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Q.1- Which of the following states have highest life expectancy at birth in India? A. Madhya Pradesh B. Sikkim C. Kerala D. Gujarat Q.2- The recent issue on Sutlej Yamuna link canal is a dispute between which of the two states? a) Himachal pradesh and Haryana b) Punjab and Himachal Pradesh c) Punjab and Haryana d) Haryana and Delhi Q.3- The Numaligarh oil refinery is located in which state? a) Arunachal pradesh b) Assam c) Meghalaya d) Mizoram. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer 1-C,2-C,3-B

Q.1- Which of following statements is/are correct regarding Amnesty International? 1. Amnesty international is a global hunger reduction movement 2. This movement was started in 1961 A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.2- Which of the following is correct regarding India's coastline? 1. Andhra Pradesh has longest coastline among all the Indian states 2. India has total coastline of 7600 km excluding islands A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.3- Which of the following statements are correct regarding Public Accounts of India? 1. It includes Provident fund, National small savings fund etc. 2. Government needs parliaments approval to spend money from public accounts of India A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , Answer  1-C,2-D,3-A

Kodavas, a small ethnic community living in the Kodagu district of Karnataka, are facing an existential crisis. Blessed with a distinct culture, custom, tradition and dressing style, they celebrate festivals, where they worship their ancestors and Nature. Though their ancestry cannot be scientifically authenticated, Kodavas are believed to be a part of Alexander’s army; their dialect has words that are similar to Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. Their head gear and long coats have a strong similarity with the Kurdish people. Some suggest the Kodavas are Arabs, who travelled to the coastal areas through the Arabian Sea, and later migrated to the interior Western Ghats region. They are a well-built warrior community, well versed in martial arts and hunting. In fact, two generals of the Indian Army—Field Marshal K M Cariappa and General K S Thimayya—are from this community. But their population has been consistently dipping—there were about 150,000 Kodava people about 20-25 years ago, and...

Q.1- Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding poly metallic nodules? 1. Rare Earth materials are found in poly metallic nodules 2. Government of India signed a 15 year contract with International Seabed Authority for exploration of polymetallic nodules from Central Antartic Ocean Basin in 2002. A. 1 only B. 2 only C. Both D. None Q.2- Which among the following is/ are correctly matched? 1. South Korea. -CEPA 2. ASEAN. - CECA 3. THAILAND. - PTA A. 1 only B. 1 and 2 C. 2 and 3 D. All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Answer 1-A , 2-B

Q.1- Which of the following places and laboratory are not correctly matched? 1. CERN : Germany 2. LIGO : Louisiana 3. India based Neutrino observatory : Tamil Nadu A. 1,2 B. 2,3 C. 1,3 D. All Q.2- Consider the following statements and mark the correct option. 1. LCA Tejas is smallest and lightest fighter aircraft of its class 2. It is subsonic in speed 3. It is developed by HAL Which among the following statements are correct? A. 1, 2 B. 2, 3 C. 1, 3 D. All Q.3- Which of the following statements are correct? 1. In India 90 percent of workers work in organised sector 2. Unorganised sector is not given any social security in India A. 1 only B. 2 only C. None D. Both. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Answer 1-D,2-C,3-C

The latest edition of the State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) report explores the relationship between agriculture and forestry for a food-secure future. World leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years in September 2015 to take forward the global development initiative from the Millennium Development Goals. As part of their commitment to the SDGs, countries are committed to end hunger by 2030 by ensuring sustainable food production. Making agriculture sustainable is essential for future food production in the face of climate change. "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the Paris Agreement on climate change, recognises that we can no longer look at food security and the management of natural resources separately," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. Food production and the role of forests While agriculture can feed the world’s population, it is responsible for deforestation globally. The SOFO rep...

Today, in India, forest protection happens against all odds. There is no economic value seen in forests, but there is value seen in the development project for which forestland is required. Clearly, this is not the way to go. We need a value to be paid for standing forests; it needs to be shared with people who inhabit these lands; we need to grow trees in ways which bring money to the poor; and we need to learn how to protect, regenerate and grow trees, all at the same time. The last time India seriously tried planting trees was in the late 1980s. The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had declared that he wanted to make tree plantation a peoples’ movement. The Wasteland Development Board was set up and social forestry was the buzzword. But soon it was realised that planting trees was more than just digging pits—it was about institutional mechanisms that would give people rights over trees and a stake in management. It was at this time that Anil Agarwal and I co-authored a report o...

Silent Valley National Park reinforces the fact that forests and their resident biodiversity are our greatest wealth Since the day I was assigned to write about Kerala’s Silent Valley National Park, a 90-sq km stretch of tropical evergreen forest tucked in the Western Ghats, I have been asked a question over and over again: why is it called Silent Valley? It is a peculiar name in a country like ours. There are more than 100 national parks in India, most of them named after either a physical feature like a river or a mountain; a historical or mythological place or character; an animal; or a former prime minister. Only two names inspire the imagination: the Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand and Silent Valley. In a booklet titled “Storm Over Silent Valley”, senior environmental journalist Darryl D’monte notes its widely accepted etymology. The valley was originally known as Sairandhri, another name for Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas. And the river flowing through it ...

Several landmark developments marked 2016, which could change the fabric of forest governance in the country. While on one hand, Parliament passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (caf) Act, 2016, which will unlock Rs 42,000 crore for afforestation programmes, and on the other, there are numerous reports on how provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, are being diluted taking away the rights of forest dwellers. A shoddy implementation of caf Act can affect millions of indigenous people who depend on the forests for their livelihood. It is also significant that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) granted forest clearances to 249 projects spreading over an area of about 10,000 hectares (ha) between January and September 2016 (including in-principle and final clearances). With India emerging as a fast developing global economy, competitive demand for land and natural resources is putting immense pressure on forests. Simultaneously, there are...

This is the most unpredictable season for the IPL Everything relating to cricket in India has been uncertain this past year. It seems as if there is some conflict at every corner. Lost in the epic tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Supreme Court is the prodigal child which caused all this conflict, the Indian Premier League (IPL), set to return for its tenth season on April 5. Just two weeks away, the IPL can no longer be ignored nor superseded by the greater good, namely reforming cricket. The IPL is critical to the continued dominance of the BCCI and Indian cricket, even if it’s not the most favoured format of many reformists. It is emblematic of modern-day cricket and its profitability. And while it has been the cause of much grief to cricket administrators and team owners, its structure and format allow for a seamless segue into the entertainment space for the sport, bridging the gap between passion for cricket and creating commercial avenu...

As it courts Pakistan and wades into Afghan diplomacy, the question is whether Russia is truly a world power “Strategy is the central political art,” writes Lawrence Freedman in Strategy: A History. “It is about getting more out of a situation than the starting balance of power would suggest. It is the art of creating power.” If this is so, consider the case of a country that is economically smaller than Italy, Australia, or South Korea. Its economy has indeed shrunk over the past two consecutive years, and income per capita sits below that of Malaysia or Slovakia. Male life expectancy is worse than in North Korea. Worse still, the country has been sanctioned by five of its six biggest export markets, and its currency has lost half its value over the past three years alone. And yet, this country — which is, of course, Russia — has somehow succeeded in projecting itself as a great power in virtually every corner of the world stage. But as Moscow turns its attention to South Asia, cou...

The Sharif government must conduct a census despite the resistance from various groups Pakistan’s decision to launch a national census, after much delay, is a welcome step that would allow it to formulate realistic policies to address the challenges it faces. The data are critical as key federal decisions such as resource allocation for provinces and delimitation of electoral constituencies are taken based on demographic numbers. This would be the first census in 19 years. The government is supposed to do it every 10 years, but Pakistani authorities, under pressure from political parties and ethnic groups, have delayed the process. The Nawaz Sharif government actually moved into action after a Supreme Court order set a March deadline to start the process. The army has provided 200,000 personnel for security for the 70-day campaign. It is not difficult to see why traditional political parties and ethnic leaders oppose the data-gathering. Since the last census was conducted in 1998 by...

Reiterating the need for more information on antibiotic usage, a report by United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said that maintaining records on the use of important drugs in food animals in necessary. The report analysed information collected by other government bodies in USA and found gaps in data. The GAO is an independent agency that evaluates the activities and functions of US government. The report finds that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdrew its guideline to label antibiotic growth promoters, leaving scope for routine use of antimicrobials for disease prevention. The FDA did not recommend veterinary oversight of antibiotics administered through injections or tablets, as per the report. Another agency, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) should improve data collection on antibiotic use and resistance, it adds. "FDA and USDA have not gone on the farms to investigate the source of the food-borne illness as of yet. We found that they had l...

Students at the JPM Senior Secondary School for the Blind in New Delhi had some exciting news recently. They now have intricately carved Braille maps that depict a gamut of information provided with the help of legends, dots, bars and symbols. Earlier, blind children used to learn geography, but they were not exposed to maps. Now thanks to the Kolkata-based National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), India has, for the first time, indigenously developed Braille maps. This breakthrough could change the way 52 million visually impaired people and 0.27 million blind children in India study geography. The atlas is updated till 2011-2012, and was released by the Union Minister of Science & Technology, Harsh Vardhan on February 10. “Maps are an integral part of geography lessons in school. Realising the lack of efficient maps catering to the visually challenged in India, NATMO, introduced a cost-effective and an indigenous method of producing Braille maps,” says Tapa...

In 2012, the then Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, declared house sparrow as the state bird of Delhi. Two years prior to that, the Indian Postal Department had released a stamp of the house sparrow along with the rock pigeon. But what was once the most ubiquitous bird is now fast disappearing from our neighbourhood. Once again, the blame goes to us, humans, who have robbed them of their food and nesting places. Our indifference is pushing them to the edge of extinction. Sparrows are rendered homeless due to modern "matchbox styled" architecture that makes it difficult for the bird to build nests. These winged companions, who used to build nest in holes, roofs and crevices on traditional houses, are struggling to find a safe corner in glass buildings. It also explains why South Mumbai sees a comparatively larger sparrow population than the western suburbs. Like sparrows, cavities are important for mynahs and parakeets to make nests. Blaming the possible extinc...