Natural Wonders of the Earth

Question 1 : Which of the following plants produces the world's largest flower ?

a) Rafflesia arnoldi
b) Wolffia globosa or watermeal
c) Titan arum
d) Pitcher plant

Question 2 : Which of the following plants produces the world's smallest flower ?

a) Rafflesia arnoldi
b) Wolffia globosa or watermeal
c) Titan arum
d) Pitcher plant

Question 3 Which of the following plant produces the world's smelliest flower as recorded in Guinness book of world records?

a) Rafflesia arnoldi
b) Wolffia globosa or watermeal
c) Titan arum
d) Pitcher plant

Question 4 : Which of the following is the world's largest tree?

a) Sequoiadendron giganteum or Redwood
b) Ficus bengalensis or Pipal
c) Tectona grandis or Teak 
d) Cedrus deodara

Answers

1) a
2) b
3) c
4) a

Reference

1) World's Largest Flower
2) World's Largest Flower (YouTube)
3) World's Smallest Flower
4) Guinness book of world records
5) National Geographic Channel

'Kaali Zubaan' : Making Verbal Abuse a Punishable Offence

Today, after coming from an early morning jog I witnessed a group of 4 kids abusing to an extent which is beyond the ethos of a moral society. For them abusing or using some offensive words seems to be some sort of social activity. I am sure that these kids have learnt this from their social surroundings or worst from elders in their family. However, this is something which is more of a social issue which I don't want to focus now.

I was thinking that if we can make spitting a punishable offence in our country why can't we make abusing a punishable offence too. We talk about the citizen's Right to 'Dignity' or the Right to their 'Reputation' and then we talk about our constitutional rights liberally interpreted under Article 21 i.e. the Right to Life.

Isn't abusing sabotaging the dignity or reputation of our citizens. Isn't a lady subjected to verbal abuse by her husband is subdued of her dignity, isn't an abuse by employer of some Insurance or BPO enterprise to its employee is sabotaging the reputation and dignity of that employee too. Indeed it does.

As a solution I believe there are two fundamental requirements. First, the easiest one would be to impose moral sanctions by the civil society to the regular abusers. The society should abandon the individual who is found to be a regular abusers. And second, imposition of fine by our higher courts. A fine of meagure Rs 50/- for first offence would act as a formidable deterrence towards the errants.

These punitive measures are also needed because the vulnerable section of our population like poor children, housewives or working women and elderly are often subjected to some of verbal abuse in their life. We need to preserve their dignity and the time to deliberate on this issue has come.

Learning Through Questions (LTQs) : India-UAE Relations

Question 1 Which of the following agreements has been recently signed between India and the UAE?

a) Strategic Defence Agreement.
b) Strategic Partnership Agreement.
c) Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DITI)
d) None of the above

Question 2: Which of the following factors have contributed in evolving the bilateral ties between India and the UAE ?

a) Geopolitical circumstances in the gulf region.
b) India's economic interest for its infrastructure development.
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b

Question 3 Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to India-UAE bilateral ties?

a) Both are the members of Gulf Cooperation Council  (GCC).
b) India and UAE have trade ties of about  $50 billion.
c)  UAE is the largest source of imports of crude oil for India.
d) All of the above

Question 4 Which of the following statements is incorrect with respect to Indian diaspora in the GCC States?

a) There are approximately 7 million Indians in the GCC States.
b) There are approximately 2.6 million Indians in the UAE.
c) India receives around 52% of its remittances from its gulf expatriates.
d) None of the above

Answers

1) b, DITI between India and United States.
2) c 
3) b
4) d

Learning Through Questions (LTQs) : Set: 1 - Demonitisation

Question 1 : Which of the following causes signifies/signify the need for demonitisation in India?

a) High volume of currency transactions in the economy.
b) High Cash-GDP ratio (12-13%).
c) Black money to the tune of 1/5th of GDP.
d) All of the above.

Question 2: Which of the following is/are the possible impacts of demonitisation on the economy of India?

a) Deflationary shocks.
b) Dent in job market.
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b

Question 3 : Which of the following is not one of the objectives to initiate the demonitisation drive in India?

a) To curb black money and corruption.
b) To boost consumption demand.
c) To discourage cash-led system in the economy.
d) To combat inflation.

For Further Reading : Click Here

Answers

1) a
2) c
3) b

Nilli Batti : Why Economic Ceiling Is Imperative For Reservations

Anyone who aspires to become a public official in India dreams of owning that white ambassador car crowned with 'blue beacon' at its roof (nilli batti wali gadi)  The Blue beacon government vehicle is a symbol of authority, achievement and to the top of it, the pride. However I want to take this topic to another dimension which is the inaccessibility that a poor aspirant faces while pursuing such coveted profiles.

The exorbitant fee of the coaching centres that goes up to lakhs is one that most of us are aware of. Let's go deeper and analyse another perspective which is 'Reservation'. I can understand why frowns appear on the foreheads of the unreserved candidate belonging to a 'General Category' when the word 'reservation' encounters him. Reservations have disturbed the mental peace of a general category candidate and it has divided the youth of the country into those who have reservation and those that have-not, which obviously covers the rest of them.

I have a deep sympathy for the aspirants of backward community who due to their historical injustice and series of deprivation could not rise up to the ladder. Thus it warrants the responsibility of the state to give adequate reservations so to make jobs and quality education accessible for them. Also it is the responsibility of the so called 'have nots' to respect that mandate.

Having said that I fail to understand the rational behind exclusion of economic ceiling while allocating reservations to the beneficiaries. Our constitution recognises backwardness on the basis of social and educational criteria but it is silent with respect to an economic perspective. Probably the situation at the time of framing the constitution didn't warrant the inclusion of this very ceiling.

But the tables have turned now or they are seems to be turning. Now the economically sound reserved category aspirants are making up to the mark but the poor dalits or other backward communities including schedule tribes are still struggling for their dream of nilli batti. The situation has not much improved for these deprived section since independence.

In addition to this there are economically backward aspirants among the unreserved categories who also deserve some sort of hand holding to fulfill their dreams. Adequate reservations could be one such mesure.

I strongly feel that reservation policy in our country needs some recaliberation so as to enhance the upwards mobility of a poor aspirant in the mad race for government jobs. 

Going Sarkari : How To Make A Move From Corporate To Government Sector

I am sure most of you who have clicked on the link to this post must have some inclination towards the Government sector but the only problem is "we do not know how to go about it". We share the common fascination for Lal aur nilli batti wali gadi, we want to have a life where in we have people working for us and we want to have a single workplace where we are recognised nationally or globally for our work. The daily politics of corporate sector have rusted us and there are some days when we just hate going to office. Friends, here in this article I have tried to clear most of your doubts through whatever understanding I have for the efforts that need to be required to enter the public sector.

First of all let me summarise your doubts. While interacting most of the like minded people, I have realised that there are some common set of fears, doubts and queries. The most common being is that of dreaded 'maths' which has consistently haunted us in school like anything and we wanted to end that torture on minds as soon as possible. The next being the rumours or grapevine that we have heard from the one who have appeared in few of such exams and could not clear it. "IAS bada mushkil exam hai", "Sirf IIT or IIM ke students hi IAS clear karte hain" , "Usne 4 attempt diye par usse interview mein nikal diya"...such things we often come across. I am not saying that this is not true but this is not absolutely true.

Usually the students with not so high-profile academic background but having a clear thought process get through such exams. For the last 4 years, I am seeing the students of 3 year graduation programmes from Delhi or any central university dominating IAS, IPS, Bank P.O., Custom Inspector and other such services.

So let's start with some basic understanding. The central services which belong to central government are divided into 3 broad categories like Group A, Group B and Group C. The most lucrative and obviously on top of the hierarchy are Group A jobs.

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conduct exams for Group A jobs and whenever movies like Airlift and Gangajal fascinates you towards becoming an Indian Foreign Service or an Indian Police Service officer you know whom to approach. For your information UPSC inducts aspirants for Group A profile till the age of 32 years (General category), it gives you 6 attempts and guess what- they do not grill you for that haunted maths. Rather they ask you questions which are related to 'General Mental Ability' which just require a little bit of practice. But 'General Studies' is indispensable for this exam and you need to be the Aryabhatta or Chanakya of this. There is no need to worry, it is still not that grilling.

Further you need to take a subject which could be your graduation subject like political science, geography or you can take some interesting subjects like psychology, sociology and public administration. The list is endless. So complete General studies (be prepared for a journey wherein you would get an opportunity to get acquainted with anything which is under the sun), a little bit of General mental ability and a thorough study of one subject of your choice is all you need to become an IAS or IPS.

You would be surprised to know that the similar exam at the state level have provision to induct aspirants uptil the age of 40 years (General category) however pattern may differ with respect to a particular state.  States such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are most favoured by aspirants of Northern India.

I would like to end this section by a few lines from a poem written by late Dr.. Abdul Kalam Azad, which goes like this:

"Dream, Dream ,Dream.Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action"

# Group B Jobs shall be covered in Part -B of this section.

You can post your queries on the comment section, they will be replied to as soon as possible

Eligibility test for politicians..

While I listen to prime time news in 24x7 news channels I wonder what would happen if an eligibility test is conducted for them before taking their seat.
Politicians in our country mould the constitutional provisions as per their whims and fancies. As election in one of the largest states in India-Uttar Pradesh is on cards, the political vendetta related to reservations,castes and demonitisation is underway. Any rational individual with a basic knowledge of constitution would tell how that these public leaders distort facts to fool the ignorant voters in our country.
If not eligibility test, a theoretical training on political philosophies and ethical conduct in daily life is I believe something which should not be ignored at any cost.

Current Affairs Quiz

Question 1 : Which of the following states in India have two capitals?

i) Jammu and Kashmir
ii) Gujarat
iii) Maharashtra
iv) Himachal Pradesh
v) Punjab

a) All of the above
b) i and v only
c) i, iii and iv only
d) i only

Question 2: Recently, the Government of India has decided to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) convention 182 and convention 138. These conventions are related to which of the following options?

a) Child Labour
b) Human Trafficking
c) Drug Trafficking
d) Women Slavery

Answers:

1) c
2) a, ILO convention 182 on the worst form of child labour and convention 138 on minimum age of employment.

Activism by Uniformed Personnel in India

Recently, the constable Tej Bahadur of Border Security Force and Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh of 42 Infantry have took over the social networking sites like Facebook to air their grievances against the neglect of welfare issues and poor service conditions in Paramilitary Forces and Army respectively. This has subsequently been followed by the series of copy cat videos from other soldiers airing the similar grievances.

Napoleon Bonaparte once said that an "army marches on its stomach". And this adage best suits to the issue of bad good highlighted by the constable Tej Bahadur  in his video. He highlighted the fact that the soldiers posted on disturbed and sensitive areas are made to eat burnt chapatis and watery dal. Though the higher officials of the BSF seems to be in state of denial, this issue should not be neglected.

A soldier protects the border and key infrastructure of the country and keeps an active vigil on any suspicious activities in these areas. So it is utmost essential that his health, welfare and service conditions be given superior priority. In addition to this the uniformed personnel of paramilitary forces also faces another set of problems which are very specific to them.

The paramilitary forces since its inception has been facing stepmotherly treatment with respect to Army. The wage disparities, poor service conditions, deployment to forward areas and other are some form of discriminations that are been faced by the forces. However, the most important issue that need to be highlighted out here is concerns related to system of military justice.

Paramilitary forces, and also Assam Rifles, falls outside the purview of the 'Armed Forces Tribunal' and the 'Security Force Court' which operates a court martial like system lack adequate legal safeguards. Thus the only recourse left for the personnel of these forces to communicate their grievances is an expensive and time consuming process of writ petitions. Perhaps this is the reason why constable Tej Bahadur used Facebook to disseminate his grievance to wider public.

However, on the other side the Army in the country is facing a different set of problems which include lop-sided promotion policies, neglect of welfare issues, denial of leaves for months, controversial appointment of 'Chief of Army Staff' and the like. These issues have national security implications as these tend to lower down the morale of the armed personnel and weakens the social cohesion among soldiers. No wonder from 2003-2013, 1666 cases of suicides and 109 cases of fratricides have been reported within the armed forces.

But here, there is one issue that is need to be focussed further. Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh has specifically highlighted the contentious Sahayak or buddy system in the army. Under this system a professional soldier is deputed to be with an officer and made to do his personal chores like washing clothes, polishing  boots and walking dogs. The series of videos should act as wake up call now, and such systems should be revoked on priority basis.

Having said that there are arguments against the use of social networking websites by the uniformed personnel to air their grievances. The armed forces in India are governed by a set of norms, organisational values, and warrior ethics that involve virtues like courage, discipline, honesty, loyalty and hierarchy. In no way there should be any breach in these values. In armed forces duties and warrior ethics of a personnel holds primacy and is a part of uncompromising creed of a soldier.

There is thus a need to strike a balance between values and virtues in the armed forces and the proper mechanism of addressing grievances of the soldiers. There is a further need to have serious deliberations and discussions on the welfare measures of the armed personnel by the senior leadership of executive and security establishments.

Rationalizing policies, operational control of paramilitary forces by Army, reform in military justice system and comprehensive measures to address the stress related issues among the forces is a need of the hour. Here the words of Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, to his king suits most appropriately:

 “The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadha for then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be King!”

The 'Totaliser Technology'

Question 1 : The 'totaliser technology' was recently in news. This technology is related to which of the following options?

a) Counting of votes through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
b) Counting the number of school drop-outs in a district.
c) Ascertaining the amount of black money in an economy.
d) None of the above.

Question 2: Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to the 'totaliser technology'?

a) It restores the secrecy of a ballot.
b) The technology received the backing of Law Commission in 2015 and the Supreme Court.
c) The government rejected the implementation of this technology as they claim that this might hamper the polling booth management.
d) All of the above.

Answers

1) a
2) d

For further reference : Click Here

Reserve Bank of India

Question 1 : Which of the following is not an essential role of the RBI in the country?

a) Supervision of banks and the payment system.
b) Public debt management.
c) Currency management.
d) Inflation fighting.

Question 2: Which of the following institutions act as an issuer and custodian of currency in India?

a) Ministry of Finance.
b) Reserve Bank of India.
c) State Bank of India.
d) None of the above.

Question 3: Which of the following statements is correct with respect to the Reserve Bank of India?

a) The constitution of India renders an autonomous status to the RBI.
b) RBI act as a Merchant banker for both the state and the central government.
c) RBI has entered into an agreement with the government of India on targeting inflation.
d) Both b and c

Further Reading : RBI Governor

Answers:

1) b. The government of India has taken the  debt management function of the RBI on the recommendation of Financial Sector Reforms Legislative Commission  (FSRLC).
2) b
3) d. The RBI has no constitutional backing.

Quote Decode

“For I am of the opinion that the most vital need of the day is to create among the mass of the people the sense of a common nationality, the feeling not that they are Indians first and Hindus, Mohammedans or Sindhis and Kanarese afterwards, but that they are Indians first and Indians last. If that be the ideal then it follows that nothing should be done which will harden local patriotism and group - Dr. B.R.Ambedkar (13th October 1956 during the meeting of the workers of the scheduled caste federation in Nagpur)

Dr. Ambedkar has laid down the foundation of a strong framework for social justice in India. He has been instrumental for constitutional empowerment of minorities especially dalit community.Through this quote, Dr.Ambedkar has emphasised the importance of core doctrine of unity in diversity in India.

Today the country is divided into fragments, the fragments which are deepened by religious fanaticism, intolerance towards liberal views, extreme form of regionalism, ignorance  and narrow mindedness. The need has arrived to revive the values of unity, integrity, common brotherhood, respect for woman, and other ideals enshrined in the preamble of the country.

Without the sense of common nationality among the masses in India, the dream of an inclusive society and being a global superpower will be the far fetched one.

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB): Radio Technology

Question 1 Which of the following advantages is not rendered by DAB as compared to the FM frequencies in radio technology?

a) Steady signal transmission in any topography.
b) Better coverage and ease of tuning.
c) Better sound quality irrespective of number of channels.
d) Better sharing of digital information related to broadcasted content.

Question 2 Which of the following countries has become the first country in the world to begin shutting down its entire FM radio network and replacing it with digital radio?

a) Denmark
b) Norway
c) China
d) Switzerland

Answers

1) c, Large number of channels may divide the bit-rate or rate of data transfer among the broadcasts. As a result of which, DAB bandwidth can be choked and it may further suffer a drop in quality.
2) b

Gene-edited Foods

Question 1 Which of the following statements is incorrect with respect to the gene-edited foods?

a) These are created through tools that snip and tweak DNA at precise locations.
b) They come under the same set of regulations to which genetically modified foods belong.
c) Gene editing techniques like Crispr and Talen are used to create such foods.
d) Few companies like Calyxt and DuPont Pioneer are using gene editing techniques to produce such foods.

Answer

1) b. These foods largely fall outside the purview of current regulations.

Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)

Question 1 Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)?

a) It is a charge that merchants pay every time a debit or credit card is swiped at their end for a transaction by a customer.
b) High MDR reduces the profit margin of a merchant.
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b

Question 2 : MDR is charged at some percentage (typically 1%) of the transaction done through a debit or a credit card. This charge is used to fund which of the following components?

a) Cost incurred in running the Point of Sale (PoS) machine.
b) Network fee to network providers like MasterCard, Visa or Rupay.
c) Interchange - the charge paid by the company that has installed the PoS machines to the issuing bank.
d) All of the above.

Answers

1) c
2) d

Indian Polity : Current Affairs Based Questions

Question 1 : Who appoints the state Director General of Police?

a) President of India.
b) Governor of the respective state.
c) Prime Minister of India.
d) Chief Minister of the respective state.

Question 2: When the model code of conduct comes into force?

a) Immediately with the announcement of poll dates.
b) 48 hours before the voting date.
c) 7 days prior to voting date.
d) As the president deems fit.

Question 3: Who heads the 'Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)'?

a) Defence Minister
b) Prime Minister
c) Home Minister
d) Cabinet Secretary

Answers

1) d
2) a
3) b

Innovative Bond Market : India and the World

Question 1: Which of the following statements is/are correct with respect to 'Green Bonds'?

a) These bonds finance environmentally friendly businesses and assets.
b) The first green bond in 2007 was issued by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
c) India is the seventh largest green bond market globally.
d) All of the above.

Further Reference : Understanding Green Bonds (The Hindu)

Question 2: Which of the following organisations/Ministry regulates the Green Bond Market in India?

a) SEBI
b) RBI
c) NABARD
d) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Question 3: The main purpose of 'Blue Bonds' is to finance which of the following?

a) Poverty alleviation programmes.
b) Solar power projects.
c) Water infrastructure projects.
d) Solid waste management projects.

Question 4 Recently, the Prime Minister of India has resuscitated the municipal bond market for water supply projects in which of the following cities?

a) Pune
b) Hyderabad
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b

Question 5: Which of the following projects/sectors in India is allocated the maximum proceeds from Green Bonds?

a) Low carbon transport sector.
b) Renewable energy projects.
c) Low carbon buildings.
d) Water and waste management.

Answers

1) d
2) a
3) c
4) c
5) b

BHIM : Indian Government's Massive Digital Transaction Push

Question 1 : Recently, the government of India has launched a digital payment application - BHIM to encourage cashless transactions in the country. Which of the following statements is incorrect in the context of BHIM?

Reference : BHIM

a) The BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is named after a mythological character in an epic - Mahabharata.
b) BHIM is an Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-based digital payment application.
c) Transactions can be fulfilled via IFSC code, MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) code and UPI account.
d) Currently the app is only available for Android users.

Answer

1) a, The BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is named after Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Further Reading

Unified Payment Interface

Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.