Part – B (General Studies) NDA/NA SOLVED PAPER 2018 (II) (101 to 150)

The preamble to the constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that sets out the guiding purpose, principles and philosophy of the Constitution. Preamble gives idea about the source of the Constitution, nature of Indian State (democratic, sovereign, socialist, secular, republic) a statement of its objectives and the date of its adoption.
The  42nd Amendment  Act amended the Preamble  and changed the description of India from ‘sovereign democratic republic’ to a ‘sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic’, and also changed the words ‘unity of the nation’ to ‘unity and integrity of the nation’.

The English East India Company was originally known as ‘The Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies.’ It was founded by a Royal Charter, signed by Queen Elizabeth-I, on 31st December, 1600. Sir Thomas Smith was the Company’s first Governor.
Soon, English open their trading centres at several parts of India. In 1613, Mughal emperor Jahangir issued a farman (permission letter) to English to establish their trade centre in India, hence British established their 1st trading factory at Surat in 1613.
In 1639 AD, the East India Company obtained the lease of the city of Madras from the local king where it built Fort St. George to protect its factory.

The NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog launched Composite Water Management Index to assess and improve performance in efficient management of water resources. It aims to inspire States/UTs towards efficient and optimal utilisation of water and recycling thereof with sense of urgency.
The index comprises of nine parameters and 28 indicators. The states were divided into two categories namely North-Eastern and Himalayan states and other States, to take into account different hydrological conditions across these groups.
The ranking of States/UTs is given below : Gujarat topped the list followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra in category of General States or Other States.
Tripura has topped the list followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Asom in category of North–Eastern and Himalayan states.

The North-Eastern Council is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North-Eastern Region which consists of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Asom, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
It was constituted in 1971 by an Act of Parliament. The Union Home Minister acts as ex-officio  Chairman of North-Eastern Council  (NEC).
The Secretariat (Headquarters) of the Council is located at Shillong, Meghalaya. The President of India nominates the Chairman of the Council.

The host country for World Blood Donor Day 2018 events was Greece with the theme ‘Blood Connects us All’. The global event was held in Athens on 14th June, 2018.
Every year, on 14 June, countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure the quality, safety and availability of blood and blood products for patients in need.

The Ministry of Culture, government of India has introduced a new scheme namely ‘Seva Bhoj Yojana’ to provide financial assistance on purchase of specific food items by Charitable Religious Institutions (CRIs) for free distribution among people. Under this scheme, Centre’s share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) charged on the raw food materials purchased by the religious institutions will be refunded.

Bindeshwar Pathak, a noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, was honoured with Japan’s prestigious ‘Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community’ for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination.
Launched in 1996, the award honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas–regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Infosys Chairman Narayan Murthy are among the few Indians who have won the prize in the past.

The part 18 of Indian Constitution deals with the emergency provisions. It contain three types of emergency namely:
National Emergency : Article 352
This Article says that if the president is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part of the territory of India is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion, he may proclaim an emergency.

The Theosophical Society was founded by  Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott  in 1875 in New York. It was only in 1879, that this ideology gained its roots in the India. It was crystallised in the  Madras Presidency with its headquarters in  Adayar.
The movement was popularised by  Annie Besant in India. It was based on the principles of Universal brotherhood and the study of comparative religion and philosophy.
The chief aim of the Theosophical Society in India was to establish the lost glory and honour of Hindu religion. Mrs. Annie Besant became its President and worked for the upliftment of Indian mass.

In the beginning of the 20th century, a new class of national leaders emerged in India which was different from the moderate group.
They were known as extremists, who took a more aggressive stance against the British Empire and did not believe in the soft, persuasive approach of the moderate leaders.
Important extremist leaders were Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal (Lal-Bal-Pal) leading the extremist cause in Punjab, Bombay and Bengal respectively.
Their goal was ‘swaraj’ and did not stick to constitutional methods of protest and demand rather they resorted to boycotts, strikes, etc.