IAS Prelims GS Questions and Answers - Sep 19 & 20, 2016

ANSWER: 1916

Explanation:

• Lady Hardinge Medical College is a medical college for women located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1916, it became part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi in 1950. The college is funded by the Government of India.
• When the national capital of India was shifted to Delhi, Lady Hardinge, the wife of the then Viceroy of India, Baron Charles Hardinge, decided to found a medical college for women, as she recognized that the lack of such a college made it impossible for Indian women to study medicine.

ANSWER: 45

Explanation:

• Focussed, committed and targeted interventions of the Government have borne positive fruits in 2014. The Under-5 Child Mortality has fallen by a significant four points during 2013-14.
• The U5MR in 2014 is 45 compared to U5MR in 2013, which stood at 49 indicating a 4 point decline.
• While the decline between 2012-13 was by three points (it was 52 in 2012 and 49 in 2013).
• This implies that about 1.26 lakh additional under-five deaths have been averted in 2014.
• The Union Health Ministry stated considering the significant progress in 2014, India is set to achieve MDG4 target of under-five mortality of 42 per 1000 live births in 2015.
• Moreover, the rural urban differential in under-five mortality is reduced to 23 points in comparison to 26 points in 2013 indicating good progress in rural areas.
• The success has been possible due to dedicated efforts during the neonatal period through establishment of special new-born care units (SNCU), systematic home visits by ASHA workers to all new-borns for improving breastfeeding practices, improvement in quality institutional delivery.

ANSWER: Lady Hardinge Medical College

Explanation:

• The foundation stone was laid by Lady Hardinge on 17 March 1914 and the college was named Queen Mary College & Hospital to commemorate the visit by Queen Mary in 1911-12.
• Lady Hardinge was actively involved in collecting funds for the college from the princely states and the public until her death on 11 July 1914.
• The college was inaugurated on 7 February 1916 by Baron Hardinge in the Imperial Delhi Enclave area.
• On the suggestion of Queen Mary, the college and the hospital was named after Lady Hardinge to perpetuate the memory of its founder.
• The college has two teaching hospitals, Smt. Sucheta Kriplani Hospital and Kalawati Saran Child Hospital. The hospital has provided services to male patients since 1991.
• The college's Department of Microbiology is internationally acclaimed for its salmonella phage typing, and it is a World Health Organization collaborating centre for reference and training in streptococcal diseases for South East Asia.
• It is also a surveillance centre for AIDS. The first ART centre for children in the country, was also started in LHMC in 2007.

ANSWER: Nilachal

Explanation:

• The Nilachal type is a type of temple architecture in Assam that is characterized by a bulbous polygonal dome over a cruciform ratha type bada.
• This hybrid style developed first in the Kamakhya temple on the Nilachal hills under the Koch kingdom and became popular as a style later under the Ahom kingdom.
• Made by craftsmen and architects more familiar with Islamic architecture of Bengal, the dome of Kamakhya temple became bulbous and hemispherical which was ringed by minaret inspired angashikharas.
• The current structural temple, built and renovated many times in the period 8th-17th century, gave rise to a hybrid indigenous style that is sometimes called the Nilachal type: a temple with a hemispherical dome on a cruciform base.
• The temple consists of four chambers: garbhagriha and three mandapas locally called calanta, pancharatna and natamandira aligned from east to west.

ANSWER: Amritsar

Explanation:

• The Golden Temple city of Amritsar topped the list of 27 new smart cities.
• Eight other cities of pilgrim and tourism importance that made to the third list of smart cities are: Ujjain, Tirupati, Agra, Nashik, Madurai, Thanjavur, Ajmer and Varanasi.
• With this the number of cities selected under Smart City Mission for financing implementation of smart city plans has gone up to 60.
• The 27 smart cities announced today are from 12 States including 5 from Maharashtra, 4 each from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, 3 from Uttar Pradesh and 2 each from Punjab and Rajasthan. Nagaland and Sikkim have made it to the smart city list for the first time.

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:

• With the result of the second round, implementation of smart city plans is now spread over 27 States and UTs.
• 9 States/UTs still to enter implementation phase are: Uttarakhand, J & K, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra, Nagar & Haveli.
• The next round of competition to select the remaining 40 cities would begin in January next year.
• Initially in Round 1, 20 cities were selected. Then 13 were added through fast track route. Now in round 2, 27 more are selected.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The Ministry of Shipping has prepared a draft Bill “Major Port Authorities Act, 2016” to replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 with a view to promote the port infrastructure and facilitate trade and commerce.
• The proposed bill aims at giving more autonomy and flexibility to the major Ports and to bring in professional approach in their governance. This will help to impart faster and transparent decision making which will benefit the stakeholders.
• Composition of board has been simplified. The board will consist of 10 members including 3 to 4 independent members instead of 17-19 under the present Port Trust Model.
• Provisions has been made for inclusion of 3 functional heads of Major Ports as Members in the Board apart from a Government Nominee Member and a Labour Nominee Member.
• Provisions of CSR & development of infrastructure by Port Authority have been introduced.

ANSWER: Both 1 and 2

Explanation:

• The status of Port Authority will be deemed as ‘local authority’ under the provisions of the General Clauses Act, 1887 & other applicable Statutes so that it could prepare appropriate regulations in respect of the area within the port limits to the exclusion of any Central, State of local laws.
• The need for Government approvals for raising loans, appointment of consultants, execution of contracts and creation of service posts have been dispensed with.
• The Board of Port Authority have been delegated power to raise loans and issue security for the purpose of capital expenditure and working capital requirement.
• Concept of internal audit of the functions and activities of the Central Ports has been introduced on the lines of Companies Act, 2015.

ANSWER: 1, 3

Explanation:

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMPTC) have come out with 'easy to use' earthquake hazard zoning maps at the country, state and district-level incorporating tehsil level features so that earthquake resistant constructions could be made to avoid destruction during natural calamity.
• With the use of this map, different authorities would be able to identify the areas where there was a great possibility of earthquake and accordingly earthquake resistant structures could be erected.
• The colour coded maps easily convey location in five different zones of earthquake intensity which helps in planning for disaster resistant construction with necessary technical assistance.
• BMPTC of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) has prepared these maps at the behest of NDMA using the data available with the Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, Meteorological Department and Census of India.
• The additional features of these maps include housing and population data, railway lines, expressways and highways, rivers, waterbodies and geological fault lines.

ANSWER: Eucalyptus Oil

Explanation:

• Renewable ethanol and biodiesel might be okay for the family SUV, but they don't have a high enough energy density to be used in the aviation industry.
• Eucalyptus oil contains compounds called monoterpenes that can be converted into a very high energy fuel, and this high energy fuel can actually fly jets and even tactical missiles.
• A study examined how to boost production of monoterpenes to obtain industrial scales of jet fuel from plants.
• Certain monoterpenes commonly found in eucalyptus oils such as pinene and limonene, can be refined through a catalytic process, resulting in a fuel with energy densities suitable for jet fuel.
• Turpentine from pine trees is another potential source of these monoterpenes, but pines grow more slowly than eucalyptus.
• Jet fuel derived from eucalyptus oils would be close to carbon neutral.