(Prelims) IAS General Studies – 2009 (Part 10)
136. In a carrom board game competition, m boys and n girls (m > n > 1) of a school participate in which every student has to play exactly one game with every other student. Out of the total games played, it was found that in 221 games one player was a boy and the other-player was a girl.
Consider the following statements :
(1) The total number of students that participated in the competition is 30
(2) The number of games in which both players were girls is 78.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 Only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans : c
- mxn=221 =>m=17 and n=13 => Total 30
- No of games with only girls 13C2 =78
137. There are three cans A, B and C. The capacities of A, B and C are 6 litres, 10 litres and 16 litres respectively. The can C contains 16 litres of milk. The milk has to be divided in them using these three cans only.
Consider the following statements:
(1) It is possible to have 6 litres of milk each in can A and can B
(2) It is possible to have 8 litres of milk each in can B and can C
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 Only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans : c
For 6 litres of milk each in can A and can B:
- From C, put 6 litres in A and then put it in B. Again put 6 litres in A. We now have 6 litres each in A and B.
For 8 litres of milk each in can B and can C:
- From C, put 6 litres in A and rest 10 litres in B. Now put 6 litres in C from A and 6 litres in A from B and again 6 litres in C from A. Now we have 0 litre in A, 4 litre in B and 12 litres in C. Now put 4 litres from B to A and 10 litres from C to B and 2 litres from B to A. Now we have 6 litres in A, 8 litres in B and 2 litres in C. Now put 6 litres from A to C. Finally we have 8 litres each in B and C
138. Consider the following pairs :
1) Ashok Leyland : Hinduja Group
2) Hindalco Industries : A.V. Birla Group
3) Suzion Energy : Punj lioyd Group
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans : a
Suzion Energy :Suzlon Group
139. In the context of global economy, Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
(a) JP Morgan Chase : Financial Services
(b) Roche Holding AG : Financial Services
(c) WL Ross & Co. : Private Equity Firm
(d) Warburg Pincus : Private Equity Firm
Ans : b
Roche Holding AG is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide
140. Consider the following houses :
(1) Christie’s
(2) Osian’s
(3) Sotheby’s
Which of the above is/are auctioneer/auctioneers
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans : d
All three companies conducts auction
141. In the context of CO2 emission and Global Warming, What is the name of a market driven device under the UNFCC that allows developing countries to get funds/incentives from the developed countries to adopt batter technologies the reduce green house gas emissions?
(a) Carbon Footprint
(b) Carbon Credit Rating
(c) Clean Development Mechanism
(d) Emission Reduction Norm
Ans : c
- See next question for explanation
142. The concept of carbon credit originated form which one of the following :
(a) Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro
(b) Kyoto Protocol
(c) Montreal Protocol
(d) G-8 Summit, Heiligendamm
Ans : b
- The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty, which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) man-made CO2 emissions have caused it.
- The Kyoto Protocol invented the concept of carbon emissions trading, whereby carbon credits were a “flexibility mechanism”. Under this flexibility mechanism Annex 1 (developed countries) could use the carbon credits to meet their emission reduction commitments. These flexibility mechanisms were also designed to be able to assist with transferring resources and sustainable technologies to developing countries.
- There are 2 kinds of carbon credits that can be created to this end: Joint Implementation and The Clean Development Mechanism. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) created methodologies for both of these kinds of credits, and also have organisations that approve, certify and register projects under these mechanisms.
- Joint Implementation (JI) allows emitters in developed countries (referred to as Annex-I countries under the Kyoto Protocol) to purchase carbon credits via “project-based” transactions (meaning from greenhouse gas-reduction projects) implemented in either another developed country or a country with an economy in transition. Carbon Credits from these JI projects are referred to as Emission Reduction Units (ERUs).
- The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Like JI, CDM is a project-based transaction system through which industrialised countries can accrue carbon credits. However, unlike JI, CDM credits are acquired by financing carbon reduction projects in developing countries. The Carbon offsets originating from registered and approved CDM projects are called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
- Note: CDM projects are often certified under the Voluntary Standards creating VER (Voluntary Emission Reduction Units) Carbon Credits. These projects use the same methodology, but do not have their projects approved and registered via the UNFCCC registration body, they instead have them approved and registered under one of the other voluntary certifying bodies listed here.
143. Who among the following is the founder of World Economic Forum?
(a) Klaus Schwab
(b) John Kenneth Galbraith
(c) Robert Zoollick
(d) Paul Krugman
Ans : a
- The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva. It describes itself as an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.
- The forum was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German-born business professor at the University of Geneva. First named the “European Management Forum”, it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987
- The forum is best known for its annual winter meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.
144. The Security Council of UN consists of 5 permanent members, and the remaining 10 members are elected by the general assembly for a term of
(a) 1 year
(b) 2 years
(c) 3 years
(d) 5 years
Ans : b
145. From which one of the following did Kosovo declare its independence?
(a) Bulgaria
(b) Croatia
(c) Macedonia
(d) Sarbia
Ans : d
- Kosovo is a partially recognised state in Southeastern Europe that declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008 as the Republic of Kosovo. While Serbia recognises the Republic’s governance of the territory, it still continues to claim it as its own Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.
- Long-term severe ethnic tensions between Kosovo’s Albanian and Serb populations left Kosovo ethnically divided, resulting in inter-ethnic violence, including the Kosovo War of 1998–99. The war ended with a military intervention of NATO, which forced the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, which became a UN protectorate. On 17 February 2008 Kosovo’s Parliament declared independence.
146. Which one of the following pairs of countries fought wars over a region called Ogaden?
(a) Eritea and Sudan
(b) Ethiopia and Somalia
(c) Kenya and Somalia
(d) Ethiopia and Sudan
Ans : b
- Ethiopian-Somali War or Ogaden War was a conventional conflict fought by Ethiopia and Somalia between July 1977 and March 1978 over the disputed Ogaden region in present-day eastern Ethiopia.
147. In the middle of the year 2008 the Parliament of which one of the following countries became the first in the world to enact a climate act by passing “the climate change accountability bill”?
(a) Australia
(b) Canada
(c) Germany
(d) Japan
Ans : b
148. Which one among the following has the highest energy?
(a) Blue Light
(b) Green Light
(c) Red Light
(d) Yellow Light
Ans : a
- Higher the frequency, more the energy
149. In the context of independent India’s economy, which one of the following was the earliest to take place?
(a) Nationalisation of Insurance Companies
(b) Nationalisation of State Bank Of India
(c) Enactment of Banking Regulation Act
(d) Introduction Of First Five-Year Plan
Ans : c
- Banking regulation act was passed in 1949
- First Plan (1951-1956)
- The Government of India issued an Ordinance on 19 January 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. In 1972 with the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act was passed by the Indian Parliament, and consequently, General Insurance business was nationalized with effect from 1 January 1973.
- The State Bank of India traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding, in 1806, of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. Bank of Madras merged into the other two “presidency banks” in British India, Bank of Calcutta and Bank of Bombay, to form the Imperial Bank of India, which in turn became the State Bank of India. Government of India owned the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with Reserve Bank of India (India’s Central Bank) taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India.
150. Consider the following pairs :
Automobile Manufacturer : Headquarters
1. BMW AG : USA
2. Daimler AG : Sweden
3. Renault SA : France
4. Volkswagen : Germany
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 3 and 4
(c) 4 only
(d) 1, 2 and 4
Ans : b
- BMW AG: Munich, Bavaria in Germany
- Daimler AG: Stuttgart, Germany