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Q.1- Traditional knowledge digital library is an initiative between CSIR and which of the following ministry? A. Ministry of Science B. Ministry of Human resource development C. Ministry of Ayush D. None of the above Q.2-Which of the following is correct regardingUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): 1. has its headquarters are at New York, United States 2. has received two Nobel Peace Prizes A. Only 1 B. Only 2 C. Both D. None Q.3- Which of the following statements are correct regarding World Trade organisation? 1. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. 2. Kazakhstan is the latest member to join WTO A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-C,2-B,3-C

Q.1- Which of the following statements are correct regarding International court of Justice? 1. It is one of the principal organs of UN 2. The seat of the Court is in The New York 3. Only UN members are entitled to be the party to the court A. 1 only B. 1, 2 only C. All/ D. 1,3 Q.2- Which of the following is correct regarding mars? 1. Mars equatorial radius is almost equal to earth’s radius 2. Mars length of the day is just higher than that of the earth 3. Mars gravity is 2.66 times of earth A. 1,2 B. 2,3 C. All D. 2 only Q.3- Which of the following is an impact of increasing oil prices? 1. Rupee will be strengthened against Dollar 2. Indian forex reserve will decline A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer 1-A,2-D,3-B

Q.1- Which of the following rivers has been recently declared as living persons? A. Narmada and Tapi B. Krishna and Godavari C. Ganga and Yamuna D. Brahmaputra and Manas Q.2- Which of the following is correct regarding world happiness report? 1. It is prepared by world bank 2. Norway has become world’s happiest country in this years report A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding Ashok chakra? 1. It is India's highest wartime military award 2. It is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice. 3. It replaced the British George cross. A. 1, 2 B. 1, 3 C. 2, 3 D. All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-C,2-B,3-C

Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning, with no distinguishing sign, all this was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that One arose through the power of heat. Desire came upon that One in the beginning, that was the first seed of mind. The Poetry of Creation, Rig Veda, Book 10, Hymn 129 This excerpt of a hymn from Hinduism’s most sacred texts represents one of humankind’s earliest written inquiries into how Earth was formed and how all life came to be. Like other religious texts, it attributes the creation of water to some inexplicable divine force. And yet, one cannot miss the uncanny reference to scientific phenomena we have come to research or accept today. Written around 4,000 years ago, the poem recognises water as the prerequisite for creation of all life on Earth and alludes to an immense source of heat or energy from which water arose. Most of all, it also speculates that water existed right from the beginning of Earth’s formation, a possi...

Gains made in controlling tuberculosis (TB) are now threatened by growing drug-resistance in the bacteria that causes it. Experts from various countries including India, China and South Africa expressed their concern in an article published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine, on March 23. They opine that the rise and spread of two kinds of drug resistant TB—multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extremely drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis—mirrors the spread of antimicrobial resistance against malaria, HIV and gram negative pathogens. It is believed that drug resistant-TB resulted out of poor compliance of treatment regimens and programmatic failure is now being questioned. The multi-drug resistant variant of TB remains unaffected by two of the most powerful anti-TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. XDR-TB, is a form of drug-resistant TB with additional resistance to more anti-TB drugs that therefore responds to even fewer available medicines. XDR-TB involves resistance to isoniazid...

An Indian rethink on the Belt & Road Initiative may require a Chinese compromise In February 2014, when the Chinese government first brought up with India its plans for the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, four months after President Xi Jinping had unveiled the idea in Kazakhstan, it seemed an unworkable, ambitious pipe dream. China would need all the friends and partners it could get to make its plans for a 60-nation network encompassing 4.4 billion people. In the Chinese scheme, India could be a major partner, and maps of the time show the B&R travel east to west right through India. Swerving off the road A few months later Russia was enlisted through the $400-billion “Power of Siberia” pipeline, and Mr. Xi’s friendship at a time when the West had decided to isolate and cripple Moscow over Crimea’s annexation brought President Vladimir Putin firmly into the fold. With India, China’s plan was a grander one: the newly elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, would visit...

The current model of commercialisation does not work for publicly funded research It takes money to make money. CSIR-Tech, the commercialisation arm of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), realised this the hard way when it had to shut down its operations for lack of funds. CSIR has filed more than 13,000 patents — 4,500 in India and 8,800 abroad — at a cost of ₹50 crore over the last three years. Across years, that’s a lot of taxpayers’ money, which in turn means that the closing of CSIR-Tech is a tacit admission that its work has been an expensive mistake — a mistake that we tax-paying citizens have paid for. Recently, CSIR’s Director-General Girish Sahni claimed that most of CSIR’s patents were “bio-data patents”, filed solely to enhance the value of a scientist’s resume and that the extensive expenditure of public funds spent in filing and maintaining patents was unviable. CSIR claims to have licensed a percentage of its patents, but has so far failed to...

The U.N. General Assembly in 1993 designated March 22 as World Water Day and over the years as water resources are increasingly critically threatened and as acess to safe drinking water to greater numbers of people becomes a growing reality, this day has become a very important day and so too the themes chosen to motivate particularly policy makers and administrators dealing with critical resources such as water. On a very recent visit to Madras, talking with a environmentally sensitive architect friend who is also a conscientious citizen and civic activist, our conversation turned to summer and impending water shortages and I enquired about the ground water level in her house. As summer approaches, concerns over water scarcity rise to the surface and enquiries are not about the health and happiness of the person but about water supply and those with independent borewells, the condition of their borewells. As a socially conscious person, ofcourse she recharges her borewell and gro...

A new warming record was set with temperature remaining 1.1°C above the pre-industrial period, and 0.06 °C above the previous highest value set in 2015. Carbon dioxide (CO2) crossed 400 PPM mark, average sea-surface temperatures were the warmest and global sea-ice extent dropped more than 4 million sq km below average. That was 2016 for you. The Statement on the State of the Global Climate issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirms that 2016 was the warmest year on record. Terrestrial warming According to the report, global temperatures in 2016 were influenced by the strong El Nino event of 2015-2016. The year 2016 features in the “five warmest years for every inhabited continent”. For North America, it was the warmest year on record, with the continental US having its second warmest year, Alaska its warmest and Canada its fourth warmest. Last year was also the second warmest for Africa and South America and third warmest for Europe. Asia, like Russian Fede...

Beijing hosts Saudi and Israeli leaders, signalling a deepening regional engagement By hosting the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the two heavyweights in West Asia that do not have formal diplomatic relations, in consecutive weeks, Beijing has sent yet another signal on its growing appetite to deepen ties with the region. During the visit of King Salman last week, China and Saudi Arabia announced an investment cooperation deal worth $65 billion that will boost partnerships in fields such as energy, finance and aerospace. Days later, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Beijing, where both leaders vowed to strengthen cooperation in the technology and agriculture sectors. Over the years China has built strong economic ties with countries in West Asia, while staying clear of the region’s several crises and hostilities. It is one of the top buyers of oil from Saudi Arabia and a key trading partner of Israel. For Iran, Beijing remained a trus...