General Knowledge Info Bank for Competitive Exams!! Good Luck to All!!

A Quiz on Terrorism!!

2007-01-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all,,

Found this online.. thought of sharing it with you guys..

1) Which is the only country in the world to have dropped bombs on over twenty different countries since 1945

2) Which is the only country to have used nuclear weapons?

3) Which country was responsible for a car bomb which killed 80 civilians in Beirut in 1985, in a botched assassination attempt,
thereby making it the most lethal terrorist bombing in modern Middle East history?

4) Which country's illegal bombing of Libya in 1986 was described by the UN Legal Committee as a "classic case" of terrorism?

5) Which country rejected the order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to terminate its "unlawful use of force" against Nicaragua in 1986, and then vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling on all states to observe international law?

6) Which country was accused by a UN-sponsored truth commission of providing "direct and indirect support" for "acts of genocide" against the Mayan Indians in Guatemala during the 1980s?

7) Which country unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in December 2001?

8) Which country renounced the efforts to negotiate a verification process for the Biological Weapons Convention and brought an international conference on the matter to a halt in July 2001?

9) Which country prevented the United Nations from curbing the gun trade at a small arms conference in July 2001?

10) Aside from Somalia, which is the only other country in the world to have refused to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?

11) Which is the only Western country which allows the death penalty to be applied to children?

12) Which is the only G7 country to have refused to sign the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, forbidding the use of landmines?

13) Which is the only G7 country to have voted against the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998?

14) Which was the only other country to join with Israel in opposing a 1987 General Assembly resolution condemning international terrorism?

15) Which country refuses to fully pay its debts to the United Nations yet reserves its right to veto United Nations resolutions?

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Answer to all 15 questions: The United States of America

Quiz XIII

2006-12-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

1. Brickfielder, Khamsin and Harmattan are the examples of…

a. hot winds
b. cold winds
c. trade winds
d. planetary winds

2. The world-famous Khajuraho temples were built by the rulers of…
a. Gupta dynasty
b. Chandela dynasty
c. Pallava dynasty
d. Chola dynasty

3. The world’s first Earth Summit took place in the year…
a. 1988
b. 1990
c. 1992
d. 1994

4. Dilli Chalo is the famous call that you would associate with …
a. Lal Bahadur Shastri
b. Acharya Binoba Bhave
c. Subhash Chandra Bose
d. Bhagat Singh

5. World Consumer Day is celebrated throughout the world on …
a. February 22
b. March 15
c. April 8
d. May 11

6. The freezing point of water is …
a. Zero K
b. 273.15 K
c. 313.16 K
d. 474.15 K

7. Which country’s constitution is the source of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India?
a. The UK
b. Ireland
c. The US
d. Former Soviet Union

8. According to the latest census 2001, this state is the least populous state of India. Can you identify the name of the state from the given options?
a. Goa
b. Arunachal Pradesh
c. Sikkim
d. Manipur

9. Which of the following is the smallest country of the world?
a. Tuvalu
b. Vatican
c. Nauru
d. Kuwait

10. The layer nearest to the earth’s atmosphere is …
a. Mesosphere
b. Ionosphere
c. Troposphere
d. Stratosphere

11. Zulu is the name of the tribe that belongs to …
a. Australia
b. New Zealand
c. South Africa
d. Indonesia

12. A normal human being has … chromosomes in all.
a. 42
b. 44
c. 46
d. 48

13. Utigard, Ribbon and Roraima are the names of the famous…
a. Volcanos
b. Waterfalls
c. Mountains
d. Lakes

14. Ain-e-Akbari, that gives the account of Akbar’s reign, was written by…
a. Amir Khusro
b. Firdausi
c. Abul Fazal
d. Badauni

15. This Indian state is the largest producer of rubber. Identify it from the given options.
a. Karnataka
b. Kerala
c. Tamil Nadu
d. Andhra Pradesh

16. ‘Bogey’ and ‘Fore’ are the terms that you would associate with
a. Chess
b. Snooker
c. Golf
d. Billiards

17. Khadar and Bhangar are the two types of…
a. Black Soil
b. Alluvial Soil
c. Red Soil
d. Laterite Soil

18. The first person to walk in Space was …
a. Neil Armstrong
b. Yuri Gagarin
c. AA Leonov
d. Edwin Eldrin

19. Where would you find Buland Jarwaza - the highest gateway in India?
a. Bihar
b. Punjab
c. Uttar Pradesh
d. Madhya Pradesh

20. ‘Gambit’ is a term that you would associate with…
a. Hockey
b. Cricket
c. Chess
d. Football

21. Indica is the name of a famous work of …
a. AO Hume
b. Megasthenese
c. Thomas Roe
d. None of these

22. She is the first lady President of the world. Can you identify her from the given options?
a. Srimavo Bandaranaike
b. Barbara C. Harris
c. Maria Estella Peron
d. Junko Taibei

23. The main source of Indian philosophy is contained within the …
a. Vedas
b. Brahmanas
c. Puranas
d. Upanishads

24. Discovery of India is a famous book written by …
a. Mahatma Gandhi
b. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
c. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
d. Dr. Rajendra Prasad

25. The largest Hindu complex outside India, Angkor Vat in Cambodia, is dedicated to …
a. Lord Shiva
b. Lord Brahma
c. Lord Vishnu
d. Lord Rama

ANSWER KEY :

1. a. Hot winds
2. b. Chandela dynasty
3. c. 1992
4. c. Subhash Chandra Bose
5. b. March 15
6. b. 273.15K
7. c. The US
8. c. Sikkim
9. b. Vatican
10. c. Troposphere
11. c. South Africa
12. c. 46
13. b. waterfalls
14. c. Abul Fazal
15. b. Kerala
16. c. Golf
17. b. Alluvial Soil
18. c. AA leonov
19. c. Uttar Pradesh
20. c. Chess
21. b. Megasthenese
22. c. Maria estate Peron
23. d. Upanishads
24. b. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
25. c. Lord Vishnu

Quiz XII

2006-12-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

1. The moon is about… the size of the earth.

a. 1/2th
b. 1/4th
c. 1/6th
d. 1/8th

2. Illiad is a famous creation of…
a. Russel Brines
b. Homer
c. HG Wells
d. Walter Scott

3. This US president is associated with the abolition of slavery. Identify him from the given options.
a. George Washingtom
b. Abraham Lincoln
c. Franklin D Roosevelt
d. Richard Nixon

4. Which of the following is a viral disease?
a. Diphtheria
b. Plague
c. Yellow fever
d. Kala Azar

5. Poorna Swaraj as the goal of the Indian National movement was declared at …
a. Lucknow session of INC
b. Lahore session of INC
c. Surat session of INC
d. None of these

6. Which of the following rights issued by the court means a ‘command’?
a. Habeas Corpus
b. Certiorari
c. Quo Warranto
d. Mandamus

7. This famous Indian freedom fighter established the newspaper titled Young India. Identify him from the given options.
a. MK Gandhi
b. Lala Lajpat Rai
c. GK Gokhale
d. BG Tilak

8. Which of the following represents the year in which the Planning Commission of India was set up?
a. 1949
b. 1950
c. 1952
d. 1955

9. Which of the following schedules of the Constitution of India deals with the Union list, State list and Concurrent list?
a. Fourth Schedule
b. Fifth Schedule
c. Sixth Schedule
d. Seventh Schedule

10. The Khalsa sect was founded by…
a. Guru Nanak Dev
b. Guru Arjan Dev
c. Guru Teg Bahadur
d. Guru Gobind Singh

11. Where did Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment?
a. Sarnath
b. Gaya
c. Sanchi
d. None of these

12. How many members are appointed by the President of India to the Parliament?
a. 2
b. 10
c. 12
d. 14

13. Affluent Society is work of…
a. JM Keyens
b. David Ricardo
c. Adam Smith
d. JK Galbraith

14. This was the first chief election commissioner of India. Can you identify him from the given options?
a. KVK Sundaram
b. Sukumar Sen
c. SP Sen Verma
d. SL Shakdhar

15. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is headquartered at …
a. Caracas
b. Vienna
c. Abu Dhabi
d. Baghdad

16. The National anthem of India was sing for the first time at the Calcutta session of Indian National Congress in the year …
a. 1906
b. 1909
c. 1911
d. 1913

17. Which of the following is the major component of bio-gas?
a. Carbon dioxide
b. Methane
c. Hydrogen
d. Carbon Monoxide

18. Where would you find Kaiga Power Project in India?
a. Orissa
b. Maharashtra
c. Karnataka
d. Gujarat

19. According to the Census of India 2001, which of the following is incorrect?
a. Literacy rate of India is 65.38 per cent
b. The state highest sex ratio is Kerala.
c. The most densely populated state is West Bengal.
d. The sex ratio is 927 females per thousand males in India.

20. Identify the kharif crop from the given options.
a. Peas
b. Rapeseed
c. Mustard
d. Bajra

21. The first silent feature film of India was…
a. Alam Ara
b. Raja Harishchandra
c. Bhagya Chakra
d.Sant Tukaram

22. This element is used in the process of vulcanization of rubber, in which rubber is heated with this element to make it hard. Can you identify the name of the element from the given options?
a. Lead
b. Sulphur
c. Potassium
d. Copper

23. If a person weighs 100kg on earth then his weight on moon will be …
a. 12.5 kg
b. 16.6 kg
c. 20.5 kg
d. 25.5 kg

24. Organization for Economic Cooperation 8′ Development (DE CD) is headquartered at …
a. Geneva
b. Paris
c. The Hague
d. Vienna

25. Magyars are the inhabitants of
a. Poland
b. New Zealand
c. Hungary
d. Tanzania

ANSWERS:

1. b. 1/4th
2. b. Homer
3. b. Abraham Lincoln
4. c. Yellow fever
5. b. Lahore session of INC
6. d. Mandamus
7. b. Lala Lajpat Rai
8. b. 1950
9. d. Seventh Schedule
10. d. Guru Gobind Singh
11. b. Gaya
12. d. 14
13. d. JK Galbraith
14. b Sukumar Sen
15. b. Vienna
16. c. 1911
17. b. Methane
18. c. Karnataka
19. d. The sex is 927 females per thousand males in India (it’s 933)’
20. d. Bajra
21. b. Raja Harishchandra
22. b. sulphur
23. b. 16.6 kg
24. b. Paris
25. c. Hungary

Quiz XI

2006-12-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

1. The twinkling of stars is due to the phenomenon of….

a. Reflection
b. Refraction
c. Diffraction
d. Scattering

2. Which of the following articles envisages the provision of Finance Commission of India?
a. Article 260
b. Article 280
c. Article 285
d. Article 290

3. Who wrote Sidhanta Shiromani?
a. Bhaskara - 1
b. Aryabhatta
c. Bhaskaracharya
d. Adi Shankaracharya

4. How many Indian states have bicameral legislatures?
a. 3
b. 4
c. 5
d. 6

5. Ibn Batuta visited India during the reign of . . .
a. Qutub-ud-din Aibak
b. Mohammad Ghouri
c. Mohammad - bin - Tughlaq
d. Mahmoud Ghaznavi

6. Which of the following personalities was elected as the President of India unopposed?
a. Rajendra Prasad
b. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
c. Gyani Jail Singh
d. Zakir Hussain

7. Which of the following represents the number of languages that are now entertained by the eighth schedule of the Constitution of India?
a. 18
b. 20
c. 22
d. 24

8. Flemish is a term used to describe the inhabitants of …
a. Australia
b. The UK
c. Belgium
d. Italy

9. ‘Satyamev Jayate’, integral part of our national emblem, has been taken from…
a. Bhagavat Gita
b. Kathopanishada
c. Munadaka Upanishada
d. Matsya Purana

10. Which chemical is cloud seeding?
a. Potassium Chloride
b. Silver Iodide
c. Calcium Sulphate
d. Zinc Sulphide

11. Which of the following is NOT a bacterial disease?
a. Pneumonia
b. Tetanus
c. Cholera
d. Yellow fever

12. Which animal is NOT a part of the National emblem of India?
a. Lion
b. Horse
c. Bull
d. Camel

13. Limonite and Siderite are the ores of…
a. Magnesium
b. Iron
c. Aluminum
d. Lead

14. Name the first woman deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India.
a. Chokila Aiyar
b. KJ Udeshi
c. Kanchan Choudhary
d. Neera Yadav

15. Which of the following is NOT the Constitutional commission?
a. Finance Commission
b. Election Commission
c. Planning Commission
d. Public Service Commission

16. Herring pond is the sobriquet used for…
a. Pacific Ocean
b. Arctic Ocean
c. Atlantic Ocean
d. Indian Ocean

17. The capital of Norway is …
a. Warsaw
b. Madrid
c. Oslo
d. Vienna

18. Diego Garcia is the …
a. Arctic Ocean
b. Pacific Ocean
c. Atlantic Ocean
d. Indian Ocean

19. Uttar Ramacharita is a famous work of …
a. Patanjali
b. Ved Vyas
c. Tulsidas
d. Bhavbhuti

20. Which of the following is a source of citric acid?
a. Milk
b. Tea
c. Lemon
d. Coffee

21. This Indian king is also known as the ‘Napoleon of India’. Can you identify the name of the king from the given options?
a. Chandragupta- II
b. Ashok
c. Harshavardhana
d. Samudragupta

22. Which of the following is the chemical name of Baking soda?
a. Sodium Carbonate
b. Sodium Bicarbonate
c. Sodium Hydroxide
d. Sodium Peroxide

23. This great personality is also known as the ‘Man of Destiny’. Identify him from the given options.

a. Adolf Hitler
b. Napoleon Bonaparte
c. George Washington
d. Joseph Stalin

24. This Veda deals with medicine and it contains descriptions of gold smithy, black smithy and organized agriculture. We are talking about…
a. Rig Veda
b. Sam Veda
c. Yajur Veda
d. Atharva Veda

25. International Court of Justice is headquartered at…
a. Paris
b. The Hague
c. Viennad
d. New York

ANSWERS:

1. b. Refraction
2. b. Article 280
3. c. Bhaskaracharya
4. c. 5
5. c. Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq
6. b. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
7. c. 22
8. c. Belgium
9. c. Mundaka Upanishada
10. b. Silver Iodide
11. d. Yellow fever
12. d. Camel
13. b. Iron
14. b. KJ Udeshi
15. c. Planning Commission
16. c. Atlantic ocean
17. c. Oslo
18. d. Indian Ocean
19. d. Bhavbhuti
20. c. lemon
21. d. Samudragupta
22. b. Sodium Bicarbonate
23. b. Napoleon Bonaparte
24. d. Atharva Veda
25. b. The Hague

Quiz X

2006-12-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

1. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was elected as
(a) 13th President of India
(b) 12th President of India
(c) 11th President of India
(d) 10th President of India.

2. Who among the following administers the oath of the office to Chief Justice of Supreme Court
(a) Constitutional Bench of Supreme Court
(b) Preceding Chief Justice of Supreme Court
(c) President of India
(d) President with two sitting judges of Supreme Court.

3. The first-ever conviction of death sentence under section 3, sub-section (2) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) and under section 302 of IPC were awarded for offence of
(a) attack on Parliament of India
(b) terrorists attack in State of Gujarat
(c) terrorists attack in State of Assam
(d) terrorists attack on Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.

4. “East Timor” gains independence in 2002 from
(a) Indonesia
(b) Brazil
(c) Nyzeria
(d) Malaysia.

5. World Earth Summit was held in September 2002 at
(a) Johannesburg
(b) London
(c) New York
(d) Hague.

6. The second most popular song of the world as voted in a poll by BBC world service is:
(a) Vande Mataram
(b) Irish Republican anthem
(c) John Lenvovis Imagine
(d) Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

7. Dhirubhai Ambani was the founder of:
(a) Reliance Industries
(b) Tata Industries
(c) Birla Group of Industries
(d) Mafatlal Group of Industries.

8. Mr. Narendra Modi led BJP secured 126 seats in
(a) 182 member Assembly in Gujarat
(b) 172 member Assembly in Gujarat
(c) 192 member Assembly in Gujarat
(d) 162 member Assembly in Gujarat.

9. NDC in relation to 10th Five Year plan 2002-2007 abbreviates for
(a) National Defence Council
(b) National Development Council
(c) National Drugs Commission
(d) National Dis-investment Commission.

10. Lt. Gen. N.C. Vij took over as
(a) Chief of Navy
(b) Chief of Air Force
(c) Chief of Army
(d) Chief of both Army and Navy.

11. European Union Emerges as the Largest Market of the World on 13th December 2002 because:
(a) ten new countries joined
(b) twenty new countries joined
(c) fifteen new countries joined
(d) twelve new countries joined.

12. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) which proved the Stock Market Scam was headed by Mr. Prakash Mani Tripathi. The report was
(a) constituted in April 2001 presented in December 2002
(b) constituted in April 2002 presented in December 2002
(c) constituted in August 2002 presented in December 2002
(d) constituted in October 2002 presented in December 2002.

13. First human clone was born on
(a) 26th December 2002
(b) 27th November 2002
(c) 22nd November 2002
(d) 21st December 2002.

14. The present Solicitor General of India
(a) Mr. Soli J. Sorabjee
(b) Mr. Kirit N. Raval
(c) Mr. Jana Krishnamurthi
(d) Mr. G.B. Pattnaik.

15. Justice V.N. Khare who became the 33rd Chief Justice of Supreme Court succeeded
(a) Justice G.B. Pattnaik
(b) Justice B.N. Kirpal
(c) Justice S.P. Barucha
(d) Justice J.S. Verma.

Answers
1 (b)
2 (c)
3 (a)
4 (a)
5 (a)
6 (a)
7 (a)
8 (a)
9 (b)
10 (c)
11 (a)
12 (a)
13 (a)
14 (b)
15( a)

Quiz IX

2006-12-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

1. PIN code started in India in the year….

a. 1962
b. 1964
c. 1968
d. 1972

2. You would associate the establishment of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) with.
a. Subramaniam Bharti
b. Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya
c. Jawaharlal Nehru
d. Gobind Vallabh Pant

3. Who presides the Lok Sabha?
a. Prime Minister
b. President
c. Vice President
d. Speaker

4. Who discovered Aspirin?
a. Alexander Fleming
b. Felix Hoffmann
c. Robert Koch
d. Joseph Lister

5. Which of the following is NOT one of the sacred texts of Buddhism called Tripitakas?
a. Suttapitaka
b. Vinayapitaka
c. Dharmapitaka
d. Gyanapitaka

6. Which of the following Indian states has the lowest sex ratio {number of females per thousand males}?
a. West Bengal
b. Haryana
c. Punjab
d. Uttar Pradesh

7. Which of the following is the oldest printed book of the world?
a. The Gutenberg Bible
b. Hiraka Sutra
c. Les Hommes de bonne Volante
d. Old King Cole

8. This personality was the first Indian to receive the Magsaysay Award in the year 1958. Can you name him from the given options?
a. CD Deshmukh
b. Mother Teresa
c. Acharya Binoba Bhave
d. Jaya Prakash Narayan

9. Who is known as the father of Geometry?
a. Pythagoras
b. Euclid
c. Euler
d. None of these

10. Rovers cup is associated with …
a. Hockey
b. Football
c. Cricket
d. Golf

11. This Indian state is the least densely populated state. Name it from the given options.
a. Sikkim
b. Arunachal Pradesh
c. Assam
d. Manipur

12. What is the approximate age of the earth?
a. 3.8 billion years
b. 4.2 billion years
c. 4.6 billion years
d. 4.8 billion years

13. Which Indian state was the first one to implement the Panchayati Raj in the whole state?
a. Uttar Pradesh
b. Bihar
c. Rajasthan
d. Gujarat

14. This personality is NOT the winner of Nobel Prize.
a. Kofi Annanb
b. Mother Teresac
c. VS Naipaul
d. Richard Nixon

15. The largest state of India (in terms of area) is…
a. Uttar Pradesh
b. Rajasthan
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Maharashtra

16. The line of equator does no pass through…
a. Kenya
b. Somalia
c. Uganda
d. Egypt

17. National Institute of Oceanography is based in …
a. Mumbai
b. Chennai
c. Panaji
d. Kochi

18. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India is a famous work of …
a. Dada Bhai Naoroji
b. Mahatma Gandhi
c. AO Hume
d. BG Tilak

19. The first ancient Olympic games took place in the year
a. 476 BC
b. 576 BC
c. 676 BC
d. 776 BC

20. When one crosses the International Date Line from west to east, then the date is said to be set back by…
a. one hour
b. twelve hours
c. one day
d. None of these

21. Equinoxes occur when
a. the days are longer than the nights
b. the nights are longer than the days
c. the nights and days are equal in length
d. the difference between the length of nights and days is the highest

22. Which of the following is NOT a permanent member of United Nation’s Security Council?
a. Russia
b. China
c. France
d. Germany

23. You would associate the theory of ‘Laissez Faire’ with …
a. JK Galbraith
b. JM Keynes
c. Adam Smith
d. David Ricardo

24. Wealth of Nations is authored by….
a. Adam Smith
b. JK Galbraith
c. JM Keynes
d. None of these

25. This personality is considered, as the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi. Can you identify him from the given options?
a. Bal Gangadhar Tilak
b. Gopal Krishna Gokhale
c. Dadabhai Naoroji
d. Mahadev Gobind Ranande

ANSWERS:

1. d. 1972
2. b. Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya
3. d. Speaker
4. b. Felix Hoffman
5. d. Gyanapitaka
6. b. Haryana
7. b. Hiraka Sutra
8. c. Acharya Binoba Bhave
9. b. Euclid
10. b. Football
11. b. Arunachal Pradesh
12. c. 4.6 billion years
13. c. Rajasthan
14. d. Richard Nixon
15. b. Rajasthan
16. d. Egypt
17. c. Panaji
18. a. Dada Bhai Naoroji
19. d. 776 BC
20. c. one day
21. c. the nights and days are equal in length
22. d. Germany
23. c. Adam Smith
24. a. Adam Smith
25. b. Gopal Krishna Gokhale

Some of SNAP GK Questions

2006-12-30T13:33:00.000-08:00

1. Which was the first animal tamed by human being?
Ans: Dog

2. The Planning Commission was constituted in…
Ans: 1950

3. What is the age of earth?
Ans: 4.55 billion years

4. How much time did it took to draft Constitution of India?
Ans: Two years, Eleven months and Eighteen days

5. Imposing President’s rule in case of emergency is given in which article of the Constitution?
Ans: Article 356

6. On what basis is the poverty line ascertained?
Ans: The calorie in take by the people of the country

7. ‘Synecology’ is the study of…
Ans: Ecological interrelationships among communities of organisms.

8. Who is the author of Selling the Dream?
Ans: Guy

9. Why did Mumbai’s dabbawalas become world famous?
Ans: The Mumbai’s dabbawalas came into limelight because of their efficient management systems. Forbes recognized their efforts and conducted a quality assurance study and finally gave them Six Sigma rating.

10. Which is the world’s largest flower?
Ans: Rafflesia

11. ‘Isoprene’ is also known as…
Ans: Natural rubber

12. Which is the lightest metal?
Ans: The lightest metal known is Lithium.

13. What is cinnabar?
Ans: Its an ore of mercury.

14. Myopia (short sightedness) is a condition associated with…
Ans: Eyes

15. FERA has been replaced by…
Ans: FEMA

FMS GK Questions

2006-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

1. Who is the present Governor of RBI?
Ans: Y.V. Reddy

2. Which of the following companies has recently acquired Flag telecom, USA?
Ans: Reliance Infocomm

3. Who is Chairman of the Planning Commission of India?
Ans: Dr. Manmohan Singh

4. Who is the Chairman of Wipro Industries?
Ans: Azim H. Premji

5. What was the venue of the last ASEAN meeting?
Ans: Vientiane in Laos in November 2004

6. Where is the headquarters of the European Union?
Ans: Brussels

7. Sunil Bharti Mittal is the CMD of…
Ans: Bharti Enterprises

8. VSNL has recently acquired TYCO which belongs to
Ans: USA

9. The automobile giant Hyundai hails from
Ans: South Korea

10. Ratan Tata Commission is meant for
Ans: Investment

11. What was the focus of the Ninth Five-year plan?
Ans: Agriculture and rural development along with employment generation and poverty eradication.

12. What was the duration for India’s Tenth Five-year plan?
Ans: From 2002-07

13. Microsoft has recently established its largest development centre in which of the following city?
Ans: Hyderabad

14. Rupee is not a currency of…
Ans: Bangladesh

15. The term sweated labour means
Ans: Underpaid, cheap labour

16. The term ‘disguised employment’ is found mainly in
Ans: Agricultural sector

17. The defunct Dabhol Power Plant is located in…
Ans: Maharashtra

IRMA GK Questions

2006-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

1. What is project Swashakti?
Ans: Swashakti is a project for rural women’s development and empowerment.

2. What is the meaning of the Blue Box term related with WTO?
Ans: In WTO terminology, subsidies in general are identified by boxes.
Any support that would normally be in the amber box, is placed in the blue box

3. Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan was associated with
Ans: Total Revolution

4. What is project Gyandoot?
Ans: The goal of this project is to establish community-owned, technologically innovative and sustainable information kiosks in a poverty-stricken, tribal dominated rural area.

5. What do you understand Bhoomi?
Ans: This was the name of the project meant for the computerization of land records of Karnataka.

6. What is the aim of the Public Distribution System (PDS)?
Ans: Ensuring availability of food grains to the public at affordable prices as well as for enhancing the food security for the poor.

7. Co-operative movement in which sector of the Indian Economy has been highly successful?
Ans: Milk production

8. Inflationary Pressure on the Economy means…
Ans: It means inflation is high in the economy.

9. What will be the effect of introduction of Kullahars, Khadi and Sampark Kranti Express etc. on the rural economy?
Ans: It will promote the rural domestic industries thereby increasing the employment generation in the rural sector and hence leading to the growth of the Indian economy in general.

10. What is the contribution of the agriculture sector in the GDP of the Indian Economy?
Ans: 10: 21%

11. What is rain fed farming?
Ans: ‘Rainfed farming’, is defined as growing crops under conditions of natural rainfall.

12. Inflation is measured in terms of…
Ans: Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

13. What are the uses of the interlinking of the rivers?
Ans: 13: It addressed the twin problems of monsoon floods and water scarcity.

14. What is National Bamboo Mission?
Ans: The National Mission has been structured to address critical areas of bamboo development covering - research, development, post-harvest management, product development and marketing by adopting a mission mode approach.

15. What is the chemical used for the cloud seeding?
Ans: Silver Iodide

16. What is the name of the first Genetically Modified crop that was given permission to be grown in India?
Ans: Bt Cotton

17. The National Commission of Women was constituted in…
Ans: 1992

18. What is micro finance?
Ans: Small Loans that help poor people to start or expand their small businesses.

19. What is NPA?
Ans: NPA is defined as Non Performing Assets

20. What is the purpose of launching the Indira Awas Yojana?
Ans: The project was started to help construction of dwelling units for members of Scheduled Castes and also Non-Scheduled Castes rural poor living below the poverty line.

Business Affairs Quiz - 2

2006-12-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

1. Mat expands to…

a: Medium Advisory Tax
b. Minimum Accounted Tax
c. Minimum Automated Tax
d. Minimum Alternate Tax

2. This company was i.n the news in march 2005 as ‘U’ was planned to be its new logo. Can you identify the name of the company from the given options?
a. P&G
b. HLL
c. Nestle
d. Dabur

3. What is the expected GDP growth rate in 2005-2006, according to the Union Budget 2005-2006?
a. 6 per cent
b. 6.1 per cent
c. 6.3 per cent
d. 6.9 per cent

4. Identify the Indirect Tax from the given options.
a. Wealth Tax
b. Gift Tax
c. Sales Tax
d. Corporation Tax

5. Which of the following represents the expansion of ‘R’ in RFID?
a. Regional
b. Radio
c. Recorded
d. Reliance

6. This bank, in collaboration with NGOs, launched the ’social card’ for those people who want to contribute to the welfare of the society but either do not have time to do so or do not know which cause they would like to support. Can you identify the name of the bank in question from the given options?
a. Canara Bank
b. SBI
c. Punjab National Bank
d. Bank of India

7. Kishore Biyani, who is considered India’s largest retailer owns….
a. Shoppers Stop
b. Pantaloon
c. West Side
d. RPG Enterprises

8. The year in which the World Bank was incorporated in the UN system was….
a. 1994
b. 1946
c. 1947
d. 1949

9. The United Nations named the year 2005 as…
a. Year of savings
b. Year of Investments
c. Year of micro finance
d. Year of macro finance

10. The name of the Air India’s budget airline, that was launched in April 2005, is …
a. Air lndia Aviator
b. Air India Express
c. Air India Smarty
d. Air India Genie

11. Which of the following represents the expansion of ‘T’ in ‘TIN’?
a. Trade
b. Tax
c. Transmission
d. Total

12. Which of the following personalities is the author of Jeh: A Life of JRD Tata?
a. RM Lala
b. BK Dadabhoy
c. Dwijendra Tripathi
d. BK Karanjia

13. Which of the following represents the worth of the deal in which Adhikari brothers sold the SAB TV brand to the Sony TV in March 2005?
a. $7 million
b. $10 million
c. $13 million
d. $15 million

14. Which city hosted the G-20 meet in the third week of March 2005?
a. Lahore
b. Sau Paulo
c. New Delhi
d. Phuket

15. Identify the incorrect match. Automobile company Car Model
a. Fiat Automobiles Panda
b. Skoda Automobiles Fabia
c. Honda Automobiles Civic
d. All of them are matched properly

16. This personality was the FORBES Asian Businessman of the year 2004. Can you identify him from the given options?
a. Ratan Tata
b. Anil Ambani
c. KV Kamath
d. Nusli Wadia

17. According to a survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, which of the following companies was adjudged as the best employer of 2004?
a. P & G India
b. NTPC
c. Bharti Televentures
d.TCS

18. Awaz is the Hindi business news channel that belongs to the stable of …
a. NDTV
b. CNBC TV 18
c. Zee News
d. Sony TV

19. ‘Make your own road’ is the catchphrase that you would associate with….
a. Chevrolet Tavera
b. Tata Safari
c. Tata Sumo
d. Ford Endeavor

20. The maximum revenue to the government comes from….
a. Service tax
b. Custom duty
c. Excise duty
d. Income tax

Answer key:

1. d. Minimum Alternate Tax
2.b.HLL
3. d. 6.9 per cent
4. c. Sales Tax
5. b. Radio (RFID: RadioFrequency. Identification)
6. b. SBI
7. b. Pantaloon
8. c.1947
9. c. Year of micro finance
10. b. Air India Express
11. b. Tax(TaxlnformationNetwork)
12. b. BK Dadabhoy
13. c. $13 million
14. c. New Delhi
15. d. All of them are matched properly
16. a. Ratan Tata
17. d. TCS
18. b. CNBC TV 18
19. b. Tata Safari
20. c.. Excise Duty

Business Affairs Quiz - 1

2006-12-30T12:28:00.000-08:00

1. Etihad Airways is the name of the national airlines of…

a. Afghanistan
b. Iraq
c. Kuwait
d. United Arab Emirates

2. Who was the chairman of the twelfth finance commission of India?
a. MS Ahluwalia
b. C Rangarajan
c. Rakesh Mohan
d. Bimal Jalan

3. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) is chaired by…
a. N Rangachari
b. RK Joshi
c. MK Garg
d. Ashok Lahiri

4. This site/search engine was in the news in January 2005 as it had plans to offer the famous libraries of the world online. Can you identify the name of the engine in question from the given options?
a. Yahoo. com
b. Google.com
c. Altavista. com
d. AOL

5. Aramco is one of the world’s biggest….
a. Cement firm
b. Steel firm
c. IT firm
d. Oil firm

6. Mukand Steel is the key company owned by…
a. Birlas
b. Bajajs
c. Tatas
d. Ruias

7. ‘Cottons’ is the name of garment collection by….
a. Madura Garments
b. Century Textiles
c. Indigo Nation
d. Raymond

8. Servo is an oil brand from….
a. HPCL
b.IOC
c. BPCL
d. None of these

9. Progeon is the name of the BPO arm of this Indian software giant. Identify it from the given operations.
a. Wipro Technologies
b. Infosys Technologies
c. HCL Technologies
d. Polaris Software’s

10. According to the Union Budget 2005-2006, which of the following represents the outlay for the defense sector?
a. Rs. 66,000 cr
b. Rs. 77,000 cr
c. Rs. 83,000 cr
d. Rs. 90,000 cr

11. ‘Mahila card’ is an international Debit Card meant exclusively for women. This card belongs to the stable of …
a. ICICI Bank’
b. UTI Bank
c. Induslnd Bank
d. Canara Bank

12. Which of the following represents the limit of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction sector?
a. 49 per cent
b. 66 per cent
c. 74 per cent
d. 100 per cent

13. Who is the chairman of IDBI?
a. M. Damodaran
b. VP Shetty
c. PP Vora
d. KV Kamath

14. You would associate Corp Kisan Card with …
a. Canara Bank
b. Corporation Bank
c. ICICI Bank
d. HDFC Bank

15. Itz Cash, a pre-paid card, belongs to the stable of…
a. Tatas
b. Essel group
c. Essar group
d. None of these

16. Who among the following is the CMD of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)?
a. VP Sinha
b. b. C P Jain
c. AK Purwar
d. PS Shenoy

17. ‘Aapka Fayda’ is the punch line that you would associate with….
a. Sahara Samay
b. NDTV India
c. CNBC TV 18
d. Zee Business

18. ‘Data One’ is the name of the broadband service of ….
a. Reliance Infocomm
b. BSNL
c. MTNL
d. Tata Indicom

19. Food-World, Giant, Health 8′ Glow and Music World are all retail outlets of …
a. Pantaloon
b. RPG
c. Shopper’s Stop
d. HLL

20. Sarthak Behuria is the chairman-cum-managing director of…
a. ONGC
b. lac
c. BPCL
d.HPCL

Answer Key:

1. d. United Arab Emirates
2. b. C. Rangarajan
3. b. RK Joshi
4. b Google.com
5. d. Oil firm
6. b. Bajajs
7. b. Century Textiles
8. b. 10C
9. b. Infosys Technologies
10. c. Rs. 83.000 cr
11. c. Induslnd Bank
12. d. 100 per cent
13. b. VP Shelly
14. b. Corporation Bank
15. b. Essel Group
16. b. CP Jain
17. d. Zee business
18. b. BSNL
19. b. RPG
20. b. 10C

General Awareness Questions

2006-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Some General Awareness questions are given below.

1. In the case of a test tube baby 
(1) Fertilization takes place inside the test tube
(2) Development of the baby takes place inside the test tube
(3) Fertilization takes place outside the mother's body
(4) Unfertilized egg develops inside the test tube
  
2. Who elects the President of India?
(1) Lok Sabha
(2) Rajya Sabha
(3) People of India
(4) Parliament and State Assemblies
  
3. The Fundamental Duties were incorporated in the Constitution of India by the
(1) First Amendment
(2) Tenth Amendment
(3) Thirty-second Amendment
(4) Forty-second Amendment
  
4. The speed of light will be minimum while passing through
(1) glass
(2) vacuum
(3) air
(4) water
  
5. The time taken by the Sun to revolve around the center of our galaxy is
(1) 50 mn years
(2) 100 mn years
(3) 250 mn years
(4) 365 mn years
  
6. The oldest monarchy in the world is that of
(1) Nepal
(2) U K
(3) Spain
(4) Japan
  
7. The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of
(1) only elected members of both Housed of Parliament
(2) only Rajya Sabha members
(3) all members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies
(4) all members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
  
8. In which one of the following states of India is it legal for a Hindu male and illegal for a Muslim male to have more than one living wife?
(1) Nagaland
(2) Goa
(3) Himachal Pradesh
(4) Arunachal Pradesh
  
9. Where did Buddha die?
(1) Lumbini
(2) Kusinagara
(3) Pavapuri
(4) Magadha
  
10. What was the main difference between the Indus Valley Civilization and Vedic Civilization?
(1) Indus Valley Civilization was urban, while the Vedic Civilization was rural. 
(2) "Pipal" tree was worshiped in Indus Valley Civilization, while "Burgad" tree was worshiped in Vedic Civilization. 
(3) The main emphasis in Indus Valley Civilization was on trade while in the Vedic Age was on religion.
(4) Indus Valley Civilization believed in non-violence while Vedic Civilization had no hard and fast rules about violence.

Answer Key 
(1) 3   (6) 4
(2) 4   (7) 4
(3) 4   (8) 2
(4) 1   (9) 2
(5) 3   (10) 1


1. All of the following are constituents of RNA molecule except
(1) Adenine
(2) Guanine
(3) Thymine
(4) Uracil
  
2. The father of modern biology is
(1) Aristotle
(2) Darwin
(3) Mendel
(4) Vesalius
  
3. Which of the following seeds will normalize blood sugar level?
(1) Coriander
(2) Mustard
(3) Cumin
(4) Fenugreek
  
4. The point at which solid, liquid and gaseous forms of a substance co-exist is called
(1) sublimation point
(2) distillation point
(3) triple point
(4) melting point
  
5. Which among the following substances is used as a lubricant?
(1) Quartz
(2) Silica
(3) Graphite
(4) Nickel
  
6. The weight of an object will be minimum when it is placed at
(1) The North Pole
(2) The South Pole
(3) The Equator
(4) The center of the Earth
  
7. Earth quake waves travel fastest in
(1) Soil
(2) Molten rock
(3) Water
(4) Flexible rock
  
8. The angle between the geographical meridian and magnetic meridian is called
(1) Angle of dip
(2) Angle of declination
(3) Angle of inclination
(4) None of the above
  
9. What is the currency of Mexico?
(1) Lira
(2) Peso
(3) Mexican dollars
(4) Krones
  
10. The Essar group of companies has been promoted by
(1) Ruias
(2) Ambanis
(3) Goenkas
(4) Kanorias

Answer Key 
(1) 3   (6) 4
(2) 1   (7) 3
(3) 4   (8) 2
(4) 3   (9) 2
(5) 3   (10) 1


. One of the following liquor brands is not owned by United Breweries
(1) Kalyani Black Label
(2) Blue Riband
(3) McDowells
(4) Bagpiper
  
2. Amtrex air conditioners has a technical collaboration with
(1) Sanyo
(2) Mitsubishi
(3) Hitachi
(4) Carrier
  
3. Marlboro Cigarette is owned by
(1) ITC
(2) Godfrey-Philips
(3) Philip Morris
(4) British American Tobacco
  
4. Who is the CEO of Microsoft?
(1) Bill Gates
(2) Paul Allen
(3) Larry Ellison
(4) Steve Ballnes
  
5. One of the following is not an Insurance Company
(1) ICICI Prudential
(2) HDFC Natwest
(3) OM Kotak Mahindra
(4) Birla Sun Life
  
6. What is the currency of Portugal?
(1) Escudo
(2) Guilder
(3) Mark
(4) Schilling
  
7. One of the following personalities is not associated with the Indian auto sector
(1) Suresh Krishna
(2) Venu Srinivasan
(3) Anand Mahindra
(4) Venugopal Dhoot
  
8. One of the following companies is not in the area of air-conditioning & refrigeration
(1) BPL
(2) Thermax
(3) Lloyd
(4) Carrier Aircon
  
9. How many countries are a part of the European union?
(1) 18
(2) 15
(3) 21
(4) 12
  
10. Who is the attorney general of United States of America?
(1) Ashcroft
(2) Powell
(3) Rumsfeld
(4) Cheney

Answer Key 
(1) 4   (6) 1
(2) 3   (7) 4
(3) 3   (8) 3
(4) 4   (9) 2
(5) 2   (10) 1


1. When was the generic domain name (Top Level Domain - TLD) .com introduced?
(1) 1989
(2) 1985
(3) 1994
(4) 1991
  
2. Who is the prime minister of Israel?
(1) Benajamin Netanyahu
(2) Ariel Sharon
(3) Shaul Mofaz
(4) Goldamyer
  
3. What was the significant about the purchase of a kilo of lychees on the French island of Reunion, located in the Indian Ocean?
(1) They were the first lot of lychees exported from India.
(2) It was the first official purchase using the new currency Euro.
(3) It was done by to commemorate the release of the new France with Princess Diana's image on it.
(4) None of these
  
4. Which brand had the highest number of Web searches in 2001?
(1) Google
(2) Marlboro
(3) Intel
(4) Play Station 2
  
5. What is common to all of the following names - Eduardo Camano, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, Ramon Puerta and Fernando de la Rua?
(1) They were all former Presidents of Argentina.
(2) They are the dreaded drug lords of South America
(3) They own together 70% of the world's Silver mines.
(4) None of these
  
6. The video games X box is a product of 
(1) Sega
(2) Sony
(3) Intel
(4) Microsoft
  
7. It was acknowledged as the second-most dangerous computer virus in history, after the Love Bug virus. Name this virus, which struck in 2001.
(1) Melissa
(2) Code Red
(3) C-Brain
(4) Major Domo
  
8. What does the letters XP stand for in the product Microsoft XP?
(1) Extended product
(2) Extra Pampering
(3) Experience
(4) Entry level product
  
9. Which business and media tycoon won the elections to become Head of State in Italy amidst widespread clouds of scandal?
(1) Guillani Giovanni
(2) Joe Pacci
(3) Antonio Machiaveli
(4) Silvio Berusconi
  
10. Under what name is MTNL marketing its GSM based mobile telephony?
(1) Swarna
(2) Dolphin
(3) Speed
(4) Vayu

Answer Key 
(1) 2   (6) 4
(2) 2   (7) 2
(3) 2   (8) 3
(4) 4   (9) 4
(5) 1   (10) 2

XAT GK Collection

2006-12-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

1. World's richest Indian = Laxmi Niwas Mittal

2. World's Largest Steel Organisation = Laxmi Niwas Mittal Group, coz this year it has acuired America's International Group.

3. Govt. hiked the FDI CAP in Domestic Airlines 4rm current 40% to 49%

4. Telecom and IT Minsiter = Dayanidhi Maran

5. Ernst & Young Enterpreneur of the year = Sunil Mittal ( Bharti Enterprises)

6. VSNL Chairman = Ratan Tata , VSNL Acquired Tyco Global Network

7. Star TV CEO = Peter Mukerjea

8. Deutsche Bank CEO & MD = Gunit Chadha

9. CII President = Sunil Kant Munjal

10. HDFC Chairman = Deepak Parekh

11. ICICI Bank CEO = K. V. Kamath

12. SBI Chairman & MD = A.K. Purwar

13. Kotak Mahindra MD = Uday Kotak

14. Sebi Chairman = G . N. Bajpai

15. IRDA Chairman = C. S. Rao

16. TV Today Network CEO = G Krishnan

Whose ad line reads "Where India Shops". (hint : apparels)

Pantaloons

(2) It was in 1962, at Gouster, Virginia when the PNB with the aid of National Banking Machines started this for the first time. What are we talking about ?
ATM'S

(3) Power Compact with 'smart eyes' is _____________
Ariel

(4) A Double Life is a book by which advertising guru ?

Alyque Padamsee

(5) In the name RJR-Nabisco, what does Nabisco stand for ?

National Biscuit Company

1.who is our chief vigilance officer?
ans. p. shankar
2.india has signed an agreement to purchase admiral gorshkov frm russia. this is an..
ans. aircraft carrier
3. which pakistan scientist was involved with leaking of nuclear know how to other countries?
ans.abdul qadeer khan
4.dogri language is spoken by which states?
ans.j and k
5.the total strength of rajya sabha is not to exceed..
ans250 members
6.who is known as the ex-officio member of the rajya sabha?
ans.vice-president.
7. who said"the directive principle of state policy do not matter'?
ans.sir ivor jennings
8.we hav borrowed the directive principles of state policy from the constitution of..
ans.ireland
9.who won 2004 booker prize?
ans.alan hollinghurst
who is the new p.l.o leader?
ans. mr mehmood abbas

1)GE's technology centre in b'lore is named after whom? - Jack
Welch
2)Ranbaxy calls it 'Caverta', what is it popularly known as? -
Viagra
3)Which Indian test cricketer is the representative of Musco
lighting in India? - Kapil Dev
4)Which country's PM receives the highest salary in terms of
dollars? -Japan
5)Zzapi Nercor is the mascot of which Indian pizza company? -
Pizza Corner
6)Top Gear is the retail outlet of which indian company? - IOC
7)Which search engine was first named Architext and created by
a group of Stanford University grads? - Excite
8)Who is the lowest paid CEO in the world? - Steve Jobs, Apple
computers, $1 annually
9)What is the name of Tainwala Chemicals' mosquito repellant
brand? - Casper
10)Which company is the official ice-cream supplier to
Wimbledon? - Wall's
11)Which was the first insurance company in India to start a 24
hour call centre? - Tata AIG
12)Rasik Dhariwal is the owner of which Gutkha company? -
Manikchand
13)Which Indian retail chain was started by former Carona
employee B.S Nagesh? - Shopper's Stop
14)Which company was first founded and registered in
Delaware, US as Quantum Computer Services? - AOL
15)Which is the oldest public sector bank in India? - Allahabad
Bank

and here goes my report on committees reports (CR) in the last two years searched thru business standard archive section.
1. MH kania CR
A. stock exchange reforms on demutualisation.

2. Malegam CR
A. UTI reforms and scams

3. Joint Parliament CR (headed my M. tripathi)
A. Investigate the 2001 bse crash

4. Geetha Krishnam CR
A. on I&B expenditure, reforms etc

5. Mashelkar CR
A. Auto Fuel Policy

6. Amit Mitra CR
A. FM radio (26%fdi)

7. Naresh Chandra CR
A. Corporate Governance

8. Bhagwati
A. Changes to SEBI takeover policy...dont know exactly

9. Tarapore
A. Captical convertibilily

10. Abhijit Sen
A. Long Term Gain Policy

11. Santosh Mohan Deo
A. Electricity Bill 2001

12. What is the Indiamix scheme.
A. google it :).

World's oldest stock exchange=amsterdam stock exchange(1602!)

Largest global brand=Coca-cola

World's largest employer=Indian Railways(1,600,000 regular employees)

Which company reported the largest annual loss ever=AOL Time Warner
($98.7 billion on January 30, 2003)

Which single issue had the most investors=Unit Trust of India
(5.9 million in April and May 1992)

Largest oil company= ExxonMobil

Which film company was the first ever in Bollywood to raise money through an initial public offering= Mukta Arts

World's highest paid CEO=Reuben Mark, CEO of Colgate-Palmolive( $148 million)

Which nation has the largest national debt=Brazil

Microsoft=Steve Ballmer

TCS=S. Ramadorai

NASSCOM=Kiran Karnik

Satyam Computer Services =Ramalinga Raju

Kishor Biyani=Pantaloon

GE=Jeffrey R Immelt

Nokia=Jorma Jaakko Ollila

Time Warner Inc=Richard D Parsons

Oracle=Larry Ellison

Dr. Manmohan Singh was sworn-in as Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004.

Cabinet Ministers

Arjun Singh - Human Resource Development
Pranab Mukherjee - Defence
P. Chidambaram - Finance
Shivraj Patil - Home
Natwar Singh - External Affairs
Sharad Pawar - Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution
Laloo Prasad - Railways
Ram Vilas Paswan - Chemicals & Fertilisers and Steel
Ghulam Nabi Azad - Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development
S Jaipal Reddy - Information & Broadcasting and Culture
Sisram Ola - Labour and Employment
Mahavir Prasad - Small Scale Agro and Rural Industries
P. R. Kyndiah - Tribal Affairs and Development of the Northeast
T R Baalu - Road Transport, Highways and Shipping
Shankarsinh Vaghela - Textiles
Kamal Nath - Commerce and Industry
H R Bhardwaj - Law and justice
P M Sayeed - Power
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh - Rural Development
Priyaranjan Dasmunsi - Water Resources
Mani Shankar Aiyar - Petroleum & Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj
Sunil Dutt -Youth Affairs and Sports
A Raja - Environment and Forest
Dayanidhi Maran - Communication and IT
Meira Kumar - Social Justice and Empowerment
K Chandrasekhar Rao -
Anbumani Ramdoss - Health and Family Welfare

Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

Santosh Mohan Dev - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Jagdish Tytler - Non-Resident Affairs
Oscar Fernandes - Statistics and Program Implementation
Renuka Choudhury - Tourism
Subodh Kant Sahai - Food Processing
Kapil Sibal - Science & Technology and Ocean Development
Vilas Muttemwar - Non-conventional Energy Sources
Kumari Selja - Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation
Praful Patel - Civil Aviation
Premchand Gupta - Company Affairs

Ministers of State

E Ahamed - External affairs
Suresh Pachauri - Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs
B K Handique - Defence and Parliamentary Affairs
P Lakshmi - Health and Family Welfare
Dasari Narayan Rao - Coal and Mines
Shaqeel Ahmed - Communications & IT
Rao Indrajit Singh - External Affairs
Naranbhai Rathwa - Railways
Rehman Khan - Chemicals and Fertilisers
K H Muniappa - Road Transport and Highways
M V Rajasekharan - Planning
Kantilal Bhuria - Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution
Manik Rao Gavit - Home Affairs
Sriprakash Jaiswal - Home Affairs
Prithviraj Chavan - Prime Minister's Office
Mohammed Taslimuddin - Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Suryakanta Patil - Rural Development and Parliamentary Affairs
Mohammed A A Fatmi - Human Resource Development
A Narendra - Rural Development
R Velu - Railways
S S Palanimanickam - Finance
S Regupathy - Internal Security and Personnel
K Venkatapathy - Law and Justice
Subbulakshmi Jegadeesan - Social Justice and Empowerment
E V K S Elangovan - Commerce & Industry
Kanti Singh - Human Resource Development
Namo Narayan Meena - Environment and Forests
Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav - Water Resources
Akhilesh Singh - Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

Abbreviations

MRF=Madras Rubber Factory
BPL=British Physical Labs
TIPS=Time Promotion Services
T-Series=Trishul
SUN Microsystems=Stanford University Network
DSP Merrill Lynch= D S Purbhoodas & Co

plz note that the CHAIRMAN of NASSCOM : Jerry Rao

and PRESIDENT of NASSCOM : Kiran Karnik.

1. He lost both his parents by 1856; he was then 10 years old. He grew up in an orphanage known as Bruderhaus, and got trained in the adjoining engineering factory, where Gottlieb Daimler, the technical manager, spotted his talent. They worked together til l 1907 when he, called ‘The King of Design Engineers,' left Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft to set up his own business. Who is being referred to here?
Ans-Wilhelm Maybach

2. Which company's subsidiary is UltraTech Cement, and what was it called earlier?
Ans--Grasim; L&T cement

3. This company, which is now facing a bid from a company half its size, was founded by Cecil Rhodes. Its major shareholder is Vladimir Potanin's Norilsk Nickel group, which holds 20 per cent of the company. Its CEO is Ian Cockerill. Which is the company?
ANS--Gold Fields, which is facing a bid from Harmony Gold

4.This formulation was developed in 1965 by researchers at the University of Florida to help the State's football team members beat dehydration. How is the formulation known now?
ANS--Gatorade; the football team is called Gators

5. In 2002, US-based Tibco Software bought Praja, a company founded by Dr Ramesh Jain and which other famous personality?
ANS--Dr C. K. Prahalad

6. Which company is focussing on long-term goals collectively called the 'Garuda Vision'? (Clue: This has got nothing to do with Indonesia's airliner Garuda!)
ANS-- Ranbaxy

7. "Know. Now." This is the base line of a brand, 150 years old, which is in the business of providing information to its customers. Which company?

ANS-- Reuters

8. An easy one to end this week's quiz! What was created by Umesh Rao, an artist with JWT, and Bobby Kooka in 1946?
ANS--The Air-India Maharajah; Kooka was Air-India's Commercial Director then

Also called blood diamonds, these are diamonds that usually originate in war zones and are sold in order to finance the war efforts of an invading army against a legitimate and internationally recognised Government. What are they called?
ANS--Conflict diamonds

2. 'Idiots Price Our Devices'! This was one famous comment among the many that were seen on the Internet when this company launched a product nearly three years ago. Demand, however, seems to have soared now. Which product are we referring to? Also, which is the company?
ANS-- iPod (Apple) (The term 'iPod' can be worked out from the comment itself.)

3. M. P. Sharma, Dr Madan Vaidya Mishra and P. L. Agarwal. Why are the three names in the news?
ANS-- They were the witnesses for Priyamvada's will

4. This bank was established in Lahore in 1943 by Rai Bahadur Lala Sohan Lal, who also became its first Chairman. After Partition, the bank's registered office shifted to Amritsar. Its current head office is in New Delhi. Can you name this bank?
ANS-- Oriental Bank of Commerce

5. Easy! Can you name the company set up by Prince Charles in the early 1990s to make organic food products?
ANS-- Duchy Originals

6. Japan's second and fourth biggest banks in terms of assets have agreed to merge. The merged entity will become the world's biggest banking group. Can you name the two banks?
ANS-- Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG) and UFJ Holdings

7. In 1907, Eugene Schueller, a French chemist, developed a hair-colour formula. Two years later, he registered his company as 'Societe Francaise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux.' How do we know it today?

ANS-- L'Oreal

Schedules and Amendments in the Indian Constitution

2006-12-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

Schedules:

Schedules can be added to the constitution by amendment. The twelve schedules in force cover the designations of the States and Union Territories; emoluments for high-level officials; forms of oaths; allocation of the number of seats in the Rajya Sabha (Council of States - the upper house of Parliament) per State or Union Territory; provisions for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (areas and tribes needing special protection due to disadvantageous conditions); provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam; the Union (central government), State, and Concurrent (dual) lists of responsibilities; the official languages; land and tenure reforms; the association of Sikkim with India; anti-defection provisions for Members of Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures; rural development; and urban planning.

Amendments

Methods of Amendment

By simple majority of the Parliament: Amendments in this category can be made by a simple majority of members present and voting, before sending them for the President's assent.

By special majority of the Parliament: Amendments can be made in this category by a two - third majority of the total number of members present and voting, which should not be less than half of the total membership of the house.

By special majority of the Parliament and ratification of at least half of the state legislatures by special majority. After this, it is sent to the President for his assent.

An amendment to the Constitution is an extremely difficult affair, and normally needs at least two-thirds of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to pass it. The Constitution of India is one of the most frequently amended constitutions in the world. The first amendment came only a year after the adoption of the Constitution and instituted numerous minor changes. Many more amendments followed, at a rate of almost two amendments per year since 1950. Many matters that would be dealt with by ordinary statutes in most democracies must be dealt with by constitutional amendment in India due to the document's extraordinary detail. Most of the Constitution can be amended after a quorum of more than half of the members of each house in Parliament passes an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote. Articles pertaining to the distribution of legislative authority between Union and State governments must also be approved by fifty percent of State legislatures.

In 1974, the Supreme Court of India in the landmark case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala enunciated the Basic Structure Doctrine, which expanded the scope of judicial review to include the power to review Constitutional Amendments passed by the Legislature. Using this doctrine, the Supreme Court has struck down the 39th Amendment and parts of the 42nd Amendment as being violative of the Basic Structure of the Constitution. Some noted authors of Constitutional law, such as HM Seervai have argued that this is an usurpation of amending power by the judiciary which was never intended by the framers of the Constitution

There have been a total of 93 amendments to the constitution of India, as of 2006.

Articles

Part I - consists of Articles 1 - 4 on the Union and its Territory

Part II - consists of Articles 5 - 11 on Citizenship.

Part III - consists of Articles 12 - 35 on Fundamental Rights.

Articles 14 - 18 on Right to Equality,

Articles 19 - 22 on Right to Freedom,

Articles 23 - 24 on Right against Exploitation,

Articles 25 - 28 on Right to Freedom of Religion,

Articles 29 - 31 on Cultural and Educational Rights,

Articles 32 - 35 on Right to Constitutional Remedies.

Part IV - consists of Articles 36 - 51 on Directive Principles of State Policy.

Part IV (A) consists of Article 51A - Fundamental Duties of each citizen of India.

Part V - consists of Articles on the Union.

Chapter I - Articles 52 to 78 on The Executive.

Articles 52 - 73 on the President and Vice-President,

Articles 74 - 75 on Council of Ministers,

Articles 76 - Attorney General of India,

Articles 77 - 78 on the Conduct of Government Business

Chapter II - Articles 79 - 122 on Parliament.

Articles 79 - 88 on Constitution of Parliament,

Articles 89 - 98 on Officers of Parliament,

Articles 99 - 100 on Conduct of Business,

Articles 101 - 104 on Disqualification of members,

Articles 105 - 106 on Powers, privileges and Immunities of Parliament and its Members,

Articles 107 - 111 on Legislative Procedure,

Articles 112 - 117 on Procedure in Financial Matters,

Articles 118 - 122 on Procedure Generally.

Chapter III - Article 123 on the Legislative Powers of the President.

Article 123 on Power of president to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament

Chapter IV - Articles 124 - 147 on The Union Judiciary.

Articles 124 - 147 Establishment and Constitution of the Supreme Court

Chapter V - Articles 148 - 151 on the Controller and Auditor-General of India.

Articles 148 - 151 on Duties and powers of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Part VI - Articles on the States.

Chapter I - Article 152 on the General definition of a State of the Union of India

Article 152 - Exclusion of the state of Jammu and Kashmir from the general definition of a state of the Union of India.

Chapter II - Articles 153 - 167 on The Executive

Articles 153 - 162 on The Governor,

Articles 163 - 164 on The Council of Ministers,

Article 165 on the Advocate-General for the State.

Articles 166 - 167 on the Conduct of Government Business.

Chapter III - Articles 168 - 212 on The State Legislature.

Articles 168 - 177 General

Articles 178 - 187 on the Officers of the State Legislature,

Articles 188 - 189 on Conduct of Business,

Articles 190 - 193 on Disqualification of members,

Articles 194 - 195 on Powers, Privileges and Immunities Parliament and its Members,

Articles 196 - 201 on Legislative Procedure,

Articles 202 - 207 on Procedure in Financial Matters,

Articles 208 - 212 on Procedure Generally.

Chapter IV - Article 213 on the Legislative Powers of the Governor

Article 213 - Power of governer to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Assembly of state.

Chapter V - Articles 214 - 231 on The High Courts in the States.

Articles 214 - 231 on High Courts in the States,

Chapter VI - Articles 233 - 237 on the Subordinate Courts

Articles 232 - 237 on Subordinate Courts

Part VII - consists of Articles on States in the B part of the First schedule.

Article 238 Repealed, Replaced by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch.

Part VIII - consists of Articles on The Union Territories

Articles 239 - 242 Administration, creation of Council of Ministers and High Courts

Part IX - consists of Articles on the Panchayat system.

Articles 243 - 243O on the Gram Sabha and Panchayat system

Part IXA - consists of Articles on Municipalties.

Articles 243P - 243ZG on Municipalties

Part X - consists of Articles on the scheduled and Tribal Areas

Articles 244 - 244A on Administration, creation of Council of Ministers, and legislatures.

Part XI - consists of Articles on Relations between the Union and the States.

Chapter I - Articles 245 - 255 on the Distribution of Legislative Powers

Articles 245 - 255 on Distribution of Legislative Relations

Chapter II - Articles 256 - 263 on Administrative Relations

Articles 256 - 261 - General

Article 262 - on Disputes relating to waters.

Article 263 - on Co-ordination between States

Part XII - consists of Articles on Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits

Chapter I - Articles 264 - 291 on Finance

Articles 264 - 267 General

Articles 268 - 281 on Distribution Revenues between the Union and the States

Articles 282 - 291 on Miscellaneous Financial Provisions

Chapter II - Articles 292 - 293 on Borrowing

Articles 292 - 293 on Borrowing by States

Chapter III - Articles 294 - 300 on Property, Contracts, Right, Liabilities, Obligations and Suits

Articles 294 - 300 on Succession to property assets, liabilities, and obligations.

Chapter IV - Article 300A on the Right to Property

Article 300A - on Persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law

Part XIII - consists of Articles on Trade and Commerce within the territory of India

Articles 301 - 305 on Freedom of Trade and Commerce, and the power of Parliament and States to impose restrictions on the same

Article 306 - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch.

Article 307 - Appointment of authority for carrying out the purposes of articles 301 to 304.

Part XIV - consists of Articles on Services Under the Union and the States

Chapter I - Articles 308 - 314 on Services

Articles 308 - 313 on Services

Article 314 - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1972, s. 3 (w.e.f. 29-8-1972).

Chapter II - Articles 315 - 323 on the Public Service Commissions

Articles 315 - 323 on Public Service Commissions

Part XIVA - consists of Articles on Tribunals

Articles 323 A - 323 B

Part XV - consists of Articles on Elections

Articles 324 - 329 on Elections

Article 329A - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 36 (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).

Part XVI - consists of Articles on Special Provisions Relating to certain Classes

Articles 330 - 342 on Reservations

Part XVII - consists of Articles on Official Language

Chapter I - Articles 343 - 344 on Language of the Union

Articles 343 - 344 Official Language of the Union

Chapter II - Articles 345 - 347 on Regional Languages

Articles 345 - 347 on Language of the State

Chapter III - Articles 348 - 349 on Language of the Supreme Court, High courts, Etc

Articles 348 - 349 on Language used in Supreme Court, High courts Etc

Chapter IV - Articles 350 - 351 on Special Directives

Article 350 - on Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances.

Article 350A - on Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage.

Article 350B - on provision for Special Officer for linguistic minorities.

Article 351 - on Directive for development of the Hindi language.

Part XVIII - consists of Articles on Emergency Provisions

Articles 352 - 359 on Emergency Provisions

Article 359A - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Sixty-third Amendment) Act, 1989, s. 3
(w.e.f. 6-1-1990).

Article 360 - on Provisions as to financial emergency.

Part XIX - Miscellaneous

Articles 361 - 361A - Miscellaneous

Article 362 - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971, s. 2.

Articles 363 - 367 - Miscellaneous

Part XX - consists of Articles on Amendment of the Constitution

Articles 368 on the Power of parliament to amend the constitution and procedure therefor

Part XXI - consists of Articles on Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions

Articles 369 - 378A on Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions

Article 379 - 391 - Repealed - Replaced by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956,
s. 29 and Sch.

Article 392 - on the Power of the President to remove difficulties.

Part XXII consists of Articles on short title, date of commencement, Authoritative text in Hindi and Repeals.

Articles 393 - 395 Commencement, authoritative text in Hindi and repeals

Preamble of the constitution of India

2006-12-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

Preamble

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

The preamble is not a part of the Constitution of India as it is not enforceable in a court of law. However, the Supreme Court has, in the case of 'Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala', recognized that the Preamble is a part of the Constitution and may be used to interpret ambiguous areas of the Constitution where differing interpretations present themselves. However, the Preamble is useful as an interpretive tool only if there is an ambiguity in the article itself and should not be treated as a rights bestowing part of the Constitution.

An interesting side note concerns the words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR in the preamble. The original drafting used the words "SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC". The two additional words "SOCIALIST" and SECULAR were introduced by the controversial 42nd amendment. The amendment was pushed through by Indira Gandhi in 1976, when she had dictatorial powers. A committee under the chairmanship of Sardar Swaran Singh recommended that this amendment be enacted after being constituted to study the question of amending the constitution in the light of past experience.

The importance of the Preamble

The wording of the Preamble highlights some of the fundamental values and guiding principles on which the Constitution of India is based. The Preamble serves as a guiding light for the Constitution and judges interpret the Constitution in its light. In a majority of decisions, the Supreme Court of India has held that the objectives specified in the preamble constitute the basic structure of the Indian Constitution, which cannot be amended. Though the Preamble is a part of the constitution still it nor any of its content is legally enforcible.
The first words of the Preamble - "We, the people" - signifies that power is ultimately vested in the hands of the people of India. The Preamble lays down the most important national goals which every citizen and the government must try to achieve, such as socialism, secularism and national integration. Lastly, it lays down the date for the adoption of the Constitution - 26 November 1949.

Explanation of some of the important words in the Preamble

Sovereign
The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern the people.

Socialist

The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context means the absence of discrimination on the grounds of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, language, etc. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic equality in this context means that the government will endeavour to make the distribution of wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all. This is in effect emphasizing a commitment towards the formation of a welfare state.

India has adopted a mixed economy and the government has framed many laws to achieve the aim of social equality, such as the Abolition of Untouchability and Zamindari, the Equal Wages Act, Bonded Labour Abolition Act and the Child Labour Prohibition Act.

Secular

The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd amendment act of 1976. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. India, therefore does not have an official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practise and propagate any religion they choose. The government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. It must treat all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government or government-aided schools. The Supreme Court in S.R Bommai v. Union of India held that secularism was an integral part of the basic structure of the constitution.

Democratic

India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal adult franchise. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.

Republic

As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or until he abdicates from the throne, a democratic republic is an entity in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly, for a fixed tenure. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years.The Post of the President Of India is not hereditary.Every citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.

Features of The constitution of India

2006-12-29T05:42:00.000-08:00

The Constitution of India draws extensively from Western legal traditions in its enunciation of the principles of liberal democracy. It is distinguished from many Western constitutions, however, in its elaboration of principles reflecting aspirations to end the inequities of traditional social relations and enhance the social welfare of the population. According to constitutional scholar Granville Austin, probably no other nation's constitution "has provided so much impetus toward changing and rebuilding society for the common good." Since its enactment, the constitution has fostered a steady concentration of power in the hands of the central government - especially the Office of the Prime Minister. This centralization has occurred in the face of the increasing assertiveness of an array of ethnic and caste groups across Indian society. Increasingly, the government has responded to the resulting tensions by resorting to the formidable array of authoritarian powers provided by the Constitution. However, a new assertiveness shown by the Supreme Court and the Election Commission suggests that the remaining checks and balances among the country's political institutions are resilient and capable of supporting Indian democracy. Furthermore regional parties are gaining popularity at the expense of national parties which has led to coalition governments at the centre. As a consequence, power is becoming more decentralised.

The Constitution in its final form owes much to a number of different principles from various other Constitutions. The general structure of the Constitution's democratic framework was largely the work of B. N. Rau, a constitutional scholar of international standing. Supporters of independent India's founding father, Mohandas K. Gandhi, backed measures that would form a decentralized polity with strong local government — known as panchayat — in a system known as Panchayati Raj, i.e. rule by Panchayats. However, the view of more modernist leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, ultimately prevailed leading to the establishment of a parliamentary system of government and a federal system with a strong central government.

Features of the Indian Constitution adapted from other Constitutions

British Constitution
Parliamentary form of government
The idea of single citizenship
The idea of the Rule of law
Institution of Speaker and his role
Lawmaking procedure
Procedure established by Law u/a 13

United States Constitution
Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is similar to the United States Bill of Rights
Federal structure of government
Power of Judicial Review and independence of the judiciary
President as supreme commander of armed forces u/a 52
Due process of law u/a 13

Irish Constitution
Constitutional enunciation of the directive principles of state policy

French Constitution
Ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

Canadian Constitution
A quasi-federal form of government (a federal system with a strong central government)
The idea of Residual Powers

Australian Constitution
The idea of the Concurrent list
Freedom of trade and commerce within the country and between the states

Soviet Constitution
Fundamental Rights and Directive principles of India

Japan Constitution
Fundamental Duties u/a 51-A

Weimar Constitution
Emergency Provision u/a 356

Constitution of India

2006-12-29T05:35:00.000-08:00

This is one topic covered extensively in all prominent Competitive examinations so lets have a sneek peak at the important points:

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India was passed by the Constituent Assembly of India on November 26, 1949, and came into effect on January 26, 1950. India celebrates January 26 each year as Republic Day. It is the longest written constitution of any independent nation in the world, containing 444 articles and 12 schedules, as well as numerous amendments, for a total of 117,369 words in the English language version.

The importance of the Constitution

The Constitution lays down the basic structure of government under which the people are to be governed. It establishes the main organs of government - the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The Constitution not only defines the powers of each organ, but also demarcates their responsibilities. It regulates the relationship between the different organs and between the government and the people.
The Constitution is superior to all other laws of the country. Every law enacted by the government has to be in conformity with the Constitution. The Constitution lays down the national goals of India - Democracy, Socialism, Secularism and National Integration. It also spells out the rights and duties of citizens.
The Constitution applies to the State of Jammu and Kashmir with certain exceptions and modifications as provided in article 370 (which is a temporary provision) and the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954

History

The Cabinet Mission

World War II in Europe came to an end on May 9, 1945. In July, a new government came to power in the United Kingdom. The new British government announced its Indian Policy and decided to convene a constitution drafting body. Three British cabinet ministers were sent to find a solution to the question of India's independence. This team of ministers was called the Cabinet Mission.
The Cabinet Mission discussed the framework of the constitution and laid down in some detail the procedure to be followed by the constitution drafting body. Elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by July-August 1946. With the independence of India on August 15, 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a fully sovereign body. The Assembly began work on 9 December 1947.

The Constituent Assembly

The people of India elected the members of the provincial assemblies, who in turn elected the members of the Constituent Assembly.
The Constituent Assembly had members belonging to different communities and regions of India. It also had members representing different political persuasions. Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were some important figures in the Assembly's discussions. There were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. The Anglo-Indian community was represented by Frank Anthony and the Parsis were represented by H.P. Modi. The Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Constitutional experts like Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyer, B.R. Ambedkar, B.N. Rau and K.M. Munshi were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu and Vijaylakshmi Pandit were important women members.
Dr. Sachidanand Sinha was the first president of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr.Rajendra Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly while B.R. Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
The Constituent Assembly met for 166 days, spread over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 18 days. Its sessions were open to the press and the public.

Objectives Resolution

The underlying principles of the Constitution were laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru in his Objectives Resolution:
India is an Independent, Sovereign, Republic;
India shall be a Union of erstwhile British Indian territories, Indian States, and other parts outside British India and Indian States as are willing to be a part of the Union;
Territories forming the Union shall be autonomous units and exercise all powers and functions of the Government and administration, except those assigned to or vested in the Union;
All powers and authority of sovereign and independent India and its constitution shall flow from the people;
All people of India shall be guaranteed and secured social, economic and political justice; equality of status and opportunities before law; and fundamental freedoms - of talk, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action - subject to law and public morality;
The minorities, backward and tribal areas, depressed and other backward classes, shall be provided adequate safeguards;
The territorial integrity of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air shall be maintained according to justice and law of civilized nations;
The land would make full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and welfare of mankind.

The Forbes Fictional 15

2006-12-29T05:09:00.000-08:00

The rich may be different than you and me--but not nearly as different as the characters that comprise the Forbes Fictional 15, the annual listing of fiction's very wealthiest. This year's selections includes a duck, a wizard, a Nigerian prince and even a plumber. Aggregate (fictional) net worth? $111 billion. The biggest change to this year's list comes at the very top. For the first time in the Fictional 15's history, Santa Claus has been unseated from the number-one spot, replaced by defense contractor Oliver ''Daddy'' Warbucks.

1 Warbucks, Oliver "Daddy"

2 Burns, Charles Montgomery

3 McDuck, Scrooge

4 Rich, Richie

5 Clampett, Jed

6 Monopoly, Mr.

7 Wayne, Bruce

8 Stark, Anthony

9 Prince Abakaliki of Nigeria

10 Howell, Thurston III

11 Wonka, Willy

12 Malfoy, Lucius

13 Montana, Tony

14 Croft, Lara

15 Mario

India's 40 Richest (Rankwise with industry backgrounds)

2006-12-29T03:22:00.000-08:00

1 Lakshmi Mittal from the Steel Industry

2 Mukesh Ambani from a diversified base

3 Anil Ambani from a diversified base

4 Azim Premji from the Software Industry

5 Kushal Pal Singh from Real estate

6 Sunil Mittal from the Telecom Industry

7 Kumar Birla from the Commodities industry

8 Tulsi Tanti from the Wind energy Industry

9 Ramesh Chandra fromReal estate

10 Pallonji Mistry from the Construction Industry

11 Anil Agarwal from the Mining Industry

12 Shashi & Ravi Ruia from a diversified base

13 Adi Godrej from a Diversified Base

14 Shiv Nadar from Technology Industry

15 Indu Jain from the Media Industry

16 Dilip Shanghvi from the Pharma Industry

17 Rahul Bajaj from the Manufacturing Industry

18 Grandhi Rao from the Infrastructure Industry

19 Baba Kalyani from the Manufacturing Industry

20 Kalanithi Maran From Media Industry

21 Savitri Jindal from the Steel Industry

22 Yusuf Hamied from the Pharma Industry

23 Subhash Chandra from Media Industry

24 Malvinder & Shivinder Singh from the Pharma Industry

25 Vivek Burman from the Consumer goods Industry

26 Venugopal Dhoot from the Electronics Industry

27 Uday Kotak from the Banking Industry

28 N.R. Narayana Murthy from Software Industry

29 Anurag Dikshit from the Online gaming Industry

30 Jaiprakash Gaur from Construction Industry

31 Vijay Mallya from the Liquor Industry

32 Rajan Raheja from a Diversified base

33 Nandan Nilekani From the Software Industry

34 Senapathy Gopalakrishnan from Software Industry

35 Brijmohan Lall Munjal from Manufacturing Industry

36 Naresh Goyal from Airlines industry

37 Keshub Mahindra from the Manufacturing Industry

38 Jignesh Shah From Finance Industry

39 Habil Khorakiwala From Pharma Industry

40 K. Dinesh From Software Industry

Forbes Top 20 Brands Rankwise

2006-12-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

1 Apple : Over 400 million songs have been purchased at the iTunes store.

2 BlackBerry: Users average a 53-minute-a-day productivity gain, says Research in Motion.

3 Google: World's largest search engine sorts through 8 billion Web pages.

4 Amazon.com: New service lets users pay $79 annually for unlimited shipping.

5 Yahoo: New online music subscription service gives access to 1 million songs.

6 Ebay: 150 million users are registered at the online auction site.

7 Red Bull: Sponsors extreme-sports athletes and parties on college campuses.

8 Starbucks: Opened four stores a day on average in 2004.

9 Pixar: The Incredibles is the bestselling DVD of 2005 to date.

10 Coach: Business in Japan now accounts for 22% of company sales.

11 Whole Foods: Stores generate $800 per square foot annually, twice the industry norm.

12 EA Sports/Games: Product franchises have reached 1 million unit sales worldwide.

13 MTV: Network's 100th channel broadcasts to 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Samsung: Employs more than 24,000 researchers at 17 R&D centers worldwide.

15 Victoria's Secret: Catalog and online sales generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2004.

16 Nike: Future endorsement contract obligations total $1.7 billion.

17 Toyota: Camry was the bestselling passenger vehicle in U.S. seven of past eight years.

18 Formula One: Budgets for this sport's top teams exceed $250 million a year.

19 ESPN: Has more than 5,000 hours of original programming a year.

20 Harley-Davidson: Company's 100-year-anniversary events in 2003 drew 1 million people.

Sources: Vivaldi Partners (Jeffrey Parkhurst, David Ferreira, Andre Kursancew); Forbes.

The Worlds Top 50 Richest People

2006-12-29T02:25:00.000-08:00

Rank and Names

1 William Gates III from The United States

2 Warren Buffett from The United States

3 Carlos Slim Helu from Mexico

4 Ingvar Kamprad From Sweden

5 Lakshmi Mittal from India

6 Paul Allen from United States

7 Bernard Arnault from France

8 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud from Saudi Arabia

9 Kenneth Thomson & family from Canada

10 Li Ka-shing from Hong Kong

11 Roman Abramovich from Russia

12 Michael Dell from United States

13 Karl Albrecht from Germany

14 Sheldon Adelson from United States

15 Liliane Bettencourt from France

15 Lawrence Ellison from United States

17 Christy Walton from United States

17 Jim Walton from United States

19 S Robson Walton from United States

20 Alice Walton from United States

21 Helen Walton from United States

22 Theo Albrecht from Germany

23 Amancio Ortega from Spain

24 Steven Ballmer from United States

25 Azim Premji from India

26 Sergey Brin from United States

27 Larry Page from United States

28 Abigail Johnson from United States

29 Nasser Al-Kharafi & family from Kuwait

29 Barbara Cox Anthony from United States

29 Anne Cox Chambers from United States

32 Stefan Persson from Sweden

33 Charles Koch from United States

33 David Koch from United States

35 Raymond, Thomas & Walter Kwok from Hong Kong

36 Adolf Merckle from Germany

37 Sulaiman Bin Abdul Al Rajhi from Saudi Arabia

37 Vagit Alekperov from Russia

37 Silvio Berlusconi from Italy

37 Lee Shau Kee from Hong Kong

41 Vladimir Lisin from Russia

42 Michael Otto & family from Germany

43 Pierre Omidyar from United States

44 Leonardo Del Vecchio from Italy

44 Michele Ferrero & family from Italy

44 Forrest Mars Jr from United States

44 Jacqueline Mars United States

44 John Mars from United States

44 Viktor Vekselberg from Russia

50 Mikhail Fridman from Russia

Top 100 Celebreties by Forbes

2006-12-29T02:05:00.001-08:00

The Celebrity 100

1. Tom Cruise
2. Rolling Stones
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. U2
5. Tiger Woods
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Howard Stern
8. 50 Cent
9. Cast of The Sopranos
10. Dan Brown
11. Bruce Springsteen
12. Donald Trump
13. Muhammad Ali
14. Paul McCartney
15. George Lucas
16. Elton John
17. David Letterman
18. Phil Mickelson
19. J.K. Rowling
20. Brad Pitt
21. Peter Jackson
22. Dr. Phil McGraw
23. Jay Leno
24. Celine Dion
25. Kobe Bryant
26. Michael Jordan
27. Johnny Depp
28. Jerry Seinfeld
29. Simon Cowell
30. Michael Schumacher
31. Tom Hanks
32. Rush Limbaugh
33. Denzel Washington
34. Cast of Desperate Housewives
35. Jennifer Aniston
35. Angelina Jolie
37. The Olsen Twins
38. Nicole Kidman
39. The Eagles
40. Rod Stewart
41. Shaquille O'Neal
42. Jerry Bruckheimer
43. David Beckham
44. Jessica Simpson
45. Andrew Lloyd Webber
46. LeBron James
47. Neil Diamond
48. Alex Rodriguez
49. Will Smith
50. Dick Wolf
51. Dave Matthews Band
52. Tom Brady
53. Ronaldinho
54. Jodie Foster
55. Ray Romano
56. Paris Hilton
57. Adam Sandler
58. Derek Jeter
59. Jennifer Lopez
60. Rick Warren
61. Scarlett Johansson
62. Katie Couric
63. Maria Sharapova
64. Valentino Rossi
65. Halle Berry
66. James Patterson
67. Leonardo DiCaprio
68. Kiefer Sutherland
69. Jim Carrey
70. Cameron Diaz
71. Gisele Bundchen
72. Renee Zellweger
73. Carson Palmer
74. Michelle Wie
75. Reese Witherspoon
76. Bill O'Reilly
77. Kate Moss
78. Diane Sawyer
79. Sean (Diddy) Combs
80. John Grisham
81. Rachael Ray
82. Dave Chappelle
83. Larry the Cable Guy
84. Tyra Banks
85. George Lopez
86. Regis Philbin
87. Serena Williams
88. Ryan Seacrest
89. Wolfgang Puck
90. Venus Williams
91. Annika Sorenstam
92. Matthew Broderick/ Nathan Lane
93. Mel Brooks
94. Emeril Lagasse
95. Nicole Richie
96. Heidi Klum
97. Mario Batali
98. Eric Idle/ Mike Nichols
99. Adriana Lima
100. Ty Pennington

Top 100 Celebreties by Forbes

2006-12-29T02:05:00.000-08:00

The Celebrity 100

1. Tom Cruise
2. Rolling Stones
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. U2
5. Tiger Woods
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Howard Stern
8. 50 Cent
9. Cast of the Sopranos
10. Dan Brown
11. Bruce Springsteen
12. Donald Trump
13. Muhammad Ali
14. Paul McCartney
15. George Lucas
16. Elton John
17. David Letterman
18. Phil Mickelson
19. J.K. Rowling
20. Brad Pitt
21. Peter Jackson
22. Dr. Phil McGraw
23. Jay Leno
24. Celine Dion
25. Kobe Bryant
26. Michael Jordan
27. Johnny Depp
28. Jerry Seinfeld
29. Simon Cowell
30. Michael Schumacher
31. Tom Hanks
32. Rush Limbaugh
33. Denzel Washington
34. Cast of Desperate Housewives
35. Jennifer Aniston
35. Angelina Jolie
37. The Olsen Twins
38. Nicole Kidman
39. The Eagles
40. Rod Stewart
41. Shaquille O'Neal
42. Jerry Bruckheimer
43. David Beckham
44. Jessica Simpson
45. Andrew Lloyd Webber
46. LeBron James
47. Neil Diamond
48. Alex Rodriguez
49. Will Smith
50. Dick Wolf
51. Dave Matthews Band
52. Tom Brady
53. Ronaldinho
54. Jodie Foster
55. Ray Romano
56. Paris Hilton
57. Adam Sandler
58. Derek Jeter
59. Jennifer Lopez
60. Rick Warren
61. Scarlett Johansson
62. Katie Couric
63. Maria Sharapova
64. Valentino Rossi
65. Halle Berry
66. James Patterson
67. Leonardo DiCaprio
68. Kiefer Sutherland
69. Jim Carrey
70. Cameron Diaz
71. Gisele Bundchen
72. Renee Zellweger
73. Carson Palmer
74. Michelle Wie
75. Reese Witherspoon
76. Bill O'Reilly
77. Kate Moss
78. Diane Sawyer
79. Sean (Diddy) Combs
80. John Grisham
81. Rachael Ray
82. Dave Chappelle
83. Larry the Cable Guy
84. Tyra Banks
85. George Lopez
86. Regis Philbin
87. Serena Williams
88. Ryan Seacrest
89. Wolfgang Puck
90. Venus Williams
91. Annika Sorenstam
92. Matthew Broderick/ Nathan Lane
93. Mel Brooks
94. Emeril Lagasse
95. Nicole Richie
96. Heidi Klum
97. Mario Batali
98. Eric Idle/ Mike Nichols
99. Adriana Lima
100. Ty Pennington

Quiz VIII

2006-12-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here go the answers to Quiz 7.. New participant Mazhar has got 40 of the 44right. Great work!!

01. 3
02. 2
03. 4
04. 1
05. 2
06. 2
07. 4
08. 2
09. 4
10. 4
11. 2
12. 3
13. 2
14. 2
15. 1
16. 3
17. 2
18. 3
19. 1
20. 2
21. 3
22. 1
23. 4
24. 2
25. 2
26. 2
27. 1
28. 1
29. 4
30. 2
31. 2
32. 4
33. 2
34. 3
35. 4
36. 2
37. 4
38. 3
39. 1
40. 2
41. 2
42. 4
43. 3
44. 1

And now the quiz for this week...

1. The “Mundas” are a tribe in
1. Madhya Pradesh
2. Bihar
3. Rajasthan
4. Orissa

2. The Mahakali River Project is located in
1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Uttar Pradesh
4. Nepal

3. The Lead Bank Scheme was recommended by the
1. Gadgil Group
2. Kamraj Plan
3. Wanchoo Committee
4. None of these

4. Which among the following operate as lenders in the Call Money Market?

A. NABARD
B. RBI
C. GIC
D. UTI

1. A and B
2. A, C and D
3. A, B and D
4. A, B, C and D

5. After the policy of liberalization came into effect, the first bank to be set up in the private sector under it was
1. IndusInd Bank
2. Citi Bank
3. UTI Bank
4. Bank of Punjab

6. Rupali Ramdass is related to which of the following sports?
1. Badminton
2. Volleyball
3. Hockey
4. Swimming

7. The longest-running train in India is named ________ and connects _________.
1. Himsagar Express, Jammu-Kanyakumari
2. Kanyakumari Express, Udhampur-Kanyakumari
3. Mangalore Express, Goa - Mangalore
4. Rajdhani Express, Delhi-Guwahati

8. The Human Development Index Report is issued every year by the
1. UNO
2. WHO
3. ILO
4. UNDP

9. The only state in India where females outnumber males is
1. Kerala
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Manipur
4. West Bengal

10. The National Renewal Fund was created with a view to
1. Providing assistance to chronically sick industrial units.
2. Providing retraining to those retiring under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.
3. Providing social benefits to the elderly.
4. Providing financial assistance to poor farmers for up gradation of farm equipment.

11. In case of nuclear fission, the energy is released as
1. Light
2. Heat
3. Chemical energy
4. Mechanical energy

12. Mahashweta Devi, recipient of the Jnanpith Award, writes in
1. Oriya
2. Malayalam
3. Tamil
4. Bengali

13. The Mopillahs led a massive tribal movement against the British rule during the freedom
struggle in
1. Kerala
2. Tamilnadu
3. Bengal
4. Bihar

14. The Earth is approximately
1. 8.5 billion years old
2. 4.5 billion years old
3. 2.6 billion years old
4. 15.5 billion years old

15. The most important food crop in India is
1. Wheat
2. Rice
3. Barley
4. None of these

16. The Sangam literature was written in
1. Hindi
2. Sanskrit
3. Tamil
4. Telugu

17. The famous book Rajatarangini describes the history of the rulers of
1. Assam
2. Tamilnadu
3. Kashmir
4. Rajasthan

18. Match the following :
Scripture Subject

I. Rig Veda A. Musical hymns
II. Yajur Veda B. Hymns and rituals
III. Sama Veda C. Charms and spells
IV. Atharva Veda D. Hymns and prayers

1. I -D, II-B, III-A, IV-C
2. I- C, II -B, III - D, IV- A
3. I-D, II-A, III-B, IV-C
4. I-B, II-C III-A, IV-D

19. Brihattsamhita is an ancient encyclopaedic work by
1. Vrahimir
2. Harisen
3. Banabhatta
4. Kautilya

20. The writing of Panchatantra is attributed to
1. Kalidasa
2. Vishnu Sharma
3. Bhartrihari
4. Banabhatta

21. The author of “A Town Called Malgudi” is
1. Mulk Raj Anand
2. RK Narayan
3. Salman Rushdie
4. Khushwant Singh

22. Who is the author of Ashtadhyai ?
1. Charak
2. Aryabhatta
3. Vishnu Sharma
4. Panini

23. ‘Ad Valorem’ means
1. according to value
2. according to excise rules
3. according to old rules
4. according to new rules

24. ‘James Bond’ was created by
1. Desmond Bagley
2. Agatha Christie
3. Ian Fleming
4. Eric Stanley Gardner

25. “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts”. was said by
1. P. B. Shelley
2. Shakesphere
3. Wordworth
4. Keats

26. “ Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains”, was said by:
1. Thomas Hardy
2. Shakespeare
3. Jean Jacques Rousseau
4. None of these

27. The real names and ‘pen’ names (nom de plume) of four important authors are given below which one is not correct?

Pen name Real name

1. Ghalib Sadullah Beg Khan
2. Firaq Gorakhpuri Ragunath Srivastava
3. Agyeya S.H. Vatsyayan
4. Prem Chand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava

28. Matriachial family is found among the
1. Khasis
2. Coorgs
3. Nambudiris
4. Ray Gonds

29. “Glasnost” is
1. a new kind of glass developed by Germans
2. a new kind of fibre glass developed by USSR
3. the policy of openness followed by M. Gorbachev
4. the new space station of Soviet Union

30. North- South Dialogue means talks between
1. North America and South America
2. Western countries and Asian countries
3. Developed countries and developing countries
4. Second and third world countries.

31. “Operation Flood” deals with
1. linking of Ganga and Cauvery rivers
2. control of floods in North India.
3. the dairy development programme.
4. the provision of drinking water to all.

32. Which of the following is a computer term?
1. ROM
2. SVP
3. TNT
4. NTP

33. Which one of the following is an example of consumers good?
1. Cloth
2. Machines
3. Equipment
4. Tools

34 ‘Sarvodaya’ movement was started by
1. Mahatma Gandhi
2. Jayaprakash Narayan
3. Vinoba Bhave
4. Jawaharlal Nehru

35. ‘Ergonomics’ is the science of
1. economics of labour
2. soil and crop
3. efficiency of workers
4. form of living organisation.

36. ‘White Paper’ is a
1. paper of good quality.
2. paper having white colour
3. document published by the Indian Government on matters of national importance.
4. paper used for bearer bonds

37. Which of the following is an example of an economic cartel?
1. WTO
2. SAFTA
3. OPEC
4. EU

38. ‘Hydroponics’ means
1. cultivation of plants without the use of soil
2. detection of sound in water
3. animals living in water
4. a Japanese way of flowering.

39. ‘Amnesia’ refers to
1. loss of appetite
2. loss of memory
3. loss of sight
4. loss of sense of touch

40. Which of the following is/ are correctly matched?
I. Chandershekhar Azad - Naujwan Bharat Sabha
II. Mahadev Govind Ranade-- Brahmo Samaj
III. Swami Vivekanand-- Ramakrishna Mission

1. I, II and III
2. I, and III
3. I only
4. III only

Quiz VII - update

2006-12-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

Kudo's to Errol for getting all 44 correct!! Aniket has 22 right!! so lets see who else competes with Errol.. Send in your answers latest by Sat 5pm to mesmeric.angel@gmail.com

Quiz VII

2006-12-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!! Am back with the answers to Last weeks Quiz.. And since SNAP is now over and XAT does not have the usual GK section, The occurance of the Quiz will be a weekly. Other updates will be posted post XAT. ( :P I have to give my best shot there too)

Answers can be mailed at mesmeric.angel@gmail.com

And now the answers to last weeks Quiz VI

01. 4
02. 2
03.3
04. 1
05. 2
06. 1
07. 1
08. 1
09. 3
10. 2
11. 3
12. 1
13.4
14. 2
15. 1
16. 2
17. 2
18. 2
19. 1
20. 4
21. 3
22. 2
23. 3
24. 4
25. 2
26. 2
27. 3
28. 4
29. 3
30. 3
31. 3
32. 2
33. 3
34. 2
35. 1
36. 2
37. 2
38. 2
39. 4
40. 1
41. 2
42. 1
43. 2
44. 4
45. 1
46. 2
47. 1

1. SPICMACY is an organization devoted to

1. Social work

2. Animal welfare

3. Popularization of classical arts in India

4. Promotion of cricket

2. Colour-blindness is most commonly the inability to distinguish between

1. Blue and red colours

2. Red and green colours

3. Black and white colours

4. Green and blue colours

3. A patient suffering from scurvy might be advised, apart from medication, a diet rich in

1. Vitamin A

2. Vitamin D

3. Vitamin B

4. Vitamin C

4. At present, the maximum share of the Gross National Product of India comes from

1. Services

2. Agriculture

3. Manufacturing

4. None of these

5. Who is called the “wisest fool” in Indian history?

1. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

2. Mohd. Tughlaq

3. Feroz Tughlaq

4. Aurangzab

6. “Gora” and “Post-Office” are two famous novels/stories written by

1. Munshi Prem Chand

2. Rabindernath Tagore

3. Amrit Lal Nagar

4. Harivansh Rai Bachchan

7. “Psephology” is a discipline concerned with

1. The study of caves

2. The study of hair

3. The study of grasses

4. The study of election – trends

8. The name given to the latest element is

1. Actinium

2. Seaborgium

3. Ranchanum

4. Cesium

9. The Lok Sabha has _____ powers as compared to the Rajya Sabha in case of money bills

1. Constantly changing

2. Equal

3. Lesser

4. More

10. “The Dayton Accord” is related to the

1. Agreement regarding Israel-PLO problem

2. Jordan-Syria problem

3. Somalia problem

4. Bosnia – Herzegovina problem

11. You prefer wearing white- coloured clothing in the summer season. You do so because

1. White clothes absorb most of the radiations

2. White clothes reflect most of the radiations

3. It is pleasant to look at.

4. None of these

12. A Supreme Court Judge can be removed from his office

1. By the government at its will

2. By the President’s order

3. Only by means of an impeachment motion passed in both Houses of Parliament

4. By the Loksabha

13. “Sonalika” is a variety of

1. Rice

2. Wheat

3. Mango

4. Gram

14. “Unigauge” is a project meant to

1. Convert all the broadgauge lines to narrow ones.

2. Convert the narrow gauge lines to broadgauge lines.

3. Introduce a uniform system of reservation for railway tickets

4. Streamline the goods traffic on railways.

15. Identify the correct pair:

1. Jadugoda : Uranium

2. Jharia : Iron

3. Goa: Gold

4. Tripura : Mica

16. Which among the following was the real name of Munshi Prem Chand?

1. Raghupati Sahai

2. Sachidanad Hiranand

3. Dhanpat Rai

4. Hori Lal

17. The first Secretary-General of the U.N.O was

1. Dag Hammerskjold

2. Trygve Lie

3. Perez De Ceullar

4. Rex Roberts

18. Which of the following constitutional amendments is referred to as the “mini-constitution?

1. 44th

2. 48th

3. 42nd

4. 24th

19. Kazi Nazrul Islam was a fiercely patriotic poet who wrote in

1. Bengali

2. Urdu

3. Hindi

4. Tamil

20. If an automobile is of 1000cc capacity, it implies that

1. Its fuel-holding capacity is 10 times that

2. The volume of its cylinder equals that

3. The volume of exhaust gasses per minute equals that

4. None of these

21. “Triticale” is the first man-made variety of

1. Rice

2. Maize

3. Wheat

4. Sheep

22. The Central Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Institute, is in

1. Srinagar

2. Jammu

3. Lucknow

4. Nainital

23. The common lead pencils are made of

1. Lead

2. Charcoal

3. Asphalt

4. Graphite

24. The Santhals are predominantly found in

1. Bihar

2. M.P.

3. Orissa

4. North-East

25. “The Lady with the Lamp” is an epithet used to refer to

1. Joan of Arc

2. Florence Nightingale

3. Mother Teresa

4. Annie Besant

26. A person can move a court if his fundamental rights are infringed in all of the following cases except when

1. His right to speech is violated

2. His right to property is violated

3. His right to equal treatment before law is violated

4. His right to religious freedom is violated

27. Penguin is the only animal found in the

1. Antarctica

2. Arctic region

3. African Desert

4. None of these

28. Kerosene rises up a lamp-wick due to

1. Capillary action

2. Vacuum in the upper region

3. Lightness of kerosene

4. None of these

29. The ancient classic “Kamasutra” was authored by

1. Panini

2. Patanjli

3. Kalidasa

4. Vatsyayana

30. The 1-rupee note bears the signature of

1. Governor, RBI

2. Secretary-Finance Ministry

3. Minister of Finance

4. Deputy Governor, RBI

31. “Top Quark” is a

1. New chemical compound for cancer treatment

2. The latest fundamental particle discovered at the Fermi Accelerator Labs.

3. New movie based on the 2nd world war.

4. None of these

32. The Indian Institute of Forestry Management is at

1. Gauhati

2. Dehradun

3. Darjeeling

4. Bhopal

33. The required ratio of forest cover to total land area for maintaining ecological balance should be

1. 1:4

2. 1:3

3. 1:5

4. 1:2

34. “Roof of the World” is the title given to

1. The Rockies

2. The Andies

3. The Pamirs

4. None of these

35. Which freedom fighter died after 64 days of fasting in jail?

1. SN Sanyal

2. BC Vohra

3. Ras Behari Bose

4. Jatin Dass

36. “The Cripps Officer is like a post-dated cheque on a crashing bank”. Who said it?

1. JL Nehru

2. MK Gandhi

3. Vallabh Bhai Patel

4. Stafford Cripps

37. The mirage in a desert during hot summers is an example of

1. Interference

2. Diffraction

3. Reflection

4. Total Internal Reflection

38. Chepauk Stadium is a famous landmark in

1. Bombay

2. Bangalore

3. Madras

4. Kanpur

39. A lame-duck government is one

1. Which has lost the no-confidence motion in Loksabha and is asked to continue as a caretaker govt.

2. A government with an absolute majority

3. Which hurtles from one crisis to the other

4. None of these

40. Among the following, whose kingdom was annexed by the British on the basis of the doctrine of lapse?

1. Maharaja of Baroda

2. Rani of Jhansi

3. Nawab of Hyderabad

4. None of these

41. The Vajrayna is a sect of

1. Jainism

2. Buddhism

3. Hinduism

4. Parsis

42. Which of the following is known as the perfumery town of India?

1. Mandu

2. Indore

3. Khandwa

4. Kannauj

43. “Lavani” is a famous folk art form of

1. Uttar Pradesh

2. Gujarat

3. Maharashtra

4. Rajasthan

44. The least pure variety of coal is

1. Peat

2. Lignite

3. Anthracite

4. Bituminous

Pround to Be an Indian!! A speech given By Abdul Kalam....which really touched My heart

2006-12-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech in Hyderabad.

A must read for every Indian.

"I have three visions for India.

1. In 3000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. F rom Alexander onwards. The Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone.

2. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others. That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.

3. My second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements are being global ly recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed
nation, self- reliant and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?

4. I have a THIRD vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that, unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept. of space,Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr.Brahm Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life.

5. I see four milestones in my career:

Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be the project director for India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The one that launched Rohini. These years played a very important role in my life of Scientist.

After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the part of India's guided missile program. It was my second bliss when Agni met its mission requirements in 1994.

The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous partnership in the recent nuclear tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss. The joy of participating with my team in these nuclear tests and proving to the world that India can make it, that we are no longer a developing nation but one of them. It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have now developed for Agni a re-entry structure, for which we have developed this new material. A Very light material called carbon-carbon.

One day an orthopedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences visited my laboratory. He lifted the material and found it so light that he took me to his hospital and showed me his patients. There were these little girls and boys with hea vy metallic calipers weighing over three Kg. each, dragging their feet around.

He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients.

In three weeks, we made these Floor reaction Orthosis 300-gram calipers and took them to the orthopedic center. The children didn't believe their eyes. From dragging around a three kg. load on their legs, they could now move around!

Their parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss!

6. Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them.

7. Why?

We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.

8. Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a
self-sustaining, self driving unit. There are millionsof such achievements
but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

9. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

10. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?

11. Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things?

12. We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

13. I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is.

She replied: I want to live in a developed India.

For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

14. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.
Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their
destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.
YOU say, say and say.

15. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOUcomeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the t elephone exchange in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else." YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55
mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

16. YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo?
Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

17. Once in an interview, the famous Ex-muni cipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

18. In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.

19. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect t he railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

20. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to
women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So who's going to change the system?

21. What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families in to a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

22. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

23. Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing J.F.Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE
INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

24. Lets do what India needs from us.

Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails.

Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA)

Quiz VI

2006-12-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Aniket should say your enthusiasm is commendable. There is not a day that you miss responding to the quiz. Thanks to everyone else as well for the tremendous response in an attempt to crack the daily quiz!!

Also wanted to say I will be away for the weekend so this quiz will have its answers posted only by Monday.

Cheers and Enjoi!!

Answers to Quiz V

01. 2
02. 2
03. 1
04. 2
05. 2
06. 3
07. 1
08. 1
09. 2
10. 3
11. 3
12. 4
13. 1
14. 3
15. 2
16. 1
17. 3
18. 4
19. 2
20. 1
21. 4
22. 3
23. 2
24. 4
25. 4
26. 3
27. 4
28. 3
29. 3
30. 4
31. 1
32. 2
33. 2
34. 2
35. 1
36. 1
37. 2
38. 4
39. 2
40. 3
41. 1
42. 3
43. 1
44. 2
45. 4
46. 3

So Here goes the Quiz for today

1. The projected growth rate for the 9th Five Year Plan has been fixed at

1. 4.8%

2. 7%

3. 5.6%

4. 6.5%

2. Which of the following is a popular classical dance of Kerala?

1. Kuchipudi

2. Mohiniattam

3. Garba

4. Bharat Natyam

3. Suttapitaka is a well-known religious book in

1. Jainism

2. Hinduism

3. Buddhism

4. Zoroastrianism

4. Who among the following is known as the Wizard of Hockey?

1. Dhyan Chand

2. Milkha Singh

3. Pargat Singh

4. Cedric D’Souza

5. “Din-I-Illahi” was promulgated by

1. Aurangzeb

2. Akbar

3. Shahjahan

4. None of these

6. “Arai-Din-Ka-Jhonpra” is a famous mosque in

1. Ajmer

2. Hyderabad

3. Lucknow

4. N. Delhi

7. If you tune into a radio programme at 300 metres, the frequency of the waves is

1. 106 Hz.

2. 108 Hz

3. 105 Hz

4. 107 Hz

8. The sea-horse is a/an

1. Fish

2. Insect

3. Echinodermate

4. Mammal

9. The Brettonwoods Conference is related to the

1. Formation of the UNO

2. Formation of the WTO

3. Formation of the World Bank and IMF

4. Formation of the WHO

10. Identify the correct pair :

1. Budhaditya Mukerjee : Sarod

2. M. Balamurlikrishana : Carnatic Vocal

3. Allah Rakha Khan : Flute

4. Yamini Krishanmurti : Painting

11. “Mitakshra” is a famous ancient work on

1. Medicine

2. Linguistics

3. Law

4. Ethics

12. “The Fleet Street” is a landmark in London famous for

1. Press

2. Doctors

3. Stock-exchange

4. Theatres

13. The total public sector outlay during the 9th five-year plan is

1. Rs.4,32000 crores

2. Rs. 7,0000 crores

3. Rs.4,98,0000 crores

4. Rs.8,75,000 crores

14. “The Red Shirts” was a famous movement launched by

1. Chandershekhar Azad

2. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

3. Bhagat Singh

4. None of these

15. The first-ever female Prime Minister in the world was

1. Srimavo Bhandarnaike

2. Indira Gandhi

3. Golda Meyer

4. Kim Campbell

16. The first heart transplant in the world was performed by

1. Dr. Joseph Lister

2. Dr. Christian Bernard

3. Dr. P. Venu Gopal

4. Dr. Alexander Fleming

17. “Kaagaz Te Canvas” is an award-winning work by

1. Dr. H.S. Mehboob

2. Amrita Pritam

3. Surjit Pattar

4. Dr. Harbhajan Singh

18. In case of perfectly elastic goods, the impact of a rise in price will be

1. Stability in demand

2. Decrease in demand

3. Increase in demand

4. Constantly changing

19. The best means to ensure enough proteins in your daily diet would be to consume

1. Edible algae

2. Milk

3. Eggs

4. Meat

20. Sound travels in the air at 340 m /sec. If you are on the moon and your friend fires a shot four feet away from you, its sound will reach you ears in
1. 1 sec.

2. 0.004 sec.

3. 0.002 sec

4. None of these

21. The most widely spoken language in the world is

1. English

2. Hindi

3. Mandarin

4. Arabic

22. The United Nations organization come into being on

1. 25 Oct. 1945

2. 24 Oct. 1945

3. 18 Sep. 1944

4. 1 Sep. 1944

23. Bodyline is a term connected with

1. Boxing

2. Hockey

3. Cricket

4. Golf

24. The institution of Ombudsman was started in

1. Japan

2. USA

3. Germany

4. Norway

25. The name of the political party established by Subhash Bose after he left the Congress is

1. Revolutionary Socialist Party

2. Forward Bloc

3. Congress Socialist Party

4. Communist Party of India

26. If a person is unable to speak as a result of an accident, his _______ has been most likely damaged.

1. Hypothalamus

2. Broca’s area

3. Diencephelon

4. Cerebellum

27. Who was the first man to suggest that the Earth revolves round the Sun and Not vice-versa?

1. Kepler

2. Newton

3. Copernicus

4. Descartes

28. The Cartesian geometry was developed by

1. Newton

2. Euclid

3. Pythagorus

4. Descartes

29. The ozone hole was discovered first of all

1. In America

2. In the Arctic region

3. In the Antarctica region

4. In Canada

30. Which of the following contributes most to the “Greenhouse effect”?

1. Nitrogen

2. Methane

3. Carbon Dioxide

4. Oxygen

31. You feel hot and sultry on a rainy day because

1. of high temperature

2. of low temperature

3. the sweat does not dry up 4. None of these

32. The Ganges is known as _______ after entering Bangladesh

1. Bhagirthi

2. Padma

3. Gomti

4. Dihang

33. The highest cricket-ground in the world is at

1. Chail

2. Shimla

3. Berne

4. Dharamshala

34. Which Indian ruler in the medieval times was known by the name “Lakh Baksh” (the giver of lakhs)?

1. Allaudin Khilji

2. Qutubuddin Aibak

3. Balban

4. Akbar

35. The chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee was

1. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

2. Dr. Rajendra Prasad

3. C.R. Dass

4. Pt. J.L Nehru

36. Petrol is usually found in

1. Metamorphic rocks

2. Sedimentary rocks

3. Igneous rocks

4. None of these

37. The minimum age required for nomination to Presidency in India is

1. 30 yr.

2. 35 yr.

3. 40 yr.

4. 25 yr.

38. India leads the world in the production of

1. Copper

2. Mica

3. Manganese

4. Coal

39. An example of renewable energy source is

1. Coal

2. Petroleum

3. Natural gas

4. Solar energy

40. The newest command of the Indian Army is the

1. Training Command

2. South-central Command

3. Western Command

4. Eastern Command

41. “Long, long ago, we had a tryst with destiny. And today we are going to renew that pledge, not partly or fully, but very substantially. Today, when the whole world sleep, India shall wake to freedom at the strike of the midnight four ______”. These famous poetic lines were uttered by.

1. Mahatma Gandhi

2. J.L. Nehru

3. Sardar Patel

4. B.R. Ambedkar

42. Stephen Spielberg is most well – known for his work in the field of

1. Cinema

2. Painting

3. Journalism

4. Architecture

43. The Dilwara Temples are situated in

1. Jaipur

2. Mt. Abu

3. Alwar

4. Udaipur

44. Heun Tsang was a famous visitor during the reign of

1. Chandragupta Maurya

2. Ashoka

3. Samudragupta

4. Harshvardhan

45. A type of climate, with high day temperature and daily occurrence of conventional rainfall is called

1. The equatorial type climate

2. The Mediterranean climate

3. The continental climate

4. The temperate climate

46. A “Computer virus” is

1. Virus that destroys the hardware of the computer

2. A virus that destroys the software of the computer

3. A kind of e-mail virus that spreads fast

4. None of these

47. The famous Khajuraho temples were built by the

1. Chandellas

2. Parmars

3. Gangas

4. Chetis

Quiz V

2006-12-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well Errol has missed his hatrick today.. Good luck to the others... Lets see who comes up with all right answers this time.. It aint that difficult guys!!

Answers to yesterday's Quiz

01. 3
02. 2
03. 3
04. 3
05. 1
06. 2
07. 4
08. 4
09. 4
10. 3
11. 1
12. 1
13. 2
14. 4
15. 4
16. 2
17. 1
18. 2
19. 4
20. 2
21. 3
22. 3
23. 4
24. 1
25. 3
26. 1
27. 3
28. 1
29. 3
30. 1
31. 3
32. 2
33. 2
34. 3
35. 4
36. 3
37. 3
38. 2
39. 4
40. 3
41. 2
42. 1
43. 4
44. 3
45. 1
46. 3

And the Quiz for the day!!

1. Thorium is found in abundance along the coast of

1. Tamil Nadu

2. Kerala

3. Gujarat

4. Andhra Pradesh

2. The Red Cross Movement was started by

1. Pierre de Cubertine

2. Henri Dunant

3. Henry Ford

4. Baden Powell

3. Which of the following plays holds the record of maximum shows and still runs to packed houses even after 30 yrs of its start in London?

1. “The Mousetrap”

2. “You, He and I”

3. “The Rogue”

4. “Mary’s Teacher”

4. The apex body concerned with the approval, monitoring and appraisal of five – year plans in India is

1. The Planning Commission

2. National Development council

3. The Union Cabinet

4. The Parliament

5. The Minimum Support Prices for agricultural commodities are recommended by the

1. Ministry of Agriculture

2. Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices

3. Indian Council of Agricultural Research

4. Agricultural Prices Commission.

6. The first district in India to declare itself polio-free along with the fact of its zero rate of population growth is

1. Kottayam

2. Ernakulum

3. Patnamthita

4. Thiruvananthpuram

7. At present, according to demographic transition theory, India is passing through the _____ stage of population growth.

1. 2nd

2. Ist

3. 3rd

4. 4th

8. The best variety of coal from the viewpoint of carbon-content and its fuel-value is

1. Anthracite

2. Lignite

3. Peat

4. Bituminous

9. According to the 1991 census, which North-Eastern state is experiencing a great population boom and has recorded a massive 50% decennial population growth rate?

1. Assam

2. Nagaland

3. Manipur

4. Sikkim

10. “Yellow cake” is the name given to

1. Gold biscuits

2. Opium packets

3. Uranium

4. Sulphur

11. The highest milk producing state in India is

1. Gujarat

2. Punjab

3. Uttar Pradesh

4. Tamil Nadu

12. Which of these is the most important agricultural item in terms of revenues in India’s total farm output?

1. Rice

2. Wheat

3. Sugarcane

4. Milk

13. “Learning Without Burden” is the report of which of the following committees?

1. Yashpal Committee

2. Bhootlingam Committee

3. Ghosh Committee

4. Amrik Singh Committee

14. Which of the following is incorrectly matched?

1. Shobha De : Literature

2. Golda Myer: Politics

3. Mahadevi Verma: Vocalist

4. Sucheta Kriplani: Politics

15. Which country is famous for pioneering the technique of drip-irrigation and achieving a record percentage of growth in agril? output using this method?

1. Sri Lanka

2. Israel

3. China

4. U.S.A.

16. “A single step for man, a gaint leap for mankind”. Who said this?

1. Neil Armstrong

2. Edvin Aldrin

3. Yuri Gagrin

4. Sq. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma

17. The All-India Harijan Sewak Sangh was established during the pre-independence era by

1. Dr. Ambedkar

2. Jyotiba Phule

3. Mahatma Gandhi

4. N.M. Lokhanday

18. If a bill is presented to the President for his assent, he

1. Can refuse to sign it.

2. Can return it for re-consideration

3. Cannot return it and has to sign it.

4. Can return it for re-consideration only once, and has to sign it ultimately after being re-presented for his assent.

19. The national song “ VANDE MATARAM” has been taken from the book

1. “Geetanjali”

2. “Anand Math”

3. “Neel Darpan”

4. “Kamayani”

20. The historic “complete independence” (Purna Swaraj) resolution of the Congress was passed at

1. Lahore

2. Karachi

3. Amritsar

4. Faizpur

21. Identify the incorrect pair:

1. Night-blandness: Vitamin A

2. Rickets: Vitamin D

3. Scurvy: Vitamin C

4. Anaemia: Calcium

22. A fully-grown adult has __________ bones in the body

1. 212

2. 209

3. 206

4. 208

23. “Inquilab Zindabad”. Who said this first of all?

1. Shahid Bhagat Singh

2. Dr. Mohd. Iqbal

3. Mohd. Ali Jinnah

4.Chandershekhar Azad

24. Art. 356 of the constitution deals with the

1. Declaration of a financial emergency

2. Declaration of a national emergency

3. Procedure for constitutional amendment

4. Imposition of President’s rule in a state

25. The 11th Finance Commission was chaired by

1. K.C. Pant

2. Raja Chelliah

3. Manmohan Singh

4. Prof. A.M. Khusro

26. The constitution of India describes India as a

1. Federation

2. Confederation

3. Union of States

4. Loose Federation

27. The colour of a star depends on its

1. distance from the sun

2. Radius

3. Density

4. Surface temperature

28. The Earth is a part of the _______ galaxy.

1. Ursa Major

2. Ursa Minor

3. Milky Way

4. Andromeda

29. As you solving these questions, the most active part of your brain is the

1. Cerebellum

2. Thalamus

3. Cerebrum

4. Broca’s area

30. The International Literacy Day is observed on

1. June 5

2. March 8

3. September 5

4. September 8

31. India receives most of its monsoon rainfall by means of the

1. South-West monsoons

2. North-West monsoons

3. South-North monsoons

4. North-East monsoons

32. The “Montreal Protocol” is related to

1. Environmental safeguards

2. Phasing out of CFC’s

3. Safety regulations for nuclear plants.

4. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

33. Humans have poor nighttime vision due to the presence of

1. rod cells in the retina

2. cone cells in the retina

3. Smaller number of rod cells. 4. None of above

34. The World Environment Day is observed on the

1. 6th June

2. 5th June

3. 1st Dec

4. 10th Dec.

35. The Allahabad Pillar inscription was got engraved by

1. Samudragupta

2. Chandragupta

3. Mahapadma Nanda

4. None of these

36. The term “Checkmate” is related to the game of

1. Chess

2. Bridge

3. Snooker

4. Golf

37. The tear-glands in the human body are known as

1. Sebaceous glands 2. Lachrymal glands

3. Cooper’s glands

4. Endocrine glands

38. “Gul-e-Naghma” is a famous poetic work by

1. Dr. Mohd. Iqbal

2. Mirza Ghalib

3. Kaifi Azmi

4. Firaq Gorakhpuri

39. The famed multi-culture complex “Bharat Bhavan" is located in

1. Indore

2. Bhopal

3. Jaipur

4. New Delhi

40. Which of the following Vedas in concerned with the musical rendition of hymns?

1. Atharva Veda

2. Yajur Veda

3. Sam Veda

4. Rig Veda

41. The most common cause of mustard oil contamination is

1. Argemone mexicana

2. Felis domesticus

3. Homo Sapiens

4. Ethyl Mercaptate

42. The funny bone in the body is the

1. Femur

2. Ulna

3. Radius

4. Stapes

43. Borobudur is famous for

1. Ancient temples

2. Its architectural peculiarities

3. Its merchant activities

4. Its strategic location

44. The TV transmission process makes use of

1. Infra-red waves

2. FM waves

3. Audio-visual waves

4. None of these

45. The Olympics were re-started in the year

1. 1846

2. 796

3. 1900

4. None of these

46. Good Friday is observed to commemorate the

1. The birth of Christ

2. Crucifixion of Christ

3. Resurrection of Christ

4. Birth of St. Peter

Quiz IV

2006-12-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!!

First a special mention to Errol who today had 25 correct of the 26 Questions. Also would want to thank Onita, Poonam, Aniket, Ravi and Shaymal for their contributions and participation everyday.

Here are the answers to yesterdays Quiz

1. 4
2. 3
3. 3
4. 3
5. 2
6. 1
7. 4
8. 3
9. 2
10. 1
11. 3
12. 1
13. 2
14. 4
15. 2
16. 3
17. 1
18. 2
19. 1
20. 4
21. 3
22. 3
23. 4
24. 2
25. 1
26. 1

And Now Our 4th Series for the Quiz This Week!!

1. The annual Oscar awards for excellence in different facets of cinema are awarded by the

1. American Film Association

2. New York Academy of Films

3. US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

4. All-US Film Critics Association

2. If the President of India wishes to resign, he should address his resignation letter to the

1. Prime Minister

2. Vice-President

3. Chief Justice of India 4. Speaker of the Lok Sabha

3. If a feather and a steel ball of equal mass are dropped from a height simultaneously and there is complete vacuum all round,

1. The feather will touch the ground earlier

2. The ball will touch the ground earlier

3. The feather will touch the g\ound simultaneously

4. It is difficult to predict what will happen

4. Which of the following is a term not connected with stock exchanges in India?

1. SEBI

2. Badla

3. Hawala

4. Nifty

5. The fifth pay commission set up by the central government is headed by

1. Mr. Justice S.R. Pandian 2. Justice P.N. Kania

3. Justice Bachawat

4. Justice P.N. Bhawati

6. Mahatma Gandhi’s first experiment with “Satyagraha” took place in

1. Champaran

2. South Africa

3. Ahmedabad

4. Kheda

7. Who among the following is considered to be the “Bard of Avon”?

1. Geoffrey Chaucer

2. Lord Byron

3. Keats

4. William Shakespeare

8. Consider the following political parties:

a. Revolutionary Socialist party

b. Forward Bloc

c. Muslim League

d. Akali Dal

1. a and b

2. c and d

3. a, b and d

4. None of these

9. Which of the following terms is not connected with the Internet?

1. HTTP

2. Vortal

3. Hortal

4. TTML

10. The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights is situated at

1. Washington D.C .

2. New York

3. Geneva

4. Rome

11. The doldrums are

1. Equatorial low pressure belts

2. Polar low-pressure belts

3. Polar high pressure belts

4. Equatorial high pressure belts

12. The famous Borobudur temple is in

1. Java

2. Thailand

3. Surinam

4. Cambodia

13. Who among the following kings of Delhi was famous for his market reforms?

1. Akbar

2. Allaudin Khilji

3. Mohd. Tughlaq

4. Malik Kafur

14. Identify the incorrect pair:

1. S. Chandershekhar : Physics

2. A.P.J. Abul Kalam : Missile Technology

3. Jagdish Chander Bose : Physiology

4. Birbal Sawhni : Chemistry

15. Who was the Prime Minister of England at the time of India’s Independence?

1. Winston Churchill

2. Lord Mountbatten

3. Alfred Powell

4. Clement Atlee

16. “His theory regarding the formation of stars was rejected outright when made public for the first time, he, however was convinced of its truth and struggled for half a century to prove his point, culminating in worldwide acceptance and a rightly-deserved Nobel Prize for Physics____”. The scientist referred to above is most probably

1. Fred Hoyle

2. S. Chandershekhar

3. Albert Einstein

4. Jayant Narlikar

17. The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute is located at

1. Nagpur

2. Jamshedpur

3. Delhi

4. Calcutta

18. The “sea of tranquility” is on the

1. Jupiter

2. Moon

3. Sun

4. Pacific ocean

19. “Cybernetics” is concerned with

1. Structure of the cell

2. Advanced electronics

3. Space flights

4. Communication and control in machines

20. Who among the following has won the coveted “Bookers’ Booker” Prize?

1. Reddy Doyle

2. Salman Rushdie

3. Gita Hariharan

4. Mulk Raj Anand

21. The words “socialist, secular” were added to the Preamble to the Indian Constitution vide

1. The 44th amendment

2. The 61st amendment

3. The 42nd amendment

4. The 59th amendment

22. The Directive Principles of State policy are contained in part ____of the Constitution and are _____

1. III, non – justiciable

2. III, justiciable

3. IV, non-justiciable

4. IV, justicible

23. India is not a member of

1. ASEAN

2. SAARC

3. G-8

4. Both 1 and 3

24. Who is known as the greatest dramatist in Sanskrit after Kalidasa?

1. Bhavbhuti

2. Shudraka

3. Kalhana

4. Panini

25. Who was the first to address M.K Gandhi as the “Father of the Nation”?

1. J.L. Nehru

2. V.B. Patel

3. Subhas Bose

4. C.R. Dass

26. God’s Own Country, this is how _______ is called otherwise

1. Kerala

2. J & K

3. Kullu

4. Himachal Pradesh

27. A plebiscite means

1. A city housing the Prisoners of War

2. A temporary state of emergency

3. A referendum giving the people a right to sell-determination

4. A secret group of military officers

28. Omega is a well-known brand of

1. Watches

2. Tyres

3. Automobiles

4. Safety razors

29. The first-ever transgenic goat has been created in

1. Scotland

2. The USA

3. China

4. Karnal

30. Anna Kerennina is a world-famous creation by

1. F. Dostovsky

2. L. Tolstoy

3. Maxim Gorky

4. None of these

31. The President may refer a matter to the Supreme Court for its opinion thereon. This provision is contained in

1. Article 75 of the Constitution

2. Article 78 of the Constitution

3. Article 143 of the Constitution

4. Article 58 of the Constitution

32. “Ai Mere Watan Ke Logo, Zara_______” the soul-stirring lyric was penned by

1. Shailendra

2. Kavi Pradeep

3. Yogesh

4. Gopal Das ‘Neeraj’

33. The material most commonly used for outer coating in case of non-stick materials is

1. P.V.C.

2. Teflon

3. Freon

4. An alloy of chromium, iron and manganese

34. Which ancient Indian King has been depicted playing the veena on his coins?

1. Chandragupta

2. Skandgupta

3. Samudragupta

4. Chandragupta II

35. The value of the Indian rupee is officially expressed in terms of

1. Gold

2. Pound sterling

3. US Dollar

4. A basket of currencies

36. The only Indian P.M. who never faced the Loksabha was

1. Rajeev Gandhi

2. Gulzari Lal Nanda

3. Charan Singh

4. A.B. Vajpayee

37. How many countries form the Commonwealth of Independent States?

1. 12

2. 51

3. 15

4. 18

38. A rolling plan means a

1. Five-year plan

2. Year-to-year plan

3. Long-term plan

4. No definite plan

39. The present Christian calendar is based on the system given by

1. St. Augustus

2. Samudragupta

3. Saka

4. Pope Gregory

40. Which of the following are known as the blue mountains?

1. The Himalayas

2. The Satpuras

3. The Nilgiris

4. The Aravallis

41. The social reformer who pressed for English as a medium of education in India was

1. Ishwar Chander Vidyasagar 2. Ram Mohan Roy

3. Jyotiba Phule

4. Swami Vivekanand

42. JAVA is

1. A computer language

2. A molecule

3. A supercomputer

4. The codename for US nuclear programme

43. The Elysium is the official residence of the ________ P.M/President

1. British

2. American

3. Russian

4. French

44. The Supreme Court Judges retire at the age of

1. 60 years

2. 62 years

3. 65 years

4. 58 years

45. “The City of Suicides” is an epithet currently being applied to

1. Bangalore

2. Bombay

3. Calcutta

4. Delhi

46. Buddhism got divided into two sects, namely

1. Diagambara and Shwetmbara

2. Nilambar and Pitambra

3. Mahayna and Hinayana

4. None of these

Good Luck!! Errol Lets see if you have a hatrick today with the max correct replies!!

Learn a few root words here and build your Vocab!!

2006-12-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

Good Luck!!

http://ielts-prep.blogspot.com/2006/12/learn-some-root-words.html

QUIZ III

2006-12-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

Thnx for the Enthu guys.. A special mention to Errol for getting all 42 questions right.. Kudos!!

Answers to yesterdays Questions!!

01. 1
02. 4
03. 3
04. 3
05. 4
06. 2
07. 2
08. 2
09. 1
10. 4
11. 1
12. 3
13. 4
14. 2
15. 2
16. 1
17. 3
18. 1
19. 1
20. 2
21. 3
22. 1
23. 4
24. 2
25. 2
26. 2
27. 4
28. 2
29. 2
30. 1
31. 2
32. 4
33. 2
34. 3
35. 3
36. 4
37. 2
38. 2
39. 4
40. 2
41. 1
42. 2

Todays QUIZ (Just 26 questions for Today)

1. Match the following and select the right combination.
a. Lawrence Olivier
1. Scientist
b. Helen Keller
2. Blind Author
c. Homi Bhabha
3. Actor
d. DK Karve
4. Social Reformer

1. 1234
2. 2431
3. 4123
4. 3214

2. The biggest mutual fund in India is the
1. SBI Mutual Fund
2. PNB Mutual Fund
3. U.T.I
4. CANBANK Mutual Fund

3. The Jet Lag is caused due to
1. The movement of the aircraft
2. Changes in atm. pressure
3. The crossing of the International Date Line
4. None of these

4. Philip Crosby, is an international celebrity famous in the field of
1. Corporate restructuring
2. Information technology
3. Improvement of Quality Systems
4. The field of game theory in economics.

5. The Committee on Industrial Sickness and Corporate Restructuring was chaired by
1. Dinesh Goswami
2. Onkar Goswami
3. Chander Goswami
4. Arun Ghosh

6. Nikkei is the share index of which stock exchange?
1. Tokyo
2. Singapore
3. New York
4. Frankfurt

7. The largest industry in terms of employment potential in India is
1. The mining sector
2. The Railways
3. The textiles sector
4. Small-scale and cottage industries

8. “Ray-Ban” is a brand name of sunglasses marketed by
1. Max India
2. Ranbaxy
3. Bausch and Lomb
4. OPTEL India Ltd.

9. The first-even university in India was set up in 1857 in
1. Bombay
2. Calcutta
3. Chennai
4. New Delhi

10. The “White Goods” industry refers to
1. Consumer durables
2. Building hardware
3. Milk and allied products
4. Computer consumables

11. The maximum share of the Gross Domestic Product now comes from
1. Agriculture
2. Manufacturing
3. Services
4. Livestock

12. A rise in inflation generally favours the
1. Debtors
2. Creditors
3. Banks
4. Stock-brokers

13. “Beyond the Last Blue Mountain” is the biography of
1. G.D. Birla
2. J.R.D Tata
3. MS Oberoi
4. HP Nanda

14. The title Clove Islands is applied to
1. Mauritius
2. Andaman-Nicobar
3. Lakshdweep
4. Zanzibar

15. The Fundamental Right To Property was abolished by the
1. 42nd Amendment
2. 44th Amendment
3. 61st Amendment
4. 73rd Amendment

16. The system of competitive examinations for appointment to different posts was started in
1. The USA
2. The UK
3. China
4. Israel

17. Who among the following was regarded as the Lokmanya?
1. BG Tilak
2. Lala Lajpat Rai
3. Bipin Chandar Pal
4. Aurbindo Ghosh

18. The Chittagong Armoury Raid was conducted by
1. Veer Damodar Savarakar
2. Master Surya Sen
3. Bhagat Singh
4. Chandershekhar Azad

19. The RBI was established in the year
1. 1935
2. 1934
3. 1947
4. 1950

20. The Videocon Inds. is owned by the
1. Hindujas
2. Wadias
3. Ambanis
4. Dhoots

21. Which among the following is a direct tax?
1. Excise
2. Sales Tax
3. Income Tax
4. Customs

22. Who was a prominent exponent of the “Bhakti” movement in Maharashtra?
1. Ramanand
2. Gyaneshwar
3. Namdeva
4. Ekarat

23. The Administrative Staff College of India is located at
1. Bombay
2. Wellington
3. New Delhi
4. Hyderabad

24. A patient is put on dialysis if he suffers from a
1. Liver problem
2. Kidney problem
3. Heart problem
4. None of these

25. Identify the incorrect pair :-
1. Nonita Lal Quraishi : Badminton
2. Vijay Amrit Raj : Tennis
3. Limba Ram : Archery
4. Bahadur Prasad : Athletics

26. A narrow strip of land bordered on both sides by water and connecting two large bodies of land is called.
1. An Isthmus
2. A lagoon
3. A peninsula
4. A strait

Quiz II

2006-12-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

1. The southernmost point of India’s territory is

1. The Indira Point

2. Kanyakumari

3. Pondicherry

4. Lakshadweep

2. The founder of the Yoga school of philosophy was

1. Adiguru Shankracharya

2. Gemini

3. Charvaka

4. Patanjli

3. It is not advisable to sleep with a chulha or angithi on in your closed room because

1. The carbon dioxide produced may cause suffocation

2. It may deplete the oxygen level and prove lethal

3. It may cause emission of carbon monoxide due to the low amount of oxygen in the room

4. None of these

4. A person with Turner’s Syndrome will have the chromosomal combination of _______ in the 23^rd pair.

1. XX

2. YY

3. X

4. XXY

5. The Eureka ! experience is associated with

1. Euclid

2. Newton

3. Galileo

4. Archimedes

6. Bombay has a moderate climate because

1. of its longitudinal extent

2. of its nearness to the sea

3. of its height from the sea level.

4. of its peculiar atmosphere

7. Mahatma Gandhi launched the legendary “Quite India” struggle on

1. 8^th August, 1942

2. 9^th August, 1942

3. 8^th August, 1945

4. 9^th August 1945

8. Who is the ex-officio chairman of the Planning Commission?

1. Minister of Finance

2. Prime Minister

3. President

4. Vice President

9. The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics is located in

1. Pune

2. Bombay

3. Calcutta

4. Kodaikanal

10. Which of the following is NOT a constitutional body?

A. Planning Commission

B. Finance Commission

C. Inter-State Council

1. A and B

2. B and C

3. A, B and C

4. A only

11. Next to Hindi, which is the most widely spoken language in India?

1. Bengali

2. Telugu

3. English

4. Urdu

12. The results of elections to a Loksabha Constituency are declared by the

1. Election Commission of India

2. District Magistrate

3. Returning Officer

4. State Election Commission

13. Kazi Nazrul Islam was a fiercely patriotic poet who wrote in

1. Urdu

2. Persian

3. Hindi

4. Bengali

14. “Zoology” is the study of

1. Living animals only

2. Both living and dead animals

3. Dead, living and yet-to-evolve animals

4. None of these

15. Identify the correct pair:-

1. I follow the Mahatma : Mahadev Desai

2. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India : Dadabhai Nauroji

3. First War of Indian Independence: Lokmanya Tilak

4. Life Divine : G.K. Gokhale

16. As an economy develops

1. The share of agriculture in the GDP decrease, while that of manufacturing and the services increases.

2. The share of agricultural increases, while that of manufacturing and the services decreases.

3. The pattern of contribution to the GDP varies from time to time.

4. None of these

17. A bill sent by the Cabinet for Presidential assent.

1. Must be signed by the President in all circumstances.

2. May or may not be signed by the President

3. May be returned by the President to the cabinet for re-consideration, but upon being re-presented to him, he must declare his assent to it.

4. Cannot be returned by the President for re-consideration.

18. Silver fish is an

1. Insect

2. Fish

3. Reptile

4. Mammal

19. The inhabitants of which of the following geographical regions live in trees due to the fear of insects?

1. Equatorial region

2. Mediterranean region

3. Arctic region

4. None of these

20. Who among the following is not connected with the world of painting?

1. Manjit Bawa

2. Satish Gujral

3. Anjoli Ela Menon

4. Rabindernath Tagore

21. ANURAG is

1. The name given to a new rocket-system by the DRDO

2. A project to help the orphaned children

3. A scientific organization based in Bangalore

4. A new programme by the Health Ministry to improve mental health.

22. Which among the following paid careful attention to the promotion and improvement of agriculture?

1. Mohd. Tughlaq

2. Feroz Tughlaq

3. Allaudin Khilji

4. None of these

23. Which of the following is NOT a tiger reserve?

1. Sariska

2. Ranthambone

3. Manas

4. Periyar

24. A candidate for election to the Loksabha stands to forfeit his security deposit it if he fails to get at least

1. 1/6^th of the total votes polled

2. 1/6^th of the total valid votes polled

3. 1/5^th of the total valid votes polled

4. 1/8^th of the total votes polled.

25. “Ursa Major” is a

1. Galaxy

2. Constellation

3. Asteroid

4. Star

26. The fiscal policy is concerned with

1. Imports-exports

2. Debt and public finance

3. Credit creation

4. Issuing of currency

27. The International Date Line is an imaginary line, which lies along

1. 0 degree meridian

2. 45 degree meridian

3. 90 degree meridian

4. 180 degree meridian

28. At which particular place on the Earth are days and nights always of equal duration?

1. Poles

2. Equator

3. Prime meridian

4. Nowhere

29. Petroleum was first discovered in India in

1. Ankleshwar

2. Digboi

3. Bombay High

4. Haldia

30. Which of the following is an example of a seller’s market in India?

1. Railways

2. TV programming

3. Ready-mades

4. Domestic air travel

31. Who among the following is not a prominent management thinker?

1. Henry Fayol

2. Laski

3. Northop Parkinson

4. Peter Drucker

32. Brainstorming is a technique used in

1. Sports

2. Finance

3. Brain surgery

4. Creativity

33. If a person loses memory as a result of an accident, the part of the brain most likely to have been damaged is the

1. Cerebrum

2. Hippocampus

. Broca’s Area

4. Hypothalamus

34. Whale is a

1. Fish

2. Reptile

3. Mammal

4. Coelenterate

35. If you open a scent bottle in one comes of a room, it quickly spreads all around due to

1. Imbibition

2. Osmosis

3. Diffusion

4. Condensation

36. “Let a hundred flowers bloom and a thousand schools of thought flourish”. Who said this?

1. Jawahar Lal Nehru

2. M.K. Gandhi

3. V.I. Lenin

4. Mao-Tse-Tung.

37. The title “City of Joy” has been given to

1. Calcutta

2. Mandu

3. Jaipur

4. Bombay

38. The Union Council of Ministers is appointed by the

1. Prime Minister

2. President

3. Vice-President

4. Loksabha Speaker

39 The atmospheric layer responsible for most of the weather phenomena is referred to as the

1. Mesophere

2. Stratosphere

3. Ionosphere

4. Troposphere

40. The Arthashastra of Kautilya is a famous ancient work on

1. Economy

2. Statecraft

3. Both 1 and 2

4. None of these

41. The Gayatri Mantra is contained in the

1. Mundak Upanishad

2. Rigveda

3. Dharmashastras

4. Puranas

42. If you keep the door of your refrigerator open for a long time, the temperature of your room

1. is likely to go down

2. is likely to go up

3. cannot say anything

4. will go up or down depending on the difference between outside temperature and room temperature.

Answers to yesterdays Quiz!!

2006-12-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

01. 4 02. 4 03. 3 04. 4 05. 2 06. 1 07. 2 08. 3 09. 4

10. 1 11. 3 12. 2 13. 3 14. 2 15. 2 16. 1 17. 3 18. 3

19. 2 20. 2 21. 1 22. 1 23. 3 24. 2 25. 1 26. 1 27. 2

28. 4 29. 2 30. 3 31. 2 32. 2 33. 2 34. 2 35. 1 36. 2

37. 1 38 4 39 1 40 4