RAPID GK SERIES 53

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">1. The Right to Education Act was passed in this Year<br /> 2. The abbreviation of RLEGP is<br /> 3. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is to develop<br /> 4. The First Post Office in India was set up in<br /> 5. In Kerala, this dance is called Poor Man’s Kathakali<br /> 6. Our Indian National Flag was hoisted in<br /> 7. The National Sports Day is observed on<br /> 8. Mina, the tribal group, who lives in this Indian State<br /> 9. The First British Viceroy of India was<br /> 10. The First Chief Election Commissioner of India was<br /> <br /> <strong>ANSWERS<br /> </strong><br /> 1. 2010<br /> 2. Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme<br /> 3. Better Roadways<br /> 4. Fort St. George Square, Chennai<br /> 5. Ottam Thullal<br /> 6. Green Park, Kolkata (7th August, 1906)<br /> 7. August 29<br /> 8. Rajasthan<br /> 9. Lord Canning<br /> 10. Sukumar Sen</div>

RAPID GK SERIES 53

1. The Right to Education Act was passed in this Year 2. The abbreviation of RLEGP is 3. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is t...

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Upgraded Mi-17 inducted into IAF

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6026" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The latest Russian made Mi-17 V5 armed helicopters have been inducted in to the Indian Air Force. This will boost its operational capabilities including carrying troops and cargo to high altitude areas. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Marking the commissioning of the choppers in the Indian Air Force today Defence Minister A K Antony symbolically handed over its keys to the Commanding Officer of one of the units operating the machines. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Addressing the gathering of senior IAF officials, Antony said,the new Mi-17 helicopters will help in adding muscle to IAF's capabilities to carry out operations assigned to it. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>India has placed orders for 80 such choppers from Russia and the first batch arrived in the country in the last week of September last year.The first three units of the helicopters will be raised at Bhatinda (Punjab), Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) and Bagdogra (West Bengal).  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Over 20 such flying machines have already arrived and are deployed at various locations in the northern sector. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The MI-17 V5 falls in armed helicopter category, with substantial and effective firepower. It has the latest and more powerful engines that will enhance its payload carrying capability at higher altitudes.It has on-board weather radar, state-of-the-art autopilot and is compatible with the latest generation night vision goggles. </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The Mi-17 variants have operated in various types of terrain, including Siachen Glacier, and have also proven their mettle in UN missions.</li> </ul></div></div>

Upgraded Mi-17 inducted into IAF

The latest Russian made Mi-17 V5 armed helicopters have been inducted in to the Indian Air Force....

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Pakistan not to provide any assistance to US if it attacks Iran

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6027" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Pakistan has assured Iran that in case of a US attack , Islamabad will not provide any assistance to US forces. Geo News reports that during the trilateral summit between the Presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran which ended in Islamabad today, President Zardari said that Pakistan would not provide the US with air bases to launch an attack on Iran.  </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">President Zardari emphasized that both Pakistan and Iran needed each other and no foreign pressure could hinder their ties. The Pakistani Zardari has also sent a message to the US to not tell Pakistan who it can and cannot trade with. This was in reference to the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.</li> </ul></div></div>

Pakistan not to provide any assistance to US if it attacks Iran

Pakistan has assured Iran that in case of a US attack , Islamabad will not provide any assistance...

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German president quits in scandal over favours

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">German President Christian Wulff has announced his resignation in a scandal over favours he allegedly received before becoming head of state creating a new problem for Chancellor Angela Merkel. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mr. Wulff announced his immediate resignation on Friday, a day after the slow-burning affair escalated dramatically with a request by prosecutors for Parliament to lift his immunity from prosecution. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mr. Wulff is stepping down after less than two years in the job. He was Ms. Merkel’s candidate for the presidency in 2010.</li> </ul></div>

German president quits in scandal over favours

German President Christian Wulff has announced his resignation in a scandal over favours he allegedly received before becoming head of sta...

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Kamal Bawa gets first Gunnerus award for sustainability

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) will bestow the Gunnerus Sustainability Award — the world's first major international award for work on sustainability — on India-born Dr. Kamal Bawa, Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He will receive the Gunnerus Gold Medal and the award of 1 million Norwegian Kronor (about $190,000). </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Dr. Bawa is most noted for, among other works, his pioneering research on population biology in rainforest areas. His wide span of work includes groundbreaking biological discoveries made in Central America and in the Western Ghats and the Himalayas in India. He is specially noted for the establishment, and as president, of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. Until recently, he also held the Ruffolo Giorgio Fellowship in Sustainability Science and Bullard Fellowship at the Harvard University.</li> </ul><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"><em>About the The Gunnerus award</em></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Gunnerus award is the first major international prize for outstanding scientific work that promotes sustainable development globally, and will be awarded every two years starting in 2012, a press release said. The award is named after DKNVS’ founder, Bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718-1773), and is the result of a collaboration between DKNVS, Sparebank1 SMN and the society Technoport. DKNVS has been responsible for the international launch, and the selection of the winner. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The selection of the winner took place after a jury process in which five internationally prominent researchers have considered a number of international nominees from many countries.</li> </ul></div>

Kamal Bawa gets first Gunnerus award for sustainability

The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) will bestow the Gunnerus Sustainability Award — the world's first major in...

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India votes for Syria resolution in UN

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a resolution that condemned the violent crackdown in Syria and urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. India supported the Arab League-backed resolution, but made it clear that it was opposed to use of force. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="text-align: justify;">The resolution, adopted by a vote of 137 in favour to 12 against with 17 abstentions, called on Syria "to immediately put an end to all human rights violations and attacks against civilians" </span><span style="text-align: justify;">resolution. The two countries had vetoed the Arab League-backed resolution in the UN Security Council over a fortnight ago. </span></li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The vote, though non-binding in nature, is seen as a strong rebuke to President Bashar al-Assad's continued and bloody crackdown on protesters during the pro-democracy uprising that began in March last year.<br /> </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Explaining India's vote on the UNGA resolution, India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Singh Puri underlined that while India condemned violence, it opposed any use of force by a third country and advocated a Syrian-led political reconciliation. </li> </ul></div>

India votes for Syria resolution in UN

The UN General Assembly has voted in favour of a resolution that condemned the violent crackdown in Syria and urged Syrian President Basha...

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India set to produce record wheat output in 2012: Pawar

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6031" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India is set to produce a record 88.31 million tonnes of wheat in 2012, Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said on Feb 17th, with recent cold waves helping the growth of the crop. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Early this month, the farm ministry in its second foodgrain production estimate projected a similar output for the main winter season crop. </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India, the world's second biggest producer of wheat, produced 86.87 tonnes in 2011.</li> </ul></div></div>

India set to produce record wheat output in 2012: Pawar

India is set to produce a record 88.31 million tonnes of wheat in 2012, Farm Minister Sharad Pawa...

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India needs to go duty free for developing aerospace industry

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6032" style="display: block;"> <ul><li>The Indian government will have to lend duty-free support to the country's upcoming but fledgling aerospace industry, which has the world's highest growth potential over the next 10 years.  </li> </ul><ul><li>The Indian customs' import duty policy, ranges between 60 per cent and 100 percent for bringing in spare parts and equipment for repairing and manufacturing aircraft locally.<span> </span></li> </ul><ul><li>It was emphasized that it has to be zero duty for this industry. </li> </ul><ul><li>India would become the world's "most important market" with increase in aviation services including increase of passenger traffic to 500 million people by 2020 from the 100 million in 2011. </li> </ul><ul><li>The Indians have confirmed orders for 137 business jets in addition to the current fleet of 113 and the helicopter population in the country would triple in five years from the present 260. </li> </ul><ul><li>Giving his views as observer of the Indian industry at the Singapore Airshow and not committing SAITI to such commercially-sensitive comments, Krishnadas Nair expressed concern about the growth of the new industry, saying India would lose major foreign investments in the aircraft industries if its duty structure is not changed. </li> </ul><ul><li>It would be challenging for the local industry and the potential foreign joint venture partners to compete with global aircraft centres if imports of spare parts, components and material were not made duty free.<span>.</span></li> </ul><ul><li>Sales tax, estimated at an average of 20 per cent on locally done aircrafts and related parts and products, were the other issue.</li> </ul></div></div>

India needs to go duty free for developing aerospace industry

The Indian government will have to lend duty-free support to the country's upcoming but fledg...

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Manned mission to space station this year: China

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">China today on Feb 17 said that it will launch its manned space mission "Shenzhou-9" by August this year, denying speculation that it had put off the project.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>China will launch its manned "Shenzhou-9" spacecraft between June and August this year, as well as conduct a space rendezvous and docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, a report in state-run Xinhua news agency said.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The space docking mission will be manually conducted by astronauts, giving China another chance to test its docking technology, Xinhua quoted a spokesman of China's manned space programme as saying.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Shenzhou-9's three crew members will board the Tiangong-1 after the docking is completed, living there and conducting scientific experiments.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span>The orbiting Tiangong-1 is ready to accommodate the astronauts, and the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket, the Long-March II-F, are undergoing final checks, he said. </span> </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Tiangong-1 went into space on September 29, last year, docking with the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft to complete China's first space docking mission just over a month later. </li> </ul></div>

Manned mission to space station this year: China

China today on Feb 17 said that it will launch its manned space mission "Shenzhou-9" by August this year, denying speculation th...

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India's contribution towards climate change upheld

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India and other developing countries have contributed more to counter the ill effects of climate change. Stating this in Chennai, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan slammed US and other Western nations for continuing to cause pollution despite their commitments.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>She said , US and West Asian countries continue to increase pollution, without an apology or feeling. She said they are not in anyway burdened by the kind of pollution that they are bringing about. She was speaking after inaugurating a Business Ethics conference organised by Loyola Institute of Business Administration today. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>She also referring to a Stockholm Institute's study that found developing countries actually contributing far more to counter the effects of climate change than any developed country. She said, India is doing a huge amount of work through its National Action Plan on Climate Change.</li> </ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /> </div></div>

India's contribution towards climate change upheld

India and other developing countries have contributed more to counter the ill effects of climate change. Stating this in Chennai, Environm...

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National Counter Terrorism Centre in process

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6035" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The Centre has said that setting up of National Counter-Terrorism Centre - NCTC - is in national interest and there is no need to consult the states prior to its notification as it is being established under the existing laws. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Union Home Secretary R K Singh said in New Delhi, that the centre is being formed for better coordination among agencies to fight terror better. He said,no new legislation is being passed and the sections which have been quoted have been on the statute for the past six to seven years. </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Singh was reacting to a query on some Chief Ministers opposing the formation of NCTC saying it will infringe on the states' powers.</li> </ul></div></div>

National Counter Terrorism Centre in process

The Centre has said that setting up of National Counter-Terrorism Centre - NCTC - is in national ...

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CBI seeks international cooperation to recover blackmoney

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6036" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The CBI stressed the need for cooperation with international law enforcement agencies to trace and recover illegal wealth stashed abroad. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"In today's globalised context, effective international cooperation in essential for fighting corruption that transcends international boundaries.</li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"We need to engage with each other at all levels to effectively deal with those criminals indulging in corrupt practices at a multi-national level. This requires more effective cooperation among all the law enforcement agencies," CBI Director A P Singh said here. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Singh said global cooperation will provide speed and efficiency in confiscation of blackmoney and prosecution of criminals. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Multi jurisdiction cross-border aspects of an investigation into corruption and international asset recovery involves numerous processes like tracing, freezing, confiscation and repatriation of proceeds stored in foreign jurisdiction. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"We must realise that international cooperation is a two- way street, and is given on a reciprocal basis," he said while concluding the first Interpol global programme on anti- corruption and asset recovery. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The conference, first of its kind, was attended by about 38 delegates of 14 nations including China, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The CBI director had earlier this week during the inauguration of the conference estimated blackmoney to the tune of Rs 24.5 lakh crore (around USD 500 billion) parked abroad but today he did not make a mention about the figure.</li> </ul></div></div>

CBI seeks international cooperation to recover blackmoney

The CBI stressed the need for cooperation with international law enforcement agencies to trace an...

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