Facts & Figures (Notes on General Knowledge)
Laptop in the Lap cause skin Syndrome – People who work
with a laptop computer resulting on their legs have been warned that they could
be permanently damage their skin. Toasted skin syndrome is a skin condition that
could result from long-term heat exposure.
College for Art History – Courtauld institute of Art in
London gets its name from the art collector and manufacturer Samuel Courtauld
who donated his home with his collection of impressionist paitings to London
University in 1931. It is a college for the study of Art history.
Woman PM for Australia – Julia Gillard has become the
first ever female elected prime minister of Australia.
Education is now right – The right of children to Free and
compulsory Education Act has come into from April 1, 2010.
UID rolls out from Tembhli – prime Minister Manmohan Singh
handed over the first set of 12-Digit identification number called Adhaar to 10
tribals at Tembhli village in Nandurbar District of Maharastra on 29th
September , 2010.
One Million newborn die a year – According to UNICEF,
Indian mortality rate fell from 117 per 1000 live birth in 1990 to 72 in 2007.
One million newborns die each year in their first month itself.
National Legal Services Authority – The constitution of
India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker section of the society
and ensures justice for all. The Legal services Authorities Act was aimed at
establishing a uniform network for free legal services to the weaker section of
the society. The National Legal Services Authorities (NALSA) monitors and
evaluates implementation of legal Services. Every state has a legal services
Authority.
Molecules in jeans as solar Cells – Molecules, typically
used in blue jeans and ink dyes, have been used for building an organic
frameworks that could lead to economical, flexible and versatile solar cell.
LIDAR – Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), similar to
RADAR, utilizes lasers to determine the distance to an object or surface. It is
used to variety of industries, like atmospheric physics, geology, forestry,
oceanography and law enforcement. LiDAR used in mobile environment like aircraft
and satellites, also incorporates positioning technology.
Earth Hour – Earth Hour began in Sydeny, Australia in 2007
with about two million participants. The voluntary one-hour blackout has since
grown an international event as a sign of action against global warming.
World wide web consortium(W3C) – W3C is an international
community that works towards developing world wide web standards in the areas
like web design, web application, web architecture, XML technology, web services
and devices, browsers ad authoring tools.
Composition of Bones – Organic Matter 33.30%, phosphate
51.04%, carbonate of lime 11.30%, fluoride of calcium 2.00%, phosphate of
magnesia 1.16%, soda/chloride of sodium 1.00%
Brain chip – scientist have developed a brain chip that
lets paralyzed patients operate their bionic limbs. It detect nerve message ,
decode the signal and turn thoughts into action.
AIDS Report – India has 27 lakh HIV patient per national
Aids Control Organization (NACO) estimates. NACO records fresh cases every year,
nearly 40% of which are women. Women constitute 50% of all new HIV cases
globally.
Universal Blood Type – A team of Danish, English and French
scientist has found a way to convert types A,B and AB blood into Type O – the
universal donor blood group that can be given to anybody. The enzymatic blood
conversion system enables the precise and permanent conversions of groups to
enzyme converted group O, known as ECO red cells and is safe.
Naming on the internet – The internet corporation for
Assigned Names and numbers – the organization tasked with assigning domain names
and IP addresses- has approved the domain type .xxx for porn sites. The site
that doesn’t want to use it still be able to register under the classic .com.
Second poorest country - Afghanistan is the world’s second
poorest contry. Sierra leone is the poorer than Afghanistan, according to the UN
Human Development Index for 2009.
Longest natural beach – Cox’s Bazar Beach, the unbroken 125
Km sandy beach in Bangladesh, is considered the longest natural beach in the
world.
Largest producer of Diamonds – Botswana is the world’s
largest producer of diamonds. The trade has transformed it into a middle-income
nation. It launched its own diamond trading company- Diamond Trading Company of
Bostwana – in joint venture with diamond giant De Beers.
Free calls on internet – Skype, designed by Estonian
developers, offers free calls over the internet to millions of people. Skype has
also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging,
file transfer and video conferencing.
The Hindu College of Varanasi – Central Hindu college was
established at Varanasi in 1898 by Mrs. Annie Besant. It formed the nucleus of
Banaras Hindu University.
The First University – Takshashila, established in 700 B.C.
is supposed to be the world’s first university. Students from foreign countries
also registered for studies in more than 60 streams of knowledge here.
The Largest Technopark - india’s first technopark at
Thiruvananthapuram, which is celebrating 20 years of its establishment, is the
second largest IT park in the country with 4.5 mn. Sq.ft. build up area with 180
companies operating in the premises, employing about 28,000 professionals.
National Law schools – every state in India is to have a
world class law school. These are institution of excellence in the field of
legal education and research, essential to the realization of values enshrined
in the constitution.
Top Business School in the World – Harvard, Wharton,
Stanford, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Chicago, Columbia, New York University stern(all
in US), London Business School, Insead(France), IE(spain), Ceibs(China),
IMD(Switzerland) and Indian School of Business are the top business school in
the world.
Fertility Rate – the rate at which women expect to have
children in their lifetime – was 5.5(children) in 1970. It felt to 4 in 1990 and
to 2.7 by 2008(india)
Gandhiji’s First Arrest – Gandhiji was arrested for the
first time in India on March 10, 1922 by the order of viceroy Lord Reading, near
Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmadabad.
India and Junk Mails – India has been ranked second in the
list of spam- relaying countries, accounting for over seven percent of global
junk mails sent during the first quarter of the year, says a new survey.
Dependency Ratio – the number of dependents to working
people is called dependency ratio. In India, the ratio is 0.6, which is very low
compared with the developed countries.
India, a Growing Wine Market – India is one of the growing
wine markets. It is to become the first Asian countries to join international
organization of Vine and wine (OIV), based in paris.
Gandhiji’s Dandi March or ‘Salt Satyagaraha’ began on March
12,1930. He and his 78 followers reached Dandi, 388 Km from Sabarmati Asharam of
Ahmedabad, on April 5 and broke the salt law. He was arrested on April 6.
Rashtrapati Bhawan – Rashtrapati Bhawan, Delhi was
completed in 1929. It was formely the Viceroy’s house. Now it is the official
residence of the president of India. It was designed by Lutyens.
In 1930, January 26 was observed as ‘Swaraj Day’ for the
first time. In 1929, at midnight on Dec. 31 Gandhiji led congress members in
Lahore to take a Vow for ‘Swaraj’- nothing less than full independence.
What is Literacy ? – Literacy is not just identifying the
letters of the alphabets, but acquiring the skill of reading , writing and
arithmetic and the ability to apply them to one’s day to day life.
Gandhiji switches to Lion Cloth – in 1921, Gandhiji told a
meeting of students in Madurai if they found wearing ‘Khadi’ too expensive, they
must wear less clothes. He set an example by discarding the dhoti and kurta and
switches over to the lion cloth.
Jugnu – Kanpur IIT’s mechanical and nuclear engineering and
technology departments were instrumented in designing Jugnu, a 3.5 Kg
nanosatellite.Jugnu was handed over to the ISRO in March, 2010.
Unique Identification - The Unique Identification
Authority of India(UIDAI) is to give UID numbers to 1.2 billion people. The
project will save the government more than 20,000 cr. A year by eliminating
duplication under various schemes.
Mohan Began – India’s oldest football club is Mohan Bagan,
formed in 1889, Mohammedan Sporting came in 1891.
Harijan Replaces Young India – Young India was replaced in
1933 by the new English journal Harijan. This was brought out by Mahatma Gandhi.
Beginning of Film Industry – Harishchandra S.Bhatvadekar is
often considered the first Indian filmmaker. His two short films – The Wrestlers
and Man and Monkey – were released in Nov. 1899. The Lumiere Brothers
cinematographe had unveiled six soundless short movie in Mumbai on July, 1896.
Durand Cup – The football Association (FA) Cup began in
Englad in 1897. It was the first in the world. The Durand cup tournament, which
started in 1888 at shimla, is the second oldest in the world.
A satellite build by Engineering Students – Of the five
PSL-V-C15 launched satellites in August, two were indigenous ones, the studsat
and cartsat was build by 35 students of seven engineering colleges, in india.
The Federal Court- In 1937 Federal Court of India was
created as the highest judicial authority in the country. It became the supreme
court of India on January 26, 1950.
Largest Postal Network – The world’s Largest postal network
is india post. It has over 1.55 lakh post offices, 89.76 percent of which are in
rural areas. A post office serves 7,175 people on an average and cover an area
of 21.21 sq km.
V.P.Menon – It was a civil servant named V.P.menon who
helped sardar patel in persuading many princely states to accede to india.
Plastic Industry – Indian Plastic industry had its
beginning in 1926. Combs, soap boxes and ashtrays were among the first plastic
items made in india.
Burma as part of india – Burma was separated from india
only in 1937. When the last Mughal emperor bahadur Shah Zafar was sent ot
Rangoon in 1858, and the last Burmese King Thibaw Min to Ratnagiri in 1887, they
were being exiled within the same country.
Broadcasting – Regular broadcasting in India first started
in Bombay in July 23, 1927 and later in Calcutta by india broadcasting company.
Boat Races – Hiyang Tannaba is a seasonal boat race held
during the Lai haraoba festival in Manipur. In kerela, the snake boat (Chundan
Vallom) race is held during the festival of Onam.
Saving Rate – India has a saving rate of over 30 percent.
This is the highest in the world. As india’s population will remain young for a
couple of decades, there will be an increase in the number of breadwinners. As
the rate of income earners to dependents rises, the savings rate also rises.
First Air Mail – J.R.D. Tata embarked upon an epochal
journey from Karachi to Bombay on Oct. 15, 1932 carrying India’s first Airmail.
Michael O’Dwyer Assassinated – Sir Michael O’Dwyer the
governor of Punjab during the jalianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, was assassinated
by Udham singh in 1940.
Poona Act – the poona act was an agreement signed by Dr.
Ambedkar, D. Rajati and Bombay Cricketer P.Baloo with the congress on Sept. 24,
1932.
Early Film Studios – Important studios emerged in india
around 1929. These include the prabhat Film company, Ranjit Movietone, British
Dominion Film Studio, the General Pictures.
The Jallianwala Bagh Gathering – The Gathering on
jallianwala bagh at Amritsar on April 13, 1919 had collected to protest against
the arrest of Dr. Saifudding Kichlew and Dr. Satyapal.
Accident on the rise – the National Crime Record Bureau
reports that accidents and injuries that snuff out or damage lives are rising
three percent a year in India.
A top technology cluster – Bangalore , the silicon valley
and biotech capital of India, is ranked among the top technology cluster of the
worlds. 2184 IT companies, 743 MNCs over 500,000 IT professionals. The state
accounts for nearly 35% of india’s software exports. There are 33 approved SEZs
for IT Zone.
Mental Health of Indian Soldier – one Indian soldier killed
himself every third day. In there years till May 2010, 368 soldier ended their
lives. Crores of rupees are being spent on suide prevention programmes.
Religious Festivals – Many religious festival in India
depend on the phases of the moon . full moon days are particularly significant.
There is crowding and merrymaking in temple across towns throughout India on
festivals.
Nehru Memorial Museum – The teen murti house in New Delhi
was converted into the Nehru Memorial Museum in 1974. On Jan 27, president
V.V.Giri dedicated it to nation. Jawaharlal Nehru lived in the teen murti house
as the first prime minister of India.
Teacher’s Day – President S. Radhakrishnan’s birthday
Spetember 5 was declared as Teacher’s Day in 1962. He became the second
president of india in May, 1962.
Nationalization of Airlines – All airlines of india were
nationalized on August 1, 1953. Two separate corporations, Indian airlines and
Air lines , were formed for domestic and international services respectively.
First same sex marriage fails – India’s first –ever public
same-sex marriage took place in Manipur in April, 2010 between sandeep soiban,
25 and bride Nikhil Sharma, 28, but ended in divorce after two days.
Electronic Voting Machines – the electronic voting machines
produced by Electronics corporation of india were used for the first time in the
Kerela Assembly by – election in April, 1982.
Auroville, the international township of sri Aurobindo
Ashram was innaugrated in Feb, 1968 with the assistance of all the states of
India. UNESCO and 121 countries of the world. Soils form the respective land
were poured into a lotus-shaped urn.
The first financial daily – India’s first financial daily
the Economics Times was launched by the Times of India Group in Bombay on March
6, 1961.
Tribal Population – According to the 1981 census, tribal
population formed 79 pc. Pf Arunachal Pradesh , as against an average of 7 p.c.
for the whole country.
Delhi – Mumbai Air traffic – it is estimated that about 40
percent of air traffic is between the two cities Delhi and Mumbai.
The First ISD – International Subscriber Dialing was
introduced in 1976. The first call was made from Bombay to London.
Public private initiative – India’s first public- private
initiative is a $100m. toll bridge. It is the Delhi Noida toll bridge.
Yanam Speaks Telgu – Yanam which belongs to the union
territory of Pondicherry, speaks Telgu. T is in Andhra pradesh near Kakinada.
The first coal-based fertilizer plant – in 1970, telchar in
Orissa witnessed the foundation stone lying of india’s first and world’s largest
coal based fertilizer plant.
The 17th Indian Railway Zone –
Southern(Chennai), Western(Mumbai[Church Gate]), Central(Mumbai CST),
Northen(New Delhi), Easter(Kolkata), South- Eastern(Gorakhpur),
South-Central(Secundrabad), North-East Frontier Maligaon(Guwahati), North
Central(Hajipur), North- Western(Jaipur), East-Coast(Bhubaneswar),
South-Western(Hubli), West-Central(Jabalpur), South-East Central(Bilaspur),
Konkan Railway(Navi Mumbai).
Honor Killing – A haryana court give five prople the death
penality on a 2007 honor killing case. Manoj and babli, who has eloped, were
murdered after a Khap panchayat edict.
High Courts – The High court of Bombay, Calcutta and madras
were established in 1862.
New States – on the partition of Bengal in 1905, assam was
united to the eastern districts of Bengal. In 1948 the north east frontier
agency was separated from assam. In 1963, Nagaland was carved out of assam as a
full-fledged state in 1972, Meghalaya was cut out of Assam as separate state and
Mizoram become a Union territory in 1987, Mizorom was granted statehood.
Calorific value of the Indian diet – according to writer
Robert Fogel, the calorific value of the typical English diet in 1850 was
roughly equivalent to the average Indian diet today.
State Bank of Indore merged with SBI in 2010. Bank of
Rajasthan merged with ICICI in 2010.
A tourism ministry project on satyajit rai films
locations is to give fans on opportunity to visit the sites of the Oscar winning
film maker’s movie as tourist attraction under the stayajit Ray trail project.
Obama the Author – President obama earned between $1 m and
$5 m. each for his two books Dreams from My Father and Audacity of Hope in 2009.
Ping Pong – It is another name for table tennis, which was
invented in England in the early 20th century. Since the mid- 1950s
east Asian countries had dominated the sport. In 1988, table tennis became an
olymic sport for men and women.
Cycling – the first classical professional cycling race was
held in paris in 1868. The first US cycling competition, a six-day race was held
in 1891. The first Tour de France, the premier race was held in 1903. since
1896, cycling has been part of the Olympics.
P.T.Usha – P.T.Usha is the first woman to enter an Olympic
final. Her full name is Pilavullakandi Thekeparambil Usha. She took 54.42
seconds, only one-hundredth of a second more, to come forth in 400 meter hurdle
race in Los Angeles.
National Advisory Council – National Advisory Council (NAC)
was set up on 4 June, 2004 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to implement the
common minimum programme of the first UPA government. It is an advisory body
comprising distinguished professional drawn from diverse fields of development
activity who serve their individual capacities.
Graphite and Diamond – The soft gray graphite used in
pencil lead and sometimes as a lubricant consists of the same substances as
diamond, the hardest substance in nature.
Diamonds are forever – Diamonds are a form of carbon that
has been centralized under great pressure and very high temperatures. Diamond
the hardest and the most lustrous gem, retains its brilliance and polish for
generations.
Herbert Murrill’s Orchestra tune of the National Anthem
Jana Gana Mana was accepted after an international competition in 1950.
Chittranajan, the locomotive town and a model industrial
colony was inaugurated on January 26, 1950. The first steam locomotive came out
of the assembly line on Nov. 1.
The youngest woman in Space – the first woman in space,
valentine Tereshkova, was only 26 years when she became the world famous in
1963. She was also the youngest woman in space.
Homophones – These are the word that sound like or nearly
alike but have different meaning and different spellings. Example : council and
counsel, plain and plane, forward and foreword, vain, vein and vane.
Jaiprakash Narain – Indian Freedom fighter and political
leader jai prakash narain was born on oct. 11,1902 in sitabdiara village of
Bihar. He took the lead to form the congress socialist party in 1934. He died in
1979.
First cinema Hall – J.F.Madan opened the first cinema hall
in india, Elphinstone Picture palace, Calcutta in 1907. The first talkie film
was shown in india at Elphinstone in 1929. The film was melody of love.
Lollywood – just as it is Bollywood for Hindi. Marathi and
Gujrati film produced in Bombay. It is lollywood for the pak film industry which
is based in Lahore.
New Delhi is the capital – The capital of India shifted
from Old Delhi to New Delhi, the ninth city in 1931. The formal inauguration was
in Feb 10. The city was designed by E.L.Lutyens and Hebert Baker.
Three new state of 2000 - the 26th Indian state
chhatisgarh was born on Nov,1,2000 and the 27th state
uttarakhand(Uttaranchal) on Nov,9,2000. Jharkhand is the 28th state
which came into being on Nov,15 that year.
Jantar Mantar , Jaipur – Jantar Mantar, Jaipur the world’s
largest stone structure has been included in the UNESCO world heritage list- its
latest addition from India.
Lal, Bal, Pal – The three Indian leaders Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal are known in the history of Indian
freedom movement as ‘Lal, Bal, Pal’ .
Mumtaz Mahal – Mumtaz Mahal bore Moghul Emperor shah Jahan
14 children. She died in childbirth at the age of 39, In 1630. The Emperor build
Taj Mahal, a mausoleum of pure white marble at Agra beside the Yamuna River for
her.
Gini Index – Gini index measures the extent to which the
distribution of income among individuals households within an economy deviates
from a perfectly equal distribution. The value of a Gini index that is close to
zero denotes closeness to perfect equality in income distribution while value
that close to 100 denotes closeness to perfect inequality.
Bi-Modal Strategy – An Agriculture strategy in which both
large and small sized landholdings coexist for natural growth and development.
Download Download in PDF visit http://www.scribd.com/full/53502939?access_key=key-2dppdalo8i566yhduw5a