IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Jan 29, 2016

ANSWER: Bhubaneswar

Explanation:
Smart cities will demonstrate how integrated planning and smart technologies can deliver better quality of life. There were 97 cities in the Smart City Challenge, of which 20 winners were selected. Naidu congratulated 11 States and the Union Territory of Delhi who have made it to the top 20 smart cities list. The smart cities were chosen based on a challenge that required cities to come up with integrated plans, proposals, so that there is maximum analysis and planning. The Challenge requires municipal leaders and their partners to consult the public to develop proposals that are both sound and have a high likelihood of being implemented. Proposed solutions must strengthen the city’s governance or its physical, social, or economic infrastructure. 20 winning cities and towns have proposed a total investment of Rs.50, 802 cr over five years with all the cities proposing Public-Private-Partnership as a major vehicle of resource mobilization. Of these 20 cities accounting for a total population of 3.54 crore, 5 have population below 5 lakhs each, 4 in the range of 5-10 lakhs, 6 in between 10-25 lakhs, 4 between 25 and 50 lakhs and only Ahmedabad has above 50 lakhs.

ANSWER: 1, 2, 3, 5

Explanation:
Below are the top 20 smart cities winners -

1. Bhubaneswar (Odisha)
2. Pune (Maharashtra)
3. Jaipur (Rajasthan)
4. Surat (Gujarat)
5. Kochi (kerala)
6. Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
7. Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh)
8. Visakhapatnam (AndhraPradesh)
9. Solapur (Maharashtra)
10 Davanagere (Karnataka)
11. Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
12. NDMC (Delhi)
13. Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
14. Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh)
15. Belagavi (Karnataka)
16. Udaipur (Rajasthan)
17. Guwahati (Assam)
18. Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
19. Ludhiana (Punjab)
20. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

ANSWER: Travel along the boundary of India

Explanation:
The Paramotor team is all set to embark on one of its kind adventure traversing more than 10,000 Kms on Paramotors. The expedition represents the true adventure spirit of Air warriors team SKYRIDERS of the Indian Air Force. As the name of the expedition, ‘PRADAKSHINA’ suggests, the expedition will cover most of the boundary of the nation. The expedition will commence from Kalaikunda, West Bengal on 01 Feb 16. It will then follow the eastern Coast to Kanyakumari. The expedition will then turn north and fly along the western coast till Gujarat. It will then transit through desert of Rajasthan, fields of Punjab till foothills of Himalayas at Jammu. The route will then lead in southerly direction till New Delhi. The Expedition will then move along the eastern course transiting through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and will culminate at KalaiKunda, west Bengal on 15 Mar 16. On completion, the team will not only be setting a national record but will also be setting a new world record by breaking the current World Record of 9132 Kms. The expedition will carry the message ‘A SALUTE TO THE MARTYRS OF THE NATION’ to honour each and every uniformed soldier who has laid down his life while protecting his country. Paramotor flying includes open cockpit flying where pilot is not protected and is exposed to the elements, during the expedition, the team will brave 10,000 Kms of difficult weather conditions, will cross different terrain ranging from mountains, coasts, forests and desert and will attempt to achieve standards that will not only remain unbeaten for years to come but will also place India on top of the world in field of aero sports.

ANSWER: Wheelchair

Explanation:
A low cost motorized wheelchair called Locomo-WC is developed for Indian persons with disabilities. The Wheel Chair was developed by the Ministry of Science & Technology under the Department of Biotechnology, (DBT)’s “Make-in-India initiative”. The motorized wheelchair originally designed at the Human Engineering Research Lab, University of Pittsburg under the joint international collaborative program of DBT and USA government has been completely remodeled to suit Indian conditions. The Medical Director & Chief of Spine Service Dr. H S Chhabra and Mr. Nekram Upadhaya at ISIC had further worked on the Wheel Chair to remodel it to face the dual challenges of uneven terrain in rural India and prohibitive costs which limits the accessibility of the wheelchairs available in the market. Estimated cost of LOCOMO would be around Rs 45,000 as compared to the imported motorized wheelchair which could cost Rs 1.5 lakhs. The cost again is expected to come down with mass production and tax exemptions. The uniqueness of LOCOMO lies in its suspension system with linear links used to make all four wheels operate independently to make it suitable to handle uneven terrain also. LOCOMO could withstand rugged conditions and at the same time is also comfortable easy to manipulate and is available at an affordable cost. It is also light weight, simple to handle, easy to fold and reassemble. LOCOMO will also make people with disability as independent as possible, leading to improved quality of life, social relationships and physical health.
Unique features of LOCOMO include: Joystick controlling system in 360 degree directions, speed 8-10 km/hr, battery backup up to 15-20 km in one charge, takes about 3 hours to get it fully charged, passed ISO 7176 testing of wheelchair standards.

ANSWER: 76

Explanation:
India has climbed nine points to rank 76th in this year’s global corruption index launched here on Wednesday topped by Denmark, with watchdog Transparency International calling graft a global “blight”. According to Transparency International’s International Corruption Perceptions Index 2015, India is placed at 76th position along with Thailand, Brazil, Tunisia, Zambia and Burkina Faso out of 168 countries. India has improved its past year’s position of 85 and has a grade index score of 38 out of a possible 100 which indicates the least corrupt, said the report topped by Denmark. The other top spots, from second to ninth, were occupied by Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada. The index was prepared by using data from institutions including the World Bank, the African Development Bank. According to Berlin-based Transparency International, 68 per cent of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem and half of the G20 are among them.

ANSWER: 1, 2, 4

Explanation:
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has signed cooperation pacts with its counterparts in Malaysia, Singapore and Japan for cyber security. CERT-In is the nodal agency responsible for dealing with cyber security threats. The Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will promote closer cooperation for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection, resolution and prevention of security-related incidents between India and the three countries, according to an official statement.

ANSWER: Hybrid annuity

Explanation:
The union government on Wednesday approved the hybrid annuity model for building national highways. The move will speed up the construction of roads in the country by renewing interest of private developers in highway projects as the risk will be distributed between the government and the private players. Under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, the government will invest 40 per cent of the construction cost for building highways and the balance will come from the private developer. The government will invest money in five equal instalments based on the targeted completion of the road project. The private developer will recover his investment from the government by receiving annuity payments over a period of 15 years. Under this model, the highway toll tax will be collected by the government unlike the build, operate and transfer (BOT) toll model where the private sector collects it. So, there is no revenue or traffic risk on the part of the developer. A government official said this model will double the speed of highway construction in the country as the government will no longer will be dependent on its limited financial resources and the expertise of private sector will be utilised to operate and maintain the roads.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Three Indian-origin persons have been awarded Australia’s highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order or Australia (AC) for their contribution in the fields of physics, engineering and medicine.

Chennupati Jagadish, an eminent professor at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Jay Chandra, an eye doctor in New South Wales, and Sajeev Koshy, a dentist in Melbourne, received the Order of Australia medal for 2016 announced on Australia Day.

Mr. Jagadish was conferred with the award for his eminent service to physics and engineering, particularly in the field of nanotechnology and to education as a leading academic. Mr. Jagadish, works on semiconductor optoelectronics and nanotechnology, said. Mr. Chandra, an eye doctor who has been the head of vitreoretinal surgery at Westmead Hospital since the unit opened in 1985, also received the award for his significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology. Mr. Koshy, who lives in Melbourne, was awarded the medal for his service to dentistry in the State.