The Competition Master

RAPID GK SERIES 39

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">1. In an Indian Rupee Note, the denomination of the currency is written in this number of different languages<br />
2. The new name of Unique Identity Authority of Development of India (UIDAI) is<br />
3. In 2006, the First IBSA (India, Brazil & South Africa) Summit was held in<br />
4. The famous statement œIndia is for Indians is said by<br />
5. The founder of Sikh Religion is<br />
6. Gurmit Memorial Trophy is associated with this game<br />
7. Mera Seth Committee was associated with the development of this industry<br />
8. œGreen Index, has been developed by<br />
9. Project Tiger in India was started in<br />
10. Second Green-revolution is related to this field<br />
<span></span><br />
<span></span> <strong>ANSWERS</strong><br />
<span></span><br />
<span></span> 1. 16<br />
2. AADHAR<br />
3. Brasilia<br />
4. Dayanand Saraswathi<br />
5. Guru Nanak Dev<br />
6. Hockey<br />
7. Handloom Industry<br />
8. United Nations Environment Programme<br />
9. 1973<br />
10. Bio-technology</div>

RAPID GK SERIES 39

1. In an Indian Rupee Note, the denomination of the currency is written in this number of different languages 2. The new name of Unique Ide...

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India won’t scale down petroleum imports from Iran: Pranab

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India, which imports 12 per cent of its  oil from Iran, will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran  despite US and European sanctions against the Islamic republic, Finance  Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>India imports 110 million tonnes of crude per year. Iran is an  important country for India despite U.S. and European sanctions on Iran. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>India, the world’s fourth-largest oil consumer, is Iran’s second-biggest oil client after China. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao last week said that  India’s purchase of oil from Iran has dropped slightly in last two years  and is expected to drop further given the difficulties New Delhi might  have in making payments through banks due to tough sanctions imposed  against Iranian banks. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Ms. Rao had said India was in touch with the U.S. Government and  closely monitoring the developing situation concerning Iran, when asked  about the pressure from the U.S. that India needs to reduce its  dependency on Iranian oil.</li>
</ul></div>

India won’t scale down petroleum imports from Iran: Pranab

India, which imports 12 per cent of its oil from Iran, will not scale down its petroleum imports from Tehran despite US and European sanct...

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India signs international tax treaty

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India has signed an international tax  treaty for getting information on black money stashed abroad. The  country has become the latest signatory to the multilateral convention  on mutual administrative assistance in Tax Matters.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The multilateral instrument is the single legal basis for  multi-country cooperation, as against other treaties including the  Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, which are bilateral. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The convention not only facilitates the exchange of information, but  also provides for assistance in the recovery of taxes. This will give a  fillip to the efforts of the government in bringing money illegally  stashed abroad.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>By signing the convention, India and the other 31 signatories send a  strong signal that countries are acting together to ensure that  individuals and multinational enterprises pay the right amount of tax,  at the right time and in the right place. Many more countries are  expected to sign the convention in future. </li>
</ul></div>

India signs international tax treaty

India has signed an international tax treaty for getting information on black money stashed abroad. The country has become the latest sign...

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India- Japan Coast Guards conduct joint exercise

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5819" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li>As part of strengthening their working level relationship and refine  operating procedures, Indian Coast Guard and its Japanese counterpart  conducted a joint exercise <strong>'Sahyog Kaijin XI' </strong>off Chennai port. </li>
</ul><ul><li>Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan, Director General of the Indian Coast  Guard and Admiral Hisayasu Suzuki, Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard  witnessed the exercises.  </li>
</ul><ul><li>Eight Coast Guard ships, two interceptor boats, an equal number of  hovercrafts besides three Dornier aircraft and three Chetak helicopters  took part in the exercise with the Japanese Coast Guard Ship Settsu  (PLH-07).  </li>
</ul><ul><li>A Singapore delegation from 'Regional Co-operation Agreement to  Combat piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea in Asia' also witnessed the  exercise, a release said.  </li>
</ul><ul><li>The exercise was part of the ongoing series of joint exercises based  on memorandum of co-operation between Indian Coast Guard and Japanese  Coast Guard in 2006. </li>
</ul></div></div>

India- Japan Coast Guards conduct joint exercise

As part of strengthening their working level relationship and refine operating procedures, Indian...

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Karnataka Assembly session begins today

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">A ten-day session of both Houses of  Karnataka Legislature will begin today during which the opposition  Congress-JDS combine is expected to train their guns against ruling BJP  on a host of issues, including delay in appointment of Lokayukta and  recent strictures passed by Supreme Court against Speaker K G Bopaiah.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The session, which opens with the customary address by Governor H R  Bhardwaj to the joint sitting of both Houses, is expected to be stormy  as Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda faces the combined opposition and  pro-Yeddyurappa camp.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Congress and JDS would be targetting the government on what it  terms as a "tardy" pace of relief works in drought-hit areas and also  power crisis faced by the state among others.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The face-off between the Governor and the Government over Lokayukta  appointment is bound to generate a heated debate in both Houses and also  the Supreme Court rap on Bopaiah over disqualification of five  independent MLAs.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The opposition will demand Bopaiah's resignation on moral grounds,  but the presiding officer is unlikely to face a no-confidence motion as  the rules keep opposition parties at bay as they have to give a 14-day  notice for such an exercise. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The BJP has not decided on convening its Legislature Party meeting,  an exercise it performs during every legislature session keeping in mind  the activities by rebels, who have been demanding reinstatement of  Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister. </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">The BJP,however, has convened a  meeting of its top leaders at its party office tomorrow to discuss  issues related to the party and the government.</div></div>

Karnataka Assembly session begins today

A ten-day session of both Houses of Karnataka Legislature will begin today during which the opposition Congress-JDS combine is expected to...

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India emerges as a strong investment destination at WEF meet

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5821" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The annual World Economic Forum summit  closed on Jan 29th. The India story has emerged even stronger with the  business world appreciating the country's fine balance between  democratic processes and economic growth.<span>     </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>A few even foresee the possibility of the country hosting a  Davos-level congregation of the world's rich and powerful at some point  in the future.<span>     </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The votaries of the Indian growth story include the likes of global  rating agency S&P, which not long ago faced the ire of the US  administration for downgrade of America's top-notch sovereign  creditworthiness rating.<span>     </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>S&P President Douglas Peterson said that the agency has an  investment grade rating on India, with a stable outlook and the country  is more likely to improve further on this.<span>     </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Brushing aside the concerns of slow reforms and the perceived notion  of 'policy-paralysis', he said, "In a democracy, the policies are made  after a prolonged dialogue and that is indeed a healthy practise."<span>     </span></li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Apparently, impressed with the positive  discussions about India, Peterson went on to say that it was quite a  refreshing change that the talks have moved away from the European  crisis to India at Davos.</li>
</ul></div></div>

India emerges as a strong investment destination at WEF meet

The annual World Economic Forum summit closed on Jan 29th. The India story has emerged even stron...

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India to focus on fiscal consolidation in budget

India to focus on fiscal consolidation in budget

The finance ministry is likely to focus on fiscal consolidation in the coming annual budget, Mont...

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Climate change may shrink wheat crop yields

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">More intense heat waves due to global  warming could diminish wheat crop yields around the world through  premature ageing, according to a study published today in Nature Climate  Change.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Current projections based on computer models underestimate the  extent to which hotter weather in the future will accelerate this  process, the researchers warned.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Wheat is harvested in temperate zones on more than 220 million hectares, making it the most widely grown crop on Earth.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Greenhouse experiments have shown that unseasonably warm  temperatures -- especially at the end of the growing season -- can cause  senescence, the scientific term for accelerated ageing. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Excess heat beyond the plant's tolerance zone damages photosynthetic cells.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Fluctuations in wheat yields in India have also been attributed by  farmers to temperature, most recently a heat wave in 2010 blamed for  stunting plant productivity.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>To further test these experiments and first-hand observations, a  trio of researchers led by David Lobell of Stanford University sifted  through nine years of satellite data for the Indo-Ganges Plains in  northern India and then used statistical methods to isolate the effects  of extreme heat on wheat.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>They found that a 2.0 Celsius increase above long-term averages  shortened the growing season by a critical nine days, reducing total  yield by up to 20 per cent. </li>
</ul></div>

Climate change may shrink wheat crop yields

More intense heat waves due to global warming could diminish wheat crop yields around the world through premature ageing, according to a s...

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Pakistan Marine Security arrests 22 Indian fishermen from Arabian Sea

Pakistan Marine Security arrests 22 Indian fishermen from Arabian Sea

Pakistan Marine Security Agency arrested 22 Indian fishermen from the Sir Creek area in Arabian Se...

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India's human rights record disappointing: HRW

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">India's human rights record in 2011 got  a thumbs down from a leading global rights group for its "failure" to  protect vulnerable communities and rapped the government for custodial  killings, police abuses, including torture.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Human Rights Watch also criticised the Indian government for its  inaction in repealing the controversial armed forces act and for  remaining silent on the "gravest abuses" in countries like Syria.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>In its World Report 2012, Human Rights Watch (HRW) assessed progress  on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries. In  India's case, HRW said it has been a "disappointing year for human  rights". </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Custodial killings, police abuses including torture, and failure to  implement policies to protect vulnerable communities marred India's  record in 2011 as in the past," HRW said in its report.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>HRW said the Indian government took no action to repeal the "widely  discredited Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), disregarding the  recommendations of political leaders and advisers. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>HRW however said violence in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir  dropped significantly during 2011. While the government has promised a  thorough inquiry into the discovery of over 2000 unmarked graves in the  state. </li>
</ul></div>

India's human rights record disappointing: HRW

India's human rights record in 2011 got a thumbs down from a leading global rights group for its "failure" to protect vulner...

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