Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act

Vacant quota seats will go to general category: SC

On April 10, 2008, the bench headed by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan had upheld that the Act was valid.

On September 15, 2008, the Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan ruled, "There is no confusion about our judgment that seats, which remain vacant after the implementation of the 27 per cent quota, will go to the general category."


In short, the seats remaining vacant after the implementation of the rule of 27 percent under Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Admissions) Act 2007 at the time of admission for Central Institutions (IITs and IIMs and AIIMS) will go to general category.

Saina Nehwal, Winner of Chinese Taipei Badminton nearing Top 10 World Ranking of Shuttlers

Top 10 not beyond Saina, feel experts - Badminton - Other Sports - The Times of India Sports

Saina Nehwal is up to No. 12 in the world rankings. If she come into first ten in world ranking, which she can possible do, then she will be first Indian Women Badminton player to achieve that submit.

Saina won the title in Yonex Chinese Taipei Open badminton on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

In Beijing Olympics 2008, she had reached upto quarter-finals.

Saina Nehwal is a 19-year-old Hyderabad-based girl.

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Sources: Both the Photoprints are from Times of India sports section retrieved first on September 11, 2008 and then on September 18, 2008.

Article 355

Centre to warn Orissa, Karnataka under Article 355:

"Article 355 is a rarely used constitutional provision that typically holds out the threat of dismissal of a state government and imposition of President's rule if the warning of the Centre goes unheeded.

Under Article 355, a duty has been cast on the Union government to ensure that governance in states was carried out in accordance with the Constitution."


The issue of evoking this article has come up during the riots in Orissa and Karnataka.

Relations with Nepal 2008: Dignitary visits India

Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, the Prime Minister of Nepal came to India on Sunday, September 14, 2008 on a five day good will visit. He is the first Maoist Prime Minister of Nepal. He headed a 44-member delegation that includes four ministers, senior government officials, heads of business federations and journalists. The visit ended on September 18, 2008.


It was a good will visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to India. He was counselled by his cabinet not to sign any treaty on the visit. The Indo-Nepal relations involve the following issue when he had visited India.


The Prime Minister of Nepal and India had to review the Peace and Friendship Treaty 1950. The Prime Minister of Nepal came with a draft of Peace and Friendship Treaty. There are forces in Nepal which want that the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 should be abolished.


The Kosi Treaty 1954, is another issue between Nepal and India. In recent days, 10,000 people had been effected in Nepal and 3 million in India. There is further need to discuss over the reconstruction and relief measures along with the details of the Kosi Treaty of 1954. There is a pressure from Nepal that India should look after the maintenance of the Kosi river.


Nepal also wants to review the Mahakali River Pact of 1996.


Nepal also wants to review the Gandak River Pact. Nepal’s communist groups feel that Gandak Treaty clauses are unfavourable to Nepal on irrigation rights.


On Trade front, Nepal demands numerous concessions. It demands tax schedule restructuring, quarantine rights and transit rights for its trade from Mumbai Port and Radhikapur Port which is in Bangladesh. The balance of trade is presently in favour of India.


The hydropower project participation is important issue between Nepal and India. India is planning a big dam on Kosi with irrigation facilities for India. Nepal demands that the Hydroproject on Kosi should fulfill the power needs of Nepal on favourable terms. It also demands increased role of India in Hydro projects being started with Nepal within Nepal.


It is pertinent to note that India had played a major role in peace settlement with Nepal when in 2006 the Maoist groups signed 12 programme with other political groups in Nepal.

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Source used: Prachanda begins goodwill visit to India: Economic Times.

Intel unveils first Made-in-India chip- Hardware-Infotech-The Economic Times

Intel unveils first Made-in-India chip- Hardware-Infotech-The Economic Times

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Extracts from the Web Report:
"The Intel R&D centre in Bangalore designed the Xeon 7400 series processor and it marked the first time that work on the 45 nanometre technology was taken up by the company outside its US home base. The six-core microprocessor is based on Intel’s x86 architecture."

" A 300-member team from Bangalore undertook the work with support from units in the US and Costa Rica, Intel India president Praveen Vishakantaiah said."

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Question for 2009 Notes:

Who is Praveen Vishakantaiah?

Praveen Vishakantaiah is President, Intel India. He leads the team which work on 45 nanometre technology in Bangalore.

National Commission of Minorities (NCM): Office Bearers

Year of Report: September 2008

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Chairman Mohammed Shafi Qureshi

Vice Chairman Michael P Pinto

Secretary M K Khanna

Members: Harcharan Singh Josh

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Source: Sify News

Blog Bans May Not Return

Centre to issue guidelines to internet service providers: The Hindu News Update

The terrorist activity in any form, at any level and in any manner can never be defended.

There should be every effort to support, contribute and participate in any activity of the government to contain the mindset which dominates the cowardly misguided adventurism based on unfounded sanctification and justification.

However, let us hope that there may not come again a ban on some of the ISP and DNS as it had occurred earlier during 11/7 train blast of Mumbai. The Government may do everything possible to impart the citizen the sense of security and security of life. But it should also check that it may not flounder as it has done earlier while monitoring cyber space.

MTP Act 1971 May be Reviewed

Govt. mulls to enhance legal limit for abortion to 24 weeks

The recent judgement of the Mumbai High Court in Nikita Mehta case, has moved the Union Health Minister to review the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 in light of recent technical advancements.

It is reported on the link that "According to MTP Act 1971, a pregnancy can be legally aborted only if its continuance is a threat to the woman’s physical or mental health, or if there is a substantial risk of neo-natal baby to develop any physical or mental abnormalities or be seriously handicapped."

Benegal's Film Screening in London Film Festival

Banegal's 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' at London film festival

"Welcome to Sujjanpur" a film by Shyam Benegal, will be screened in prestigious London Film Festival in October 2008. It will be screened in OWE1 and Waterman's Art Centre, London.

The film is produced by UTV Spot Boy.

It is reported in The Hindu (Link given above), that Benegal said, "The film is an entertaining, musical and comic interpretation of characters and events that are at once hilarious and poignant." The comic side is build around a character named Mahadev.

Eurotunnel/Channel Tunnel fire.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Channel Tunnel shut after blaze

The Eurotunnel, the only land contact between United Kingdom and European Continent, was closed on September 11, 2008.

However, on September 13, 2008, it was reopened.

The news could have caused scare to due to the date on which it had occurred.

Secondly, it again bring into light a man made marvel where two landmass are joined by 39 km longest undersea tunnel. It joins Calais in France with Folkstone in United Kingdom.

"The Channel Tunnel has suffered several incidents since it opened to traffic in 1994 although only one - a fire in 1996 - caused casualties.

In August 2006, 34 people had to be led to safety after a fire broke out on a lorry being carried on a freight train."

Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. Crisis

Lehman Brothers an Introduction:

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (Lehman Brothers) serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. The Company provides an array of services in equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, investment banking, asset management, private investment management and private equity. The Company operates three business segments: Capital Markets, Investment Banking and Investment Management. Lehman Brothers generates client-flow revenues from institutional, corporate, government and high-net-worth clients by advising on and structuring transactions; serving as a market maker and/or intermediary in the global marketplace, including having securities and other financial instrument products; originating loans for distribution to clients in the securitization or principals market; providing investment management and advisory services, and acting as an underwriter to clients.

The Crisis:
Throughout the year 2008, the Lehman Brothers has reported losses. It has suffered from subprime lending rates. Gradually, its shares have started falling at world capital market. It has given rise to rumours that the management is trying to find buyers to help them come out this crisis. It is one of the major financial institution of America. If some things go wrong with it, it will push the capital market into crises and its repercussions will also appear in Indian Capital Market.

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Sources:
Google Finance

Wikipedia

Subprime Mortgage: Wikipedia

Sikkim becomes first state to enforce 'model' police act - www.ddinews.com

Sikkim becomes first state to enforce 'model' police act - www.ddinews.com

The Sikkim Government has passed the Sikkim Police Act 2008. It has come into force from September 5, 2008.

The Act has now brought into force a fixed tenure for police officers, establishment of Police Accountability Commission etc.

India successfully test-fires missile 'Astra'-India-The Times of India

India successfully test-fires missile 'Astra'-India-The Times of India

Astra is an air to air missile. It was tried at ITR (Integrated Test Range) at Chandipur in Orissa. It is a project looked after by Defence Research Development Organisation.

The single stage, solid fuelled 'Astra' missile "is more advanced in its category than the contemporary BVR (beyond visual range) missiles and it is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets,"

Pink Slips on Increase in IT Industry

Satyam fires 400 employees- Software & Services-News-Indiatimes - Infotech

The four IT majors of Indian Job and Capital Market, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Satyam, (in that order), are relieving their employees for one reason or the other. Some of the reasons are: Rise of Dollar in relation to European currencies, possibility of reduced contract from America the major client in IT industry are the two main one.

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The Blogger strongly believes that Capital Market and IT Industry have started place in GS Prelims. The aspirants must develop liking for keeping tap on Indian Industry as a separate heading. The Economy Heading will continue separately. There is a need to collect notes under new heading.

3G services

MTNL to test launch 3G services in Delhi by September-end- Telecom-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

"3G services will enable the users to get high speed data services, video streaming and better voice solutions. The company has already been allocated the scarce 3G spectrum much ahead of the auction scheduled to happen by the end of this month."

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For a good understanding and preparation of notes on Third Generation Mobile (3G in short) Kindly visit here. In case, the link does not function, then kindly leave the message in the comments section, the blogger will upload the notes on 3G.

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Times of India. as accessed on September 13, 2008

Phelps replaces Mark Spitz with Eight Golds

Phelps makes history as USA win men's 4x100m medley gold - Aquatics - Other Sports - The Times of India Sports

"Michael Phelps became the first competitor in the history of the Olympics to win eight gold medals at single Games on August 16, 2008, surpassing the record set by fellow US swimmer Mark Spitz 36 years ago."

"Phelps had opened the swimming competition with a victory in the first event, the 400m individual medley, and went on to win the 200m medley, 100m and 200m butterfly, 200m freestyle and both the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays."

Usain Bolt of Jamaica, 100 record holder, Olympics.

Bolt could have run 100m in 9.55sec, study - Athletics - Other Sports - The Times of India Sports

Usain Bolt of Jamaica is record holder in the Beijing Olympic 2008 in 100m sprint.

Double crown for Advani in world billiards - Snooker/Billiards - Other Sports - The Times of India Sports

Double crown for Advani in world billiards - Snooker/Billiards - Other Sports - The Times of India Sports

The 'Wonder Boy of Billiards' Pankaj Advani (23) won ONGC IBSF World Billiards Championship at Bangalore.

Chandrayaan-I passes thermal vacuum test-India-The Times of India

Chandrayaan-I passes thermal vacuum test-India-The Times of India

Chandrayaan I satellite is the first Indian mission to moon.

According to TOI report, " The ambitious moon mission is slated for second half of October. An ISRO official said on condition of anonymity that the first available date is October 22, and the launch window has been fixed between October 22 and 26. "

Further, " The nearly 1,400 kg Chandrayaan-I satellite would be launched by the 316-tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota.

There are six scientific payloads from NASA, ESA and Bulgaria in addition to the five Indian instruments onboard Chandrayaan-I."

The final announcement will be made by:
G Madhavan Nair, the Chairman of ISRO.

The Hindu : Front Page : 300% pay hike for President

The Hindu : Front Page : 300% pay hike for President

The salary of President of India has been increased from Rs. 50000 to Rs. 1.50 lakhs.

The salary of Vice President of India has been increased from Rs. 40000 to Rs. 1.25 lakhs.

The salary of Governor of a State has been increased from Rs. 36000 to Rs. 1. 10 lakhs.

The changes would be effective from January 2006.

The decision has been taken by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

Yuvraj Singh: T-20 International Performance of the Year

AFP: Dhoni and Yuvraj win ICC awards

Yuvraj Singh has became the inaugural winner of the Twenty20 international performance of the year. In other words, Yuvraj Singh is the T-20 International Performance of the Year 2008 (First to be awarded).

M. S. Dhoni, has won International Player of the Year 2008.


An added account be access here.

Cricinfo - Dhoni is ODI Player of Year

Cricinfo - Dhoni is ODI Player of Year

India's one-day captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has won the ODI Player of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony in Dubai.

The Associated Press: Quake in Iran kills 4, sends tremors across Gulf

The Associated Press: Quake in Iran kills 4, sends tremors across Gulf

It is latest news coming up. The quake is 6 in magnitude. It has epicenter about 850 miles south of the capital Tehran in the province of Hormozgan.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the initial quake's strength at magnitude 6.1.

In February 2005, a magnitude 6.4 quake in southern Iran killed 612 people. A magnitude 6.6 quake flattened the historic city of Bam in the same region in December 2003, killing 26,000 people.

Why it's so difficult to remove a judge-India-The Times of India

Why it's so difficult to remove a judge-India-The Times of India

In the above mentioned article on Times of India, the issue of impending Bill bringing amendment to Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968 is discussed.


Kindly note that in examination, generally hypothetical issues are not taken up. Secondly, the issue relates to Judiciary which can not be discussed publicly. However, this is an issue which can be part of interview especially for those candidates who may clear mains from Punjab and West Bengal.

Apart from that it takes up Article 124 of the Constitution, under which, the judge will be impeached if the motion is supported by two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting.

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NDTV.com news item Impeaching Justice Sen may not be easy by Deepak Bajpai, Anasuya Roy, and Sidharth Pandey is not right because it claims that it is the CJI which recommends the impeachment and then it is taken by the Parliament and that is not correct. The Times of India Report has specifically pointed a lacuna in it and writes, "Unprecedented as it is, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan's recommendation to the government for the removal of Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen has exposed a legal lacuna. For, Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968 does not envisage a contingency where the judiciary approaches the executive for the removal of a judge; the impeachment process provided by it is entirely in the domain of Parliament."

Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Experiment

Scientists Will Play God In A Tunnel Near Geneva

The European Organization of Nuclear Research (CERN) will conduct its largest experiment in Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on September 10, 2008, Wednesday.

The Times of India Report studies the Indian participation in the above mentioned experiment. It further explains many of the terms and facts associated with the experiment like it is going to continue for weeks together after September 10 or how there will be creation of Black Holes for the billionth part of a nano second and so on.

The Atlas Experiment of The Times Online is another article which studies some additional dimension of the experiment.

The Nuclear Deal Diary after Vienna NSG approval

The nuclear deal: The story so far

Rediff News has brought up an article in which it has tried to develop a chart of happenings already taken place and about to take place in September 2008

What's The Big Deal?-Editorial-Opinion-The Times of India

What's The Big Deal?-Editorial-Opinion-The Times of India

The above link to an editorial of TOI, the genesis of the controversy before the NSG in Vienna on the issue of supplying the nuclear material to India is covered. The editorial also speak in favour of working of the 123 Deal.

The Indian Personalities behind NSG Waiver to India

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News

Shyam Saran

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Anil Kakodkar

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M.K. Narayanan

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Shiv Shankar Menon

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Ronen Sen

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S. Jaishankar

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Source:The Tribune Indian September 7, 2008

Nuclear Deal: A chronology

Nuclear Deal: A chronology

The Contemporary happenings in India having international relations dimension has been passing through varied hurdles.

It has become an occasion for showing some historic thinking in present times.

Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) has given a waiver to India for not being a signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty. This has become an occasion for reviewing the history of the whole story and Rediff News has covered it.

The above mentioned post on Rediff News is a good note which can be useful in October 2008 as well as preparing for the interviews in March 2009

UPSC asked to reveal cut-off marks of civil services exam: HC-India-The Times of India

UPSC asked to reveal cut-off marks of civil services exam: HC-India-The Times of India

A Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar had asked upsc to make public the cut-off marks obtained by candidates in preliminary test of the civil services examination.

The main contention of the UPSC was that it would be misused by coaching institutes and hamper chances of meritorious students.

Grow For The Poor-Editorial-Opinion-The Times of India

Grow For The Poor-Editorial-Opinion-The Times of India

It is substantiating editorial to the report of World Bank reproduced on this blog here.

One-third of world's poor in India: Survey-India-The Times of India

One-third of world's poor in India: Survey-India-The Times of India

The report contains the World Bank's latest estimates on global poverty.

Coming Back and Ending a Hiatus

Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2008 held on 18/05/2008 is out.
Some of my students are going to take the examination in October and another set is going to take the next year Preliminary. I am now going to share their notes here.
I take this occassion to thanks all those who had been visiting this site during this period.
The Union Public Service Commission have a Facilitation Centre near Examination Hall Building in its Campus. Candidates may obtain any information /clarification regarding their examination on working days between 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM, in person or on Tel.No. 011-2338 5271, 011-23098543 or 011-23381125 from this Facilitation Centre.

One can check the whole list at UPSC Site.

Page five: General Studies Preliminary Paper 2006

As on page 10 series B
General Studies Preliminary Paper May 14, 2006
Time Allowed: Two Hours
MM: 150
Total Questions: 150

30.

Each of 8 identical balls is to be placed in the squares shown in the figure given above in a horizontal direction such that one horizontal row contains 6 balls and the other horizontal row contains 2 balls. In how many maximum different ways can this be done.
a. 38
b. 28
c. 16
d. 14

Ans: d. 14
Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Pending

Category: Mathematics

31. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
a. Slovenia : Bratislava
b. Seychelles : Victoria
c. Sierra Leone : Freetown
d. Uzbekistan : Tashkent

Ans: a. Slovenia : Bratislava

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. Slovakia is a landlocked country between Austria, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine. Source: Wikipedia
The Capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Slovenia got its independence in 1991. It is on the boarder of Italy and makes west coasts of Adriatic Sea. Source: Wikipeida
Victoria is the capital of Seychelles. It is an African country consisting of 115 islands. The nearest country is Madagascar. The island country is in Indian Ocean. Source: CIA Fact Book. Wikipedia.
Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is an African country on its west side towards Atlantic Ocean. The nearest countries are Guinea and Liberia. Source: Wikipedia. CIA Fact Book.
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan. It is one of the countries formed out of Soviet Union. It has borders with Afghanistan. Source: CIA Fact Book. Wikipedia.

Category: World Geography. Political.

32. Who is Wole Soyinka?

a. A well-known economist
b. A well-known football player
c. a well-known industrialist owning steel plants in many parts of the world.
d. Nobel Prize winner for literature.

Ans: d. Nobel Prize winner for literature.

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Wole Soyinka won Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. He is the first person of African descent to receive Nobel Prize. Source: Biography. Nobel Press Release.
The first Nobel prize in literature was given in 1901 to the poet and philosopher Sully Prudhomme, author of Stances et Poèmes (1865). Source: Literature Nobel Prizes.
Further, Rabindranath Tagore got Nobel Prize in 1913. It was the thirteenth Nobel prize starting from year 1901. No prize for literature was given for the years 1914, 1918, 1935, 1940, 1941, 1942, and 1943.
The Nobel prize for literature is given for poetry, novels, short stories, plays, essays and speeches. Source: Nobel Prize Literature Site.

Note: For future General Studies Papers, Preliminary, kindly also check Nobel Prize Winner Facts. To this day, there 776 Nobel prize winners. Out of them, 758 are individuals and 19 organizations. Out of 758 individuals, there are 33 women and 725 men. The maximum number of Nobel Prizes had been won by an organization. The organization, which has won maximum number of three prizes, is International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). Source: Nobel Prize Winner Facts:


Category: General Knowledge Literature.

33. Consider the following statements:
1. Length of a terrestrial mile is lesser than that of a nautical mile.
2. Harmattan is a dusty land-wind of the East African Coast.
3. Greece and Albania form a part of the Iberian Peninsula.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a. 1, 2 and 3
b. 2 and 3, only
c. 3 only
d. 1 only

Ans: d. 1 only

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
A nautical mile is equal to 1852 meters (about 6076 feet). Source: Answers.com
One mile is equal to 1609.344 m. Source: Answers.com

Iberian Peninsula is on the west-south of Europe. It consists two main countries viz; Spain, Andorra and Portugal. Similarly Scandinavia consists of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. The Netherlands consist of Holland (Netherlands), Belgium, Luxembourg as per Medieval History of Europe. Now Netherlands is a country which has popular province of Holland, the name by which this country is mostly popular.

Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, etc fall in the region of Balkans of Europe. Balkans Peninsula is also called the cockpit of Europe.
Harmattan is a dry and dusty easterly wind blowing south-west and west off the Sahara into the Gulf of Guinea (North Coast of Africa). It is a Natural Hazard. It is also sometimes called Doctor because it is believed to have healthful properties. It moves towards Atlantic Coast which is on the west. Hence it is not East African coast phenomena. Source: NASA

Category: World Geography: Physical.

Page Four: General Studies Preliminary Paper 2006

As on page 8 series B
General Studies Preliminary Paper May 14, 2006
Time Allowed: Two Hours
MM: 150
Total Questions: 150

23. Which of the following pairs is/are correctly matched?

	Inventor	:	Invention
1.	Christopher Cockerell	:	Hovercraft
2.	David Bushnell	:	Sumbarine
3.	J.C. Perrier	:	Steamship

Select the correct answer by using the code given below:
a. 1, 2 and 3
b. 1 and 2, only
c. 2 and 3, only
d. 1 and 3, only


Ans. a. 1, 2 and 3

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Christopher Cockerell was a British Engineer. He invented Hoovercraft. He was born on June 1, 1910 and died on June 1, 1999.

David Bushnell was an American inventor who invented the first submarine which was known as turtle.

J.C. Perrier: In 1775, the French man J. C. Perrier made a steamboat. However, the further development on steamship was hindered in France due to the French Revolution. J. C. Perrier was associated with the inventions and development of Steamship in France.

Reference: http://www.shipsonstamps.org/Topics/html/rad.htm, Steamboat in Wikipedia.

Category: Mechanical Engineering, Physics, History of Technology, Transportation.

Note: In this question, the question is about those people who were associated with the improvements and further developments of the devices. They were not the first inventors.

24. Which one among the following Commissions was set up in pursuance of a definite provision under an Article of the Constitution of India?
(a) University Grants Commission
(b) National Human Rights Commission
(c) Election Commission
(d) Central Vigilance Commission


Ans. c. Election Commission.

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Pending

Category: Political Science, Indian Constitution


25. Which among the following wrote “The Communist Manifesto” along with Karl Marx?
(a) Emile Durkheim
(b) Friedrich Engels
(c) Robert Brown
(d) Max Weber


Ans. b Friedrich Engels.

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Elaboration pending

Category: Western Thinkers, World History


26. Which portfolio was held by Dr. Rajendra Prasad in the Interim Government formed in the year 1946?

(a) Defence
(b) External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
(c) Food and Agriculture
(d) None


Ans. c. Food and Agriculture

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Life History as First President of India on Presidents of India site.

Category: Political Science, Indian Political History.



27. Who among the following was a presented with Sangeet Natak Akademi Ratna Award, 2005 for her lifetime achievement in dance?
(a) Chandralekha
(b) Tanjavur Balasaraswati
(c) Uma Sharma
(d) Yamini Krishnamurthy

Ans. a. Chandralekha


Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
For a News report on the above award which also shows the photograph of Chandralekha visit HERE. Chandralekha started her career as dancer of Bharatnatyam. She is now popular as choreographer. Along with her, five more people had received the Award (Fellowship). They were Smt. Zora Sehgal, Sh. Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Smt. Annapurna Devi, Sh. Tapas Sen and Smt. Bidhyabasini Devi. The Akademi Fellowship (Akademi Ratna) is restricted to 30 living persons at any given point of time for their excellence in the field of performing arts. For Detail visit Press Information Bureau site.


Tanjavur Balasaraswati: She was also renowned Bharatnatiyam dancer. She died in 1984.


Uma Sharma: She is a Kathak Dancer. She received Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Kathak in 1987.


Yamini Krishnamurthi: She is also a renowned Bharatnatiyam and Kuchipudi dancer. She received Sangeet Natak Akademy Award in 1977. She received Padam Shri in 1968 and Padam Bhushan in 2001.

(Guess Work): For a detailed note on the Music personalities of India visit HERE. The site can be useful as it can be used for making notes for General Studies Mains Paper II, on Indian personalities.

Category: India Heritage and Culture.

28. Which one of the following countries is the first country in the world to propose a carbon tax for its people to address global warming?
(a) Australia
(b) Germany
(c) Japan
(d) New Zealand

Ans. d. New Zealand


Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
Guardian News: According to May 5, 2005 report, New Zealand had proposed to introduce the tax by 2007.
The Age: According December 30, 2005 report of the Australian Newspaper, New Zealand had abandoned the plan to introduce the tax.
The Carbon Tax is being talked about for fulfilling the commitments of the signatory countries to Kyoto Protocol February 16, 2005.

Category: World Geography, Environment Pollution.




29. Consider the following statements:

1. A person who has held office as a permanent Judge of a High Court cannot plead or act in any court or before any authority in India except the Supreme Court.

2. A person is not qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court in India unless he has for at least five years held a judicial office in the territory of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither I nor 2


Ans. a. 1 only

Authentication Verification Validation Elaboration
The Article 217 of the Indian Constitution relates to the appointments and conditions of the office of Judge. The second statement is not true. The duration of judicial office should be ten years. In case of first statement, such a person who was judge of High Court can plead in other High Court and he can plead and act before Supreme Court. It is statement as written in the Indian Constitution as Article no 220 which is reproduced below.

It is given in Chapter V of the Indian Constitution.
The article is reproduced below for the statement 2: 217. Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court.—(1) Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State, and, in the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court, and shall hold office, in the case of an additional or acting Judge, as provided in article 224, and in any other case, until he attains the age of sixty-two years:
Provided that—
(a) a Judge may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his
office;
(b) a Judge may be removed from his office by the President in the manner provided
in clause (4) of article 124 for the removal of a Judge of the Supreme Court;
(c) the office of a Judge shall be vacated by his being appointed by the President to
be a Judge of the Supreme Court or by his being transferred by the President to any other
High Court within the territory of India.
(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court unless he is
a citizen of India and—
(a) has for at least ten years held a judicial office in the territory of India; or
(b) has for at least ten years been an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such
Courts in succession.

The related article Art.220 reproduced below for statement 1:
220. Restriction on practice after being a permanent Judge.—No person who, after the commencement of this Constitution, has held office as a permanent Judge of a High Court shall plead or act in any court or before any authority in India except the Supreme Court and the other High Courts.
Explanation.—In this article, the expression “High Court” does not include a High Court
for a State specified in Part B of the First Schedule as it existed before the commencement of
the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956.

Source: Constitution on the National Portal of India.

Note: It is not relevant here, but, this blogger has been discussing about sources online in India. In case of government of India sites, one always finds difficulty in accessing public information because they are usually given in PDF files. They are not made available in HTML. It is a feature which could be well criticised in work of Raman Kaul, also a blogger and owner of a site, who had transformed short stories of Munshi Premchand in HTML after taking it from C-DAC Noida site. In case of Western Countries, all such information is readily available on net in form of HTML which make it easy to collect it. In case of Our Documents as discussed at sumir-history.blogspot.com, another site of this blogger, this can be well verified and evaluated. There is so much talk of e-governance, Right to Information etc but the users requirementand usibility are not looked into. It is so official even in case of cyber world.

Acknowledgement: Prof. Dr. Sunil Khosla, Department of Post Graduate Studies in Political Science, Arya College, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, also a research scholar of UGC funded research on Human Rights in India for elaboration and clarifications.

Category: Political Science. Constitution of India.