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Q.1- An increase in the Bank Rate generally indicates that the A. market rate of interest is likely to fall B. Central Bank is no longer making loans to commercial banks C. Central Bank is following an easy money policy D. Central Bank is following a tight money policy Q.2- Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding Non-Aligned movement? 1. Movement has its origin in Asia-Africa conference in India 2. Conference was led by Indian PM Nehru along with Naseer and Soekarno A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.3- Consider the following statement and mark the correct answer. A) GST is a tax regime to separate state taxes from central taxes. B) GST will have no impact on cascading effect of taxes. C) All major Central and State taxes will get subsumed into GST which will reduce the multiplicity of taxes, and thus bring down the compliance cost. D) None of the above. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-D,2-B,3-C

Q.1- Which of the following is correct regarding NGT? 1. It's chairperson should be retired or serving High court or Supreme Court judge only 2. It looks cases environmental protection only 3. Present chairperson is justice swatanter Kumar. A. 1,2 B. 2,3 C. All D. 3 only Q.2- Who among the following replaced Cyrus Mistry as Charman of Tata Steel? A. Ratan Tata B. O.P.Bhatt C. Amitabh Kant D. None of the above Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding HIV bill? 1. It is obligatory for the Central and State governments to provide for anti-retroviral therapy 2. Any discrimination or unfair treatment against PLHIVs and their families in their employment, education, healthcare and provision of insurance is prohibited. A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-D,2-B,3-C

Q.1- Which of the following are findings of National family health survey-4? 1. Infant mortality rate has been steady since National family health survey-3 2. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttarakhand has sex ratio of more than 1000 A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.2- Who among the following has been appointed as the nodal agency for the purpose of registration and accreditation of VOs/NGOs seeking funding from the Government of India? A. Home Ministry B. NITI Aayog C. PMO D. Finance Ministry Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding National commission for Backward classes? 1. Commission came as a result of Indra Sawhney & Ors. Vs. Union of India case 2. Commission consists of five members and Chairman must necessarily be retired judge of the supreme court A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Answer  1-D,2-B,3-A

It's not the first time that algae bloom has appeared in the Arabian Sea, but the bloom now stretches from the shores of Oman on the west to India and Pakistan on the east. The build-up of green slime is an ominous sign for the local ecosystem as it triggers release of ammonia, causing sea stench and poisoning nearby marine life. This bloom isn’t regularly seen until the past decade. Now, they are not only forming twice a year in the Arabian Sea, but its extent is also growing. What causes algae bloom? The algae bloom is caused by Noctiluca scintillans—microscopic dinoflagellates that feed on plankton and suck up energy from the sun through microscopic algae living within their cells. In a marine ecosystem, dinoflagellates make up only a small part of the food chain. However, when there's a build-up of plankton, it leads to massive algae blooms that start dominating the local area. When the cell of these dinoflagellates breaks down, ammonia is released. It changes the

Carbon dioxide concentrations are heading towards values not seen in the past 200 million years. The sun has also been gradually getting stronger over time. Put together, these facts mean the climate may be heading towards warmth not seen in the past half a billion years. The Conversation A lot has happened on Earth since 500,000,000BC – continents, oceans and mountain ranges have come and gone, and complex life has evolved and moved from the oceans onto the land and into the air. Most of these changes occur on very long timescales of millions of years or more. However, over the past 150 years global temperatures have increased by about 1℃, ice caps and glaciers have retreated, polar sea-ice has melted, and sea levels have risen. Some will point out that Earth’s climate has undergone similar changes before. So what’s the big deal? Scientists can seek to understand past climates by looking at the evidence locked away in rocks, sediments and fossils. What this tells us is that yes

A flood alert has been sounded in Srinagar, the main city of the Kashmir Valley after the Jhelum river, which flows through the city, crossed the flood alert mark due to incessant rains. According to local website "Kashmir Life", the water level in the river has increased by more than two feet in the last five hours. Gauge readings at various bridge crossings on the river reflected this. At 2 pm on Thursday, the level was 19.05 feet at Sangam, 16.50 feet at Ram Munshi Bagh and 9.33 feet at Asham. In Srinagar, a flood warning is declared when the water level reaches 18 feet in Sangam, 16 ft in Ram Munshi Bagh and 13 feet in Achan. A flood is actually declared when water levels reach 21 feet in Sangam, 18 feet in Ram Munshi Bagh and 14 feet in Achan. The state meteorological department has predicted that weather is likely to improve from Friday.

While in North America, Trump’s budget proposal mentions a significant cut in the funds to the UN climate talks, Green Climate Fund and the Clean Power Plan, in South America, we have Brazil cutting its environment ministry budget by 51 per cent to limit the country’s deficit. The decision comes at a time when deforestation rates are rising. The Amazon region, according to researchers from Brown University, has lost about 9,000 square kilometres to deforestation between 2008 and 2012 without even being detected by official monitoring system. The Brazilian government has proposed a steeper cut in spending than the 31 per cent that Donald Trump’s administration recently proposed for the US Environmental Protection Agency. This is not good news for the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA)—the agency that enforces laws to protect forests. Sharp spending cuts for the environment ministry, which oversees this agency, could mean possible weakening

Brexit could complicate the delicate balance between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar In June last year the first result to be declared in Britain’s EU referendum was from Gibraltar, the tiny British overseas territory on Spain’s southern coast, with an estimated population of around 30,000. The result was a resounding victory for the remain-in-Europe campaign: nearly 84% of voters turned out, and 96% of them voted in. The result was hardly surprising. While most residents of Gibraltar are British passport holders (following legislation in 1981), the territory is very interlinked with that of the European Union, and Spain in particular; its status as an offshore banking centre, thanks to its low-tax environment, is boosted by its membership of the EU. Even before the referendum there were warnings that Brexit could complicate the delicate balance that had been struck between Britain and Spain in recent years over the thorny issue of the “Rock”, as it is often known. A British outpos

The chemical attack in Syria must compel the global community to bring the war to an end The barbarism of Syria’s civil war was on display once again when at least 72 people were killed in a chemical attack in Idlib province. The heartbreaking images of dead and injured children and desperate parents from Idlib’s Khan Sheikhoun have understandably triggered global outrage and calls for international action. Syrians have suffered a lot over the past six years. There have been multiple chemical attacks for which both the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the jihadists were held to blame. More than 400,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions displaced since the crisis broke out. With violence continuing unabated and the Assad regime not showing any real interest in settling the crisis, even hopes for peace and normal life look surreal. The needle of suspicion for the Idlib attack points towards the regime whose murderous nature has been exposed several times in the past si