1) Consider the following statements with respect to the UKEIRI Mobility Programme: Study in India
It aims to generate up to 200 opportunities for undergraduate students at UK universities to visit India by March 2021.
The programme will be funded by the UK and Indian governments as part of the UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKEIRI).
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The “UKEIRI Mobility Programme: Study in India”, an initiative of Universities UK International (UUKI) and British Council India, was launched recently.
It aims to generate up to 200 opportunities for undergraduate students at UK universities to visit India by March 2021.
Priority for the programme to visit India during their courses will be given to students from traditionally underrepresented groups.
The programme will be funded by the UK and Indian governments as part of Phase 3 of the UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKEIRI) and delivered by the British Council, Universities UK International and EdCIL in India.
2) Consider the following statements with respect to National Health Accounts Estimates 2015-16
Jammu and Kashmir and Assam spent the largest fraction of their Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) on public health.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have spent least of their GSDPs on public health.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Jammu and Kashmir and Assam spent the largest fraction of their Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) on public health, according to National Health Accounts Estimates 2015-16, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has told the Parliament recently.
The share of Government Health Expenditure (GHE) in the GSDPs of J&K and Assam were 1.7% and 1.5% respectively, the data show.
Haryana and Maharashtra are towards the lower end of the table, having spent 0.6% and 0.7% of their GSDPs on health respectively.
3) Tiangong-2 often seen in the news recently is a
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Tiangong-2 was a manned Chinese space station that was destroyed upon its controlled re-entry into the Earth’satmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on July 19.
Tiangong-2 was retired from service after it had completed its experiments in space.
Tiangong-2 was 10.4 metres long and 3.35 metres wide at its widest point, and weighed 8.6 metric tonnes.
It was launched on September 15, 2016 and, in late 2016, hosted two Chinese astronauts for 30 days in what was China’s longest manned space mission so far.
4) Consider the following statements
He was the chief strategist of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
He became very popular after the Kakori Train robbery in 1925 and the killing of the assistant superintendent Saunders in 1928.
Bhagat Singh joined with him following the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
Identify the correct personality using the description given above:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The revolutionary activity in Punjab, United Provinces and Bihar was dominated by the Hindustan Republican Association/Army or HRA.
The HRA was founded in October 1924 in Kanpur by Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal.
Under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad, the name of HRA was changed to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder, Ram Prasad Bismil, and three other prominent party leaders.
The participants included Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Bhagwaticharan Vohra from Punjab.
Bhagat Singh joined Azad following the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, after he was beaten by police officials.
Azad trained Singh and others in covert activities.
5) The oceanic pole of inaccessibility often called as ThePoint Nemo refers to?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
Point Nemo, officially known as “the oceanic pole of inaccessibility,” or, more simply put, the point in the ocean that is farthest away from land.
The spot is quite literally the middle of nowhere, surrounded by more than 1,000 miles of ocean in every direction.
Point Nemo is located over 1,000 miles (1,600km) equidistantly from the coasts of three far-flung islands.
Ducie Island (one of the Pitcairn islands) is to the north, Motu Nui (of the Easter Island chain) is to the north-east and Maher Island (off the coast of Antarctica) is to the south.
Most of Tiangong-2 burnt up in the atmosphere, and the remaining debris fell near Point Nemo, the most remote location on Earth, which is so far from land.
6) Consider the following statements with respect to Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019
It has been jointly developed by the World Ecomic Forum (WEF), Cornell University and Paris-based business school Insead.
The theme for the year 2019 is Creating Healthy Lives - The Future of Medical Innovation.
India has been ranked the most innovative country in the Central and Southern Asia Region every year since 2011.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : c
The GII has been jointly developed by the WIPO, Cornell University and Paris-based business school Insead.
The theme of the 2019 GII is Creating Healthy Lives - The Future of Medical Innovation, which aims to explore the role of medical innovation as it shapes the future of healthcare.
India has been ranked the most innovative country in the Central and Southern Asia Region every year since 2011.
India has consistently outperformed on innovation relative to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.
7) Consider the following statements
A person who is appointed to be a governor of a state should be an outsider, that is, he/she should not belong to the respected state.
While appointing the governor, the president is required to consult the chief minister of the state concerned.
Which of the above is/are mentioned in Indian Constitution as the qualification for the appointment of a person as a Governor of a State?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
The Constitution lays down only two qualifications for the appointment of a person as a governor. These are:
He should be a citizen of India.
He should have completed the age of 35 years.
Additionally, two conventions have also developed in this regard over the years.
He should be an outsider, that is, he should not belong to the state where he is appointed, so that he is free from the local politics.
While appointing the governor, the president is required to consult the chief minister of the state concerned, so that the smooth functioning of the constitutional machinery in the state is ensured.
However, both the conventions have been violated in some of the cases.
8) Consider the following statements
He was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist.
He was also called the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’.
He was the author of the book “Gita Rahasya”.
Identify the correct personality using the description given above:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : b
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, commonly known as Lokamanya Tilak was a leader of the Indian independence movement and belonged to the extremist faction.
He was also called the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’.
Gita Rahasya and the Arctic Home of the Vedas were the books written by Tilak.
9) Consider the following statements with respect to the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
If the member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party, he shall be disqualified.
If there is a merger between two political parties and one-third of the members of a legislature party agree to the merger, they will not be disqualified.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : a
There are two grounds on which a member of a legislature can be disqualified.
One, if the member voluntarily gives up the membership of the party, he shall be disqualified.
Voluntarily giving up the membership is not the same as resigning from a party.
Even without resigning, a legislator can be disqualified if by his conduct the Speaker/Chairman of the concerned House draws a reasonable inference that the member has voluntarily given up the membership of his party.
Second, if a legislator votes in the House against the direction of his party and his action is not condoned by his party, he can be disqualified.
However, there is an exception that was provided in the law to protect the legislators from disqualification.
The 10th Schedule says that if there is a merger between two political parties and two-thirds of the members of a legislature party agree to the merger, they will not be disqualified.
10) Markanda and Tangri are the tributaries of which of the following rivers?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Answer : d
Ghaggar originates from Dagshai village in Himachal’s Solan district and flows through Haryana, Punjab, and then ends in Rajasthan.
The river and its tributaries — Markanda and Tangri — pass from Kalka, Panchkula, Ambala, Kaithal, (in Haryana) and then enters Punjab’s Patiala, Sangrur districts.
