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ARIHANT PUBLICATIONS (INDIA) LTD.
Arihant Publications (India) Ltd.All Rights Reserved
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CONTENTS5-32Current Affairs
India Highest Peaks of India Important Lakes and Rivers of India (37), (37), (39),Important River Projects and their Beneficiary States Natural Vegetation of (40),India Soil in India Forests of India Climate Agriculture (41), (42), (43), (44), (44), Mineral Resources Transportation in India Railways Road (45), (46), (46),Transport Water Transport Air Transport (46), (47), (47)
Indian Geography
Environment and Ecology
Medieval India
HISTORY 1-27
Ancient India Pre-Historic Period Indus Valley Civilisation Vedic Period Jainism and (1), (1), (3),
Buddhism Dynasties of Ancient India (5), (6)
INDIAN POLITY 51-64
Framing of the Indian Constitution Enactment of the Constitution (51), (51),Preamble Important Articles Directive Principles of State Policy (51), (52), (54), Fundamental Duties The President The Vice-President Council of (54), (54), (56),Ministers Prime Minister Union Legislature Supreme Court (56), (56), (56), (58),Comptroller and Auditor General (58)
Advent of the Europeans Governor-Generals of Bengal Governor - (15), (15),Generals of India Viceroys of India The Revolt of 1857 Chief (16), (17), (19),National Activities (19)
GEOGRAPHY 28-50
Modern India
World Geography Universe Solar System Rocks Land Forms Atmosphere (28), (28), (31), (31), (32),
Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming Important Canals and Lakes of the (33),World Major Islands and Minerals of the World (34), (35)
Art and Culture
Provincial Kingdoms Mughal Empire Later Mughals and Marathas (11), (12), (14)
Classical Dancers of India Musical Instruments and Instrumentalists (26), (27)
Important Sanctuaries and National Parks Biosphere Reserves of India (50)(49),
Physical and Chemical Changes Corrosion Acids, Bases and Salts (86), (87), (89),Soaps and Pesticides (90)
Computer
The States
Physics
Biology
First in the World, (Male and Female) Superlatives Countries with (103), (104),Capitals and Currencies Geographical Epithets Major Newspapers of (105), (106),the World Religions of the World First in India (Male) Female (109), (109), (111),(111), (113), (114), Books and Authors Important Dates and Days of the Year Abbreviations Awards and Honours Indian Defence (115), (119), (122)
The Governor States Legislature The Panchayats and the (59), (59),Municipalities Committees to Study Panchayat System Union Public (60), (61),Service Commission Election and Planning Commission National (61), (62),Development Council Finance Commission e-Governance and Its (63), (63),Impacts Important Parliamentary Terms Constitutional (63), (64) Amendments (64)
Outline of Indian Economy Broad Sectors of Indian Economy Five Year (65), (65),Plans at a Glance National Income of India Indian Tax Structure (66), (66), (67),Inequality Poverty Employment Industries Major Industries (67), (67), (68), (69),in India Banking and Finance Insurance Census 2011 (70), (71), (72), (73),Economic Terms (74)
Chemistry
GENERAL SCIENCE 75-102
Newton’s Laws of Motion Circular Motion Gravitation Satellites (75), (75), (76),(76), (77), (77), (78), General Properties of Matter Archimedes’ Principle Density Heat and Thermodynamics Waves Light Lens Human (78), (80), (80), (81),Eye Magnets Atomic and Nuclear Physics Laser Technology in (82), (83), (83),India (85)
Living World The Cell and Human Systems Fat Soluble Vitamins (92), (92), (93),Blood Central Nervous System Some Human Diseases Caused by (94), (95),Viruses and Bacteria Ecology Biotechnology (96), (98), (98)
Components of Computer Memory Some Commonly Used (101), (101),Terms (102)
INDIAN ECONOMY 65-74
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 103-128
Union Budget 2020-21l Union Budget 2020-21 was presented
in Parliament on February 1, 2020 bythe Union Minister for Finance NirmalaSitharaman.
l This year’s Union Budget centres aroundthree ideas-Aspirational India, Economicdevelopment, A Caring Society.
l The Finance Minister Said that the UnionBudget 2020-21 aimsl To achieve seamless delivery of
services through Digital governancel To improve physical quality of life
through National Infrastructurepipline
l Risk mitigation through disasterresilience
l Social security through pension andinsurance penetration
Focused Pointsl Fiscal deficit target pegged at 3.8% of
GDP for FY20.l Over 6 crore farmers under Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana have beeninsured.
l Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Surakshaand Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM)to be expanded, providing 20 lakhfarmers in setting up standalone solarpumps.
l One-Product One-District for bettermarketing and export in theHorticulture sector.
l Agri-credit target for the year 2020-21has been set at ` 15 lakh crore.
l PM-KISAN beneficiaries to be coveredunder the KCC scheme.
l NABARD Re-finance Scheme to befurther expanded.
l ` 69000 crore allocated for thehealthcare sector. Out of the totalamount, ` 6400 crore will besanctioned for Ayushman BharatYojana.
l Governement will start start Ind-SatExam to promote study in India anda degree-level online educationprogramme for the deprived.
l Government proposed ` 3000 crorefor Skill India to provide relevant skilltraining to the youth
l ` 27300 crore allocated for 2020-21for development and promotion ofIndustry and Commerce.
l Investment Clearance Cell proposedto be set up to provide ‘end to end’facilitation and support.
l National Technical Textiles Missionto be set up with four-yearimplementation period from 2020-21to 2023-24.
l New scheme NIRVIK to be launchedto achieve higher export creditdisbursement.
l 100 more airports to be developedunder UDAAN by 2025.
l Railways will set up Kisan Railthrough PPP model so thatperishable goods can be transportedquickly.
l Four station re-development projectsand operation of 150 passengertrains through PPP.
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l ` 22000 crore proposed for powerand renewable energy sector in2020-21
l Expansion of national gas gridfrom the present 16200 km to27000 km proposed.
l An allocation of ` 6000 crore willbe provided for BharatNetscheme.
l ` 28600 crore will be allocated inFY21 for women-linkedprogrammes.
l Allocation for senior citizens andDivyang enhanced to ` 9500 crore.
l Allocation of ` 2500 crore for2020-21 for tourism promotion.
l An Indian Institute of Heritageand Conservation under Ministryof Culture proposed; with thestatus of a deemed University.
l Reforms accomplished in PSBs; 10banks consolidated into 4 and` 350000 crore capital infused.
l Government to amend thecompanies Act to decriminalisecivil offences.
l Insurance cover for bankdepositors raised from ` 1 lakh to` 5 lakh.
l Government to sell govt stake inIDBI Bank to private investors.
l The government has proposed tosell a part of its holding in the LIC,through an initial public offering(IPO).
l Jan Aushadhi Kendra Scheme tooffer 2000 medicines and 300surgicals in all districts by 2024
l TB Harega Desh Jeetegacampaign launched-commitmentto end Tuberculosis by 2025.
l ` 3.60 lakh crore approved for JalJeevan Mission
l ` 12300 crore allocation forSwachh Bharat Mission in 2020-21
l The plan to provide piped water acrossIndian households by 2024 with ` 3.6trillion of funding.
Economic Survey 2019-20l India’s Economic Survey 2019-20 was
tabled in the Parliament by The ChiefEconomic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy V.Subramanian followed by Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on Jan., 31, 2020.
l The Economic Survey 2019-20 builds onIndia’s aspiration of 5 trillion Economy by2024-25 with a theme of Wealth Creation.
Highlightsl GDP growth pegged at 6-6.5% in FY 2020-21
as against 5.0% estimated for 2019-20.l Survey suggests relaxing Fiscal Deficit
target to revive growth in economyl To achieve GDP of $ 5 trillion by 2025,
India needs to spend about $ 1.4 trillionon infrastructure
l Uptick in GDP growth expected insecond half of 2019-20
l Theme of Survey is to enable markets,promote pro-business policies andstrengthening trust in the economy.
l Ethical wealth creation key to Indiabecoming $ 5 trillion economy by 2025
l Gross GST monthly collection crossed the` 1 lakh crore mark five times till Dec., 2019
l India ranks third in number of new firmscreated; 1.24 lakh firms created in 2018compared to 70000 in 2014
l India’s large economy needs an efficientbanking sector to support growth; State ofthe banking system needs urgent attention
l Survey suggests rationalisation ofgovernment intervention in boostingeconomic freedom and wealth creation
l Access to helath services through AyushmanBharat and Mission Indradhanush across thecountry has improved
l ‘Thalinomics’ : Affordability of vegetarianThali improved 29% and that ofnon-vegetarian Thali by 18% from2006-07 to 2019-20
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Cabinet Approved the MedicalTermination of Pregnancy(Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Union Cabinet has approved theMedical Termination of Pregnancy(Amendment) Bill, 2020 on Jan. 29, 2020.
The bill will amend the MedicalTermination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 andextends the upper limit for permittingabortions from the present 20 weeks to24 weeks.
‘Samvidhaan’ Named as OxfordHindi Word of 2019
Samvidhaan or Constitution has beennamed as the Hindi Word of the Year for2019 by Oxford University Press onJanuary 28, 2020.
The word was picked as 2019 saw thevalues of democracy, secularism, justice,liberty, equality, and fraternity beingtested on the touchstone of thesamvidhaan.
SC Allows Govt. to Bring AfricanCheetah to India
The Supreme Court has allowed theCentre to introduce the African cheetahto a suitable habitat in India (PalpurKuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh) onan experimental basis on January 28,2020.
The decision was taken after a petitionwas filed by National Tiger ConservationAuthority (NTCA) to introduce theAfrican Cheetah from Namibia as therare Indian Cheetah that has becomealmost extinct in India.
Indian Railways CommissionedFirst Waste to Energy Plant
Indian Railways has commissioned thecountry’s first governmental waste toenergy plant in Mancheswar CarriageRepair workshop at Bhubaneswar underthe East Coast Railway zone.
It is the fourth waste to energy plant inthe country and first plantcommissioned by Government sectorand Indian Railways (IR).
New Indian English Words Addedto Oxford Dictionary
The tenth edition of the OxfordAdvanced Learner’s Dictionary, whichwas launched on January 24, 2020, has384 Indian English words.
In this latest edition, 26 new Indianlanguages words namely Aadhaar,Chawl, dabba, hartal, shaadi and severalincorporate words like chatbot, fakenews, microplastic & over 1000 newwords were included.
ISRO Unveiled ‘Vyommitra’ forGaganyaan
The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) has unveiled ahalf-humanoid or human-robot named‘Vyommitra’ which will be sent to spaceas part of the Gaganyaan mission onJanuary 22, 2020.
‘Vyom Mitra’ or a friend in the sky; iscapable of conversing with astronauts,recognising them, and responding totheir queries.
It is called half-humanoid since it doesnot have legs, though it can bendforward and sideways.
POLNET 2.0 Facility Launched
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs(MHA) Nityanand Rai has inauguratedrevamped police communicationservices POLNET 2.0 on January 20,2020.
It is a captive satellite-based networkthat provides video, audio and dataconnectivity across the country,especially in times of disasters whenregular communication either getsjammed or crashes.
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Current Affairs
Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 Held
PM Narendra Modi has attended the3rd edition of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha2020’ held at Talkatora Stadium inNew Delhi on January 20, 2020.
He advised students to study in theircomfortable time, enter the exam hallwith faith and without any pressureand start attempting the paper witheasier question.
He guided students that they shouldnot fear failures and learn from it as itwould lead them towards theirsuccess.
SU-30MKI Aircraft SquadronInducted
Indian Air Force has inducted the firstSukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft squadronat the Thanjavurair base.
The SU-30MKI fighters are beingequipped with the air-launchedversion of the BrahMossupersoniccruise missiles which can hit targets ataround 300 kilometres with precision.
This is the first SU-30MKI fighter aircraftsquadron in South India which willlook after amaritime role as well.
‘One Nation, One Ration Card’Scheme will be Implemented byJune 2020
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan hasannounced on January 20, 2020 thatthe ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’scheme will be implemented by June1, 2020 across the country.
Under this scheme, a beneficiary willbe able to avail benefits across thecountry using the same ration card.
The beneficiaries will be identifiedand verified through Aadhaarauthentication at the Fair Price Shopson the electronic point of sale(e-POS) devices.
India Successfully Test-fired K-4Ballistic Missile
India successfully test-fired the 3,500 kmstrike range nuclear-capable K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile off the coast ofAndhra Pradesh on January 19, 2020.
The missile system is being developed bythe DRDO and is to be fitted into theindigenouslybuilt INS Arihant-classnuclear-powered submarines of the IndianNavy.
Pulse Polio Programme 2020Launched
President Ram Nath Kovind has launchedthe Pulse Polio Programme 2020 byadministering Polio drops to childrenbelow five years at Rashtrapati Bhavan onJanuary 18, 2020.
The Pulse Polio Programme 2020 wasconducted as a part of NationalImmunisation Day across the country.
APNA UREA–Sona Ugle Brand ofHURL Launched
Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister DVSadananda Gowda has launched theAPNA UREA-Sona Ugle brand of HindustanUrvarak and Rasayan Limited (HURL) inNew Delhi on January 17, 2020.
HURL is a joint venture companypromoted by the three Maha RatnaCompanies - Coal India Limited, NTPCLimited and Indian Oil CorporationLimited.
ISRO’s GSAT-30 Launched
India’s ‘high power’ telecommunica- tionsatellite ‘GSAT-30’ and EUTELSAT KONNECTwas successfully launched from Kouroulaunch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5VA-251 on January 17, 2020.
It will be replacing the INSAT-4A satellite,which launched in 2005, and it is designedto be operational for at least 15 years.
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Second Premium Tejas TrainFlagged-off
Gujarat Chief Minster Vijay Rupani hasflagged-off Mumbai-Ahmedabad TejasExpress on January 17, 2020.
This is the IRCTC’s second premiumtrain after the semi-high speed and fullyair-conditioned Delhi-Lucknow TejasExpress.
The train is fully-air conditioned andcomprises all the modern facilities withpersonalised reading lights, CCTVcameras, bio-toilets, LED TV, automaticdoors and many more.
K9 Vajra-T Dedicated to the Nation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hasdedicated the 51st K9 Vajra-Tself-propelled artillery gun at the Larsen &Toubro (L&T) armoured system complexat Hazira in Gujarat on January 16, 2020.
K9 Vajra-T is a 155-mm, 52-calibreself-propelled artillery gun with amaximum range of 40 km, customisedfrom the original K9 Thunder gun.
Raisina Dialogue 2020 Held
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) andthe Observer Research Foundation (ORF)has jointly organised the 5th edition ofthe Raisina Dialogue 2020 in NewDelhi from January 14-16, 2020.
The theme of the Raisina Dialogue thisyear (2020) is “Navigating the AlphaCentury”.
It brought together 700 internationalparticipants out of which 40% of thespeakers were women, emphasisingIndia’s commitment to gender equality.
PM Modi’s Visit to Kolkata
PM Narendra Modi paid a two-dayofficial visit to Kolkata, West Bengal fromJanuary 11-12, 2020. During his visit, herenamed Kolkata Port as Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee Port on the occasion of 150thcelebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust(KoPT).
Two oldest pensioner of the port Smt.Nagina Bhagat (105 years) and Mr.Naresh Chandra Chakra borty (100years) were honoured at the event.
2nd Round of Intensified MissionIndradhanush- 2.0
The Union Government has launchedthe second round of Intensified MissionIndradhanush 2.0 at block level in 35districts of Uttar Pradesh on January 7,2020.
The Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0aims to immunize children under 2 yearsof age and pregnant women againsteight vaccine-preventable diseases.
10 More Indian Wetlands GotRamsar Site Tag
Ten more wetlands in India have beenrecognized as Ramsar wetland sites,taking the total number in the countryto 37.
Uttar Pradesh with one Ramsar site hasadded six more namely Nawabganj,Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandiand Sarsai Nawar.
Maharashtra got its first Ramsar siteNandur Madhameshwar while Punjabwhich already had three, added threemore sites namely Keshopur-Miani, BeasConservation Reserve and Nangal.
107th Indian Science Congress Held
The 107th Indian Science Congress (ISC)was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modion January 3, 2020 at the University ofAgricultural Sciences in Bengaluru,Karnataka. The focal theme of thecongress 2020 is Science and Technology: Rural Development.
It aims to bridge the gap betweenurban and rural India and improving the
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quality of farmers life through scienceand technology.
PM Modi has launched the IndianScience, Technology and EngineeringFacilities Map (I-STEM) portal, which willhold the database of all R&D facilities,established in institution acrossthecountry and will enable their sharingamong the researchers.
Swachh Survekshan League 2020Result Announced
The Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs (MoHUA) has announced theresults of the first and second quarter ofSwachh Survekshan League 2020 onDecember 31, 2019.
In the first quarter (April – June 2019),under the category of populationbetween 1 lakh and 10 lakhs,Jamshedpur was on 1st spot followedby New Delhi and Bilaspur whereas, inthe second quarter (July to September2019), Jamshedpur, Chandrapur andKhargone topped the charts.
RPF Renamed as Indian RailwayProtection Force Service
The Ministry of Railway has accorded,Organised Group ‘A’ Status (OGAS) to itssecurity force Railway Protection Force(RPF) and renamed it as Indian RailwayProtection Force Service onDecember 31, 2019.
RPF is a security force, established bythe Railway Protection Force Act, 1957;enacted by the Indian Parliament for‘the better protection and security ofrailway property’.
India State of Forest Report 2019Released
Environment Minister Prakash Javedkarhas released the India State of ForestReport on December 30, 2019 whichprovides comprehensive information
about the forest cover, forest vegetationdensity, tree cover, progress ofplantation outside the designatedforests etc. for India as well as States.
Karnataka (1025 sq km) tops the countryin growing the maximum amount offorest in the last two years followed byAndhra Pradesh (990 sq km) and Kerala(823 sq km).
Mangrove cover in the country hasincreased by 54 sq km (1.10%) ascompared to the previous assessmentof 2017.
There is an increase of 42.6 milliontonnes in the carbon stock of thecountry as compared to the lastassessment of 2017.
Atal Bhujal Yojana Launched
Prime Minister Narendra Modi haslaunched Atal Bhujal Yojana (or Atal Jal),a scheme for sustainable managementof ground water resources, in New Delhion December 25, 2019. The scheme waslaunched on the occasion of 95th birthanniversary former Prime Minister LateAtal Bihari Vajpayee and it is also namedafter him.
Cabinet Approved Updation ofNational Population Register
The Union Cabinet has approved anexpenditure of ` 8754.23 crore for theexercise of Census of India 2021 and` 3941.35 crore for updation of theNational Population Register (NPR) onDecember 24, 2019. Census of India willcover the entire population in thecountry while NPR will also cover all thepopulation except in the state of Assam.
DRDO Tested QRSAM Successfully
DRDO successfully flight-testedindigenously developed Quick ReactionSurface to Air Missile (QRSAM) systemfrom Chandipur off the Odisha coast on
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December 23, 2019. The missile wasflight-tested with full configuration indeployment mode intercepting the targetmid-air, meeting the mission objectives.
Pinaka Missile Successfully Test-fired
DRDO has successfully tested theupgraded version of the Pinaka rocketMark-II from firing test range at Chandipurtesting center in Odisha on December 20,2019. The Pinaka Mk-II rocket is modified asa missile by integrating with the navigation,control and guidance system to improvethe end accuracy and enhance the range.
President Approved Arms(Amendment) Bill 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind has approvedthe Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for amaximum punishment of lifeimprisonment for manufacturing andcarrying illegal arms on December 16,2019. The act will enhance the period ofarms license from 3 years to 5 years andalso to issue arms license in its electronicform to prevent forgery.
National Broadband Mission Launched
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad haslaunched National Broadband Mission(NBM) on December 17, 2019.
The mission will facilitate universal andequitable access to broadband servicesacross the country, especially in rural andremote areas.
2 Versions of BrahMos MissileTest-fired
India successfully conducted two separatetrials of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos,one each from land and air platforms onDecember 17, 2019.
The land attack version was test fired froma mobile autonomous launcher at LaunchComplex-3 of the ITR at Chandipur whilethe air attack version was test fired fromSu-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
NEFT Facility to be Available 24×7for Customers
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hasannounced on December 6, 2019that the National Electronic FundsTransfer (NEFT) system will be madeavailable 24x7 on all days fromDecember 16, 2019.
Under the current system, funds canbe transferred through NEFT from 8am to 7 pm from Monday to Friday(except on Holidays).
President Approved the Recyclingof Ships Bill 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind hasapproved ‘The Recycling of Ships Bill2019’ for Safe and EnvironmentallySound Recycling of Ships in India onDecember 13, 2019. The alreadyexisting Shipbreaking Code (revised),2013 and the provisions of the HongKong Convention, 2009 will be joinedtogether in this bill.
The Citizenship (Amendment)Act, 2019
President Ram Nath Kovind has givenhis assent to the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2019, turning it intoan Act on December 12, 2019.
The Act amended the Citizenship Act,1955 and aims to provide Indiancitizenship to the Non-Muslim illegalmigrants belonging to the sixminority communities namely Hindu,Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Christian andSikhs from Bangladesh, Afghanistan,and Pakistan who had arrived in Indiabefore December 31, 2014.
ISRO Launched RISAT-2BR1 and 9Foreign Satellites
ISRO has launched India’s latest spysatellite RISAT-2BR1 and nine foreignsatellites (six from the US and one
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each from Israel, Italy and Japan)through PSLV- C48 at Sriharikota inAndhra Pradesh on December 11, 2019.
RISAT-2BR1 is radar imaging earthobservation satellite developed by ISROand the second satellite in the RISAT-2Bseries. The satellite will be used inapplications such as agriculture, forestryand disaster management support.
Fit India School Rating SystemLaunched
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyaland Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju havelaunched the Fit India School RatingSystem at Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, DelhiCantt on December 4, 2019. The Fit IndiaSchool Rating System has been launchedas part of the Fit India Campaign. Fit Indiaschool rating system as per certainparameters is expected to enhance theimage of the schools.
India Conducted Night Trial ofPrithvi-2 Missile
India has successfully conducted nighttrial of the indigenously developepnuclear-capable Prithvi-2surface-to-surface missile as part of a usertrial for the armed forces from ITR atChandipur in the coast of Odisha.
The missile has a strike range of 350kilometres with warheads carryingcapacity of 500-1000 kg.
First Night Trial ofAgni-III Missile Conducted
India has conducted the first night trialof nuclear capable long-rangesurface-to-surface ballistic missileAgni-III from the Abdul Kalam Island offOdisha coast on November 30, 2019.
The Agni-III has a strike range of 3000km to 5000 km and is capable ofcarrying both conventional, nuclearwarheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes.
BrahMos Supersonic Cruise MissileTest-Fired
Indian Navy has successfully test-firedthe 290-km strike range BrahMossupersonic cruise missile from the Navy’sstealth destroyer INS Kochi in the ArabianSea on November 28, 2019.
The supersonic missile successfully hit adecommissioned target ship in ArabianSea. The air-launched BrahMos missile isa 2.5-tonne supersonic air-to-surfacecruise missile, designed and developedby BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
ISRO Launched CARTOSAT-3
The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has launched advanced earthimaging and mapping satelliteCartosat-3 along with 13 commercialnanosatellites into Sun SynchronousOrbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centreat Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh onNovember 27, 2019. Cartosat-3 waslaunched by PSLV-C47 rocket along with13 other cubesats from the USA.
Lokpal Logo & Motto Released
The logo is based upon the literalmeaning of Lokpal-Lok means peopleand pal means caretaker, i.e. caretaker ofpeople. It is designed by PrashantMishra, from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh(UP). Motto of the Lokpal : Ma GridhahKasyasvidhanam (Do not be greedy foranyone’s wealth).
Parliament Passed Jallianwala BaghNational Memorial (Amendment)Bill 2019
Parliament has passed the JallianwalaBagh National Memorial (Amendment)Bill, 2019 on November 19, 2019. Thenew Bill contains an amendment to theJallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act,1951, and changes the provisions fortrustees of the memorial.
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India Test-Fired Prithvi-II Missile
India has successfully test-firedindigenously developed nuclear-capablePrithvi-II missile from a mobile launcherfrom Launch Complex-3 of ChandipurIntegrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasoredistrict of Odisha on November 20, 2019.
It is the surface-to-surface missile, whichhas a strike range of 350 km. It is capable ofcarrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads and ispowered by liquid propulsion twinengines.
Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh Launched
The Ministry of Women and ChildDevelopment along with Bill and MelindaGates Foundation has launched theBharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh (BPKK) in NewDelhi on November 18, 2019.
The Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh is arepository of diverse crops across 128agro-climatic zones to help enablebetter nutritional outcomes.
Special Winter Grade DieselLaunched
Home minister Amit Shah haslaunched a special winter gradediesel for the citizen of Ladakhthrough video conferencing in NewDelhi on November 17, 2019.
The winter-grade diesel has beendeveloped by Indian Oil Corporation,and stays unfrozen up to minus 33degrees Celsius. It will help to reducehardships faced by the local peoplefor transportation and mobilityduring the harsh winter months.
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Defence Exercise Test
Missile Description
SindhuSudarshanExercise
The Indian Army conducted exercise Sindhu Sudarshan for the year 2019 inthe deserts of Rajasthan from November 29 to December 4, 2019. The aimof this exercise is to evaluate the capability of the defence services in anintegrated air-land battle.
Shakti-2019 Indian and French armies conducted joint counter-terrorism drills under'Exercise Shakti-2019' in the Mahajan field firing range in Rajasthan fromOctober 31 to November 13, 2019.
SindhuSudarshan-VIIExercise
The Strike Corps of the Indian Army has conducted its second phase of theexercise named Sindhu Sudarshan-VII in Rajasthan from November 12-18,2019.
SamudraShakti
The second divisional naval exercise ‘Samudra Shakti 2019’ between IndianNavy and Indonesia Navy was held in the Bay of Bengal from Nov. 6-7, 2019.
SCOJtEx-2019 Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search & Rescue(SCOJtEx)-2019 in New Delhi on November 4, 2019.
Dustlik-2019 The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise Dustlik-2019 was heldat Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent from November 4-13, 2019. Theexercise enabled sharing of best practices and experiences between theArmed Forces of the two countries.
SudarshanChakra VahiniWar Exercise
A two-day long Sudarshan Chakra Vahini War Exercise 2019 of the IndianArmy was held at Jaisalmer field firing range, Rajasthan from October 20-21,2019.
IMNEX-2019 The 2nd edition of India-Myanmar Naval Exercise called ‘IMNEX-2019’ washeld in Visakhapatnam from October 19-22, 2019. The exercise wasconsisted in two phases : the harbour phase includes visits to Indian Navalunits, training and maintenance facility at Visakhapatnam.
Current Affairs
Darjeeling Green & White TeaReceived GI Tag
Two tea varieties of Darjeeling teanamely Green Tea and White Tea wereregistered under ‘GeographicalIndication of Goods (Registration andProtection) Act, 1999’ onNovember 16, 2019. Darjeelingproduces 85 lakh kilograms of tea; ofthis Green Tea constitutes 10 lakhkilograms and White Tea constitutes 1lakh kilograms.
India Conducts First Night Trial ofAgni-II Missile
DRDO has successfully conducted thefirst night trial of nuclear-capableintermediate range ballistic missileAgni-II from the Dr. Abdul KalamIsland off the Odisha coast onNovember 16, 2019. The 20-metrelong two-stage ballistic missile has alaunch weight of 17 tonnes and cancarry a payload of 1000 kg over adistance of2000 km.
Sisseri River Bridge Inaugurated
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hasinaugurated the Sisseri River Bridge atLower Dibang Valley in East SiangDistrict of Arunachal Pradesh onNovember 15, 2019.
It is the 200-metre long bridgebetween Jonai-Pasighat-Ranaghat-
Roing road; will provide connectivitybetween Dibang Valley and Siang. Itwas constructed by Project Brahmankof Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
CJI’s Office to Come Under RTI
Supreme Court ruled that the office ofthe Chief Justice of India (CJI) is apublic authority under the Right toInformation Act on November 13,2019.
The order was passed by a five-judgeConstitution bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi, with other membersincluding Justices NV Ramana, DYChandrachud, Deepak Gupta and SanjivKhanna.
Ayodhya Case Verdict
After about 70 years of legal battle inindependent India, the Babri Masjid-RamJanmabhoomi land dispute of Ayodhyaresolved.
The Supreme Court has finally delivered itsmuch-awaited verdict on November 9,2019 in the landmark Ayodhya RamMandir-Babri Masjid land title dispute andruled in favour of the Hindu side withregards to the ownership of the disputedpiece of land.
The Apex Court has also ordered thegovernment to allot a five-acre plot at aprominent place in Ayodhya to theMuslims to construct a new mosque.
Kartarpur Corridor Inaugurated
PM Narendra Modi has inauguratedIntegrated Check Post of KartarpurCorridor at Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab onNovember 9, 2019.
He also flagged off the first batch of over500 Indian pilgrims led by Akal TakhatJathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to GurdwaraDarbar Sahib through the corridor.
FSSAI Released Food SafetyGuidelines for Schools
The Food Safety and Standards Authorityof India (FSSAI) has released draftregulations titled ‘Food Safety andStandards (Safe Food and Healthy Dietsfor School Children) Regulations, 2019’, onNovember 7, 2019.
The draft is a 10 pointer chart thatprohibits the sale and promotion ofunhealthy food items in schools andnearby locations.
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Shala Darpan Portal Launched
Union Minister of State for HRD SanjayDhotre has launched the Shala DarpanPortal for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti(NVS) in New Delhi on November 6,2019. Shaala Darpan portal is anene-to-end E-Governance schoolautomation and management systemfor Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS).
WHO Declared the Global Risk ofNovel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
The World Health Organization hasdeclared the outbreak of a novelcoronavirus a global health emergencyon January 30, 2020 because theoutbreak continues to spread outsideChina.
Coronavirus is an umbrella term forviruses that cause illness ranging fromcommon cold to diseases such as theMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS) and Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS). By January 31, 2020,213 deaths have been reported and9776 confirmed cases.
Hawaiian Telescope Captured mostDetailed Pictures of the Sun Yet
Hawaii’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescopehas captured the highest-everresolution images of the solar surfaceon January 29, 2020. The images showthe sun’s surface to be made up ofgranular structures, like nuggets of gold,each about the size of France.
Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa BinAbdulaziz Al Thani Appointed asNew PM of Qatar
Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin AbdulazizAl Thani has been appointed as newPrime Minister of Qatar on January 28,2020.
Along with the position of PrimeMinister, he has also taken over as theMinister of Interior .
He succeeded Sheikh Abdullah binNasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, whosubmitted his resignation to the emir.
Switzerland Minted World’sSmallest Gold Coin
Switzerland state-owned Swissmint hasminted world’s smallest gold coin of2.96 mm (0.12 inches) on January 23,2020.
The coin features a face of scientistAlbert Einstein sticking out his tongue.
It weighs 0.063 grams and has a nominalvalue of 1/4 Swiss francs ($ 0.26).
Corruption Perceptions Index 2019
Transparency International has releasedthe Corruption Perceptions Index 2019during the annual meeting of the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos onJanuary 23, 2020.
Denmark and New Zealand havecornered the top spot, followed byFinland, Singapore, Sweden andSwitzerland in the top ten, among 180countries.
India slipped two positions to 80th inthe index with a score of 41 while it wasat 78th in the previous year’s ranking.
Global Talent CompetitivenessIndex 2020
Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI)2020 has been released at the annualmeeting of the World Economic Forum(WEF) on January 22, 2020.
Switzerland emerged as the mosttalent-competitive nation of the world’followed by US and Singapore.
India has moved up eight places to the72nd position out of 132 countries from80th position in GTCI 2019.
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Current Affairs
e-Passport Launched in Dhaka
Prime Minister of Bangladesh, SheikhHasina has launched e-passport in Dhaka,Bangladesh on January 22, 2020.
With this, Bangladesh has become thefirst country in South Asia and 119thcountry in the world to have an e-passportfacility. The e-passports will have anembedded chip in them which willcontain the bio-metric data of thepassport holder, photograph and otherinformation contained in the passport.
Sakellaropoulou becomes Greece’sFirst Woman President
Greece’s parliament has elected KaterinaSakellaropoulou as the first womanpresident in the Country’s history onJanuary 22, 2020. She will succeed currentconservative President ProkopisPavlopoulos, whose five-year term expiresin March. Prior to her election, she servedas President of the Council of State, thehighest administrative court of Greece.
Guyana Takes Over the Chairmanshipof G77
The South American country Guyana hastook over the chairmanship of the Groupof 77 (G77) for the year 2020 fromPalestine.
The Group of 77 (G77) is the largestintergovernmental organisation ofdeveloping countries in the UnitedNations.
Robert Abela ElectedNew PM of Malta
Malta’s governing party has elected anew leader Robert Abela as 14th primeminister of Malta on January 12, 2020.
At the internal party elections, heobtained 9,342 votes against 6,798 for hisrival Chris Fearne.
He replaced Joseph Muscat, whoresigned in December 2019.
Henley Passport Index 2020
Henley & Partners has released theHenley passport Index 2020 onJanuary 8, 2020.
Japan emerged as the world’s mostpowerful passport, while Singaporetook the second spot followed bySouth Korea and Germany.
India’s rank has dropped from 82nd in2019 to 84th in 2020 which means thatIndian passport allows visa-free entryto 58 destinations worldwide.
Nigeria’s passport ranked 199th as theweakest passport in the world.
Pedro Sanchez Re-elected as thePM of Spain
Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon, aSpanish politician & Socialist leaderhas been re-electedd as Spanish PrimeMinister on January 7, 2020. He hasalso been Secretary-General ofthe Spanish Socialist Workers'Party (PSOE) since June 2017.
Palau Becomes First Country toBan ‘Reef-Toxic’ Sunscreen
Palau has become the first country inthe world to ban various types ofsunscreen to protect coral reefs onJanuary 1, 2020. The sun creamconsists of oxyben zone andoctinoxate absorbs UV (Ultra Violet)rays which causes water more acidic,makes corals susceptible to bleachingand agitating fish stocks
WHO Designated 2020 as ‘Year ofNurse and Midwife’
World Health Organisation (WHO) hasdesignated the year 2020 as the Yearof the Nurse and the Midwife in honourof the 200th birth anniversary ofFlorence Nightingale.
The year 2020 is significant for WHO inthe context of nursing and midwifery
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strengthening for Universal HealthCoverage. The WHO will also launchfirst-ever State of the World’s Nursingreport in 2020 prior to the 73rd sessionof the World Health Assembly.
China Launched Shijian-20 Satellite
China has launched its heaviest andmost advanced communicationssatellite, Shijian-20 by its largest newcarrier rocket Long March-5 fromWenchang Space Launch Center insouth China’s Hainan Province onDecember 27, 2019.
The Long March-5 rocket can carry amaximum payload of 25 tonnes intolow Earth orbit and 14 tonnes intogeosynchronous orbit.
Donald Trump LaunchedUS Space Force
US President Trump officially haslaunched US Space Force, the 1st USmilitary service in over 70 yrs focusingon warfare in space, on December 22,2019. He has signed the 2020 NationalDefense Authorization Act, authorisingthe establishment of Space Force.
Eight West African CountriesRenamed Common Currency
Eight West African nations have agreedto change the name of their commoncurrency from ‘CFA franc’ to ‘Eco’ onDecember 22, 2019. CFA Franc is thename of two currencies- ‘the WestAfrican CFA franc’, which is used in 8West African countries and ‘CentralAfrican CFA franc’, which is used in 6Central African countries.
Global Gender Gap Report 2020
World Economic Forum (WEF) hasreleased the Global Gender Gap IndexReport 2020 on December 17, 2019.Under the report Mind the 100 year
gap; India has been reached 112thamong 153 countries.
The report analyzed 153 countries intheir progress toward gender parity,focusing on four main dimensions:Economic Participation andOpportunity, Educational Attainment,Health and Survival and PoliticalEmpowerment.
UK General Elections 2019
Boris Johnson won the United Kingdom(UK) general election after hisConservative Party crossed the requiredmajority of 326 votes of the 650 seats inthe House of Commons onDecember 13, 2019.
The Labour party headed by JeremyBernard Corbyn and the ScottishNational Party headed by NicolaFerguson Sturgeon gained 203 and 43votes, respectively.
US Shuts Down WTO Appeal Court
The Appeal Court of the World TradeOrganization (WTO) that acts as tradedispute settlement body for themembers was shut down by the UnitedStates on December 9, 2019.
Without WTO’s appellate body, thedispute settlement will return topre-1995 GATT (General Agreement onTariffs and Trade) status quo.
Human Development Index 2019
Norway topped the HumanDevelopment Index (HDI) 2019according to the Human DevelopmentReport released by the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) onDecember 8, 2019.
Switzerland and Ireland stood at thesecond and third place, respectively outof 189 countries. India has jumped oneplace from 2018 to 129 in 2019 in HDI.
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COP25 Climate Summit
The 2019 United Nations ClimateChange Conference, also known asCOP25 was held in Madrid, Spain, fromDecember 2-13, 2019 under thepresidency of the Chilean government.
Originally, the Summit was supposed totake place in Chile, but was relocatedto Spain after political unrest inSantiago.
The conference incorporates the 25thConference of the Parties to the UnitedNations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC), the 15thmeeting of the parties for the KyotoProtocol (CMP15), and the secondmeeting of the parties for the ParisAgreement (CMA2).
NATO Summit 2019
The United Kingdom (UK) hosted twoday organised 2019 NATO (NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization) Summitin London from December 3-4, 2019.
The purpose of the summit was to makethe heads of state and heads ofgovernment of NATO member countriesto evaluate and provide strategicdirection for Alliance activities. The year2019 marks the 70th anniversary of thesummit.
Afghanistan First Countryto Recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia
Afghanistan has become the first countryto recognise the Indian Pharmacopoeiastandards for drugs & medicines. TheIndian Pharmacopoeia (IP) is an officiallyrecognized book of standards as per theDrugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules1945 thereunder.
Swedish King and QueenVisited India
King Carl XVI Gustaf Folke Hubertus andQueen Silvia Renate Sommerlath of
Sweden paid a 5-day official visit toIndia from December 2-6, 2019.
The king and queen of Swedeninaugurated the 14 MLD (megalitres perday) Sewage Treatment Plant(STP) Saraivillage in Haridwar (Uttarakhand).
Nuad Thai Massage included inUNESCO Heritage List
The famous 2000-year-old Nuad Thaimassage that has been practised inThailand has been officially added tothe UNESCO’s list of ‘intangible culturalheritage’ practices. The massage followsa traditional healing mechanism thatfolds the body and uses sharp elbowtechniques, combining acupressure andIndian Ayurvedic principles.
Oxford Word of the Year 2019Announced
Oxford Dictionaries has declared climateemergency as the word of the year for2019 on November 21, 2019.
Climate emergency is defined as ‘asituation in which urgent action isrequired to reduce or halt climatechange and avoid potentiallyirreversible environmental damageresulting from it.’
Pakistan Launched Shaheen-1 Missile
Pakistan has conducted successful testlaunch of Shaheen-1 surface-to- surfaceballistic missile on November 18, 2019.
The Shaheen-1 missile is capable ofdelivering all types of warheads up torange of 650 km.
Pakistan Becomes First Country toLaunch New WHO approvedTyphoid Vaccine
Pakistan has become the first country inthe world to introduce a new typhoidvaccine on November 15, 2019. Thevaccine was approved by the WHO in
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2018, initially used during a two-weekimmunisation campaign fromNovember 18 to 30 in the urban areasof Sindh. The new vaccines have beenprovided by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,to the Pakistani government free of cost.
BRICS Summit 2019 Held
The 11th BRICS Summit convened inBrasília (Brazil) on November 13-14,2019 with the theme BRICS : EconomicGrowth for an Innovative Future.
All BRICS leaders namely BrazilianPresident Jair Bolsonaro, Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, ChinesePresident Xi Jinping, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and South AfricanPresident Cyril Ramaphosa discussed awide range of topics from intra-bloccooperation to global governance.
Sri Lanka Call Match Fixing a Crime
Sri Lanka has become first South Asiannation to criminalise several offencesrelated to match-fixing onNovember 12, 2019. The move comesafter Sri Lankan parliament passed of abill related to it labelled as Preventionof Offences Related to Sports. If aperson is found guilty of committingan offence, then he may find himselfjailed for a term up to 10 years and willalso be required to pay other fines.
NASA Unveiled Its First ElectricPlane
NASA has launched an early version ofits first all-electric experimentalaircraft, the X-57 Maxwell onNovember 9, 2019. Adapted from anItalian-made Tecnam P2006Ttwin-engine propeller plane, the X-57has been under development since2015. The Maxwell will be theagency’s first crewed X-plane to bedeveloped in two decades.
CRICKET
Diplomat Cup 2020
The team of the Indian Consulate hasdefeated the team of the PakistanConsulate to lift the Diplomat Cup CricketChampionship of 2020 in Dubai onJanuary 18, 2020.
This is the third successive year that Indiawon the Diplomat Cup Championship.The first tournament was won byBangladesh in January 2017.
India-West Indies ODI Series
India beat West Indies by 4 wickets to winthe three-match ODI series by 2-1 atBarabati Stadium Cuttack, Odisha. RohitSharma was named Man of the Series.
India-West Indies Women’s T20 Series
The India women’s cricket team playedwith West Indies women’s cricket teamfrom November 1-20, 2019.
Indian women’s cricket team defeatedthe West Indies in a five- match T20Iseries by winning the fifth and last T20match by 61 runs at the ProvidenceStadium in Georgetown, Guyana.
India and Bangladesh T20 Series
India defeated Bangladesh by 30 runs inthe third and final T20I to win 3-matchseries 2-1 in Nagpur on November 10,2019. Deepak Chahar won the man ofthe Match and Man of the Series awards.
India-West Indies Women’sODI Series
Indian Women Cricket team won the threematch series 2-1 against West Indies by 6wickets in the 3rd and final ODI match inNorth Sound, Antigua.
Smriti Mandhana was named the Playerof the Match, while Stafanie Taylor wasnamed Player of the Series.
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TENNIS
Hobart International 2020
27th edition Hobart InternationalTennis Tournament took place at theHobart International Tennis Centre inHobart, Australia from January 13-18,2020.
Indian Tennis Player Sania Mirza andher Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenokhave won the 2020 women’s doublestitle.
The 2020 Hobart International was awomen's tennis tournament playedon outdoor hard courts.
Qatar Open 2020
The 28th edition of the Qatar Open2020 (men’s tennis tournament) wastook place at the Khalifa InternationalTennis and Squash Complex in Doha,Qatar from January 6-11, 2020.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev won thesingles title after defeating CorentinMoutet of France in the final.
Brisbane International 2020
The 12th edition BrisbaneInternational tennis tournament 2020was took place at the QueenslandTennis Centre in Tennyson fromJanuary 6-12, 2020.
Karolína Plíšková of Czech Republicwon the singles title after defeatingMadison Keys (USA) in the final.
ATP Cup 2020
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has defeatedRafael Nadal (Spain) to make Serbiathe champion of ATP Cup 2020 heldat Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney,Australia from January 3–12, 2020.
The 2020 ATP Cup was the firstedition of the ATP Cup, aninternational outdoor hard courtmen’s tennis tournament.
ITF World Champions 2019
International Tennis Federation (ITF)honoured eleven players by its annualawards named as ITF World Champions2019 in Singles, Doubles, Wheelchair, andJuniors category on December 20, 2019.
Category Winner
Men’s Singles Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Women’s Singles Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
Women’sDoubles
Timea Babos (Hungary) andKristina Mladenovic (France)
Davis Cup Tie 2020
India defeated Pakistan in the tie matchfor the International Tennis Federation’s(ITF’s) Davis cup 2020 was held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan from November 29-30,2019. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan andLeander Paes won the match againstHuzaifa Abdul Rehman and MuhammadShoaib 6-1, 6-3 in the only doubles matchof the tie between India and Pakistan.
Davis Cup 2019
The Davis cup final was conducted fromNovember 18-24, 2019 at the Caja Mágicain Madrid, Spain. Spain’s Rafael Nadalclinched 6th Davis Cup title in men’ssingles after beating Denis Shapovalov ofCanada.
Fed Cup 2019
The final of 57th edition of Fed Cup 2019was held in Australia on November 10,2019. It is the most important tournamentbetween national teams in women’stennis. France defeated Australia with 3-2in the finals and won the Fed Cup 2019.
HOCKEY
National Ice Hockey Women’sChampionship
Ladakh lifted the 7th National Ice HockeyChampionship Women trophy afterdefeating Delhi, at the Karzoo Ice HockeyRink in Ladakh on January 7, 2020.
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The tournament was organised by the IceHockey Association of India (IHAI) inassociation with the Ladakhwinter sports club.
BADMINTON
Indonesia Masters 2020
The 2020 Indonesia Masters badmintontournament was took place at the IstoraGelora Bung Karno in Indonesia fromJanuary 14-19, 2020.
Category Winner
Men’s Singles Anthony SinisukaGinting (Indonesia)
Women’s Singles Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand)
Malaysia Masters 2020
The 2020 Malaysia Masters badmintontournament was took place at the AxiataArena in Malaysia from January 7-12, 2020.
Category Winner
Men’s Singles Kento Momota (Japan)
Women’s Singles Chen Yufei (China)
BWF World Tour Finals 2019
The 2nd edition of Badminton WorldFederation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2019(officially known as the HSBC– Hong Kongand Shanghai Banking Corporation BWFWorld Tour Finals 2019) took place at TianheGymnasium in Guangzhou, China fromDecember 11–15, 2019.
CHESS
Hastings International
India’s P. Magesh Chandran won the title inthe 95th edition of the prestigious HastingsInternational Chess Congress at Hastings inEngland on January 6, 2020.
He remained unbeaten and finished in clearfirst place with 7.5 points from nine gamesafter securing a 33-move draw in the finalround against compatriot G.A. Stany.
SHOOTING
63rd National Championship
National Rifle Association of India(NRAI) & MP State ShootingAcademy has organized 63rdNational Shooting ChampionshipCompetitions (NSCC) 2019 atShooting Academy ShootingRanges, Bhopal, Madhya Pradeshfrom December 7, 2019 - January 4,2020.
Manu Bhaker has bagged 4 goldmedals (individual and team eventsin senior and junior) in the women’s10 meter air pistol event.
Shooter Zeena Khitta (HimachalPradesh) has won the gold medalof the 10-meter air rifle event.
Saurabh Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh)has won the gold medal in themen’s 10 meter air pistol event.
YOUTH GAMES
Khelo India Youth Games 2020
The 3rd edition of Khelo IndiaYouth Games (KIYG) 2020 was heldat Karmabir Nabin ChandraBordoloi Indoor Stadium inGuwahati, Assam fromJanuary 10-22, 2020.
Maharashtra topped the medal tallywith total of 256 medals followedby Haryana and Delhi.
It was organised by Ministry forYouth Affairs and Sports &conducted in partnership with theSchool Games Federation of India(SGFI), Indian Olympic Association(IOA), and Assam Stategovernment.
The second edition of Khelo IndiaYouth Games was held in Pune,Maharashtra in 2019; topped byMaharashtra.
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NATIONAL
Padma Awards 2020
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) hasannounced the names of 141 Padmaawardees for 2020 on January 25, 2020.
Out of 141 awardees, 7 personalitieshave been chosen for Padma Vibhushan,16 personalities for Padma Bhushan and118 personalities for Padma Shri.
Award Awardee
PadmaVibhushan
George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley,Sushma Swaraj and SriVishveshateertha Swamiji SriPejavara Adhokhaja MathaUdupi (Posthumous), SirAnerood Jugnauth, MC MaryKom and Chhannulal Mishra
PadmaBhushan
Syed Muazzem Ali, NeelakantaRamakrishna Madhava Menonand Manohar Parrikar(Posthumous), M. Mumtaz Ali,Muzaffar Hussain Baig, AjoyChakravorty, Manoj Das,Balkrishna Doshi, KrishnammalJagannathan, SC Jamir, AnilPrakash Joshi, Dr. TseringLandol, Anand Mahindra, Prof.Jagdish Sheth, PV Sindhu andVenu Srinivasan
PadmaShri
Harish Chandra Verma,Vashishtha Narayan Singh(Posthumous), Dr. KushalKonwar Sarma, Kalyan SinghRawat and 114 others
Subhash Chandra Bose AapdaPrabandhan Puraskar 2020
Disaster Mitigation and ManagementCentre (DMMC), Uttarakhand and KumarMunnan Singh have been selected forthe 2nd Subhash Chandra Bose AapdaPrabandhan Puraskar 2020 onJanuary 23, 2020. DMMC was selectedunder ‘institution category’ while ShriKumar Munnan Singh was selectedunder ‘individual category’ for theircontributions in disaster management.
Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2020
President Ram Nath Kovind hasconferred the Rashtriya Bal Puraskar2020 to 49 children in the age group of5-18 years at a ceremony at RashtrapatiBhawan on January 22, 2020.
29th Saraswati Samman
Prominent Sindhi writer Vasdev Mohiwill be conferred with 29th SaraswatiSamman for his short stories collection‘Cheque book’ which talks about themiseries and sufferings of marginalizedsections of the society.
BCCI Annual Awards 2018-19
The Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) has presented its Annual Awardsin 25 different categories for the2018-19 seasons in Mumbai,Maharashtra to honor all the legendarycricketers on January 12, 2020.
Jasprit Bumrah received the prestigiousPolly Umrigar Award for being the bestinternational cricketer for 2018-19season.
Poonam Yadav has been adjudged thebest international cricketer among thewomen.
Muppavarapu Venkaiah NaiduNational Awards
Agricultural Scientist MS Swaminathanand social worker Dr. Gutta Muniratnamwere respectively chosen as the firstrecipients of ‘Muppavarapu VenkaiahNaidu National Award for Excellence’and ‘Muppavarapu National Award forSocial Service’ on January 9, 2020.
66th National Film Awards
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu hasconferred the 66th National FilmAwards for the year 2018 in 31categories in New Delhi onDecember 23, 2019.
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Category Award
Best Actor Vicky Kaushal (‘Uri : TheSurgical Strike’)
AyushmannKhurrana(‘Andhadhun’)
Best Actress Keerthy Suresh(‘Mahanati’)
Best Director Aditya Dhar (‘Uri : TheSurgical Strike’)
Best Music Sanjay LeelaBhansali(‘Padmavat’)
Best Hindi movie ‘Andhadhun’
Dada Saheb Phalke Award
Amitabh Bachchan has received the 50thDadasaheb Phalke Award 2019, India’shighest film honour from President RamNath Kovind on December 29, 2019. Hewas honoured for his ‘outstandingcontribution for the growth anddevelopment of Indian cinema’.
Sahitya Akademi Award 2019
The Sahitya Akademi announced itsannual literary awards for 2019 for worksin 23 languages on December 18, 2019.Shashi Tharoor won the SahityaAkademi Award 2019 for his book An Eraof Darkness: The British Empire in India.
Gangadhar National Award
Hindi Poet Viswanath Tiwari from UttarPradesh to be honoured withGangadhar National Award during the53rd Foundation Day celebrations ofthe Sambalpur University. He was theformer President of the SahityaAkademi between 2013-2014 and hasauthored several anthologies.
55th Jnanpith Award
Malayalam poet Akkitham AchuthanNamboodri has been chosen for the55th Jnanpith award for hisoutstanding contribution to theMalayalam literature on November 29,2019. Akkitham has authored 55 books
out of which 45 are collections of poemsincluding "Khanda Kavyas", "KathaKavyas", "Charitha Kavyas" and songs.
28th Bihari Puraskar
Rajasthan based noted writer ManishaKulshreshtha has been awarded the 28thBihari Puraskar for 2018 for her novel‘Swapnapash’ on November 23, 2019.She is known for her works like ‘Shigaf’,‘Shalbhanjika’ and ‘Panchkanya’. Theaward is named after famous Hindi poetBihari and is presented by the KK BirlaFoundation to writers of Rajasthaniorigin.
Indira Gandhi Award forNational Integration
Noted environmentalist and socialactivist Chandi Prasad Bhatt will beawarded the Indira Gandhi award fornational integration for the years 2017and 2018. He has earlier been awardedthe Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982and Padma Bhushan in 2005.
JCB Prize for Literature 2019
US based-Indian author Madhuri Vijay’sdebut novel, The Far Field bagged 2019JCB prize for Literature on November 2,2019. The Far Field is an impressivelyambitious novel of stunning emotionaland psychological acuity.
INTERNATIONAL
Tyler Prize 2020
Esteemed environmental economist andUN Environment Programme (UNEP)Goodwill Ambassador Pavan Sukhdevhas won 2020 Tyler Prize forEnvironmental Achievement onJanuary 27, 2020.
62nd Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awardsceremony was held at the Staples Centerin Los Angeles on January 26, 2020.
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The event was hosted by Americanmusician, singer and composer AliciaKeys and the awards were presentedin 84 categories.
Lizzo received the most nominations ofany artist with eight, followed by BillieEilish and Lil Nas X with six each.
Billie Eilish, the 18-year-old singer wonfive awards, including song of the year,best pop vocal album, album of theyear, record of the year and best newartist.
Former United States(US) first ladyMichelle Obama was honoured with thebest spoken word album of the yearaward for the book Becoming.
ICC Awards 2019
The International Cricket Council (ICC)has announced on January 15, 2020 theICC awards 2019 for recognising andhonoring the performance of playerbetween January 1, 2019 andDecember 31, 2019.
Award Player
Player of the Year Ben Stokes (England)
Test Cricketer of theYear
Pat Cummins(Australia)
ODI Cricketer of theYear
Rohit Sharma (India)
Emerging Cricketer ofthe Year
Marnus Labuschagne(Australia)
Spirit of CricketAward
Virat Kohli (India)
T20I Performance ofthe Year
Deepak Chahar(India)
77th Golden Globe Awards
The 77th annual Golden Globe Awardsceremony was held at The BeverlyHilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Californiaon January 5, 2020. Hollywood starJoaquin Phoenix won the Golden Globesfor the Best Actor in a motionpicture-drama for his performance inJoker.
Renee Zellweger won the Best Actress ina drama category for his performance inJudy.
Sam Mendes won the Best Director
award for 1917.
Miss World 2019
Toni-Ann Singh (23) of Jamaica wascrowned as Miss World 2019 at 69thMiss World competition 2019 inLondon, United Kingdom (UK) onDecember 15, 2019. She was crownedMiss World title by Miss World2018-Vanessa Ponce of Mexico.
Miss Universe 2019
Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa wascrowned Miss Universe 2019 at the MissUniverse pageant at Atlanta, the UnitedStates on December 9, 2019. The tworunners-up for the crown were MissMadison Anderson (Puerto Rico) andMiss Sofía Aragón (Mexico). MissUniverse 2018 Catriona Gray of thePhilippines presented the crown.
International Children’sPeace Prize 2019
Divina Maloum (14) from Cameroon andGreta Thunberg (16) from Sweden bothreceived the International Children’sPeace Prize 2019 in The Hague,Netherlands on November 21, 2019.Teen activist Greta Thunberg has beenawarded for her work in the struggleagainst climate change. Divina receivedthe prize for her peaceful fight againstextremist violence and radicalization.
Indira Gandhi Prize 2019
Indira Gandhi Memorial Trustannounced on November 19, 2019 thatthe Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,Disarmament and Development for2019 will be conferred on renownednaturalist and broadcaster Sir DavidAttenborough.
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He has been awarded to preserve andprotect the biodiversity of our planet.The prize carries a cash award of2.5 million Indian rupees and a citation.
NATIONAL
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone was honoured withthe annual Crystal Award at WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) 2020 in Davos,Switzerland on January 21, 2020. Shehas been honoured for her contributionin spreading awareness around mentalhealth.
JP Nadda
Jagat Prakash Nadda was electedunopposed as the national president ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party on January 20,2020. He replaced Amit Shah who iscurrently serving as Union Home Ministerin the Narendra Modi Cabinet.
Challa Sreenivasulu Setty
The government has appointed ChallaSreenivasulu Setty as the ManagingDirector (MD) of the State Bank of India(SBI) for a period of 3 years onJanuary 20, 2020. He is presently servingin the SBI as Deputy Managing Director.
Arjun Munda
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs ArjunMunda has been elected as President ofthe suspended Archery Association ofIndia (AAI) on January 18, 2020. He gotthe support from former AAI PresidentVijay Kumar Malhotra and defeated BVPRao by a margin of 34-18 votes.
Michael Debabrata Patra
The government has appointed MichaelDebabrata Patra as the fourth DeputyGovernor of the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) on January 14, 2020.
He has replaced Viral Acharya, who hadresigned from the post in June last year.
Anand Prakash Maheshwari
Senior IPS officer AP Maheshwari hasappointed as the Director-General ofCentral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) onJanuary 13, 2020.
He is 1984-batch Uttar Pradesh cadreIPS officer who will be in the post tillFebruary 28, 2021, the date of hissuperannuation.
Bipin Rawat
Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawathas been named India’s first Chief ofDefence Staff on December 30, 2019.
The CDS will be a four-star general whowill head the department of militaryaffairs and report to the defenceminister on warfare and defencestrategy for all three Armed Forces.
Vishwesha Tirtha Swami
Vishvesha Teertha Swami, the head ofPejavara Mutt has passed away at theage of 88 on December 28, 2019.
He was known as the ‘Rashtra Swamiji’,and a great social reformer.
Sangita Reddy
Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint ManagingDirector of Apollo Hospitals Group wasappointed as the President ofFederation of Indian Chambers ofCommerce and Industry (FICCI) for theyear 2019-20 on December 23, 2019.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla
The Government of India has appointedthe Senior Diplomat Harsh VardhanShringla as the next Foreign Secretary ofIndia on December 23, 2019.
He will take charge on January 29, 2020after replacing Vijay Gokhale. He is a1984 batch IFS Officer and the currentIndian Ambassador to the United States.
25
PERSONS IN NEWS
Current Affairs
Ganga Prasad Vimal
Eminent Hindi author Ganga PrasadVimal has passed away at the age of 80 inSri Lanka on December 23, 2019. Heearlier worked as a Professor in manycolleges including Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, New Delhi from 1999 to 2004.
Shriram Lagoo
Eminent theatre and film actor Dr.Shriram Lagoo has passed away at theage of 92 on December 17, 2019.
He was well known for his roles in playslike ‘Natsamrat’, ‘Himalayachi Saoli’ andfilms like ‘Pinjra’, ‘Ek Din Achanak’,‘Gharonda’, and ‘Lawaris’.
Cyrus Mistry
The National Company Law AppellateTribunal (NCLAT) restored former Tatagroup Chairman Cyrus Mistry asexecutive chairman of Tata Group onDecember 18, 2019.
BB Kumar
Braj Bihari Kumar, Chairman of theIndian Council of Social ScienceResearch (ICSSR) has passed away at theage of 78 in New Delhi on December 8,2019.
Girish Chandra Chaturvedi
Girish Chandra Chaturvedi hasappointed as the Chairman of NationalStock Exchange (NSE) onDecember 6, 2019.
Lt. Shivangi
Lieutenant Shivangi has become thefirst woman pilot of Indian after joiningthe naval operations in Kochi onDecember 2, 2019.
She will be flying the Dorniersurveillance aircraft of the IndianNavy. Navy’s Aviation branch earlier hashad women officers operating as ‘airtraffic control officers’ and as ‘observers’.
Soma Roy Burman
Soma Roy Burman took charge as the24th Controller General of Accounts(CGA) in the Finance Ministry’sDepartment of Expenditure onDecember 1, 2019.
Jyoti Sharma
Lieutenant Colonel Jyoti Sharma hasbeen appointed as Indian Army’s firstfemale Judge Advocate General officer tobe deployed on a foreign mission onNovember 14, 2019.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was named as People for theEthical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
India’s ‘Person of the Year for 2019’ onNovember 20, 2019. The Team Indiacaptain won the award for his animaladvocacy efforts.
TN Seshan
Former Chief Election Commissioner TNSeshan has passed away at the age of87 on November 10, 2019. He was the10th Chief Election Commissioner andhad served form December 12, 1990, tillDecember 11, 1996.
INTERNATIONAL
Gita Sabharwal
United Nations Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres has appointed GitaSabharwal of India as the UnitedNations Resident Coordinator inThailand on January 30, 2020.
Marjan Sarec
Slovenia’s Prime Minister Marjan Sarechas announced his resignation toparliament and called for early generalelections on January 27, 2020.
His resignation was followed by theresignation of the Finance MinisterAndrej Bertoncelj.
26
Current Affairs
Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said
Haitham bin Tariq al-Said has beensworn in as the new Sultan of Omanon January 11, 2020. He succeededhis cousin Qaboos bin Said who wasthe Sultan of Oman from July 1970until his death.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said
Oman leader, Sultan Qaboos bin SaidAl Said has passed away at the age of79 on January 10, 2020. He wassucceeded by his cousin and Oman’sculture minister Haitham bin Tariq.
Zoran Zaev
Prime Minister of North Macedonia
Zoran Zaev submitted his resignationto the parliament on January 3, 2020.After his resignation, NorthMacedonia’s parliament hasapproved a new caretakergovernment headed by OliverSpasovski.
Hillary Clinton
Former US secretary of state HillaryRodham Clinton has been appointedas the first female Chancellor of UK’sQueen’s University on January 2, 2020.
She is the University’s 11thChancellor and will serve the post fora period of five years with effect fromJanuary 1, 2020. She succeeded TomMoran, who died last year.
Ashraf Ghani
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wonanother five-year term in office,according to preliminary results theelection commission announced onDecember 22, 2019.
He secured 50.6% of the votecompared with 39.52% for AbdullahAbdullah, in the September poll.
Manuel Marrero Cruz
Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruznamed as the Cuba’s first prime ministersince 1976 on December 21, 2019. Thepost of prime minister was scrapped in1976 by the then-revolutionary leader andCuba’s last Prime Minister Fidel Castro.
Sethuraman Panchanathan
US President Donald Trump has electedIndian-American computer scientistSethuraman Panchanathan as director ofthe National Science Foundation onDecember 20, 2019.
Danny Aeillo
Hollywood actor Danny Aiello has passedaway at the age of 86 on December 12,2019. He was known for his roles in themovies 'Do The Right Thing' and 'TheGodfather Part II'.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, former PrimeMinister of Algeria was elected as thePresident of Algeria on December 13, 2019.He took over the power from formerPresident Abdelaziz Bouteflika and formerActing Head of State Abdelkader Bensalah.
Greta Thunberg
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg hasbeen named Time magazine’s Person of theYear for 2019 on December 11, 2019. At 16,she is the youngest person to earn the titlein the magazine’s 92-year history.
Sundar Pichai
Sundar Pichai, the current CEO of Googlehas been named as the new ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) of Alphabet onDecember 4, 2019.
He takes over after chief executive officerLarry Page and president Sergey Brinstepped down; who co-founded Googlein 1998.
27
Current Affairs
Bob Willis
Bob Willis, the former England cricketcaptain has passed away at the age of 70on Dec. 4, 2019. He was well known forhis memorable performance in the thirdAshes test in 1981 against Australia.
Masatsugu Asakawa
Masatsugu Asakawa was elected as the10th President of the ADB by its Board ofGovernors on December 2, 2019. He iscurrently Special Advisor to Japan’s PrimeMinister and Minister of Finance and willassume office on January 17, 2020.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lt. Colonel Gotabaya Rajapaksa wassworn in as the Sri Lankan President onNovember 18, 2019. He will succeedPresident Maithripala Sirisena for afive-year term.
Jeanine Anez
Jeanine Anez declared herselfinterim President of Bolivia afterthe resignation of the government ofEvo Morales on November 13, 2019. Shedeclared herself President withouthaving a quorum in the Parliament.
Evo Morales
Bolivian President Evo Morales hasresigned on November 10, 2019. Heserved as the President of Bolivia from2006 to 2019. The Vice-President, AlvaroGarcia Linera and Senate PresidentAdriana Salvatierra, also resigned.
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth elected asPrime Minister of Mauritius for second
term on November 8, 2019. MilitantSocialist Movement (MSM) won 38 ofthe 62 seats up for grabs while its rivals,the Labour Party and the MauritianMilitant Movement (MMM), garnered 14and 8 seats respectively.
Book Author
Relentless Yashwant Sinha
Human Dignity – Apurpose in perpetuity
Ashwani Kumar
The Gateway : A SocialCommentary on Safety ofSenior Citizens
HariharanBalagopal
The RenaissanceMan-The Many Facets ofArun Jaitley
MuppavarapuHarshavardhanand DeepaVenkat
Dreams of a Billion: Indiaand the Olympic Games
Boria Majumdarand Nalin Mehta
Kumbh, Garam Pahadand Dilli ki Bulbul (Sindhiedition)
Dr. AnitaBhatnagar Jain
The Legacy of Militancy inPunjab: Long Road toNormalcy
Inderjit SinghJaijee and DonaSuri
The Vault of Vishnu Ashwin Sanghi
The Third Pillar : HowMarkets and the StateLeave the CommunityBehind
RaghuramGovind Rajan
Finding theGaps-Transferable Skillsto be the best you can be
Simon JamesArthur Taufel
RN Kao : GentlemanSpymaster
Nitin AnantGokhale
Hemant Karkare -ADaughter’s Memoir
Jui KarkareNavare
Suncatcher RomeshGunesekera
The Unquiet River : Abiography of theBrahmaputra
Arupjyoti Saikia
Kashmir ChitralekhaZutshi
The Parrot Green Saree Nabaneeta Sen
The First Sikh : The Lifeand Legacy of GuruNanak
Nikky GuninderKar Singh
Accidental Magic Keshava Guha
Savarkar : Echoes from aForgotten Past, 1883-1924
Vikram Sampath
28
BOOKS & AUTHOR
Current Affairs
President Ram Nath Kovind
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Cabinet Ministers
Minister Portfolio
Rajnath Singh Defence
Amit Shah Home Affairs
Nitin JairamGadkari
Road Transport andHighways; Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises
DV SadanandaGowda
Chemicals and Fertilizers
NirmalaSitharaman
Finance; Corporate Affairs
RamvilasPaswan
Consumer Affairs, Foodand Public Distribution
Narendra SinghTomar
Agriculture and FarmersWelfare;Rural Development;Panchayati Raj
Ravi ShankarPrasad
Law and Justice;Communications;Electronics andInformation Technology
Harsimrat KaurBadal
Food ProcessingIndustries
Thaawar ChandGehlot
Social Justice andEmpowerment
Dr. S Jaishankar External Affairs
RameshPokhriyal‘Nishank’
Human ResourceDevelopment
Arjun Munda Tribal Affairs
Smriti Zubin Irani Women and ChildDevelopment; Textiles
Dr. HarshVardhan
Health and FamilyWelfare; Science andTechnology; EarthSciences
PrakashJavadekar
Environment, Forest andClimate Change;Information &Broadcasting; HeavyIndustries and PublicEnterprise
Minister Portfolio
Piyush Goyal Railways; Commerce andIndustry
DharmendraPradhan
Petroleum and NaturalGas; Steel
Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi
Minority Affairs
Prahlad Joshi Parliamentary Affairs;Coal; MInes
Dr. MahendraNath Pandey
Skill Development andEntrepreneurship
Giriraj Singh Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries
Gajendra SinghShekhawat
Jal Shakti
Ministers of State(Independent Charge)
Minister Portfolio
Santosh K.Gangwar
Labour and Employment(Independent Charge)
Rao InderjitSingh
Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation (IndependentCharge); and Planning(Independent Charge)
Shripad Naik Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddhaand Homoeopathy (AYUSH)(Independent Charge);Defence
JitendraSingh
Development of NorthEastern Region (IndependentCharge); Prime Minister’sOffice; Personnel, PublicGrievances and Pensions;Department of AtomicEnergy; Department ofSpace
Kiren Rijiju Youth Affairs and Sports(Independent Charge);Minority Affairs
Prahlad SinghPatel
Culture (IndependentCharge); Tourism(Independent Charge)
Raj KumarSingh
Power (Independent Charge);New and Renewable Energy(Independent Charge); SkillDevelopment andEntrepreneurship
29
WHO’S WHO
Current Affairs
Minister Portfolio
HardeepSingh Puri
Housing and Urban Affairs(Independent Charge); CivilAviation (IndependentCharge); Commerce andIndustry
MansukhMandaviya
Shipping (IndependentCharge); Chemicals andFertilizers
Ministers of State
Minister Portfolio
FaggansinghKulaste
Steel
Ashwini KumarChoubey
Health and Family Welfare
General (Retd)VK Singh
Road Transport andHighways
Arjun RamMeghwal
Parliamentary Affairs;Heavy Industries andPublic Enterprise
Krishan Pal Gurjar Social Justice andEmpowerment
Danve RaosahebDadarao
Consumer Affairs, Foodand Public Distribution
G. Kishan Reddy Home Affairs
ParshottamRupala
Agriculture and FarmersWelfare
Ramdas Athawale Social Justice andEmpowerment
Sadhvi NiranjanJyoti
Rural Development
Babul Supriyo Environment, Forest andClimate Change
Sanjeev KumarBalyan
Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries
Dhotre SanjayShamrao
HRD; Communication;Electronics andInformation Technology
Anurag SinghThakur
Finance; Corporate Affairs
Angadi SureshChannabasappa
Railways
Nityanand Rai Home Affairs
Rattan Lal Kataria Jal Shakti ; Social Justice& Empowerment
V. Muraleedharan External Affairs;Parliamentary Affairs
Renuka SinghSaruta
Tribal Affairs
Minister Portfolio
Som Parkash Commerce and Industry
Rameswar Teli Food ProcessingIndustries
Pratap ChandraSarangi
Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises; AnimalHusbandry, Dairying andFisheries
KailashChoudhary
Agriculture and FarmersWelfare
DebasreeChaudhuri
Women and ChildDevelopment
Governors and Chief Ministers
State Governor Chief Minister
AndhraPradesh
BiswabhusanHarichandan
JaganmohanReddy
ArunachalPradesh
BD Mishra Pema Khandu
Assam Jagdish Mukhi SarbanandaSonowal
Bihar PhaguChauhan
Nitish Kumar
Chhattisgarh AnusuiyaUikey
BhupeshBaghel
Goa Satya Pal Malik PramodSawant
Gujarat Acharya DevVrat
Vijay Rupani
Haryana SatyadevNarayan Arya
Manohar LalKhattar
HimachalPradesh
BandaruDattatraya
Jai RamThakur
Jharkhand DroupadiMurmu
Hemant Soren
Karnataka Vajubhai R.Vala
BSYediyurappa
Kerala ArifMohammedKhan
P. Vijayan
MadhyaPradesh
Lalji Tandon Kamal Nath
Maharashtra Bhagat SinghKoshyari
UddhavThackerey
Manipur PB Acharya N. Biren Singh
Meghalaya Tathagata Roy ConradSangma
30
Current Affairs
State Governor Chief Minister
Mizoram PSShreedharanPillai
Zoramthanga
Nagaland RN Ravi Nephiu Rio
Odisha Ganeshi Lal NaveenPatnaik
Punjab VP SinghBadnore
AmarinderSingh
Rajasthan Kalaraj Mishra Ashok Gehlot
Sikkim Ganga Prasad Prem SinghTamang
Tamil Nadu BanwarilalPurohit
EK Palanisami
Telangana TamilisaiSoundararajan
K.Chandrashekhar Rao
Tripura Ramesh Bais Biplab Deb
UttarPradesh
AnandibenPatel
YogiAdityanath
Uttarakhand Baby RaniMaurya
TrivendraSingh Rawat
West Bengal JagdeepDhankhar
MamataBanerjee
Administration of Union Territories
Union
Territory
Lt. Governor/
Administrator
Chief
Minister
Andamanand NicobarIslands
DK Joshi —
Chandigarh VP SinghBadnore
—
Dadra andNagar Haveli
Prafull Patel(Administrator)
—
Daman andDiu
Prafull Patel(Administrator)
—
Delhi Anil Baijal ArvindKejriwal
Jammu-Kashmir
GirishChandraMurmu(Administrator)
—
Ladakh Radha KrishnaMathur(Administrator)
—
Union
Territory
Lt. Governor/
Administrator
Chief
Minister
Lakshadweep DineshwarSharma(Administrator)
—
Puducherry Kiran Bedi V. Narayana-samy
Chiefs of Armed Forces/Intelligence Agencies
Force/Agency Chief
Chief of DefenceStaff
General Bipin Rawat
Air Force Air Chief Marshal RKSBhadauria
Army General Manoj MukundNarawane
Navy Admiral Karambir Singh
CBI Rishi Kumar Shukla
IntegratedDefence Staff
Lt. General PS Rajeshwar
IB Arvind Kumar
R&AW Samant Kumar Goel
Important National Officials
Designation Name
Chief Justice of India Sharad ArvindBobde
Chairperson, NationalHuman RightsCommission
HL Dattu
Chairperson, CentralBoard of Direct Taxes
PC Mody
Chairperson, UniversityGrants Commission
Dhirendra PalSingh
Chairman, Indian SpaceResearch Organisation
Sivan K.
Chairman, AtomicEnergy Commission
Kamlesh Vyas
Chairperson, 15thFinance Commission
NK Singh
Chairperson, CentralBoard of FilmCertification (CBFC)
Prasoon Joshi
Chairperson, CentralBoard of SecondaryEducation (CBSE)
Anita Karwal
31
Current Affairs
Designation Name
Chief ElectionCommissioner
Sunil Arora
Attorney General KK Venugopal
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta
Chairman, Staff SelectionCommission
Braj Raj Sharma
Chairman, Union PublicService Commission
Arvind Saxena
Governor, Reserve Bankof India
Shaktikanta Das
President, BCCI Saurav Ganguly
President, IndianOlympic Association
Narinder Batra
Heads of Nationalised Banks
Bank Head/Chairman/MD
State Bank of India Rajnish Kumar
Bank of Baroda Sanjeev Chadha
Bank of India Atanu Kumar Das
Bank ofMaharashtra
AS Rajeev
Canara Bank Lingam VenkataPrabhakar
Central Bank ofIndia
Pallav Mohapatra
Indian Bank Padmaja Chunduru
Indian OverseasBank
Karnam Sekar
Punjab NationalBank
SS Mallikarjuna Rao
Bank Head/Chairman/MD
Punjab and SindBank
S. Harisankar
Union Bank ofIndia
Rajkiran Rai G.
UCO Bank Atul Kumar Goel
Important International Officials
Designation Dignitary
Secretary General, UnitedNations Organisation
Antonio Guterres
President, World Bank David Malpass
MD, InternationalMonetary Fund
KristalinaGeorgieva
Director General, WorldTrade Organisation
Roberto Azevedo
President, UN GeneralAssembly (UNGA)
Tijjani MohammadBande
Director General,UNESCO
Audrey Azoulay
Director General, WHO Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus
Director General, IAEA Rafael Grossi
Executive Director,UNICEF
Henrietta H. Fore
Secretary General,Interpol
Jurgen Stock
Secretary General,Amnesty International
Kumi Naidoo
President, IOC Thomas Bach
President, FIFA Gianni Infantino
Chairman, ICC Shashank Manohar
32
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
Palaeolithic Periodl Homo sapiens first appeared towards the
end of this phase.l In this period, man barely managed to
gather his food and subsisted on hunting.
l Distinguished by the development of thefirst stone tools made up of Quartzite.
l Palaeolithic period is divided into three
phases. They are
1. Lower Palaeolithic
2. Middle Palaeolithic
3. Upper Palaeolithic
Mesolithic Periodl Domestication of animals (particularly,
dogs) began and characteristic tools wereused, called as microliths.
l Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, isknown for ancient caves depictingpictures of birds, animals and humans.
Neolithic Periodl Neolithic people knew about fire and
wheel.l An important site of this age is
Burzahom, which means ‘the place ofbirch’.
Chalcolithic Periodl Use of Copper and Stone made tools.l They practised agriculture, venerated
Mother Goddess and worshipped the bull.
INDUS VALLEYCIVILISATIONl Indus Valley Civilisation is one of the
four earliest civilisations of the world.
l According to radiocarbon dating,initiation of Indus Valley Civilisationcan be dated around 2500-1750 BC.
l Systematic town planning was basedon grid system; burnt bricks were usedto construct houses; well-manageddrainage system; fortified Citadel;highly urbanised; absence of ironimplements.
l The Great Bath (Mohenjodaro) wasused for religious bathing. There werechanging rooms alongside.
l Six granaries in a row were found inthe Citadel at Harappa.
l The towns were divided into 2 parts:the Upper Part or Citadel and theLower Part. Harappans were ruled by aclass of merchants, as no evidence ofweapons are found there.
l Indus people sowed seeds in Novemberand reaped their harvest in April,because of the danger of flood.
l Produced wheat, barley, rai, peas,seasum, rice and mustard.
l Indus people were the first to producecotton, which the Greeks termed asSindon (derived from Sindh).
l Animals known were oxen, sheep,buffaloes, goats, pigs, elephants, dogs,cats, asses and camels.
1Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
INDIAN
ANCIENT INDIA
HISTORY
l Well-knit external and internal trade. Barter system was prevalent.l A very interesting feature of this civilisation was that iron was not known to the people.l The Indus people used weights and measures in the multiples of 16.l Harappans looked on Earth as fertility Goddess and phallic (lingam) and yoni worship
was prevalent.l Unicorn was the most worshipped animal. Many trees (pipal), animals (bull), birds
(dove, pigeon) and stones too were worshipped though no evidence of temple has beenfound.
l Dead bodies were placed in North-South orientation.l The Seal of Pashupati depicts elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and buffalo. Two deers
appear at the feet of Pashupati.l The Indus people believed in ghosts and evil forces evident by their use of amulets for
protection against them. Fire altars are found at Lothal and Kalibangan.l The greatest artistic creation of the Harappan culture were the seals, made of steatite.
Harappan script is pictographic and hasn’t been deciphered yet.l The script was written from right to left in the first line and left to right in the second
line. This style is called Boustrophedon.l Occupations practiced were spinning, weaving, boat-making, goldsmiths, making
pottery and seal-making.l The possible causes of the decline of the civilisation may be invasion of the Aryans,
recurrent floods, social break-up of Harappans and earthquakes, etc.l Boundaries North-Mandu (J&K); South-Daimabad (Maharashtra); East- Alamgirpur;
West-Sutkagendor.
2 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Site Discovery/Finding(s)
Harappa Situated on river Ravi in Montgomery district of Punjab (Pakistan). It wasexcavated by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921-23. The Indus Civilisation is namedafter it as the Harappan Civilisation. Stone dancing Natraja and Cemetry-37have been found here.
Mohenjodaro(Mound of Dead)
Situated on river Indus in Larkana district of Sind (Pak). It was excavated byRD Bannerji in 1922. The main building includes the Great Bath, the GreatGranary, the Collegiate Building and the Assembly Hall. The dancing girlmade of bronze has been found here. Pashupati Mahadeva/proto Shivaseal; fragment of woven cotton, etc are other findings .
Chanhudaro(Sindh, Pakistan)
On river Indus; discovered by NG Majumdar (1931); only Indus site withoutcitadel; bronze figurines of bullock cart and ekkas; a small pot suggesting aan ink pot.
Lothal (Gujarat) Discovered by SR Rao (1954); situated on river Bhogava. A part of the townwas divided into citadel and the lower town and dockyard. Evidence of ricehas been found here.
Kalibangan(meaning, BlackBangles) (Rajasthan)
Discovered by BB Lal (1961); situated on Ghaggar river, a ploughed field; awooden furrow; seven fire-altars; bones of camel; and evidence of two typesof burials namely—circular grave and rectangular grave.
Dholavira It was found on river Luni of Kachchh district in Gujarat discovered by JPJoshi (1967-68). It has a unique water management system; only site to bedivided into 3 parts; largest Harappan inscription and a stadium.
Surkotada (Gujarat) Discovered by JP Joshi in 1972; evidence of horse found; oval grave; pitburials and seemingly a port city.
Banawali (Haryana) On river Saraswati; discovered by RS Bisht (1973); evidence of bothpre-Harappan and Harappan culture; lacked systematic drainage system;evidence of good quality barley.
Rakhigarhi (Haryana) Largest Indus valley site.
VEDIC PERIODRig Vedic Period(1500-1000 BC)l Vedic civilisation started with the
migration of Aryan people in North-Western part of India.
l The Aryans were semi-nomadic pastoralpeople and originally believed to have livedsomewhere in the Steppes, stretchingfrom Southern Russia to Central Asia.
l The whole region in which the Aryanswere first settled in India was called the
Land of 7 Rivers or Sapta Sindhawa.(the Indus and its five tributaries and theSaraswati).
l The Dasrajan War Battle of 10 kingsagainst Sudas (Bharata king of Tritsus)on the bank of river Parushni. Sudasemerged victorious.
Political Organisationl It was mainly a tribal system of
government in which the militaryelement was strong.
l Tribe was known as Jana and its king asRajan.
l Although king’s post was hereditary, wehave also some traces of election by thetribal assembly called Samitis.
l Other tribal assemblies that werementioned in Rigveda were Sabha,Vidatha and Gana.
l Villages were headed by Gramani.l In day-to-day administration, the King
was assisted by the Purohita (mostimportant), a Senani and Gramani.
SocietyPeople were loyal to the tribe, called Jana(mentioned 275 times in the Rigveda) askingdom/territory was not yet established.Women enjoyed freedom and respect.
Religionl Worshipped Nature, Indra (also called
Purandara-breaker of forts) was the mostimportant divinity.
l Soma was considered to be the God ofplants.
l People worshipped the divinities mainlyfor Praja (children), Pashu (cattle),food, health and wealth. No temple oridol worship was noted.
EconomyNo regular revenue system, kingdommaintained by voluntary tribute called baliand booty won in battles.l Aryan’s main occupation was mainly
pastoral. Agriculture was a secondaryoccupation.
l Cow was a standard unit of exchange.Gold coins-Nishka, Krishnal and Satmana.
l The staple crop was Yava (barley).
Term Meaning
Dasyus Original inhabitant of India
Ayas Copper/bronze
Vajrapati/Kalapas
Officer enjoying authority overlarge tract of land
Gramini Head of the village
Gavisthi Fighting hordes, Search forcows/war for cows
River Name in Rigveda
Indus Sindhu
Kurram Krumu
Jhelum Vitasta
Chenab Asikni
Ravi Parushini
Beas Vipas
Sutlej Sutudri
Gomati Gomal
Saraswati Sarasvati
Ghaggar Drishadavati
Later Vedic Period(1000-500 BC)l In this period, Aryans expanded from
Punjab over the whole of Western UttarPradesh covered by the Ganga-YamunaDoab.
Political Organisationl King (Samrat) became more powerful
and tribal authority tended to becometerritorial.
l King’s position strengthened by ritualslike Ashwamedha and Vajapeya Yajnas.
Societyl Society was clearly divided into four
varnas—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishyaand Shudra. Position of womendeteriorated. The institution of Gotra(descent from common ancestors)appeared for the first time.
3Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Economyl Beginning of town and settled life.l Agriculture was the main livelihood.l Wheat and rice (called vrihi in later Vedic
texts) became the staple crop.l New occupation like those of ironsmith,
coppersmith and jewel work emerged.Weaving were reserved for women.
Religionl Prajapati became the supreme God,
followed by Rudra (animal God) and Lord
Vishnu (preserver and protector ofpeople).
l Idolatry began in this period.l Pushana, who looked after the cattles was
‘God of Shudras’.l Sacrifices, rather than prayers, became
more important.
Vedic LiteratureThe Vedasl Rigveda The oldest Indo-European
language text is a collection of hymns.Contains 1028 hymns divided into10 mandalas. The 10th Mandala containsPurushasukta hymn that explain aboutfour varnas, whereas 3rd Mandalacontains Gayatri mantra, which wascompiled in the praise of Sun God.
l Samaveda Collection of melodies, containsDhrupad raga. It is a book of chants.
l Yajurveda Contains hymns and rituals/sacrifices.
l Atharvaveda Charms and spells toward-off evils and diseases.
The Brahmanasl They explain the hymns of Vedas. Contains
ritualistic formulae and explains the socialand religious meaning of rituals. Eachveda has several Brahmanas attached to it.
Rigveda : Kaushitaki and AitareyaYajurveda : Taittiriya and SatapathaSamaveda : Panchvish and JemineyaAtharvaveda : Gopatha
The AranyakasThe word Aranya means the forest. Thesetexts were called Aranyakas, because theywere written mainly for the hermits andstudents living in the jungle.
The Upanishadasl Philosophical texts emphasising value of
right belief and knowledge; criticisingrituals/sacrifices; and 108 in number.Brihadaranyaka is the oldestupanishada.
l Also known as ‘Vedanta’.
SmritisExplains rules and regulations in Vedic life.These are Manusmriti (the first law book);Naradasmriti, Yajnavalkya- smriti andParasharasmriti.
VedangasThese are Limbs of Vedas and are six innumber.l Shiksha (Pronunciation)l Kalpa (Rituals)l Vyakaran (Grammar)l Nikrukta (Etymology)l Chhanda (Metrics)l Jyotish (Astrology)
PuranasDeals with world creation, the geneologies ofGods and Rishis and the Royal dynasties.There are 18 famous ‘Puranas’. The ‘MatsyaPurana’ is the oldest puranic text.
DarshanaThere are six schools of Indian philosophy,called Shada-darshana.
These areNyaya Darshana Gautam
Vaishesika Darshana Kanada Rishi
Sankhya Darshana Kapila
Yoga Darshana Patanjali
Purva Mimansa Jaimini
Uttara Mimansa Badrayna or Vyasa
UpavedasThere are four Upavedas
Upaveda Deals with Upaveda of
Dhanurveda Art of warfare Yajurveda
Gandharva-veda
Art and music Samaveda
Shilpaveda Architecture Atharvaveda
Ayurveda Medicine Rigveda
EpicsMahabharata by Vyasa, also called JayaSamhita and Satasahasri Samhita has100000 verses and are older thanRamayana, written by Valmiki, and has29000 verses.
4 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Mahajanapada (Locations) Capital (s)
Gandhara (Between Kabuland Rawalpindi)
Taxila
Anga (Bhagalpur andMungher in Bihar)
Champa
Magadha (Patna and Gayadistrict, Bihar)
Girivraj, Rajagriha(Bimbisara); Patliputra(Udayin); Vaishali(Shishunaga);Patliputra (Ashoka)
Kashi (Varanasi district, UP) Varanasi
Vajji (Vaishali district, UP) Vaishali
Malla (South of Vaishalidistrict, UP)
Kusinagara and Pava
Chedi (River KenBundelkhand area)
Sothivati-nagar orShuktimati
Vatsa (River Yamuna,Allahabad and Mirzapurdistrict in UP)
Kaushambi
Kosala (Eastern UP) Sravasti andAyodhaya (Saket)
Kuru (Ganga-Yamunadoab. Delhi-Meerut region)
Hastinapur andIndraprastha
Panchala (Ganga-Yamunadoab, Rohilkhand)
Ahichhatra andKampilya
Matsya (Jaipur-Bharatpur-Alwar district)
Viratnagar/Bairath
Surasenas (Mathura region) Mathura
Asmaka (River Godavari)(Near Paithan inMaharashtra)
Patna or Patali
Avanti (Malwa) Ujjain (Northerncapital), Mahismati(Southern capital)
Kamboja (Hazara district ofPakistan)
Rajapur or Hataka
JAINISM AND BUDDHISMl Came into existence around 600 BC.l The main causes being the reaction against
domination of Brahmanas and spread ofagricultural economy in the North-East.
Jainisml Founded by Rishabhadeva (Emblem : Bull)
born in Ayodhya.l There were 24 tirthankaras (great teachers),
the 23rd being Parshvanatha and the 24thbeing the Vardhamana Mahavira.
l Mahavira was born in 540 BC inKundagram near Vaishali.
l Father Siddhartha of Jantrika KshatriyaClan.
l Mother Trishala—sister of LichchhaviChief Chetaka, married to Yashodaand had a daughter namedPriyadarshini, whose husband Jamalibecame his first disciple. Mahavirabecame an ascetic at the age of 30,attained Kaivalya (Jina) outside thetown of Jimbhikgrama at the age of 42and died at the age of 72 in 468 BC inPavapuri.
l Five Doctrines of Jainism
1. Do not commit violence (Ahimsa)2. Do not steal (Asteya)3. Do not acquire property (Aparigraha)4. Do not speak lie (Satya)5. Observe continence (Brahmacharya)
l Triratnas of Jainism are rightknowledge, right faith and rightconduct.
l Jainism says salvation is possible onlyby abandoning all possessions, a longcourse of fasting, self mortification,study and meditation.
l Jainism recognised existence of God,
but lower than Jina. It didn’t condemnvarna system unlike Buddhism.
l Jainism could not delink clearly frombrahmanical religion, hence failed toattract masses; admitted both men andwomen. Jain monastic establishmentswere called basadis.
l Jainism was patronised byKharavela–the king of Kalinga;Chandragupta Maurya became thedisciple of Bhadrabahu and spreadJainism in the South.
l Jainism was divided into two sectsafter Vallabhi Council, namelySvetambaras (wearing white dresses)under Sthul- bhadra and Digambaras(naked) under Bhadrabahu.
l Jaina texts were written in Prakrit
language.
Councils
First Council (300 BC) At PataliputraUnder Sthulbhadra (Pataliputra) JainaCanons compiled.
Second Council At Vallabhi (AD 5thCentury). Under Kshamasramana (Vallabhi)12 Angas and 12 Upangas were compiled inArdh Magadhi language.
5Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
BuddhismFounded by Gautama Buddha, also knownas Siddhartha or Sakyamuni orTathagata.l Born in 563 BC in Lumbini in Nepal in
Shakya Kshatriya Clan.l His father Suddhodana was a Shakya
ruler and his mother Mahamaya ofKosalan dynasty died early. Brought upby step mother Gautami.
l Married to Yashodhara and had a sonRahul.
l Triratnas in Buddhism stand for3 pillars
– Buddha Its founder
– Dhamma His teachings
– Sangha Order of Buddhist monksand nuns
Buddhism was also divided in two mainsects namely Hinayana and Mahayana.
Phases of Buddha’s Life Symbols
Birth Lotus and Bull
Mahabhinishkraman(Renunciation)
Horse
Nirvana (Enlightenment) Bodhi Tree
Dharmachakra Pravartana(First Sermon)
Wheel
Mahaparinirvana (Death) Stupa
The DhammaThe Four Great Truthsl The world is full of sorrow and misery.l The cause of all pain and misery is
desire.
l Pain and misery can be ended by killing orcontrolling desire.
l Desire can be controlled by following theEight-Fold Path.
The Eight-Fold Path
1. Right Understanding 5. Right Efforts
2. Right Thought 6. Right Speech
3. Right Action 7. Right Mindfullness
4. Right Livelihood 8. Right Concentration
Madhya Marga (The Middle Path)
Man should avoid both extremes, i.e. life ofcomforts and luxury and a life of severeasceticism.
Buddhist LiteratureIn Pali language commonly referred to asTripitakas, i.e., ‘three fold basket’.
Vinaya PitakaRules of discipline in Buddhist monasteries.
Sutta PitakaIt contains collection of Buddha’s sermonsand teachings. It is largest among all threepitakas.
Abhidhamma Pitaka
Explanation of the philosophical principlesof the Buddhist religion. Mahavamsha andDipavamsa are the other Buddhist texts ofSri Lanka.
Causes of Decline of BuddhismUse of Sanskrit, the language ofintellectuals, in place of Pali, the language ofthe common people. Revival of Hinduism.
DYNASTIES OF ANCIENT INDIAHaryanka Dynastyl Bimbisara was the founder, who expanded the Magadha kingdom by annexing Anga,
and entering into matrimonial alliances with Kosala and Vaishali. He wascontemporary of Buddha. Capital-Rajgir (Girivraja).
l Ajatashatru came to power by killing his father. Annexed Vaishali, Kosala andLichchhavi kingdom.
l Udayin founded the new capital, Pataliputra.
6 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Buddhist Councils Period Place Chairman Patron
First 483 BC Rajagriha Mahakashyapa Ajatashatru
Second 383 BC Vaishali Sabakami Kalashoka
Third 250 BC Patliputra Mogaliputta Tissa Ashoka
Fourth AD 72 Kundalvana Vasumitra, Ashwaghosa Kanishka
Shishunaga DynastyFounded by Shishunaga; Kalashoka orKakavarin of this dynasty convened theSecond Buddhist Council. Their greatestachievement was the destruction of Avanti.
Nanda Dynastyl Considered non-Kshatriyan dynasty,
founded by Mahapadma Nanda. Alexanderattacked during Dhana Nanda’s reign.Cyrus was the first foreign invader ofIndia.
l Alexander, the king of Macedonia, invadedIndia in 326 BC and fought the Battle ofHydaspes (Jhelum) with Porus
(Purushottam) of Paurava dynasty.
Mauryan DynastyImportant rulers of Mauryan Dynasty are
Chandragupta Maurya (321-298BC)
The first ruler who overthrew the Nanda
dynasty with the help of Chanakya.
l He has been called Sandrocottus by Greekscholars.
l Chandragupta defeated Seleucus Nikator,the general of Alexander (304 BC), wholater sent Megasthenese the author ofIndica to Chandragupta’s court.
l His mother was Mura—a Shudra womanin Nanda’s court.
l Mudrarakshasa was written byVishakhadatta and describes aboutmechanisation of Chanakya againstChandragupta's enemy. Chandraguptamaintained six wings of armed forces.
l He adopted Jainism and went to
Sravanabelgola with Bhadrabahu.
Bindusara (298-273 BC)
He was called Amitraghat (i.e., slayer of foes)by Greek writers; Greek ambassador,Deimachos visited his court; said to conquerthe land between the two seas—TheArabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
Bindusara appointed his eldest son Sumanaas his viceroy at Taxila and Ashoka at Ujjain.
Ashoka (293-273 BC)l For the first eight years Ashoka ruled like a
cruel king and maintained discipline.l He was called Devanamapriya, Dear to
Gods in some of his inscriptions.
l The name Ashoka occurs only incopies of Minor Rock Edict I.
l Three languages were used forAshokan inscription that is Prakrit,Greek and Aramic.
l Most of the Ashokan edicts werewritten in Brahmi script. It was JamesPrincep who deciphered first theBrahmi script of Ashokan edicts inAD 1837.
l Ashoka was the first king to maintaindirect contact with people throughinscriptions.
l Kalinga War (261 BC) mentioned in13th Major Rock Edict convertedAshoka to Buddhism under Upagupta.
l Sanchi Stupa was built by Ashoka.l The last Mauryan king Brihadratha,
was killed by Pushyamitra Sunga in185 BC, who established the Sunga
dynasty.l The Punch-marked coins carrying the
symbol of the peacock and the hill andcrescent, famed the imperial currencyof Mauryas.
l The Mauryan artisans started thepractice of carving caves of monks to
live in. Barabar Caves near Gaya isearliest example of such cave.
l Ringwells for domestic use of waterappeared first under the Mauryas.
l Sri Lanka is called Tamrapani in theAshokan inscription.
The Indo-Greeksl The most famous king among the
Indo-Greeks was Menander (165-145BC) also called Milinda, his capitalwas Sakala (modern Sialkot) in Punjab.
l Converted to Buddhism by Nagasena
as per the Milindapanho—a Pali text.l The Greeks were the first to issue coins
attributable to the king and also thefirst to issue gold coins in India;introduced Hellenistic art.
The Shakasl The most famous ruler was
Rudradaman I (AD 130-150), whorepaired Sudarshana lake in Kathiawarregion, issued first ever inscription inChaste Sanskrit (Junagarh inscription).He defeated the Satavahanas twice.
7Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Vikramaditya, the king of Ujjain, wasthe only one who defeated the Shakas.To commemorate the victory, he startedthe Vikram Samvat in 57 BC.
l The Parthians The most famous kingwas Gondophernes (AD 19-45), inwhose reign St Thomas visited India topropagate Christianity.
The Kushanasl Also called Yechi or Tocharians, were
nomadic people from the Steppes.l Kanishka was the greatest of the
Kushanas , who started the Saka Era inAD 78.
l Kushanas were the first rulers to issuegold coins on a wide scale known formetallic purity.
l In the royal court of Kanishka, a host ofscholars found patronage, like Parsva,Vasumitra, Asvaghosha, Nagarjuna,Charak (Physician) and Mathara.
The Sunga Dynasty (185-73 BC)l The Sunga Dynasty was established by
Pushyamitra Sunga. (who killed lastMauryan King Brihadratha)
l They were basically Brahmins. Thisperiod saw the revival of Bhagvatism.
l Patanjali wrote ‘Mahabhasya’ at this time.l In arts, the Bharhut stupa is the most
famous monument of the Sunga period.
The Kanva Dynasty (73-28 BC)l In 73 BC, Devabhuti, the last ruler of
the Sunga dynasty, was murdered by hisminister Vasudeva, who usurped thethrone and founded the Kanva dynastywhich was later replaced by theSatavahanas.
The Satavahanas (or Andhras)l Simuka (60-37 BC) was the founder of
the Satavahana dynasty.l Satavahanas were finally succeeded by
the Ikshvakus in AD 3rd century.l Under the Satavahanas, many chaityas
(worship halls) and viharas (monastries)were cut out from rocks mainly inNorth-West Deccan or Maharashtra thefamous examples were Nasik, Kanheriand Karle.
l The official language of the Satavahanaswas Prakrit.
l The Satavahanas issued coins of lead(mainly), copper, bronze and potin.
l Gautamiputra Satakarni was a famousking.
Sangam Agel Sangam Age corresponds to the
post-Mauryan and pre-Gupta periods.l South India, during the Sangam Age,
was ruled by three dynasties- the cheras,cholas and pandyas.
The Pandyasl Their capital was Madurai famous for
pearls. The Pandyas were first mentionedby Megasthenese.
l Traded with Roman empire, sentembassies to emperor Augustus.
The Cholasl The Chola kingdom, also called as
Cholamandalam was situated to theNorth-East of Pandya Kingdom betweenPennar and Vellar rivers.
l Their Capital was Kaveripattanam/ Puhar.
The Cherasl Their capital was Vanji (also called
Kerala country). It had important traderelations with the Romans.
Sangam Literaturel Sangam was a college or an assembly of
Tamil poets, held under Royal Patronage.
Three Sangams were held
(i) at Madurai chaired by Agastya.
(ii) at Kapatpuram, chaired by Tolkappiyar.
(iii) at Madurai, chaired by Nakkirar.l Kural by Tiruvalluvar is called the ‘Fifth
Veda’ or the Bible of Tamil Land.’
Gupta PeriodThe important rulers of Gupta period are
Chandragupta I (AD 319-334)
Married a Lichchhavi princess, whostrengthened his position and enhancedthe prestige of the Guptas.l He was the first Gupta ruler to acquire
the title of Maharajadhiraja.l Chandragupta I was able to establish his
authority over Magadha, Prayaga andSaketa.
8 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Samudragupta (AD 335-380)l He is called the Napoleon of India (by VA
Smith) on account of his conquests.l Meghavarman the ruler of Sri Lanka,
sent a missionary to his court forpermission to built a Buddhist temple atGaya.
l The Allahabad pillar inscription givesdetailed information aboutSamudragupta, it was composed by hiscourt poet Harisena.
l He assumed the titles of Kaviraj andVikrama.
Chandragupta II (AD 380-414)l Mehrauli inscription on Iron Pillar near
Qutub Minar is related to him.l His court was adorned by Navratnas, the
chief being Kalidasa and Amarsimha.l Fa-hien, Chinese Pilgrim (AD 399-414)
visited during his reign.l Defeated Saka Kshatrapa Rudrasimha IIIl Chandragupta II also succeeded in
killing Ramagupta, and not only seizedhis kingdom, but also married his widowDhruvadevi.
l He was the first Gupta ruler to issue thesilver coins in the memory of victory overSakas and to have adopted the titlesSakari and Vikramaditya.
l The Gupta age is called golden age ofIndian history and saw the issuance ofthe largest number of gold coins.
Kumaragupta I (AD 415-455)l Chandragupta II was succeeded by his
son Kumaragupta I.l Kumaragupta was the worshipper of God
Kartikeya.l He founded the ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’
which developed into a great centre oflearning.
Skandagupta (AD 455-467)l Skandagupta was the last great ruler of
the Gupta dynasty.l During his reign the Gupta empire was
invaded by the Hunas.l Success in repelling the Hunas seems to
have been celebrated by the assumptionof the title ‘Vikramaditya’ (Bhitari PillarInscription).
Pushyabhuti Dynasty(AD 606-647)l The greatest king was Harshavardhana,
son of Prabhakar Vardhana ofThaneshwar. He shifted the capital to
Kannauj.
l Hieun Tsang visited during his reign.l He established a large monastery at
Nalanda. Banabhata adorned his court,wrote Harshacharita and Kadambari.Harsha himself wrote threeplays—Priyadarshika, Ratnawali andNagananda.
Rashtrakutasl Founded by Dantidurg; Krishna I built
the Kailasha temple at Ellora.Amoghavarsha, who is compared toVikramaditya, wrote the first Kannadapoetry Kaviraj Marg. Rashtrakutas arecredited for building cave shrine
Elephanta, dedicated to Shiva.
GangasRuled Orissa; Narsimhadeva constructedthe Sun Temple at Konark; Anantvarman
built the Jagannath Temple at Puri; andKesaris, who used to rule before Gangas
built the Lingaraja Temple atBhubaneshwar.
PallavasFounder–Simhavishnu; Capital–Kanchi;
greatest king Narsimhavarman, whofounded the town of Mamallapuram(Mahabalipuram) and built rock-cut rathasand even pagodas.
9Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
■ Palas, with their capital at Monghyr isknown for Dharmapala, their second king,who founded the Vikramashila University andrevived the Nalanda University.
■ The greatest ruler of Pratiharas wasBhoja (also known as Mihir, Adivraha).
■ Khajuraho temples were built during thereign of Chandellas of Bundelkhand.
■ Chalukyas of Vatapi-founded by Jayasimhawere contemporary to Harshavardhan.
■ Rajputs divided into four clans: Pratiharas(S Rajasthan), Chauhans (E Rajasthan),Chalukyas/Solankis (Kathiawar), Parmaras(Malwa).
The Cholasl Founder Vijayalaya, Capital Tanjore.l Aditya I wiped out the Pallavas and
weakened the Pandyas.l Purantaka I captured Madurai, but was
defeated by the Rashtrakuta rulerKrishna III at the Battle of Takkolam.
l Rajaraja I (AD 985-1014) led a navalexpedition against Shailendra empire(Malaya Peninsula) and conquered
Northern Sri Lanka; constructedRajarajeshwari (or Brihadeshvara) Shivatemple at Tanjore.
l Rajendra I (AD 1014-1044) annexed thewhole of Sri Lanka; took the title ofGangaikonda and founded GangaikondaCholapuram.
l Dancing Figure of Shiva (Nataraja)belongs to the Chola period. Local selfgovernment existed.
l Mohammad bin Qasim invaded Indiain AD 712 and conquered Sindh.
l Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni led about17 expeditions of India.
l In 1025, he attacked and raided themost celebrated Hindu temple of
Somnath, situated on the sea coast ofKathiawar.
FOUNDATION OF THEDELHI SULTANATEl Mohammad Ghori invaded India and
was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan in
First Battle of Tarain (1191).
l Ghori defeated the Rajput king inSecond Battle of Tarain (1192) and laidthe foundation of the Muslim dominionin India. He may be considered the
‘founder of Muslim rule’ in India.
Ilbari Dynasty(AD 1206-1290)
Qutub-ud-in-Aibakl Capital Lahore (initial); Delhi (later)l The founder of the Slave dynasty. Also
called Lakh Baksh because of hisgenerosity.
l Qutub-ud-din Aibak laid the foundation
of Qutub Minar, after the name of thefamous Sufi saint Khwaja QutubuddinBakhtiyar Kaki; built Quwwat-ul-Islam
(first mosque in India) and Adhai Din
ka Jhopra (Ajmer).l Died while playing Chaugan (polo).
Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)l Attack of Mongols; formed
Turkan-e-Chahalgani or Chalisa (agroup of 40 powerful Turkish nobles).
l Divided his empire into Iqtas(assignment of land in lieu of salary).
l Introduced 2 types of coins-silver tankaand copper jital.
Razia Sultan (AD 1236-1240)l First and last Muslim woman ruler of
Medieval India.l She disregarded Purdah, married Altunia,
the Governor of Bhatinda.l Bahram Shah, son of Iltutmish, killed her.
Balban (AD 1266-1286)l Separated Military Department (Diwan-
e-Ariz) and Finance Department(Diwan-e-Wazarat).
l He declared that king was the deputy ofGod (Niyabat-e-Khudai) and shadow ofGod (Zil-e-Illahi) and introduced thepractices of Sijdah and Paibos.
Khalji Dynasty (AD 1290-1320)l Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji was the first
ruler, who reviewed that India cannot be atotally Islamic state.
l Alauddin Khalji His conquests were thatof Gujarat ruled by Vaghela king;Ranthambhor, Chittor and Malwa andlater to the South (mainly by MalikKafur).
l He abolished Zamindari in Khalisa land.No iqta was allotted in Doab area.
10 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
MEDIEVAL INDIA
l Alauddin adopted the policy of Blood and
Iron in tackling the Mongols.l He built Khizrabad, Alai Darwaja and his
capital city Siri.l Also built Hauz Khas in Delhi and added
entrance door to Qutub Minar,introduced market reforms.
l Adopted the title of Sikandar-i-Sani.l Built a permanent army, introduced
Chehra and Dagh System.l First Turkish Sultan’ who separated
religion from politics.l His court poets were Amir Khusrau and
Mir Hassan Dehlvi.
Tughlaq Dynasty(AD 1320-1413)l Founded by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, who
built the fortified city of Tughlaqabad andmade it his capital.
l He was the first sultan to start irrigationworks.
l Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq also called thewise fool king on account of fiveexperiments, namely (a) Transfer ofcapital to Daulatabad (b) Taxation in Doab(c) Qarachil expedition (d) Khurasanexpedition (e) Token currency.
l The Sultan set-up a separate departmentfor agriculture, Diwan-i-kohi. He gaveSondhar loans to farmers.
l South Indian states of the Vijayanagaraempire, the Bahmani kingdom and theSultanate of Madura were founded.
l The famous traveller Ibn-Batuta visitedhis court.
l Firoz Shah Tughlaq built new towns ofHissar, Firozpur, Fatehabad, Jaunpur andFirozabad (his capital). During his reigntwo Ashokan pillars, one from Topara inAmbala and the other from Meerut werebrought. Built canals was fond of slavesand wrote a book Fatuhat Firozshahi.
l He repaired Qutub Minar when it wasstruck by lightening.
l Firoz Shah Tughlaq also made Iqtadarisystem hereditary and imposed new taxeslike Kharaj (land tax equal to one-tenth ofthe producer) and Zakat and Khams(one-tenth of the booty captured in war).
l He made Jizya a separate tax and heimposed this tax upon the Brahmans forthe first time in the history of Sultanate.
l He introduced the following coins—Aadha, Bhikh, Shashgani and Hasthragani.
l Timur Mongol leader of Central Asia,ordered general massacre in Delhi (AD1398) at the time of NasiruddinMahmud (later Tughlaq king).
Sayyids and Lodhisl Sayyids dynasty was founded by
Khizr Khan : Successors-Mubarak Shah,Muhammad Shah and Alauddin AlamShah.
l The Lodhis were the first Afghans torule India.
l Bahlol Lodhi (AD 1451-1481) foundedthe dynasty.
l Sikander Lodhi (AD 1418-1517)introduced Gaz-i-Sikandari. (unit formeasuring cultivated field). He foundedAgra in 1504. He wrote the Persianverse ‘Gulrukhi’.
l He was succeeded by Ibrahim Lodhi(1517-1526), who was defeated by RanaSanga of Mewar in the Battle of Khatoli.Ibrahim Lodhi was also defeated byBabur in April, 1526 which led to theestablishment of the Mughal rule in India.
PROVINCIAL KINGDOMSGujaratl Broke away from Delhi in AD 1397
under Zafar Khan, who assumed thetitle of Sultan Muzaffar Shah.
l His grandson Ahmed Shah I built a newcity Ahmedabad.
l The next prominent ruler was MahmudBeghra. During his rule, the Portugueseset-up a factory at Diu.
KashmirKashmir was ruled by Hindu rulers untilShamsuddin Shah asserted himself in AD1339. The greatest ruler was Zain-ul-Abidin (AD 1420-70), who is called theAkbar of Kashmir, built Zaina lank,artificial island in Wular lake.
Mewarl Rajput rule restored by Rana Hamir
after Alauddin Khilji captured Chittor inAD 1303.
l The greatest was Rana Kumbha whobuilt the Vijay Stambh at Chittor tocommemorate his victory over MahmudKhalji of Malwa.
11Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Vijayanagara Kingdom(AD 1336-1565)l Founded by Harihara I and Bukka I.
l Devaraya I built a dam acrossTungabhadra river and Italian travellerNicolo de Conti visited his court followedby the Russian merchant Nikitin.
l Devaraya II, the greatest ruler, who wasseen as incarnation of Indra by Commoners;He was also called ‘Gajabetekara’ and wroteMahanataka Sudhanidhi and commentaryon the Brahma Sutras in Sanskrit; PersianAmbassador Abdur Razzaq visited hiscourt. Krishnadeva Raya (AD 1509-29) wasthe greatest ruler.
l He was known as Abhinava Bhoja, Andhra
Pitamah and Andhra Bhoja because ofbeing a great patron of literature. Eightgreat poets of Telugu (Ashta Diggaja)adorned his court like Pedanna andTenalirama.
l Portuguese Dominigo Paes and Barbosavisited his court.
l Battle of Talikota (AD 1565) Sadasiva, thelast ruler of the Tuluva dynasty was defeatedby an alliance of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur,Golconda and Bidar.
Bahmani Kingdoml Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (AD
1347-58), also known as Hasan Gangu,
founded it with capital at Gulbarg.
l Ahmad Shah Wali transferred the capitalfrom Gulbarg to Bidar.
l Bahmani kingdom broke up into :
¡ Nizamsahis of AhmadnagarFounder Malik Ahmad Bahri
¡ Adilsahis of BijapurFounder Yusuf Adil Shah
¡ Imadsahis of BerarFounder Fatullah Khan Imad-ul-Mulk
¡ Qutubsahis of GolcondaFounder Quli Qutub Shah
¡ Baridsahis of BidarFounder Ali Barid
l The Gol Gumbaz (a tomb with World'ssecond largest dome) was built byMuhammad Adil Shah at Bijapur.
l Muhammad Quli Qutubshah foundedHyderabad and built Charminar.
Mughal Empire(AD 1526-1707)
Babur (AD 1526-1530)l Founder of Mughal empire, who
introduced gunpowder in India;defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in the First
Battle of Panipat (AD 1526); RanaSanga (Sangram Singh) at Battle of
Khanwa (AD 1527); Medini Rai ofChanderi at Battle of Chanderi(AD 1528) and Mahmud Lodi atBattle of Ghagra (AD 1529); hewrote Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turkishlanguage.
l Babur declared Jehad and adoptedthe title Ghazi.
l Died in 1530 and was buried at AramBagh (Agra). Later his body was takento Bagh-e Babun (Kabul).
Humayun (AD 1530-1556)l Built Dinpanah at Delhi as his second
capital.l Sher Shah Suri gradually gained
power. He fought two battles withHumayun—Battle of Chausa (AD1539) and another Battle of Kannauj(AD 1540) culminating intoHumayun’s defeat.
l Humayun passed 15 years in exile;again invaded India in 1555 with thehelp of his officer Bairam Khan.
l Died in AD 1556 due to a fall from hislibrary building’s stairs; Gulbadan
Begum, Humayun's half-sister wroteHumayun-nama.
Akbar (AD 1556-1605)l Coronated at the young age of 14 by
Bairam Khan; defeated Hemu at theSecond Battle of Panipat (AD 1556)with the help of Bairam Khan;conquered Malwa (AD 1561)defeating Baz Bahadur followed byGarh-Katanga (ruled by RaniDurgawati), Chittor (AD 1568),Ranthambhor and Kalinjar (AD1569), Gujarat (AD 1572), Mewar(Battle of Haldighati, AD 1576 Akbarand Rana Pratap), Kashmir (AD1586), Sindh (AD 1593) and Asirgarh(AD 1603) were also conquered.
12 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Buland Darwaza was constructed atFatehpur Sikri after victory over Gujaratin AD 1572.
l Married to Harkha Bai, daughter ofRajput ruler Bharmal
l Ralph Fitch (in AD 1585) was the firstEnglishman to visit Akbar's court.
l Abolished Jaziyah (AD 1564); believedin Sulh-i-Kul (peace to all), built IbadatKhana (Hall of prayer) at Fatehpur Sikri;issued ‘Degree of Infallibility (AD 1579);formulated religious order Din-i-Ilahi(AD 1582). Birbal was the first toembrace it.
l Land revenue system was called TodarMal Bandobast or Zabti Systemmeasurement of land, classification ofland and fixation of rent; and introducedMansabdari System (holder of rank) toorganise nobility and army.
l The Navratnas included Todar Mal, AbulFazal, Faizi, Birbal, Tansen, AbdurRahim Khana-i-Khana, Mullah-do-Pyaza,Raja Man Singh and Fakir Aziao-Din
Jahangir (AD 1605-1627)l Executed the fifth Sikh guru, Guru
Arjun Dev.l Greatest failure was loss of Kandahar to
Persia in AD 1622.l Married Mehr-un-Nisa in AD 1611 and
conferred the title of Nurjahan on her;He established Zanjir-i-Adal at Agra Fortfor the seekers of royal justice.
l Captain Hawkins and Sir Thomas Roevisited his court.
l Famous painters in his court-AbdulHassan, Ustad Mansur and Bishandas.
Shahjahan (AD 1628-1658)l Annexed Ahmadnagar while Bijapur
and Golconda accepted his overlord-ship.
l Secured Kandahar (AD 1639).l Two Frenchmen, Bernier and Tavernier
and an Italian adventurer Manuccivisited his court.
l Built Moti Masjid and Taj Mahal atAgra, Jama Masjid and Red Fort atDelhi. His reign is considered theGolden Age of the Mughal empire.
Aurangzeb (Alamgir)(AD 1658-1707)l Aurangzeb became victorious after the
brutal war of succession among hisbrother Dara, Shuja and Murad.
l Rebellions during his rule—Jat
Peasantry at Mathura, Satnami
peasantry in Punjab and Bundelas inBundelkhand.
l The annexation of Marwar in AD 1658led to a serious rift between Rajput andMughals after the death of Raja JaswantSingh.
l Ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadurwas executed by him in AD 1675.
l Mughal conquests reached territorialclimax during his reign.
l It stretched from Kashmir in North toJinji in South, from the Hindukush inWest to Chittagong in East.
l He was called Darvesh or a Zinda Pir.He forbade Sati. Conquered Bijapur (AD1686) and Golconda (AD 1687) andreimposed Jaziya in AD 1679.
l He built Biwi ka Makbara on the tombof his queen Rabaud-Durani atAurangabad; Moti Masjid within RedFort, Delhi; and the Jami or BadshahiMosque at Lahore.
Causes behind the fallof Mughal Empire
■ Weak and incompetent successors■ Wars of succession■ Aurangzeb’s Deccan, religious and Rajput
policies■ Jagirdari crisis■ Growth of Marathas and other regional
powers■ Foreign invasions of Nadir Shah (1739) and
Abdali
Sur Dynastyl The founder of Sur dynasty was Farid.l Afghan ruler of Bihar, Bahar Khan
Lohani gave the title of Sher Shah toFarid. Introduced Silver coin calledRupaya and Copper coin Dam.
l Built his tomb at Sasaram and built anew city on the bank of Yamuna river(present day Purana Qila).
13Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
LATER MUGHALSl Bahadur Shah I (1707-12) Original
name was Muazzam; Title-Shah Alam I.l Jahandar Shah (1712-13) He ascended
the throne with the help of ZulfikarKhan; abolished Jizya.
l Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) He lacked theability and knowledge to ruleindependently. His reign saw theemergence of the Sayyid Brothers.
l Muhammad Shah (1719-48) Nadir Shahinvaded India and took away Peacockthrone and Kohinoor diamond.
l Ahmed Shah (1748-54) Ahmed ShahAbdali (General of Nadir Shah) marchedtowards Delhi and the Mughals cededPunjab and Multan.
l Alamgir (1754-59) Ahmed Shahoccupied Delhi. Later, Delhi wasplundered by Marathas.
l Shah Alam II (1759-1806) could notenter Delhi for 12 years.
l Akbar II (1806-37) pensioner of EastIndia Company. He gave the title ‘Raja’ toRam Mohan Roy.
l Bahadur Shah II (1837-57) Last MughalEmperor who was made premier duringthe 1857 Revolt.
Author Work
Babur Tuzuk-i-Babari
Abul Fazal Ain-i-Akbari, Akbarnamah
Jahangir Tuzuk-i-Jahangir
Hamid Lahori Padshahnama
Darashikoh Majma-ul-Bahrain
Mirza Md Qasim Alamgirnama
MARATHAS (AD 1674-1818)
Shivaji (AD 1627-80)l Born at Shivner to Shahji Bhonsle and
Jijabai. His religious teacher wasSamarth Ramdas and guardian wasDadaji Kondadev.
l Treaty of Purandar (AD 1665) betweenShivaji and Mughals.
l Coronation at Raigarh (AD 1674) andassumed the title of Haindava
Dharmadharak (Protector of Hinduism).
l Ashtapradhan (eight ministers) helpedin administration. These were Peshwas,Sar-i-Naubat (Military), Mazumdar orAmatya (Accounts); Waqenavis(Intelligence); Surunavis (Corres-
pondence); Dabir or Sumanta
(Ceremonies); Nyayadhish (Justice);
and Panditrao (Charity).l Successors of Shivaji were Shambhaji,
Rajaram and Shahu (fought at Battle ofKhed in AD 1708).
Peshwas (AD 1719-18)l Balaji Vishwanath was the first
Peshwas, who concluded an agreementwith the Sayyid Brothers (the kingmakers in history) by which Mughalemperor Farukh Siyyar recognisedShahu as the king of Swarajya.
l Baji Rao considered as the “greatestexponent of guerilla tactics afterShivaji”; Maratha power reached itszenith and system of confederacy began;defeated Siddis of Janjira; Conquest ofBassein and Salsette from Portuguese.
l Balaji Baji Rao known as Nana Sahib;Third Battle of Panipat (AD 1761)between Marathas and Ahmed ShahAbdali gave a big jolt to the Marathaempire.
SIKH GURUSl Nanak (1469-39) founded Sikh religion.l Angad(1539-52)inventedGurmukhi.
l Amardas (1552-74) struggled againstsati system, and purdah system andestablished 22 Gadiyans to propagatereligion.
l Ramdas (1574-81) founded Amritsar in1577.Akbargrantedthe land.
l Arjun (1581-1606) founded Swarn
Mandir (Golden Temple) and composedAdi Granth.
l Hargobind Singh (1606-45) establishedAkal Takht, and fortified Amritsar.
l Har Rai (1645-66)l Harkishan (1661-64)l Tegh Bahadur (1664-75)
l Gobind Singh (1675-1708) was the lastGuru who founded the Khalsa. Afterhim Sikh guruship ended.
14 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ADVENT OF THEEUROPEANS
Portuguesel Vasco-da-Gama reached the port of
Calicut in 1498 during the reign of kingZamorin. (Hindu ruler of Calicut).
l Settlements Daman, Salsette, Chauland Bombay (West coast), San Thome(near Madras) and at Hooghly.
l Alfonso de Albuquerque, the secondGovernor of India (first being Franciscode Almeida) arrived in 1509 andcaptured Goa in AD 1510.
Dutchl Dutch East India Company was formed
in AD 1602.l Dutch were defeated by English at the
Battle of Bedara in AD 1759 and as peragreement, the Dutch gained the controlover Indonesia and the British overIndia, Sri Lanka and Malaya.
l Settlements They set-up their firstfactory at Masulipatnam in 1605. Theirother factories were at Pulicat, Chinsura,Patna, Balasore, Naga pattanam, Cochin,Surat, Karaikal and Kasimbazar.
Englishl The English East India Company was
formed in 1599 under a charter grantedby Queen Elizabeth in 1600. Jahangirgranted a farman to Captain WilliamHawkins permitting the English to erecta factory at Surat (1613).
l In 1615, Sir Thomas Roe succeeded ingetting an imperial farman to trade andestablish factory in all parts of theMughal Empire by ruler Jahangir.
l In 1690, a factory was established atSuttanati by Jab Charnock. In 1698,following the acquisition of zamindari ofthree villages of Suttanati, Kalikata andGovindpur, the city of Calcutta wasfounded. Fort William was set-up in1700.
l In 1717, John Surman obtained afarman from Farrukhsiyar, which gave
large concessions to the company. Thisfarman has been called the Magna Cartaof the Company.
l Battle of Plassey (1757) Englishdefeated Sirajuddaula, the nawab ofBengal.
l Battle of Buxar (1764) Captain Munrodefeated joint forces of Mir Qasim(Bengal), Shujauddaula (Awadh) andShah Alam II (Mughal).
Danesl The Danish East India Company was
formed in 1616.l The Danish colony ‘Tranquebar’ was
established on Southern Coromondelcoast of India.
l Settlements Serampur (Bengal) andTranquebar (Tamil Nadu) sold theirsettlements to the English in 1845.
Frenchl The French East India Company was
formed by Colbert under state patronagein 1664. The First French factory wasestablished at Surat by Francois Caron in1668. A factory at Masulipatnam wasset-up in 1669.
l French were defeated by English inBattle of Wandiwash (1760).
GOVERNOR-GENERALSOF BENGAL
Warren Hastings (AD 1774-85)l Brought the dual government to an end
by the Regulating Act, 1773.l The Act of 1781 made clear demarcation
between the jurisdiction of the GovernorGeneral-in-Council and Supreme Courtat Calcutta.
l Pitt’s India Act (1784), Rohilla War(1774), First Maratha War (1775-1782)and Treaty of Salbai with Marathas(1782) and Second Mysore War (1780-84). Foundation of Asiatic Society ofBengal (1784) in Calcutta by SirWilliam Jones.
l English translations of Bhagavad Gita byCharles Wilkins in 1785.
MODERN INDIA
Lord Cornwallis (AD 1786-93)l Third Mysore War (1790-92) and
Treaty of Seringapatnam (1792).
l Introduced Permanent Settlement inBengal and Bihar (1793).
l He is called the Father of Civil
Services in India, introduced judicialreforms by separating revenueadministration from judicialadministration and established asystem of circles (thanas, headed by aDaroga (an Indian).
l Translation of Abhigyan Shakuntalamin English by William Jones in 1789.
Sir John Shore (AD 1793-98)l Played an important role in the
introduction of Permanent Settlement.
l Battle of Kharda between the Nizamsand the Marathas (1795).
Lord Wellesley (AD 1798-1805)l Introduction of the Subsidiary
Alliance (1798), first alliance withNizam of Hyderabad followed byMysore, Tanjore, Awadh, the Peshwa,the Bhonsle and the Scindia.
l Treaty of Bassein (1802) and theSecond Maratha War.
George Barlow (1805-07)
l Vellore Mutiny (1806)
Lord Minto I (AD 1807-13)l Concluded the Treaty of Amritsar
with Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1809).Charter Act of 1813 was passed.
Lord Hasting (AD 1813-23)l Anglo Nepal War (1814-1816) and
Treaty of Sagauli (1816).
l Third Maratha War (1817-18)dissolution of Maratha confederacyand creation of Bombay Presidency.
l Pindari War and establishment ofRyotwari System by Thomas Munro(1820).
Lord Amherst (AD 1823-28)l First Burmese War (1824-26),
Treaty of Yandaboo (1826) andcapture of Bharatpur (1826).
GOVERNOR-GENERALSOF INDIA
Lord William Bentinck(AD 1828-35)l Charter Act of 1833 was passed and he was
made the first Governor General of India.Before him, the designation given wasGovernor General of Bengal.
l Carried out social reforms like prohibitionof sati (1829) and elimination of thugs(1830). On Macaulay’s recommedations,English was made the medium of highereducation. Suppressed female infanticideand child sacrifice.
Lord Metcalfe (AD 1835-36)
Known as liberator of the press in India.
Lord Auckland (AD 1836-42)
First Afghan War (1838-42), a disaster forthe English.
Lord Ellenborough (AD 1842-44)
Brought an end to the Afghan war. War withGwalior (1843), Annexation of Sind byCharles Napier (1843).
Lord Hardinge (AD 1844-48)
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) and Treaty ofLahore (1846). Gave preference to Englisheducated persons in employment.
Lord Dalhousie (AD 1848-56)l Introduction of Doctrine of Lapse and
annexation of Satara (1848), Jaipur andSambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852),Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854) and Awadh(annexed in 1856 on account ofmaladministration).
l Laid down the first railway line betweenBombay and Thane (1853), Telegraph linebetween Calcutta and Agra and Postalreforms (first issue of the Indian stamp inKarachi in 1854) with the Post Office Act.
l Widow Remarriage Act, 1856 (the mainforce being Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar).
l Started Public Works Department, GrandTrunk Road work and harbour of Karachi,Bombay and Calcutta developed.
l Charter Act, 1853-Selection to CivilService through competitive examination.
l Started Engineering College at Roorkee;made Shimla, the summer capital.
16 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
VICEROYS OF INDIA
Lord Canning (AD 1856-62)l The last Governor General and the first
Viceroy. Withdrew Doctrine of Lapse.l Revolt of 1857, Mutiny took place.
Indian Penal Code 1860 was passed.l Passed the Act, 1858, which ended the
rule of the East India Company. TheUniversities of Calcutta, Bombay andMadras were established in 1857.
Lord Elgin (AD 1862)l Wahabi Movement
Lord John Lawrence (AD 1864-69)l Established the High Courts at Calcutta,
Bombay and Madras in 1865.l Telegraphic communication was opened
with Europe. Created the Indian ForestDepartment.
Lord Mayo (AD 1869-72)l Organised the Statistical Survey of India
and for the first time in Indian history, acensus was held in 1871.
l Started the process of financialdecentralisation in India. Establishedthe Department of Agriculture andCommerce.
l Established the Rajkot College atKathiawar and Mayo College at Ajmer forthe Indian princes.
l He was the only viceroy to be murderedin office by a Pathan convict in theAndamans in 1872.
Lord Northbrooke (AD 1872-76)
Kuka Rebellion in Punjab, Famine in Bihar.
Lord Lytton (AD 1876-80)l Known as the ‘Viceroy of Reverse
Character’.
l Royal Titles Act of 1876 and theassumption of the title of ‘Empress ofIndia’ by Queen Victoria, the DelhiDurbar in January 1877.
l Vernacular Press Act (also called the‘Gagging Act’ to restrain the circulation ofprinted matter) and the Arms Act (madeit mandatory for Indians to acquirelicense in arms) of 1878.
Lord Ripon (AD 1880-84)l First Factory Act of 1881 prohibited
Child Labour under the age of 7. Local
Self-Government was introduced in1882.
l Repealed the Vernacular Press Act in1882. Finances of the centre weredivided.
l Lord Ripon is regarded as ‘the founding
father of local self governance’ in India.l An Education Commission was appointed
under Sir William Hunter in 1882 toimprove primary and secondaryeducation.
l The llbert Bill Controversy (1883)enabled Indian district magistrates to tryEuropean criminals.
Lord Dufferin (AD 1884-88)
Third Burmese War (AD 1885-86).Establishment of the Indian National
Congress in 1885.
Lord Lansdowne (AD 1888-94)l Factory Act of 1891 granted weekly
holiday and stipulated working hours forwomen and children.
l Civil services were divided into Imperial,Provincial and Subordinate Services.
l Indian Councils Act of 1892.
l The Durand Commission defined theDurand Line between British India andAfghanistan (now between Pakistan andAfghanistan) in 1893.
Lord Elgin II (AD 1894-99)l Southern uprisings of 1899. Great
famine of 1896-1897 and LyallCommission on famine was established.
Lord Curzon (AD 1899-1905)l A Commission was appointed under
Sir Thomas Raleigh in 1902 to suggestreforms regarding universities, theIndian Universities Act of 1904 waspassed on the basis of itsrecommendations.
l Ancient Monuments Preservation Actof 1904. Thus, Archaeological Survey ofIndia was established.
l Agricultural Research Institute wasestablished at Pusa in Delhi. PartitionedBengal in 1905.
17Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Lord Minto (AD 1905-10)
Swadeshi Movement (1905-08); foundationof Muslim League (1906); Surat Session andsplit in the Congress (1907). Morley-MintoReforms (1909).
Lord Hardinge (AD 1910-16)
Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi(1911); Delhi Durbar; Partition of Bengal wascancelled. The Hindu Mahasabha wasfounded in 1915 by Pandit Madan MohanMalaviya.
Lord Chelmsford (AD 1916-21)l Gandhi returned to India (1915) and
founded the Sabarmati Ashram (1916),Champaran Satyagraha, Satyagraha atAhmedabad (1918), Kheda Satyagraha(1918).
l August Declaration (1917) by Montague,the then Secretary of State, and Montfordreforms or the Government of India Act of1919.
l Rowlatt Act (March, 1919) and theJallianwala Bagh Massacre (13th April,1919).
l Khilafat Committee was formed andKhilafat Movement started (1919-20).
l Non-Cooperation Movement started(1920-22). Women’s University wasfounded at Poona (1916).
Lord Reading (AD 1921-26)l Repeal of Rowlatt Act. Chauri-Chaura
incident. RSS founded in 1925. SuppressedNon-Cooperation Movement. Formation ofSwaraj Party.
l Moplah Rebellion (1921) took place.Kakori Train Robbery on 1st August, 1925.Communal Riots of 1923-25 in Multan,Amritsar, Delhi etc.
Lord Irwin (AD 1926-31)l Simon Commission visited India in 1927.
Congress passed the Indian Resolution in1929.
l Dandi March (12th March, 1930). CivilDisobedience Movement (1930).
l First Round Table Conference was heldin England in 1930. Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
l Lahore Session of Congress and Poorna
Swaraj Declaration (1925).
Lord Willingdon (AD 1931-36)l Second Round Table Conference in
London in 1931 and third in 1932.l Government of India Act (1935) was
passed. Communal Awards (16thAugust, 1932) assigned separateelectorate for Gandhiji went on aepic fast to protest against thisdivision.
Lord Linlithgow (AD 1936-43)l Congress Ministries resignation
celebrated as ‘Deliverance Day’ by theMuslim League (1939), the Lahore
Resolution (23rd March, 1940) of theMuslim League demanding separatestate for the Muslims. (It was at thissession that Jinnah propounded hisTwo-Nation Theory). Outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939. Cripps Mission
in 1942. Quit India Movement (8thAugust, 1942).
Lord Wavell (AD 1943-47)l Cabinet Mission Plan (16th May,
1946).l First meeting of the Constituent
Assembly was held on 9th December,1946.
l Arranged the Shimla Conference on25th June, 1945 with the failure oftalks between the Indian NationalCongress and Muslim League.
l Election to the Constituent Assemblywere held and an interim governmentwas appointed under Nehru.
Lord Mountbatten(March to August, 1947)l Last Viceroy of British India and the
first Governor-General of free India.l Partition of India decided by the 3rd
June Plan or Mountbatten Plan.
l Retired in June, 1948 and wassucceeded by C Rajagopalachari, thefirst and the last Indian Governor-General of Free India.
l Indian Independence Act was passedby the British Parliament on4th July, 1947, by which India becameindependent on 15th August, 1947.
18 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
THE REVOLT OF 1857l Started at Meerut on 10th May, 1857.l Political Causes The policy of Doctrine of
Lapse.l Economic Causes Heavy taxation,
evictions, Discriminatory Tariff Policyagainst Indian products and destruction oftraditional handicrafts that hit peasants,artisans and small zamindars.
l Military Discrimination as Indiansoldiers were paid low salaries, they couldnot rise above the rank of subedar andwere racially insulted.
l Grievances of Sepoys The introduction ofEnfield rifle, and its cartridge of whichwas greased with animal fat, provided thespark.
l A rebellion broke out among Sepoys ofMeerut on 10th May, 1857 which laterspread to other parts of the country.
l British social reforms (widow remarriage,abolition of sati, education for girls,Christian missionaries).
Centreof Revolt
Leader BritishSuppressor
Delhi Bahadur Shah II,Bakht Khan
John Nicholson,Hudson
Banaras Liaquat Ali James Neill
Kanpur Nana Saheb, TantiaTope, AzimullahKhan
Campbell,Havelock
Lucknow Hazrat Mahal(Begum of Awadh)
Havelock,James Neill,Campbell
Jhansi Rani Laxmi Bai Sir Hugh Rose
Bareilly Khan Bahadur Khan Sir ColinCampbell
Awadh(Bihar)
Veer Kunwar Singh William Taylorand Vincent Eyer
Causes of Failure■ The Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Jodhpur,
Scindia of Gwalior, the Holkar of Indore, therulers of Patiala, Sindh and Kashmir and theRana of Nepal provided active support to theBritish.
■ Comparative lack of efficient leadership.
Impact of the Revolt■ The control of Indian administration was
passed on to the British Crown by theGovernment of India Act, 1858.
■ Reorganisation of the army.■ After the revolt, the British pursued the
Policy of Divide and Rule.
CHIEF NATIONALACTIVITIES
The Indian National Congressl It was formed in 1885 by AO Hume a
retired Civil Servant.l The first session was held in Bombay
under WC Bannerjee in 1885, attendedby 72 delegates from all over India.
l The first two decades of INC aredescribed in history as those of moderatedemands and a sense of confidence inBritish justice and generosity.
l Moderate leaders Dada BhaiNaoroji, Badruddin Tayabji, GopalKrishna Gokhale, SurendranathBannerjee and Anand Mohan Bose.
Partition of Bengal (1905)l The partition was announced by Lord
Curzon on 16th October, 1905 througha royal proclamation, reducing the oldprovince of Bengal in size by creatingEast Bengal and Assam out of the rest ofBengal.
Swadeshi Movement (1905)This movement had its origin in theanti-partition movement of Bengal. Lal,Bal, Pal and Aurobindo Ghosh played animportant role. INC took the Swadeshicall first at the Banaras Session, 1905presided over by GK Gokhale.
Muslim League (1906)l It was set-up in 1906 by Aga Khan,
Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka and NawabMohsin-ul- Mulk.
l The league supported the Partition of
Bengal and opposed the Swadeshi
Movement, demanded specialsafeguards to its community and aseparate electorate for Muslims.
19Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l This led to communal differencesbetween the Hindus and the Muslims.
Demand for Swaraj(Calcutta Session in Dec, 1906)l The INC, under the leadership of
Dadabhai Naoroji, adopted ‘Swaraj’(Self-government) as the goal of IndianPeople.
Surat Session (1907)l The INC split into two groups: the
Extremists and the Moderates, dueto the debate on nature of Swadeshi
Movement.l Extremists were led by Lal, Bal, Pal
while the Moderates by GK Gokhale.
Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)l The reforms envisaged a separate
electorate for Muslims, besides otherconstitutional measures.
l Lord Minto came to be known as theFather of Communal Electorate.
Ghadar Party (1913)l Formed by Lala Hardayal, Taraknath
Das and Sohan Singh Bhakna.Headquarter—San Francisco.
l The name was taken from a weeklypaper, Ghadar, which had beenstarted on 1st November, 1913 tocommemorate the 1857 Revolt.
Home Rule Movement (1916)l Started by BG Tilak (April, 1916) at
Poona and Annie Besant andS Subramania Iyer at Adyar, nearMadras (September, 1916).
l Objective Self-government for Indiain the British Empire.
l During this movement, Tilak raisedthe slogan Swaraj is my Birth Right
and I shall have it.
Lucknow Pact (1916)
Pact between INC and Muslim Leaguefollowing a war between Britain andTurkey leading to anti-British feelingsamong Muslims. Both organisationsjointly demand dominion status for thecountry congress accepted separateelectorate for Muslims.
August Declaration (1917)l After the Lucknow Pact, the British policy
was announced which aimed at ‘‘increasingassociation of Indians in every branch ofthe administration for progressive realisationof responsible government in India as anintegral part of the British empire’’. Thiscame to be called the August Declaration.
l The Montague—Chelmsford reforms or
the Act of 1919 was based on thisdeclaration.
Rowlatt Act (18th March, 1919)l This gave unbridled powers to the
government to arrest and imprison suspectswithout trail. This law enabled thegovernment to suspend the right of HabeasCorpus, which had been the foundation ofcivil liberties in Britain.
l Rowlatt Satyagraha was started againstthe act. This was the first countrywideagitation by Gandhiji.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre(13th April, 1919)l People were agitated over the arrest of Dr
Kitchlu and Dr Satyapal on 10th April,1919.
l General O’ Dyer fired at people whoassembled in the Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.The Hunter Commission was appointed toenquire into it.
l Rabindra Nath Tagore returned hisknighthood in protest.
l Sardar Udham Singh killed General Dyer inCaxton Hall, London.
Khilafat Movement (1920)l Muslims were agitated by the treatment
done with Turkey by the British in the treaty
that followed the First World War.
l Ali brothers, Mohd Ali and Shaukat Alistarted this movement. It was jointly led bythe Khilafat leaders and the Congress.
Non-Cooperation Movement (1920)l Congress passed the resolution in its
Calcutta Session in September, 1920.l It was the first mass-based political
movement under Gandhiji.l The movement envisaged resignation from
nominated offices and posts in the localbodies.
20 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Refusal to attend government durbarsand boycott of British courts by thelawyers.
l Refusal of general public to offerthemselves for military and othergovernment jobs and boycott of foreigngoods.
Chauri-Chaura Incident (1922)l The Congress Session at Allahabad in
December 1921, decided to launch a Civil
Disobedience Programme. Gandhiji wasappointed its leader.
l But before it could be launched, a mob ofpeople at Chauri-Chaura (nearGorakhpur) clashed with the police andburnt 22 policemen on 5th February,1922. This compelled Gandhiji towithdraw the Non-CooperationMovement on 12th February, 1922.
Swaraj Party (1923)l Motilal Nehru, CR Das and NC Kelkar
(called Pro-changers) demanded that thenationalist should end the boycott of theLegislative Councils, enter them andexpose them.
l They formed Swaraj Party for this purposewith CR Das as the President.
Simon Commission (1927)l It was constituted by John Simon, to
review the political situation in India andto introduce further reforms andextension of parliamentary democracy.
l Indian leaders opposed the commission, asthere were no Indians in it, they cried
Simon Go Back.l The government used brutal
repression and at Lahore, Lala Lajpat Raiwas severely beaten in lathi- charge andlater succumbed to death.
The Nehru Report (1928)l After boycotting the Simon Commission,
all political parties constituted acommittee under the chairmanship ofMotilal Nehru to evolve and determine theprinciples for the Constitution of India.
Lahore Session (1929)l On 19th December, 1929, under the
presidentship of JL Nehru, the INC, atits Lahore Session, declared Poorna
Swaraj (complete independence) as itsultimate goal .
l The tri-coloured flag adopted on31st December, 1929, was unfurledand 26th January, 1930 was fixed as theFirst Independence Day, to becelebrated every year. Later, this daywas chosen as the Republic Day ofIndia.
Dandi March (1930)l Also called the Salt Satyagraha.l Gandhiji started his march from
Sabarmati Ashram on 12th March,1930 for the small village Dandi tobreak the Salt Law.
l He picked a handful of salt andinaugurated the Civil DisobedienceMovement.
Civil Disobedience Movementl Countrywide mass participation by
women.l The Garhwal soldiers refused to fire on
the people at Peshawar.
First Round Table Conference(1931)l It was the first conference arranged
between the British and Indians asequals. It was held on 12thNovember, 1930 in London to discussSimon Commission.
l Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim Leagueparticipated in it. The conference faileddue to absence of the Indian NationalCongress.
Gandhi Irwin Pact (1931)l The government represented by
Lord Irwin, and INC led by Gandhijisigned a pact on 5th March, 1931.
l In this, the INC called off the CivilDisobedience Movement and agreed tojoin the Second Round TableConference.
21Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l The government allowed the villagers onthe coast to make salt for consumptionand released the political prisoners. TheKarachi Session of 1931 of Congressendorsed the Gandhi Irwin Pact.
Second Round Table Conference(1931)l Gandhiji represented the INC and went
to London to meet British PrimeMinister Ramsay McDonald.
l The conference however failed asGandhiji could not agree with BritishPrime Minister on his policy ofCommunal Representation and refusalof the British Government on the basicIndian demand for freedom.
The Communal Award(16th August, 1932)l Announced by Ramsay McDonald. It
showed divide and rule policy of the
British.
l It envisaged communal representation ofdepressed classes, Sikhs and Muslims.
l Gandhiji opposed it, and started fastunto death in Yervada jail.
Poona Pact/ Gandhi- AmbedkarPact (25th September, 1932)l The idea of separate electorate for the
depressed classes was abandoned, butseats reserved for them in the ProvincialLegislature were increased.
l Thus, Poona Pact agreed upon a jointelectorate for upper and lower castes.
Third Round Table Conference(1932)l Proved fruitless as most of the national
leaders were in prison.
Demand for Pakistanl In 1930, Iqbal suggested that the
North-West provinces and Kashmirshould be made Muslim states within thefederation.
l Chaudhary Rehmat Ali gave the termPakistan in 1933.
l Muslim League first passed the proposalof separate Pakistan in its LahoreSession in 1940 (called Jinnah’sTwo-Nation Theory). It was drafted bySikandar Hayat Khan, moved by FazlulHaq and seconded by Khaliquzzamah.
l In December 1943, the Karachi Sessionof the Muslim League adopted theslogan Divide and Quit.
August Offer (8th August, 1940)l It offered (i) Dominion status in the
unspecified future, (ii) A post-war bodyto enact the Constitution (iii) To expandthe Governor-General’s ExecutiveCouncil to give full weightage to minorityopinion.
l This was rejected by the INC, but wasaccepted by the Muslim League.
The Cripps Mission (1942)l The British Government with a view to
get cooperation from Indians in theSecond World War, sent Sir StaffordCripps to settle terms with Indianleaders.
l He offered dominion status to be grantedafter war.
l Congress rejected it. Gandhiji termed itas ‘a post - dated cheque on a crashingbank’.
The Revolt of 1942 and the QuitIndia Movementl Also called the Wardha Proposal, a
Leaderless Revolt.
l The resolution was passed on 8thAugust, 1942, at Bombay. Gandhiji gavethe slogan Do or Die.
l On 1st August, the Congress was bannedand its important leaders were arrested.Gandhiji was kept at the Aga KhanPalace, Pune.
l The people became violent. Themovement was, however, crushed by thegovernment.
22 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Indian National Army (INA)l Subhash Chandra Bose escaped to
Berlin in 1941 and set-up the IndianLeague there. In July 1943, he joinedthe INA at Singapore. Ras Bihari Bosehanded over the leadership to him.
l INA had three fighting brigades,named after Gandhi, Azad and Nehru.
Rani of Jhansi Brigade was anexclusive women force. INA had itsheadquarters at Rangoon andSingapore.
The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946)l Members were Wavell, Patrick
Lawrence, Alexander and StaffordCripps.
l Main proposals
1. Rejection of demand for a full-fledged Pakistan.
2. Loose union under a Centre withCentre’s control over defence andforeign affairs.
3. Provinces were to have fullautonomy and residual powers.
4. Provincial legislatures would electa Constituent Assembly.
The Muslim League accepted it on 6thJune, 1946. The Congress also partiallyaccepted this plan.
Formation of InterimGovernment(2nd September, 1946)l It came into existence on
2nd September, 1946 in accordancewith Cabinet Mission’s proposals and
was headed by JL Nehru. MuslimLeague refused to join it initially.
l Prime Minister Attlee on20th February, 1947 announced thatBritish would withdraw from India by30th June, 1948.
Formation of ConstituentAssembly (December, 1946)l The Constituent Assembly met on
9th December, 1946 and Dr RajendraPrasad was elected as its President.
Jinnah’s Direct Action Resolution(16th August, 1946)l Provoked by the success of the Congress in
the voting for Constituent Assembly Jinnahwithdrew his acceptance to the CabinetMission Plan.
l Muslim League passed a Direct ActionResolution, which condemned both theBritish Government and the Congress(16th August, 1946). It resulted in heavycommunal riots.
l Jinnah celeberated Pakistan Day on 27thMarch, 1947.
Mountbatten Plan (also called 3rd
June Plans) (3rd June, 1947)
The plan formulated by Lord Mountbattenoutlined that
l India was to be further divided into Indiaand Pakistan.
l There would be a separate ConsitutionalAssembly for Pakistan to frame itsConstitution.
l The princely states would enjoy the libertyto either join India or Pakistan, or couldeven remain independent.
l Bengal and Punjab will be partitioned anda referendum in NWFP and Sylhet districtof Assam would be held. A separate state ofPakistan would be created. Boundary
Commission was to be headed byRadcliffe.
Partition and Independence(August, 1947)l Indian Independence Act, 1947
implemented on 15th August 1947,abolished the sovereignty of BritishParliament. Dominions of India andPakistan were created. Each dominionwas to have a Governor-General. Pakistanwas to comprise Sind, British Baluchistan,NWFP, West Punjab and East Bengal.
l Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first HomeMinister, integrated all the states by 15thAugust, 1947. Kashmir, Hyderabad,Junagarh, Goa (with Portuguese) andPondicherry (with French) later accededto Indian Federation.
23Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
24 Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Religious Institution Founder Ideas
Brahmo Samaj wasfounded in Calcutta (1830)
Raja Ram Mohan Roy Authorof Gift to Monotheists andPercepts of Jesus and theJournals Sambad Kaumudiand Mirat-ul Akbar
Propagated monotheism, opposedsacrifices, idolatory, superstitionand sati.
Young Bengal Movement(1826-31)
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio,probably the first modernnationalist poet brought outjournal ‘Jananresan’
Opposed the vices in society andbelieved in truth, freedom and right.
Tattavabodhini Sabha(1839)
Debendranath Tagorebrought out the journalTattavabodhini Patrika
Propagated Brahmo Samaj idea,eventually founding Adi BrahmoSamaj (1866).
Dharma Sabha (1820),Rohilkhand
Radhakant Deb Emerged to counter Brahmo Samajand propagated orthodoxy.
Wahabi Movement (1820),Rohilakhand
Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly Popularised the teachings ofWaliullah, stressed the role ofindividual conscience in religion.
Namdhari or KukaMovement (1841-71)
Bhai Balak Singh and BabaRam Singh
For political and social reformsamong Sikhs.
Paramhans Mandali(1849)
Dadoba Pandurang Emphasised the unity of God,against caste rules.
Rahnumai MazdayasananSabha (1851)
SS Bengali, Dadabhai Naorojiand others
To improve the social condition ofParsis and restore the purity ofZorastrianism. Their journal wasRast Gotar.
Prarthana Samaj (1867),Bombay
Atmaram Pandurang Monotheism, upliftment of women,abolition of caste discrimination.
Indian Reform Association(1870), Calcutta
Keshab Chandra Sen Opposed child marriage, advocatedwidow remarriage and inter-castemarriages.
Arya Samaj (1875),Bombay
Dayanand Saraswati(original name Mulshankar)
Gave the slogan Go Back to theVedas and within a revivalistframework denounced rites, idolatory,Brahmins’s supremacy etc.
Aligarh Movement (1875)grew into MohammedanAnglo-Oriental College(1877) and later AligarhMuslim University
Syed Ahmed Khan, hisjournal Tahzib-al-Akhlaq
Religious reform through emphasison principle of equality in religion,favoured scientific and nationaloutlook.
The Theosophical Society(1875), New York (latershifted to Adyar)
Madam HP Blavatsky and
Col HS Olcott
Drew inspiration from Upanishads,philosophy of the Vedanta andtransmigration of the souls.
Deccan Education Society(1884), Pune
MG Ranade, VG Chiplinkarand GG Agarkar
To contribute to education andculture in Western India establishedFergusson College, Pune (1885).
Seva Sadan (1885),Bombay
Behramji M Malabari Against child marriages, and forcedwidowhood.
Deva Samaj (1887),Lahore
Shiv Narain Agnihotri Favoured a code of conduct againstbribe- taking, gambling, etc.
Madras Hindu Association(1892)
Veresalingam Pantulu Social Purity Movement and againstDevadasi system.
Ramkrishna Mission(1897), Belur
Vivekananda (original nameNarendranath Dutta)
Revive Hinduism, against casterestrictions, superstition in Hinduismand overhaul of education system.
25Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Name Published by
Bengal Gazette JA Hickey
Kesari BG Tilak
Maratha BG Tilak
Amrita Bazar Patrika Sisir Kumar Ghoshand Motilal Ghosh
Vande Mataram Aurobindo Ghosh
Yugantar Bhupendranath Duttaand Barinder KumarGhosh
Bombay Chronicle Firoz Shah Mehta
Book Author
Ghulam Giri Jyotiba Phule
Pather Panchali B.Bhushan Bannerji
Satyarth Prakash Swami Dayanand
Anand Math Bankim ChandraChatterji
Unhappy India Lala Lajpat Rai
India Divided Rajendra Prasad
The Discovery ofIndia
Jawaharlal Nehru
Religious Institution Founder Ideas
Servants of Indian Society(1905), Bombay
Gopal Krishna Gokhale Famine relief and improving tribalconditions, in particular.
Bharat Stri Mandal (1910),Calcutta
Sarlabai Devi Choudhrani Women’s education andemancipation.
Social Service League(1911)
NM Joshi Improving the condition of themasses.
Indian Women Association(1917), Madras
Annie Besant Upliftment of Indian women.
Popular Name Personality Popular Name Personality
Andhra Kesari T Prakasam JP Jayaprakash Narayan
Babuji Jagjiwan Ram Lady with the Lamp Florence Nightingale
Bapu Mahatma Gandhi Lion of the Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai
CR C Rajagopalachari Little Corporal Napoleon
Desh Bandhu Chitranjan Das Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Grand Old man Dadabhai Naoroji Jawan Indian soldier
Lal, Bal, Pal Lala Lajpat Rai,Bal Gangadhar Tilak, BipinChandra Pal
Mahamanya Pandit Madan MohanMalaviya
Man of Blood Bismarck
Guru ji MS Golvalkar Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Nightingale of India Sarojini Naidu
Iron Man Vallabhbhai Patel Pandit ji Jawaharlal Nehru
Sparrow Major Rajender Singh Shastri ji Lal Bahadur Shastri
Crematorium Famous Person(s) Crematorium Famous Person (s)
Raj Ghat Mahatma Gandhi Shanti Van Jawaharlal Nehru
Vijay Ghat Lal Bahadur Shastri Shakti Sthal Indira Gandhi
Kisan Ghat Ch Charan Singh Abhay Ghat Morarji Desai
Veer Bhumi Rajiv Gandhi Samata Sthal Jagjivan Ram
Ekta Sthal Giani Zail Singh,Chandra Shekhar
Karma Bhumi Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma
Uday Bhoomi KR Narayana Mahaprayan Ghat Dr Rajendra Prasad
Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Dance Dancer
n Bharatanatyam Bala Saraswati, CV Chandrasekhar, Leela Samson, Mrinalini Sarabhai,Padma Subramanyam, Rukmini Devi, Sanyukta Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh,Yamini Krishnamurti
n Kathak Bharti Gupta, Birju Maharaj, Damayanti Joshi, Durga Das, Gopi Krishna,Kumudini Lakhia, Sambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi
n Kuchipudi Josyula Seetharamaiah, Vempathi Chinna Sathyam
n Manipuri Guru Bipin Sinha, Jhaveri Sisters, Nayana Jhaveri, Nirmala Mehta, Savita Mehta
n Odissi Debaprasad Das, Dhirendra Nath Patnaik, Indrani Rahman, KelucharanMahapatra, Priyambada Mohanty
n Kathakali Mrinalini Sarabhai, Guru Shankaran, Namboodripad, Thottam Shankaran,Kutti Nayyar, Shankar Kurup, KC Pannikar, TT Ram Kulti
n Mohiniattam Protima Devi, Sanyukta Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh, Pankaj Charan Das,Kelucharan Mahapatra, Madhvi Mudgal, etc
n Andhra Pradesh Kuchipudi, Ghantamardala, Ottam Thedal, Veedhi Natakam
n Assam Bihu, Bichhua, Natpuja, Maharas, Kaligopal, Bagurumba, Khel Gopal,Canoe, Jhumura Hobjanai
n Bihar Jata-Jatin, Bakho-Bakhain, Panwariya, Sama-Chakwa, Bidesia
n Gujarat Garba, Dandiya Ras, Tippani Juriun, Bhavai
n Haryana Jhumar, Phag, Daph, Dhamal, Loor, Gugga, Khor, Gagor
n Himachal Pradesh Jhora, Jhali, Chharhi, Dhaman, Chhapeli, Mahasu, Nati, Dangi
n Jammu and Kashmir Rauf, Hikat, Mandjas, Kud Dandi Nach, Damali
n Karnataka Yakshagan, Huttari, Suggi, Kunitha, Karga, Lambi
n Kerala Kathakali (Classical), Ottam Thulal, Mohiniattam, Kaikottikali
n Maharashtra Lavani, Nakata, Koli, Lezim, Gafa, Dahikala Dasavtar or Powada
n Odisha Odissi (Classical), Savari, Ghumara, Painka, Munari, Chhau
n Paschim Banga Kathi, Gambhira, Dhali, Jatra, Baul, Marasia, Mahal, Keertan
n Punjab Bhangra, Giddha, Daff, Dhaman, Bhand, Naqual
n Rajasthan Ghumar, Chakri, Ganagor, Jhulan Leela, Jhuma, Suisini, Ghapal,Kalbeliya
n Tamil Nadu Bharatanatyam, Kumi, Kolattam, Kavadi
n Uttar Pradesh Nautanki, Raslila, Kajri, Jhora, Chappeli, Jaita
n Uttarakhand Garhwali, Kumayuni, Kajari, Jhora, Raslila, Chappeli
Carnatic MS Subbalakshmi, Balamuralikrishna, Bombay Jaishree, HK Raghavendra, Aryakudi
Ramanujan Iyenegar Venkataram, Sitarajam, Mani Krishnaswamy, Akhil Krishnan,
ML Vasanthakumari, MD Ramanathan, GN Balasubramaniam
Dhrupad Ustad Rahim Fahim-ud-din Dagar, Zahir-ud-din Dagar, Wasif-ud-din Dagar, Bundecha
Bandhu, Pt Abhay Narayan Mallick, Pt Ritwik Sanyal, Uday Bhawalkar
Hindustani Shubha Mudgal, Madhup Mudgal, Mukul Shivputra, Pandit Jasraj, Parveen Sultana,
Naina Devi, Girija Devi, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Gangubai Hangal, Krishna
Hangal, V Rajput, Kumar Gandharva, Faiyyaz Khan, Mallikariun Mansur.
Thumri Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Mazhar Ali Khan, Ustad Zawad Ali Khan,
Poornima Chaudhary, Shanti Heerananda, Naina Devi, Rita Ganguly
ART AND CULTURE
27Indian HistoryGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Instruments Instrumentalists
Stringed Instruments
1. Been Asad Ali Khan, Zia Moin-ud-din Khan
2. Santoor Shiv Kumar Sharma
3. Sarod Buddhadev Dasgupta, Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali khan, Bahadur Khan,Sharan Rani, Zarin S Sharma
4. Sarangi Ustad Binda Khan
5. Sitar Ravi Shankar, Hara Shankar Bhattacharya, Nikhil Banerjee, Vilayat Khan,Mustaq Ali Khan
6. Surb Ahar Sajjad Hussain, Annapurna
7. Veena Doraiswamy Iyengar, Chittibabu, Emani Sankara Shastri, Dhanammal,S Bala Chandran, KR Kumaraswamy
8. Violin Gajanan Rao Joshi, MS Gopal Krishnan, TN Krishnan, Baluswamy,Dikshitar, Dwaran Venkataswamy Naidu Lalyuli G Jayaraman, MysoreT Chowdiah, VG Jog
Wind Instruments
9. Flute TR Mahalingam, N Ramani, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pannalal Ghosh
10. Nadaswaran Sheikh Chinna Moula, Neeruswamy Pillai, Rajaratanam Pillai
11. Shehnai Bismillah Khan
Percussion (Striking Thumping) Instruments
12. Mridangam Palghat Mani Iyer, Karaikudi R Mani, Palghat Raghu
13. Pakhawag Pt Ayodhya Prasad, Gopal Das, Babu Ram Shanker Pagaldas
14. Tabla Zakir Hussain, Nikhil Ghosh, Kishan Maharaj, Alla Rakha Khan, PanditSamta Prasad, Kumar Bose, Latif Khan
15. Kanjira Pudukkotai Dakshinamurthi Pillai
Institutions Headquarters
n Anthropological Surveyof India, 1945
Kolkata
n Archaeological Surveyof India, 1861
New Delhi
n Asiatic Society, 1784(Sir William Jones)
Kolkata
n Indira Gandhi NationalCentre for Arts, 1985
New Delhi
n Lalit Kala Akademi(National Academy ofFine Arts), 1954
New Delhi
n National Archives ofIndia, 1981
New Delhi
n National School ofDrama, 1959
New Delhi
Institutions Headquarters
n Sahitya Academy, 1954 New Delhi
n Sangeet NatakAcademy, 1953
New Delhi
n Library of Tibetan Worksand Archives
Dharmashala
n Science City Kolkata
n Victorial Memorial Hall Kolkata
n Birla Industrial and TechMuseum
Kolkata
n Central Institute ofBuddhist Studies
Leh
n Nava NalandaMahavihara
Nalanda (Birla)
n National Gallery ofModern Art
New Delhi
UNIVERSEl The study of universe is known as
Cosmology.
l The universe is commonly defined asthe totality of everything that existsincluding all physical matter and energy,the planets, stars, galaxies and thecontents of intergalactic space.
l Galaxy A galaxy is a vast system ofbillions of stars, dust and light gasesbound by their own gravity. There are 100billion galaxies in the universe and eachgalaxy has, on average, 100 billion stars.
l Our galaxy is Milky Way Galaxy (or theAkash Ganga) formed after the Big Bang.
l Andromeda is the nearest galaxy to theMilky Way.
l The Big Bang Theory Big Bang was anexplosion of concentrated matter in theuniverse that occurred 15 billion yearsago, leading to the formation of galaxies ofstars and other heavenly bodies.
l It is believed that universe should be filledwith radiation called the “cosmicmicrowave background.” NASA haslaunched two mission to study theseradiation, i.e. the Cosmic BackgroundExplorer (COBE) and the WilkinsonMicrowave Anistropy Probe (WMAP).
l Stars are heavenly bodies made up of hotburning gases and they shine by emittingtheir own light.
l Black Hole Stars having mass greaterthan three times that of the Sun, havevery high gravitational power, so that evenlight can not escape from its gravity andhence called black hole.
l Comets Made up of frozen gases.They move around the Sun inelongated elliptical orbit with the tailalways pointing away from the Sun.
l Constellations The sky is divided intounits to enable the astronomers toidentify the position of the stars. Theseunits are called constellations. Thereare 88 known constellations.
l Satellites are the heavenly bodies thatrevolve around the planets. Moon is thenatural satellite of the Earth.
Diameter 3476 km
Average distance fromEarth
384365 km
Rotation Speed 27 days, 7 h, 43min and 11.47 sec
Revolution Speed 27 days, 7 h, 43min and 11.47 sec
Time taken by moonlightto reach the Earth
1.3 sec
Solar Systeml The solar system consists of the Sun,
eight planets and their satellites (ormoons) and thousands of other smallerheavenly bodies such as asteroids,comets and meteors.
28 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
WORLD GEOGPRAHY
GEOGRAPHY
Neptune
Uranus
Saturn
Jupiter
Mars
Earth
Venus
MercurySUN
l The Sun is at the centre of the solar systemand all these bodies revolve around it. It isthe nearest star to the Earth.
Average distance fromthe Earth
149598900 km
Diameter 1391980 km
Temperature of the Core 15000000°C
Rotation Speed 25.38 days (withrespect to equator);33 days (with respectto poles)
Time taken by Sunlightto reach the Earth
8 min and 16.6 sec
Biggest Planet Jupiter
Biggest Satellite Ganymede(Jupiter)
Blue Planet Earth
Green Planet Uranus
Brightest Planet Venus
Brightest Planet outside SolarSystem
Sirius(Dog Star)
Closest Star of Solar System ProximaCentauri
Coldest Planet Neptune
Evening Star Venus
Farthest Planet from Sun Neptune
Planet with maximum number ofsatellites
Saturn(OvertakingJupiter)
Fastest revolution in Solar System Mercury
Hottest Planet Venus
Densest Planet Earth
Fastest rotation in Solar System Jupiter
Morning Star Venus
Nearest Planet to Earth Venus
Nearest Planet to Sun Mercury
Red Planet Mars
Slowest Revolution in SolarSystem
Neptune
Slowest Rotation in Solar System Venus
Smallest Planet Mercury
Smallest Satellite Deimos(Mars)
Earth’s Twin Venus
Only Satellite with an atmospherelike Earth
Titan
Asteroids (or Planetoids)Small planetary bodies that revolve aroundthe Sun and found in between the orbits ofMars and Jupiter. Also known as minorplanets.
Meteors and Meteoritesl Meteors are also called as shooting
stars.l Meteors are fragments of rocks
coming towards the Earth.l They are formed due to collision
among the asteroids.l Meteors that do not burn up
completely in Earth’s atmosphere andland on the Earth, are calledmeteorites.
l Meteorites are composed of variousproportions of a nickel-iron alloy (10%nickel and 90% iron) and silicateminerals.
Classification of PlanetsInner Planets Include Mercury, Venus,Earth and Mars.
Outer Planets Include Jupiter, Saturn,Uranus and Neptune.
Inner Planet Outer Planet
They are called asTerrestrial or Rockyplanets.
They are called asJovian or Gaseousplanets.
They are nearer tothe Sun.
They are far awayfrom the Sun.
Dwarf Planet According toInternational Astronomical Union (IAU),it is a celestial body in direct orbit of theSun, that is massive enough that its shapeis controlled by gravitational forces, but hasnot cleared its neighbourhood. e.g., Pluto,Ceres, Eris, Makemake and Haumea.
A light year is the distance light travels inone year at the speed of 3 10 8× m/s.
Astronomical unit mean distancebetween Earth and Sun.
Earthl The Earth is an oblate spheroid. It is
almost spherical, flattened a little atthe poles with a slight bulge at thecentre (equator).
l Perihelion Nearest position of theEarth to the Sun.
l Aphelion Farthest position of theEarth from Sun.
l The Earth’s interior is composed ofthree major layers: the crust, themantle and the core.
29GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Eduard Suess has explained the interior ofEarth on the basis of chemicalcomposition as SIAL, SIMA and NIFE.
l SIAL (Silicon-Aluminium) Upper part ofthe crust.
l SIMA (Silicon-Magnesium) Lower part ofthe crust.
l NIFE (Nickel-Iron) Outer part of the core.l Rotation of the Earth Earth spins on its
imaginary axis from West to East in one day.Result in causation of day and night, tides.
l Revolution of the Earth Earth’s motionin elliptical orbit around the Sun in oneyear. Result in Change of seasons.
Age 4550 million years
Mass 5 976 1024. × kg
Volume 1083 1012. × km 3
Mean Density 5.513 g/cm 3
Total Surface Area 510 million sq km
Land Area 29.2% of the total surfacearea
Water Area 70.8% of the total surfacearea
Rotation Speed 23 hr, 56 min and 4.100 sec
Revolution Speed 365 days, 5 hr and 45.51sec
Dates when daysand nights are equal
March 21 (Vernal Equinox);
23rd September,(Autumnal Equinox)
Longest day 21st June, (SummerSolstice) Sun is verticallyoverhead at Tropic ofCancer
Shortest night 22nd December,(Winter Solstice) Sun isvertically overhead atTropic of Capricorn
Escape velocity 11.2 km/sec
Mean surfacetemperature
14°C
LatitudesImaginary lines drawn on the Earth’s surfaceparallel to the equator. Equator (0°) is thebiggest latitude that divides Earth in twoequal hemispheres (North and South).
Tropic of Cancer 23.5°N
Tropic of Capricorn 23.5°S
Arctic Circle 66.5°N
Antarctic Circle 66.5°Sl Each degree of latitude equals 111 km.l The most important line of latitude is the
Equator.
Longitudes (Meridians)l Meridians are a series of semicircles
that run from pole to pole passingthrough the equator.
l Prime Meridian passes throughGreenwich near London, divides theEarth in Eastern and Westernhemisphere. Its value is 0°.
l Longitude has very important functioni.e., it determines local time in relation
to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).l 1° change of longitude corresponds to
4 minutes difference in time.
International Date Line (IDL)l It is the longitude where the date
changes by exactly one day when it iscrossed.
l 180°East and 180° West meridians isthe same line, which is called theInternational Date Line.
l Crossing Date line from West to East— addition of 1 day
Crossing Date line from East to West —subtraction of 1 day
l Recently Samoa island decided to shiftitself on west side of IDL.
Indian Standard Time (IST)
■ The Earth takes approximately 24 hours tocomplete one rotation i.e., it takes 24 hoursto complete 360° of its rotation.
■ Indian Standard Time is calculated on thebasis of 82.5°E longitude which passesthrough Uttar Pradesh, Madhya PradeshOdisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
■ IST is 5 hr 30 min ahead of GMT.
EclipsesWhen the light of the Sun or the Moon isblocked by another body, the Sun or theMoon is said to be in eclipse.
l Solar Eclipse It is caused, when theMoon revolving around the Earthcomes in between the Earth and theSun, thus making a part or whole of theSun invisible from a particular part ofthe Earth. Thus, the eclipse can bepartial or complete.
l Lunar Eclipse When the Earthcomes between the Moon and the Sun,the shadow cast by the Earth on theMoon results in a lunar eclipse.
30 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ROCKSRocks are made up of individualsubstances, called minerals, found mostlyin solid state. Rocks are classified into threemajor types
l Igneous rocks are formed by thesolidification of the molten magma, e.g.,Mica, Granite etc.
l Sedimentary rocks are formed due toaccumulation of rock particles andorganic matter in layers, undertremendous pressure, e.g., Gravel, Peat,Gypsum etc.
l Metamorphic rocks were originallyigneous or sedimentary but later changeddue to pressure, heat or action of water,e.g., Gneiss, Marble, Quartzite etc.
Type ofRock
OriginalRock
MetamorphicRock
Igneous Granite Gneiss
Igneous Basalt Green-stone
Sedimentary Limestone Marble
Sedimentary Coal Graphite, Coal
Sedimentary Sandstone Quartzite
Sedimentary Shale/Clay Slate, Mica, Schist
WeatheringThe process by which rocks are chemicallyor physically disintegrated into fragments.
EARTHQUAKESl Any sudden disturbance below the Earth’s
surface may produce vibrations orshaking in Earth’s crust and some ofthese vibrations, when reach the surface,are known as earthquakes.
l The magnitude of an earthquake ismeasured by Richter Scale.
l The intensity of earthquake waves isrecorded by Seismograph.
l Intensity of shaking is measured on themodified Mercalli Scale.
l Focus is the point beneath the Earthwhere earthquake originates.
l Epicentre is the point just above thefocus on the Earth’s surface.
VOLCANISMl Sudden eruption of hot magma (molten
rock), gases, ash and other material frominside the Earth to its surface.
Types of Volcanoesl Active Which erupts frequently, e.g.,
Mauna Loa (Hawaii), Etna (Sicily),Vesuvius (Italy), Stromboli(Mediterranean Sea).
l Dormant Not erupted for quitesometime, e.g., Fujiyama (Japan),Krakatoa (Indonesia), Barren Island(India).
l Extinct Not erupted for severalcenturies. e.g., Arthur’s Seat,Edinburgh, Scotland.
l Ring of Fire Hundreds of activevolcanoes found on the land near theedges of the Pacific Ocean.
TsunamiLarge ocean wave that is caused by suddenmotion on the ocean floor. Motion could bean earthquake, volcanic eruption orunderwater landslide.
LANDFORMSThere are three major landformsmountains, plateaus and plains.
MountainsAn uplifted portion of the Earth’s surface iscalled a hill or a mountain.
Mountains are classified into followingfour typesl Fold Mountains These are formed by
folding of crustal rocks by compressiveforces. e.g., Himalayas (Asia), Alps(Europe).
l Block Mountains When great blocksof the Earth’s crust are raised or loweredduring the last stage of mountainbuilding, block mountains are formed,e.g., Vosges in France, Black Forestmountains in Germany.
l Volcanic Mountains These are formedby the matter thrown out from thevolcanoes, and are also known asmountains of accumulation, e.g.,Mt Mauna Loa in Hawaii, Mt Popa inMyanmar.
l Residual or Dissected Mountains Theyare known as relict mountains ormountains of circum-denudation. Theyowe their present form to erosion bydifferent agencies, e.g. Nilgiris, Girnarand Rajmahal.
31GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Range Location Length (km)
Andes South America 7200
Himalayas,Karakoram andHindukush
South CentralAsia
5000
Rockies North America 4800
Great DividingRange
East Australia 3600
Atlas North-WestAfrica
1930
Western Ghats Western India 1610
Caucasus Europe 1200
Alaska USA 1130
Alps Europe 1050
Mountain Peak Location
Mt Everest(Highest in the world)
Nepal-Tibet
K2 (Godwin Austin) India (POK)
Dhaulagiri Nepal
Annapurna Nepal
Gurla Mandhata Tibet
Tirich Mir Pakistan
Aconcagua Argentina
Cotopaxi Ecuador
Kilimanjaro Tanzania
PlateausPlateaus are flat, table like, upland areaswith rough top surface and steep sidewalls.
Plateau Situation
Tibetan Plateau Between Himalayasand Kunlun Mountains
Deccan Plateau Southern India
Arabian Plateau South-West Asia
Plateau of Brazil Central-Eastern SouthAmerica
Plateau of Mexico Mexico
Plateau of Columbia USA
Plateau ofMadagascar
Madagascar
Plateau of Alaska North-West NorthAmerica
Plateau of Bolivia Andes Mountains
Great Basin Plateau South of ColumbiaPlateau, USA
Colorado Plateau South of Great BasinPlateau, USA
PlainsA relatively low-lying and flat land surfacewith least difference between its highestand lowest points is called a Plain.
32 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ATMOSPHEREl The vast expanse of air, which envelops the earth all around is called the atmosphere.
It extends to thousands of kilometres.l It protects the Earth’s surface from the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
Layer Height (km) Feature
Troposphere 0-18 km Contains 75% of the gases in the atmosphere. As height increases,
temperature decreases (about 6.5°c/km ascent).
Stratosphere 18-50 km This layer contains the ozone layer. The temperature remains fairly
constant in the lower part but increases slowly with increase in
height due to presence of ozone gas. At upper layer temperature
is almost 00C.
Mesosphere 50-80 km This is the coldest region of the atmosphere. The temperature
drops to about – 100°C.
Ionosphere 80-600 km Radio waves are bounced off the ions and reflect waves back tothe Earth. This generally helps radio communication.
Exosphere Above 600 km Upper part of exosphere is called Magnetosphere. Thetemperature keeps on rising constantly at high rate.
l It also regulates temperature, preventingthe Earth from becoming too hot or toocold.
l The major constituents of air in theatmosphere are Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen(21%), Argon (0.93%) and Carbondioxide (0.03%).
l Besides water vapour, dust particles,smoke, salts and other impurities arepresent in air in varying quantities.
Greenhouse Effect andGlobal Warmingl A greenhouse gas (sometimes
abbreviated GHG) is a gas in theatmosphere that absorbs and emitsradiation within the thermal infraredrange. This process is the fundamentalcause of the greenhouse effect.
l The primary greenhouse gases in theEarth’s atmosphere are water vapour,carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxideand ozone.
l In the solar system, the atmosphere ofVenus, Mars and Titan also contain gasesthat cause greenhouse effects.
l Global warming is the increase of Earth’saverage surface temperature due to effectof greenhouse gases, such as carbondioxide emissions from burning fossilfuels or from deforestation. This is a typeof greenhouse effect.
Pressure System of Earthl The pressure exerted by the atmosphere
due to its weight, above a unit area of theEarth’s surface is called atmospheric
pressure. It is measured by Mercury
Barometer.
l Major pressure belts of the Earth areequatorial low, sub-tropical high,sub-polar low and polar high.
WindsDue to horizontal differences in airpressure, air flows from areas of highpressure to areas of low pressure.Horizontal movement of the air is calledwind.
The types of winds are given below
l Planetary Winds The winds blowingthroughout the year from one latitudeto another in response to latitudinaldifferences in air pressure are calledplanetary or prevailing winds.
l Planetary winds are divided into threetypes they are Trade winds, Westerliesand Polar winds.
(i) Trade Winds They blow from theSub-tropical High Pressure Belt tothe Equatorial Low Pressure Belt inthe tropics between 30° North and30° South latitudes.
(ii) Westerlies They blow fromSub-tropical High Pressure Belt tothe Sub-Polar Low Pressure Belt inthe temperate latitudes between30°and 60°, on the either side of theEquator.
These are also called Roaring
Forties, the Furious Fifties andShrieking or Screaming sixties.
(iii) Polar Winds They blow from thePolar High Pressure Belt to theSub-Polar Low Pressure Beltbetween 60° latitude and the Poleon both sides of the Equator.
l Periodic Winds They change theirdirection periodically with the changein pressure and temperature, e.g.,Monsoon, Land and Sea Breeze.
l Local Winds Local winds develop as aresult of local differences intemperature and pressure. e.g., Fohn,Chinook, Loo.
l Cyclones Rapid inward circulation ofairmasses with a low pressure at centre.It is anticlockwise in the NorthernHemisphere and clockwise in theSouthern Hemisphere.
l Anticyclones Rapid outwardmovement of air masses with a highpressure at centre.
l Hurricane This is also known astropical cyclone or tropical storm. Thisis a disturbance of about 650 km across,spinning around a central area of verylow pressure, with (with wind speedabove) 140 km/h.
33GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Name Nature of Wind
Chinook Hot, dry wind in Rockies, alsocalled ‘Snow Eater’.
Fohn Hot, dry wind in the Alps.
Khamsin Hot, dry wind in Egypt.
Sirocco Hot, moist wind from Sahara toMediterranean Sea. It is alsoknown as Blood rain.
Solano Hot, moist wind from Saharatowards Iberian Peninsula.
Harmattan Hot, dry wind blowing outwardsfrom the interior of WesternAfrica. Also called Guinea Doctor.
Bora Cold, dry wind blowing outwardsfrom Hungary to the North of Italy(near Adriatic Sea).
Mistral Very cold wind, which blows fromthe Alps over France.
Punas Cold, dry wind blowing downtowards the Western side ofAndes.
Blizzard Very cold winds in Tundra region.
Purga Cold wind in Russian Tundra.
Levanter Cold wind in Spain.
Norwester Hot wind in New Zealand.
Santa Ana Hot wind in South California inUSA.
River Origin
Nile Victoria lake
Amazon Andes (Peru)
Yangtze Tibetan Kiang Plateau
MississippiMissouri
Itaska Lake (USA)
Yenisei Tannu-Ola Mountains
Huang Ho Kunlun Mountains
Ob Altai Mountains, Russia
Congo Lualaba and Luapula rivers
Amur North East China
Lena Baikal Mountains
Mekong Tibetan Highlands
Niger Guinea
Typhoons China Sea
Tropical Cyclones Indian Ocean
Hurricanes Caribbean Sea
Tornadoes USA
Willy Willies Northern Australia
Panama Pacific Ocean with Caribbean Sea
Suez Mediterranean Sea to Red Sea
Erie Atlantic Ocean to Great Lakes
Kiel North Sea to Baltic Sea
Oceans Deepest Point
Pacific Mariana Trench
Atlantic Puerto Rico Trench
Indian Java Trench
Arctic Eurasian Basin
Strait Water Bodiesjoined
Area
Bab-el-Mandeb
Red Sea andArabian Sea
Arabia andAfrica
Bering Arctic Ocean andBering Sea
Alaska andAsia
Bosphorus Black Sea andMarmara Sea
Turkey
Dover North Sea andAtlantic Ocean
England andEurope
Florida Gulf of Mexico andAtlantic Ocean
Florida andBahamasIslands
Gibralter Mediterranean Seaand Atlantic Ocean
Spain andAfrica(Morocco)
Malacca Java Sea and Bayof Bengal
India andIndonesia
Palk Bay of Bengal andIndian Ocean
India and SriLanka
Magellan South Pacific andSouth AtlanticOcean
Chile
Sunda Java Sea andIndian Ocean
Indonesia
Lake Location
Caspian Sea Asia
Superior Canada and USA
Victoria Africa
Huron Canada and USA
Michigan USA
Tanganyika Africa
Baikal Russia
Great Bear Canada
Aral Kazakshtan
Great Slave Canada
34 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Waterfall Location
Angel Falls Venezuela
Tugela Falls South Africa
Monge Norway
Yosemite United States
Catarata Yumbilla Peru
Town River
Akyab (Myanmar) Irrawaddy
Baghdad (Iraq) Tigris
Basara (Iraq) Tigris and Euphrates
Belgrade Danube
Berlin (Germany) Spree
Bristol (UK) Avon
Budapest (Hungary) Danube
Cairo (Egypt) Nile
Canton Si-Kiang
Glasgow (Scotland) Clyde
Hamburg (Germany) Elbe
Jamshedpur Subarnarekha
Kabul Kabul
Karachi Indus
Khartoum (Sudan) Nile
Lahore Ravi
Lisbon (Portugal) Tangus
London (UK) Thames
Lucknow Gomti
Montreal (Canada) Ottawa
New Castle (UK) Tyre
New Orleans (USA) Mississippi
New York (USA) Hudson
Paris (France) Seine
Philadelphia (USA) Delaware
Rome (Italy) Tiber
Shanghai Yang-tse-Kiang
Srinagar Jhelum
Warsaw (Poland) Vistula
Washington DC Potomac
Yangon (Myanmar) Irawady
Name Country/Region
Sahara (Libyan, Nubian) North Africa
Australian (Gibson,Simpson), Victorian GreatSandy)
Australia
Arabian(Rub al Khali, An-Nafud)
Arabia
Dasht-e-Lut (Barren Desert) Iran
Dasht-e-Kavir (Salt Desert) Iran
Desierto de Sechura Peru
Atacama North Chile
Patagonia Argentina
Kalahari Botswana
Namib Namibia
Rank Name Area(km )2 3
Country
1. Greenland 2,175,600 Denmark
2. New Guinea 785,753 Indonesia
3. Borneo 748,168 Indonesia,Malaysia
4. Madagascar 587,713 Madagascar
5. Baffin Island 503,944 Canada
6. Sumatra 443,066 Indonesia
Mineral Leading Producer
Gold China
Bauxite Australia
Copper Chile
Platinum South Africa
Chromium South Africa
Vanadium China
Antimony China
Tungsten China
Phosphate Morocco
Manganese China
Diamond Russia
Iron ore China
Petroleum USA
35GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Grassland Country
Steppe Eurasia
Pustaz Hungary
Prairie USA
Pampas Argentina andUruguay(South America)
Veld South Africa
Downs Australia
Canterbury New Zealand
AgriculturalProduce
LeadingProducer
Coffee Brazil
Rubber Thailand
Tea China
Oil Palm Indonesia
Cocoa Ghana
Coconut Indonesia
Date Palm Egypt
Cotton China
Wheat China
Maize USA
Fruits and Vegetables China
Wool Australia
Rice China
Cloves Zanzibar
Name In Between
Radcliffe Line (1947) India and Pakistan (Indo-Pak)
McMahon Line(1914)
India and China (Indo-China)
Durand Line (1893) Pakistan and Afghanistan
Hindenburg Line Germany and Poland
Maginot Line France and Germany
Oder Neisse Line Germany and Poland
Siegfried Line Fortification between Germanyand France
38th Parallel Line North and South Korea
49th Parallel Line USA and Canada
24th Parallel Line Pakistan claims that it is theboundary between India andPakistan in Rann of Kachchh
17th Parallel Line North Vietnam and South Vietnam
Highest and Lowest Points of theContinent
Continent Highest (m) Lowest (m)
Asia Mt Everest (8850) Dead Sea (−396)
Africa Mt Kilimanjaro(5895)
Lake Assal (−151)
North America Mt Mckinley (6190) Death Valley (−87)
South America Mt Aconcagua(6962)
Valdes Peninsula(−40)
Antarctica Vinson Massif(4897)
Bentley SubglacialTrench (−2538)
Europe Mt El' brus (5642) Caspian Sea (−28)
Australia Mt Kosciuszko(2228)
Lake Eyre (−16)
36 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Anshan (China) Iron and Steel
Baku (Azerbaijan) Petroleum
Belfast (Ireland) Ship-building
Birmingham (UK) Iron and Steel
Chicago (USA) Meat Packing
Detroit (USA) Automobile
Havana (Cuba) Cigars
Hollywood (USA) Films
Johannesburg(South Africa)
Gold Mining
Kansas City (USA) Meat Packing
Kawasaki (Japan) Iron and Steel
Kimberley (South Africa) Diamond Mining
Krivoi Rog (Ukraine) Iron and Steel
Leeds (UK) Woollen Textiles
Leningard (Russia) Ship-building
Los Angeles (USA) Petroleum
Lyon (France) Silk Textiles
Magnitogorsk (Russia) Iron and Steel
Manchester (UK) Cotton Textile
Milan (Italy) Silk Textile
Multan (Pakistan) Pottery
Munich (Germany) Lenses
Nagoya (Janpan) Automobiles
Philadelphia (USA) Locomotives
Pittsburg (USA) Iron and Steel
Plymouth (USA) Ship-building
Rourkela (India) Iron and Steel
Sheffield (UK) Cutlery
Vladivostok (Russia) Ship-building
Wellington (New Zealand) Dairy Products
INDIAl India is the seventh largest country in
the world with an area of 3287263 sq km,which is 2.42% of world’s area.
l India is the second most populous countryin the world with a population of 1.21billion, which is 17.44% of the world.
l Indian subcontinent is located in theNorthern and Eastern hemisphere.
l India shares longest boundary withBangladesh (4096 km), followed by China(3488 km), Pakistan (3323 km), Nepal(1751 km), Myanmar (1643 km), Bhutan(699 km) and Afghanistan (106 km).
l In India, the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° Nlatitude) passes through 8 states (Gujarat,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal,Tripura and Mizoram).
l Islands Andaman and Nicobar Islands inthe Bay of Bengal; Lakshadweep,Amindivi and Minicoy in the Arabian Sea.
l Ocean India lies midway between the FarEast and Middle East. The trans-IndianOcean routes connecting the industriallydeveloped countries of Europe in the Westand the under developed countries of EastAsia pass close by Indian subcontinent.It is surrounded by Arabian Sea in theSouth-West and Bay of Bengal in theSouth-East.
Country Border
Pakistan (4) Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab,Jammu and Kashmir
Afghanistan (1) Jammu and Kashmir
China (5) Jammu and Kashmir,Uttarakhand, HimachalPradesh, Sikkim, ArunachalPradesh
Nepal (5) Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim
Bhutan (4) Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam,Arunachal Pradesh
Bangladesh (5) West Bengal, Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram
Highest Peak Height(in m)
State
Mt K2 8611 PoK (India)
Kanchenjunga 8598 Sikkim
Nanda Devi 7817 Uttarakhand
Saltoro Kangri 7742 Jammu andKashmir
Kangto 7090 ArunachalPradesh
Reo Purgyil 6816 HimachalPradesh
Saramati 3841 Nagaland
Sandakphu 3636 West Bengal
Khayang 3114 Manipur
Anaimudi 2695 Kerala
Dodda Betta 2636 Tamil Nadu
37GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
INDIAN GEOGRAPHY
Important FactsLatitudinal extent 8°4' North to 37° 6'
North
Longitudinal extent 68°7' East to 97° 25'East
North-South extent 3214 km
East-West extent 2933 km
Land Frontiers 15200 km
Total Coastline 7516.6 km
Number of States 29
Union Territories 8 (After bifurcation ofJ & K in Jammu andKashmir and Ladakhand merger of Dadarand Nagar Haveli withDaman and Diu)
Land Neighbours Pakistan, Afghanistan,China, Nepal, Bhutan,Bangladesh andMyanmar
Longest Coastline Gujarat
Active volcano Barren Island inAndaman and NicobarIslands
Southern most point Indira Point orPygmalion point inGreat Nicobar
Southern most tip Kanyakumari
Northern most point Indira Col
Western most point West of Ghaur Mota inGujarat
Eastern most point Kibithu(Arunachal Pradesh)
Bhangar Khadar
■ These are lowplains. Formedof olderalluvium
■ The deposit of freshalluvium every yearbrought by theHimalayas rivers makesthis belt of Northernplains.
■ This belt endsin Khadar.
■ This belt ends in Terai.
Terai Bhabar
■ Terai is a broadlong zone South ofBhabar plain.
■ Bhabar is a longnarrow plain alongthe foothills.
■ It is a marshy damparea convered withthick forest.
■ It is a pebblestudded zone ofporous beds.
■ It is 20-30 km wide. ■ It is 9-16 km wide.
■ It is suitable foragriculture.
■ It is unsuitable foragriculture.
Doab Region
■ Bist Doab ■ Between Beas and Sutlej
■ Bari Doab ■ Between Beas and Ravi
■ Rechna Doab ■ Between Ravi and Chenab
■ Chaj Doab ■ Between Chenab andJhelum
■ Sind SagarDoab
■ Between Jhelum andIndus
Eastern Coast Western Coast
Smooth outline Dissected outline
Occurence ofdeltas
Occurrence of estuaries
Broad Narrow
Long rivers Small rivers
and
Eastern Ghat Western Ghat
Located East toDeccan Plateau.
Located West toDeccan Plateau.
They are parallel toEastern Coast, i.e.,Coromandal, NorthernCircar, etc.
They are parallel toWestern Coast, i.e.,Konkan, Kannad,Malabar etc.
Mahanadi, Cauveri,Godavari, Krishna etcrivers are drawn in thisland form.
Narmada, Tapi,Sabarmati and Mahietc rivers are drawn inthis land.
Jindhagada with analtitude of 1690 m isthe highest peak.
Anaimudi with analtitude of 2695 m isthe highest peak.
Town River
Jamshedpur Subarnarekha
Delhi Yamuna
Kanpur Ganga
Surat Tapti
Ferozpur Sutlej
Allahabad At the confluence of theGanga and Yamuna
Varanasi Ganga
Haridwar Ganga
Badrinath Alaknanda
Ludhiana Sutlej
Srinagar Jhelum
Ayodhya Saryu
Ahmedabad Sabarmati
Patna Ganga
Kota Chambal
Jabalpur Narmada
Panji Mandavi
Ujjain Kshipra
Guwahati Brahmaputra
Kolkata Hooghly
Cuttack Mahanadi
Hyderabad Musi
Nasik Godavari
Lucknow Gomti
38 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Waterfall Height (km) River State
Kunchikal 455 Varahi Karnataka
Jog/Gersoppa 260 Sharavati Karnataka
Rakim Kund 168 Gaighat Bihar
Chachai 127 Bihad Madhya Pradesh
Kevti 98 Mahanadi Madhya Pradesh
Sivasamudram 90 Cauveri Karnataka
Name of Lake State Important Fact
Chilka Lake Odisha It is a saline and lagoon lake (largest lake of India).
Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh It is a freshwater lake.
Loktak Lake Manipur It is a freshwater lake having inland drainage in Manipur.
Lonar Lake Maharashtra It is a meteorite crater lake in Buldhana area ofMaharashtra. The water is highly charged with Sodiumcarbonates and Sodium chloride.
Pangong Lake Jammu and Kashmir It is a salty lake.
Pulicat Lake Tamil Nadu & AndhraPradesh border
It is a saline and lagoon lake.
Sambhar Lake Rajasthan It is a shallow lake which is saline, located near Jaipur.
Tso Moriri Lake Jammu & Kashmir It is a salty lake.
Vembanad Lake Kerala It is a lagoon lake.
Wular & Dal Lakes Jammu and Kashmir Wular lake was created due to tectonic activities.
Name Originates from Falls into
Ganges Combined Sources Bay of Bengal
Sutlej Mansarovar Rakas Lakes Chenab
Indus Near Mansarovar Lake Arabian Sea
Ravi Kullu Hills near Rohtang Pass Chenab
Beas Near Rohtang Pass Sutlej
Jhelum Verinag in Kashmir Chenab
Yamuna Yamunotri Ganga
Chambal Singar Chouri Peak, Vindhyan escarpment Yamuna
Ghaghara Matsatung Glacier Ganga
Kosi Near Gosain Dham Peak Ganga
Betwa Vindhyanchal Yamuna
Son Amarkantak Ganga
Brahmaputra Near Mansarovar Lake Bay of Bengal
Narmada Amarkantak Gulf of Khambat
Tapti Betul District in Madhya Pradesh Gulf of Khambat
Mahanadi Raipur District in Chhattisgarh Bay of Bengal
Luni Aravallis Rann of Kachchh
Ghaggar Himalayas Near Fatehabad
Sabarmati Mewar hill, Aravallis Gulf of Khambat
Krishna Western Ghats Bay of Bengal
Godavari Nasik district in Maharashtra Bay of Bengal
Cauveri Brahmagir Range of Western Ghats Bay of Bengal
Tungabhadra Western Ghats Krishna
39GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Project River Purpose Beneficiary States
Bhakra Nangal Project Sutlej Power and irrigation Punjab, HimachalPradesh, Haryana andRajasthan
Damodar Valley Damodar Power, irrigation andflood control
Jharkhand and WestBengal, shared byMadhya Pradesh
Hirakud Mahanadi Power and irrigation Odisha
Tungabhadra Project Tungabhadra Power and irrigation Andhra Pradesh andKarnataka
NagarjunasagarProject
Krishna Power and irrigation Andhra Pradesh andTelangana
Gandak River Project Gandak Power and irrigation Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,Nepal (joint venture ofIndia and Nepal)
Kosi Project Kosi Flood control, Power andirrigation
Bihar
Farakka Project Ganga, Bhagirathi Power, irrigation, avoidaccumulation of slit toimprove navigation
West Bengal
Beas Project Beas Irrigation and power Rajasthan, Haryana,Punjab and HimachalPradesh
Indira Gandhi CanalProject (RajasthanCanal Project)
Sutlej, Beas andRavi
Irrigation Rajasthan, Punjab andHaryana
Chambal Project Chambal Power and irrigation Madhya Pradesh andRajasthan
Kakrapara Project Tapti Irrigation Gujarat
Ukai Project Tapti Power and irrigation Gujarat
Tawa Project Tawa (Narmada) Irrigation Madhya Pradesh
Poochampad Project Godavari Irrigation Telangana
Malaprabha Project Malaprabha Irrigation Karnataka
Durgapur Barrage Damodar Irrigation and navigation West Bengal andJharkhand
Mahanadi DeltaProject
Mahanadi Irrigation Odisha
Iddukki Project Periyar Hydroelectricity Kerala
Koyna Project Koyna Hydroelectricity Maharashtra
RamgangaMultipurpose Project
Chisot stream nearKala
Power and irrigation Uttar Pradesh andUttarakhand
Matatila Project Betwa Multipurpose power andirrigation
Uttar Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh
Tehri Dam Project Bhilangana,Bhagirathi
Hydroelectricity Uttarakhand
Rihand Scheme Rihand Hydroelectricity Uttar Pradesh
Kundah Project Kundah Hydroelectricity andirrigation
Tamil Nadu
40 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
41GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGEN
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the
irle
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sin
the
dry
se
aso
n
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l,T
ea
k,
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air
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ala
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en
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ste
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est
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Tro
pic
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ee
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ary
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igh
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ter
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linity
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da
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ula
rly
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es
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rea
thin
gro
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lled
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eu
ma
top
ho
res
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ora
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mu
r,S
un
da
ri,
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di,
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aD
elta
reg
ion
so
fG
an
ga
,M
ah
an
ad
i,G
od
ava
ria
nd
Kri
sh
na
42 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Typ
es
Sta
tes
wh
ere
Fo
un
d(O
cc
urr
en
ce
)C
om
po
sitio
nC
rop
sG
row
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vial
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nja
b,
Ha
rya
na
,U
tta
rP
rad
esh
,B
iha
ra
nd
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ark
ha
nd
Ric
hin
po
tash
an
dlim
eb
ut
de
ficie
nt
inn
itro
ge
na
nd
ph
osp
ho
rus.
La
rge
vari
ety
of
rab
ia
nd
kh
ari
fcro
ps
su
ch
as
wh
ea
t,ri
ce
,su
ga
rca
ne
,co
tto
na
nd
jute
etc
.
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ck
so
il(R
eg
ur
so
il)D
ecca
nP
late
au
,V
alle
ys
of
Kri
sh
na
an
dG
od
ava
ri,
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dh
raP
rad
esh
,M
ad
hya
Pra
de
sh
an
dT
am
ilN
ad
u.
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hin
iro
n,
lime
,a
lum
iniu
m,
ma
gn
esiu
m,
ca
lciu
m,
bu
tla
cks
inn
itro
ge
n,
ph
osp
ho
rus
an
dh
um
us.
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tto
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ga
rca
ne
,jo
wa
r,to
ba
cco
,w
he
at
an
dri
ce
.
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dE
aste
rnp
art
so
fD
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nP
late
au
,T
am
ilN
ad
u,
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a,
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ish
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nd
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gh
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ya
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ich
inir
on
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dp
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sh
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ut
de
ficie
nt
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e,
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n,
ph
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ga
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ne
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Late
rite
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mm
its
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ste
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ills,
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ng
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se
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ou
the
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ich
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ith
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ize
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mu
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td
eficie
nt
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e.
with
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ilise
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uits
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dm
ed
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al
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eg
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n.
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e(R
eh
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r,U
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ur,
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kar)
an
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er
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rts
of
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ar,
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ark
ha
nd
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tta
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esh
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ary
an
a,
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nja
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jasth
an
an
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ah
ara
sh
tra
.
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ny
sa
lts
su
ch
as
so
diu
m,
ma
gn
esiu
ma
nd
ca
lciu
m.
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fit
for
ag
ricu
ltu
re.
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aty
an
dM
ars
hy
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rala
,co
asta
lre
gio
ns
of
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ish
a,
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mil
Na
du
an
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ud
erb
an
so
fW
est
Be
ng
al.
Co
nta
inla
rge
am
ou
nt
of
so
lub
lesa
lts
an
do
rga
nic
ma
tte
r,b
ut
lack
inp
ota
sh
an
dp
ho
sp
ha
tes.
Use
fulfo
rri
ce
an
dju
tecu
ltiv
atio
n.
43GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGEFo
restT
ype
Dis
trib
utio
nC
limatic
Co
nd
itio
ns
Ch
ara
cte
ristic
sS
pe
cie
s
Tro
pic
alE
ve
rgre
en
Fo
rests
nR
ain
yslo
pe
so
fW
este
rnG
ha
ts.
nN
EIn
dia
exc
ep
tA
run
ach
alP
rad
esh
.n
Ea
ste
rnp
art
ofW
est
Ben
ga
lan
dO
dis
ha
.n
An
da
ma
na
nd
Nic
ob
ar
Isla
nd
s.
nR
ain
fall
>2
00
cm
nR
ela
tive
Hu
mid
ity
>7
0%
nA
vera
ge
tem
pe
ratu
reis
ab
ou
t2
4°C
.n
Ho
ta
nd
hu
mid
clim
ate
.
nH
eig
ht
of
tre
es
is4
0to
60
m.
nLe
ave
sa
red
ark
gre
en
an
db
roa
d.
Ma
ho
ga
ny,
Ma
hu
a,
Ba
mb
oo
,C
on
es,
Iro
nw
oo
d,
Ka
da
m,
Iru
l,Ja
mu
n,
Ho
pe
a,
Ru
bb
er
tre
e,
To
on
,T
els
ur
etc
.
Tro
pic
alM
ois
tD
ec
idu
ou
sFo
rests
nE
aste
rnp
art
so
fS
ah
yad
ris
(We
ste
rnG
ha
ts).
nN
ort
hE
aste
rnp
art
of
Pe
nin
su
la.
nM
idd
lea
nd
low
er
Ga
ng
ava
lley.
n1
00
to2
00
cm
rain
fall
pe
ra
nn
um
.n
Mo
de
rate
tem
pe
ratu
re.
n3
0to
40
mh
igh
tre
es.
nD
ue
tod
eficie
ncy
of
wa
ter,
the
ysh
ed
the
irle
ave
sin
sp
rin
g(o
nse
to
fsu
mm
er)
.
Sa
l,T
ea
k,
Arj
un
,M
ulb
err
y,
Ku
su
m,
Sa
nd
alw
oo
d,
Sir
is,
Ha
ldi,
Kh
air
,M
an
go
,B
an
ya
ntr
ee
etc
.
nF
oo
thill
so
fH
ima
laya
sin
Bh
ab
ar
an
dT
ara
ire
gio
n.
nT
he
se
co
ver
ab
ou
t2
0%
Ind
ia’s
fore
st
are
a.
Tro
pic
alD
ryD
ec
idu
ou
sF
ore
sts
nLa
rge
pa
rts
of
Ma
ha
rash
tra
an
dA
nd
hra
Pra
de
sh
.n
Pa
rts
of
Pu
nja
b,
Ha
rya
na
an
dE
aste
rnp
art
so
fR
aja
sth
an
.n
No
rth
ern
an
dW
este
rnp
art
so
fM
ad
hya
Pra
de
sh
.n
Ta
mil
Na
du
.n
So
uth
ern
pa
rts
of
Utt
ar
Pra
de
sh
.
n5
0to
10
0cm
rain
fall.
nM
od
era
teh
um
idity.
n6
to1
5m
hig
h.
nR
oo
tsa
reth
ick
an
dlo
ng
.
Te
ak,
Sa
l,B
am
bo
o,
Ma
ng
o,
Aca
cia
,N
ee
m,
Sh
ish
am
etc
.
Dry
Fo
rests
or
Ari
dF
ore
sts
nR
aja
sth
an
an
da
djo
inin
ga
rea
so
fH
ary
an
a,
Gu
jara
ta
nd
Pu
nja
b.
nR
ain
sh
ad
ow
are
ao
fp
en
insu
lar
Ind
ia.
nLo
wra
infa
ll(l
ess
tha
n5
0cm
pe
ra
nn
um
).n
Re
lative
hu
mid
ity
isle
ss.
nT
ho
rny
veg
eta
tio
n.
nR
oo
tsa
reve
rylo
ng
.n
Le
ave
sa
resm
all.
Ca
ctu
s,
Th
orn
yb
ush
es,
Kik
ar,
Ba
bo
ol,
Da
tep
alm
,A
ca
cia
,K
ha
ir,
Eu
ph
orb
ias
etc
.
CLIMATE
MonsoonA type of wind system, in which there is almostcomplete reversal of prevailing wind direction.
Types1. South West Monsoon (June and July)
2. North East Monsoon (Sept. to Dec.)
Seasons of Indial Winter Season Mid December to
Mid Marchl Summer Season Mid March to Mayl Rainy Season June to Septemberl Season of Retreating Monsoon
October to Mid December
AGRICULTUREIndia is essentially an agricultural land.Two-thirds of its population still lives onagriculture. It includes farming, animalrearing and fishing.
Agricultural Seasons in IndiaThere are three major crop seasons in India
KharifSown in June/July, harvested inSeptember/October, e.g., rice, jowar, bajra,ragi, maize, cotton and jute.
RabiSown in October/December, harvested inApril/May e.g., wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed,mustard, grains.
ZaidSown in February/March harvested inMay/June, e.g., urad, moong, melonsetc.
Green RevolutionIt is the phrase generally used todescribe the spectacular increase thattook place during 1968 and iscontinuing in the production offoodgrains in India.
The components of Green Revolution are
High Yield Variety Seeds, Irrigation,Use of Fertilisers, Use of Insecticideand Pesticide, Command AreaDevelopment, Programme Consolidationof Holdings etc.
44 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Type Area Characteristic
Tropical RainForests
Western Ghats, West Coastal Plains,Parts of Assam
High temperature throughout the year,heavy seasonal rainfall, annual rainfall200 cm annually (May to November)
Tropical SavanaClimate
Most of Peninsular region (exceptleeward side of Western Ghats)
Dry winters, annual rainfall varies from76 cm to 150 cm.
TropicalSemi-Arid- SteppeClimate
Rainshadow belt running Southwardfrom Central Maharashtra to TamilNadu.
Low rainfall varies from38 cm to 80 cm and temperature from20° to 30°C.
Tropical andSub-tropicalSteppes
Punjab, Haryana and Kachchh region Temperature varies from 12°-35°C.
Tropical Desert Western parts of Barmer, Jaisalmerand Bikaner districts of Rajasthan andparts of Kachchh
Scanty rainfall (mostly in form of cloudburst), high temperature.
Humid Sub-tropical Climatewith dry winters
South of Himalayas Mild winters and extremely hotsummers.
Mountain Climate Mountainous region (above 6000 mor more)
Rainfall varies from 63.5 cm to254 cm.(Mostly during South-West Monsoon)
Type Name Major Producers
Cereals Wheat Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh
Rice West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh
Gram Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
Barley Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan
Bajra Rajasthan, Gujarat
Cash Crops Sugarcane Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra
Poppy Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh
Oil Seeds Coconut Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Linseed Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana
Groundnut Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
Rape seed and mustard Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana
Sesame Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan
Sunflower Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra
Fibre Crops Cotton Maharashtra and Gujarat
Jute West Bengal and BiharSilk Karnataka and KeralaHemp Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
Plantations Coffee Karnataka and Kerala
Rubber Kerala and KarnatakaTea Assam and KeralaTobacco Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
Spices Pepper Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Cashewnuts Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra PradeshGinger Kerala and Uttar PradeshTurmeric Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
MINERAL RESOURCES
Types of MineralsMetallic Iron ore, copper, aluminium, tin, lead, gold and silver.
Non-metallic Coal, mica, manganese, petroleum and sulphur.
Radioactive Uranium and thorium
Gondwana rocks (Chhotanagpur Plateau) are the richest mineral deposits in India.
Mineral States
Coal West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
Copper Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka
Gold Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
Iron Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand
Bauxite Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
Mica Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan
Petroleum Assam, Gujarat, Mumbai High, Bassein (South of Mumbai High)
Uranium Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
Thorium Kerala Coast, Rocks of Aravalli in Rajasthan
Silver, Zinc and Lead Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (Kolar mines)
Diamond Panna (Madhya Pradesh), Banda (Uttar Pradesh)
45GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
TRANSPORTATION IN INDIA
Railwaysl Indian Railway system is the second largest
in Asia and the fourth largest in the world.l The longest railway platform in India is
now Gorakhpur with a stretch of around1.3 km.
Railway Zone Headquarters
Central Mumbai (CST)
Eastern Kolkata
Northern New Delhi
North-Eastern Gorakhpur
North-East Frontier Maligaon-Guwahati
Southern Chennai
South Central Secunderabad
South-Eastern Kolkata
Western Mumbai Churchgate
East Coast Bhubaneshwar
East Central Hajipur
North Central Allahabad
North-Western Jaipur
South-Western Hubli
West Central Jabalpur
South- East Central Bilaspur
Kolkata Metro Kolkata
South Coast Railway Visakhapatnam
l The first train ran in India betweenBombay and Thane, a stretch of 34 km on16th April, 1853.
l The second train ran between Howrahand Hooghly in 1854.
l The first electric train in India wasDeccan Queen. It was introduced in 1929between Bombay and Poona.
l The longest train route is ‘Vivek Express’from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumariin Tamil Nadu. It covers a distance of4273 km (2655 miles).
l The first Metro train was introduced inKolkata (West Bengal) on 24th October,
1984. The two stations connected wereDumdum and Belgachhia.
l In 1990, Konkan Railway has been startedbetween Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
l Delhi metro rail was started in 2002 on25th December between Shahdra andTees Hazari.
l Rapid metro train has been started inGurgaon (Haryana) on 14th November2013.
l Vande Bharat Express also known asTrain 18, is an Indian semi-high speedelectric (India’s fastest train) train madeby Integral Coach Factory, Chennai,under make in India Programme.
l Eastern Peripheral Expressway orKundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressway isa 6-lane expressway passing through thestates of Haryana and Uttar pradesh.
l India’s longest greenfield 6 laneexpressway, named as Agra-Lucknowexpressway has been inaugurated inUttar Pradesh.
Road Transportl India has one of the largest road
networks in the world (48 lakh kmapprox). It consists of Nationalhighways, State highways; major/otherdistrict roads and rural roads.
l NH 44 (3745 km) is the longest highwayof India (Srinagar to Kanyakumari).
l NH 548 and NH 118 are the shortestNational Highways each with thelength of 5 km.
l The North-South and East-WestCorridor (NS-EW) is the largestongoing expressway project in India. Itis the second phase of the NationalHighways Development Project(NHDP) and involves building 7300 kmof six lane expressway connectingSrinagar, Kanyakumari, Porbandar andSilchar.
l NS-EW Corridor intersect at Jhansi.l The Indian Railways operate in three
different gauges i.e. Broad Gauge(distance between rails is 1.676m),Metre Gauge (distance between rails is1.00m) and Narrow Gauge (distancebetween rails is 0.762 or 0.610m).
l Maharashtra has the maximum lengthof surfaced roads in India.
46 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
The Golden Quadrilateral projectconnects the four metropolitan cities ofDelhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatacovering a total distance of 5952 km. It isthe first phase of the National HighwaysDevelopment Project (NHDP).
NH Connects
NH 1 New Delhi-Ambala-Jalandhar- Amritsar
NH 2 Delhi-Mathura-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Kolkata
NH 3 Agra-Gwalior-Nasik-Mumbai
NH 4 Thane and Chennai via Puneand Bengaluru
NH 5 Kolkata-Chennai
NH 6 Kolkata-Dhule
NH 7 Varanasi-Kanyakumari (2369 km)
NH 8 Delhi-Mumbai (via Jaipur, Vadodra andAhmedabad)
NH 9 Mumbai-Vijaywada
NH 10 Delhi-Fazilka
Water TransportAs per the National Waterways Act, 2016,111 Waterways have been declared asNational Waterways including the fiveexisting NWs given below:
NW1 Allahabad to Haldiaon Ganga river
1620 km
NW2 Sadia to Dhubri onBrahmaputra river
891 km
NW3 Kollam to Kottapuram (alongChampakara andUdyogmandal Canal)
168 km
NW4 Kakinada to Marak- kanamalong Godavari and Krishnariver
1095 km
NW5 Mangalgarhi to Paradeep andTalcher to Dhamara alongMahanadi and Brahmini
623 km
NW6 Lakhipur to Bhanga 121 km
Western Coast Eastern Coast
Kandla (child ofpartition) Gujarat
Paradip (exports rawiron to Japan) Odisha
Mumbai (busiest andbiggest) Maharashtra
Vishakhapatnam(deepest port) AndhraPradesh
JL Nehru (fastestgrowing) Maharashtra
Chennai (oldest andartificial) Tamil Nadu
Marmugao (navalbase also) Goa
Ennore (most modernin private hands)Tamil Nadu
Mangalore (exportsKudremukh iron-ore)Karnataka
Tuticorin(Southernmost)Tamil Nadu
Cochin(natural harbour)Kerala
Port Blair (strategicallyimportant) Andamanand Nicobar Islands
Enayam Port(Tamil Nadu)
Note Kandla port was renamed as Pt. DeenDayal Upadhyay port in 2017.
Air Transportl In 1935, the ‘Tata Air Lines’ started its
operation between Mumbai andThiruvananthapuram and in 1937between Mumbai and Delhi.
l In 1953, all the private airline companieswere nationalised and Indian Airlinesand Air India came into existence.
l Vayudoot Limited started in 1981 as aprivate air carrier and later on it mergedwith Indian Airlines.
l International Airports Authority of Indiaand National Airports Authority weremerged on 1995 to form AirportsAuthority of India.
l The Authority manages the Civil AviationTraining College at Allahabad andNational Institute of AviationManagement and Research at Delhi.
International Airports City
Rajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport
Hyderabad
Calicut International Airport Calicut
Chhatrapati ShivajiInternational Airport
Mumbai
Kempe gowda InternationalAirport
Bengaluru
Goa Airport in Vasco diGama City
Goa
Netaji Subhash ChandraBose International Airport
Kolkata
ThiruvananthapuramInternational Airport
Thiruvanan-thapuram
Lokpriya Gopinath BordoloiInternational Airport
Guwahati
Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelInternational Airport
Ahmedabad
Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport
Delhi
Chennai International Airport Chennai
Shri Guru Ram Dass JeeInternational Airport
Amritsar
Pakyong Airport (First greenfield airport in Northeastregion)
Sikkim
47GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Environment All external conditions,factors, matter and energy living andnon-living that affect any living organismor other specified system.
Ecology Biological science that studies therelationships between living organismsand their environment; study of thestructure and functions of nature.
Ecosystem It is defined as a unit whichinclude all the organisms (biological
components) in a given area interactingwith the enviornment (physicalcomponent), so that the flow energyleads to a clearly defined trophicstructure, biotic diversity and material
cycles.
Biome Terrestrial regions characterised bycertain types of vegetation and otherforms of life. Examples include varioustypes of deserts, grasslands and forests.
Wetland Land that is covered all part of thetime with saltwater or freshwater,excluding streams, lakes and the openocean.
Biodiversity Variety of different species(species diversity), genetic variabilityamong individuals within each species(genetic diversity), variety of ecosystems(ecological diversity) and functions suchas energy flow and matter cyclingneeded for the survival of species andbiological communities (functionaldiversity).
Biosphere Zone of the Earth wherelife is found. It consists of parts of theatmosphere (the troposphere),hydrosphere (mostly surface water andgroundwater) and lithosphere (mostlysoil and surface rocks and sediments onthe bottoms of oceans and other bodiesof water) where life is found.
Wildlife All free, undomesticated species.Sometimes the term is used to describeanimals only.
Threatened Species Wild species that isstill abundant in its natural range but islikely to become endangered because ofa decline in numbers.
Ozone ( )O3 Colourless and highly reactive
gas and a major component ofphotochemical smog. Also found in theozone layer in the stratosphere and
protect us from ultra violet rays.
Smog Originally, a combination of smokeand fog but now used to describe othermixtures of pollutants in theatmosphere.
Acid Rain When fossil fuel is burnt, oxidesare formed in the atmosphere. Theoxides formed of sulphur and nitrogenget dissolve in water and cause acid rain.
Global Warming Warming of the Earth’slower atmosphere (troposphere) becauseof increases in the concentrations of oneor more greenhouse gases. It can result inirreversible climate change that can lastfor decades to thousands of years.
Ecomarks The ministry of environmentand forests, Government of Indiainstituted a scheme, that is operating ona national basis and providesaccreditation and labelling forhousehold and other consumer productswhich meet certain environmentalcriteria.
Coral Bleaching Coral bleaching occurswhen the relations between the coralhost and zooxanthallae, which give coralmuch of their colour, breaks down.Without the zooxanthallae, the tissue ofthe coral animal appears transparentand the coral’s bright white skelton isrevealed.
Sustainability Ability of Earth’s varioussystems, including human culturalsystems and economies, to survive andadapt to changing environmentalconditions indefinitely.
48 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
Name Location Reserve For
Kaziranga National Park Assam One-horned rhinoceros, gaur, elephant,leopard and wild buffalo
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary Assam Elephant, sambhar, wild boar and one-hornedrhinoceros
Namdapha National Park Arunachal
Pradesh
Elephant, panther, sambhar, tiger, cheetaland king cobra
Gautam Buddha Sanctuary Bihar Tiger, leopard, sambhar, cheetal and barkingdeer (Indian Muntgac)
Achanakmar Sanctuary Chhattisgarh Tiger, boar, cheetal, sambhar and bison
Velvadore National Park Gujarat Wolf and black buck
Wild Ass Sanctuary Gujarat Wild ass, wolf, nilgai and chinkara
Gir Forest Gujarat India’s biggest wildlife sanctuary famous forGir lions
Dachigam National Park Jammu andKashmir
Kashmiri stag, Long tailed marmot,Himalayan serow
Banerghatta National Park Karnataka Elephant, cheetal, deer and grey partridgeand green pigeon
Bhadra Sanctuary Karnataka Elephant, cheetal, panther, sambhar and wildboar
Bandipur National ParkDandeli Sanctuary
Karnataka andTamil Nadu
Elephant, tiger, panther, sambhar, deer andbirds
Tungabhadra Sanctuary Karnataka Tiger, panther, elephant, cheetal, sambharand wild boar
Nagarhole National Park Karnataka Panther, cheetal, sloth bear and four-hornedantelope
Pachmarhi Sanctuary Madhya Pradesh Tiger, leopard, wild bear, cheetal, sambharreshus maccaque
Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary Madhya Pradesh Tiger, panther, boar, sambar, nilgai andbarking deer
Bandhavgarh National Park Madhya Pradesh Cheetal, sambhar, chinkara and wild birds
Simlipal Sanctuary Odisha Tiger, panther, cheetal, nilgai and wild boar
Ghana Bird Sanctuary Rajasthan Water birds, black buck, cheetal and sambar
Khangchendzonga NationalPark
Sikkim Snow leopard, musk deer and Himalayanboar
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary Tamil Nadu Important bird sanctuary
Chandraprabha Sanctuary Uttar Pradesh Gir lions, cheetal and sambhar
Dudhwa National Park Uttar Pradesh Tiger, panther, sambar, cheetal, nilgai andbarking deer
Corbett National Park Uttarakhand Tiger, leopard, elephant and sambhar (namedin memory of Jim Corbett)
Jaldapara Sanctuary West Bengal Rhinoceros, Elephant
Sunderban Tiger Reserve West Bengal Tiger, deer, wild boar, crocodile and Gangeticdolphin
49GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Name States Type Area (km 2)Manas Assam East Himalayas 2837
Dibru-Saikhowa Assam East Himalayas 765
Seshchalam Hills Andhra Pradesh Eastern Ghats 4755.997
Great Nicobar (UNESCO) Andaman and Nicobar Islands Islands 885
Dihang-Dibang Arunachal Pradesh East Himalayas 5112
Great Rann of Kachchh Gujarat Desert 12454
Cold Desert Himachal Pradesh Western Himalayas 7770
Agasthyamalai (UNESCO) Kerala, Tamil Nadu Western Ghats 1828
Pachmarhi (UNESCO) Madhya Pradesh Semi-Arid 4926
Achanakamar- Amarkantak(UNESCO)
Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh
Maikala Range 3835
Nokrek (UNESCO) Meghalaya East Himalayas 820
Simlipal (UNESCO) Odisha Deccan Peninsula 4374
Khangchendzonga (UNESCO) Sikkim East Himalayas 2620
Nilgiri (UNESCO) Tamil Nadu, Kerala andKarnataka
Western Ghats 5520
Gulf of Mannar (UNESCO) Tamil Nadu Coasts 10500
Nanda Devi (UNESCO) Uttarakhand West Himalayas 5860
Sunderbans (UNESCO) West Bengal Gangetic Delta 9630
Panna Madhya Pradesh Semi-Arid 2998
UN Conference on the Human Environment Stockholm (1972)
Convention on Migratory Species Bonn (1979)
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer Vienna (1985)
Pototocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer Montreal (1987)
Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes Basel (1989)
Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) Rio-de-Janeiro (1992)
Convention on Prior Informed Consent Rotterdam (1998)
UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio-de-Janeiro (2012)
Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources (Nagoya Protocol) Nagoya (2010)
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-CoP-11) Hyderabad (2012)
Lima Climate Change Conference (CoP-20) Lima (2014)
Paris Agreement (CoP-21) Paris (2015)
Marrakech Conference (CoP-22) Marrakech Morocco (2016)
Bonn Conference (CoP-23) Bonn (2017)
Katowice Conference (CoP-24) Katowice, Poland (2018)
Madrid Conference (CoP-25) Madrid, Spain (2019)
50 GeographyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Project Year
Project Hangul 1970
Project Gir 1972
Project Tiger 1973
Project Olive Ridley Turtles 1975
Crocodile Breeding Scheme 1975
Project Manipur Thamin 1977
Project Rhino 1987
Project Elephant 1992
Project Red Panda 1996
Project Sea Turtle 1999
Project Vulture 2006
Project Snow Leopard 2009
Birds Great Indian Bustard, ForestOwlet, Vulture, Bengal Florican,Himalayan Quail, SiberianCrane
Mammals Flying Squirrel, Red Panda,Pygmy Hog, Kondana Rat,Snow Leopard, Asiatic Lion,One-Horned Rhinoceros
Reptiles Gharial, Hawksbill Turtle, RiverTerrapin, Sispara Day Gecko
Amphibians Flying Frog, Tiger Toad
CONSTITUTION
Framing of theIndian Constitutionl The idea to have a Constitution was first
given by MN Roy (A pioneer ofCommunist Movement in India).
l The Constitution was framed by theConstituent Assembly of India, set-upon 16th May 1946, in accordance withthe Cabinet Mission Plan, under theChairmanship of Sach-chidanandSinha, initially. Dr Rajendra Prasad andHC Mukherjee were elected as thePresident and Vice-President respectivelyon 11th December 1946. BN Rau wasappointed as the Constitutional Advisor.
l The total membership of the ConstituentAssembly was 389, of these 292 wererepresentatives of British States; 93 wererepresentatives of Princely States and 4were from the Chief CommissionersProvinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara,Coorg and British Baluchistan.
l The Chairman of the Drafting Committee
was Dr BR Ambedkar, also known as theFather of the Indian Constitution.
Enactment of theConstitutionl The Constituent Assembly took 2 years,
11 months and 18 days to complete theConstitution.
l Some of the provisions related tocitizenship, elections, provisional Parlia-ment etc were given immediate effect.
l The Constitution, is adopted on 26thNovember, 1949, contained a Preamble,395 Articles divided into 22 Parts and8 Schedules. Presently, it has 448 Articlesdivided into 25 Parts and 12 Schedules.
l The enforcement of Constitution wasdelayed till 26th January because, in1929, on this day Indian NationalCongress demanded Poorna Swaraj inLahore Session, Chaired by JL Nehru.
l The Constitution came into force on26th January, 1950, known as RepublicDay of India. The Constituent Assemblyadopted our National Flag on 22nd July,1947. It was designed by PingaliVenkayya.
(1946)
Members Portfolios Held
Jawaharlal Nehru External Affairs &CommonwealthRelations
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Home, Information &Broadcasting
Dr Rajendra Prasad Food & Agriculture
Dr John Mathai Industries & Supplies
Jagjivan Ram Labour
Sardar Baldev Singh Defence
CH Bhabha Works, Mines & Power
Liaquat Ali Khan Finance
Abdur Rab Nishtar Posts & Air
Asaf Ali Railways & Transport
C Rajagopalachari Education & Arts
II Chundrigar Commerce
Ghaznafar Ali Khan Health
Joginder Nath Mandal Law
Note Interim government was formed fromthe newly elected Constituent Assembly.
Preamblel It is the preface or the introduction of
the Constitution. It is an integral part ofthe Constitution. The interpretation ofthe Constitution is based on the spirit ofthe Preamble.
l The Objective Resolution, drafted andmoved by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru andadopted by the Constituent Assembly,ultimately became the Preamble.
INDIANPOLITY
l The idea of the Preamble was borrowedfrom the Constitution of USA.
l The words, Socialist, Secular andIntegrity were added by the 42ndConstitutional Amendment Act in 1976.
The Preamble‘‘WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnlyresolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN,SOCIALIST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICand to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, Social, Economic and Political
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith andworship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and topromote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of theindividual and the unity and integrity of theNation; IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY thistwenty-sixth day of November, 1949 do HEREBYADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THISCONSTITUTION.
UK n Rule of Lawn Cabinet Systemn Prerogative Writsn Parliamentary Governmentn Bicameral Parliamentn CAG Officen Single Citizenshipn Law making procedures
USA n Written Constitutionn Vice-President as the Ex-officio
Chairman of Upper Housen Fundamental Rightsn Supreme Courtn Independence of Judiciary and
Judicial Reviewn Preamble
ErstwhileUSSR
n Fundamental Duties
Australia n Concurrent Listn Joint sitting of Parliament
Japan n Procedure established by law
Germany n Suspension of FundamentalRights during the Emergency
Canada n Scheme of federation with astrong Centre
n Distribution of powers betweenthe Centre and the States andplacing Residuary Powers withthe Centre
Ireland n Concept of DirectivePrinciples of State Policy.Method of election of thePresident
SouthAfrica
n Procedure for amendment ofthe constitution and electionof member of Rajya Sabha
France n Republic and the ideals ofLiberty equality and fraternityin the Preamble.
Main Featuresl Bulkiest written Constitution in the
World.l Combination of Rigidity and Flexibilityl Parliamentary System of Governmentl Federal System with a Unitary biasl Fundamental Rights and Dutiesl Directive Principles of State Policyl Integrated and Independent Judiciaryl Single Citizenshipl Emergency Powersl Universal Adult Franchise
Important Articles
Part I
Union and its Territories(Article 1-4)
1. The Constitution says, “India, that isBharat, shall be a Union of States”.
2. Admission or establishment of newStates.
3. The Constitution empowers theParliament to form new States and toalter the areas, boundaries or names ofexisting States.
Note Through J & K Reorganisation Act of2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmirwas divided into two Union Territory i.e.Union Territory of Ladakh and the UnionTerritory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Part II
Citizenship (Article 5-11)The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribesfive ways to acquire citizenship of India
1. By birth 2. By descent3. By registration 4. By naturalisation5. By incorporation
52 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Three modes of losing citizenship1. Renunciation 2. Termination3. Deprivation
Through Citizenship (Amendment) Act2019 members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,Jain, Parsi and Christian religions minoritiesfrom Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistanwho entered India before 31st December,2014 will be given Indian citizenship.
Part III
Fundamental Rights(Article 12-35)
Rights to Equality (Article 14-18)
l Equality before Law (Article 14).l Prohibition of discrimination on grounds
of religion, race, caste, sex or place ofbirth.(Article 15)
l Equality of opportunity in matters ofpublic employment. (Article 16)
l Abolition of untouchability (Article 17).l Abolition of titles. (Article 18)
Rights to Freedom (Article 19-22)
l Protection of certain rights regarding;Speech and expression, assembly,association, movement, residence, andprofession (Article 19)
l Protection in respect of conviction foroffences. (Article 20)
l Protection of life and personal liberty(Article 21).
l Protection against arrest and detentionin certain cases (Article 22).
Right to Education
Article 21A states that the state shallprovide free and compulsory education toall children of the age of 6-14 years.
Rights against Exploitation(Article 23-24)
l Prohibition of human trafficking andforced labour (Article 23).
l Prohibition of employment of children inany factories, etc (Article 24).
Rights to Freedom of Religion(Article 25-28)
l Freedom of conscience and right toprofess, practice and propagate one’sreligious beliefs. (Article 25)
l Freedom to manage religious affairs(Article 26).
l Freedom from taxation for promotion ofany particular religion (Article 27).
l Freedom from attendance of religiousinstructions or religious worship in certaineducational institutions (Article 28).
Cultural and Educational Rightsl Protection of interest of minorities
(Article 29).l Right of minorities to establish and
administer educational institutions(Article 30).
Freedom of Press is implicit in theArticle 19. Article 20 and 21 cannot besuspended even during National Emergency.(Article 352)
Right to Property under Article 19 (1) (f) wasrepealed by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978,and was made a legal right under Article 300A.
Rights to Constitutional Remediesl Right to move to the Supreme Court (Article
32) and the High Courts (Article 226) incase of violation of the Fundamental RightsBR Ambedkar called Article 32 as the Heartand Soul of the Constitution.
l Writs of habeas corpus, mandamus,prohibition, certiorari and quo-warrantocan be issued under this.
Writ Meaning Intended Purpose
HabeasCorpus
You mayhave thebody
To release a person whohas been detainedunlawfully whether inprison or in privatecustody.
Mandamus WeCommand
To secure the perfor-mance of public dutiesby lower court, tribunalor public authority.
Certiorari To becertified
To quash the orderalready passed by aninferior court, tribunal orquasi judicial authority.
Prohibition The act ofstoppingsomething
To prohibit an inferiorcourt from continuingthe proceedings in aparticular case where ithas no jurisdiction to try.
QuoWarranto
What isyourauthority
To restrain a personfrom holding a publicoffice to which he is notentitled.
53Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Part IV
Directive Principles of State Policy(Article 36-51)
Directive principles are broad guidingprinciples that states shall keep in mindwhile formulating policies and enactinglaws. These are non-justiciable in nature
Articles 36-37 Definition and application ofthe principles contained in this part.
Article 38 To secure and protect a social order,which stands for the welfare of the people.
Article 39 Certain principles of policy to befollowed by the State.
Article 40 To organise village Panchayats asunits of self- government.
Article 41 Right to work, to education and topublic assistance in certain cases.
Article 42 To secure just and humaneconditions of work and maternity relief.
Article 43 Living wage etc for workers, topromote cottage industries.
Article 44 Uniform Civil Code for thecitizens.
Article 45 Provision of early childhood careand education to children below the age of6 years.
Article 46 To promote the educational andeconomic interests of the weaker sectionsof the people, especially the ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes.
Article 47 Improvement of public health andthe prohibition of intoxicating drinks anddrugs.
Article 48 Organisation of agriculture andanimal husbandry on modern lines.
Article 49 To protect all monuments ofhistoric interest and national importance.
Article 50 To bring about the separation of thejudiciary from the executive.
Article 51 Promotion of international peaceand security.
Part IV (A)
Fundamental Duties(Article 51A)It was inserted by the 42nd Amendment Actin 1976 on the recommendations of SwaranSingh Committee it was inspired by theConstitution of erstwhile USSR.
It shall be the duty of every citizen ofIndia
(a)to abide by the Constitution andrespect its ideals and institutions,the National Flag and the NationalAnthem.
(b)to cherish and follow the noble idealswhich inspired our national strugglefor freedom.
(c)to uphold and protect thesovereignty, unity and integrity ofIndia.
(d)to defend the country and rendernational service, when called upon todo so.
(e)to promote harmony and the spirit ofcommon brotherhood amongst allthe people of India, transcendingreligious, linguistic and regional orsectional diversities; to renouncepractices derogatory to the dignity ofwomen.
(f) to value and preserve the richheritage of our composite culture.
(g) to protect and improve the naturalenvironment including forests,lakes, rivers and wildlife and to havecompassion for living creatures.
(h) to develop scientific temper,humanism and the spirit of enquiryand reform.
(i) to safeguard public property and toabjure violence.
(j) to strive towards excellence in allspheres of individual and collectiveactivity, so that the nation constantlyrises to higher levels of endeavourand achievement.
The 86th Amendment Act, 2002inserted Article 51A (K), “eachparent or guardian to provideopportunities for education to hischild or ward between the age of6 and 14 years.”
Part V
Union (Article 52-151)
THE PRESIDENTl Executive Head of the State and the
first citizen of India.
54 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l The 42nd Amendment of theConstitution has made it obligatory onthe part of the President to accept theadvice of the Council of Ministers.However, 44th Amendment Act amendedthe word ‘obligatory’ and added that‘President can send the advice forreconsideration’.
Qualifications Must be a citizen of India;of 35 years in age; eligible to be a member ofthe Lok Sabha and must not hold any officeof profit.
Election Indirectly elected throughElectoral College consisting of electedmembers of both the Houses of theParliament and elected members of theLegislative Assemblies of the States andelected members of the LegislativeAssemblies of Union Territories of Delhi andPuducherry.l Members of the Legislative Councils
have no right to vote in the Presidentialelection.
l Supreme Court decides all disputesregarding President’s election.
Tenure The term is 5 years though thereis no upper limit on the number of times aperson can become the President(Article 57). He can give resignation to theVice-President before the full-term.l The salary of the President is
` 5,00,000 per month.l In case, the office of the President falls
vacant due to death, resignation orremoval, the Vice- President acts as thePresident.
l If he is not available then Chief Justice ofIndia, if not then the senior most Judge ofthe Supreme Court shall act as thePresident of India.
l The first and only President who died inthe office, was Dr Zakir Hussain. He wasalso the President with the shortest tenure.
l Justice M Hidayatullah was the firstChief Justice of India to be appointed asthe President (July 1969-August 1969).
Impeachment Procedure■ It is a quasi- judicial procedure. President can
be impeached only on the grounds of violationof the Constitution. (Article 61)p
■ The impeachment procedure can be initiated ineither House of the Parliament.
Powers of Presidentl He is the formal head of the
administration.l The President shall have the power to
appoint and remove high authorities likethe Prime Minister, other Ministers ofthe Union, Judges, Governors of Statesand appoints Chiefs of Army, Navy andAir Force.
l He nominates 12 members of the RajyaSabha from persons of literature, art,science and social work and 2 membersin the Lok Sabha of the Anglo-IndianCommunity.
Note Parliament has passed (126th)Amendment Bill in December 2019, doingaway with the provision of Anglo-Indiansto Lok Sabha and Some State Assemblies.
l Declares wars and concludes peacesubject to the approval of the Parliament.
l President has the Veto power.l Under Article 72, the President has the
power to grant pardons, reprieves,respites or remission of punishment orto suspend, remit or commute thesentence of any person convicted withdeath sentence.
l Under Article 123, President canpromulgate Ordinances, when theParliament is not in session.
Types of Vetoes
Absolute Veto Withholding the assent tothe Bill.
Qualified Veto Can be overridden by theLegislature with a higher majority.
Suspensive Veto Can be overridden bythe Legislature with an ordinary majority.
Pocket Veto Delay in giving assent to theBill. The Veto Power has been exercised onlytwice (a) by Dr Rajendra Prasad and (b) byR.Venkata raman. President of India is vestedwith three vetos absolute veto, suspensiveveto and pocket veto. There is no qualifiedveto in the case of Indian President.
Emergency Powersl To declare National Emergency.
(Article 352)l To impose President Rule in a State.
(Article 356)l To declare Financial Emergency.
(Article 360)
55Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
VICE-PRESIDENTl Article 63 of the Constitution stipulates a
Vice-President for India.l He is elected by both the Houses of
Parliament.l The Vice-President is the Ex-officio
Chairman of the Council of States (RajyaSabha) as mentioned in the Article 64.
l Present salary of the Vice-President is` 4,00,000 per month.
l The first Vice-President of India wasDr S Radhakrishnan.
l The first and only Vice-President who diedin the office, was Shri Krishna Kant(1997-2002).
COUNCIL OF MINISTERSl Article 74 of the Constitution states that
there shall be a Council of Ministers, withthe Prime Minister at its head, to aid andadvise the President.
l It is composed of all Union Ministers—the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers,Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.
l The other Ministers shall be appointed by
the President on the advice of the PrimeMinister under Article 75(1).
l A Minister must be a member of eitherHouse of Parliament or be elected within 6months of assuming office underArticle 75(5).
l The Council of Ministers is collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha, It means theLok Sabha can remove the Council ofMinisters from office by passing aNo-confidence Motion. [Article 75 (3)].
l Ministers are also responsible for theirdepartments and can be removed from theoffice by the President on the adviceof the Prime Minister. This is essentially anindividual responsibility under Article75 (2).
PRIME MINISTERl The Prime Minister is the head of the
Government and the head of the Council ofMinisters.
l The Prime Minister is appointed by thePresident on the basis of his being the leaderof the majority party in the Lok Sabha.
l If no party gets an absolute majorityin the Lok Sabha or a Prime Ministerresigns or dies, the President can usehis own discretion in the choice ofthe Prime Minister.
l Article 78 stipulates that it is the dutyof the Prime Minister (a) tocommunicate to the President all thedecisions taken by the Cabinet and(b) to furnish such informationrelating to the administration of theUnion or any Legislation as thePresident may call for. The PrimeMinister serves in the office for fiveyears though he can be re-appointed.
l When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, Hecan continue in office upon therequest of the President until newgovernment is formed.
l If the Government is defeated in theLok Sabha, the Prime Minister andthe entire cabinet must resign,however, if defeated in the RajyaSabha, resignation is not obligatory.
Tit-Bits■ Jawaharlal Nehru was the first
Prime Minister and the longest serving sofar.
■ The first and the ‘only’ acting PrimeMinister was Gulzarilal Nanda.
■ Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first PMwho died abroad, while in office atTakshent. Gulzarilal Nanda has actedtwice as the Prime Minister.
■ Chaudhary Charan Singh was theonly PM who did not face Parliament,while being in office.
■ The youngest Prime Minister wasRajeev Gandhi and the oldest PrimeMinister was Morarji Desai.
■ AB Vajpayee (May 1996–June 1996)government had the shortest tenure(13 days).
UNIONLEGISLATUREl Legislature of the Union is called the
Parliament and consists of the RajyaSabha (Council of States), the LokSabha (House of the People) and thePresident (Article 79).
56 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l The business of Parliament istransacted either in Hindi or in English.However, the Presiding Officers of thetwo Houses may permit any member toaddress the House in his/her mothertongue too.
Rajya Sabha(Council of States)l Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of the
Parliament. First sitting of the RajyaSabha was held on 3rd April, 1952.
l The maximum permissible strength ofthe Rajya Sabha is 250. Of these,238 members are elected indirectlyfrom the States and Union Territories,and 12 are nominated by the Presidentfor their expertise in art, literature,science and social services (Article 80).
l Currently, the strength of the RajyaSabha is 245. Of these, 229 membersare elected from States and 4 membersrepresent Union Territories while12 members are nominated by thePresident.
l The Rajya Sabha is a Permanent Houseand is not subject to dissolution andmembers enjoy a tenure of six years.However, one-third of the membersretire every second years (Article 83).
l It shares legislative powers with the LokSabha, except in the case of Money Billwhere the Lok Sabha has overridingpowers.
Lok Sabha (People’s House)l The Lok Sabha is the Lower House of the
Parliament and its first sitting took placeon 13th May, 1952. The current LokSabha is the 17th constituted Lok Sabha.
l Three Sessions of the Lok Sabha areheld every year, namely Budget Session(February to May); Monsoon Session(July to September); and WinterSession (November to December).
Members 530 from States, 20 fromUnion Territories and 2 nominated by thePresident, from the Anglo IndianCommunity.
Election The representatives of thestates are directly elected by the people ofthe states on the basis of adult suffrage.
Qualifications Article 84 provides for theeligibility for membership of theParliament. The conditions are
(a)citizen of India;
(b)Not less than 25 years of age for the LokSabha and 30 years of age for the RajyaSabha; and
(c) possess such other qualifications as maybe prescribed by the Parliament.
Bills It may be classified as Ordinary,Money, Financial and ConstitutionalAmendments.l The Ordinary Bills can be introduced in
either House of the Parliament, butMoney Bill can be initiated only in theHouse of the People i.e. Lok Sabha.
l After a Money Bill has been passed by theLok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabhafor deliberations. The Rajya Sabha isgiven 14 days to make recommendations,which can be accepted or not by the LokSabha.
l Article 111 stipulates that a Money Billcannot be returned to the House by thePresident for reconsideration.
Speaker of the Lok Sabhal As soon as a new Lok Sabha is
constituted, the President appoints aSpeaker pro-tem, who is generally thesenior most member of the House. (It is atemporary office that ceases to exist afternew speaker is elected by the house.)
l Speaker is the head of Lok Sabha.He/She is elected from amongst themembers of Lok Sabha. The Speaker ofthe Lok Sabha conducts the business inthe House. A Deputy Speaker is alsoelected to officiate in the absence of theSpeaker.
Facts about Speaker■ GV Mavlankar was the first Speaker of the
Lok Sabha (1952-1956).■ MA Ayyangar was the first Deputy
Speaker (1952-1956).■ Dr Balram Jakhar was the longest serving
Speaker (1980-1989).■ GMC Balyogi is the first Speaker to die in
the office (1998-2002).■ Meira Kumar is the first woman speaker of
the Lok Sabha (2009-2013).
57Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
SUPREME COURTThe Supreme Court of India wasinaugurated on 28 January, 1950.Presently, Supreme Court is functioning atfull strength (sanctioned strength 34). Asmall Bench, with two to three Justices, iscalled a Division Bench. A large Bench,with five or more Justices, is called aConstitutional Bench.
Tenure and Qualificationl Judges of the Supreme Court are
appointed by the President and retire atthe age of 65.
l The qualifications are (a) must be acitizen of India; (b) a Judge of a HighCourt for at least 5 years; or (c) anadvocate of a High Court for at least10 years; or he should be adistinguished jurist in the opinion of thePresident.
l The Constitution has not prescribed aminimum age for appointment as ajudge of the Supreme Court.
Independence of Judges (Article 125)The salaries and allowances of Judges arecharged upon the Consolidated Fund ofIndia (Present salary of the CJI is ` 2.8Lakh and of other Judges is ` 2.5 Lakh).
Removal of Judges Judges can beremoved only on the grounds of provedmisbehaviour or incapacity.
Judges can be removed only by a resolutionof both Houses of Parliament supported bya majority of total membership of boththe Houses and 2/3 of members presentand voting. The first Judge againstwhom the proceedings were initiated wasV Ramaswami (1993) and the second onewas Soumitra Sen (2011).
JurisdictionThe Supreme Court has original,appellate, advisory and writ jurisdictions.l Original Jurisdiction means that
certain types of cases can originate withthe Supreme Court only. The SupremeCourt has original jurisdiction in (a)disputes between the centre and one ormore States; (b) disputes between theCentre and any State(s) on one side andone or more States on the other side;
(c) disputes between two or more States;and (Article 131).
l Appellate Jurisdiction means thatappeals against judgements of lowercourts can be referred to it. The SupremeCourt is the highest court of appeal in thecountry. Four types of cases fall within itsappellate jurisdiction, namely,constitutional cases, civil cases, criminalcases and appeals by special leave.
■ The first Chief Justice of India was HJ Kania(1950–51).
■ The shortest tenure so far is of KN Singh (25thNovember,1991—12thDecember,1991).
■ The longest tenure, so far is ofYV Chandrachud (1978–85).
■ The first woman Judge of the Supreme Courtwas Justice Fatima Beevi in 1987 and thesecond woman Justice was Gyan SudhaMishra in 2010.
l Advisory Jurisdiction refers to the processwhere the President seeks the court’sadvice on legal matters (Article 143).The Supreme Court is a court of record(Article 129).
l Under Article 139 (A) (inserted by the44th Amendment), the Supreme Courtmay transfer to itself, cases from one ormore High Court if these questionsinvolve a significant question of law.
Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) (Article 148-151)l The Comptroller and Auditor General is
appointed by the President under Article
148 of the Constitution.
l The CAG audits all receipts andexpenditures of the Union and StateGovernments.
l The CAG also acts as the external auditorfor the government-owned companies.
l The CAG submits its reports to thePresident (in case of accounts relating tothe Union Government) or to theconcerned State Governors (for StateGovernment Accounts).
l The CAG is also the head of the IndianAudits and Accounts Service (IA & AS).The office of the CAG was established in1860.
58 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l The first CAG of India was V Narahari
Rao (1948-1954).l The CAG can only be removed from office
in manner similar to a Judge of theSupreme Court.
l The salary and benefits of the CAG cannotbe changed to his disadvantage during histenure.
l The CAG is not eligible for further officeunder the Union or State Governments.The expenses of the office of the CAG ischarged upon the Consolidated Fund ofIndia.
Attorney General of Indial The Attorney General is the highest law
officer in the country appointed by thePresident under Article 76 of theConstitution.
l The first Attorney General of IndependentIndia was MC Setalvad (1950-1963). The15th and Current Attorney General of Indiais KK Venugopal.
l To be appointed as Attorney General, acandidate must be qualified to beappointed as a Judge of the SupremeCourt.
l The Attorney General can participate inproceedings of the Parliament without theRight toVote(Article88).
Part VI
The States (Article 152-237)
THE GOVERNORl The Governor is the Constitutional Head
of the State and the same Governor can actas Governor of more than one State(Article 153).
l The Governor is appointed by thePresident (Article 155) and Article 156states that the Governor holds officeduring the pleasure of the President.
l Article 161 gives the Governor the powerto grant pardons, reprieves, remission ofpunishment to persons convicted underthe state law.
l Article 163 talks of discretionary powersof the Governor, which is not even providedto the President. Moreover, the courtscannot question his discretion.
l Article 171 states that the Stateswhere Legislative Councils exists, theGovernor can nominate somemembers from amongst thosedistinguished in literature, science,art, cooperative movement and socialservice.
l Article 213 empowers the Governor toissue the ordinances during therecess of the State Legislature.
Qualificationsl Must be a citizen of India.l Completed 35 years of age.l Shouldn‘t be a member of either House
of Parliament or State Legislature.l Must not hold any office of profit.
STATES LEGISLATUREArticle 163 Council of Ministers to aidand advise the Governor.
Article 165 An Advocate General foreach of the State.
Article 169 Abolition or creation ofLegislative Councils in States.
Most of the states have unicameralsystem, only 6 states have legislativecouncil. These states are AndhraPradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir,Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradeshand Telangana.
Legislative Assembly LegislativeAssembly consists of Representativesdirectly elected by the people. Thestrength of assembly varies from 60 to500 members. However assembly ofSikkim, Goa, Mizoram, ArunachalPradesh, Nagaland and Puducherryhave less than 60 members.
Composition of Legislative CouncilUnlike the members of the LegislativeAssembly, the members of LegislativeCouncil are indirectly elected. Themaximum strength of the Council isfixed at one-third of the total strength ofassembly and the minimum strength isfixed at 40.
HIGH COURTS(ARTICLE 214-232)There are 24 High Courts in India. TheCalcutta High Court, establishedin 1862, is the oldest High Court in
59Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
India. The Bombay and Madras High Courtswere also established in the same year. Thenewest High Courts are the Tripura,Meghalaya and Manipur High Courts, allwere established in the year 2013. As of2019, there are 25 High Courts in India.
Part IX
The Panchayats (Article243-243 O)l Introduced by the 73rd Amendment Act,
1992 which envisaged a three tier systemof local government.
These are
1. Gram Panchayat at the village level
2. Panchayat Samiti at the block level
3. Zila Parishad at the district level
l The Panchayat system exists in allstates except Nagaland, Meghalaya andMizoram. It also exists in all UnionTerritories except Delhi.
l Panchayat system is provided for allstates having a population more than2 million. Every Panchayat cancontinue for 5 years from the date of itsfirst meeting.
Part IXA
The Municipalities(Article 243 P-243 ZG)l Introduced by the 74th Amendment
Act, 1992 which envisages three typesof urban local bodies, namely, NagarPanchayat, Municipal Council andMunicipal Corporation.
60 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Jurisdiction and Seats of High Courts
Court Name Estd. inthe Year
Territorial Jurisdiction Seat
Mumbai 1862 Maharashtra, Dadra and NagarHaveli, Goa, Daman and Diu
Mumbai (Bench at Nagpur,Panaji and Aurangabad)
Kolkata 1862 West Bengal, Andaman andNicobar Islands
Calcutta(Circuit Bench at Port Blair)
Chennai 1862 Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Chennai (Bench at Madurai)
Allahabad 1866 Uttar Pradesh Allahabad (Bench at Lucknow)
Karnataka 1884 Karnataka Bangalore (Circuit Benches atHubli Dharwad and Gulbarga)
Patna 1916 Bihar Patna
Madhya Pradesh 1956 Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur (Benches at Gwaliorand Indore)
Jammu & Kashmir 1928 Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar and Jammu
Punjab andHaryana
1875 Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Chandigarh
Orissa 1948 Odisha Cuttack
Guwahati 1948 Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram andArunachal Pradesh
Guwahati (Bench at Kohima,Aizwal and Itanagar
Rajasthan 1949 Rajasthan Jodhpur (Bench at Jaipur)
Kerala 1958 Kerala and Lakshadweep Ernakulam
Gujarat 1960 Gujarat Ahmedabad
Delhi 1966 National Capital Territory of Delhi New Delhi
Himachal Pradesh 1971 Himachal Pradesh Shimla
Sikkim 1975 Sikkim Gangtok
Chhattisgarh 2000 Chhattisgarh Bilaspur
Uttarakhand 2000 Uttarakhand Nainital
Jharkhand 2000 Jharkhand Ranchi
Tripura 2013 Tripura Agartala
Manipur 2013 Manipur Imphal
Meghalaya 2013 Meghalaya Shillong
Andhra Pradesh 2019 Andhra Pradesh Amaravati
Telangana 2019 Telangana Hyderabad
l The first Municipal Corporation in Indiawas introduced in Madras in 1688.The Madras Municipal Corporation is thefirst municipal body in the wholecommonwealth outside the UK. TheBombay and Calcutta Corporations wereestablished in 1726.
l Municipal Corporations are established incities with population greater than1 million.
l Nagar Panchayat administers urban areashaving population greater than 30000 andless than 100000.
l A Municipal Council administers anurban area of population 200000 or less.
Part XI
Relations between the Unionand the States (Article 245-263)l Legislative Relationsl Administrative Relationsl Financial Relations
Article 262 Adjudication of disputesrelating to waters of inter-state rivers orriver valleys.
Article 263 Inter-state council.
Part XII
Finance, Property, Contracts andSuits (Article 264-300 A)
Article 266 Consolidated Fund of India.
Article 267 Contingency Fund of India.
Part XIV
Services Under the Union and theStates (Article 308-323)
Article 312 All India Services.
Article 315 Public Service Commissionsfor the Union and for the States.
l The first Public Service Commissionwas set-up in 1926, on therecommendations of the LeeCommission.
l The Government of India Act, 1935provided for the establishment of aFederal Public Service Commission andProvincial Public Service Commissions.
Union and State PublicService Commissionsl Constitution provides a Public Service
Commission for the Union, a PublicService Commission for each state or aJoint Public Service Commission for agroup of states.
l The appointment is done by thePresident in case of the Union or JointCommission and by the Governor of theState in the case of a State Commission.
l At least half of the members of thesecommissions should be civil servantswith at least 10 years experience incentral or state services.
l Age of retirement for a member of UPSCis 65 years and for a member of PSC of aState or a Joint Commission is 62 years.
61Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Committees to Study Panchayat System
Name Established Recommendation
BalwantraiMehta
1957 Establish local bodies, devolve power and authority, basic unit of
decentralised government to be Block/Samiti. Conceptualised
PRIs as 3-tier system.
K Santhanam 1963 Panchayats to have powers to levy tax on land revenue etc,
Panchayati Raj Finance Corporation to be set-up.
Ashok Mehta 1978 District to be a viable administrative unit for planning, PRIs as two-tier
system with Mandal Panchayat and Zila Parishad.
GVK Rao 1985 PRIs to be activated and supported, Block Development Office
(BDO) to be central to rural development.
LM Singhvi 1986 Local self-governments to be constitutionally
recognised, non-involvement of political parties.
Functionsl To conduct exams for appointment to
services under the Union and theStates.
l Maintains continuity in administration.l Members of the UPSC and State
Commissions can be removed by thePresident on the charges ofmisbehaviour, if these charges areupheld by the Supreme Court.
Elections (Article 324-329)
Article 324 stipulates that thesuperintendence, direction and controlof elections shall be vested in theElection Commission.
Article 325 provides for a singleelectoral roll for every constituency.Also stipulates that no person shall beeligible or ineligible for inclusion inelectoral rolls on the basis of race,religion, caste or sex.
Article 326 stipulates that electionsshall be held on the basis of adultsuffrage. Every person, who is a citizenof India and is not less than 18 years ofage shall be eligible for inclusion.
Political PartiesRegistration of the People Act, 1951provides for registration of political partieswith the election commission.
There are eight (8) National Parties inIndia, namely BJP, Congress, BSP, NCP,CPI, CPM, Trinamool Congress andNational People’s Party.
A political party shall be eligible to berecognised as a National party if
(i) It secures at least 6% of the valid votespolled in any four or more states, at ageneral election to the House of thePeople or to the State LegislativeAssembly; and
(ii) In addition, it wins at least four seatsin the House of the People from anyState or States.
or(iii) It wins at least 2% seats in the House
of the People (i.e., 11 seats in theexisting House having 543 members)and these members are elected fromat least three different States.
Likewise, a political party shall be entitled tobe recognised as a State party, if
(i) It secures at least 6% of the valid votespolled in the State at a general election,either to the House of the People or to beLegislative Assembly of the Stateconcerned; and
(ii)In addition, it wins at least two seats inthe Legislative Assembly of the Stateconcerned.
or
It wins at least 3% of the total number ofseats in the Legislative Assembly of theState or at least three seats in theAssembly, whichever is more.
For elections of President and Vice-President, election petitions can only befiled with the Supreme Court.
Election Commissionl The Election Commission is an
autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutionalbody. Its function is to conduct free and fairelections in India.
l The Election Commission was establishedon 25th January, 1950 under Article 324of the Constitution.
l The first Chief Election Commissionerwas Sukumar Sen.
Planning Commissionl The Planning Commission was established
in March 1950 by an executive resolution ofthe Government of India (i.e., UnionCabinet) on the recommendation of theAdvisory Planning Board constituted in1946 under the Chairmanship of KC Neogi.
l Now, the Planning Commission has beenreplaced by NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayogl NITI Aayog or National institution for
transforming India Aayog is a policythink-tank of Union Government of Indiathat replaces Planning Commission ofIndia and aims to involve the states ineconomic policy-making in India. It will beproviding strategic and technical advice tothe central and the State Governments.
l Prime Minister of India heads the Aayogas its Chairperson.
62 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
National DevelopmentCouncil (NDC)l Functions of the NDC was to review the
working of national plan. The NDC wasformed in 1952, to associate the states inthe formulation of the plans.
l The PM is the ex-officio chairman ofNDC.
l It is an extra-constitutional and extra legalbody.
l Since establishment of NITI Aayog, NDChas been proposed to be abolished.
Finance Commissionl Article 280 of the Constitution of India
provides for a Finance Commission as aquasi-judicial body. It is constituted by thePresident of India every fifth year.
l It consists of Chairman and 4 othermembers.
Functions The Finance Commission isrequired to make recommendation to thePresident of India in the following matters:The distribution of the net proceeds of taxes tobe shared between the centre and the statesand the allocation between the states, therespective shares of such proceeds. The 15thFinance Commission was appointed on 2ndJanuary, 2017 under the Chairmanship of NKSingh.
AMENDMENTS OF THECONSTITUTION(ARTICLE 368)There are two categories of Amendmentunder Article 368 which are:-
1. By special majority of Parliament that is(more than 50 percent) of the totalmembership of each House and amajority of two-thirds of the members ofeach House present and voting.
2. By special majority of Parliament andwith the consent of half of the StateLegislature by a simple majority.Provisions related to Federal structurecan be amended through this procedure.
There is a third category of theAmendment which is done by simplemajority though these amendments donot come under ambit of Article 368.
It has been held by the Supreme Court inthe Keshavananda Bharati Case (1973)that every provision of the Constitution isamendable under the meaning of Article368 except the basic structure of theConstitution.
e-GOVERNANCE
The word electronic in the termse-Governance implies technology drivengovernance.
The prespective of the e-governance is ‘‘theuse of the technology that both governing andhave to be governed.
Generally five basic models are given ine-Governance■ G2C (Government to Citizens)■ G2B (Government to Business)■ G2E (Government to Employees)■ G2G (Government to Governments)■ C2G (Citizens to Governments)
The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) takesa holistic view of e-governance initiativesacross the country, integrating them into acollective vision.
Impacts of e-Governance
e-Governance brings about two major impactsfirstly, making the government offices worksmart. Secondly, e-governance makesservices available to the citizen at hisdoorstep through the internet.
Some of the most successfull citizen orientede-governance projects are the RailwaysReservation System, MCA 21 is the Ministryof Corporate Affairs and Bhoomi Project inAndhra Pradesh, etc.
E-districts
It is a mission mode under e-governance. Itsobjective under National E-Governance Policyis to computerisation of services. Under it,different programmes are conducted infollowing states■ Jandoot Project - Madhya Pradesh■ Compact 2020 - Andhra Pradesh■ Land Programme - Karnataka■ Friends - Kerala■ Disha - Haryana
63Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
PARLIAMENTARY TERMSQuorum It is the minimum number of
members required to transact thebusiness of the House. Article 100 of theConstitution specifies that the Quorum ofeither House shall be 10% of the strengthof the House.
Question Hour The first hour of everysitting of Parliament is called the QuestionHour. Questions usually need a 10 daynotice before being answered by theconcerned minister.
Starred Questions To be answered orallyon the floor of the House. Supplementaryquestions can be asked.
Unstarred Questions To be answered inwriting. No supplementary questions maybe asked.
Zero Hour Does not formally exist in theParliamentary procedure. The hour afterQuestion Hour is popularly known as ZeroHour. Members raise matters which theyfeel urgent.
Adjournment Motion Motion to adjournthe proceedings of the House, so as totake up a matter of urgent publicimportance. It can be moved by anymember. Requires support from at least50 members.
Calling Attention Motion A member maycall the attention of a Minister to an urgentmatter and the Minister may make astatement regarding it.
No Confidence Motion A No ConfidenceMotion indicates lack of confidence of theLok Sabha in the Council of Ministers. Itcan be introduced in the Lok Sabha only.If the Motion is passed, the governmentmust resign.
CONSTITUTIONALAMENDMENTSFirst Amendment Act, 1951 Added Ninth
Schedule.
Seventh Amendment Act, 1956Necessitated on account of reorganisationof States on a linguistic basis.
Fifteenth Amendment Act, 1963 Age ofretirement of the Judges of High Courthas been extended from 60 to 65 years.
Twenty Sixth Amendment Act, 1971Abolished the titles and special privilegesof former rulers of princely states.
Thirty Sixth Amendment Act, 1975 MadeSikkim a State.
Forty Fourth Amendment Act, 1978 TheRight to Property was deleted from PartIII. Article 352 was amended to provide
‘Armed Rebellion’ as one of thecircumstances for declaration ofemergency.
Seventy Third Amendment Act, 1992 Theinstitution of Panchayati Raj receiveconstitutional guarantee, status andlegitimacy. XIth Schedule was added todeal with it. It also inserted Part IX,containing Articles, 243, 243 A to 243 O.
Eighty Ninth Amendment Act, 2003 TheAct adds Article 338 A and provides forthe creation of National Commission forScheduled Tribes.
Ninety First Amendment Act, 2003Amended the Anti-Defection Law andalso made a provision that the number ofministers in the Centre and StateGovernment, cannot be more than 15%of the strength of Lok Sabha and therespective Vidhan Sabha.
Ninety Third Amendment Act, 2005 Toreserve seats for socially andeducationally backward classes, besidesthe Scheduled Castes and the ScheduledTribes, in private unaided institutionsother than those run by minorities.
Ninety Fifth Amendment Act, 2009Extends the reservation of seats forSC/STs in the Lok Sabha for another 10years. In Article 334 of the Constitution,for the words ‘sixty years’, the words‘seventy years’ was substituted.
Ninety Seventh Amendment, 2011Amend- ment of Article 19(1)(i), Insertionof Article 43B, Insertion of Part IXB. Thisamendment gives constitutional status tocooperatives.
Ninety Eighth Amendment Act, 2012(Insert Article 371 J) To empower theGovernor of Karnataka to take steps todevelop Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
Ninety-Ninth Amendment Act, 2014 dealswith replacing the collegium system forthe appointments of the Judges of theSupreme Court and the 24 High Courts.But Supreme Court of India has declaredthis unconstitutional and void.
One Hundredth Amendment Act, 2015 togive effect to the acquring of territories byIndia and transfer of certain territories toBangladesh in pursuance of theagreements and its protocol.
One Hundredth One Amendment Act,2016 with deals Goods and Services Tax
One Hundredth Two Amendment Act2018 provides the Constitutional statusto National Commission for BackwardClasses.
One Hundredth Three Amendment Act2018 provides 10% reservation to theeconomically backward classes of society.
64 Indian PolityGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
OUTLINE OFINDIAN ECONOMYThe economy of India is the 5th largest in theworld by nominal GDP and 3rd largest byPurchasing Power Pariety (PPP).
Nature of the Indian Economy(i) Mixed Economy Existence of both public
and private sectors. This term was coinedby Pat Mullins and Supported by JM Keynes.
(ii) Agrarian Economy Even aftersix-decades of independence 58% of theworkforce of India is still agriculturist andits contribution to GDP is around 17% atcurrent prices.
FeaturesFollowing are the features of Indian economy
(i) Slow growth of national and per capitaincome. (ii) Capital deficiency and low rate ofcapital formation, hence low rate ofinvestment, low production, etc; poor qualityof human capital. (iii) Over- dependence onagriculture alongwith low productivity inagriculture; heavy population pressure. (iv)Unequal distribution of income and wealth.(v) Mass poverty, chronic inflation andchronic unemployment.
Broad Sectors of Indian EconomyPrimary Sector Agriculture, forestry andfishing, mining etc.
Secondary Sector manufacturing, electricity,gas and water supply and construction.
Tertiary Sector (also called service sector)business, transport, telecomm- unication,banking, insurance, real estate, communityand personnel services.
Economic Planning inIndiaPlanning Commission (1950) wasset-up under the Chairmanship ofPandit Jawaharlal Nehru (GulzarilalNanda was the first Deputy Chairman).
Basic aim of Economic Planning is tobring rapid economic growth throughagriculture, industry, power and allother sectors of the economy.
NITI AayogNITI Aayog or National Institution forTransforming India Aayog came intoexistence on 1st January, 2015;policy-making think-tank ofgovernment that replaces PlanningCommission and aims to involve statesin economic policy making. It willprovide strategic and technical advice tothe Central and the State Governments.
The Prime Minister heads the Aayog asits chairperson. Rajiv Kumar is theVice-Chairperson of NITI Aayog of India.
65Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Historical Milestones
Planned Economy for India(1934) M Visvesvaraya
National Planning Committee(1938) Jawaharlal Nehru
Bombay Plan (1944)
Gandhian Plan (1944) SN Agarwal
People’s Plan (1945) MN Roy
Sarvodaya Plan (1950) JP Narayan
INDIANECONOMY
National Income in IndiaNational Income refers to the aggregate value of goods and services produced in aneconomy in one year. Following are the measures of National Income in Indial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the final value of the goods and services produced
within the geographical boundaries of a country during a year.l Net Domestic Product (NDP) equals to the GDP minus depreciation (value loss of an
asset) on country capital goods.l Gross National Product (GNP) is an estimate of the total value of all the final products
and services produced in a given period (usually a year) by the nationals of a country.l The Net National Product (NNP) is obtained by subtracting depreciation value from
GNP.l When NNP is obtained at factor cost it is called National Income. It is calculated by
deducting indirect taxes and adding subsidies in NNP at market price.
Indian Tax StructureDirect Tax The term direct tax generally means a tax paid directly to the government bythe persons on whom it is imposed. e.g. income tax, Corporate income tax, capital gain tax,stamp duty, land tax, estate duty, wealth tax, petroleum revenue tax. The governmentearns maximum from corporate income tax.
Indirect Tax An indirect tax is a tax collected by an intermediary from the person whobears the ultimate economic burden of the tax. e.g. sales tax or VAT, customs duty,insurance premium tax, excise duties, landfill tax, electricity duty, climate change levy.
Goods and Service Tax (GST)
The GST as it is more commonly referred to is a system of taxation where there is a singletax in the economy for goods as well as services. Indian GST was first proposed in Indiain the Union Budget speech in 2006-07. This tax come into effect from 1 July, 2017.
The main feature of the GST is that there is a tax credit available at each stage of the valuechain.
66 Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Plan Growth Rate Important Sector
Target Achieved
First Plan (1951-56)
(Based on Harrod Domar Model)2.1% 3.6% Agriculture, irrigation, electricity
Second Plan (1956-61) (Based onPC Mahalanobis two sector model)
4.5% 4.2% Heavy industries
Third Plan (1961-66) 5.6% 2.8% Foodgrains, heavy industries
Plan Holiday (1966-69)
Fourth Plan (1969-74) 5.7% 3.3% Agriculture
Fifth Plan (1974-78) 4.4% 4.8% Removal of poverty
Rolling Plan (1978-80)
Sixth Plan (1980-85) 5.2% 5.4% Agriculture, industries
Seventh Plan (1985-90) 5.0% 6.0% Energy, foodgrains
Two Annual Plans (1990-92)
Eighth Plan (1992-97) 5.6% 6.6% Human resource education
Ninth Plan (1997-2002) 6.5% 5.4% Social justice
Tenth Plan (2002-07) 8.1% 7.5% Income, energy
Eleventh Plan (2007-2012) 8.0% 7.9% Inclusive growth
Twelfth Plan (2012-2017) 8% — Faster, sustainable and moreinclusive growth
Inclusive DevelopmentHuman Development Index (HDI)l HDI measure was given by Pakistani
Nobel Prize Winner, Mehbub-ul-Haql Level of Human development is
measured by Human DevelopmentIndex (HDI), published by UNDP since,1990.
l Three dimensions
1. Life expectancy at birth;
2. Education Index comprising meansyear of schooling and expected yearof schooling;
3. GNI per capita (PPP US $) Index.l India has been ranked 129 out 189
countries on 2019’s HDI.
Programmes/Measuresl NRHM (National Rural Health Mission)
was launched on 2nd April, 2005 toreduce Infant Mortality Rate andMaternal Mortality Rate.
l NUHM (National Urban Health Mission)launched on 2013. Educationprogrammes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,Mid-Day Meal Scheme etc werelaunched.
l Rural development programmes likeMGNREGA and Bharat Nirman.
POVERTYl The erstwhile Planning Commission
estimated poverty rate based on datacollected by National Sample SurveyOrganisation (NSSO).
l Main Reasons for Rural Poverty Rapidpopulation growth, lack of capital, lack ofalternate employment other than pooragriculture, illiteracy and lack of properimplementation of PDS.
l Main Reasons for Urban PovertyMigration from rural areas, lack of skilledlabour, lack of housing facilities, limitedjob opportunities in cities.
l Based on 2400 calories (rural) and 2100
calories (urban) and monthly per capitaconsumption expenditure of ` 454 (rural)and ` 540 (urban), Planning Commission(Now NITI Aayog) estimated poverty ratio
in India in 2004-05 was 27.5% andaccording to the Suresh TendulkarCommittee was 37.2%.
l The Tendulkar Committee stipulated abenchmark of daily per capitaexpenditure of ` 27 and ` 33 in rural andurban areas, respectively.
Programme/Measure Year ofLaunch
Twenty Point Programme 1975
Indira Awaas Yojana 1985
Jawahar Rozgar Yojana 1989
Nehru Rozgar Yojana 1989
Swarna Jayanti Shahri Rozgar Yojana 1997
Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana 2000
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 2000
Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana 2001
Bharat Nirman 2005
Jawaharlal Nehru National UrbanRenewal Mission
2005
Prime Minister EmploymentGeneration Programme
2008
Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Programme
2009
National Rural Livelihood Mission(NRLM)
2011
Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan 2012
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan 2014
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao 2014
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana 2015
Atal Pension Yojana 2015
Digital India Programme 2015
National Skill Development Mission 2015
HRIDAY (Heritage City Developmentand Augmentation Yojana)
2015
Smart City Mission 2015
AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenationand Urban Transformation)
2015
Pradhanmantri Jeevan Jyoti BeemaYojana
2015
Pradhanmantri Suraksha BeemaYojana
2015
Pradhan Mantri Krishi SinchayeeYojana
2015
Start-up and Stand-up Yojana 2016
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 2016
Ujala Yojana 2016
67Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Programme/Measure Year ofLaunch
SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds)
2016
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana 2016
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana 2017
Pradhan Mantri Matritva VandanaYojana
2017
Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har GharYojana
2017
Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana 2017
Saubhagya Yojana 2017
UDAN Scheme 2017
Ayushman Bharat 2018
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi 2019
Pradhan Mantri Shram YogiMan-dhan Yojna
2019
UNEMPLOYMENTIt refers to a situation, when a person isable and willing to work at the prevailingwage rate, but does not get the opportunityto work.
Estimation of Unemployment
Since 1973 on the recommendation of
B Bhagwati Committee, three estimates
of unemployment have been brought about
by Planning Commission, viz
1. Usual Principal Status Persons whoremained unemployed for a major partof the year.
2. Current Weekly Status Persons whodid not find even an hour of work in aweek preciding the date of survey.
3. Current Daily Status Persons who didnot find work even for 1 hour in a day.
and
Programme/Measure Year
Mid-Day Meal Scheme 1995
Swadhar 1995
Swayam Sidha 2001
SSA 2001
Support to Training and Employ-ment Programme for Women (STEP)
2003-04
Ujjwala 2007
Dhanlaxmi 2008
Integrated Child Protection Scheme 2009-10
Sabla Scheme 2010
Programme/Measure Year
National Mission for Empowermentof Women
2010
Bal Bandu Scheme 2011
Nai Roshni 2012
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao 2015
PM Ujjwala Yojna 2016
PM Matra Vandana Yojna 2017
AGRICULTUREl Agriculture is the mainstay of Indian
economy. It makes importantcontribution in GDP, National Income,employment, trade and industry.
l Green Revolution is associated with theuse of HYVS (High Yielding VarietySeeds), chemical, fertilisers and newtechnology, which led to a revolutionaryresults in agricultural production.
l Dr. MS Swaminathan has been calledthe ‘Father of Green Revolution’ in India.
Revolution Production
Blue Fish Production
Golden Fibre Jute
Pink Onion
Red Meat
White Milk
Yellow Oilseed
Tricolour Revolutions
Tricolour revolution has 3 componentsl Saffron revolution–Solar energyl White revolution–Cattle welfarel Blue revolution–fisherman’s welfare
INDUSTRIES
Industrial Policiesl Industrial policies were launched in
1948, 1956, 1977, 1980 and 1991.l Industrial Policy 1956 is called
Economic Constitution of India andgave public sector the strategic edge.
l Industrial Policy 1991 opened up theeconomy. Its main aims were(a) to end license-permit raj;(b) to integrate Indian economy with
the outer world;(c) to remove restrictions on FDI and(d) to reform public sectors.
68 Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Public Sector Enterprises(PSEs)l Industries requiring compulsory
licensing (a) distillation and brewing ofalcoholic drinks; (b) cigar and cigarettesof tobacco; (c) electronic aerospace anddefence equipment; (d) industrialexplosives; (e) specific hazardouschemicals.
l Areas reserved for public sector are(a) atomic energy—production, separationand enrichment of fissionable materialsand (b) railways.
l Present Policy on PSEs is to (a) not toprivatise profit-making companies and tomodernise and revive sick companies; (b)not to bring government stake in PSEsbelow 51%; (c) to adopt initial publicoffering route to disinvestment.
Maharatnas, Navratnas, andMiniratnasl To impart greater managerial and
commercial autonomy to the PSEs, theconcept of Maharatna, Navratna andMiniratna was started.
l Maharatnas were started in 2009. TenMaharatnas are ONGC, SAIL, IOC,NTPC, Coal India Ltd, BHEL, GAIL(India) Ltd, and BPCL, HPCI and PowerGrid Corporation.
l Navratnas Bharat Electronics Ltd, HAL,MTNL, NALCO, National MineralDevelopment Corporation, Nevyeli LigniteCompany Ltd, Oil India Ltd, PowerFinance Company Ltd, Rashtriya IspatNigam Ltd, Rural ElectrificationCorporation Ltd, Shipping Corporation ofIndia Ltd, CCIL, EIL and NBCCL.
l Miniratnas Public Sector Enterprises(PSEs) that have made profit continuouslyfor the last three years and have positivenet worth.
l At present there are 61 in category I and 12in Category II.
Industrial Committes
Hazari Committee on Industrial Policy.
Subimal Dutt Committee on Industriallicensing.
Abid Hussain Committee on SmallScale Industry.
C Rangarajan Committee ondisinvestment.
Memorandum of Understandings (MoU)Arjun Sengupta.
Small Scale Industryl A new thrust to Small Scale Industry,
given in Industrial Policy of 1977.l MSMED Act, was enacted in 2006.l Contributes 8% to GDP, 45% to all
manufactures and 42% to exports.l According to the 4th census (2009) of
SSIs, 67% of the MSME are in
manufacturing and 33% are in services
sector.
Classification of MSMEs
Category Annual turnover
Micro Not exceeding ` 5 crores
Small Between ` 5 crores to` 75 crores
Medium ` 75 to ` 250 crores
Major Industries in India
Iron and Steell First Steel Industry at Kulti, West
Bengal—Bengal Iron Works Company
was established in 1874.
l First large scale steel plant—TISCO at
Jamshedpur (1907) was followed by
IISCO at Burnpur (1919), West Bengal.
l The first public owned steel plant was
Rourkela integrated steel plant.
Presently, India is the 3rd largest
producer of steel and comes 1st in the
production of sponge iron.
69Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Location (Plants) Assistance
Rourkela (Odisha) Germany
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) Russia
Durgapur (West Bengal) Britain
Bokaro (Jharkhand) Russia
Visakhapatnam(Andhra Pradesh)
Russia
Jute Industryl India ranks no 1 in jute production and no
2 in raw jute exports after Bangladesh.l More than two third jute industry is
concentrated in West Bengal.
Cotton and Textile Industryl Largest organised and broad-based
industry accounting for 4% of GDP, 20%of manufacture value added and one thirdof total exports earning.
Cement Industryl First cement producing unit was set-up at
West Bengal, Porbandar (Gujarat) in1914.
l India is the second largest producer ofcement in the world.
Sugar Industryl India is the second largest producer of
sugar in the world with a 22% share. It isthe second largest agro-based industry inthe country.
AC Shah Committee Non-BankingFinancial Company
Bimal Jalan Committee Market InfrastructureInstruments
Malegam Committee Functioning of MicroFinance Institutions
Birla Committee CorporateGovernance
Kirit Parikh Committee Rationalisation ofPetroleum ProductPrices
Chaturvedi Committee Improving NationalHighways in India
SR Hashim Committee Urban Poverty
Abhijit Sen Wholesale Price Index
Abid Hussain Committee Development ofCapital Markets
Damodaran Committee Customer Service inBanks
Khandelwal Committee Human Resource inCommercial Banks
Patil Committee Corporate Debt
VK Sharma Committee Credit to MarginalFarmers
Sarangi Committee Non-PerformingAssets
Khanna Committee Regional RuralBanks
Dantawala Committee Lead Bank Scheme
Gadgil Committee Financial Inclusion
BANKING ANDFINANCEl Bank of Hindustan was the first bank,
established in India in 1770.
l First bank with limited liabilitymanaged by an Indian Board was theOudh Commercial Bank in 1881.
l First purely Indian bank was Punjab
National Bank (1894).
Nationalisation of Bankl A step towards social banking was
taken with the nationalisation of 14
commercial banks on 19th July, 1969.Six more banks were nationalised on1980, total number of public sectorbanks are 27.
l Later on, in the year 1993, thegovernment merged New Bank of Indiawith Punjab National Bank.
l Bhartiya Mahila Bank, India’s firstbank exclusively for women,headquarters in New Delhi wasInaugurated on 19th November, 2013.It has been merged with SBI in 2017.
l IDBI Bank is an Indian financialservice company, formerly known asIndustries Development Bank of India,head quartered in Mumbai, India.
l In September, 2004, the RBI incorpo-rated IDBI as a scheduled bank underthe RBI Act, 1934.
70 Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l In 2019, Oriental Bank of Commerceand United Bank got merged withPunjab National Bank. Syndicate Bankis merged with Canara Bank whileUnion Bank of India, Andhra Bank andCorporation Bank got merged. SimilarlyIndian Bank got merged with AllahabadBank.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)RBI was established in 1935, under RBIAct, 1934. RBI is the Central Bank ofIndia. The main purpose of creating RBIwas to regulate money supply and credit inthe country. RBI was nationalised in 1949and its first Indian Governor was CDDeshmukh. Its headquarter is in Mumbai.
Functions of the RBIl Monetary policy, regulation and
supervision of the banking andnon-banking financial institutions.
l Debt and cash management for Centreand State Governments.
l Foreign exchange management, currentand capital account management.
l Management of foreign exchangereserves.
l Currency management; oversight of thepayment and settlement systems.
l Development role.l Research and statistics.
The RBI and Credit Control
Quantitative Credit Control
It is used to control the volume of creditand indirectly to control the inflationaryand deflationary pressures. Thequantitative credit control consists ofl Bank Rate It is the rate, at which the
RBI gives finance to CommercialBanks.
l Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) Cash thatbanks deposits with the RBI withoutany floor rate or ceiling rate.
l Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) It isthe ratio of liquid asset, which allCommercial Banks have to keep in theform of cash, gold and governmentapproved securities with itself.
l Repo Rate It is the rate, at which RBIlends short-term money to the banksagainst securities.
l Reverse Repo Rate It is the rate, atwhich banks park short-term excessliquidity with the RBI. This is always 100base point, 1% less than Repo rate.
Qualitative/Selective/DirectCredit ControlQualitative measures are used to make surethat purpose, for which loan is given is notmisused. It is done throughl credit rationingl regulating loan to consumption etc.
New Bank LicenceIn April 2015, Reserve Bank of Indiaprovided licence for operation to two newprivate banks namely Bandhan FinancialServices and Infrastructure DevelopmentFinance Company (IDFC).
MUDRA BankMicro Units Development and RefinanceAgency Bank (MUDRA Bank) was launchedon 8th April, 2015. Bank set up under SIDBI(Small Industries Development Bank ofIndia). Bank has launched 3 loaninstrumentsl Shishu–Cover loans upto ` 50,000l Kishore–Cover loan above ` 50,000 and
upto ` 5 lakh.l Tarun–Cover loans above ` 5 lakh and
upto ` 10 lakh.
Indradhanush Scheme 2015This is for the banking reforms in India. The7 key reforms of Indradhanush Missionincludes. appointments de-stressing,capitalisation, empowerment, framework ofaccountability, governance reforms andbank board bureau.
15th Finance CommissionThe 15th Finance Commission wasconstituted in accordance with the Article280 of the Indian Constitution.
The first finance commission was headed byKC Neogi and the 15th FinanceCommission is headed by NK Singh.
71Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Stock Exchange of Indial Capital market is the market for long-terms
funds while money market is the market forshort-term funds.
l Capital market of India is regulated by SEBI(Securities and Exchange Board of India,1988).
l A Stock Exchange provides services forbrokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds,and other securities.
l The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is astock exchange located on Dalal Street,Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange inAsia. The BSE has the largest number of listedcompanies in the world established in 1875.
l The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is the16th largest stock exchange in the world. Itis situated in Mumbai.
Insurancel Insurance industry includes two sectors,
life Insurance and General Insurance.l LIC was established on 1st September, 1956.l Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI) was set-up on19th April, 2000 to regulate the InsuranceSector IRDA has changed its name toInsurance Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority of India in December 2014.
Foreign TradeBalance of Trade (BoT)The difference between a nation’s imports ofgoods and services and its exports of them isknown as Balance of Trade. There are threepossibilities in the Balance of Trade (BoT)which are as follows
1. Balance BoT i.e. Exports = Imports
2. Adverse BoT i.e. Exports < Imports
3. Favourable BoT i.e. Exports > Imports
Balance of Payment (BoP)
BoP records the transactions in goods,services and assets between residents ofa country with the rest of the world for aspecified time period typically a year.There are two main accounts in the BoP: the current account and the capitalaccount. In addition to that BoPincludes errors and omissions andchange in foreign exchange reserves.
Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)It is an investment in a foreign countrythrough the acquisition of a localcompany or the establishment of anoperation on a new greenfield site.Direct investment implies control andmanagerial and perhaps technical, input.
Sector/Activity % of FDI/Equity
Multi Brand Retail (food) 100%
Telecom Services 100%
Tea Plantation 100%
Asset ReconstructionCompany
100%
Petroleum and Natural Gas 49%
Commodity Exchanges,Insurance
49%
Power Exchanges 49%
Stock Exchanges/ClearingCorporations
49%
Credit InformationCompanies, Pharma
74%
Courier Services 100%
Single Brand ProductRetail Trading
100%
Defence Sector 100%
Airlines 100% and 49%
72 Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
(in Population)
Top States/UTs Bottom States/UTs
Uttar Pradesh 199281477 Lakshadweep 64429
Maharashtra 112372972 Daman and Diu 242911
Bihar 103804637 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 342853
West Bengal 91347736 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 379944
Andhra Pradesh 84665533 Sikkim 607688
(2001-2011)
2001 (%) 2011 (%) Difference
Persons 64.83 74.04 10.21
Males 75.26 82.14 6.9
Females 53.67 65.46 11.8
(according to Literacy)
Top States/Uts (in %) Bottom States/Uts (in %)
Kerala 93.91 Bihar 63.82
Lakshadweep 92.28 Arunachal Pradesh 66.95
Mizoram 91.58 Rajasthan 67.06
Tripura 87.75 Jharkhand 67.63
Goa 87.40 Andhra Pradesh 67.66
2001 2011
Population(in mn)
Proportion(in %)
Population(in mn)
Proportion(in %)
n Males 532.2 51.74 623.7 51.51
n Females 496.5 48.26 586.4 48.46
Adult Sex Ratio 933 943
n Males 85.0 51.89 82.9 52.24
n Females 78.8 48.11 75.8 47.76
Child Sex Ratio 927 914
73Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
CENSUS 2011
Total Population 1210569573
Male 623121843 (51.47%)
Female 587447730 (48.53%)
Density 382 per sq km
Sex Ratio 943
Child Sex Ratio 914
Population Trend in India
1891-1921 Stagnant population
1921-1951 Steady growth
1951-1981 Rapid high growth (stage ofpopulation explosion)
1981-2001 High growth rate with definitesigns of slowing down
74 Indian EconomyGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
ECONOMIC TERMSAssets Property of any kind.
Balance of Trade (BoT) The differencebetween the exports and imports of twocountries in trade with each other is calledBalance of Trade.
Balance Sheet It is a statement ofaccounts, generally of a businessconcern, prepared at the end of a year.
Banker’s Cheque A cheque by one bank toanother.
Bank Rate It is the rate of interest chargedby the Reserve Bank of India for lendingmoney to commercial banks.
Barter To trade by exchanging one commo-dity for another.
Bearer This term on cheques and billsdenotes that any person holding the same,has the same right in respect of it, as theperson who issued it.
Black Money It means unaccounted money,concealed income and undisclosedwealth. The money which thus remains un-accounted for, is called the black money.
Bond A legal agreement to pay a certainsum of money (called principal) at somefuture date and carrying a fixed rate ofinterest.
Budget An estimate of expected revenuesand expenditure for a given period, usuallya year, item by item.
Budget Deficit When the expenditure of thegovernment exceeds the revenue, thebalance between the two is the budgetdeficit.
Bulls Speculators in the stock markets whobuy goods, in some cases without moneyto pay with, anticipating that prices will goup.
Buyer’s Market An area in which the supplyof certain goods exceeds the demands sothat purchasers can drive hard bargains.
Commercial Banks Financial institutionsthat create credit accept deposits, giveloans and perform other financial functions.
Call Money Loan made for a very shortperiod. It carries a low rate of interest.
Deflation It is a state in monetary marketwhen money in circulation has decreased.
Depreciation Reduction in the value of fixedassets due to wear and tear.
Devaluation Official reduction in the foreignvalue of domestic currency. It is done toencourage the country’s exports anddiscourage imports.
Dividend Earning of stock paid toshareholders.
Dumping Sale of a commodity at differentprices in different markets, lower pricebeing charged in a market where demandis relatively elastic.
Exchange Rate The rate at which CentralBanks will exchange one country’scurrency for another.
Excise Duty Tax Imposed on themanufacture, sale and consumption ofvarious commodities, such as taxes ontextiles, cloth, liquor, etc.
Fiscal Policy Government’s expenditure,tax policy and borrowing.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) A measureof the total flow of goods and servicesproduced by the economy over a specifictime period, normally a year.
Repo Rate The rate at which banks borrowfrom RBI. It injects liquidity into the market.
Inflation A sustained and appreciableincrease in the price level over aconsiderable period of time.
Monopoly Singlesellersellingsingleproduct.
Monopolistic Competition Existence oftoo many sellers selling differentiatedproducts.
Bilateral Monopoly Existence of singlebuyer and single seller.
Monopsony Single buyer buying productbeing unique.
Oligopoly Existence of few sellers and fewproducts. Price war is a common feature.
Reverse Repo Rate The rate at which RBIborrows from banks for a short-term. Itwithdraws liquidity into the market.
In Physics, we study about a large number ofphysical quantities, which can be broadlyclassified into two categories : scalars andvectors.Scalar Quantities Physical quantitieswhich have magnitude only. e.g. Mass,speed, volume, work, time, power, energy,etc. are scalar quantities.Vector Quantities Physical quantities,which have magnitude and direction both,e.g., Displacement, velocity, acceleration,force, momentum, torque, etc.For a quantity to be a vector, it is necessarythat it follows the triangle rule of addition oftwo vectors.
NEWTON’SLAWS OF MOTIONFirst Law Every body maintains its initialstate of rest or uniform motion on a straightline unless any external force acts on it. It isalso called Galileo’s law of inertia.
Example While jumping from a slowlymoving train/bus one must run for a shortdistance, in the direction of motion.Second Law The force acting on an objectis directly proportional to the product of themass of the object and the accelerationproduced on it.Third Law To every action, there is anequal and opposite reaction.Example Bogies of the trains are providedwith buffers to avoid severe jerks duringshunting of trains.
Rocket moves up due to reaction ofdownward ejection of gas.
CIRCULAR MOTIONl When an object moves along a circular
path, its motion is called circularmotion.
l The direction of motion at any point incircular motion is given by the tangentto the circle at that point.
l The external force required to actradially inward over the circular motionof the body is called centripetal force.
l In the death well, the walls of well exertan inward force over the motorcycleand as a reaction, the motorcycle exertan outward force on the walls of thewell.
l Centrifugal force is such a pseudoforce that is equal and opposite tocentripetal force.
l Cream separator, centrifugal dryer workon the principle of centrifugal force.
FRICTIONIt is the opposing force that is set-upbetween the surfaces of contact of twobodies when one body slides or rolls ortends to do so on the surface of anotherbody.l Due to friction we are able to move on
the surface of Earth.l On applying brakes in automobiles, it
stops only due to friction.
GENERALSCIENCE
PHYSICS
WORKl Work is said to be done, if force
acting on a body is able to actuallymove it through some distance in thedirection of the force. Its SI unit isjoule.
Work = FS cos θwhere, F = force, S = displacementand θ is the angle between thedirection of force and displacement.
l If θ > °90 , then work will be negative.l If θ < °90 , then work will be positive.l If θ = °90 , then work will be zero.
If a coolie carrying a load on his head ismoving on a horizontal platform, thentheoretically he is not doing any workbecause θ = °90 ,W FS= ° =cos 90 0
ENERGYCapacity of doing work by a body iscalled its energy. Energy is a scalarquantity and its unit is joule.
Mechanical energy is of two types.l Kinetic Energy (K) Energy
possessed by a body due to its motion.
K = 1
2
2mv
where, m is mass and v is thevelocity.
l Potential Energy (U) The capacityof doing work developed in a bodydue to its position or configuration.
U = mghwhere, m is mass, g is accelerationdue to gravity and h is height.
l The sum of all kinds of energies in anisolated system remains constant atall times. This is the law ofconservation of energy.
POWERRate of doing work is called power. Itsunit is watt.
Power = Work doneTime taken
■ 1 watt hour = 3600 joule■ 1 kilowatt hour = ×.3 6 10 6 joule■ 1 HP = 746 watt
GRAVITATIONl Everybody in the universe attracts other
body by a force called force of gravitation.l The gravitational force of the earth is called
gravity.l The acceleration produced in a body due to
force of gravity is called acceleration due togravity (g) and its value is 9.8 m s/ 2 .
l Acceleration due to gravity is independent ofshape, size and mass of the body.
l Escape velocity is the minimum velocitywith which an object just crosses the Earth’sgravitational field and never returns. Escapevelocity at the Earth’s surface is 11.2 km/s.
l Escape velocity at the Moon’s surface is2.4 km/s. Due to low escape velocity there isno atmosphere on the Moon.
l Value of g decreases with height or depthfrom Earth’s surface.
l g is maximum at poles.l g is minimum at equator.l g decreases due to rotation of Earth.l g decreases if angular speed of Earth
increases and increases if angular speed ofEarth decreases.
l The acceleration due to gravity at the Moonis one-sixth that of the Earth. So, the weightof a person on the surface of the Moon willbe one-sixth of his actual weight on theEarth.
SATELLITESl Satellites are natural or artificial bodies
revolving around a planet under itsgravitational force of attraction.
l Moon is a natural satellite, while INSAT-B isan artificial satellite of Earth.
l The period of revolution of satellite revolvingnear the surface of Earth is 1 hour24 minutes (84 minutes).
l Geo-stationary satellite revolves around theEarth at a height of 36000 km (approx). Theorbit of geo-stationary satellite is calledparking orbit. Geo-stationary satellite revolvesin equatorial plane from West to East. Timeperiod of rotation of geo-stationary satellite is24 h.
l The Earth rotates on its axis from West toEast. This rotation makes the Sun and thestars appears to be moving across the skyfrom East to West.
76 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Geo-stationary satellite is used to telecast TVprogrammes from one part of the world toanother, in weather forecasting, inpredictions of floods and droughts.
l Polar satellite revolves around the Earth inpolar orbit at a height of 800 km (approx).Time period of these satellites is 84 min.
l These are used for weather forecasting,mapping, etc.
GENERAL PROPERTIESOF MATTER
ElasticityElasticity is the property of material of a body byvirtue of which the body acquires its originalshape and size after the removal of deforming
force.l A force, which changes the configuration of a
body, is called a deforming force.
l Steel is more elastic than rubber.
PressurePressure is defined as force acting normally ona unit area of the surface.
Pressure = ForceArea
Its unit is N/m 2. It is a scalar quantity.l Atmospheric pressure is measured by an
instrument called the barometer.l Sudden fall in barometric reading is the
indication of storm.l Slow fall in barometric reading is the indication
of rain.l Slow rise in the barometric reading is the
indication of clear weather.l The pressure exerted by liquid column at the
surface given as p hdg= , where d is thedensity of liquid and h is height of liquidcolumn. In a static liquid at same horizontallevel, pressure is same at all points.
Pascal’s Law of Pressurel If gravitational attraction is
negligible in equilibrium condition,(approx) pressure is same at allpoints in a liquid.
l The pressure exerted anywhere at apoint of confined liquid istransmitted equally andundiminished in all directionsthroughout the liquid.
l Hydraulic lift, hydraulic press andhydraulic brakes are based on thePascal’s law of pressure.
Archimedes’ PrincipleWhen a body is immersed partly orwholly in a liquid, there is an apparentloss in the weight of the body, which isequal to the weight of liquid displacedby the body.l The weight of water displaced by an
iron ball is less than its own weightwhereas water displaced by theimmersed portion of a ship is equalto its weight. So, small ball of ironball sink in water, but large ship float.
l A fat person will quickly learn theswimming as compared to a slimperson because he will displace morewater. So, he will be more balanced.
l Hydrogen filled balloon float in airbecause hydrogen is lighter than air.
l A person can lift more weight inwater.
Laws of FloatationA body floats in a liquid ifl The density of material of the body is
less than or equal to the density ofliquid.
l When the density of material of thebody is equal to density of liquid, thebody floats fully submerged in liquidin neutral equilibrium.
l When body floats in neutralequilibrium, the weight of the body isequal to the weight of displacedliquid. The centre of gravity of thebody and centre of gravity of thedisplaced liquid should be in onevertical line for this condition.
77General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude.
That is why■ It is difficult to cook on the mountain.■ The fountain pen of a passenger leaks in
aeroplane.■ Bleeding occurs from the nose.■ It is difficult to breath on higher altitude due to
less amount partial pressure of oxygen in air.■ Water starts to boil below 100°C.
Densityl Density is defined as mass per unit
volume.l Relative density is measured by hydro-
meter.l The density of sea water is more than that
of normal water.l When a ship enters in a sea from a river, it
raises a bit because the density of salinewater (salt water) is higher.
l The density of iron is more than that ofwater, but less than that of mercury. So, asolid chunk of iron sink in water but floatin mercury.
l If ice floating in water in a vessel melts, thelevel of water in the vessel does notchange.
Surface Tensionl It is the force (F) acting normally on unit
length (l) of imaginary line drawn on
the surface of liquid i.e., TF
l= , its unit
is N/m.l The property of a liquid by virtue of which
it tries to minimise its free surface area iscalled the surface tension.
l Surface tension decreases with rise intemperature and becomes zero at thecritical temperature.
l The surface tension of clean water ishigher than that of a soap solution.
l Formation of lead shots, spraying result incoldness, floatation of needle on water,dancing of camphor on water, are based onsurface tension.
l Rain drop form spherical shape due tosurface tension.
l When kerosene oil is sprinkled on water,its surface tension decreases, due to whichthe excess of mosquitoes floating on thesurface of water die due to sinking.
Cohesive and Adhesive ForcesForce of attraction applied between molecules ofsame substance is called cohesive forcewhile attractive force between molecules ofdifferent substances is called adhesiveforce.
CapillarityThe phenomenon of rise or depression ofliquids in a capillary tube is calledcapillarity.
■ A piece of blotting paper soaks ink becausethe pores of the blotting paper serve ascapillary tubes.
■ The oil in the wick of a lamp rises due tocapillary action of threads in the wick.
■ The root hairs of plants draws water fromthe soil through capillary action.
ViscosityViscosity is the property of a fluid byvirtue of which an internal frictionalforce acts between its layers, when it is inmotion.
Bernoulli’s TheoremWhen an incompressible andnon-viscous liquid (or gas) flows instreamlined motion from one place toanother, then at every point of its paththe total energy per unit volume(pressure energy + kinetic energy +potential energy) is constant.Venturimeter, Atomizer, filter pump,motion of aeroplane are based upon theBernoulli’s theorem.
HEAT ANDTHERMODYNAMICS
Heatl Heat is a form of energy, which
measures the sensation or perception ofwarmness or coldness of a body orenvironment.
l Its units are calorie, kilocalorie or joule.l 1 calorie = 4.18 joule.
Temperaturel Temperature is the measurement of
hotness or coldness of a body.l When two bodies are placed in contact,
heat always flow from a body at highertemperature to the body at lowertemperature.
78 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
■ An instrument used to measure thetemperature of a body is called athermometer.
■ The normal temperature of ahuman body is 37°C or 98.4°F.
■ − °40 is the temperature at whichCelsius and Fahrenheit thermometersread same.
■ The clinical thermometer readsfrom 96°F to 110°F.
■ White roof keeps the house cooler insummer than black roof because whiteroof reflects more and absorbs less heatrays whereas black roof absorbs moreand reflects less heat rays.
■ Ice wrapped in a blanket does not meltaway quicky because woollen blanket isa bad conductor of heat.
■ Sliver is the best conductor of heat.■ Cooking utensils are made of aluminum,
brass and steel because thesesubstances have low specific heat andhigh conductivity.
Thermal Expansionl Thermal expansion is the increase in
size on heating.l A solid can undergo three types of
expansions
(i) Linear expansion(ii) Superficial expansion
(iii) Cubical expansionl Telephone wires are kept loose to
allow the wires for contraction inwinter.
l A gap is provided between two irontracks of the railway track, so thatrails can easily expand duringsummer and do not bend.
Specific Heatl The amount of heat required to raise
the temperature of unit mass of asubstance through 1°C, is called itsspecific heat.
l When temperature of water isincreased from 0°C, then its volumedecreases upto 4°C, becomesminimum at 4°C and then increases.
l This behaviour of water around 4°Cis called anomalous expansion ofwater.
Latent Heatl The heat energy absorbed or released at
constant temperature per unit mass forchange of state is called the latent heat.
l Latent heat of fusion of ice is 80 cal/g.l Latent heat of vaporisation of steam is
536 cal/g.l Hot water burns are less severe than that of
steam burns because steam has high latentheat.
Evaporationl It is the slow process of conversion of liquid
into its vapour even below its boilingtemperature.
l The amount of water vapour in air is calledhumidity.
l Relative humidity is measured byhygrometer.
l Relative humidity increases with theincrease of temperature.
Transmission of Heatl Transfer of heat from one place to other
place is called transmission of heat.l In solids, transmission of heat takes place by
conduction process.l In liquids and gases, transmission of heat
takes place by convection process. In room,ventilators are provided to escape the hot airby convection.
l Heat from the Sun reaches the Earth byradiation.
Simple Penduluml Simple pendulum is a heavy point mass
suspended from a rigid support by means ofan elastic and inextensible string.
l The maximum time period of a simplependulum is 84.6 min.
l The time period of a simple pendulum doesnot depend upon the mass, shape and size ofthe bob and its amplitude of oscillation. Apendulum clock goes slow in summer andfast in winter.
l If a simple pendulum is suspended in a liftdescending down with acceleration, thentime period of pendulum will increase. If liftis ascending, then time period of pendulumwill decrease.
l If a lift falling freely under gravity, then thetime period of the pendulum is infinite.
79General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
WAVESA wave is a disturbance, which propagatesenergy from one place to the other withoutthe transportation of matter.Waves are broadly of two types
(i) Mechanical wave (longitudinal waveand transverse wave)
(ii) Electromagnetic wave
Longitudinal WavesIn this wave, the particles of the mediumvibrate in the direction of propagation ofwave.Waves on springs or sound waves in air areexamples of longitudinal waves.
Transverse WavesIn this wave, the particles of the mediumvibrate perpendicular to the direction ofpropagation of wave.Waves on strings under tension, waves onthe surface of water are the examples oftransverse waves.
Electromagnetic Wavesl The waves, which do not require medium
for their propagation i.e., which canpropagate even through the vacuum arecalled electromagnetic waves.
l Light radio waves, X-rays, etc. are theexamples of electromagnetic waves.These wave propagate with the velocity oflight in vacuum.
Sound WavesSound waves are longitudinal mechanicalwaves. Based on their frequency rangesound waves are divided into followingcategories.l The sound waves which lie in the
frequency range 20 Hz to 20000 Hz arecalled audible waves.
l The sound waves having frequencies lessthan 20 Hz are called infrasonic waves.
l The sound waves having frequenciesgreater than 20000 Hz are called ultrasonicwaves.
l Ultrasonic waves are used for sendingsignals, measuring the depth of sea,cleaning machinery parts located in hardto reach places, such as spiral tubes, etc.
Speed of Sound■ Speed of sound is maximum in solids and
minimum in gases.■ When sound goes from one medium to
another medium, its speed and wavelengthchanges, but frequency remains unchanged.
■ The speed of sound remains unchanged bythe increase or decrease of pressure.
■ The speed of sound increases with theincrease of temperature of the medium.
■ The speed of sound is more in humid air thanin dry air because the density of humid air isless than the density.
Echo The repetition of sound due toreflection of sound waves, is called echo.Intensity It is defined as the amount ofenergy passing per unit time through aunit area that is perpendicular to thedirection in which sound waves aretravelling.Pitch The sensation of a frequency iscommonly referred to as the pitch of asound.SONAR It stands for sound navigationand ranging. It is used to measure thedepth of a sea, to locate the enemysubmarines and shipwrecks.
Doppler’s Effect■ If there is a relative motion between source
of sound and observer, the apparentfrequency of sound heard by the observer isdifferent from the actual frequency ofsound emitted by the source. Thisphenomenon is called Doppler’s effect.
■ When the distance between the source andobserver decreases, then apparentfrequency increases and vice-versa.
LIGHTl Light is a form of energy, which
is propagated as electromagnetic wave.l It is the radiation which makes our eyes
able to see the object. Its speed is3 108× m/s. It is the form of energy. It isa transverse wave. It takes 8 min 19 s toreach on the Earth from the Sun andthe light reflected from Moon takes1.28 s to reach Earth.
80 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Reflection of LightWhen a ray of light falls on a boundaryseparating two media comes back into thesame medium, then this phenomenon iscalled reflection of light.
Laws of Reflectionl The incident ray, reflected ray and the
normal to the reflecting surface at theincident point all lie in the same plane.
l The angle of reflection is equal to theangle of incidence.
Reflection from Plane Mirrorl The image is virtual and laterally
inverted.l The size of image is equal to that of
object.l If an object moves towards a plane
mirror with speed v, relative to the objectthe image moves towards it with a speed2v.
l To see his full image in a plane mirror, aperson requires a mirror of atleast half ofhis height.
l The number of images formed bytwo plane mirrors, inclined by an angle θ,
n = ° −
360 1θ
.
Spherical Mirrorl Spherical mirrors are of two types
(i) Concave mirror (ii) Convex mirrorl Image formed by a convex mirror is
always virtual, erect and diminished.l Image formed by a concave mirror is
generally real and inverted.
Uses of Concave Mirror(i) As a shaving glass. (ii) As a reflector for theheadlights of a vehicle, search light. (iii) Inophthalmoscope to examine eye, ear, nose bydoctors. (iv) In solar cookers.
Uses of Convex Mirror(i) As a rear view mirror in vehicle because itprovides the maximum rear field of view andimage formed is always erect. (ii) In sodiumreflector lamp.
Refraction of LightThe bending of the ray of light passing fromone medium to other medium is calledrefraction. When a ray of light enters fromone medium to other medium, itsfrequency and phase do not change, butwavelength and velocity change. Due torefraction from Earth’s atmosphere, thestars appear to twinkle.
Refractive index (µ)
= Speed of light in vacuumSpeed of light in the medium
Critical AngleThe angle of incidence in a denser mediumfor which the angle of refraciton in rarermedium becomes 90°, is called the criticalangle.
Total Internal Reflection (TIR)If light is travelling from denser medium torarer medium and the angle of incidence ismore than the critical angle, then the lightis reflected back into the denser medium.This phenomenon is called total internalreflection.
Sparkling of diamond, mirage and looming,shinning of air bubble in water and optical fibreare examples of total internal reflection.
Optical FibreIt works on the principle of TIR. It is usedfor telecommunication and variousmedical purposes like endoscopy.
Lensl Lens is generally of two types
(i) Convex lens (ii) Concave lensl When lens is dipped in a liquid of higher
refractive index, the focal lengthincreases and convex lens behave asconcave lens and vice-versa.
l An air bubble trapped in water or glassappears as convex, but behaves asconcave lens.
Dispersion of Lightl When a ray of white light is passed
through a prism, it gets splitted into itsconstituent colours. This phenomenonis called dispersion of light.
81General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l The different colours appeared in thespectrum are in the following order,violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orangeand red (VIBGYOR).
l Rainbow is formed due to dispersion ofsunlight by water droplets.
l Wavelength of red colour is maximumand for violet colour is minimum.
l Red, green and blue are primary colours.Green and magenta, blue and yellow, redand cyan are complementary colours.
Scattering of Lightl When light passes through a medium in
which particles are suspended whosesizes are of the order of wavelength oflight, then light striking on these particlesdeviated in different directions. Scatteringof light is maximum in case of violetcolour and minimum in case of redcolour.
l Blue colour of sky is due to scattering ofblue and violet light. The brilliant redcolour of rising and setting sun is also dueto scattering of light.
HUMAN EYEl It is an optical instrument like camera. It
forms the real image of the object onretina of the eye. Least distance of distinctvision is 25 cm.
Myopia (Shortsightedness)
A short-sighted eye can seeonly nearer objects. Distantobjects are not seen clearly.This defect can be removedby using concave lens ofsuitable focal length.
Hypermetropia(Longsightedness)
A long sighted eye can seedistant objects clearly butnearer object are not clearlyvisible. This defect can beremoved by using a convexlens.
Presbyopia In this defect both near andfar objects are not clearlyvisible. It can be removed byusing bi-focal lens.
Astigmatism In this defect eye cannot seehorizontal and vertical linesclearly. This defect can beremoved by using suitablecylindrical lenses.
Microscopel Simple microscope is a convex lens of
small focal length.l Compound microscope is a
combination of two convex lenses,called objective lens and eyepiece,separated by a distance.
l Astronomical Telescope is also acombination of two lenses in whichobjective lens is a convex lens of largeaperture and large focal length whileeye-piece is a convex lens of smallaperture and small focal length.
ELECTRICITY ANDMAGNETISM
ChargeCharge is the basic property associated withmatter due to which it produces andexperiences electric and magnetic effects.Similar charges repel each other andopposite charges attract each other. The SIunit of charge is coulomb.
Conductor Conductors are those materials,which allow electricity to passthrough themselves. Metals likesilver, iron, copper and earth acts
like a conductor. Silver is the bestconductor.
Insulator Insulator are those materials whichdo not allow electricity to flowthrough themselves. Wood, paper,mica, glass, ebonite are insulators.
Electric Currentl Electric current is defined as the rate of
flow of charge or charge flowing per unittime. Its unit is ampere. It is a scalarquantity.
l A lightning conductor is fixed on tallbuildings to protect them from thedestructive effects of the lightning.
l An electric bulb produces a bang when itis broken because there is a vacuuminside the electric bulb, when the bulb isbroken air rushes at great speed from allsides to fill the vacuum. The rushing ofair produces a noise generally referredto as the bang.
82 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Ohm’s LawAt the constant physical conditions of anyconductor, the current flowing through theconductor is directly proportional to thepotential difference across it.
I =V
R, where R is the resistance.
l If a wire is stretched, its resistance willchange but its specific resistance willremain unaffected.
l On increasing the temperature of themetal, its resistance increases.
l On increasing the temperature ofsemiconductor, its resistance decreases.
l On increasing the temperature ofelectrolytes, its resistance decreases.
l The reciprocal of resistivity of aconductor is called its conductivity. Itsunit is mho m
−1.l The heating effect of electric current is
known as Joule’s law of heating.l Electric bulb, electric kettle, heater, etc
devices work on the bases of heatingeffect of electric current.
Ammeter It is a device which is used tomeasure electrical current. It is connected inseries. The resistance of an ideal ammeter iszero.
Voltmeter It is a device used to measure thepotential difference between two points in acircuit. It is connected in parallel to the circuit.The resistance of an ideal voltmeter is infinite.
Fuse Wire It is a small conducting wire ofalloy of copper, tin and lead having low meltingpoint. So, it is protective device used in series.
MAGNETSl Magnet is a piece of iron or other
materials that can attract iron containingobject and points toward North whensuspended.
l When a magnet is freely suspended, itsone pole always direct towards the North.This pole is called North pole. The otherpole is called South pole.
l Like poles of a magnet repel each otherand unlike poles attract each other.
l A current carrying coil containing a softiron core, is called an electromagnet,which is utilised in electric bell, telegraphreceiver, telephone diaphragm,transformer, dynamo, etc.
ATOMIC ANDNUCLEAR PHYSICS
Cathode RaysCathode ray was discovered by Sir WilliamCrooke and its properties arel These rays travel in straight lines.l These rays produce fluorescence.l These rays can penetrate through thin
foils of metal and deflected by bothelectric and magnetic fields.
l These rays have velocity ranging 1/30thto 1/10th of the velocity of light.
Positive or Canal Raysl These rays were discovered by
Goldstein.l The positive rays consists of positively
charged particles.l These rays travel in straight line.l These rays are deflected by electric and
magnetic fields.l These rays are capable of producing
physical and chemical changes.l These rays can produce ionisation in
gases.
X-Raysl X-rays are electromagnetic waves with
wavelength range 0.1 Å−100 Å. X-rayswere discovered by Roentgen.
l X-rays travel in straight line. These raysshow reflection, refraction, interference,diffraction and polarisation and do notdeflected by electric and magnetic fields.
l Long exposers of X-rays is injurious tothe human body.
l X-rays shows photoelectric effect.
Uses of X-Raysl In Medical Sciences X-rays are used in
surgery for the detection of fractures,diseased organs, foreign matter like bullet,stones, etc. They are used in treatment ofcancer and in skin diseases.
l In Engineering X-rays are used indetecting faults, cracks, flaws and gaspockets in the finished metal productsand in heavy metal sheets.
l In Scientific Work X-rays are used instudying crystal structure and complexmolecules.
l In Custom Department X-rays are usedin custom department for detection ofbanned materials kept hidden.
83General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Radioactivityl Radioactivity was discovered by Henry
Becquerel, Madame Curie and Pierre
Curie for which they jointly won NobelPrize.
l The nucleus having protons 83 ormore are unstable. They emit α β, andγ particles and become stable. Theelements of such nucleus are calledradioactive elements and thephenomenon of emission of α β, and γparticles is called radioactivity.
l Robert Pierre and his wife Madame
Curie discovered a new radioactiveelement radium.
l The end product of all naturalradioactive elements after emission ofradioactive rays is lead.
l With the emission of an α-particle,atomic number is decreased by 2 andmass number is decreased by 4.
l With the emission of a β-particle,atomic number is increased by 1 andmass number does not change.
Nuclear Fissionl The nuclear reaction, in which a
heavy nucleus splits into two nuclei ofnearly equal mass is nuclear fission.
92235
01
56 36U + → +n Ba Kr141 92+ 30n1
+ energyl Atom Bomb is based on nuclear
fission. U235 and Pu239 are used asfissionable material.
l Nuclear fission was firstdemonstrated by Hatin and Fritz
Strassmann.
Nuclear Fusionl When two or more light nuclei
combined together to form a heaviernucleus is called as nuclear fusion.
l For the nuclear fusion, a temperatureof the order of 108 K is required.
l Hydrogen Bomb was made by theAmerican Scientist in 1952. This isbased on nuclear fusion. It is1000 times more powerful than atombomb.
Nuclear Reactor or Atomic Pilel Nuclear reactor is an arrangement, in
which controlled nuclear fission reactiontakes place.
l First nuclear reactor was established inChicago University under the supervisionof Prof Enrico Fermi.
l Heavy water, graphite and beryllium oxideare used to slow down the fast movingneutrons. They are called moderator.
l The cold water, liquid oxygen, etc. are usedas coolant to remove heat generated.
l Cadmium or boron rods are good absorberof neutrons and called the control rods.
Uses of Nuclear Reactor(i) To produce electrical energy from the
energy released during fission.(ii) To produce different isotopes, which
can be used in medical, physical andagriculture science.
There are several components of nuclear reactorwhich are as follows
■ Fissionable FuelU 235 orU 239 is used.■ Moderator Moderator decreases the energy
of neutrons, so that they can be further used forfission reaction. Heavy water and graphite
are used as moderator.■ Control Rod Rods of cadmium or boron are
used to absorb the excess neutrons produced infission of uranium nucleus, so that the chainreaction continues to be controlled.
■ Coolant A large amount of heat is producedduring fission. Coolant absorbs that heat andprevents excessive rise in the temperature. Thecoolant may be water, heavy water or a gas likeHe or CO
2.
LASER (Light Amplification byStimulated Emission of Radiation)It is a device that produces an intense,coherent and highly directional beam of thesingle frequency. It can be transmitted over agreat distance without being spread.
LASER Technology in India
In 1964, the first laser as Gallium Arsenide(GaA) semi-conductor laser was designed andfabricated by Bhabha Atomic ResearchCentre (BARC).
84 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Various Institutions as CAT (Centre for Advanced Technology), DRDO (DefenceResearch and Development Organisation) and Indian Institute of Science work on thelaser plasma, quantum optics, etc., are going to work with American collaboration.MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)It was invented by three American scientist Gordon, Gieyer and H Townes in 1952.It uses microwaves in amplified form of longer wavelength of the light, while ordinarylaser uses light.
85General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Quantity Unit (SI) Quantity Unit (SI)
Length Metre Viscosity Poise
Time Second Surface tension Newton/metre
Mass Kilogram Heat Joule
Area Square metre Temperature Kelvin
Volume Cubic metre Absolute temperature Kelvin
Velocity Metre/second Resistance Ohm
Acceleration Metre/second 2 Electric current Ampere
Density Kilogram/metre 3 Electromotive force Volt
Momentum Kilogram-metre/second Electrical conductivity mho/metre
Work Joule Electric energy Kilowatt-hour
Energy Joule Electric power Kilowatt or watt
Force Newton Magnetic intensity Oersted
Pressure Pascal or Newton/metre 2 Charge Coulomb
Frequency Hertz Magnetic induction Gauss
Power Watt Luminous flux Candela
Weight Newton or Kilogram Intensity of sound Decibel
Impulse Newton-second Power of lens Dioptre
Angular velocity Radian /second Depth of sea Fathom
Chemistry, a branch of physical science, isthe study of the composition, propertiesand behaviour of matter.
Physical and ChemicalChangesl Physical changes are the changes which
only affect the physical properties likecolour, hardness, density, melting pointetc, of matter, but do not affect thecomposition and chemical properties ofmatter.
l A physical change is temporary, while achemical change is permanent.
l Crystallisation, sublimation, boiling,melting, vaporisation, cutting of trees,dissolving sugar or salt in water etc arephysical changes.
l Chemical changes affect the compositionas well as chemical properties of matterand result in the formation of a newsubstance.
l Burning of fuel, burning of candle andpaper, electrolysis of water, photo-synthesis, ripening of fruits etc, areexamples of chemical changes.
MATTERl Anything which occupies space and has
mass is called matter. In general, it existsin three states i.e., solid, liquid and gas.
l Now-a-days there is a discussion on twomore states of matter i.e., Plasma(Ionised gases containing superenergetic and super excited particles)and Bose-Einstein Condensates or BEC(a gas at super low temperature withextremely low density).
Boiling Pointl The temperature at which liquid
converts into vapour is called its boilingpoint.
l Boiling point of water is 100°C.l The boiling point increases in the
presence of impurities that’s why boilingpoint of sea water is more than theboiling point of pure water (as the formercontains impurity).
l It usually decreases at high altitudes.That’s why at high altitudes, the boilingpoint of water is less than 100°C andmore time is required to cook a food.
Melting Pointl It is a temperature at which a substance
converts from its solid state to liquidstate. Melting point of ice is 0°C. Itdecrease in the presence of impurity.
ATOM, MOLECULEAND ELEMENTl An atom is the smallest particle of the
element that can exist independentlyand retain all its chemical properties.
l Atom is made up of electrons, protonsand neutrons.
l Protons and neutrons reside in thenucleus (at the centre of atom) whereaselectrons revolve around the nucleus.
l A molecule is the smallest part of anelement or a compound cabable ofindependent existence under ordinaryconditions.
l Element contains only one type ofatoms. e.g. carbon (C), sulphur (S),diamond, graphite etc.
l Ununseptium (a superheavy chemicalelement with atomic number 117) is amember of group-17 in the periodictable below the five halogens (fluorine,chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine).Its synthesis was claimed in Dubna,Russia by a joint Russian-Americancollaboration.
l In 2014, the GSI Helmholtz Centre forHeavy Ion Research in Germany alsoclaimed to have successfully repeatedoriginal experiment.
Isotopes and Isobarsl Isotopes have the same number of
protons (i.e. atomic number), butdifferent number of neutrons and massnumber (atomic number + number ofneutrons), e.g. 1
11
21
3H , H , H .l Isobars have the same mass number but
different atomic number. e.g.18
4019
40Ar , K and 2040Ca .
General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
CHEMISTRY
Dating Techniquesl Radiocarbon dating is used to determine the age of carbon bearing materials like
wood, animal fossils etc.l Uranium dating is used to determine the age of Earth, minerals and rocks.
Colloidsl These are heterogeneous solutions, containing two phases : dispersed phase and
dispersion medium.l These show Tyndall effect (i.e. scattering of light by colloidal particles) and Brownian
motion (zig-zag motion).l Colloids can be dispersion medium loving (i.e. lyophilic) or dispersion medium
repelling (i.e. lyophobic).
BatteryBattery is a device, used to convert chemical energy into electrical energy and is of twotypes :l Primary batteries (non-rechargeable) act as galvanic cell, e.g. dry cell, mercury cell etc.l Secondary batteries (rechargeable) act as galvanic as well as voltaic cell e.g. lead
storage battery, nickel cadmium battery etc.In electrolytic refining, anode is made by impure metal and a strip of pure metal acts ascathode.
Corrosionl The oxidative deterioration of a metal surface by the action of environment is called
corrosion, it is an electrochemical process.l When iron is exposed into air, iron surface turns red due to the formation of hydrated
ferric oxide (Fe O xH O)2 3 2⋅ which is also called rust, silver surface turns black due tothe formation of silver sulphide (Ag S)2 and copper or bronze surfaces turn green due tothe formation of basic copper carbonate, Cu(OH) .CuCO .2 3
l Corrosion of iron is called rusting and is accelerated by the presence of impurities, H+,electrolyte such as NaCl and gases like CO , SO , NO2 2 2 etc.
l Corrosion is prevented by electroplating, oiling, greasing, painting, varnishing and bygalvanisation (i.e. deposition of zinc layer over iron articles).
87General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Battery Anode Cathode Electrolyte Used in
Leclanchecell
Zinc Graphite Paste of ammonium chlorideand zinc chloride
Transistors,clocks
Mercury cell Zinc-mercuryamalgam
Paste of HgO (Mercuricoxide) and carbon
Paste of KOHand ZnO
Hearing aidsand camera
Lead storagebattery
Lead Lead packed in leaddioxide
38% solution of sulphuricacid
Automobiles,invertors
Dispersed Phase Dispersion Medium Type of Colloid Example
Liquid Gas Aerosol Fog, clouds, mist
Solid Gas Aerosol (solid) Smoke, automobile exhaust
Gas Liquid Foam Shaving cream
Liquid Liquid Emulsion Milk, face cream
Solid Liquid Sol Mud, milk of magnesia
Gas Solid Foam Foam, rubber, sponge, pumice
Liquid Solid Gel Jelly, cheese, butter
Solid Solid Solid sol Milky glass, coloured gem stone
l A sliced apple, when exposed to air,turns brown after sometime. This isbecause apple contains iron, whichgets oxidised and gives a brownishcolour to apple.
Renewable and Non-renewableNatural Resourcesl Renewable resources are available in
large excess, i.e. never ends, e.g. air,sunlight etc.
l Non-renewable resources are availablein limited quantity and end, if usedexcessively, after a limited period oftime. e.g. mineral, coal, petroleum,natural gas etc.
CoalCoal is obtained by carbonisation ofvegetable matter and is available indifferent varities : Peat (60% C), lignite orbrown coal (70% C), bituminous coal(60% to 80% C), anthracite coal (90% C).Out of these, bituminous is the mostcommon form.
FlameFlame contains three parts
1. Innermost part which is black dueto the presence of unburnt carbonparticles and has lowesttemperature.
2. Middle part is yellow due toincomplete combustion of fuel.
3. Outermost part is blue due tocomplete combustion of fuel,which is the hottest part and usedby goldsmith to heat the gold.
Fire Extinguishersl Water extinguishes fire because as it
evaporates the vapours surround theburning substance, cutting off the oxygensupply, thus inhibiting burning process.
l In case of electrical or oil (petrol) fires,water cannot be used as extinguisher. Thisis because water is a conductorof electricity and heavier than oil. Thus,oil floats over it and continues to burn.Carbon dioxide, which is generated by thereaction of baking soda with acid, is used toextinguish electrical or oil fires.
l Quality of petrol is measured in terms ofoctane number and that of diesel in termsof cetane number. TEL (Tetra Ethyl Lead)is an antiknock compound. Higher theoctane number better is the quality of fuel.
Fuelsl The substance, which produce heat and
light on combustion are called fuels.l A strong foul smelling substance, called
ethyl mercaptan, C H SH2 5 , is added to LPGto detect its leakage as LPG is an odourlessgas.
l The amount of heat obtained, when 1g of afuel is burned in excess of oxygen is calledcalorific value.
l Vehicle carrying inflammable substanceshave metallic ropes, touching the groundduring motion in order to provide earthingfor lightning.
l Fuels used in rocket are called rocketpropellants. A mixture of liquid hydrogenand liquid oxygen, is most common rocketpropellant.
88 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Fuel Composition Sources
Water Gas Carbon monoxide (CO) + Hydrogen (H )2 By passing steam overred hot coke
Producer Gas Nitrogen (N )2 + Carbon monoxide (CO)(2 : 1 ratio)
By passing insufficientair over red hot coke
Coal Gas Hydrogen + Methane + Ethylene(C H ) +2 4 Acetylene (C H ) + CO2 4 + Nitrogen
By fractional distillationof wood
Natural Gas Methane (83%) + Ethane (16%) From petroleum
Liquified PetroleumGas (LPG)
Butane (C H )2 2 + Propane (C H )3 8 From oil wells
Compressed NaturalGas (CNG)
Methane (CH ) 95%4 From petroleum
Biogas or Gobar Gas Methane (CH ) +4 Carbon dioxide (CO ) +2
Hydrogen (H ) +2 Nitrogen (N )2
From organic wastes
Fuel Calorific Value (kJ/g)
Coal 25-32
Kerosene oil 48
Petrol 50
Diesel 45
Biogas 35-40
LPG 50
Cow dung 6-8
Hydrogen 150
Natural gas 35-50
Safety MatchesIn safety matches, the stick consists of amixture of antimony trisulphide andpotassium chlorate at its one end. The box sidecontains a mixture of powdered glass and redphosphorus.
ACIDS, BASES ANDSALTSAcidsl These are the substance, which have a sour
taste and turn blue litmus red.l These are good conductor of electricity in
aqueous solution.l Pickels are always kept in glass jar because
acid present in them reacts with metal toproduce hydrogen gas.
Basesl These are the substances, which have bitter
taste, soapy to touch and turn red litmusblue.
l Bases like NaOH, KOH, etc. are goodconductors of electricity in their aqueoussolution and in molten state.
l Base react with acid to form salt and water.Saltsl These are the product of neutralisation
reaction between an acid and a base.l pH is the measure of acidity/basicity.
Some Important Compounds inEveryday Life
Carbon DioxideIt is an acidic oxide of carbon and is used bygreen plants for photosynthesis. It does not helpin burning.
Air and our breath contain carbondioxide. Thus, when lime water is keptin air or we pass our breath into it, thelime water turns milky.
Carbon MonoxideIt is a neutral oxide of air and hasmore affinity towards haemoglobinthan oxygen (about 200 times more).That’s why in the environment ofcarbon monoxide (which is anon-poisonous gas) people die for theneed of oxygen.It is dangerous to sleep in anunventilated room with fire burninginside because the fire produce carbonmonoxide and carbon dioxide gases.
Plaster of Parisl It is chemically calcium sulphate
hemihydrate (CaSO . 1
2H O)4 2 and is
prepared by heating gypsum which iscalcium sulphate dihydrate(CaSO . 2H O)4 2 at 373 K.
l On mixing with water, Plaster ofParis further sets into a hard solid,called gypsum. Thus, it is used toplaster fractured bones, for makingtoys, materials for decoration and formaking surfaces smooth.
Portland Cementl It is a complex mixture of silicates
and aluminates of calcium with smallamount of gypsum. Raw materialused for the manufacture of Portlandcement are limestone and clay.
l The composition of Portland cementis calcium oxide (50-60%), alumina(5-10%), and magnesium oxide(2-3%) Gypsum is added to cementto decrease its rate of setting.
l In cement, if lime is in excess,cement cracks during setting and iflime is less, cement is of weakstrength.
l Mortar a mixture of sand, cementand water is used for joining bricksand plastering walls.
l Concrete, a mixture of gravel, sand,cement and water is used for flooringand making roads.
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l Reinforced Concrete Cement (RCC)which is concrete with steel bars andwires is used for constructing roofs,bridges and pillars.
SoapsThese are sodium and potassium salts ofhigher fatty acids, e.g. sodium palmitate,sodium stearate, etc.
Glassl Glass, an amorphous solid or
super-cooled liquid contains mainlysilica (SiO )2 .
l Different substances are added to obtainglass of different colours e.g.
Colour Substance Added
Red Copper oxide (CuO)
Green Chromium oxide (Cr O )2 3
Ruby Red Goldchloride (AuCl )3
Blue Cobalt oxide (CoO)
Brown Iron oxide ( )Fe O2 3
PesticidesThese chemicals are used to destroy theorganisms that harm the crop.These are of following typesInsecticides e.g. DDT, gammaxene,aluminium phosphate.Fungicides e.g. Bordeaux mixture,organo-mercury compounds.Herbicides e.g. Benzipram, sodiumchlorate.Rodenticides e.g. Aluminium phosphide.
Heavy WaterHeavy water is deuterium oxide (D O),2
molecular mass =20) which used asmoderator in nuclear reactors. It is calledheavy due to the presence of deuterium,the heavy hydrogen.
Hard Waterl The water in which soluble bicarbonates
of calcium and magnesium are present,is called temporary hard water and inwhich soluble sulphates and chlorides ofmagnesium and calcium are present iscalled permanent hard water.
l The temporary hardness of water isremoved by boiling or by adding calciumhydroxide, Ca(OH) 2—the Clark’s
process.l The permanent hardness of water is
removed by adding sodium carbonate(Na CO )2 3 , or calgon (sodiumhexametaphosphate, Na [Na (PO ) ]2 4 3 6 .
Hardening of Oil(Hydrogenation)
Oil, an unsaturated fat when heated withnickel catalyst and hydrogen, gets convertedinto a solid mass called ghee, a saturated fat.This process is called hardening of oil and iscarried out through hydrogenation in thepresence of nickel as a catalyst.
MedicinesThese are the chemicals used for treatingdiseases and reducing suffering from pain.
90 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Medicine Used to Example
Analgesics Reduce pain Aspirin, paracetamol, morphine, phenacetin
Tranquilizers To treat stress, mild and severemental diseases
Equanil, valium, chlorodiazoepoxide, serotoninand meprobamate
Antiseptic Prevent the growth ofmicro-organisms or kill them(applied to living tissues)
Dettol (a mixture of chloroxylenol—the antisepticand α-terpineol), savlon, iodine tincture (solutionof I2 in alcohol water mixture), boric acid (antisepticfor eyes), hydrogen peroxide, iodoform
Antibiotic Destroy microorganisms(These are obtained frommicroorganisms.)
Penicillin (discovered by A Fleming in 1929,ampicillin, amoxicillin, ofloxacin, chloramphenicol)
Antimalarial Cure malaria Chloroquine
Sulphadrugs Alternative for antibiotics Sulphanilamide, sulphadiazine
Antacids Reduce acidity Baking soda, magnesium hydroxide
Polymersl A polymer is a compound of high molecular weight formed by the combination of a
larger number of molecules of one or two types of low molecular weight (known asmonomers) and the process is called polymerisation.
l Polymers are the backbones of four major industries; plastics, fibres, paints andvarnishes.
Fibre Monomers Uses
Nylon-6,6 Adipic acid +hexamethylene diamine
In making bristles for brushes, synthetic fibres,parachutes, as a substitute for metal in bearings.
Nylon-6 or perlon Caprolactum In making fibres, plastic tyre cords and ropes.
Terylene Ethylene glycol andterephthalic acid
For making wash and wear fabrics, tyre cords, safetybelts, tents etc .
Kevlar Terephthalic acid +1,4-diamino benzene
For making bulletproof vests.
Lexan orpolycarbonate
Diethyl carbonate +bis-phenol-A
In making bulletproof windows and safety helmets.
Polyurethanes Toluene diisocyanate +ethylene glycol
For making washable and long lasting mattresses,cushions.
Industrial Name Chemical Name Chemical Formula
Alum Potassium aluminium sulphate KAl(SO ) 12H O4 2 2⋅Alcohol Ethyl alcohol C 2H 5OH
Baking soda Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO 3
Bleaching powder Calcium oxychloride or calcium hypochlorite CaOCl 2
Brine (or common salt) Sodium chloride NaCl
Borax Sodium tetraborate decahydrate Na B O .10H O2 4 7 2
Caustic potash Potassium hydroxide KOH
Caustic soda Sodium hydroxide NaOH
Chalk (marble) or pearl Calcium carbonate CaCO 3
Chilli salt petre Sodium nitrate NaNO 3
Chloroform Trichloro methane CHCl 3
Epsom salt Magnesium sulphate MgSO .7H O4 2
Glauber’s salt Sodium sulphate decahydrate Na SO .10H O2 4 2
Gypsum Calcium sulphate dihydrate CaSO .2H O4 2
Hypo Sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate Na S O .5H O2 2 3 2
Laughing gas Nitrous oxide N O2
Lunar caustic Silver nitrate AgNO 3
Marsh gas Methane CH4
Quick lime Calcium oxide CaO
Sal ammonia (Nausadar) Ammonium chloride NH Cl4
Sapphire (Ruby) Aluminium oxide Al 2O 3
Slaked lime Calcium hydroxide Ca (OH)2
Soda ash Sodium carbonate Na CO2 3
Spirit Methyl alcohol CH OH3
Washing soda Sodium carbonate decahydrate Na CO .10H O2 3 2
91General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Biology (coined by Lamarck andTreviranus 1802), is a branch of sciencewhich deals with study of living organisms.It mainly includes Botany (Study of plants)and Zoology (Study of animals).
The scientist who gave this thoughts forthe first time about the life of plants andanimals was Aristotle, that’s why he isknown as the father of Biology. He is alsoknown as the father of Zoology.
LIVING WORLDIn 18th Century, Carolus Linnaeusdeveloped binomial nomenclature forliving organisms, i.e., scientific nameconsisting of genus and species.l Whittaker (1969) classified living
organisms into five kingdoms— Monera,Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.
l Monera includes bacteria andMycoplasma, while Protista includesProtozoa (unicellular Eukaryotes).
l Viruses are sub-microscopic, obligate,intracellular parasite consisting ofnucleoprotein. WM Stanley firstlycrystallised TMV (Tobacco MosaicVirus).
l Viroids are smallest infectious singlestranded RNA molecules discovered byTO Diener.
THE CELLl According to cell theory proposed by
Schleiden and Schwann (1838) cell isthe structural and functional unit ofliving organisms.
l An organism may be composed of singlecell (unicellular) or many cells(multicellular).
l Cells are of two types i.e., prokaryotic(which lacks nucleus and membranebound organelles) and eukaryotic(which have nucleus and membranebound organelles).
l Prokaryotic cell is found in bacteria,mycoplasma and blue-green algae whileeukaryotic cell in plants, animals andfungi.
Nucleic Acidsl These contain the genetic instructions
used in the development and functioningof all known living organisms. These areof two types namely DNA and RNA.Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) It is along polymer made from repeating unitscalled nucleotides. It has four bases i.e.adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.
l Ribo Nucleic Acid (RNA) It is also madeup of a long chain of nucleotides. Itcontains uracil in place of thymine.
HUMAN SYSTEMSThe cells of human and other multicellularanimals are organised into tissues. Two ormore tissues grouped together to formorgans. An organ system is a group oforgans that function together to carry outthe principal activities of the body.
DigestionDigestion is the process by which complexfood is converted into simple componentswith the help of digestive enzymes, i.e.hydrolysis process.
Respiratory SystemRespiration in an oxidative processinvolving oxidation of food substances suchas carbohydrate, fat and proteins to formCO
2, water and to release energy.
Respiration may be anaerobic, (i.e. withoutO
2) and aerobic (i.e. with O
2).
Organ AnimalLungs Reptiles and mammals
Skin Frog, earthworm and leeches
Gills Fishes, tadpoles and prawns
Tracheae Insects, centipedes and millipedes
Body surface Protozoans, porifera andcoelenterates
Book lungs Spider and scorpion
Book gills King crab, prawn, cray fish andDaphnia
Mental Mollusca (Unio)
Air bladdar Long fish and bony fishes (e.g.Labeo)
Airsacs/lungs Birds
General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
BIOLOGY
93General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGEF
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Blood (Lymphatic System)l Fluid connective tissue composed of
plasma and blood cells.
l An adult person has 5-6 litre blood.
l It is slightly alkaline having pH7.3-7.4.
l Plasma is pale yellow transparent andconstitute about 60% volume ofblood.
l Plasma is composed of 90-92% water,7% organic substances (albumin,globulin and fibrinogen protein) and1% inorganic substances.
l Red blood corpuscles (Most abundant) arenon-nucleated and contains haemoglobin(the respiratory pigment).
l White blood cells are colourless, nucleatedand granular or agranular.
l Eosinophils are also called acidophils.(2-8%) are phagocytic granulocytes and playimportant role in hypersensitivity.
l Basophils (2%) are non-phagocyticgranulocytes and increases duringchickenpox.
l Neutrophils (65%) are phagocyticgranulocytes and increase during bacterialinfection.
94 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Enzyme Source Where Active Substrate Main BreakdownProduct
Carbohydrate Digestion
Salivary amylase Salivary glands Mouth Polysaccharides Disaccharides
Pancreatic amylase Pancreas Small intestine Polysaccharides Disaccharides
Disaccharides Small intestine Small intestine Disaccharides Monosaccharides(e.g., glucose)
Protein Digestion
Pepsin Stomachmucosa
Stomach Proteins Peptide fragments
Trypsin andchymotrypsin
Pancreas Small intestine Proteins andpolypeptide
Peptide fragments
Carboxypeptidase Pancreas Small intestine Peptide fragments Amino acids
Amino peptidase Intestinalmucosa
Small intestine Peptide fragments Amino acids
Fat Digestion
Lipase Pancreas Small intestine Triglycerides Free fatty acidsandmonoglycerides
Nucleic Acid Digestion
Pancreatic nucleases Pancreas Small intestine DNA and RNA Nucleotides
Intestinal nucleases Intestinalmucosa
Small intestine Nucleotides Nucleotides basesandmonosaccharides
Blood Group(phenotype)
Antigen inRed BloodCells
Antibodies inPlasma
Can GiveBlood toGroups
Can ReceiveBlood fromGroup
Genotype
O None Anti-a, Anti-b O, A, B andAB
O I Io o
A A Anti-b A and AB O and A I I or I IA A A o
B B Anti-a B and AB O and B I I or I IB B B o
AB A and B None AB O, A, B andAB
I IA B
l Monocytes (0.5%) are agranulocytescalled policeman of blood and increaseduring tuberculosis.
l Lymphocytes (26%) are agranulocytesproducing antibodies and increaseduring viral infection.
l Platelets (thrombocytes) arenon-nucleated. Platelets have a life spanof about 8 to 10 days.
l Rh factor discovered by Landsteiner
and Veiner in Rhesus monkey, which isresponsible for erythroblastosis foetalis
disease.l Important component of blood clotting
are fibrinogen, prothrombin, thrombo-plastin, calcium ions and Vitamin-K.
Heartl Human heart is myogenic i.e.,
contraction is initiated by a pulseproduced by SinuAtrial node (SA node)located in right atrium. It is also calledpacemaker. First heart sound is lub andsecond heart sound is dub.
l Contraction of heart is called systole.120 mm Hg, while relaxation is calleddiastole (80 mm Hg).
Excretionl It is the process elimination of harmful
waste products from the animal body toregulate the composition of the bodyfluids and tissues.
l Human excretory system is composed oftwo kidneys. Nephron is the structuraland functional unit of kidneys.
l Colour of urine is pale yellow. It is due topigment urochrome.
l Human urine contains about 95% water,2% salts, 2.6% urea and 0.3% uric acid.
Excretory Organ Animal
Contractile vacuole Amoeba
Flame cells/solenocytes Tapeworm
Renette cell Ascaris
Nephridia Earthworm
Malpighian tubules Cockroach
Coxal glands Scorpion
Green glands Prawn
l pH of urine is about 6.0 (mildly acidic).l The urine on standing gives a pungent
smell. It is due to the conversion of ureainto ammonia.
l Specific gravity of urine is 1.015-1.025.l Volume of urine is 1 to 2 L per day.
Product Animal
Ammonia Most invertebrates, fishes etc.
Urea Ascaris, earthworm, cartilaginousfishes, amphibian and mammals
Uric acid Insects, land reptiles and birds
Central Nervous SystemThe brain is the organising and processingcentre of the body. It is the site ofconsciousness, sensation, memory andintelligence.
The brain receives impulses from the spinalcord and from 12 pairs of cranial nervescoming from it and extending to the sensesand to other organs. In addition, the braininitiates activities without environmentalstimuli.
Three major portions of the brain arerecognised as the hindbrain, midbrain andthe forebrain.
95General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Forebrain
Olfactory region Smell
Cerebrum Thinking, intelligence, memory, ability to learn from experience, will power,skilled work, reasoning knowledge, consciousness and speech.
Control Laughing, weeping, micturition (passing of urine), defecation voluntary forcedbreathing and voluntary muscular co-ordination.
Diencephalon(sensation of)
Heat, cold and pain control centre of autonomic nervous system, controlhunger, thirst, sweating, sleeping and sex.
Hypothalamus Regulated body temperature so ‘thermostat´ of body. Appetite and safetycontrol emotions like love, anger, pleasure and satisfaction. Controlmetabolism of carbohydrate, fat and water.
96 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Disease Pathogen Incubation Symptoms Prevention/ Vaccine
Chickenpox(Varicella)
Herpes zostervirus
12-20 days Dark red coloured rash orpox changing into vesicles,crusts and falling
Varicella vaccine
Smallpox Variola virus 12 days Appearance of rashchanging into pustules,scaps and fallingpockmarks are left
Smallpox vaccine
Poliomyelitis Polio virus 7-14 days Damages motor neuronscausing stiffness of neck,convulsion, paralysis oflimbs generally legs
Salk vaccine and OralPolio Vaccine (OPV)
Measles(Rubelladisease)
Rubella virus 10 days Rubella (skin eruptions),coughing, sneezing, etc
Measles-mumps-rubella-Varicella Combo(MMRV vaccine)
Mumps Mumps virus 12-26 days Painful enlargement ofparotid and salivary glands
Mumps-vaccine,isolation
Rabies(Hydrophobia)
Rabies virus 10 days to1-3 months
Spasm in throat and chestmuscles, fears from water,paralysis and death
lmmunisation of dogs
Tuberculosis M tuberculosis 2-10 weeks Coughing, chest pain andbloody sputum withtuberculin
BCG vaccine
Diphtheria C diphtheriae 2-6 days Inflammation of mucosa ofnasal chamber, throat, etc,respiratory tract blocked
DPT vaccine
Cholera Vibrio cholerae 6 h to2-3 days
Acute diarrhoea anddehydration
Sanitation, boiling ofwater and oral choleravaccine
Leprosy Mycobacteriumleprae
2-5 years Skin hypopigmentation,nodulated skin, deformityof fingers and toes.
BCG also offersvariable amount ofprotection againstleprosy. Lepromin skintests
Tetanus(Lock jaw)
Clostridiumtetani
3-21 days Degeneration of motorneurons, rigid jaw muscles,spasm and paralysis
ATS and DPT vaccines
Typhoid Salmonella typhi 1-3 weeks Classic typhoid fever TAB vaccine andscreening of food andwater
Plague Pasteurellapestis
2-6 days Bubonic plague affects,lymph nodes, pneumonicplague affects lungs andsepticemic plague causesanaemia
Killing of rats and ratfleas, plague vaccine
Gonorrhoea Neisseriagonorrhoeae
2-10 days Inflammation ofurinogenital tract
Avoid prostitution
Midbrain andHindbrain
Reflex centre of visual and auditory sensation.
Cerebellum Involuntary muscular co-ordination, maintain posture, orientation andequilibrium of the body.
Medulla oblongata Regulate heart rate, involuntary breathing, respiratory centre, blood pressure,(vasoconstriction and vasodilation) gut peristalsis, food swallowing andvomiting gland secretion.
97General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Disease Pathogen Incubation Symptoms Prevention/ Vaccine
Pneumonia Streptococcuspneumoniae
1-3 days Decrease in respiratoryefficiency
PCV 13
Salmonellosis Salmonellaenteritidis
48 h Diarrhoea RASV vaccine
Swine Flu H1N1flu virus(Orthomy)
1-4 days Fever with or without chill,sore throat, dyspneat,myalgia, diarrhea,vometing and dizziness
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu),Zonamivir (Relenza)are antiviral drugsvaccines are availableagainst this disease.
Ebola VirusDisease(EVD)
Ebola virus(Filovirus)
2-21 days Haemorrhagic fever,muscle pain, headache,sore throat, diarrhoea,kidney and liverdysfunction, internal andexternal bleeding.
No licensed vaccineavailable, immunetherapies are donecurrently.
Dengue RNA virus ofgenusFlavivirus
3-14 days muscle pain, swollenlymph nodes, fever,headache and rash
No specific antiviral drugis available, howeversymptoms basedtreatment is done.
Chikunguniya RNA virus ofgenusAlphavirus
1-12 days Headache, fatigue,digestive complaints andconjunctivitis
No specific treatment,however supportivecase through drugs likenaproxen, paracetamolis done.
Disease Fungus
Aspergillosis Aspergillus flavus,A fumigatus and Aniger
Blastomycosis Blastomycesdermatitidis
Candidiasis Candida albicans
Chromomycosis Cladosporium corrionii
Coccidiomycosis Coccidiodes immitis
Cryptococcosis Lipomycesneoformans
Geotrichosis Geotrichum candidum
Histoplasmosis Histoplasmacapsulatum
Neuritis Mucor pusillus
Onychomycosis Trichophytonpurpureum
Disease Fungus
Athelete foot Trichophyton
Ringworm Trichophyton,Microsporum andEpidermophyton
Mucormycosis Mucor and Rhizopus
Penicilliosis Penicillium
Vaccine Discovered By
Small pox Edward Jenner (1786)
Cholera Louis Pasteur (1880)
Diphtheria andTetanus
Emil Adolf Von Behring andShibasaburo Kitasato
Tuberculosis Leon Calmette andCamille Guerin (1992)
Polio Jonas E Salk (1954)
Oral polio Albert Bruce Sabin (1995)
Measles John F Enders (1960)
Rabies Charles Nicolle (1909)
Antibiotic Microbial Source
Penicillin Penicillium notatum and Pchrysogenum
Bacitracin Bacillus subtilis
Cephalosporin Cephalosporium acremonium
Griseofulvin Penicillium griseofulvum
Streptomycin Streptomyces griseus
Tetracycline S erythraeus
Erythromycin S aureofaciens
Chloramphenicol S venezuelae
Ebola VirusAccording to World Health Organisation WHO’s19th August, 2015 Situation Report, therewere three confirmed cases of Ebola reported in theweek up to 16th August all of which were reportedfrom Guinea. For the first time since thebeginning of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, a fullepidemiological week has passed with noconfirmed cases reported. A total of 72 casesremain under monitoring in Sierra Leone.
On 29th, June 2015, a confirmed case of Ebola wasreported in a 17 year old male who had died inLiberia.
Apart from Africa, ebola virus has spread to USA,Spain, Mali and to an extent in Italy and UK.
ECOLOGYl Ecology (term used by Reiter) deals with
various principles which govern therelationship between organisms and theirenvironment. Pyramid of number is uprightin grassland and pond ecosystem, whileinverted in tree ecosystem.
l Pyramid of biomass is upright ingrassland and forest ecosystem whereas,inverted in pond ecosystem.
l Pyramid of energy is always upright.
Pollutionl Motor vehicle contribute 60% of
air pollution in major cities. Photochemicalsmog comprising of O
3, H O
2 2, PAN, etc.
l CO has 250 times more binding affinity withhaemoglobin as compared to O
2.
l Acid rain is composed of H SO2 4
and HNO3.
l Chlorofluorocarbons released intostratosphere release free chlorine atom thatcauses depletion of ozone.
l Sewage is major source of water pollution.l Bioremediation is the process of using
micro-organisms to remove environmentalpollutant, e.g. using oil-zapper developed byTERI to prevent oil spills.
l Biomagnification The increase inconcentration of persistent chemicals inorganisms in successive trophic levels.
l Endosulfan is an organic pollutant used as apesticide in Southern states for cashewcrops, which is now banned world over.
l Chernobyl disaster occurred inUkraine (USSR) 26th April, 1986due to explosion of nuclear powerstation.
l Nitrate fertilisers cause blue baby
syndrome or methemoglobinemia.l Noise pollution is measured in
decibels (Generally sound beyond 80dB is termed as noise).
BIOTECHNOLOGYl Biotechnology is a field of applied
biology that involves the use of livingthings in engineering, technology,medicine and other useful applications.
l Genetic Engineering Insertion of aforeign gene fragment into anotherDNA molecule to produce DNAclones.
l Gene Therapy It is the insertion ofgenes into an individual cells andtissue to treat diseases especiallyhereditary diseases.
Test Tube Babyl Test tube baby is a fusion of ovum and
sperm outside body followed byimplantation in uterus at 32 celledstage and further normaldevelopment to birth.
l The IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation)technology is a boon to childlesscouples.
l First attempt to produce a test tubebaby was made by an Italian scientistDr. Petrucci in 1959.
l But this human embryo survived foronly 29 days.
l The World’s first test tube baby(a baby girl) named as Louise JoyBrown was born on 25th July, 1978 inGreat Britain.
l India’s first test tube baby was bornin Mumbai on 6th August 1986. Hername is Harsha.
Cloningl Cloning in biology is the process of
producing similar populations ofgenetically identical individuals thatoccurs in nature when organisms
98 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
such as bacteria, insects or plantsreproduce asexually.
l Dolly a sheep, the first mammal clonewas developed by Dr Ian Wilmut, UK.
Bt Cropsl Crop plants that contain genes for Bt
toxins. Bt toxin gene has been clonedfrom the bacteria (Bacillus thuringiensis)and been expressed in plants to provideresistance from insects without the needof insectisides e.g. Bt-cotton (first GMcrop), Bt-corn, golden rice, etc.
Seed Village ConceptIt is the starting point of agriculture anddictates ultimate productivity of other inputs. Itwas organised by Dr Swaminathan in theJounti village of Delhi state in 1965, which wasdesigned to convert the entire village into ahigh quality seed producing centre.
Over the years, this concept have grown andbeen refined which aims to importtechniracy (technical literacy or impartingthe latest skills to farmers solely) for qualityseed production and thereby to make availablequality seed to others at appropriate time andaffordable cost.
99General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Bacteria Dialister Pneumosintes Flower Wolffia microscopica (Angiosperm)
Bird Humming bird (Cuba) Mammal Shrew (Suncus etruscus)
Bone Stapes Muscles Stapedius or arrector pili
Endocrine gland Pituitary Virus Foot and mouth disease virus
Mammal (on land) African elephant(Loxodonta africana)
Mammal(in the biosphere)
Blue whale
Flower Rafflesia
Flower in India Sapria
Vertebral Lumbar vertebrae
Bone Femur
Bone (in frog) Tibia-fibula
Muscles Gluteus maximus (buttockmuscle of hip)
Tooth Tusk of elephant (upperincisor modification)
Tallest angiosperm Eucalyptus
Tallest gymnosperm Sequoia sempervirens(Sequoia gigantea)
Coral reef In Australia, great barrierreef
Egg or cell Ostrich
Vein Inferior vena cava
Artery Abdominal aorta
Cell of the body Neuron or nerve cell
Virus Parrot fever virus
Branch Concerned Field
Agriculture Study of producing crops fromthe land
Anatomy Study of the animal forms withan emphasis on human bodies.
Anthology Study of flowers.
Anthropology Study of apes and man.
Apiculture Honey industry (Bee keeping).
Biochemistry Deals with the study ofchemical reactions in relation tolife activities.
Cardiology Study of heart.
Cryogenics Study concerning with theapplication and uses of very lowtemperature.
Cytology Study of cells.
Dermatology Study of skin.
Floriculture Study of flower yielding plants.
Genetics Study of heredity and variations.
Gerontology Study of growing old.
Horticulture Study of garden cultivation.
Myology Study of muscles.
Nephrology Study of kidneys
Obstetrics Branch of medicine dealing withpregnancy.
Ornithology Study of birds
Phycology Study of algae.
100 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Antibiotics Source Action
Penicillin Penicillium chrysogenum, P.notatum + Phenyl Acetic Acid
Tonsilitis, Sore Throat, Gonorrhea,Rheumatic Fever, some Pneumonia types
Griseofulvin Penicillium griseofulvum Antifungal, especially for Ringworm
Nystatin Streptomyces noursei Antifungal for Candidiasis and overgrowth ofIntestinal Fungi during excessive antibiotictreatment.
Hamycin Streptomyces pimprei Antifungal for Thrush
Fumagillin Aspergillus fumigatus Broad spectrum antibacterial especiallyagainst Salmonella and Shigella.
Bacitracin Bacillus licheniformis Syphilis, Lymphonema or Reticulosis.
Streptomycin Streptomyces griseus Meningitis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis andLocal Infection. Toxic in some througheighth cranial nerve.
ChloramphenicolChloromycetin
Streptomyces venezuelae, S.lavendulae and Now synthetic
Typhoid, Typhus, Whooping cough, AtypicalPneumonia, Bacterial Urinary Infections.
Tetracyclines/Aureomycin
Streptomyces aureofaciens Viral pneumonia, Osteomyelitis, WhoopingCough and Eye infections.
Oxytetracycline/Terramycin
Chlorotetracycline →Hydrogenation Streptomycesrimosus
Intestinal and Urinary Infections(Spirochaetes, Rickettsia and Viruses)
Erythromycin Streptomyces erythreus(= S. erythraeus)
Typhoid, Common Pneumonia andDiphtheria, Whooping Cough, etc.
Gentamycin Micromonospora purpurea Effective against Gram (+) bacteria
Polymixin Bacillus polymyxa Antifungal
Discovery Made by Country
Antibiotic Alexender Flemming (1928) Scotland
Antiseptic Joseph Lister (1867) Scotland
Blood circulation William Harvey (1628) Britain
Blood transfusion Jean-Baptiste Denys (1625) France
Cholera and TB germs Robert Kock (1883) Germany
Electrocardiogram (ECG) William Einthoven (1903) Dutch
CT Scan Godfrey Hounsfield (1973) England
Sphygmomanometer Scipione Riva-Rocci (1898) Italy
Stethoscope Rene Laennee (1819) France
Thermometer Sir Thomas Aelburt (1867) England
Ultrasound Ian Donald (1950) Ireland
X-ray WC Roentgen (1895) Germany
Electroencephalogram (EEG) Hans Berger (1929) Germany
Branch Concerned Field
Pedology Study of soils
Pathology Study of disease causingorganisms.
Physiology Science dealing with the studyof functions of various parts oforganisms.
Pisciculture Study of fish.
Branch Concerned Field
Sericulture Silk industry(culture of silk moth and pupa).
Serpentology Study of snakes.
Taxonomy Study of classification oforganisms.
Virology Study of virus.
A computer is an electronic machine whichstores, reads and processes data to producemeaningful information as output.
Components of Computerl Input Unit Devices used to give
instructions, e.g. Keyboard, Mouse,Joystick, Optical character reader, CDs,Bar code reader, Touch screen, Lightpen, Scanner, Magnetic Ink CharacterRecognition (MICR), etc.
l Central Processing Unit (CPU) is thedevice for the manipulation ofinformation inside the computer. CPU isknown as the brain of the computer, butcommonly called a processor and has thefollowing components
l Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) performsall logical and arithmatical operations.
l Control Unit (CU) instructs, maintainsand controls the flow of information.
l Output Unit is the device to display theresult of processing, e.g. Visual DisplayUnit, Printer, Monitor, Speaker, PenDrive, etc.
MemoryMemory holds all the raw and processeddata, set of instructions and informationinside the CPU.
Primary MemoryPrimary Memory stores the data which iscurrently in use by the computer.l RAM (Random Access Memory) It is a
volatile memory. It is a temporarystorage.
l DRAM Dynamic Random AccessMemory
l SRAM Static Random Access Memoryl ROM (Read Only Memory) It is a
non-volatile memory where all logicaldata is stored that cannot be changed.
l PROM Programmable Read OnlyMemory.
l EPROM Erasable ProgrammableRead Only Memory.
l EEPROM Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory.
Secondary MemoryIt stores data, program, instruction andinformation permanently.
HardwareAny peripheral device which can be seenand touched is hardware. Computerhardware includes input devices, outputdevices, storage devices and processingdevices.
SoftwareIt is a set of instructions that directs thecomputer to process information. It can beclassified as System Software andApplication Software.
NetworkingComputer networking relates to thecommunication between a group of two ormore computers linked together. Mostcommon example of networking isInternet, connecting millions of people allover the world together. According to scaleor size, computer network can becategorised in three waysl Local Area Network (LAN) Graphical
area spread over 1km to 10km or withina same building.
l Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)Graphical area spread over a city ortown.
l Wide Area Network (WAN) Graphicalarea spread over countries.
Security Threatsl Worm It is a self contained program and
does not need to be a part of anotherprogram to propagate itself.
l Spam Spam is an unsolicited messagesent over the Internet in the form ofe-mails, to a large number of users forthe purpose of spreading malware,advertising phishing, etc.
l Spyware It is a type of malicioussoftware installed on computers andcollects information about users withouttheir knowledge and may send suchinformation to another entity.
l Malware A software which is specificallydesigned to disrupt or damage acomputer system. It is a superset of
101General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
COMPUTER
computer viruses, worms, spyware, trojanhorses and other malicious or unwantedsoftware.
l Virus A virus is defined as a program or apiece of code that gets loaded onto thecomputer without users knowledge andreplicates itself, e.g. Creeper, Stuxnet,Melissa, Conficker, Code red, SQLSlammer, Nimda (derived from the word‘Admin’), etc.
AntivirusAntivirus is a software consisting of computerprograms that attempt to identify, detect andprevent the malware from the computer.
Some Commonly Used Termsl Cache Memory It is a temporary storage,
where frequently accessed data can bestored for rapid access.
l Registers These are defined as thespecial memory units used by the CPU tospeed up the rate of accessinginformation.
l Operating System It is a systemsoftware, consisting of an integrated set ofprograms that control computer resourcesand provides common services forefficient execution of various applicationsoftware.
l Compiler It is a computer program thattransforms human readable source codeinto the Machine readable code at one go.
l Interpreter It transforms source codeinto the machine readable code byconverting it line by line.
l Assembler It converts assemblylanguage program into machine languageprogram.
l Modem (Modulator-Demodulator) Anelectronic device used to convertcomputer (digital) electronic signals tocommunication channel (analog)electronic signals and vice-versa.
l Cloud Commuting is the delivery ofon-demand computing resources,everything from applications to datacentres, over the Internet, e.g. Google.
l Dual Core Processor is the processingtechnology in which two processors arescheduled together and when one is busythe other takes over.
l Internet It is the worldwide, publicallyaccessible system of interconnectedcomputer networks that transmit databy using the Internet protocol.
l Cryptography It is a method ofstoring and transmitting data in aparticular coded form so that only thosecan read and process it, for whom it isintended. It includes encoding anddecoding of data.
Super ComputersA super computer can be defined as themost powerful computer in terms ofperformance and storage capacity. Theyare highly expensive and are employed forspecialised applications such as forweather forecasting, several scientificresearches, etc.
Name Year Mft Company
Param Shivay 2019 IIT-BHU
Pratyush 2017 IITM (Pune)
ParamKanchenjunga
2016 CDAC & NITSikkim
Param Ishan 2016 CDAC & IITGuwahati
Aaditya 2013 Indian Institute ofTropicalMeteorology
PARAM YUVA II 2013 C-DAC, PUNE
SAGA-220 2011 ISRO
ANUPAM-Adhya 2010-11 BARC
Name Year Country OperatingSystem
Frontera 2019 America Linux(Cent OS)
IBM Summit 2018 America IBMSunwayTaihulight
2016 China Linux
Tianhe-2 2013 China Kylin Linux
Titan 2012 America Linux
Sequoia 2011 America Linux
K-Computer 2011 Japan LinuxMira 2010 America Linux
SophiaIn October, 2017 Saudi Arabia has providedcitizenship to a robot Sophia. This robot canchange the facial expressions of the face andcan chat with people.
102 General ScienceGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
GENERALKNOWLEDGE
First Radio Telescope Satellite launched into Space HALCA (Japan)
First country to use Glass Egypt and Mesopotamia
First country to make Map Mesopotamia (Greece)
First Spaceship landed on Mars Viking-I (July 1976)
World’s First Multipurpose River Valley Project Tennessee River Valley Project (USA)
First Space Shuttle Launched Columbia (April 1981)
First Rocket to go near the Sun Helius ‘B’
First Country to make Constitution America
First Country to start Underground Metro Rail Britain
First Unmanned Mission on the Moon LUNA-9
First Spacecraft to carry man on the Moon Apollo - 11
First Country to do Artificial Satellite Experiment Russia
Country to give Voting Right to Women New Zealand
First Country to appoint Lokpal Sweden
First Country to imposed Carbon Tax New Zealand
(Male)
First Asian to Head the International Cricket Council Jagmohan Dalmiya
First man to climb Mount Everest Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and SirEdmund Hillary (29th May, 1953)
First Man to go into Space Major Yuri Gagarin (USSR) (1961)
First Man to walk into Space Alexei Leonov (Russia)
First Person to give information about Planets and theirmotion around the Sun
Nicolous Copernicus
First Man to compile Encyclopaedia Aspheosis (Athens)
First Person to go on both the Poles (North and South) Ranulph Fiennes
First Man to reach North Pole Robert Peary
First Man to reach South Pole Roald Amundsen
First Man to climb on Mt Everest without Oxygen Phu Dorji Sherpa
(Female)
First Woman President of a Country Maria Estela Peron (Argentina)
First Woman in the world to cross the Strait of Gibralter Arti Pradhan (India)
First Woman Cosmonaut in Space Valentina Tereshkova (USSR)
First woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike (Sri Lanka)
First Woman to cross the Seven Seas Bula Choudhary
First Non-white female to win Nobel Prize in Literature Toni Morrison
First Woman to reach Antarctica Caroline Mikkelsen
First Woman to have a Space-Walk Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya
104 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Largest Airport(by size)
King Fahd InternationalAirport (Dammam, SaudiArabia)
Highest Airport Bangda Airport, Tibet(now in China)
Tallest Building Burj Khalifa, DubaiUnited Arab Emirates(828 m)
Largest Bay Hudson Bay, Canada
Longest Big-shipCanal
Suez Canal (linking RedSea and MediterraneanSea)
Busiest Canal (Ship) Kiel Canal
Longest Epic The Mahabharata
Largest Diamond The Cullinan(South Africa)
Largest Island Greenland
Largest Mosque Masjid al-Haram, Mecca
Largest Delta Sundarbans, India
Largest Desert Sahara, Africa
Largest Lake Caspian Sea
Deepest Lake Baikal (Siberia)
Highest Lake Titicaca (Bolivia)
Largest Lake(Fresh water)
Lake Superior, USA
Largest CoralFormation
The Great Barrier Reef(Australia)
Largest Continent Asia
Smallest Continent Australia
Largest Country(in population)
China
Largest Country(in area)
Russia
Longest Dome World Peace MonumentDome (Pune)
Tallest Minar(Free standing)
Great Hassan IIMosque, Casablanca,Morocco
Largest City(in population)
Tokyo
Highest City Wen Chuan(Tibet, China)
Largest City (inpopulation)
Tokyo (Japan)
Longest Bridge
(Railway)
Danyang-Kunshan
Grand Bridge (China)
Largest Dam
(Concrete)
Grand Coulee Dam
(USA)
Highest Dam Jinping-I Dam, across
River Yarlong, China
Highest Straight Dam Bhakra Dam
Highest Capital City La Paz (Bolivia)
Highest Asian Desert Gobi, Mongolia
Largest Democracy India
Biggest Bell Great Bell at Moscow
Reptile which
changes its colour
Chameleon
Most intelligent
Animal
Chimpanzee
Highest Volcano Ojos del Salado, Andes,
Argentina- Chile
(6893 m)
Largest Volcano Mauna Loa
(Hawaii Islands)
Longest Wall Great Wall of China
Highest Mountain
Peak
Mount Everest (Nepal)
Highest Mountain
Range
Himalayas
Longest Mountain
Range
Andes Central
(South America)
Biggest Museum British Museum
(London)
Highest Waterfall Salto Angel Falls
(Venezuela)
Longest Gulf Gulf of Mexico
Deepest and Biggest
Ocean
The Pacific
Largest Peninsula Arabia
Largest Palace Imperial Palace
(Gugong), Beijing
(China)
Largest Park National Park,
Greenland
Largest Archipelago Indonesia
(World)(The Largest, Biggest, Smallest, Longest, Highest)
105General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Coldest Place Verkhoyansk (Siberia)Temperature(− 89.2°C).
Driest Place McMurdo Dry Valleys,Antarctica
Hottest Place Al-Aziziyah(Libya, Africa) 136°F
Largest Platform(Railway)
Gorakhpur(Uttar Pradesh)
Largest Bridge(Railway)
Danyang-KunshanGrand Bridge (China)
Largest Plateau Tibetan Plateau
Largest River Basin Amazon Basin
World’s Rainiest Spot Cherrapunji (Meghalaya)
Largest Gorge Grand Canyon on theColorade river, USA
Largest Port Shanghai (China)
Busiest Port Shanghai (China)
Longest Railway Trans-Siberian Railway
Longest River Nile (6690 km)
Longest River Dam Tarbela Dam, Pakistan
Largest Sea-Bird Albatross
Largest Sea Philippine Sea
Tallest Statue Statue of Unity, Gujarat(India)
Tallest Tower Tokyo Skytree (Japan)
Longest SwimmingCourse
English Channel(between London andEdinburgh)
Longest TrainNonstop
Flying Scotsman
Longest Tunnel(Railway)
Gotthard Base Tunnel
Longest and LargestCanal/Tunnel
Le Rove Tunnel (Southof France)
Lightest Gas Hydrogen
Lightest Metal Lithium
Highest Melting Point Tungstan, (34100°C)
Hardest Substance Wurtzite Boron Nitride
Fastest Bird The Peregrine Falcon
Longest PoisonousSnake
King Cobra
Largest Temple Angkor Vat (Cambodia)
Largest DiamondMine
Kimberley(South Africa)
Tallest Structure Burj Khalifa (Dubai)
Country Capital Currency
Afghanistan Kabul Afghani
Albania Tirana Lek
Algeria Algiers Algerian Dinar
Angola Luanda Kwanza
Argentina Buenos Aires Peso
Australia Canberra Australian Dollar
Austria Vienna Euro
Bangladesh Dhaka Taka
Belarus Minsk Ruble
Belgium Brussels Euro
Bhutan Thimphu Ngultrum
Brazil Brasilia Cruzeiro Real
Cambodia Phnom-Penh Riel
Canada Ottawa Canadian Dollar
Chile Santiago Peso
China Beijing Yuan, Renminbi
Country Capital Currency
Colombia Bogota Colombian Peso
Denmark Copenhagen Krone
Egypt Cairo Egyptian Pound
France Paris Franc, Euro
Germany Berlin Euro
Greece Athens Euro
Hungary Budapest Forint
India New Delhi Rupee
Indonesia Jakarta Rupiah
Iran Tehran Rial
Iraq Baghdad Dinar
Ireland Dublin Euro
Israel Jerusalem Shekel
Italy Rome Euro
Japan Tokyo Yen
Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan Tenge
106 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Country Capital Currency
Kenya Nairobi Shilling
North Korea Pyongyang Won
Kuwait Kuwait City Kuwait Dinar
South Korea Seoul Won
Libya Tripoli Libyan Dinar
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Ringgit
Maldives Male Rufiyaa
Mauritius Port Louis Rupee
Mongolia Ulan Bator Tugrik
Montenegro Podgorica Euro
Myanmar Naypyidaw Kyat
Namibia Windhoek Namibian Dollar
Nepal Kathmandu Nepalese Rupee
Netherlands Amsterdam Euro
New Zealand Wellington New ZealandDollar
Nigeria Abuja Naira
Norway Oslo Krone
Pakistan Islamabad Rupee
Phillippines Manila Peso
Poland Budapest Zloty
Portugal Lisbon Euro
Country Capital Currency
Qatar Doha Riyal
Russia Moscow Ruble
Saudi Arabia Riyadh Riyal
Somalia Mogadishu Somali Shilling
Singapore Singapore Dollar
South Africa Pretoria Rand
Spain Madrid Euro
Sri Lanka Colombo Sri Lankan Rupee
Sudan Khartoum Sudanese Pound
South Sudan Juba South SudanesePound
Sweden Stockholm Krona
Switzerland Bern Swiss Franc
Taiwan Taipei New TaiwanDollar
Thailand Bangkok Baht
Turkey Ankara Lira
Uganda Kampala Uganda Shilling
Ukraine Kiev Hryvnia
UK London Pound Sterling
US WashingtonDC
US Dollar
Venezuela Caracas Bolivar
Zimbabwe Harare US Dollar
Blue Mountains Nilgiri Hills
City Beautiful Chandigarh
City of Golden Gate San Francisco
City of MagnificentBuildings
Washington
City of Palaces Kolkata
City of Seven Hills Rome
Cockpit of Europe Belgium
Dark Continent Africa
Eternal City Rome
Forbidden City Lhasa (Tibet)
Garden City Chicago
Gift of the Nile Egypt
Granite City Aberdeen
Holy Land Palestine
Island Continent Australia
Island of Cloves Zanzibar
Isle of Pearls Bahrain
Key to the Mediterranean Gibraltar
Land of Cakes Scotland
Land of Golden Fleece Australia
Land of Maple Canada
Land of Morning Calm Korea
Land of the Midnight Sun Norway
Land of the Rising Sun Japan
Land of theThunderbolt
Bhutan
Land of Thousand Lakes Finland
Land of White Elephant Thailand
Pearl of the Antilles Cuba
Pearl of the Pacific Guayaquil Portof Ecuador
Roof of the World The Pamirs,Central Asia
Spice Garden of India Kerala
Sugar Bowl of the World Cuba
Discovery Discoverer Discovery Discoverer
America ChristopherColumbus
New Foundland John Cabot
Sea Route to India viaCape of Good Hope
Vasco Da Gama Hudson Bay Henry Hudson
Solar System Copernicus Circumnavigation of World Magellan
Planets Kepler Mount Everest Edmund Hillary
South Pole Roald Amundsen Brazil Pedro Alvares Cabral
North Pole Robert Peary Tasmania Island Abel Tasman
China Marco Polo Cape of Good Hope Bartolomeu Dias
Blue Book An official report of the British Government
Green Book An official publications of Italy and Iran
Grey Book An official reports of the Governments of Japan and Belgium
Orange Book An official publications of the Government of Netherlands
White Book An official publications of China, Germany and Portugal
White Paper An official paper of the Governments of Britain and India on a particular issue
Yellow Book An official paper of the Goverment of France
Monument Country Monument Country
Imperial Palace (Tokyo) Japan Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy
Eiffel Tower (Paris) France Pyramid (Giza) Egypt
Great Wall of China China Opera House (Sydney) Australia
Kremlin Palace (Moscow) Russia Statue of Liberty (New York) USA
Kinder Disk Denmark Taj Mahal (Agra) India
Ancient World Modern World The ‘New’ Wonder
The Colossus of Rhodes Channel Tunnel Pyramid at Chichen Itza,Mexico
The Great Pyramid of Giza CN Tower Christ Redeemer, Brazil
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon Empire State Building The Great Wall, China
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Golden Gate Bridge Machu Picchu, Peru
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Itaipu Dam Petra, Jordan
The Lighthouse of Alexandria North Sea Protection works Roman Colosseum, Italy
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Panama Canal The Taj Mahal, India
107General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Detective Agency Country
Ministry of State Security (MSS) China
Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Australia
KGB/GRU Russia
National Intelligence Agency South Africa
MI (Military Intelligence)-5and 6, Special Branch, Joint Intelligence Organisation
United Kingdom
Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Pakistan
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB) India
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) USA
MOSSAD Israel
Mukhabarat Egypt
Naicho Japan
SAVAK (Sazamane Etelaatva Amniate Kechvar) Iran
General Security Directorate Iraq
DGSE (Direction General de la Securite Exterieur) France
Pen Symbol of culture and civilisation
Lotus Culture and civilisation
Red Cross Medical aid and hospital
Red Flag Revolution; also sign of danger
Black Flag Symbol of protest
Yellow Flag Flown on ships or vehicles carrying patientssuffering from infectious diseases
Flag flown upside down Symbol of distress
White Flag Symbol of truce
Pigeon or Dove Symbol of peace
A blindfolded woman holding abalanced scale
Symbol of justice
Black strip on face arm Sign of mourning or protest
One skull on two bones crossing each otherdiagonally
Sign of danger
Wheel (Chakra) Symbol of progress
Flag flown at half mast Symbol of national mourning
Olive Branch Symbol of peace
Language Member Language Member
Mandarin Chinese 955 million Arabic 295 million
Spanish 405 million Hindi 260 million
English 360-380 million Portuguese 215 million
108 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Country Name Parliament Name Country Name Parliament Name
Afghanistan Shora India Sansad
Australia Federal Parliament Japan Diet
Bangladesh Jatiyo Shangsad/ House ofthe Nation
Nepal Rashtriya Panchayat
Bhutan Tshogdu Pakistan National Assembly andSenate
Canada Parliament Russia Duma
China National People’s Congress Spain Cortes
Egypt People’s Assembly Sweden Riksdag
France National Assembly South Africa Parliament
Germany Bundestag Switzerland Federal Assembly
Great Britain Parliament USA Congress
Largest Country(Area-wise)
Largest Country(Population-wise)
Smallest Country(Area-wise)
Smallest Country(Population-wise)
Russia China Vatican City Vatican City
Canada India Monaco Tuvalu
China USA Nauru Nauru
United States Indonesia Tuvalu Palau
Brazil Brazil San Marino San Marino
Religion Member Percentage Religion Member Percentage
Christianity 2.2 billion 31.5% Buddhism 376 million 5.25%
Islam 1.6 billion 22.32% Sikhism 23 million 0.36%
Hinduism 1 billion 13.95% Jewish 14 million 0.23%
109General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Newspaper Country Newspaper Country
The Sydney Morning Herald Australia The Hindustan Times India
The Age Australia Mainichi Daily News Japan
Globe and Mail Canada The New Zealand Herald New Zealand
The Gazette Canada The Press New Zealand
International Herald Tribune France The Times United Kingdom
Die Welt Germany The Scotsman United Kingdom
The Times of India India The Guardian United Kingdom
The Hindu India The Herald United Kingdom
The Tribune India The Courier United Kingdom
The Statesman India Washington Post United States ofAmerica
Country Emblem Country Emblem
Australia Kangaroo Italy White Lily
Bangladesh Water Lily Japan Chrysanthemum
Belgium Lion Netherlands Lion
Canada White Lily New Zealand Southern Cross, Kiwi, Fern
Chile Candor and Huemul Norway Lion
France Lily Pakistan Crescent
Germany Corn Flower Spain Eagle
India Lioned Capital United Kingdom Rose
Iran Rose United States of America Golden Rod
Newspaper Bengal Gazette (James Hickey)
Vernacular Daily Samachar Darpan
Hindi Newspaper Udant Martand
Telegraph Line Diamond Harbour to Kolkata
International Telephone Service Mumbai to London (1851)
Silent Movie Raja Harish Chandra(Dadasaheb Phalke 1913)
Talkie Movie Alam Ara (Ardeshir Irani-1931)
Aircraft Carriage Warship INS Vikrant
Satellite Aryabhatta (19th April, 1975)
Satellite dedicated exclusively for Education purposes EDUSAT
Dedicated multi wavelength space observatory Astrosat
Successful indigenous launch vehicle SLV-3
Nuclear Reactor Apsara (1956)
Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-I (October, 2008)
Mars Mission Mars Orbiter Mission(5th November, 2013)
Hydroelectric Project Sidrapong (1897)
Asian Games Delhi (1951)
Census 1872
Regular Decadal Census 1881 Onwards
Biosphere Reserve Nilgiri
National Park Hailey National Park (Jim Corbett), 1936
Chairman of UPSC Ross Barker
E-court Ahmedabad
Court exclusively dedicated to women Malda (WB)
Technology Park Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram
Cloned Animal Samrupa
Rail University Vadodara
110 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
(Male)
First Governor-General of India William Bentinck (1828)
First and last Indian Governor-General of Free India C Rajagopalachari
First Commander-in-Chief of Free India General KM Kariappa
First Field Marshal of India General SHFJ Manekshaw (1971)
First Indian to go in Space Rakesh Sharma
First Indian to climb the Mount Everest without Oxygen Sherpa Ang Dorje
First Indian to become the Managing Director ofWorld Bank
Gautam Kaji
First Chairman of National Human Rights Commission Rangnath Mishra
First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics CV Raman (1930)
First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Literature Rabindranath Tagore (1913)
First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Economics Dr Amartya Sen (1998)
First Indian to get Nobel Prize in Medicines (Physiology) Dr Har Govind Khorana (1968)
First Indian to get Bharat Ratna Dr S Radhakrishnan, C Rajgopalachariand Dr CV Raman (1954)
First Person to be Honoured with the Jnanpith Award G Sankara Kurup (Malayalam)
First Person to get Bharat Ratna (Posthumously) Lal Bahadur Shastri
First Cricketer to get Padma Bhushan CK Naidu
First Indian to get through ICS Satyendra Nath Tagore (1869)
First Indian to swim across the English Channel Mihir Sen (1958)
First Judge of International Court of Justice Dr. Nagendra Singh
First Chief of Defence Staff Vipin Rawat
(Female)
First Indian Female Chairperson of Indian NationalCongress
Sarojini Naidu (1925)
First Woman to climb the Everest Bachendri Pal (1984)
First Woman Cabinet Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1947)
First Woman Chairman of the UN General Assembly Vijaya Laxmi Pandit
First Woman President of India Pratibha Devi Singh Patil
First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar (2009)
First Woman Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Margaret Alva (1962)
First Woman Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi
First Woman to reach Antarctica Meher Moos (1976)
First Woman IAS Officer Anna Rajam George (1950)
First Female Chief Justice Leela Seth (1991)
First Woman to win the Jnanpith Award Asha Poorna Devi (1976)
First Woman to get the Bharat Ratna Indira Gandhi
First Female Nobel Prize Winner Mother Teresa (1979)
First Woman to complete Century in World Cup Cricket Thirush Kamini
First to win Silver in Olympics (Badminton) PV Sindhu
First Indian Woman to become member of InternationalOlympic Committee
Nita Ambani
First to win Bronze in Olympics (Wrestler) Sakshi Malik
First Indian Woman Fighter Pilot to fly a fighter jet Avani Chaturvedi (2018)
First Indian Naval Woman Pilot Shubhangi Swaroop (2018)
111General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
112 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
The longest River The Ganga (2525 km)
The longest Canal Indira Gandhi Canal orRajasthan Canal(Rajasthan) (649 km)
The longest Dam Hirakud Dam (Odisha)(26 km)
The longest SeaBeach
Marina Beach (Chennai)(13 km)
The highest Lake Cholamu Lake (Sikkim)
The largest SalineWater Lake
Chilka Lake (Odisha)
The biggest RiverIslands
Majuli, Brahmaputra river(Asom)
The largest FreshWater Lake
Wular Lake(Jammu and Kashmir)
The highest Dam Tehri Dam (Uttarakhand)(260 mt)
The highestWaterfall
Kunchikal Falls(Karnataka) (455 m,1493 ft)
The deepest RiverValley
Bhagirathi andAlaknanda
The longest RiverBridge
Bhupen HazarikaSetu, Assam (9,150 m)
The biggestCantilever Bridge
Rabindra Setu or HowrahBridge (Kolkata)
The state withlongest Coastline
Gujarat (1600 km)
The longest riverwithout Delta
Narmada
The longest SeaBridge
Bandra-Worli Sea Link(5.6 km)
The largest ArtificialLake
Dhebar Lake (Rajasthan)
The longest River ofSouthern India
Godavari (1465 km)
The longest RailwayPlatform
Gorakhpur, UttarPradesh (1366.33 m)
The longest Road Grand Trunk Road(Kolkata to Delhi)
The longest Corridor Corridor ofRamnathswami Templeat Rameshwaram (TamilNadu)
The highest Road Road at Khardungla(in Leh-Manali Sector)
The highest Airport Leh Airport (Ladakh)
The largest Desert Thar (Rajasthan)
The largest Delta Sunderbans(Paschim Banga)
The state withmaximum ForestArea
Madhya Pradesh(25.14% of itsgeographical area)
The largest Zoo Zoological Garden(Kolkata)
The biggest Stadium Yuva Bharti (Salt Lake)Stadium, Kolkata
The longest NationalHighway
NH-44 (Srinagar toKanyakumari)
The highest Award Bharat Ratna
The highestGallantry Award
Param Vir Chakra
The largestGurudwara
Golden Temple, Amritsar
The largest CaveTemple
Kailash Temple(Ellora, Maharashtra)
The highest Peak Godwin Austin I, K 2(8611 m)
The largest Mosque Jama Masjid (Delhi)
The longest Tunnel Jawahar Tunnel, BanihalPass(Jammu and Kashmir)
The largestAuditorium
Sri Shanmukhanand Hall(Mumbai)
The largest AnimalFair
Sonepur (Bihar)
The largest Cave Amarnath(Jammu and Kashmir)
The highest GateWay
Buland Darwaza,Fatehpur Sikri(Uttar Pradesh)
The tallest Statue ‘Statue of Unity’ Gujarat,India (272 m)
The largest PublicSector Bank
State Bank of India
The most PopulousCity
Mumbai (Maharashtra)
The biggest Church Saint Cathedral at OldGoa (Goa)
The highestBattlefield
Siachen Glacier(5753 m)
(India)(Biggest, Highest, Largest, Longest, Smallest etc)
Author Name Book Name
Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers
Amartya Sen Identity and Violence : TheIllusion of Destiny
Amartya Sen The ArgumentativeIndian
Amartya Sen Development asFreedom
Amitav Ghose River of Smoke, Sea ofPoppies, The Circle ofReason, The GreatDerrangement: ClimateChange and theUnthinkable
Amrita Pritam Death of a City
Anita Desai Clear Light of the Day
Aristotle Politics
Arun Shourie A Secular Agenda
Arundhati Roy The Algebra of InfiniteJustice
Arundhati Roy The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy Greater Common Good
Ashwaghosha Budda Charitham
Aung San Suu Kyi Freedom from Fear
Bankim ChandraChatterji
Anand Math,Durgeshnandini
Barack Obama Dreams from My Father
Barrett Lee, MarinaChapman
The Girl with No Name
Benazir Bhutto Pakistan the GatheringStorm
Javier Moro The Red Saree
Chandrashekar Meri Jail Diary
Charles Dickens David Copperfield
Chetan Bhagat Revolution 2020, WhatYoung India Wants,Half Girl Friend, OneNight at the Call Centre,Making India Awesome,One Indian Girl
Chitra Subramaniam India is for Sale
Dalai Lama Freedom in Exile, Ethicsfor the New Millennium
Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy
Dr C Rangarajan Indian Economy : Essayson Money and Finance
Edward Luce Inspite of the Gods
Eleanor Catton The Luminaries
EM Forster A Passage to India
Author Name Book Name
Gen V P Malik Kargil : From Surprise toVictory
Gunter Grass The Tin Drum
H R Bhardwaj Law, Lawyers andJudges
Herbert GeorgeWells
Time Machine
Indira Gandhi My Truth
Jai Shankar Prasad Ajatshatru
Jawaharlal Nehru Discovery of India,Glimpses of WorldHistory
JayaprakashNarayan
Prison Diary
K Natwar Singh Walking with Lions,Curtain Raisers
Kapil Dev Straight from the Heart
Karl Marx Das Kapital
Karl Marx and FredrikEngels
Communist Manifesto
Khushwant Singh Train to Pakistan
Kiran Bedi I Dare, As I See
Kiran Desai The Inheritance of Loss
Kuldeep Mathur Too Old to be Bold
LK Advani A Prisoner’s Scrap
Mahatma Gandhi My Experimentswith Truth
Malala Yousafzai We Are Displaced
Mark Tully The Heart of India
Mulk Raj Anand Untouchable
Narendra Modi Exam Warriors
Premchand Godan
Ramchandra Guha Gandhi, Makers ofModern India
RK Narayan The Guide
Ruskin Bond A Garland of Memories,Death under the deodars
Sarojini Naidu Golden Threshold, TheBroken Wings
Shashi Tharoor A Long Era of Darkness,Paradoxical Prime Minister
Sir Richard Burton The Arabian Nights
Sri Aurobindo Ghosh Essays on Gita
Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time
Taslima Nasreen All About Women
Thomas Pynchon Against the Day
V S Naipaul India : A WoundedCivilisation,
113General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Author Name Book Name
Letters Between a Fatherand Son
Half a Life, An Area ofDarkness, Magic Seeds
Ved Vyas Bhagwad Gita
Vikram Chandra Love and Longingin Bombay
Vikram Seth An Equal Music
Vimal Kumar Sachin Cricketer of theCentury
Virat Kohli Driven
William Shakespeare As You Like it
Yuvraj Singh The Test of My Life
Zoya Hasan Congress After Indira
Natwar Singh One Life is not Enough
P. Chidambaram A View from Outside
Raghuram Rajan I Do What I Do
Naveen Chawla Every Vote Counts
1997-2006 UN Decade for the Eradication ofPoverty
2001-2010 International Decade for Cultureof Peace and Non-violence forChildren
2011-2020 United Nations Decade onBiodiversity
2014-2024 Decade of Sustainable Energyfor All
2015-2024 International Decade for Peopleof African Descent
2016-2025 UN Decade of Action on Nutrition
2009 International Year of Astronomy
2010 International Year of Biodiversity
2011 International Year of Forests
2012 International Year of Cooperatives
2013 International Year of Water Cooperation
2014 International Year of Family Farming
2015 International Year of Light and Lightbased Technologies
2016 International Year of Pulses
2017 International Year of SustainableTourism for Development
2019 International Year of IndigenousLanguages
114 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Important Dates and Days of the YearJanuary
1 Global Family Day
9 NRI Day
12 National Youth Day(of Swami Vivekanand)
15 Indian Army Day
25 National Tourism Day,Voter’s Day
26 Indian Republic Day,International Customs Day
28 Data Protection Day
30 Martyr’s Day(Mahatma Gandhi’s Martyrdom),World Leprosy Eradication Day
February
4 World Cancer Day
20 World Day of Social Justice
24 Central Excise Day
28 National Science Day
March
8 International Women’s Day
15 World Consumer Rights Day,World Disabled Day
21 World Forestry Day, InternationalDay for the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination
22 World Water Day
23 World Meteorological Day
24 World TB Day
April
5 National Maritime Day,International Day for MineAwareness
7 World Health Day
18 World Heritage Day
21 Civil Services Day
22 World Earth Day
A
ABM Anti Ballistic MissilesADB Asian Development BankAERE Atomic Energy Research
EstablishmentAFSPA Armed Forces Special Power ActAGOC Asian Games Organising
CommitteeAIDS Acquired Immuno Deficiency
SyndromeAIIMS All India Institute of Medical
SciencesALH Advanced Light HelicopterAPPLE Ariane Passenger Payload
Experiment
AMRUT Atal Mission for Rejuvenation andUrban Transformation
APEC Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation
ASAT Anti-Satellite WeaponASIAN Association of Southeast Asian
NationsASCII American Standard Code for
Information InterchangeASLV Augmented Satellite Launch
VehicleASI Archaeological Survey of IndiaATM Automated Teller Machine
AU African Union
AVES Acute Viral EncephaliticSyndrome
115General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
May
1 International Labour Day (May Day)
3 World Press Freedom Day
8 World Red Cross Day
17 World Telecommunications Day
21 Anti-Terrorism Day
June
5 World Environment Day
12 World Day against Child Labour
20 World Refugee Day
21 International Yoga Day
July
4 American Independence Day
7 International day of Cooperatives
11 World Population Day
12 International Malala Day
August
6 Hiroshima Day
8 World Senior Citizen’s Day
12 International Youth Day
18 Day of the World’s IndigenousPersons
29 National Sports Day(Dhyanchand’s birthday)
September
5 Teachers’ Day(Dr Radhakrishnan’s Birthday)
14 Hindi Day, World First Aid Day
16 World Ozone Day
21 International Day of Peace
21 World Biosphere Day
27 World Tourism Day
October
2 International Non-Violence Day,Lal Bahadur Shastri and MahatmaGandhi’s Birthday
3 World Habitat Day
5 World Teacher’s Day
8 Indian Air Force Day
16 World Food Day
24 United Nations Day
November
9 Legal Services Day
14 Children’s Day,World Diabetes Day
20 Universal Children’s Day (UN)
December
1 World AIDS Day
3 International Day of Person withDisabilities
4 Indian Navy Day
7 Armed Forces Flag Day
10 Human Rights Day
16 Vijay Diwas
25 National Good Governance Day
ABBREVIATIONS
B
BC SBI Banking Codes and StandardBoard of India
BARC Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BCG Bacillus Calmette Guerin(Anti-Tuberculosis Vaccine)
BCTT Banking Cash Transaction Tax
BCCI Board for Control of Cricket inIndia
BENELUX Belgium, Netherlands,Luxembourg
BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative forMultisectoral Technical andEconomic Cooperation
BIS Bureau of Indian Standards
BMD Ballistic Missile Defence System
BPO Business Process Outsourcing
BRO Border Roads Organisation
C
CAA Citizenship Amendment Act
CABE Central Advisory Board ofEducation
CAG Comptroller and Auditor General
CAPES Computer-Aided PaperlessExamination System
CAZRI Central Arid Zone ResearchInstitute
CBI Central Bureau of Investigation
CECA Comprehensive EconomicCooperation Agreement
CFC Chlorofluoro Carbon
CID Criminal InvestigationDepartment
CISF Central Industrial Security Force
CITES Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species
CNG Compressed Natural Gas
COFEPOSA Conservation of ForeignExchange and Prevention ofSmuggling Act
CPCB Central Pollution Control Board
CPRI Central Power Research Institute
CRR Cash Reserve Ratio
CSIR Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research
D
DAVP Directorate of Advertising andVisual Publicity
DDT Dichloro-Diphenyl Trichloro-ethane (disinfectant)
DNA De-oxyribonucleic AcidDPSA Deep Penetration Strike AircraftDPT Diphteria, Pertussis and TetanusDRDO Defence Research and
Development OrganisationDTH Direct-to-Home (broadcasting)DVD Digital Versatile Disk
E
ECG Electro CardiogramEEG Electro-EncephalographyEET Eastern European TimeESCAP Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and thePacific
EVM Electronic Voting Machine
F
FDI Foreign Direct InvestmentFII Foreign Institutional Investor
FBI Federal Bureau of InvestigationFERA Foreign Exchange Regulations
Act
FICCI Federation of Indian Chambersof Commerce and Industry
FDR Fixed Deposit ReceiptFLAG Fibre Optic Link Around the
Globe
G
GAIN Global Alliance for ImprovedNutrition
GANDHI Green Action for National DandiHeritage Initiative
GATS General Agreement on Trade inServices
GATT General Agreement on Tariffsand Trade
GEF Global Environment FundGMPS Global Mobile Personal
Communications System
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
GPS Global Positioning System
GSLV Geosynchronous SatelliteLaunch Vehicle
116 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
H
HAC Hindustan Aluminium CorporationHAL Hindustan Aeronautics LimitedHIV Human Immunodeficiency VirusHTML Hypertext Markup LanguageHTTP Hypetext Transfer ProtocolHYV High Yielding Variety
I
IAAI International Airport Authority ofIndia
IAEA International Atomic EnergyAgency
IBRD International Bank for Reconstru-ction and Development
ICAO International Civil AviationOrganisation
ICAR Indian Council of AgriculturalResearch
ICMR Indian Council of MedicalResearch
ICRC International Committee of theRed Cross
IDBI Industrial Development Bank ofIndia
IMA Indian Military AcademyIMO International Maritime
OrganisationINMAS Institute of Nuclear Medicines
and Allied Sciences
INSAS Indian Small Arms System
INSAT Indian National SatelliteINTERPOL International Police Organisation
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change
IRBM Intermediate Range BallisticMissile
IRS Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
ISCS Integrated Smart Card System
ISRO Indian Space ResearchOrganisation
ITU InternationalTelecommunication Union
JKL
JNNURM Jawaharlal Nehru National UrbanRenewal Mission
LCA Light Combat Aircraft
LOC Line of Control
LOAC Line of Actual Control
LTA Light Transport Aircraft
M
MAT Minimum Alternative Tax
METSAT Meteorological SatelliteMNP Mobile Number Portability
MSS Multimedia Message Service
MODEM MOdulator-DEModulator
MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MRTS Mass Rapid Transit System
MTCR Missile Technology ControlRegime
N
NAA National Airport Authority
NABARD National Bank for Agricultureand Rural Development
NADA National Anti-Doping Agency
NASA National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration
NEERI National EnvironmentEngineering Research Institute
NATA Natural Aptitude Test forArchitecture
NCEP National Committee onEnvironmental Planning
NCERT National Council of EducationalResearch and Training
NeGP National e-governance Plan
NEP National Education Policy
NEPA National Environment ProtectionAuthority
NHDP National Highways DevelopmentProject
NHRC National Human RightCommission
NITI Aayog National Institution forTransforming India
O
OCI Overseas Citizenship of IndiaOAS Organisation of American StatesOAU Organisation of African UnityODS Ozone Depletion SubstancesOIC Organisation of Islamic
Countries
OPEC Organisation of the PetroleumExporting Countries
OSCE Organisation for Security andCooperation in Europe
117General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
P
PURA Providing Urban Amenities inRural Areas
PATA Pacific Asia Travel Association
POTA Prevention of Terrorism Act
PSLV Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
QR
QIB Qualified Institutional Buyer
QIP Qualified InstitutionalPlacement
RAF Rapid Action Force
RBI Reserve Bank of India
RCC Reinforced Concrete Cement
RDSS Radio Determination SatelliteService
RTGS Real Time Gross SettlementSystem
RTE Right to EducationRTI Right to Information
S
SAARC South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation
SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Area
SAIL Steel Authority of India Limited
SAPTA SAARC Preferential TradingAgreement
SATNAV SATellite NAVigation
SALT Strategic Arms LimitationTalks
SAVE SAARC Audio VisualExchange
SCO Shanghai CooperationOrganisation
SEBI Securities and ExchangeBoard of India
SIDBI Small Industries DevelopmentBank of India
SPIN Software ProcessImprovement Networks
STARS Satellite Tracking and RangingStation
START Strategic Arms ReductionTreaty
SWIFT Society for WorldwideInterbank FinancialTelecommunications
T
TADA Terrorist and Disruptive Activities(Prevention) Act
TAPS Tarapur Atomic Power StationTIN Tax Identification Number
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia
TRIPS Trade Related Intellectual PropertyRights
TVOA Tourist Visa on Arival
U
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UNCTAD United Nations Conference onTrade and Development
UNDP United Nations DevelopmentProgramme
UNEP United Nations EnvironmentProgramme
UNFPA United Nations Fund forPopulation Activities
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply
V
VAT Value Added Tax
VOIP Voice Over Internet Protocol
VPN Virtual Private Network
VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminals
W
WADA World Anti-Doping Agency
WAP Wireless Application Protocol
WAVE Wireless Access for VirtualEnterprise
WFP World Food Programme
WFTU World Federation of Trade UnionsWHO World Health OrganisationWLL Wireless in Local Loop
WWW World Wide Web
XY&Z
XML Extensible Markup LanguageYWCA Young Women’s Christian
AssociationZSI Zoological Survey of IndiaZUPO Zimbabwe United People
Organisation
118 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
INTERNATIONAL
Nobel Prizel The most prestigious award in the world. It
was set-up in 1900 under the will of Alfred
Bernhard Nobel.l The Nobel Prizes are presented annually
on 10th December (The death anniversaryof the founder).
l It is given in the fields of Peace, Literature,Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine(from 1901) and Economics (from 1969).
Winner Field Year
Abhijit Banerjee Economics 2019
Kailash Satyarthi Peace 2014
VenkatramanRamakrishnan
Chemistry 2009
Amartya Sen Economics 1998
SubrahmanyanChandrasekhar
Physics 1983
Mother Teresa Peace 1979
Hargobind Khorana Medicine 1968
CV Raman Physics 1930
Rabindranath Tagore Literature 1913
Grammy Awardsl It is awarded for the outstanding
achievements in the music industry byNational Academy for Recording Artsand Sciences, America. It was started in1959. Pt. Ravi Shankar got this 3 times.
Pulitzer Prizel Instituted in 1917 and named after US
publisher Joseph Pulitzer.l It is conferred annually in the United
States for the accomplishments injournalism, literature and music.
Magsaysay Awardsl Instituted in 1957. Named after Ramon
Magsaysay, the former President ofPhilippines.
l The award is given annually on31st August, the birth anniversary ofMagsaysay, for outstandingcontributions in Public service,Community Leadership, Journalism,Literature and Creative Arts andInternational Understanding.
Man Booker PrizeInstituted in 1968, is the highest literaryaward of the world, set-up by the BookerCompany and the British PulishersAssociation along the lines of the PulitzerPrize of USA.
Right Livelihood Awardl The Right Livelihood Award was
established in 1980.
l It is also referred as ‘Alternative Nobel
Prize’.
l It is given to persons to honourthose ‘‘working on practical andexemplary solutions to the most urgentchallenges facing the world today.’’
Oscar AwardsInstituted in 1929, these awards areconferred annually by the Academy ofMotion Pictures, Arts and Sciences,USA, in recognition of outstandingcontribution in the various fields of filmmaking.
l The Indian films nominated for Oscarsare Mother India (1957), SalaamBombay (1988), Lagaan (2001)
l Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian towin an Oscar Award in 1982 forcostume design in Gandhi Movie.
UN Human Rights AwardInstituted in 1966, this award isgiven every 5 years for individualcontributions to the establishment ofhuman rights.
General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
AWARDS AND HONOURS
NATIONAL
Bharat Ratnal Bharat Ratna is India’s highest
Civilian Award. It was first awarded in 1954.l The actual award is designed in the
shape of a peepal leaf with Bharat Ratnainscribed in Devanagri script in the SunFigure.
l The reverse side of the decorationSatyameva Jayate has been written inHindi with an inscription of state emblem.
l The emblem, the Sun and the rim are ofplatinum. The inscriptions are inburnished bronze.
l Pranab Mukherjee (2019)l Bhupen Hazarika (2019)l Nanaji Deshmukh (2019)l Madan Mohan Malaviya (2015)l Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2015)l Sachin Tendulkar (2014)l CNR Rao (2014)l Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (2008)l Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar (2001)l Ustad Bismillah Khan (2001)l Prof Amartya Sen (1999)l Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (1999)l Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan (1999)l Pandit Ravi Shankar (1999)l Chidambaram Subramaniam (1998)l Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi
(1998)l Dr Abul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
(1997)l Aruna Asaf Ali (1997)l Gulzari Lal Nanda (1997)l Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata (1992)l Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1992)l Satyajit Ray (1992)l Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (1991)l Rajiv Gandhi (1991)l Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1991)l Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedakr (1990)l Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1990)l Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran (1988)l Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987)l Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1983)
l Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu)(1980)
l Kumaraswamy Kamraj (1976)l Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1975)l Indira Gandhi (1971)l Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966)l Dr Pandurang Vaman Kane (1963)l Dr Zakir Hussain (1963)l Dr Rajendra Prasad (1962)l Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy (1961)l Purushottam Das Tandon (1961)l Dr Dhonde Keshav Karve (1958)l Pt Govind Ballabh Pant (1957)l Dr Bhagwan Das (1955)l Jawaharlal Nehru (1955)l Dr Mokshagundam Vivesvaraya (1955)l Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1954)l Dr Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1954)l Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (1954)
Republic Day AwardsPadma AwardsPadma Awards, which were instituted in1954, is announced every year on theoccasion of Republic Day. The award is givenin three categories–Padma Vibhushan,Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Theawards fall in line after the Bharat Ratna.
There are three Padma Awardsl Padma Vibhushan is the second highest
National Award given for exceptional anddistinguished service in any fieldincluding service rendered bygovernment employees.
l Padma Bhushan is the third highestNational Award given for distinguishedservice in any field.
l Padma Shri is the fourth highest awardgiven for distinguished service in any field.
Gallantry Awardsl Param Vir Chakra is the highest
decoration of valour award. It is the mostconspicuous act of bravery or some act ofvalour or self-sacrifice in the presence ofthe enemy, whether on land, at sea or inthe air. The medal is made of bronze.
l Mahavir Chakra is the second highestgallantry award for acts of conspicuousgallantry in the presence of theenemy whether on land, at sea or in theair. The medal is made of standard silver.
120 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
l Vir Chakra is awarded for acts ofgallantry in the presence of enemy,whether on land, at sea or in the air. Themedal is made of standard silver.
l Ashok Chakra This is awarded forvalour, courageous action or sacrifice,away from the battlefield. It is highestmilitary award during peacetime.
l Kirti Chakra The decoration is awardedfor conspicuous gallantry. It is made ofstandard silver and is circular in shape.The obverse and the reverse are exactly thesame as in Ashoka Chakra.
l Shaurya Chakra The decoration isawarded for an act of gallantry duringpeacetime.
Sports Awardsl Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is instituted in
1991-92 with the objective of honouringmost outstanding sports- person toenhance their general status. It is thehighest award bestowed to a sports personin India. The amount of prize money is` 750000.
l Arjuna Award instituted in 1961 by theGovernment of India to recogniseoutstanding achievement in NationalSports. The award carries a cash prize of` 5 lakh, a bronze statue of Arjuna and ascroll of honour.
l Dronacharya Award instituted in 1985by the Government of India to recogniseexcellence in sports coaching. The awardcarries a cash prize of ` 5 lakh, a bronzestatue of Dronacharya and a scroll ofhonour.
l Dhyanchand Award instituted in2002, carries a cash prize of ` 5 lakh, aplaque and a scroll of honour. Thishonour is given to those sportspersonswho have contributed to sportspersons,and sports by their performance andcontinue to contribute their promotionfor sports even after their retirementfrom active sporting career.
Indian Cinema AwardsDadasaheb Phalke Awardl Dadasaheb Phalke is known as the Father
of Indian Cinema. The highest NationalFilm Award is named after him in 1969.
l This award is given to a film personalityfor his/her outstanding contribution tothe growth and development of Indiancinema. The award comprises of a
swarna kamal, a cash prize of Rs.10,00,000 and a shawl.
l Dhundiraj Govind (Dadasheb) Phalke’ssilent feature film, Raja Harishchandra(1913) was first indigenous feature filmof India.
l Ardeshir Irani in 1931, released first fulllength talkies film Alam Ara.Mrs Devika Rani Roerich was the firstperson to receive Dadasaheb PhalkeAward in 1969.
l Vinod Khanna has been awardedDadasaheb Phalke Award in 2017.
l Amitabh Bacchan has been awardedDadasaheb Phalke Award for 2018.
Other National AwardsBharatiya Jnanpith Awardl Instituted in 22nd May, 1961, carries a
cash prize of ` 11 lakh, a citation and abronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati).
l This award is given for the best literarywriting by an Indian citizen in alanguage listed in Eighth Schedule ofthe Indian Constitution.
l 2018 Jnanpith Award was given toAmitav Ghosh (English).
Gandhi Peace Prizel Established in 2nd October, 1994, on
the occasion of the 125th birthdayanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, carriesa cash prize of ` 1 crore.
l Indian Government instituted thisannual prize to encourage and promotethe signifi- cance of Gandhian valuesover the world.
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,Disarmament and Developmentl Instituted in 1985, this prestigious award
is regarded as ‘Nobel’ and over the years,it has been awarded to those persons whohave done outstanding work forinternational peace, disarmament anddevelopment.
Borlaug Awardl Instituted in 1973, carries a cash prize
of ` 5 lakh. Instituted to honouroutstanding agricultural scientists.
Sahitya Akademi Awardl Awarded for outstanding literary work
and carries a cash prize of ` 1 lakh.l Sahitya Academi gives 22 awards for
literary works in the languages whichhas recognised works.
121General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Command HQ Location Command HQ Location
Central Command Lucknow South-Western Command Jaipur
Eastern Command Kolkata Western Command Chandigarh
Northern Command Udhampur Training Command Shimla
Southern Command Pune
Command HQ Location Command HQ Location
Central Air Command Allahabad Western Air Command New Delhi
Eastern Air Command Shillong Maintenance Command Nagpur
Southern Air Command Thiruvananthapuram Training Command Bengaluru
South-Western Air Command Gandhinagar
Command HQ Location
Western Naval Command Mumbai
Eastern Naval Command Vishakhapatnam
Southern Naval Command Kochi
Note Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair is the only Tri-service Command ofArmed Forces.
Training Institution Place Estd in
Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) Dehradun 1922
Army Cadet College (ACC) Dehradun 1929
Indian Military Academy (IMA) Dehradun 1932
National Defence Academy (NDA) Khadakwasla, Pune 1941
High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) Gulmarg 1948
National Defence College (NDC) New Delhi 1960
Officers Training Academy (OTA) Chennai 1963
Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School Vairengte (Mizoram) 1970
College of Defence Management Secunderabad 1970
College of Combat/Army War College Mhow (Madhya Pradesh) 1971
Army School of Physical Training (ASPT) Pune 1978
Army Air Defence College (AADC) Gopalpur (Odisha) 1989
Officers Training Academy Gaya 2011
Indian National Defence University (INDU) Gurgaon (Haryana) 2013
General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
INDIAN DEFENCE
Army Air Force Navy
General Air Chief Marshal Admiral
Lt. General Air Marshal Vice Admiral
Major General Air Vice Marshal Rear Admiral
Brigadier Air Commodore Commodore
Colonel Group Captain Captain
Lt. Colonel Wing Commander Commander
Major Squadron Leader Lt Commander
Captain Flight Lieutenant Lieutenant
Lieutenant Flying Officer Sub-Lieutenant
Name Class Range
Agni I SRBM 750 km
Agni II MRBM 2500 km
Agni III IRBM 3500 km-5500 km
Agni IV or Agni II Prime IRBM 4000 km
Agni V ICBM 5000 km-6000 km
Agni VI ICBM 8000-10000 km
Dhanush SRBM 350 km
Nirbhay Subsonic Cruise Missile 1000 km
Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile 290 km
Brahmos 2 Hypersonic Cruise Missile 290 km
Prithvi I SRBM 150 km
Prithvi III SRBM 350 km
Sagarika SLBM 700 km
Shaurya TBM 700 km
Astra Air to Air Missile 80 km-100 km
Nag Anti-Tank 7 km
Note Recently, a post, Chief of Defence Staff is created to help improve coordinationamong the three services of Armed Forces.
Indo-TibetanBorder Police(ITBP)
n It was established in 1962, after the Chinese attack.n It is basically employed in the Northern borders for monitoring the
borders and also to stop smuggling and illegal immigration.
National SecurityGuards (NSG)
n It was established in 1984 to counter the surge of militancy in thecountry.
n It is a highly trained force which deals with the militants effectively.
Central IndustrialSecurity Force(CISF)
n It was set-up in 1969 after the recommendations of JusticeB Mukherji.
n Its objective is to monitor the industrial complexes of CentralGovernment.
Assam Rifles n It was established in 1835 and is the oldest paramilitary force in thecountry.
n Its main objective is to keep vigilance of international borders in NorthEast and counter insurgency operations in Arunachal Pradesh,Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Border SecurityForce (BSF)
n It was established in 1965.n It keeps a vigil over the international borders against the intrusion in
the country.
123General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
National CadetCorps (NCC)
n It was established in 1948.n Its main objective is to stimulate interest among the youth in the
defence of the country in order to build up a reserve manpower toexpand armed forces.
Central ReservePolice Force(CRPF)
n It was set-up in 1939.n Its main objective is to assist the State / Union Territory Police in
maintenance of law and order.n The 88th Battalion of CRPF, known as ‘Mahila Battalion’
(commissioned on 30th March, 1986) is the world’s first paramilitaryforce comprising entirely of women.
Territorial Army(TA)
n It was established in 1948.n It is a voluntary, part-time force (between 18 and 42 years), not of
professional soldiers, but civilians who wish to assist in defence ofthe country.
Home Guard n It was established in 1962, to assist the police in maintaining security,to help defence forces and to help local authorities in case of anyeventuality.
Indian CoastGuard
n It was set-up in 1978.n Its objective is to protect the maritime and other national interests in
the maritime zones of India.
IntelligenceBureau (IB)
n It was set-up in 1920.n Its objective is to collect secret information relating to country’s security.n It was originally set-up as Central Special Branch (CSB) in 1887 and
renamed IB in 1920.
Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI)
n It was established in 1963.n Its objective is to investigate cases of misconduct by public servants,
cases of cheating, embezzlement and fraud.n CBI is also entrusted with the investigation of international crime
cases in collaboration with INTERPOL.
National CrimeRecords Bureau(NCRB)
n It was established in 1986.n Its objective is to collect crime statistics at the national level,
information of inter-state and international criminals to helpinvestigation agencies.
Rapid Action Force(RAF)
n It was established in 1991.n Under the operational command of CRPF, 10 battalions of the CRPFs
have been re-oriented for tackling communal riots in the country.
Research Centre Place
Indian Rare Earths Limited Mumbai
Uranium Corporation of India Limited Jadugoda (Jharkhand)
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Mumbai
Electronics Corporation of India Limited Hyderabad
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Trombay (Mumbai)
Radio Astronomy Centre Ootacamund (Tamil Nadu)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata
Centre of Earth Sciences Studies Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
Physical Research Laboratory Ahmedabad
Space Commission Bengaluru
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Thiruvananthapuram
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Bengaluru
Space Application Centre Ahmedabad
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station Thumba (Kerala)
124 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Olympicsl Olympics games were started in 776 BC
on Mount Olympia in the honour ofGreek God, ‘Zeus’. The modern OlympicGames were started in Athens, thecapital of Greece on 6th April, 1896 withgreat efforts made by French nobleman,Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
l The Olympic Games are organised afterevery 4 years. The Olympic Flag is madeup of white silk and contains fiveinterwined rings as the Olympic Emblem.
l The five interlaced rings are arranged in3-2 pattern on a white background, withthe blue ring to the extreme left, followedby yellow, black, green and red, in thesame order. Blue for Europe, Black forAfrica, Red for Americas (North andSouth America), Yellow for Asia andGreen for Oceania (Australia and NewZealand).
l The official Olympic Motto is Citius,Altius, Fortius, a Latin phrase meaningSwifter, Higher, Stronger. 2020 summerOlympic will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Commonwealth Gamesl The first Commonwealth Games were
held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada.l Since 1930, the games have been
conducted every 4 years except for 1942and 1946 due to World War II.
l The Commonwealth Games Federation(CGF) is the organisation which isresponsible for the direction and controlof the Commonwealth Games.
l There are currently 53 members in theCommonwealth of Nations.
l The 2018 Commonwealth Games (21st)were held an Gold Coast, Queensland,Australia. Most gold medals were won byAustralia. 2022 Commonwealth Gameswill be held at Birmingham, England.
The Asian Gamesl The Asian Games, also called the Asiad,
are a multi-sport event held every 4 yearsamong athletes from all over Asia.
l The games are regulated by the OlympicCouncil of Asia (OCA), under thesupervision of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). The first AsianGames were held in 1951 in New Delhi(India). 18th Asian Games of 2018 wereheld at Jakarta (Indonesia) in whichIndia finished at eighth position. Thenext game is scheduled to be held inHangzhou, China in 2022.
Cricket World Cupl The first Cricket World Cup was
organised in England in 1975. A separatewomen’s Cricket World Cup has been heldevery 4 years since 1973.
1975 England West Indies beatAustralia
1979 England West Indies beatEngland
1983 England India beat West Indies
1987 India Australia beat England
1992 Australia Pakistan beat England
1996 Pakistan Sri Lanka beat Australia
1999 England Australia beat Pakistan
2003 South Africa Australia beat India
2007 West Indies Australia beat SriLanka
2011 India India beat Sri Lanka
2015 Australia andNew Zealand
Australia beat NewZealand
2019 England England beat NewZealand
2023 India Scheduled
2007 South Africa India beat Pakistan
2009 England Pakistan beatSri Lanka
2010 West Indies England beatAustralia
2012 Sri Lanka West Indies beatSri Lanka
2014 Bangladesh Sri Lanka beat India
2016 India West Indies beatEngland
2020 Australia Scheduled
General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
SPORTS
Hockey World CupThe first Hockey World Cup wasorganised in Barcelona (Spain) in 1971.Women’s Hockey World Cup has beenheld since 1974. The 13th Men’s HockeyWorld Cup held in the Netherlands(Hague) in 2014. The 14th Men’s HockeyWorld Cup was held in BhubaneswarIndia in 2018. Belgium won thischampionship beating Netherlands.
Football World Cupl The Football World Cup is organised by
FIFA (Federation of InternationalFootball Association). The World Cup
is called ‘Jules Rimet Cup’ named after thename of FIFA President Jules Rimet. Thefirst Football World Cup was organised inUruguay in 1930.
l In 1942 and 1946, the Football World Cupwas not played due to World War II.
l The 20th FIFA World Cup held in Brazil inwhich Germany became the champion bydefeating Argentina 1-0 in the final.
l Brazil is the only nation to haveparticipated in every World Cup so far.The 2018 Football World Cup was held atRussia. France won this Championshipbeating Croatia. 2022 Football World Cupis scheduled to be held at Qatar.
l The United Nations (UN) is a world
organisation formed in 24th October,
1945. It came into existence after
World War II, when the leaders of the
world, including American President
Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Churchill, decided to create a world
organisation that would help to ensure
peace.l The original membership of 51 nations
has grown to 193 members. The 193rd
member being the newly created
South Sudan. The United Nations
Headquarters is in New York City. The
UN also has offices in Nairobi (Kenya),
Geneva (Switzerland) and Vienna
(Austria).
l The General Assembly is the main
place for discussions and policy
making in the United Nations.
l The Security Council has primary
responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security. The
Security Council is made up of 15
members.l There are five permanent members of
the Secutiry Council-China, France,
Russia, United Kingdom and USA and
10 non-permanent members elected
for 2 years terms starting on 1st
January.
Country Term Ends
Belgium 2020
Dominican Republic 2020
Estonia 2021
Germany 2020
Indonesia 2020
Niger 2021
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2021
South Africa 2020
Tunisia 2021
Vietnam 2021
l Economic and Social Council is theprincipal body for coordination, policyreview, policy dialogue andrecommendations on economic, social andenvironmental issues. The secretariatcomprises the Secretary-General andother staff who carry out day-to-day workof the U.N.
l The International Court of Justice
(ICJ), located in the Hague, Netherlands,is the primary judicial organ of the UnitedNations, established in 1945 by the UnitedNations Charter, the Court began work in1946, as the successor to the PermanentCourt of International Justice.
l Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-52) was thefirst Secretary-General of the UN.
l Antonio Guterres is the new Secretary-General of UN. He succeed Ban ki-Moon.
126 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
United Nations Organisation (UNO)
Name Estd in Headquarter Purpose
International TelecommunicationUnion (ITU)
1865 Geneva Sets international regulations forradio telegraph, telephone andspace radio communications.
International Labour Organisation(ILO)
1919 Geneva To improve conditions and livingstandards of workers.
International MonetaryFund (IMF)
1945 Washington DC Promotes international monetarycooperation.
United Nations InternationalChildren’s Emergency Fund(UNICEF)
1945 New York To promote children’s welfare allover the world.
Food and Agricultural Organisation(FAO)
1945 Rome To improve living conditions ofrural population.
United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO)
1946 Paris To promote collaboration amongnations through education,science and culture.
World HealthOrganisation (WHO)
1948 Geneva Attainment of highest possiblelevel of health by all people.
International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA)
1957 Vienna To promote peaceful uses ofatomic energy.
International DevelopmentAssociation (IDA)
1960 WashingtonDC
An affiliate of the World Bank,aims to help under-developedcountries raise living standards.
United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP)
1965 New York Helps developing countriesincrease the wealth producingcapabilities of their natural andhuman resources.
United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme (UNEP)
1972 Nairobi(Kenya)
Promotes internationalcooperation in humanenvironment.
World TradeOrganisation (WTO)
1995 Geneva Setting rules for world trade toreduce tariffs.
United Nations Office on Drugsand Crime (UNODC)
1997 Vienna(Kenya)
To preventillict trafficking andabuse of drug, crime prevention.
UN Women 2010 New York City(USA)
To enable member states toachieve gen den equality andwomen empowerment.
127General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGE
128 General KnowledgeGENERAL KNOWLEDGEN
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