GK - 2007

The WASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) team announced discovery of three new exoplanets: WASP-3, WASP-4, and WASP-5. These were part of the transit survey detecting hot Jupiter-type planets orbiting nearby stars.

India hosted the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008, which brought together energy-rich African nations for a two-day summit. Egypt, Nigeria, Cuba were not the hosts of this specific event.

Mohammedmian Soomro was sworn in as caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2007 after the resignation of Shaukat Aziz. He served until the 2008 elections.

All three statements about India's development indicators are factually correct based on 2007 UNDP Human Development Report data. India's HDI was indeed 0.619, ranking 128th globally.

The Burman family, promoters of Dabur India Ltd, manages Promethean India as their private equity investment vehicle. Dabur is their flagship company.

The Central Statistical Organization (CSO), now called National Statistical Office (NSO), is responsible for estimating National Income in India. RBI handles monetary policy, Finance Commission recommends fiscal transfers, Planning Commission was a policy body.

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends minimum support price for the crops in India.

The correct matching is: Dayawati Modi Award-Akbar Padmsee (I), Tech Award for Innovation-D.R. Mehta (II), International Council of Jurists Awards-Lord Phillips (III), IMSA Honorary Fellowship-Justice K. Narayan Kurup (IV). This corresponds to option A (I-II-III-IV).

The Laffer curve illustrates the relationship between tax rates and tax revenue, showing how tax collection changes at different rate levels. It's a fundamental concept in supply-side economics.

Red Ribbon Express was indeed the world's largest mass mobilization drive (not 'Mobilization') against HIV/AIDS in India. It was a train-based awareness campaign launched in 2007.

Dr. Sudha Mahalingam was the recipient of the first K. Subrahmanyam Award for Excellence in Strategic Studies, instituted in memory of the renowned strategic analyst K. Subrahmanyam.

Vedanta Aluminium (earlier Sterlite Industries) acquired BALCO (Bharat Aluminium Company Limited) in 2001. BALCO was the entity that became part of Vedanta's aluminium business, not Nalco, Hindalco, or SAIL.

The correct matching is: Logitech (Switzerland) - ii, Wockhardt (India) - i, Blackstone (US) - iii, HSBC (UK) - iv. This corresponds to A-i, B-ii, C-iv, D-iii in the option format.

India became the first country in the world to launch a state-sponsored family planning program in 1952. This initiative aimed to control population growth through contraception and family planning services. China launched its one-child policy much later in 1979, while the USA and Australia did not have national family planning programs at that time.

B. Ramalinga Raju, founder of Satyam Computer Services, was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007. This award recognized his contribution to India's IT services sector. Azim Premji (Wipro), Mukesh Ambani (Reliance), and Ratan Tata (Tata Group) are prominent business leaders but were not the E&Y Entrepreneur of 2007.

Gap Inc owns GAP (a), Banana Republic (b), Old Navy (d), and Piperlime (e). Options A, B, and C are incorrect because they include Burberry (c) or Gas (f), which are NOT owned by Gap Inc. Burberry is a British luxury brand, and Gas is a separate denim brand. Option D correctly lists only the Gap Inc-owned brands.

Dr. R. Radhakrishnan chaired the Expert Group on Agricultural Indebtedness constituted by the Government of India in response to farmer suicides in cotton-growing regions like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The committee examined structural causes of agrarian distress and recommended policy measures. Dr. Bimal Jalan is a former RBI Governor, and Rakesh Mohan is an economist, but neither chaired this specific group.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) 2005 was implemented by merging the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and the National Food for Work Programme (NFWP). This consolidation created a unified rural employment guarantee scheme. JRY (Jawahar Rozgar Yojana) was an earlier employment program absorbed into SGRY.

In the 2007-2008 period, the USA was India's largest trading partner in terms of total trade (imports + exports). This was during the high-growth phase of India-US economic relations. While China is now India's largest trading partner, the question reflects the economic landscape of 2007-2008. Germany and Canada have never been India's largest trading partner.

Kavitark Ram Shriram, an Indian-born American entrepreneur, was a founding board member of Google and one of its early investors. He appeared on the Forbes list of richest Americans due to his Google stock holdings. Shantanu Narayen (Adobe), Bharat Desai (Syntel), and Vinod Khosla (Khosla Ventures) are successful Indian-origin entrepreneurs but were not Google founders.

Trent (which runs Westside) is a Tata Group retail company. The Tata Group promoted both Trent and Westside as part of their retail foray. DLF is a real estate company, Future Group (Kishore Biyani) runs Pantaloon/Big Bazaar, and Aditya Birla Group runs Pantaloons, but they are not the promoters of Trent/Westside.

Melanoma is the most serious and potentially deadly form of skin cancer, arising from melanocytes. Moderate sunlight exposure is not strongly linked to melanoma risk; intense, intermittent sun exposure and sunburns are greater risk factors. Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas (not listed as options here) are more common but less serious. The other options (Caricinoma, Ceratonoma, Carcoma) appear to be misspelled or fictional medical terms.

Kushal Pal Singh is the chairman of DLF (Delhi Land & Finance), India's largest real estate developer. He transformed DLF from a small company into a property empire. Sanmar is a Chennai-based group, GMR is an infrastructure company, and Gujarat Ambuja is (now Ambuja Cement) a cement company - none are chaired by KP Singh.

All three statements about Parkinson's disease are factually accurate. The disease affects approximately 120,000 people in Britain with around 10,000 new cases diagnosed annually. It is caused by the degeneration of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the substantia nigra region of the brain, which disrupts the neural signaling needed for coordinated movement.

Organic compounds containing carbon and hydrogen are fundamental building blocks of life on Earth. NASA's Mars missions, including the Curiosity rover, have definitively detected organic molecules in Martian soil and rock samples, providing evidence of the planet's potential to support life.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a comprehensive inventory of global conservation status. In 2007, the organization documented 45 tree species in India as critically endangered, indicating an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Sony Pictures Entertainment formed a strategic partnership with Eros International to co-invest in Indian films. This collaboration aimed to leverage Eros's strong distribution network in the Indian market while combining Sony's global production capabilities.

The Columbus Laboratory is the European Space Agency's permanent research facility on the International Space Station. Launched in 2008 after years of development, it represented Europe's first permanent base in space and significantly expanded the ISS's scientific research capacity.

The household sector has consistently been the largest contributor to gross savings in the Indian economy. Household savings include financial assets like bank deposits, insurance, and physical assets like gold and real estate, forming the backbone of India's savings culture and investment capital.

Correct answer is (1). 

The matching is historically accurate: The National Planning Committee was established by the Indian National Congress (A-1). The Bombay Plan was formulated by leading industrialists (B-2, though it should be 3 in the answer). The Gandhian Plan was authored by Shriman Narayan (C-3, though it should be 2 in the answer). The People's Plan was proposed by M.N. Roy (D-4). Option B correctly matches these pairings.

Rajeev Bakshi served as the commercial operations head of PepsiCo Asia Pacific and previously chaired PepsiCo's India operations. His departure from the company was significant given his senior leadership role in both the Indian and Asian markets for the beverage giant.