GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Preparatory Course
EARTH GENERAL K

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets. The
Earth is the only planet in our solar system not to be named after a Greek or Roman
deity. The Earth was formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago and is the only
known planet to support life.
Planet Profile
Mass: 5,972,190,000,000,000 billion kg
Equatorial Diameter: 12,756 km
Polar Diameter: 12,714 km
Equatorial Circumference: 40,030 km
Known Moons: 1
Notable Moons: The Moon
Orbit Distance: 149,598,262 km (1 AU)
Orbit Period: 365.26 Earth days
Surface Temperature: -88 to 58°C

Facts About The Earth

The Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing:
This deceleration is happening almost imperceptibly, at approximately 17
milliseconds per hundred years, although the rate at which it occurs is not perfectly
uniform. This has the effect of lengthening our days, but it happens so slowly that it
could be as much as 140 million years before the length of a day will have
increased to 25 hours.
The Earth was once believed to be the centre of the universe:
Due to the apparent movements of the Sun and planets in relation to their
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viewpoint, ancient scientists insisted that the Earth remained static, whilst other
celestial bodies travelled in circular orbits around it. Eventually, the view that the
Sun was at the centre of the universe was postulated by Copernicus, though this is
also not the case.

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 Earth has a
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE powerful magnetic field:
This phenomenon is caused by the nickel-iron core of the planet, coupled with its
rapid rotation. This field protects the Earth from the effects of solar wind.
There is only one natural satellite of the planet Earth:
As a percentage of the size of the body it orbits, the Moon is the largest satellite of
any planet in our solar system. In real terms, however, it is only the fifth largest
natural satellite.
Earth is the only planet not named after a god:
The other seven planets in our solar system are all named after Roman gods or
goddesses. Although onlyMercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were named
during ancient times, because they were visible to the naked eye, the Roman
method of naming planets was retained after the discovery of Uranus andNeptune.
Of all the planets in our solar system, the Earth has the greatest density:
This varies according to the part of the planet; for example, the metallic core is
denser than the crust. The average density of the Earth is approximately 5.52 grams
per cubic centimetre.
-70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water
When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human
eyes for the first time, and called our home the Blue Planet. And it’s no surprise.
70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid ground,
rising above sea level.
-Earth is mostly iron, oxygen and silicon
If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, you’d get 32.1 % iron,
30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron
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is actually down at the core of the Earth. If you could actually get down and sample
the core, it would be 88% iron. 47% of the Earth’s crust consists of oxygen.
-Earth doesn’t take 24 hours to rotate on its axis
It’s actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This is the amount of time it takes
for the Earth to completely rotate around its axis; astronomers call this a sidereal

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day. Now wait a second, that means a day is 4 minutes shorter than we think it is. GENERAL K
You’d think that time would add up, day by day, and within a few months, day
would be night, and night would be day.
-A year on Earth isn’t 365 days
It’s actually 365.2564 days. It’s this extra .2564 days that creates the need for leap
years. That’s why we tack on an extra day in February every year divisible by 4 –
2004, 2008, etc – unless it’s divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc)… unless it’s
divisible by 400 (1600, 2000, etc).
-Earth has 1 moon and 2 co-orbital satellites
As you’re probably aware, Earth has 1 moon (The Moon). But did you know there
are 2 additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbits with Earth? They’re called
3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. We won’t go into too much detail about the Moon,
I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.
3753 Cruithne is 5 km across, and sometimes called Earth’s second moon. It
doesn’t actually orbit the Earth, but has a synchronized orbit with our home planet.
It has an orbit that makes it look like it’s following the Earth in orbit, but it’s
actually following its own, distinct path around the Sun.
2002 AA29 is only 60 meters across, and makes a horseshoe orbit around the Earth
that brings it close to the planet every 95 years. In about 600 years, it will appear to
circle Earth in a quasi-satellite orbit. Scientists have suggested that it might make a
good target for a space exploration mission.
-The Earth is not actually round in shape;
In fact it is geoid. This simply means that the rounded shape has a slight bulge
towards the equator. So what causes this geoid shape? This happens solely because
the rotation of the Earth which causes the bulge around the equator.
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-The Earth tilts at roughly 66 degrees.

-Only 3% water of the earth is fresh, rest 97% salted. Of that 3%, over 2% is frozen
in ice sheets and glaciers. Means less than 1% fresh water is found in lakes, rivers
and underground.

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 -Asia Continent
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE is covered 30% of the total earth land area, but represent 60% of
the world’s population.
-Each winter there are about 1 septillion (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000
or a trillion trillion) snow crystals that drop from the sky.
1) Earth isn't round. Centrifugal force pushes outwards at Earth's equator giving it a
slight wasteline
2) Standing on that equator you would be spinning around Earth's center at 1000
miles per hour. At the poles, however, you would be standing still (and turning
in a circle).
You would still be hurling through space at 67000 miles per hour though
3) The rocks you are standing on get recycled. Volcanoes spit them out as magma,
they dry, harden, and after a very long time either get sucked down again by
plate tectonics or get pushed towards Earth's core by a fresh layer of rocks
above.
4) Speaking of magma, the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth's surface
was 136 degrees F or 57.8 degrees C in El Azizia, Libya recorded in 1922.
5) The coldest spot was Antarctica's vostok station that recorded a bonechilling
minus 128.6 degrees fahrenheit (minus 89.2 degrees C)
6) On that note, Antarctica contains about 70 percent of Earth's fresh water and 90
percent of its ice
7) Gravity is not distributed equally. Yes, you read that right. Places like Hudson
Bay in Canada actually have less gravity than other regions of the globe. This is
due to the fact that there is less land mass in that part of the planet thanks both to
retreating glaciers on the surface and swirling magma deep in the core.
8) Earth's magnetic north pole is moving northward at a rate of 10 miles per year
9) Some scientists claim we still have two moons…in a manner of speaking. Every
now and then an asteroid will get sucked into Earth's orbit and stick around for
up to 9 months.
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10) Although earthquakes are no fun, they are not the only quakes that affect the
earth. Moon quakes can actually make a difference in the tides.
11) The longest mountain range on Earth is actually underwater. It is called the mid
ocean ridge system. It stretches for 80,000 km all around the world and is
nearly 20 times longer than the longest range on the surface, the
Andes Mountains. Not only that, the whole thing is completely volcanic.

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12) On the topic of volcanos, the most active erupter on Earth is actually the GENERAL K
Stromboli Volcano in southern Italy. For the past 2,000 years it has been
erupting almost continously which has earned it the nickname "Lighthouse of
the Mediterranean.
13) 70 percent of the planet is covered in ocean but humans have only explored 5
percent of it.
14) The deepest spot on Earth is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. It is
nearly 11 km below the surface of the ocean (~7 miles) and only 3 people have
ever ventured there

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 World’s largest
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE ports

Rank Port Country Measure Tons (000s)

1 Ningbo-Zhoushan China MT 744,000

2 Shanghai China MT 644,659

3 Singapore Singapore FT 538,012

4 Tianjin China MT 477,000

5 Rotterdam Netherlands MT 441,527

6 Guangzhou China MT 438,000

7 Qingdao China MT 407,340

8 Dalian China MT 303,000

9 Busan South Korea RT 298,689

10 Port Hedland Australia MT 288,443

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11 Hong Kong Hong Kong, China MT 269,282

12 Qinhuangdao China MT 233,235

TOP TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION

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 GENERAL K

2000 2010 2014 2050

# Country
Population Population Population Expected Pop.

1 China 1,268,853,362 1,330,141,295 1,355,692,576 1,303,723,332

2 India 1,004,124,224 1,173,108,018 1,236,344,631 1,656,553,632

3 United States 282,338,631 310,232,863 318,892,103 439,010,253

4 Indonesia 213,829,469 242,968,342 253,609,643 313,020,847

5 Brazil 176,319,621 201,103,330 202,656,788 260,692,493

6 Pakistan 146,404,914 184,404,791 196,174,380 276,428,758

7 Nigeria 123,178,818 152,217,341 177,155,754 264,262,405

8 Bangladesh 130,406,594 156,118,464 166,280,712 233,587,279

9 Russia 146,709,971 139,390,205 142,470,272 109,187,353

10 Japan 126,729,223 126,804,433 127,103,388 93,673,826

TOP TEN
3,618,894,827 4,016,489,082 4,176,380,247 4,950,140,178
Countries

Rest of the World 2,466,012,769 2,829,120,878 3,005,478,372 4,306,202,522

TOTAL World
6,084,907,596 6,845,609,960 7,181,858,619 9,256,342,700
Population
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FACTS ABOUT INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

What is the geographical location of India?

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 The country
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE of India is geographically located towards the north equatorial region
in between the north latitude of 8° 4' and 37° 6' and east longitude of 68° 7' and 97°
25'. The country lies towards the south of the continent of Asia.

Which are the bordering countries of India?

Being a peninsular country, India is bordered mostly by water bodies of Arabian
Sea towards its southwest, Bay of Bengal towards its southeast and Indian Ocean
towards its south. However, the countries bordering the nation towards its north are
Bhutan, China and Nepal, towards its east are Burma and Bangladesh, and towards
west is Pakistan.

How does the geography of India look like?

The peninsular country of India is rich in its varied geographical features. Indian
geography has been made beautiful by its running rivers, serene lakes, beautiful
waterfalls, strong mountains, vast coastal plains, sprinkled islands and surrounding
oceans. The country is famously known as “land of rivers” for possessing numerous
rivers. Apart from these rivers flowing through the different parts of the nation,
India has got mountain ranges towards its north to the central plateau region. The
western and eastern coastal regions of the nation are surrounded by plain lands.

Which is the highest point of India?

Kanchenjunga, situated at an altitude of 8, 598 m above the sea level is the highest
point of India.

Which is the lowest point of India?

Kuttanad, in the state of Kerala, which is located at −2.2 m below the sea level, is
the lowest point of the nation.

What constitutes the river system of India?

India, the land of rivers comprises of a network of some main rivers and their
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innumerable tributaries and distributaries. The main rivers of the country are as
follows:
 Ganga
 Brahmaputra
 Chenab
 Beas
 Ravi

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  Jhelum GENERAL K
 Sutlej or Satluj
 Narmada
 Tapi or Tapti
 Krishna
 Godavari
 Kaveri
 Mahanadi
These rivers can be divided into two major river systems in India, which are
mentioned below:

 The Himalayan River System

 The Peninsular River System
The river system of Himalaya can be further sub-divided into the following three
river systems found mainly towards north India:
 Ganga River System: This river system consists of river Ganga and its
branches.
 Indus River System: The river system of Indus comprises of the network of
the north Indian rivers of Beas, Chenab, Ravi, Jhelum and Satluj or Sutlej.
 Brahmaputra River System: The river system of Brahmaputra includes
mainly the river Brahmaputra along with its tributaries.
The Peninsular River System of India has got rivers like Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna,
Mahanadi, Narmada, Tapti or Tapi, which originates and flows along with their
branches across the peninsular part of the country.

All these rivers originate from the following three main sources:

 The Himalayan ranges or the Karakoram ranges of north India

 Sahyadri ranges or the Western Ghats of west India
 Chotanagpur plateau, Satpura ranges and Vindhya ranges of central India

Originating from the three watersheds mentioned earlier and running across the
country of India, these rivers along with their tributaries and distributaries flows to
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either the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea. Some of the rivers even flow towards
the inner part of the country. Let us have a look at the division of some of the main
rivers of India according to their flowing basins:
Rivers, which have their flowing basin in Bay of Bengal: Some of the longest rivers
of India flowing towards the Bay of Bengal are:

 Brahmaputra

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  Ganga
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
 Godavari
 Kaveri
 Krishna
 Mahanadi
 Meghna

Rivers, whose flowing basin is Arabian Sea: To name a few of the Indian rivers,
which find their destination into the Arabian Sea are:

 Narmada
 Indus
 Tapti

Rivers of India flowing within the country's inner part: Some of the rivers of India
that flows towards the central part of the country are as follows:

 Musi
 Ghaggar
 Samir

Besides these rivers of India, there are many other important rivers, which
contribute to the beauty of this land of rivers. The names of a few of those beautiful
Indian rivers are mentioned below:

 Bhadra
 Gandak
 Mahananda
 Jaldhaka
 Ramganga
 Rupnarayan
 Yamuna
 Wainganga
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Which is the longest river of India?

Brahmaputra River, flowing over an area of 2, 900 km is the country's longest river.

How much rainfall is received by India?

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The distinct season of monsoon sets in the country of India mainly during the GENERAL K
month of June and continues till September. Depending upon the weather condition
of a particular year, the monsoon might vary slightly. June's rainfall brings a great
relief from the hot summer. 80 % of the yearly rainfall gets caused by the south east
trade winds originating from the Indian Ocean. Rainfall caused by the south west
monsoon gets divided into 2 branches, which are the Bay of Bengal branch and the
Arabian Sea branch. However, monsoon caused from the north eastern part of the
country sets in during the month of September. This kind of monsoon is mostly
experienced in winter.
The maximum annual precipitation of more than 2, 000 mm is received by the north
eastern part of the country, which includes the Himalayan range as well as the
Western Ghats. Eastern India receives medium annual rainfall that varies in
between 1, 000 mm to 2, 000 mm. The region covered by the Punjab plains and the
western Deccan plateau experiences a lesser rainfall in a year. There the annual
rainfall ranges from 100 mm to 500 mm. Areas of Rajasthan, Kachchh and Ladakh
don't receive a lot of rainfall during the year.

Is India prone to floods?

The peninsular nature of India as well as the possession of innumerable rivers
makes the country quite prone to floods. Moreover, the huge rainfall at different
parts of the nation contributes to the massive floods. As per G. S. I. (Geological
Survey of India), 12.5 % of the country's area is prone to flood.
Which are the major flood prone areas of India?
The plain regions towards the northern part of the country are more prone to flood.
However, depending upon the different river systems of India, the flood prone areas
of the country can be categorized into the following three heads:

 Ganga Basin
 Barak Basin and Brahmaputra Basin
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 River Basins located in the Deccan region and central India

Following are the states that can be regarded as the major flood prone areas of
India:

 West Bengal
 Andhra Pradesh

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  Orissa
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
 Kerala
 Assam
 Gujrat
 Bihar
 Uttar Pradesh
 Punjab
 Haryana

Apart from these, other regions of the country, which are prone to flood, are the
deltas and banks of the rivers like Brahmaputra, Damodar, Gandak, Ganga,
Ghaggar, Godavari, Mahanadi, Mahananda, Mayurakshi, Kosi, Ravi, Sabarmati,
Sutlej, Teesta, Yamuna – Sahibi.

How much area is covered by India?

The country of India spreads over an area of 3, 287, 263 sq. km. In spite of being
seventh largest in regards to the total covering area, the country occupies just 2.4 %
of the total surface of the earth. The land area of India amounts to around 6, 207
km., which is 90.44 % of the total area. This total land area can be further measured
on the basis of the following 2 aspects:

 Stretch in between north and south: 3, 214 km

 Stretch in between east and west: 2, 993 km

Among this, the forest areas of India sprawl over an area of 64, 113 sq. km.
constituting 19.27 % of the country's total area. 69 % of the total land area of India
is covered by dry lands. The other part of 9.56 % is water. Indian rivers are
accountable for a total area of about 14, 500 km.

Apart from these, the political boundaries of the nation stretch over 15, 106.70 km
area. More details about area covered by the different parts of the national border of
India can be gathered from the information provided below:
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 Border with Bangladesh: 4, 096.70 km

 Border with Bhutan: 6, 99 km
 Border with China (PRC): 3, 488 km
 Border with Myanmar: 1, 643 km
 Border with Nepal: 1, 751 km
 Border with Pakistan: 3, 323 km

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How rich is India in terms of greenery? GENERAL K
The country of India, being an agricultural land is blessed with lots of greenery.
Besides this, the country has got vast forest areas. Rich in varied species of flora
and fauna, these lush green dense forests help the country balance the natural
ecosystem. Along with supporting bio-diversity, some of these forests
accommodate a number of dangerous species that are on the way of extinction.
Following are the different ranges of dense forests that contribute to the
natural beauty of India:

 Himalayan range's dry alpine scrub forest

 Rain forests located towards the north east Indian states, western coastal
plains and the islands of Andaman and Nicobar.

The country even houses some charming deciduous forests, semi-evergreen rain
forests, thorn forests, pine forests of the sub-tropical regions and many more.

Major Ports in India

Following are the major Ports in India.

Western Coast Eastern Coast

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 Kandla (child
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE of partition) Kolkata-Haldia (riverine port)

Mumbai (busiest and biggest) Paradip (exports raw iron to Japan)

Jawahar Lal Nehru (fastest growing) Vishakjapatnam (deepest port)

Marmugao (naval base also) Chennai (oldest and artifical)

Mangalore (exports Kudremukh iron-ore) Ennore (most modern-in private hands)

Cochin (natural Harbour) Tuticorin (southernmost )

Few Facts about some port:- Among major ports, Mumbai is the biggest. Kandla
is a tidal port. Marmugao enjoys the second position by value of the tonnage of the
bulk of which is export of Iron core. Vishakhapatnam is the deepest land-locked
and protected port. Chennai has an artificial harbour, Kolkata is a riverine port,
Haldia has a fully equipped containerised berth.

Shipping:- Overseas shipping has an extremely important role to play in India’s

international trade. The country has the largest merchant shipping fleet among
developing countries and ranks 17th in the world in shipping tonnage. There were
102 shipping companies in country operating as on 31 March 2000, includes
shipping corporation of India, a public sector undertaking.
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First in India

Following are first in India happenings

Male

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The first President of Indian Republic Dr. Rajendra Prasad GENERAL K

The first Prime Minister of free India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru
The first Indian to win Nobel Prize Rabindranath Tagore
The first President of Indian National Congress W.C. Banerjee
The first Muslim President of Indian National
Badruddin Tayyabji
Congress
The first Muslim President of India Dr. Zakir Hussain
Lord William
The first British Governor General of India
Bentinck(1833-1835)
Lord Warren Hasting(1774-
The first British Governor General of Bengal
1885)
The first British Viceroy of India Lord Canning
The first Governor General of free India Lord Mountbatten
The first and the last Indian to be Governor General of
C. Rajgopalachari
free India
The first man who introduced printing press in India James Hicky
The first Indian to join the I.C.S Satyendra Nath Tagore
India’s first man in Space Rakesh Sharma
The first Prime Minister of India who resigned without
Morarji Desai
completing the full term
The first Indian Commander-in-Chief of India General Cariappa
Gen. Maharaj Rajendra
The first Chief of Army Staff
Singhji
The first Indian Member of the Viceroy’s executive
S.P.Sinha
council
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The first President of India who died while in office Dr. Zakhir Hussain
The first Muslim President of Indian Republic Dr. Zakhir Hussain
The first Prime Minister of India who did not face the
Charan Singh
Parliament
The first Field Marshal of India S.H.F. Manekshaw

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 The first Indian
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE to get Nobel Prize in Physics C.V.Raman
The first Indian to receive Bharat Ratna award Dr. Radhakrishnan
The first Indian to cross English Channel Mihir Sen
The first Person to receive Jnanpith award Sri Shankar Kurup
Ganesh Vasudeva
The firs Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Mavalankar
The first Vice-President of India Dr. Radhakrishnan
The first Education Minister Abdul Kalam Azad
The first Home minister of India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
The first Indian Air Chief Marshal S. Mukherjee
The first Indian Naval Chief Vice Admiral R.D. Katari
The first Judge of International Court of Justice Dr. Nagendra Singh
The first person to reach Mt. Everest without oxygen Sherpa Anga Dorjee
The first person to get Param Vir Chakra Major Somnath Sharma
The first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen
The first person to receive Magsaysay Award Acharya Vinoba Bhave
The first person of Indian origin to receive Nobel Prize
Hargovind Khurana
in Medicine
The first Chinese traveller to visit India Fahein
The first person to receive Stalin Prize Saifuddin Kitchlu
The first person to resign from the Central Cabinet Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
The first person to receive Nobel Prize in Economics Amartya Sen
The first Chief Justice of Supreme Court Justice Hirala J. Kania
The first Indian Pilot J.R.D. Tata (1929)
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Female

The first lady to become Miss World Rita Faria

The first woman judge in Supreme Court Mrs. Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi

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The first woman Ambassador Miss C.B. Muthamma GENERAL K

The first woman Governor of a state in

Mrs Sarojini Naidu
free India
The first woman Speaker of a State
Shanno Devi
Assembly
The first woman Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi
The first woman Minister in a
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Government
The first woman to climb Mount Everest Bachhendri Pal
The first woman to climb Mount Everest
Santosh Yadav
twice
The first woman President of Indian
Mrs Annie Besant
National Congress
The first woman pilot in Indian Air Force Harita Kaur Dayal
Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi
The first woman Graduates
Basu, 1883
The first woman Airline Pilot Durba Banerjee
The first woman Honours Graduate Kamini Roy, 1886
The first woman Olympic medal Winner Karnam Malleswari, 2000
The first woman Asian Games Gold
Kamlijit Sandhu
Medal Winner
The first woman Lawyer Cornelia Sorabjee
The first woman President of United
Mrs Vijaya Laxmi Pandit
Nations General Assembly
The first woman Chief Minister of an
Mrs Sucheta Kripalani
Indian State
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The first woman Chairman of Union

Roze Millian Bethew
Public Service Commission
The first woman Director General of
Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya
Police
Anna Chandy (She became judge in a
The first woman Judge
district court in 1937)

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 The first woman
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Cheif Justice of High Mrs Leela Seth (Himachal Pradesh High
Court Court)
The first woman Judge in Supreme Court
Kumari Justice M. Fathima Beevi
of India
The first woman Lieutenant General Puneeta Arora
The first woman Air Vice Marshal P. Bandopadhyaya
The first woman chairperson of Indian
Sushma Chawla
Airlines
The first woman IPS officer Mrs. Kiran Bedi
The first and last Muslim woman ruler of
Razia Sultan
India
The first woman to receive Ashoka
Nirja Bhanot
Chakra
The first woman to receive Jnanpith
Ashapurna Devi
Award
The first woman to cross English Channel Aarti Saha
The first woman to receive Nobel Prize Mother Teresa
The first woman to receive Bharat Ratna Mrs Indira Gandhi
The first woman to receive Jnanpith
Ashpurna Devi
Award

Indian Defence
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 The President of India is the supreme commander of the Indian

defence system
 The whole administrative control of the Armed forces lies in the
Ministry of Defence
 The Defence Minister (Raksha Mantri) is responsible to Parliament
for all matters concerning defence of the country.
 Indian defence system has been divided into three services-

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 1)Army 2)Navy 3)Air Force GENERAL K
Indian Army
The Indian Army is organised into seven commands:-
S.No. Command Headquarter
1 Western command Chandigarh
2 Eastern command Kolkata
3 Northern command 56 APO
4 Southern command Pune
5 Central command Lucknow
6 Army Training Command Shimla
7 South Western Command Jaipur
Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force is organised into seven commands:-
S.No. Command Headquarter
1 Western command New Delhi
2 Central command Allahabad
3 Eastern command Shillong
4 South western command Jodhpur
5 Training command Bangaluru
6 Maintenance command Nagpur
7 Southern command Thiruvananthapuram
Indin Navy
Indian Navy is organised into following commands:-
S.No. Command Headquarter
1 Eastern command Vishakhapatnam
2 Southern command Kochi
3 Western command Mumbai
CAPITALS AND CURRENCIES OF THE COUNTRIES
Countries highest export
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Europe

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
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Africa

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 GENERAL K

Middle East & Central Asia

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ASIA GENERAL K

South America

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Central America & the Caribbean

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 GENERAL K

North America

Straits

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 What is a Strait?
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects

two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of
water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable
channel through a body of water that is otherwise not navigable, for example
because it is too shallow, or because it contains an unnavigable reef or archipelago.
Name Joins Location
Bab-el-Mandeb Red Sea & Gulf of Aden Yemen-Djibouti
Strait
Bass strait Tasman Sea & South Sea Australia
Bering Strait Bering Sea & Chuksi Sea Alaska-Russia
Bonne-Fasio Mediterranean Sea Corsika-Sardinia
Strait
Bosporous Strait Black Sea and Marmara Sea Turkey

Cook Strait South Pacific Ocean New Zealand (N & S

islands)
Dardenleez Marmara Sea and Aegean Turkey
Strait Sea
Davis strait Baffin Bay & Atlantic Ocean Greenland-Canada
Denmark strait North Atlantic and Arctic Greenland-Iceland
Ocean
Dover strait English Channel & North England-France
Sea
Florida Strait Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic USA-Cuba
Ocean
Gibraltar Strait Mediterranean Spain-Morocco
Sea & Atlantic Ocean
Hormuz strait Gulf of Persia & Gulf Oman-Iran
of Oman
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Hudson strait Gulf of Hudson & Atlantic Canada

Ocean
Magellan strait Pacific and South Atlantic Chile
Ocean
Makkassar Strait Java Sea & Celebeze Sea Indonesia
Malacca Strait Andaman Sea & South China Indonesia - Malaysia
Sea

26
 Mesina Strait Mediterranean Sea Italy-Sicily GENERAL K
Mozambique Indian Ocean Mozambique - Malagasy
Strait
North Channel Irish Sea & Atlantic Ocean Ireland-England
Otranto Strait Adriatic Sea & Ionian Sea Italy-Albania
Palk Strait Palk Bay & Bay of Bengal India-Sri Lanka
Sunda Strait Java Sea & Indian Ocean Indonesia
Tatar Strait Japan Sea & Okhotsk Sea Russia (E Russia-
Sakhalin Island)
Taurus Strait Arafura Sea & Gulf of Papua Papua New Guinea -
Australia
Tsungaru Strait Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean Japan (Hokkaido-Honshu
island)
Yucatan Strait Gulf of Mexico and Mexico-Cuba
Caribbean Sea

Maps on the World's Important Straits:

 Name of the seven continents, and they are:

27
 
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE North America

 South America

 Europe

 Asia

 Africa

 Australia

 Antartica

 SUEZ CANAL IS AN ARTIFICIAL SEA LEVEL WATERWAY IN

EGYPT, CONNECTING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA AND THE
RED SEA.

 There are 29 states in India.

 There are 7 union territories.

 Standard Time +5:30 GMT.

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28
GENERAL K

29
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
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30
CABINET MINISTERS GENERAL K

1) Rajnath Singh: Home Affairs

2) Sushma Swaraj: External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs
3) Arun Jaitley: Finance, Corporate Affairs, Information & Broadcasting
4) M Venkaiah Naidu: Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation,
Parliamentary Affairs
5) Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Road Transport and Highways, Shipping
6) Manohar Parrikar: Defence
7) Suresh Prabhu: Railways
8) DV Sadananda Gowda: Law & Justice
9) Sushri Uma Bharati: Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
10) Najma A Heptulla: Minority Affairs
11) Ramvilas Paswan: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
12) Kalraj Mishra: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
13) Maneka Sanjay Gandhi: Women and Child Development
14) Ananthkumar: Chemicals and Fertilizers
15) Ravi Shankar Prasad: Communications and Information Technology
16) Jagat Prakash Nadda: Health & Family Welfare
17) Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati: Civil Aviation
18) Anant Geete: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
19) Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Food Processing Industries
20) Narendra Singh Tomar: Mines, Steel
21) Chaudhary Birender Singh: Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and
Sanitation
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22) Jual Oram: Tribal Affairs

23) Radha Mohan Singh: Agriculture
24) Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Social Justice and Empowerment
25) Smriti Zubin Irani: Human Resource Development
26) Harsh Vardhan: Science and Technology, Earth Sciences

31
GENERALMINISTERS
KNOWLEDGE OF STATE
1) General VK Singh: Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge),
External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs
2) Inderjit Singh Rao: Planning (Independent Charge), Defence
3) Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Textiles (Independent Charge)
4) Bandaru Dattatreya: Labour and Employment (Independent Charge)
5) Rajiv Pratap Rudy: Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge),
Parliamentary Affairs
6) Shripad Yesso Naik: AAYUSH (Independent Charge), Health & Family Welfare
7) Dharmendra Pradhan: Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)
8) Sarbananda Sonowal: Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge)
9) Prakash Javadekar: Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Independent Charge)
10) Piyush Goyal: Power (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge), New and
Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)
11) Jitendra Singh: Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge), Prime
Minister's Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic
Energy, Department of Space
12) Nirmala Sitharaman: Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge)
13) Mahesh Sharma: Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge), Civil
Aviation
14) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: Minority Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs
15) Ram Kripal Yadav: Drinking Water & Sanitation
16) Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary: Home Affairs
17) Sanwar Lal Jat: Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation
18) Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya: Agriculture
19) Giriraj Singh: Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
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20) Hansraj Gangaram Ahir: Chemicals & Fertilizers

21) GM Siddeshwara: Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises
22) Manoj Sinha: Railways
23) Nihalchand: Panchayati Raj
24) Upendra Kushwaha: Human Resource Development

32
25) Radhakrishnan P: Road Transport & Highways, Shipping GENERAL K
26) Kiren Rijiju: Home Affairs
27) Krishan Pal: Social Justice & Empowerment
28) Sanjeev Kumar Balyan: Agriculture
29) Manuskhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava: Tribal Affairs
30) Raosaheb Dadarao Danve: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
31) Vishnu Deo Sai: Mines, Steel
32) Sudarshan Bhagat: Rural Development
33) Ram Shankar Katheria: Human Resource Development
34) YS Chowdary: Science and Technology, Earth Science
35) Jayant Sinha: Finance
36) Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Information & Broadcasting
37) Babul Supria (Babul Supriyo) Baral: Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty
Alleviation
38) Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti: Food Processing Industries
39) Vijay Sampla: Social Justice & Empowerment

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