CLATGYAN | STATIC GENERAL KNOWLEDGE - 2

- Palme d'Or

The Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film

Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to

1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. In

1964 it was replaced once again by the Grand Prix du Festival before being

reintroduced in 1974. In 1955, the first Palme d'Or was awarded to Delbert

Mann for Marty.

- For a list of ‘firsts’ in the international arena, visit

http://www.knowledgepublisher.com/article-653.html

- Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention (formally, the Convention on Wetlands of International

Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty for the

conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. It is named after the city of

Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971.

- National Film Awards

The National Film Awards is one of the most prominent film award ceremonies

in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the

International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian

government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973. The National Film

Awards are presented in two main categories: Feature Films and Non-Feature

Films.

- Orange Prize

The Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (previously Orange Prize for Fiction) is

one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded

to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel

written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year.

The prize was originally sponsored by Orange, a telecommunications company.

In May 2012, it was announced Orange would be ending its sponsorship of the

prize and the Baileys Irish Cream liquor brand then sponsored it.

- Grameen Bank

The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development

bank founded in Bangladesh. It makes small loans (known as microcredit or

"grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. The name

Grameen is derived from the word gram which means "rural" or "village" in the

Bengali language. The Bank originated in 1976, in the work of Professor

Muhammad Yunus who launched a research project to study how to design a

credit delivery system to provide banking services to the rural poor. In 2006, the

bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace

Prize.

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific

intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations set up at the

request of member governments. It was first established in 1988 by two United

Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Membership of the IPCC is

open to all members of the WMO and UNEP. The IPCC is chaired by Rajendra

K. Pachauri. The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared, in two equal parts,

between the IPCC and Al Gore

- Sulabh International

Sulabh International is an Indian based social service organization which works

to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of

energy, waste management and social reforms through education. It is the

largest non-profit organization in India. It was founded by Dr. Bindeshwar

Pathak in 1970.

- Anandwan

Anandwan is located and is an ashram and a community rehabilitation centre

for leprosy patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was

founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba Amte. He developed Anandwan to

be a self-contained ashram where residents are self-sufficient in terms of basic

subsistence through agriculture. Land fertility in the region has been revived

and is maintained by using organic farming techniques and micro-water

management.

- Revolutions in the field of agriculture in India

Grey Revolution- Fertilizer Revolution

Pink Revolution- Onion production/Pharmaceutical (India)/Prawn production

Red Revolution- Meat & Tomato Production

Round Revolution- Potato Revolution

White Revolution- Milk/Dairy production (In India - Operation Flood)

Yellow Revolution- Oil Seeds production

Evergreen Revolution- Overall development of Agriculture

Black Revolution- Petroleum Production

Blue Revolution- Fish Production

- Verghese Kurien

Verghese Kurien was a renowned Indian social entrepreneur and is best known

as the "Father of the White Revolution", for his 'billion-litre idea' (Operation

Flood) — the world's biggest agricultural development programme. The

operation took India from being a milk-deficient nation, to the largest milk

producer in the world, surpassing the United States of America in 1998, with

about 17 percent of global output in 2010–11.

A key achievement of his brainchild, Amul was the invention of milk powder

processed from buffalo milk, as opposed to that made from cow-milk. His

achievements with the Amul dairy led Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to

appoint him as the founder-chairman of National Dairy Development Board

(NDDB) in 1965. He also received the World Food Prize and the Magsaysay

Award for community leadership. ‘The Man Who Made The Elephant Dance’ is

the name of his autobiography.

- Norman Borlaug

Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American biologist, humanitarian and Nobel

laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution", "agriculture's

greatest spokesperson" and "The Man Who Saved A Billion Lives”. He is one of

seven people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of

Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal and was also awarded the Padma

Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour.

During the mid-20th century, Borlaug led the introduction of high-yielding

varieties of seeds combined with modern agricultural production techniques to

Mexico, Pakistan, and India. Between 1965 and 1970, wheat yields nearly

doubled in Pakistan and India, greatly improving the food security in those

nations. These collective increases in yield have been labelled the Green

Revolution, and Borlaug is often credited with saving over a billion people

worldwide from starvation.

The World Food Prize was created in 1986 by Norman Borlaug, as a way to

recognize personal accomplishments, and as a means of education by using the

Prize to establish role models for others. The first prize was given to Borlaug's

former colleague, M. S. Swaminathan, in 1987, for his work in India. The next

year, Swaminathan used the US$250,000 prize to start the MS Swaminathan

Research Foundation for research on sustainable development.

Records

- Animal, Tallest Giraffe

- Archipelago, Largest Indonesia

- Bird, Fastest- Swift

- Bird, Largest Ostrich

- Bird, Smallest Humming Bird

- Canal, Longest Suez Canal

- Capital, Highest La Paz (Boliva)

- City, Largest in Population Tokyo

- City, Costliest Tokyo

- Continent, Largest Asia

- Continent, Smallest Australia

- Country, Biggest (Area) Russia

- Country, Largest (Population) China

- Country, Largest (Electorate) India

- Creature, Largest Blue Whale

- Delta, Largest Sunderban (Bangladesh & India)

- Desert, Largest (World) Sahara (Africa)

- Desert, Largest (Asia) Gobi

- Epic, Largest Mahabharat

- Island, Largest Greenland

- Sea, Largest Mediterranean sea

- Lake, Deepest Baikal (Siberia)

- Lake, Highest Titicaca (Bolivia)

- Lake, Largest (Fresh water) Superior

- Lake, Largest (Salt water) Caspian

- Library, Largest United State Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

- Mountain Peak, Highest Everest (Nepal)

- Mountain Range, Longest Andes (S. America)

- Ocean, Largest Pacific

- Palace, Biggest Vatican (Italy)

- Park, Largest Yellow Stone National Park (U.S.A.)

- Place, Coldest (Habitated) Verkhoyank (Siberia)

- Place, Dryest Iqique (In Atacama Desert, Chile)

- Place, Hottest Azizia (Libya, Africa)

- Place, Rainiest Mausinram (Meghalaya, India)

- Planet, Biggest Jupiter

- Planet, Brightest Venus

Plateau, Highest Pamir (Tibet)

- Platform, Longest Gorakhpur (India) (Kharagpur is the 2nd longest)

- Railway, Longest Trans-Siberian railway

- Railway Station, Longest Grand Central Terminal, Chicago (U.S.A.)

- River, Longest Nile (Africa)

- River, Largest Amazon (S. America)

- Star, Brightest Sirius

- Waterfall, Highest Angel (Venezuela)

- Water, Lowest body Dead Sea

- Zoo, Largest Kruger National Park, South Africa

- National Sports Awards

-Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna- India’s highest honour given for achievement

in sports.

-Arjuna Award— Recognises outstanding achievement in National sports.

-Dronacharya award- an award presented by the government of India for

excellence in sports coaching.

-Dhyan Chand Award- India's highest award for lifetime achievement in

sports and games.

- Patriotic Awards

i) Wartime Gallantry awards

Param Vir Chakra : Highest military award for valour.

Maha Vir Chakra- The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest

military decoration in India.

Vir Chakra-It is third in precedence in the war time gallantry.

ii) Peacetime Gallantry awards

Ashok Chakra Award- an Indian military decoration awarded for valour,

courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the

peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra.

Kirti Chakra-It is second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry

awards.

Shaurya Chakra-It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry.

- Civilian Awards

Bharat Ratna- Highest honour

Padma Vibhushan — Second highest honour.

Padma Bhushan — Third highest honour.

Padma Shri — Fourth highest honour.

- Cropping Seasons in India

(a) Kharif:

Sowing seasons-May to July

Harvesting season-September to October

Important crops: Jowar, bajra, rice, maize, cotton, groundnut, jute, hemp,

sugarcane, tobacco, ete.

(b) Rabi:

Sowing season-October-December

Harvesting season-February-April

Important crops: wheat, barley, gram, linseed, mus­tard, masoor, pea~ and

potatoes.

(c) Zaid: Besides the kharif and rabi crops, there are certain crops which are

being raised throughout the year due to artificial irrigation.

Zaid kharif crops are sown in August-September and harvested in December-

January.

Important crops: rice, jowar, rapeseed, cotton, oilseeds.

Zaid rabi crops are sown in February-March. Harvesting is in April-May.

Important crops: watermelon, toris, cucumber, leafy and other vegetables.

- National Symbols of India

-Tricolour designed by Pingali Venkayya

-National Emblem of India: Lion Capital of Asoka

-National Calendar: Saka calendar

-National anthem: Jana Gana Mana by Rabindranath Tagore

-National song: Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

-National flower: Indian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

-National fruit: Mango (Mangifera indica)

-National river: Ganga River

-National tree: Indian Banyan or Indian fig tree

-National animal: Royal Bengal Tiger

-National aquatic animal: Gangetic Dolphin or Ganges River Dolphin

-National Currency Symbol: Indian Rupee (The symbol, conceptualised and

designed by D. Udaya Kumar

- Top Crop Producing States in India

1 2

Rice West Bengal (15.22%) Andhra Pradesh (13.78%)

Wheat Uttar

Pradesh (32.68%) Punjab (20.01%)

Bajra Rajasthan (42.33%) Uttar Pradesh (13.44%)

Maize Andhra Pradesh (19.09%) Karnataka (17.14%)

Gram Madhya Pradesh (30.26%) Maharashtra (19.48%)

Tur (Arhar) Maharashtra (35.06%) Karnataka (15.91%)

Lentil (Masur) Uttar Pradesh (45.68%) Madhya Pradesh (25.93%)

Ground nut Gujarat (35.95%) Andhra Pradesh (28.32%)

Mustard Rajasthan (40.48%) Uttar Pradesh (17.15%)

Soyabean Madhya Pradesh (49.95%) Maharashtra (36.28%)

Sunflower Karnataka (40.41%) Andhra Pradesh (30.14%)

Cotton Gujarat (31.99%) Maharastra (25.40%)

Jute & mesta West Bengal (73.95%) Bihar (13.02%)

Potato Uttar Pradesh (41.77% ) West Bengal (31.21%)

Onion Maharashtra (28.44%) Gujarat (24.52%)

Sugarcane Uttar Pradesh (35.81%) Maharashtra (25.40%)

- Indian Army

The Indian Army is organised into seven commands:-

S.No. Command Headquarter

1 Western command Chandigarh

2 Eastern command Kolkata

3 Northern command 56 APO

4 Southern command Pune

5 Central command Lucknow

6 Army Training Command Shimla

7 South Western Command Jaipur

- Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force is organised into seven commands:-

S.No. Command Headquarter

1 Western command New Delhi

2 Central command Allahabad

3 Eastern command Shillong

4 South western command Jodhpur

5 Training command Bangaluru

6 Maintenance command Nagpur

7 Southern command Thiruvananthapuram

- Indian Navy

Indian Navy is organised into following commands:-

S.No. Command Headquarter

1 Eastern command Vishakhapatnam

2 Southern command Kochi

3 Western command Mumbai

- Features of the Indian Constitution borrowed from other countries

From U.K.

Nominal Head – President (like Queen)

Cabinet System of Ministers

Post of PM

Parliamentary Type of Govt.

Bicameral Parliament

Lower House more powerful

Council of Ministers responsible to Lowe

House

Speaker in Lok Sabha

From U.S.

Written Constitution

Executive head of state known as President

and his being the Supreme Commander of the

Armed Forces

Vice- President as the ex-officio Chairman of

Rajya Sabha

Fundamental Rights

Supreme Court

Provision of States

Independence of Judiciary and judicial review

Preamble

Removal of Supreme court and High court

Judges

From USSR

Fundamental Duties

Five year Plan

From AUSTRALIA

Concurrent list

Language of the preamble

Provision regarding trade, commerce and

intercourse

From JAPAN Law on which the Supreme Court function

From WEIMAR

CONSTITUION OF

GERMANY

Suspension of Fundamental Rights during the

emergency

From CANADA

Scheme of federation with a strong centre

Distribution of powers between centre and the

states and placing. Residuary Powers with the

centre

From IRELAND

Concept of Directive Principles of States

Policy(Ireland borrowed it from SPAIN)

Method of election of President

Nomination of members in the Rajya Sabha by

Prez.