Current General Knowledge: 2012

Current General Knowledge:  2012

ABBREVIATIONSNCCD: National Center for Cold Chain Development.
NCTC: National Counter Terrorism Center

AWARDS
Laureus Awards, 2012
Serbian tennis giant Novak Djokovic and Kenyan distance runner Vivian Cheruiyot have been named as the best Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, respectively, while the glory of best Team went to reigning Champions League football holders FC Barcelona.

Djokovic, the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title, is also the youngest player to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in the open era, at the age of 24.

Cheruiyot was considered one of the greatest distance runners of this generation. She picked up gold medals of both 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Barcelona, under coach Pep Guardiola, was winner of the Champions League and the Spanish League in the 2010/11 season. It was the fourth time the team was nominated for the Laureus but won it for the first time.

Grammy Awards, 2012
Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You” by Adele
Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul” by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse
Pop Vocal Album: “21” by Adele
Alternative Album: “Bon Iver” by Bon Iver
Rock Song: “Walk” by Foo Fighters
Rock Album: “Wasting Light” by Foo Fighters
Rock Performance: “Walk” by Foo Fighters
Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo” by Foo Fighters
R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.” by Chris Brown
R&B Song: “Fool For You” by Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim and Jack Splash
R&B Performance: “Is This Love” by Corrine Bailey Rae
Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West
Rap Performance: “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West
Rap Song: “All of the Lights” by Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter and Kanye West
World Music Album: “Tassili” by Tinariwen
Country Solo Performance: “Mean” by Taylor Swift
Country Album: “Own the Night” by Lady Antebellum
Country Performance by a Duo or Group: “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars
Country Song: “Mean” by Taylor Swift
Jazz Vocal Album: “The Mosaic Project” by Terri Lyne Carrington and various artists
Jazz Instrumental Album: “Forever” by Corea, Clark and White
Historical Album: “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, 2010-11
Punjabi University, Patiala has won the trophy defeating arch rivals GNDU, Amritsar. The coveted sports trophy has been awarded to the university for the fourth time as it had earned the maximum number of medals in the All-India Inter-University championships and registered the best overall performance in individual and team events held in one calendar year.

Business Standard awards for Corporate Excellence
CEO of the Year: Rajiv Bajaj, MD & CEO of Bajaj Auto
Company of the Year: Cognizant
Star MNC: Nestle India
Star SME: Jubilant FoodWorks
Star PSU: National Mineral Development Corporation

Oscar Awards, 2012
Best Film: Thomas Langmann for “The Artist”. The film is the first silent film to win the award since the World War I saga “Wings” was named outstanding picture at the first Oscars in 1929.
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”.
Best Actress: Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”. This was her third Oscar.
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, for “The Artist”.
Best Actor in a supporting role: Christopher Plummer for “Beginners”. He is 82 years old and wins his first Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer for “The Help”.
Best Foreign Language Film: Asghar Farhadi for Iranian film “A Separation”, which became the first Iranian film ever to win an Oscar.
Short film Animated: William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”.
Short Film (Live Action): George and Oorlagh George for “The Shore”.
Original Screenplay: Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris”. This was his first Oscar in last 25 years.
Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash for “The Descendants”. Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie from “Man or Muppet”.
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource for “The Artist”.
Best Visual Effects: Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning for “Hugo”.
Best Animated feature film: Gore Verbinski for “Rango”.
Best Documentary: T.J. Martin, Dan Lindsay and Rich Middlemas for “Undefeated”.
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland for “The Iron Lady”.
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges for “The Artist”.
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti (Production Design); Francesca Lo Schiavo (Set Decoration) for “Hugo”.
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson for “Hugo”.

National Tourism Award
In a nod to the active interest that States have taken in developing tourism, Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim swept the National Tourism Award ceremony with the maximum number of awards. While Madhya Pradesh got four awards, including best State for tourism infrastructure and best tourism film, Sikkim got the award for tourism infrastructure in the north-east and best State for the Clean India campaign.

Besides Madhya Pradesh and Sikkim, Rajasthan and Kerala also bagged the awards.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad was adjudged the best airport and New Delhi Railway Station got the award for best tourist-friendly station in the country.

CYBER SPACE
Facebook turns eight
Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking site with an estimated 845 million active subscribers, has turned eight. Since its launch on February 4, 2004, at Harvard University, in Mark Zuckberg's dormitory room, the social networking giant has witnessed massive growth.

While, the company CEO Zuckerberg is best known as the man who built Facebook, the company has three other co-founders, all college roommates and fellow students at Harvard—Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

The four initially built the service exclusively for Harvard students, but it was soon expanded to other colleges and eventually added support for students at various other universities.

Initially it was called “thefacebook.com”. However, on February 4, 2008, Zukerberg renamed to domain name and launched what we know today as Facebook.

RESEARCH
World’s first ‘biological computer’
Scientists in the US claim to have developed the world’s first biological computer that is made from bio-molecules and can decipher images encrypted on DNA chips.

A team from the Scripps Research Institute in California and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology claims it has created the computing system using bio-molecules.

In the research, when suitable software was applied to the biological computer, the scientists found that it could decrypt, separately, fluorescent images of Scripps Research Institute and Technion logos.

Although DNA has been used for encryption in the past, this is the first experimental demonstration of a molecular cryptosystem of images based on DNA computing.

In contrast to electronic computers, there are computing machines in which all four components are nothing but molecules. For example, all biological systems and even entire living organisms are such computers. Every one of us is a bio-molecular computer, a machine in which all four components are molecules that talk to one another logically. The hardware and software in these devices are complex biological molecules that activate one another to carry out some pre-determined chemical work.

The input is a molecule that undergoes specific, pre-determined changes, following a specific set of rules (software), and the output of this chemical computation process is another well-defined molecule.

SPACE RESEARCH
Mars too dry to host life
Mars is too dry a planet to host any form of life, British scientists have concluded. An analysis of soil, collected during 2008 NASA Phoenix mission to Mars, by Imperial College London, has revealed the Red Planet has experienced a 600-million-year super-drought.

The three-year-long research found that the surface of Mars had been dry for such a long time that any life would have to be lurking deep underground. The scientists deduced that there had been water present during a warmer period lasting up to 5,000 years in distant past, but this would have been too little time for life to establish itself on the surface.

Space Janitor to get rid of orbiting debris
Swiss scientists plan to launch a janitor satellite specially designed to get rid of orbiting debris known as space junk. The $11-million satellite, called “CleanSpace One”, the prototype for a family of such satellites, is being built by the Swiss Space Center at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).

EPFL said its launch would come within three to five years and its first tasks are to grab two Swiss satellites launched in 2009 and 2010.

The US space agency NASA says over 500,000 pieces of spent rocket stages, broken satellites and other debris are being tracked as they orbit Earth. The debris travels at speeds approaching 28,000 kmph, fast enough to destroy or inflict costly and time-draining damage on a satellite or spacecraft. Collisions, in turn, generate more fragments floating in space. It has become essential to be aware of the existence of this debris and the risks that are run by its proliferation.

Building the satellite means developing new technology to address three big problems. The first hurdle has to do with trajectory: the satellite has to be able to adjust its path to match that of its target. Next, the satellite has to grab hold of and stabilize the debris at high speeds. And, finally, “CleanSpace One” has to be able to take the debris, or unwanted satellites, back into Earth’s atmosphere, where they will burn on re-entry.

MISCELLANEOUS
Ice Age flower blossoms again
It was an Ice Age squirrel’s treasure chamber, a burrow containing fruit and seeds that had been stuck in the Siberian permafrost for over 30,000 years. From the fruit tissues, a team of Russian scientists managed to resurrect an entire plant in a pioneering experiment that paves the way for revival of other species.

The Silene stenophylla is the oldest plant ever to be regenerated , the researchers said, and it is fertile, producing white flowers and viable seeds.

The experiment proves that permafrost serves as a natural depository for ancient life forms.

Canadian researchers had earlier regenerated some significantly younger plants from seeds found in burrows.

Svetlana Yashina who led the regeneration effort, said the revived plant looked very similar to its modern version, which still grows in the same area .It’s a very viable plant, and it adapts really well, she said.

The team recovered the fruit after investigating dozens of fossil burrows hidden in ice deposits on the right bank of the lower Kolyma River in north-eastern Siberia, the sediments dating back 30,000-32,000 years. The sediments were firmly cemented together and often totally filled with ice, making any water infiltration impossible, creating a natural freezing chamber fully isolated from the surface.

Current General Knowledge:  2012

ABBREVIATIONS APA: Advance Pricing Agreement. DTC: Direct Tax Code. GAAR: General Anti-Avoidance Rules. AWARDS National Film Awards, 59th Best Feature Film: “Devur” (Marathi) & “Byari” (Kannada) Best Director: Gurvinder Singh, “Anhe Ghorey Da Daan” (Punjabi) Best Actor: Girish Kulkarni, “Deool” Best Actress: Vidya Balan, “The Dirty Picture” Best Supporting Actor: Appu Kutty, “Azhagar Samiyin Kuthirai” (Tamil) Best Supporting Actress: Leishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi, “Phijigee Mani” (Manipuri) Best Child Artist: Partho Gupte, “Stanley Ka Dabba” and “Chillar Party” cast: Irrfan Khan, Sanath Menon, Rohan Grover, Naman Jain, Aarav Khanna, Vishesh Tiwari, Chinmai Chandranshuh, Vedant Desai, Divij Handa, Shriya Sharma Best Film on Social Issues: “Inshallah” (Ashvin Kumar) and “Mindscape” (Arun Chadha) Best Non Feature Film: “And We Play On” Best Debut Film of a Director: “The Silent Poet” (Manipuri) Best Children’s Film: “Chillar Party” Best Music Direction: Neel Dutt, “Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona” (Bengali) Best Background Score: “Laptop”, Mayookh Bhaumik Best Singer (Female): Rupa Ganguly, for the Bengali film “Abosheyshey” Best Singer (Male): Anand Bhate, for Marathi film “Balgandharva” Best Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya, “I Am” Best Screenplay (Adapted): “Shala”, Avinash Deshpande Best Screenplay (Original): “Chillar Party”, Vikas Behl & Nitish Tiwari Indira Gandhi award for debut film director: Thiagarajan Kumararaja for “Aaranya Kaandam” Best Dialogue: Girish Kulkarni, “Deool” Best Make Up Artist: Vijram Gaekwad, “The Dirty Picture” and “Bal Gandharva” Best Special Effects: “Ra.One” Best Costume Design: Niharika Khan, “The Dirty Picture” and Neeta Lulla, “Bal Gandharva” Best Choreography: Bosco-Caeser for “Senorita...” from “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” Best Editing: Praveen K.L., “Aranyaa Kandam” Best Popular film providing wholesome entertainment: “AzhagarsamiyinKuthirai” (Tamil) Best Hindi Film: “I Am” Directed by Onir. Best Marathi Film: “Shaala” Best Kannada Film: “Kurmavatara” Best Bengali Film: “Ranjana Ami Aar Ashbona” Best Malayalam Film: “Indian Rupee” Best Tamil Film: “Vaagai Sooda Vaa” Best Dogri Film: “Dille Ch Vasya Koi” Best Manipuri Film: “Phijigee Mani” Best Punjabi Film: “Anne Gode Da Daan” Special Mention: Director Shari for “Adi Madhyantam” (Malayalam Film) and Mallika for “Byari” (Kannada Film) Best Film Critic: Manoj P. Pujari Best Book Award: Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal for “R.D. Burman The Man, The Music” Special Jury Award: Anjan Dutta for “Ranjana Ami Aar Ashbo Na” Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Media Person, 2012 Tushita Mittal of Tehelka magazine has been selected for her reports on life in interior Bengal, Orissa and Chattisgarh, affected by bloody civil strife, naxal and vigilante violence. DEFENCE Army operationalises second supersonic BrahMos regiment On March 4, 2012, the Indian Army successfully test fired the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Pokharan range to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in service. The Army has so far placed orders for three regiments of the supersonic cruise missile and, with the latest test-firing, two of them have been inducted operationally. The Defence Ministry has given a go-ahead to the Army to induct a third regiment for being deployed in Arunachal Pradesh, along the China border. One regiment of the 290-km range BrahMos consists around 65 missiles, five mobile autonomous launchers on Tatra vehicles and two mobile command posts, among other equipment. ENVIRONMENT World’s five hotspots of biodiversity Here are five of the world’s highest biodiversity ecologies still over 70 percent intact, as identified by the Conservation International. Hotspots require two main criteria: At least 1,500 vascular plant species with over half endemic to the region, or found only there. Amazon Rain Forest: The Amazon wilderness, which spans nine countries, is home to 40,000 plant species, of which the majority are not found anywhere else. It is also home to more primate species anywhere in the world, possibly more insects as well. The Brazilian government said in December 2011 that deforestation rates in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, had fallen to the lowest levels since 1988. Congo Basin: Second only to the Amazon in terms of area, the Congo Basin is home to biologically important species from large mammals - antelopes, elephants, and most famously, gorillas - as well as human communities and old growth forests. With a reach across seven African nations, it is only 11 percent protected—largely through national parks. New Guinea: Islands often have exceptionally rich biodiversity as does New Guinea—it is the world’s highest and second largest behind Greenland, located in the Southwest Pacific. A total of 1,000 species have been discovered since 1998—from birds, butterflies, coral, dolphins, fish, orchids, reptiles, and sharks. North American deserts: The Mojave, Colorado, Chihuahua, Sonoran, and Baja California deserts that stretch from the south-western US to Mexico are some of the most biologically diverse in the world, with 6,000 vascular plant species, as well as other special types of animals who have adapted to the climate, from bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, kangaroo rats, jackrabbits, roadrunners, and wild horses. Southern Africa: The Miombo-Mopane woodlands and savannahs stretch across 10 countries in central southern Africa from Angola to Mozambique. They are home to animal species including the endangered black rhinoceros and almost 80 percent of all African elephants. This wilderness area is threatened by climate change, drought, development and the need to balance the survival needs of the people who live there with conservation efforts. HEALTH Popcorn is the perfect health snack A new study has claimed that popcorn, the humble cinema snack, is the perfect health food. Researchers at the University of Scranton have found that popcorn—already known for being fibre-packed and relatively low in fat—is packed with more health-boosting antioxidants than fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are known to reduce one’s risk of cancer, dementia and even heart disease. And, the potent antioxidants, called polyphenols, in popcorn can fight harmful molecules that accumulate in the body and damage cells. They can also help to increase blood flow by relaxing the arteries. The researchers said polyphenols are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages only about 4 per cent water, compared with the 90 per cent that makes up many fruits and vegetables. In fact, the study revealed that the amount of polyphenols found in popcorn was up to 300 mg a serving, which would provide 13 per cent of an average intake of polyphenols a day. In another surprising finding, the researchers discovered the hulls of popcorn, the part everyone hates for its tendency to get caught in the teeth, has the highest concentration of polyphenols and fibre. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way. But, the researchers have cautioned that the way it is served—cooking it in oil and adding butter, salt or sugar—can put a dent in its health benefits. Air-popped popcorn has lowest number of calories, compared with popping it in oil. PERSONS Singh, Lt Gen Bikram He has been appointed as the Chief of Army Staff and will take over from May 31, 2012. He becomes the second Sikh General of the Indian army. He is also the first Army chief who was commissioned after the country’s last full-fledged war, in 1971 with Pakistan. He was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry (Sikh LI) regiment on March 31, 1972. During his distinguished career, he has headed the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. He has also served as deputy force commander of a multi-nation UN peace keeping mission in Congo, as also as UN observer in Nicaragua and El Salvador during the early 1990s. He has studied with distinction at the Defence Services Staff College, the Army War College and the US Army War College, Pennsylvania. He has also done an M.Phil in Defence Management from the Indore University. His long list of decorations include a Param Vishist Seva Medal (PVSM), a Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM), an Ati Vishist Seva Medal (AVSM), Sena Medal (SM) and a Vishist Seva Medal (VSM). RESEARCH World’s first cloned Pashmina goat After becoming the first country to clone the buffalo, scientists in India have made a breakthrough by successfully cloning the first Pashmina goat. The healthy female kid was born on March 9, 2012. A six-member-team of scientists from Karnal’s National Dairy Research Institute and Jammu’s Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology used somatic cells from the ear of a donor goat to create the clone. Pashmina is a special breed of goat, indigenous to the high altitudes (above 3,000 mts) of the Himalayas. The sought after Pashmina wool—legendary for its softness and warmth— is made with the fur of these goats. Each Pashmina fibre is about one-sixth the width of a human hair, and one shawl requires about 24 ounces of wool, the annual output of about four goats. Unfortunately, the annual Pashmina production in India hardly crosses 40 tonnes—less than 0.5% of the total world production of approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum. Even worse, while the world Pashmina production has almost doubled from 5,000 tonnes in the early nineties, the Indian Pashmina industry has remained static with the Changthang plateau of Ladakh contributing almost 90% of the total production. Every year, a single goat sheds 100-250 gm of wool compared to 750-1,000 gm per annum in countries like China, Russia and Mongolia. Scientists say low rates of animal productivity, static population and high disease prevalence is seriously hampering Pashmina production in India. Successfully cloning the animal will help multiply the number of Pashmina goats drastically. One goat would have given birth to a single offspring every year. Through cloning, we can get surrogate mothers to give birth to 40-50 off-springs annually. Pashmina wool is the finest in the world, second only to Shahtoosh made from the wool of the Chiru or Tibetan antelope. However, international trade in Shahtoosh shawls has been banned to protect the endangered species. Too delicate for machine driven looms, Pashmina wool is spun and woven by hand. SPACE RESEARCH Oxygen detected on Saturn’s moon Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists and an international research team have announced discovery of molecular oxygen ions in the upper-most atmosphere of Dione, one of the 62 known moons orbiting the ringed planet. The research appeared recently in Geophysical Research Letters and was made possible via instruments aboard NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997. Dione—discovered in 1684 by astronomer Giovanni Cassini (after whom the spacecraft was named)—orbits Saturn at roughly the same distance as our own moon orbits Earth. The tiny moon is a mere 700 miles wide and appears to be a thick, pockmarked layer of water ice surrounding a smaller rock core. As it orbits Saturn every 2.7 days, Dione is bombarded by charged particles (ions) emanating from Saturn’s very strong magnetosphere. These ions slam into the surface of Dione, displacing molecular oxygen ions into Dione’s thin atmosphere through a process called sputtering. Molecular oxygen ions are then stripped from Dione's exosphere by Saturn’s strong magnetosphere. A sensor aboard the Cassini spacecraft, called the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), detected the oxygen ions in Dione’s wake during a flyby of the moon in 2010. Perhaps even more exciting is the possibility that on a moon with sub-surface water, such as Jupiter’s moon Europa, molecular oxygen could combine with carbon in sub-surface lakes to form the building blocks of life. Future missions to Europa could help unravel questions about that moon’s habitability. MISCELLANEOUS RuPay—Rival to Visa and Mastercard National Payments Corporation of India—a Reserve Bank of India initiative—is set to replay the ATM revolution in the cards business with the launch of RuPay debit cards, which undercut Visa and Mastercard on processing fees on transactions. Coinciding with the launch, the central bank has also directed banks to cut charges levied on shopkeepers for facilitating debit card payments. On March 26, 2012, four public sector banks—State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Union Bank of India—launched the first set of RuPay cards in India. The RuPay card is meant to be on the lines of China Union Pay—a Chinese government promoted payments and settlement platform for card transactions that broke the Visa-Mastercard stranglehold. India will be able to save hundreds of crores in foreign exchange by having a domestic payment system, as Visa and Mastercard are paid in foreign currency.

Current General Knowledge: April 2012

ABBREVIATIONS RISAT: Radar Image Satellite. DEENCE Agni-V successfully launched On April 19, 2012, India successfully launched its Agni-V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast. For the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), this was the 25th launch of the Agni series of missiles and without doubt it’s most prestigious. With a range of 5,000 km, Agni-V would travel a distance of 2,000 km more than any other Indian missile, making it the longest range missile currently available in India’s strategic armoury. It is also the fastest of the missiles, travelling at 24 times the speed of sound or 6,000 meters per second, covering the distance of 5,000 km in just 20 minutes. Agni-V’s navigational system is a quantum jump over its cousins, making it the most accurate of the lot. It will soon have an unenviable mobility when it is made ready for what is known as a ‘canister launch’ so that it could be launched from anywhere in India at anytime. Missiles of the Agni class require mastery over vital technologies that include building powerful light-weight rocket motors, a sophisticated navigation and guidance system and material to withstand the high temperatures experienced during re-entry. For Agni-V, the missile team developed two new rocket motors using composite material that made the overall missile far lighter. The team saved as much as 40 per cent of the weight, thereby enabling it to add more propellant to power the missile to greater distances. The team also worked on developing a carbon composite covering for its warhead to withstand the incredibly high temperatures of 6,000 degrees Celsius when the missile re-enters the atmosphere. As important was improving the navigation and guidance system that, despite the tremendously long range, piloted the missile to the target and then exploded the payload within minimum error over the Indian Ocean. INS Teg: New Stealth frigate for Indian Navy The 3,970-tonne INS Teg frigate, armed with the 290-km BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles among other weapon systems, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Yantar shipyard at Kaliningrad in Russia on April 27, 2012. Taking its name from the short, single-edged curved swords traditionally used by the Sikhs, INS Teg will sail with a crew of 24 officers and 229 sailors. Two other stealth frigates, INS Tarkash and INS Trikand, ordered from Russia under a $1.15-billion contract inked in 2006, will follow in September 2012, and July 2013. With an operating range of 4,500 nautical miles, these frigates can handle many threats in all the three dimensions—air, surface and underwater. These warships pack more power than the earlier three Talwar-class frigates bought from Russia in 2003-04, equipped as they are with BrahMos land-attack missiles, surface-to-air missiles, AK-630 close-in weapon systems, torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets and an upgraded multi-role combat suite. The 125-metre-long INS Teg, which can operate an anti-submarine or early-warning helicopter from its deck, has innovative design features to ensure reduction in its radar cross-section, infra-red, magnetic and acoustic signatures, as well as radiated underwater noise to enhance its stealth nature. The warship is also equipped with complex automated systems for NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) defence and damage control. PROJECTS Gujarat Solar Park On April 19, 2012, Mr Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, dedicated 600MW solar power generation capacity to the Nation. Asia’s first and largest “multi-developer, multi-facility and multi-beneficiary” Solar Park is located at Charanka Village in Pattan, Gujarat. The State of Gujarat contributes two-thirds of the total 900MW solar power generated in India. Bhatinda oil refinery dedicated to the nation On April 28, 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dedicated the Bathinda refinery to the nation. The state-of-the-art refinery has used structural steel that would have been enough to build 15 buildings of the size of Eiffel Tower, each 320 metres in height. The amount of cement and concrete used in the refinery would have built the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, twice with each structure measuring 829.84 metres. The Chimneys of the refinery compete with Qutub Minar, the tallest minaret in India. The height of the chimneys is 141.7 metres, double the height of Qutub Minar. Over 2,800-km-long pipelines have been used over 2,000 acres of land. The pipelines are long enough to cover distance from Bathinda to Mumbai and even more. The Crude Oil Terminal at Mundra and crude pipeline are sufficient to hold three days of India’s total crude oil requirement. Apart from being an engineering marvel, the refinery is also self-sustainable in terms of power generation. Located in fuel and power deficient North India, the plant uses its poisonous gases for producing 153-MW of power, thereby, managing the emission that could have harmed the environment. The present capacity of the refinery is 9 million metric tonnes per annum, which, steel tycoon Laxmi N. Mittal said, would be doubled to 18 million metric tonnes in the years to come. SPACE RESEARCH RISAT-1 launched successfully On April 26, 2012, a microwave Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1) was successfully launched by PSLV, launched from the spaceport at Wheeler Island in Andhra Pradesh. The indigenous RISAT-1, with a life span of five years, would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry. Its high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes as it can look through the clouds and fog. The ISRO-made RISAT-1 is the heaviest luggage so far ferried by a PSLV since 1993. This was the 20th successive successful flight of PSLV. With 11 remote sensing/earth observation satellites orbiting in the space, India is a world leader in the remote sensing data market. The 11 satellites are TES, Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-1, 2, 2A and 2B, IMS-1, RISAT-2, Oceansat-2, Resourcesat-2 and Megha-Tropiques. RISAT-1is synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can acquire data in C-band and would orbit the earth 14 times a day. In 2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg RISAT-2 with an Israeli built SAR, enabling earth observation in all weather, day and night conditions. The rocket that delivered RISAT-1 in the space is ISRO’s four stage PSLV’s upgraded variant called PSLV-XL. The letters XL stand for extra large. The six strap-on motors hugging the rocket at the bottom can carry 12 tonnes of solid fuel, as against the base version that has a fuel capacity of nine tonnes. ISRO had earlier used the PSLV-XL variant for its Chandrayaan-1 moon mission in 2008 and for launching the GSAT-12 communications satellite in 2011. MISCELLANEOUS How is President of India elected? The Electoral College that votes for the President comprises the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the State Assemblies. To ensure uniformity in representation of each State according to its population and the total number of elected MLAs from each, a certain value is attached to the vote of an MLA of each State, and a value is also attached to each MP's vote. The value of an MLA’s vote is calculated by dividing the total population of his State by the total seats in the Vidhan Sabha of that State, and then again dividing it by 1,000. The value of an MP’s vote is worked out by adding the total value of votes assigned to all MLAs of the country, and then dividing it by the number of elected members of Parliament (both Houses). For the election, members of the Electoral College mark their order of preference for each candidate on the ballot. A candidate in order to be elected must secure his quota of votes (values added up), which is 50 per cent of valid votes plus 1. Second preference is considered when no candidate wins more than half the total votes. Web-linked glasses from Google On April 4, 2012, Google offered a look at a previously secret project to develop Internet-connected glasses, staking out a lead position in a futuristic and fast-growing area known as wearable computing. The glasses, which are still in a prototype stage, would place a small see-through display screen above a person’s eye that can show maps and other data. The wearer could use voice commands to, say, pull up directions or send a message to a friend. Apple, a major Google rival, is also reportedly working on wearable computers. In April 2008, the company filed a patent for a head-mounted display system that showed glasses with screens. Some more basic wearable computers are quickly becoming everyday products. Nike, in early 2012, began selling a bracelet called the Fuel-Band that tracks a person’s activity. A company called Jawbone sells a similar monitoring device called “Up”. Motorola sells a head-mounted display device aimed at business use “Golden-I”, with the screen on an arm that hangs in front of the wearer’s face.

United Nations General Knowledge (UNO GK) 2

United Nations General Knowledge (UNO GK)

 

CONTINUED......

51. How many number of votes can be exercised by a member state in the UN General Assembly :
(A) Two votes
(B) One vote
(C) Three votes
(D) Four votes

52. What is the majority required of member states of UN when they take a decision on important issues :
(A) Two-third majority
(B) Two-fourth majority
(C) Two-six majority
(D) Absolute majority

53. Which UN body draws attention of the Security Council to situation that is likely to endanger Inter- national Peace and Security :
(A) Special Committee of UN
(B) General Assembly of UN
(C) Developed Countries Committee
(D) All the above

54. Which Article of the UN Charter provides that the UN General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of promoting international co-operation in the political field and en- courage the progressive development of international law and its codification :
(A) Article 14
(B) Article 19
(C) Article 13
(D) Article 12

55. Which of the following has been awarded Noble Prize :
(A) ASEAN
(B) European Union
(C) Security Council
(D) International Labour Organisation

56. On whose internal affairs, UN General Assembly shall not pass any resolution :
(A) Security Council
(B) ILO
(C) WHO
(D) State

57. Which function does not belong to UN General Assembly :
(A) World legislative body
(B) Decision-making body
(C) Policy-making body
(D) All the above

58. Which principal organs are controlled by the UN General Assembly :
(A) Economic and Social Council
(B) Trusteeship Council
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the above

59. Which organs are subordinate to the UN :
(A) Economic and Social Council
(B) Trusteeship Council
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the above

60. Which organ of the UN approves budget of the UN :
(A) Secretary General
(B) Secretary
(C) Financial Secretary General
(D) General Assembly of UN

61. Which Article of the UN Charter provides that ‘The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization and expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the members as apportioned by the General Assembly :
(A) Article 17
(B) Article 18
(C) Article 19
(D) Article 20

62. Which of the following is not a World Bank constituent :
(A) International Monetary Fund
(B) International Development Association
(C) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
(D) International Finance Corporation

63. To which country, UN emergency force was sent by the UN :
(A) India
(B) Egypt
(C) Congo
(D) (B) and (C)

64. Which of the following is originated by the Berne Treaty of 1874 :
(A) World Metrological Organisation
(B) International Maritime Organisation
(C) International Labour Organisation
(D) Universal Postal Union

65. What kinds of committees are there as main committees of the UN General Assembly :
(A) Dibabmanent and Internal Security Committee, Economic and Financial
(B) Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, Special Political and Decolonization
(C) Administrative and Budgetary Committee, Legal Committee
(D) All the above

66. In which year, the UN passed a resolution establishing the International Law Commission:
(A) 1947
(B) 1948
(C) 1946
(D) 1989

67. In which year, UN resolution established the United Nations Institute for Training and Research :
(A) 1969
(B) 1965
(C) 1967
(D) 1968

68. Which UN institution established that decision of the UN administrative tribunal shall be binding upon the UN member states :
(A) Security Council
(B) Committee of Security
(C) International Court of Justice
(D) None of the above

69. In which year, UN established UN Conference on Trade and Development :
(A) 1974
(B) 1977
(C) 1968
(D) 1964

70. When did the UN General Assembly pass ‘Unity for Peace Resolution’ :
(A) 4th November, 1950
(B) 8th November, 1950
(C) 3rd November, 1950
(D) 10th November, 1950

71. When can the special emergency session of the General Assembly be called :
(A) Absolute majority
(B) 9 affirmative votes of the Security Council
(C) The majority of the members of the General Assembly
(D) (B) and (C)

72. Which UN body may consider the matter if the Security Council fails to prevent any aggression or to take any action in respect of any breach of peace :
(A) UN General Assembly
(B) Security Committee of developing countries
(C) UN Developed Countries Committee
(D) None of the above

73. How many number of UN collective members measures committee examine ‘studying and report the matters relating to international peace and security’ :
(A) 18
(B) 14
(C) 15
(D) 16

74. Which UN member country challenged and criticized the ‘UN Resolution Uniting for Peace’ :
(A) India
(B) Japan
(C) America
(D) USSR

75. Who appoints the Secretary-General of the UN:
(A) UN General Assembly
(B) UN Security Council
(C) UN General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
(D) UN Under-developed Countries

76. Under which Article of the UN Charter, Secretary- General shall be appointed by the UN General Assembly on the basis of recommendations of the Security Council :
(A) Article 78
(B) Article 97
(C) Article 99
(D) Article 96

77. On whose vote of the UN organ, a member of the UN, who is in arrears of the payment of its financial contribution to the Organization, may be deprived from the membership:
(A) Security Council
(B) General Assembly
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the these

78. What is the majority required when UN General Assembly deprives a member state from membership because of arrears of the payment of financial contribution to the UN Organization :
(A) Two-third majority
(B) Two-fourth majority
(C) Absolute majority
(D) None of the above

79. Who elects ten non-permanent members of the Security Council :
(A) UN
(B) UN General Assembly
(C) UN Developing Countries
(D) All the above

80. Under which Article of the UN Charter, expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the members as apportioned by the General Assembly :
(A) 16
(B) 16(1)
(C) 17(2)
(D) 17

81. Who elects 54 members of the UN Economic and Social Council :
(A) UN developing council
(B) UN developing countries
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) UN General Assembly

82. Who elects judges of the International Court of Justice:
(A) Supreme Court
(B) High Court
(C) UN General Assembly
(D) UN Security Council

83. In which Conference, it was finally decided to establish a Security Council :
(A) New York Conference
(B) San Francisco Conference
(C) London Conference
(D) Tokyo Conference

84. How many members are there in the Security Council :
(A) 18
(B) 15
(C) 16
(D) 14

85. How many permanent members exist in the Security Council :
(A) 6
(B) 7
(C) 5
(D) 4

86. How many members are non- permanent in the Security Council :
(A) 9
(B) 8
(C) 5
(D) 10

87. Who are the permanent members in the Security Council :
(A) China
(B) America
(C) Britain
(D) All the above

88. On what date Security Council came into existence :
(A) 12 January, 1945
(B) 12 January, 1948
(C) 12 January, 1946
(D) 12 January, 1950

89. On 12th January, 1946, UN General Assembly elected how many members in the Security Council :
(A) 4
(B) 7
(C) 6
(D) 9

90. On what date, UN General Assembly amended Article 23 of the UN Charter to extend the number of 15 members in the Security Council :
(A) 17th December, 1963
(B) 18th December, 1963
(C) 19th December, 1963
(D) 21st December, 1963

91. For what period, ten non-permanent members are elected by the UN General Assembly :
(A) 4 years
(B) 2 years
(C) 3 years
(D) 6 years

92. Which type of members in the Security Council have a veto power :
(A) Permanent members
(B) Non-official members
(C) Non-permanent members
(D) None of the above

93. When ‘veto is not considered as action of a permanent member’ :
(A) US Senate passed resolution
(B) British Parliament made a law
(C) Security Council permanent members absent during meeting of the Security Council
(D) All the above

94. What are the functions and powers of the Security Council:
(A) Maintenance of international peace and security, elective functions
(B) Supervisory functions
(C) Constituent functions
(D) All the above

95. Under Article 41 of the UN Charter, how does the Security Council take military action against any country :
(A) through air
(B) through sea
(C) through land
(D) all the above

96. Under Article 43 of the UN Charter, Security Council asks whom to contribute for the maintenance of international peace and security and make available its armed forces, etc:
(A) ILO
(B) International Peace Keeping Force
(C) UN members
(D) Non-aligned Nations

97. Which committee advise and assist Security Council on all matters relating to its military requirements for maintenance of international peace and security :
(A) Military Advisory Committee
(B) Military Staff Committee
(C) Military Security Council
(D) None of the above

98. Its work completed-its membership reduced now to the five permanent-members of the Security Council-for which this statement is relevant :
(A) UNESCO
(B) Trusteeship Council
(C) Economic and Social Council
(D) General Assembly

99. Which of the following statement is not correct:
(A) Trusteeship Council was established by the Charter in 1945.
(B) By 1994 all trust territories had attained self government or independence.
(C) The last trust territory of the Pacific Islands (Palau) became the 185th member state of the UN.
(D) The functions of the Trusteeship Council are transferred to the General Assembly.

100. When was the definition of aggression finally adopted without vote by the UN General Assembly :
(A) December, 13, 1974
(B) December, 12, 1974
(C) December, 18, 1974
(D) December, 14, 1974

Answers :51.(B)52.(A)53.(B)54.(C)55.(D)56.(D)57.(A)58.(C)59.(C)60.(D)
61.(A)62.(A)63.(D)64.(D)65.(D)66.(A)67.(B)68.(C)69.(D)70.(C)
71.(D)72.(A)73.(B)74.(D)75.(C)76.(B)77.(B)78.(A)79.(B)80.(C)
81.(D)82.(C)83.(A)84.(B)85.(C)86.(D)87.(D)88.(C)89.(C)90.(A)
91.(B)92.(A)93.(C)94.(D)95.(D)96.(C)97.(B)98.(B)99.(B)100.(D)

United Nations General Knowledge (UNO GK)

United Nations General Knowledge (UNO GK)

 

1. Which institution was the first attempt in the history towards the formation of the International society nations :
(A) League of Nations
(B) United Nations
(C) International UN Federation
(D) International Institution
ans1. (A)
2. Which institution is often termed as ‘a Child of War’:
(A) UN
(B) League of Nations
(C) SAARC
(D) WHO
ans2. (B)
3. Which government established a committee to study the plan for the formation of League of Nations :
(A) British Government
(B) American Government
(C) French Government
(D) German Government
ans 3. (C)
4. Which American President put forward his famous ‘Fourteen Point’ programme for the formation of League of Nations:
(A) Bill Clinton
(B) George Bush
(C) George Lincoln
(D) Wilson
ans4. (D)
5. Who got credit for the formation of League of Nations :
(A) President Wilson
(B) President Thomson
(C) Abraham Lincoln
(D) None of the above
ans5. (A)
6. When was the League of Nations formed :
(A) 5th January, 1920
(B) 8th January, 1920
(C) 10th January, 1920
(D) 15th January, 1920
ans 6. (C)
7. Which countries made a joint draft known as ‘Hirst-Millar Draft’, for the League of Nations :
(A) India and America
(B) British Government and India
(C) America and Britain
(D) None of the above
ans 7. (C)
8. Which countries were the permanent members of the League of Nations :
(A) America and Britain
(B) France
(C) Italy and Japan
(D) All the above
ans 8. (D)
9. For which World War League of Nations is often called the ‘Child of War’ :
(A) First
(B) Second
(C) Third
(D) Fourth
ans  9. (A)
10. Which Conference adopted the United Nations Charter on 26th January, 1945 :
(A) London Conference
(B) Tokyo Conference
(C) San Francisco Conference
(D) None of the above
ans 10. (C)

11. When San Francisco Conference adopted United Nations Charter, how many Nations signed the said Charter :
(A) 52
(B) 50
(C) 53
(D) 54
ans 11. (B)
12. On which day ‘United Nations Day’ is celebrated every year:
(A) 26th July, 1946
(B) 27th August, 1947
(C) 25th September, 1941
(D) 24th October, 1945
ans12. (D)
13. After which event, United Nations came into existence :
(A) The Declaration of St. James Palace (January, 12, 1941), The Atlantic Charter
(B) The UN Declaration (January 1, 1942), Moscow Declaration
(C) The Tehran Conference (December 1, 1943), The Yalta Conference (February 11, 1945)
(D) All the above

14. When was ‘The United Nations Declaration’ signed :
(A) 1st January, 1942
(B) 1st October, 1945
(C) 1st November, 1946
(D) 1st December, 1949

15. Who signed `United Nations Declaration' :
(A) President Roosevelt of America, Winston Churchill of Britain
(B) Maxim Litvino of Russia
(C) T. V. Soong of China
(D) All the above

16. How many states signed `United Nations Declaration' :
(A) 25
(B) 24
(C) 23
(D) 21

17. Who presided at the San Francisco Conference which became the main thrust to build UNO :
(A) Lord Bantick
(B) Lord Lawishe
(C) Lord Halifax
(D) None of the above

18. How many states were the original members of the UN:
(A) 51
(B) 185
(C) 57
(D) 189

19. At present how many states are the members of the UN:
(A) 191
(B) 192
(C) 189
(D) 187

20. Which reason is indicated for the birth of the UN in the Preamble of the UN Charter:
(A) Combined International Pressure
(B) First World War
(C) Second World War
(D) Experiences of a devastating War

21. Whose association or organisation is the UN :
(A) I.L.O.
(B) World Bank
(C) W.H.O.
(D) All the above

22. The amendment to Article 23 of the UN Charter enlarges the membership of the :
(A) General Assembly
(B) Security Council
(C) Trusteeship Council
(D) UNESCO

23. Which of the following statement is not correct :
(A) The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN.
(B) The Statue of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the UN Charter.
(C) The Charter was signed on 26 June, 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries.
(D) The name `United Nations', coined by United States President Woodrow Wilson was first used in the ‘Declaration by United Nations’ of 1 January, 1942.

24. Which is the Act created by the Indian Parliament on the subject of UN :
(A) United Nations Act, 1948
(B) United Nations Act, 1949
(C) United Nations (Immunities) Act, 1946
(D) United Nations (Privileges Immunities) Act, 1947

25. In which article of the UN Charter enshrine purposes of the UN :
(A) Preamable
(B) 2
(C) 1
(D) 5

26. What is the foremost important purpose of the UN:
(A) Peace
(B) Friendship
(C) Security
(D) Equality

27. Which part of the UN Charter mention important quotation thus ‘to save the succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ :
(A) Preamble
(B) Charter
(C) Article 10
(D) Article 5

28. What is the second purpose of the UN Charter :
(A) Develop friendly relations among world leaders
(B) Develop friendly relations is subject of economy be- tween Lunpres
(C) Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self determination of people
(D) None of the above

29. Which Article of the UN Charter state the ‘principle of self-determination’ :
(A) 1(2)
(B) 55
(C) 56
(D) All the above

30. Which Article of the UN Charter deals with ‘The promotion of International economic and social co- operation :
(A) 55
(B) 60
(C) 58
(D) 61

31. What are the principal organs of the UN :
(A) The General Assembly, The Security Council
(B) The Economic and Social Council, The Trusteeship Council
(C) The International Court of Justice, The Secretariat
(D) All the above

32. What is the status of the UN:
(A) Arbitrary Organization
(B) Democratic Organization
(C) Military Organization
(D) Developed Countries Organization

33. On what basis, important matters of the UN are decided:
(A) Absolute vote
(B) Minority vote
(C) Economic power countries vote
(D) Majority vote

34. Which organ of the UN decide all important matters :
(A) ILO
(B) WHO
(C) Security Council
(D) UNESCO

35. How many members are there in the Security Council :
(A) 9
(B) 15
(C) 7
(D) 8

36. How many permanent members are there in the Security Council :
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 3
(D) 2

37. When General Assembly of the UN decide all important matters how many country members are required to vote in order to pass the said matters :
(A) One-fourth
(B) One-third
(C) Two-third
(D) Full majority

38. What is the primary responsibility of the Security Council of UN :
(A) maintain world heritage
(B) maintain world food
(C) maintain world award
(D) maintain peace and security in the world

39. In the UN, who is empowered to use armed forces for the maintenance of peace and security :
(A) Security Council
(B) UN General Assembly
(C) ILO
(D) UNICEF

40. Who are bound to provide armed forces to the UN :
(A) Member-states
(B) Security Council members
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the above

41. Which is the principal Judicial organ of the UN :
(A) ILO
(B) IMF
(C) International Court of Justice
(D) None of the above

42. The amendment to Article 61 of the Charter, which entered into force on 31 August, 1965, enlarged the membership of the Economic and Social Council from 18 to :
(A) 27
(B) 37
(C) 47
(D) 54

43. Which of the following statement is not correct :
(A) Membership of the United Nations is open to all democratic nations.
(B) The Charter provides for the suspension or expulsion of a member.
(C) The official languages of the United Nations are Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
(D) The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations.

44. According to the UN Charter, how many types of members are there :
(A) 2
(B) 4
(C) 3
(D) 1

45. What are the types of membership category defined by the Charter of the UN :
(A) Original members
(B) States which may be admitted to the UN in accordance with the provision of Article 4 of the Charter
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the above

46. Which UN body takes a decision whether a state is peace loving and whether it is able and willing to carry out obligations of the UN Charter :
(A) UN General Assembly
(B) Security Council
(C) (A) and (B)
(D) None of the above

47. Which article of the UN Charter mention expulsion of the member from the UN :
(A) Article 6
(B) Article 8
(C) Article 9
(D) Article 10

48. On whose recommendation, UN General Assembly decide suspension of a state from the UN membership :
(A) Judicial body
(B) International Judicial Community
(C) Security Council
(D) All the above

49. What majority is required when UN General Assembly decides suspension of a state from the UN membership :
(A) One-fourth majority
(B) Two-third majority
(C) Absolute majority
(D) Two-fourth majority

50. In the UN General Assembly, how many representatives can hail from a member state :
(A) Not more than 10
(B) Not more than 8
(C) Not more than 7
(D) Not more than 5
Answers :1. (A) 2. (B) 3. (C) 4. (D) 5. (A) 6. (C) 7. (C) 8. (D) 9. (A) 10. (C)
11. (B) 12. (D) 13. (D) 14. (A) 15. (D) 16. (B) 17. (C) 18. (A) 19. (B) 20.(D)
21. (D) 22. (B) 23. (D) 24. (D) 25. (C) 26. (A) 27. (A) 28. (C) 29. (D) 30.(A)
31. (D) 32. (B) 33. (D) 34. (C) 35. (B) 36. (B) 37. (C) 38. (D) 39. (A) 40.(A)
41. (C) 42. (A) 43. (A) 44. (A) 45. (C) 46. (C) 47. (A) 48. (C) 49. (B) 50.(D)

List of World Presidents & Prime Ministers

List of World Presidents & Prime Ministers

● Afghanistan: President - Hamid Karzai; Capital - Kabul.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

● Brazil: President- Ms. Dilma Rousseff; Capital - Brasilia.

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

● Burkina Faso: President – Blaise Compaore; Prime Minister – Tertius Zongo; Capital-

Ouagadougou.

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

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

● Chile: President - Ms. Sebastian Pinera; Capital - Santiago.

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

● Colombia: President- Juan Manuel Santos; Capital - Bogota.

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

● Cuba: President- Raul Castro; Capital -Havana.

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

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

● Ecuador: President- Rafael Correa; Capital-Quito.

● Egypt: President - Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (Acting); Capital-Cairo.

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

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

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

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

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

● Hungary: President- Pal Schmitt; PRIME MINISTER - Viktor Orban; Capital- Budapest.

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

● Iran: President - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Capital- Teheran.

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

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

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

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

● Japan: Emperor- Akihito; Prime Minister: Naoto Kan; Capital- Tokyo.

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

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

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

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

● Korea, South: President-, Lee Myung-Bak; Prime Minister - Kim Hwang-sik; Capital -
Seoul.

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

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

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

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

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

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

● Mexico: President – Felipe Calderon; Capital – Mexico City.

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

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

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

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

● Nepal: President - Dr. Ram Baran Yadav; Prime Minister – Jhala Nath Khanal; Capital -Kathmandu.

● Netherlands: Queen - Beatrix; Capital-Amsterdam.

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

● Nigeria: President - Goodluck Jonathan; Capital - Abuja.

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

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

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

● Paraguay: President - Fernando Lugo; Capital – Asuncion

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

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

● Poland: President - Lech Kaczynski; Prime Minister- Donald Tusk; Capital- Warsaw.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

● Sri Lanka: President - Mahinda Rajapaksa; Prime Minister - – D.M. Jayaratne; Capital- Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (Colombo).

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

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

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

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

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

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

● Ukraine: President - Victor Yushchenko; Prime Minister- Mykola Azarov; Capital- Kiev.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heads of Important Offices in India

Heads of Important Offices in India

Dr. Manmohan Singh: Chairman, Planning Commission.
Ms. Meira Kumar: Speaker, Lok Sabha.
Mohammad Hamid Ansari: Chairman, Rajya Sabha.
Mr. K. Rahman Khan: Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Karia Munda: Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha.
Mrs. Sushma Swaraj : Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha).
Mr. Arun Jaitley: Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha).
Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
Mr. S. Y. Quraishi: Chief Election Commissioner
Mr. V. S. Sampath : Election Commissioner.
Mr. Harishankar Brahma : Election Commissioner.
Mr. Vinod Rai : Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.
Mr. Justice K. G. Balakrishnan : Chairperson, National Human Right Commission (NHRC)
Mr. K. M. Chandrasekhar: Cabinet Secretary.
Mr. T. K. A. Nair : Principal Secretary to Prime Minister .
Mr. Justice M. N. Rao: Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes.
Ms. Shanta Sinha: Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
Dr. Buta Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes
Ms. Urmila Singh: Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Prof. D. P. Agrawal: Chairman, UPSC.
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan : Chairman, National Commission on Farmers (NCF).
Mr. Shiv Shankar Menon: National Security Adviser and Special Adviser to PM (Internal Security).
Mr. S. C. Sinha : Director-General, National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Mr. S. S. Khurana: Chairman, Railway Board

Governors and Chief Ministers of States (India)

Governors and Chief Ministers of States (India)

Capitals, Governors and Chief Ministers of States

States	Capitals	Governors	Chief Ministers
(1) Andhra Pradesh	Hyderabad	Mr. E.S.L.Narasimhan	Mr. N.Kiran Kumar Reddy
(2) Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	Gen. (Retd.) J. J. Singh	Mr. Jarbom Gamlin
(3) Assam	Dispur	Mr. J. B. Patnaik	Mr. Tarun Gogoi
(4) Bihar	Patna	Mr. Devanand Konwar	Mr. Nitish Kumar
(5) Chhattisgarh	Raipur	Mr. Shekhar Dutt	Dr. Raman Singh
(6) Goa	Panaji	Mr. B.V. Wanchoo	Mr. Manohar Parrikar
(7) Gujarat	Gandhinagar	Dr. Kamla	Mr. Narendra Modi
(8) Haryana	Chandigarh	Mr. Jagannath Pahadia	Mr. Bhupinder S. Hooda
(9) Himachal Pradesh	Shimla	Ms. Urmila Singh	Mr. Prem Kumar Dhumal
(10) Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar (Summer) Jammu (Winter)	Mr. N. N. Vohra	Mr. Omar Abdullah
(11) Jharkhand	Ranchi	Dr. Syed Ahmed	Mr. Arjun Munda
(12) Karnataka	Bengaluru	Mr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj	Mr. DV Sadananda Gowda
(13) Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	Mr. M. O. H. Farook	Mr. V. S. Achuthanandan
(14) Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	Mr. Ram Naresh Yadav	Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan
(15) Maharashtra	Mumbai	Mr. K. Sankaranarayan	Mr. Prithviraj Chavan
(16) Manipur	Imphal	Mr. Gurbachan Jagat	Mr.Okram Ibobi Singh
(17) Meghalaya	Shillong	Mr. R. S. Mooshahary	Mr. Mukul A. Sangma
(18) Mizoram	Aizawl	Mr. Vakkom Purushothaman	Mr.Lalthanhawla
(19) Nagaland	Kohima	Mr. Nikhil Kumar	Mr. Neiphiu Rio
(20) Odisha	Bhubaneswar	Mr. M. C. Bhandare	Mr. Naveen Patnaik
(21) Punjab	Chandigarh	Mr. Shivraj V. Patil	Mr. Parkash Singh Badal
(22) Rajasthan	Jaipur	Ms. Margaret Alva	Mr. Ashok Gehlot
(23) Sikkim	Gangtok	Mr. Balmiki Prasad Singh	Mr. Pawan Chamling
(24) Tamil Nadu	Chennai	Mr. K Rosaiah	Ms. Jayalalithaa
(25) Tripura	Agartala	Mr. D. Y. Patil	Mr. Manik Sarkar
(26) Uttarakhand	Dehradun	Dr. Aziz Qureshi	Mr. Vijay Bahuguna
(27) Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	Mr. B. L. Joshi	Mr. Akhilesh Yadav
(28) West Bengal	Kolkata	Mr. M. K. Narayanan	Ms. Mamata Banerjee

New Appointments in India 2012

New Appointments in India 2012

● Jim Yong Kim—President, World Bank.
● Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili —Vice-President, Africa World Bank.
● Christine Lagarde (France) —Managing-Director, IMF.
● Ban Ki-Moon—General -Secretary, UNO.
● Haruhiko Kuroda —President, Asian Development Bank.
● Arvind Virmani —Executive-Director in World Bank (from India)
● Siddharth Tiwari—Secretary IMF.
● V. P. Baligar—Chairman and M.D., HUDCO.
● Herman Van Rompuy—President, European Union
● Pascal Lamy—Director-General, WTO.
● K. M. Chandra Shekhar—Indian Ambassador to WTO.
● Dr. D. Subbarao—Governor RBI.
● S. K. Goel —Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC).
● Laxman Das —Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
● S. P. Gaur—Chairman, Island Waterways Authority of India.
● Sanjeev Batra —Chairman and Managing Director, Mineral and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC).
● Dr. Bijendra Singh — Chairman, National Agricultural Federation Cooperative Marketing (NAFED).
● Montek Singh Ahluwalia— Deputy Chairman, Indian Planning Commission.
● V. P. Agrawal —Chairman, Indian Airports Authority (IAA).
● P. V. Narsimgham —President, Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI).
● Nagesh Alai—President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).
● J. Harinarayan—Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
● Arup Rai Chaudhary —Chairman and CMD National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
● Sushma Nath—First Indian Lady Finance Secretary.
● Satyanand Mishra—Chief Information Commissioner.
● Ms. Shanta Sinha—Chairman, National Child Rights Commission.
● B. C. Tripathi—Chairman, GAIL.
● S. Roy Choudhury—Chairman and CMD, HPCL.
● A. B. L. Srivastava —CMD, National Hydro Power Corporation.
● Vinay Mittal—Chairman, Railway Board
● S. Narasing Rao— Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Coal India Ltd.
● Sushil Muhnot—Chairman, SIDBI.
● Prakash Bakshi—CMD, NABARD.
● N. P. Patel—Chairman, IFFCO (Indian Farmer’s Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd.)
● Yogesh Agrawal—Chairman PFRDA
● Rajendra Pawar—Chairman, NASSCOM (2011-12).
● Lalit K. Panwar—CMD, Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)
● Sriraj Hussain—CMD, Food Corporation of India
● Chandra Shekhar Verma—Chairman, SAIL
● Prema Cariappa —Chairperson, Central Social Welfare Board.
● Nimish C. Tolia —President, Hindustan Chamber of Commerce.
● A. K. Upadhyay—Chairman, National Highway Authority of India.
● K. J. Udeshi—First Lady Deputy Governor of RBI.
● Ashok Kumar Lahiri—Executive Director in ADB
● P. L. Punia —Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes
● Vijai L. Kelkar—Chairman, 13th Finance Commission
● Amartya Sen—Human Development Advisor, UNDP.
● U. K. Sinha—Chairman, SEBI.
● Mamta Sharma— Chairperson, National Women Commission.
● C. Rangrajan—Chairman, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee.
● D. K. Mehrotra—Chairman, LIC.
● Yogesh Lohia — Chairman, General Insurance Company.
● N. S. R. Chandra Prasad —CMD, National Insurance Company.
● G. Srinivasan —Chairman, United India Insurance Company.
● M. Ramadoss —Chairman, Oriental Insurance Company.
● R. K. Upadhyay—Chairman and CMD Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
● R. V. Verma—Chairman, Asia Pacific Union for Housing Finance.
● Reeta Menon—CMD, India Trade Promotion Organisation.
● M. Rafeeq Ahmed —President, Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation (FIEO).
● Mangoo Singh—MD, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
● Srivardhan Goyanka— President, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) 2011-12.
● Hari S. Bharatia—Chairman, C.I.I.
● Arvind Pradhan—Director-General, Indian Merchant Chamber (IMC)
● Rajesh Lilothia—Chairman, SC/ST Welfare Board.
● Pramod Dev—President Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
● Aditya Puri—MD, HDFC.
● Raj Kumar Dhoot—President, ASSOCHAM
● Rahul Khullar—Chairman, TRAI
● R. V. Kanoria—President, FICCI
● Rajeev Kumar—General-Secretary, FICCI.
● Jacques Diouf—Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
● S. Krishnan—Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulation Board.
● Sandid Somany—President, PHDCCI
● Nandan Nilekani —Chairman Unique Identification Authority of India.
● M. D. Malya— President, Indian Banks Association.
● Rohit Nandan—Chairman and Managing-Director, Air India Ltd.
● Pratip Chowdhary—CMD, State Bank Group.
● Ajit Parsayat —Chairman, Competition Appellate Tribunal.
● Ashok Chawla—Chairman, Competition Commission of India (CCI).