December 2021 Flashcards
Recently, India’s ___ has been added to the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Durga Puja of Kolkata
Where is UNESCO headquartered?
World Heritage Centre in Paris, France
Who is the head of UNESCO?
Audrey Azoulay (France)
When was UNESCO founded?
16th November 1945
UNESCO is the successor organisation for?
League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation
When was the World Heritage Convention signed? When did it come into force?
1972, 1975
Name India’s first entries to the Representative List of ICH.
Ramlila, Vedic Chanting and Kutiyattam
When was the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage signed? When did it come into force?
2003, 2006
How many total entries in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity? How many from India?
529, 14
How many total entries in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding? How many from India?
71, 0
How many total entries in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices? How many from India?
29, 0
When was the Press Council of India established?
1966
Current Chairman of the Press Council of India
Chandramauli Kumar Prasad
When is Good Governance Day? On whose birthday is it celebrated?
December 25th, Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Good Governance Index is prepared by ___ under the ___ ministry.
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Which state topped the Good Governance Index under the Group A States Category?
Gujarat
Which state topped the Good Governance Index under the Group B States Category?
Madhya Pradesh
Which state topped the Good Governance Index under the North-East and Hill States Category?
Himachal Pradesh
Which UT topped the Good Governance Index under the Union Territories Category?
Delhi
When is ‘Good Governance Week’? What is its theme in 2021?
20th December to 26th December.
The theme is “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur”.
Recently, ___ from the ___ state was added to the Ramsar Sites List as the 47th site from India.
Haiderpur Wetland, Uttar Pradesh
The Haiderpur Wetland is from the ___ state. It is within the ___ Sanctuary and located near the town ___.
Uttar Pradesh, Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Bijnor
Who is the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change?
Bhupender Yadav
‘Ramsar’ is a city in
Iran
The Ramsar Convention was signed in ___. It came into force in ___.
1971, 1975
When is World Wetlands Day? Why is commemorated on that day?
February 2
Mars the Ramsar Convention’s signing on 2 February 1971.
India has ___ Ramsar Sites.
47
The first Ramsar Site of India was ___, added in ___.
Chilika Lake, 1981
___ sites are listed on the Montreaux Record.
46
Name the sites from India on the Montreaux Record.
Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan and
Loktak Lake, Manipur
Name the site in India that was added to the Montreaux Record and later removed.
Chilika Lake
State with most Ramsar Sites in India
Uttar Pradesh
Largest Ramsar Site in India
Sunderbans
Country with the most Ramsar Sites
United Kingdom
Country with highest area of Ramsar Sites
Bolivia
World’s First Ramsar Site
Cobourg Peninsula, Australia
Where will Ramsar Convention’s COP14 be held? What will its theme be?
Wuhan, China
Theme: Wetland Actions for People & Nature
How many Ramsar sites were added from India in 2021? Name them.
5 were added.
- Thol Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat
- Wadhwana Wetland, Gujarat
- Sultanpur National Park, Haryana
- Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, Haryana
- Haiderpur Wetlands, Uttar Pradesh
India ranked __ out of __ countries in the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021, conducted by the ___.
66 out of 109
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
As per the National Multidimensional Poverty Index conducted by the ___, ___ has the highest poverty levels, while ___ has the lowest.
NITI Ayog
Bihar
Kerala
The National Multidimensional Poverty Index has three equally weighted dimensions. Name them.
Health, education, and standard of living
Recently, ___ removed the Queen as its head of state.
Barbados
Name the Capital of Barbados.
Bridgetown
When did Barbados gain its independence from Britain?
November 30, 1966
___ is the current Prime Minister of Barbados.
___ is the President and new Head of State.
Mia Mottley
Sandra Mason
When was the Commonwealth of Nations established? By what instrument?
In 1949, by the London Declaration.
How many countries are in the Commonwealth of Nations?
54 Countries
Name the last country to join the Commonwealth of Nations.
Rwanda
Where are the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations?
Marlborough House, London, England
Name the intergovernmental organisation of Caribbean States. When was it established? Where is its secretariat headquartered?
Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC)
Estd. in 1973
HQ in Georgetown, Guyana
Name the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise held by the BIMSTEC countries.
PANEX
Theme of PANEX-21
‘Together we win’
Expand BIMSTEC.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
How many Member States does the BIMSTEC have? Name them.
7 Member States:
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
HQ of BIMSTEC
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Secy General of BIMSTEC
Tenzin Lekphell (Bhutan)
When was BIMSTEC established?
1997
Which country is currently the chair of BIMSTEC?
Sri Lanka
How many SAARC Member States? Name them.
8 Member States:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
HQ of SAARC
Kathmandu, Nepal
Secy General of SAARC
Esala Weerakoon (Sri Lanka)
When was SAARC established?
1985
___ is an act of the Parliament of India that grants special powers to the Indian Armed Forces to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958
Under the AFSPA, ___ can declare a state or a part of it to be ‘disturbed.’
Central Government or the Governor of a state
Name the Committee formed in 2004 to look into the issue of the repeal of the AFSPA. What were its recommendations?
Jeevan Reddy Committee
– To repeal the AFSPA and insert its provisions into the UAPA.
Name the Commission formed in 2005 that recommended on AFSPA. Who was its chair?
Second Administrative Reforms Commission
Chair: Veerappa Moily
Name the 1998 SC case in which the issue of AFSPA was heard.
Naga People’s Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India
Name the Committee recently formed by the Central Government to look into the issue of repeal of AFSPA from Nagaland.
Vivek Joshi Committee
Capital of Nagaland
Kohima
CM of Nagaland
Neiphiu Rio
Name the ‘Seven Sister States’ of India
Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh
When is Vijay Diwas celebrated? What does it mark?
16th December
It marks the instrument of surrender signed by Pakistan on 16th December, 1971.
During the 1971 War,
The Chief of Army Staff of India was ___
PM: ___, President: ___
Sam Manekshaw
Indira Gandhi
V.V. Giri
During the 1971 War,
The PM of Pakistan was ___ and the President was ___.
Presiden: Yahya Khan
PM: Nurul Amin
Name the militias of East Pakistan that fought in the Bangladeshi Liberation War.
Razakars
In the 1970 Pakistan Elections, the ___ Party led by ___ won a landslide victory.
Bangladesh Awami League
Shiekh Mujibur Rahman
Which operation marked the beginning of the Bangladeshi Liberation War? When did it start?
Operation Searchlight
March 25th, 1971
Operation Searchlight was called ___ by the Pakistani Navy,
Operation Barisal
When was the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence made? By whom?
26th March, 1971 by Ziaur Rahman
Name the guerrilla resistance movement in Bangladesh during the Bangladeshi Liberation War. Who was its head?
Mukti Bahini
Led by Mohammad Osmani
___ was a codename for three operations undertaken by the Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan against Pakistan during the climax of the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Operation Jackpot
When was the Provisional Government of Bangladesh formed? Where did it take its oath?
10th April, 1971
It took oath in Mujibnagar
Who was the President of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh? Who acted on his behalf? Who was the PM?
President: Shiekh Mujibur Rahman
Acting: Syed Nazrul Islam
PM: Tajuddin Ahmad
When did the Indo-Pak War of 1971 begin?
3rd December, 1971
___ was the code name assigned to the preemptive strikes carried out by the Pakistani Air Force on the forward airbases and radar installations of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 3 December 1971, marking the start of the war.
Operation Chengiz Khan
___ was an offensive operation launched by the Indian Navy on Pakistan’s port city of Karachi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Its follow-up operation was codenamed ___.
Operation Trident
Operation Python
Which was the first country to recognise Bangladesh?
Bhutan
When did India recognise Bangladesh as a country? What observance does this mark?
6th December, “Maitri Day”
When was the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender signed during the Indo-Pak War of 1971?
16th December, 1971
The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender in 1971 was signed by ___ on the Pakistani side and ___ on the Indian side.
Pakistan: A. A. K. Niazi
India: Jagjit Singh Aurora
When was the Simla Agreement signed?
2nd July, 1972
When was the Constitution of Bangladesh adopted? When did it come into force?
S: 4th November, 1972
F: 16th December, 1972
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is popular dubbed with the title ___.
Bangabandhu
When was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman born?
17 March 1920
When was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassinated? What is this day observed as in Bangladesh?
15 August, 1975
National Mourning Day
Who was the inaugural winner (in 1995) of the Gandhi Peace Prize?
Julius Nyerere (Tanzania)
___ was posthumously awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2020.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy is a prize jointly awarded by
Government of Bangladesh and UNESCO
In 2021, who won the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy?
MoTIV Creations Limited of Uganda
Capital of Bangladesh
Dhaka
National Anthem of Bangladesh
“Amar Sonar Bangla” by Rabindranath Tagore
PM of Bangladesh
Sheikh Hasina
The legislature of Bangladesh is known as
Jatiya Sangsad
What offences has Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently been found guilty of?
incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions
Name the anti-submarine torpedos developed by the DRDO.
Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART)
Name the air to surface anti-tank missile developed recently by the DRDO.
Stand Off Anti Tank Missile (SANT)
Name the medium-range ballistic missile being developed by the DRDO.
Agni-P or Agni-Prime
Name the Ministry of Defence programme for the devlopment of missiles.
Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
Name the five missiles under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
Prithvi Agni Trishul Nag Akash
What is the motto of the DRDO?
“Strength’s Origin is in Science”
When was DRDO formed?
1958
Who is the chairman of the DRDO?
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy
In which district of Nagaland did the violence against fourteen civillians happen? What is the name of the related tribe of Nagaland?
Mon District
Konyaks
NITI Aayog has released the ___th edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20.
What is the title of the report?
4th edition
“Healthy States, Progressive India”
When was the first State Health Index released?
2017 (4th in 2021)
The State Health Index is a weighted composite index based on ___ indicators grouped under the domains of ___, ___, and ___.
24 indicators
‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governan and ce and Information’ and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’
The State Health Index is developed by ___ with technical assistance from ___ and consultation with ___.
NITI Aayog, World Bank, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
In the State Health Index, under the category of ‘larger states’:
Which state ranked first?
Which state recorded best improvement?
Kerala
Uttar Pradesh
In the State Health Index, under the category of ‘smaller states’:
Which state ranked first?
Which state recorded best improvement?
Mizoram
Mizoram
In the State Health Index, under the category of ‘Union Territories’:
Which state ranked first?
Which state recorded best improvement?
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Delhi
Expand ‘NITI’ in NITI Aayog.
National Institution for Transforming India
Chairman of NITI Aayog
Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)
CEO of NITI Aayog
Amitabh Kant
Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog
Dr. Rajiv Kumar
When was the NITI Aayog formed?
2015
Which state did not participate in the State Health Index?
West Bengal
Recently, charges were levied to Aung San Suu Kyi, former leader of Myanmar. Name them.
Incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions
When was Myanmar annexed by the British? After which war?
January 1st, 1886
Third Anglo-Burmese War
When did Myanmar gain independence from Britain?
January 4th, 1948
When was Burma renamed to Myanmar?
1989
When was the Saffron Revolution in Myanmar?
2007
When was the Presidency restored in Myanmar?
2011
Name the acting President of Myanmar.
Myint Swe
Who is the Prime Minister of Myanmar?
Min Aung Hlaing
Capital of Myanmar
Naypyidaw
What is the name of the armed forces of Myanmar?
Tatmadaw
Name the political party in Myanmar that is the proxy of the armed forces.
Union Solidarity and Development Party
Name the party that was ousted from power in the 2021 Myanmar coup.
National League for Democracy
When did Aung San Suu Kyi win the Nobel Peace Prize?
1991
Name the new member of the NDB that was admitted in December 2021.
Egypt
Name the multilateral development bank established by BRICS.
New Development Bank (NDB)
When was NDB established?
2014
Who is the President of the NDB? Who was its first President?
Marcos Troyjo
K.V. Kamath
What is the authorised share capital of the NDB?
$100 billion
What are the 4 countries outside of BRICS that have been accepted into NDB?
Bangladesh, UAE, Uruguay and Egypt
Name the BRICS countries.
Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa
Since ___, the governments of the BRICS states have met at formal summits.
2009
When was South Africa inducted into BRICS?
2010
The term BRIC is believed to be coined by ___.
But, it was actually coined by ___ .
Jim O‘Neill
Roopa Purushothaman
Where was the first BRICS Summit held?
Yekaterinburg, Russia (2009)
Capital of Egypt
Cairo
President of Egypt
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
The Summit for Democracy was a virtual summit hosted by the ___.
United States
The three themes of the Summit for Democracy are?
Defending against authoritarianism
Addressing and fighting corruption
Advancing respect for human rights.
Name the foreign assistance initiative launched during the Summit for Democracy.
Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal
According to the Freedom in the World Report 2021, which are the freest countries in the world?
Finland, Norway and Sweden
The Freedom in the World Report is published by?
Freedom House
According to the Freedom in the World Report 2021, which are the least free countries in the world?
Tibet and Syria
The Freedom in the World 2021 report has downgraded India’s status to ___. India’s score was ___.
‘Partly Free’
67
The Global State of Democracy Report 2021 stated which countries as cases of ‘democratic backsliding’?
India and Brazil
The Global State of Democracy Report 2021 is published by?
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Name the new head of UNICEF.
Catherine Russell
What was UNICEF called earlier?
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
Where is the HQ of the UNICEF?
New York, USA
When was UNICEF formed?
11th December, 1946
On the 75th Anniversary of UNICEF, a collection of NFTs called ___ was launched.
They were created by ___, where the leading artist was ___.
Patchwork Kingdom
Snowcrash Labs
Nadieh Bremer
When was the Convention on the Rights of the Child
signed?
20th November, 1989
When is International Children’s Day
20th November
Signing of CRC
When is Children’s Day in India?
14th November
Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary
Chair of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights.
Priyank Kanoongo
How many countries have engaged in a “Diplomatic Boycott” of the Winter Olympics 2022?
12 countries
Name the first country to engage in a Diplomatic Boycott of the Winter Olympics 2022?
Lithuania
Why did the USA diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics 2022?
“China’s human rights atrocities” (Uyghur Muslim Genocide)
Why did India diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics 2022?
A Galwan PLA soldier was made torchbearer
When was the first Winter Olympics? Where was it held?
Chamonix, France in 1924
___ leads the all-time Olympic Games medal table for Winter Olympic Games.
Norway
The only country to have won a gold medal at every Winter Olympic Games is the ___.
United States
Has India ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics?
No
Where are the Winter Olympics being held in 2022?
Beijing
The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially the ___ Olympic Winter Games.
XXIV (24th)
___ is the first city to have hosted both the Summer and the Winter Olympics.
Beijing
Name the mascots of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon
Motto of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Together for a Shared Future
When was the Genocide Convention adopted?
9th December, 1948
Who coined the term genocide?
Raphael Lemkin
Name the region of China in which the Uyghur Genocide is occuring.
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)
Who is the Indian who has become the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director? What office did she hold previously?
Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist
Who is the Chief Economist of the IMF?
Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas
The IMF was formed in the year ___ in the ___ Conference.
1944, Bretton Woods Conference
Who is the Managing Director of the IMF?
Kristalina Georgieva
Name the two institutions of the World Bank.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA).
Who is the President of the World Bank?
David Malpass
Who is the Managing Director of the World Bank?
Anshula Kant
Who is the Chief Economist of the World Bank?
Carmen Reinhart
Where are the World Bank and the IMF headquartered?
Washington D.C., USA
