Current Affairs & General Knowledge 2007-2008

Dr. Donkupar Roy was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya on March 19, 2008, leading the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance coalition government. This followed the 2008 assembly elections in the state.

"My Country, My Life" is the autobiography of LK Advani, published in 2008. The book covers his journey from childhood to his role as a senior BJP leader and Deputy Prime Minister of India.

Dextre is the Canadian-built robotic arm system sent to the International Space Station. It's formally known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator and is part of the Mobile Servicing System.

The 1500 MW Pragati Phase III Power Project (also known as Pragati Power Project) is located in Delhi. It's a gas-based power plant built by the Pragati Power Corporation Limited.

The Chameli Devi Award is a prestigious journalism award in India, given annually for outstanding contribution to journalism, particularly recognizing women journalists for their exemplary work in the field.

World Red Cross Day is observed annually on May 8 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross Movement and recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize.

According to the World Bank's 2007 report, India was the biggest recipient of remittances globally, receiving over $27 billion from its diaspora, followed by China and Mexico in second and third places respectively.

Kholoud Ahmed Juwan Al Dhahiri made history as the first woman judge appointed at Abu Dhabi Judicial Department in 2008, breaking gender barriers in the UAE's judicial system.

EKA is an Indian supercomputer developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) in collaboration with Tata Sons. It was ranked as the world's fourth fastest supercomputer in 2007.

World Habitat Day is observed annually on October 1, designated by the United Nations to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all.

Haryana won the Telecom India Excellence Award 2007 for outstanding performance in telecommunications infrastructure implementation and rural telephony penetration in the state.

Emirates became the first airline in the world to commercially launch in-flight mobile phone service in 2008, allowing passengers to make and receive calls during flights on selected routes.

IIT Kharagpur conferred the honorary Doctor of Science degree upon Ratan Tata, recognizing his exceptional contributions to Indian industry and philanthropy. The other prominent business leaders listed - Sunil Mittal (Bharti Enterprises), Anil Ambani (Reliance Group), and Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries) - while highly distinguished, were not the recipients of this specific honorary degree from IIT Kharagpur.

Twenty20 cricket format was included in the Asian Games for the first time in 2010 at Guangzhou, China. Kabaddi and Squash were already part of previous Asian Games. Kho-Kho has not been included in the Asian Games as a regular sport. T20 cricket's inclusion marked a significant moment as cricket's shortest format gained international multi-sport event recognition.

Vitamin D has been extensively studied for its role in insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. Research suggests that adequate Vitamin D levels may improve pancreatic beta-cell function and reduce insulin resistance, thereby potentially lowering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. While Vitamins A, B, and C are essential for various bodily functions, they are not specifically linked to diabetes risk reduction in the same way as Vitamin D.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is India's central bank, responsible for regulating the monetary policy, issuing currency, and supervising the financial system. It was established in 1935 and nationalized in 1949. A central bank is not a commercial or private bank that deals with the general public - it primarily serves as the banker to the government and regulates other banks in the country.

The Planning Commission was not a constitutional body - it was established by a Cabinet resolution in 1950 and could be dissolved or restructured by executive decision (indeed, it was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015). UPSC (Article 315-323), Election Commission (Article 324), and Finance Commission (Article 280) are all explicitly established by the Constitution of India.

Som Mittal served as the President of NASSCOM during 2008-2010. NASSCOM is the premier trade body for the IT-BPM industry in India. Shanta Sinha is known for child rights activism, Laxmi Narayanan was a Vice Chairman at Cognizant, and KN Memani was associated with Ernst & Young India.

Phishing is a cybercrime where attackers impersonate legitimate organizations via email or fake websites to trick victims into revealing sensitive information like PINs, passwords, and credit card details. It is not a government plan or biological term. The term comes from 'fishing' where bait is used to catch victims - the 'ph' spelling is attributed to hacker culture.

GAPCO (Gulf African Petroleum Corporation) was a fuel retailer with significant operations in East and Central African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. Reliance Industries acquired GAPCO in 2016 for approximately $1.5 billion to expand its international retail presence. The company was not primarily focused on South Africa, Europe, or broadly across Asia.

Yousuf Raza Gilani served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012, which includes the year 2011. Nawaz Sharif became Prime Minister later in 2013. Fahmida Mirza was the Speaker of the National Assembly (first female Speaker), not Prime Minister. The question specifically asks for the PM in 2011, making Gilani the correct answer.

According to the UN e-Government Survey 2008, Sweden ranked first in the overall e-readiness index, reflecting its advanced digital infrastructure, high internet penetration, and comprehensive e-government services. Denmark typically ranks high as well but was behind Sweden in this specific 2008 survey. The United States and India, while making progress, were not at the top of this particular ranking.

Rahul Dravid achieved the milestone of scoring 10,000 runs in both Test and ODI cricket, making him only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to accomplish this feat. Dravid, known as 'The Wall' for his solid batting technique, retired with over 13,000 Test runs and 10,000+ ODI runs. Yuvraj Singh, Anil Kumble, and MS Dhoni, while legendary cricketers, did not reach this particular milestone in both formats.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft discovered compelling evidence of an underground ocean of water and ammonia on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The findings, announced in 2008, were based on Titan's rotation characteristics and the presence of ammonia, which acts as antifreeze allowing liquid water to exist beneath the icy surface. Io is a moon of Jupiter, Charon is Pluto's moon, and Titania is a moon of Uranus - none of which were discovered by Cassini to have this specific ocean composition.

Anne Enright won the 2007 Man Booker Prize for her novel 'The Gathering'. Indra Sinha and Nicola Barker were also shortlisted that year but did not win.