India and Interesting GK Facts

Prepared By:
Rohit Upadhyay
Introduction
If you're bored and have ten minutes to spare, then why not check out this awesome list of the top
fifteen hundred most random and funny GK facts and some interesting facts about India. The largest
online collection of random, funny, interesting yet mind blowing facts. Cool and Weird facts about
our everyday lives that everyone should know.

Interesting facts and fun facts that educate, entertain, and amaze yourself. Simply the best collection
of weird and unbelievable facts. Enjoy specially prepared fun science facts for kids. Learn interesting
earth facts, historical facts, amazing chemistry facts, cool space facts, funny facts about human
beings and animals, unknown India facts and much more.
 Interesting GK facts and India
1. The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875, in New York City by Russian noblewoman Helena
Petrovna Blavatsky and American Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.
2. Madame Blavatsky was the first Russian woman to be naturalized as an American citizen.
3. The society aimed at forming a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without
distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour and to encourage the study of comparative
religion, philosophy, and science.
4. The headquarter of society was in Adyar, Madras in India.
5. Annie Besant became the president of the Theosophical society in 1907.
6. She was a prominent British socialist, women's rights activist, writer and orator and supporter of
Irish and Indian self-rule.
7. She also get involved in politics in India by joining the Indian National Congress and became its
president in 1917.
8. In 1914 she launched the Home Rule League to campaign for democracy in India and dominion
status within the Empire
9. Annie Besant played a pivotal role in the setting up of the Hindu University of Benares and
continued to be a member of all the policy-making committees of the university.
10. She was also the founder president of "Women's India Association".
11. Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used in radio communication
technologies.
12. CDMA uses spread spectrum technology with the use of different codes to separate between
different stations or users rather than different frequencies of time slots as in the case of
previous access technologies.
13. The signal is transmitted in a channel, which is below noise level and the receiver uses a
correlator to de spread the wanted signal.
14. CDMA is a military technology first used during World War II by English allies to foil German
attempts at jamming transmissions.
15. The first CDMA system was launched in September 1995 by Hutchison Telephone Co. Ltd. in
Hong Kong.
16. CDMA is used as the access method in many mobile phone standards such as CDMAOne,
CDMA2000 and WCDMA.
17. CDMA provides increased immunity to interference or jamming, and multiple user access.
18. The use of the spreading codes which are independent for each user along with synchronous
reception allow multiple users to access the same channel simultaneously.
19. Disadvantage in CDMA is that the receivers need a complex and robust design to decode the
signal.
20. CDMA carriers cannot offer international roaming.
21. A national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a government.
22. Visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural, and
recreative purposes.
23. Article 51 A (g), was inserted for making it the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and
improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have
compassion for living creatures.
24. Article 48-A states that the State shall Endeavour to protect and improve the environment and
to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country
25. India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim
Corbett National Park.
26. In 1972 the Wildlife Protection Act was enacted to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant
species.
27. The Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Nanda Devi National Park, the Sundarbans
 National Park, Keoladeo National Park and Western Ghats have been declared as World Heritage
Sites.
28. Wildlife sanctuaries are reserved (set aside) by a governmental or private agency for the
protection of particular species of animals during part or all of the year.
29. The first wildlife sanctuary was the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary near Madras, set up in 1878.
30. Dachigam Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir is famous for the Hangul, or the Kashmir Stag.
31. Jute is known as the golden fibre which is sown between March and June and harvested is
November-December.
32. Jute requires humid climate with temperature fluctuating between 24 degree Celsius and 38
degree Celsius and minimum rainfall of 1000 mm.
33. The best varieties of Jute are Bangla Tosha - Corchorus olitorius (Golden shine) & Bangla White -
Corchorus capsularis (Whitish Shine).
34. Jute is 100% bio-degradable & recyclable and thus environment friendly.
35. Jute has high tensile strength, and low extensibility.
36. Jute is one of the most versatile natural fibres with renewable resource having applications in
packaging, textiles and non-textile sectors.
37. Jute naturally protects perishable goods during storage, reducing product losses and prolonging
storage life
38. Geotextiles are made of environmentally friendly, degradable and renewable jute or coconut
raw material. They distinguish themselves by high moisture absorption, flexibility and drainage
characteristics.
39. The production process in jute industry involves cultivation of raw jute, processing of jute fibres,
spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, finishing and marketing of both raw jute and its finished
products.
40. The jute textiles industry in India is one of the major industries in the eastern region, particularly
in West Bengal. It supports nearly 4 million farm families.
41. The Securities and Exchange Board of India was established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with
the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
42. SEBI Headquarter is in Mumbai, and has Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Regional
Offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad respectively.
43. Its main objective is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the
development of, and to regulate the securities market and for matters connected therewith.
44. Primary market is the market where shares are offered to investors by the issuer company to
raise their capital.
45. Secondary market is the market where stocks are traded after they are initially offered to the
investor in primary market (IPO's etc.) and get listed to stock exchange.
46. When an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or offers its existing securities
for sale or both for the first time to the public, it is called an IPO.
47. When an already listed company makes either a fresh issue of securities to the public or an offer
for sale to the public, it is called a FPO.
48. A bull market is when everything in the economy is great, people are finding jobs, gross domestic
product (GDP) is growing, and stocks are rising.
49. A bear market is when the economy is bad, recession is looming and stock prices are falling.
50. Upendra Kumar Sinha was appointed as the chairman of SEBI replacing C. B. Bhave.
51. Ajanta Caves are located just outside the village of Ajintha in Aurangabad district of the state of
Maharashtra.
52. These caves were discovered in AD 1819 and were built up in the earlier 2nd century BC-AD.
53. All paintings show heavy religious influence related to Buddha, Bodhisattvas, incidents from the
life of Buddha and the Jatakas.
54. There are in total 30 excavations found at the site, including an unfinished one. Out of the total,
five caves are chaityagrihas (stupa monument halls) while the rest are viharas (monastic halls of
 residence).
55. The base surface of the paintings on walls and ceilings consisted of a rough layer of ferruginous
earth mixed with rock-grit or sand, vegetable fibres, paddy husk, grass and other fibrous material
of organic origin.
56. The colors and shades used were red and yellow ochre, terra verte, lime, kaolin, gypsum, lamp
black and lapis lazuli.
57. The main binding material used in the paintings was glue.
58. The Style of caves belongs to Satavahana, Vakataka and Gupta Architecture.
59. The caves in Ajanta are primarily Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhist caves, the Ellora cave
temples belong to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions.
60. The Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
61. Tropical rainforests are found near the Equator between 0 degree to 10 degree north and south
of the Equator.
62. It is spread over the parts of three continents, Asia, Africa and South America.
63. In South America, the region includes the Amazon lowlands and coastal lowlands of North-
eastern Brazil, coastal Colombia and parts of adjoining Ecuador.
64. In Africa, it covers the entire Zaire (Congo) basin and the Guinea Coast in West Africa.
65. In Asia, it covers the areas of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Papua, parts of Philippines,
peninsular Thailand, Nicobar Islands, parts of Sri Lanka, etc.
66. The temperatures throughout the year are very high and average between 25 degree C to 30
degree C.
67. The rainfall is of convectional type, averages between 150 to 350 cm.
68. The trees of equatorial forests form a thick canopy, and the sunlight is prevented from reaching
the forest floor.
69. Important trees are: mahogany, rose-wood, ebony, iron-wood, green-heart, cinchona, rubber,
etc.
70. They are also known as the "Lungs of the World" because they absorb a very large amount of
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and exhale huge amount of oxygen.
71. The Code of Criminal Procedure is the main legislation on procedure for administration of
substantive criminal law in India.
72. The Criminal Procedure Code, 1861 was passed by the British parliament.
73. The 1861 code continued after independence and was amended in 1969. It was finally replaced
in 1972.
74. It provides the machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals,
collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the
determination of punishment of the guilty.
75. The Act consists of 484 sections, 2 schedules and 56 forms. The sections are divided into 38
chapters.
76. The Criminal Procedure Code extends to the whole of India except the States in India of Jammu
and Kashmir.
77. Provisions under Chapters VIII, X and XI of the code do not apply to the State of Nagaland and
some tribal areas in Assam.
78. Cognizable offences are those offences for which a police officer may arrest without court
mandated warrant.
79. First Information Report is made to police, about commission of a cognizable offence to an
officer in charge of a police station, and shall be signed by the person giving such information.
80. In India, after an FIR has been filed the contents of the FIR cannot be changed except by a ruling
from the High Court or the Supreme Court of India
Chhattisgarh is carved out of Madhya Pradesh came into being on 1 November 2000 as the 26th
81.
State of the Union.
82. Chhattisgarh is bounded by southern Jharkhand and Orrisa in the east, Madhya Pradesh and
 Maharashtra in the west, Uttar Pradesh and western Jharkhand in the north and Andhra Pradesh
in the south.
83. Area wise Chhattisgrh is the ninth largest state and population wise it is seventeenth state of the
nation.
84. The state animal is the van bhainsa, or wild water buffalo.
85. The state bird is the pahari myna, or hill myna.
86. The state tree is the Sal, or Sarai,found in Baster division.
87. The Mahanadi is the chief river of the state. The other main rivers are Hasdo (a tributary of
Mahanadi), Rihand, Indravati, Jonk, Arpa and Shivnath.
88. Chhattisgarh has one of the lowest standards of living in India as per the Income Index (0.127)
but according to 2011 Census literacy rate is 71 per cent.
89. The official language of the state is Hindi and is used by non-rural population of the state while
majority of the people speak Chhattisgarhi.
90. Panthi, Rawat Nacha, Karma, Pandwani, Chaitra, Kaksar, Saila and Soowa are the several
indigenous dance styles of Chhattisgarh.
91. The Constitution of India provides for an Independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India.
92. He is appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand and seal.
93. He holds office for a period of six years or upto the age of 65 years, which ever is earlier.
94. He can be removed by the President on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both
the houses of Parliament with special majority, either on ground of proved misbehavior or
incapacity.
95. He audits the accounts related to all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India as well as
Consolidated Fund of each State and the Union Territory having a legislative assembly.
96. He audits all expenditure from the Contingency fund of India and the Public Account of India as
well as Contingency fund of each State and the Public account of each State.
97. He audits all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and other
subsidiary accounts kept by any department of the Central Government and State Government.
98. According to Article 150 of the Constitution CAG advices the president with regard to
prescription of the form in which the accounts of the centre and the states shall be kept.
99. CAG submits 3 audit reports to the president-Audit report on appropriation accounts; Audit
report on finance accounts and Audit report on public undertakings.
100. Shashi Kant Sharma has been sworn in as a new CAG of India by the President Pranab
Mukherjee.
101. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997. Whereas it entered into
force on 16 February 2005.
102. The Protocol is based on a principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."
103. GHGs enshrined in Kyoto Protocol are CO2; methane; nitrous oxide; Sulphur hexafluoride;
hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.
104. It only binds developed countries because it recognizes that they are largely responsible for the
current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere.
105. Kyoto Protocol sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community.
106. The goals of Kyoto were to see participants collectively reducing emissions of greenhouse gases
by 5.2% below the emission levels of 1990 by 2012.
107. During the Doha meet it has been agreed that the Kyoto Protocol will enter a second
commitment period that will run for eight years.
108. Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Malta, and Belarus did not have reduction commitments for 2008-2012
under the Kyoto Protocol.
109. Canada, Japan, New Zealand' and Russia are not Parties to the second commitment period to the
Kyoto protocol.
110. The primary functions of lungs are to transport oxygen from the air into your bloodstream while
 taking away carbon dioxide, which is released during breathing out.
111. Most vertebrate animals (animals with spines) have two lungs.
112. The lung on the left side of human body is divided into two lobes while the lung on right side is
divided into three. The left lung is also slightly smaller.
113. The lungs are the largest organ in the body and the only organ inside the body that is exposed to
the outside.
114. Human respiratory system breathes in between 2,100 and 2,400 gallons (8,000 and 9,000 liters)
of air each day.
115. The brain directs the rate of inhalation and exhalation of the lungs. It can quickly sense the
concentration of oxygen in the air, and increases or decreases the rate of respiration
accordingly.
116. The air sacs of the lungs called as alveoli are tiny spongy structures in the lung. There are
approximately 600 million alveoli in the lungs.
117. The study of lung diseases is known as pulmonology.
118. Lung diseases include influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchitis and cystic fibrosis and cancer.
119. Smoking introduces tar into the lungs, and that tar can encourage uncontrollable cell growth and
thus help develop cancer.
120. Lord Mountbatten became Viceroy to India in March 1947 and proposed Mountbatten Plan for
partition of India.
121. The plan led to the enactment of the Indian Independence Act on 18 July 1947.
122. The Act had divided British India into the two new and fully sovereign dominions of India and
Pakistan, with effect from 15 August 1947.
123. Eastern Bengal, Western Punjab, Sindh and North-West Frontier Province would be included in
Pakistan.
124. According the Act the British Government would transfer all powers to these two Dominions.
125. A Boundary Commission was formed to demarcate the boundaries of the provinces of the
Punjab and Bengal.
126. The Act provided for the transfer of power to the Constituent Assemblies of the two Dominions,
which will have full authority to frame their respective Constitutions.
127. It was not obligatory on the part of both the nations to accept the membership of the British
Commonwealth of Nations. The choice was left to India and Pakistan.
128. It was not obligatory on the part of both the nations to accept the membership of the British
Commonwealth of Nations. The choice was left to India and Pakistan.
129. The Act of 1947 provided for the abolition of the office of the Secretary of State for India and his
advisers.
130. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization
working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment.
131. The World Wildlife Fund was established in 1961 as an international fundraising organization
that would provide money for conservation groups working around the globe.
132. The central secretariat for the network - called WWF International - is located in Gland,
Switzerland (organizational structure).
133. WWF's current strategy for achieving its mission specifically focuses on restoring populations of
36 species including elephants, tunas, whales, dolphins and porpoises), and ecological foot
printing.
134. The organization also works on a number of global issues driving biodiversity loss and
unsustainable use of natural resources, including finance, business practices, laws, and
consumption choices.
135. WWF publishes the Living Planet Index in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London.
136. WWF in 1985 expands conservation programs in Asia and Africa, showcasing the new Annapurna
National Park in Nepal and strengthening projects to protect mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
 137. In carrying out its work, WWF cooperates with many partners, including UN organizations, IUCN,
and development agencies such as USAID and the World Bank. WWF also works with business &
industry partners.
138. WWF helps create the first national park in Bhutan by transforming the Manas Wildlife
Sanctuary in 1986.
139. The government of Nepal declares Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, as a
special conservation area in 1997.
140. NATO was founded on April 4, 1949, under the direction of the United States and with the
participation of 11 western European nations.
It was formed as a tool to check the Warsaw Treaty Organization-formed by the former Soviet
141.
Union and a number of eastern European countries after their signing of the Warsaw Pact.
142. It consists of 28 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of
the North Atlantic Treaty.
143. The fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries
by political and military means and plays an important role in crisis management and
peacekeeping.
144. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to
mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
145. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack in 2001 in the U.S, the alliance shifted its focus
to combating terrorism, and extended its military force to Asia by entering the war in
Afghanistan.
146. The highest decision making body is the North Atlantic Council composed of permanent
representatives of all 28 member countries.
147. US is the biggest contributor to the military expenditure of NATO.
148. English and French are the official languages of NATO.
149. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
150. The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree
of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy which can be awarded posthumously.
151. The PVC was established on 26 January 1950 by the President of India, with effect from 15
August 1947.
152. It is the second highest award of the government of India after Bharat Ratna.
153. Major Som Nath Sharma of 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment was awarded the first Param Vir
Chakra.
154. The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest military decoration in India and is awarded for
acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.
155. Vir Chakra is third in precedence in the war time gallantry.
156. The Indian Peacetime Gallantry Awards comprised of the Ashoka Chakra, The Kirti Chakra and
the Shaurya Chakra.
157. These three awards are given for showing conspicuous gallantry or bravery but away from the
Battlefield such as for counter insurgency operations, and other situations where the awardee is
not necessarily in the Field of the Battle.
158. Initially the three awards were known as the Ashoka Chakra Class 1, Ashoka Chakra Class II and
Ashoka Chakra Class III. After 1967 they were renamed as the current Ashoka, Kirti and Shaurya
Chakras.
159. Ashoka Chakra has replaced the British George Cross.
160. National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.
161. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (RGKR) is India's highest honour given for achievement in sports.
162. It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component of Rs. 750,000.
163. Olympic silver medallist shooter Vijay Kumar and bronze medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar
Dutt received the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for 2012.
164. The Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 to recognise for consistently outstanding
 performance for three consecutive years proceeding the year of award.
165. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll.
166. From the year 2001, the award is given only in disciplines falling under the following categories:
Olympic Games / Asian Games / Commonwealth Games / World Cup / World Championship
Disciplines and Cricket; Indigenous Games and Sports for the Physically Challenged.
167. Dronacharya award is an award presented by the government of India for excellence in sports
coaching.
168. Dhyan Chand Award is India's highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and games. The
award is named after the legendary Indian hockey player Dhyan Chand.
169. B.I. Fernandez, the boxing coach from Cuba who has been working with the Indian boxers for the
last 22 years, get the Dronacharya award.
170. The Indian honour system is primarily recognized by Indian Central Government since 1954,
171. 'Bharat Ratna' is the highest civilian Award of the country instituted in the year 1954.
172. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field
of human endeavour.
173. The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.
174. Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954. Except for brief interruptions during the years
1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997, these awards have been announced every year on Republic
Day.
175. The award is given in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shri.
176. Padma Shri is awarded for 'distinguished service'; Padma Bhushan for 'distinguished service of a
high order; and Padma Vibhushan for 'exceptional and distinguished service.
177. The award seeks to recognize work of any distinction and is given for distinguished and
exceptional achievements/service in all fields of activities/disciplines, such as Art, Literature and
Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service,
Trade and Industry etc.
178. A higher category of Padma award can be conferred on a person only where a period of at least
five years has elapsed since conferment of the earlier Padma award. However, in highly
deserving cases, a relaxation can be made by the Awards Committee.
179. The decoration comprises a Sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand and seal of the President
and a Medallion.
180. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.
It kills nearly 6 million people a year of whom more than 5 million are from direct tobacco use
181.
and more than 600 000 are non smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
182. Tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of income, raise the cost of health care
and hinder economic development.
183. Nearly 80% of the world's one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries thus
increases the burden manifold.
184. Children from poor households are employed in tobacco farming to provide family income.
185. These children suffer from "green tobacco sickness", which is caused by the nicotine that is
absorbed through the skin from the handling of wet tobacco leaves.
186. Consumption of tobacco products is increasing globally, though it is decreasing in some high-
income and upper middle-income countries.
187. Second-hand smoke is the smoke that fills restaurants, offices or other enclosed spaces when
people burn tobacco products such as cigarettes, bidis and water pipes.
188. In adults, second-hand smoke causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including
coronary heart disease and lung cancer. In infants, it causes sudden death. In pregnant women,
it causes low birth weight.
189. The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected "Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and
sponsorship" as the theme of the World No Tobacco Day, which will take place on 31 May 2013.
190. Honey is comprised of fructose, glucose, water, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
191. The average pH of honey is 3.91, but it can range from 3.42 - 6.10.
192. Honey has a lower glycemic index than sugar. This means it doesn't raise blood sugar levels as
quickly.
193. Because of its high concentration of sugar, high acidity, and presence of naturally-occurring
hydrogen peroxide, honey is hostile to bacteria growth.
194. Honey is hygroscopic i.e. it sucks moisture from the air. It keeps baked good moist and also adds
shelf-life because of its anti-bacterial, or anti-oxidant, qualities.
195. Honey stored in air tight containers never spoils. Sealed honey vats found in King Tut's tomb still
contained edible honey, despite over 2,000 years beneath the sands.
196. Pure Honey is healthy because it contains the pollen of local flowers, may help to lessen the
effect of allergies. It also helps accustom the body to the local environment.
197. Pure Honey is used to heal open wounds, burns, pink eye, blisters, sores, skin and scalp
irritations.
198. Pure honey has been recognized as a cure for malnutrition, old age, insanity, stomach disorders
and nerve disorders.
199. Pure honey is pre-digested i.e. when eaten; simple sugars are absorbed directly into the body's
bloodstream for instant energy.
200. Iron is essential for our bodies to function properly as it is used for making the oxygen-carrying
proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin.
201. Iron helps in producing new red blood cells, which transport oxygen from the lungs in order to
replenish tissue and then returns carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be dispensed.
202. Iron is also involved in the conversion of blood sugar to energy.
203. Iron is lost from the body through shedding intestinal cells, sweat and blood loss.
204. A lack of iron in the body could result in anemia resulting in the bone marrow failing to produce
enough red blood cells.
205. Iron deficiency can delay normal infant motor function (normal activity and movement) or
mental function (normal thinking and processing skills).
206. Iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy can increase risk for small or early (preterm) babies.
207. Iron deficiency can cause fatigue that impairs the ability to do physical work in adults.
208. Iron found in animal foods such as beef, lamb, chicken, egg yolks and fish are known as Haem
Iron.
209. Iron found in plant foods such as dried beans and lentils are known as non-Haem Iron.
210. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with a small percentage of other metals such as nickel,
chromium, aluminum, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten etc.
211. Steels can be broadly categorized into four groups based on their chemical compositions: Carbon
Steels; Alloy Steels; Stainless Steels and High Speed Steels.
212. Carbon steel is simply composed of iron and carbon with a more percentage of carbon in it than
the iron.
213. The presence of excess carbon makes this type of steel softer than the others thus It is used in
the making of axes, swords, scissors and other cutting tools.
214. Alloy steels contain alloying elements (e.g. manganese, silicon) in varying proportions which
manipulate the steel's properties, such as its hardenability, corrosion resistance, strength,
formability, weldability or ductility.
215. Applications for alloys steel include pipelines, auto parts, transformers, power generators and
electric motors.
216. Stainless steels generally contain between 10-20% chromium as the main alloying element and
have high corrosion resistance.
217. Stainless steel is used in the making of crockery, wrist watches, kitchen utensils, cutlery and
surgical equipments.
218. High speed steel is an alloy of steel which may consists of either of the following metals:
 tungsten, cobalt, molybdenum or chromium.
219. High speed steel is probably the toughest of all the types thus used mainly in cutting and drilling
equipment.
220. Humans are born with 300 bones in their body, however when a person reaches adulthood they
only have 206 bones. This occurs because many of them join together to make a single bone.
221. Bones consist of 50% water and 50% solid matter.
222. There are around 14 bones are in the face, 8 bones are in each wrist, 27 bones in each hand, 23
bones are in each foot including the ankle and 30 bones in the skull.
223. The largest bone is the pelvis, or hip bone. In fact it is made of six bones joined firmly together.
224. The longest bone is the 'femur', in the thigh. It makes up almost one quarter of the body's total
height.
225. The smallest bone is the 'stirrup', deep in the ear. It is hardly larger than a grain of rice.
226. The ears and end of the nose do not have bones inside them. Their inner supports are cartilage
or 'gristle', which is lighter and more flexible than bone. This is why the nose and ears can be
bent.
227. After death, cartilage rots faster than bone. This is why the skulls of skeletons have no nose or
ears.
228. Bone marrow is found in the hollow bones, that produces new red and white blood cells.
229. Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become thin and weak as the body attempts to
take calcium from the bones, due to insufficient calcium in the bloodstream.
230. A fossil fuel, it is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, usually zooplankton and
algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and undergo intense heat and pressure.
231. Petroleum is a naturally occurring flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of
hydrocarbons - hexane, octane and heptanes.
232. The word "petroleum" was coined by German mineralogist Georg Bauer in 1556.
233. The petrol contains three times as much energy as nitro glycerine, and four times as much
energy as dynamite (T.N.T.).
234. Petrol is more volatile than diesel oil, Jet-A.
235. In hot weather, gasoline components of higher molecular weight and thus lower volatility are
used. In cold weather, too little volatility results in cars failing to start.
236. Petrol, when used in high-compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to
autoignite causing damaging "engine knocking". Thus to eliminate it lead (IV) tetraethyl is added.
237. A higher octane rating allows a higher compression ratio or supercharger boost, and thus higher
temperatures and pressures, which translate to higher power output.
238. Oxygenates are generally added to the petrol reduces the amount of carbon monoxide and
unburned fuel in the exhaust gas.
239. The use of fossil fuels such as petroleum can have a negative impact on Earth's biosphere,
releasing pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air and damaging ecosystems through events
such as oil spills.
240. Jainism is an ancient Indian religion that emphasizes non-violence and the ascetic life.
241. According to Jain Tradition there were 24 Thithankaras, the first being Rishabhdev and the last
being Mahavira.
242. The three gems of Jainism are: Right Faith; Right Knowledge and Right Action.
243. The five vows of Jainism are: Ahimsa (non injury); Satya (non lying); Asteya (non stealing);
Aparigraha (non possession) and Brahmacharya.
244. Jainism has 2 main sects: the Shvetambara ('White-robed') and the Digambara ('Sky-clad'). The
Sky-clad are naked.
245. The biggest event in the Jain calendar is the holy week (8-10 days) of Paryushan where Jains
reflect upon their actions throughout the past year.
246. The ultimate goal of Jainism the liberation of the self (jiva) from rebirth, which is attained
through the elimination of accumulated karma (the consequences of previous actions).
247. Jains believe that animals and plants, as well as human beings, contain living souls. Each of these
souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect and compassion.
248. Jains are adhere to a quite arduous practice of non-violence, which restricts the sorts of
occupations the may follow (no farming, for instance, since insects are inadvertently harmed in
plowing).
249. The important Jain texts: Kalpasutra; Bhadrabahu Charita and Parishishta Parvan.
250. The Buddhist tradition is founded on and inspired by the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who
was born in 563 BC at Lumbinivana in Kapilvastu.
251. At the age of 35 under a pipal tree at Bodh Gaya on the bank of river Falgu, he had attained
Nirvana.
252. He had delivered his first sermon at Sarnath to his five deciples, this is known as Dharmachakra
Pravartana.
253. The three jewels of Buddhism are - The Buddha, the Sangha or the monastic community and The
Dharma or truth or teachings.
254. The four noble truths of Buddhism are - Life is filled with suffering, this suffering is caused by
human desires and attachments, suffering can be eliminated and this can be done by following
the Eight-fold path.
255. The noble eightfold path is - Right beliefs, right aspirations, right speech, right livelihood, right
conduct, right effort, right mindfulness, right meditational attainment.
256. The sacred text of the Buddhists is known as Pali Canon or Tripitaka.
257. Two major branches of Buddhism are generally recognized: Theravada ("The School of the
Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle").
258. Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand, Myanmar etc.). Mahayana is found throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan,
Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan etc.)
259. He had died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.
260. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic radiation, with wavelengths between 100 and 400
nm.
261. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation comes from natural sources (the sun) and artificial sources (like
welding equipment, lasers, tanning equipment and certain lamps).
262. Small amounts of UV radiation are essential for the production of vitamin D in humans.
263. Overexposure to UV has been linked to the following negative health effects: sunburns;
premature skin aging; skin cancer; eye problems and weakening of the immune system.
264. Ultraviolet rays can be subdivided into three different wavelength bands - UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C.
the classification is based on the amount of energy they contain and their effects on biological
matter.
265. UV-C is most energetic and most harmful; UV-A is least energetic and least harmful.
266. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of UV radiation.
Excessive sun exposure in children is likely to contribute to skin cancer in later life.
267. The UV index (UVI) is the international standard for UV measurement, developed by WHO, the
United Nations Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization.
268. It is designed to indicate the potential for adverse health effects and to encourage people to
protect themselves.
269. The higher the UVI value, the greater the potential for damage to the skin and eye
270. Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or
biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.

271. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide,
ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
272. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are
common sources of air pollution.
 273. Nearly 2 million people die prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air pollution
from household solid fuel use.
274. More than 1 million people a year die from chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD)
that develop due to exposure to smoke of wood, animal dung and crop waste and coal
used in household activities.
275. Women exposed to heavy indoor smoke are three times as likely to suffer from chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (e.g. chronic bronchitis), than women who use cleaner fuels
276. WHO has launched Global Alliance for Clean Cook stoves, to promote improved biomass
cook stove designs that can substantially reduce indoor air pollution.
277. The WHO household energy database is used to monitor global progress in the transition
to cleaner fuels and improved stoves and to contribute to assessments of disease burden
from household energy.
278. Tackling indoor air pollution will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
in particular MDG 4 (reduce child mortality) and MDG 5 (improve maternal health).
279. It will also contribute to gender equality (MDG 3) as well as freeing women's time for
income generation that helps eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1).
280. Cauvery is the most sacred river of South India, also called as the Dakshina Ganga.
281. It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka state and flows
through the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and a Union Territory of Puducherry.
282. Cauvery basin spans an area around 81155 km2 and runs from a northwest to south eastern
direction along a general south easterly slope.
283. The basin can be divided into three parts: the Western Ghats area, the Plateau of Mysore and
the Delta. The delta area is the most fertile tract in the basin.
284. Left Hand Tributaries of Cauvery are Hemvati and Yagachi, Shimsha river, Arkavati River.
285. Right Hand Tributaries are Lakshman Tirtha and Kabbani, Svarnavati, Amravati and Noyil.
286. The principal soil types found in the basin are red soils, black soils, laterite, alluvial soils, forest
soils and mixed soils.
287. The primary uses of Cauvery are providing water for irrigation, water for household consumption
and the generation of electricity.
288. The north-east monsoon provides the greater portion of the annual precipitation.
289. Doddabetta (2,637m) is the highest point of the Cauvery basin.
290. Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy emitted and absorbed by charged particles which
exhibits wave-like behavior as it travels through space.
291. The electromagnetic spectrum is the entire range of wavelengths of all known electromagnetic
radiations consisting of radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, x
rays, and gamma rays.
292. Electromagnetic waves vary in length and frequency. The shorter the wave, the higher its
frequency (and also its energy).
293. All electromagnetic waves travel at 300,000 kilometers per second, which is the speed of light.
294. Gamma rays are high energy waves capable of travelling long distances through air and are the
most penetrating waves.
295. X-rays have been used in various applications in science and industry and are primarily used in
medicine for instance in radiography.
296. X-rays are emitted by electrons outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the
nucleus.
297. Visible light is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that human eyes can detect. It
covers all colours from blue at 400 nm to red at 700 nm, with blue light having more energy than
red light.
298. Infrared (IR) radiation is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum lying between visible light
and microwaves. The most important natural source of infrared radiation is the sun.
299. Radio waves have long wavelengths, ranging from a few centimetres to many thousands of
 kilometres in length. They are used among other things for television, cell phone and radio
communications.
300. The Attorney General is the first law officer of the government of India.
301. The Attorney General is appointed by the President and he holds office during the pleasure of
the President.
302. His duties are to advise the government on legal matters to perform other legal duties which are
referred or assigned to him by the President and to discharge the functions conferred on by him
by the Constitution.
303. The Attorney General appears on behalf of Government of India in all cases (including suits,
appeals and other proceedings) in the Supreme Court in which Government of India is
concerned.
304. In order to be appointed as the Attorney General a person must be qualified to be appointed as
a judge of the Supreme Court.
305. Though he is not a member of the Cabinet he has the right to speak in both the Houses of
Parliament and any committee thereof, but he has no right to vote.
306. The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and four Additional Solicitors General.
307. The Solicitor General of India is the secondary law officer of the country, assists the Attorney
General, and is himself assisted by several Additional Solicitors General of India.
308. However, unlike the post of Attorney General for India, which is a Constitutional post under
Article 76 of the Constitution of India, the posts of the Solicitor General and the Additional
Solicitors General are merely statutory.
309. Goolam E. Vahanvati is the Attorney General of India whereas Mohan Parasaran is the Solicitor
General of India.
310. Nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form
a heavier nucleus.
311. The total mass of the new atom is less than that of the two that formed it; the "missing" mass is
given off as energy, as described by Albert Einstein's famous "E=mc2" equation.
312. The fusion reaction is about four million times more energetic than a chemical reaction such as
the burning of coal, oil or gas.
313. Fusion offers important advantages: no carbon emissions, no air pollution, unlimited fuel, and is
intrinsically safe.
314. Nuclear fusion reactor requires precisely controlled conditions of temperature, pressure and
magnetic field parameters in order to generate net energy. If the reactor were damaged, the
heat generation cease thus it is safe.
315. The Sun creates energy through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium.
316. The biggest nuclear fusion research project is project International Thermonuclear Experimental
Reactor. Main goal of ITER project is to design and build an experimental fusion reactor in
France.
317. ITER reactor is based on the 'tokamak' concept of magnetic confinement, in which the plasma is
contained in a doughnut-shaped vacuum vessel.
318. The IEA Fusion Power Co-ordinating Committee (FPCC) provides a platform for stakeholders to
share results of fusion activities worldwide.
319. Fusion differs from fission, which splits atoms and results in substantial radioactive waste, which
is hazardous.
320. Vitamin A is involved in immune function, vision, reproduction, and cellular communication.
321. Vitamin A is critical for vision as an essential component of rhodopsin, a protein that absorbs
light in the retinal receptors, and because it supports the normal differentiation and functioning
of the conjunctival membranes and cornea
322. Vitamin A also supports cell growth and differentiation, playing a critical role in the normal
formation and maintenance of the heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs
323. Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and
 increases the risk of disease and death from severe infections.
324. Breast milk is a natural source of vitamin A thus promoting breastfeeding is the best way to
protect babies from VAD.
325. In pregnant women VAD causes night blindness and may increase the risk of maternal mortality.
326. The top food sources of vitamin A dairy products, liver, fish, and fortified cereals; carrots,
broccoli, cantaloupe, and squash.
327. The excess of preformed vitamin A can have significant toxicity (known as hypervitaminosis A).
328. Chronic intakes of excess vitamin A lead to increased intracranial pressure (pseudotumor
cerebri), dizziness, nausea, headaches, skin irritation, pain in joints and bones, coma, and even
death.
329. Electronic Voting Machine is a simple electronic device used to record votes in place of ballot
papers and boxes which were used earlier in the conventional voting system.
330. The complete EVM consists mainly of two units - (a) Control Unit and (b) Balloting Unit. The
control unit is kept with the Presiding Officer and the Balloting Unit is used by the voter for
polling.
331. The EVMs were devised and designed by Election Commission of India in collaboration with two
Public Sector undertakings viz., Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore and Electronics
Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad.
332. Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) were introduced for the first time on an experimental basis in
50 polling stations of Parur Assembly constituency in Kerala in 1982.
333. The EVM's reduced the quantity of paper used, thus saving large number of trees, making the
process eco-friendly and reduced the cost of printing to almost nill as only one sheet of ballot
paper is required for each polling stations.
334. Counting has become very quick and the result can be declared within 2 to 3 hours as compared
to 30-40 hours, on an average, under the conventional system.
335. Bogus voting has been greatly reduced by the use of EVMs. In case of ballot paper system, a
bogus voter can stuff thousands of bogus ballot papers inside the ballot box. But, an EVM is
programmed to record only five votes in a minute.
336. Blind persons can use EVMs as the machines are equipped with 'Braille' signage on the ballot
units indicating the serial number of the candidate.
337. Election Commission decided to introduce EVMs with Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT)
system to make it tamper proof.
338. In April 2011 Gujarat became the first Indian state to experiment with Internet voting.
339. IUCN was founded in October 1948 as the International Union for the Protection of Nature (or
IUPN) following an international conference in Fontainebleau, France.
340. The organization changed its name to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources in 1956 with the acronym IUCN (or UICN in French and Spanish).
IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network having more than 1,200
member organizations including 200+ government and 900+ non-government organizations and
341.
almost 11,000 voluntary scientists and experts, grouped in six Commissions in some 160
countries.
342. The Union's headquarters are located in Gland, near Geneva, Switzerland.
343. IUCN mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve
the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable
and ecologically sustainable.
344. It has been funded by governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, member
organizations and corporations.
345. IUCN has one of the world's most comprehensive ranges of authoritative publications, reports,
guidelines and databases for conservation and sustainable development.
346. The organization publishes the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the
conservation status of species.
347. The president of IUCN is Zhang Xinsheng of China.
348. It has the Official Observer Status at the United Nations General Assembly
349. Drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water
supply whether surface or underground water due to below average precipitation.
350. There are 4 types of drought: Meteorological; Agricultural; Hydrological and Socio Economic.
Hydrological drought- impact is seen in river systems and reservoirs that are necessary for
351.
supporting hydroelectric power and hydrologic storage systems.
352. Meteorological drought- is the monitoring of atmospheric conditions for precipitation levels that
lead to dry spells, the length a dry period and the overall amount of dryness.
353. Agricultural drought- rainfall shortages reduce soil moisture resulting in crop stress, which
effects food production and farming.
354. Socioeconomic drought - when demand exceeds supply. Water shortages create a strain on
products that are dependent on the water supply for production such as hydroelectric power,
fisheries, food grains, etc.
355. 16% of the India's total area is drought prone and annually about 50 million people in the
country are exposed to the crisis of drought.
356. Most of drought prone areas lie in the arid (19.6%), semi-arid (37%) and sub-humid (21%) areas
of the country that occupy 77.6% of its total land area of 329 million hectares.
357. Depletion of Ground water and limitation of surface water imply that not all net sown area is
amenable to irrigation.
358. Per Capita Water availability is steadily declining due to increase in population, rapid
industrialization, urbanization, cropping intensity and declining ground water level. Problems are
likely to aggravate.
359. Acid rain is a type of precipitation with high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids.
360. In 1852, Robert Angus Smith was the first to show the relationship between acid rain and
atmospheric pollution but the term "acid rain" was generated in 1972.
Acid rain is caused by emissions of compounds of ammonium, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur which
361.
react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.
362. Unpolluted rain have a pH value of between 5 and 6. When the air becomes more polluted with
nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide the acidity can increase to a pH value of 4.
363. Acid rain dissolves and washes away the nutrients and minerals in the soil which help the trees
to grow such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
364. It causes the release of harmful substances such as aluminium into the soil and waterways which
further affects wildlife.
365. It wears away the waxy protective coating of leaves, damaging them and preventing them from
being able to photosynthesize properly.
366. It causes respiratory problems in humans. Records show that each year, in the United States and
Canada, nearly 550 premature deaths take place due to acid rain.
367. Acid rain can corrode buildings and statues. It also corrodes marbles. Hence, the Taj Mahal in
India is at a great risk.
368. Lakes and streams are normally acidic, but acid rain can make them so acidic that it damages
animal and plant life.
369. Tulsi (basil) plant is a herbal plant which has a number of medicinal properties, is also known as
the 'The Queen of Herbs'.
370. There are three main varieties of Tulsi - Rama, Vana, and Krishna.
The plant generally grows in moist soil. It reaches a height of about 3/2 feet. Tulsi belongs to the
371.
family of Lamiceae or the mint plants category.
372. Tulsi contains chemical compounds such as eugenol, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid, chlorophyll,
caryophyllene, oleanolic acid and linolenic acid.
373. Nutritional compounds found in tulsi include vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc.
374. Tulsi (basil) is also known to be an adaptogen, as it brings a mind body balance and helps in
 preventing stress related problems.
375. During the rainy season, when malaria and dengue fever are widely prevalent, tender leaves,
boiled with tea, act as preventive against theses diseases.
376. Tulsi can also be used to treat skin diseases like inflammation, blisters, rashes or even insect
bites. Eczema and psoriasis are some serious skin disorders that can be cured efficiently by Tulsi.
377. It can protect from radiation poisoning and also heal up damages from it.
378. It is anti carcinogenic and found to be effective in healing nearly all types of cancer and tumors.
379. Skin is the human body's largest organ weighing about 8 pounds and covering some 22 square
feet.
380. The area on eyelids consists of the thinnest skin, whereas feet consist of the thickest skin.
381. Melanin, a protein is responsible for skin color and eye color.
382. It is made up of three layers. The Epidermis is the outer layer, the Dermiss is the middle layer
and Subcutaneous is the inner most layer.
383. Skin renews every 28 days.
384. Skin performs a range of different functions which include physically protecting bones, muscles
and internal organs, protecting body from outside diseases, allowing to feel and react to heat
and cold.
385. It helps to regulate body temperature using blood.
386. Goose bumps are little pimples that helps keep a layer of warm air over your body.
387. If skin is severely damaged then it may try to heal by forming scar tissue. Scar tissue is not the
same as normal skin tissue, it often appears discolored and lacks sweat glands and hair.
388. Amphibians such as frogs have unique skin. Rather than drinking water, frogs actually soak it into
their body through their skin. They also use their skin to absorb around half the air they need.
389. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly
hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
390. Coal is a non-renewable energy source of energy, together with oil and natural gas belongs to
the category of fossil fuels.
Coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite,
391.
then sub-bituminous coal, after that bituminous coal, and lastly anthracite.
392. Different types of coal contain different amounts of carbon. Lignite contains only around 60 to
75%, while anthracite contains more than 92%.
393. Major coal deposits have been formed in nearly every geological age since the Carboniferous
(350-250 million years ago).
394. Brown coal is a relatively soft material which has a heating value only about one-quarter of that
for black coal. It has much lower carbon content than black coal and a higher moisture content.
395. Coal is converted to electricity by being burned in a furnace with a boiler. The boiler water is
heated until it becomes steam, with the steam then spinning turbines and generators to create
the electricity.
396. Coal mining and the subsequent burning of coal can have many bad effects on both humans and
the environment.
397. Coal mining leads to generation of hundreds of millions of tonnes of waste products, including
fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium,
arsenic, and other heavy metals.
398. Coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.
399. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the lower house (Lok Sabha) of Parliament of India.
400. The Speaker holds office from the date of election till immediately before the first meeting of
the next Lok Sabha. He/She is eligible for re-election.
401. On the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, although the Speaker ceases to be a member of the
House, he/she does not vacate her office.
402. The Speaker may, at any time, resign from office by writing under his/her hand to the Deputy
Speaker.
 403. He/she decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non money bill.
404. He/she maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their
unruly behaviour by suspending them.
405. He/she permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like themotion of no
confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice as per the
rules.
406. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting.
407. The first speaker of the Lok Sabha was Shri G.V. Mavalankar.
408. Meira Kumar is the first women speaker of the Indian Parliament.
409. The UK is a country in north-western Europe. It is bordered to the south by the English
Channel; to the east by the North Sea; to the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
410. The United Kingdom is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
411. England, Scotland and Wales together forms Great Britain.
412. Great Britain and Northern Ireland together form the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland" (UK).
413. The UK is a developed country and has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and
eighth-largest economy by purchasing power parity.
414. It was the world's first industrialised country.
415. The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in
1946. It has been a member of the European Union and its predecessor the European Economic
Community since 1973.
416. The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.
417. The UK's de facto official language is English (British English). According to the 2011 census,
Polishhas become the second largest language spoken in England.
418. England's national sport is cricket although some of England's football teams are world famous,
such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
419. A mountain pass is a saddle point between two areas of higher elevations and makes a path for
crossing between the chains of mountains.
420. The Khardung la's pass is located at the Ladakh range of the Himalayan ranges. It is a gateway to
the valleys of Shyok and Nubra.
421. The Karakoram pass is located in the Karakoram Ranges between Jammu and Kashmir border
and the Xingjiang region of China.
422. Bara-lacha la is present in Zanskar range connecting Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh
in Jammu and Kashmir, situated along the Leh-Manali highway.
423. Jelep La is a high mountain pass between India and Tibet in East Sikkim District of Sikkim. It
connects Lhasa to India.
424. Nama Pass is located in eastern Kumaun region of the Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand, India.
It links Kuthi and Darma Valley.
425. Nathu La connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
426. Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas, connects
the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India.
427. Shipki La is a mountain pass and border post on the India-China border. The river Sutlej enters
India (from Tibet) through this pass.
428. Zoji La is a high mountain pass in India, located on the Indian National Highway 1 between
Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range.
429. A credit card is a payment card issued to users to pay for goods and services based on the
holder's promise to pay for them to banks within stipulated time.
430. The credit card issuer gives a certain amount of time to pay back all of what holder has borrowed
before they charge interest. This period of time is called the grace period and is usually between
20 and 25 days.
431. Zero interest credit cards or interest free credit cards help customers to avoid paying interest on
 credit, if they repay the debt within a specified period of time.
432. In 1950, Diners Club became the first company to offer a credit card that could be used at
multiple locations.
433. A Debit card is essentially like an ATM card. When a person makes any purchases using a debit
card, then bank account is instantaneously debited to the extent of the purchase amount.
434. Benefits to customers include: convenience; rewards and benefits packages; also offer reward
points which may be redeemed for cash, products, or airline tickets.
435. Credit Card associations are an association of card-issuing banks such as Discover, Visa,
MasterCard, American Express, etc. that set transaction terms for merchants, card-issuing banks,
and acquiring banks.
436. Visa International has the largest global ATM network in over 113 countries.
437. According to 2009-10, credit card users in India are 18.3 million whereas debit card users are
181.4 million.
438. On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's
first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
439. It was done on the executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
440. The atomic bomb was equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, it has flattened the city and killed tens of
thousands of civilians.
441. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated
40,000 people.
442. Later Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II
on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb."
443. Since then, more have died from leukemia and solid cancers attributed to exposure to radiation
released by the bombs.
444. The effects of the bombing of Hiroshima are still felt today. For generations after the bombing,
children were born with severe health defects that are believed to be connected to the effects of
the bomb's radiation.
445. Hiroshima was chosen because it had not been targeted during the US Air Force's conventional
bombing raids on Japan and it was also an important military base.
446. After the war, Hiroshima was rebuilt as a peace memorial city and the closest surviving building to
the epicentre was designated the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
447. Hiroshima has been declared a City of Peace by the Japanese Parliament.
448. Rare earth elements or rare earth metals are a group of seventeen elements in the Periodic Table
from Atomic no. 57 to 71.
449. The group of the rare earth elements is sub-divided in the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and
the light rare earth elements (LREE).
450. Heavy rare earth elements include: Yttrium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium,
Thulium, Ytterbium and Lutetium.
451. Light rare earth metals include: Scandium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium,
Promethium, Samarium and Europium.
452. The term "rare earth" arises from the minerals from which were first isolated from uncommon
oxide-type minerals (earths) found in Gadolinite extracted from one mine in the village of Ytterby,
Sweden.
453. Rare earths are used today in the production of many consumer goods such as computers, LCD
screens and digital cameras as well as in "green technologies" such as wind turbines, electric cars
and energy efficient lighting.
454. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates the global reserves of the sum of all rare earth oxides
which could be economically extracted in future to be at 99,000,000 tons.
455. The main producer of rare earth metals are: China, United States, Australia, India, Brazil, Malaysia
and Kyrgyzstan.
456. The main environmental risk in rare earth mining are the huge amounts of tailings, which are a
 toxic waste being stored in artificial ponds surrounded by the tailing dam.
457. Most rare earth deposits contain radioactive materials which impose the risk of radioactive dust
and water emissions.
458. 42nd Amendment Act was enacted during the period of internal emergency. It was passed by
Parliament on November 11, 1976 and received Presidential assent on December 18, 1976.
459. The words, 'Socialist' and 'secular' were added in the Preamble of the Constitution by 42nd
amendment.
460. It laid down the Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens to the nation.
The amendment compelled the President to act in accordance with the advice of the Prime
461.
Minister and the cabinet.
462. It enlarged central power to intervene in the states, extending the term of President's rule from six
months to a year and authorizing the use of any central military force "for dealing with any grave
situation of law and order in any State.
463. It envisaged the establishment of administrative tribunals for service matters of Government
employees and also other tribunals for economic offences.
464. The 42nd Amendment Act inserted Article 32A in order to deny the Supreme Court the power to
consider the Constitutional validity of a State law.
465. Another new provision Article 131A, gave the Supreme Court and exclusive jurisdiction to
determine question relating to the Constitutional validity of a central law.
466. It has given primacy to all directive principles over the fundamental right contained in Articles 14,
19 or 31.
467. Prior to 42nd Amendment Act, the President could declare emergency under Article 352
throughout the country and not in a part of the country alone. The Act authorized the President to
proclaim emergency in any part of the country.
468. The concept of zero seems to have originated around 520 AD by the Indian named as Aryabhata,
who has called it as "kha" and used it as a place holder.
469. Brahmagupta, another Indian mathematician who lived in the 5th century, is credited for
developing the Hindu-Arabic number system which included zero as an actual number in the
system.
470. The rules governing the use of zero appeared for the first time in Brahmagupta's book.
471. Mathematicians like al-Khwarizmi and Leonardo Fibonacci expanded the use of zero in the whole
world.
472. The name 'zero' derives from the Arabic word sifr which also gave us the English word 'cipher'
meaning 'a secret way of writing'.
473. Different names for the number 0 include zero, nought, naught, nil, zilch.
474. The number zero is neither positive nor negative, neither a prime number nor a composite
number, nor it is a unit. It is an even number.
475. Zero is a number which quantifies a count or an amount of null size.
476. In set theory, 0 is the cardinality of the empty set.
477. Zero (0) is the only number which cannot be represented by Roman numerals.
478. Silver is a chemical element with symbol is Ag and atomic number 47.
479. The Symbol Origin is from the Latin word 'argentum' meaning silver. Argentina was named for this
precious metal.
480. It is highly valued for jewellery, tableware, and other ornamental use and is widely used in coinage,
photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits.
481. Silver is classified as a "Transition Metal" located in Groups 3 - 12 of the Periodic Table.
482. Silver is harder than gold, but softer than copper.
483. Silver is more malleable than any element except gold. It can be pounded to a thinness of 6/10000
of a millimeter.
484. Silver has the highest degree of reflectivity as it can reflect up to 95% of visible light. Thus mirrors
are coated with silver.
485. Silver iodide has been used in the process of cloud seeding to produce rain.
486. Silver has superior bactericidal qualities. Small concentrations of silver or silver salts can kill
bacteria by chemically affecting the cell membranes, causing them to break down.
487. The major producers of silver are: the United States, Mexico, Canada, Peru, Russia and Australia.
488. President Rule is defined under the Article 356 of the Constitution.
489. It is also known as "State Emergency" or "Constitutional Emergency".
490. President's rule is imposed on a state when the Governor advises the Centre about collapse of the
law & order in the state or the constitutional machinery.
491. During the President Rule - the President can assume all or any of the functions of the State
Government or he may vest all or any of those functions to the Governor or any other executive
authority.
492. The President may also dissolve the State Legislative Assembly or put it under suspension.
493. The President's rule is valid for a period of six months only, with an extension for another six month
subject to approval of the Parliament.
494. It can be extended for a maximum three years with the approval of the parliament, every six
months.
495. The 44th AA inserted a provision that emergency beyond one year can be extended by six months
at a time only when: a National Emergency is already in operation; or if the Election Commission
certifies that the election to the State Assembly cannot be held.
496. For the first time President Rule was imposed on Punjab from 20-6-1951 to 17-4-1952.
497. Kerala and Punjab are the States where President's Rule was imposed for the maximum number of
times.
498. Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up 78.1% of the Earth's atmosphere.
499. Nitrogen was discovered by Daniel Rutherford in 1772.
500. Nitrogen is colourless, odourless, tasteless, and nonflammable.
Nitrogen gas is relatively inert, but soil bacteria can 'fix' nitrogen into a form that plants and animals
501.
can use to make amino acids and proteins.
502. Ammonia (NH3) is a common and very important nitrogen compound used in the fertilizer, plastic,
and livestock industries.
503. Liquid nitrogen is used as a food preservative because it's fast cooling can deep freeze food with
minimal damage to the cell structure.
504. Nitrogen is also used to preserve blood, viruses, and livestock semen, and can be used to destroy
diseased tissue during surgery.
505. Nitrous oxide is a considerable greenhouse gas and air pollutant. By weight is has nearly 300 times
more impact than carbon dioxide.
506. Nitroglycerin is a liquid used to create explosives such as dynamite which is often used in the
demolition and construction industries as well as by the military.
507. Nitrogen is also responsible for the orange-red, blue-green, blue-violet, and deep violet colors of the
aurora.
508. Carbohydrates are an ideal source of energy for the body. The body receives 4 calories per 1 gram
of carbohydrates consumed.
509. Carbohydrates contain carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.
510. There are two types of carbohydrate: complex and simple.
511. Simple carbohydrates are made up of 1-2 sugar molecules which can be digested very quickly, and
tend to elevate the blood sugar quickly.
512. Refined sugar, dairy sugar, fruit sugar, refined flour are all sources of simple carbohydrates.
513. Complex carbohydrates are made up of long chains of sugar molecules which take longer to break
down thus supplies constant energy for a longer duration.
514. Corn, bread, cereal, rice, beans, pasta, wheat, grains, potatoes etc are all sources of simple
carbohydrates.
515. Carbohydrates can also be classified on the basis of their chemical composition as:
 Monosaccharides; Disaccharides; Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides.
516. The Glycemic Index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels.
517. A "high GI" number carbohydrate food breaks down more quickly and affects blood sugar levels
faster than a "low GI" number carbohydrate food.
518. 'Stree Shakti Puraskar' is given every year to eminent women for their dedication to social
development and to bring about a more gender equitable society.
519. The award is given in the name of the following eminent women personalities in the Indian history:
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar; Kannagi; Mata Jajabai; Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang; Rani Lakshmi Bai and Rani
Rudramma Devi (for both men & women).
520. The award is given to women who have done work related to Support and rehabilitation of women
and children; education; SHGs; Support to women in agriculture and rural industry; Environment
protection etc.
521. Also, who have created awareness and consciousness on women's issues through arts and media
would be recognized and awarded by the Government.
522. Rani Laxmi Bai award is given to recognize the spirit of courage and the personal achievement of a
woman in difficult circumstances, who has established this spirit of courage in her individual or
professional life.
523. Rani Rudramma Devi, which will be awarded to individual men or women for their outstanding
administrative skill, leadership quality and courage.
524. Each of the above awards carries a cash prize of Rs 3 Lakh and citation.
525. The Nominations received are screened by a national level Selection Committee headed by Minister
of Women & Child Development.
526. The awards are generally presented in New Delhi on the occasion of International Women's Day
Celebration i.e. 8th March.
527. The recognition like this will also go a long way in moulding societal mind sets to accept and
encourage the versatile roles of women in Indian Society.
528. Fat is an essential part of a healthy balanced diet - needed for proper functioning of nerves, brain
and skin cells and to help to control body temperature.
529. It can often improve the flavour and perception of foods, increasing their palatability.
530. Fat transports the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K around the body.
531. Fats in foods are mainly divided as: Saturated; Polyunsaturated; Monounsaturated and trans.
532. Monounsaturated are healthy fats found mainly in plant sources, like nuts, avocados and olive,
peanut and canola oils remain liquid at room temperature.
533. Polyunsaturated fat are healthy fats that include omega-3 and omega-6 fats.
534. Polyunsaturated are liquid at room temperature, and can help lower blood cholesterol and reduce
risk of heart diseases.
535. Saturated fat is generally solid at room temperature and is usually from animal sources such as
butter, hard margarine, cheese, whole milk.
536. Trans fat is formed when unsaturated vegetable oils are hydrogenated (or partially hydrogenated) to
form solid, more stable fats.
537. Both saturated and trans fats raise the level of 'bad' low density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood.
538. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal with the symbol Au and atomic number 79..
539. Gold is only 2.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness- Pure gold is so soft and malleable that it can be
squeezed and transformed to any shape.
540. High purity gold reflects infrared (heat) energy almost completely, making it ideal for heat and
radiation reflection.
541. White gold is 18-karat or 14-karat gold (but not in 22-karat, as it is yellow gold).
542. There are two basic types of white gold alloys: white gold mixed with nickel and white gold mixed
with palladium.
543. Copper creates pink and rose tones in gold. The more the copper, the deeper will be the effect.
544. Greenish shades are created by adding silver to gold while excluding copper from the mix.
545. Household gold consumption has gone up to $45 bn in 2011 from US$19 billion in 2009.
546. Gold imports rose from $9.1 billion in Q1 FY13 to $10.5 billion in Q2 FY13, gold imports were lower in
FY12.
547. Besides its widespread monetary and symbolic functions, gold has many practical uses in dentistry,
electronics, and other fields including electric wiring, colored-glass production and gold leafing.
548. Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and
sold by Microsoft.
549. Windows 8 is the current release of the Windows operating system, for use on personal computers,
including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs.
550. Windows 8 is mainly a tablet oriented and will be equally well on the portable machines like the
tablets, PDAs and smartphones.
551. The Internet Explorer (IE) 10 browser inbuilt into Windows 8 is designed to offer faster browsing
through greater hardware acceleration, along with rapid gesture-based zoom, pan, and Web site
navigation.
552. Windows 8 include two new authentication methods for safety and security tailored towards touch
screens: PINs and picture passwords.
553. It introduces a new style of application, Windows Store apps used to provide listings for desktop
applications certified to run on Windows 8.
554. Windows 8 would not require new hardware and will runs smoothly on the same system which has
been running Vista earlier.
555. Zooming has been integrated into web browsing which will shrink all tiles by intelligently resizing
them, making it easier to move the group of tiles and organize them.
556. It supports a feature of the UEFI feature which allows operating systems to be digitally signed to
prevent malware from altering the boot process.
557. In Windows 8 support for playing DVDs has been removed from Windows Media Player due to the
cost of licensing the necessary decoders.
558. DNA is a double-stranded nucleic acid that contains the genetic information for cell growth, division,
and function.
559. DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher but James Watson and Francis Crick figured out
the structure of DNA.
560. DNA is made of chemical building blocks called nucleotides which are made up of three parts: a
phosphate group, a sugar group and one of four types of nitrogen bases.
561. The four types of nitrogen bases found in nucleotides are: adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G)
and cytosine (C).
562. Over 99% of a DNA sequence of a person is the same as other humans'.
563. DNA profiling uses variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) for the identification of individuals by
their respective DNA profiles.
564. The complete DNA instruction book, or genome, for a human contains about 3 billion bases and
about 20,000 genes on 23 pairs of chromosomes.
565. DNA is used to determine the pedigree for livestock or pets.
566. DNA is used in wildlife forensics to identify endangered species and people who hunt them
(poachers).
567. Changes in the DNA sequence are called mutations which can be induced by UV irradiation from
the sun, chemicals like drugs, etc.
568. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes 20% of the oxygen that enters
our bloodstream.
569. The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consists of at least 60% fat.
570. The left side of your brain (left hemisphere) controls the right side of your body; and, the right side
of your brain (right hemisphere) controls the left side of your body.
571. The two hemispheres contribute to the processing and understanding of language: the left
hemisphere processes the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech while the right hemisphere
 processes the emotions conveyed by it.
572. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, accounting for 85 percent of the organ's weight,
controls all voluntary actions in the body.
573. The second largest part of the brain is the cerebellum, responsible for coordinating muscle
movement and controlling our balance.
574. The brain's nerve cells are known as neurons, which transmit and gather electrochemical signals
that are communicated via a network of millions of nerve fibers called dendrites and axons.
575. Alcohol interferes with brain processes by weakening connections between neurons.
576. The Hypothalamus part of the brain regulates body temperature much like a thermostat.
577. The brain stem, at the organ's base, controls reflexes and crucial, basic life functions such as heart
rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
578. ASEAN consists of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar and Cambodia.
579. It was established on Aug. 8, 1967, in Bangkok of Thailand, by five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
580. Brunei joined the group in January 1984, followed by Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997
and Cambodia in 1999.
581. The region has a combined population of about 537 million, and an area of around 4.5 million
square kilometers.
582. It aims at
accelerating
economic
growth, social
progress and
cultural
development
in the region
along with the
maintenance
of regional
peace and
stability by
respecting
justice and the
rule of law.
583. It also aims at
maintaining
friendly
relations
among
countries in
the region,
and by
adhering to
the principles
of the United
Nations
Charter.
584. ASEAN held its
first summit in
1976 in Bali,
 Indonesia.
585. ASEAN's
highest
decision-
making body
is the ASEAN
summit.
586. In 2003, the
ASEAN leaders
agreed for the
establishment
of ASEAN
Community-
the ASEAN
Security
Community,
the ASEAN
Economic
Community
and the
ASEAN Socio-
Cultural
Community.
587. In addition,
ASEAN has
established
dialogue
partnerships
with the
United States,
Japan,
Australia, New
Zealand,
Canada, the
European
Union, South
Korea, China,
Russia and
India.
588. Ethanol is a
clean-burning,
high-octane
fuel produced
from
renewable
sources such
as corn,
wheat, barley
and potatoes.
589. U.S. mainly
produces
 ethanol from
corn whereas
Brazil uses
sugarcane.
590. Ethanol can be
found in
alcoholic
beverages
thus listed as a
human
carcinogen by
the
International
Agency for
Research on
Cancer.
591. When mixed
with gasoline,
it can be used
to fuel
vehicles and
other engines.
As a fuel, it is
more
corrosive than
gasoline.
592. Ethanol provides high
quality, high octane for
exceptional car engine
performance and
reduced emissions.
593. Studies show ethanol
reduces greenhouse gas
emissions between 59-
61% compared to
gasoline.
594. The Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural
Gas (MoPNG) issued a
notification in
September 2002 for
mandatory blending of 5
% ethanol in 9 major
sugar producing states
and four union
territories from 2003.
595. The blending level of
bio-ethanol at 5 % with
petrol was proposed
from October 2008,
leading to a target of 20
 % blending of bio-
ethanol by 2017.
596. Ethanol reduces the
country's dependence
on imported oil,
lowering the trade
deficit and ensuring a
dependable source of
fuel should foreign
supplies be interrupted.
597. The major drawback is
that it tends to increase
aldehydes emissions.
598. The chemical symbol of
hydrogen is H. It is an
element with atomic
number 1, this means
that 1 proton is found in
the nucleus of
hydrogen.
599. Hydrogen is the lightest,
simplest and most
commonly found
chemical element in the
Universe, making up
around 75% of its
elemental mass.
600. Hydrogen was first
recognized as a distinct
element in 1766 by
English scientist Henry
Cavendish, when he
prepared it by reacting
hydrochloric acid with
zinc.
601. French scientist Antoine
Lavoisier later named
the element hydrogen
(1783). The name comes
from the Greek 'hydro'
meaning water and
'genes' meaning
forming-hydrogen is one
of the two water
forming elements.
602. About 10 percent of the weight of
living organisms is hydrogen-
mainly in water, proteins and fats.
603. Liquid hydrogen has the lowest
density of any liquid and Solid,
crystalline hydrogen has the
 lowest density of any crystalline
solid.
604. Hydrogen reacts explosively with
the elements oxygen, chlorine and
fluorine: O2, Cl2, F2.
605. Large amounts of hydrogen are
combined with nitrogen from the
air to produce ammonia (NH3)
through a process called the
Haber process.
606. Hydrogen is also added to fats and
oils, such as peanut oil, through a
process called hydrogenation.
607. Liquid hydrogen is used in the
study of superconductors and,
when combined with liquid
oxygen, makes an excellent rocket
fuel.
608. The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) is an
international non-governmental
organization based in Lausanne,
Switzerland, created by Pierre,
Baron de Coubertin, on 23 June
1894.
609. The IOC and its 205 National
Olympic Committees worldwide
promote the Olympic Movement,
whose vision is to contribute to
building a peaceful and better
world by educating youth through
sport.
610. The IOC and its NOC selects the
host city and coordinate the
staging of the Olympic Games.
611. The IOC organizes the modern
Olympic Games and Youth
Olympic Games, held in Summer
and Winter, every four years.
612. The first Summer Olympics was organized by
the International Olympic Committee in
Athens, Greece, in 1896.
613. The first Winter Olympics was organized by
the International Olympic Committee in
Chamonix, France, in 1924.
614. The first Summer Youth Olympics were in
Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth
Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012.
615. Recently the India Olympic Association has
been suspended from the IOC.
616. The IOA will no longer get funds from IOC
 and the officials will not be invited by the
IOC to attend its events like the Olympics
and Paralympics.
617. The Indian athletes will not be allowed to
compete under the tricolour but could be
permitted to compete under the IOC flag.
618. Foreign Direct Investment, or FDI, is a type
of investment that involves the injection of
foreign funds into an enterprise that
operates in a different country of origin
from the investor.
619. An Indian company may receive Foreign
Direct Investment under the two routes as
given under: Automatic Route and
Government Route.
620. FDIs can be classified as Inward FDI and
Outward FDI, depending on the direction of
flow of money.
621. Inward direct investment is investment by a
non-resident direct investor in a direct
investment enterprise resident in the host
economy; the direction of the influence by
the direct investor is "inward" for the
reporting economy.
622. Outward direct investment is investment by a resident
direct investor in a non-resident direct investment
enterprise; the direction of the influence by the direct
investor is "outward" for the reporting economy.
623. The term foreign institutional investment denotes all
those investors or investment companies that invest
in the financial markets of the other country.
624. The types of institutions that are involved in the
foreign institutional investment are as follows: Mutual
Funds; Hedge Funds; Pension Funds and Insurance
Companies.
625. FDI is thought to be more useful to a country FII
because equity investments are potentially "hot
money" which can leave the country anytime,
whereas FDI is durable.
626. Economic territory is defined as including all the areas
under the effective economic control of a single
government.
627. The economic territory includes the land area,
airspace, territorial waters, including jurisdiction over
fishing rights and rights to fuels or minerals.
628. Elections to the Lok Sabha are carried out using a first-
past-the-post electoral system.
629. The country is split up into separate geographical
areas, known as constituencies, and the electors can
cast one vote each for a candidate, the winner being
the candidate who gets the maximum votes.
 630. Delimitation commission of India is a Commission
established by Government of India under the
provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act to
demarcate constituencies.
631. Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing
limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a
country or a province having a legislative body.
632. Delimitation Commission aims to create constituencies which
have roughly the same population, subject to geographical
considerations and the boundaries of the states and
administrative areas.
633. Delimitation Commission, made up of the Chief Election
Commissioner and two judges or ex-judges from the Supreme
Court or High Court.
634. The recent delimitation commission was set up on 12 July 2002
after the 2001 census with Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired Judge
of the Supreme Court of India as its Chairperson.
635. Delimitation commissions have been set up four times in the
past - In 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under Delimitation
Commission acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
636. The Constitution of India was specifically amended in 2002 not
to have delimitation of constituencies till the first census after
2026 thus, the present Constituencies done on the basis of 2001
census figures shall continue to be in operation till the first
census after 2026.
637. Seats have to be reserved for the scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes in proportion to their population to the total
population of the State.
638. The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each
year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English
language.
639. It is given only to the citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations,
Ireland, or Zimbabwe.
640. The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives £50,000 and a
designer bound copy of their book.
The prize money awarded with the Booker Prize was originally
£21,000, and was subsequently raised to £50,000 in 2002 under
641.
the sponsorship of the Man Group, making it one of the world's
richest literary prizes.
642. British writer Hilary Mantel won the prestigious Booker literary prize 2012
for the novel 'Bring Up the Bodies'.
643. She is the first woman to receive the award twice, earlier for the novel
'Wolf Hall'.
644. Mantel joins Peter Carey of Australia and JM Coetzee of South Africa as a
two-time winner of the prize.
645. Indian poet Jeet Thayil was nominated for his first novel in 2012 list,
'Narcopolis,' set among heroin addicts in 1970s and 80s Mumbai,
646. The Man Booker International Prize is a biennial international literary
award given to a living author of any nationality for a body of work
published in English or generally available in English translation.
647. In 2011 the prize was awarded to American Philip Roth.
 648. Myanmar is situated in Southeast Asia and is bordered on the north and
north-east by China, on the east and south-east by Laos and Thailand, on
the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal and on the west by
Bangladesh and India.
649. There are four major rivers in Myanmar: Ayeyarwaddy River, Thanlwin
River, Chindwin River, and Sittaung River.
650. The junta government in 2005 moved to an administrative capital at
Naypyidaw in the centre of the country, about 400 kilometres (250 miles)
north of the former capital, Yangon.
651. The official language of Myanmar is Burmese whereas the government
also officially recognizes several minority languages such as Jingpho, Mon,
Karen, and Shan.
652. Myanmar is primarily a Theravada Buddhist society, with about 89% of the
population.
653. Myanmar is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc,
copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas,
hydropower.
654. Myanmar is the world's largest exporter of teak and a principal source of jade,
pearls, rubies and sapphires.
655. The official currency of Myanmar is the kyat.
656. Burma's official literacy rate as of 2000 was 89.9%.
657. The Lethwei and Pongyi thaing martial arts are the national sport in Burma.
658. A hydrocarbon is any chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon
(C) and hydrogen (H).
659. On the basis of their structural features hydrocarbons can be divided as: Saturated
and Unsaturated hydrocarbons.
660. Saturated hydrocarbons are the simplest of the hydrocarbon species and are
composed entirely of single bonds and are saturated with hydrogen.
Unsaturated hydrocarbons have one or more double or triple bonds between carbon
661.
atoms.
662. Hydrocarbons with single bond are called alkanes, having the formula CnH2n+2.
663. Those with double bond are called alkenes, having the formula CnH2n.
664. Those containing triple bonds are called alkynes, with general formula CnH2n-2.
665. Hydrocarbons are currently the main source of the world's electric energy and heat sources.
666. Hydrocarbon oil can be petroleum oil, coal tar, or oil produced from coal, shale, or peat.
667. Mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons are used in preference to the chlorofluorocarbons as a
propellant for aerosol sprays, due to chlorofluorocarbon's impact on the ozone layer.
668. Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength (or frequency) and its intensity.
When the wavelength is within the visible spectrum, it is known as "visible light".
669. Colour is created only when our brain tries to make sense from light signals it receives from
the outer world.
670. The colour of an object depends on both the physics of the object in its environment and the
characteristics of the perceiving eye and brain.
671. Physically, objects can be said to have the colour of the light leaving their surfaces, which
depends on the spectrum of the incident illumination, reflectance properties of the surface,
angles of illumination and viewing.
672. Humans are able to see the colours because they have three distinct types of receptor cells in
retina, each being sensitive to different light properties , or specifically, to red, green and blue
colour.
673. Humans with the most common form of colour-blindness and mammals with poor colour vision
are unable to differentiate between reds and greens.
 674. With the advent of the computer age colour space models have been proposed.
675. The RGB model in which each colour is described as set of Red, Green and Blue values on a scale
from 0 to 255.
676. The HSB model in which each colour is described as a combination of Hue, Saturation and
Brightness values which allows for quick and intuitive colour choices.
677. The CMYK model in which each colour is represented by a corresponding value of cyan, magenta,
yellow and black inks, on a scale from 0% to 100%.
678. LNG is natural gas that is cooled to -260 degree Fahrenheit until it becomes a liquid and then
stored at essentially atmospheric pressure.
679. Natural gas is primarily methane, with low concentrations of other hydrocarbons, water, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen and some sulfur compounds.
680. LNG weighs less than half the weight of water so it will float if spilled on water.
681. It is odorless, non-toxic, and non-corrosive.
682. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and is being used throughout the world to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions.
683. LNG is used across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors for purposes as diverse as
heating and cooling homes, cooking, generating electricity and manufacturing paper, metal, glass
and other materials.
684. LNG would not result in a slick because 100 percent of it evaporates to a gas leaving no residue
behind.
685. In its liquid state, LNG is not explosive and cannot burn.
686. But when it get vapourize and mixes with air in the proper proportions (the flammable range is 5%
to 15%), it becomes flammable.
687. As of 2012, 25% of the world's LNG exports are from Qatar.
688. The Indian Penal code, in its basic form, is a document that lists all the cases and punishments that
a person committing any crimes is liable to be charged with.
689. It covers any Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin.
690. The total numbers of sections contained in the Indian Penal Code are 511.
691. The exception here is that any kind of military or the armed forces crimes cannot be charged based
on the Indian Penal Code.
692. Military as well as the armed forces have a different dedicated list of laws and the Indian Penal
Code does not have the privilege to supersede any part of it.
693. The Indian Penal Code also has the power to charge for any crimes committed by a person who is
an Indian citizen on any means of transport belonging to India-an Indian aircraft or an Indian ship.
694. The first and the introductory draft of the Indian Penal Code was formulated in 1860s and was
done under the supervision of the First Law Commission headed by Lord Macaulay.
695. In the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the IPC is known as Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).
696. After independence, Indian Penal Code was inherited by Pakistan (now called Pakistan Penal Code)
and Bangladesh, formerly part of British India.
697. It was also adopted wholesale by the British colonial authorities in Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia ,
Singapore and Brunei, and remains the basis of the criminal codes in those countries.
698. Art 74 (i) lay down that there shall be a council of ministers with the Prime-Minister at the head to
aid and advise the President in the discharge of his functions.
699. The Union Council of India comprises of Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy
Ministers.
700. Union Cabinet Minister is the senior most minister in-charge of a ministry.
701. A cabinet minister may also hold additional charges of other Ministries, where no other Cabinet
minister is appointed.
702. Minister of State (MoS)-junior minister with to overseeing cabinet minister, usually tasked with
a specific responsibility in that ministry. For instance, an MoS in the Finance Ministry may only
handle taxation.
703. The President appoints the other members of the Union Council of Ministers on the advice of
the Prime Minister.
704. The council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
705. The word Cabinet is only defined in Article 352 of the Constitution.
706. The Prime Minister has the power of to get any person appointed in the Council of Minister
even if he is not the member of the Parliament.
707. But that person can remain Minister for a maximum period of six months only and within 6
months either he will have to become a member of any house of the Parliament or he will have
to relinquish his office.
708. Cells are the structural and functional units of all living organisms.
709. The cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665.
710. Robert Brown in 1831 discovered the nucleus in the cell.

711. The cell theory that all plants and animals are composed of cells and that the cell is the
basic unit of life was proposed by Schleiden and Schwann.
712. Cells are enclosed by a plasma membrane composed of lipids and proteins.
713. Cell membrane regulates the movement of materials between the interior of the cell
and the outer environment.
714. The endoplasmic reticulum in the cell functions both as a passageway for intracellular
transport and as a manufacturing surface.
715. Lysosomes help in keeping the cell clean by digesting any foreign material as well as
worn out cell organelles.
716. The cell wall of plants are mainly composed of cellulose, helps the cells of plants, fungi
to exist in hypotonic media without bursting.
717. Plastids are only present in plants divided as: chromoplasts and leucoplasts.
718. Mixtures are the product of a mechanical blending or mixing of chemical substances,
without chemical bonding or other chemical change, so that each ingredient substance
retains its own chemical properties and makeup
719. Examples of mixture are: sand and water; salt and water; sugar and salt etc.
720. Mixtures can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous.

721. A homogeneous mixture is a type of mixture in which the composition is

uniform and every part of the solution has the same properties.
722. Examples of homogenous mixture are: Salt, sugar, and many other
substances dissolve in water.
723. A heterogeneous mixture is a type of mixture in which the components
can be seen, as there are two or more phases present.
724. Examples of heterogeneous mixture are: mixtures of sand and water or
sand and iron filings, a conglomerate rock, water and oil, a salad, trail
mix etc.
725. A colloid is a homogeneous solution with intermediate particle size
between a solution and a suspension. Example: Milk, fog, etc.
726. Suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of larger particles. These
particles are visible and will settle out on standing. Examples of
suspensions are: fine sand or silt in water or tomato juice.
727. Solutions are homogeneous mixtures. The substance that dissolves is
called the SOLUTE. The substance in the larger amount is called the
SOLVENT.
728. Money is anything that is commonly accepted by a group of people for
the exchange of goods, services, or resources.
729. In the beginning, people used barter system. Barter is the exchange of a
good or service for another good or service, a bag of rice for a bag of
beans etc.
730. Cattle are probably the oldest of all forms of money. Cattle as money
dates back to 9000 B.C.
731. Metals objects were introduced as money around 5000 B.C. Metal was
used because it was readily available, easy to work with and could be
recycled.
732. The first coins date back to 700 B.C. by the Lydians, a group of people
that lived in Turkey. Coins then spread to Greece and Rome.
733. From the ninth century to the fifteenth century A.D., in China, the first
actual paper currency was used as money.
734. The first consistent use of paper money in Europe was by the French in
the 18th century.
735. With the introduction of paper currency and non-precious coinage,
commodity money evolved into representative money which meant that
what money itself was made of no longer had to be very valuable.
736. Representative money was replaced by fiat money i.e. Money is now
given value by a government.
737. In 1816, England made gold a benchmark of value. This meant that the
value of currency was pegged to a certain number of ounces of gold.
738. Fungi are a large group of eukaryotes, which does not contain
chlorophyll and are dependent for food on other living beings.
739. The different forms of fungi include rusts, smuts, puffballs, mushrooms,
morels, truffles, yeasts, etc.
740. In most fungi, asexual reproduction takes place by means of vegetative
spores known as conidia.
741. Fungi are heterotrophs, obtaining their nutrients by absorption.
742. Saprophytic fungi secrete enzymes to break down dead organic matter
in recycling.
743. Parasitic fungi obtain their nutrients from living hosts.
744. The fungal cell wall is composed of chitin; unlike cell walls of plants
which are mostly made up of cellulose.
745. The fungi are known to cause various diseases in plants, animals and
human beings. Athlete's foot and ringworm are common problems
caused by fungi in human beings.
746. The plant diseases caused by fungi include stem rots, leaf rots, smuts,
rusts, etc.
747. Fungi have long been used as a direct source of food, such as
mushrooms and truffles, as a leavening agent for bread, and in
fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy
sauce.
748. 'Bio-medical waste' means any solid and/or liquid waste which is
generated during the diagnosis, treatment immunization of human
beings or animals or in research pertaining thereto or in the production
or testing thereof.
749. It has been estimated that up to 85% to 90% of the waste generated in
hospitals is non-infectious (free from microbes. It is the remaining 10%
to 20% of waste that is of concern because it is hazardous and infectious.
750. The infectious waste consists of blood stained cotton, dressings, urine
catheters, human anatomical parts including amputated limbs, IV sets
 and sharps like needles, syringes, etc.
751. Non-infectious waste can be bio-degradable and non bio-degradable.
Bio-degradable waste is disposed off using vermi-composting /
composting and the non-bio-degradable waste can be further
segregated and recycled / resold.
752. In terms of quantum of waste generated from the states, Karnataka tops
the chart with 62,241 kg/day. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala
come close on the heels with 44,392 kg/day, 40,197 kg/day and 32,884
kg/day of BMW generation respectively.
753. Segregation of bio medical waste is done according to the content in
colour coded bags.
754. Yellow bags contain infectious waste, bandages, cotton containing body
fluid; placenta etc. Treatment options are either incineration or deep
burial.
755. Red bags contain plastic waste such as syringe, iv bottles, tubings etc.
Treatment options include Autoclaving/Micro waving/ Chemical
Treatment.
756. Blue bags contain all types of glass bottles, discarded medicines, broken
glass articles etc. Treatment options include Autoclaving/Micro
waving/chemical treatment and destruction/shredding.
757. Black bags contain needles without syringes, blades and all metal
articles. Treatment options include Disposal in secured landfill.
758. 'E-waste' is a term used to describe old, end-of-life electronic appliances
such as computers, laptops, TV's, radios, refrigerators etc., which have
been discarded by users.
759. Electronic Waste is estimated to reach 8.00 Lakh MT by 2012 in India.
760. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal,
Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab are top ten E-
Waste producing states in the country.
761. Only 5% of E-Waste has been recycled by Urban Slums which employs 25
thousand workers and are exposed to hazards of traditional recycling
process.
762. E-waste contains many hazardous substances and chemicals, many of
which are toxic and are likely to cause adverse effects on the
environment and health of human beings.
763. Flat panel computer monitors and notebooks often contain small
amounts of mercury in the bulbs used to light them which is very toxic.
764. Effects on the environment: Pollution of ground water, air pollution and
acidification of soil.
765. Effects on human health: Chronic damage to the brain, DNA damage,
lung cancer, immune system damage, respiratory problems etc.
766. The biggest advantage of recycling e-waste is considerable reduction of
energy requirements. The energy cost involved in e-waste recycling is
comparatively less than the cost involved in mining and processing of
new materials from soil.
767. E-waste recycling also helps in reducing air pollution, greenhouse gas
emissions, and dependence on oil.
768. The Indian Councils Act of 1909, also known as the Morley-Minot
Reforms, introduced the concept of elections of Indians to the legislative
councils.
769. The system of election was indirect. The people elected the members of
 the local bodies, which elected the members of Electoral College, which
in turn elected the members of the provisional legislatures.
770. The number of the members of the Legislative Council at the Centre was
increased from 16 to 60.
771. The number of the members of the Provincial Legislatives was also
increased. It was fixed as 50 in the provinces of Bengal, Madras and
Bombay, and for the rest of the provinces it was 30.
772. The member of the Legislative Councils, both at the Center and in the
provinces, were to be of four categories i.e. ex-officio members,
nominated official members, nominated non-official members and
elected members.
773. The members were nominated by the Governor General.
774. Right of separate electorate was given to Muslims, which increased the
gap between Hindu and Muslims.
775. The members of the Legislative Councils were permitted to discuss the
budgets, suggest the amendments and even to vote on them; excluding
those items that were included as non-vote items
776. The members were also entitled to ask supplementary questions during
the legislative proceedings.
777. The Secretary of State for India was empowered to increase the number
of the Executive Councils of Madras and Bombay from two to four.
778. James Augustus Hickey is considered as the "Father of Indian Press.
779. The first Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the Bengal Gazette, was
published in 1780.
780. The first newspaper in an Indian language was Samachar Darpan in
Bengali in 1818.
781. On July 1, 1822 the first Gujarati newspaper the Bombay Samachar was
published from Bombay.
782. The first Hindi newspaper was the Samachar Sudha Varshan began in
1854.
783. In 1851 Gujarati fortnightly Rust Goftar was started by Dadabhai Naroji.
784. Amnodaya, a distinguished journal in the Assamese language was
started in 1846 under the editorship of the Reverend Oliver.T.Cutter.
785. In 1861 Bombay Times, Bombay Standard, Bombay Courier and The
Telegraph merged together to form Times of India.
786. In 1878, The Hindu was started from Madras by G. Subramanium Aiyar
as a weekly later converted to daily newspaper.
787. India's first female press photographer was Homai Vyarawalla.
788. The muscular system, which includes skeletal, smooth and cardiac
muscles, is controlled by the nervous system (except cardiac muscle) and
is responsible for movement.
789. It permits movement of the body, maintains posture, temperature and
circulates blood throughout the body.
790. There are more than 600 muscles in the body. Their sizes vary from tiny,
such as the muscles that move the eyeballs in their sockets, to very
large, such as some muscles in the thighs.
791. Muscles make up 40% of the body's total weight, and because of their
mass they are the body's main source of heat generation.
792. There are over 30 facial muscles which create looks like surprise,
happiness, sadness, and frowning.
793. Cardiac muscles are involuntary and found only in the heart. They are
 controlled by the lower section of the brain called the medulla
oblungata, which controls involuntary action throughout the body.
794. Smooth muscles, like the cardiovascular muscles, are involuntary. They
make up the internal organs, such as your stomach-hyper link, throat-
hyper link, small intestine-hyper link, and all the others, except heart.
795. The skeletal muscles are the only voluntary muscles of the body, and
make up what we call the muscular system. They are all the muscles that
move bones and show external movement.
796. Muscular system diseases are often very painful and result in physical
impairments, such as an inability to walk.
797. Diseases that impact the muscular system include muscular dystrophy,
myasthenia gravis, ALS, and cerebral palsy.
798. Organic farming is a method of farming system which primarily aimed at
cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil
alive and in good health by use of organic wastes and other biological
materials.
799. Pesticides are severely restricted - instead organic farmers develop
nutrient-rich soil to grow strong, healthy crops and encourage wildlife to
help control pests and disease
800. Under organic farming a diversity of crops and animals are raised on the
farm and rotated around the farm. This mixed farming approach helps
break cycles of pests and disease and builds fertility in the soil
801. The routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers is banned - instead
the farmer will use preventative methods, like moving animals to fresh
pasture and keeping smaller herd and flock sizes.
802. Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are banned under
organic farming.
803. Organic farming reduces pollution incidents, energy use and greenhouse
gas emissions.
804. There are 40% more antioxidants in organic food.
805. There are higher levels of beneficial minerals like zinc and iron in the
organic produce.
806. Organic Agriculture mainly aims at protecting the health and well-being
of current and future generations and the environment.
807. The major drawback is that organic produce is more expensive than
conventional produce.
808. Airtel Grand Prix of India will be held at the Buddha International Circuit
in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh for the second time.
809. The circuit is about 5.14 kilometers which has been designed by F1
circuit designer Hermann Tilke.
810. The new race track was officially homologated on 1 September 2011 by
Charlie Whiting,
811. The inaugural race in 2011 was won by Germany's Sebastian Vettel.
812. The racing track has drawn comparisons with Spa-Francorchamps in
Belgium, which has long been hailed as F1's best circuit given its fast,
free-flowing, undulating nature.
813. Narain Karthikeyan is Indian motor sports racer who participates in F1.
He raced for Jordan in 2005 Australian Grand Prix. He was Formula Asia
Champion in 1996. He won British Formula Ford Winter Series in 1994.
814. Formula 1 referred officially as the FIA Formula One World
Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing
 sanctioned by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
815. The first world championship race was held at Silverstone, United
Kingdom in 1950.
816. The first Formula One World Championship was won by Italian Giuseppe
Farina.
817. F1 teams are: RBR-Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari, Mercedes,
Renault, Force India-Mercedes, Sauber-Ferrari, STR-Ferrari, Williams-
Cosworth, Lotus-Renault, HRT-Cosworth and Virgin-Cosworth.
818. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites that are spread to people
through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquito vectors. Of the five
parasite species that cause malaria in humans, Plasmodium falciparum is
the most deadly.
819. Malaria symptoms, which often appear about 9 to 14 days after the
infectious mosquito bite, include fever, headache, vomiting and other
flu-like symptoms.
820. People who have little or no immunity to malaria, such as children and
pregnant women, are more likely to become severely ill and die if bitten
by an infected mosquito.
821. In developing countries, the harmful effects of malaria may combine
with those of other highly prevalent diseases and conditions, such as
malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and anemia can have severe results.
822. According to the World malaria report 2011, there were about 216
million cases of malaria (with an uncertainty range of 149 million to 274
million) and an estimated 655 000 deaths in 2010.
823. Transmission of malaria depends on climatic conditions that may affect
the number and survival of mosquitoes, such as rainfall patterns,
temperature and humidity.
824. Two important currently used antimalarial drugs are derived from
plants: artemisinin from the Qinghao plant and quinine from the
cinchona tree.
825. The best available treatment, particularly for P. falciparum malaria, is
artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).
826. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides is a powerful way to
rapidly reduce malaria transmission. Its full potential is realized when at
least 80% of houses in targeted areas are sprayed.
827. Four Nobel prizes have been awarded for work associated with malaria:
to Sir Ronald Ross (1902), Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran (1907), Julius
Wagner-Jauregg (1927), and Paul Hermann Muller (1948).
828. Telemedicine is the exchange of medical information from one site to
another via electronic communications to improve a patient's clinical
health status.
829. Telemedicine can be extremely beneficial for people living in isolated
communities and remote regions as these patients can be seen by a
doctor or specialist.
830. Telemedicine process can be categorized in two ways Synchronous and
Asynchronous.
831. Synchronous telemedicine requires the presence of both parties at the
same time and a telecommunication link between them that allows a
real-time interaction to take place.
832. Asynchronous involves acquiring medical data (like medical history,
images, etc.) and then transmitting this data to a doctor or medical
 specialist at a convenient time later for assessment offline.
833. Escorts Heart Alert Service is a development in cardiac telemedicine that
has revolutionized the cardiac care in India. It saves time and life by
providing an expert ECG interpretation over telephone within minutes of
any chest complaint.
834. Telemedicine Consulting Centre is the site where the patient is present;
having equipment for scanning / converting, transformation and
communicating the patient's medical information can be available.
835. Telemedicine Specialty Centre is a site, where the specialist is present
who can interact with the patient present in the remote site and view his
reports and monitor his progress.
836. The Apollo group of hospitals was a pioneer in starting a pilot project at
a secondary level hospital in a village called Aragonda in Andhra
Pradesh.
837. The telemedicine software system has been developed by the Centre for
Development of Advanced Computing, which supports Tele-Cardiology,
Tele-Radiology and Tele-Pathology etc.
838. A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or
other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals,
or plants.
839. These biological agents are found in nature, thus their ability to cause
disease can be increased deliberately, make them resistant to current
medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment.
840. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in
food.
841. Bioterrorism agents are classified into three categories-A, B and C-
depending on how easily they can be transmitted from person to
person, how sick they make people and their death rates.
842. Anthrax is a Category A agent. Category A agents are those that pose the
highest risk to the public's health and safety.
843. Ricin is a Category B agent that prevents cells from making the proteins
they need, which causes cells in people it infects to die.
844. Hantavirus is a Category C agent. Although preventable by eliminating or
minimizing your contact with rodents, Hantavirus but can be fatal as it
does not have a specific treatment.
845. In 1999, the University of Pittsburgh deployed the first automated
bioterrorism detection system RODS (Real-Time Outbreak Disease
Surveillance).
846. RODS is designed to draw collect data from many data sources and use
them to perform signal detection, that is, to detect a possible
bioterrorism event at the earliest possible moment. RODS, and other
systems like it, collect data from sources including clinic data, laboratory
data, and data from over-the-counter drug sales.
847. Biological Weapons Convention 1972 is the first multilateral
disarmament to prohibit the development, production, and stockpiling
of biological and toxin weapons.
848. Silicon is the second most abundant element in our planet's crust.
Oxygen (47.3%) and silicon (27.7%) together make up 75% of the weight
of Earth's crust
849. Silicon has been discovered by Jons Jacob Berzelius (Sweden).
850. Silicon is classified as a "Metalloid" element having properties of both
 metals and non-metals.
851. Two allotropes of silicon exist at room temperature: amorphous and
crystalline. Amorphous appears as a brown powder while crystalline silicon
has a metallic luster and a grayish color.
852. Silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon's most common compound, is the most
abundant compound in the earth's crust. It commonly takes the form of
ordinary sand.
853. Silicon doped with gallium, arsenic, boron, etc. is used to produce
transistors, solar cells, rectifiers, and other important solid-state electronic
devices
854. Silicon is also used to make glass.
855. Silicon also has uses in the plastic surgery industry. Silicon implants have
been used by doctors to change the look of many parts of the body
including the cheeks and chin.
856. Sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), also known as water glass, is used in the
production of soaps, adhesives and as an egg preservative.
857. Silica gel, a colloidal form of silicon dioxide, easily absorbs moisture and is
used as a desiccant.
858. India, China and the United States together account for about one-third of
the water extracted each year globally.
859. Over 90 percent of the water consumed globally by humans is used for
agriculture.
860. 88 per cent of the population of 1.2 billion has access to drinking water
from improved sources in 2008, as compared to 68 per cent in 1990.
861. Women, who have to collect the drinking water, are vulnerable to a number of
unsafe practices. On average, women in Africa and Asia have to walk 3.7 miles
to collect water.
862. Sixty seven per cent of Indian households do not treat their drinking water,
even though it could be chemically or bacterially contaminated.
863. In India, there is a widespread natural occurrence of arsenic and fluoride in the
groundwater. UNICEF is supporting Government of India programs on arsenic
and fluoride mitigation and identifying water quality testing technologies which
are appropriate for use in field situations.
864. More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and
hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in the developing
world
865. The diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, respiratory infections, and skin
and eye infections are all likely to occur when water supplies and sanitation
services are disrupted.
866. The recommended daily water requirement for sanitation, bathing, cooking
and consumption is approximately 50 litres per person per day but an
individual in the United States uses 500 litres of water each day.
867. Half the world schools do not have access to clean water, nor adequate
sanitation.
868. Indian judiciary is divided in a hierarchical form of with the Supreme Court of
India at the top, f
llowed by High Courts of respective states with district
judges sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge
at the bottom.
869. The High Court stands at the head of a State's judicial administration.
870. There are 21 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more
than one State.
871. Judges in a High Court are appointed by the President of India in consultation
with the Chief Justice of India and the governor of the state.
872. To be eligible for appointment as a Judge one must be a citizen of India and
have held a judicial office in India for ten years or must have practiced as an
Advocate of a High Court or two or more such Courts in succession for a similar
period.
873. The President only after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, transfer a
Judge from one High Court to any other High Court.
874. Every High Court has superintendence over all courts and tribunal, throughout
the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction.
875. The Article 226 empowers High Courts to issue directions, orders or writs in the
nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari.
876. The directions, orders or writs may be issued for the enforcement of
fundamental rights or for any other purpose whereas in SC it is only issued for
the enforcement of fundamental rights.
877. The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, established on
2 July 1862.
878. Solar-powered cars use photovoltaic solar cells to convert the sun energy into
electricity.
879. Solar-powered electric car can also move at night while at the day time it
recharges the batteries with the energy of the sun.
880. Solar cars depend on PV cells to convert sunlight into electricity. When sunlight
strikes PV cells, they excite electrons and allow them to flow, creating an
electrical current.
881. PV cells are made of semiconductor materials such as silicon and alloys of
indium, gallium and nitrogen.
882. The two most notable solar car races are the World Solar Challenge and the
North American Solar Challenge, overland road rally-style competitions
contested by a variety of university and corporate teams.
883. Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins were the first solar car racers who completed
a Solar Trek from Perth to Sydney, Australia in 1983.
884. In the 1987 race, the GM Sunraycer completed the 3010 km trip with an
average speed of 67 kmh, setting the scene for an extensive research and
development program among the teams.
885. No commercial car has ever been offered with complete solar power.
886. In 2006 the Venturi Electric car was presented at the Paris Auto Show. The
Venturi Electric is powered by both solar and wind power and is capable of
traveling 30 miles per hour.
887. The fastest solar car is Sunswift IV designed by the University of New South
Wales with record of 88.8 km/h (55.2 mph).
888. A rainbow is a long ribbon of colours which are assembled as an arc, formed by
reflection and refraction of the sun's rays inside raindrops.
889. The main colours in a rainbow are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and
Violet.
890. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that sunlight falling upon a prism could split into
their component colour which is known as dispersion.
891. Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and
sunlight shining from behind at a low altitude angle.
892. They appear when it is raining in one part of the sky and sunny in another.
893. When a person sees a rainbow from the ground, he sees an arc of colours,
although when viewed from a plane it is possible to see an entire circle.
894. Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the
raindrops, and appear at an angle of 50-53o. The colours of a secondary
rainbow are inverted compared to the primary bow, with blue on the outside
and red on the inside.
895. Rainbows can also be seen during night time. Moonlight can produce enough
light to create a rainbow at night known as 'moonbow'. Moonbows are rare
because moonlight is not very bright.
896. The classical Greek scholar Aristotle (384-322 BC) was first to devote serious
attention to the rainbow.
897. Rainbows are the universal symbol of peace and harmony.
898. Coral reefs are rocky mounds and/or ridges formed in the sea by marine
organisms through the accumulation and deposition of limestone (calcium
carbonate).
899. The corals and the associated organisms are confined mainly to the tropical
belt; the most favourable temperature is between 23oC to 25oC.
900. Corals can live only in saline water, and for their proper growth the average
salinity should be between 27 to 40%.
901. Atoll is a roughly circular (annular) oceanic reef system surrounding a
central lagoon
902. Fringing Reef is a reef system that grows fairly close to (or directly from)
the shore, with an entirely shallow lagoon or none at all.
903. Barrier Reef is a reef system that parallel the shore and is separated
from it by a wide lagoon that contains at least some deep portions
904. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef comprising over 2,900
individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometers off
Queensland, Australia
905. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is the second largest, stretching
1,000 kilometers (620 mi) from Isla Contoy at the tip of the Yucatn
Peninsula down to the Bay Islands of Honduras.
906. The New Caledonia Barrier Reef is the second longest double barrier
reef, covering 1,500 kilometers.
907. The Andros, Bahamas Barrier Reef is the third largest, along the east
coast of Andros Island, Bahamas.
908. Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954. Except for brief
interruptions during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997, these
awards have been announced every year on Republic Day.
909. Padma Vibhushan is awarded to recognize exceptional and
distinguished service to the nation in any field, including government
service.
910. Padma Bushan is awarded to recognize distinguished service of a high
order to the nation, in any field.
911. Padma Sri is awarded to citizens of India to recognize their
distinguished contribution in Arts, Education, Industry, Literature,
Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and public life.
912. The President has approved 109 awards including 14 in the category of
Foreigners/ NRIs/ PIOs/ Posthumous in 2012.
913. Padma Vibhushan was given to K G Subramanyan, Late Mario De
Miranda, Late (Dr.)Bhupen Hazarika, Dr. Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti and
T V Rajeswar.
914. The Awards Committee is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
915. Recommendations from Ministers, Chief Ministers/Governors of State,
 and Members of Parliament etc. are placed before the Padma Awards
Committee.
916. The decoration comprises a Sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand
and seal of the President and a Medallion.
917. The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or
prefix to the award winners name on letterheads, invitation cards,
posters, books etc.
918. The President of India is the first citizen of India as stated under Article
52 of the Constitution.
919. The President of India is elected according to secret ballot by the
system of proportional representation through single transferable vote.
920. The President is elected by the members of an electoral college
consisting of he elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
921. The definition of States also includes National Capital Territory of Delhi
and the Union Territory of Pondicherry by the Constitution 70th
amendment Act, 1992.
922. The weightage of Members of the Assemblies are determined by
dividing the population of the concerned state by the total number of
elected members of the Assembly which is further divided by one
thousand.
923. On the basis of the above formula, the value of the vote of an MLA
from UP has the highest value and that from Sikkim the lowest.
924. Whereas, the weightage of a vote of an MP are equal to the total value
of votes of MLA's of all States divided by total number of elected MP's
(LS + RS).
925. Supreme Court inquires all disputes regarding President's Election.
926. In case of office falls vacant due to death, resignation or removal, the
Vice-President act as President. It he is not available then Chief Justice,
it not then senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court act as the President
of India.
927. The election of the President must be conducted within six months
from the date of vacancy.
928. River Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganges in northern India
with a total length of around 1,370 kilometers (851 mi).
929. Yamuna River originates at Yamunotri, in Uttarakhand Himalaya, which
is positioned at the northern region of Haridwar in the Himalaya
Mountains at an elevation of about 6387 metres above the mean sea
level.
930. Yamunotri is the source of the revered river Yamuna. It constitutes one
of the four most important pilgrimages, collectively called 'Char Dham'
of the Garhwal Himalayas or Uttarakhand.
931. It flows through the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, before
merging with the Ganges at Allahabad.
932. The cities of Delhi, Mathura and Agra lie on its banks.
933. Tons River, Betwa River, Chambal River, Ken River and Sindh River are
the prime tributaries of Yamuna River.
934. The Ganges-Yamuna Doab region spread across 69,000 square
kilometers, one-third of the entire plain, known for its agricultural
outputs, prominent among them is the cultivation of Basmati Rice.
935. Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially
 around Delhi, the capital of India which dumps about 57% of its waste
into the river.
936. The faecal coliform count, which indicates the presence of disease
causing micro- organisms, is nearly 25,000 times more than the limit
prescribed for bathing.
937. The Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) is a bilateral project between the
Government of India and Japan. It is one of the largest river restoration
projects in India.
938. In spaceflight, a launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry
a payload from the Earth's surface into outer space.
939. Different type of launch vehicles are: Satellite Launch Vehicle;
Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle Polar satellite Launch Vehicle and
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
940. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch
system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
941. The vehicles used in expendable launch systems are designed to be
used only once and their components are not recovered for re-use after
launch.
942. GSLV was developed to enable India to launch its INSAT-type satellites
into geostationary orbit and to make India less dependent on foreign
rockets.
943. It is a three-stage launch vehicle with the first stage being solid-
propelled, the second liquid-propelled and the final stage being on with
cryogenic fuels.
944. First stage S139 is made of M250 grade maraging steel and it has a
nominal propellant loading of 139 t.
945. The second stage is powered by the Vikas engine with UDMH as fuel
and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidizer.
946. The third stage is propelled by a cryogenic rocket engine which uses
liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX).
947. The vehicle envisages multi-mission launch capability for GTO, LEO,
Polar and intermediate circular orbits.
948. Biotechnology is a set of techniques by which human beings modify
living things or use them as tools.
949. Blue Biotechnology is a term used to describe the marine and aquatic
applications of biotechnology.
950. Green Biotechnology is applied to agricultural processes as designing of
transgenic plants.
951. Agricultural biotechnology benefits farmers, consumers and the
environment by increasing yields and farm income, decreasing pesticide
applications and improving soil and water quality, and providing
healthful foods for consumers.
952. Red biotechnology is applied to medical processes as productions of
vaccines, diagnosis kit etc.
953. White biotechnology is applied to industrial processes as production of
enzymes and catalysts.
954. Industrial biotech applications have led to cleaner processes that
produce less waste and use less energy and water in such industrial
sectors as chemicals, pulp and paper, textiles, food, energy, and metals
and minerals.
955. DNA fingerprinting, a biotech process, has dramatically improved
 criminal investigation and forensic medicine. It has also led to
significant advances in anthropology and wildlife management.
956. Pharmacogenomics is the study of how the genetic inheritance of an
individual affects his/her body's response to drugs.
957. The Human Genome Project is an initiative of the U.S. Department of
Energy and the National Institutes of Health that aims to generate a
high-quality reference sequence for the entire human genome and
identify all the human genes.
958. The moving ice mass downslope, under the impact of gravity is called
glacier.
959. Glaciers store about 75% of the world's freshwater.
960. Presently, 10% of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice,
including glaciers, ice caps, and the ice sheets of Greenland and
Antarctica.
961. Glaciers are formed due to accumulation of ice above snowline
under extreme cold climate.
962. Glaciers are usually divided into two groups: Alpine glaciers,
which originate in mountains, and Continental ice sheets,
which cover larger areas.
963. The biggest glaciers on the earth's surface are called ice sheets
which cover thousands of square kilometers.
964. Antarctica has so much ice that if the Antarctic ice sheet would
about to melt, sea levels would rise up to 65 meters (210 ft).
965. Icebergs are substantial lumps of ice that have broken off
Glaciers and are now surrounded by water.
966. Only one tenth of the volume of an iceberg is above the water,
and as a rule icebergs are usually 1 to 75 m visible above
water.
967. From the 17th century to the late 19th century, the world
experienced a "Little Ice Age," when temperatures were
consistently cool enough for significant glacier advances.
968. Classical Indian dances trace their roots to a book called the
Natyasastra which forms the basis of all the performing arts
today.
969. Indian dance is a blend of NRITTA-the rhythmic elements;
NRITYA - the combination of rhythm with expression and;
NATYA-the dramatic element.
970. Popular classical styles are Bharatanatyam of Tamil Nadu,
Kathakali and Mohiniyattam of Kerala, Odissi of Orissa, Kathak
of Uttar Pradesh, Kuchipudi of Andhra Pradesh, Manipuri of
Manipur and Sattriya of Assam.
971. Kathakali literally means story-play and is an elaborate dance
depicting the victory of truth over falsehood. A Striking feature
of Kathakali is the use of elaborate make-up and colourful
costumes.
972. The theme of Mohini attam dance is love and devotion to god.
Vishnu or Krishna is most often the hero.
973. Bharatanatyam considered to be the "fire dance"-where the
dancer's movements mimic a dancing flame; soft and
sculptured poses; accompanied by Carnatic music.
974. Sattriya dance usually depicts mythological stories; originated
 in the monasteries of Assam; can be performed solo or in
groups.
975. Manipuri dance is featured by colorful decoration, lightness of
dancing foot, delicacy of abhinaya (drama), lilting music and
poetic charm.
976. Kathak is said to be derived from the word katha, meaning
"the art of storytelling."
977. Odissi dance has its origin in Devadasi tradition and Kuchipudi
depicts Hindu Epics, legends and mythological tales through a
combination of music, dance and acting.
978. The term "gold" has been derived from the Old English word
"geolu,"which means yellow" or possibly "bright".
979. The atomic number of gold is 79, which means there are 79
protons in the nucleus of every atom of gold.
980. A noble metal, gold is prone neither to rust nor tarnish and
does not form an oxide film on its surface when coming into
contact with air.
981. Gold is malleable enough for just 1 gram to be hammered into
a sheet 1 square meter in size. It can also be made so thin that
it appears transparent.
982. The amount of gold in various alloys (a combination of gold
and another metal such as silver) is measured in carats (k).
Pure gold is 24k.
983. The world's first gold vending machine was unveiled in May
2010. Located in an ultra-luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi, the
vending machine itself is covered in 24-carat gold.
984. Gold is used in window glass and astronaut helmets to reflect
infrared rays while allowing sunlight to pass through, and at
the same time keeping it cool.
985. The largest gold coin ever minted, a 2007 Canadian $1,000,000
Maple Leaf is 53cm in diameter.
986. According to the World Gold Council, about 70 percent of the
world's gold output is used for making jewellery, 13 percent is
used to make coins and the rest goes to industrial applications
and dentistry.
987. India's centuries-old gold industry is the world's biggest market
for the metal, with imports meeting almost all the country’s
800-900 tonne per year requirements for jewellery and
investment.
988. A computer network is any set of computers or devices
connected to each other with the ability to exchange data.
989. A network is made up of the following components: Computer
systems; transmission medium; Network interfaces and
Protocols.
990. In Peer to Peer network, the hosts provide and consume
network services, and each host has the same operating
system.
991. In client/server networking, shared resources reside on special
computers called servers. Other computers, called clients
connect to the server to access resources. Security controls on
the server identify which clients can have resource access.
992. A local area network (LAN) is a network that connects
computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as
home, school, computer laboratory, office building, or closely
positioned group of buildings.
993. A Metropolitan area network (MAN) is a large computer
network that usually spans a city or a large campus.
994. A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers
a large geographic area such as a city, country, or spans even
intercontinental distances, using a communications channel
that combines many types of media such as telephone lines,
cables, and air waves.
995. The network bandwidth is a rating of how much data can be
sent over a network. In general, LANs have higher bandwidth,
while WANs have lower bandwidth (slower speeds) because of
the distances involved.
996. A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which
some of the links between nodes are carried by open
connections or virtual circuits in some larger network (e.g., the
Internet) instead of by physical wires.
997. A home area network (HAN) is a residential LAN which is used
for communication between digital devices typically deployed
in the home, usually a small number of personal computers
and accessories, such as printers and mobile computing
devices.
998. Later the rulers of Mysore, Tanjore, Oudh, Surat, Carnatic, etc.
accepted the subsidiary alliance.
999. The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to enter into Subsidiary
alliance.
1000. Indian rulers under British protection surrendered control of
their foreign affairs and most Rulers disbanded their native
armies.
1001. British Residents later transformed themselves from
agents into controlling officers and started interfering
in all private affairs of the Rulers of Indian States.
1002. The ruler would accept a British Resident in his state.
The residents were the tools of communication
between the Company and Rulers of Indian States.
1003. The ruler would not employ any Europeans other than
the British, and if he were already doing so, he would
dismiss them.
1004. An Indian ruler who entered into a subsidiary alliance
would not enter into any further alliance with any
other power, nor would he declare war against any
power without the permission of the British.
1005. An Indian ruler entering into a subsidiary alliance with
the British had to accept British forces within his
territory and also agreed to pay for their
maintenance. In lieu of the payments being made,
some of the ruler's territory would be forfeit to the
British.
1006. The System was used by Britishers to bring the Indian
 states within the boundary of the British political
power.
1007. The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by
Marquess Wellesley, British Governor-General of India
from 1798 to 1805.
1008. PRADHAN MANTRI ADARSH GRAM YOJANA aims at
the integrated development of Scheduled Castes
dominated villages in the country.
1009. JANANI SURAKSHA YOJANA launched with the
objective to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality
by promoting institutional deliveries by providing cash
incentive to beneficiaries.
1010. NATIONAL RURAL HEALTH MISSION seeks to provide
accessible, affordable and quality health care to the
rural population, especially the vulnerable sections.
1011. NATIONAL RURAL LIVELIHOOD MISSION aims to reduce poverty among rural
BPL by promoting diversified and gainful self-employment and wage
employment opportunities which would lead to an appreciable increase in
income on sustainable basis.
1012. SWABALAMBAN is a pension scheme launched for workers in the unorganized
sector, under which subscribers would get Rs. 1, 000 from the government
each year for a subscription amount of Rs. 12, 000 per year.
1013. SABLA is a project in anganwadi centers, targeting girls in the age group of 11-
18 under which adolescent girls will be provided with take-home rations.
1014. SWABHIMAAN is a project that facilitates opening of bank accounts, provides
need based credit, remittance facilities and helps to promote financial literacy
in rural India.
1015. MGNREGA aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by
guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural
household whose adult members.
1016. INDIRA AWAS YOJANA aims to provide grant for construction of houses to
members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, freed bonded labourers and
also to non-SC/ST rural poor below the poverty line.
1017. MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME was launched with an objective of improving the
nutritional status of children in classes I-VIII in Government, Local Body and
Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres.
1018. IPTV, an acronym for Internet Protocol Television, is a system which delivers
digital television to subscribers over the internet.
1019. Due to the high bandwidth requirements of digital video IPTV requires
broadband Internet connectivity.
1020. Video content is typically compressed using either a MPEG-2 or a MPEG-4
codec and then sent in an MPEG transport stream delivered via IP Multicast in
case of live TV or via IP Unicast in case of Video on Demand.

1021. There are two basic ways in which the material for IPTV can be handled-
"multicast" or "video on demand".
1022. In broadcast or "multicast" material is sent to many users simultaneously and
in video-on-demand the material is sent to just one subscriber who has
requested that particular item.
1023. IPTV provides access to many interactive features such as games and
participative programs.
 1024. Internet TV is frequently confused with IPTV but internet TV is viewed on the
PC of the end user, IPTV is viewed on the conventional TV screen.
1025. The IPTV broadcast needs a set top box to deliver the service at the user end.
1026. IPTV network can be able to store programs in them which can be later be
retrieved when person is free to watch the program.
1027. Networks that are based on this technology do not suffer ghosting, reflections,
interference or harmonics. These are some of the problems that are usually
experienced with analogue systems.
1028. Electricity is the flow of electrons (negatively charged particles) through a
conductor.
1029. Electric current is measured in amperes (amps) and electric potential energy is
measured in volts.
1030. Electricity travels at the speed of light - more than 186,000 miles per second.
1031. The first windmills were developed in Persia in about 600 B.C. The first windmill to
produce electricity was set up in Denmark in 1890.
1032. In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the first long-lasting incandescent light bulb that
could be used for about 40 hours without burning out.
1033. In 1844 Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph, a machine that could send
messages long distances across wires.
1034. Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of AC electricity,
which can be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current and can
bring indoor lighting to homes.
1035. German physicist Georg Ohm researched the relationship between voltage, current
and resistance. This is known as Ohm's Law.
1036. In 1791 Luigi Galvani published discovery of bioelectricity, demonstrating that
electricity was the medium by which nerve cells passed signals to the muscles.
1037. The energy sources which human uses to make electricity can be renewable or
non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable nor non-renewable.
1038. Cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight
through aerodynamic lift. They fly within the earth's atmosphere and use jet
engine technology.
1039. Ballistic missiles follow ballistic trajectory i.e. first they move to outer space and
then enter earth atmosphere and strike the target.
1040. PRAHAAR is a solid-fuelled surface-to-surface guided short-range ballistic missile
with a range of 150 km and can carry a 200-kg conventional warhead. It has high
manoeuvrability, very high acceleration and excellent impact accuracy.
1041. SHAURYA MISSILE is a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed by
DRDO. It has a range of 600 km and is capable of carrying a payload of one-tonne
conventional or nuclear warhead.
1042. TRISHUL is a short range surface to air missile with a range of 9 km mainly to defend
naval vessels against missiles.
1043. NIRBHAY is a long range, subsonic cruise missile having a range of 1,000 km and will be
able to be launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and air.
1044. BRAHMOS is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships,
aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between India and Russia.
1045. The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Program is an initiative to develop and deploy a
multi-layered ballistic missile defence system to protect India from ballistic missiles
attack.
1046. Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) is a two stage solid fuelled anti-ballistic missile developed to
intercept incoming ballistic missiles outside of the atmosphere (exo-atmospheric).
1047. Advanced Air Defence (AAD) is a single stage solid fuelled anti-ballistic missile designed
 to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in the endo-atmosphere at an altitude of 30 km
(19 mi).
1048. The Arctic is a polar region located at the northern-most part of the Earth.
1049. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Denmark
(Greenland), Norway, the United States (Alaska), Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.
1050. The word "Arctic" comes from the Greek word for bear, arktos. It refers to two celestial
constellations visible in the northern night sky year-round: Ursa Major ("Great Bear")
and Ursa Minor ("Little Bear"), which contains Polaris, the North Star.
1051. The Arctic region covers more than 18 million square miles (30 million square
kilometers)-one sixth of the planet's landmass.
1052. The region has no single government, the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum,
works to promote cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the states and the
region's indigenous peoples.
1053. Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs, graminoids, herbs,
lichens and mosses.
1054. The Arctic has a number of natural resources, including fish, oil, gas and various
minerals.
1055. The coldest recorded temperature in the Arctic is around −68oC (−90oF).
1056. Over recent years, the Arctic region has shrunk due to global warming.
1057. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Arctic Report Card presents
annually updated, peer-reviewed information on recent observations of environmental
conditions in the Arctic relative to historical records.
1058. Zonal councils are the statutory bodies created by an Act of Parliament (Sates
Reorganisation Act of 1956).
1059. The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India,
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956.
1060. The country has been divided into five zones taking into account several physical,
economical, political and social factors.
1061. The five zones are: Northern Zone, Central Zone, Southern Zone, Eastern Zone and
Western Zone.
1062. North Eastern Council was set up by an Act of Parliament to deal with problems of NE
States.
1063. The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council in 2002.
1064. Each Zonal council consists of Home Minister as its Chairman; Chief Ministers of all
states in the Zone; Administrator of each UTs and two other ministers from Sates as
nominated by Governor.
1065. The Chief Secretaries of the States represented in such Zonal Councils act as the
Secretary of the respective Council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year
at a time.
1066. The Zonal Councils provide an excellent platform where issues between Centre and
States and amongst States can be resolved through free and frank discussions and
consultations.
1067. The main objective of the Zonal Councils is to help in arresting the growth of acute
State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic trends.
1068. Indian Railways is the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under
single management.
1069. The first train on Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to
Thane in 1853.
1070. First Electric Train of India ran on 3rd Feb' 1925 between Bombay VT and Kurla.
1071. First Computerized Reservation System for railways was started in New Delhi in 1986.
1072. The longest Railway Platform in the World is situated at Kharagpur which is 2,733 ft in
 length.
1073. Coaches are manufactured at ICF/Chennai, RCF/Kapurthala and BEML/Bangaluru.
1074. Vivek Express from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari travels a distance of 4273 km, making it
the longest run in terms of total time and distance in Indian Railways.
1075. Flying Rani introduced in 2005 is India's first double-decker train that operates
between Mumbai Central and Surat while the first double-decker AC train was
introduced in November 2010, running between Dhanbad and Howrah.
1076. Sikkim and Meghalaya are the only states in India not connected by rail.
1077. Ocean tides are created by combining the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun,
combined with the rotation of the earth.
1078. The sun's gravitational force on the earth is only 46 percent that of the moon thus
moon is the single most important factor for the creation of tides.
1079. The type of gravitational force that causes tides is known as "Tractive" force.
1080. When the Moon and Sun are aligned on the same side of the Earth, the tide caused by
their combined action is higher than-normal and is called a spring tide. This event
recurs every 14 days, at new Moon or full Moon.
1081. When the Sun and Moon form a right-angle with the Earth, the gravitational pulls of
the Moon and Sun are in opposition and results in neap tides.
1082. Most places in the ocean experience two high tides and two low tides each day. There
are places that experience only one each day. This is determined by the shape of the
coastline and the shape of the ocean floor.
1083. The tidal troughs are separated by about 12 hours. Because the moon rotates around
the earth it's not in the same place at the same time every day. So the high and low
tide times changes every day by about 50 minutes.
1084. The lowest tide height difference occurs out in the deepest part of the ocean at
approximately 1.6 feet.
1085. The highest tide height difference in the world is in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia,
Canada at approximately 15 Metres.
1086. The ebb and flow of the Fundy tides are equal to the output of 250 nuclear power
stations.
1087. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy
over a period of time.
1088. Types of inflation are: Demand Pull inflation and Cost Push inflation.
1089. Demand pull inflation occurs when total demand for goods and services in an economy
exceeds the supply of the same.
1090. Cost-push Inflation occurs when there is increase in the cost of production of goods
and services due to increase in wages and raw materials cost.
1091. Inflation is measured using two price indexes consumer price index and wholesale
price index.
1092. A consumer price index (CPI) measures changes in the price level of consumer goods
and services purchased by households.
1093. WPI measure of the changes in the price level of commodities that flow into the
wholesale trade intermediaries.
1094. Stagflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high and the economic growth
rate is low.
1095. Reflation is the act of stimulating the economy by increasing the money supply or by
reducing taxes i.e. pumping money in the market.
1096. Deflation is a decline in general price levels, often caused by a reduction in the supply
of money or credit.
1097. The acid in stomach of human body is strong enough to dissolve razorblades and
stomach wall renew themselves in every three to four days.
1098. The human body is estimated to have 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
1099. The colour of a skin is determined by the level of pigment melanin produces by body,
small amounts of melanin leads to light skin while those with large amounts have dark
skin.
1100. The smallest bone found in the human body is located in the middle ear known as
staples bone which is only 2.8 millimetres long.
1101. As humans have unique fingerprints, they also have unique tongue prints.
1102. Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a
matchbox can support 9 tonnes.
1103. The largest organ in the body is the skin.
1104. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue and the hardest bone is the
jawbone.
1105. Blood makes up around 70% of the weight of a human body and contains red blood
cells, white blood cells and platelets.
1106. The average cough comes out of your mouth at 60 miles (96.5 km) per hour.
1107. A rock is any coherent, naturally occurring substance generally composed of minerals.
1108. There are three rock types: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks.
1109. Sedimentary rocks are the types of rocks that are created from deposition of layers
upon layers of sediments over time formed by the process of weathering, erosion,
transportation and deposition.
1110. Examples of sedimentary rocks are shale, sandstone, limestone, and conglomerate.
1111. Metamorphic rocks are any rock types that have been altered by heat, pressure,
and/or the chemical action of fluids and gases.
1112. Examples of metamorphic rocks are: Limestone being changed into marble; Shale
turning into slate etc.
1113. Igneous rocks are crystalline solids which form directly from the cooling of magma that
has erupted from a volcano onto the Earth's surface.
1114. Extrusive igneous rocks solidify from molten material that flows over the earths surface
(lava).
1115. Intrusive rocks are formed from molten material (magma) that flows and solidifies
underground.
1116. Some examples of igneous rocks are: Granite, basalt, andesite, and rhyolite.
1117. Clouds are made up of millions of tiny droplets of water and ice, suspended in the
atmosphere above the surface of the Earth.
1118. The cloud formation is generally due to adiabatic cooling.
1119. Clouds are white because they reflect the light of the sun.
1120. The characteristics of clouds are dictated by the elements available, including the
amount of water vapour, the temperatures at that height, the wind, and the interplay
of other air masses.
1121. They play a major role in the heat budget of the earth as they reflect, absorb some part
of incoming solar radiation as well as some part of long-wave terrestrial radiation re-
radiated by the earth.
1122. Clouds are generally divided as High level clouds, Low level clouds, middle level clouds
and Vertical clouds.
1123. High-level clouds are formed in altitudes above 20,000 feet. Because the temperatures
are so cold at this elevation, these clouds are formed from ice crystals.
1124. Mid-level clouds are found in altitudes between 6,500 to 20,000 feet. They are formed
mainly of water droplets, but can also be made up of ice crystals when the
temperature is cold enough.
1125. Low-level clouds are found below 6,500 feet and although they are mostly made up of
water droplets. They can also be composed of ice particles and snow in very cold
 temperatures.
1126. Dark gray clouds that produces rain is called nimbostratus cloud, the name of this
cloud comes from the Latin word "Nimbo" meaning rain.
1127. Bluetooth is a wireless technology used to transfer data between different electronic
devices.
1128. Bluetooth technology was invented in 1994 by engineers at Ericsson, a Swedish
company.
1129. The name Bluetooth is borrowed from Harald Bluetooth, a king in Denmark more than
1,000 years ago.
1130. Wireless signals transmitted with Bluetooth cover short distances, typically up to 30
feet (10 meters) and generally communicate at less than 1 Mbps.
1131. It uses short-wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz.
1132. Technology is used for Wireless control of and communication between a mobile
phone and a hands free headset.
1133. It is also used for Wireless communication with PC input and output devices, the most
common being the mouse, keyboard and printer.
1134. It is used for short range transmission of health sensor data from medical devices to
mobile phone, set-top box or dedicated tele-health devices.
1135. Blue jacking involves Bluetooth users sending a business card to other Bluetooth users
within a 10-meter (32-foot) radius.
1136. Blue bugging allows hackers to remotely access a user's phone and use its features,
including placing calls and sending text messages, and the user doesn't realize it's
happening.
1137. Vitamins are organic compounds that are necessary for normal growth and
maintenance of life.
1138. Vitamins have been divided as water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.
1139. The water-soluble vitamins include Vitamin C and the group of B-Vitamins. These
water-soluble are not stored by the body and can be readily depleted.
1140. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E remain in the body for longer periods of time.
1141. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) act as antioxidants. They
prevent cells from being damaged by oxygen.
1142. Vitamin A is important for health of the skin; for the proper functioning of the immune
system; for good vision and for maintenance & growth of teeth, nails, bones, and hair
1143. Vitamin D is needed for the formation of strong teeth and bones and regulates
metabolism of Calcium & Phosphorus.
1144. Vitamin E is necessary for the proper functioning of the immune system and prolongs
life of red blood cells.
1145. Vitamin K is important for blood clotting.
1146. Vitamins, especially water-soluble vitamins, can be lost from foods when exposed to
heat, light, and/or air.
1147. The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945.
1148. It aims at maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations
among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human
rights.
1149. Official languages of the UN are Chinese, Arabian, English, French, Spanish and Russian.
1150. Official languages of the International Court of Justice are English and French.
1151. Each member country sends 5 representatives to but has a single vote.
1152. Security Council consists of 15 members; 5 permanent and 10 non permanent. Terms
of non permanent members are 2 years.
1153. Economic and Social Council consists of 54 members elected by General Assembly for a
term of three years.
1154. International Trusteeship Council administers and supervises trust territories but is
presently inactive.
1155. The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the Organization headquartered in
New York and has branch offices in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.
1156. International Court of Justice has its headquarter at The Hague and is composed of 15
judges having a tenure of 9 years.
1157. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created to
address governmental corruption.
1158. It was set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the recommendations of the
Santhanam Committee.
1159. Under Vineet Narain vs. Union of India, the SC conferred statutory status to CVC and
also made it responsible for effective supervision of the functioning of CBI.
1160. The jurisdiction of CVC extends to members of All India Services; officers of scale V and
above in public sector banks; officers in D Grade in RBI, NABARD and SIDBI, Managers
in Insurance companies etc.
1161. Nittoor Srinivasa Rau, was the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India.
1162. CVC is a multi member body consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and not
more than two vigilance commissioners.
1163. The CVC commissioner is selected on the recommendations of PM, minister of home
affairs and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
1164. The CVC Commissioner can be removed by order of the President on the ground of
proved misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court inquiry.
1165. The present CVC commissioner is Mr. Pradeep Kumar.
1166. CVC has launched the Project Vigeye which is a citizen-centric initiative, wherein
citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corruption in
India.
1167. A virus is a parasite that infects a living cell (plants, animals) to reproduce.
1168. Viruses consist of genetic materials (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protective coat of
protein.
1169. A virus invades living cells and uses their chemical machinery to keep itself alive and to
replicate itself.
1170. Martinus Beijerinck, in 1898, discovered the first known virus, tobacco mosaic virus.
1171. Walter Reed discovered the first human virus, yellow fever virus, in 1901.
1172. The biggest known viruses are mimi viruses, which are 400 nanometers (0.0004
millimeters) in diameter.
1173. The smallest known viruses are circo viruses, which are 20 nanometers (0.00002
millimeters) in diameter.
1174. Some viruses are useful viruses called bacteriophages kill bacteria and are used to
protect people against harmful bacteria in food.
1175. Most viruses cause disease colds and flu are caused by viruses, as well as common
diseases like chickenpox, measles, mumps and German measles (rubella), AIDS, etc.
1176. Vaccination is a cheap and effective way of preventing infections by viruses. Different
types of vaccines are: Inactivated vaccines, Live-attenuated vaccines and DNA vaccine.
1177. Land capability classification is a system of grouping soils primarily on the basis of their
capability to produce common cultivated crops and pasture plants without
deteriorating over a long period of time.
1178. Land is divided in 8 classes, 1 to 4 includes land suited for cultivation, while class 5 to 8
are not suited for cultivation and should be maintained for natural vegetation under
forest cover or grasses.
1179. Class 1: Arable land suitable for intensive cultivation where constraints to sustained
high levels of agricultural production are minor or absent.
1180. Class 2: Arable land suitable for regular cultivation for crops, but not suited to
continuous cultivation as environmental constraints reduce the overall level of
production.
1181. Class 3 soils have severe limitations related to ecological or climatic problem which
inhibits intensive commercial exploitation, also these soils are inherently low in
fertility.
1182. Class 4 soils have very severe limitations related to hazards like water logging and
water deficiency that restrict the choice of plants or that require very careful
management, or both.
1183. Class 5 soils are subject to little or no erosion but have other limitations as soils are
wet and stony, thus restrict their use mainly to pasture, rangeland, forestland, or
wildlife habitat.
1184. Class 6 soils have severe limitations that make them generally unsuitable for
cultivation and that restrict their use mainly to pasture, rangeland, forestland, or
wildlife habitat.
1185. Class 7 soils have very severe limitations as soils are steep, eroded, shallow or swampy
and are completely unsuitable for cultivation.
1186. Class 8 soils have limitations that preclude commercial plant production and that
restrict their use to recreational purposes, wildlife habitat, watershed, or esthetic
purposes.
1187. Megha-Tropiques is an Indo-French Joint Satellite Mission for studying the water cycle
and energy exchanges in the tropics.
1188. The main objective of this mission is to understand the life cycle of convective systems
that influence the tropical weather and climate.
1189. It will provide scientific data on the contribution of the water cycle to the tropical
atmosphere, with information on water vapour in the atmosphere, precipitation, and
evaporation.
1190. The satellite consists of payloads as MADRAS, SAPHIR, SCARAB and ROSA.
1191. It had been launched by PSLV-C18 on 12 October 2011 from the first launch pad of the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
1192. The satellite was launched with three micro-satellites: SRMSAT; Jugnu and VesselSat-1
.
1193. The 11-kg SRMSat will address the problem of global-warming and the pollution levels
in the atmosphere by monitoring the carbon-dioxide present there.
1194. The 3-kg Jugnu is a remote-sensing satellite having a camera to take pictures of the
earth to monitor, vegetation, reservoirs, lakes, and ponds.
1195. VesselSat will help in locating ships cruising in the sea-lanes of the world.
1196. Megha-Tropiques, will help in predicting the Indian monsoons, floods, cyclones and
droughts accurately.
1197. Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is a massive city-modernisation
scheme launched by the Government of India under Ministry of Urban Development.
1198. The scheme was officially inaugurated in December 2005 as a programme meant to
improve the quality of life and infrastructure in the cities.
1199. As per the 2011 census, India is home to about 1.21 billion people with around 30%
living in urban areas, however urban India is fast growing but in haphazard ways
leading to growth of slum areas.
1200. Thus aim of JNUURM is to encourage reforms and fast track planned development of
identified cities with a focus on efficiency in urban infrastructure and service delivery
mechanisms.
1201. It comprises of two sub missions: Sub-Mission for Urban Infrastructure and
Governance and Sub-Mission for Basic Services to the Urban Poor.
1202. Sub-Mission for Urban Infrastructure and Governance focuses on infrastructure
projects relating to water supply and sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management,
road network, urban transport and redevelopment of old city areas etc.
1203. Sub-Mission for Basic Services to the Urban Poor focuses on integrated development
of slums through projects for providing shelter, basic services and other related civic
amenities with a view to providing utilities to the urban poor.
1204. Mysore became the first city in the country to have a bus stand modernised under the
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Reconstruction Mission.
1205. In 2007, MoUD instituted awards for cities, which have demonstrated improvement in
urban services and financial management.
1206. The awards are given in following 3 categories: (1) Achievement for Improvement in
Basic Services, (2) Achievement for Financial Sustainability and (3) Achievement for
Environmental Initiatives.
1207. Bacteria are microscopic unicellular prokaryotic organisms characterized by the lack of
a membrane-bound nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
1208. The Dutch merchant and amateur scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was
the first person to observe bacteria and other microorganisms.
1209. The term bacteria were devised by the German biologist Ferdinand Cohn who based it
on the Greek word 'bakterion' meaning a small rod or staff.
1210. Ferdinand Cohn had classified bacteria into four groups according to the shape as
Spherical, Short rods, Threads and Spirals.
1211. There are many non-disease-causing bacterial parasites, many of which are helpful to
their hosts.
1212. Most bacteria are useful - gut bacteria produce vitamins and help people (and animals)
digest their food, and bacteria in the roots help legumes (plants in the pea and bean
family) get nitrogen out of the soil, which helps them to grow.
1213. Bacteria are used in making cheese, yoghurt and sourdough bread, they are also used
to make vaccines and clean water in sewage plants.
1214. Bacteria reproduce by dividing. Once the cell reaches its maximum size it starts to
come together in the middle and eventually breaks in two. This process can take 15 to
30 minutes.
1215. The diseases caused by bacteria are: Tetanus, Botulism, tuberculosis, cholera, syphilis,
typhoid fever etc.
1216. One of the most common methods of destroying bacteria are pasteurization,
sterilization, Direct sunlight or ultraviolet light, Chemical Agents like disinfectants or
germicides etc.
1217. It aims at developing a software environment that permits each user to make the best
use of the resources available on the Web.
1218. W3C was founded by Tim Berners-Lee who is the inventor of the World Wide Web.
1219. The most important work done by the W3C is the development of Web specifications
that describe communication protocols (like HTML and XML) and other building blocks
of the Web.
1220. The Consortium is jointly administered by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory (USA), the European Research Consortium for Informatics and
Mathematics (France), and Keio University (Japan).
1221. W3C works in tandem with others standards making bodies such as UNICODE, IETF,
ICANN, ISO, and ITU at the international level.
1222. Government has launched W3C which will accelerate the growth of Web in Indian
languages.
1223. The objective of W3C India office is to promote adoption of W3C recommendations
among developers, application builders, standardization bodies and policy makers.
1224. It also aims at encouraging inclusion of stakeholder organizations in the creation of
National recommendations and their inclusion in W3C state-of the art and futuristic
standards of W3C.
1225. India is recognised as one of the mega diverse countries, rich in biodiversity and
associated traditional knowledge.
1226. Ministry of Environment & Forests in partnership with the Department of Science &
Technology has launched 'Science Express - Biodiversity Special (SEBS)' to create
widespread awareness on the unique biodiversity of the country.
1227. It is an innovative mobile exhibition mounted on a specially designed 16 coach AC
train, traveling across India from 5 June to 22 December 2012.
1228. The train will travel almost 18,000 km, halting for 3-4 days at each of the 52 locations.
1229. The eight coaches are solely dedicated to showcasing the biodiversity spread across
the bio-geographical zones- the Trans-Himalaya & the Himalayas, the Gangetic Plain,
North East India, the Desert & Semi-Arid Zone, the Western Ghats, the Deccan
Peninsula, the Coasts & Islands.
1230. Three other coaches have exhibits on climate change, energy and water conservation.
1231. The Joy of Science (JOS) Lab is housed in which students can perform various
experiments and activities to understand concepts in biodiversity, climate change,
environment and science.
1232. The exhibition also covers various other facets like marine, coastal, forest, microbial,
agro biodiversity and their linkage with livelihoods besides challenges of conservation.
1233. Wherever the train travels Specific Outreach Programme will be conducted at local
schools and institutions associated with the Ministry National Environment Awareness
Programme (NEAC) and National Green Corps (NGC).
1234. The decade (2011-2020) has been declared as the United Nations Decade on
Biodiversity and United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against
Desertification.
1235. "Look East" Policy was initiated in 1991 during the government of Prime Minister P.V.
Narasimha Rao.
1236. Look East policy is an attempt to forge closer and deeper economic integration with its
eastern neighbours as a part of the new foreign policy.
1237. The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation was launched with the Vientiane Declaration on
November 10, 2000 in Vientiane.
1238. Its primary thrust was to expand solidarity, harmony and cooperation in the fields of
tourism, culture and education for the purpose of rapid social and economic
development of the Mekong region countries.
1239. India and the five South-East Asian Nations - Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and
Myanmar - were the signatories.
1240. The East-West Corridor project and the Trans- Asian highway are some of the projects
undertaken to promote transport facilities.
1241. The group promotes joint research in the fields of dance, music and theatrical forms.
1242. Mekong Ganga Co-operation Scholarship Scheme of India offer Ten (10) scholarship
slots to meritorious nationals from Vietnam for Under Graduate and Post Graduate
level in the area of contemporary relevance such as IT and vocational training.
1243. "Suwanna Phum" programme aimed at promoting cultural tourism by joining hands
and pooling resources to re-enforce advantages of physical proximity, common
heritage and Buddhist links was launched.
1244. Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative (MGCI) has been termed as the pillar of India’s
Look East policy.
1245. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System.
1246. It has an orbital period equal to 687 Earth days and a rotational period equal to 24
 hours, 37 minutes and 22.6 seconds. Therefore there are 668 Martian days in a
Martian Year.
1247. Mars is named after the ancient Roman god of war.
1248. Mars is a terrestrial planet that consists of minerals containing silicon and oxygen,
metals, and other elements that typically make up rock.
1249. The Martian atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide (95 percent), nitrogen (2.7
percent), argon (1.6 percent), oxygen (0.2 percent) and trace amounts of water vapour
and carbon monoxide.
1250. Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons and weather, but its atmosphere
is too thin for liquid water to exist for long on the surface.
1251. The highest known surface point on Mars is a huge volcano known as 'Olympus Mons'.
It stretches 24km high above the lava plains around it and it has a base measuring
600km.
1252. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped.
1253. The NASA Viking probes were the first to successfully land on Mars; Viking 1 on July 20,
1976 and Viking 2 on September 3, 1976. These were both stationary probes,
exploration was limited to their landing site.
1254. Recently the Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover, the most
technologically advanced rover ever built, landed in Mars' Gale Crater on 6 August
2012.
1255. Deficit financing is defined as financing the budgetary deficit through public loans and
creation of new money.
1256. It is also called as monetized deficit i.e. increase in the net RBI credit to the
government.
1257. Deficit financing in India means direct increase in money supply through the issue of
fresh currency by the government in order to meet the deficit.
1258. Deficit financing results from government inefficiency, reflecting widespread tax
evasion or wasteful spending rather than the operation of a planned countercyclical
policy.
1259. In developed countries deficit financing is used as on instrument of economic policy for
removing the conditions of depression.
1260. In an under developed country like India deficit financing is to promote economic
development.
1261. As government grants subsidies, which is a very costly affair and which cannot be met
with the regular income that come from revenues, thus deficit financing becomes
must.
1262. As the Deficit financing increases the money & the purchasing power of the people it
can lead to inflation.
1263. The money supply is controlled by the RBI using instruments as CRR, SLR, Repo and
Reverse repo rate.
1264. To control inflationary nature of deficit financing, money created should be used for
productive purposes.
1265. The term Urban Local Government signifies the governance of an urban area by the
people through their elected representatives.
1266. In 1687, the first municipal corporation was set up at Madras.
1267. In 1726, the municipal corporation was set up in Bombay and Calcutta.
1268. A cantonment Board was established for municipal administration for civilian
population in the cantonment area since 1924.
1269. It works under the administrative control of the Defence Ministry of the central
government whereas other municipal areas are administered by state government.
1270. A cantonment board consists of partly elected and partly nominated members.
1271. Elected members hold office for tenure of three year.
1272. The military officer commanding the station is the ex-officio president of the board.
1273. Executive officer of the cantonment board is appointed by the President of India.
1274. There are 63 cantonment boards in the country.
1275. Aakash is a series of Android-based tablet computers produced by British company
Data Wind.
1276. It is a low-cost tablet computer with a 7-inch touch screen, ARM 11 processor and 256
MB RAM running under the Android 2.2 operating system.
1277. The device was launched by GOI to improve the system of education in India
1278. The aim is to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program
1279. The devices include WiFi & GPRS connectivity allowing anytime & anywhere internet
access and phone functionality.
1280. It supports various document (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, ODT, ODP,PDF), image
(PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF), audio (MP3, AAC, AC3, WAV, WMA) and video (MPEG2,
MPEG4, AVI, FLV) file formats.
1281. It faces the problems such as low memory, frequent system freezes, poor sound
quality, absence of support for all formats and inability to install free software
available online.
1282. The low cost Akash tablet is under trials in IIT Bombay.
1283. The non-subsidized $60 or Rs 2999 model will also have an inbuilt cellular modem and
SIM to access internet.
1284. Aakash is a series of Android-based tablet computers produced by British company
DataWind.
1285. It is a low-cost tablet with a 7-inch touch screen, ARM 11 processor and 256 MB RAM
running under the Android 2.2 operating system.
1286. The device was launched by GoI to improve the system of education in India.
1287. The aim was to link 25,000 colleges and 400 universities in an e-learning program.
1288. The device includes Wi-Fi & GPRS connectivity allowing anytime & anywhere internet
access and phone functionality.
1289. It supports various document (doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, odt, odp, pdf), image (png,
jpg, bmp and gif), audio (mp3, aac, ac3, wav, wma) and video (mpeg2, mpeg4, avi, flv)
file formats.
1290. It includes an application for access to YouTube video content.
1291. It faces the problems such as low memory, frequent system freezes, poor sound
quality, absence of support for all formats and inability to install free software
available online.
1292. The low cost Akash tablet is under trial in IIT Bombay.
1293. The non-subsidized $60 or Rs 2999 model will also have an inbuilt cellular modem and
SIM to access internet.
1294. India has the second largest child population in the world. Thus Government has
initiated several measures for proper development of children.
1295. "Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for Service to Children" honours an individual who
makes outstanding contribution towards the service to children including the care of
children with disabilities.
1296. The Award was instituted on 20th August, 1994, the 50th Birth Anniversary of the late
Prime Minister, Shri Rajiv Gandhi who had deep love and concern for children.
1297. It is given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
1298. It is conferred to three individuals who have been working in the field of Child
Protection, Child Development and Child Welfare for more than 10 years.
1299. The Award carries a cash prize of Rupees One lakh and a citation to each awardee.
1300. The selection for the award is made each year by a National Selection Committee, from
 the candidates recommended by the State governments.
1301. Paid officers of the institutions are not eligible for selection.
1302. Government of India also confers National Award for Child welfare to deserving
institutions and individuals for their outstanding performance in the field of child
development and welfare.
1303. "National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement" gives recognition to children with
exceptional abilities and outstanding calibre in different fields such as academics, arts,
culture, sports, etc.
1304. The interior of the earth is not composed of homogeneous or uniform materials.
1305. The scientific study and analysis of various seismic waves of natural and man induced
earthquakes revealed that earth consists of different zones.
1306. The earth's interior has three different layers (i) the crust (ii) the mantle and (iii) the
core.
1307. The crust forms only 0.5 per cent of the volume of the earth, 16 per cent is formed by
the mantle and the rest 83 per cent by the core.
1308. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is called Mohorovicic (or Moho)
discontinuity.
1309. The boundary between the mantle and core is called Gutenberg-Wiechert
Discontinuity.
1310. There are three types of earthquake waves: P waves; S waves and L waves.
1311. Earthquake produces three types of waves: P, S and L. P waves (primary waves) are
longitudinal in nature, can travel through any type of material, and can travel at nearly
twice the speed of S waves.
1312. S-waves (secondary waves) are transverse in nature and can travel only through solids.
1313. L- Waves are surface waves that cause circular shearing of the ground thus causing
maximum damage as they shake the ground underneath the foundations of buildings
and other structures.
1314. Universal Postal Union (UPU) is the specialized agency of the UN that aims to organize
and improve postal service throughout the world and to ensure international
collaboration in this area.
1315. It was established in 1874 with its headquarters in the Swiss capital Berne.
1316. The organization fulfils an advisory, mediating and liaison role, and provides technical
assistance to its 192 members.
1317. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration
(CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC) and the International Bureau (IB).
1318. Congress examines proposals to amend the Acts of the UPU, including the UPU
Constitution, General Regulations, Convention and Postal Payment Services
Agreement.
1319. The Postal Operations Council (POC) is the technical and operational unit which works
for modernizing and upgrading postal products and services.
1320. World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the
establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
1321. The purpose of World Post Day is to create awareness of the role of the postal sector
in peoples and businesses everyday lives and its contribution to the social and
economic development of countries.
1322. French is the official language of the UPU. English was added as a working language in
1994.
1323. All budget expenses are financed jointly by the member countries.
1324. Cloud seeding is the process of spreading either dry ice, or more commonly, silver
iodide aerosols, into the upper part of clouds to stimulate the precipitation process
and form rain.
1325. Vincent Schaefer (1906-1993) discovered the principle of cloud seeding in July 1946.
1326. Formations of Clouds occur when they contain super cooled water- liquid water colder
than zero degree Celsius.
1327. Introduction of a substance, such as silver iodide, that has a crystalline structure similar
to that of ice, induces freezing and thus leads to condensation around substrate nuclei.
1328. The most common intended effects of cloud seeding include precipitation, fog
dispersal (visibility improvement) and hail suppression.
1329. The materials used in cloud seeding include two primary categories, tied to the type of
precipitation process involved.
1330. One category includes those which act as glaciogenic (ice-forming) agents, such as
silver iodide, dry ice and compressed liquid propane or carbon dioxide.
1331. The second category is for cloud systems where the warm (coalescence) process
predominates. In those environments, hygroscopic (water attracting) materials such as
salt, urea and ammonium nitrate can be utilized.
1332. The largest cloud seeding system in the world is that of the China, which has increased
the amount of rain over several increasingly arid regions, including its capital city,
Beijing, by firing silver iodide rockets into the sky where rain is desired.
1333. In India, cloud seeding operations were conducted during the years 2003 and 2004
through U.S. based Weather Modification Inc. in the state of Maharashtra.
1334. Internet services have been offered in India by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited VSNL)
since August 1995.
1335. These services were offered initially in the four metros of Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta
and Chennai, and then expanded to cover a network of 42 nodes operated by the
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and VSNL by 1998.
1336. The new ISP policy has been launched which permits unlimited number of Internet
players with no license fees for the first five years, thus setting the stage for a
completely deregulated operating environment.
1337. Sify became India's first Internet Service Provider (ISP).
1338. ICICI Bank launched the first ever 'online banking site' in the year 1997.
1339. Webdunia, India's first Hindi portal was launched in 1999.
1340. Government formulated Broadband policy which defined the broadband as an always-
on internet connection with download speed of 256 kbps or above.
1341. Indian Railways launched online ticketing site, irctc.com in 2001.
1342. Now internet access in India is provided by both public and private companies using a
variety of technologies and media including Dial-Up (PSTN), xDSL, Coaxial Cables,
Ethernet, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA (3G), WiFi, WiMAX etc. at a wide range of speed and cost.
1343. The country has the world's third largest Internet users with over 121 million users (of
whom 59% who only access the internet via mobile devices) as of December 2011.
1344. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by
NASA.
1345. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex on
November 26, 2011
1346. The Mars Science Laboratory mission's Curiosity rover, the most technologically
advanced rover ever built, landed in Mars' Gale Crater on 6 August 2012.
1347. Curiosity's mission is to determine whether the Red Planet ever was, or is, habitable to
microbial life.
1348. It will also determine the mineralogical composition of the Martian surface and near-
surface geological materials.
1349. Further it will also characterize the broad spectrum of surface radiation, including
galactic radiation, cosmic radiation, solar proton events and secondary neutrons.
1350. The rover, which is about the size of a MINI Cooper, is equipped with 17 cameras and a
 robotic arm containing a suite of specialized laboratory-like tools and instruments.
1351. It is the fourth NASA unmanned surface rover sent to Mars since 1996.
1352. Earlier NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers were Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.
1353. The NASA Viking probes were the first to successfully land on Mars; Viking 1 on July 20,
1976 and Viking 2 on September 3, 1976. These were both stationary probes,
exploration was limited to there landing site.
1354. The Arihant class submarines are nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being
development by the Indian Navy.
1355. It is India's first indigenously designed and built nuclear submarine.
1356. The 5,000-6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV)
project at the Ship Building Centre in Vishakhapatnam.
1357. The Indian Navy's Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) Project to design and construct a
nuclear submarine took shape in the 1990s.
1358. INS Arihant will be armed with 12 K-15 missiles which have 750 km range.
1359. The 6000-tonne submarine is powered by an 85 megawatt capacity nuclear reactor.
1360. It can acquire surface speeds of 22 to 28 kmph (12-15 knots) and submerged speed up
to 44 kmph (24 knots).
1361. It will be carrying a crew of 95 men and will be armed with torpedoes and missiles
including 12 ballistic missiles.
1362. India became the sixth country in the world to have built nuclear-powered ballistic
missile submarines besides the US, Russia, the UK, France and China.
1363. The launch of Arihant strengthens India's endeavour to build a credible nuclear triad -
the capability to fire nuclear weapons from air, land and sea.
1364. It is estimated that India possesses about 45000 different species of plants and more
than 80000 species of animals.
1365. In the wake of reckless deforestation and environmental degradation, many
environmental movements have occurred in India.
1366. Chipko Movement against deforestation was started in 1973 in the Chamoli district of
Uttaranchal.
1367. Sunderlal Bahuguna, Gauri devi & Chandi Prasad Bhatt were prominent leaders of this
movement.
1368. Narmada Bachao Andolan is a movement against building multi-purpose dam over
Narmada river which will ultimately result in flood & water logging in large area
covering around 1,00,000 people.
1369. The movement is led by Medha Patekar, Baba Amte & Arundhati Roy.
1370. Silent Valley Movement was started against a hydro-electric project on the river
Kuthipuzha, a tributary of Periyar River.
1371. Baliyapal Movement is a movement against testing of missiles on the land of Baliyal
villagers which may lead to infertility of soil.
1372. Jungle Bachao Andolan began in Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand to protest against the
government action of replacing natural Sal trees with teak.
1373. Navdanya was founded by Vandana Shiva for promoting biodiversity conservation and
organic farming.
1374. International Committee of the Red Cross works worldwide to provide humanitarian
help for people affected by conflict and armed violence.
1375. It also promotes the application of laws that protect victims of war.
1376. It was founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier.
1377. It has so far won three Nobel Peace Prizes in 1917, 1944, and 1963.
1378. The Indian Red Cross is a voluntary humanitarian organization providing relief in times
of disasters/emergencies and promotes health & care of the vulnerable people and
communities.
1379. The Mission of the Indian Red Cross is to inspire, encourage and initiate humanitarian
activities so that human suffering can be minimized and thus contribute to creating
more congenial climate for peace.
1380. Red Cross promotes the Humanitarian values, which encourage respect for other
human beings and a willingness to work together to find solutions to problems.
1381. Other activities includes : hospital services, blood bank, HIV/AIDS programmes, home
for disabled servicemen, child and family welfare, relief operations in fire, railways &
other accidents and events.
1382. Indian Red Cross has started a One Year Part Time Post Graduate Diploma Course in
Disaster Preparedness and Rehabilitation to train a cadre of qualified experts in
disaster preparedness.
1383. The International Committees of the Red Cross and National Societies work in
coordination with Indian counterpart to promote livelihood of common people.
1384. The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) is a project to create an integrated freight railway
network across Europe and Asia.
1385. The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) was initiated in the 1960s with the objective of
providing a continuous 14,000-km rail link between Singapore and Istanbul (Turkey),
with possible onward connections to Europe and Africa.
1386. It will increase international trade between Eurasian nations and facilitate the
increased movements of goods between countries.
1387. It will also improve the economies and accessibility of landlocked countries like Laos,
Afghanistan, Mongolia, and the Central Asian republics.
1388. The plan has sometimes been called the "Iron Silk Road" in reference to the historical
Silk Road trade routes.
1389. The Northern Corridor will connect the rail networks of China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia,
the Russian Federation and the Korean Peninsula.
1390. The Southern Corridor will connect Thailand and the southern Chinese province of
Yunnan with Turkey through Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Islamic
Republic of Iran with Sri Lanka also part of the corridor.
1391. It also consists of a North-South Corridor linking Northern Europe to the Persian Gulf
through the Russian Federation, Central Asia and the Caucasus region.
1392. India has signed the Inter Governmental Agreement on the Trans Asian Railway
Network in June 2007.
1393. The proposed route will enter India at Tamu, bordering Myanmar.
1394. The Planning Commission is the nodal agency for estimating the number and
proportion of people living below the poverty line at national and state levels,
separately for rural and urban areas.
1395. It makes poverty estimates based on a large sample survey of household consumption
expenditure carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) approximately
every five years.
1396. Since independence Government is taking many steps to decrease the poverty level in
the country.
1397. The Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is a self-employment programme, which
assists the rural poor in taking up income generating economic activities through a mix
of bank credit and government subsidy.
1398. The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana provides gainful employment to the urban
unemployed and underemployed by encouraging the setting up of self-employment
ventures.
1399. A National Social Security Fund for Unorganized Sector Workers with initial allocation
of ` 1000 crore has been set up to support schemes for weavers, toddy tappers,
rickshaw pullers, bidi workers, etc.
1400. National Social Assistance Programme was launched to provide social help to poor
families if the death of the earning member of the family occurred and maternity or
old age.

1401. The Annapurna scheme aims at providing food security to meet the requirement of
those Senior Citizens who through eligible have remained uncovered under the
National Old Age Pension Scheme.
1402. PURA scheme to provide urban amenities and livelihood opportunities in rural areas
which are now rapidly urbanizing.
1403. Despite of high growth rate India is not able to achieve inclusive growth due to
prevalence of high rate of corruption.
1404. The Maternal Mortality Rate has been defined as number of maternal deaths per
100,000 live births.
1405. Due to the launch of new schemes, MMR has declined from 398 in 1997-98 to 254 in
2004-06.
1406. The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at reducing
maternal and infant mortality rates and increasing institutional deliveries in below
poverty line (BPL) families.
1407. It is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme and it integrates cash assistance with delivery
and post-delivery care.
1408. It covers all pregnant women belonging to households below the poverty line, above
19 years of age and up to two live births.
1409. ASHA assists Auxiliary Nurse Midwives in early registration, identification of
complicated pregnancies, providing at least three antenatal care, do post delivery
visits; organizing appropriate referral and arrange for transport for pregnant mother in
case needed.
1410. It has been launched in 10 low performing states (LPS) namely Uttar Pradesh,
Uttrakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam
and J&K.
1411. At the national level, the Mission Steering Group chaired by the Minister of Health and
Family Welfare oversees the implementation of the Scheme.
1412. At the State level, the State Health Mission (SHM), chaired by the Chief Minister
oversees implementation of the scheme.
1413. Further Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram was launched in 2011, which entitles all
pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no
expense delivery including Caesarean section.
1414. ATM is a computerized telecommunications device that provides the clients with
access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human
clerk or bank teller.
1415. The basic units of ATM allow the customer to only withdraw cash and receive a report
of the account's balance.
1416. The more complex machines accept deposits, facilitate credit card payments and
report account information.
1417. Luther George Simjian has been credited with developing and building the first
automatic teller machine.
1418. HSBC was the first bank to introduce ATM in India in Mumbai.
1419. Central Bank of India was the first bank to introduce Credit Cards system in India.
1420. ICICI was the first bank to introduce internet banking in India.
1421. India's first "talking" Automated Teller Machine (ATM) for visually impaired has been
set up by Union Bank of India in Ahmedabad.
1422. Recently RBI has decided to permit non-banks to set up, own and operate ATMs to
 accelerate the growth and penetration of ATMs in the country.
1423. Such ATMs will be called as White Label ATMs (WLA) and would provide ATM services
to customers of all banks.
1424. Economic freedom index is a series created by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall
Street Journal.
1425. The highest form of economic freedom provides an absolute right of property
ownership, movement for labour, capital, and goods, and an absolute absence of
coercion.
1426. The index is based on ten economic parameters that evaluate the rule of law, the
intrusiveness of government, regulatory efficiency, and the openness of markets.
1427. In the Economic Freedom Index the top five positions have been scored by Hong Kong;
Singapore; Australia; New Zealand and Switzerland.
1428. Somalia, though not formally graded, returns to the Index for the first time since the
2001 Index.
1429. The global average economic freedom score in the 2012 Index is 59.5, a 0.2 point
decline from last year.
1430. Chile and Mauritius advanced into the top 10 in the rankings in the 2012 Index,
reflecting notable advances in their economic freedom scores.
1431. Index of Economic Freedom demonstrate important relationships between economic
freedom and positive social and economic values such as per capita income, economic
growth rates, human development, democracy, the elimination of poverty, and
environmental protection.
1432. India ranked 123rd in the index in 2012.
1433. Despite India's high economic growth, Corruption, endemic throughout the economy
has declined its rating.
1434. The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August
2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympics Games from 29 August to 9 September.
1435. London hosted the Olympic Games earlier in 1908 and 1948.
1436. Over 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are expected to
participate.
1437. For the first time, women's boxing is included in the programme, with 36 athletes
competing in three different weight classes.
1438. Mixed doubles in tennis returns to the Olympic programme for the first time since
1924.
1439. Saudi Arabia will send two female athletes to the London Olympics for the first time.
1440. Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdul rahim Shahrkhani will compete in the +78kg judo competition
while runner Sarah Attar will be at the start line for the 800m at the Olympic Stadium.
1441. The London 2012 Olympic Games will be the tenth Olympic Games where Panasonic's
digital technologies will be used as the official recording format, dating since the
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
1442. Wenlock and Mandeville are the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and
Paralympics Games London, United Kingdom.
1443. The Olympics torch relay will run from 19 May to 27 July 2012, before the games.
1444. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was founded in 1963.
1445. The IUCN Red List is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species Programme
and the Species Survival Commission (SSC).
1446. The goal of the IUCN Red List is to provide information and analyses on the status,
trends and threats to species in order to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity
conservation.
1447. It is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for
evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.
1448. It helps in Decision-making by Influencing conservation decisions at multiple scales,
from environmental impact assessments to international multilateral environmental
agreements.
1449. It indicates the current status of species and reveals trends in their extinction risk over
time, to track progress towards biodiversity targets.
1450. It is used by government agencies, wildlife departments, conservation-related NGOs,
natural resource planners, educational organizations for biodiversity conservation.
1451. Assessments of all mammals, birds, amphibians, sharks, reef-building corals, cycads
and conifers have been completed.
1452. Now efforts are underway to assess all reptiles, fishes and selected groups of plants
and invertebrates.
1453. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess
the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.
1454. The word RADAR stands for Radio Detection And Ranging.
1455. The radar uses electromagnetic (radio) waves to detect targets from a remote location,
and determine characteristics of the targets, such as size; speed; direction; range etc.
1456. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 by the United States Navy.
1457. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles,
weather formations, and terrain.
1458. To detect an object a radio pulse is transmitted into the air at the speed of light which
bounces off a target, and then returns back to the radar to be received.
1459. When a reflected pulse is received, how long the pulse took to travel out to the target
and then back to radar is measured to know about the range of target.
1460. The Weather Service uses so-called Doppler radar to determine not only the positions
and extent of storm systems, but wind patterns and velocities aloft.
1461. Geologists use specialized ground-penetrating radars to map the composition of
Earth's crust.
1462. LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance and other
properties of a target by illuminating the target with light.
1463. Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate or detect
objects on or under the surface of the water.
1464. Sanskrit language belongs to the Indic group of the Indo-Iranian subfamily of the Indo-
European family of languages.
1465. It formed the basis of several of the world's great religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Jainism.
1466. It is the Mother of all languages. About 97% of world languages have been directly or
indirectly influenced by this language.
1467. Sanskrit is a highly regularized language. In fact, NASA declared it to be the "only
unambiguous spoken language on the planet" - and very suitable for computer
comprehension.
1468. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the
Rig Veda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, its oldest core dating back
to as early as 1500 BCE.
1469. The corpus of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as
well as scientific, technical, philosophical and dharma texts.
1470. The Government of India gives 100 per cent financial assistance through State
Governments for Eminent Sanskrit scholars in Indigent Circumstances and for
modernization of Sanskrit Pathshalas.
1471. The Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Veda Vidya Prathisthan, Ujjain promotes
Preservation, conservation and development of the oral tradition of Vedic studies.
1472. Presidential Award of the Certificate of Honour is conferred on eminent scholars of
 Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic, and Persian in recognition of their lifetime outstanding
contribution.
1473. Uttarakhand is the only state of India that has given the status of official language to
Sanskrit.
1474. Natural Gas is an organic compound that is found deep within the earth. It is a fossil
fuel formed over millions of years of geological pressures and changes.
1475. Compressed natural gas, or CNG, is natural gas under pressure which remains clear,
odourless, and non-corrosive.
1476. CNG is natural gas that has been compressed to up to 3,600 per square inch into a
high-pressure container for transportation or storage.
1477. CNG has been a vehicle fuel alternative to oil-based gasoline and diesel fuel since the
1960s.
1478. Principal constituents of natural gas are Methane and Ethane.
1479. Natural Gas being lead/sulphur free, its use substantially reduces harmful engine
emissions.
1480. The cost of CNG is almost a third of the cost of Petrol in terms of calorific value
resulting in substantial saving in fuel cost.
1481. CNG is lighter than air and hence disperses quickly without any dangerous
accumulation. It has a narrow flammability range making it much safer than other
fuels.
1482. It has a higher ignition temperature than other fuels, reducing chances of accidental
and spontaneous ignition.
1483. CNG's volumetric energy density is estimated to be 42% of liquefied natural gas and
25% of diesel.
1484. India is mainly an agricultural country.
1485. The farmer must know about the soil, crop rotation, fertilizers and pesticides, the
weather, water table, animal husbandry and feed, package of practices, price and
political situations, enabling to decide what crops to grow and which animal to rise.
1486. The Government has promulgated the Agriculture Information System Network
(AGRISNET) in the country to provide IT enabled services to the farmers.
1487. It is a mission mode project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India
to develop a comprehensive online knowledge portal.
1488. The goal of the project is to follow an all-inclusive approach in terms of ensuring
technological connectivity, development of system software and provision of hardware
at agriculture department offices up to the block level in all states and union
territories.
1489. Funds under AGRISNET are provided to the State Governments/Union Territories on
the basis of specific project proposals submitted by them.
1490. The States are given funds for software development, hardware (including system
software) and other genuine ICT needs of the State up to district level.
1491. This will help in improving productivity and profitability of farmers through better
advisory systems.
1492. The citizens can put their queries online along with the scanned photographs (if any)
on the web and get the advice from the experts of concerned departments.
1493. It will also incorporate faster and efficient Redressal of Farmers' Grievances.
1494. The Himalayas are the source of three major Indian rivers namely the Indus, the Ganga
and the Brahmaputra.
1495. Ganga basin is the largest river basin in India in terms of catchment area, constituting
26% of the country's land mass and supporting about 43% of its population.
1496. Ganga is formed by the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi at Dev Prayag.
1497. The basin covers 11 states viz., Uttarakhand, U.P., M.P., Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal
 Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi.
1498. The Ganges suffers from extreme pollution levels, sewage, industrial waste and
religious offerings wrapped in plastics add large amounts of pollutants to the river as it
flows through densely populated areas.
1499. The major contributors to pollution are tanneries in Kanpur, distilleries, paper mills and
sugar mills in the Kosi, Ramganga and Kali river catchments.
1500. The GOI has given it the status of a National River and has constituted the National
Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) in 2009 for its conservation.