (holy dip) of the Kumbh Mela as many parts of state are facing drought.

Two Indian Coast Guard Ships Apoorva and C-421 are commissioned at Naval Dock. C-421 is a water jet propelled vessel, 27th in the series of IBs constructed by L & T Limited

Union Health Ministry today released the National Health Profile 2015, which provides comprehensive information related to health sector

current affairs 2014

India's first tobacco free village ?

Answer: Nagaland's Gariphema

2014 pulitzer prize winner ?

Answer: Donna Tart for novel goldfinch

What is the nationality of Donna Tart ?

Answer: United States

Newly appointed kerala Governor?

Answer : P. Sathasivam

first speaker of telungana ?

Answer: Sirikonda Madhusudhana Chary

2014 hockey world cup host country ?

Answer: Netherlands

2014 men's hockey worldcup champions ?

Answer: Australia

2014 women's hockey worldcup champions ?

Answer: netherlands

2014 Rajiv Gandhi Sadhbavana award winner?

Answer: Muzaffar Ali 

Current Affairs

Question 1

First bio-fuel bus become operational in ____.

a) United States

b) United Kingdom

c) Germany

d) South Africa

Answer : b) United Kingdom

Question 2

The first Indian footballer to receive AFC Hall of Fame Award is _____.

a) Sunil Chhetri

b) Baichung Bhutia

c) Savio Medeira

d) India G S Srinivas Murthy

Answer : b) Baichung Bhutia

Question 3

India has won Blind Cricket World Cup 2014 by defeating _____.

a) Australia

b) United Kingdom

c) Pakistan

d) South Africa

Answer : c) Pakistan

Question 4

Indian Communication Satellite which was launched on 7th Dec in French Guiana is ____.

a) GSAT - 14

b) IRNSS - 1B

c) IRNSS - 1C

d) GSAT - 16

Answer : d) GSAT - 16

Environment news – India 2012

World Bank to provide assistance to check poaching in National Parks

The Central Government has not sought assistance from the World Bank to check poaching in and around national parks and sanctuaries in the country. However, a project entitled “Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection in Asia” with the following components has been proposed for credit of US$ 30 Million from World Bank under Third Phase of Adaptable Program Lending:

1.    i.            Capacity building for wildlife conservation and cooperation for addressing the illegal trans-boundary wildlife trade (US$20.52 million): This component aims to bring about regional harmonization and collaboration in cross-border wildlife conservation and management, combating wildlife crime through strengthened legislative and regulatory frameworks, well-equipped specialized agencies and systems, as well as relevant training and awareness programs for staff across the range of agencies that contribute to the enforcement of wildlife laws and regulations namely the Wildlife Division in the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.

2.    ii.            Promoting Wildlife Conservation in Asia (US$2.95 million): The objective of this component is to generate and share knowledge as well as technical expertise by promoting research and innovative approaches on emerging challenges in wildlife conservation.

3.    iii.            Project coordination and communication (US$ 5.04 million): Under this component expenditure of US$ 0.76 million is estimated for project management and monitoring. The remaining amount is to be spend on project communications, wherein a multi-pronged approach will be adopted to communications in order to meet regional and local challenges.

The credit agreement has not been signed with The World Bank and negotiations have not been held so far.

Report of Forest Survey of India in Forest Cover

Pranab Mukherjee today (25-07-2012) took oath as the 13th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee today sworn-in as the country’s 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament.

Chief Justice of India S H Kapadiaadministered the oath of office to Mr Mukherjeein the presence of Vice President HamidAnsari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, LokSabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers, Governors and a host of dignitaries.

Mr Mukherjee took the oath of office in the name of God in English to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”.

Mr Mukherjee was then given a 21-gun salute after which he signed the oath register amid a thunderous applause and thumping of desks.