Quiz 137

Quiz 137 : Indian Polity & Constitution

Quiz 137 : Indian Polity & Constitution

Posted: 19 Jun 2009 11:19 PM PDT

1.Part VI of our constitution is applicable to all the states except __________?

(A)Arunanchal Pradesh

(B)Jammu & Kashmir

(C)Sikkim

2.A Governor of a state can be dismissed from his office by __________?

(A)State Legislative Assembly

(B)Parliament

(C)President

3.Are there any grounds laid down by the Constitution for the removal of the Governor?

(A)Yes

(B)No

(C)In some situations

4.Who can appoint and remove the members of the State Public Service Commission?

(A)Governor can appoint and remove

(B)Governor can appoint and President can remove

(C)Governor can appoint and parliament can remove

5.Which among the following sentences is true about " power in a state" of India?

(A)The Governor is the head of executive power of a state and 'real executive authority ' is vested in the Governor

(B)The Governor is the head of executive power of a state but 'real executive authority' is vested in the Council of Ministers

(C)The Chief Minister is the head of executive power of a state but 'real executive authority' is vested in the Governor

16.Which among the following is not true about State Legislative Council in India?

(A)The Council is a continuing House & one-third of the members retire in two years.

(B)Members of local bodies elect one-third of the total number of members of the legislative council

(C)If a state legislative council is to be created or abolished , a resolution to that effect is to be first passed by the State legislature by a two-third majority

7.A three tier Panchayat is envisaged for states having population above __________?

(A)15 Lakh

(B)20 Lakh

(C)25 Lakh

8.Delhi was called national Capital Territory by which amendment Act ?

(A)63rd

(B)69th

(C)74th

9.To be appointed as a judge of Supreme Court a person should have been an advocate of a High Court for at least _________Yrs?

(A)10

(B)15

(C)12

10.The Supreme Court of India consists of the Chief Justice of India and not more than __________other judges?

(A)20

(B)25

(C)30Note: The parliament of India has power to make laws, organizing jurisdiction and powers of supreme court. The number of judges can be increased or decreased by the parliament. There was a Provision in our constitution originally that there will be a CJ and 7 other judges. This number was raised to 10 in 1956, 13 in 1960, 17 in 1977, 25 in 1985. The Union cabinet on February 21, 2008 approved a proposal to increase the number of judges in the supreme court from 26 (25+1) to 31 (30+1) . However the bill to amend Supreme Court Act 1956 is yet to be introduced in the parliament. So as of today 25 is the right choice.11.Jurisdiction of Lakshadweep comes under __________?

(A)Tamil Nadu High Court

(B)Kerala High Court

(C)Kolkata High Court

12.Andaman and Nicobar being a Union Territory does not have a High Court of its own. Andaman and Nicobar islands judiciary falls under the supervision of the ____________?

(A)A circuit bench of the Bombay High Court at Port Blair

(B)A circuit bench of the Madras High Court at Port Blair

(C)A circuit bench of the Kolkata High Court at Port Blair13.Which amendment made a declaration of Emergency immune from Judicial Review?

(A)42nd

(B)44th

(C)46th

14.Which among the following is true about duration of an Emergency under Article 356 and 352?

(A)maximum duration under Article 356 can be of three years while under Article 352 it may continue indefinitely

(B)maximum duration under Article 352 can be of three years while under Article 356 it may continue indefinitely

(C)maximum duration under Article 356 as well as Article 352 , is three years

Notes: Article 352: Prior to 44th Amendment Bill 1978, a proclamation of emergency under article 352 could remain in force in the first instance for 2 months. However once approved by the parliament the emergency could remain in force indefinitely. Now, the 44th amendment has cut this power of the executive down. After the 44th amendment, a proclamation of emergency may remain in force in the first instance for one month. Such Proclamation, if approved by the parliament shall remain in force for a period of 6 months (unless revoked earlier) . For further continuance approval wuld be required from the parliament for every 6 months. So on approval of the parliament and not on the discretion of the executive the emergency may continue for a longer time.

Article 356: Proclamation of emergency under article 356 may will remain in operation for 6 months at a time but in not any case this proclamation will remain in force for more than 3 years.15.Which among the Indian Engineering Service, Indian Forest Service, Indian Economic Service, Indian Statistical Service , Indian Medical Service & Indian Defense Service does not come under all-India Services?

(A)Indian Medical Service

(B)Indian Defense Service

(C)Indian Statistical Service

16.If a High Court judgment is issued in a state's official language , a translation in ___________must also be made available ?

(A)Hindi

(B)English

(C)None

17.Under article 368 the Indian Constitution provides___________methods of Amendment of different portions of the constitution?

(A)two

(B)three

(C)four

18.How many members can the President nominate to Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha respectively ?

(A)10, 3

(B)12, 2

(C)10, 2

19.Which among the following is true regarding the resignation of the speaker and deputy speaker ?

(A)The Speaker may resign by writing to Deputy Speaker but Deputy Speaker may not resign by writing to Speaker

(B)The Deputy Speaker may resign by writing to Speaker but Speaker may not resign by writing to Deputy Speaker

(C)The Deputy Speaker and Speaker may resign by writing to each other

20.Which among the following is true regarding a power to vote money for public expenditure?

(A)Both Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha have power to vote money for public expenditure

(B)Rajya Sabha only has power to vote money for public expenditure

(C)Lok Sabha only power to vote money for public expenditure

Current Affairs : States: 20.6.09


June18, 2009 : Centre returns Gujarat's anti-terror bill

June18, 2009 :First private University in Karnataka approved

June18, 2009 :Delhi infant mortality rate doubles in 3 years

June18, 2009 :Delhi getting richer faster than the country

June19, 2009 : CG govt formulates Cybercrime Act

June19, 2009 : Tripura power project gets central nod

June19, 2009 : Punjab to improve buffalo breeds for higher milk yield

June18, 2009 : Centre returns Gujarat's anti-terror bill

Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the Cabinet has decided to recommend to the President that the GUJCOCA (Gujarat Control of Organised Crime) Bill be returned to the state government for making three amendments. One of the amendments being suggested to the state government is that the provision that confession before a police officer will be admissible should be dropped. The changes should be made to bring it in line with the Unlawful Activities Prevention of Terrorism Act passed by Parliament in 2008.

June18, 2009 :First private University in Karnataka approvedThe State Government has approved the first private university in the State to be set up by the Azim Premji Foundation under an Act of the Karnataka legislature. The university will promote quality education management programmes and training for teaching staff. The Chairman of Wipro, who has been extending support to the Government in improving educational facilities in several districts of the Hyderabad Karnatak region over the past decade, had approached Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Minister for Higher Education Aravind Limbavali to set up a private university.

June18, 2009 :Delhi infant mortality rate doubles in 3 years

Figures show that infant mortality rate in the capital has doubled in three years between 2005-07. The fact comes in the wake of claims that per capita expenditure on health in Delhi was Rs 685--nearly thrice of the national average of Rs 260. Figures shown in the 'Economic Survey of Delhi 2008-09', released in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday, reveal that while infant mortality per thousand in 2005 was 12.89, it shot up to 25.44 in 2007. The figure for 2006 was 18.05 per thousand. According to the report, the death rate in 2007 shot up to 6.07 from 5.99 in 2005, which was slightly less that 6.11 in 2006.

June18, 2009 :Delhi getting richer faster than the country

Delhi's per capita income more than doubled the national average to stand at Rs.60,189, an increase of 5.6 percent over the previous corresponding period, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi (2008-09). The gross state domestic product (GSDP) rose 12.5 percent to Rs.109,201 crore against an all India average of nine percent. Though the national capital increased its literacy rate to 82 percent, it added only about 97,000 students to its schools during the period under review. The national literacy average stood at 65 percent.

June19, 2009 : CG govt formulates Cybercrime Act

The Raman Singh government has formulated ''Chhattisgarh Cyber Cafe Act-2009'' to effectively curb criminal activities in the cyberspace. The act formulated under the Information Technology Act 2000, would be effective exactly thirty days after its publication in the official gazette. While banning dissemination of obscene materials, including pornography and other indecent exposure in cyber cafe, the act had given ample power to the police to conduct raids on cyber cafe at any time on the basis of complaints. It had also made ID proof compulsory for all customers of cyber cafe and directed the owners to get photographs of women through web camera for use of internet without Identity Card.

June19, 2009 : Tripura power project gets central nod

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Friday gave go-ahead to the 100-MW Tripura gas-based power project, to be developed by the state-run North Eastern Electric Power Corp (Neepco). The estimated cost of the project is Rs.421.01 crore.

June19, 2009 : Punjab to improve buffalo breeds for higher milk yield

On the recommendations of the Punjab State Farmers Commission, the Punjab Government would soon undertake an intensive Buffalo Breed Improvement and Management Programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Yojana (RKVY). This scheme will be implemented by Milkfed with technical support and expertise from the state Animal Husbandry department and in close association with key private players/NGOs in buffalo breeding. The programme is aimed at supplementing the income of small farmers and rural landless workers in the state. Under the programme, 600 Integrated Buffalo Development Centers (IBDCs) covering 3000 villages would be set in the areas of Kandi, Bet, Border and trans-Ghaggar areas at a cost of Rs 60 crore under RKVY over five years involving 2 NGOs-- J K Trust and BAIF, which had already been successfully implementing breed development programme in other states of the country.

India & World Updates: 20.6.09


June18, 2009: India-China PM hotline in a month

June18, 2009:India will do nothing harmful on river project says Bangladesh

June18, 2009:Indias Exim Bank gets $60 mn to support small businesses

June18, 2009:Number of hungry people to top 1 bn in 2009: UN

June 19, 2009: 11th US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group Meeting

June 19, 2009: World Bank to grant $180-mn loan for India's power plants

June 19, 2009: India to become Financial Action Task Force member

June 19, 2009: India eligible for a pie of ADB's funds

June18, 2009: India-China PM hotline in a month

In a bid to facilitate better communication between the two countries, India and China have agreed to establish a hotline at the level of the Prime Ministers within the next 30 days. This point was reiterated at the one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the BRIC summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

June18, 2009:India will do nothing harmful on river project says Bangladesh

Bangladesh has expressed confidence that India would do "nothing harmful" on a proposed river dam in Manipur state in north-eastern India, a minister of bangladesh Dipu Moni has said.

India started the construction of Tipaimukh Dam on river Barak in 2003 to generate electricity. Since the river Barak-Surma-Kushyara is an international river, Bangladesh as a lower riparian country should have an equitable share of water, this is what Bangladesh argues.

June18, 2009:Indias Exim Bank gets $60 mn to support small businesses

The Export-Import Bank of India is getting a $60 million international trade facility to help support export-focused small and medium enterprises, which have suffered reduced access to finance due to global financial crisis. The transaction follows the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between IFC and G-NEXID, an organisation of emerging-market export credit agencies and development institutions focused on trade between developing countries in May.

June18, 2009:Number of hungry people to top 1 bn in 2009: UN

Some 1.02 billion people are likely to go hungry in 2009, a UN agency said blaming the "historic" high figure on the global economic crisis. In Asia and the Pacific, an estimated 642 million people are suffering from chronic hunger; in Sub-Saharan Africa 265 million; in Latin America and the Caribbean 53 million; in the Near East and North Africa 42 million; and in the developed countries 15 million in total.

June 19, 2009: 11th US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group Meeting

India and the US have agreed to coordinate global counter-terrorism efforts and asked the international community to come together to combat the menace in a sustained and comprehensive manner. In a joint statement on Wednesday, after the meeting of the 11th US-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group, India and the US strongly condemned terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations, recognising it as a major threat to democracy, international peace and security. They also called upon all states to abide by their commitments under the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2006.

June 19, 2009: World Bank to grant $180-mn loan for India's power plants

The World Bank on June 18, 2009 has approved a $80-million loan for the renovation and modernisation of old, polluting and inefficient coal-fired power plants in India. The project, which is expected to lower carbon emissions and boost power production at these plants, is co-financed with a $45.4-million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This has been done in a move to reduce Carbon Emissions. With the proposal, around 200-220 MW capacity each of the three coal-fired power plants at Bandel in West Bengal, Koradi in Maharashtra, and Panipat, Haryana will be modernised.

June 19, 2009: India to become Financial Action Task Force member

India might be able to secure membership of the Financial Action Task Force only in 2010, as the scheduled mutual-evaluation with the international body, a pre-requisite for the membership, will happen only by 2009-end.

Getting membership of the FATF, an inter-government body formed to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing, would enable India to get international cooperation in such cases and would change perception of India abroad. Also, Indian banks would not have to face regulatory hurdles in setting up of overseas branches. Money laundering is a global menace and as India becomes a prominent global business destination, FATF membership gains all the more importance, said Singh and added that it would also open the doors for Indian banks to expand globally.

Enactment of the amended Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which was passed by Parliament recently to make the anti-money laundering regime more effective, was the final step for India to move towards getting the coveted membership of FATF next year.

Since February 2007, India has been participating as an observer at FATF, the first step in getting full membership of the FATF. India is also a member of the APG (the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering), an associate member of FATF.

June 19, 2009: China selling fake 'Made in India' drugs

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 30 per cent of medicines sold in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are spurious.Several seizures have found that the fake drugs have a 'Made in India' tag.

June 19, 2009: India eligible for a pie of ADB's funds

The Asian Development Bank has said India can access part of the $3 billion additional funds allocated by the bank to help developing nations in tackling the global economic crisis. The bank has come up with the 'Countercyclical Support Facility' (CSF) aimed at helping developing nations in their effort to ramp up their fiscal spending.

The amount for each country from the facility would be capped at $500 million. The programme would provide short-term, fast-disbursing loans. The loans under the new facility would have a lower cost than charged for loans disbursed during the East Asian crisis. The loans could be repaid in eight years.

Finance & Economy Current Affairs Update: 20.6.09


June18, 2009: Inflation turns negative, drops to -1.61%

June 19, 2009: India largest investor in UK after the US

June 19, 2009 : India's FX reserves at $263.644 bn as on June 12

June19, 2009, State Bank to acquire State Bank of Indore

June 19, 2009: Mobile service revenue to cross $30 b by 2013

June18, 2009: Inflation turns negative, drops to -1.61%

For the first time since the new wholesale price index (WPI) series started in 1995, India's annual rate of inflation turned negative, falling to minus 1.61 per cent for the week ended on June 6, official data showed on Thursday. The annual rate of inflation, calculated on a point to point to basis stood at minus 1.61 per cent for the week ended June 6, 2009 as compared to 0.13 per cent for the previous week and 11.66 per cent during the corresponding week of previous year".

June 19, 2009: India largest investor in UK after the US

After United States, India with 108 projects is the largest investor in United Kingdom in terms of number in 2008-09 as against 75 in the previous year.

June 19, 2009 : India's FX reserves at $263.644 bn as on June 12

India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $263.644 billion as on June 12, from $261.217 billion a week earlier as per RBI Bank

June 19, 2009: Anti-dumping duty on Chinese Vitamin C extended for 5 years

Central Board Of Excise and Customs CBEC, Govt. of India has extended the anti-dumping duty on Vitamin-C imported from China for another five years. The duty, at the rate of $3.99 per kilogram of the vitamin, was imposed in October 2003 for five years.

Earlier, the government had imposed duty on several other Chinese products such as yarns, fabrics, colour picture tubes, some aluminium products and chemicals. As per WTO, India initiated the highest number of 42 anti-dumping investigations, followed by Brazil and China, between July and December 2008.

June19, 2009, State Bank to acquire State Bank of Indore

The board of State Bank of India (SBI) has approved the acquisition of associate State Bank of Indore. SBI has informed BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) that the central board of the bank at its meeting held on June 19, has approved a proposal for acquisition of State Bank of Indore by State Bank of India, subject to approval by the Reserve Bank of India and the government of India. State Bank of Saurashtra had merged with SBI last August. SBI now has five associate banks - State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad.

June 19, 2009: Mobile service revenue to cross $30 b by 2013

With Indian mobile operators adding over one crore subscribers every month, the total mobile service revenue is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5 per cent to cross the $30-billion mark during 2009-13.

According to global research firm Gartner, India will have over 77 crore subscribers by 2013, growing at a CAGR of 14.3 per cent during the same period from over 45-crore by the end of 2009. As a result, India would remain the worlds second largest wireless market after China in terms of mobile connections. Mobile market penetration is projected to increase to 63.5 per cent in 2013 from 38.7 per cent in 2009. This growth was primarily attributed to the operators increasing their focus on the rural market, local consumer durable and electronic companies entering the domestic mobile handset segment, and lower handset prices. The Indian mobile connection market continues to be dominated by pre-paid subscribers. Pre-paid

connections accounted for more than 93 per cent of all mobile connections in 2008 and it is expected to grow to more than 96 per cent of the connection base by 2013.

Current Affairs : Awards May-June 2009


June 18, 2009 Premji wins Global Vision Award at USIBC

June 15, 2009 : IIFA Awards 2009: Jodha Akbar Sweeps with 10 Prizes

June 12, 2009 : Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International gets UN Award

June 3, 2009 : Amrita & Joseph win research awards in America

June 2, 2009 : ICICI Bank's Hari Pandey bags corporate executive award

June 01, 2009 : Azim Premji honoured for being 'extraordinary humanitarian'

May 31, MTV Movie Awards: "Twilight" Sweeps

May 27, 2009 : Alice Munro of Canadais winner of the third Man Booker International Prize.

May 25, 2009: Suu Kyi gets 2009 Mahatma Gandhi peace award.

May 19, 2009 : Russian-French mathematician Mikhail Leonidovich Gromov receives the Abel Prize 2009

May 15, 2009 : Mysore Doreswamy Madhusudan gets Whitley Award

May 13, 2009 : Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva awarded UN cultural agencys peace prize

May 12, 2009: Nikkei Asia Prize for Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

May 2, 2009: Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth gets Leontif Award 2009

June 18, 2009 Premji wins Global Vision Award at USIBC

Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd was awarded the US-India Business Council's (USIBC) 34th Anniversary 'Global Vision' award in Washington for his work furthering India-US relations through commercial partnership. The award was presented by retired president and CEO of GE India Scott Bayman, USIBC President Ron Somers and PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra K Nooyi on behalf of USIBC on June 17. USIBC would make a donation to Operation Smile, a children's charity treating facial deformities, in the name of the awardee Premji.This donation would allow 14 children to receive life changing surgery during Operation Smile's August 2009 medical mission to Gujarat.

June 15, 2009 : IIFA Awards 2009:

The 2009 IIFA Awards, officially the 10th International Indian Film Academy Awards were given aways in Macau in a ceremony. The 2009 Awards was a special time, as IIFA has completed 10 years of giving Awards to film personalities.

IIFA is held abroad every year in an internationally known city. So far, IIFA has been hosted in London, Dubai, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Singapore and Yorkshire, among other international locations. Around 200 celebrities from Bollywood attend this event every year.

Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador for IIFA.

Jodhaa Akbar swept the International Indian Film Acadmey (IIFA) awards 2009 . Jodha Akbar bagged 10 awards.

1. Hrithik Roshan got the best actor award and Ashutosh Gowariker the best director award.

2. Priyanka Chopra was named the best actress for her role in " Fashion ".

3. Kangana Ranaut for her performance in " Fashion ", Got Best Supporting Actress.

4. Arjun Rampal got the award for best male actor in a supporting role in " Rock On! "

5. Abhishek Bachchan got the best comic actor for his performance in " Dostana "

6. Akshaye Khanna got best actor in a negative role for " Race ".

7. Neeraj Pandey was given IIFA best story award for " A Wednesday "

8. Rahman was also named the best music director for his ompositions in " Jodhaa Akbar

9. Javed Ali Best Male Playback Singer award for " Jashn-e-bahaara " in " Jodhaa Akbar

10. Shreya Ghoshal was named the best female playback singer for " Teri ore " in hit romantic comedy " Singh is Kinng ".

11. Javed Akhtar won the best lyricist award for penning the song " Jashn-e-bahaara " for " Jodhaa Akbar ".

12. Aishwarya , the daughter-in-law of IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, was honoured with a special award for an outstanding achievement in international cinema.

13. Director-turned actor Farhan Akhtar got the best male debutant of the year award for " Rock On !", while Asin Thottumkal got best female debut award for action thriller " Ghajini ".

14. Resul Pokkutty , who won Oscar for his work in "Slumdog Millionaire", bagged sound recording trophy for Aamir Khan starrer " Ghajini ".

15. Neeta Lulla walked away with the best costume design award for " Jodhaa Akbar ",

16. Ballu Saluja got award for best editing

17. Nitin Chandrakant Desai for and best art direction of Jodha Akabr

18. Madhav Kadam bagged Best Make Up award For Jodha Akabar

Also honours were given to commemorate 10 years of IIFA awards.

1. " Lagaan " was declared the best movie of the decade

2. Rajesh Khanna was given the lifetime achievement award,

3. Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were respectively declared the male and female actors of the decade,

4. Rakesh Roshan was named director of the decade

5. Double Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman was honoured with the composer of the decade award.

June 12, 2009 : Bindeshwar Pathak of Sulabh International gets UN Award

Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International that runs public toilets in India, was honored by the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization at the United Nations headquarters in New York on June 12, 2009 for developing low cost toilet technology to produce energy out of human excreta.

June 3, 2009 : Amrita & Joseph win research awards in America

Amrita Sehgal, 18, from Ohio is one of the two $50,000 first prize winners in the 2009 Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition for American high school students for her research on osteoporosis. Allan Joseph, 17, won $35,000 second prize winners for his study on ligament injuries in high school students.

June 2, 2009 : ICICI Bank's Hari Pandey bags corporate executive award

Hari Pandey, ICICI Bank president and CEO, wealth management, for the North American region, has been selected for Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Executive of the Year Award. Pandey,had founded ICICI Bank in Canada in March 2003.

June 01, 2009 : Azim Premji honoured for being 'extraordinary humanitarian'

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and founder of the Azim Premji Foundation has been conferred doctor of humane letters by Wesleyan University, Connecticut, United States. The honorary degree was conferred on Premji in recognition of his achievements as a 'renowned entrepreneur, global business leader and extraordinary humanitarian who has demonstrated a commitment to education and the well being of fellow citizens. Premji is the second Indian recipient of this award. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Kumar Sen was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1995.

May 31, MTV Movie Awards: "Twilight" Sweeps

18th annual MTV Movie Awards were held at the Gibson Amphitheater on the Universal Studios lot near Hollywood. "Twilight " got the best movie award and some other awards.

Best Movie - "Twilight"

Best Male Performance - Zac Efron ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year")

Best Female Performance - Kristen Stewart ("Twilight")

Best Villain - Heath Ledger ("The Dark Knight")

Best Comedic Performance - Jim Carrey ("Yes Man")

Best Fight - Robert Pattinson Vs. Cam Gigandet ("Twilight")

Best Kiss - Robert Pattinson And Kristen Stewart ("Twilight")

Best Female Breakthrough Performance - Ashley Tisdale ("High School Musical 3: Senior Year")

May 27, 2009 : Alice Munro is winner of the third Man Booker International Prize.

Alice Munro is todayis winner of the third Man Booker International Prize.

The Man Booker International Prize is worth 60,000 to the winner and is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work that has contributed to an achievement in fiction on the world stage. It was first awarded to Ismail Kadar in 2005 and then to Chinua Achebe in 2007. Munro is best known for her short stories and is one of Canada's most celebrated writers.

May 25, 2009: Suu Kyi gets 2009 Mahatma Gandhi peace award

The Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in South Africa has awarded the 2009 Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Justice to the leader of National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar Suu Kyi. Chairman of Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in South Africa is Ela Gandhi

May 19, 2009 : Russian-French mathematician Mikhail Leonidovich Gromov receives the Abel Prize 2009

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2009 to the Russian-French mathematician Mikhail Leonidovich Gromov (65) for his revolutionary contributions to geometry.

The Abel Prize recognizes contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences and has been awarded annually since 2003. It carries a cash award of NOK 6,000,000 (close to 700,000, US$ 950,000). Mikhail L. Gromov will receive the Abel Prize from His Majesty King Harald at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, May 19.

The Abel Prize is an international prize presented annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. The prize is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (18021829).

It has been often described as the "mathematician's Nobel" prize and is among the most prestigious awards in mathematics. It comes with a monetary award, which in 2009 was 684,000 euro (929,000 US dollar). The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters annually declares the winner of the Abel Prize after selection by a committee of five internationaal mathematicians.

May 15, 2009 : Mysore Doreswamy Madhusudan gets Whitley Award

Mysore Doreswamy Madhusudan, Ph. D., is an Indian wildlife biologist and ecologist. Madhusudan was conferred the Whitley Award, popularly called Green Oscar in May 2009 in recognition of his work to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats. Madhusudan and NCF have said the grant from the award of 30,000, donated by HSBC, will go towards conservation activities, primarily for crop protection, in Anamalai-Parambikulam Elephant Reserve habitat.

He has worked on understanding and mitigating the effects of human-wildlife conflict in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in South India. He has also worked in several other forests in the Himalayas and North-east India. In 2004, he was a one of the team of wildlife biologists who described Arunachal Macaque, a new species of macaque from Arunachal Pradesh.

May 13, 2009 : Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva awarded UN cultural agencys peace prize

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on may 13, 2009 awarded its annual peace prize to President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva of Brazil for his actions in pursuit of peace, dialogue, democracy, social justice and equal rights, as well as for his valuable contribution to the eradication of poverty and the protection of minorities rights.

May 12, 2009: Nikkei Asia Prize for Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd, has been chosen for the Nikkei Asia Prize 2009 for Regional Growth for her pioneering work in biotechnology in India.

Nikkei or Japans prestigious business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun, has been annually presenting the Nikkei Asia Prizes since 1996 to outstanding individuals or institutions from the Asia-Pacific region contributing to improving the quality of life in Asia. Earlier recipients include Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy and Prof Mohammed Yunus of the Bangladesh Grameen Bank fame.

May 2, 2009: Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth gets Leontif Award 2009

The Leontief Award 2009 has been conferred on Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics at the Institute of Economic Growth.The award has been instituted in honour of Nobel laureate Wassily Leontief, given by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, US.

The Leontief Award is conferred to recognize outstanding contribution to economic theory that addresses contemporary realities and supports just and sustainable societies.

Current Affairs: Science, Technology & Environment: 20.6.09


This Post Published on 20.6.09

June 18, 2009 : Current carbon dioxide levels highest in past 2.1 mn years

June18, 2009 : NASA starts back to moon with dual mission

June18, 2009 : Oceansat 2 to be ready by August

June19, 2009 : New global programme to save tigers to link India

June 18, 2009 : Current carbon dioxide levels highest in past 2.1 mn years

Present day carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have touched the highest mark in the past 2.1 million years which may result in large scale climatic changes from the greenhouse effect, says a study published in the June 19 edition of the journal Science. The present levels of carbon dioxide are 38 per cent higher than the levels that hovered around 280 parts per million during last 2.1 million years.

Carbon dioxide is a principal green house gas which traps the warm infrared rays coming from the sun and blocks them from being reflected again into space by the earth's surface. This helps in maintaining adequate temperature on earth, making it liveable. But its rapid increase emanating from human activities like vehicles, factories etc is increasing the temperature to an extent that large scale climate change is becoming inevitable.

June18, 2009 : NASA starts back to moon with dual mission

NASA launched a dual mission on Thursday to help pave the way for humans to return to the moon, as the US space agency looks beyond the continuing needs of the International Space Station. The Atlas V rocket launch lifted off from NASA's Cape Canaveral in Florida. A scheduling conflict with the space shuttle Endeavour, which now won't be launched before July 11, delayed the launch by a day.

A US Atlas rocket carried the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) - two craft that will update primitive maps of the moon and search for water. The goal is to design a new generation of manned spacecraft, the Orion project, expected to be ready by 2015.

June18, 2009 : Oceansat 2 to be ready by August

The Indian Space Research Organisations ocean observation mission, Oceansat 2, will be ready by August. Oceansat 2 will have a device to study surface level winds that will help in predicting the sea conditions. Its ocean colour monitor is useful in identifying potential areas for fishery. Earth observation satellite Cartosat 2B, would be ready for launch this year. Data from the satellite would be used for mapping and other cartographic applications.

June19, 2009 : New global programme to save tigers to link India

Smithsonian Institution and the World Bank Group plan to link relevant institutions in India, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand and other tiger range countries with global conservation science and professional training centres.

The National Zoo's Conservation and Research Centre located in the Shenandoah Mountains in Front Royal, Virginia, will serve as one of the initial launch-pads for development of the proposed conservation and development network.

The World Bank will dedicate more than $1 million over the next year toward these training efforts, and the Smithsonian and World Bank will work to expand the alliance to include other members and raise additional financing for implementation. The Year-of-the-Tiger Summit is scheduled to be held in the second half of 2010.

As poaching, habitat loss and other issues have reduced the global tiger population in the wild to less than 3,500 and the losses continue, the new programme under the Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) will help stabilise and restore wild tiger populations and save this endangered species from extinction in its natural habitats.

Who is Who (India)


Chief Election Commissioner of India: Navin Chawla

Election Commission of India: VS Sampath

Election commissioner of India: S Y Quraishi

Chief Justice of India: KG Balakrishnan

National Commission for Minorities: Mohammad Shaffi Qureshi

Comptroller and Auditor General of India: Vinod Rai

Governor of Reserve Bank of India: D. Subbarao

Chairman, University Grants Commission: S K Thorat

Chairman, Railway Board : S S Khurana

Chief of National Investigation Agency : Radha Vinod Raju

Solicitor General of India Gopal Subramaniam

Attorney General of India : G E Vahanvati

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a prominent economic policy-maker of our country. He was a Member of the Indian Planning Commission in the NDA Government from 1998. He became the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on July 9, 2001. On June 16, 2004, he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission by the UPA and was reappointed to the post by the Government on June 5, 2009.

Chief Election Commissioner of India: Navin Chawla

Navin Chawla is the sixteenth and current Chief Election Commissioner of India. He was born in New Delhi.

Recently he was in the news as the then Chief Election Commissioner, N Gopalaswami, had unilaterally recommended his removal from the election commission on grounds of partisanship. The recommendation had since been rejected by the President of India on March 1, 2009.

He succeeded N Gopalaswami as the Chief Election Commissioner of India on April 20, 2009.

His Works : Two Books on Mother Teresa & One Report on Leprosy

1. Two Books on Mother Teresa titled "Mother Teresa" & "Faith and Compassion"

2. The Vocational Rehabilitation and Social Re-integration of the Leprosy Affected in India. This report was released at the India International Centre in New Delhi by Mother Teresa herself on 18 October 1988.

Election Commissioner of India: VS Sampath

VS Sampath, one of the Election Commissioners of Election Commission of India, is a 1973-batch IAS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre. He took charge as Election Commissioner on 21 April, 2009 after serving for a year as the Secretary, Energy and Power, Government of India. Sampath will be the Chief Election Commissioner until 2014.

Election commissioner of India: S Y Quraishi

Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is an election commissioner of India. He was appointed as an election commissioner on June 30, 2006. He is a secretary for Youth Affairs and Sports for India as well. He is an IAS officer of 1971 batch from Haryana cadre. He did his Ph.D in Communications and Social marketing.

Chief Justice of India: KG Balakrishnan

Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan is the thirty-seventh Chief Justice of India. He is the only Dalit and the only Malayali to become the Chief Justice of India.

National Commission for Minorities: Mohammad Shaffi Qureshi

Mohammad Shaffi Qureshi is prominent Muslim politician.He is currently the chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities since September 3rd,2007. (governor of west Bengal chairman of minority commission with rankof cabinet minister

Comptroller and Auditor General of India: Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai is the present Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He assumed office from early 2008.Mr Rai is a 1972 batch Kerala cadre officer of Indian Administrative Service (IAS).He was the MD of Kerala State Co-operative Marketing Federation from 1977 to 1980.Prior to his appointment as Financial Services Secretary, Mr Rai was Additional Secretary in the Banking Division of the Finance Ministry.

Governor of Reserve Bank of India: D. Subbarao

Duvvuri Subbarao is the twenty-second Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Subbarao took over from Y. Venugopal Reddy, the previous governor on 5 September 2008. His term as Governor will end in September 2011. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Subbarao was the Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Dr. Subbarao has earlier been Secretary to the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (2005-2007), lead economist in the World Bank (1999-2004), Finance Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh (1993-98) and Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India (1988-1993).

Chairman, University Grants Commission: S K Thorat

Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat was born on July 12, 1949 in village Mahimapur, District Amravati (Maharashtra), India. He is the Chairman of UGC of India.

Honour and Awards Prof. Thorat has received :

Padamshree award from the Government of India in 2008.

Vidyalankara (Lifetime Achievement Award) by Purbanchal Academy of Oriental Studies in association with Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India in 2008

P.K. Patil Purushottam Award in 2007.

Awarded Bharat Shiromani Award 2006 by Shiromani Institute.

Ambedkar Chetna Award in 2001.

Chairman, Railway Board : S S Khurana

Shri S.S. Khurana is the Chairman, Railway Board and ex-officio Principal Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Railway. Prior to this he has been holding the post of Member (Staff), Railway Board since 28th December 2007. Born in the year 1950, Shri Khurana did Electrical Engineering from University of Roorkee (Now IIT/Roorkee).

As officer of 1971 batch of the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineering (IRSEE), Shri Khurana worked in various capacities in Indian Railways. He also served as General Manager, East Coast Railway, General Manager/Eastern Railway, Additional General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway, Chief Electrical Engineer in the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE), Allahabad, Divisional Railway Manager, Adra (SER), Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Dhanbad, Chief Project Manager, Railway Electrification at Ambala and has also worked in the research and design aspects of electric locomotives in the Research, Design & Standards organization, Lucknow.

He has also received valuable experience in foreign training in Sweden, Japan and USA. He has also attended Advance Leadership Programme at Stern Business School, New York, USA.

Chief of National Investigation Agency : Radha Vinod Raju

Radha Vinod Raju is the first chief of country's National Investigation Agency. Born in Kochi on July 27 1949, the 59-year old Indian Police Service officer of the Jammu and Kashmir [Images] cadre is a religious person.As part of the special investigating team that probed the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi Raju established the involvement of the Tamil Tigers in the assassination of the former Prime Minister.He has served both the Jammu and Kashmir police and the Central Bureau of Investigation in various capacities.

After joining the IPS in 1975, Raju joined the CBI in 1983. Among the various postings he held in Jammu and Kashmir have been SSP of Jammu district, deputy inspector general of south Kashmir range and the inspector general of Jammu zone.

Solicitor General of India : Gopal Subramaniam

Senior Advocate Gopal Subramaniam is solicitor general, the second most important law officer of the country after the Attorney General.

He has played important role in the petrol pump scam case & inquiry commission into Graham Staines murder. He also represented the Centre in high-voltage cases like Bihar assembly dissolution, defreezing of London bank accounts of Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi and the cash-for-query scam. Besides Subramaniam also helped the Supreme Court frame the anti-ragging code. Acting as an amicus curiae in the case, he, in tandem with the Raghavan Committee, suggested radical measures like expulsion of students found guilty of ragging and denial of any further admission anywhere.

Attorney General of India : G E Vahanvati

Goolam Essaji Vahanvati is the new Attorney General of India, the first Muslim to hold the top law officer's post. India's new Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati. Vahanvati, brought in as Solicitor General in 2004 after his successful tenure as advocate general of Maharashtra, was the first SG since the 1960s to complete the five-year term that ended in May this year.

He succeeds Milon Banerjee.

In his role as the Solicitor General, Vahanvati, who started practice 37 years ago in Mumbai, handled a variety of matters involving important constitutional questions; for instance, that of 27% OBC quota in educational institutions, which was validated by the Supreme Court last year. He also saved the Centre embarrassment by persuading the SC to stay an Allahabad HC order stopping subsidy for the Haj pilgrimage.

Previous Attorney Generals of India

Milon K. Banerjee 1992-1996

Ashok Desai 1996-1998

Soli Sorabjee 1998-2004

Milon K. Banerjee 2004-2009

G E Vahanvati 8.6.09 to current

Quiz 137

Documents

Transcript of Quiz 137