General Knowledge (Part-3) (CDS-Solved Paper)

Kasinathuni Viswanath, one of the most prolific directors in Indian Cinema, has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2016). A presenter of classical and traditional art, music and dance, K Viswanath has been a guiding force in the Indian film industry.

The Dadasaheb Phalke award is an annual award given by the Indian Government for life time contribution to Indian Cinema. It was instituted in 1969. Manoj Kumar was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015. In 2019 Amitabh Bachchan was awarded by Dadasaheb Phalke award.

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics has been jointly shared by David J Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz for their work on exotic states of matter.

Their work helps explain why some materials have unexpected electrical properties, such as superconductivity, and in future their work could pave the way for quantum computers.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Jim Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the Universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos.

Irom Chanu Sharmila who is a famous social activist from Manipur has launched the People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance. Irom Sharmila began a hunger strike against the draconian act of AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act)  which she ended on 9th August, 2016 after 16 years of fasting.

In October, 2016, she launched the political party to contest two Assembly constituencies of Khurai and Khangabok.

The Cassini-Huygens mission commonly called cassini was a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a probe to study the planet Saturn and its system including its natural satellites. It was launched in 1997 and completed its of term in September, 2017.

The index is composed of 12 pillars of competitiveness. They are
Basic Requirement Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic stability, Health and Primary Education.

Efficiency Enhancer Higher Education and Training, Goods Market Efficiency, Labour Market Sophistication, Technlogical Readness, Market Readness.

Innovation and Sophistication Factor Business Sophistication. India was ranked 39th among 138 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index of 2016-17. India slipped to 68th rank in Global Competitiveness Index 2019.
Hence, statements (1) and (2) are correct.

Tuvalu is a Polynesian Island nation located in the Pacific Ocean. It is a country under threat of submergence due to the melting of ice and sea level rise. It is a part of SIDS (Small Island Developing States) and face maximum threat of sea level rise in the immediate future.

As low-lying islands lack a surrounding shallow shelf, the communities of Tuvalu are especially susceptible to changes in sea level and undissipated storms. At its highest, Tuvalu is only 4.6 metres (15 ft) above sea level, and Tuvaluan leaders have been concerned about the effects of rising sea levels for a few years.

It is estimated that a sea level rise of 20-40 centimetres (8-16 inches) in the next 100 years could make Tuvalu uninhabitable.

Israel has launched its first environmental research satellite named as Venus (Vegetation and Environment Monitoring New Micro-satellite). It is a joint venture between the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and its French counterpart CNES.

The Venus satellite is an earth observation micro-satellite. It is considered the smallest satellite of its kind in the world.

The world’s first Partition Museum is a part of the newly inaugurated Heritage Street at Amritsar, which starts at the Golden Temple and ends at the Town Hall.

The Partition Museum was inaugurated (with the curtain raiser exhibition) on 2nd October, 2016.

The Partition Museum Project (TPMP) was initiated by The Arts and Cultural
Heritage Trust (TAACHT) to work towards the establishment of a world class, physical museum, dedicated to the memory of the partition of the sub-continent in 1947 its victims, its survivors and its lasting legacy.

In one of the greatest and most painful
upheavals of contemporary history, over twenty million people migrated to a new homeland on the other side of a quickly demarcated border, leaving behind precious memories.

Tata Steel Limited formerly Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO) is an Indian multinational steel-making company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and a subsidiary of the Tata Group. It was founded by Jamshetji Tata and established by Dorabji Tata.

Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) is one of the largest producers of aluminium situated on Chhattisgarh. BALCO has an integrated aluminium plant with captive bauxite mines, a captive power plant, refineries and smelters.

BALCO has proved its mettle by developing and supplying special aluminium alloys to the nation’s intermediate range ballistic missiles Agni and surface missiles Prithvi.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian state-controlled Maharatna oil and gas company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Corporation operates two large refineries of the country located at Mumbai and Kochi.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company with about nine factories, and several regional offices in India.

Carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit (one tone) of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas. The ultimate goal of carbon credits is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.