RAPID GK SERIES 44

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">1. This Personality has named the Pacific Ocean<br /> 2. Between these two countries the Pyrenees lie<br /> 3. This Scientist discovered the Electron<br /> 4. This planet has the largest number of moons<br /> 5. The Japanese parliament is called<br /> 6. Florida was purchased by the U.S.A from this Country only<br /> 7. The Fascist Party was originated in this Country<br /> 8. The study of earthquakes is called<br /> 9. The abbreviation of IFRS is<br /> 10. The Holy Book of Parsis is called<br /> <i><br /> <strong>ANSWERS</strong></i> <br /> <br /> 1. Ferdinand Magellan<br /> 2. France & Spain<br /> 3. Sir J J Thomson<br /> 4. Saturn<br /> 5. The Diet<br /> 6. Spain<br /> 7. Italy<br /> 8. Seismology<br /> 9. International Financial Reporting Standards<br /> 10. The Zend Avesta</div>

RAPID GK SERIES 44

1. This Personality has named the Pacific Ocean 2. Between these two countries the Pyrenees lie 3. This Scientist discovered the Electron ...

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Biodiversity sector to have regulatory mechanism soon

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Government says a regulatory mechanism in Biodiversity sector will be in place after the recommendations are firmed up to safeguard public health and protect environment. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad informed this during the inauguration of Bangalore India Bio-2012 conference in Bangalore. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He also disclosed that the Quality Control lab in Delhi has been asked to bring wider range of bio-technology products under its ambit to ensure that they are safe and meet the prescribed standards. He called upon private sector to increase their presence in the research sector. He expressed happiness over country’s capabilities in manufacturing diagnostic kits for testing bird flu. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Speaking on the occasion, the Bio-technology Secretary MK Bhan informed that Central Government has approved Bio-Connect Centre for Bangalore.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He explained that the Centre, which is one of its kinds in the country, will help mould young scientists as leaders in their specific fields of specialization. He added that forty such centres will come up all over the country gradually.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Chief Minister of Karnataka Sadanand Gowda expressed happiness over functioning of 12 Biotechnology finishing schools in the state and said Central Government is planning to adopt this modal in other states too.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Over 400 delegates from 250 top global biotech companies are taking part in the Bangalore India Bio conference and Exhibition in Bangalore.</li> </ul></div>

Biodiversity sector to have regulatory mechanism soon

Government says a regulatory mechanism in Biodiversity sector will be in place after the recommendations are firmed up to safeguard public...

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Armed forces to administer vaccines for two diseases

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5913" style="display: block; text-align: justify;"> <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Indian Armed Forces will start a vaccination programme among their new recruits to prevent spread of two diseases, including one affecting the brain.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Immunisation shots against meningococal meningitis and chicken pox will be administered to the recruits as a preventive measure, Lieutenant General Mandeep Singh, Director General Hospital Services of the Armed Forces said.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Meningococal Meningistis can be fatal as this disease affects the brain. Military recruits are known to be a high risk population for this disease as it is known to occur more commonly among crowded living conditions.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"These immunisation shots will prevent the outbreak of this disease...Though till date we had no major outbreaks, but caution is being taken as the disease strikes a large number of people at a time," Singh said.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Nearly one lakh recruits are inducted into the Indian armed forces every year.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Lt Gen Singh also said vaccinations will be also introduced for chicken pox because this disease too has serious complications.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"It is not a part of the immunisation schedule for children till date. Recruits come from all parts of the country and if any individual case is reported then the recruit and all his contacts has to be isolated. It not only weakens the immune system but also adversely affects the training," he said. </li> </ul></div></div>

Armed forces to administer vaccines for two diseases

Indian Armed Forces will start a vaccination programme among their new recruits to prevent spread...

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'Devas deal cancelled for national security'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5914" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The central government cancelled the Antrix Corporation-Devas Multimedia deal for reasons of national security and not for purported loss of revenue in sale of spectrum, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy has said. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>He also said the government was not discriminating between space scientists and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials and, based on their culpability, punitive action would be taken against the latter too.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>A committee comprising BK Chaturvedi and Roddam Narasimha that went into the controversial deal has ruled out cheap selling of spectrum by Antrix to Bangalore-based Devas.  </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Concerns of cheap selling of spectrum to Devas have no basis whatsoever. Space spectrum is not comparable to terrestrial spectrum. Devas was also required to obtain licences from Department of Telecommunications, Department of Information Broadcasting for providing services to customers and would have to pay, apart from transponder leasing charges, other charges which would be determined by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) based on consultation mechanism," the committee declared.  </li> </ul></div></div>

'Devas deal cancelled for national security'

The central government cancelled the Antrix Corporation-Devas Multimedia deal for reasons of nati...

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DRDO develops affordable cochlear implant

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an affordable cochlear implant, which will cost around 1 lakh rupees. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>According to a DRDO release, this is much cheaper than similar imported device which costs about 8 lakh rupees. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), based at Visakhapatnam, a unit of DRDO has developed cochlear implant which is also known as bionic ear. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It is reported that, this device is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing due to loss of sensory hair cells in their cochlea. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>There are nearly one million people in the country who need cochlear implants. Every year nearly 10,000 children are born with this impairment. The indigenously developed device will bring great relief as it is much cheaper as compared to the imported device. </li> </ul></div>

DRDO develops affordable cochlear implant

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an affordable cochlear implant, which will cost around 1 lakh rupee...

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Power Finance Corp to raise Rs 40,000 cr in FY 2012-13

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">State-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has said that it would raise the fund raising target to Rs 40,000 crore in the next financial year, 2012-13. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Talking to reporters in New Delhi, PFC Chairman and Managing Director Satnam Singh also said that the company, which provides financing to the power sector, has set a target of raising Rs 30,000 crore for this fiscal. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mr. Singh said that PFC has set a target of disbursing Rs 35,000 crore during 2011-12, of which Rs 25,400 crore has been doled out. It plans to up the disbursal target to Rs 40,000 crore in 2012-13. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Mr. Singh added that the PFC is looking for an international partner for its subsidiary PFC Consulting, with a view to expanding operations in the SAARC region.</li> </ul></div>

Power Finance Corp to raise Rs 40,000 cr in FY 2012-13

State-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has said that it would raise the fund raising target to Rs 40,000 crore in the next financial ye...

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Headline inflation to continue around 7% till March: FM

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5917" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said headline inflation would continue around seven percent till March. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"I am happy that headline inflation has come down from perilously close to the double digit figure from 9.7 percent to 7.47 in the month of December (2011). And I would believe that it would continue till March," Mukherjee said at a FICCI programme here. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>On the country's GDP growth rate, he said it would be at seven percent by the end of the current fiscal March 31. </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">"We need not to be disappointed over the growth performance of our economy. In the first two quarters (of the current fiscal) it was 7.3 percent...," he added.</li> </ul></div></div>

Headline inflation to continue around 7% till March: FM

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said headline inflation would continue around seven percen...

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Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by India has been attributed to western pressure, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Feb 5. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to India over its decision on participating in the development of Farzad-B gas field," Fars quoted an unnamed oil official as saying. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"Possibly foreign pressures played a role in influencing Indian's delays to develop the field," he said. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Iran said the field's in-place gas reserves have been estimated at 21.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf), of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The report said Iran was in talks with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited for about three years. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>In October 2010, Iran said it would soon sign a USD 5 billion contract with a foreign company to develop its offshore Farzad-B gas field, without naming the company. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>ONGC has exclusive exploration rights for the offshore Farsi block, of which the Farzad-B gas field is a part. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The EU's ban on Iranian oil came after US President Barack Obama signed new sanctions into law on New Year's Eve that would block any institution dealing with Iran's central bank from the US financial system. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The measures are aimed at shutting off the second-biggest OPEC oil exporters' sales of crude. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>However, India which relies on Iran for about 12 percent of its oil needs or around 350,000-400,000 barrels per day (bpd), said it would not cut its oil imports from Iran. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>If fully implemented, the measures will make it impossible for countries to buy Iranian oil. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Iran has previously excluded some foreign oil and gas companies, accusing them of dragging their feet over its projects.</li> </ul></div>

Iran issues ultimatum to India over gas field

Iran has given a one-month ultimatum to an Indian consortium over the development of a gas field whose delay by India has been attributed ...

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6.8 scale earthquake shakes Philippines

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5919" style="display: block;"> <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the central Philippines on Feb 6, killing at least one person and causing panic in cities where buildings shook. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The US Geological Survey said the quake hit 70 kilometres north of the city of Dumaguete on Negros Island at 11:49 am, Local Time at a depth of 46 kilometres. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology measured the quake at 6.9 at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres, centred off the heavily populated central island province of Negros and Cebu.  </li> </ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Civil Defence chief said one child was crushed to death by a collapsed wall in Negros. He said the violent shaking of buildings in the cities of Cebu and San Carlos led to broken windows and cracks on the walls, but no high rises are believed to have sustained major damage.</li> </ul></div></div>

6.8 scale earthquake shakes Philippines

An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit the central Philippines on Feb 6, killing at...

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Court raps Google, FB; gives 15 more days to remove 'objectionable' content

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Admonishing internet firms like Google and Facebook, a Delhi court on Monday gave 15 more days to 22 social networking sites to remove 'objectionable' contents from their websites. According to media reports, a judge presiding over the matter said that these sites did not deserve any more time. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>These firms have been asked to file a written reply in the matter in 15 more days. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Earlier today on Feb 6, Facebook India filed its compliance report before the court. Google India also told the court that it has removed certain web pages from the Internet on which objections were raised by the petitioners in the matter. Meanwhile, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft told the court that they have no role to play in the case and there is no cause of action against them in the matter. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The court also asked Google Inc as to why it was not coming up "properly" with a reply and brushed aside its contention that it had received the copy of the judgment and other documents related to the case. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The court also asked the petitioner to supply the copies of all the documents relied upon, to all the opposite parties. The court had on December 20 last year, in a ex-parte order issued summons to 22 social networking websites asking them to remove "anti-religious" or "anti-social" content in the form of photographs, videos or text which might hurt religious sentiments. </li> </ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It had on December 24 set February 6 as deadline for the websites for the same.</li> </ul></div>

Court raps Google, FB; gives 15 more days to remove 'objectionable' content

Admonishing internet firms like Google and Facebook, a Delhi court on Monday gave 15 more days to 22 social networking sites to remove ...

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