UPSC 2017 PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS QUESTIONS

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC): It is an apex body of Union Defence Ministry for clearing defence procurement proposals forwarded by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

Noted Dalit voice, poet and Telugu writer Prof.Kalakaluri Enoch was conferred with the prestigious Moortidevi Award of Bharatiya Jnanpith for the year 2015.

The 2016 BRICS Labour & Employment Ministerial Declaration Meet was held in New Delhi from September 27- 28, 2016 to deliberate on issues including job creation and social security for workers. The two day meeting saw the participation of the five major emerging BRICS economies viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Indian women’s beach kabaddi team has won the gold medal at the 5th Asian Beach Games held in Danang, Vietnam. In the final match, Indian team defeated Thailand by 41-31 score. With this, Indian women’s kabaddi team has won the title for the record fifth time in succession. For Thailand, it was the fifth time in a row they had lost to India in a final.

Former Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres passed away on 28 September 2016 in Ramat Gan, Israel. He was 93.

Indian Army has successfully conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control () in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) i.e. along India’s de-facto border with Pakistan.

What is surgical strike?
Surgical strike is a military attack which is intended to only damage to the intended legitimate military target and no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, general public infrastructure, vehicles, buildings and utilities.

Latest Current Affairs Quiz / September 2016 Part 03

Q.1) Consider the following statements with respect to SCATSAT-1

1. It is an earth observation satellite
2. It is a continuity mission for Oscat
3. It is launched by RLV-TD

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2
2. 1 and 3
3. Only 1
4. 2 and 3

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Q.2) Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) I located in which of the following countries?

1. United States of America
2. China
3. Puerto Rico
4. Germany 

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Q.3) Consider the following statements about National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

1. The NIIF is established as one or more Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) under the SEBI Regulations.
2. NIIF is eligible for a pass through status under the Income Tax Act.
3. NIIF can have various sector-specific or investor-specific close ended Schemes (“funds”) and each fund may issue various classes of units.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Only 1
2. 1 and 2
3. 1 and 3
4. All of the above

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Q.4) Tubectomy is

1. A surgical procedure for male sterilization
2. A tube placed through the ear drum to allow air into the middle ear for people suffering from hearing loss or middle ear infections
3. A surgical procedure for female sterilization
4. None of the above

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Q.5) Below given are the Joint Military Exercises which was in news this year. Select the correctly matched pair/s from the codes given below:

1. Yudh Abhyas 2016 : : India and US
2. Friendship 2016 : : India and Russia
3. Surya Kiran 2016 : : India and Bangladesh
4. Shakti 2016 : : India and Nepal

Select the correct code:

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 3 only

Indus Water Treaty India

According to the Indus Water Treaty, India has been given control over : 

The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development).

The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan. According to this agreement, control over the three "eastern" rivers the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej was given to India and the three"western" rivers—the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), established in 1942, is an autonomous body and the largest research and development (R&D) organisation in India. It runs 37 laboratories and 39 field stations or extension centres spread across the nation, with a collective staff of over 17000. Although it is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, it operates as an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act of 1860.

 

The research and development activities of CSIR includes aerospace engineering, Structural engineering, ocean sciences, Life sciences, metallurgy, chemicals,mining, food, petroleum,leather, and environment.

 

Prime Minister is the President of CSIR. 

 

Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences is the Vice-President of CSIR

 

WTO’s principle of Most Favoured Nation (MFN)

WTO’s principle of Most Favoured Nation (MFN)

Under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. If any country grants one country a special favour such as a lower customs duty rate for one of their products the same would need to be extended to all other WTO members. This principle is known as most - favoured - nation (MFN) treatment.

MFN is so important a principle that it is the first article of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which governs trade in goods. MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) (Article 2) and the Agreement on Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Article 4). Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade handled by the WTO.

Some exceptions, however, are allowed under WTO regime. For example, countries can set up a free trade agreement that applies only to goods traded within the group — discriminating against goods from outside. Or they can give developing countries special access to their markets. Or a country can raise barriers against products that are considered to be traded unfairly from specific countries. And in services, countries are allowed, in limited circumstances, to discriminate. But the agreements only permit these exceptions under strict conditions.

In general, MFN means that every time a country lowers a trade barrier or opens up a market, it has to do so for the same goods or services for all its trading partners whether developed or developing. In international trade, MFN treatment is understood as being synonymous with non - discriminatory trade policy, because it ensures equal rather than exclusive trading privileges between two partners.

The Centre has clarified that it is not considering any proposal to withdraw the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ (MFN) status accorded to Pakistan

Latest Current Affairs Quiz / September 2016 Part 02

Q.1) Consider the following statements about Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

1. It is an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act of 1860
2. Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences is the President of CSIR

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

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Q.2) Consider the following statements with respect to WTO’s principle of Most Favoured Nation (MFN)

1. It ensures equal rather than exclusive trading privileges between two partners
2. The principle of MFN is included in GATS, GATT and TRIPS
3. India withdrew the MFN status accorded to Pakistan

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2
2. 1 and 3
3. 2 and 3
4. All of the above

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Q.3) Consider the following statements with respect to Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project

1. It is a project between India, Bangladesh and Myanmar
2. The project consists of only naval routes
3. It will reduce the need to transport goods through the “Chicken’s neck”

Which of the following is incorrect?

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. 1 and 2
4. 2 and 3

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Q.4) Recently remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was in news. It is developed by

1. National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and ISRO
2. SpaceX and NASA
3. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)
4. None of the above

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 Q.5) Consider the following statements about e-NAM Scheme:

1. It provides for a pan-India electronic trading portal for agricultural commodities
2. The lead agency for NAM is NABARD

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. Only 1
2. Only 2
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Latest Current Affairs Quiz / September 2016 / Part 01

Q.1) Which of the following is/are mammals?

1. Pika
2. Armadillo
3. Pangolin
4. All of the above

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Q.2) Project Iceworm is

1. A UN project to protect Greenland ice sheets
2. A top-secret United States Army program during the Cold War to build a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet
3. A project in response to the April 1912 sinking of the Titanic
4. None of the above 

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Q.3) FARC rebels are from which of the following countries?

1. Colombia
2. Venezuela
3. Suriname
4. Cuba

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Q.4) India has been ranked 39th among the 138 countries in the 2016-17 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). It is released by

1. World Trade Organisation
2. World Economic Forum
3. UNCTAD
4. International Monetary Fund 

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Q.5) Which of the following statement is/are correct?

1. PSLV is designed mainly to deliver the “earth observation” or “remote- sensing” satellites in LEO
2. GSLV is designed mainly to deliver the “communication- satellites” in GEO
3. An orbit is called sun-synchronous when the angle between the line joining the centre of the Earth and the satellite and the Sun is constant throughout the orbit
4. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is in the range of 600- 900 Km altitude whereas Geo-synchronous Earth orbit (GEO) is about 36000 Km altitude

Choose the appropriate code:

1. 1 and 2
2. 3 and 4
3. 1, 2 and 4
4. All of the above

Latest Current Affairs Quiz / September 2016

Q.1) Where are Senkaku Islands located?

1. Tasman Sea
2. South China Sea
3. East China Sea
4. Bering Sea

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Q.2) Recently Kigali was in news concerning a summit to discuss amendments to the Montreal Protocol to support phasing out or replacement of ozone-depleting substances. Where is it located?

1. Senegal
2. Angola
3. Rwanda
4. Uganda

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Q.3) Tulbul navigation project is between

1. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
2. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
3. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
4. None of the above

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Q.4) Which of the following airports is Asia-Pacific’s only airport to achieve a carbon neutral status

1. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport – Mumbai
2. Indira Gandhi International Airport – Delhi
3. Kempegowda International Airport – Bengaluru
4. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport – Ahmedabad 

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Q.5) Consider the following statements about National SC/ST Hub which will be launched on 8th October 2016 in Ludhiana:

1. National SC/ST Hub is under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
2. It is a one-stop e-portal solution through which various services starting from student application, application receipt, processing, sanction and disbursal of various scholarships to SC/ST Students are enabled.

Which of the above statement(s) is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

SCRAMJET ENGINE

• ISRO used an Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV), a sound rocket for the test.
• The initial launch of ATV was by regular solid fuel rocket motor.
• Two scramjet engines were at the sides of the rocket.
• The scramjet engines were ignited 55 seconds later and physically operated for 6 seconds.
• The engine achieved ignition and maintained combustion at six times the speed of sound (Mach 6).
• Scramjet stands for Supersonic Combustion Ramjet
• Scramjet breathes air and uses high speed vehicle to forcefully compress the incoming air before combustion.
• Conventional aircraft engines on the other hand compresses air using fan before combustion.
• It is also called the air breathing engine as it uses atmospheric oxygen to burn the hydrogen fuel.
• Scramjets are efficient only at supersonic speed.