IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Nov 19, 2015

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- When President Zakir Hussain died in office, the Vice President V. V. Giri, acted as the President.
- Later, Mr. Giri resigned as the Vice President. The CJI, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah then became the acting President of India.
- The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court became the acting CJI. When the newly elected President took office a month later, Justice Hidayatullah reverted as the Chief Justice of India.

ANSWER: Article 124

Explanation:
- Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court.
- Though no specific provision exists in the Constitution for appointing the Chief Justice, who, as a result, is appointed like the other judges conventionally, the outgoing CJI recommends the name of the senior-most judge (i.e. by date of appointment to the Supreme Court) for appointment by the President, as his successor.
- President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed Justice T.S. Thakur as the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as per provisions of Article 124 of Constitution.
- T.S. Thakur will be 43rd Chief Justice of India and his appointment will come into effect from 3 December 2015.
- He will have tenure till January 3, 2017 i.e. till he attains the age of 65.

ANSWER: Appointment and transfer of Judges

Explanation:
- 120 th amendment bill deals with review of constitutional provisions providing for the appointment and transfer of Judges, and relevant Supreme Court decisions on the matter, the need for a broad based Judicial Appointment Commission, for making recommendations for selection of judges was felt.
- The Bill seeks to enable equal participation of Judiciary and Executive, make the appointment process more accountable and ensure greater transparency and objectivity in the appointments to the higher judiciary.
- The Bill proposes to insert a new Article 124A, and amend Article 124(2) (a).
- The proposed Article 124 A contains two clauses; Clause (1) provides for a Commission, to be known as the Judicial Appointments Commission. Article 124A(2) enables Parliament to make a law that provides the manner of selection for appointment as Chief justice of India and other Judges of the Supreme Court, Chief justices and other judges of the High Courts.

ANSWER: Chinese Supercomputer

Explanation:
- China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer has retained its position as the world's most powerful system for the sixth consecutive time.
- Tianhe-2, or Milky Way- 2, with a performance of 33.86 petaflops per second (Pflop/s), was developed by China's National University of Defense Technology and deployed at the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou.

ANSWER: None

Explanation:
- The headquarter is located in Geneva, Switzerland
Organizations under International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement-
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier.The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963)
- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 188 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement.In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
- National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world.