Daily G.K Bits:- 27-08-2015

1. Which state has made voting compulsory for local body polls? (1)

1. Gujarat
2. Mizoram
3. Haryana
4. Uttar Pradesh
5. Uttar Khand

Expl:- Gujarat government has issued a notification making voting compulsory for people of the state during elections to local self governing bodies. The notification would mean that people have to compulsorily vote during the elections of municipal corporations, municipalities, and all village panchayats. The Act has also made provisions to penalize those who fail to vote. However, the notification has not specified what punishment will be given to voters who fail to exercise their franchise. The state government also issued another notification making voting compulsory for elected representatives of local bodies, who would face disqualification if they do not vote.

2. According to United Nations Organization, India to surpass China Population by..? (2)

1. 2030
2. 2022
3. 2018
4. 2027
5. 2050

Expl:- According to the United Nations Organization, India will surpass China to become the most populous nation in the world by 2022, six years sooner than previously forecast, and the country is projected to retain the top spot till 2100. The ‘World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision’ launched at the UN Headquarters in New York yesterday projected that within seven years, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China. Currently, the population of China is approximately 1. 38 billion compared with 1.31 billion in India. Around and after 2022, India’s population is projected to continue growing for several decades to 1.5 billion in 2030 and 1.7 billion in 2050, while the population of China is expected to remain fairly constant until the 2030s, after which it is expected to slightly decrease.According to the forecast issued in 2013, India was expected to surpass China’s population by 2028 but the latest report predicts that India will overtake its Asian rival six years early by 2022.

3. At present, the forest coverage in India is ____ (3)

1. 14%
2. 33%
3. 21%
4. 6%
5. 48%

Expl:- In India there has been a net increase of 5871 square kilometres in the country’s forest cover. The total forest cover in the country is 697,898 square kilometres which is over 21 per cent of its total geographical area. Among the metropolitan cities, Delhi tops with 180 square kilometres of forests followed by Bengaluru with 97 square kilometres, Hyderabad with 88 square kilometres. Mumbai has over 86 square kilometres of forest area while Chandigarh‘s forest cover stands at 34 square kilometers

4. Yakub Memon, who was hanged recently was convicted in ___ (1)

1. 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case
2. Pune Bomb blast cases
3. 2008 Mumbai attack case
4. Hyderabad bomb cases
5. None

Expl:- Yakub Memon, the lone 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, was hanged to death at Nagpur Central Jail early 30^th July. Memon  was hanged at Nagpur Central Prison at 7 am, the hour set by the TADA court for execution of his death warrant, that came under repeated challenge by his legal team.

5. National Handloom Day was celebrated on____ (5)

1. 1^st August
2. 25^th July
3. 6^th July
4. 14^th August
5. 7^th August

Expl:- The Centre has declared 7th August as National Handloom Day beginning from this year throughout the country. Informing this on 31^st July, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said, the first National Handloom Day will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai on 7th August.

6. India’s first harbor defence system will be commissioned in ____ (2)

1. Vishakapatnam
2. Kochi
3. Kolkata
4. Mumbai
5. Tuticorn

Expl:- In Kochi, the integrated underwater harbour defence and surveillance system was commissioned on 31^st July to strengthen security in the western coastline. According to Defence sources, this system is first of its kind in the country and also part of Navy’s initiative to strengthen coastal security. The system was inaugurated by Chief of Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba.  The integrated harbour defence system commissioned is capable of detecting, identifying, tracking and generating warning for all types of surface and underwater threats to harbour security. It was designed by Israel Aerospace Industries and consists of advance coastal surveillance radars, sensors and sound navigation and ranging systems.

7. Which of the following state/UT has recently notified a policy regarding protection of witnesses? (3)

1. Kerala
2. West Bengal
3. Delhi
4. Puducherry
5. Goa

Expl:- Delhi Government has notified a policy regarding protection of witnesses with provisions for a protection fund. The AAP government said that the Delhi Witness Protection Scheme will ensure protection of witnesses in crucial cases. According to the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi becomes the first state to notify such policy.  Delhi High court in 2013 had directed Delhi government to frame a witness protection policy to provide guidelines and principles which the police, prosecution and executive agencies will have to follow for protection of witnesses. According to officials, the policy envisages categorisation of witnesses, creation of witness protection fund, types of protection and procedure for processing such request by the competent authority

8. With which of the following countries India has signed an agreement in the field of election management? (2)

1. Srilanka
2. Georgia
3. Tanzania
4. Australia
5. Nepal

Expl:- India and Georgia have signed a MoU in New Delhi, for cooperation in the field of election management and administration. The MoU was signed by the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. Nasim Zaidi and Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Georgia, Ms Tamar Zhvania on 13^th July. The major aims of the MoU are, promotion of exchanges of knowledge and experience in electoral processes, exchange of information, materials, expertise and training of personnel, production and distribution of materials pertaining to electoral systems, voting technology, voters’ education and awareness and participation of women and minorities in electoral process. Election Commission of India has so far signed twenty MOUs with Election Management Bodies and international organizations across the world. Some of the MoUs signed recently are with the Kyrgyz Republic, Yemen, Mauritius, Egypt, Venezuela and Republic of Korea

9. India has given a grant recently to Satyajit Ray centre, which is located in ____ (5)

1. Britain
2. Russia
3. Japan
4. South Korea
5. USA

Expl:- India has given a grant of 50,000 U.S. dollars to the Satyajit Ray Film and Study Centre at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA for conducting lectures, workshops and film screenings. Likewise, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C. has been given 70,000 U.S. dollars to support a lecture series on rising India. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj gave this information in the Rajya Sabha 30^th July. She said India has also given 1.5 million U.S. dollars to the University of Chicago to enrich its Vivekananda Chair for promoting the study of Indian sub-continent as also for research and teaching of India’s history and culture