IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Jan 08, 2016

1)   What was the suggested revised minimum wage for tea garden workers in West Bengal?

a. Rs 150
b. Rs.200
c. Rs. 275
d. Rs. 250
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Rs. 250

Explanation:
- Union Minister of Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed a revised minimum wage for tea garden workers in West Bengal as the government and the State reached an agreement to reopen the gardens
- A majority of the workers accepted the government’s offer for a minimum wage of about Rs. 250.
- The proposal made in the meeting was that along with Rs. 122.50 a fringe benefit of Rs.109 will be added and the minimum wages will be fixed near Rs. 250


2)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Costa Book Awards?

1. It is given bi-annually for English language writers only.
2. Writer must be from commonwealth nation.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: None

Explanation:
- The Costa Book Awards are a set of annual literary awards recognizing English-language books by writers based in Britain and Ireland.
- They were inaugurated for 1971 publications and known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2006 when Costa Coffee, a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship.
- The British writer Kate Atkinson has won the 2015 Costa novel award for her novel “A God in Ruins”.
- Costa biography award: Andrea Wulf for ‘The Invention of Nature: The - Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, The Lost Hero of Science’
- Costa children’s book award: Frances Hardinge for ‘The Lie Tree’.
- Costa Poetry Award: Don Paterson for ‘40 Sonnets’.
- Costa First Novel Award: Andrew Michael Hurley for ‘The Loney’.


3)   Pathankot is meeting point of Indian states of -

1.Jammu and Kashmir
2. Punjab
3.Haryana
4. Himachal Pradesh
5. Uttarakhand


a. 1, 2, 5
b. 1, 2, 4
c. 2,3,4
d. 2, 3, 5
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: 1, 2, 4

Explanation:
- Pathankot is a Municipal Corporation in the Indian state of Punjab.
- Due to its location, Pathankot serves as a travel hub for the three northerly states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
- It is situated in the foothills of Kangra and Dalhousie, with the river Chakki flowing close by.
- On 2 January 2016, a heavily armed group attacked Pathankot Air Force Station which is a part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force.
- Operation Dhangu was the codename given to the mission to eliminate the terrorists.


4)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA)?

1. CGF(Credit Guarantee Fund) is expected to guarantee more than 1,00,000 crore rupees worth of loans to micro and small units in the first instance.
2. It will reduce the credit risk to Banks and other financial intermediaries.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- The fund is expected to guarantee more than Rs 1 lakh crore worth of loans to micro and small units. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the MUDRA scheme has 1.73 crore beneficiaries.
- The features of the scheme include establishment of Credit Guarantee Fund for MUDRA Units (CGFMU) for guaranteeing loans sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana with effect from April, 2015 with the objective to reduce the credit risk to banks, NBFCs, MFIs and other financial intermediaries, who are member lending institutions (MLIs).
- The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. (NCGTC Ltd.), a wholly owned company of Government of India, constituted under the Companies Act, 1956 (2013) to manage and operate various credit guarantee funds, will be the trustee of the Fund.
- The guarantee would be provided on portfolio basis to a maximum extent of 50% of amount in default in the portfolio.


5)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about UNHCR?

1. UNHCR is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
2. It is mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- UNHCR's headquarter is in Geneva.
- The UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes.
- Filippo Grandi, a UN official who has worked in refugee and political affairs in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, began his five-year term as UN High Commissioner for Refugees on January 1
- He succeeded António Guterres whose more than 10 years in office ended.


6)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Ganga Gram Yojana?

1.1600 villages situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed under this scheme.
2. In these villages open drains falling into river Ganga will be diverted and alternative arrangements for sewage treatment will be made.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- In the first phase of the Ganga Gram Yojana progamme 200 villages have been selected.
- The villages will have toilets in every house hold. It is proposed to incur and expenditure of Rs. One crore on every village.
- These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model.
- Sichewal is situated in Punjab, where cooperation of the villagers has been solicited for the water management and waste disposal in a meticulous way.
- Also Ganga Task force Battalion was deployed at Garhmukteshwar


7)   Nimr al-Nimr who was executed by Saudi Arabia represented -

a. Wahabi School of Islam
b. Ahmadiya School of Islam
c. Sunni School of Islam
d. Shia School of Islam
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Shia School of Islam

Explanation:
- Saudi Arabia executes Nimr al-Nimr for his role in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.
- He was popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government, calling for free elections in Saudi Arabia.
- Nimr was executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016, along with 46 others.
- His execution was condemned by Iran and Shiites throughout the Middle East, as well as by Western figures and Sunnis opposed to sectarianism.


8)   Which of the following statements is/are correct about Central Board of Film Certification?

1. It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
2.The Board functions with its headquarters at New Delhi.


a. Only 1
b. Only 2
c. Both
d. None
Answer  Explanation  Related Ques

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- The Board functions with its headquarters at Mumbai.
- The Board consist of 25 other non-official members and a Chairperson (all of whom are appointed by Central Government).
Pahlaj Nihalani presently presides the Board after Leela Samson resigned.
- CBFC is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952".
- It assigns certifications to films, television shows, television ads, and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in India.
- Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board.


9)   Colonies of snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), an invasive species recently documented off the coast of -

a. Port Blair
b. Surat
c. Kolkata
d. Thiruvananthapuram
Answer  Explanation 

ANSWER: Thiruvananthapuram

Explanation:
- Colonies of snowflake coral (Carijoa riisei), an invasive species recently documented off the coast of Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari.
- They pose a serious threat to the marine ecology of the region
- The snowflake coral is known to inhabit reefs and underwater structures such as shipwrecks and piers, attaching itself to metal, concrete and even plastic.
- It is considered an invasive species because of its capacity to dominate space and crowd out other marine organisms.
- A native of the tropical Western Atlantic and the Caribbean, C.riisei was first reported as an invasive species from Hawaii in 1972. Since then, it has spread to Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
- In India, it has been reported from the Gulf of Mannar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Kutch and Goa.