General Awareness

Speed Post is a well-known collection of letters written by the Indian author and columnist Shobha De.

Samurai bonds are yen-denominated bonds issued in the Tokyo market by non-Japanese companies.

The United Nations General Assembly designated June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, committing parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring.

The Heart of India is a non-fiction book written by the British journalist and author Mark Tully.

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake, which struck the border region between India and Pakistan, led to significant humanitarian cooperation and diplomatic efforts between the two nations.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of Biocon, is widely recognized as the Biotech Queen of India.

During the 2005-06 period, the Indian agriculture sector faced significant challenges and lagged behind the growth seen in the industrial and service sectors.

L.K. Advani served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) immediately before Rajnath Singh took over the position in 2006.

In 2004, a team of scientists in South Korea led by Hwang Woo-suk claimed to have successfully created a cloned human embryo, though the claim was later retracted due to scientific fraud.

Kolkata was the first city in India to have a metro rail service (1984). Delhi was the second city to launch its metro system in 2002.

Arcelor was a major European steel manufacturing company that later merged with Mittal Steel to form ArcelorMittal.

Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi held power in Bihar from 1990 to 2005, which totals 15 years of uninterrupted rule before the RJD lost the election.

MPLADS stands for Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, a scheme that allows MPs to recommend development works in their constituencies.

Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 2005 after a long period of conflict and the absence of a formal parliament.

Afghanistan became the eighth member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 2007, making it the youngest member.

In the 2005 Brand Equity Survey, Colgate was ranked as the most trusted brand in India.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was founded in 1792. By 2005, it had been in existence for approximately 213 years.

Swati Ghate is a well-known Indian chess player who won the Women's National Chess Championship in 2000.

The Sri Lankan government held various peace talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to resolve the civil war.

A thermostat is a component that senses the temperature of a physical system and performs actions so that the system's temperature is maintained near a desired setpoint.

PURA stands for Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas. It is a strategy for rural development in India, proposed by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) is the free trade agreement of the SAARC nations. It was signed in 2004 and came into effect on January 1, 2006.

The 93rd session of the Indian Science Congress was held in Hyderabad in 2006. It was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.