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Article | Indian History
100 YEARS OF JALLIANWALA BAGH:

KNOW ABOUT THE MASSACRE
April 13, 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the most heinous crime committed
by British colonialism. British Prime Minister Theresa May expressed ‘deep
regret’ over this incident in British House of Commons. Read more about the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre here.
Background
 In 1917 Government appointed a Committee under the chairmanship of

British judge Sir Sydney Rowlatt to investigate the seditious conspiracy of
the Indian people. Rowlatt Committee sent their recommendations to
Imperial Legislative Council in 1918.
 On the basis of this recommendation, government introduced Anarchical
and Revolutionary Crimes Act and enacted it in 1919. It was also known as
Rowlatt Act.
 This act gave enormous powers to the police to search a place and arrest
any person without warrant. It severely curtailed civil rights and press
freedom of Indians.
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 It also banned Indians from keeping any type of weapon. This angered the
Sikhs, who kept a kripan (a type of small sword) with them as part of their
religion.
 When the Rowlatt act came to effect in 10 March, 1919, it was followed by a
nationwide protest. L. Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India during that time.
 Mahatma Gandhi was extremely agitated by enactment of Rowlatt Act and
decided to launch a nationwide satyagraha against this act. Anti Rowlatt
Satyagraha was the first nationwide satyagraha launched by Gandhi.
 Gandhi called for all-India hartal on Arpil 6, 1919.
 But Anti-Rowlatt protests turned violent in many parts of India. In one such
incident Marcella Sherwood, superintendent of city mission schools was
attacked by the angry mob and left to die.
 The government imposed martial law in many places including Punjab.
Towards Jallianwala Bagh
 On 10th April, two renowned Congress leaders, Dr. Satya Pal and Dr.
Saifuddin Kitchlew were taken to custody.
 A public meeting was held on 13th April 1919 on the occasion of Baisakhi
Festival day at Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the arrest of these
leaders and the passage of Rowlatt bill.
 The park was enclosed by buildings on all sides. The meeting was
absolutely peaceful and was attended by more than twenty thousand people
including women and children.
 Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer with his British troops entered the park,
closed the main entrance of the park and commanded his army to open fire
at unarmed peaceful crowd without warning.
 The firing lasted for ten minutes and 1650 rounds, killing about more than
thousand people. More than two thousand people were left wounded.
 The dead and wounded lay unattended in the Bagh. Dyer imposed a curfew
to prevent people from coming to the Bagh in search of relatives.
 According to British estimates, the total number of killed were 379 and over
1200 wounded. But the actual number may be three times more than that.
 This massacre of Jallianwala Bagh aroused the fury of the Indian people
and lost their trust on British Government.
 Reginald Dyer is known as the butcher of Amritsar.
Response
 Rabindranath Tagore returned knighthood bestowed upon him in 1914.

 Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu returned the title ‘Kaiser-e-Hind’
awarded by British.
 Sir. C. Shankaran Nair resigned from the Executive Council of Viceroy.
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OPINIONS ABOUT MASSACRE

 “Preventive Murder” : Edwin Montagu
 “Saddest and most revealing of all” : Motilal Nehru
 “Cold-blooded massacre and inhumane” : C F Andrews
 “An extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in
singular and sinister isolation” : Winston Churchill
 “Black day in the annals of British India” : Valentine Chirol
Hunter Committee
 Government appointed Disorder Inquiry Committee to investigate the
disturbances in Punjab, Delhi and Bombay and pin point their causes and
the measures taken to cope with them.
 The President of the Disorders Inquiry Committee was Lord William Hunter.
It was known as Hunter Commission. The secretary of the committee was
H.G. Stokes, Secretary to the government of Madras.
 The Commission criticised the action of General Dyer for not giving warning
before the firing. But they did not recommend any penal or disciplinary
action against him. Government allowed Dyer to resign with no plan for
further punishment. He returned to London.
 The newspapers in Britain hailed him as ‘the saviour of India’. The Morning
Post newspaper raised a sum of 26,000 pounds in support of him.
 Michael O'Dwyer, the lieutenant governor of Punjab also endorsed and
justified the act of General Reginald Dyer.
Aftermath
 After the tragic incident of Jallianwala
Bagh, a committee was formed with
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya as
president to build a memorial for the
martyrs.
 Jallianwala Bagh Monument was
inaugurated by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the
first President of the Republic of India,
on 13 April 1961. It was designed by Benjamin Polk, an American architect.
 Viceroy Lord Reading repealed the Rowlatt Act, the Press Act, and twenty-
two other laws in March 1922.
 General Dyer died due to illness in 1927. On his deathbed, Dyer reportedly
said: “So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did
right...but so many others say I did wrong. I only want to die and know from
my Maker whether I did right or wrong”
 On 13 March 1940, at Caxton Hall in London, Sardar Udham Singh, an
Indian revolutionary activist shot and killed Michael O'Dwyer. He was
arrested and hanged on July 31, 1940 at Pentonville Prison, London.
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Article | Current Affairs
LOKPAL: INDIA’S ANTI-CORRUPTION

OMBUDSMAN
THE IDEA OF LOKPAL
 The office of ombudsman first came into being in Sweden. The

Ombudsman is a Swedish word and refers to an official whose job is to
investigate complaints from the public against government officers.
 Austria, Denmark and other countries in Scandinavia started following the
Swedish model. At present, more than 130 countries have similar
institutions of ombudsmen.
 The word Lokpal was coined by L.M. Singhvi in 1963. It is derived from the
sanskrit word meaning protector of people.
 In India, the system of Lokpal is modelled after Ombudsman system in
Scandinavian countries and its adaptation in the U.K. in 1967.
 The government passed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act after a mass
movement led by Anna Hazare in 2011.
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THE LOKPAL AND LOKAYUKTAS ACT
 The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act envisages the appointment of a Lokpal at the
Centre and Lokayuktas in States to look into cases of corruption against
certain categories of public servants
 The then UPA government introduced the Bill in Lok Sabha in 2011. This Bill
was examined by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice
and passed by the Lower House. The Bill was then referred to a Select
Committee of Rajya Sabha.
 Based on the recommendations of the Select Committee, the government
made amendments to the Bill before it was passed in Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha
then approved these amendments leading to its passage in Parliament in
2013. The Act was notified on January 16, 2014.
Eligibility and Qualification of Lokpal Members
 A five-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker,
the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist
nominated by the President, selects the Lokpal.
 According to the Act, there is provision for a chairperson and a maximum of
eight members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial
members.
 At least 50% of the members of the Lokpal shall be from amongst the persons
belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward
Classes, minorities and women.
 The chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till
they reach 70 years of age.
 The salary and allowances of the chairman will be same as that of the Chief
Justice of India. The members will be paid salary and allowances same as that
of a judge of the Supreme Court.
 To be appointed as Chairperson of Lokpal, a person must have been a Chief
Justice of India, or a judge of Supreme Court or an eminent person
having special knowledge and expertise of not less than twenty five years in
the matters of anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance,
law and management.
 To be eligible for appointment as Judicial Member of Lokpal, the applicant
must have been a judge of Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of High Court.
 Eminent persons having special knowledge and expertise of not less than
twenty five years in the matters of anti-corruption policy, public
administration, vigilance, finance, law and management are eligible to be
appointed as other members of Lokpal.
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Jurisdiction of Lokpal
 Lokpal’s jurisdiction will cover all categories of public servants including

Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of
Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C
and D.
 Also covered are chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board,
corporation, society, trust or autonomous body either established by an Act of
Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Centre.
 It also covers any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution
above ₹10 lakh.
 The Lokpal cannot inquire into any corruption charge against the Prime
Minister if the allegations are related to international relations, external and
internal security, public order, atomic energy and space.
 Also, complaints against the Prime Minister are not to be probed unless the
full Lokpal bench considers the initiation of inquiry and at least 2/3rds of the
members approve it.
 If such an inquiry against the Prime Minister is conducting, it should be held
in camera. And if the Lokpal comes to the conclusion that the complaint
deserves to be dismissed, the records of the inquiry are not to be published or
made available to anyone.
Functioning of Lokpal
 The Lokpal will have a Secretary, who will be appointed by the Lokpal
Chairperson from a panel of names prepared by the Central government. The
Secretary will be of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
 The Lokpal will have to appoint an Inquiry Wing, headed by a Director of
Inquiry, and a Prosecution Wing, headed by a Director of Prosecution.
Procedure for dealing with complaints
 A complaint under the Lokpal Act should be in the prescribed form and must
pertain to an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act against a public
servant. There is no restriction on who can make such a complaint.
 When a complaint is received, the Lokpal may order a preliminary inquiry by
its Inquiry Wing, or refer it for investigation by any agency, including the CBI,
if there is a prima facie case.
 Any officer of the CBI investigating a case referred to it by the Lokpal, shall
not be transferred without the approval of the Lokpal.
 Before the ordering of an investigation by the agency, the Lokpal shall call for
an explanation from the public servant to determine whether a prima
facie case exists.
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 The Inquiry Wing or any other agency will have to complete its preliminary
inquiry and submit a report to the Lokpal within 60 days.
 A Lokpal Bench consisting of no less than three members shall consider the
preliminary inquiry report, and after giving an opportunity to the public
servant, decide whether it should proceed with the investigation. It can order
a full investigation, or initiate departmental proceedings or close the
proceedings if the allegation is false.
 If Lokpal orders a full investigation, it must be completed within six months.
However, the Lokpal or Lokayukta may allow extensions of six months at a
time provided the reasons for the need of such extensions are given in writing.
 The Lokpal, with respect to Central government servants, may refer the
complaints to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
 The CVC will send a report to the Lokpal regarding officials falling under
Groups A and B; and proceed as per the CVC Act against those in Groups C
and D.
 It may also proceed against the complainant if the allegation is false. Making
false and frivolous complaints to Lokpal would result in a fine of up to one
lakh rupees and imprisonment of up to one year.
Prosecution
 The agency ordered to conduct the probe has to file its investigation report in
the court of appropriate jurisdiction, and a copy before the Lokpal.
 A Bench of at least three members will consider the report and may grant
sanction to the Prosecution Wing to proceed against the public servant based
on the agency’s chargesheet.
 The trial shall be completed within a maximum of two years.
 It may also ask the competent authority to take departmental action or direct
the closure of the report.
Lokayuktas in State
 For public servants under the State governments, the States have to set up
Lok Ayuktas to deal with charges against their own officials.
 The Lokayuktas shall have jurisdiction over the CM, Ministers, MLAs, all state
government employees and certain private entities (including religious
institutions).
 Even before the enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 almost all
states have created Lokayukta as a statutory authority with a fixed tenure.
 Members of public can directly approach the Lokayukta with complaints of
corruption, nepotism, or any other form of maladministration.
The first state to pass Lok Ayukta Act was Odisha (1970). But it came into force
in 1983. The first state to appoint Lok Ayukta was Maharashtra (1972).
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Lokpal Search Committee & Selection Committee
 After a long delay and several criticisms from Supreme Court, Government
began the appointment process of first Lokpal in 2018.
 The government constituted a eight-member Lokpal Search Committee in
September 2018, headed by former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash
Desai, to recommend names for the posts of Lokpal chairperson and
members.
 The names recommended by Lokpal Search Committee were scrutinised by
a Lokpal Selection Committee and nominates the Lokpal.
 Lokpal Selection Committee is a five-member panel comprising:
 the Prime Minister
 the Lok Sabha Speaker
 the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha
 the Chief Justice of India and
 an eminent jurist nominated by the President
 The Selection Panel comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the Chief
Justice of India’s nominee, Justice S.A. Bobde; Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Sumitra Mahajan; and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi selected the first
Lokpal of India.
 Since there was no official opposition leader in Lok Sabha, the Leader of the
largest opposition party was included in the Selection Committee as a
‘special invitee’. But Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader and the Special
invitee, refused to attend the meetings.
PINAKI GHOSE INDIA'S FIRST LOKPAL
 Justice Pinaki Ghose, a former Supreme Court

judge, was named as India's first Lokpal, the anti-
corruption ombudsman on March 19, 2019. He
took oath on March 23, 2019. The oath was
administered by President Ram Nath Kovind at a
ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
 Former Chief Justices of different high courts —
Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar
Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari — and Ajay Kumar
Tripathi, the sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court were appointed
as judicial members in the Lokpal.
 Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal Archana Ramasundaram,
ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer
Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam
are the Lokpal’s non-judicial members.
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TIMELINE
 1963: The idea of an ombudsman first came up in parliament during a

discussion on budget allocation for the Law Ministry. The term Lokpal was
coined by L.M. Singhvi.
 1966: The First Administrative Reforms Commission under the chairmanship
of Morarji Desai recommended the setting up of two independent authorities-
at the central and state level, to look into complaints against public
functionaries, including MPs.
 1968: The Lokpal Bill was introduced in parliament but was not passed.
Eight attempts (1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2001) were
made till 2011 to pass the Bill, but in vain.
 2002: The Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution headed by
M.N. Venkatachiliah recommended the appointment of the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas; also recommended that the PM be kept out of the ambit of the
authority.
 2005: The second Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Veerappa
Moily recommended that office of Lokpal be established without delay.
 2011: The government formed a Group of Ministers, chaired by Pranab
Mukherjee to suggest measures to tackle corruption and examine the proposal
of a Lokpal Bill.
 2013: Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, was passed in both Houses of
Parliament.
(Courtesy: The Hindu, Indian Express, PRS)
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Fact File
THE MERGER OF BANK OF BARODA,

DENA BANK AND VIJAYA BANK
Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will merge with the Bank of Baroda on
April 1, 2019. Government took decision in this regard last year. Here
are the 10 things you need to know about the merger.
1. The new consolidated Bank will have the name ‘Bank of Baroda’ and the
other two banks – Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank – will function as
branches of Bank of Baroda.
2. The merged entity will be the third-largest bank in India, after State
Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
3. It will also be the second largest Public Sector Bank, after the SBI. The
Punjab National Bank (PNB) was so far the second largest PSB.
4. This is also India’s first-ever three-way consolidation of banks in India.
5. In terms of the number of branches, Bank of Baroda will rank second in
India across all banks.
6. The consolidated bank will have over 9,500 branches, 13,400 ATMs,
85,000 employees to serve 12 crore customers
7. After the merger, the total number of nationalized banks in India will
reduce to 17 from 19. Also the number of public sector banks (PSBs) will
be reduced to 18 (17 nationalized banks and State Bank of India).
8. The bank will have a combined business of ₹15 lakh crore, with deposits
and advances of ₹8.75 lakh crore and ₹6.25 lakh crore, respectively.
With the merger, the new bank will rank second in deposits and third in
advances.
9. This merger will help Bank of Baroda increase its reach in the western,
southern and north-eastern regions.
10. The net non performing assets (NPA) of the new entity will be at roughly
Rs 80,000 crore or 5.71%, which is below the threshold (6%) fixed by the
Reserve Bank of India.
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Explained | Kerala Economy
WHAT IS KERALA INFRASTRUCTURE

INVESTMENT FUND BOARD (KIIFB)?
What is Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)?
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), a statutory body

under Finance Department, Government of Kerala is constituted under the
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Act, 1999 (Act 4 of 2000). The
Act and scheme was comprehensively modified through an amendment
Ordinance in August 2016.
What is the Objective of KIIFB?
KIIFB seeks to raise funds from outside of state

revenue to finance infrastructure projects. It has
special focus to provide investment for projects in the
sectors of Irrigation, Roads, Power, Water Supply,
Inland Navigation, Ports, Solid Waste Management
and Drainage. This also includes major land
acquisition needs of the State.
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Who all are in the Governing body of KIIFB?
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Executive Committee of KIIFB

Fund Board (KIIFB)
 Chairman - Chief Minister  Chairman - Minister For

 Vice- Chairman - Minister for Finance
Finance
 CEO & Member Secretary Members
Members  Chief Secretary

 Secretary (Law)
 Chief Secretary to Government  Secretary (Finance)
 Vice-chairman of State Planning  Secretary (Finance Resources)
Board  Three Independent Members
 Secretary (Law) Of The Board, to be
 Secretary (Finance) nominated By The
 Secretary (Finance Resources) Government
 Seven independent members who  Chief Executive Officer
are experts, who have worked in
an institution of national repute in
one or more of the areas of
Finance, Banking, Economics
What are the Major Infrastructure Projects under KIIFB?
Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is constituted for raising

funds both in the medium as well as long term to finance critical and large
infrastructure projects in the state such as:
 Kerala Fibre Optic Network: Digitally Connecting 33,000+
government institutions and free internet to 2 Lakh Households.
 Petrochemical and Pharma Park, Kochi: 600 Acres of Industrial
Park for Chemical Products.
 Coastal and Hill Highway: Connecting Kerala via 1800 kms+
Highway.
 Transgrid 2.0 Power Highway: Creating High Capacity Transmission
Lines.
 Life Science Park, Thiruvananthapuram: 125 Acres of Healthcare,
Herbal, Agriculture & Biotechnology Zone.
 HiTech School Programme: Introducing 45,000+ Smart
Classrooms.
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How Funds are mobilized through KIIFB?
Its main source of the fund is general obligation bonds against

unconditional government guarantee and revenue bonds with structured
payment mechanism to be issued by the state government. The
Government guarantees the payment of the principal and interest of any
fund proposed to be raised by the Board.
Why KIIFB is needed?
The Central government has set limits to the borrowing capacity of states by
implementing Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. This has
left little room for the states to borrow funds from the market. KIIFB is a
financial innovation to bypass the Central Act to raise funds for the need of
state.
How will the state government repay money raised?
Under the KIIF Act, KIIFB is eligible to receive a share of Motor Vehicle Tax
(MVT) and Petroleum Cess collected by the State Government.
The structure of regular cash flows is mainly from a share of the Motor
Vehicle Cess, (which started with 10 per cent in 2017-18 and rising up to 50
per cent share by 2022) and a minimum of Rs. 1 per litre of petrol sold in
the State. This comes to almost Rs 1,200 crore every year.
This, along with cash flows from revenue generating projects executed
through KIIFB (revenue being interest on loans provided by KIIFB) will go for
repayment of funds raised by it.
FUND TRUSTEE & ADVISORY COMMISSION (FTAC)
 The Fund Trustee & Advisory Commission (FTAC) is constituted

under Section 6 C of the KIIF Act, functions as the trustee of the Kerala
Infrastructure Investment Fund (KIIF)
 The FTAC helps to ensure that all investments of the fund serve the
purpose and intent of the Act and that there is no diversion of funds of
the Board.
 It comprise of three to five members including a chairperson.
 The FTAC will have a two-year term and the members cannot be
removed either by the government or the KIIFB.
 At present FTAC is chaired by Mr. Vinod Rai, Former Comptroller and
Auditor General of India. Ms Usha Throat, Deputy Governor (Retd.),
Reserve Bank of India, and G Padmanabhan, Executive Director (Retd.),
Reserve Bank of India, act as members.
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POINTS TO REMEMBER
 KIIFB is considered as the brainchild of Kerala Finance Minister Dr. T.M.

Thomas Issac.
 Dr. K.M. Abraham is the current CEO and Member Secretary of KIIFB
 Sanjeev Kaushik, IAS [Principal Secretary, Finance (Resources)] is the
Deputy Managing Director of KIIFB.
 The tagline of KIIFB is 'Defining the Future'
 KIIFB has so far mobilized a total of Rs. 9927 Crore from Masala Bond,
NRI Chitty, Petroleum Cess, Motor Vehicle Tax and NABARD loan (as on
March 31, 2019).
How many projects have been sanctioned by KIIFB?
At present, 533 infrastructure development projects of total worth Rs 42,363

crore have been sanctioned under KIIFB. Out of this, 238 projects worth
9928 crore have been tendered, and in 193 projects worth 7893 projects,
work has been started.
What are the criticisms against KIIFB?
 The lack of accountability is a serious criticism against KIIFB. The funds

the agency mobilises and spends is outside the purview of the State
Legislative Assembly.
 If all the projects materialise as envisaged by the government, KIIFB will
have to find Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of 10 years to repay the debt at
nine percent interest. The cess on petrol, diesel and vehicles earmarked
for KIIFB may not be sufficient even to pay the interest on the debt
incurred by KIIFB.
 The Government is already facing financial crunch for past few years. The
GDP growth is slowing. With the salaries and pensions alone accounting
for more than 70 percent of the state’s annual revenue, the state
government is left with no money to meet even the non-plan expenditure.
The gap between revenue receipts and expenditure has been widening
over the years. As the situation worsens, government may not be able to
repay its debt obligation.
 Most of the projects sanctioned by the agency so far is upgradation of
schools, colleges and hospitals and construction of rural roads, which
does not generate any money income.
 Government uses KIIFB to invest in loss-making Public Sector
Undertakings (PSUs). Kerala has 96 PSUs under different departments.
Investing in loss making PSUs is not a good strategy.
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What is NRI Chitties?
The Pravasi Chitty or NRI Chitty is a fund-raising instrument of the Kerala

Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). It aims to mobilise Rs 10,000
crore in three years through Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE), the
non-banking finance company of the state government.
The major advantage of NRI Chitty is that it allows the

investors/subscribers to be part of the development of the state without any
financial liability. It was initially introduced in UAE.
A portion of the turnover of the Pravasi Chitty would be invested in the

bonds of KIIFB, in the name of KSFE. Enrolment to the Pravasi Chitty was
started in October 2018 and all related procedures, from enrolment to
auction, are digital. The subscribers are given the option to select any of the
KIIFB-assisted projects in which their money could be spent. All subscribers
will get a life insurance cover from the LIC during the chitty’s tenure. If the
subscriber dies without or after bidding the chitty, LIC will pay the rest of
the instalments.
Courtesy
1. Business Today: https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-

politics/masala-bonds-norms-modi-govt-prevent-rupee-
fall/story/282482.html
2. FirstPost: https://www.firstpost.com/india/kerala-finance-minister-
thomas-isaac-gambles-upon-kiifb-to-raise-funds-for-cash-strapped-state-
opposition-experts-term-it-debt-trap-4334085.html
3. Deccan Chronicle: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-
affairs/290119/kiifb-economic-logic-of-a-poetic-idea.html
4. The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kiifb-
floats-masala-bonds-for-2150-crore/article26676816.ece
5. Centre for Public Policy Research: https://www.cppr.in/article/kerala-
infrastructure-investment-fund-board-a-frankensteins-monster-or-
economys-saviour
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Article | Kerala Economy
KERALA BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN

STATE TO ISSUE MASALA BONDS
 Masala Bonds are bonds issued outside India but denominated in

Indian Rupees, as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.
 In March 2019 Kerala through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund
Board (KIIFB) raised Rs. 2,150 crore rupees from Masala bonds and
thereby became the first Indian state to issue masala bonds
PROCEDURE
 Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) took a landmark

decision to issue Masala Bonds in the international markets in the 31st
Board Meeting held on 30.11.2017.
 The board appointed Axis Bank as advisor to guide KIIFB through the
process of issuing Masala Bonds.
 Based on their advice tenders were floated for selecting International
Rating Agencies and Bankers. Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Rating
have been selected as International Rating Agencies.
 Axis Bank and Standard & Chartered Bank have been selected as
Bankers to the issue.
 Analysts from both agencies reached Kerala in July 2018 and had
detailed discussions with Finance Minister Dr. T.M.Thomas Isaac, KIIFB
chief executive officer K.M. Abraham and others.
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 Following a thorough evaluation, the agencies awarded BB grading which

no other entity has obtained in the country. This made the entry easy for
KIIFB and establish its fiduciary value in the international market
KERALA MAKES HISTORY
 Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) has created history

on 29th March 2019 by successfully completing its debut international
issue by closing Rs. 2150 Crore Masala Bond.
 KIIFB's Masala Bonds yields interest of 9.72%, and has to be paid half-
yearly.
 Till now, the masala bonds were issued only by large Indian corporates
and public institutions like NHAI and NTPC which are all rated AAA in
the domestic market.
 In contrast, KIIFB had only a BB rating, much below the Central
government grading of BBB.
 This is the second largest mobilisation in the masala bond market by any
public sector company in the country and in absolute size the third
largest issue done by any Indian entity in the history of the bonds.
 The money raised would be used for funding the infrastructure
development projects cleared by the KIIFB director board.
WHAT IS MASALA BOND?
 A Bond is a debt instrument issued by an entity (Individuals, businesses

and governments) to raise capital for their needs. These entities issue
bonds and investors buy them (thereby giving money to people who
issued the bond).
 Bonds have a maturity date. This means that at some point, the bond
issuer has to pay back the money to the investors. They also have to pay
21
the investors periodic interests and at the time of maturity, a little bit
more than they paid for the bond.
 The Masala Bond is a special kind of bond denominated (expressed) in
Indian rupee and issued to fund infrastructure projects.
 The term 'Masala Bonds' was used to denote Rupee-denominated bonds
by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to evoke the culture and
cuisine of India.
 The peculiarity of rupee denominated bond is that buying of bonds,
interest payments and repayment all are expressed in rupees. All
payments are converted into corresponding dollar values at the time of
payment.
 As it is rupee denominated bond, the risk will be borne by the investor. If
the value of Indian currency falls, the foreign investor will have to bear
the losses, not the issuer which is an Indian entity or a corporate.
 Besides this risk factor, the rupee denominated masala bonds is
attractive to foreign investors because it will give them higher interest
rate (2 to 3% more) compared to the standard interest rate prevailing in
their markets.
How the masala bonds or rupee denominated bond works?
 For example, if an Indian financial entity issues Rs 1000 rupee

denominated bond overseas, the buyer in overseas can buy the bond,
paying equivalent amount of dollar/sterling.
 If the exchange rate was 1$ = Rs 50, the bond buyer will pay $20 (or Rs
1000) to buy the rupee denominated bond.
 Suppose the interest rate is 10%. Here, the Indian entity has to pay Rs
100 annually and this can be paid (in dollars etc.) at the prevailing
exchange rate at the payment time.
 Now if the exchange rate depreciates to 1$ = Rs 75, the bond buyer’s
interest revenue of Rs 100 equals just around $1.3. He actually incurs
losses in terms of dollars (might have got $2 if the exchange rate was the
same or in the case of dollar denominated bonds).
 Here, if the rupee’ value has changed, the risk should be borne by the
foreign investor. At the end of the time period, the issuer will give Rs
1000 and this can be converted into dollar at the prevailing exchange
rate at that time.
(Source: www.indianeconomy.net)
22
POINTS TO REMEMBER
 The first Masala bond was issued by the World Bank- backed IFC in
November 2014 when it raised 1,000 crore bond to fund infrastructure
projects in India
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed issuance of these bonds by
Indian corporates on September 29, 2015.
 In July 2016 HDFC raised 3,000 crore rupees from Masala bonds and
thereby became the first Indian company to issue Masala bonds.
 In August 2016, public sector company National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) issued first corporate green Masala bonds worth
2,000 crore rupees.
23
Fact File
10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

WEST NILE DISEASE
A six-year-old boy from the Malappuram district undergoing treatment
for West Nile disease died at the Government Medical College Hospital
on March 18 morning. Read more about West Nile Disease here.
1. West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne disease that can cause

neurological disease and death in people. WNV is commonly found in
Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America and West Asia.
2. West Nile Virus (WNV) was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile
district of Uganda in 1937.
3. West Nile virus is almost always spread to people by the bite of an
infected mosquito. The main species of mosquitoes that spread WNV
are in the genus Culex.
4. Wild birds serve as the main host of WNV for mosquitoes. When some
species of birds become infected, they produce high quantities of the
virus, which can then be passed on to other mosquitoes that bite
them. The virus is maintained in this bird-mosquito cycle.
5. Infected mosquitoes can then spread WNV to humans and other
animals when they bite. There is no evidence that West Nile virus can
be spread by direct contact with infected people or animals. The virus
can cause severe disease and death in horses.
6. Approximately 80% of infected will not show any symptoms. Only 20%
of infected people will get sick.
7. People typically develop symptoms 3 to 14 days after they are bitten
by an infected mosquito. The incubation period could be longer in
people with certain medical conditions that affect the immune
system.
8. The Symptoms of West Nile virus include headache, fever, muscle and
joint aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash.
9. There is no specific treatment for WNV infection. In cases with milder
symptoms, people experience fever and aches that subside on their
own. Over-the-counter pain relievers can be used to help reduce fever
and relieve associated symptoms. Vaccines are available for use in
horses but not yet available for people.
10. People over the age of 60 are at greatest risk of getting sick and are
more likely to develop serious symptoms when infected with WNV.
24
Article | Social Issues
WILL ELECTORAL BONDS BRING

TRANSPARENCY IN POLITICAL
FUNDING?
What are Electoral Bonds?
Electoral Bonds are financial instruments that can be used by the individuals,
institutions and organizations to donate money to the political parties. These
bonds are in the nature of Promissory Notes and are issued by Banks.
When did it come to exist?
Electoral Bond scheme was announced by Union Finance Minister Arun

Jaitley in the Union Budget 2017-18. Government of India has notified the
Electoral Bond Scheme on 2 January 2018. Accordingly, the first sale of
Electoral Bonds commenced from 1 March 2018 for a period of 10 days.
Who can purchase Electoral Bonds?
Electoral Bonds can be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or

incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy
Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
25
How many denominations are available?
Electoral Bonds shall be issued in the denomination of Rs 1000, Rs 10,000, Rs

1,00,000, Rs 10,00,000 and Rs 1,00,00,000. The minimum amount for
donation in Electoral Bonds is Rs 1000. There is no maximum limit for
Donation.
When can they be bought?
Electoral Bonds are available for purchase for 10 days each in the months of
January, April, July and October. An additional period of 30 days would be
specified by the Centre in the year of general elections.
Where can they be bought?
These bonds can be bought from selected branches of State Bank of India only.
SBI is the Sole Authorized Bank by the Government of India for selling
Electoral Bonds.
How does the Electoral Bond Scheme works?
The process would work something like this:
1. A Donor (a person, or a corporate entity) can buy an Electoral Bond for

some amount from an Authorized Bank.
2. The Bank records all the KYC details of the Donor, along with the details of
the account from where the donation funds are to be withdrawn from.
3. The Bank issues the Bond to the Donor
4. The Donor then gives this Bond to a Party (any recognized political party)
5. The Party submits this Bond, to the bank where it has its own account
recognized by the Election Commission of India (ECI), for encashing.
6. The Bond is processed and the funds are transferred from the issuing bank
to the account of the party.
But these points have to be noted:
 The Electoral Bonds shall be validity of Maturity period of Fifteen Days from
the Date of Issue. This means that an electoral bond need to be encashed
within 15 days of issuance, otherwise they will be useless.
 Electoral bonds can be encashed by the political party only through a
designated bank account held with an authorised bank (here SBI). Every
political party has to submit details of its designated account to the Election
Commission.
26
Can all political parties receive electoral bonds?
Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951 and which secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in
the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly
of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds.
What is the need of Electoral Bond?
Electoral Bond scheme was introduced to bring about greater transparency

and accountability in political funding, while preventing future generation of
black money. Through this scheme banks would be able to track the buyers of
electoral bonds using their KYC details and thus ensure that clean money
comes into system. If required, law enforcement agencies can always check the
details of donors from banking channels. Since the details of the donor is only
with Bank and is not in public domain, he can also be safeguarded from
political victimization. Thus the government claims that electoral bonds
achieve the twin purposes of greater accountability in political funding as well
as anonymity of the donor.
What do the critics have to say?
Many criticise that, in the name of transparency the government has made
political funding more opaque. They points out many flaws in this scheme.
Some of them are discussed below.
 Electoral Bond scheme is a blessing for corporates that fund huge amounts
to political parties as they can remain anonymous. It is important for the
27
public to know the donation a party received from corporates and others
entities to check whether they received any unduly favours from
government in return.
 The NDA government through The Finance Act of 2017 amended various
laws, including the Representation of the People (RP) Act of 1951, the
Income Tax Act and the Companies Act to launch Electoral Bonds. Many
argue that these amendments made the system of political funding more
opaque, rather than transparent.
 The Income Tax Act and the Companies Act were amended by Government
to facilitate unlimited corporate contributions through electoral bonds.
 Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act 1951 was amended to
allows political parties not to disclose the source of electoral bonds. The
parties do not have to disclose where their money comes from, as long as
the mode of funding is through electoral bonds.
 Under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, all political parties
registered with the Election Commission were required to maintain details
of donations of Rs 20,000 and above, received from any source, and have
them audited. Government amended this provision and exempted electoral
bonds from this requirement.
 Now only contributions over Rs 20,000 received through cheques or digital
mode of payment will be required to be reported to the Income Tax
department and the Election Commission of India. As the Election
Commission pointed out in Supreme Court, the bulk of the donations to
parties have been coming in sums smaller than that amount.
 Previously, a company could only donate an amount not greater than 7.5%
of its net profits of the past three financial years. This provision was done
away with.
 Before the budget of 2017, there was a rule that if a political party gets a
cash donation of less than Rs. 20,000 from a donor, then it was not
mandatory to reveal the source of fund. The government had reduced the
limit of anonymous cash donation to Rs. 2000 only in budget 2017. Now it
is possible for political parties to break huge amounts up into donations of
less than Rs.2000 so that there is no trail of the donor. Thus, electoral
bonds is unlikely to stop because of Electoral bonds.
What is the current status?
The Supreme Court of India on April 5, 2019 agreed to hear a plea on the
legality of electoral bonds. The plea was filed by Association for Democratic
Reforms (ADR), a not-for-profit organization. The Election Commission filed an
affidavit in Supreme Court, submitting that the electoral bond scheme would
have a serious impact on transparency in political funding. But the central
government is firm in its opinion that the new reform will bring transparency
in political funding while maintaining the privacy of the donor.
(Courtesy: The Hindu, Indian Express, Live Mint, PIB, Arthpedia, Quora)
28
Fact File
MISSION SHAKTI:
INDIA BECOMES FOURTH SPACE
SUPERPOWER
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24, 2019 announced that India
has successfully tested its first anti-satellite missile system, code-named
‘Mission Shakti’. A defunct Lower Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellite of
India, which was orbiting at an altitude of 300 km, was shot down by
the weapon within three minutes of launch.
10 FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. Anti-satellite Missiles (ASAT) are space weapons designed to incapacitate

or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes. They are essentially
long-range missiles that have a kinetic kill vehicle attached to them.
2. The other countries having anti-satellite weapon capabilities are United
States, Russia and China. With the success of the Mission Shakti, India
became the fourth ‘space superpower’.
3. The mission was led by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), aimed at strengthening India’s overall security.
29
4. The missile was launched from Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch
complex, the DRDO’s testing range in Odisha’s Balasore.
5. The test was done on an Indian satellite which had been decommissioned
and was orbiting on a ‘Low Earth Orbit’ at a height of 300 KM from the
earth’s surface.
6. The mission was a highly complex one and was conducted at extremely
high speed with remarkable precision. The entire test, with confirmation
of target elimination, took 3 minutes.
7. Mission Shakti was coordinated by Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) Chairman G. Satheesh Reddy and National
Security Advisor Ajit Doval along with officers of the National Security
Council.
8. Indian ASAT test is believed to have destroyed the Microsat-R satellite. It
was a medium-sized military imaging satellite built by DRDO and was
launched in January by the Indian Space Research Organization.
9. The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no
space debris. Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back
onto the earth within weeks.
10. The MEA statement said that the purpose of the test was to “safeguard”
India’s own “space assets” and made it clear that India had “no intention
of entering into an arms race in outer space”.
Courtesy: Indian Express

30
ASAT: GLOBAL SCENARIO
 The USA and Soviet Union conducted large scale research and tests in the
field of ASAT from 1950s onwards, during cold war era.
 On February 21, 2008, the U.S. Navy destroyed the malfunctioning US spy
satellite USA-193 using a ship-fired RIM-161 Standard Missile 3.
 On January 11, 2007, the People’s Republic of China successfully
destroyed a defunct Chinese weather satellite, FY-1C, and became the
member of this elite space club.
 Again in 2015, Russia also tested its PL-19 Nudol missile.
 China conducted its latest anti-satellite missile test in 2013, when it
launched its new ASAT missile, the Dong Neng-2 or DN-2.
ASAT IN INDIA
 In 2012, V.K. Saraswat, then the chief of the Defense Research and
Development Organization (DRDO) announced that India has all necessary
resources to build an anti-satellite weapon to neutralize hostile satellites in
low earth and polar orbits.
 In an interview, Saraswat suggested that India’s anti-ballistic missile (ABM)
defense program could be utilized as an ASAT weapon, along with its Agni
series of missiles.
 India has seen an accelerated space development programme since 2014.
INTERNATIONAL LAW ON SPACE WEAPONS
 The principal international Treaty on space is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
India is a signatory to this treaty, and ratified it in 1982.
 The Outer Space Treaty prohibits only weapons of mass destruction in
outer space, not ordinary weapons.
31
 Ministry of External Affairs in its press release said that India did not
violate any international law or Treaty to which it is a Party or any national
obligation.
 Many space observers and satellite operators raise concerns over the debris
created from ASAT test. Objects in orbit are moving up 17,000 miles per
hour in space. If one of these pieces hits another satellite, it can cause
damage that might make a satellite inoperable. And some of these pieces
are potentially quite small, making them hard to track.
 The ASAT test on Microsat-R will not be a serious problem because:
 Microsat-R was in a relatively low orbit. Most of the pieces created
from this event will probably fall to Earth within the next couple of
weeks and months.
 Since the satellite is not a large one, it will not create a lot of
debris. As a result, Mission Shakti is called a controlled ASAT test.
 In contrast, the Chinese test in 2007 provoked international ire because it
destroyed a satellite at a little over 800 km, producing over 14,000 pieces of
debris that endangered hundreds of other satellites in its vicinity. The act
violated the principles of the Outer Space Treaty.
(Courtesy: Times of India, Indian Express, New Indian Express Edex Live, Indian
Defence Update)
32
Article | Social Issue
THE CONTROVERSIAL SUPREME

COURT ORDER ON FOREST RIGHTS
ACT
AN INTRODUCTION TO FOREST RIGHT ACT
 In the colonial era, the British diverted abundant forest wealth of the
nation to meet their economic needs. As a result, tribal and forest-
dwelling communities, who had been living within the forests in harmony
with the environment and the ecosystem, continued to live inside the
forests in insecurity. This situation continued even after independence as
they were marginalised.
 Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006 or simply Forest Rights Act is a landmark
legislation in India drafted to give due recognition to the forest rights of
tribal communities.
 FRA recognize and vest forest rights in forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes
(FDSTs), who have been occupying the land before October 25, 1980 [The
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 came into force on this date].
 The Act is crucial to the rights of millions of tribals and other forest
dwellers in different parts of our country as it provides both individual
rights to cultivated land in forestland and community rights over common
property resources. Many believe that this act paved the way to undo the
‘historic injustice’ done to the tribals and other forest dwellers.
33
PROVISIONS OF THE ACT
 The Act outlines 12 forest rights which include:

 Title rights – i.e. ownership – to land that is being farmed by
tribals or forest dwellers as on 13 December 2005, subject to a
maximum of 4 hectares; ownership is only for land that is
actually being cultivated by the concerned family as on that
date, meaning that no new lands are granted
 Use rights – to minor forest produce (also including ownership),
to grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
 Relief and development rights – to rehabilitation in case of illegal
eviction or forced displacement; and to basic amenities, subject
to restrictions for forest protection
 Forest management rights – to protect forests and wildlife
Eligibility
 The Act recognizes two classes of persons :

 Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe – Persons belonging to the
scheduled tribe who “primarily reside in forests” and who depend on
forests and forest land for a livelihood.
 Other Traditional Forest Dweller (OTFD) – Persons residing in
forest, or dependent on forest produce for 75 years
Process of recognition of rights
 The Forest Rights Act recognises individual rights of tribals over forest
areas, if they can prove occupation before Dec. 13, 2005.
 The claims over forest lands are processed through a three-tier system:
the gram sabha, or general assembly of the village where the claims are
first submitted; a sub-divisional-level committee (SDLC) headed by a
government officer; and a district-level committee (DLC) headed by the
district collector.
 Every forest claim must be accompanied by two documents as evidence,
which could be: documents issued by the government; research studies;
statement by elders; and even physical evidence of possession or use of
land, such as wells.
How the claims are processed
 Accompanied by officials from the revenue and forest departments, the

gram sabha’s forest rights committee verifies claims by a field visit,
collecting additional evidence, if needed, from claimants and witnesses.
34
 The committee then submits its opinion to the gram sabha, which
approves or rejects the claim. Approved claims are forwarded to the SDLC
for review.
 If approved, the claim is forwarded to the DLC, which is the final legal
authority to approve or reject claims.
 Appeals against rejection follow the same order. If the gram sabha or
SLDC rejects a claim, the claimant can appeal to the SDLC or DLC.
THE RECENT SUPREME COURT ORDER
 On February 13, the Supreme Court ordered the eviction of lakhs

belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (OTFDs) categories across 16 States, whose claim as forest-
dwellers has been rejected under the Forest Rights Act.
 A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee
ordered the Chief Secretaries of many of these States to evict those whose
claims were finally rejected. The court directed that the eviction be carried
out by July 24, 2019.
 The court also ordered the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to make a satellite
survey and place on record the “encroachment positions.”
 The direction comes in a batch of petitions filed by an NGO Wildlife First
and few retired forest officials, challenging the validity of Forests Rights
Act. According to the petitioners, the Act has led to deforestation and
encroachment of forest land. They also argued that the rejection of an
FRA claim implies that the claimant is an encroacher and not a bona fide
forest dweller.
 Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of rejected claims, which
approximately come to 3.5 lakhs, followed by Odisha, with nearly 1.5 lakh
rejected claims. Uttarakhand has the least number of rejected claims, 51.
The states of Goa, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are yet to adjudicate on
the filed claims, and they have been directed to complete the exercise by
the next posting date.
THE PROBLEM
 The February 13 order is based on affidavits filed by the States. Nearly

11,27,446 tribal and other forest-dwelling households have been rejected
as per the rejection claims from 16 states that were submitted in the
court
 The affidavits, however, do not make clear whether the due process of law
was observed before the claims were rejected.
 The Centre argues that the rejection of claims is particularly high in the
States hit by Left-Wing Extremism, where tribal population is high.
 The forest land claims of these tribes and forest-dwellers are mostly
rejected by the States.
35
 Being poor and illiterate, living in remote areas, they do not know the
appropriate procedure for filing claims.
 The gram sabhas, which initiate the verification of their claims, are low on
awareness of how to deal with them. The rejection orders are not even
communicated to these communities.
FACT CHECK
The state-wise break-up of claims
 Andhra Pradesh : 66,351 claims rejected

 Assam : 22,3891 claims of STs and 5136 claims of OTFDs
 Bihar : 4354 (2666 STs and 1688 OTFDs)
 Chhattisgarh : 20,095 claims rejected
 Goa : Yet to adjudicate on 6094 ST claims and 4036 OTFD claims filed
 Gujarat : Yet to adjudicate on 168899 ST claims and 13970 OTFD
claims
 H.P : Yet to adjudicate on 2131 ST claims and 92 OTFD claims
 Jharkhand : 27,809 ST claims and 298 OTFD claims rejected
 Karnataka : 35, 521 ST claims and 1,41,019 OTFD claims rejected
 Kerala : 894 ST claims rejected
 M.P : 2,04,123 ST claims and 1,50,664 OTFD claims rejected
 Maharashtra: 13,712 ST claims and 8797 OTFD claims rejected
 Odisha : 1,22,250 ST claims and 26,620 OTFD claims rejected
 Rajasthan : 36,492 ST claims and 577 OTFD claims rejected
 Tamil Nadu : 7148 ST claims and 1811 OTFD claims rejected
 Telengana : 82,075 claims rejected
 Tripura : 34,483 ST claims and 33,774 OTFD claims rejected
 Uttarakhand : 35 ST claims and 16 OTFD claims rejected
 U.P : 20,494 ST claims and 38,167 OTFD claims rejected
 W.B : 50, 288 ST claims and 35,586 OTFD claims rejected
RECENT DEVELOPMENT
 On February 28, the Supreme Court stayed its own order, after hearing
the plea of Central government.
 The Court has decided to examine whether due process was followed by
the gram sabhas and the States under the Forest Rights Act before the
claims were rejected. It posted the matter for further hearing on July 10.
 The bench also directed that the affidavits have to be filed by the chief
secretaries of the states giving details of various steps covered for carrying
out the eviction of the forest dwellers.
36
Article | Space Programme
PSLV C45 LAUNCH: SEVERAL FIRSTS IN

THE CREDIT OF ISRO
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Monday (April 1, 2019)

successfully launched EMISAT, a military satellite and 28 other foreign
satellites using PSLV C 45 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR,
Sriharikota. The 28 international customer satellites includes 24 from the
US, two from Lithuania and one each from Spain and Switzerland.
What is so special about the Mission?
 The specialty of this mission is that for the first time PSLV will launch
satellites in three different orbits.
 Mission starts with the launching of the satellite EMISAT into orbit at 780
km. After putting it into orbit, the rocket will be brought down to put the
28 foreign satellites in orbit at an altitude of 504 km. This will be followed
by bringing the rocket down further to 485 km when the fourth
stage/engine will turn into a platform to carry out scientific experiments.
 With the success of the mission, India have successfully lifted and put
into orbit 297 foreign satellites till date.
37
What is so special about this PSLV Launch?
 It was the 47th mission of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the
workhorse of ISRO.
 It is the longest ever flight for the PSLV.
 The space agency used PSLV variant called QL – third generation of PSLV
– for the first time in this mission.
 For the first time, ISRO used four strap-on motors in PSLV. Till now,
PSLV has used either two or six strap-on motors or without any strap-
ons.
 This is the third consecutive PSLV mission in which ISRO will re-use its
fourth stage (PS4) as a space experiment platform. Earlier, the stages
wasted away as floating debris once they released the satellites.
38
 The PS4 orbital platform is envisaged to provide a microgravity

environment for research organisations and academic institutes to
perform experiments.
 PS4 will carry three minor payloads or experiments:
 Automatic Identification System (AIS) from ISRO: for Maritime
satellite applications capturing messages transmitted from ships.
 Automatic Packet Repeating System (APRS) from AMSAT
(Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation): to assist amateur radio
operators in tracking and monitoring position data.
 Advanced Retarding Potential Analyzer for Ionospheric
Studies (ARIS) from Indian Institute of Space Science and
technology (IIST): for the structural and composition studies of
ionosphere.
 ISRO had equipped the PS4 stage with power-generating solar panels for
the first time.
What is EMISAT?
 EMISAT is the country’s first satellite for gathering electronic intelligence

(ELINT) and surveillance to locate hostile
radars for the military.
 EMISAT was developed by the Defence
Research and Development Organization
(DRDO).
 Weighing about 436 kg, EMISAT based on
ISRO’s Indian Mini Satellite -2 (IMS-2)
bus platform.
 The main capability of EMISAT is in signal intelligence — intercepting
signals broadcasted by communication systems, radars, and other
electronic systems.
 It can scan through ice, rain, coastal zones, land masses, forests and
wave heights.
 ISRO will likely place EMISAT in a highly elliptical orbit. This gives
satellites the maximum amount of time to record high-resolution signals
from a specific area.
 EMISAT also has a special altimeter (a radar altitude measuring device)
called ‘AltiKa’ that works in the Ka-band microwave region of the
spectrum.
 The electronic surveillance payload of EMISAT was developed under a
DRDO’s project called KAUTILYA.
 EMISAT is modelled after a satellite called SARAL (Satellite with ARgos
and ALtika) developed cooperatively by ISRO and CNES (Space Agency of
France).
(Courtesy: Hindustan Times, FirstPost, The Hindu, ISRO)
39
Fact File
THE FIRST EVER IMAGE OF

BLACKHOLE RELEASED
What is Black Hole?
A black hole is a region of space from which nothing, not even light, can
escape. It is formed as the result of the collapse of a massive star. The term
Black hole is a misnomer as they do not have any holes. It consists of a huge
amount of matter packed densely into a small area, giving it an immense
gravitational pull. The boundary of region from which no escape is possible is
called the event horizon.
Since no light can escape, black holes are invisible. However, space telescopes
with special instruments can help find black holes.
Black holes were first predicted by the legendary scientist Albert Einstein. He
had first predicted their existence on the basis of his new theory of gravity, the
general theory of relativity, in 1916. But the term ‘black hole’ was first coined
by astronomer John Wheeler in 1967.
40
Cygnus X-I was the first detected black hole in 1964. This Black Hole is
estimated to be about the size of three Suns. Sagittarius A*, M 87 and
Centaurus A are some of the famous black holes. It is believed that the central
object of Milky Way Galaxy is a black hole.
The First Image of Black Hole Released
The scientists of the international collaboration, the Event Horizon Telescope

(EHT) project unveiled the first ever image of a Black hole on 10th April 2019
at the headquarters of the European Commission.
The image is of the black hole located at the centre of Messier 87, a massive
galaxy in the constellation of Virgo. This black hole is located 55 million light-
years from Earth and has a mass 6.5-billion times larger than our sun. The
stunning image looked like an uneven gold ring, heavier at the lower end than
the upper.
How EHT took the image of a Black Hole?
EHT is a global network of eight

telescopes that had been
attempting to capture the first
photograph of a black hole ever.
For producing the image of a

black hole, a huge earth-sized
telescope was necessary. But
instead of setting up such a
huge single telescope, a fleet of
the most powerful radio
telescopes was assembled in
various parts of earth – Hawaii,
Arizona, Chile, Mexico and
Spain, and at the South Pole —
and synchronized these to form an array called a Very Large Baseline
Interferometer.
The basic concept is to combine the signal strength of the observatories on

different corners of the globe to form an array as wide as Earth itself. At least
200 people from 40 different countries participated in the project.
41
Article | General Education
KHADER COMMITTEE REPORT:

THE WAY FORWARD ?
Kerala Government in 2017 constituted a three-member expert committee to

examine the different aspects of school education in Kerala and recommend
the measures to be taken for improving the quality of education from pre-
school to higher secondary.
The Committee was headed by Dr. M.A. Khader, former director of SCERT.
G. Jyothichoodan and Dr. C. Ramakrishnan are the other members of the
expert committee. The Committee submitted the first part of its report to Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on January 24, 2019. The Committee suggested
many notable changes from the present system of education.
In May 2019, the Kerala Government decided to implement the suggestions of

the Khader Committee Report in phases.
Major recommendations of Khader Committee are discussed below
 The committee phased school education into three categories:

o Pre-school
o Primary (classes 1 to 7)
o Secondary (classes 8 to 12)
43
PHASES OF SCHOOLING
Preschool Before School (Age 3 to 5/6)
Lower Primary 1-4
Primary 1–7
Primary 5-7
Lower Secondary 8 - 10
Secondary 8 – 12
Secondary 11 - 12
Preschools
 Pre-Schooling facilities should be made available to children of 3 years old

to the period they reach the school going (5/6 age).
 The committee favours an innovative mode of learning in pre-school like
play-by method.
 The criteria as directed by the National Council for Teacher Education
would be eligibility for pre-school teachers
 The Committee also recommends framing a pre-schooling policy.
 It recommends closing down unrecognised pre-school teacher training
institutes.
 A regulatory system comprising government agencies should be formed to
monitor the sector.
Structural Changes
 The Reports recommends setting up a new Directorate of School

Education by merging the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) and
Higher Secondary Directorate and Vocational Higher Secondary
Directorate.
 With the merger of the directorates, each revenue district will have a Joint
Director of School Education Office. The Joint Director of School Education
(JDSE) will be the officer in charge of a revenue district.
 School Education Offices will be set up under the ambit of JDSE, covering
the area of Block panchayat/Municipality/Corporation. School Education
Officer will be in-charge of these offices.
 The panel has recommended creating the post of Panchayat Education
Officer in each Panchayat. It is his duty to coordinate and implement the
education projects of panchayats and other educational activities.
 Under the proposed system, a school will be the basic administrative unit.
The head of the school should be named Principal.
 The principal will be head at all levels of schools (lower primary, primary,
lower secondary and secondary), assisted by a vice principal. Higher
secondary, VHSC teachers will become principals based on seniority.
44
 As of now, there are three Pareeksha Bhavans associated with DPI, Higher
Secondary Directorate and Vocational Higher Secondary Directorate. The
report recommends to merge all the three into one with the name Board of
School Examinations, Kerala.
 Another highlight of the report is that it recommends the formation of a
separate cadre called Kerala Education Service, in the model of newly
declared Kerala Administrative Service.
Eligibility of Teachers
 The report advocates the

transformation of the teachers as
professionals to raise the standard
of education.
 Degree should be made compulsory
for teachers from standard one to
seven. Also a professional eligibility
equivalent to degree is required.
 For secondary level, Post-
Graduation and a professional
eligibility equivalent to graduation
is required.
 It also recommends for winding up
the certificate courses being
conducted by Pareeksha Bhavan.
 Pre-service trainings and in-service training for teachers should be
conducted scientifically to increase their professionalism and to make then
up-to-date.
Other Recommendations
 Resource persons for the children who need special care and librarian post
would be created.
 Scientific and systematic monitoring in frequent intervals should be carried
out to ensure the quality of education.
 The Khader Committee report gives huge emphasis to sports and arts. It
suggests that students of class 5 to 12 should be given scientific sports and
arts training by qualified teachers.
 Government bodies/agencies such as State Council of Education Research
and Training (SCERT), Text Book Archives, State Institute of Educational
Management and Training (SIEMAT), Institution of Education Technology-
Kerala (IETK), State Institute for the Mentally Challenged (SIMC), Institute
of Advanced Study In Education (IASE) etc. should be strengthened.
45
Background for the formation of Khader Committee
 The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development decided to merge the

two flagship schemes of central government: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)
and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
 From now on, Central assistance will be available only if high school and
higher secondary sections are unified under one authority.
 This is why government constituted Khader Committee to lay down the path
to unify the three directorates under a single one.
Opposition to Khader Committee Recommendations
Many, including teachers associations, raised concerns over the

recommendation of Khader Panel report. Some of them are discussed below:
 Any attempt to merge higher secondary and vocational higher secondary

schools under the Department of General and Higher Education will affect
the quality of education. This is because the academic and teaching
requirements of students in primary, secondary and higher secondary
classes are different.
 The Kothari Commission Report of 1966 had recommended a scientific
approach to each of the classes in the 10+2+3 pattern. After 10th Standard,
students begin specialising in over 40 combinations of subjects that are
available in science, commerce and humanities streams. The new scheme
contravenes the ideas put forward by Kothari Commission.
 Implementing the report will weaken government schools and prompt
students to opt for private unaided schools which charge hefty fees.
 Specialist, trained postgraduate teachers who also have passed SET teach
in higher secondary and vocational higher secondary classes. Implementing
the committee’s report will result in teachers who have not passed SET too
being roped in to teach students from Classes 8 to 12
 Kerala’s Higher Secondary School syllabus is in consonance with the
Central syllabus, and hence enables students from the State fare very well
in national-level exams. The changes in the mode of teaching and the
“dilution” of the syllabus will result in students from Kerala finding it tough
to face these exams.
Recent Update: The Kerala High Court has stayed for two months the
implementation of the Khader Committee report on educational reforms on
June 17, 2019. The court noted that the State government failed to amend the
Kerala Education Rules for bringing into force the reforms suggested by the
committee.
(Sources: The Hindu, HSSLive.in, Times of India, New Indian Express)

46
SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR KAS EXAM
INDIAN POLITY (5TH EDITION)
M. Lakshmikanth
McGraw Hill Education
Pages: 852
Price: ₹725
ഇ ൻ ഭരണഘടന ം രാ സംവിധാന ം മ ര രീ കളിൽ ഒഴി ടാനാവാ

വിഷയമാണ്. നിലവിൽ പി.എസ്.സി നട ഡി ി െലവൽ പരീ കളിൽ പ മാർ ിന്
ഇേ ാൾ തെ ഇ ്. െക.എ.എസ് പരീ യിൽ ഈ വിഷയ ിെ ാധാന ം ഇനി േമെറ
വർധി ം എ റ ാണ്. ഭരണ ിെ ഉ തസ്ഥാന ളിേല േനരി റി ്െമ ാണ്
നട ത് എ തിനാൽ അതി െട ഉേദ ാഗ ിൽ േവശി വർ ് രാജ ിെ
പരേമാ ത േരഖയായ ഭരണഘടനയി ം നിലവി രാ ീയ-ഭരണ സംവിധാന ി ം
അറി ാേക ത് അത ാവശ മാണ്. ഈ അറിവ് ിലിമിനറി – െമയിൻസ് പരീ കളി ം
ഇ ർവ യി ം മാ ര െ ം. അതിനാൽ ഈ വിഷയം ആഴ ിൽ തെ പഠി ണം. അതി
സഹായകരമാ ഒേ െറ ക ്.
ഏ ം ധാനെ താണ് ല ്മികാ ് എ തിയ Indian Polity എ കം. സമ ം

മ ര രീ കൾ ് േവ ി ചി െ ിയ മായ ഈ കം ഇ ൻ സിവിൽ സർവീസ്
പരീ ാപഠിതാ ൾ വർഷ ളായി ത െട ഏ ം ിയെ തായി ക തിേ ാ ഒ ാണ് .
െക.എ.എസ് പരീ ംഈ കം ടിേയ തീ . ഭരണഘടനയിൽ വിദഗ്ധനായ രചയിതാവ്
എ ാ തര ിൽ െപ വിദ ാർഥകെള ം ിൽ ക െകാ ാണ് ഈ കം രചി ി ത്.
അ െകാ തെ ലളിതമായ ഭാഷയിൽ വിശദമായ അറിവ് നൽ ഈ കം തീർ യാ ം
പഠി ിരി ണം.
ഓർേ ഒ കാര ം, ഇത് ഒ തവണ വായി ് മട ിെവ ാ ഒ എ ാണ് .
നിര രമായി റിൈവസ് െചയ് െകാേ യി േ മതിയാ . െപെ ് മറ േപാകാൻ
സാധ ത ഒ പാട് കാര വിഷയമാണിത് എ ്ന റിയാം. അതിെന മറികട ാൻ
പലയാവർ ി വായി ് മന ി റ ി ക.
ബി ദതല പരീ കൾ ടാല ് അ ാഡമി െട റാ ് ഫയലിെല ഇ ൻ േകാൺ ി ഷൻ

എ ഭാഗം ന വ ം വായി േശഷം ല ്മികാ ിേല ് കട െമ ിൽ ഉചിതമായിരി ം.
47
മലയാള ിൽ ഈ വിഷയ മായി ബ െ ക ൾ വളെര

റവാണ്. ഉ വ തെ മി ം പി.എസ്.സി െട ഒബ്ജക് ീവ്
മാ കയി പരീ ് േവ ി ത ാറാ ിയ വലിയ ഗഹനമ ാ
ക ളാ ം. അെ ിൽ അ ാദമിക് പ ിതർ രചി
വി ാനദായകമായ, എ ാൽ മ ര രീ ൾ ് േവ ി
ത ാ ക ളാ ം. ര ാമത് പറ ക ളിൽ
ധാനെ താണ് േഡാ .എം.വി. ൈപലി െട ഇ ൻ ഭരണഘടന
( സാധനം: േകരളം ഭാഷാ ഇൻ ി ്). ഇവ ഇ െ െ ിൽ
വായി തിൽ െത ി . പെ പരീ കൾ ് ത ാെറ േ ാൾ
അതിന സരി ് ത ാറാ ിയ ക ൾ ഒ ം വായി ാൻ മറ ത്
എ ് മാ ം.
അഡ േ ് ഗിരീഷ് െന ാറിെ Indian Constitution എ കം
െക.എ.എ ിെ ിലിമിനറി പരീ ് ഉ മമായ ഒ
സഹായ മായിരി ം. പി.എ ി െട ഡി ി െലവൽ പരീ ്
േവ ം അതിലധിക ം ഈ ക ിൽ ഉൾെ ാ ി ിരി .
പി.എസ്.സി നട ഏ ഒബ്ജക്ടീവ് പരീ ം േവ
അറി ക െട സമ മായ േശഖരമാണിത്. െന ാർ ് ആണ്
ക ിെ സാധകർ.
പി.എസ്.സി വ ബിലി തി ്
ഒ ാം ഭാഗം
പി.എസ്.സി ിൻ
േകരള പി.എസ്.സി െട വ ബിലി തി ് ഒ ാം ഭാഗം പി.എസ്.സി പഠിതാ ൾ ്,

േത കി ം െക.എ.എസ് പരീ ് ത ാെറ വർ ് ഒ അ ല നിധിയാണ്.
നിർബ മാ ം ഇത് പഠിേ ്. േകരളെ റി സമ മായ ഒ
വിവരേശഖരമാണ് ആ കം. േകരള ിെ മിശാ ം, ചരി ം, സം ാരം എ ി െന
ഒ മി എ ാ വിഷയ ം ഇതിൽ ഉൾെ ാ ി ി ്. ഈ കം 2016ലാണ് ആദ ം
റ ിറ ിയത് എ ി ം 2018 അവസാനം തൽ വിവര മായി നഃ സി ീകരി .
48
KAS STUDY NOTE | FACTS ABOUT INDIA
INDIAN RAILWAY
 The Indian Railway network is the fourth longest (after USA, Russia and
China) and the heavily used transportation in the world. It facilitates
movement of both passengers and freight and contribute to the growth of
economy.
 It brings together people from the farthest corners of the country and makes
possible the conduct of business, sightseeing, pilgrimage and education.
 According to an estimate of 2012, Indian Railways transported 8.224 million
passengers and over 969 million tons of freight annually.
INDIAN RAILWAY
 Rail services in India were first started in 1853. The first train steamed off
from Mumbai to Thane, travelling a distance of 34 kms. Lord Dalhousie who
introduced train service in India is considered as ‘Father of Indian railway’.
 By 1947, there were forty-two rail systems in the country. The system was
nationalized as one unit in 1951, thus becoming one of the largest network
in the world.
 Indian Railways have now grown into a vast network of 7,216 stations
spread over a route length of 66,687 km with a fleet of 11,122 locomotives,
53,101 passenger service vehicles, 6,899 other coaching vehicles and
2,51,256 wagons.
49
 India Railway is known as ‘the lifeline of India’.

 The Headquarters of Indian Railway is located at Baroda House, New Delhi.
GAUGE SYSTEM
 The term guage refers to the distance between two rails.

 Indian Railways currently has three different gauges:
o Broad Gauge - The distance between rails in broad gauge is 1.676
metre
o Meter Gauge - The distance between rails is 1 metre.
o Narrow gauges - The distance between the rails in this case is
either 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre.
 Currently, majority of the trains running under Indian Railways work on
broad gauge. It is also called Indian gauge and is the broadest gauge in
operation in the world.
 The first railway line built in India was broad gauge line from Bori Bunder
(now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus) to Thane in 1853.
 The metre gauge lines were introduced to reduce the cost.
 The narrow gauge was used in mountainous regions because its simpler
engineering permitted sharp turns and reduced costs.
 Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway was the first narrow gauge railway in
India. It was owned by the Princely State of Baroda, which was ruled by the
Gaekwar dynasty. It was also the first railway to be owned by any Princely
State of India.
 The Maharaja Railways (Gwalior Light Railway), a narrow gauge line of just
0.6m width from Gwalior to Sheopur of 198 km in length is world's longest
narrow gauge railway.
 The only railway station in India to have all three gauges is Siligury
Junction Railway Station, West Bengal.
 Project Unigauge is an ongoing exercise by Indian Railways to standardize
most of the rail gauges in India to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge. All the
narrow gauge lines except heritage lines Kalka–Shimla Railway, Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway and Matheran Hill Railway would be converted to broad
gauge as part of Project Unigauge
2017 2017 1947 1947

Gauge
Route km Route share Route km Route share
Broad gauge 61,680 91.55% 25,170 46.0%

Metre gauge 3,479 5.16% 24,153 44.2%
Narrow gauges 2,209 3.27% 5,370 9.8%
Total 67,368 100% 54,693 100%
50
RAILWAY ZONES
 Indian Railways is separated into eighteen zones including Kolkata Metro

Railway.
 These zones and their headquarters are given below:
o Central - Mumbai
o Eastern - Kolkata
o East Coast - Bhubaneshwar
o East Central - Hajipur
o Northern - New Delhi
o North Central - Allahabad
o North Eastern - Gorakhpur
o Northeast Frontier - Maligaon (Guwahati)
o North Western - Jaipur
o Southern - Chennai
o South Central - Secunderabad
o South Eastern - Kolkata
o South East Central Railway - Bilaspur
o South Western Railway - Hubli
o South Coast Railway – Vishakhapattanam
o Western - Mumbai
o West Central Railway - Jabalpur
o Metro Railway - Kolkata
 The Indian Railway has been further sub-divided into sixty seven divisions,
each having a divisional headquarters.
 The first Zone of Indian railway was Southern Zone (1951 April 14)
 The newest (18th) railway zone is South Coast Railway (2019).
 The first name of Central Railway was Great Indian Peninsular Railway.
 The Railway Zone which introduced biodiesel for trains operating under it is
South Western Railways
 The first Railway Zone to implement 100% LED lighting system in all railway
stations is South Central Railway.
RAILWAY MANUFACTURING UNITS
 The six manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, called Production

Units, are managed directly by the ministry.
 These six main production units (PUs) are:
o Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan (West Bengal)
o Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi
o Diesel Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala
o Integral Coach Factory, Perambur (Chennai)
o Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
o Rail Wheel Factory at Yelahanka (Bangalore)
51
 Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bangalore is an organization unrelated to the

Indian Railways, however it manufactures coaches for both the Indian
Railways and the Delhi Metro system.
KONKAN RAILWAY
 Konkan Railway is a subsidiary company of Indian Railway, along with the

state governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Goa. Its
construction was started in 1990 and finished in 1998.
 It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore
in Karnataka. The Konkan railway line passes through 3 states of India –
Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
 E. Sreedharan was the Chairman and Managing Director of Konkan
Railway Corporation Ltd.that was founded in 1990.
 The headquarters of Konkan Railway Corporation is in Belapur.
 Karbude Tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in Konkan Railway. This 6.5
km long tunnel is located near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. It is the second
longest railway tunnel in India (first being Pir Panjal tunnel)
 Major part of Konkan Railway lies in the state of Maharashtra and it shares
375 km of the railway line.
 RORO trains are introduced to simplify the transportation of goods in
Konkan railway. RORO means Roll-on/roll-off, where loaded trucks are
directly carried by railway wagons to their destination.
 Konkan Railway was the first railway line in India built under B.O.T method.
 The Konkan Railway passes through a very seismologically active area. The
section is prone to earthquakes. Konkan Railways introduced the
Rakshadhaga, which is a device which can set off an alarm in case of a land
slide.
MOUNTAIN RAILWAY
 A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region.

 The Drajeeling Himalayan Railway is the first mountain railway in India. It is
also known as Toy Train. It was included in UNESCO World Heritage List in
1999.
 Three railways, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (1999), the Nilgiri
Mountain Railway (2005), and the Kalka–Shimla Railway (2008), are
collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name
Mountain Railways of India. The fourth railway, the Matheran Hill
Railway, is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. All these
are narrow-gauge railways
 Lumding–Badarpur section and Kangra Valley Railway are other examples of
mountain railway. They are in the process of being converted to broad gauge.
52
MOUNTAIN RAILWAY IN INDIA
Mountain Route State Length Speciality

railway
Darjeeling New Jalpaiguri West Bengal 88 km DHL is also known

Himalayan to Darjeeling a Toy Train.
Railway Ghum, the highest
railway station
comes under this.
Nilgiri Mettupalayam Tamil Nadu 46 km It the only rack

Mountain to Ooty railway in India. It
Railway still uses steam-
driven train. The
slowest train of
Indian Railway is
Nilgiri Mountain
Railway.
Kalka– Kalka to Haryana, 96 km In 2008, UNESCO

Shimla Shimla Himachal added it to the
Railway Pradesh mountain railways
of India World
Heritage Site.
Matheran Neral to Maharashtra 21 km It was built by

Hill Railway Matheran Abdul Hussein
Adamjee Peerbhoy
Kangra Pathankot, to Punjab, 164 km The highest point

Valley Jogindernagar Himachal on this line is at
Railway Pradesh Ahju station
METRO RAIL
 Rapid Transit System, also known as Metro, has revolutionized the urban
transport in many cities of the country.
 The first metro railway in India is Kolkatha Metro (1984).
 Delhi Metro is the second metro rail in India, which started its operations in
2002. E. Sreedharan is the chief architect of Delhi Metro. It is world’s first
fully green metro.
 Other metros currently in operation are Rapid Metro (Gurgaon), Mumbai
Metro, Jaipur Metro, Chennai Metro, Kochi Metro, Lucknow Metro and
Hyderabad Metro.
 Gurgaon’s Rapid Metro is India’s first fully-private funded metro project.
 Mumbai Metro is the first metro to launch Mobile Ticketing System.
 First metro to start an FM Station is Lucknow Metro.
 First metro train made in India was Movia (built by Bombardier Transportation)
53
CENTRALIZED TRAINING INSTITUTES OF THE INDIAN

RAILWAYS
 National Academy of Indian Railways (Railway Staff College) - Vadodara

 Indian Railway Institute of Civil Engineering - Pune
 Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications -
Secunderabad
 Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering -
Jabalpur
 Indian Railway Institute of Electrical Engineering - Nasik
 Indian Railway Institute of Transport Management - Lucknow
 Indian Railway Institute of Financial Management – Secunderabad
 Centralized Training Academy of Railways Accounts - Secunderabad
TRAINS
 The Train 18, an indigenously developed semi-high speed train, is the first
train in India to cruise at a sustained speed of 180 km per hour making it the
fastest train in the country in December 2018. Train 18 is also India’s
first engine less-train. Government renamed Train 18 as Vande Bharat
Express and was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February
15, 2019. Before that, Gatiman Express was the fastest train in India.
Gatiman is India's first semi-high speed train. It has a speed of 160 km per
hour and runs between Delhi and Jhansi.
 The slowest train of Indian Railway is Nilgiri Mountain Railway.
 Vivek Express, named after the name of Saint Swami Vivekananda, is the
longest running train across India in terms of time and distance. It travels
from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari and covers a distance of 4286 km
in 82 hours. The train was introduced on the occasion of the 150th birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
 The train passes that through the maximum number of states in India is
Mangalore-Jammu Tawi Navyug Express. It passes through 13 states.
Himasagar Express ranks second.
 The Rajdhani Express is a series of express passenger train services in
India connecting the national capital New Delhi with the capital and/or
largest cities of various states. It was introduced in 1969.
 First non-stop source to destination rail service in India is Duronto Express
(2009).
 First train service started in Tripura is Tripura Sundhari Express. It travels
between Agartala and Delhi.
 First train indigenously built in India under ‘Make in India’ programme is
Medha. It was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
 The Fairy Queen, is the oldest working Steam Locomotive in the world, built
in 1855.
54
 First superfast train in India is Deccan Queen. It is also the first electric
train in India.
 India’s first Braille-embedded train is Mysore-Varanasi Express.
 Lifeline Express (Jeevan Rekha Express) to provide medical aid was
introduced by Indian Railway in 1991. It was the first hospital on the wheels
in the world.
 Red Ribbon Express is the AIDS awareness campaign train service of Indian
Railway.
 Guru Parikrama Express is the tourist train connecting Sikh pilgrimage
centres.
 Mahaparinirvan Express is the tourist train connecting Buddhist
pilgrimage centres, launched in 2007.
 Antyodaya Express is the train series with fully unreserved seats. The first
service of Antyodaya Express was started on March 4, 2017 between
Ernakulam Junction and Howrah.
 The Palace on Wheels is a luxury tourist train launched by the Indian
Railways in association with Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation to
promote tourism in Rajasthan.
 Royal Orient Train is a luxury train services through the tourist centres of
Gujarat and Rajasthan.
 Heritage on Wheels conducts its service through tourist destinations of
Rajasthan.
 Deccan Odyssey is a luxury train that services through tourist centres of
Maharashtra and Goa.
 The first luxury train in South India is Golden Chariot. It connects the
important tourist spots in the Indian states of Karnataka, Goa, Kerala &
Tamil Nadu as well as Pondicherry, depending on the selected itinerary.
 Tejas Express is Indian Railways' first ever high-speed luxurious train.
 Samanta Express, launched on February 14, 2019, will cover prominent
places associated with Gautama Buddha and Dr B R Ambedkar.
 There are presently 4 trains run by Indian Railways, which crosses the
International border.
o Samjautha Express - From Delhi to Atari in India and Atari to
Wagah in Pakistan.
o Maitree Express - From Kolkata to Gede in India and there to
Dhaka in Bangladesh
o Thar Express - From Bhagat Ki Kothi (Jodhpur) to Munabao in
India and from Munabao to Karachi in Pakistan.
o Bandhan Express: From Kolkata to Bangladeshi city of Khulna
 Ramayana Express was announced by Indian Railways in 2018. It will be
covering four important destinations associated with the life of Lord Ram as
mentioned in Ramayana in a period of 16-days.
 Shan-e-Punjab Express is the first Indian train to have CCTV Surveillance.
55
BULLET TRAIN IN INDIA
India’s first bullet train project is under construction with the help of Japan.
This will run down the west coast, connecting the cities of Mumbai and
Ahmedabad. The 750-seat train is scheduled to run from August 2022. The
bullet train project was officially launched at a ceremony in September 2017
attended by the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.
RAILWAY STATIONS
 The extend of railway network in India:

o Northern-most railway station : Baramulla (Jammu and Kashmir)
o Western-most railway station : Naliaya (Gujarat)
o Eastern-most railway station : Lekhapani (Assam)
o Southern-most railway station : Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu)
 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai is one of the oldest and busiest
railway stations in the country built to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of
Queen Victoria. It was initially called Victoria Terminus and renamed in
1996. The station was designed by Frederick William Stevens.
 The first railway station in South India is Royapuram (Arcot, Madras). It was
opened in the year 1856. It is also the oldest operational railway station in
India.
 The longest railway platform in the world is Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh
(1,366.33 m). The second longest is Kollam Junction (1,180.5 m)
 Ghum railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is the highest
railway station in India. It is situated at an altitude of 2,258 metres.
 Matunga suburban station on the Central Railway (CR) of Mumbai division
is the first railway station in the country to be run by an all-women staff.
 Gandhinagar-Jaipur Railway Station (Rajastan) is the first non-suburban
railways station in the country to be run by an all-women staff.
 Howrah Railway Station is the busiest railway stations in India in terms of
passenger volume and train services per day
 First Wi-Fi enabled Railway Station in India is New Delhi.
 Habibganj Railway Station in Bhopal is the first railway station in the
country to be developed under the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.
 Keylong Railway station in Himachal Pradesh is the first railway station in
India located inside tunnel.
 India’s first air-conditioned (AC) suburban train started its services from
from the Borivili station to Churchgate in South Mumbai.
 The railway station which recently renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Station was Mugalsarai Railway station (Uttar Pradesh).
 The first Energy Efficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway Station is Kacheguda
(Telangana).
56
POINTS TO REMEMBER
 Indian Railways use both electric and diesel locomotives for broad gauge
line. WAP class and WAG class are two most used Locomotive Class of
Indian Railway, Indian Locomotive Class WAG-9 is the most powerful
Locomotives of Indian Railways.
 Srirampur and Belapur are two different stations in Ahmednagar district of
Maharashtra which are both at the same location on the railway route but
on opposite sides of the track.
 Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a subsidiary of
the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing
operations of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
 Indian Railway Museum is situated at Chanakyapuri (New Delhi)
 The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) at Lucknow is the
R&D wing of Indian Railways.
 In 2016, Indian Railway established SRESHTA (Special Railway
Establishment for Strategic Technology and Holistic Advancement), a new
research entity responsible for long-term research for improving the
functioning of Railways.
 Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) was set up in 1979
under the Ministry of Railways, at Allahabad. The responsibility entrusted
was to carryout railway electrification over the entire network of Indian
Railways.
 The Railway Budget was being presented separately to Parliament since
1924-25 owing to the Separation Convention of 1924. The Government
decided to merge the Railway Budget with the general Budget from the
2017-18.
 The first Railway Minister of Independent India was John Mathai. First
elected Railway Minister of India was Lal Bahadur Sastri.
 Jagjivan Ram presented most number of rail budgets in Parliament (7 times).
 Bholu is the mascot of Indian Railways. The mascot was initially designed for
Indian Railways' 150th year commemoration events and was unveiled on 16
April 2002 in Bangalore.
 India’s first solar-powered DEMU train service connects Delhi and Haryana.
 The first railway tunnel constructed in India was Parsik Tunnel which cuts
across the Parsik Hill in Thane, Maharashtra, India. It was opened in 1916.
 The longest railway tunnel is Pirpanjal Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir.
Also known as Banihal Tunnel, it is 11 km long and passes through the Pir
Panjal Range of middle Himalayas
 India’s first underwater rail tunnel was constructed as a part of Kolkatha
metro rail project connecting Howrah to the west and Salt Lake to the east.
57
 Chenab Bridge is highest rail bridge in the world under construction

between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The
bridge is built over Chenab River and has a height of 359 m.
 Rail Neer (mineral water) is a product of the Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) under the Ministry of Railways.
 The monthly magazines of Indian railway are Indian Railways and Rail
Bandhu.
 The Presidential Saloon train is not exactly a train. This is a pair of twin
coaches specially kept for President of India. It was built in 1956, for the
Indian President's train journey and has been lying unused since 2004. It
was first used by Dr. rajendra Prasad and last used by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam.
 The only Indian state that does not have railway line is Sikkim.
 The longest rail bridge in India is Vembadad bridge (4610 m) connecting
Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi, Kerala.
 Bogibeel Bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge of India on the
Brahmaputra River in Assam.
 First computerized reservation system in India started in 1986
 Rail Credit Card System was started in 1999. Internet train reservation was
started in 2002.
 The 114-km-long Manamadurai– Rameswaram stretch of Southern Railway
is India’s first ‘Green corridor’.
 India’s first railway university is National Rail and Transportation Institute
(Vadodara)
 India’s first high-speed rail training centre was set up in Gujarat
 The project launched by Indian Railways with the aim to renovate Rajadhani
and Satabdi Express Trains is Project Swarn
 The Artificial Intelligence powered Robot DEVE,OPED BY Railways to
monitor technical defects in coaches is USTAAD (Under-gear Surveillance
Through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid)
 Setu Bharatam programme was launched by Central government in 2016. It
aims to make all National Highways free of railway level crossings by 2019.
 Plan Bee is an innovative project launched by Northeast Frontier Railway
(NFR) of Indian Railways to reduce the increasing incidents of elephant
deaths on railway tracks.
RAIL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (RDA)
The Central Government has approved formation of a Rail Development

Authority (RDA), an independent rail regulator in 2018. It will be responsible for
recommending passenger fares, setting performance standards for rail
operations and creating level playing policy for private sector participation. It
will comprise of a Chairman and three Members.
58
KAS MODEL EXAM SERIES – 2

Total Questions: 100
Total Marks: 100
1. The only country in the world through which both Equator and Tropic of Capricorn
passes:
(a) Chile (b) Brazil (c) Argentina (d) Djibouti
2. Consider the following pairs:
1. Kanha National Park – Rajastan
2. Keoladeo National Park – Gujarat
3. Wild ass sanctuary – Arunachal Pradesh
Which of these pairs are correctly matched?
(a) 2 only (b) Both 1 & 2
(c) 3 only (d) None of these
3. Rural Infrastructure Development Fund set up by the government in 1995-96 is
maintained by?
(a) SBI (b) NABARD (c) Ministry of Finance (d) IFCI
4. Which among the following is not included in the Charter of Customer Rights
formulated by the RBI?
(a) Right to privacy
(b) Right to transparency
(c) Right against exploitation
(d) Right to fair treatment
5. Economic Survey in India is published officially, every year by the:
(a) Reserve Bank of India (b) NITI Aayog
(c) Ministry of Finance (d) Planning Commission
6. The National Institute of Agricultural Marketing is located at
(a) Jaipur (b) New Delhi
(c) Nagpur (d) Hyderabad
7. Fiscal policy is concerned with
(a) Public revenue (b) Public expenditure and debt
(c) Bank rate policy (d) Both (a) and (b)
8. Moozhiyar Dam is located at:
(a) Thrissur (b) Kozhikode
(c) Palakkad (d) Pathanamthitta
9. The concept of ‘Effective Revenue Deficit’ has been used for the first time in the
Union Budget for
(a) 2009 – 10 (b) 2010 – 11
(c) 2011 – 12 (d) 2008 – 09
59
10. First Chairman of Kerala State Planning Board was:

(a) E M S Namboodirippadu (b) M K A Hameed
(c) R Shankar (d) C Achuthamenon
11. The final Draft of Fifth five year plan was prepared and launched by
(a) Indira Gandhi (b) D.P. Dhar
(c) P N Haskar (d) Sidhardh Shankar Ray
12. Who among the following was the second Deputy Chairman of Planning
Commission?
(a) D R Gadgil (b) Ashok Mehta
(c) C Subramaniam (d) V T Krishnamachari
13. Which five year plan of India is called “Industry and Transport” plan?
(a) First Five Year Plan (b) Second Five year Plan
(c) Ninth Five Year Plan (d) Eighth Five Year Plan
14. What is sold and purchased during Open Market Operations by RBI?
(a) Government Securities (b) Commercial Papers
(c) Certificates of Deposits (d) Global Depository Receipts
15. Which of the following is a defunct stock exchange in India?
(a) National Stock Exchange (b) Calcutta Stock Exchange
(c) Bombay Stock Exchange (d) Cochin Stock Exchange
16. Total number of princely states having representation in Constituent Assembly
after partition of India?
(a) 93 (b) 90 (c) 75 (d) 70
17. Malayalee woman who represented Travancore in Constituent Assembly:
(a) Dakshayani Velayudhan (b) Annie Mascarene
(c) Lakshmi N Menon (d) Ammu Swaminathan
18. In Constituent Assembly, Frank Anthony represented:
(a) Catholics (b) Europeans
(c) Anglo-Indians (d) Dalit Christians
19. Who prepared the initial draft of the constitution?
(a) Benegal Narasimha Rau (b) B R Ambedkar
(c) Jawaharlal Nehru (d) Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
20. The Vice - Chairperson of NITI Aayog is appointed by:
(a) Cabinet (b) Prime Minister (c) President (d) Finance Minister
21. In which Five Year Plan University Grants Commission was set up of for promoting
and strengthening higher education?
(a) First Five Year Plan (b) Third Five Year PLan
(c) Fifth Five Year Plan (d) Eleventh Five Year Plan
22. Which part of India was silent when revolt of 1857 was spreading in India?
(a) South India (b) North India
(c) Central India (d) Western India
60
23. What was the symbol of the revolt of 1857?

(a) Chapatis and Lotus flowers (b) Chapatis and lanterns
(c) Chapatis and Rose flower (d) Chapatis and lathis
24. The first Butterfly Safari Park in Kerala:
(a) Palode (b) Thenmala (c) Neyyar (d) Peppara
25. The first district in India which showed zero population growth:
(a) Pathanamthitta (b) Kollam
(c) Thiruvananthapuram (d) Palakkad
26. The Mars Orbiter Mission of ISRO was launched using which vehicle?
(a) PSLV - C - 21 (b) PSLV - C – 11 (c) PSLV - C - 25 (d) PSLV - C - 20
27. The planet nearest to the Earth is:
(a) Moon (b) Mars (c) Venus (d) Saturn
28. What is the purpose of the US Space Agency’s Themis Mission?
(a) To study the possibility of life on Mars
(b) To study the satellites of Saturn
(c) To study the colourful display in high latitude skies
(d) To build a space laboratory to study the Stellar Explosions
29. Consider the following statements
1. Pulsars emit regular pulses of electromagnetic waves
2. Origin of stars are traced back to nebulae.
3. It is predicted that after 5 billion years the Sun may expand enough to engulf
all its planets and collapse itself
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 3 and 4 (b) 1 and 2
(c) 1, 2 and 3 (d) All of these
30. Through which among the the following medium, the light travel fastest?
(a) Solid (b) Liquid (c) Gas (d) Vaccum
31. Who was the prime Minister of Cochi at the time of integration of Travancore and
Kochi?
(a) Panampilly Govindameonon (b) Ikkanda Warrier
(c) Paravoor T K Narayana Pillai (d) T K Nair
32. Travancore – Cochin State was formed in:
(a) 12 November 1949 (b) 1 November 1949
(c) 1 July 1949 (d) 12 July 1949
33. Kanakakkunnu palace was built by:
(a) Swathi Thirunal (b) Sree Moolam Thirunal
(c) Sree Vishakham Thirunal (d) Sree Ayilyam Thirunal
34. Who among the following was not born in Thiruvananthapuram?
(a) C Krishnan Nair (b) Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna Pillai
(c) Chembakaraman Pillai (d) J C Daniel
61
35. First tree mentioned in Hortus Malabaricus is:

(a) Palm tree (b) Coconut tree (c) Mango tree (d) Jack fruit tree
36. According to Census 2011, the Child Sex ratio in Kerala is:
(a) 1084 (b) 1054 (c) 964 (d) 984
37. Kerala recorded highest temperature of 41.9 degree Celsius at:
(a) Malampuzha (b) Punalur
(c) Chavakkad (d) Chinnar
38. The word ‘monsoon’ has been derived from:
(a) Malayalam (b) Hebrew (c) Arabic (d) Greek
39. The five-member empowered committee set up by the Supreme Court in 2012 to
look into the matter of safety of Mullapperiyar was headed by:
(a) A S Anand (b) Y K Sabharval
(c) S Rajendra Babu (d) M M Punchchi
40. Mullapperiyar lease agreement was signed on behalf of Travancore by:
a) V. Ramiengar b) V P Madhavarao c) Nanoo Pillai d) T Rama Rao
41. Which of the following pairs is NOT correct?
(a) Shabarigiri - Pampa (b) Sholayar – Chalakkudi
(c) Adyanpara – Kanjirappuzha (d) Idamalayar – Chaliyar
42. Which of the following is not a small hydro electric project?
(a) Peppara (b) Kallada (c) Peechi (d) Kakkad
43. The Ninth Schedule to the Indian Constitution was added by
(a) First Amendment (b) Eighth Amendment
(c) Ninth Amendment (d) Forty Second Amendment
44. Which among the following countries was the earliest one to give women the right
to vote?
(a) Iceland (b) India
(c) New Zealand (d) U.S.A
45. Which state accounts for majority of India’s exports?
(a) Gujarat (b) Punjab (c) Maharashtra (d) Karnataka
46. India has the maximum volume of foreign trade with
(a) USA (b) China (c) Germany (d) UAE
47. While delivering the presidential address, the Congress President who advocated
the introduction of Roman script for Hindi language was:
(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Abul Kalam Azad
(d) Subhash Chandra Bose
48. Gandhi became the President of INC in:
(a) 1934 (b) 1931
(c) 1925 (d) 1924
62
49. Who among the following used the phrase ‘UnBritish’ to criticize the English
colonial control of India?
(a) Anandmohan Bose (b) Badruddin Tyabji
(c) Dadabhai Naoroji (d) R C Dutt
50. Which one of the following Indian leaders was dismissed by the British from the
Indian Civil Service?
(a) Satyendranath Tagore (b) Surendranath Banerji
(c) R.C. Dutt (d) Subhash Chandra Bose
51. The highest temperature recorded in the earth was at:
(a) Namibia (b) Libya (c) Ghana (d) Ethiopia
52. Consider the following states:
1. Mizoram 2. Meghalaya
3. Arunachal Pradesh 4. Bihar
Tropic of Cancer passes through which of these Indian states?
(a) 1,2 & 4 (b) 2 & 4
(c) 3 & 4 (d) 1 Only
53. The horizontal intrusion of solidified magma between the layers of pre-existing
rocks is called:
(a) Dyke (b) Lacolyth (c) Shield (d) Sill
54. The only active volcano in India is:
(a) Barren island (b) Ross Island (c) Dhosi Hills (d) Tosham Hills
55. Which are not the remedial measures to reduce soil erosion?
(a) Contour Bounding
(b) Contour Terracing
(c) Irrigation
(d) Mixed Farming
56. The crescent-shaped sand dune produced by the action of wind predominately
from one direction is called:
(a) Meander (b) Incision
(c) Sand dunes (d) Barchans
57. Who laid the foundation stone of Federation Hall in Calcutta to mark the unity of
Bengal in 1905 ?
(a) Surendranath Bannerjee (b) Anandamohan Bose
(c) Krishnakumar Mitra (d) Joseph Baptista
58. “The Congress is tottering to its fall and one of my great ambitions while in India,
is to assist it to a peaceful demise”. This statement is attributed to:
(a) Lord Dufferin (b) Lord Curzon (c) Lord Lytton (d) None
59. The chairman of National Commission on Farmers (NCF) constituted in 2004
(a) Vandana Shiva (b) Sunita Narrain
(c) C.P. Chandra Shekhar (d) M.S.Swaminathan
63
60. “Har Khet Ko Pani” is the motto of which recently launched scheme of central
government?
(a) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
(b) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
(c) Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana
(d) Parambaragat Krishi Vikas Yojana
61. Which one of the following five year plans has the highest growth rate in
Agriculture sector in India ?
(a) Sixth Five Year Plan (b) Seventh Five Year Plan
(c) Eighth Five Year Plan (d) Ninth Five Year Plan
62. Tropical cyclone of Philippines is termed as
(a) Typhoon (b) Willy-willy (c) Hurricane (d) Michael
63. The imaginary line connecting points having same atmospheric pressure at a given
time is called:
(a) Isobar (b) Isohume (c) Isopor (d) Isophene
64. Which one of the following weather conditions is indicated by a sudden fall in
barometer reading?
(a) Stormy (b) Calm weather
(c) Cold and dry weather (d) Hot and sunny weather
65. Who founded Indian Home Rule League in New York, USA?
(a) Lala Lajpat Rai (b) Annie Besant
(c) Joseph Baptista (d) George Arundele
66. The British Viceroy who repealed the Rowlatt Act?
(a) Lord Reading (b) Lord Wavell
(c) Lord Chelmsford (d) Lord Irwin
67. The President of INC in 1916 Lucknow Session?
(a) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (b) Ambica Charan Majumdar
(c) C.R. Das (d) S.P. Sinha
68. The direction of ocean currents is reversed with season in
(a) The Indian Ocean (b) The Pacific Ocean
(c) The Atlantic Ocean (d) No area on earth
69. The exceptionally high and low tides that occur at the time of the new moon or the
full moon when the Sun, the Moon and the Earth are approximately aligned is
called
(a) Spring (b) Fall (c) Neap (d) Diurnal
70. Which statement is correct regarding cottage industries?
1. Cottage industry is run by family members on full or part time basis.
2. It possesses negligible capital investment.
3. The production is done by hands and no wage earning person is employed in
cottage industry.
(a) 1 & 2 (b) 2 & 3
(c) Only2 (d) 1, 2 & 3
64
71. Which statement is correct regarding iron and steel industry?

1. Large scale iron and steel production was started in 1907 by TISCO established
at Jamshedpur.
2. In 1919, Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) was established at Burnpur.
3. The first public sector steel company was ‘Vishwashwaraiya Iron and Steel
Works at Bhadravati’.
(a) 1 & 2 (b) Only 2 (c) 2 & 3 (d) All the above
72. The characteristic tool of human ancestors during Paleolithic age?
(a) Chopper (b) Cleaver (c) Bow and Arrow (d) Hand Axe
73. The first Paleolithic tool found in India from
(a) Bori (b) Pallavaram (c) Nevasa (d) Bhimbetka
74. Eran is a Chalcolithic site belonging to which culture?
(a) Jorwe culture (b) Malwa culture (c) Ahar culture (d) None
75. Which among the name of following sites literally means ‘mount of the dead’?
(a) Kot Diji (b) Lothal (c) Mohenjodaro (d) Both (b) and (c)
76. Which one among the following Indus cities was known for water management?
(a) Lothal (b) Mohanjodaro (c) Harappa (d) Dholavira
77. The Harappan towns and cities were divided into large______________ blocks
(a) Triangular (b) Rectangular
(c) Circular (d) Semi-circular
78. What is the triangular landmass that forms at its mouth when a river splits into
several branches just before entering the sea?
(a) Cape (b) Island (c) Estuary (d) Delta
79. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?
(a) River Zambezi flows into Indian Ocean
(b) Boyoma Falls is in River Zambezi
(c) Cobora Bassa Dam is built across River Zambezi
(d) River Zambezi forms natural political boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe
80. The River Danube does not flow through capital of:
(a) Austria (b) Slovakia (c) Hungary (d) Poland
81. The landform created by glacial erosion which has steep sided slope on three
sides, an open end on one side and a flat bottom is called:
(a) Cirque (b) Hanging Valley (c) Horn (d) Crevasses
82. A long, narrow, sinuous ridge of stratified sand and gravel deposited by a
subglacial or englacial meltwater stream is called:
(a) Esker (b) Kames (c) Drumlins (d) Outwash Plain
83. The capital of Island nation of Maldives is:
(a) Naypyidaw (b) Taipei (c) Male (d) Astana
65
84. The largest Country in Africa is:

(a) Egypt (b) South Africa (c) Ethiopia (d) Algeria
85. Consider the following statements:
1. The lowest point and largest lake of Australia is Eyre Lake
2. The longest river in Australia is the Murray River.
Which of these statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 Only (b) 2 Only (c) Both 1 & 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
86. Which among the following is NOT a transnational country, which lies in both
Europe and Asia?
(a) Georgia (b) Russia (c) Turkey (d) Ukraine
87. Which among the following regarding Canadian Shield is correct?
(a) It stretches between the valley of St. Lawrence to Southern USA
(b) It is also called high plains in the west because of its greater altitude.
(c) Rockies, Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre are some of the
mountain ranges of the region.
(d) The famous Five Great Lakes are located in this region
88. Which of the statement is NOT correct?
(a) Pamir is known as the roof of the world
(b) Mount Godwin Austen is the highest peak of in Karakoram range
(c) The extension of Ladakh range into China is known as Kailash range.
(d) The hill station of Gulmarg in Kashmir lies in this Zaskar range
89. Which among the following is correctly matched?
(a) Punjab Himalaya : Between Sutlej and Tista
(b) Kumaon Himalayas : Between Sutlej and Kali
(c) Nepal Himalayas : Between Kali and Dihang
(d) Assam Himalayas : Between Dihang and Tista
90. The Himalayas is called ‘Sagarmata’ in :
(a) Tibet (b) Assam (c) Nepal (d) Sikkim
91. Consider the following mountain peaks:
1. Mullayanagari 2. Chembra 3. Kodachadri 4. Mahendragiri
Which of these are in Western Ghats?
(a) 1, 2 & 3 (b) 3 & 4 (c) 1 & 4 (d) 1,2, 3 & 4
92. The highest peak in Andaman and Nicobar is:
(a) Saddle Peak (b) Mount Thullier (c) Kangto (d) Saramati
93. The mountain pass that connects Mumabi and Nasik:
(a) Bhor Ghat (b) Thal Ghat (c) Thamhini Ghat (d) Amba Ghat
94. Which of the following Indian banks became the first to touch a market
capitalisation of Rs. 1,00,000 crore in India?
(a) ICICI (b) HDFC (c) SBI (d) PNB
66
95. National Income means:

(a) NNP at Factor Cost
(b) NNP at Market Prices
(c) NNP plus depreciation allowances
(d) GDP minus subsidies plus indirect taxes
96. The advisory jurisdiction of Supreme Court has been borrowed from:
(a) USA (b) Australia (c) Britain (d) Canada
97. Which Five Year Plan duration was of four years only?
(a) Third (b) Fourth (c) Fifth (d) Seventh
98. Mullapperiyar lease agreement was renewed in:
(a) 1970 (b) 1886 (c) 1895 (d) 1969
99. India’s largest floating solar plant is located in which reservoir?
(a) Bhoothathankettu (b) Banasurasagar
(c) Neriyamangalam (d) Sengulam
100. Which among the following pairs (reservoir-district) is matched correctly?
1. Peruvannammuzhy - Kozhikkode
2. Meenkara - Palakkad
3. Pothundi - Pathanamthitta
Select the correct answer using the codes below:
(a) 2 & 3 only (b) 1 & 2 only
(c) 1 & 3 only (d) All of these
ANSWER KEY
1. B 2. D 3. B 4. C 5. C 6. C 7. A 8. D 9. D 10.C 11.A 12.B 13.D

14.B 15.A 16.D 17.D 18.B 19.C 20.A 21.B 22.A 23.A 24.A 25.B 26.C
27.C 28.C 29.D 30.A 31.B 32.C 33.B 34.D 35.B 36.C 37.A 38.C 39.A
40.A 41.D 42.D 43.A 44.C 45.C 46.B 47.D 48.D 49.C 50.B 51.B 52.D
53.D 54.A 55.C 56.D 57.B 58.B 59.D 60.A 61.C 62.A 63.A 64.A 65.A
66.A 67.B 68.A 69.A 70.D 71.D 72.D 73.B 74. B 75.D 76.D 77.B 78.D
79.B 80.D 81.D 82.A 83.C 84.D 85.C 86.D 87.D 88.D 89B 90.C 91.A
92.A 93.B 94.C 95.A 96.D 97.C 98.A 99.B 100.B
67
|CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ|

MARCH - 2019
MARCH 1 – 15
1. Consider the following statements 5. Consider the following statements

about Pradhan Mantri Kisan about Laboratory for the
Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM Conservation of Endangered
KISAN). Species (LaCONES).
1. Rs 6,000 will be given per year 1. It is India’s only facility for
to small and marginal farmer conservation of endangered
families having combined land species.
holding of upto 2 acres. 2. It is a facility of CSIR’s Centre
2. PM KISAN is a Centrally for Cellular and Molecular
Sponsored Scheme (CSS) with Biology (CCMB).
equal contribution from Central 3. It has helped to increase the
and State Governments. population of mouse deer in
3. The Scheme becomes effective Telangana forests.
from Feb 01, 2019 for transfer Which of the above statements
of benefit to eligible is/are correct?
beneficiaries. (a) 1 2 (b) 2, 3 (c) 1, 3(d) 1, 2, 3
Which of the above statements 6. Miyako strait is located between
is/are incorrect? the islands of:
(a) 1 & 2 (b) 2& 3 (a) Scarborough Shoal and Spratly
(c) 1, 3 (d) 1, 2 & 3 (b) Paracel and Okinawa
2. What is India’s rank in The (c) Miyako and Paracel
Facebook Inclusive Internet Index (d) Miyako and Okinawa
(3i) 2019? 7. Deopahar was notified as a
(a) 54 (b) 47 (c) 75 (d) 89 ‘Proposed Reserved Forest’. It is
3. The organisation which approved located in which state?
India’s proposal to observe an (a)Arunachal Pradesh (b) Sikkim
International Year of Millets in (c) Assam (d) Tripura
2023
(a) UNGP
about Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi
(b) WFP
Maan-dhan (PM-SYM)
(c) FAO Council
1. PM-SYM is a voluntary and
(d) (IFAD
contributory pension scheme.
4. Chagos Islands in the Indian
Ocean is a colonized territory by 2. It was launched by Union
(a) France Ministry of Finance.
(b) Russia 3. The unorganised sector
(c) United States workers, with income of less
(d) United Kingdom than Rs 20,000 per month are
eligible for the scheme.
68
4. If the subscriber dies during 13. Joint bilateral exercise ‘Exercise Al

the receipt of pension, his or Nagah 2019’ will be held from
her spouse will be entitled to March 12 to 25, 2019 between
receive 100 percent of the India and which country?
pension. (a) Saudi Arabia (b) Oman
Which of the above statements (c) Turkey (d) Qatar
is/are incorrect?
14. Which city was ranked as the
(a) 1, 2 & 3 (b) 2, 3 & 4 World’s most polluted city of 2018
(c) 1 & 3 (d) 1, 2, 3 & 4 as per the report released by IQAir
9. ‘Momentum for Change’ is an AirVisual and Greenpeace on
initiative of March 5, 2019?
(a) World Bank (a) Lahore (b) Hotan
(b) UNEP (c) Delhi (d) Gurugram
(c) UN Climate Change secretariat 15. Who was nominated by Indian
(d) UNICEF Government for the post of the
10. NASA’s ICESat-2 mission aims to new Director-General of Food and
(a) To explore the presence of ice Agriculture Organisation (FAO)?
on mars (a) Ramesh Chand
(b) Mapping melting ice sheets in (b) Binay Ranjan Sen
Greenland and Antarctica (c) Radha Mohan Singh
(c) Understanding the sea level (d) Indra Nooyi
rise across the globe 16. Which nation has suspended its
(d) Both (b) and (c) participation in Intermediate-
11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Range Nuclear treaty with the
March 5, 2019 launched the United States?
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi (a) Germany (b) Russia
Maan-dhan Yojana from which (c) France (d) Japan
state?
17. ISRO has launched Young
(a) Tamil Nadu (b) U.P Scientist Programme for children
(c) Gujarat (d) Delhi who have just completed:
12. Which Ministry came up with the
(a) 7th class (b) 9th class
‘One Nation, One Card’ Model to
(c) 11th class (d) 8th class
enable seamless travel by different
metros and other transport 18. When will be the ‘Janaushadhi
systems across the country Diwas’ celebrated across India?
besides retail shopping and (a) 6 March (b) 7 March
purchases? (c) 8 March (d) 9 March
(a) Ministry of Housing and Urban 19. Minister of State for Culture and
Affairs Environment, Mahesh Sharma
(b) Ministry of Home Affairs recently inaugurated ‘Azaadi-ke-
(c) Ministry of Commerce & Diwane’ museum in which city?
Industry (a) Mumbai (b) Amritsar
(d) Ministry of Human Resource (c) New Delhi (d) Panipat
Development
69
20. Which is the most polluted capital 27. Which IT company has launched
city as per the World Air Quality an application called ‘bolo’ to tutor
Report 2018? children to read in Hindi, English?
(a) Delhi (b) Beijing (a) Microsoft (b) Facebook
(c) Lahore (d) Dhaka (c) Twitter (d) Google
21. The Union Home Ministry has 28. When is the International
launched smart fencing on which Women’s Day celebrated across
Indian border to deter illegal world?
infiltration? (a) 7th March (b) 8th March
(a) Indo-Bhutan Border (c) 9th March (d)10th March
(b) Indo-Nepal Border 29. Which app has been launched by
(c) Indo-Bangladesh Border Union Urban Affairs Minister that
(d) Indo-Myanmar Border digitilises the process of
22. Which city has been adjudged as conversion of a property from
the cleanest city in Swachh leasehold to freehold?
Sarvekshan for third year in a (a) e-Dharti (b) Proper-T
row? (c) Urban-U (d) Conversion
(a) Chandigarh (b) Varanasi 30. Marayoor jaggery, a world-famous
(c) Indore (d) Pune delicacy, got a Geographical
23. Which tennis player has become Indication (GI) tag recently. It
the second-ever in the world to belongs to which state?
claim 100 ATP titles? (a) Karnataka (b) Kerala
(a) Roger Federer (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Odisha
(b) Rafael Nadal
31. President Ram Nath Kovind
(c) Serena Williams
conferred the Padma Shri 2019 on
(d) Novak Djokovic which of the following personality?
24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi
(a) Nambi Narayan
released the new series of “visually
(b) Bachendri Pal
impaired friendly circulation”
(c) Teejan Bai
coins. Which denomination coin
will be of 12-edged polygon shape? (d) Gautam Gambhir
32. Who has been appointed as the
(a) Rs 2 (b) Rs 5
new Prime Minister of the state of
(c) Rs 10 (d) Rs 20 Palestine?
25. National space agency ISRO (a) Mohammad Shtayyeh
signed agreement with which
country to set up a joint maritime (b) Mohammad Abbas
surveillance system? (c) Muhammad Mustafa
(a) United States (b) China (d) Ziad Abu-Amr
(c) France (d) Russia 33. Which nation’s cricket board has
26. Which city was awarded as the written to the ICC for action
Cleanest Capital in the Swachh against India for wearing
Survekshan 2019 survey? camouflage caps?
(a) Bhopal (b) Chennai (a) Bangladesh (b) Pakistan
(c) Greater Mumbai (d)Chandigarh (c) Australia (d) Sri Lanka
70
34. Which Indian wrestler won a gold 41. Which company became the
medal in 65kg freestyle at the Dan official sponsor of ICC World Cup
Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament in 2019 on March 12, 2019?
Bulgaria? (a) GoDaddy
(a) Bajrang Punia (b) Bira 91 beer
(b) Vinesh Phogat (c) MRF Tyres
(c) Sakshi Malik (d) Emirates Airlines
(d) Sushil Kumar 42. Who was appointed by Supreme
35. When was National Immunisation Court as mediator to resolve
Day 2019 observed in India? disputes of cricket administration
(a) 9 March (b) 10 March in BCCI?
(c) 11 March (d) 12 March (a) PS Narasimha
36. Which organisation will carry out (b) DK Jain
first all-female spacewalk at the (c) AM Sapre
International Space Station (ISS)? (d) SA Bobde
(a) NASA (b) ISRO 43. When was the World Kidney Day
(c) CNES (d) SpaceX 2019 observed globally?
37. Which country was the world’s (a) 12 March (b) 13 March
largest exporter of weapons during (c) 14 March (d) 15 March
2014-18, as per the report by
44. Which city is hosting the Special
Stockholm International Peace
Olympics World Games 2019?
Research Institute (SIPRI)?
(a) Abu Dhabi (b) Oslo
(a) Russia (b) USA
(c) Tokyo (d) Sydney
(c) France (d) Germany
45. Which city hosted the 34th edition
38. Google Doodle on March 12, 2019
of ‘Aahar 2019’-International Food
celebrated 30 years of which
and Hospitality Fair?
invention?
(a) New Delhi
(a) Internet (b) HTTP
(b) Mumbai
(c) World Wide Web (d) None
(c) Jaipur
39. Who took over as the Director of
(d) Lucknow
the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre (BARC) recently? 46. When is the World Consumer
Rights Day observed every year?
(a) K.N. Vyas
(a) 12 March
(b) S.R. Krishnan
(b) 13 March
(c) N.L. Murthy
(c) 14 March
(d) A.K. Mohanty
(d) 15 March
40. Which space agency’s lunar
orbiter has observed water 47. The West Nile Virus was recently
molecules moving around the in news due to its outbreak in
dayside of Moon? which state of India?
(a) NASA (b) ISRO (a) Kerala (b) Haryana
(c) CNSA (d) ESA (c) Bihar (d) Maharashtra
71
MARCH - 16 – 31
1. Zearalenone recently seen in news 5. ‘Project 75’ was recently seen in

is related to. news. It refers to
(a) Viral infection which typically (a) India’s Military Space Programs
spread by mosquitoes. (ISRO’s Vision 2021)
(b) Newly identified population of (b) Large-scale civil engineering
ultraviolet stars project that aims to link Indian
(c) A chronic neurodegenerative rivers by a network of reservoirs
disease. and canals
(d) A fungal toxin infesting cereals. (c) An initiative to digitize and
2. Researchers from Indian Institute of archive cultural works by the
Technology Madras (IITM) developed 75th year of Indian
“Shakti” is related to Independence
(a) Educational Satellite (d) India’s Scorpene submarine
(b) Defence Surveillance Device programme
(c) Microprocessor 6. Who has been appointed as
(d) Super Computer mediator to resolve disputes of
cricket administration in BCCI?
(a) Adv. P S Narasimha
about ‘Adopt A Heritage’ project.
1. It is a collaborative effort by NITI (b) Adv. Mukul Rohtagi
Ayog, Ministry of Culture (c) Adv Rajiv Kumar
and Archaeological Survey of (d) Adv S K Jain
India (ASI). 7. Consider the following statements
2. It envisages development and about Gaganyaan
maintenance of tourist amenities 1. ISRO and NASA have agreed to
at heritage sites. work together for India’s first
3. The funding is from the Ministry manned space mission
of Culture. Gaganyaan.
4. Jantar Mantar and Qutub Minar 2. India is planning to send three
are adopted under the project. humans (Gaganyatris) into space
Which of the above statements i.e. in low earth orbit (LEO) by
is/are correct? 2022.
(a) 1, 2, 3 (b) 2, 4 3. This mission will make India
fourth nation in the world after
(c) 2, 3, 4 (d) 1, 2, 4
USA, Russia and China to launch
4. ‘Make Listening Safe’ Initiative is
human spaceflight mission.
associated with
Which of the above statements
(a) NITI Aayog
is/are correct?
(b) WHO
(a) 1, 2 (b) 1, 3
(c) UNEP
(c) 2, 3 (d) 1, 2, 3
(d) WEF
72
8. The term ‘Allograft’ is associated (b) Harmonization of tariffs in

with international trade
(a) Algorithm Trading (c) Determining currency weights in
(b) Blockchain Technology SDR basket
(c) Rafale Aircraft (d)Calculating capital to risk
(d) Organ Transplants weighted assets ratio
9. ‘Repurpose Used Cooking Oil under Basel Accords
(RUCO) initiative’ is launched by the 14.The joint exercise ‘Sary-Arka-
(a) Food Safety and Standards Antiterror 2019’ to be held this year
Authority of India (FSSAI) is by which of the following
grouping.
(b) NITI Aayog
(a) BRICS (b) ASEAN
(c) Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Gas (c) BIMSTEC (d) SCO
(d) Ministry of Agriculture 15. The indigenously developed Pinaka
that was successfully test fired is a
10. The ‘Indian Housing Project’ is a
housing reconstruction project (a) supersonic cruise missile
funded by the Government of India (b) Surface-to-Surface Battle field
in which of the following countries? Missile
(a) Afghanistan (c) Quick Reaction Surface to Air
(b) Sri Lanka Missile
(c) Maldives (d) Multi-Barrel Rocket System
(d) Kenya 16. Which of the following cricket teams
has won the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali
11. The term, ‘Qualified institutional
placement (QPI)’, sometimes Trophy?
appearing in news is used in (a) Kerala (b) Karnataka
relation to (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Gujarat
(a) Communication Networking 17. The World Happiness Report, a
(b) Capital raising tool landmark survey of the state of
global happiness, is released by
(c) Foreign Direct Investment
(d) None of the above (a) World Health Organisation
(b) UNESCO
12.‘Cochrane Collaboration’ is
concerned with (c) Amnesty International
(a) Agriculture (d)Sustainable Development
(b) Healthcare Solutions Network
18. Recently Caspian Sea Breakthrough
(c) Artificial Intelligence
Treaty was signed. Which of the
(d) Solar Energy
following countries are parties to
13. ‘Swiss formula’ has been designed
the treaty?
for
1. Kazakhstan 2. Russia
(a) Measuring carbon footprint of
3. Iran 4. Iraq
industries
5. Turkmenistan 6. Azerbaijan
73
Select the correct code: 24. “Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda

(a) 1, 2, 3 & 4 Prabandhan Puraskar” is instituted
(b) 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6 by the Centre to recognise the work
(c) 2, 3, 4 & 5 in the field of
(d) 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (a) Border Security
19. Which of the following international (b) Cyber Security
organizations has recently adopted (c) Disaster management
resolutions on single-use plastics (d) Specific act of bravery or special
and sustainable nitrogen service by the citizens
management? 25. Consider the following statements
(a) WHO (b) UNEA about Mobilise Your City (MYC)
(c) UNICEF (d) UNCTAD programme
20. Which Indian psychologist is the 1. The MYC aims to reduce Green
recipient of the 2019 Hans Kilian House Gas (GHG) emissions
Award? related to urban transport
(a) Giriswar Misra 2. India and France have signed an
(b) Sudhir Kakar implementation agreement on
(c) Ashis Nandy “MOBILISE YOUR CITY” (MYC)
3. It was launched at
(d) Kishor Phadke
th
24 Conference of Parties
21. Abhedya related to Indian Navy,
recently in news is related to? (COP24) meeting in Katowice,
(a) Annual Theatre Level Readiness Poland.
and Operational Exercise Which of the above statements
(b)Nuclear-powered attack is/are correct?
submarine (a) 1, 2 (b) 1, 3
(c) Naval Exercise (c) 2, 3 (d) 1, 2, 3
(d) Indian Navy’s Nuclear, Biological
26. Who is the author of the book “The
and Chemical Training Facility
Great Disappointment: How
22. The government recently launched Narendra Modi Squandered a
‘e-Sahaj’ portal. It is related to Unique Opportunity to Transform
(a) To offer Insurance Coverage To the Indian Economy”?
Dairy Farmers (a) Raghuram Rajan
(b) For security clearances in (b) Manmohan Singh
certain sensitive sectors (c) Sashi Tharoor
(c) For MSME Sector to access (d) Salman Anees Soz
market/ credit 27. Which of the following teams has
(d) To assist Startups in getting won the 2019 Indian Super League
cheaper loans
(ISL) title?
23. Greater Bay Area recently seen in
(a) Mumbai City FC
news is related to which country?
(b) FC Goa
(a) Russia (b) UK
(c) Bengaluru FC
(c) Pakistan (d) China
(d) Kerala Blasters
74
28. Which Indian author has won the (c) Abdullah II of Jordan
2019 Windham Campbell Prize? (d) Jonathan Sacks
(a) Arundhati roy 35. What is the theme of the 2019
(b) Jerry Pinto International Day of Forests?
(c) Raghu Karnad (a) Sustainable Energy and Forest
(d) Sashi Tharoor (b) Forests and Education
29. Which state’s election department (c) Forests and Sustainable Cities
has launched an initiative ‘i-help’ to (d) Wild Life and Forests
promote digital electoral literacy? 36. On which date, the 2019 World
(a) Assam (b) Kerala Poetry Day (WPD) is celebrated ?
(c) Tamil Nadu (D) M.P (a) March 25 (b) March 21
30. Who has been appointed as the first (c) March 24 (d) March 27
transgender election ambassador in 37. What is the theme of the 2019
India? World Water Day (WWD)?
(a) Sathyasri Sharmila (a) Water for Future
(b) Joyita Mondal (b) Water for Nature
(c) Prithika Yashini (c) Leaving no one behind
(d) Gauri Sawant (d) Better Water, Better Jobs
31. Who is the recipient of the 2019 38. Which of the following countries
Abel Prize for mathematics? has officially renamed its capital as
(a) Robert Langlands ‘Nursultan’?
(b) Yves Meyer (a) Pakistan (b) Kazakhstan
(c) Karen Uhlenbeck (c) Tajikistan (d) Kyrgyzstan
(d) Andrew Wiles 39. What is the India’s rank in the 2019
32.What is the theme of the UN World Happiness Index?
International Day of Happiness (a) 111th (b) 140th
(IDH-2019)?
(c) 132th (d) 148th
(a) Share Happiness
40. Who is the head of the RBI
(b) Happier Together committee to deepen digital
(c) Live Happier payments?
(d) Angry Birds Happy Plane (a) Nandan Nilekani
33. Mitra shakti-VI is the joint military (b) Shaktikanta Das
exercise between India and which of (c) K V Kamath
the following countries?
(d) Chris Gopalakrishnan
(a) Myanmar (b) Nepal
41. What is the India’s rank in the 2019
(c) Sri Lanka (d) Maldives global Energy Transition index
34. Who is the winner of the 2019 published by World Economic
Templeton Prize? Forum (WEF)?
(a) Alvin Plantinga (a) 71th (b) 76th
(b) Marcelo Gleiser (c) 75th (d) 73th
75
|CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ|

APRIL - 2019
APRIL 1 – 15
1. Recently which of the following 6. Who has been elected as the first
committee was constituted by RBI female President of Slovakia?
to address the issues related to (a) Adriana Karembeu
the transfer of surplus funds from (b) Zuzana Caputova
RBI to government? (c) Kristina Farkasova
(a) Urjit Patel Committee (d) Apollonia Vanova
(b) Y. Venugopal Reddy Committee 7. ISRO has successfully launched
(c) Bimal Jalan Committee EMISAT and 28 customer
(d) L K Jha Committee satellites by which launch vehicle?
2. Which social networking site has (a) PSLV-C44 (b) PSLV-C46
recently banned ‘White (c) PSLV-C47 (d) PSLV-C45
Nationalism & Separatism’ on its 8. Which country’s team has won the
Platforms? 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey
(a) Twitter (b) Facebook tournament?
(c) Tumblr (d) Instagram (a) Poland (bSouth Korea
3. Which Indian personality has been (c) India (d)Japan
honoured with Croatia’s highest 9. Who has won the men’s singles
civilian award- the Grand Order of title at the 2019 Yonex-Sunrise
the King of Tomislav? India Open badminton
(a) Narendra Modi tournament?
(b) Sushama Swaraj (a) Manu Attri
(c) Ram Nath Kovind (b) B Sumeeth Reddy
(d) Rajnath Singh (c) Kidambi Srikanth
4. Who is the author of the book (d) Viktor Axelsen
“Gandhi: The Writer”? 10. What is the theme of the 2019
(a) Ravinder Singh World Autism Awareness Day
(b) Durjoy Datta (WAAD)?
(c) Bhabhani Bhattacharya (a)Toward Autonomy and Self-
(d) Amit Chaudhuri Determination
5. Which airport has been designated (b)Assistive Technologies, Active
as the India’s best aviation hub by Participation
the Skytrax World Airport Awards (c)Employment: The Autism
2019? Advantage
(a)Kempegowda International (d) Opening Doors to Inclusive
Airport Education
(b) Indira Gandhi International 11. Kandhamal Haldi, which recently
Airport got GI tag, is produced in which of
(c)Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the following states?
International Airport (a) West Bengal (b) Jharkhand
(d) Rajiv Gandhi International (c) Assam (d) Odisha
Airport
76
12. Who is the author of the book 19. Who has been elected as the new
“Kundan: Saigal’s Life & Music”? President of the World Bank?
(a) Kanika Kapoor (a) Christopher Kilby
(b) Sharad Dutt (b) David Malpass
(c) Akriti Kakar (c) Christine Lagarde
(d) Khushi (d) Mauricio Macri
13. Which state has been ranked first 20. The festival ‘Jashn-e-Ittihaad’ has
in e-learning training programme recently held in which of the
of Department of Personal and following cities?
Training (DoPT) of the Government (a) New Delhi (b) Jaipur
of India? (c) Hyderabad (d) Mysore
(a) Kerala (b) Telangana 21. Who is the new President of the
(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) TamilNadu Confederation of Indian Industry
14. Which Indian personality has been (CII)?
conferred the UAE’s highest (a) Uday Kotak
civilian honour ‘Zayed Medal’? (b) T.V. Narendran
(a) Ram Nath Kovind (c) Rakesh Bharti Mittal
(b) Shahrukh Khan (d) Vikram Kirloskar
(c) Narendra Modi 22. Who is the author of the book
(d) Shashi Tharoor “Saffron Swords: Centuries of
15. On which date, the 2019 Indic Resistance to Invaders”?
International Mine Awareness Day (a) Pankaj Mishra
is observed recently? (b) Ravi Subramanian
(a) April 7 (b) April 4 (c) Anand Neelakantan
(c) April 3 (d) April 5 (d) Manoshi Sinha Rawal
16. The NuGen Mobility Summit 2019 23. Who is the newly appointed
will be held in which of the Managing Director of LIC?
following countries? (a) Nishant Patil
(a) China (b) Japan (b) Vipin Anand Monday
(c) Germany (d) India (c) Varsha Sharma
17. Phayeng Village, which has been (d) T S Vijayan
tagged as India’s first carbon- 24. Which railway station has become
positive settlement, is located in the India’s first-ever railway
which of the following states? station to get green ISO
(a) Mizoram (b) Nagaland certification?
(c) Manipur (d) Arunachal (a) Aurangabad (b) Hyderabad
18. GAFA tax recently seen in news is (c) Guwahati (d) Bhopal
related to 25. Who clinched the 2019 men’s
(a) Tax on new start-ups with singles Malaysia Open badminton
annual turn-over of more than 1 tournament?
crore (a) Srikanth Kidambi
(b) Tax on Renewable energy (b) Lin Dan
products (c) Chen Long
(c) Tax on large technology and (d) Lee Chong Wei
internet companies 26. What is the theme of the 2019
(d) None of the above World Health Day (WHD)?
77
(a) Universal Health Coverage: 33. Which Indian sportsperson is the

Everyone, Everywhere recipient of the New Zealand Prime
(b) Health for All – Everyone, Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary
Everywhere Fellowship for 2019?
(c) Diabetes:Scale up prevention (a) Neeraj Chopra
(d) Depression: Let’s Talk (b) Sania Nehwal
27. Who was appointed as Amicus (c) Mary Kom
curiae by the Kerala High Court (d) Deepa Malik
on Kerala floods? 34. On which date of 2019 World
Homeopathy Day (WHD) is
(a) Antony Dominic
observed recently?
(b) Jacob P. Alex
(a) April 12 (b) April 8
(c) Kurian Joseph
(c) April 13 (d) April 10
(d) Ashok Bhushan
35. Exercise ‘African Lion 2019’ has
28. Exercise ‘Bold Kurukshetra-2019’
conducted between which of the
was held between India and which
following countries?
of the following countries? (a) Nigeria and Congo
(a) Malaysia (b) Singapore (b) Malaysia and South Africa
(c) Indonesia (d) Thailand (c) Morocco and United States
29. Who has been selected for the (d) South Africa and Jamaica
2018 Saraswati Samman? 36. The new chief coach of India men’s
(a) Sitanshu Yashchandra hockey team?
(b) Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (a) Herman Kruis
(c) M.P. Veerendrakumar (b) W V Raman
(d) K Siva Reddy (c) Graham Reid
30. Which Indian Cricketer has been (d) Harendra Singh
named as the Wisden’s Leading 37. Meena Kumari Maisnam has
Cricketer in the World for 2018? clinched gold in which category at
(a) K L Rahul the Cologne Boxing World Cup
(b) M S Dhoni 2019?
(c) Virat Kohli (a) 54 kg (b) 57 kg
(d) Rohit Sharma (c) 60 kg (d) 51kg
38. Which country to host the world’s
31. What is the theme of the 2019
foremost Artificial Intelligence (AI)
National Safe Motherhood Day
Summit?
(NSMD)?
(a) India (b) Japan
(a) Let’s visit health centres
(c) UAE (d) Canada
(b) Respectful Maternity Care
39. April 13, 2019 marks the
(c) Midwives for Mothers
centenary of:
(d) End Maternal Mortality (a) Champaran Satyagraha
32. Which Indian personality has been (b) Ahmedabad Mill Strike
chosen for Russia’s highest (c) Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
civilian award “Order of St Andrew (d) Dandi March
the Apostle”? 40. For women safety ,the Mobile
(a) Mukesh Ambani Application ‘My Circle’ is launched
(b) Narendra Modi by which of the following telecom
(c) Ram Nath Kovind company?
(d) Azim Permji (a) BSNL (b) Vodafone
(c) Idea (d) Airtel
78
APRIL 16 – 30
1. Consider the following statements 6. Who has been named as the

about Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi goodwill ambassador of the Indian
Maan-dhan (PM-SYM). team for the Street Child Cricket
a. The unorganised workers whose World Cup?
monthly income is Rs 15,000/ per (a) Virat Kohli
month or less are eligible for the (b) Mithali Raj
scheme. (c) M S Dhoni
b. If the subscriber dies, the spouse (d) Smriti Mandhana
of the beneficiary shall be entitled 7. What is the theme of the 2019
to receive 100% pension received World Heritage Day (WHD)?
by the beneficiary as family (a) The Heritage of Sport
pension. (b) Heritage for Generations
c. Family pension is applicable only (c) Protect our Green Heritage
to spouse. (d) Rural Landscapes
Which of the above statements 8. Learning Coin, which is in news
is/are correct? recently, is a project launched by
(a) 1 only (b) 2, 3 World Bank and which of the
(c) 1, 2 (d) 1, 3 following international
2. What is the operational range of the organisations?
India’s first indigenously designed (a) AIIB (b) ADB
Sub-sonic Cruise Missile ‘Nirbhay’? (c) IMF (d) NDB
(a) 1000 km (b) 500 km 9. Who has been honoured with the
(c) 2000 km (d)100 km 2019 Pulitzer Prize in fiction
3. The historic ‘Mujibnagar day’ has category?
recently celebrated in which of the (a) David W. Blight
following countries? (b) Richard Powers
(a) India (b) Pakistan (c) Forrest Gander
(c) Bangladesh (d) Turkey (d) Jeffrey C. Stewart
4. ICC has partnered with which UN 10. Who has been re-elected as the new
organisation to organise Prime Minister of Israel?
#OneDayforChildren at the Men’s (a) Ariel Sharon
Cricket World Cup 2019? (b) Ehud Olmert
(a) UNICEF (b) UNIDO (c) Benjamin Netanyahu
(c) BRICS (d) UNESCO (d) Ehud Barak
5. What is the theme of the 2019 11. Which Indian sports personality has
World Haemophilia Day (WHD)? been appointed as the brand
(a) Treatment for all, the Vision of all ambassador of bus ticketing
(b) Sharing Knowledge Makes Us platform ‘redBus’?
Stronger (a) Virat Kohli (b) M S Dhoni
(c) Outreach and Identification
(d) Hear their voices (c) Mary Kom (d) P V Sindhu
79
12. On which date, the 2019 National 20. Which scheme of the West Bengal
Civil Services Day is celebrated in government has won ‘United
India recently? Nation’s World Summit on the
(a) April 17 (b) April 20 Information Society (WSIS) award -
(c) April 21 (d) April 23 2019’ in Capacity Building
13. Who was the author of the category?
Jallianwala Bagh poem ‘Khooni (a) Sabooj Sathi
Vaisakhi’? (b) Bangla Kanyashree
(a) Karnail Singh (b) Vir Singh (c) Utkarsh Bangla
(c) Nanak Singh (d) Navtej Singh (d) Bangla Sathi
14. On which date, the 2019 World 21. On which date, the UN English
Liver Day (WLD) is observed Language Day is observed every
recently? year?
(a) April 28 (b) April 19 (a) April 23 (b) April 22
(c) April 17 (d) April 23 (c) April 25 (d) April 24
15. What is India’s rank in the 2019 22. What is the India’s rank in the 2019
World Press Freedom Index (WPFI)? Index of Cancer Preparedness (ICP)?
(a) 128 (b) 118 (a) 10th (b) 20th
(c) 140 (d) 135
(c) 19th (d) 13th
16. Which football team has won the
23. On which date, the 2019 National
2019 Santosh Trophy?
Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) is
(a) Kerala (b) Services
celebrated in India?
(c) West Bengal (d) Punjab
(a) April 29 (b) April 21
17. Who won the 2019 presidential
(c) April 24 (d) April 22
election of Ukraine?
24. Which city hosted the 23rd edition
(a) Petro Poroshenko
of the Asian Athletics
(b) Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Championship?
(c) Leonid Kravchuk
(a) Kuala Lumpur (b) Doha
(d) Viktor Yushchenko
(c) Dubai (d) New Delhi
18. Which Indian movie has won the
25. Which nation has declared
best cinematography award at 2019
nationwide emergency after suicide
Beijing International Film Festival
bomb blasts ripped through its
(BIFF)?
churches and luxury hotels on the
(a) Kayamkulam Kochunni
occasion of Easter on April 21,
(b) Odiyan
2019?
(c) Bhayanakam
(a) Nigeria (b) Pakistan
(d) Eeda
(c) New Zealand (d) Sri Lanka
19. What is the theme of the 2019
26. Which country recently became the
World Earth Day(WED)?
world’s first to launch malaria
(a) Nature for Water
vaccine?
(b) Better Water, Better Jobs
(a) Malawi (b) Serbia
(c) Water and Energy
(c) Maldives (d) Nepal
(d) Protect our species
80
27. Which country was nominated as 35. What is the theme of the 2019
the ‘Guest of Honour’ at the 29th World Immunization Week (WIW)
edition of the Abu Dhabi observed by World Health
International Book Fair? Organisation (WHO) from April 24
(a) India (b) France to 30?
(c) Israel (d) Italy (a) Protected Together: Vaccines
28. When the International Day for Work
Monuments and Sites is observed (b) Beat Diabetes
every year? (c) Immunization saves lives
(d) Protect your world: get
(a) 15th April (b) 18th April
vaccinated
(c) 19th April (d) 20th April
36. Who was appointed as the Vice
29. Sri Lanka has launched its first
Chancellor of Cochin University of
satellite. What is it called?
Science and Technology(CUSAT)?
(a) Raavana 1 (b) Colombo X
(a) Dr. K N Madhusoodhanan
(c) Kataragama (d) Vibhishana
(b) Mahadevan Pillai
30. The Indian Council of Medical
(c) K Mohammad Basheer
Research recently launched the
(d) Sabu Thomas
‘MERA India’ to eliminate which
37. Which Insurance company has
disease by 2030?
decided to undertake The Medical
(a) Dengue (b) Malaria
Insurance Scheme for State
(c) Tuberculosis (d) Typhoid
Employees and Pensioners
31. When the World Intellectual
(MEDISEP) of Kerala State?
Property Day is celebrated on:
(a) Bajaj Alliance General Insurance
(a) 22nd April (b) 25th April (b) New India Assurance
(c) 26th April (d) 29th April (c) Oriental Insurance
32. What is the name of Japan’s new (d) Reliance General Insurance
imperial era that will begin on May 38. Who is the winner ONV Literary
1, 2019? Award 2019 ?
(a) Showa (b) Taisho (a) M T Vasudevan Nair
(c) Reiwa (d) Heisei (b) M Mukundan
33. When was the World Day for Safety (c) K R Meera
and Health at Work observed? (d)Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri
(a) April 28 (b) April 26 39. The Name of operation launched by
(c) April 25 (d) April 27 Kerala State Motor Vehicle
34. What is the theme of 2019 World department to take action against
Intellectual Property Day (WIPD)? those who are violating the existing
(a) Digital Creativity: Culture permit procedures in interstate bus
Reimagined services ?
(b) Powering Change: Women in (a) Operation Safe Journey
Innovation and Creativity (b) Operation Night Riders
(c) Innovation: Improving Lives (c) Operation Subha Yatra
(d) Reach for Gold: IP and Sports (d) VAHAN
81
ANSWER KEY
MARCH 1-15
1. D 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. D 6. D 7. C 8. B 9. C 10.D 11.C 12.A 13.B
14.D 15.A 16.B 17.B 18.B 19.C 20.A 21.C 22.C 23.A 24.D 25.C 26.A
27.D 28.B 29.A 30.B 31.D 32.A 33.B 34.A 35.B 36.A 37.B 38.C 39.D
40.A 41.A 42.A 43.C 44.A 45.A 46.D 47.A
MARCH 16-31
1. D 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. D 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. A 10. B 11.B 12.B 13.B
14.D 15.D 16.B 17.D 18.B 19.B 20.C 21.D 22.B 23.D 24.C 25.A 26.D
27.C 28.C 29.A 30.D 31.C 32.B 33.C 34.B 35.B 36.B 37.C 38.B 39.B
40.A 41.B
APRIL 1-15
1. C 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. B 6. B 7. D 8. B 9. D 10.B 11.D 12.B 13.B
14.C 15.B 16.D 17.C 18.C 19.B 20.A 21.D 22.D 23.B 24.C 25.B 26.A
27.B 28.B 29.D 30.C 31.C 32.B 33.D 34.D 35.C 36.C 37.A 38.C 39.C
40.D
APRIL 16-30
1.D 2.A 3.C 4.A 5.C 6.B 7.D 8.C 9.B 10.C 11.B 12.C 13.C
14.B 15.C 16.B 17.B 18.C 19.D 20.C 21.A 22.C 23.C 24.B 25.D 26.A
27.A 28.B 29.A 30.B 31.C 32.C 33.A 34.D 35.A 36.A 37.D 38.D 39.B
82

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