General Awareness Test- 1

Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community.

It is usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Important Points:

• Carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by all activities in a given time frame.

• Usually, a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• The French Open is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year.
• The Grand Slam Tournaments are called the majors. They are the four most important annual tennis events.
• The four Grand Slams are US Open, French Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon.
• The French Open is also called Roland Garros and is conducted around late May to early June.
• Australian Open is held in mid-January, Wimbledon in June-July, and US-open in August-September.
• The Wimbledon is conducted on grass courts, Australian and US Open are held in hard courts, French on clay.
• The Grand Slam tournaments are conducted by the International Tennis Federation. Neither Association of Tennis Professionals nor Women Tennis Association have their roles in Grand Slam.

Hence, the correct option is (B).

• Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Gobind Sagar reservoir.
• The father of Bhakra Nangal dam is Sir Chaudhari Chhotu Ram.
• He conceived the Bhakhra Dam way back in 1923, to rid the farmers of the so-called economic plague-spots of erstwhile Punjab state.
• He was also the originator of the concept of compensating the farmer for at least the expenses incurred by him on farming, the concept has now evolved into ‘Minimum Support Price’.
• Born on November 24, 1881, in the village of Garhi Sampla, Rohtak, Sir Chhotu Ram was graduated from St Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1905 with a distinction in Sanskrit.
• Hence, the correct option is (A).

The Montreal Protocol:

• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) is an international agreement made in 1987.
• The Montreal Protocol is widely considered the most successful environment protection agreement. It sets out a mandatory timetable for the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances like CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons).

Hence, the correct option is (B).

• Article 75 of the constitution states that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.
• Collective responsibility means that the entire Council of ministers is a team that sinks or swims together.
• So if the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion against the Council of ministers then all have to resign. So Statement 1 is correct.
• Censure motion is moved against the Council of Ministers, a group of ministers, or as individual ministers for the failure to perform duties.
• The censure motion is usually moved by the opposition party against the ruling party or any of its ministers for failing to act in a certain matter.
• The censure motion must be specific and self-explanatory, stating the reasons for its adoption. So Statement 2 is correct.
• It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha.
• No leave of the House is required for moving a censure motion but it must specify the charges against the government for which it is moved.
• If the censure motion is passed, the Council of ministers is bound to seek the confidence of the Lok Sabha as early as possible.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• Rohit Sharma has conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2020.
• He has become the fourth cricketer who will be conferred the prestigious award.
• Rohit Sharma is the captain of the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians and vice-captain of the Indian national team in limited-overs formats.
• He holds the record for the highest individual score in an ODI inning (264).

Hence, the correct option is (D).

• Chandela rulers established their religious capital in Khajuraho.
• The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was a royal dynasty in Central India.
• Nannuka was the founder of the Chandela dynasty of India.
• They ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called Jejakabhukti) between the 9th and the 13th centuries.
• The Chandelas are well known for their art and architecture, most notably for the temples at their original capital Khajuraho.

Hence, the correct option is (B).

• MAN is Metropolitan Area Network and is used to connect two or more LANs in a common geographic area: say a city or a group of buildings.
• MANs can span in the range of 5 to 50 kilometers in diameter.
• MANs usually are not owned by a single organization, they are owned by an association of users or by a single network provider who sells the service to the users.
• It interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic area or region larger than that covered by even a large local area network (LAN) but smaller than the area covered by a wide area network (WAN).

Hence, the correct option is (B).

• Works that will serve a greater public purpose and not the purpose of few individuals need to be recommended.
• MPs can only recommend it, but District Authorities have the ultimate power to sanction it.
• Key priority sectors: Drinking water facility, education, electricity facility, non-conventional energy resources, healthcare and sanitation, irrigation facilities, railways, roads, pathways and bridges, sports, agriculture and allied activities, self-help group development, urban development.
• Works not permitted: construction of office and residential buildings for public and private agencies, land acquisition or paying compensation, naming assets after individuals, grants or loans to state/central relief fund, assets for individual benefits, works on lands belonging to religious groups, marriages, execution of works in unauthorized colonies.
• Other works permitted: construction of railway halt station, providing CCTV camera in strategic locations, installation of bio-digesters at stations, schools, hospitals, provision for fixed weighing scale machines for farmers, installation of rainwater harvesting systems in public spaces, construction of shelters for skill development.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

Parliament cannot make legislation on the subjects mentioned in the State list during normal times. However, the constitution empowers parliament to make laws on any matter in-state list under 5 extraordinary circumstances:

• When Rajya Sabha passes a resolution, and such resolution is supported by two-thirds of the members present and voting. So, statement 1 is wrong.

• It remains in force for 1 year and it can be renewed any number of times but not exceeding one year at a time.

• This provision does not restrict the power of a state legislature to make laws on the same matter.

• During National Emergency. So, statement 2 is correct.

• Laws become inoperative on the expiration of six months after the emergency has ceased to operate.

• When the legislature of 2 or more states passes resolutions requesting the parliament to enact laws in the state list. So, statement 3 is incorrect.

• To implement international agreements, Parliament can make laws on any matter of the state list. So, statement 4 is correct.

• When President's rule is imposed in a state, parliament becomes empowered to make laws with respect to any matter in the state list.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• While import to India was free, Indian goods were charged at very high duty (like 66.5% on muslin) in Britain. So, statement 1 is correct.
• Industrial Revolution in England made the cost of foreign goods cheaper. So, statement 2 is correct.
• Inspite of higher prices Indian goods (especially muslin, silk, etc.) were very popular in England. So, statement 3 is NOT correct.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• Pollution word literally means damage caused by the presence of harmful substances.
• The presence of harmful gases in the air causes air pollution. This causes health issues for human beings and other species around.
• The presence of non - biodegradable wastes pollutes the soil.
• The presence of sewage pollutants pollutes the water.
• All these factors affect the life balance of not only mankind but other species too.
• These factors result in a contaminated environment and cause disturbance of environmental cycles.

Hence, the correct option is (B).

• In Peshawar, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan’s educational and social reform work among the Pathans had politicized them.
• Gaffar Khan also called Badshah Khan and Frontier Gandhi had started the first Pushto political monthly Pukhtoon.
• Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan formed a clan of non-violent revolutionaries, the Khudai Khidmatgars (known as Red Shirts), who played an active role in the movement
• Young India was a weekly paper or journal in English published by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi from 1919 to 1931.
• Hence, the correct option is (B).

• WHO released REPLACE, a step-by-step guide for the elimination of industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply.
• The REPLACE action package provides a strategic approach to eliminating industrially-produced trans fat from national food supplies, with the goal of global elimination by 2023.
• Increased intake of trans fat (>1% of total energy intake) is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease mortality and events.
• Trans fat intake is responsible for more than 500,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease each year around the world.
• The package comprises an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to trans fat elimination, along with six modules and additional web resources to facilitate implementation.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of waste materials. Incineration and other high-temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment".
• Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and heat. The ash is mostly formed by the inorganic constituents of the waste and may take the form of solid lumps or particulates carried by the flue gas. The flue gases must be cleaned of gaseous and particulate pollutants before they are dispersed into the atmosphere. In some cases, the heat that is generated by incineration can be used to generate electric power.
• Incineration with energy recovery is one of several waste-to-energy technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion. While incineration and gasification technologies are similar in principle, the energy produced from incineration is high-temperature heat whereas combustible gas is often the main energy product from gasification. Incineration and gasification may also be implemented without energy and materials recovery.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

• Mahatma Gandhi worked as an editor in Indian Opinion.
• The newspaper existed between 1903 and 1915 and was a tool to fight racial discrimination and win civil rights for the Indian immigrant community in South Africa.
• The newspaper was published in English & Gujarati and for a short period in Hindi & Tamil.
• The other newspapers associated with Mahatma Gandhi are Navjeevan, Young India, and Harijan.
• The Leader was founded by Madan Mohan Malviya and C.Y. Chintamani was the editor.

Hence, the correct option is (D).

• As part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, Gandhi launched the Salt Satyagraha.
• He undertook the Dandi March in 1930.
• C. Rajagopalachari became the TNCC president in April 1930.
• Authorized by TNCC and AICC to direct the Salt Satyagraha in Tamil Nadu, Rajaji undertook the famous Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha March.
• He selected the route from Tiruchirappalli to Vedaranyam in Thanjavur district.
• The March began on Tamil New Year’s Day (13th April).
• The March reached Vedaranyam on 28 April 1930.
• Two days later Rajagopalachari was arrested for breaking the salt laws.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

• India's longest border is with Bangladesh and the shortest border is with Afghanistan.
• It shares a 3488 km long border with China along with Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• India- Nepal border is a porous 1051-kilometer border along with the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim.
• India and Bhutan share a 699-kilometer border along with West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• India shares a 3323-kilometer border with Pakistan via Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
• India shares a 4096 km long border with Bangladesh via West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura.
• India shares a 1643 km long border with Myanmar along with Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland.
• India shares 106 km of border with Afghanistan along with Ladakh.
• Indian states share one or more International borders or the coastline except for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Haryana, and Telangana.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

• Provisions under Indian Councils Act, 1861
• The 1861 Act marked an advance in that the principle of representatives of non-officials in legislative bodies became accepted; laws were to be made after due deliberation, and as pieces of legislation they could be changed only by the same deliberative process.
• Law-making was thus no longer seen as the exclusive business of the executive.
• The portfolio system introduced by Lord Canning laid the foundations of cabinet government in India, each branch of the administration having its official head and spokesman in the government, who was responsible for its administration.
• The Act by vesting legislative powers in the Governments of Bombay and Madras and by making provision for the institution of similar legislative councils in other provinces laid the foundations of legislative devolution.
• The councils could not discuss important matters and no financial matters at all without the previous approval of the government.
• They had no control over the budget.

Hence, the correct option is (C).

• Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov began a two-day visit to India on 5 April 2021.
• The visit will present an opportunity to discuss aspects of bilateral ties and review preparations for the pending India-Russia annual summit.
• He will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• After India, Mr. Lavrov will visit Pakistan from April 6-7, 2021.

Russia:

• Capital - Moscow.
• Currency - Russian ruble.
• President - Vladimir Putin.
• Prime minister - Mikhail Mishustin.

Hence, the correct option is (A).