General Knowledge For Competition Exams Indian Polity and Constitution

Indian Polity and Constitution

• The right to equal opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment has been enshrined in : -Article 16
• In the Constitution of India, the idea of Uniform Civil Code is provided in : -Directive Principle of State Policy
• The voting age in India was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by : the 61st Constitutional -Amendment Act of 1988
• Indian Constitution provides only for : -Single Citizenship
• In which schedule to the Constitution of India have the powers, authority and responsibilities of municipalities been mentioned? :  -Twelfth Schedule
• The provision of suspension of Fundamental Rights is borrowed from : -Weimer Constitution of Germany
• Which Article makes a provision of Administrative Tribunals? : -Article 323-A
• As per the Preamble of the Constitution of India, the nature of Indian State is of : -a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republican polity
• The Indian National Congress adopted a resolution to establish a socialistic pattern of society in : - its Avadi session in 1955
• The three words which were added in the Preamble to the Constitution of India by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976 are : - socialist, secular and integrity
• Article 1 describes India that is Bharat as : -a Union of States
• The Chief Election Commissioner of India holds office for a period of: - Six year or till the age of 65 years whichever is earlier
• The Sarkaria Commission was set up for the review of the relation between : - The Centre and State
• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha votes only : - In case of tie
• Article 24 of the Constitution prohibits employment of children in any factory below the age of : -14 years 
•  Which amendment of the Constitution reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years ? : - 61st Constitutional Amendment Act (1988)
•  Which Parliamentary Standing Committee is concerned with the regularity of the expenditure of the government ? :- Public Account Committee
•  Equal Pay or Equal Work for both men and women is : -A Fundamental Right
• Parliament has power to legislate with respect to a matter in the State List provided it is in : -The National Interest
• In which Schedule to the Constitution of India has the list of national languages has been mentioned ? :-8th Schedule
• In which year was Tashkent Pact signed between India and Pakistan ? :- In the year 1966
•  Indian Constitution has introduced adult francis i.e., :-Every adult above 18 has the right to vote
• National Anthem (Jan Gan Man) was adopted on :-January24,1950
• The Preamble to the Constitution of India Proclaims India as :-a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic
• Member of Parliament fund, at present stands at :-Rs. 5 crore per annum
• The provision for formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states in mentioned in :-Article3
• The provision as the administration of Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalay, Tripura and Mizoram is mentioned in :-Sixth Schedule to the Constitution
• The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India was :-Hiralal J.Kania
• The provision of National Emergency is laid down in :-Article 352
• Which part of Indian Constitution deals with Official Language? :-Part XVII
• The Vice-President of India draws a salary of :- Rs. 1,25,000 per month

Global Warming Affects Desert Climates

How does global warming affect desert climates?  
source: Tell Me Why June 2012
We know that our planet is undergoing major climate change and that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising significantly. This has a major effect on the climate of deserts became hotter since 1976.
Global warning is expected to induce an overall increase in rainfall. However, since regions in the high latitudes are expected to warm more than those in mid and low latitudes, there will be more rainfall in high latitude deserts and less in sub tropical ones. As a result, desert in the lower latitudes are expected to grow. A new study has found that, as deserts become hotter their soil releases nitrogen in these arid environments, scientists believe, will result in a loss of whatever plant life there is in deserts.

Fly Ash in Agriculture

FLY ASH IN AGRICULTURE source: science reporter June 2012
1. Improves permeability status of soil.
2. Improves fertility status of soil/agriculture yield.
3. Improves soil textural properties and soil aeration.
4. Reduces soil bulk density and crust and compact formation.
5. Improves water-holding capacity/porosity.
6. Makes favorable and optimum soil pH for crops. 
7. Provides several micro nutrients such as Mo, B, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, etc.
8. Source of many macro nutrients like Mg, S, K, P, Ca, etc.
9. Alternative for gypsum for reclamation of sodic soils and lime for reclamation of acidic soils.
10. Improves soil microbial activities in combination with other organic amendments.   

Reducing Carbon Footprint

Reducing Carbon Footprint  source: science reporter June 2012

Are conferences a waste of time and a drain on the resources? Recently, in the United States, head

have been rolling over since it was discovered that neatly one-million dollars were spent on a

conference held in Las Vegas in 2010 for General Services Administration (GSA) bureaucrats featuring a

mind reader, a clown, a comedian, free bicycles and lavish receptions in resort suites. A recent

editorial in the journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) even  questions the utility of

conferences, arguing that "there is virtually no evidence supporting the utility of most conferences."

And then. there is the increasing carbon footprint of conferences in a 2008 report in the British

Medical Journal, Malcolm Greene pegged at some 10,000 tons of carbon for participants attending a

mid-sized international conference. There are also the bulky abstracts, the innumerable fliers and

publicity material for which quite a few trees have laid down their lives and most of which have a

lifetime not more than a newspaper's.

But there are those who argues that meetings and conferences allow people in different areas and

fields and settings to mix leading to fertilization of new ideas, fructification of existing ones and

uncovering of new research opportunities. There are also the opportunities for young scientists and

even students to soak in the academic atmosphere and perhaps a chance that a truly inspiring talk

could catalyze and trigger their creative juices. These are benefits that cannot be denied.

While certainly working on enhancing the academic utility of conferences and meetings, can we not

at least make such events a little less burdensome on the environment and with a reduced climate

impact? There is a worldwide movement towards minimizing the carbon footprint of conferences. And

there are several aspects of conferences that provide this opportunity such as the choice of venue,

registration, transportation, food and beverage services, paper use and waste reduction.

Recently, in a report the American Chemical Society highlighted its efforts aimed at 'sustainable'

meeting, counting among others: a) Reducing carbon footprint of hotel shuttles (to carry passengers)

by 50%; b) Issuing of its meeting programme as a mobile app and PDF download- it claimed that

offering a digital alternative saved 1,600 pounds of paper and associated freight; c) Donating all

usable, uneaten food from meeting events to local community groups; d) Giving attendees reusable

water bottles because bottled water has a huge carbon footprint.

Some of the other climate-friendly practices that are being explored are minimizing waste, choosing

venue that employ energy and water efficient equipment and practices or use renewable energy, using

alternative fuel vehicles for ferrying guests, arranging accommodation for guest at walkable distances

from the venue, and minimizing use of paper and where essential using recycled paper. A compost

programme for all food waste could reduce the amount of waste going to landfill thus cutting down on

emission of methane.                                                                                         Hasan Jawaid Khan

The Indian Botanic Garden

The Indian Botanic Garden (Hawrah),  source: science reporter June 2012

 now called Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, completes 225 years of glorious existence this year. It is a unique national heritage.
The Indian Botanic Garden is not only home to plants and trees. Birds of different species can also be found in the garden. It is also to a number of snake species as well as rodents.
Though the Botanic Garden's glorious past cannot return but anyone who comes here will realize that the Indian Botanic Garden is a different world of sylvan green, an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

BOTANICAL SURVEY

 BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA resource: science reporter June 2012

The Botanical Survey of India has its Headquarters at Kolkata with Pharmacognosy, Cryptogamy, Ecology, Plant Chemistry, Flora Cell, Palynology, Library, Publication Unit and Technical Section located at Kolkata/Howrah. Besides, four other unit of the Survey, viz., AJC Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah and  Central National Herbarium. Howrah, Central Botanical Laboratory. Howrah and the Industrial Section, Indian Museum, Kolkata. In addition, the Survey has 11 Regional Centers in different bio-geographical region of the country.

 The Survey is currently engaged in following activities to achieve these objective:

1. Survey and exploration of plants, especially in fragile ecosystems and protected areas, including Antarctica
2.  Documentation of plant diversity at national, regional, state, district and ecosystem level. Documentation of indigenous knowledge of plant resources
3.  Maintaining national botanical collections and museum exhibits centrally at Central National Herbarium, Howrah and museum exhibits centrally at Central National Herbarium, Howrah and Indian Museum, Industrial Museum, Kolkata and all its Centre Offices located in different regions of India
4. Cultivation, multiplication and ex situ conservation of threatened, endemic and economically important species
5. Pharmacognostic studies on species listed in Schedule VI of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Negative List of Export (PN-47)
6.  Capacity building in taxonomy
7.  Environmental Impact Assessment on flora (wherever specifically asked by the administrative ministry)
8.  Digitization of herbarium specimens
9.  Advisory services in the field of identification, distribution, status and ex situ conservation of plant species
10. Dissemination of scientific information related to different aspect of Indian flora through hard copy publications of Floras, Journals and other thematic publications