explanation - amazon web services · explanation: the tropical rainforest or moist forests biome...

1 Ans DTopic- BiodiversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Keystone speciesA species whose presence and role within an ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on other organismswithin the system. A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a preypopulation to explode and often decreases overall diversity.Indicator species An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects a specificenvironmental condition. Indicator species can signal a change in the biological condition of a particularecosystem, and thus may be used as a proxy to diagnose the health of an ecosystem

2 Ans DTopic- Bio diversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Species Region 1. Malabar civet A. Western Ghat2. Red panda B. Eastern Himalayas3. One-horned Rhinoceros C. North-eastern India

3 Ans DTopic- EcologyDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation: An Eco tone is a transition area between two biomes. It is where two communities meet and integrate. Itmay be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transitionbetween forest and grassland ecosystems). An Eco tone may appear on the ground as a gradual blendingof the two communities across a broad area, or it may manifest itself as a sharp boundary line. The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resourcesand competitors (for example, by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasitesand pathogens are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors (for example, limiting access toresources by other organisms, acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of prey).An ecological footprint is a measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystems. It's typically measured inarea of wilderness or amount of natural capital consumed each year. A common way of estimatingfootprint is, the area of wilderness of both land and sea needed to supply resources to a humanpopulation

4 Ans CTopic- Climate changeDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The Green Energy Corridor Project is an upcoming project which aims at synchronizing electricityproduced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid.

5 Ans ATopic- Climate changeDifficulty level-Moderate

Modern History & Environment BYJU’s Classes: 9980837187

Type-FactualExplanation: CarbFix is a project in Iceland intended to lock away carbon dioxide by making it react with basalticrocks. In addition to finding a new method for permanent carbon dioxide storage, another objective of theproject is to train scientists for years of work to come

6 Ans DTopic- EcologyDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication is the enrichment of a water body with nutrients,usually with an excess amount of nutrients. This process induces growth of plants and algae and due tothe biomass load, may result in oxygen depletion of the water body.The main effects caused by eutrophication can be summarized as follows:1. Species diversity decreases and the dominant biota changes2. Plant and animal biomass increase3. Turbidity increases4. Rate of sedimentation increases, shortening the lifespan of the lake5. Anoxic conditions may develop

7 Ans DTopic- Bio diversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation: A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatenedwith destruction.To qualify as a hot spot, a region must meet two strict criteria:Species endemism: the region must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of theworld’s total) as endemics, andDegree of threat: the region has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.India has 3 biodiversity hotspots, they are 1. Eastern Himalayas 2. Western ghats 3. Gulf of Mannar


8 Ans DTopic- EcologyDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The terms alpha, beta, and gamma diversity were all introduced by R. H. Whittaker to describe the spatialcomponent of biodiversity.Alpha diversity is just the diversity of each site (local species pool). Beta diversity represents thedifferences in species composition among sites. Gamma diversity is the diversity of the entire landscape(regional species pool).

9 Ans BTopic- PollutionDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Bio magnification, also known as bio amplification or biological magnification is the increasingconcentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higherlevels in a food chain. This increase can occur as a result of:• Persistence – where the substance cannot be broken down by environmental processes• Food chain energetics – where the substance's concentration increases progressively as it moves up afood chain• Low or non-existent rate of internal degradation or excretion of the substance – often due to water-insolubility

10 Ans CTopic- Bio diversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a fast growing, free-floating aquatic weed. Floating aquatic plantsare capable of assimilating large quantities of trace elements and heavy metals, some of which areessential for plant growth. The uptake of these elements is often increased when plants are cultured inwastewater containing high levels of macronutrients. They have the ability to absorb heavy metals. Heavymetals and other trace contaminants enter surface and groundwater in various ways and adversely affectflora and fauna

11 Ans CTopic- Bio diversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:This species is endemic to the Western Ghats hill ranges in southwestern India from the Kalakkadu Hills(8°25’N) north to Anshi Ghat (14°55’N), in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Although thespecies has a relatively wide range, its area of occupancy is small and severely fragmented. Listed as Endangered as the total number of mature individuals is less than 2,500 with no subpopulationhaving more than 250 mature individuals. There are estimates of a continued decline of over 20% of thepopulations in the next approximately 25 years, along with hunting and continued loss of habitat

12 Ans ATopic- Ecology and Bio diversity


Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:State-wise Mangrove Cover in India (Updated On: 04/11/2015)

S.No

State Assessment year2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

1 Gujarat 991 1046 1046 1058 1103

2 Maharashtra 186 186 186 186 186

3 West Bengal 2136 2152 2152 2155 2097

4 Andaman andNicobarIslands

635 615 615 617 604

13 Ans DTopic - Ecology and Bio diversityDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programmer, there are 142 biosphere reserves recognizedas part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Asia and the Pacific as of April 2016. These aredistributed across 24 countries in the region.India has 18 biosphere reserves; out of that 10 have been enlisted in the world network of biospherereserves. They are • Nilgiri (2000)• Gulf of Mannar (2001)• Sunderbans (2001)• Nanda Devi (2004)• Nokrek (2009)• Pachmarhi (2009)• Simlipal (2009)• Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2012)• Great Nicobar (2013)• Agasthyamala (2016)

14 Ans CTopic- Sustainable DevelopmentDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Eco mark is a certification mark issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (the national standardsorganization of India) to products conforming to a set of standards aimed at the least impact on theecosystem. The marking scheme was started in 1991.The mark is issued to various product categories and the development of standards for more products isin progress

15 Ans Topic- Climate changeDifficulty level-Moderate


Type-FactualExplanation:The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 to fight global warming by reducing GHGs emission and cameinto effect in 2005. The 1st commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol was from 2008-2012. The 2ndcommitment period for the period 2013- 2020 was adopted in 2012 by the Doha Amendment of the KyotoProtocol. The protocol is based on principle of Equity and Common but differentiated responsibilities andrespective capabilities (CBDR)

16 Ans DTopic- Environment Climate change Sustainable development.Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:INDC include reduction in the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 leveland to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additionalforest and tree cover by 2030. India has also decided to anchor a global solar alliance, INSPA(International Agency for Solar Policy & Application), of all countries located in between Tropic of Cancerand Tropic of Capricorn. The INDC proposals are on the following:a. Sustainable Lifestylesb. Cleaner Economic Developmentc. Reduce Emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)d. Increase the Share of Non Fossil Fuel Based Electricitye. Enhancing Carbon Sink (Forests)f. Adaptationg. Mobilizing Financeh. Technology Transfer and Capacity Building

17 Ans CTopic-Pollution Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.The proposed AQI will consider eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) forwhich short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period)

18 Ans BTopic- Environment, Sustainable developmentDifficulty level-ModerateType- ConceptualExplanation:The COP-21 Climate Conference was held in Paris, France from 30 November to 12 December 2015.During this conference, India and France have launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA), which hasbeen creating buzz in the international media. Under this alliance, 121 countries that fall within thetropics {i.e. between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn} have been invited to make collaborativeefforts to harness solar energy to generate the electricity. Most of these countries fall within Asia, Africaand South America.

19 Ans ATopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:


The Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and TheirDisposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reducethe movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardouswaste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs).

The Rotterdam Convention (formally, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedurefor Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade) is a multilateral treaty to promoteshared responsibilities in relation to importation of hazardous chemicals.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals -- more commonly abbreviatedto just the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention -- aims to conserve terrestrial,marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concludedunder the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programmer, concerned with the conservation ofwildlife and habitats on a global scale.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, alsoknown as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

20 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The tropical rainforest or moist forests biome has four main characteristics: very high annual rainfall,high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity (species richness). The word“rainforest” implies that these are the some of the world’s wettest ecosystems. Rainforests generallyreceive very high rainfall each year, although the exact amount varies among different years and differentrainforests.

21 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-Factual

22 Ans DTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary is a tiger reserve located in the Nuapada district of Odisha, adjoiningChhattisgarh. It has a total area of 500 km2. The sanctuary harbours a great diversity of wildlife habitats,with a vast plateau and canyons with 11 waterfalls.Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary is a Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura - This sanctuary is the place for manyanimals like elephants, sambar, buffalo, yapping deer, sarow and wild goat and numerous more. Reptileshave additionally discovered a home in the sanctuary. The home spreads a range of 389.54 km2 and isrich in flora and fauna. It is found close to the sanctuary is a huge water reservoir involving a region of300 km2. Mulayyanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka, India. Mullayyanagiri is located at in the ChandraDhrona Hill Ranges of the Western Ghats of Chikkamagaluru Taluk. With a height of 1,925 metres (6,316


ft), it is one of the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Nilgiris. Mullayanagiri is one of the besttrekking places in Karnataka and South India. The Sunset presents a spectacular view from the peak

23 Ans DTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:

• Secondary succession refers to the concept of an ecosystem reviving itself after all or a portion has beendestroyed. The concept refers primarily to plant life and can be the result of a natural or man-made event.The primary concept is that the life was previously on the soil, eliminating the need for deposition of newseeds or soil. Secondary succession is a much more rapid process than primary succession because thesoil and nutrients are already available.Examples of secondary succession include: • The renewal of a forest after a fire: The fire itself destroys a majority of different types of trees and plantlife. Because seeds and roots and other plant and tree parts remain in and on the soil, gradually theplants and trees begin to grow again and eventually return to the state of the original ecosystem.• The renewal of a crop after harvesting: A crop is completed harvested when it becomes ripe. Withoutnew seeds being planted, the crop can regenerate the following year due to the plants and seeds thatremained after harvesting. • A forest renews after logging: A large amount of trees were chopped down by loggers in order to createbuilding materials. Over time, trees grow in and the area returns to its previous state. • A volcanic eruption: In an area where a volcano erupts, lava may cause some damage to the plant andtree life. Over a span of years, however, if there was land that had been affected by the eruption but notnecessarily covered in new volcanic rock, the seeds and plant parts and roots in the soil could renew. • On the island of Lawahii, several centuries ago, a fire erupted that caused the destruction of all plantsand vegetation. Many years later, the plants and vegetation had grown back in, as the nutrients, seedsand soil remained.• Renewal after disease: A plant population can be very negatively affected by a variety of infectious plantdiseases. If the entire population dies, but the soil and roots remain, it is possible for secondarysuccession to occur and for the population of those plants to to return.• A flood can ruin farmlands. However, because the soil remains after the waters recede, over the courseof many years a natural secondary succession can occur and the vegetation that had previously grownthere can grow again

24 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Amensalism is an interaction where an organism inflicts harm to another organism without any costs orbenefits received by it’self. A clear case of amensalism is where sheep or cattle trample grass. Whilst thepresence of the grass causes negligible detrimental effects to the animal's hoof, the grass suffers frombeing crushed

25 Ans CTopic- Climate ChangeDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:


The eleventh edition of the Earth Hour was observed across the world on 25 March 2017 to take a globalcall on climate change. To mark this day, cities worldwide turned their lights off from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pmlocal time.The event encourages households and businesses to turn off their lights and electrical appliances for onehour at the appointed time to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change

26 Ans ATopic- Environment, Climate changeDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The agreement at Kigali came after seven years of negotiations under which the 197 Montreal Protocolparties reached a compromise wherein developed countries will start to phase down HFCs by 2019.Developing countries will follow with a freeze of HFCs consumption levels in 2024, with some countriesfreezing consumption in 2028. By the late 2040s, all countries are expected to consume no more than 15-20% of their respective baselines. Overall, the agreement is expected to reduce HFC use by 85% by 2045

27 Ans CTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:An oil spill happens when liquid petroleum is released into the environment by vehicle, vessel or pipeline.It happens on a large scale and is mostly seen in water bodies. As oil spill, it floats on water and preventssunlight to pass through it. The shiny substance that you see sometimes on top layer of water is nothingbut oil which makes it difficult for plants and sea animals to survive. Cleaning up of oil spill is no easytask. Various factors need to be considered before carrying out operations. Some of them being amount ofoil spilled, temperature of water, type of beaches and many more.Oxygen depletion can result from a number of natural factors, but is most often a concern as aconsequence of pollution and eutrophication in which plant nutrients enter a river, lake, or ocean, andphytoplankton blooms are encouraged. Oxygen depletion is a phenomenon that occurs in aquaticenvironments as dissolved oxygen (DO; molecular oxygen dissolved in the water) becomes reduced inconcentration to a point where it becomes detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system.Dissolved oxygen is typically expressed as a percentage of the oxygen that would dissolve in the water atthe prevailing temperature and salinity (both of which affect the solubility of oxygen in water; see oxygensaturation and underwater).

28 Ans ATopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Pyramid of Biomass – Inverted.In many aquatic ecosystems, the pyramid of biomass may assume an inverted form. This is because the producers are tiny phytoplankton that grow and reproduce rapidly.Here, the pyramid of biomass has a small base, with the consumer biomass at any instant actuallyexceeding the producer biomass and the pyramid assumes inverted shape.


29 Ans ATopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Global warming potential (GWP) is a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in theatmosphere. It compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas in question to theamount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide. A GWP is calculated over a specific timeinterval, commonly 20, 100 or 500 years. GWP is expressed as a factor of carbon dioxide (whose GWP isstandardized to 1)

GWP values and lifetimes from 2007 IPCC AR4 p212 Lifetime in yearsMethane 12

Nitrous oxide 114HFC-23 (hydro fluorocarbon) 270

HFC-134a (hydro fluorocarbon) 14Sulphur hexafluoride 3200

30 Ans DTopic- Environment, PollutionDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:• Coal fired thermal power plants are one of the main contributors for atmospheric pollution and green-house gases. Emissions that come from these plants could be categorized into three different categories:• Gaseous emissions Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide whichlead to global warming and acid rain.• Particulate emissions - this fine dust that is emanated from the stacks of power plants is a healthhazard.• Trace elements like Mercury, Cadmium and Lead which are also health hazards.• These emissions are formed due to the Combustion process when coal is burned to produce heat. Someare avoidable, some can be controlled or reduced, and some cannot be avoided

31 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-Moderate


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_hexafluoride

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFC-134a

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFC-23

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide

Type-FactualExplanation:In winter, the stratosphere above the Antarctic continent gets colder than it does anywhere else on Earth.Temperatures frequently drop below -112ºF. Antarctica is also one of the windiest places on Earth. In Mayand June, strong winds in the stratosphere begin to blow clockwise around the continent. These howlingstratospheric winds gradually form an enormous ring of moving air, called the Antarctic polar vortex, thatswirls around and around, far above the frozen land.During the winter, temperatures inside the Antarctic polar vortex fall so low that water vapour and severalother types of molecules in the stratosphere condense into extremely small icy particles. These icyparticles, in turn, make up polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). When the sun sets in the Antarctic aroundthe end of March each year, its disappearance marks the beginning of a long, dark winter. Once the lastrays of sunlight have faded away, temperatures on land and in the air fall very quickly.In the stratosphere, high-altitude winds that create the polar vortex begin to blow around the continent.Isolated from warmer air outside the vortex, the air inside gets colder and colder. Eventually, it is coldenough for PSCs to form. And that is when the trouble really begins

32 Ans CTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-Factual

33 Ans DTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualAnswer- dExplanation:National Action Plan on Climate Change aimed at assessing and developing strategies to combat climatechange related effects in India, envisioned creation of eight missions which would run till 2017

Name of mission Salient features

National Solar Mission

Seeks to deploy 20,000 MW of solar electricitycapacity in the country by 2020. The first phase(2010-12) is currently underway during which1000 MW is planned to be installed.

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency Creates new institutional mechanisms to enablethe development and Energy Efficiencystrengthening of energy efficiency markets. Variousprogrammers have been initiated, including thePAT mechanism to promote efficiency in largeindustries, and the Super-Efficient EquipmentProgrammer (SEEP) to accelerate the introductionof deployment of super-efficient appliances

National Mission on Sustainable Habitat Promotes the introduction of sustainabletransport, energy-efficient buildings, SustainableHabitat and sustainable waste management incities

National Water Mission Promotes the integrated management of waterresources and increase of Mission water useefficiency by 20 per cent


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Mission_for_Enhanced_Energy_Efficiency

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru_National_Solar_Mission

National Mission for Sustaining the HimalayanEcosystem

Establishes an observational and monitoringnetwork for the Himalayan the HimalayanEcosystem environment so as to assess climateimpacts on the Himalayan glaciers and promotecommunity-based management of these ecosystems

National Mission for Green India Seeks to afforest an additional 10 million hectare offorest lands, wastelands and community lands

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture Focuses on enhancing productivity and resilienceof agriculture so as to reduce vulnerability toextremes of weather, long dry spells, flooding, andvariable moisture availability

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge forClimate Change

Identifies challenges arising from climate change,promotes the development Knowledge on ClimateChange and diffusion of knowledge on responses tothese challenges in the areas of health,demography, migration, and livelihood of coastalcommunities

34 Ans CTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:a) Nawgaon national Park – Chhattisgarh b) Palamau Tiger Reserve – Jharkhandc) Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary – Andhra Pradeshd) Indira Gandhi national park - Tamil Nadu

35 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 183 countries in partnership with internationalinstitutions, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector to address global environmentalissues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives. Today the GEF is the largest publicfunder of projects to improve the global environment. An independently operating financial organization,the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, landdegradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.The GEF also serves as financial mechanism for the following conventions:• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)• UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)• Minamata Convention on Mercury

36 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-Factual


37 Ans CTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Climate engineering, commonly referred to as geo-engineering, also known as climate intervention, is thedeliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climatic system with the aim of limiting adverseclimate change. Climate engineering is an umbrella term for two types of measures: carbon dioxideremoval and solar radiation management. Carbon dioxide removal addresses the cause of climate changeby removing one of the greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere. Solar radiationmanagement attempts to offset effects of greenhouse gases by causing the Earth to absorb less solarradiation.Iron fertilization is the intentional introduction of iron to the upper ocean to stimulate a phytoplanktonbloom. This is intended to enhance biological productivity, which can benefit the marine food chain and isunder investigation in hopes of increasing carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. Iron is a traceelement necessary for photosynthesis in all plants. It is highly insoluble in sea water and is often thelimiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth. Large algal blooms can be created by supplying iron to iron-deficient ocean waters

38 Ans CTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:When corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel thesymbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. Warmer water temperaturescan result in coral bleaching. When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living intheir tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. When a coralbleaches, it is not dead. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but they are under more stress and aresubject to mortality. Coral across Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered its most devastating die-offon record, a new report says,In just nine months, bleaching caused by warmer water has killed around 67% of the coral in a previouslypristine part of the reef, one of the natural wonders of the world.

39 Ans BTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:

The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family, native to easternBangladesh, Northeast India and Southwest China

40 Ans A


Topic- Environment.Difficulty level-ModerateType-Factual

41 Ans CTopic- EnvironmentDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:The Keibul Lamjao National Park is a national park in the Bishnupur district of the state of Manipur inIndia. It is 40 km2in areas, the only floating park in the world, located in North East India, and anintegral part of Loktak Lake.The national park is characterized by many floating decomposed plant materials locally called phumdis.To pre-serve the natural refuge of the endangered Manipur Eld's deer or brow-antlered deer or sangai alsocalled the dancing deer, listed as an endangered species by IUCN, the park which was initially declared tobe a sanctuary in 1966, was subsequently declared to be a national park in 1977 through a gazettenotification

42 Ans CTopic- Environment Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Ethanol can run at a much higher exhaust gas recirculation rate and with higher compression ratios.Ethanol has a higher octane rating than most petroleum – and creates very few particulates. Octane isthe measure of a fuel’s ability to resist “knocking”, which a driver may detect as a “pinging” noise comingfrom the engine. Knocking is basically the burning of the fuel in the engine’s combustion chamber. Thehigher the fuel’s octane number, the better the fuel and the more resistant it will be to knocking

43 Ans CTopic- Environment. Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an internationalagreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs)resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also intoaccount risks to human health.The Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and ofBacteriological Methods of Warfare, usually called the Geneva Protocol, is a treaty prohibiting the use ofchemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts.The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the Flexible Mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocolthat provides for emissions reduction projects which generate Certified Emission Reduction units (CERs)which may be traded in emissions trading schemes

44 Ans CTopic- Environment.Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Every year World Environment Day (WED) is observed on 5 June to raise global awareness to take positiveenvironmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. WED was established by the United Nations


General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of United Nations Conference on the Human Environment1972 which began in Stockholm. Go Wild for Life (Zero tolerance for the illegal trade in wildlife) 2016theme seeks to encourage conservation of all those species under threat and calls for taking action tohelp safeguard them for future generations

45 Ans ATopic- Environment.Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh has won the ‘India Biodiversity Award2016’. The tiger reserve was selected in the conservation of threatened species category for its HornbillNest Adoption Programme.

46 Ans CTopic- Pollution Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:• E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016• Manufacturer, dealer, refurbishes and Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) have been introducedas additional stakeholders in the rules.• The applicability of the rules has been extended to components, consumables, spares and parts of EEEin addition to equipment as listed in Schedule I.• Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and other mercury containing lamp brought under the purview ofrules.• Collection mechanism based approach has been adopted to include collection centre, collection point,take back system etc. for collection of e - waste by Producers under Extended Producer Responsibility(EPR).• Option has been given for setting up of PRO, e - waste exchange, e - retailer, Deposit Refund Scheme asadditional channel for implementation of EPR by Producers to ensure efficient channelization of e - waste.• Provision for Pan India EPR Authorization by CPCB has been introduced replacing the state wise EPRauthorization.• Collection and channelization of e - waste in Extended Producer Responsibility - Authorization shall be in line with the targets prescribed in Schedule III of the Rules. The phase wise Collection Target for e-waste, which can be either in number or Weight shall be 30% of the quantity of waste generation asindicated in EPR Plan during first two year of implementation of rules followed by 40% during third andfourth years, 50% during fifth and sixth years and 70% during seventh year onwards

47 Ans ATopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:Tropical moist deciduous is followed by tropical dry deciduous. So, deciduous forests cover the largestforest area in India, more than 60%

48 Ans DTopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation:


The pygmy hog is a critically endangered suid, previously spread across India, Nepal, and Bhutan, butnow only found in Assam.The Namdapha flying squirrel is an arboreal, nocturnal flying squirrel endemic to northeastern India,where it is known from a single specimen collected in Namdapha National Park in 1981The Great Indian Bustard or Indian bustard is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions ofPakistan. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, giving it an ostrich like appearance, thisbird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent,as few as 250 individuals were estimated in 2011 to survive and the species is critically endangered byhunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. The Dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal. The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years forits meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modernrange, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong's current distribution isfragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as aspecies vulnerable

49 Ans ATopic- Environment, Difficulty level-ModerateType-current affairs

50 Ans ATopic- EnvironmentDifficulty level-ModerateType-FactualExplanation: A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organismeats another. In a food chain, each organism occupies a different trophic level, defined by how manyenergy transfers separate it from the basic input of the chain

51 Ans BTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: ModerateType: Conceptual

52 Ans CTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation:The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party or Swarajist Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in January 1923 after the Gaya annualconference in December 1922 of the National Congress,that sought greater self-government and politicalfreedom for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj. In Hindi andmany other languages of India, swaraj means "independence" or "self-rule." The two most importantleaders were Chittaranjan Das, who was its president and Motilal Nehru, who was its secretary.Das and Nehru thought of contesting elections to enter the legislative council with a view to obstructing aforeign government. Many candidates of the Swaraj Party got elected to the central legislative assemblyand provincial legislative council in the 1923 elections. In these legislatures they strongly opposed theunjust government policies.The establishment of fully responsible government for India, the convening of a round table conference toresolve the problems of Indians, and the releasing of certain political prisoners, were the resolutions inthe central legislative council


53 Ans DTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: EasyType: FactualExplanation:Responsivists emerged from the Swaraj Party and favored co-operation with the government

54 Ans BTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament of United Kingdomunder the chairmanship of Sir John Simon assisted by Clement Attlee. The commission arrived inBritish-occupied India in 1928 to study constitutional reform in Britain's most important colonialdependency. It was commonly referred to as the Simon Commission after its chairman, Sir JohnAllsebrook Simon. One of its members was Clement Attlee, who became committed to Indianindependence by 1934 and achieved that goal as Prime Minister in 1947 in the granting of independenceto India and Pakistan.At the time of introducing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms the British Government declared that acommission would be sent to India after ten years to examine the effects and operations of theconstitutional reforms and to suggest more reforms for India.In November 1927 the British government appointed a commission under the chairmanship of Sir JohnSimon to report on India's constitutional progress for introducing constitutional reforms as had beenpromised

55 Ans BTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: Factual

56 Ans ATopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The Nehru Report of 28-30 August, 1928 was a memorandum outlining a proposed new dominion statusconstitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by MotilalNehru with his son Jawaharlal Nehru acting as secretary. There were nine other members in thiscommittee, including two Muslims.The constitution outlined by the Nehru Report was for Indian enjoying dominion status within the BritishCommonwealth. Some of the important elements of the report:• Unlike the eventual Government of India Act 1935 it contained a Bill of Rights.• All power of government and all authority - legislative, executive and judicial - are derived from thepeople and the same shall be exercised through organizations established by, or under, and in accordwith, this Constitution.• There shall be no state religion; men and women shall have equal rights as citizens.• There should be federal form of government with residuary powers vested in the center.(Some scholars,such as Moore 1988 considered the Nehru Report proposal as essentially unitary rather than federal.);• It included a description of the machinery of government including a proposal for the creation of aSupreme Court and a suggestion that the provinces should be linguistically determined.• It did not provide for separate electorates for any community or weightage for minorities. Both of thesewere liberally provided in the eventual Government of India Act 1935. However, it did allow for the


reservation of minority seats in provinces having a minority of at least ten percent, but this was to be instrict proportion to the size of the community.• The language of the Commonwealth shall be Indian, which may be written either in Devanagari, Hindi,Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali or Tamil in character. The use of the English language shallbe permitted.The Nehru Report, along with that of the Simon Commission was available to participants in the threeIndian Round Table Conferences (1930–1932). However, the Government of India Act 1935 owes much tothe Simon Commission report and little, if anything to the Nehru Report

57 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: ModerateType: Conceptual

58 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: ModerateType: Conceptual

59 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: EasyType: FactualExplanation: Manabendra Nath Roy (21 March 1887 – 26 January 1954), born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, was anIndian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20thcentury. Roy was a founder of the Mexican Communist Party and the Communist Party of India. He wasalso a delegate to congresses of the Communist International and Russia's aide to China. Following therise of Joseph Stalin, Roy left the mainline communist movement to pursue an independent radicalpolitics. In 1940 Roy was instrumental in the formation of the Radical Democratic Party, an organizationin which he played a leading role for much of the decade of the 1940s. Roy later moved away fromMarxism to become an exponent of the philosophy of radical humanism

60 Ans BTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The Chittagong armoury raid, also known as the Chittagong uprising, was an attempt on 18 April 1930 toraid the armoury of police and auxiliary forces from the Chittagong armoury in the Bengal Presidency ofBritish India (now in Bangladesh) by armed Indian independence fighters led by Surya Sen. The plan wasput into action at 10 p.m. on 18 April 1930. The police armoury (in Police Line in Dampara) was capturedby a group of revolutionaries led by Ganesh Ghosh, while another group of ten men led by Lokenath Baltook the Auxiliary Forces armoury (now the old Circuit House). Some 65 people took part in the raid,undertaken in the name of the Hindustan Republican Army, Chittagong Branch. They failed to locateammunition but did succeed in cutting telephone and telegraph wires and disrupting train movements.About 16 of the group captured the European club's headquarters (in Pahartali, now the Railway Officenext to Shahjahan Field) but there were few club members present because of it being Good Friday. Uponlearning of the situation, the Europeans were able to get the alarm out to troops, which therevolutionaries had not expected. After the raids, the revolutionaries gathered outside the police armoury,where Sen took a military salute, hoisted a national flag, and proclaimed a Provisional RevolutionaryGovernment. The revolutionaries left Chittagong town before dawn and marched towards the Chittagonghill ranges, looking for a safe place to hide.


A few of the members including Ganesh Ghosh, Ananta Singh and the teenagers Ananda Gupta andJeebon Ghoshal were elsewhere, and almost captured at Feni railway station but managed to escape.Later they stayed in hiding in a house in Chandannagar. The Chittagong revolutionary group suffered afatal blow when Masterda Surya Sen was arrested on 16 February 1933 and was hanged in 1934

61 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: DifficultType: FactualExplanation: Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual leader as a follower of her cousin HaipouJadonang. At the age of 13,she joined the Heraka religious movement. Herakareformist religion recognises supremacy of one Godwho is behind creation of nature be it air, water or earth. The movement later turned into a politicalmovement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. Within theHeraka cult, she came to be considered an incarnation of a goddess. The reformist religious movement steadfastly turned out to be a political movement against the BritishRaj. Sensing this, the British first caught Haipou Jadonang and then hanged him to death on charges oftreason in 1931. Rani not to be cowed down by this heinous act took over the leadership. She urged thepeople not to pay taxes and not to work for the British which were the practices of the freedom struggle atthat time. She even went underground and led many attacks on the British administration.The British authorities launched a manhunt for her so much so that monetary awards were put on herhead for information to facilitate her arrest. This included a declaration that any villager providinginformation on her whereabouts will get a 10 years tax break, a great offer that time. But she continuedto fight the Assam Rifles which was under the British administration then in armed conflicts in theregion.In October 1932, Gaidinliu moved to the Pulomi village, where her followers started building a woodenfortress. While the fortress was under construction, an Assam Rifles contingent launched a surpriseattack on her and Gaidinliu, along with her followers, was arrested.In December 1932, her followers from the Leng and the Bopungwemi villages murdered a Kuki chowkidar(watchman) of the Lakema Inspection Bungalow in the Naga Hills, suspecting him to be the informer wholed to her arrest. Gaidinliu was taken to Imphal, where she was convicted on the charges of murder andabetment of murder after a 10-month trial. She was sentenced to life imprisonment by the PoliticalAgent's Court for abetment of murder. Most of her associates were either executed or jailed.From 1933 to 1947 Rani stayed in Gauwhati, Shillong, Aizawl and Tura jails. Many rebels proclaimed herand Jadonang to be their inspiration in refusing to pay taxes to the British.Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937, and promised to pursue her release. In a statement,Nehru described Gaidinliu as a daughter of the hills and he gave her the title 'Rani' or Queen of herpeople. Nehru wrote to the British MP Lady Astor to do something for the release of Rani Gaidinliu but theSecretary of State for India rejected her request stating that trouble may rise again if Rani was released.After the Interim Government of India was set up in 1946, Rani Gaidinliu was released on Prime MinisterNehru's orders from Tura jail, having spent 14 years in various prisons in 1947. Even after release shecontinued to work for the upliftment of her people after her release. She stayed at Vimrap village ofTuensang with her younger brother Marang till 1952. That year, she was finally allowed to move back toher native village of Longkao. In 1953, Prime Minister Nehru visited Imphal where Rani Gaidinliu met andconveyed to him the gratitude and goodwill of her people. Later she met Nehru in Delhi to discuss thedevelopment and welfare of Zeliangrong people.Gaidinliu was opposed to Naga insurgency who advocated secessionism then from India. Instead, shecampaigned for a separate Zeliangrong territory within the Union of India. The rebel Naga leaderscriticized Gaidinliu's movement for the integration of Zeliangrong tribes under one administrative unit.They were also opposed to her working for the revival of the traditional Naga religion of animism orHeraka.


Gaidinliu's struggle did not end with India getting freedom. In order to defend the Heraka culture and tostrengthen her position, she went underground in 1960 again. She organized a private army of about athousand men equipped rifles to defend and press for her demand for a single Zeliangrong district.In response to Phizo's declaration of the "Naga Federal Government", she set up her own quasi-administration named the "Zeliangrong Government of Rani Party". In 1964, the overgroundZeliangrongleaders in consultation with underground leaders led by Rani Gaidinliu, demanded "a separateZeliangrong Administrative Unit or Political Unit" within the Union of India.In 1966, after six years of hard underground life in old age, under an agreement with the Government ofIndia, Rani Gaidinliu came out from her jungle hideout to work for the betterment of her people throughpeaceful, democratic and non-violent means. She went to Kohima in January 1966, and met the PrimeMinister LalBahadurShastri in Delhi a month after, demanding the creation of a separate Zeliangrongadministrative unit. On 24 September, 320 of her followers reached an understanding with theGovernmentand some of them were absorbed into the Nagaland Armed Police.During her stay at Kohima she was conferred "Tamrapatra Freedom Fighter Award" in 1972, the PadmaBhushan (1982) and the Vivekananda Seva Award (1983).she was also conferred the Birsa Munda awardposthumously and Government issued a postal stamp in her honour in 1996. The Government institutedStree Shakti Puruskar in honour of five prominent Indians, one of them being Ranigaidinliu. So much soan in shore patrol vessel named after her was launched by the Hindustan Shipyard at Visakhapatnam in2010. In 1991, Gaidinliu returned to her birthplace Longkao, where she died on 17 February 1993 at the age of78. Then Governor of Manipur, ChintamaniPanigrahi, the Home Secretary of Nagaland, officials fromManipur and many people from all parts of the North Eastern region attended her funeral at her nativevillage. In Imphal, the Chief Minister of Manipur R.K. Dorendro Singh, Deputy Chief Minister,RishangKeishing and others paid floral tributes and a general holiday was declared by the StateGovernment.Rani Gaidinliu continues to be remembered in the annals of history as the brave freedom fighter from theNorth-east.In the commemorative function held in New Delhi recently, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modireleased two coins of Rs.100/- and Rs.5/- denomination in her memory. The commemorative functionsaw a galaxy of national leaders and hundreds of her admirers. Besides several cabinet ministers, ChiefMinisters of both Manipur and Nagaland were present. The DoNER Ministry has also announced settingup of a library cum museum at Kohima on Rani’s life and work at a cost of one crore rupees

62 Ans CTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: Ghaffar Khan forged a close, spiritual, and uninhibited friendship with Gandhi, the pioneer of non-violentmass civil disobedience in India. The two had a deep admiration towards each other and worked togetherclosely till 1947.Khudai Khidmatgar (servants of god) agitated and worked cohesively with the Indian National Congress,the leading national organization fighting for independence, of which Ghaffar Khan was a senior andrespected member. On several occasions when the Congress seemed to disagree with Gandhi on policy,Ghaffar Khan remained his staunchest ally. In 1931 the Congress offered him the presidency of the party,but he refused saying, "I am a simple soldier and Khudai Khidmatgar, and I only want to serve. "Heremained a member of the Congress Working Committee for many years, resigning only in 1939 becauseof his differences with the Party's War Policy. He rejoined the Congress Party when the War Policy wasrevised.Ghaffar Khan was a champion of women's rights and nonviolence. He became a hero in a societydominated by violence; notwithstanding his liberal views, his unswerving faith and obvious bravery led toimmense respect. Throughout his life, he never lost faith in his non-violent methods or in thecompatibility of Islam and nonviolence. He recognized as a jihad struggle with only the enemy holding


swords. He was closely identified with Gandhi because of his non-violence principles and he is known inIndia as the 'Frontier Gandhi'.

63 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: DifficultType: Conceptual

64 Ans BTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919 whena crowd of nonviolent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh,Amritsar, Punjab, were fired upon by troops of the British Indian Army under the command of ColonelReginald Dyer. The civilians had assembled to participate in the annual Baisakhi celebrations, a religiousand cultural festival for Punjabi people. Coming from outside the city, they may have been unaware of theimposition of martial law

65 Ans DTopic: Non-cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The main provisions were the following:1. The secretary of state would control affairs relating to Government of India2. The Central Legislature would comprise two chambers- The Council of State and the Indian LegislativeAssembly3. The Central Legislature was empowered to enact laws on any matter for whole of India.4. The Governor General was given powers to summon, prorogue, dissolve the Chambers, and topromulgate Ordinances.5. The number of Indians in Viceroy's Executive Council would be three out of eight members.6. Establishment of bicameral Provincial Legislative councils.7. Dyarchy in the Provinces-- Reserved subjects like Finance, Law and Order, Army, Police etc.- Transferred subjects like Public Health, Education, Agriculture, Local Self-government etc.8. There would henceforth be direct election and an extension of Communal franchise. "

66 Ans ATopic: Non-cooperation MovementDifficulty level: DifficultType: FactualExplanation: The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a legislativeact passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on March 18, 1919, indefinitely extending theemergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without trial and judicial reviewenacted in the Defence of India Act 1915 during the First World War. It was enacted in light of a perceivedthreat from revolutionary nationalist organizations of re-engaging in similar conspiracies as duing the warwhich the Government felt the lapse of the DIRA regulations would enable. Passed on therecommendations of the Rowlatt Committee and named after its president, British judge Sir SidneyRowlatt, this act effectively authorized the government to imprison any person suspected of terrorism


living in the Raj for up to two years without a trial, and gave the imperial authorities power to deal withall revolutionary activities.The unpopular legislation provided for stricter control of the press, arrests without warrant, indefinitedetention without trial, and juryless in camera trials for proscribed political acts. The accused weredenied the right to know the accusers and the evidence used in the trial. Those convicted were required todeposit securities upon release, and were prohibited from taking part in any political, educational, orreligious activities. On the report of the committee, headed by Justice Rowlatt, two bills were introducedin the central legislature in February 1919. These bills came to be known as "black bills". They gaveenormous powers to the police to search a place and arrest any person they disapproved of withoutwarrant. A well-known description of the bills at that time was: No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal i.e., nopleas, no lawyer, no Appeal. Despite much opposition, the Rowlatt act was passed in March 1919. Thepurpose of the act was to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the country

67 Ans BTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: Lucknow Pact refers to an agreement reached between the Indian National Congress and the MuslimLeague at the joint session of both the parties, held in Luck now, in the year 1916. Muhammad AliJinnah, then a member of the Congress as well as the League, made both the parties reach an agreementto pressure the British government to adopt a more liberal approach to India and give Indians moreauthority to run their country, besides safeguarding basic Muslim demands. After the unpopularpartition of Bengal, Jinnah approached the League to make it more popular among the Muslim masses.Jinnah himself was the mastermind and architect of this pact. Due to the reconciliation brought about byJinnah between the Congress and the League, the Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu, gave him the titleof “the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”.The main features are:

1. There shall be self-government in India.2. The same method should be adopted for the Executive Councils of Governors.3. The Indian Council must be abolished.4. The salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs should be paid by the British government,

not from Indian funds5. The executive should be separated from the judiciary..6. The number of Muslims in the provincial legislatures should be laid down province by province.7. Muslims should be given 1/3 representation in Central Govt.8. There should be separate electorates for all communities until they ask for joint electorate.9. System of weight-age should be adopted.10. Term of Legislative Council should be 5 years.11. Half of the members of Imperial Legislative Council must be Indians.12. Dominion Status

68 Ans DTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: Conceptual

69 Ans CTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The non-cooperation movement was suspended after the violence unleashed at Chauri Chaura


70 Ans DTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: Factual

71 Ans CTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: Factual

72 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleLevel: Moderate Type: factual Explanation:Government of India act provided for the establishment of union public service commission, which wasset up in 1926.The provincial public service commissions were set up as per the recommendations of government ofIndia act 1935

73 Ans BTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: DifficultType: Factual

74 Ans DTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation:First RTC: The three British political parties were represented by sixteen delegates. There were fifty-eightpolitical leaders from British India and sixteen delegates from the princely states. In total 89 delegatesfrom India attended the Conference. However, the Indian National Congress, along with Indian businessleaders, kept away from the conference. Many of them were in jail for their participation in CivilDisobedience Movement.Second RTC: The Gandhi-Irwin Pact opened the way for Congress participation in this conference.Mahatma Gandhi was invited from India and attended as the sole official Congress representativeaccompanied by Sarojini Naidu and also Madan Mohan Malaviya, Ghanshyam Das Birla, MuhammadIqbal, Sir Mirza Ismail (Diwan of Mysore), S.K. Dutta and Sir Syed Ali Imam. Gandhi claimed that theCongress alone represented political India; that the Untouchables were Hindus and should not be treatedas a “minority”; and that there should be no separate electorates or special safeguards for Muslims orother minorities. These claims were rejected by the other Indian participants. According to this pact,Gandhi was asked to call off the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) and if he did so the prisoners of theBritish government would be freed excepting the criminal prisoners, i.e. those who had killed Britishofficials. He returned to India, disappointed with the results and empty-handed.Third RTC: The third and last session assembled on November 17, 1932. Only forty-six delegates attendedsince most of the main political figures of India were not present. The Labour Party from Britain and theIndian National Congress refused to attend.From September 1931 until March 1933, under the supervision of the Secretary of State for India, SirSamuel Hoare, the proposed reforms took the form reflected in the Government of India Act 1935

75 Ans A


Topic: Civil-Disobedience MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: FactualExplanation: The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was a political agreement signed by Mahatma Gandhi and the then Viceroy ofIndia, Lord Irwin on 5 March 1931 before the second Round Table Conference in London.British Government agreed to:1. Withdraw all ordinances and end prosecutions2. Release all political prisoners, except those guilty of violence3. Permit peaceful picketing of liquor and foreign cloth shops4. Restore confiscated properties of the satyagrahis5. Permit free collection or manufacture of salt by persons near the sea-coast6. Lift the ban over the congressINC agreed to suspend the Civil-Disobedience Movement

76 Ans BTopic: Non-Cooperation MovementDifficulty level: ModerateType: Factual

77 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: DifficultType: Factual

78 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: ModerateType: Factual

79 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleDifficulty level: DifficultType: Factual

80 Ans ATopic: The Freedom StruggleLevel: moderate Type: factual Explanation:On 29thJanuary 1780, the first Indian newspaper came into being; founded by James Augustus Hicky. Itwas known as the ‘Calcutta General Advertiser’, or as it is more popularly known these days – as ‘Hicky’sBengal Gazette’. The gazette claimed that it was ‘a weekly political and commercial paper open to all yetinfluenced by none’ – a statement that strongly echoes its independence from any colonial influence.

The Indian Sociologist was an Indian nationalist journal in the early 20th century. Its subtitle was AnOrgan of Freedom, and Political, Social, and Religious Reform. The journal was edited by ShyamjiKrishnavarma from Paris.

Annie Besant first came to India on 16 November 1893. She founded a weekly newspaper 'Commonweal'in January 1914 for her political work.


Bhikaji Cama was born on September 24 1861 into a large, affluent Parsi family. Her father, SorabjiFramji Patel, was a famous merchant who was at the forefront of business, education, and philanthropyin the city of Bombay. Cama wrote, published and distributed revolutionary literature for the movement,including Bande Mataram

81 Ans DTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: difficult Type: factual Explanation:Cabinet Mission was composed of three Cabinet Ministers of England Sir Pethick Lawrence, Secretary ofState for India. Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, Alexander, the First Lord of theAdmiralty.The cabinet mission plan of 1946 proposed that there shall be a Union of India which was to beempowered to deal with the defense, foreign affairs and communications. The cabinet mission recommended an undivided India and turned down the Muslim league’s demand fora separate Pakistan. The Cabinet mission provided that all the members of the Interim cabinet would be Indians and therewould be minimum interference by the Viceroy. It also provided for formation of the constituent assembly on democratic principle of population. It recognized Indian Right to cede from the Commonwealth. The Union Government and its legislature were to have limited powers, dealing with Finance, ForeignAffairs and Communications. The union would have powers necessary to raise the finances to manage thesubjects. Thus, the Cabinet Mission plan proposed a weak Centre. The representation of the Provincial legislatures was to be break up into 3 sections. Section A: Madras, UP, Central provinces, Bombay, Bihar & Orissa (Hindu majority provinces) Section B: Punjab, Sindh, NWFP, Baluchistan (Muslim majority provinces) Section C: Assam and Bengal. (Muslim majority but substantial Hindu population)

82 Ans CTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: moderate Type: factual Explanation:August Offer, 8 August 1940:As the war was taking a menacing turn from the allied point of view congress offered to cooperate in thewar if transfer of authority in India is done to an interim government. The government’s response was astatement of the viceroy known as the august offer.On 8 August 1940, early in the Battle of Britain, the Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, made the so-calledAugust Offer. The following proposals were put in:The establishment of an advisory war councilAfter the war a representative Indian body would be set up to frame a constitution for India.Viceroy’s Executive Council would be expanded without delay.The minorities were assured that the government would not transfer power “to any system of governmentwhose authority is directly denied by large and powerful elements in Indian national life.”

83 Ans DTopic: Quit India Movement Level: easy Type: factual Explanation:Individual Satyagraha 1940-41:


Towards the end of 1940, the Congress once again asked Gandhi to take command. Gandhi now begantaking steps which would lead to a mass struggle within his broad strategic perspectiveAfter the August Offer, disappointed radicals and leftists wanted to launch a mass Civil DisobedienceMovement, but here Gandhi insisted on Individual Satyagraha.The Individual Satyagraha was not to seek independence but to affirm the right of speech. The otherreason of this Satyagraha was that a mass movement may turn violentThe aims of launching individual satyagrahas were:(i) To show that nationalist patience was not due toweakness; (ii) to express people’s feeling that they were not interested in the war and that they made nodistinction between Nazism and the double autocracy that ruled India; and (iii) to give anotheropportunity to the Government to accept Congress’ demands peacefully.The non-violence was set as the centerpiece of Individual Satyagraha. This was done by carefully selectingthe Satyagrahis.The first Satyagrahi selected was AcharyaVinobaBhave, who was sent to Jail when he spoke against thewar.Second Satyagrahi was JawaharLal Nehru.Third was Brahma Datt, one of the inmates of the Gandhi’s Ashram. They all were sent to jails forviolating the Defense of India Act

84 Ans CTopic: quit India movement Level: moderate Type: factual Explanation:In March 1942, a mission headed by Stafford Cripps was sent to India with constitutional proposals toseek Indian support for the war. Stafford Cripps was a left-wing Labourite, the leader of the House ofCommons and a member of the British War Cabinet who had actively supported the Indian nationalmovement.Why Cripps Mission Failed:The Cripps Mission proposals failed to satisfy Indian nationalists. Various parties and groups hadobjections to the proposals on different points.The Congress objected to:(i) The offer of dominion status instead of a provision for complete independence.(ii) Representation of the states by nominees and not by elected representatives.(iii) Right to provinces to secede as this went against the principle of national unity.(iv) Absence of any plan for immediate transfer of power and absence of any real share in defence; thegovernor- general’s supremacy had been retained, and the demand for governor-general being only theconstitutional head had not been accepted.Nehru and Maulana Azad were the official negotiators for the Congress

85 Ans ATopic: quit India Level: moderate Type: factual Explanation:Rajaji formula= 1944Wavell Plan= June 1945 The INA trails = November 1945 RIN mutiny = Feb 1946

86 Ans CTopic: quit India movement Level: moderate Type: factual


87 Ans DTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: ModerateType: Factual

88 Ans DTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: easyType: factualExplanation:The Rani of Jhansi Regiment was the Women’s Regiment of the Indian National Army (INA) during theSecond World War. The regiment was raised in Singapore and was organized into officers or sepoys(privates) based on their education. It was led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal

89 Ans DTopic: Freedom StruggleLevel: difficult Type: factual Explanation:Eka Movement Towards the end of 1921, peasant discontent surfaced again in the districts of Hardoi, Bahraich andSitapur, with grievances relating to the extraction of a rent that was generally 50 percent higher than therecorded rent. Congress and Khilafat leaders provided the initial thrust to the peasant grievances and themovement grew under the name Eka or unity movement. With grass-root leadership not in favour of non-violence taking over the movement, the authorities succeeded in bringing it to an end. The Kisanmovements were also over shadowed by the Non-Cooperation Movement in UP. Kisan SabhasThe initiative to organize peasants into KisanSabhas was taken by the active members of Home RuleLeague in UP - Gauri Shankar Misra, IndraNarainDwivedi supported by Madan Mohan Malviya. The UPKisanSabha, set up in 1918, had established 450 branches in 173 tehsils of the province by mid-1919. Inthe mid-1920, Baba Ramchandra emerged as the leader of peasants in Avadh and led a few hundredtenants from Jaunpur and Pratapgarh districts to Allahabad and apprised Jawaharlal Nehru of theconditions of the peasants. Nehru made several visits to the rural areas and developed close contacts withthe KisanSabha Movement.Late 1920 saw the setting up of an alternative AwadhKisanSabha at Pratapgarh with the efforts ofJawaharlal Nehru, Mata BadalPande, Baba Ram Chandra, Dev Narayan Pande, and KedarNath bringingunder its umbrella over 330 KisanSabhas. The Sabha exhorted peasants to refuse to till bedakhali land;not to offer har and beggar (forms of unpaid labour), boycott those who did not accept these conditionsand to solve their disputes through panchayats. In 1921, the nature of peasant movement underwent amarked change with peasants indulging in looting of bazaars, houses, granaries and clashes with thepolice. The Government easily suppressed these outbreaks of violence. It passed the Awadh Rent(Amendment) Act which though brought little relief to the tenants, was instrumental in the gradualdecline of the movement

90 Ans ATopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementLevel: difficult Type: factual

91 Ans BTopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementLevel: easy


Type: factual Explanation:On 11 September 1930, the personnel of the Round Table Conference were announced. The conferencewas opened officially by King George V on November 12, 1930 in London. It was chaired by British PMRamsay MacDonald. 16 delegates represented the three political parties of Britain and 57 political leadersfrom India representing all shades of Indian opinion, minus Indian National Congress. The main Indian representatives were as follows: Muslim League: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muhammad Shafi, Aga Khan, Muhammad Ali, MuhammadZafrulla Khan, A.K. FazlulHuqHindu Mahasabha: B. S. Moonje and M.R. Jayakar Indian Liberal Party:TejBahadurSapru, C. Y. Chintamani and SrinivasaSastri Sikhs: SardarUjjal Singh The Untouchables: B. R. Ambedkar

92 Ans ATopic: Civil-Disobedience MovementLevel: moderate Type: factual Explanation:The Gandhi Irwin Pact was endorsed by the Congress in the Karachi Session of 1931 that was held fromMarch 26-31.The Karachi session was presided by Sardar Patel. The congress adopted a resolution on FundamentalRights and Economic Policy which represented the Party’s Social, Economic and Political programmerSome important aspects of these resolutions were:Basic civil rights of freedom of speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of assembly, Freedom of association,Equality before law Elections on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise Free and compulsory primaryeducation. Substantial reduction in rent and taxes Better conditions for workers including a living wage, limited hours of work. Protection of women and peasants Government ownership or control of key industries, mines, andtransport.Protection of Minorities

93 Ans CTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: moderate Type: factual Explanation:Most of the prominent leaders including Gandhi and Nehru were arrested by the British on 9th Augustmaking quit India Movement virtually a leaderless movement. The reins of the movement were handled bylesser known second-tier leaders.Gandhi did not formulate any definite programmer of action before he was arrested on 9th August. Theviolent acts in the 1942 movement were not of its original character, and the QIM movement in 1942shortly merged itself into the revolutionary or terrorist movement. The general public attacked symbols of authority, hoisting national flags forcibly on public buildings.Satyagrahis offered themselves up to arrest, bridges were blown up, railway tracks were removed andtelegraph lines were cut

94 Ans CTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: easy Type: factual Explanation:


Congress Radio was a clandestine and underground radio station, which operated for about three monthsduring the Quit India Movement and functioned from different locations from Bombay. It was organizedby Usha Mehta, a veteran freedom fighter of India with the help of ham radio operators 95 Ans ATopic: Freedom StruggleLevel: difficult Type: factualList of the INC sessions and the presiding officers:Year Location Important facts1885 Bombay 1st session of INCPresident- W.C. BonnerjeeLord Dufferin was the Viceroy of British India1886Calcutta President- DadabhaiNaoroji1887 Madras President- BadruddinTyabji (1st Muslim president of INC)1888 Allahabad President- George Yule (1st English president of INC)1889 BombayPresident- Sir William Wedderburn1890 Calcutta President- Pherozeshah Mehta1891 Nagpur President- P. AnandaCharlu1892 Allahabad President- Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee1893 Lahore President- DadabhaiNaoroji1894 Madras President- Alfred Webb1895 Poona President- Surendranath Banerjee1896 Calcutta President- Rahimtullah M. Sayani1897 AmraotiPresident- C. Sankaran Nair1898 Madras President- Ananda Mohan Bose1899 Luck now President- RomeshChunderDutt1900 Lahore President- N.G. Chandavarkar1901 Calcutta President- DinshawEduljeeWacha1902 Ahmedabad President- Surendranath Banerjee1903 Madras President- Lal Mohan Ghosh1904 BombayPresident- Sir Henry Cotton1905 BenaresPresident- Gopal Krishna Gokhale1906 Calcutta President- DadabhaiNaoroji1907 Surat Congress splits into extremists and moderatesRash Behari Ghosh was the President1908 Madras 23rd Session continuedRash BehariGhosh was the President1909 Lahore President- Madan Mohan Malaviya1910 Allahabad President- Sir William Wedderburn1911 Kolkata Jana Ganamana was sung for the first timeBishan Narayan Dar was the President1916 Lucknow Joint session with Muslim league- Luck now pactPresident- AmbicaCharanMazumdar1917 Calcutta President- Annie Besant (1st women president of INC)1918 Bombay and Delhi Two sessions1st President- Syed Hasan Imam2nd President- Madan Mohan Malaviya1919 Amritsar President- Motilal Nehru1920 Nagpur President- C. Vijayaraghavachariar1921 Ahmedabad Hakim Ajmal Khan (Acting President for C.R. Das)1922 Gaya President- C.R. Das1924 Belgaum Mahatma Gandhi was the president of INC


1925 Kanpur 1st Indian women president of INC- Sarojini Naidu.1926 GauhatiPresident- S. SrinivasaIyengar1927 Madras President- M.A. Ansari1928 Calcutta President- Motilal Nehru1929 Lahore Resolution for PoornaSwaraj or complete independencePresident- Jawaharlal Nehru.1931 Karachi President- Vallabbhai J. Patel1932 Delhi President- RanchodLalAmritLal1933 Calcutta President- Nellie Sen Gupta1934 BombayPresident- Rajendra Prasad1936 Lucknow President- Jawaharlal Nehru1937 Faizpur President- Jawaharlal Nehru1938 Haripura President- Subhash Chandra Bose1939 Tripuri President- Subhash Chandra Bose1940 Ramgarh President- AbulKalam Azad1946 Meerut Last session before the Independence of IndiaPresident- Acharya J B Kripalini1948 Jaipur 1st session after the Independence of IndiaPresident was Dr.Pattabhi Sitaramayya

96 Ans ATopic: Non-Cooperation MovementLevel: moderate Type: factual Explanation:The government of India act, 1919 introduced, for the first time, bicameralism and direct elections in thecountry. Thus, the Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of anUpper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members ofboth the Houses were chosen by direct election

97 Ans ATopic: Civil- Disobedience MovementLevel: difficult Type: factual Explanation:It provided for the adoption of diarchy at the Centre .It abolished diarchy at provinces and introducedprovincial autonomy.It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates fordepressed classes (scheduled castes), women and labour (workers)

98 Ans DTopic: Freedom Struggle Level: difficult Type: factual Explanation:The Wardha scheme of Education, popularly known as ‘Basic education’ occupies a unique place in thefield of elementary education in India. This scheme was the first attempt to develop an indigenous schemeof education in British India by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation. As a nationalist leader he fullyrealized that the British system of education could not serve the socio-economic need of the country.The conference appointed a committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Zakir Hussain to prepare a detailededucation plan and syllabus.Major recommendations of the wardha scheme of education are as follows,


Free, universal and compulsory education should be provided for all boys and girls between the ages of 7—14.This education should be imparted in the mother-tongue of the child.All education should center round some basic craft chosen with due regard to the capacity of children andthe needs of the locality. The committee suggested spinning and weaving, card-board and wood work,leather work, kitchen-gardening, agriculture and fishery as obviously suitable crafts.The selected craft should be both taught and practiced so that the children are able to produce articleswhich can be used and may be sold to meet part of the expenditure on the school.This craft must not be taught mechanically but its social and scientific implications were to be studiedside by side.In this craft-centered education all the subjects to be taught were to be integrally related to the selectedcraft or the child’s physical and social environment

99 Ans ATopic: Civil-Disobedience Movement Level: easy Type: factual Explanation:In order to better organize the campaign for the amelioration of the untouchables’ condition, Gandhi setup a new body in October 1932. It was first named the All India Anti-Untouchability League and laterrenamed the HarijanSevakSangh. Local branches of the body were set up in the provinces, while thecentral body was in Mumbai. Gandhi began to call the untouchables Harijans

100 Ans DTopic: Quit India MovementLevel: ModerateType: Factual


explanation - amazon web services · explanation: the tropical rainforest or moist forests biome...

Documents