IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Nov 4, 2015

ANSWER: None

Explanation:
- The International Space Station orbits within the middle of the thermosphere
- The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia),JAXA (Japan) , ESA(Eurpe), and CSA (Canada).

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The prize is awarded biennially at the American Finance Association's Annual Meeting.
- The prize was established in 2002 and first awarded in 2003 to Raghuram G. Rajan.
- The prize for 2015 is awarded to Yuliy Sannikov of Princeton University.
- It is awarded to a financial scientist for a body of work that demonstrates Eligible scholars must either be below 40 years in age, or under age 45 but not have been awarded a Ph.D. (or equivalent) by age 35.

ANSWER: Thermosphere

Explanation:
- An aurora is a natural light display in the sky, predominantly seen in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions.
- They are seen when electrically charged particles from the sun enters the earth's atmosphere.
- In the north, they are called as aurora borealis while in the south they are called aurora australis.

ANSWER: Russia

Explanation:
- The Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex (OPSEK) is a planned habitable artificial satellite in Low Earth orbit.
- It is seen as a Russian successor of the International Space Station (ISS) which is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2020.
- It is part of a deep-space network of space stations supporting manned exploration of the Solar system.
- Components of manned interplanetary ships are planned to be sent to the station for assembly before departing to Mars, the Moon, and possibly Saturn.
- Returning crew from these missions shall recover on the station before returning to Earth.

ANSWER: Both

Explanation:
- ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth
- ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuzrockets as well as American Space Shuttles.
- ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US.

ANSWER: Israel & Syria

Explanation:
- The Golan Heights is the area captured from Syria and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War, territory which Israel effectively annexed in 1981.
- This region includes the western two-thirds of the geological Golan Heights, as well as the Israeli-occupied part of Mount Hermon.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- The High Courts and the Supreme Court have the jurisdiction to order a CBI investigation into an offense alleged to have been committed in a state without the state's consent, according to a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court
- The court clarified this is an extraordinary power which must be exercised sparingly, cautiously and only in exceptional situations.
- The CBI is overseen by the Department of Personnel and Training of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
- CBI is the Interpol agency in India
- The CBI was established in 1941 as the Special Police Establishment, tasked with domestic security.

ANSWER: Central Statistical Organization

Explanation:
- The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index for India which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mining, electricity and manufacturing.
- The all India IIP is a composite indicator that measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period.
- It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) six weeks after the reference month ends.

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
- Ebola River flows through Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- It is also known as Legbala.
- In 1976, Ebola virus (EBOV) was first identified in Yambuku, 60 miles from the Ebola River.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:
- INTERPOL has a long history of cooperation with the United Nations, which was formalized in a Cooperation Agreement in 1997 and further strengthened by subsequent specific agreements.
- Mireille Ballestrazzi is current President of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
- Its current Secretary-General is Jürgen Stock, the former deputy head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office.

ANSWER: ASEAN

Explanation:
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs.
- ASEAN members: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)
- Six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).