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Q.1- Which of the following is/are correct regarding GSAT-9? 1. It is a Geostationary Communication Satellite 2. It has objective to provide various communication applications in Ku-band with coverage over South Asian countries. 3. GSAT-9 is configured around the ISRO’s standard I-2K bus A. 1 and 2 only B. 2 and 3 only C. 1 and 3 only D. All of the above Click Here For Answer Q.2- Which of the following statements are correct? a) Paris agreement on climate change is effective from 2016. b) IPCC assess the extent to which the globe is expected to warm up over the medium and long term. A. a only B. b only C. Both D. None Click Here For Answer Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding infrastructure investment trust ? A. They can directly invest in infrastructure project B. They can invest through special purpose vehicle C. Both D. None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-D,2-B,3-C

Q.1- Which of the following is correct regarding United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees? 1. It was established in 1945 along with UN 2. Headquarters of UNHCR is in Geneva 3. The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981 A. 1,2 B. 2,3 C. 1.3 D. All Q.2- Which of the following would be the impact of strenthening of rupee? 1. It will help improve India's exports 2. It will reduce country's Current account deficit A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.3- FICCI-India Sanitation Coalition prize was given to which of the following? A. Delhi Metro B. Rashtrapati Bhawan C. Aga Khan Development Network D. None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer  1-B,  2-B,  3-C

Q.1- Which of the following is correct regarding NATO? 1. At the time of its formation it has 28 members 2. In case of an attack against any of the members, it is considered that attack is against all its members. A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.2- which of the following statements are correct regarding World Health Organisation? 1. It is a specialised agency of the United Nations 2. Its parent organisation is United Nations Economic and Social Council 3. WHO headquarters is in Geneva A. 1,2 only B. 2,3 only C. 1,3 only D. All Q.3- Which of the following is correct regarding Eurasian economic union? 1. It aims to provide free trade among member countries without any barriers. 2. It will co-ordinate the financial systems and regulates industrial and agricultural policies. A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None  . . . . . . . . . . . . . Answer  1-B,   2-D,  3-C

Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently found that moth caterpillars can digest a plastic shopping bag. Scientists say this discovery could lead to a biotechnical approach to address environmental pollution caused by plastic. Federica Bertocchini, a scientist with the Spanish National Research Council and an amateur beekeeper had plucked parasites out of beehives and kept them in a plastic bag. When Bertocchini saw that the plastic bag had holes in it, she approached Paolo Bombelli and Christopher J. Howe from the University of Cambridge. A report published in Current Biology observes that in an experiment conducted by the group, 100 caterpillars devoured a polythene bag in 40 minutes. The authors say that some enzymes were involved in breaking down polyethylene, which is used widely in plastic bags and packaging and takes hundreds of years to decompose. Whether the enzyme is produced by the worm or by the bacteria in its gut is still unclear. The worm (Galleria Mellon...

  Scientists have developed a simple handheld device for detecting MG levels in the blood as well as food products.             They have developed a sensor for measuring levels of a sugar-derived substance ​directly responsible for heart-related complications and vascular damage in diabetic population. Methylglyoxal (MG) is a by-product of glucose metabolism and its levels are seen several-fold higher in people suffering from both Type 1 as well as Type 2 diabetes as compared to healthy humans. Over 20,000 times more reactive than glucose, this toxic substance is constantly removed in a healthy body. But this scavenging mechanism is impaired in diabetics and is believed to be associated with many complications such as atherosclerosis, vascular damage and kidney malfunction. Even though the mechanism through with MG acts is not fully known, one recent study elsewhere showed that MG reduces the amount of "good" HDL cholesterol, which removes t...

Calcutta government doctors' board will examine Justice Karnan on May 4 and submit a report by May 8 Wondering whether Calcutta High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan is “feigning mental imbalance”, a seven-judge Supreme Court Bench, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, on Monday ordered him to be medically examined by a board of doctors in Kolkata. The order was prompted by Justice Karnan’s statements to the media against the Bench and a recent ‘purported judicial order’ directing Chief Justice Khehar and seven Supreme Court judges to appear before him in Calcutta on May 1, 2017. “The tenor of the press briefings, as also the purported order passed by him, indicate that he may not be in a position to defend himself in the present proceedings. We, therefore, consider it in the fitness of matters to direct him to be medically examined before proceeding with the matter,” the Bench ordered. Hours after the SC order, Justice Karnan himself issued an order directing the D...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must get some crucial historical facts on our social reforms right. While urging Muslims not to politicise the issue of triple talaq at a function organised in honour of philosopher Basaveshara, a deeper reading of his drawing a parallel with other social campaigns shows that he has not done his research well. While the Prime Minister speaks eloquently against triple talaq, he remains mum on child marriage prevalent in some parts of the country, the practice of dowry, the presence of extra-legal institutions such as khap panchayats, and “honour killings”. It is obvious he does not want to offend the majority Hindu community as the political cost would be huge. Viewed from this perspective, his repeated critical reference to triple talaq cannot be divorced from politics (“Don’t politicise triple talaq, find a solution, Modi tells Muslims”, April 30). S.K. Choudhury, Bengaluru Any rational person would agree that the practice of triple talaq needs to...

Everything revolves around the biometrics, so without biometric verification connectivity to UIDAI it will make no sense Sometimes it seems very few people know what Aadhaar is all about. So there is a need to explain what it is and dispel some risk perceptions, while confirming others. First up, what is Aadhaar? In essence it is a number. The card’s job is only to record the number. How does this number help? It means any place that is equipped with biometric verification linkage with the UIDAI database can verify that I am indeed who I say I am. It’s an identity proof – the number together with biometrics. That is all it is. Once a number is assigned to a “name-biometrics” combination, all other names a person has used become inoperative, in theory. All official documents will eventually need to be matched and, where necessary, rectified and reissued. It might involve phenomenal cost, but that is another story. What makes Aadhaar secure? Basic personal security in the tech...

The U.S. must realise that neither more sanctions nor military strikes are viable options to rein in North Korea Rhetoric and political signalling is an accepted element of crisis management provided the messages are clearly understood by those for whom these are intended. If not, it becomes a source of misunderstanding and a recipe for unintended miscalculation and potential disaster. Nowhere is this more evident than in recent exchanges between the U.S. and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) where events threaten to spin out of control. Trump’s mixed signals In an interview to Reuters last week, U.S. President Donald Trump, while describing it as his “biggest challenge”, cautioned: “There is a chance that we could end up having a major major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely.” Earlier in April, amid reports that North Korea might be planning another nuclear test to coincide with the 105th birth anniversary of long-time leader Kim Il Sung, Mr. Trump had announ...

Rich farmers need to be treated on a par with other taxpayers, but with a clear road map A controversial proposal by Bibek Debroy, a member of the government think tank NITI Aayog, to tax agricultural income above a particular threshold has led to a public exchange of views. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley quickly dismissed any plans to tax farm income, but more policymakers have begun to voice their opinion, the latest being Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian who made it clear that taxing farm income is a State subject. The public image of farming being a poor man’s venture and the sizeable vote share that farmers enjoy have made the idea of farm taxes a political taboo. The frequent distress faced by poor or marginal farmers, which could be attributed to structural issues other than taxation, hasn’t helped matters either. But India has a presence of rich farmers as well and there exists as a strong justification for taxing them in order to widen the country’s embarrassingly n...

The ruling that the existing legislation is workable is an indictment of the government The Centre’s obvious reluctance to set up a statutory anti-corruption institution stands completely exposed after the Supreme Court made it clear that the existing Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 is workable on its own, without having to be amended as proposed by the government. The court’s order that the law, notified in 2014, is good to go is an indictment of the delay in establishing the Lokpal. It is a rejection of the attempt to explain the delay on the ground that a parliamentary standing committee’s report on proposed amendments is still under consideration. The government was on weak legal footing when it claimed it was awaiting the passage of these amendments, mainly of one that related to the leader of the largest party in opposition in the Lok Sabha being considered as the Leader of the Opposition for the purposes of forming the Selection Committee to choose the Lokpal. The selection p...