You are on page 1of 51

Contents

1. World at a Glance................................................................................... 3
2. United Nations (UN) .............................................................................. 6
3. Other International Organisations ......................................................... 10
4. Defence ............................................................................................... 12
5. Commemorative Days .......................................................................... 17
6. Indian Space Programme ...................................................................... 19
7. Indian Atomic Research ........................................................................ 21
8. Art and Culture .................................................................................... 22
9. Awards and Honours ............................................................................ 26
10. Books and Authors............................................................................... 30
11. Sports .................................................................................................. 32
12. India at a Glance................................................................................... 40
13. Inventions/Inventors ............................................................................. 50
K KUNDAN

K KUNDAN

2 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN

World at a Glance
First in the World l First space shuttle launched Columbia
l First space ship that landed on Mars Viking-I
l First men to climb Mt. Everest Sherpa Tenzing (July,1976)
Norgay & Sir Edmund Hillary (29th May, 1953) l First woman Prime Minister of England Margaret
l First man to reach North Pole Robert Peary Thatcher
l First man to reach South Pole Ronald Amundsen l First woman Prime Minister of any Muslim country
l First country to print books China Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan)
l First country to issue paper currency China l First woman Prime Minister of a country
l First country to start Civil Services Competition S. Bandarnayake (Sri Lanka)
China l First woman cosmonaut in space Valentina
l First President of United States of America Tereshkova (USSR)
George Washington l First woman to climb Mt. Everest Junko Tabei
l First Prime Minister of Great Britain Robert Walpole (Japan )
l First secretary general of United Nations l First deaf and dumb to cross the Strait of Gibraltar
Trygve Lie Taranath Shenoy (India)
l First country to make education compulsory Prussia l First woman president of UN General assembly
l First country to win World Cup Football Smt. Vijayalakshmi Pandit (1953)
Uruguay (1930) l First European Invader of Indian soil Alexander
l First country to make a constitution United States the Great
of America l First woman to reach the North pole Fran Phipps

K KUNDAN
l Pakistans fist Governor-General Mohammed Ali l First woman to reach Antartica Caroline Mikkelsen
Jinnah l First man to publish a map of the world
l First summit of NAM was organised in Belgrade Anaximander
(former Yugoslavia) l Oldest man to climb Mt. Everest Yuichiro Miura
l First European to visit China Marco Polo l First African American to win the Wimbledon
l First man to fly an aeroplane Wright Brothers Althea Gibson
l First person to sail around the world Ferdinand l First man to win the Nobel Prize for Literature
Magellan Ren Franois Armand (Sully) Prudhomme
l First country to send human to Moon United States (France)
of America l First man to win the Nobel Prize for Peace Henry
l First country to launch satellite into space Russia Dunant (Switzerland) & Frederic Passy (France)
(former USSR) l First man to win the Nobel prize for Physics
l First country to host the modern Olympic games Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen (Germany)
Greece l First man to win the Nobel prize for Chemistry
l First President of the Republic of China Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Jr. (Holland)
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen l First man to win the Nobel Prize for Medicine (Medical
l First city where atom bomb was dropped Hiroshima Science) Emil Adolf von Behring (Germany)
l First Radio Telescope Satellite was launched into space l First man to win the Nobel Prize for Economics Ragnar
by Japan Frisch (Norway) & Jan Tinbergen (Holland)
l First University of the world Taxila l First woman President of a country Maria Estela
l First man to set foot on the Moon Niel Armstrong Peron (Argentina)
(USA) l First space tourist (male) Dennis Tito
l First man to go into space Major Yuri Gagarin l First space tourist (female) Anousheh Ansari
(USSR)

General Knowledge l 3
K KUNDAN
World Languages l Russia: Telegraph Agency of the Sovereign States
(TASS)
There are thousands of languages in the world, but most of l Russia: Novosti
them have few speakers compared with the major tongues. l United Kingdom: Reuters
Some experts predict that between 50 and 90 per cent of the l United States of America: Assocciated Press (AP), United
worlds languages will become extinct by the end of this Press International (UPI)
century. Languages need at least 100,000 speakers to survive.
Rank Language Speakers (in million) Official Publications of
1. Chinese 935 Different Countries
2. Spanish 387
3. English 365 Publication Issued/Released by
4. Hindi 295 Blue Book British Government
5. Arabic 280 Green Book Government of Italy and Iran
6. Bengali 202 Grey Book Japanese and Belgian
7. Portuguese 204 Government
8. Russian 160 Orange Book Government of Netherlands
9. Japanese 127 White Book Germany, Portugal and China
10. German 92 White Paper (Shwet Patrika) Government of India
Yellow Book Government of France

World Religions International Boundaries


Religion World Population McMahon Line India and China
Christianity 2.1 billion Radcliffe Line India and Pakistan
Islam 1.3 billion Oder-Neisse Line Germany and Poland
Secular/Non-religious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.1 billion 38th Parallel North Korea and South Korea

K KUNDAN
Hinduism 900 million Maginot Line Germany and France
Chinese Traditional Religions 394 million 49th Parallel USA and Canada
Buddhism 376 million Mannerheim Line Russia and Finland
Primal-indigenous 300 million Durand Line Pakistan and Afganistan
African Traditional & Diasporic 100 million
Sikhism 23 million Parliament of Different Countries
Country Parliament
News Agencies in Different Countries India Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha)
Nepal Rashtriya Panchayat
l Australia: Australian Associated Press (AAP)
Pakistan National Assembly
l China: Xin Hua Denmark Folketing
l Denmark: Ritzavuz Bureau Britain Parliament (House of Commons and House
l Egypt: Middle East News Agency (MENA)
of Lords)
l France: Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Russia Duma and Federal Council
l Germany: Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
Germany Bundestag (Lower House) and Bundesrat
l India: Press Trust of India (PTI), United News of India
(Upper House)
(UNI), Samachar Bharti, Univarta
China National Peoples Congress
l Indonesia: Antara
Switzerland Federal Assembly
l Iran: Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
France National Assembly
l Israel: Associated Israel Press (AIP), ITIM
U.S.A. Congress (House of Representatives and
l Italy: Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associate (ANSA)
Senate)
l Japan: Kyodo
Turkey Grand National Assembly
l Malaysia: Malaysian National News Agency (MNNA) Bhutan Druki Gyelyong Tshokhang
l Pakistan: Pakistan Press International (PPI) and Iran Majlis
Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Bangladesh Jatiya Sansad
l Palestine: Wafa Afghanistan National Assembly

4 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Norway Stortinget Australia Federal Parliament
Israel Knesset Japan Diet
Spain Cortes Generales Myanmar Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
Maldives People's Majlis Canada Parliament

Major Waterfalls in The World by Height


Rank Waterfall Height Country
1 Angel Falls 3,212 feet (979 m) Venezuela
2 Tugela Falls 3,110 feet (948 m) South Africa
3 Cataratas las Tres Hermanas 3,000 feet (914 m) Peru
4 Vinnufossen 2,822 feet (860 m) Norway
5 James Bruce Falls 2,755 feet (840 m) Canada
6 Browne Falls 2,744 feet (836 m) New Zealand
7 Waihilau Falls 2,600 feet (792 m) United States
8 Mutarazi Falls 2,499 feet (762 m) Zimbabwe
9 Yosemite Falls 2,425 feet (739 m) United States
10 Yutaj, Salto 2,200 feet (671 m) Venezuela

Major Straits of the World


Name Joins Location
Malacca Strait Andaman Sea & South China Sea Indonesia-Malaysia
Palk Strait Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal India-Sri Lanka
Sunda Strait Java Sea & Indian Ocean Indonesia

K KUNDAN
Yucatan Strait
Mesina Strait
Otranto Strait
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
Cook Strait
Mozambique Strait
North Channel
Taurus Strait
Gulf of Mexico and Carribbean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea
Red Sea & Gulf of Aden
South Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean
Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua
Mexico-Cuba
Italy-Sicily
Italy-Albania
Yemen-Djibouti
New Zealand (N & S islands)
Mozambique-Malagassy
Ireland-England
Papua New Guinea-Australia
Bass Strait Tasman Sea & South Sea Australia
Bering Strait Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea Alaska-Russia
Bonne-Fasio Strait Mediterranean Sea Corsica-Sardinia
Bosporous Strait Black Sea and Marmara Sea Turkey
Dardenleez Strait Marmara Sea and Agean Sea Turkey
Davis Strait Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean Greenland-Canada
Denmark Strait North Atlantic & Arctic Ocean Greenland-Iceland
Dover Strait English Channel & North Sea England-France
Florida Strait Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean USA-Cuba
Hormuz strait Gulf of Persia & Gulf of Oman Oman-Iran
Hudson strait Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Ocean Canada
Gibraltar Strait Mediterranean Sea & Atlantic Ocean Spain-Morocco
Magellan strait Pacific and South Atlantic Ocean Chile
Makkassar Strait Java Sea & Celebeze Sea Indonesia
Tsungaru Strait Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu island)
Tatar Strait Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea Russia (E Russia-Sakhalin Island)

General Knowledge l 5
K KUNDAN

United Nations (UN)


The UN is an international organisation founded in 1945 and representative organ of the UN. Comprising all 193
after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to Members of the UN, it provides a unique forum for multilateral
maintaining international peace and security, developing discussions of the full spectrum of international issues
friendly relations among nations and promoting social covered by the Charter.
progress, better living standards and human rights.The name The Assembly meets in regular session intensively from
"United Nations", coined by the United States President September to December each year, and thereafter as required.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by
UN on 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when Security Council
representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to There are 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members.
continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. Note: 1. Five permanent members USA, Russia, UK, China
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San and France.
Francisco at the UN Conference on International Organisation 2. The 10 non-permanent members are elected for a 2-
to draw up the UN Charter. Those delegates deliberated on year term by a 2/3 majority of the General Assembly.
the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of The permanent members have the power to veto
China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United any move.
States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October The Security Council has primary responsibility, under
1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace
representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not and security.AreformoftheSecurityCouncil,includingits
represented at the Conference, signed it later and became membership, is under consideration.
one of the original 51 Member States. The UN officially came
into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had Economic and Social Council

K KUNDAN
been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United 54 members
Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), established by
signatories. UN Day is celebrated on 24 October each year. the UN Charter, is the principal organ to coordinate the
The UN has four main purposes economic, social and related work of the UN and the
specialised agencies and institutions. Voting in the Council
l To keep peace throughout the world is by simple majority; each member has one vote. ECOSOC
l To develop friendly relations among nations has broad responsibility for some 70% of the human and
l To help nations work together to improve the lives of financial resources of the entire UN system.
poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy,
and to encourage respect for each others rights and International Court of Justice
freedom
15 judges
l To be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations to
The International Court of Justice, located at the Hague in
achieve these goals
the Netherlands, is the principal judicial organ of the UN. It
Main Bodies settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory
opinions to the UN and its specialised agencies. Its Statute
l General Assembly l Security Council
is an integral part of the UN Charter.
l Economic & Social Council l Trusteeship Council
l International Court of Justice l Secretariat Trusteeship Council
UN Language The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN
Charter to provide international supervision for 11 Trust
The work at United Nations organisation is performed in two Territories placed under the administration of 7 Member States,
languages: English and French. There are other official and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the
languages such as Chinese, Persian, Spanish and Russian. Territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all
Trust Territories had attained self-government or
General Assembly independence.Itsworkcompleted,theCouncilhasamended
The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policy- making its rules of procedure to meet as and where occasion may

6 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
require. In setting up an International Trusteeship System, the Secretariat
Charter established the Trusteeship Council as one of the main
The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the
organs of the UN and assigned to it the task of supervising the
Organisation.Itservicestheotherprincipalorgansandcarries
administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship
out tasks as varied as the issues dealt with by the UN:
System. Major goals of the System were to promote the
administering peacekeeping operations, surveying economic
advancement of the inhabitants of Trust Territories and their
and social trends, preparing studies on human rights, among
progressive development towards self-government or
others. The Secretary-General of the UN is the head of the
independence. The Trusteeship Council is made up of the five
Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the UN. The
permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France,
Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson
Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States.
and leader of the UN.

Secretary-General of the United Nations


Year Name Dates in office Nation
1946 Trygve Lie 1 February 194610 November 1952 Norway
1953 Dag Hammarskjold 10 April 1953 18 September 1961 Sweden
1961 U Thant 30 November 1961 31 December 1971 Burma
1972 Kurt Waldheim 1 January 1972 31 December 1981 Austria
1982 Javier Peres de Cuellar 1 January 1982 31 December 1991 Peru
1992 Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali 1 January 1992 31 December 1996 Egypt
1997 Kofi A. Annan 1 January 1997 31 December 2006 Ghana
2007 Ban Ki-moon 1 January 2007 till date South Korea

Specialized Agencies of UN sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-


training programmes; international science programmes; the

K KUNDAN
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) promotion of independent media and freedom of the press;
regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body diversity; translations of world literature; international
within the United Nations system responsible for cooperation agreements to secure the world cultural and natural
strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights;
around the globe and for addressing situations of human and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a
rights violations and making recommendations on them. It member of the United Nations Development Group.
has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues UNESCOs aim is "to contribute to the building of peace,
and situations that require its attention throughout the year. the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and
It meets at the UN Office at Geneva. The Council is made up intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture,
of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the communication and information".
UN General Assembly. The Human Rights Council replaced
the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights. International Labour Organisation (ILO)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Established by the Constitution in 1919. Became UN
Specialised Agency in 1946.
Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Objectives
Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by
promoting international collaboration through education, 1. Promote and realize standards and fundamental
science and culture in order to further universal respect for principles and rights at work
justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with 2. Create greater opportunities for women and men to
fundamentalfreedomproclaimedintheUNCharter. secure decent employment and income
UNESCO has 195 Member States(itaddedPalestinein 3. Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social
November 2011) and eight Associate Members. UNESCO protection for all
pursues its objectives through five major programmes: 4. Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue
education,naturalsciences,socialandhumansciences,
culture, and communication and information. Projects

General Knowledge l 7
K KUNDAN
World Health Organisation (WHO) and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP
operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own
Established by Constitution in 1948.
solutions to global and national development challenges.
Objective The UNDP Administrator is the third highest-ranking
l to direct and coordinate health within the United Nations official of the United Nations after the United Nations
system Secretary-Generaland Deputy Secretary-General.
l providing leadership on global health matters Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP is funded entirely
l shaping the health research agenda by voluntary contributions from member nations. Currently,
l setting norms and standards the UNDP is one of the main UN agencies involved in the
l articulating evidence-based policy options development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
l providing technical support to countries and UNDP provides expert advice and training and grants
l monitoring and assessing health trends support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis
on assistance to the least developed countries. To accomplish
United Nations and Development the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP
Development Programme (UNDP) focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic
governance, energy and environment, social development,
TheUnited Nations Development Programme(UNDP) is
and crisis prevention and recovery. It also encourages the
theUnitedNations'globaldevelopmentnetwork.Itadvocates
protection of human rights and the empowerment of women
for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience
in all of its programmes.

Specialised Agencies of UNO


Abbreviation Full name Location Established
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation Rome, Italy 1945
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation Montreal, Canada 1944

K KUNDAN
IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development Rome, Italy 1976
ILO International Labour Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 1919
IMO International Maritime Organisation London, UK 1948
IMF International Monetary Fund Washington DC, USA 1945
ITU International Telecommunication Union Geneva, Switzerland 1865
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Paris, France 1946
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation Vienna, Austria 1966
UPU Universal Postal Union Bern, Switzerland 1874
WBG World Bank Group Washington DC, USA 1945
WHO World Health Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 1948
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 1967
WMO World Meteorological Organisation Geneva, Switzerland 1951
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency Austria, Vienna 1957
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Geneva, Switzerland 1964

International Monetary Fund (IMF) l To grant economic assistance to member countries for
eliminating the adverse imbalances in balance of
l It was established on Dec. 7, 1945 in Washington on the
payments
recommendation of Bretton Woods Conference.
l To minimise imbalances in quantum and duration of
l Member Nation: 188
international trade
Objectives l IMF is controlled and managed by a Board of Governors.
l To promote international monetary co-operation The Board of Governors, the highest decision-making
l To ensure balanced international trade body of the IMF, consists of one governor and one
l To ensure exchange rate stability alternate governor for each member country. The
l To minimise or eliminate exchange restrictions by Governor is appointed by the member country and is
promoting the system of multilateral payments usually the Minister of Finance or the Governor of the
Central Bank.

8 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
l Each governor is allotted a certain number of votes, which l WB provides long-term loans for promoting balanced
is determined by the quota allotted to the respective economic development.
country. The quota is allotted according to the l IMF provides short-term loans to its member countries
contribution in the IMF capital. at the time of Balance of Payments (BoP) crisis.
l Each governor has got the right of 250 votes on the l Generally every member country of the IMF automatically
basis of the membership and one additional vote for becomes the member of WB. Similarly, any country which
each SDR (Special Drawing Right) 1,00,000 of quota. quits IMF is automatically expelled from the WBs
l That is the reason why the rich and industrialised membership.
countries have got higher voting rights due to their
higher quotas with the IMF. Objectives
l The main source of IMF resources is the quota allotted l To provide long-run capital to member countries for
to member countries. economic reconstruction and development.
l Till 1971, all the amounts of quotas and the assistance l To increase the productivity of member countries and to
provided were denominated in US dollar, but since Dec improve economic conditions and standard of living
1971 all the quotas and transactions of IMF are expressed among the countries.
in SDR.
l SDR is also known as paper gold. International Bank for Reconstruction and
l The IMF financial year is from 1 May to 30 April. Development (IBRD)
l The Finance Minister is ex officio Governor in IMF Board l It was established in December 1944.
of Governors. l IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and
creditworthy poorer countries by promoting sustainable
World Bank (WB) development through loans, guarantees, risk
The World Bank comprises two institutions managed by 188 management products, and analytical and advisory
member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction services.
and Development (IBRD) and the International Development l IBRD is popularly known as World Bank.
Association (IDA). The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in

K KUNDAN
middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA International Development Association
focuses exclusively on the world's poorest countries. The l IDA is known as soft-loan window of WB.
World Bank is part of a larger body known as the World l It was established on Sep 24, 1960.
Bank Group. l IDA provides long-term interest-free loans to its member
The World Bank Group consists of five organisations: countries.
1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development l IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the
(IBRD) worlds 81 poorest countries.
2. International Development Association (IDA)
3. International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Finance Corporation (IFC)
4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) l IFC was established in July 1956.
5. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment
l It provides loans to private industries of developing
Disputes (ICSID)
nations without any Govt guarantee.
l India is a member of all organisations except ICSID. l It also promotes additional capital investment in these
l WB was established in 1944 with IMF on the basis of the countries.
recommendations of the Bretton Woods Conference. l Thus, the main work of IFC is to ensure the financial
l IMF and WB are called Bretton Woods Twins. support to private sectors in developing countries.
l WB Headquarters: Washington DC. l It induces capitalist countries to invest in developing
l WB and IMF are complementary organisations. countries.

General Knowledge l 9
K KUNDAN

Other International Organisations


Organisations and Headquarters Association of South-East Asian
Name Headquarters Nations (ASEAN)
International Monetary Washington DC (USA)
Fund (IMF) l Total Members are 10:
1. Indonesia 2. Malaysia
World Bank Washington DC (USA) 3. Philippines 4. Singapore
World Trade Organisation Geneva (Switzerland) 5. Thailand 6. Brunei
Asian Development Bank Manila (Philippines) 7. Vietnam 8. Laos
9. Myanmar 10. Cambodia
South Asian Association for Kathmandu (Nepal)
l Headquarters: Jakarta
Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
l Observers: (1) India, (2) China, (3) Russia, (4) Japan and
Association of South East Jakarta (Indonesia) (5) South Korea
Asian Nations (ASEAN) l The objective of ASEAN is to promote economic co-
Organisations of the Petroleum Vienna (Austria) operation in South-East Asia and also to ensure
Exporting Countries (OPEC) economic stability in the region.

European Union Brussels (Belgium) Group-8


Organisation for Economic Paris (France)
l For a long time G-7 was an organisation of seven non-
Co-operation and Development (OECD)
socialist industralised countries of the World. It included

K KUNDAN
Asian Development Bank (ADB) US, Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Japan.
l After inclusion of Russia on June 21, 1997, it was renamed
l ADB was established in Dec. 1966 on the as G-8.
recommendations of Economic Commission for Asia and l The first summit was held in Nov 1975 in Rambouillet
Far East (ECAFE).
near Paris (France).
l The Bank started its functioning on Jan 1, 1967.
l Initially only 5 industrialised countries US, UK, West
l The head office of the Bank is located in Manila
(Philippines). Germany, France and Japan were its members.
l The aim of the Bank is to accelerate economic and social l Later on, Canada and Italy also joined it in 1976.
development in Asia and Pacific region. l The member countries of G-8 account for 49% of global
l Total members are 67 (48 regional members; 19 non- exports, 51% of industrial outputs and 49% of assets
regional members). in the IMF.

South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) Group-5


SAFTA has come into force since Jan, 1, 2006, replacing South l G-5 comprises a group of five developing countries:
Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA), which was 1. India 2. China
operating among the SAARC countries since Dec 7, 1995. 3. Brazil 4. South Africa
5. Mexico
South Asian Association for Regional
Co-operation (SAARC) European Union (EU)
l Total members of SAARC are eight: 1. India; 2. Pakistan; The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between
3. Nepal; 4. Bangladesh; 5. Bhutan; 6. Sri Lanka; 7. The 27 European countries that together cover much of the
Maldives; 8. Afghanistan continent. It was created in the aftermath of the Second World
l It was established on December 7-8, 1985. War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the
l Headquarters: Kathmandu (Nepal) idea being that countries who trade with one another become

10 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
economically interdependent and so are more likely to avoid conceived in 2001 by Goldman Sachs as part of an
conflict. The result was the European Economic Community economic modelling exercise to forecast global economic
(EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic trends over the next half century.
cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, l The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman
Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single Sachs in their Global Economics Paper No. 66, "The World
market has been created and continues to develop towards its Needs Better Economic BRICs".
full potential. But what began as a purely economic union has l The first-ever summit was held in the Russian town of
also evolved into an organisation spanning all policy areas, Yekaterinburg on June 16, 2009.
from development aid toenvironment. A name change from the
EEC to the European Union (the EU) in 1993 reflected this OPEC
change.
The EU has delivered half a century of peace, stability, The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and prosperity, helped raise living standards, and launched a (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an
single European currency (Euro). Since the 2009 signing of agreement in September 1960 by five countries, namely
the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and
brings all these rights together in a single document. The Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of
single market is the EU's main economic engine, enabling the Organisation.
most goods, services, money and people to move freely. These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961),
Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates
European Organisations & Their Headquarters
(1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon
Organisation Headquarters (1975) and Angola (2007).
European Commission Brussels From December 1992 until October 2007, Ecuador
European Parliament Brussels suspended its membership. Gabon terminated its membership
The Court of Justice of Luxembourg in 1995. Indonesia suspended its membership effective
the European Communities January 2009.
The European Court of Auditors Luxembourg l Currently, the Organisation has a total of 12 Member

K KUNDAN
Countries.
Commonwealth 1. Algeria 2. Angola
l The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 3. Ecuador 4. Iran
countries that support each other and work together 5. Iraq 6. Kuwait
towards shared goals in democracy and development. 7. Libya 8. Nigeria
l It is home to two billion citizens of all faiths and ethnicities 9. Qatar 10. Saudi Arabia
and includes some of the world's largest, smallest, richest 11. United Arab Emirates 12. Venezuela
and poorest countries.
l Member countries come from six regions: Africa (19), Organisation for Economic Co-ope-
Asia (8), America (3), the Caribbean (10), Europe (3) and
the South Pacific (11). ration and Development (OECD)
l Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is the Head of the
The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
Commonwealth. Kamalesh Sharma, current Secretary-
and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will
General of the Commonwealth, is the principal global
improve the economic and social well-being of people around
advocate for the Commonwealth and Chief Executive of
the world.
the Secretariat.
l Kamalesh Sharma, an Indian diplomat, became Its origin dates back to 1960, when 18 European
Commonwealth Secretary-General on 1 April 2008. He countries plus the United States and Canada joined forces to
was appointed to the post by Commonwealth Heads of create an organisation dedicated to global development.
Government at their meeting in Kampala, Uganda, in Today, its 34 member countries span the globe, from North
November 2007. and South America to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
They include many of the worlds most advanced countries
BRICS but also emerging countries like Mexico, Chile and Turkey.

l B-Brazil, R- Russia, I India, C- China, S - South Africa


l The BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] idea was first

General Knowledge l 11
K KUNDAN
World Trade Organisation (WTO) l Total members of WTO are 154.
l WTO has a general Council for its administration, which
l On Oct 30, 1947, 23 countries at Geneva signed an includes one permanent representative of each member
agreement related to tariffs imposed on trade. This nation.
agreement is known as General Agreement on Tariffs l Generally, it has one meeting each month which is held
and Trade (GATT). at Geneva.
l It came into force on Jan 1, 1948.
Objectives
l On Dec 12, 1994, GATT was abolished and replaced by
World Trade Organisation (WTO), which came into l To improve the standard of living of people of the member
existence on Jan 1, 1995. countries.
l The Uruguay round of GATT gave birth to World Trade l To ensure full employment and broad increase in effective
Organisation. demand.
l WTOs headquarters is in Geneva. l To enlarge production and trade of goods.
l WTO is not an agency of the UNO. l To enlarge production and trade of services.
l To ensure optimum utilisation of world resources.

Defence
Indian Armed Forces l HQ South-Western Command, Jaipur
l HQ Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Shimla
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the
Republic of India. They consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force Indian Navy
and Indian Coast Guard, supported by paramilitary forces.

K KUNDAN
The Government of India is responsible for ensuring the India is a maritime nation strategically straddling the Indian
defence of India and every part thereof. The supreme Ocean with or substantive seaborne trade. The countrys
command of the Armed Forces vests in the President. The economic well-being is thus very closely linked to Navys
responsibility for national defence rests with the Cabinet. ability to keep our sea-lanes free and open at all times. Besides,
This is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which India has other maritime interests as well. Our island territories
provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed situated on our western and eastern seaboards are at
Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the considerable distances, away from the mainland. To ensure
defence of the country. The Defence Minister is the head of their sustained development, umbilical linkages with the
the Ministry of Defence, which comprises four departments, mainland and maritime security protection are essential pre-
viz. Department of Defence (DOD), Department of Defence requisites of our maritime security. Our offshore assets within
Production (DDP), Department of Defence Research & the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2.02 million sq km,
Development (DDR&D) and Department of Ex-Servicemen fisheries and deep sea interests, major and minor harbours
Welfare, and also Finance Divisionary of Defence. and the overall seaward security of long coastline and island
territories are other vital aspects of our maritime dimension
Indian Army and Navys responsibilities.
The Indian Navy is organised into three regional
The basic responsibility of the Army is to safeguard the commands:
territorial integrity of the nation against external aggression. l Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam
The Indian Army is organised into six operational l Western Naval Command, Mumbai; and
commands and one training command. Each command is l Southern Naval Command, Kochi
headed by Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and is directly
affiliated to the Army HQ in New Delhi. The Coast Guard (CG)
l HQ Central Command, Lucknow
l HQ Eastern Command, Calcutta
The Coast Guard in its present shape was formally
l HQ Northern Command, Udhampur
inaugurated on 18 Aug 1978 as an independent armed force
l HQ Western Command, Chandimandir (Chandigarh)
of the Union under the Ministry Of Defence with the
l HQ Southern Command, Pune
enactment of the Coast Guard Act 1978 by the Parliament

12 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
with its motto as Vayam Rakshamah, which means 'We be known by its present name of the Assam Rifles.
protect '. After Independence, however, the Indian government
The command and control of the India Coast Guard lies assigned the Assam Rifles its own Inspector General.
with the Director General, Indian Coast Guard, at New Delhi . The Assam Rifles were then placed under command of
The organisation has three Regional Headquarters at the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the North-Eastern
Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. The entire coastline of Frontier Agency. Post-1965, the force has come under the
India is covered by 11 District Headquarters and 9 Coast Ministry of Home Affairs while the operational control of the
Guard Stations under the command of respective Regional force continues to be with the Army.
Headquarters. A full-fledged air wing of Coast Guard operates
from two air stations at Daman and Chennai and five air Central Reserve Police Force
enclaves at Mumbai, Goa, Kochi , Kolkata and Port Blair. The Central Reserve Police Force came into existence as
Crown Representatives Police on 27th July 1939. It became
Indian Air Force (IAF) the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF
Act on 28th December 1949. It has completed 60 years of
The Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October glorious history. The Force has grown into a big organisation
1932. It has seven commands, of which five are operational with 220 battalions.
and two functional: The Central Reserve Police Force is an armed Force of
l HQ Central Air Command Allahabad the Union of India, with the basic role of striking reserve to
l HQ Eastern Air Command Shillong assist the States/Union Territories in police operations to
l HQ Western Air Command New Delhi maintain law and order and contain insurgency. Its role is
l HQ Southern Air Command Thiruvananthapuram that of a catalyst in maintaining law and order, and returns to
l HQ South-Western Air Command Gandhinagar barracks once this objective is achieved. The force is also
l HQ Maintenance Command Nagpur being used for various police duties in various States.
l HQ Training Command Bangalore CRPF is the only paramilitary force in the country which
has two women battalions.
Commissioned Ranks

K KUNDAN
Rapid Action Force (RAF)
Army Navy Airforce
The increasing communal tensions and riots during the early
General Admiral Air Chief Marshal
Nineties had been putting a serious strain on the secular
Lieutenant General Vice Admiral Air Marshal
structure of the Indian society. Consequently, the Government
Major General Rear Admiral Air Vice Marshal
took a well-considered decision to set up a special anti-riot force
Brigadier Commodore Air Commodore
which could reach the place of occurrence with the quickest
Colonel Captain Group Captain
possible speed and deal with communal riot or riot-like situation
Lieutenant Colonel Commander Wing Commander
in an absolutely objective and non-partisan manner.
Major Lieutenant Squadron Leader
Commander The RAF was raised by converting 10 existing CRPF
Captain Lieutenant Flight Lieutenant battalions.Young CRPF personnel with quick reflexes,
Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant Flying Officer maturity and un-biased views were selected and posted to
these battalions. Five battalions became functional during
Paramilitary Forces and Civilian Forces October 1992. The special feature of the RAF is that each
team is independently operational and mobile. They have a
Assam Rifles distinctive uniform and have to act in zero-response time. To
make bridges with the public, RAF also undertakes socially
The Assam Rifles, raised as Cachar Levy in 1835, is the oldest useful work such as children's education, adult literacy, tree
Central paramilitary force in India. The force was raised plantation, medical camps, hygiene education etc. and also
mainly to guard the alluvial plains of Assam from the wild and adoption of villages for all-round focused development.
unruly tribes inhabiting the surrounding hill tracts.
As of today, the force has 46 battalions and has a dual Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
role of maintaining internal security in the North-Eastern region
and guarding the Indo-Myanmar Border. Variously The CISF came into existence in 1969 with a modest
designated and reorganised from time to time, as the Assam beginning, having three battalions, to provide integrated
Frontier Police (1883), the Assam Military Police (1891) and security cover to the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs),
Eastern Bengal and Assam Military Police (1913), it came to which, in those years, occupied the commanding heights of
the economy. In a span of four decades, the Force has grown

General Knowledge l 13
K KUNDAN
several folds to reach one lakh twelve thousand personnel enforcement agencies of India. It currently stands as
today. With globalisation and liberalisation of the economy, theworldslargestborder-guardingforce.
CISF is no longer a PSU-centric organisation. Instead, it has
become a premier multi-skilled security agency of the country, National Security Guard (NSG)
mandated to provide security to major critical infrastructure Motto: Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha (Everywhere the Best
installations of the country in diverse areas. CISF is currently Protection)
providing security cover to nuclear installations, space The National Security Guard (NSG) was set up in 1984 as a
establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive Federal Contingency Deployment Force to tackle all facets
government buildings and even heritage monuments. Among of terrorism in the country. Thus the primary role of this force
the important responsibilities recently entrusted to the CISF is to combat terrorism in whatever form it may assume in
are the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, VIP Security, Disaster areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions,
Management and establishment of a Formed Police Unit (FPU) and the State Police and other Central Police Forces cannot
of the UN at Haiti. cope up with the situation. The NSG is a force specially
equipped and trained to deal with specific situations and is,
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
therefore, to be used only in exceptional situations. The force
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police was conceived on October is not designed to undertake the functions of the State Police
24, 1962. ITBP was initially raised under the CRPF Act. Forces or other Paramilitary Forces of the Union of India.
However, in 1992, the Parliament enacted the ITBPF Act and The NSG was modelled on the pattern of the SAS of the
rules there under were framed in 1994. UK and GSG-9 of Germany. It is a task-oriented force and
ITBP is a multi-dimensional force. Presently battalions has two complementary elements in the form of the Special
of ITBP deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Action Group (SAG) comprising Army personnel and the
Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering Special Ranger Group (SRG) comprising personnel drawn
3488 km of India China-Border are manning border outposts from the Central Paramilitary Forces / State Police Forces. All
at an altitude ranging from 9000 ft to 18500 ft in the Western, the personnel are on deputation.
Middle and Eastern Sector of the Sino-Indian border. ITBP is The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because
basically a mountain-trained force. Most of its officers and of the black drill cotton coveralls and helmets they wear.

K KUNDAN
men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers. They The NSG training centre is a Centre of Excellence and the
have scaled more than 140 Himalayan peaks, including Mt. National Bomb Data Centre holds international conferences.
Everest three times (recent successful expedition in May, Both are located at Manesar in Haryana.
2006).
National Cadet Corps (NCC)
The border posts manned by ITBP are exposed to high-
velocity storms, snow blizzards, avalanches, and landslides, National Cadet Corps is a tri-services organisation comprising
besides the hazards of high altitude and extreme cold, where the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth
temperature dips up to minus 40 degree Celsius. ITBP The Leaders of Tomorrow into disciplined and patriotic
conducts long-range and short-range patrols to keep an citizens. The genesis of the NCC can be traced back to the
effective vigil on inaccessible and unmanned areas on the First World War when the Britishers created the University
border. To maintain optimum operational efficiency of troops, Corps as the second line of defence to have a large pool of
periodical tactical exercises are conducted independently as trained youth available for employment into the Armed
well as jointly with Army in Srinagar (J&K). Forces.
The motto of the ITBP, "Shaurya - Dridhata - After Independence, the present-day NCC under the
Karmnishtha" (Valour - Determination - Devotion to Duty) Ministry of Defence came into existence on 16 Apr 1948
has always inspired its men in accepting challenges to bring through NCC Act XXXI, 1948. NCC was formally inaugurated
glory to the nation and honour to the force. on 15 Jul 1948 as soon as the schools and colleges reopened
after summer vacation. The Girls Division of the NCC was
Border Security Force (BSF) started in Jul 1949. In 1950, Air Wing was added on 1 Apr with
The Border Security Force (BSF) is a border-guarding force one Air squadron each at Bombay and Kolkata. The Naval
of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is a paramilitary Wing of the NCC was raised in Jul 1952, thus completing the
force charged with guarding Indias land border during peace true representation of all services in the Corps. Presently,
time and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union NCC has approximately 13 lakh cadets under its fold.
Government agency under the administrative control of
Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one of the many law-

14 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Indian Missile System Nuclear-capable Agni-III missiles have a range of 3,500 km.
But stages of the Agni-III utilise solid-fuel propellants and
The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme their range can be extended to 4,000 km.
(IGMDP) was started in 1983 with the aim of achieving self- Indias DRDO is also working on a submarine-launched
sufficiency in missile development and production. Today, it ballistic missile version of the Agni-III missile, known as the
comprises five core missile programmes the strategic Agni Agni-III SL. This missile is expected to provide India with a
ballistic missile, the tactical Prithvi ballistic missile, the Akash credible sea-based second-strike capability.
and Trishul surface-to-air missiles and the Nag anti-tank
guided missile. The programme has given India the capability Dhanush
to produce indigenous missiles in other key areas and a few It is the naval version of the Prithvi missile with a range of 250
known missiles under development have been listed below. km and a payload of about 500 kg. Dhanush was flight-tested
By enforcing the Missile Technology Control Regime on December 13, 2009 and achieved a range of 350 km from
(MTCR) to stop supplies of all kinds of missile materials, INS Subhadra.
Western nations are trying to prevent India from developing
these strategic and tactical missiles. Akash
The Akash system is a medium-range surface-to-air missile
Major Missiles with multi-target engagement capability. It can carry a 55-kg
multiple warhead capable of targeting five aircraft
Prithvi simultaneously up to 25 km and is said to be comparable to
The surface-to-surface tactical battlefield missile, Prithvi, has the US patriot as an air defence missile.
three versions:
Nag
Prithvi I Another missile under IGMDP development is the Nag, an
Army Version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000 kg) anti-armour weapon employing sensor fusion technologies
for flight guidance first tested in November 1990. The Nag is
Prithvi II a third-generation fire-and-forget anti-tank missile developed

K KUNDAN
Air Force Version (250 km range with a payload of 500 kg) in India with a range of 4 to 8 km. Nag uses Imaging Infra-Red
(IIR) guidance with day and night capability. The mode of
Prithvi III launch for the IIR seeker is LOBL (Lock On Before Launch).
Nag is expected to be the first weapon of its kind to be
Naval Version (350 km range with a payload of 500 kg)
inducted into the Army by December 2009.
The Prithvi missile project encompassed developing 3
variants for use by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Pinaka
Indian Navy.
The multi-barrel rocket system Pinaka, an area weapon system
Agni-I to supplement the existing artillery gun at ranges beyond 30
km, has quick reaction time and high rate of fire.
With a range of 700 km, surface-to-surface Agni-I misile has a
single-stage solid rocket motor and can carry one tonne BrahMos
warhead.
BrahMos, being jointly developed with Russia, is a supersonic
Agni-II cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships,
aircraft or land.
The range for Agni-II is more than 2,000 km. Unlike the Agni-
The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence
I, the Agni-II has a solid-fuelled second stage. The salient
of the two nations represented by two rivers, the Brahmaputra
features of the test firings are mobile launch capability, multi-
of India and the Moskva of Russia.
staging, stage-of-the-art control and guidance, re-entry
BrahMos is among the fastest supersonic cruise missiles
technology and sophisticated on-board packages, including
in the world, at a speed ranging between Mach 2.5 and 2.8, being
advanced communication.
about three-and-a-half times faster than the American subsonic
Agni-III Tomahawk cruise missile. Although BrahMos is primarily an
anti-ship missile, it is also capable of engaging land-based
Agni-III is a long-range missile with a capability to launch targets. DRDO has claimed that BrahMos would be able to start
from rail-mobile launcher. It has a capacity to carry 1,500 kg deliveries of the 240 missiles ordered by the Army in two years
warhead. The fourth flight test of Agni-III is planned shortly. from now as per the original schedule. It was reported in January

General Knowledge l 15
K KUNDAN
2009 that two Indian Air Force Sukhoi- 30MKI fighter jets were Indian Army's Main Battle Tanks
sent to Russia for a retrofit programme that would enable them
to launch the aerial version of the BrahMos missile.
Arjun MBT Mk-1
Shaurya The Arjun is a third-generation main battle tank (MBT)
The Shaurya missile is a short-range surface-to-surface developed by Indias Defence Research and Development
ballistic missile developed by DRDO of India for use by the Organization (DRDO) for the Indian Army. It is powered by a
Indian Army. It has a range of 600 km. single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine rated at 1,400 hp, and
can achieve a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43 mph) and a
Sagarika cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph).
All-round anti-tank warhead protection by the newly
Sagarika is a nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic
developed Kanchan armour is claimed to be much higher
missile with a range of 750 km. This missile has a length of 8.5
than available in comparable third-generation tanks.
metres, weighs seven tonnes and can carry a payload of up
to 500 kg. T-90 Bhishma
Nirbhay T-90 is a Russian third-generation main battle tank that is a
modernisation of the T-72 (it was originally to be called the T-
Yet another cruise missile, the Nirbhay was announced
72BU, later renamed to T-90). It is currently the most modern
in 2007 a subsonic missile with a range of 1000 km.
tank in service with the Russian Ground Forces and Naval
Capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land,
Infantry. The Indian Army received its first T-90M main battle
sea and air, the missile is being developed to be tested in
tank (MBT) in completely knocked-down condition from
2009. Nirbhay will be a terrain-hugging stealth missile
Russias Nizhny Tagil-based Uralvagonzavod JSC by the
capable of delivering 24 different types of warhead,
end of 2009. In all, India plans to have 310 T-90S and 1,330 T-
depending on mission requirements, and will use inertial
90M tanks in service by 2020 (total of 1,657 tanks by 2020).
navigation system for guidance. In fact, Nirbhay will
supplement BrahMos in the sense that it would enable T-72 Ajeya
delivery of warheads farther than the 300-km range of

K KUNDAN
T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered
BrahMos.
production in 1971. It replaced the T-54/55 series as the
Indian Missiles: At a Glance workhorse of Soviet tank forces (while the T-64 and T-80
served as the Soviet high-technology tanks).
Name Type Range
First Tested Status T-55
1. PRITHVI Surface-to-Surface 150-250 km
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks
Feb 25, 1988 Developed & included
designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype
short range missile
appeared in March 1945, just as the Second World War
2. AGNI-I Surface-to-surface 1000-2500 km
ended.The T-54/55 series eventually became the most-
May 22, 1989 Developed & tested but not
produced tank in history. They were replaced by the T-62, T-
Intermediate Range
64, T-72, T-80, and T-90 in the Soviet and Russian armies, but
included
remain in use by up to 50 other armies worldwide, some having
Ballistic Missile (IRBM)
received sophisticated retrofitting.
AGNI-II do 2500 km
April 11, 1999
AGNI-III do 3500 km
Aeronautical System
May 2008
3. AKASH Surface-to-air 25 km Light Combat Aircraft
Aug 14, 1990 Developed & included Tejas, Indias indigenous multirole fighter aircraft,was
medium-range missile designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development
4. TRISHUL Surface-to-air 500 m Agency.
June 5, 1989 Developed & included
short-range missile Nuclear-Capable Aircraft
5. NAG Anti-tank missile 4 km
India currently has fourth-generation jet fighters capable of
Nov 24, 1990 Developed & included
launching nuclear weapons. Nuclear-capable aircraft are also

16 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
seen as a less expensive way of dropping nuclear warheads Rajendra Radar
as well as being as effective.
The Rajendra Multi-Function Phased Array radar system was
Fighter Jets developed by the Indian DRDO. It is a multifunction radar
capable of surveillance, tracking and engaging low-radar
The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000, and MiG-29 serve in cross-section targets. It is the heart of the Akash surface-to-
the Indian Air Force and are also seen as a means to deliver air missile system and is the primary fire-control sensor for an
nuclear weapons. In addition, India maintains SEPECAT Akash battery. Designed at the Electronics and Radar
Jaguar and MiG-27M, which can be used to drop gravity Development Establishment (ERDE), part of DRDO, it is
bombs. Both the HAL Tejas and Su-30 MKI can travel excess currently in production at Bharat Electronics Limited. This is
of 3,000 km without refuelling. This allows India to attack named after India's first president Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
targets far away in an effective manner, only using planes,
rather than deliver systems such as the Agni. The HAL Tejas INDRA Radar
is Indias only indigenous plane to be armed with nuclear
The Indian Doppler Radar (INDRA) series of 2D radars were
weapons, thus making India less dependent on Russia.
developed by India's DRDO for the Army and the Air Force.
AWACS INDRA-I is a is a mobile surveillance radar for low-level target
detection while INDRA-II is for ground-controlled
Airborne Warning and Control System is an aircraft fitted interception of targets.
with sophisticated radar system. It can provide advanced
warnings about enemies' intrusion into the airspace of our Swordfish Radar
country. It can also conduct surveillance over enemies
Swordfish is an Indian long-range tracking radar specifically
territory.
developed to counter ballistic missile threat. It will be a part
Phalcon of India's ballistic missile programme. The first testing of this
radar was in March 2009. The main aim of the test was to
It is an AWACS developed by Israel. India and Israel signed validate the capabilities of the indigenously developed
a deal in July 2001 worth $ 2 billion to supply 3 Phalcon Swordfish Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR). In March
AWACS, Barak and Super Barak surface-to-surface missile

K KUNDAN
2009, DRDO tested long-range capabilities of its indigenously
and air surveillance radars. developed Swordfish radar.
Major Indian Radars BEL Weapon Locating Radar
Rohini Radar The BEL Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) is a mobile artillery
locating phased array radar developed by India. This counter-
The Central Acquisition Radar (CAR) is a medium-range high- battery radar is designed to detect and track incoming artillery
resolution 3-dimensional surveillance radar. The CAR has and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counter-
been designed by LRDE, a DRDO laboratory, and is produced battery fire. The WLR has been jointly developed by DRDO's
by a joint venture between BEL, Larsen & Toubro, Astra Bangalore-based laboratory, LRDE, and the Government-
Microwave and Entec. The radar employs a planar array owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
antenna and provides simultaneous multi-beam coverage.

Commemorative Days
January February
January 9 NRI Day February 2 World Wetlands Day
January 12 National Youth Day February 24 Central Excise Day
January 15 Army Day February 28 National Science Day
January 24 National Girl Child Day
January 25 National Voters Day; National Tourism Day March
January 26 Republic Day; International Customs Day Second Monday Commonwealth Day
January 30 Martyrs Day; World Leprosy Eradication March 3 National Defence Day
Day

General Knowledge l 17
K KUNDAN
March 4 National Security Day August 9 Quit India Day; Nagasaki Day;
March 8 International Womens Day International Day of the Worlds
March 15 World Consumer Rights Day Indigenous Peoples
March 18 Ordnance Factories Day (India) August 12 International Youth Day
March 21 World Forestry Day; International Day for August 15 Indian Independence Day
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination August 29 National Sports Day
March 22 World Water Day
March 23 World Meteorological Day September
March 24 World TB Day September 5 Teachers Day; Sanskrit Day
March 30 Earth Hour Day September 8 World Literacy Day
September 9 Himalayan Day
April September 14 Hindi Diwas
April 5 International Day for Mines Awareness; September 15 Engineers Day
National Maritime Day September 16 World Ozone Day
April 7 World Health Day September 21 Day for Peace & Non-violence declared
April 17 World Haemophilia Day by the UN
April 18 World Heritage Day September 24 World Heart Day
April 22 Earth Day September 27 World Tourism Day
April 23 World Book and Copyright Day
April 24 Panchayati Raj Day October
April 25 World Malaria Day First Monday World Habitat Day
April 26 World Intellectual Property Day October 1 National Volunteer Blood Donation Day;
International Day for the Elderly
May October 2 Gandhi Jayanti; International Non-
May 1 Workers Day (International Labour Day) Violence Day
May 3 Press Freedom Day; World Asthma Day October 4 World Animal Welfare Day

K KUNDAN
May 5 World Athletics Day October 5 World Teachers Day
May 8 World Red Cross Day October 8 Indian Air Force Day
May 11 National Technology Day October 9 World Post Office Day
May 20 World Meteorology Day October 10 National Post Day
May 21 Anti-Terrorism Day October 13 UN International Day for Natural Disaster
May 22 International Day for Biological Diversity Reduction
May 31 Anti-Tobacco Day October 16 World Food Day
October 24 UN Day
June October 31 National Integration Day
June 4 International Day of Innocent Children,
Victims of Aggression November
June 5 World Environment Day November 7 World Cancer Day
June 14 World Blood Donor Day November 14 Childrens Day; Diabetes Day
June 20 World Refugee Day November 12 National Broadcasting Day
June 23 International Olympics Day November 20 Universal Childrens Day
June 26 International Day against Drug Abuse and November 26 National Law Day
Illicit Trafficking November 29 International Day of Solidarity with
June 29 National Statistics Day Palestinian People

July December
July 1 Doctors Day December 1 World AIDS Day
July 6 World Zoonoses Day December 2 International Day for Abolition of Slavery
July 11 World Population Day (UNO)
December 3 World Handicapped Day
August December 4 Indian Navy Day
August 6 Hiroshima Day December 7 Indian Armed Forces Flag Day

18 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
December 10 Human Rights Day December 18 Minorities Rights Day (India)
December 11 UNICEF Day December 22 Mathematics Day
December 14 National Energy Conservation Day December 23 Kisan Diwas (Farmers Day) (India)
December 16 Vijay Diwas

Indian Space Programme


Indian Satellite: At a Glance
Satellite Launch Date Launch Vehicle Type of Satellite
GSAT-10 29.09.2012 Ariane-5 VA-209 Geo-Stationary Satellite
RISAT-1 26.04.2012 PSLV-C19 Earth Observation Satellite
Jugnu 12.10.2011 PSLV-C18 Experimental / Small Satellite
SRMSat 12.10.2011 PSLV-C18 Experimental / Small Satellite
Megha-Tropiques 12.10.2011 PSLV-C18 Earth Observation Satellite
GSAT-12 15.07.2011 PSLV-C17 Geo-Stationary Satellite
GSAT-8 21.05.2011 Ariane-5 VA-202 Geo-Stationary Satellite
RESOURCESAT-2 20.04.2011 PSLV-C16 Earth Observation Satellite
YOUTHSAT 20.04.2011 PSLV-C16 Experimental / Small Satellite
GSAT-5P 25.12.2010 GSLV-F06 Geo-Stationary Satellite
STUDSAT 12.07.2010 PSLV-C15 Experimental / Small Satellite
CARTOSAT-2B 12.07.2010 PSLV-C15 Earth Observation Satellite
GSAT-4 15.04.2010 GSLV-D3 Geo-Stationary Satellite

K KUNDAN
Oceansat-2
ANUSAT
RISAT-2
Chandrayaan-1
CARTOSAT - 2A
INSAT-4B
CARTOSAT - 2
HAMSAT
23.09.2009
20.04.2009
20.04.2009
22.10.2008
28.04.2008
12.03.2007
10.01.2007
05.05.2005
PSLV-C14
PSLV-C12
PSLV-C12
PSLV-C11
PSLV-C9
Ariane-5ECA
PSLV-C7
PSLV-C6
Earth Observation Satellite
Experimental / Small Satellite
Earth Observation Satellite
Space Mission
Earth Observation Satellite
Geo-Stationary Satellite
Earth Observation Satellite
Experimental / Small Satellite
EDUSAT (GSAT-3) 20.09.2004 GSLV-F01 Geo-Stationary Satellite
Resourcesat-1(IRS-P6) 17.10.2003 PSLV-C5 Earth Observation Satellite
INSAT-3A 10.04.2003 Ariane-5G Geo-Stationary Satellite
GSAT-2 08.05.2003 GSLV-D2 Geo-Stationary Satellite
KALPANA-1(METSAT) 12.09.2002 PSLV-C4 Geo-Stationary Satellite
INSAT-3C 24.01.2002 Ariane-42L H10-3 Geo-Stationary Satellite
GSAT-1 18.04.2001 GSLV-D1 Geo-Stationary Satellite
INSAT-3B 22.03.2000 Ariane-5G Geo-Stationary Satellite
Oceansat(IRS-P4) 26.05.1999 PSLV-C2 Earth Observation Satellite
INSAT-2E 03.04.1999 Ariane-42P H10-3 Geo-Stationary Satellite
IRS-P3 21.03.1996 PSLV-D3 Earth Observation Satellite
IRS-P2 15.10.1994 PSLV-D2 Earth Observation Satellite
SROSS-C* 20.05.1992 ASLV Space Mission
IRS-1B 29.08.1991 Vostok Earth Observation Satellite
INSAT-1D 12.06.1990 Delta 4925 Geo-Stationary Satellite
IRS-1A 17.03.1988 Vostok Earth Observation Satellite
INSAT-1B 30.08.1983 Shuttle [PAM-D] Geo-Stationary Satellite
* SROSS= Stretched Rohini Satellite Series

General Knowledge l 19
K KUNDAN
INSAT-1A 10.04.1982 Delta 3910 PAM-D Geo-Stationary Satellite
Bhaskara-II 20.11.1981 C-1 Inter cosmos Earth Observation Satellite
Geo-Stationary Satellite
Rohini (RS-D1) 31.05.1981 SLV-3 Earth Observation Satellite
Bhaskara-I 07.06.1979 C-1 Inter cosmos Earth Observation Satellite
Aryabhatta 19.04.1975 C-1 Inter cosmos Experimental / Small Satellite

India in Space PSLV represents ISRO's first attempt to design and


develop an operational vehicle that can be used to orbit
In June 1972, the Government of India set up Space application satellites. While SLV-3 secured for India a place
Commission and Department of Space (DOS). Indian Space in the community of space-faring nations, the ASLV provided
Research Organisation (ISRO) under DOS executes space the rites of passage into Launch Vehicle Technology for
programme through its establishments located in different ISRO. And with PSLV, a new world-class vehicle has arrived.
places in India. Indian space programme was driven by the PSLV has repeatedly proved its reliability and versatility by
vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who was considered as the launching 55 satellites/spacecraft (26 Indian and 29 Foreign
father of Indian Space Programme. Satellites) into a variety of orbits so far.
ISRO also makes the Rohini series of sounding rockets
Space centres in india used by the Indian and international scientific community
to launch payloads to various altitudes for atmospheric
l The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at research and other scientific investigations. These rockets
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala are also used to qualify some of the critical systems used
l The ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) at Bangalore for advanced Launch Vehicles.
l The SHAR Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
l The Space Applications Centre (SAC) at Ahmedabad. Landmark achievements in ISRO's
Launch Vehicle Development

K KUNDAN
Launch Vehicle Technology l PSLV has 21 consecutively successful flights out of 22
For the past four decades, ISRO has launched more than 65 launches.
satellites for various scientific and technological applications l PSLV has been used for launching a total of 27 satellites
like mobile communications, Direct-to-Home services, for foreign customers under commercial agreements,
meteorological observations, telemedicine, tele-education, demonstrating its multi-satellite launch capability.
disaster warning, radio networking, search and rescue l PSLV has been used to launch Space capsule Recovery
operations, remote sensing and scientific studies of the Experiment (SRE-1), Chandrayaan-1 and ISRO's exclusive
space. meteorological satellite, KALPANA-1, proving its
ISRO has established two major space systems the versatility.
Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) series for l GSLV with four successful flights of seven launches
communication, television broadcasting and meteorological can launch 2- to 2.5-tonne satellite into Geo-
services which are Geo-Stationary Satellites; and Indian synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Remote Sensing Satellites (IRSS) for management of natural l Successful testing of indigenously developed cryogenic
resources. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launches upper stage was done on November 15, 2007.
IRS type of satellites and Geostationary Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV) launches INSAT types of satellites. ISROs Launch Fleet at a Glance
Launch vehicles are used to transport and put satellites
l ISRO developed two experimental Satellite Launch
or spacecraft into space. In India, the Launch Vehicles
Vehicles, SLV-3 and ASLV.
Development Programme began in the early 1970s. The
l Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was
first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was
commissioned in 1997.
developed in 1980. An augmented version of this, ASLV,
l Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MK
was launched successfully in 1992. India has made
I) was commissioned after the second successful flight
tremendous strides in Launch Vehicle Technology to achieve
in May 2003.
self-reliance in Satellite Launch Vehicle Programme with the
l GSLV - MK II will use indigenously developed cryogenic
operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
Upper Stage.
and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
l GSLV - MK III is under the process of development.

20 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Aryabhatta was India's first satellite named after an ancient stages, associated control systems and components for
Indian mathematician (5th century AD). It was launched by Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft programmes of ISROs.
the Russians on 19 April 1975 from Kapustin Yar. The 96.3- The Liquid Propulsion Systems in India: Valiamala
minute orbit had an apogee of 619 km and a perigee of 563 km (Thiruvananthapuram), Mahendragiri (Tamil Nadu) and
at an inclination of 50.7 degrees. Aryabhatta was built by the Bangalore (Karnataka).
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to conduct
experiments in X-ray astronomy, aeronomics, and solar Chandrayaan-1
physics. The spacecraft was a 26-sided polygon 1.4 m in
diameter. All faces (except the top and the bottom) were l Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to moon, was
covered with solar cells. A power failure halted experiments launched successfully on October 22, 2008 from SDSC
after four days in orbit. All signals from the spacecraft were SHAR, Sriharikota.
lost after five days of operation. The satellite re-entered the l The spacecraft was orbiting around the moon at a height
Earth's atmosphere on 11 February 1992. of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical,
mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the moon.
Liquid Propulsion Systems l The spacecraft carries 11 scientific instruments built in
India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre is the centre of excellence l After the successful completion of all the major mission
in the area of Liquid Propulsion for ISRO's Launch Vehicle objectives, the orbit has been raised to 200 km in May 2009.
and Spacecraft programmes. The Centre is entrusted with the l India has now become the 6th country in the world after
responsibility of research and development of Earth Storable the US, Russia, European Union, China and Japan to
and Cryogenic Propulsion systems and delivers engines, have sent a mission to the moon.

Indian Atomic Research

K KUNDAN
Indias achievements in the fields of Nuclear Science is engaged in broad-based multidisciplinary programme of
and Technology are well accepted and acknowledged at scientific research and advanced engineering directed towards
the international level. Exhaustive and comprehensive the development of Fast Breeder Reactor technology. The
research and development studies in the fields of Nuclear Reactor Research Centre set up at Kalpakkam, India, 80 km
Power and Reactor Technologies, Isotope Applications and south of Chennai in 1971, under the Department of Atomic
Radiation Technologies, Accelerator and Laser Technology Energy(DAE),wasrenamedIndiraGandhiCentreforAtomic
Programme, Health and Safety aspects of radiation are carried Research (IGCAR) in 1985.
out at the four R&D centres, viz. BARC, IGCAR, VECC and Fast Breeder Test Reactor, based on unique mixed
RRCAT, by DAE. Plutonium Uranium Carbide fuel, first of its kind in the
world,andKAMINI Reactor, the only operating Reactor in
Research & Development Centres the World using U233 fuel, are successfully operated.
The design of 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
Reactoriscompletedandtheconstructionisinprogress.
TheBhabhaAtomic Research Centre(BARC) isIndia's
premiernuclearresearchfacilitybasedinTrombay, Mumbai. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology
BARC is a multi-disciplinary research centre with extensive (RRCAT)
infrastructure for advanced research and development
TheRajaRamannaCentreforAdvancedTechnologyisaunit
covering the entire spectrum of nuclear
ofDepartment ofAtomic Energy, Government ofIndia,
science,engineeringandrelatedareas.BARC'scoremandate
engaged in R&D in non-nuclear front-line research areas
is to sustain peaceful applications of nuclear energy, primarily
oflasers,particleacceleratorsandrelatedtechnologies.The
for power generation. BARC operates a number of research
Centre is situated at the south-western end of
reactorsacrossthecountry.
Indore,MadhyaPradesh.
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic RRCAT has developed two synchrotron radiation
sources called "Indus".
Research(IGCAR)
Indus-1 is a 450 MeV electron storage ring, whereas
IGCAR is a premier atomic research centre of India. The centre Indus-2 is a booster-cum-storage ring that can accelerate

General Knowledge l 21
K KUNDAN
electrons from an injection energy of 550 MeV to 2.5 GeV. Directorate for Exploration and Research to assert its status
RRCAT also provides training to young scientists at as a premier geological exploration and research organization.
BARC Training School located in its campus who later join The principal mandate of the organization is to carry out
several DAE units like BARC Mumbai, IGCAR Kalpakkam, geological exploration and discover mineral deposits required
VECC Kolkata and RRCAT as Scientific Officers. fornuclear powerprogramme ofIndia. Apart from the
headquarters, centralized laboratories and specialized groups
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) at Hyderabad, AMD has seven regional centres at New
TheVariableEnergyCyclotronCentre(VECC)isaresearch Delhi,Jaipur,Shillong,Jamshedpur,Nagpur,Bangaloreand
and development unit of the Indian Department of Atomic Hyderabad.
Energy. The VECC, located in Kolkata, India, performs
research in basic and applied nuclear sciences. The Centre Dhruva
houses a 224-cm cyclotron the first of its kind in India
DhruvaReactor at BARC was designed, constructed and
which has been operational since 16 June 1977. It
commissioned by Indian engineers and scientists. Natural
providesproton,deuteron,alpha particleand heavy ion
Uranium is the fuel used and heavy water as moderator and
beams of various energies to other institutions.
coolant. Dhruva enabled India to attain self-sufficiency in
The Centre is a transit node of ERNET, handling
the production of radioisotopes.
theelectronicmailandInternetfacilitiesforotheruniversities
and research institutes.
Kamini
Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Kamini, a 30-kW reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic
Research(AMD) Research at Kalpakkam, achieved criticality in October 1996
Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and for providing neutron radiography facilities and is a small but
Research(AMD),withheadquartersatHyderabadandseven significant step towards utilisation of our vast thorium
regional centres, is the oldest unit of the Department of Atomic reserves. It is the only operating reactor in the world using
Energy (India) (DAE), Government of India. On 29 July 1998 U233 fuel. Some of the larger facilities built by DAE are now
it underwent the latest name change as Atomic Minerals available to university researchers through Inter-university

K KUNDAN
Consortium for DAE facilities.

Art and Culture


India, a place of infinite variety, is fascinating with its ancient The Raga (structure of melody) and Tala (structure of
and complex culture, dazzling contrasts and breathtaking rhythm) are the two major characteristics of Indian classical
physical beauty. Among the most remarkable features of India music.Melody deals with the rise and fall of sounds and
are the arts and culture in particular. The Indian culture has rhythm deals with the pattern of time beats of Ragas.
persisted through the ages precisely for the reasons of Tala is the pulse of Indian music. Tala binds music
antiquity, unity, continuity and the universality of its nature. together and offers a regularity that calms the mind.
Thus, within the ambience of Indian culture, one can Raga is the basic scale or note-pattern of a melody formed
identify 'Indian Music', 'Indian Dance', 'Indian Cinema', 'Indian by selecting notes from the thirteen tonal intervals
Literature', 'Indian Cuisine', 'Indian Fairs and Festivals' and conventionally established in the octave space. The notes
so on. are selected from ascending as well as descending
progressions. They are Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni in the
Indian Music ascending order and Sa, Ni, Dha, Pa, Ma, Ga, Re, Sa in the
descending order. Frameworks thus provided by the selected
Indian classical music originated from Vedic chants or Sama notes function as the ground-plan. Musicians can elaborate
music. This music chiefly consisted of chanting of hymns in Ragas on the basis of this plan and create more tonal patterns
praise of the Vedic gods. The musical structure of the chants pleasing to the ears of the listeners. Tala and Raga vary in
was characterised by descending order of notes, initially two each composition.
to five, which later was increased to seven notes. Gradually Music is a universal art. The two cultures of the south
various developments took place and this culminated in the and the north gave rise to the two modes of singing
Raga tradition. Uttaradi and Dakshinadi or Hindustani and Carnatic.

22 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Hindustani Classical Music l BV Balasai
l Mysore Chandan Kumar
Hindustani classical music may be traced back to the period
l Kudamaloor Janardhanan
of the Delhi Sultanate and to Amir Khusrau (AD 1253-1325),
l Pandit Nityanand Haldipur
who encouraged the practice of musical performance with
l Ronu Majumdar
particular instruments. Most of the Hindustani musicians
l Shashank Subramaniam
trace their descent to Tansen. Different styles of Hindustani
music are Dhrupad, Dhamar, Thumri, Khayal and Tappa. It is Guitar
said that Tansens music had the effect of magic. He could
stop the rising waves of the Yamuna and by the force of his l Dr. Kamala Shankar (Shankar Guitar)
Megh Rag he could cause rain to fall. Akbar patronised l R. Prassanna
musicians like Baiju Bawra and Tansen. The most popular l Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (Slide Guitar)
Ragas are: Bahar, Bhairavi, Sindhu Bhairavi, Bhim Palasi, Jazz
Darbari, Desh, Hamsadhwani, Jai Jayanti, Megha Malhar, Todi,
Yaman, Pilu, Shyam Kalyan and Khambaj. l Louis Banks & Gino Banks
The musicians of Hindustani classical music are usually
Mridangam
associated with a Gharana or a particular style of music.
Gharanas refer to hereditary linkages of musicians which l Mannargudi Eshwaran
represent the core of the style and distinguish them from the l Kalaimamani K.V. Prasad
other. The Gharanas function in gurushishya parampara, l Karaikudi R. Mani
that is, disciples learning under a particular guru, transmitting l Patri Satish Kumar
his musical knowledge and style, will belong to the same l Dr. Trichy Sankaran
Gharana. Some famous Gharanas are Gwalior gharana, Kirana l Umayalpuram K.Sivaraman
gharana, and Jaipur gharana. Devotional music like kirtan, l Balakrishna Kamath
bhajan, ragas contained in the Adi Grantha and singing in
the Majlis during Muharram also deserve a special place. Nadaswaram
l Sheikh Mehaboob Subhani & Kaleeshabi

K KUNDAN
Carnatic Classical Music l Thiruvizha Jaishankar
Carnatic music has a deeper understanding of notal values
and their inter-relations. The musician of the South adheres Sarod
very firmly to the tala cycle. Carnatic music is rigid and deeply l Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
spiritual.Thus, a taste for Carnatic music has to be l Ayaan Ali Khan
cultivated.ThedominantelementofCarnaticmusicisthe
Kriti a form of composition with three parts. The literary Sarangi
content of the Kritis or songs are in the form of offerings. The l Murad Ali
three great composers, known as the trinity of Carnatic music,
are Shyama Sastry,ThyagarajaandMuthuswamy Dikshitar. Santoor
l Tarun Bhattacharya
Musicians l Varsha Agarwal
Bygone Musicians
Saxophone
Muthuswami Dikshitar, Swami Haridas, Swati Tirunal, Tansen
and Thyagaraja. l Dr. Kadri Gopalnath
Classical Singers Shehnai
Alauddin Khan, Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Pandit
l Ustad Bismillah Khan
Bhimsen Joshi, Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Pandit Ganapathi
Bhatt, Prince Rama Varma, Dr. MS Subbalakshmi, Sanjay Sitar
Subramanian, Pandit Upendra Bhat.
l Aloke Dasgupta
Instrumentalists l Asif Laila
l Pandit Prateek Chaudhuri
Flute l Ustad Rafique Khan
l Pandit Ravi Shankar
l Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia

General Knowledge l 23
K KUNDAN
Tabla l To encourage the establishment of theatre centres, on
the basis of regional languages, and co-operation among
l Bickram Ghosh
different theatre centres.
l Jeetu Shankar
l To encourage the setting up of institutions providing
l Pandit Lalit Mahanta
training in the art of theatre, including instructions in
l Prodyut Mukherjee
actor's training, study of stage-craft and production of
l Pandit Rajendra Nakod
plays.
l Ram Kumar Mishra
l To encourage and assist production of new plays by
l Sudhir Pandey
awarding prizes and distinctions.
l Taufiq Qureshi
l To foster cultural contacts between the different regions
l Zakir Hussain
of the country and also with other countries in the fields
Veena of music, dance and drama.

l Ananthapadmanabhan Lalit Kala Akademi


l Iyer Brothers
The Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Fine Art) is the
l Kalpakam Swaminathan
premier fine art institution of the Government of India to
l Jayanthi Kumaresh
promote, spread and develop Indian fine art culture. It is a
l Rajesh Vaidhya
non-profit, autonomous body, funded by the Ministry of
l N. Ravikiran (Chitraveena)
Culture. In pursuance of its role, LKA holds exhibitions,
l Vaikom Vijayalakshmi(Gayatri Veena)
institutes scholarships, sponsorships, fellowships, assistance
Violin schemes, Lifetime Achievement Awards, and publishes
documentary material. It also conducts Triennale India, and
l Ganesh and Kumaresh the National Exhibition of Photography and Art.
l Lalgudi Jayaraman
l Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi Sahitya Akademi
l Dr. L. Subramaniam
The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated by the

K KUNDAN
Government of India on 12 March 1954. The Government of
Academies India Resolution, which set forth the constitution of the
Akademi, described it as a national organisation to work
Sangeet Natak Akademi actively for the development of Indian letters and to set high
The Sangeet Natak Akademi India's national academy for literary standards, to foster and co-ordinate literary activities
music, dance and drama is the first National Academy of in all the Indian languages and to promote through them all
the arts set up by the Republic of India. It was created by a the cultural unity of the country. Though set up by the
resolution of the (then) Ministry of Education, Government Government, the Akademi functions as an autonomous
of India, dated 31 May 1952, notified in the Gazette of India of organisation. It was registered as a society on 7 January
June 1952. The Akademi became functional the following year, 1956, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
with the appointment of its first Chairman, Dr P.V. Rajamannar, Languages Recognised:The Sahitya Akademi has
and the formation of its all-India council of representatives, recognised 24 languages in which its programmes may be
the General Council. implemented. The names of present members of various
Language Advisory Boards, which have been constituted to
Aims and Objectives
render advice for implementing literary programmes in these
l To co-ordinate the activities of regional or State 24 languages, are given on its website.
Academies of music, dance and drama. Head Office:TheHeadOfficeoftheSahityaAkademiis
l To promote research in the fields of Indian music, dance housed in Rabindra Bhavan, 35 Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi.
and drama, and for this purpose, to establish a library This elegant building was constructed in 1961 to commemorate
and museum, etc. the Birth Centenary of Rabindranath Tagore, and houses all
l To co-operate with such similar academies as there may the three National Akademies, namely, the Sangeet Natak
be and other institutions and associations for the Akademi, the Lalit Kala Akademi and the Sahitya Akademi.
furtherance of its objects and for the enrichment of Indian
culture as a whole. Folk Dances of Indian States
l To encourage the exchange of ideas and enrichment of
techniques between different regions in regard to the l Maharashtra: Lezin, Dahikala Dasavtar or Bohada,
arts of music, dance and drama. Tamasha, Gafa, Dahikala, Lavani, Mauni, Powara,

24 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Gouricha , Nakata, Koli etc. Kathak Birju Maharaj, Bharti Gupta, Damayanti
l Karnataka:Yakashagana, Huttari, Suggi Kunitha, Karja, Joshi, Durga Das, Gopi Krishna, Lachhu
Lambi etc. Maharaj, Sambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi
l Kerala: Kathakali, Rakhal, Nat Rash, Raukhat, Mahaha Kuchipudi Josyula Seetharamaiah, Vempathi Chinna
Rash etc. Satyam, Yamini Krishnamurti, Radha Reddy
l Tamil Nadu: Bharatanatyam, Kolattam, Kumi, Kavadi, Odissi Sonal Mansingh, Indrani Rehman
etc. Manipuri Guru Bipin Sinha, Jhaveri Sisters, (Nayana,
l Andhra Pradesh: Kuchipudi, Ottam Thedal, Darshan, Swarna, Kanchan), Nirmala Mehta,
Mohiniattam, Ghantamardala, Kumi, Siddhi Madhuri, Savita Mehta
Chhadi etc. Mohini attam Kalyani Amma, Ragini Devi
l Odisha: Odissi, Rakhal, Nat Rash, Maha Rash, Raukhat
etc. First in Film and TV
l West Bengal: Kathi, Gambhira, Dhali, Jatra, Baul, Marasia,
Mahal, Keertan, etc.
l First Sound Film: Alam Ara, 1931
l Assam: Bihu, Bichhua, Natpuja, Maharas, Kaligopal,
Bagurumba, Naga dance, Khel Gopal Tabala Chongli, l First Oscar winner: Bhanu Athaiya for the Best
Canoe, Jhumura Hobjanai etc. Costume Design for Gandhi (film) in 1982
l Punjab: Giddha, Bhangra, Daff, Dhaman etc. l First Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language
l Jammu & Kashmir: Rauf, Hikat, Mandjas, Kud Dandi Film: Mother India in 1957
Nach, Damali etc. l First National Film Award for Cinema: Shyamchi Aai in
l Himachal Pradesh: Jhora, Jhali, Dangi, Chharhi, Dhaman, 1954
Chhapeli, Thali, Chamba, Daf, Stick dance, Mahasu, l First Colorized Film: Mughal-e-Azam in 2004(the
Jadda, Jhainta, Nati etc. original black-and-white version was released in 1960)
l Haryana: Jhumar, Phag dance, Daph, Dhamal, Loor, l First Sponsored TV Serial: Hum Log, started in 1984,
Gugga, Khor, Gagor etc. was also the first soap opera of India.
l Gujarat: Garba, Dandiya Raas, Tippani Juriun, Bhavai etc. l First Actor to enact 10 roles: Kamal Haasan

K KUNDAN
l Bihar: Jata Jatin, Panwaria, Sama-Chakwa, Bidesia, Jatra,
Bakho-Bakhain, etc. 100 Years of Indian Cinema
l Rajasthan: Ghumar, Ginad, Chakri, Ganagore, Panihari, India's first full-length feature film Raja Harishchandra
Ghapal, Jhulan Leela, Jhuma, Suisini etc. completed 100 years on May 3, 2013. Directed by Dadasaheb
l Uttar Pradesh: Nautanki, Jhora, Chappeli, Raslila, Kajri, Phalke, it was released on May 3, 1913 after it was premiered
Jaita etc. on 21 April 1913 at the Olympia Theatre. The run time of the
l Meghalaya: Laho, Baagla, etc. silent film was around 40 minutes and was exhibited with
l Mizoram: Khanatm, Pakhupila, Cherokan etc. one print in a single theatre, Coronation Cinema Hall,
l Manipur: Manipuri, Rakhal, Nat Rash, Maha Rash, Goregaon (North Mumbai). Interestingly, the heroine in this
Raukhat, etc. film was not a female but a young boy called Salunke, who
l Nagaland: Chong, Khaiva, Lim, Nuralim, etc. acted as Taramati.
l Uttarkhand: Gadhwali, Kumayuni, Kajari, Jhora, Raslila, l 1931: First talkie released Alam Ara by Ardeshir Irani.
Chappeli The year also saw the launch of the first air-conditioned
l Jharkhand: Chhau, Sarahul, Jat-Jatin, Karma, Danga, cinema theatre in the country Regal Cinema in
Bidesia, Sohrai etc. Bombay was opened to the public.
l Chhattisgarh: Goudi, Karma, Jhumar, Dagla, Pali, Tapali, l 1937: First colour film by Ardeshir Irani called Kisan
Navrani, Diwari, Mundari etc. Kanya
l Arunachal Pradesh: Mask dance, War dance etc. l 1946: Neecha Nagar by Chetan Anand awarded the
l Goa: Mandi, Jhagor, Khol, Dakni, etc. Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (Best Film)
award at the first Cannes Film Festival
Famous Dancers
l 1951 : The Central Board of Film Censors was formed.
Bharatanatyam Yamini Krishnamurti, Bala Saraswati, Leela Film Federation of India was also launched.
Samson, Mrinalini Sarabhai, Padma l 1952: Ritwik Ghataks Nagarik released
Subramanyam, Rukmini Devi, Sanyukta l 1953: Do Bigha Zameen directed by Bimal Roy was
Panigrahi, Sonal Mansingh, released. The film starred Balraj Sahni in the lead role. It
was the first film to win Filmare Best Film award.

General Knowledge l 25
K KUNDAN
l 1955 : Satyajit Rays classic Pather Panchali released. House of Treasures
Not only did the film win National Film Award for Best
Film that year, but also the Best Human Documentary The NFAI library, known as The House of Treasures, has
award at the 9th Cannes film festival. 10,304 films, 14,768 books related to cinema, 214 film
l 1957: Mehboob Khans epic film Mother India released. periodicals, many classic films posters and pamphlets, scripts,
The film was India's first submission for the Academy disc records and audio tapes of veterans speaking about
Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958 and was their craft. NFAI aids in the screenings of these classical
chosen as one of the five nominations for the category. films at various festivals and allows cinema buffs to get a
look at cinematic heritage left behind by these films.

Awards and Honours


Highest Civilian Award in India Smt. Indira Gandhi 1971
Shri Varahagiri Venkata Giri 1975
l Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India, was Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj (Posthumous) 1976
instituted in 1954. Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) 1980
l Any person without distinction of race, occupation, Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave (Posthumous) 1983
position or sex is eligible for this award. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (first non-citizen) 1987
l It is awarded for exceptional service towards Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran (Posthumous) 1988
advancement of Art, Literature and Science, and in Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Posthumous) 1990
recognition of public service of the highest order. Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 1990
l The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Shri Morarji Ranchhodji Desai 1991
Prime Minister himself to the President. No formal Shri Rajiv Gandhi (Posthumous) 1991

K KUNDAN
recommendations for this Award are necessary. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Posthumous) 1991
l The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata 1992
of three in a particular year. Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Posthumous) 1992
l On conferment of the Award, the recipient receives a Shri Satyajit Ray 1992
certificate signed by the President and a medallion. Shri (Dr.) Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam 1997
l The Award does not carry any monetary grant. Smt. Aruna Asaf Ali (Posthumous) 1997
l In terms of Article 18 (1) of the Constitution, the Award Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda (Posthumous) 1997
cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipients Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam 1998
name. Smt. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi 1998
Prof. Amartya Sen 1999
Bharat Ratna Awardees Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (Posthumous) 1999
Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan (Posthumous) 1999
Name Year Pandit Ravi Shankar 1999
Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari 1954 Kumari Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar 2001
Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan 1954 Ustad Bismillah Khan 2001
Dr. Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman 1954 Pandit Bhimsen Joshi 2008
Dr. Bhagwan Das 1955
Shri Jawaharlal Nehru 1955
Dr. Mokshagundam Vivesvaraya 1955
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant 1957 The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is an annual award given by
Dr. Dhonde Keshav Karve 1958 the Indian Government for lifetime contribution to Indian
Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy 1961 cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of
Shri Purushottam Das Tandon 1961 Dadasaheb Phalke, who was considered the father of Indian
Dr. Rajendra Prasad 1962 Cinema.
Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane 1963 l Category: Indian Cinema
Dr. Zakir Hussain 1963 l Instituted: 1969
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri (Posthumous) 1966 l First Awarded: 1969

26 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
l Total Awarded: 43 The award for a particular year is given during the end of
l Awarded by: Government of India the following year along with the National Film Awards.
l Description: Lifetime Achievement Award The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus)
l First Awardee: Devika Rani (1969) medallion, a cash prize of one million rupees and a shawl.

Year Winner Occupation State


1969 Devika Rani Actress Andhra Pradesh
1970 B. N. Sircar Producer West Bengal
1971 Prithviraj Kapoor Actor (posthumous) Punjab
1972 Pankaj Mullick Composer West Bengal
1973 Sulochana (Ruby Myers) Actress Maharashtra
1974 Bomireddi Narasimha Reddy Director Andhra Pradesh
1975 Dhirendranath Ganguly Actor,director West Bengal
1976 Kanan Devi Actress West Bengal
1977 Nitin Bose Cinematographer, Director, writer, West Bengal
1978 Rai Chand Boral Composer, director West Bengal
1979 Sohrab Modi Actor, director, producer Maharashtra
1980 Paidi Jairaj Actor, director Andhra Pradesh
1981 Naushad Ali Composer (music director) Uttar Pradesh
1982 L.V. Prasad Actor, director, producer Andhra Pradesh
1983 Durga Khote Actress Maharashtra
1984 Satyajit Ray Director West Bengal
1985 V. Shantaram Actor, director, producer Maharashtra
1986 B. Nagi Reddy Producer Andhra Pradesh
1987 Raj Kapoor Actor, director, producer Maharashtra

K KUNDAN
1988 Ashok Kumar Actor Bihar
1989 Lata Mangeshkar Singer Maharashtra
1990 Akkineni Nageswara Rao Actor Andhra Pradesh
1991 Bhalji Pendharkar Director, producer, writer Maharashtra
1992 Bhupen Hazarika Composer (music director) Assam
1993 Majrooh Sultanpuri lyricist Uttar Pradesh
1994 Dilip Kumar Actor Maharashtra
1995 Rajkumar Actor Karnataka
1996 Sivaji Ganesan Actor Tamil Nadu
1997 Pradeep Lyricist Madhya Pradesh
1998 B.R. Chopra Director, producer Punjab
1999 Hrishikesh Mukherjee Director West Bengal
2000 Asha Bhosle Singer Maharashtra
2001 Yash Chopra Director, producer Punjab
2002 Dev Anand Actor, director, producer Punjab
2003 Mrinal Sen Director West Bengal
2004 Adoor Gopalakrishnan Director Kerala
2005 Shyam Benegal Director Andhra Pradesh
2006 Tapan Sinha Director West Bengal
2007 Manna Dey Singer West Bengal
2008 VK Murthy Cinematographer Karnataka
2009 D.Ramanaidu Producer Andhra Pradesh
2010 K. Balachander Director Tamil Nadu
2011 Soumitra Chatterjee Actor West Bengal

General Knowledge l 27
K KUNDAN
Nobel Prize Ramon Magsaysay Award
Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award is Asia's
achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, highest honour and is widely regarded as the region's
literature and peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. The Ramon Magsaysay Award was created in 1957, the
In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established the Sveriges year the Philippines lost in a plane crash a President who was
Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred well-loved for his simplicity and humility, his passion for
Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a justice, particularly for the poor, and his advancement of
medal, personal diploma, and a cash award. human dignity. Among the many friends and admirers of the
late President around the world were the Rockefeller brothers.
Nobel Prize winners from India
With the concurrence of the Philippine government, the
l Rabindranath Tagore, India's popular poet and writer trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) established
was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for the Award to honour his memory and perpetuate his example
Geetanjali, a collection of his poems. of integrity in public service and pragmatic idealism within a
l Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman/Sir C.V. Raman, Indian democratic society.
scientist, was awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 Supported with a generous endowment from the RBF,
for his "Raman Effect" related to light. the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) was
l Dr. Hargobind Khorana, India's Doctorate in Chemistry organised in Manila in May 1957, with seven prominent
was awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968 for his Filipinos as founding members of the foundation's board of
study of the Human Genetic Code and its role in protein trustees. The Foundation has since implemented the
synthesis. Magsaysay Award programme, pursuing the mission of
l Mother Teresa, a Yugoslavian nun who became an Indian "honouring greatness of spirit in selfless service to the peoples
citizen, was awarded Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979 for her of Asia." The first Ramon Magsaysay Awards were given on
service through her Charitable Mission "Nirmal Hriday" August 31, 1958 to five outstanding individuals working in
at Calcutta to people suffering from leprosy and to those India, Indonesia, Philippines, Republic of China (Taiwan) and

K KUNDAN
dying or destitute. Sri Lanka, and a Philippine-based organisation.
l Dr. Subramanium Chandrashekhar, an Indian astro- Today, the Ramon Magsaysay Award programme is
physicist, was awarded Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 managed by the RMAF board of trustees.
for his theory on white dwarf stars' limitation, known as The Ramon Magsaysay Award is given to persons,
'Chandrasekhar Limit'. regardless of race, nationality, creed or gender, who address
l Dr. Amartya Sen, an Indian Professor in Economics, was issues of human development in Asia with courage and
awarded Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998 for his work creativity, and in doing so have made contributions which
in Economic Theory related to Poverty, Democracy, have transformed their societies for the better. The Award is
Development and Social Welfare. given in six categories: government service; public service;
l V.S.Naipaul, a British writer of Indian origin, was awarded community leadership; journalism, literature and creative
Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. communication arts; peace and international understanding;
l Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, an Indo-American, and emergent leadership.
shared Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 along with a co-
American Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath of Israel for Man Booker Prize
mapping ribosomes, the protein procucing factories
within cells at the atomic level. The prize, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 after
being launched in 1969, aims to promote the finest in fiction by
The ones who have declined the Nobel Prize rewarding the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the
l Jean-Paul Sartre, awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 for UnitedKingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
Literature, declined the prize because he had consistently The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives 50,000
declined all official honours. and, like all the shortlisted authors, a cheque for 2,500 and a
designer bound copy of their book. Fulfilling one of the
l Le Duc Tho was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 1973
objectives of the prize to encourage the widest possible
jointly with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. They readership for the best in literary fiction the winner and
were awarded the Prize for negotiating the Vietnam peace the shortlisted authors now enjoy a dramatic increase in book
accord. Le Doc Tho said that he was not in a position to sales worldwide.
accept the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the situation in The Man Booker International Prize, launched in 2005,
Vietnam as his reason.

28 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
has already established itself as a major player in the literary Writers from across the globe are eligible for the bi-annual
world and has literary excellence as its sole focus. prize, provided their work is available in English. Previous
Worth 60,000, the prize is awarded every two years to a winners include Albanian novelist and poet Ismail Kadare in
living author who has published fiction either originally in 2005, Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe in 2007, Alice Munro in
English or whose work is generally available in translation in 2009 and Philip Roth in 2011.
the English language. The winner is chosen solely at the
discretion of the judging panel and there are no submissions Jnanpith Award
from publishers.
The Man Booker International Prize is significantly The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India. Prior to 1982,
different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that the awards were given for a single work by a writer. Since
it highlights a writer's overall contribution to fiction on the then, the award has been given for lifetime contribution to
world stage. In seeking out literary excellence, the judges Indian Literature. The award carries a cash prize of `7 lakh, a
consider a writer's body of work rather than a single novel. citation and a public felicitation.

Name Language/State Year


G. Shankara Kurup Malayalam 1965
Trashankar Bandopadhyay Bengali 1966
Dr KV Puttappa Kannada 1967
Uma Shankar Joshi Gujarati 1967
Sumitra Nandan Pant Hindi 1968
Firaq Gorakhpuri Urdu 1969
Vishwanath Satyanarayanan Telugu 1970
Bishnu Dey Bengali 1971
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Hindi 1972
Dattaterya Ramachandran Bendre Kannada 1973
Gopinath Mohanty Oriya 1973

K KUNDAN
Vishnu Sakaram Khandekar Marathi 1974
PV Akilandam Tamil 1975
Ashapurna Devi (First woman) Bengali 1976
K Shivaram Karanth Kannada 1977
SHV 'Agyeya' Hindi 1978
Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya Assamese 1979
SK Pottekkatt Malayalam 1980
Amrita Pritam Punjabi 1981
Mahadevi Verma Hindi 1982
Masti Venkatesh Iyengar Kannada 1983
Takazhi Sivashankar Pillai Malayalam 1984
Pannaalal Patel Gujarati 1985
Sachianand Rout Roy Oriya 1986
Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar 'Kusumagraj' Marathi 1987
C Narayanan Reddy Telugu 1988
Qurratulain Hyder Urdu 1989
V K Gokak Kannada 1990
Subhash Mukhopadhyay Bengali 1991
Naresh Mehta Hindi 1992
Sitakant Mahapatra Oriya 1993
U R Ananthamurthy Kannada 1994
M T Vasudevan Nair Malayalam 1995
Mahashveta Devi Bengali 1996
Ali Sardar Jafri Urdu 1997
Girish Karnad Kannada 1998
Nirmal Varma Hindi 1999
Gurdial Singh Punjabi 1999

General Knowledge l 29
K KUNDAN
Dr Indira Goswami Assamese 2000
Rajendra Keshavlal Shah Gujarati 2001
D Jayakanthan Tamil 2002
Vinda Karandikar Marathi 2003
Rahman Rahi Jammu & Kashmir 2004
Kunwar Narayan Hindi 2005
Ravindra Kelekar Konkani 2006
Satya Vrat Shastri Sanskrit 2006
O N V Kurup Malayalam 2007
Akhlaq Mohammed Khan Urdu 2008
Amar Kant Hindi 2009
Shri Lal Shukla Hindi 2009
Chandrasekhara Kambara Kannada 2010
Pratibha Ray Oriya 2011
Note: Pratibha Ray was the 47th author bestowed with the honour.

Books and Authors


l A Bend in the River: V.S. Naipaul l Bela Obela Kalbela: Jibanananda Das
l A Gift of Monotheists: Ram Mohan Roy l Buddhacarit: Asvaghosh
l A House for Mr. Biswas: V.S. Naipaul l Captive Lady: Michael Madhusudan Dutta
l A Journey: Tony Blair l Causes of the Indian Revolt: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
l A Minister and His Responsibilities: Morarjibhai Desai l Charitraheen: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

K KUNDAN
l A Nation in Making: Surendra Nath Banerjee l Chidambara: S. N. Pant
l A Pair of Blue Eyes: Thomas Hardy l Circle of the Reason: Amitav Ghosh
l A Passage to India: E. M. Forster l City of Job Charnock: Nisith Ranjan Ray
l A Revenue Stamp (autobiography): Amrita Pritam l Comedy of Errors: William Shakespeare
l A Strange and Sublime Address: Amit Chaudhuri l Conversations with Myself: Nelson Mandela
l A Suitable Boy: Vikram Seth l Coolie: Mulk Raj Anand
l A Tale of Two Cities: Charles Dickens l Crisis of India: Ronald Segal
l A Voice of Freedom: Nayantara Sahgal l Das Kapital: Karl Marx
l A Week with Gandhi: L. Fischer l Death of President: W. Manchester
l Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Arthur Conan Doyle l Desert Village: Oliver Goldsmith
l All the Prime Minister's Men: Janardan Thakur l Devdas: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
l Allahabad Prasasti: Harisena l Development as Freedom: Amartya Sen
l Amitabh The Making of the Superstar: Susmita l Devi Chaudharani: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Dasgupta l Divine Comedy: Dante
l Amukta Malyada: Krishna Deva Raya l Divine Life: Swami Sivanand
l The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian: Nirod C. l Economic History of India: Ramesh Chandra Dutta
Choudhary l Ends and Means: Aldous Huxley
l Anandamath: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay l Faust: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
l Anna Karenina: Leo Tolstoy l Faerie Queene: Edmund Spenser
l Aparajito: Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay l Freedom at Midnight: Dominique Lapierre & Larry
l Apple Cart: G. B. Shaw Collins
l Aranyak: Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay l Friend Not Master: Ayub Khan
l Arogyaniketan: Tarashankar Bandopadhyay l Ganadevta: Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
l Ashtadhyayi: Panini l Gathering Storm: Winston Churchill
l Bakul Katha: Ashapurna Devi l Ghulamgiri: Jyotiba Phule
l Ban Palashir Padabali: Ramapada Chowdhury l Global Crisis Recession and Uneven Recovery: Y.V.
l Bandit Queen: Mala Sen Reddy

30 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
l Great Indians and Their Landmark Speeches: l Precepts of Jesus: Ram Mohan Roy
Manohar and Sarita Prabhakar l Pride and Prejudice : Jane Austen
l Guide: R. K. Narayan l Prison Diary: Jai Prakash Narayan
l Hind Swaraj: M. K. Gandhi l Problems of the East: Lord Curzon
l Hindu View of Life: S. Radhakrishnan l Putul Nacher Itikatha: Manik Bandopadhyay
l Historica: Herodotus l Races and Cultures of India: D.N. Majumdar
l I Follow the Mahatma: K. M. Munshi l Rajtarangini: Kalhan
l Ivanhoe: Walter Scott l Rashmirathi: Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
l Ignited Minds Unleashing the Power Within India: l River of Smoke: Amitav Ghosh
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam l Saket: Maithili Saran Gupta
l In an Antique Land: Amitav Ghosh l Satyarth Prakash: Swami Dayanand
l India 2020 A Vision for the New Millennium: Dr. l Shadow Lines: Amitav Ghosh
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam l Shadow of Ladakh: B. Bhattacharya
l India Divided: Rajendra Prasad l Shape of Things To Come: H. G. Wells
l India for A Billion Reasons: Amit Dasgupta l Social Structure of Values: Radhakamal Mukherjee
l India Wins Freedom: Abul Kalam Azad l Straight from the Heart: Kapil Dev
l Indian Epigraphy: D. C. Sircar l Subarnalata: Ashapurna Devi
l Indian Village: S.C. Dube l Tahqiq-i-Hind : Alberuni
l Indica: Megasthenes l Talisman: Walter Scott
l Infinite Jest: David Foster Wallace l The Algebra of Infinite Justice: Arundhati Roy
l Inheritance of Loss: Kiran Desai l The City of Joy: Dominique Lapierre
l Jalsaghar: Tarashankar Bandopadhyay l The Decameron: Giovanni Boccaccio
l Jhara Palak: Jibanonda Das l The Discovery of India: Jawaharlal Nehru
l Jungle Book: Rudyard Kipling l The God of Small Things: Arundhati Roy
l Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer l The Harry Potter Series: J. K. Rowling
l Kidnapped: Robert Louis Stevenson l The Indian Struggle: Subash Chandra Bose

K KUNDAN
l Kubla Khan: Samuel Taylor Coleridge l The Indian War of Independence: V. D. Savarkar
l Life Divine: Aurobindo Ghosh l The Judgement: Kuldip Nayar
l Mahabhashya: Patanjali l The Masque of Africa: V. S. Naipaul
l Man and Superman: G. B. Shaw l The Miracle of Democracy: India's Amazing Journey
l Midnight's Children: Salman Rushdie : T. S. Krishnamurthy
l Mitakshara: Vijnaneswara l The Nehrus: Motilal and Jawaharlal: B. R. Nanda
l Modernization of Indian Tradition: Yogendra Singh l The Prince: Machiavelli
l Mother: Maxim Gorky l The Principles of Sociology: Herbert Spencer
l Mother India: Katherine Mayo l The Rediscovery of India : Meghnad Desai
l Murder in the Cathedral: T.S. Eliot l The Satanic Verses: Salman Rushdie
l My Country My Life: Lal Krishna Advani l The Science of Bharatanatyam Saroja Vaidyanathan
l My Experiments with Truth: M.K. Gandhi l The Sense of an Ending: Julian Barnes
l My Indian Years: Lord Hardinge II l The Spirit of Islam: Syed Ameer Ali
l My Journey: Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam l The Village by the Sea: Anita Desai
l Myth of Independence: Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto l The White Tiger: Aravind Adiga
l Neel Darpan: Dinbandhu Mitra l Truth, Love and a Little Malice: Khushwant Singh
l Netaji Dead or Alive: Samar Guha l Two Leaves and a Bud: Mulk Raj Anand
l New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy: A.B. l Two Lives: Vikram Seth
Vajpayee l Unhappy India: Lala Lajpat Rai
l One Night @ the Call Centre: Chetan Bhagat l Urvashi: Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
l Pakhtoon: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan l Utopia: Thomas More
l Palli Samaj: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay l Vision of the Past: Michael Madhusudan Dutta
l Paradise Lost: John Milton l Volga Se Ganga: Rahul Sankrityayan
l Parineeta: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay l War and Peace: Leo Tolstoy
l Pather Panchali: Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay l What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the
l Poverty & Un-British Rule in India: Dadabhai Naoroji Untouchables: B. R. Ambedkar
l Pratham Pratisruti: Ashapurna Devi l Wings of Fire: Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

General Knowledge l 31
K KUNDAN

Sports
Olympic Games Sports Federations. The mission of the NOCs is to develop,
promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their
Ancient Olympic Games respective countries, in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
Today, there are 204 NOCs.
According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic The five rings on the Olympic flag represent the five
Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated continents.
to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient The Games are held every four years. They are the
plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, largest sporting celebration in terms of the number of sports
until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all pagan on the programme, the number of athletes present and the
cults and practices be eliminated. number of people from different nations gathered together
at the same time in the same place.
Olympia Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the 2016 Summer
Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the Olympic Games.
western part of the Peloponnese, which, according to Greek
mythology, is the island of Pelops, the founder of the India and Olympics
Olympic Games. India first participated in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris.
The country was represented by Norman Pritchard, an
Modern Olympics Anglo-Indian who was holidaying in Paris during that time.
It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is responsible for
ambitious project, although others before him had tried to the preparation and participation of competitors in the
revive these Games during the 19th century, without having Olympic Games as well as in regional events like

K KUNDAN
Coubertins success. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Commonwealth and Asian Games.
Olympic Games, he decided to create the modern Olympic
Games. With this purpose, he founded the International Foundation of IOA
Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894 in Paris. The new Sir Dorabji Tata, towards the end of 1919, first sowed the
committee set itself the objective of organising the first seeds for establishing a sports body at National level for
Olympic Games of modern times. promoting the Olympic sports in united India. Sir Dorabjii
The date of the first Games, 1896, marked the beginning Tata, with the support of Dr. A.G. Noehren, the then Director
of an extraordinary adventure. of YMCA, established the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
In contrast with the Olympic Games of antiquity, each in 1927. Sir Dorabji Tata and Dr. A. G. Noehren became the
edition of the modern Games takes place in principle in a Founder President and Secretary General respectively of
different city and country. IOA.
Olympic motto Each Olympic and Non-Olympic sport has a Federation
at the National level and is affiliated to/recognised by the
The Olympic motto is made up of three Latin words: Citius, IOA.
Altius, Fortius, meaning Faster, Higher, Stronger. These
Though no National Olympic Committee was formed in
three words encourage the athlete to give his or her best
India, Sir Dorabji Tata fielded a token contingent of six
during competition.
members, i.e. four athletes and two wrestlers in the Antwerp
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) exist in various
Olympic Games in 1920. During these Games, Sir Dorabji
countries of the world. NOCs are one of the three
Tata was elected as a member of the International Olympic
constituents of the Olympic Movement together with the
Committee (IOC) and thus became the first IOC member
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International
in India.

32 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Medals for India in Olympics
Medal Name/Team Games Sport Event
Silver Norman Pritchard 1900 Paris Athletics Mens 200 metre
Silver Norman Pritchard 1900 Paris Athletics Mens 200 metre hurdles
Gold National team 1928 Amsterdam Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1932 Los Angeles Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1936 Berlin Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1948 London Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1952 Helsinki Field hockey Mens competition
Bronze Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav 1952 Helsinki Wrestling Mens freestyle bantamweight
Gold National team 1956 Melbourne Field hockey Mens competition
Silver National team 1960 Rome Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1964 Tokyo Field hockey Mens competition
Bronze National team 1968 Mexico Field hockey Mens competition
Bronze National team 1972 Munich Field hockey Mens competition
Gold National team 1980 Moscow Field hockey Mens competition
Bronze Leander Paes 1996 Atlanta Tennis Mens singles
Bronze Karnam Malleswari 2000 Sydney Weightlifting Womens 69 kg
Silver Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore2004 Athens Shooting Mens double trap
Gold Abhinav Bindra 2008 Beijing Shooting Mens 10m air rifle
Bronze Vijender Singh 2008 Beijing Boxing Mens 75 kg
Bronze Sushil Kumar 2008 Beijing Wrestling Mens 66 kg freestyle
Bronze Gagan Narang 2012 London Shooting Mens 10m air rifle
Silver Vijay Kumar 2012 London Shooting Mens 25 rapid fire pistol

K KUNDAN
Bronze Saina Nehwal 2012 London Badminton Womens singles
Bronze MC Mary Kom 2012 London Boxing Womens flyweight
Bronze Yogeshwar Dutt 2012 London Wrestling Mens 60 kg freestyle
Silver Sushil Kumar 2012 London Wrestling Mens 66 kg freestyle

Summer Games and Winter Games organised and controlled by the Commonwealth Games
Federation (CGF).
The Olympic Games include the Games of the Olympiad (i.e.
Originally known as the British Empire Games (1930-50),
the Summer Games) and the Olympic Winter Games.
then British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954-66),
The word Olympiad designates the four-year period
British Commonwealth Games (1970-74) and finally
that separates each edition of the Summer Games. The Summer
Commonwealth Games (from 1978), the Games have seen
and Winter Games originally took place in the same year, but
many changes over the years since its inception.
since 1992 the Winter Games have been held two years from
Formerly holding only single-competition sports, team
the Summer Games. The Summer Games and the Winter Games
events were introduced in the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur.
continue to be organised once every four years. In the Summer
Events for athletes with a disability were included in the CWG
Games, athletes compete in a wide variety of competitions on
from 2002 Games in Manchester. Commonwealth Youth
the track, on the road, on grass, in the water, on the water, in
Games, open to athletes 18 years of age and under, was
the open air and indoors, in a total of 28 sports.
introduced in the year 2000 as a separate event, with the
The Winter Games feature seven sports practised on snow
inaugural games in Edinburgh. Since then, Youth Games have
and ice, both indoors and outdoors.
grown in stature and have been conducted at regular intervals.
The story of the Games evolved yet again on the 9th
Commonwealth Games November 2007 when Glasgow (Scotland) was awarded the
Commonwealth Games (CWG) is a world-class sporting event right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
between the Commonwealth nations conducted every four The following is a list of the venues, years and the number
years. The Games started in the year 1930 in Hamilton, of participating countries in the Commonwealth Games ever
Ontario, Canada with 11 countries and 400 athletes, since its inception in 1930.
participating in 6 sports and 59 events. Now the Games are

General Knowledge l 33
K KUNDAN
The growth of the Commonwealth Games from 1930 to 2010
Year Host City /Country Participating Countries Sports Events Contested Athletes
1930 Hamilton, Canada 11 6 59 400
1934 London, England 16 6 68 500
1938 Sydney, Australia 15 7 71 464
1950 Auckland, New Zealand 12 9 88 590
1954 Vancouver, Canada 24 9 91 662
1958 Cardiff, Wales 35 9 94 1122
1962 Perth, Australia 35 9 104 863
1966 Kingston, Jamaica 34 9 110 1050
1970 Edinburgh, Scotland 42 9 121 1383
1974 Christchurch, New Zealand 38 9 121 1276
1978 Edmonton, Canada 46 10 128 1474
1982 Brisbane, Australia 46 10 142 1583
1986 Edinburgh, Scotland 26 10 163 1662
1990 Auckland, New Zealand 55 10 204 2073
1994 Victoria, Canada 63 10 217 2557
1998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 70 15 213 3633
2002 Manchester, England 72 17 281 3679
2006 Melbourne, Australia 71 16 245 4049
2010 Delhi, India 71 17 272 4352
2014 Glasgow, Scotland 17
2018 Gold Coast, Australia 17
The CGF is the organisation that is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games.

K KUNDAN
Games Entered
1934 British Empire Games
1938 British Empire Games
India Medals Tally by Games

1954 British Empire & Commonwealth Games


1958 British Empire & Commonwealth Games
1966 British Empire & Commonwealth Games
Gold



2
3
Silver



1
4
Bronze

3
Total

3
10
1970 British Commonwealth Games 5 3 4 12
1974 British Commonwealth Games 4 8 3 15
1978 Commonwealth Games 5 5 5 15
1982 Commonwealth Games 5 8 3 16
1990 Commonwealth Games 13 8 11 32
1994 Commonwealth Games 6 11 7 24
1998 Commonwealth Games 7 10 8 25
2002 Commonwealth Games 30 22 17 69
2006 Commonwealth Games 22 17 10 49
2010 Commonwealth Games 39 26 36 101
Total Medals 141 123 108 372

34 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Asian Games (South East Asia), Kabaddi (South Asia) and Wushu (East
Asia), which reflect the diverse sporting culture of the
As the biggest multi-sports games after the Olympic Games, continent.
the Asian Games is the most prestigious event organised by The inaugural Asian Games took place in New Delhi,
the Olympic Council of Asia. Similar to the Olympic Games, India, in 1951 with 11 countries competing in six sports. The
the Asian Games are held every four years, with the 17th 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in 2010 featured 45
edition to be held in Incheon, South Korea in 2014. countries and regions competing in 42 sports, highlighting
The Asian Games follow the sports programme of the the growth of the Olympic Movement in Asia. In its history,
Olympic Games, with swimming and athletics as the core nine nations have hosted the Asian Games.
sports, as well as featuring disciplines such as Sepaktakraw

Medals for India in Asian Games


Games Rank Gold Silver Bronze Total
1951 New Delhi, India 2 15 16 20 51
1954 Manila, Philippines 5 4 4 5 13
1958 Tokyo, Japan 7 5 4 4 13
1962 Jakarta, Indonesia 3 10 13 10 33
1966 Bangkok, Thailand 5 7 4 11 22
1970 Bangkok, Thailand 5 6 9 10 25
1974 Tehran, Iran 7 4 12 12 28
1978 Bangkok, Thailand 6 11 11 6 28
1982 New Delhi, India 5 13 19 25 57
1986 Seoul, South Korea 5 5 9 23 37
1990 Beijing, China 12 1 8 14 23
1994 Hiroshima, Japan 8 4 3 15 22

K KUNDAN
1998 Bangkok, Thailand
2002 Busan, South Korea
2006 Doha, Qatar
2010 Guangzhou, China
Total

Cricket
5
9
8
8
6
7
10
10
14
126
11
12
17
17
173
17
13
26
34
245
35
35
53
65
544

and Sri Lanka from 19th February to 2nd April 2011. 14


countries participated in the tournament. India won the cup
Facts about ICC by defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final in Mumbai
on 2nd April 2011 and became the first team to win the World
Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Cup final on home soil.
President of ICC: Alan Isaac
Motto: Great Sport Great Spirit The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the foremost
Formation: 15 June 1909 governing body of this sports.
The history of cricket dates back to the 13th century. In The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 11th ICC
the 16th century, the sports was well-entrenched in England. Cricket World Cup, and will be jointly hosted by Australia
In India, the British introduced this sports. The first cricket and New Zealand.
club in India was opened in Kolkata. Ranjeet Singh was the
Sports Profile
foremost cricketer of the yesteryears. In 1877, the first cricket
Test match was played in Melbourne between England and Each team has 11 players. The length of the pitch is 20.11
Australia. This ground also holds the distinction of holding metres or 22 yards. The circumference of the ball is between
the first one-day international in 1971. The first World Cup 20.79 and 22.8 cm. The weight of the cricket ball is between
of cricket was organised in 1975 in England. India, under 155 and 168 grams. The length, breadth and weight of the
Kapil Dev, won the third Prudential World Cup in 1983. The cricket bat is (approximately) 96.5 cm, 22.9 cm and 2 pounds
2011 Cricket World Cup was co-hosted by Bangladesh, India, respectively.

General Knowledge l 35
K KUNDAN
Football The 2014 FIFA World Cup is to be the 20th FIFA World
Cup, an international association football tournament that is
The pioneer of football was Italy. However, the first football scheduled to take place in Brazil. Russia and Qatar are
club the Sheffield Football Club was founded in 1857 selected as the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World
in England. Like cricket, the Britishers were instrumental in Cups respectively.
bringing this sports to India. The first football club of India
was the Dalhousie Club. The highest governing body of Sports Profile
football is the Federation International de Football Each team has 11 players. The circumference of the football
Association, better known by its acronym FIFA. Every four is between 68 and 71 cm. The weight of the ball is 396 to 453
years, this organisation organises the World Cup. The first grams. The length of the field is between 91 and 120 metres
World Cup was organised in Uruguay in 1930. and the breadth is between 45 and 91 metres.

World Cup Winners and Runners-up


Year Winner Runner-Up Host
1930 Uruguay Argentina Montevideo, Uruguay
1934 Italy Czechoslovakia Rome, Italy
1938 Italy Hungary Paris, France
1950 Uruguay Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1954 West Germany Hungary Bern, Switzerland
1958 Brazil Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
1962 Brazil Czechoslovakia Santiago, Chile
1966 England West Germany London, England
1970 Brazil Italy Mexico City, Mexico
1974 West Germany Netherlands Munich, Germany
1978 Argentina Netherlands Buenos Aires, Argentina

K KUNDAN
1982 Italy West Germany Madrid, Spain
1986 Argentina West Germany Mexico City, Mexico
1990 West Germany Argentina Rome, Italy
1994 Brazil Italy Pasadena, California
1998 France Brazil Saint-Denis, France
2002 Brazil Germany Korea /Japan
2006 Italy France Germany
2010 Spain Netherlands South Africa

Winners of Euro Cup 1984 France vs Spain France


The Union des Associations Europennes de Football (UEFA) 1988 USSR vs Netherlands Netherlands
was founded in Basle, Switzerland, on 15 June 1954, bringing 1992 Denmark vs Germany Denmark
to fruition the pioneering vision of a handful of key football 1996 Czech Republic vs Germany Germany
administrators of the time. 2000 France vs Italy France
This was the 14th Season of Euro Cup championship. 2004 Portugal vs Greece Greece
Before this, 13 had been held, in which Spain got victory two 2008 Germany vs Spain Spain
times. This was the third time when Spain became the winner. 2012 Spain vs Italy Spain
Year Teams Winner
Hockey
1960 USSR vs Yugoslavia USSR
1964 Spain vs USSR Spain A game resembling modern hockey was played during ancient
1968 Italy vs Yugoslavia Italy times in Persia. In the medieval age the game Hockey was
1972 West Germany vs USSR West Germany played in France and it resembled modern hockey. The first
1976 Czechoslovakia vs Czechoslovakia mention of hockey occurs in Lincolnshire (Britain) in the
West Germany year 1772. In Scotland the game was known as Shanty and
1980 Belgium vs W. Germany W. Germany in Ireland it was known as Harley. The birth of modern

36 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
hockey took place in the mid-19th century. In 1861, the first Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Australia defeated Germany
organised hockey club the Blackhealth Rugby and 2-1 in the final and won their second World Cup title.
Hockey Club was established in England. The International
Hockey Federation was founded in 1884. The first Interational Sport Profile
hockey match was played between Wales and Ireland in Rayle Each team has 11 players. The circumference of the ball is
on 26th June, 1895. The first World Cup hockey tournament between 223 and 224 cm. The weight of the ball is between
was organised in Barcelona in 1971. India has won the gold 155 and 163 grams. The length of the playing field is 91.44 m
medal in Olympics 8 times. Hockey is our national sports. (44 ft) and its breadth is between 50 and 55 m.
The 2010 Hockey World Cup was held in India at New Delhi's

World Cup Hockey


Year Host Winner Runner-up Indias position
1971 Barcelona, Spain Pakistan Spain Third
1973 Amstelveen, Netherlands Netherlands India Second
1975 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia India Pakistan First
1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina Pakistan Netherlands Sixth
1982 Mumbai, India Pakistan W Germany Fifth
1986 London, UK Australia England Twelfth
1990 Lahore, Pakistan Netherlands Pakistan Tenth
1994 Sydney, Australia Pakistan Netherlands Fifth
1998 Utrecht, Netherlands Netherlands Spain Ninth
2002 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Germany Australia Tenth
2006 Manchengladbach, Germany Germany Australia Eleventh
2011 New Delhi, India Australia Germany Eighth

K KUNDAN
Tennis
This sports came to be known as tennis in the year 1400,
though the game was played earlier too. England played a
decisive role in the development of this sports. Harry Jam, an
Englishman, established the first tennis club called the
Limington Club. The game was earlier known by the name
Pallota and Lawn Racket. It was in the 15th century that it
Sport Profile
The diameter of the ball is 2.5 to 2.58 inches, the colour of the
ball is white or yellow, and its weight is between 56.7 and 58.5
grams. The maximum length of the racket is 33 inches and
maximum breadth 12.5 inches. The height of the net is 3 feet 0
inches. The game is played as singles, doubles and mixed
doubles.
began to be called by its present name. This game is played
mainly on two types of surfaces grass court and hard
Badminton
court. The highest governing body of lawn tennis is the It is believed that the sport of badminton originated in
International Tennis Federation, which was established in England in the 18th century. Some, however, believe that the
1913. Earlier, the game was played by professionals and non- sport originated in India. It was played by British officers
professionals, but in 1968 this bifurcation was removed. In when they ruled India. The name badminton was derived
the year 1900, the first Davis Cup was held. from the city of Badminton, founded by the Duke of Beaufort
The four Grand Slam tournaments, also called Majors, in 1873, where an exhibition match was organised for the first
are the most important annual tennis events. They offer the time.
most ranking points and prize money, the greatest strength
and size of field, and attract the most public and media Sport Profile
attention. The Grand Slam itinerary consists of the Australian The sport is played by two players in a singles match and
Open in January, the French Open in May/June, Wimbledon four players in a doubles match. The length of the court is
in June/July, and the US Open in August/September. Each 13.41 m (44 ft) and the width is 6.1 m (20 ft). In a singles match,
tournament is played over a period of two weeks. The the width of the court is reduced by 3 feet. The height of the
Australian and US tournaments are played on hard courts, net is 1.5 m (5 ft) and the weight of the shuttle is between 4.75
the French on clay, and Wimbledon on grass. Wimbledon is and 5.51 gm. The weight of the racket is between 85 and 150
the oldest Major, founded in 1877, followed by the US in gm.
1881, the French in 1891, and the Australian in 1905.
General Knowledge l 37
K KUNDAN
Boxing l Baseball: Base, Battery, Bunting, Catcher, Diamond, Hitter,
Home Infield, Outfield, Pinch, Pitcher plate, Pullout, Short
The first signs of boxing are seen in the mural painting of stop, Strike.
Greece. In the 18th century, modern boxing took its present l Billiards: Baulk line, Break, Bolting, Cannon, Cue, Hazard,
form. New rules were laid during this period. In 1860, the In- off, Jigger, Long jenney, Pot, Scratch, Screw back, Short
Queensherry rules were framed. On the basis of this new rule, jenney, Spot stroke.
the first boxing competition was organised in 1867. In 1901, l Boxing: Auxiliary point system, Babit punch, Break, Cut,
boxing was granted legal recognition. The two governing Defence, Down, Hook, Jab, Lying on, Knock, Seconds out,
bodies of boxing are the World Boxing Council (WBC) and Slam, Upper cut, Weight in, Win by knock-out.
the World Boxing Association (WBA). l Bridge: Chicane, Dealer, Dummy, Finesse, Grand slam,
Little slam, No trump, Revoke, Rubber, Ruff, Suit, Tricks,
Chess Vulnerable, Pair event, Team of tour.
l Chess: Bishop, Castle, Checkmate, Gambit, King, Knight,
Chess is one of the worlds most popular games, played by Pawn, Queen, Rook, Stalemate, Castling, Midgame,
millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by Endgame.
correspondence, and in tournaments. It is a recreational and l Cricket: Ashes, Boundary, Bowling, Caught, Chinaman,
compeitive game played between two players. The current Cover drive, Crease, Duck, Follow on, Googly, Gully, Hat-
form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the trick, Hit wicket, LBW, Leg break, Leg bye, Maiden over,
second half of the 15th century after evolving from similar, No ball, Off break, On drive, Out, Over, Pitch, Popping
much older games of Indian and Persian origin. crease, Rubber, Run down, Run out, Sixer, Silly point,
Square leg, Stonewalling, Stumped, Wicket.
Awards in India l Croquet: Hoops, Mallet, Peg out.
l Draughts: Huff.
l The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (RGKR) is Indias highest l Football: Corner kick, Direct free kick, Dribble, Goal kick,
honour given for achievement in sports. The award Hat-trick, Off side, Penaltykick, Throw in, Tripping, Sudden
was instituted in the year 1991-92. death, Golden goal.
l The Arjuna Award was instituted in 1961 by the l Golf: Best-ball foursome, Bogey, Bunker, Caddie, Dormy,

K KUNDAN
Government of India to recognise outstanding Fairway, Fourball, Foursome, Greed holes, Links, Niblic,
achievements in National sports. The award carries a Par, Put, Rough, Stymied, Tee, Threesome, Eagle, Birdie.
cash prize of `500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna l Hockey: Bully, Carry, Corner, Dribble, Hat-trick, Off-side,
and a scroll. Roll-in, Scoop, Short corner, Stick, Striking circle, Tie-
l Dhyan Chand Award is India's highest award for lifetime breaker.
achievement in sports, given by the Government of l Horse Racing: Jockey, Punter, Steeplechase, Jackpot,
India.The award is named after the legendary Indian Photofinish.
hockey player Dhyan Chand. The award was initiated l Polo: Bunker, Chukker, Mallet.
in 2002.The award carries a cash prize of `5 lakh , a l Rowing: Bow, Bucket, Cow, Ergometer, Feather, Paddle,
statuette, ceremonial dress and a scroll of honour. Regatta.
l Dronacharya Award is an award presented by the l Rugby Football: Tackle, Lines, Scrum, Touch, Try.
Government of India for excellence in sports coaching. l Shooting: Bag, Bulls eye, Marksmanship, Muzzle, Plug.
The award comprises a bronze statuette of l Skiing: Tobogganing
Dronacharya, a scroll of honour and a cash component l Swimming: Breast stroke, Crawl, Butterfly, Backstroke,
of `500,000. The award was instituted in 1985. Medley
As the best sportsperson award is named Arjuna l Tennis: Backhand stroke, Deuce, Double fault, Fault,
Award, it is appropriate that the coaching award is Ground stroke, Half volley, Let, Smash, Volley.
l Volleyball: Blocking, Doubling, Heave, Holding, Love,
named after Dronacharya, as he was the guru of Arjuna.
Point, Service, Volley.
Note: B.I. Fernandez is the first foreign coach who was
l Wrestling: Half Nelson, Head lock, Heave, Hold,
awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2012.
Rebouts, Scissors.
Sports Terms Cups and Trophies
l Badminton: Deuce, Double fault, Drop, Let, Love all,
l Archery: Federation Cup.
Smash.
l Athletics: Charminar Trophy, World Cup.
l Basketball: Ball, Basket, Blocking, Dribbling, Free throw,
l Air Racing: Jawaharlal Challenge Trophy, Kings Cup.
Held ball, Holding, Jump ball, Multiple throws, Pivot.

38 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
l Badminton: Agarwal Cup, Amrit Diwan Cup, Australian Ashutosh Mukherjee Trophy, Stafford Cup, Subroto
Cup, Chadha Cup, European Cup, Harilela Cup, Konica Cup, Todd Memorial Trophy, UEFA Cup, U.S. Cup, Vittal
Cup, Ibrahim Rahimatollah Challenge Cup, Narang Cup, Trophy, World Cup, National League.
Sophia Kitiakara Cup, SR Ruia Cup, Thomas Cup, Tunku l Golf: Canada Cup, Eisenhower Trophy, Muthiah Gold
Abdul Rahman Cup, Uber Cup, World Cup, Yonex Cup. Cup, Nomura Trophy, Paralamdi Trophy, Prince of Wales
l Basketball: Basalat Jha Trophy, BC Gupta Trophy, Cup, Ryder Cup, Walker Cup, US Masters, US Open, US
Federation Cup, SM Arjuna Raja Trophy, Todd Memorial PGA Championship, British Open Championship.
Trophy, William Jones Cup. l Hockey: Agha Khan Cup, Allwyn Asia Cup, Azlan Shah
l Boat Rowing: American Cup (Yacht racing), Wellington Cup, Beighton Cup, BMW Trophy, Bombay Gold Cup,
Trophy (India). Champions Trophy, Clarke Trophy, Dhyan Chand Trophy,
l Boxing: Aspy Adjania Trophy, Federation Cup. Esanda Champions Cup, Gurmeet Trophy, Guru Nanak
l Bridge: Holkar Trophy, Ruia Gold Cup, Singhania Cup, Gyanvati Devi Trophy, Indira Gandhi Cup,
Trophy. Intercontinental Cup, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Cup,
l Chess: Naidu Trophy, Khaitan Trophy, Limca Trophy, Kuppaswamy Naidu Cup, Lady Ratan Tata Cup (women),
World Cup. Lal Bahadur Shastri Cup, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold
l Cricket: Anthony DMellow Trophy, Ashes, Asia Cup, Cup, Modi Gold Cup, Murugappa Gold Cup, Nehru
Benson and Hedges Cup, Bose Trophy, Champions Trophy, Obaidullah Gold Cup, Rangaswami Cup, Shriram
Trophy, Charminar Challenge Cup, CK Nayudu Trophy, Trophy, Tun Abdul Razak Cup, Wellington Cup, World
Cooch Behar Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Cup, Yadavindra Cup.
GD Birla Trophy, Gillette Cup, Ghulam Ahmed Trophy, l Horse Racing: Blue Riband, Derby, Grand National Cup.
Hakumat Rai Trophy, Irani Trophy, Jawaharlal Nehru Cup, l Kabaddi: Federation Cup.
McDowells Challenge Cup, Merchant Trophy, Moin-ud- l Kho-Kho: Federation Cup.
Dowla Cup, Natwest Trophy, Prudential Cup, Sharjah l Polo: Ezar Cup, Prithi Singh Cup, Radha Mohan Cup, .
Cup, Rani Jhansi Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Rohinton Baria Winchester Cup.
Trophy, Rothmans Cup, Sheesh Mahal Trophy, Sheffield l Shooting: North Wales Cup, Welsh Grand Prix.
Shield, Texaco Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vijay Merchant l Table Tennis: Asian Cup, Berna Bellack Cup, Corbillion

K KUNDAN
Trophy, Vizzy Trophy, Wills Trophy, World Series Cup. Cup (women), Electra Gold Cup, Gasper-Giest Prize, Grand
l Football: Airlines Cup, America Cup, Asia Cup, Asian Prix, Jayalaxmi Cup (women), Kamala Ramanujan Cup,
Womens Cup, Bandodkar Trophy, B.C. Roy Trophy, Pithapuram Cup (men), Swaythling Cup (men),
Begum Hazrat Mahal Cup, Bicentennial Gold Cup, Travancore Cup (women), U Thant Cup, World Cup.
Bordoloi Trophy, Colombo Cup, DCM Cup, Winners l Tennis: Ambre Solaire Cup, Davis Cup, Dr Rajendra
Cup, Durand Cup, European Cup, FA Cup, Federation Prasad Cup, Edgbaston Cup, Federation Cup, Ghafar Cup,
Cup, G.V. Raja Memorial Trophy, Gold Cup, Governors Grand Prix, Hamlet Cup, Mercedes Cup, Nations Cup,
Cup, Great Wall Cup, IFA Shield, Independence Day Cup, Weightman Cup, Wimbledon Trophy, World Cup, US
Indira Gandhi Trophy, Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup, Jules Open, French Open, Australian Open.
Rimet Trophy, Kalinga Cup, Kings Cup, Lal Bahadur l Volleyball: Federation Cup, Shivanthi Gold Cup, World
Shastri Trophy, Merdeka Cup, Nagjee Trophy, Naidunia Cup.
Trophy, Nations Cup, Nehru Gold Cup, Nizam Gold Cup, l Wrestling: Bharat Kesri, Burdwan Shield, World Cup.
Raghbir Singh Memorial Cup, Rajiv Gandhi Trophy, l Weightlifting: World Cup
Rovers Cup, Sanjay Gold Cup, Santosh Trophy, Sir l Yacht Racing: America Cup

General Knowledge l 39
K KUNDAN
List of stadiums in India
Stadium City State Sport and/or Home Team
Salt Lake Stadium Kolkata West Bengal
Eden Gardens Kolkata West Bengal Kolkata Knight Riders
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Kochi Kerala
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad cricket team, Deccan Chargers
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Delhi Delhi
Green Park Stadium Kanpur Uttar Pradesh Cricket
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore Karnataka Cricket, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium Pune Maharashtra Cricket, Pune Warriors India
Sardar Patel Stadium Ahmedabad Gujarat Cricket
MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai Tamil Nadu Cricket,ChennaiSuperKings
ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh Cricket,DeccanChargers
CN Annadurai Stadium (proposed) Coimbatore Tamil Nadu Cricket
Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi Delhi Cricket,DelhiDaredevils
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali Punjab Cricket,KingsXIPunjab
Wankhede Stadium Mumbai Maharashtra Cricket,MumbaiIndians
Kanchenjunga Stadium Siliguri West Bengal Football
JRD Tata Sports Complex Jamshedpur Jharkhand Football
Barabati Stadium Cuttack Orissa Cricket
Roop Singh Stadium Gwalior Madhya Pradesh Cricket
Sree Kanteerava Stadium Bangalore Karnataka Athletics
GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh Athletics
Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh Cricket
Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur Rajasthan Cricket, Rajasthan Royals

K KUNDAN
HPCA Cricket Stadium Dharamshala Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh
Holkar Cricket Stadium Indore Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium Ahmedabad Gujarat Gujarat cricket team
IPCL Sports Complex Ground Baroda Gujarat Baroda cricket team
Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground Rajkot Gujarat Saurashtra cricket team
Mohammedan Sporting Ground Kolkata West Bengal Mohammedan Sporting Club
KD Singh Babu Stadium Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh cricket team

India at a Glance
First in India Men l The first Speaker of Lok Sabha G. V. Mavlankar
l The first Governor-General of India Lord William
l The first President of Indian Republic Dr Rajendra Bentinck (1833-35)
Prasad l The first Governor-General of Bengal Lord Warren
l The first Prime Minister of India Pt. Jawaharlal Hastings (1774-85)
Nehru l The last Governor-General and first Viceroy of India
l The first Indian to win Nobel Prize Rabindranath Lord Canning
Tagore l The last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten
l The first President of Indian National Congress l The first and the last Indian to be the Governor-General
W.C. Bonnerjee of independent India C. Rajgopalachari
l The first Muslim President of Indian National Congress l The first man who introduced printing press in India
Badruddin Tyabji James Hicky
l The first Muslim President of India Dr. Zakir l The first Indian to join the ICS Satyendra Nath
Hussain Tagore

40 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
l The first Indian in space Rakesh Sharma l The first Chinese traveller to visit India Fa Hien
l The first Prime Minister of India who resigned without l The first person to resign from the Central Cabinet
completing the full term Morarji Desai Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
l The first Indian Commander-in-Chief of India l The first person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics
General K.M. Cariappa Amartya Sen
l The first Indian Member of the Viceroy's executive l The first Chief Justice of Supreme Court
council SP Sinha Justice Harilal J. Kania
l The first President of India who died while in office l The first Indian Pilot J.R.D. Tata (1929)
Dr. Zakir Hussain l The first man to climb Mount Everest Tenzing
l The first Muslim President of the Indian Republic Norgay
Dr. Zakir Hussain
l The first Prime Minister of India who did not face the First in India Women
Parliament Charan Singh
l The first Sikh Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan l The first woman President of the Republic of India
Singh Pratibha Patil
l The first Field Marshal of India S.H.F. Manekshaw l The first woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
l The first Indian to get Nobel Prize in Physics l The first woman Chief Minister of an Indian State
CV Raman Sucheta Kripalani (UP 1963-67)
l The first Indian to receive the Bharat Ratna l The first woman to become Miss World Rita Faria
Dr S Radhakrishnan l The first woman Central Minister Rajkumari Amrit
l The first Indian to cross the English Channel Mihir Kaur
Sen l The first woman to climb Mount Everest twice
l The first person to receive the Jnanpith award G Santosh Yadav
Sankara Kurup l The first woman pilot in Indian Air Force
l The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha Ganesh Vasudeva Harita Kaur Dayal
Mavalankar l The first women graduates Kadambini Ganguly
and Chandramukhi Basu, 1883

K KUNDAN
l The first Vice-President of India Dr S Radhakrishnan
l The first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam l The first woman pilot Durba Banerjee
Azad l The first woman Honours Graduate Kamini Roy,
l The first Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai 1886
Patel l The first woman Olympic medal winner Karnam
l The first Indian to receive Stalin Prize Saifuddin Malleswari, 2000
Kitchlew l The first woman Asian Games gold medal winner
l The first Indian to receive the Golden Globe Award Kamljeet Sandhu
A.R. Rahman l The first woman ambassador of the United Nations
l The first Indian World Chess Champion General Assembly Mrs Vijaya Laxmi Pandit
Viswanathan Anand l The first woman Chairperson of the Union Public
l The first Dalit Speaker of the Lok Sabha GMC Service Commission Roze Millian Bethew
Balyogi l The first woman Director-General of Police Kanchan
l The first Indian Air Chief Marshal S Mukherjee Chaudhary Bhattacharya
l The first Indian Naval Chief Vice Admiral R.D. Katari l The first woman judge Anna Chandy (She became
l The first judge of International Court of Justice judge in a district court in 1937)
Dr Nagendra Singh l The first woman Lieutenant-General Puneeta Arora
l The first person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen l The first woman Air Vice Marshal P. Bandopadhyaya
Sherpa Anga Dorjee l The first woman Chairperson of Indian Airlines
l The first person to get Param Vir Chakra Major Sushma Chawla
Somnath Sharma l The first woman IPS officer Mrs. Kiran Bedi
l The first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar l The first and last Muslim woman ruler of India
Sen Razia Sultan
l The first person to receive Magsaysay Award l The first woman to receive Ashoka Chakra Nirja
Acharya Vinoba Bhave Bhanot
l The first person of Indian origin to receive the Nobel l The first woman to receive Jnanpith Award
Prize in Medicine Hargobind Khorana Ashapurna Devi

General Knowledge l 41
K KUNDAN
l The first woman to cross the English Channel l The first Indian woman cricketer to score a double
Aarti Saha centuryMithali Raj (August 2002; playing against
l The first Indian woman to receive the Nobel Prize England)
Mother Teresa l The first Indian to be appointed as United Nations
l The first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna Civilian Police Advisor Mrs. Kiran Bedi
Mrs Indira Gandhi l The first astronaut of Indian origin to perish aboard a
l The first woman Governor of an Indian State US space shuttle Dr. Kalpana Chawla (Columbia;
Mrs. Sarojini Naidu Feb 1, 2003)
l The first woman President of the Indian National l The first woman to be appointed Deputy Governor of
Congress Dr. Annie Besant the Reserve Bank of India KJ Udeshi (appointed on
l The first woman Speaker of a State Assembly June 10, 2003)
Mrs. Shanno Devi l The first Indian girl to bag a title at Wimbledon
l The first woman to climb Mount Everest Sania Mirza (2003)
Bachendri Pal l The first Indian lady to win a medal in World Athletics
l The first woman judge in the Supreme Court Championship Anju Bobby George (Aug. 2003)
Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Biwi l The first woman to be appointed as the Crime Branch
l The first woman Chief Justice of a High Court chief Meera J Borwankar (took over as crime
Smt. Leela Seth branch chief of Mumbai Police)
l The first Indian woman to go into space Kalpana l The first Indian to cross seven important seas by
Chawla swimming Bula Chaudhary
l The first Indian woman Merchant Navy Officer l Indias officially recognised billionth citizen Aastha
Sonali Banerjee (born on May 11, 2000 in New Delhi)
l The first woman film star to be a member of the Rajya
Sabha Nargis Dutt

Women Chief Ministers in India

K KUNDAN
Name
Sucheta Kriplani

Nandini Satpathy
State
Uttar Pradesh

Odisha
Party
Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress


Term
October 1963March 1967
The first woman to be the chief
minister of any state in India
June 1972December 1976 (with
President rule in between)
The first female CM of the state.
Shashikala Kakodkar Goa MGP August 1973April 1979
She became the CM after the death
of her father Dayanand Bandodkar.
Syeda Anowara Taimur Assam Indian National Congress December 1980June 1981
First Muslim woman to be CM in
India. Term ended prematurely when
the state was put under President's
Rule
Janaki Ramachandran Tamil Nadu All India Anna Dravida Jan 730, 1988
Munnetra Kazhagam Widow of the legendary M.G.
Ramachandran; Shortest term ever
in the history of Tamil Nadu.
J. Jayalalithaa Tamil Nadu All India Anna Dravida June 1991May 1996
Munnetra Kazhagam May 2001-September 2001, 2002-
2006, 2011 Present
(Film actor-turned-politician)

42 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Mayawati Uttar Pradesh Bahujan Samaj Party June 1995 (First Dalit Chief
Minister)
Oct 1995, Mar 1997 Sep 1997, May
2002Aug2003, May 2007-Mar 2012
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal Punjab Indian National April 1996February 1997
Congress First and the only female CM of
Punjab till date
Rabri Devi Bihar Rashtriya Janata Dal Jul 1997-Feb 1999
(Became CM after her husband Lalu
Prasad Yadav resigned following
corruption allegations), Mar 1999
Mar 2000, Mar 2000Mar 2005
Sushma Swaraj Delhi Bharatiya Janata Oct 13Dec 3 1998
Party First female CM of Delhi; Second
briefest term ever after Janaki
Ramachandran
Sheila Dikshit Delhi Indian National 1998Present
Congress The only woman chief minister to
lead a government for a third
consecutive term
Uma Bharati Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party 20032004;
Resigned following an arrest
warrant issued against her
regarding a riot case.

K KUNDAN
Vasundhara Raje Scindia Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party Dec 2003Dec 2008
Belongs to the erstwhile royal
Scindia family.
Mamata Banerjee West Bengal All India Trinamool 2011Present
Congress

First in India (Other Facts)


l First nuclear reactor & Apsara
l First atomic submarine & INS Chakra
l First submarine & INS Kaveri
l First aircraft career & INS Vikrant
l First medium-range missile & Agni
l First missile & Prithvi
l First atomic centre & Tarapur
l First open university & Andhra Pradesh Open University
l First Asian Games & Delhi (1951)
l First Indian university & Nalanda University
l First silent feature film & Raja Harishchandra
l First talkie & AlamAra
l First techni-colour film & Jhansi ki Rani
l First 3-D film & My Dear Kuttichathan
l First football club & Mohan Bagan, Kolkata (1889)
l First sponsored serial & Hum Log (1984)
l First newspaper in India & Bengal Gadget (1780)
l First women employment office & Jaipur

General Knowledge l 43
K KUNDAN
List of Important Tourist Places in India
Tourist Place City and State Built by
Kanheri Caves Mumbai (Maharashtra) Buddhists
Elephanta Caves Mumbai (Maharashtra) Buddhists
Elephanta Caves Mumbai (Maharashtra) Rashtrakutas
Ajanta Caves Aurangabad (Maharashtra) Guptas
Ellora Caves Aurangabad (Maharashtra) Buddhists
Kandariya Mahadev Khajuraho (MP) Chandelas
Mrignayani ka Mahal Gwalior (MP) Raja Mansingh Tomar
Dhar ka Kila Dhar (MP) Mohammad bin Tughlaq
Golconda Fort Kerala Portuguese
Vijaya Stambh Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) Maharana Kumbha
Qutub Minar Delhi Qutubuddin Aibak
Dhai Din ka Jhonpra Ajmer (Rajasthan) Qutubuddin Aibak
Hauz Khas Delhi Alauddin Khilji
Tughlakabad Delhi Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Kishore Sagar Kota (Rajasthan) Rajkumar Dheer Deh
Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi Feroz Shah Tughlaq
Bundi Fort Bundi (Rajasthan) Raj Nagar Singh
Jhutta Minar Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
Pichola Lake Udaipur (Rajasthan)
Kankaria Lake Ahmedabad (Gujarat) Sultan Qutbuddin
Ajmer Sharif Ajmer Sultan Ghiyasuddin
Mehrgarh Fort Jodhpur Rao Jodha
Gagron ka Kila Jhalawar (Rajasthan) Jhalawar State

K KUNDAN
Moosi Rani Ki Chhatri Alwar (Rajasthan) Maharaja Vijay Singh
Fateh Sagar Udaipur (Rajasthan) Maharaja Fateh Singh
Jai Samadha Udaipur (Rajasthan) Maharana Jai Singh
Deeg Mahal Deeg (Rajasthan) Raja Badan Singh
Saheliyon ki Bari Udaipur (Rajasthan) Rani Nathwani
Chhatra Mahal Bundi Fort (Rajasthan) Rani Chhatrasal
Junagarh Fort Bikaner (Rajasthan) Raja Jai Singh
Anirudh Mahal Bundi Fort (Rajasthan) Raja Anirudh
Jantar Mantar Jaipur (Rajasthan) Sawai Jai Singh
Nahargarh Fort Jaipur (Rajasthan) Sawai Jai Singh
Jagmohan Mahal Kota (Rajasthan) Rajkumar Braj Kumar
Bharatpur ka Kila Bharatpur (Rajasthan) Maharaja Pratap Singh
Sukh Niwas Sundi (Rajasthan) Raja Bishen Singh
Umaid Bhawan Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Maharaja Umaid Singh

World Heritage Places in India (UNESCO List -29)


Place Year State
Culture
Agra Fort (1983) UP
Ajanta Caves (1983) Maharashtra
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989) MP
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park (2004) Gujarat
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) (2004) Maharashtra
Churches and Convents of Goa (1986) Goa

44 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Place Year State
Elephanta Caves (1987) Maharashtra
Ellora Caves (1983) Maharashtra
Fatehpur Sikri (1986) UP
Great Living Chola Temples (1987) Tamil Nadu
Group of Monuments at Hampi (1986) Karnataka
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram (1984) Tamil Nadu
Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (1987) Karnataka
Humayun's Tomb (1993) Delhi
Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986) MP
Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (2002) Bihar
Mountain Railways of India (1999) West Bengal, Tamil Nadu
Qutub Minar and its Monuments (1993) Delhi
Red Fort Complex (2007) Delhi
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003) MP
Sun Temple, Konark (1984) Odisha
Taj Mahal, Agra (1983) UP
Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (2010) Rajasthan
Natural
Kaziranga National Park (1985)
Keoladeo National Park (1985)
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (1985)
Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (1988)
Sundarbans National Park (1987)
Western Ghats (2012)

K KUNDAN
Name
Asirgarh Pass
Bara-lacha-la Pass
Banihal Pass
State
Important Passes in India

Madhya Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Name
Lamkhaga Pass
Lungalacha La Pass
Mayali Pass
State
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir

Changla Pass Jammu and Kashmir Marsimik La Pass Jammu and Kashmir
Dongkhala Pass Sikkim Nathu La Pass Sikkim
Debsa Pass Himachal Pradesh Namika La Pass Jammu and Kashmir
Dhumdhar Kandi Pass Rohtang Pass Himachal Pradesh
Goecha La Pass Sikkim Palakkad Gap Pass Kerala
Fotu La Pass Jammu and Kashmir Sela Pass Arunachal Pradesh
Haldighati Pass Rajasthan Sasser Pass Jammu and Kashmir
Jelep La Pass Sikkim Tanglang La Pass Jammu and Kashmir
Indrahar Pass Himachal Pradesh Sin La Pass Uttarakhand
Kunjum Pass Himachal Pradesh Zojila Pass Jammu and Kashmir
Khardung La Pass Jammu and Kashmir Traill's Pass Uttarakhand

General Knowledge l 45
K KUNDAN
Indian Tribes
Gujarat Bheel, Banjara, Koli, Patelia, Daafar, Todia etc.
Himachal Pradesh Gaddi, Kanora, Lahaouli etc.
Jammu & Kashmir Bakkarwal, Gaddi, Laddakhee, Gujjar etc.
Kerala Kadar, Urali, Mopala, Irula, Paniyan etc.
Madhya Pradesh Bheel, Lambadi, Banjara, Gond, Aboojhmaria, Muria, Bishanhorn, Kherwar, Asur, Waiga, Kol,
Munda etc.
Maharashtra Barli, Banjara, Kolli, Gond, Abumfamadriya etc.
Manipur Kuki, Maitthi, Naga, Angami etc.
Meghalaya Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Miki etc.
Mizoram Lakhar, Pawo, Mizo, Chakma, Lushai, Kuki etc.
Nagaland Naga, Kuki, Kachari, Mikir, Garo
Odisha Baiga, Banjara, Bhumij, Birhor, Chenchu, Dharua, Gandia, Ghara, Jatapu, Kharia, Khond, Kol,
Koya, Kulis, Lodha, Munda, Santhal, Saora, Sounti, Tharua etc.
Rajasthan Meena, Sahriya, Sansi, Garsia, Bheel, Banjara, Koli etc.
Sikkim Bhutia (including Chumbipa, Dopthapa, Dukpa, Kagatcy, Sherpa, Tibetan, Tromopa, Yolmo), Lapeha,
Limboo, Tamang etc.
Tamil Nadu Badga, Todkota, Kota, Toda etc.
Tripura Riyang, Tripuri etc.
Uttarakhand Bhotia, Buksa, Jaunsari, Raji, Tharu etc.
West Bengal Lodha, Bhumij, Santhal, Lepcha etc.
Assam Chakma, Dimasa, Kachari, Garo, Hajong, Hmar, Khasi, Jaintia, Synteng, Pnar,War, Bhoi,
Lyngngam, Lakher, Pawi, Syntheng etc.
Andhra Pradesh Bagata, Bhil, Chenchu, Gadabas, Gond, Kammara, Kolam, Kubi, Konda Kapus, Kodi etc.
Arunchal Abor, Apatani, Dafla, Galong, Khampti, Khowa, Mishmi, Idu, Singpho, Tagin, Khamba etc.

K KUNDAN
Jharkhand Santhal, Munda, Ho, Oraon, Birhor, Korba, Asur, Bhuooia, Gond, Bhoomij, Sauriya etc.
Note : The largest primitive tribe of India is Gond.

Indian Railway Zones and their Headquarters


S.No. Name of the Railway Zone Zonal Headquarters
1. Central Railway Mumbai
2. Eastern Railway Kolkata
3. East Central Railway Hajipur
4. East Coast Railway Bhubaneshwar
5. Northern Railway Baroda House, New Delhi
6. North Central Railway Allahabad
7. North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur
8. North Frontier Railway Maligaon, Guwahati
9. North Western Railway Jaipur
10. SouthernRailway Chennai
11. South Central Railway Secunderabad
12. South Eastern Railway Garden Reach, Kolkata
13. South East Central Railway Bilaspur
14. South Western Railway Hubli
15. Western Railway Mumbai CST
16. West Central Railway Jabalpur

46 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Major Airports in India
Territory or State Name of the Airport City Served Category
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Veer Savarkar International Airport Port Blair Customs
Andhra Pradesh Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad International
Assam Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Guwahati Customs
International Airport
Bihar Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport Patna Customs
Gaya Airport Gaya Customs
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Airport Raipur Domestic
Daman and Diu Diu Airport Diu Domestic
Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi International
Goa Dabolim Airport Entire state International
Gujarat Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Ahmedabad International
Airport
Jammu & Kashmir Srinagar Airport Srinagar Customs
Jammu Airport Jammu Domestic
Jharkhand Birsa Munda Airport Ranchi Domestic
Karnataka Mangalore Airport Mangalore Customs
Bengaluru International Airport Bengaluru International
Kerala Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International
Cochin International Airport Cochin International
Calicut International Airport Calicut International
Lakshadweep Agatti Aerodrome Agatti Domestic

K KUNDAN
Madhya Pradesh Raja Bhoj Airport Bhopal Customs
Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport Indore Domestic
Maharashtra Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai International
Pune Airport Pune Customs
New Pune International Airport Pune Future
Shirdi Airport Shirdi Future
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport Nagpur Customs
Manipur Tulihal Airport Imphal Domestic
Meghalaya Shillong Airport Shillong Domestic
Mizoram Lengpui Airport Aizawl Domestic
Nagaland Dimapur Airport Dimapur Domestic
Odisha Patnaik Airport Bhubaneswar Domestic
Pondicherry Pondicherry Airport Pondicherry Domestic
Punjab Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport Amritsar International
Rajasthan Jaipur International Airport Jaipur Customs
Sikkim Pakyong Airport Gangtok Future
Tamil Nadu Chennai International Airport Chennai International
Tiruchirapalli International Airport Tiruchirapalli Customs
Tripura Agartala Airport Agartala Domestic
Uttarakhand Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun Domestic
Uttar Pradesh Taj International Airport Greater Noida Future
Varanasi Airport Varanasi Customs
Amausi Airport Lucknow Customs
Agra Air Force Station Agra Domestic
West Bengal Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Kolkata International
International Airport

General Knowledge l 47
K KUNDAN
Chief Election Commissioners PB Gajendragadkar 01/02/1964 to 15/03/1966
AK Sarkar 16/03/1966 to 29/06/1966
The following have held the post of the Chief Election K Subba Rao 30/06/1966 to 11/04/1967
Commissioner of India: KN Wanchoo 12/04/1967 to 24/02/1968
l Sukumar Sen: 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958 M Hidayatullah 25/02/1968 to 16/12/1970
l Kalyan Sundaram: 20 December 1958 to 30 September JC Shah 17/12/1970 to 21/01/1971
1967 SM Sikri 22/01/1971 to 25/04/1973
l S.P. Sen Verma: 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972 AN Ray 26/04/1973 to 28/01/1977
l Nagendra Singh: 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973 M Hameedullah Beg 29/01/1977 to 21/02/1978
l T. Swaminathan: 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977 YV Chandrachud 22/02/1978 to 11/07/1985
l S.L. Shakdhar: 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982 PN Bhagwati 12/07/1985 to 20/12/1986
l R.K. Trivedi: 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985 RS Pathak 21/12/1986 to 18/06/1989
l R.V.S. Peri Sastri: 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990 ES Venkataramiah 19/06/1989 to 17/12/1989
l V.S. Ramadevi: 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990 Sabyasachi Mukherjee 18/12/1989 to 25/09/1990
l T. N. Seshan: 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996 Ranganath Misra 25/09/1990 to 24/11/1991
l M.S. Gill: 12 December 1996 to 13 June 2001 KN Singh 25/11/1991 to 12/12/1991
l J.M. Lyngdoh: 14 June 2001 to 7 February 2004 MH Kania 13/12/1991 to 17/11/1992
l T.S. Krishnamurthy: 8 February 2004 to 15 May 2005 LM Sharma 18/11/1992 to 11/02/1993
l B.B. Tandon: 16 May 2005 to 29 June 2006 MN Venkatachaliah 12/02/1993 to 24/10/1994
l N. Gopalaswami: 30 June 2006 to 20 April 2009 AM Ahmadi 25/10/1994 to 24/03/1997
l Navin Chawla: 21 April 2009 to 29 July 2010 JS Verma 25/03/1997 to 17/01/1998
l S.Y. Quraishi: 30 July 2010 to 10 June 2012 MM Punchhi 18/01/1998 to 09/10/1998
l V.S. Sampath: 10 June 2012 to incumbent AS Anand 10/10/1998 to 31/10/2001
SP Bharucha 01/11/2001 to 05/05/2002
Chief Justices of India BN Kirpal 06/05/2002 to 07/11/2002
GB Pattanaik 08/11/2002 to 18/12/2002

K KUNDAN
Name Tenure VN Khare 19/12/2002 to 01/05/2004
Harilal Jekisundas Kania 26/01/1950 to 06/11/1951 S Rajendra Babu 02/05/2004 to 31/05/2004
M Patanjali Sastri 07/11/1951 to 03/01/1954 RC Lahoti 01/06/2004 to 31/10/2005
Mehr Chand Mahajan 04/01/1954 to 22/12/1954 YK Sabharwal 01/11/2005 to 13/01/2007
Bijan Kumar Mukherjea 23/12/1954 to 31/01/1956 KG Balakrishnan 14/01/2007 to 11/05/2010
Sudhi Ranjan Das 01/02/1956 to 30/09/1959 SH Kapadia 12/05/2010 to 28/09/2012
Bhuvneshwar Prasad Sinha 01/10/1959 to 31/01/1964 Altamas Kabir 29/09/2012 to 18/07/2012

High Courts
TheMadras High CourtinChennai,theBombay High CourtinMumbaiandtheCalcutta High CourtinKolkataarethefirst
three High Courts in India.

High Courts by state/ union territory


State / UT Court Principal Seat/(Bench having jurisdiction of the
State)
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Calcutta High Court Kolkata(CircuitBenchatPortBlair)
Arunachal Pradesh Gauhati High Court Guwahati(BenchatItanagar)
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh High Court Hyderabad
Assam Gauhati High Court Guwahati
Bihar Patna High Court Patna
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh High Court Bilaspur
Chandigarh Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli Bombay High Court Mumbai
Daman and Diu Bombay High Court Mumbai
National Capital Territory of Delhi Delhi High Court New Delhi

48 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Goa Bombay High Court Mumbai(BenchatPanaji)
Gujarat Gujarat High Court Ahmedabad
Haryana Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh High Court Shimla
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir High Court Srinagar/Jammu
Jharkhand Jharkhand High Court Ranchi
Karnataka Karnataka High Court Bangalore
Kerala Kerala High Court Kochi
Lakshadweep Kerala High Court Kochi
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh High Court Jabalpur
Maharashtra Bombay High Court Mumbai
Manipur Manipur High Court Imphal
Meghalaya Meghalaya High Court Shillong
Mizoram Gauhati High Court Guwahati(BenchatAizawl)
Nagaland Gauhati High Court Guwahati(BenchatKohima)
Odisha Orissa High Court Cuttack
Puducherry Madras High Court Chennai
Punjab Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh
Rajasthan Rajasthan High Court Jodhpur
Sikkim Sikkim High Court Gangtok
Tamil Nadu Madras High Court Chennai
Tripura Tripura High Court Agartala
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand High Court Nainital
Uttar Pradesh Allahabad High Court Allahabad(BenchatLucknow)
West Bengal Calcutta High Court Kolkata

K KUNDAN
Indian States on International Lal Bahadur Shastri Vijay Ghat
Indira Gandhi Shakti Sthal
Boundaries Jagjivan Ram Samta Sthal
Chaudhary Charan Singh Kisan Ghat
l Bordering Pakistan: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab,
Rajiv Gandhi Veer Bhumi
Rajasthan and Gujarat
Gyani Zail Singh Ekta Sthal
l Bordering China: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Shankar Dayal Sharma Karma Bhumi
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh
Chandra Shekhar Smiriti Sthal
l Bordering Nepal: Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,
Devi Lal Sangharsh Sthal
Sikkim and West Bengal
l Bordering Bangladesh: West Bengal, Mizoram,
Meghalaya, Tripura and Asom
Various Agricultural Revolutions
l Bordering Bhutan: West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Green Revolution Food Production
Pradesh and Assam White Revolution Milk Production
l Bordering Myanmar: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Blue Revolution Fish Production
Manipur and Mizoram Brown Revolution Fertilizer Production
l Bordering Afghanistan: Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan- Silver Revolution Egg Production
Occupied Area) Yellow Revolution Oilseeds Production
Memorial Names of Indian Leaders Black Revolution Biodiesel Production
Red Revolution Meat Production
Name Memorial name Golden Revolution Fruit Production
Mahatma Gandhi Raj Ghat
Jawaharlal Nehru Shantivan

General Knowledge l 49
K KUNDAN

Inventions/Inventors
Invention Inventor Country Year
Aeroplane Orville & Wilbur Wright USA 1903
Ball-Point pen C. Biro Hungary 1938
Barometer E. Torricelli Italy 1644
Bicycle K. Macmillan Scotland 1839
Tyre J.B. Dunlop Scotland 1888
Calculating Machine Pascal France 1642
Centrigrade Scale A.Celsius France 1742
Computer Charles Babbage Britain 1834
Cinema Nicholas & Jean Lumiere France 1895
Clock (Mechanical) I-Hsi and Ling-Tsan China 1725
Clock (Pendulum) C. Huygens Netherlands 1657
Diesel engine Rudolf Diesel Germany 1892
Dynamite Alfred Nobel Sweden 1867
Dynamo Michael Faraday England 1831
Disc brake F.W. Lanchester England 1902
Electric Iron H.W. Seeley USA 1882
Electric lamp Thomas Alva Edison USA 1879

K KUNDAN
Fountain Pen L.E. Waterman USA 1884
Gramophone T.A. Edison USA 1878
Jet Engine Sir Frank Whittle England 1937
Lift E.G. Otis USA 1852
Match (Safety) John Walker Sweden 1855
Microphone Graham Bell USA 1878
Microscope Z. Jansen Netherlands 1590
Motor Car (Petrol) Karl Benz Germany 1885
Motorcycle G. Daimler England 1884
Printing Press J. Gutenberg Germany 1455
Radar Robert Watson-Watt USA 1922
Radium Marie and Pierre Curie France 1898
Radio G. Marconi England 1901
Razor (Safety) K.G. Gillette USA 1895
Refrigerator J. Harrison and A. Catlin Britain 1834
Revolver Samuel Colt USA 1835
Rubber (Vulcanised) Charles Goodyear USA 1841
Rubber (Waterproof) Charles Macintosh Scotland 1819
Safety Lamp Sir Humphrey Davy England 1816
Scooter G. Bradshaw England 1919
Saftey Pin Walter Hung USA 1849
Ship (Steam) J.C. Perier France 1775
Ship (Turbine) Sir Charles Parsons Britain 1894

50 l General Knowledge
K KUNDAN
Steam engine (Piston) Thomas Newcome Britain 1712
Steam engine (Condenser) James Watt Scotland 1765
Steel Henry Bessemer England 1855
Tank Sir Ernest Swington England 1914
Telephone Alexander Graham Bell USA 1876
Telescope Hans Lippershey Netherlands 1608
Television (Mechanical) John Logie Baird Scotland 1926
Television (Electronic) P.T. Farnsworth USA 1927
Thermometer Galileo Galilei Italy 1593
Tractor J. Froelich USA 1892
Transistor William Shockley USA & UK 1949
Typewriter C. Sholes USA 1868
Valve of radio Sir J.A. Fleming Britain 1904
X-ray Wilhelm Roentgen Germany 1895
Zip fastener W.L. Judson USA 1891

K KUNDAN

General Knowledge l 51

You might also like