Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Abhay Ashtekar.

Key Points

Abhay Ashtekar:

• He has been conferred the prize "For numerous and seminal contributions to general relativity, including the theory of black holes, canonical quantum gravity, and quantum cosmology."
• Appointment:
• Director of the Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos,
• Evan Pugh Professor (It is the highest distinction that the University can bestow upon a faculty member) of Physics, and
• Holder of the Eberly Chair at Penn State.

Einstein Prize:

• It is given by the American Physical Society (since 2003).
• This prize recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the field of gravitational physics.
• The prize was established by the Topical Group on Gravitation (now Division of Gravitational Physics) in 1999.
• The prize consists of $10,000 and a certificate citing the contributions of the recipient.
• It also includes an allowance for the recipient to travel to a meeting of the Society to receive the award and deliver a lecture.
• It is awarded biennially in odd-numbered years.

Additional Information

• Other distinguished prizes for contribution in Physics include:
• Andrei Sakharov Prize:  "Leadership and/or achievements of scientists in upholding human rights"
• Frank Isakson Prize: "Optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the condensed matter sciences"
• Fluid Dynamics Prize:  "Achievement in fluid dynamics research"
• Thomas Young Medal and Prize:  Distinguished research in the field of optics, including physics outside the visible region$.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

e-Drishti:

• The Indian Railways, in association with the Centre For Railway Information Systems (CRIS), has launched a software system called e-Drishti.
• Objective: To enhance transparency and vigilance in the Railways department.
• Services provided by the software:
• The software will supply train timing information directly to the Ministry, on a daily basis.
• It will help the department to better monitor the punctuality performance of trains and take necessary corrective actions.
• It will also make available, the information concerned with freight and passenger earnings of the trains.
• It will help the Ministry in keeping a check on railway stations, focusing on aspects such as safety and sanitation.
• Real-time updates about major projects shall be sent via the system, in order to make policy and decision-making swifter.
• To ensure quality control of Railway food, live CCTV footage of IRCTC base kitchens can also be seen.

Additional Information

• Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS):
• It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Railways.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: July 1986
• Parent Organisation: Indian Railways

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

Additional Information

• The Fields Medal is awarded every four years on the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematicians.
• Awarded for: Outstanding contributions in mathematics attributed to young scientists.
• Reward(s): CA$15,000 (Canadian Dollar)
• The Fields Medal Committee is chosen by the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union and is normally chaired by the International Mathematical Union President.
• Condition: A candidate's 40^th birthday must not occur before January 1^st of the year of the Congress at which the Fields Medals are awarded.
• The medals and cash prizes are funded by a trust established by J.C.Fields at the University of Toronto$.

The correct answer is All of the above.

Key Points

Additional Information

 Noble Prize:

• The Nobel Prizes are given in the memory of Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833-1896).
• Originally, the Nobel Prize was awarded for works in 5 disciplines that are:
• Peace, Physics, Chemistry, Medicine & Literature.
• The first prize was given in 1901.
• The Prize for Economics was instituted in 1968 by a Swedish bank.
• It was awarded first time in 1969.
• The award comprises a Gold Medal, Diploma, extension in Swiss visa & passport & 8 million Swedish Krona.
• The awards can be given to a maximum of three persons in the same field at the same time.
• It is not awarded posthumously.

The correct answer is Ashok Kumar Gupta.

Key Points

 Competition Commission of India:

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is a statutory body of the Government of India.
• It is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002 (as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007) throughout India.
• Objectives:
• To ensure freedom of trade.
• To protect the interests of consumers.
• To promote and sustain competition in markets.
• To prevent practices that harm the competition.
• Members:
• The members of the CCI are appointed by the Central Government.
• The Competition Commission of India is currently functional with a Chairperson and 6 members.
• The Competition Act, 2002 was enacted by the Parliament of India and governs the Indian competition law.
• The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.
• It was repealed on the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee.
• Major functions of the Act:
• It prohibits anti-competitive agreements.
• It prohibits abuse of dominant position by enterprises, and
• It regulates acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A, which can cause an appreciable adverse effect on the competition within India.

Recent News:

• On November 5 & 6, 2020, the Competition Commission of India organised a virtual Workshop of BRICS Competition Agencies on Competition Issues in the Automotive Sector.
• The correct Chairman is - Ravneet Kaur.

The correct answer is Sikkim.

Key Points

• The world’s best laws and policies promoting agroecology are awarded the Future Policy Award (FPA).
• The “100% organic state” Sikkim, in India, was 2018's winner of the “Oscar for best policies” (nickname of the award),
• This year’s award is co-organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Future Council (WFC) and IFOAM – Organics International.

Sikkim:

• Gold Prize winner Sikkim is the first organic state in the world.
• All of its farmland is certified organic.
• The policy implemented a phase-out of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and achieved a total ban on the sale and use of chemical pesticides in the state.

Additional Information

 Future Policy Award:

• It is the only award which honours policies on an international level.
• Each year, the World Future Council chooses a topic for the Future Policy Award on which policy progress is particularly urgent.
• Awards are distributed in partnership with FAO and IFOAM – Organics International.

Silver Awards of 2018:

• Brazil’s National Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production,
• Denmark’s Organic Action Plan,
• Quito's (Ecuador) Participatory Urban Agriculture Programme.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

QUAD:

• It is an informal (neither economic nor military) strategic forum comprising India, Japan, Australia and the United States of America.
• The idea was first mooted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007 (although main progress started from 2017 after the Philipines meet).
• It aims to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.

The objective of Quad:

• To advance the security and the economic interests of all countries having legitimate and vital interests.
• To develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence (especially China).
• It has become necessary due to the increased presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean.
• From the Indian context, the rising dominance of China is the new and emerging security concern.

Recent News:

• In November, the Quad nations came together to participate in a two-phase joint military exercise, Malabar 2020, in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• The first summit of the leaders' of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Framework) was hosted by the USA on a virtual platform in 2021.
• QUAD pledged to promote a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats in both the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

​

Additional Information

• Malabar exercise is an annual trilateral naval exercise between the navies of India, Japan, and the USA which is held alternately in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

Blue Economy:

• As per the World Bank, It is the “sustainable development of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem."
• In the Indian context, it is a sector of the national economy that comprises the ocean resources system and man-made economic infrastructure in oceans, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction.
• It aims to promote economic growth, social inclusion and the preservation of livelihoods while ensuring environmental sustainability of the oceans and coastal regions.
• Significance: 
• ​It focuses on livelihood generation by creating employment opportunities for coastal communities.
• It boosts domestic and regional trade.
• Harnessing abundant oceanic resources.
• It focuses on a more fuel-efficient, cheaper and reliable mode of transportation,
• It enhances resilient coastal biodiversity and promotes an ecologically safe tourism industry.

Additional Information

Recent News:

• The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) prepared the draft blue economy policy framework in line with the Government of India’s Vision of New India by 2030.
• It highlighted the blue economy as one of the ten core dimensions for national growth.
• The document recognizes the following seven thematic areas.
• National accounting framework for the blue economy and ocean governance.
• Coastal marine spatial planning and tourism.
• Marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing.
• Manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development.
• Logistics, infrastructure and shipping, including trans-shipments.
• Coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy.
• Security, strategic dimensions, and international engagement.

The correct answer is My Son, Temple.

Key Points

My Son Temple:

• My Son, an architectural temple complex on the coast of Vietnam, was the spiritual and political capital of the Cham people (the Champa Kingdom).
• Champa, an ancient Indo-Chinese kingdom lasting from the 2^nd to the 17^th century AD.
• It extends over the central and southern coastal region of Vietnam.
• This site consists of Hindu temple towers built between the 4^th and 13^th centuries.
• The towers are built of bricks and held together by vegetable-based cement.
• The surviving temple towers still comprise the oldest and largest built relics in the history of Champa society.

Archaeological Survey of India:

• Established: 1903.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of Culture, is the main organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation.
• It regulates all archaeological activities in the country as per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• It also regulates Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972.

Additional Information

• Other architectural monuments under ASI renovation:
• The Angkor Wat in Cambodia,
• The My Son Temple in Vietnam,
• The Ananda Temple in Myanmar,
• The Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia,
• The Vat Phou Temple in Laos, and
• The Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan

The correct answer is Meghalaya.

Key Points

Nongkrem dance festival:

• Period: Generally, in the month of November, every year.
• Venue: Smit, the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya.
• The Nongkrem dance festival is celebrated during Autumn at Smit, the cultural centre of the Khasi Hills.
• It is a five day long religious festival of the Khasis, Ka Pomblang Nongkrem dance is popularly known as Nongkrem dance.
• Nongkrem Dance Festival is performed to appease the all-powerful Goddess Ka Blei Synshar for a rich bumper harvest and prosperity of the people.

Additional Information

• Other major festivals of Meghalaya:
• Shad Suk Mynsiem, Wangala, Laho dance festival, etc.
• The state is also known for its popular modern festivals such as Autumn festival, Strawberry festival, Cherry blossom festival etc.