CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQs

 

1. Who authored the book ‘The Science of Bharat Natyam’?

(a) Saroja Vaidyanathan          

(b) Yamini Krishnamurthi 

(c) J. Sushila 

(d) None of these

Answer a;

2.International Day for Disaster Reduction is observed on:

(a) 9th August  

(b) 13th October 

(c) 24th November 

(d) 11th December

Answer-b;

3. Tianhe 1A, the world’s fastest supercomputer is made by

(a) United States 

(b) Japan   

(c) China   

(d) None of these

 Answer :c

4. Which is India’s first ever Pollution Control Warship?

(a) Samudra Prahari   

(b) Nischaya   

(c) Varuna   

(d) None of these

Answer:a

5. Who became India’s youngest grandmaster?

(a) Parimarjan Negi   

(b) Dronavali Harika  

 (c) Praveen Thipse   

(d) S P Sethuraman

Answer:d

6. K C Kulich International Award is associated with:

(a) Medicine     

(b) Economics   

(c) Journalism   

(d) Sports

Answer:c

7. ‘Open’ is the autobiography of which sports personality?

(a) Adam Gilchrest     

(b) Glenn Merges 

(c) Andre Agassiz 

(d) None of these

Ans-c

8. World Cup Football in 2022 is to be held at:

(a) Qatar 

(b) UK 

(c) Spain 

(d) France

Answer:a

9. Who is the first head of UN WOMEN?

(a) Laura Chinchilla 

(b) Julia Gillard 

(c) Mitchell blachettt  

 (d) None of these

Answer:c

10.Which of the following committee is related to Corporatisation of Stock Exchanges?

(a) Bimal Jalan Committee 

(b) V Achuthan Committee   

(c) P M Nair Committee             

(d) None of these

Ans-a

11. Which is India’s newest stock exchange for currency derivatives

 (a) BSE         

(b) NSE 

(c) United Stock Exchange (USE) 

(d) None of these

Answer :c

12. Jeevan Reddy Committee is related to

(a)Illegal mining            

(b) Armed Forces Special Power Act  

 (c) Environmental Impact Assessment  

 (d) None of these

Ans-b

13. Which of the following scheme is related with social security for unorganised sector?

(a) Swabhiman          

(b) Sabla   

(c) Swavalamban  

 (d) None of these

Ans-c

14. Polavaram Project is located in which state?

(a) Andhra Pradesh                           

(b) Maharashtra   

(c) Madhya Pradesh           

 (d) Karnataka

Answer:a

 15. David Perlman Award is given in which field?

(a) Sports         

(b) Music   

(c) Photography    

(d) Journalism

Ans-d

16.Which of the following committee has redefined the definition of Slums?

(a) Pranab Sen Committee

(b) Arjun Sen gupta committee   

(c) C Ibrahim Committee 

(d) None of these

Ans-a

17. Arrow-III is an anti missile system of

(a) France 

(b) Pakistan

(c) Israel      

(d) UK

Ans-c

18. India’s first jail BPO is going to came up at:

(a) Bangalore 

(b) Pune  

 (c) Chennai           

 (d) Hyderabad

Answer:a

19.World’s first aviation university coming up at:

(a) Bangalore 

(b) Nice           

(c) Glasgow      

(d) Venice

Answer: a

20. Khoj lab has been launched by which group?

(a) Future Group 

(b) dell 

(c) IBM      

(d) Times group

Answer:a

21. Which of the following became the first smoke free state in India?

(a) Sikkim 

(b) Himachal Pradesh 

(c) Uttarakhand 

(d) None of these

 Ans-a

 

22. Which of the following became the Ist Asian Country to sign Free Trade Agreement with European Union?

(a) South Korea                     

(b) China          

(c) India                        

(d) None of these

Ans-a

23. The Emissary’ is the book authored by:

(a) Tarun Tejpal                      

(b) Vinod Mehta   

(c) Aniruddh Bahl 

(d) None of these

Ans-c

24. Who is the new PM of Netherlands?

(a) Mark Ruttea  

(b) Bill Carey        

(c) Thakshin Sinawatra    

(d) None of these

Ans-a

25. Who is the new PM of Kosovo?

(a) Hashim Taci              

 (b) N K Name Krumoh  

 (c) Jose Borosso  

(d) None of these

Ans-a

26. Who is the chairman of National Democratic Front of Bodoland?

(a) Paresh Barna         

(b) Aravind Rajakhowa   

(c) Ranjan Daimary              

(d) None of these

Ans-c

27. With which of the following countries India has not signed civil nuclear agreement?

(a) Namibia   

(b) Sweden   

(c) Mongolia           

 (d) Argentina

 Ans-b

28. Who is the PM of Sweden?

(a) Fredrick Rainfeldt   

(b) Silvio Berlusconi   

(c) Garry Wanders        

(d) None of these

Ans-a

29. APEC Summit in November 2010 was held at  :

(a) Yokohama  

(b) Sydney                   

(c) Singapore                           

(d) Busan

Answer a;

30. Which public sector bank was the banking partner in Commonwealth Games 2010?

(a) Central Bank of India       

(b) State Bank of India     

(c) Bank of Baroda              

(d) None of these

Answer-a;

31. Who is the new vice chief of army staff?

(a) V.K. Singh 

 (b) A.S. Lamba   

(c) C. Shekhawat                  

(d) None of these

Answer :b

32. Who has became the vice president of ICC?

(a) Ehsaan Mani                     

 (b) John Mulford  

 (c) Alan Isaac                                

(d) Molcom Speed

Answer: c

33. Who is the Director General of National Investigation Agency ?

(a) R.V. Raju   

 (b) Ved Marwah  

 (c) K.F. Rustomji                 

(d) Sharad Chandra Sinha

Answer:d

34. Who is the Director of National Security Guard?

(a) R.K. Medhekar       

(b) J.K Dutt   

 (c) B.K. Banerjee                      

 (d) None of these

Answer:a

35. Who of the following Indian got the Australia Day achievement medal 2010?

(a) V.P. Unnikrishnan              

(b) Sandeep Pandey   

 (c) Vandana Shiva                  

(d) None of these

Answer: a

36. Which of the following country became the 187th member of IMF?

(a) Marshall Islands      

(b) Tuvalu      

(c) Fiji      

(d) None of these

 Answer: b

37. India’s second National Institute of Design will come up at which of the following

(a) Amethi      

(b) Jorahat         

(c) Aizowl    

(d) Itanagar

Ans- b

38. Benghazi is a port of :

(a) Libya          

 (b) Yemen             

(c) Egypt                           

(d) None of these

 Answer:a

39. Jakhol Sankri Hydro Electric Project has been commissioned at

(a) Uttarakhand            

(b) Himachal Pradesh     

(c) J&K         

(d) Arunachal Pradesh

Answer: a

Answer: a

40. ‘Home Boy’ is a novel written by

(a) H M Naqvi  

(b) H S Narula   

(c) Anand Sarkar        

(d) Stephen Lipsett

 Ans- a

41. Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in 2011 was held at:

(a) Jaipur         

 (b) New Delhi     

(c) Ujjain                                

(d) Varanasi

 Answer :b

42. 98th Indian Science Congress in January 2011 was held at:

(a) Chennai     

  (b) Kharagpur     

 (c) Kanpur              

 (d) Delhi

Ans - a

43. Who of the following is the present Lokayukta of Karnataka:

(a) N Vittal                              

(b) Santosh Hegde   

(c) Yashwant Sonawane

(d) None of these

Answer:b

44. Georgia’s capital is to be shifted from Tbilisi to:

(a) Akhan        

 (b) Yeren      

(c) Kutaisi                                     

(d) Chisinau

 Ans-c

45.  Which country topped the Terrorism Risk Index in 2010:

(a) Somalia      

(b) Samoa   

(c) Jamaica                     

 (d) Iraq

Ans-a

46. Which district is going to be named after Indira Gandhi?

(a) Medak                                

(b) Rai Bareli

(c) Chikmaglur                                    

 (d) Bellary

 Ans-a

47. Who received the Elis Island Medal of Honour in 2010?

(a) Dalai Lama                                   

(b) Zinedine Zidene

(c) Rao Anumlu                                 

(d) B K Varghese

Answer:c

48. Enam Securities is to be purchased by:

(a) Union Bank of India                                  

(b) BNP Paribas

(c) ANZ Grindlays                               

 (d) Axis Bank

Answer: d

49. Which famous personality bagged the Man of Peace Award in 2010?

(a) Roberto Baggio                  

(b) Diegs Maradona

(c) Pope John Paul II               

(d) None of these

Answer:a

50. Who is the new National Security Advisor of United States?

(c) W Singham                         

(b) Thomas Donilon

(a) Colin Powell                      

(b) Larry Page

Ans-b

51. Who is the new president of UN General Assembly?

(a) Joseph Deiss                      

(b) Hans Rasmus Sen

(c) Leon Panetta                    

(d) None of these

Ans-a

52. Luka and Fire of Life is the latest book by:

(a) Arun Som                           

(b) Salman Rushdie

(c) Vikram Seth                                  

 (d) None of these

Ans-b

53. What is the name of India’s latest and Seventh Super Computer?

(a) Annapurna                          

(b) Param

(c) Pinak                                  

(d) None of these

Ans-a

54. Tembli became the first village in India to get UID. In which state it is located?

(a) Andhra Pradesh                 

(b) Chattisgarh

(c) Maharashtra                                   

(d) None of these

Ans-c

55.Who has been declared the ‘Business Leader of the year’ in Economic Times Corporate Excellence Awards 2010?

(a) Aditya Puri                        

(b) N Nrayanmurthy

(c) Azim Premji                                   

 (d) Mukesh Ambani

 Ans-a

56. What is the mascot of 2011 cricket world cup?

(a) Hoho                                  

 (b) Cobe

(c) Stumpy                               

(d) None of these

 Ans-c

57. SAF (South Asian Federation) games in 2012 will be held at

(a) Kathmandu                                          

(b) Delhi

(c) Bangalore                                

(d) None of these

Ans-b

58. Agni III was launched from which of the following places:

(a) Wheeler Island                    

(b) Sriharikota

(c) Bikaner                               

(d) None of these

Answer a;

59. Who of the following is the Chairperson of National Green Tribunal?

(a) Lokeshwar Singh Parata  

 (b) Anil Pandey

(c) K Vijay Kumar                    

(d) None of these

Answer-a;

60. Which Indian Company is slated to buy the English football club Blackburn?

(a) U B groups                         

(b) RPG

(c) Videocon              

(d) Vicky

Answer : d

61. Who is the Union Minister of Corporate Affairs?

(a) Murali Deora                       

(b) Jaipal Reddy

(c) C P Joshi                            

(d) M S Gill

Answer: a

62. Who is the new President Elect of BCCI?

(a) Chirayu Amin                     

(b) Jyotiraditya Schindia

(c) Shashank manohar                       

 (d) Jagmohan Dalmia

Answer:c

63. Karrar is the unmaned bomber aircraft of which country?

(a) Iran                                    

 (b) Syria

(c) Israel                      

 (d) None of these

Answer:a

64. Who is the CMD of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited?

(a) S K Jain                  

(b) Harsh Marital

(c) Oskar Singh                       

(d) None of these

Answer: a

65. Who is the Director of Intelligence Bureau?

(a) Rajeev Mathur                   

 (b) Nehchal Sandhu

(c) Saikat Dutta                       

 (d) None of these

 Answer: b

66. Ramagundanar thermal power project is in which state?

a) Andhra Pradesh                   

(b) Tamil Nadu

(c) Kerala                                

 (d) Karnataka

Ans- a

67. Project Big Green has been initiated by which company?

(a) Microsoft               

 (b) Apple

(c) Infosys                    

(d) IBM

Answer:d

68. Vansadhara River dispute is between which states?

(a) Orissa and Andhra Pradesh           

(b) Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

(c) Kerala and Tamil Nadu     

 (d) None of these

Answer: a

69. Who is the Chairperson of National Housing Board?

(a) B N Kapoor                       

(b) Mata Prasad

(c) R B Verma                       

(d) None of these

Ans- c

70. Who is India’s permanent representative to United Nations?

(a) Hardeep Singh Puri                      

(b) M.K. Agnihotri

(c) Vijay Pasricha                    

(d) None of these

Answer :a

71. Who is the principal scientific advisor to Government of India?

(a) R. Chidambaram                

(b) V.K. Saraswat

(c) T.K. Thomas                                 

(d) None of these

Ans - a

72. Who is the Chairman of Central Water Commission?

(a) Balraj Madhok                    

(b) A.K. Bajaj

(c) Shivran Puri                       

 (d) None of these

Ans - b

73. Who is the Deputy National Security Advisor?

(a) Shiv Shankar Menon                     

(b) M.K. Narayanan

(c) Shekhar Dutt                      

(d) None of these

Answer:c

74. Aligarh Muslim University is going to set its new campus at:

(a) Saharanpur                                   

(b) Meerut

(c) Murshidabad                       

(d) Azamgarh

Ans-c

75. Who is the new Chairperson of National Commission for Backward classes?

(a) M.N. Rao                            

(b) T.K. Maken

(c) Ram Singh Senbar                        

 (d) None of these

Ans-a

76. Who is the Chairperson of 19th Law Commission?

(a) P.V. Reddy                        

 (b) A.K. Lakshmanan

(c) K.R. Kurup             

 (d) None of these

Ans-a

77. Who is the Chairman of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights?

(a) Buta Singh                        

(b) M.K. Kurup

(c) Shanta Sinha                     

 (d) Dheeraj Rohatgi

Answer:c

78. Mini Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas in October 2010 was held at:

(a) Cape Town                                     

(b) Durban

(c) Johannesburg                     

(d) None of these

Answer: b

79. G-8 summit in June 2010 was held at:

(a) Ontario                  

(b) Vancouver

(c) Huntsville              

(d) Quebec

Answer:-c

80. Who is the CEO of Twitter?

(a) Dick Costello                      

(b) Jorma Olila   

(c) Allan Bolt  

(d) None of these

Ans-a

81. Which country topped the Global Peace Index Report in 2010?

(a) New Zealand                    

(b) Iceland

(c) Denmark                          

(d) Sweden

Ans-a

82. Who of the following is the recipient of Turner Prize 2010?

(a) Alex Rodriques                 

(b) Sergie Bryan

(c) Susan Philipsz                  

(d) None of these

Ans-c

83. Who is the Chairperson of Railway Board?

(a) Vivek Sahay                                  

 (b) J P Batra

(c) D P Aggarwal                     

(d) None of these

Ans-a

84. Who of the following is the recipient of Cervantes Prize 2010?

(a) John Stocker                      

(b) Ana Maria

(c) C Andrew Stephen                       

(d) None of these  

Ans-b

85. Who founded the Telangana Praja Front in October 2010?

(a) G V Rao                

 (b) K Chandrashekhar Rao

(c) N Srinivas              

 (d) None of these

Ans-a

Juno probe heads for Jupiter from Cape Canaveral

A $1.1bn (£0.7bn) unmanned Nasa space mission has launched from Florida on a journey to the planet Jupiter.

The Juno spacecraft will cruise beyond Mars to put itself in orbit around the gas giant in 2016.
It is the first solar-powered mission to venture this far from the Sun.
The mission launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday at 12:25 local time (16:25 GMT; 17:25 BST), after a brief delay caused by a helium leak.
There were concerns with the helium charging system on the rocket's Centaur upper stage, but a small leak on the "ground side" of the rocket was found to be the culprit.
The launch of the Juno spacecraft, Nasa began a journey to yet another new frontier," said the agency's administrator Charles Bolden.
"The future of exploration includes cutting-edge science like this to help us better understand our Solar System and an ever-increasing array of challenging destinations."
At Jupiter, where the intensity of sunlight is only 1/25th of that at Earth, space missions would normally resort to a plutonium battery.
But Juno will instead travel with three wings coated with 18,000 solar cells.
Juno's mission is to probe the secrets of the Solar System by explaining the origin and evolution of its biggest planet.
The spacecraft's remote sensing instruments will look down into the giant through the many layers and measure their composition, temperature, motion and other properties.
This should yield some remarkable new insights into the coloured bands that wrap around the planet, and a new perspective on the famous Great Red Spot - the colossal storm that has raged on Jupiter for hundreds of years.
Scientists also want to measure the abundance of water in the atmosphere - an indicator of how much oxygen was present in Jupiter's region of the Solar System when it formed.
The probe will also try to settle old arguments over whether the planet hosts a rocky core or whether its gases go all the way down to the centre in an ever more compressed state.
And it will look for the deep swirling sea of liquid metallic hydrogen that many suspect is the driver behind Jupiter's strong magnetic field.
Juno is the second in Nasa's so called New Frontiers class missions. The first, New Horizons, was launched towards dwarf planet Pluto in 2006 and should arrive at its target in 2015.

PSU's Exam Pattern

Public Sector Undertakings

Examination pattern will be different for vary from one PSU to another.

• Normally: 150-200 Question

• Time duration: 2 – 2½ Hour.

• Negative Marking: ¼

• Technical:75% of total questions

• General aptitude with English: 25%

Selection Procedure:
The usual selection procedure followed by maximum no. of PSU’s:-
STAGE I:- Written Examination (Generally on Sunday)
STAGEII:- Interview and GD
STAGE III:- Medical Examination

a) Apart from these, there can be an additional stage in some of the PSUs where only short-listed candidates are allowed to appear for the written exam. All the applicants fulfilling the eligibility criteria are screened again on the basis of their % of B.Tech primarily and depending upon the no. of vacancies Only selected candidates are called for the written exam. eg- ISRO, BHEL etc.
b) Some PSUs don’t hold interviewer as a part of their selection procedure eg- BSNL (JTO).
c) Though it has not ever been declared by any PSU, the general trend seen in according weightage to different stages in the final selection is :-
Written – 70-85%
Interview – 15-30%
GD – 5%

STAGE-I :- WRITTEN EXAMINATION
Duration:- 1–3 hr (Avg 2 hour)
Written exam of various PSUs can be divided mainly into 4 sections:-
i) Technical
ii) Aptitude & Reasoning
iii) English & RC
iv) General Awareness & current affairs

i) Technical:- 60 – 120 questions (exact no. varies for diff PSUs) Average no of Questions -80 Depending on the level of Technical Questions PSUs can be categorized as

Level-I:-Tough
eg – DRDO, ISRO etc.

Level-II:- Moderate
eg – BHEL, HAL, ONGC, SALL, JTO, NTPC etc.

Level-III:- Easy
eg – AAI etc.

ii) Aptitude & Reasoning:- Quantitative Reasoning (Speed-distance, percentage, profit- loss etc), Maths of 10th std. level, figure based Questions etc.

iii) English and RC:- Reading Comprehension, Questions based on Vocabulary and English grammar etc.

iv) General Awareness and Current Affairs:-
• Current affairs and questions based on general knowledge

• Some PSUs ask specific questions related to their institutions in this section eg:- DRDO asks about its labs in India (1 or 2 questions).

NOTE:- The 4th section may on may not be present. Generally, 1st through 3rd sections are present in most of the exams.

STAGE – II INTERVIEW:-
1) Maximum stress on testing the technical knowledge of the candidate.

2) More of HR Question limited to the general introduction, work experience (if any), hobbies etc.

3) Final year project is very important for the interview.

GD:-
(1) Duration is 20 -30 minutes

(2) Usually easy topics are given for discussion.

(3) Contemporary social and political issues are highly probable topics to be given.

(4) Topics on environmental and technical issues can also be given.

NOTE:- Interview and GD in most of the PSU’s can also be taken in Hindi.

STAGE-III MEDICAL EXAMINATION :-
Candidates selected on the basis of their performance in written exam, interview and GD are finally called for a medical check-up prior to their appointment and training.
FOR BSNL-JTO
Mode of Selection & Nature Of Question Paper
The mode of selection is through an All India Competitive Examination. The examination will be of three hours duration with one Question Paper containing the following three sections:
For JTOs (Telecom)
Section-I : Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-II : Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-III : General Ability Test: 20 Questions
For JTOs (Electrical)
Section-I : Electrical Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-II : Electrical Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-III : General Awareness: 20 Questions
For JTOs (Civil)
Section-I : Civil Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-II : Civil Engineering Stream: 50 Questions
Section-III : General Ability Test: 20 Questions

The Question Paper will be fully objective type with multiple options as answers to each question. The standard of paper in engineering subjects will be that of Engineering Examination of an Indian University.
However, there would be no separate time fixed for attempting the separate sections. Detailed syllabus for JTOs(Telecom), JTOs(Civil) and JTOs(Electrical) appear at Annexures ‘B’ , ‘C’ and ‘D’ respectively.
A final call letter/appointment letter will be issued to the candidate after completion of all other formalities.

IIMs COMMON ADMISSION TEST

Junagardh Gir Kesar mangoes, Bhalia wheat acquires GI tag indication

The Geographical Indication's Registry (based in Chennai) has approved geographical indication (GI) tagging of the Gir Kesar and the Bhalia wheat, thus leading to the global recognition of the two world-class varieties of mangoes and wheat respectively. At the beginning of May 2011, H J Vyas, Director Research, Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU), said, "The University has filed Geographical Indication (GI) application for the mango variety grown here to find global recognition as Gir Kesar Mango." The JAU and Gujarat Agro-Industries applied for the tagging for the benefit of the Junagadh farmers, who will now be able to reap the consequences of added value to the special variety of mango. It was mainly initiated since many other varieties of Kesar mangoes were being sold as Gir Kesar mangoes. But after the approval, the mango grown in the 18 talukas around the Gir wildlife sanctuary can be termed as the Gir Kesar mango, not the ones grown in the Junagadh or the Amreli districts. Notwithstanding, the mangoes from these or other parts around can be termed as Kesar.

After the approval, Gir Kesar is the second mango type to acquire the GI tag, following the Dussheri of Uttar Pradesh. Now, following the GI tagging, anyone found guilty of selling any other type of mango as a Gir Kesar mango can be fined heavily, up to Rs. 1 lakh, along with jail term of up to two years, according to the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

The famous saffron-coloured Kesar variety of mango, largely grown around foothills of Girnar mountains in Gujarat's Junagadh district, has got global recognition as 'Gir Kesar' mango after being granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The Kesar mango is the second variety of mango in India to get GI registration after the Dussheri mango variety grown in Uttar Pradesh. "GI registration will help the farmers of Junagadh and Amreli district immensely. From now onwards, no other Kesar mango variety, grown in other parts of Gujarat like Kutch, Valsad...can be sold as 'Gir Kesar' mango," Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU) Vice Chancellor N C Patel said. After the GI registration, mango growers in 18 talukas of Junagadh and Amreli districts, located on the periphery of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, will be able to reap the benefits of added value attached to their produce, a JAU officials said. Nearly 20,000 hectares of area is under mango cultivation in both these districts and close to two lakh tonnes of production per annum is estimated, they added.

Bhalia wheat
Bhalia wheat has got the GI tag now. This is grown in the Bhal region of Gujarat, southern Ahmedabad district 10 kms radius from the location. This type of wheat is grown without irrigation, tastes sweet and is composed of high protein ingredient. After the registration, only the farmers in the Bhal region along the Bhavnagar and Ahmadabad districts will be able to use the tag of Bhalia wheat. This should be monetarily beneficial for the poor farmer growing these types of mangoes and wheat, affecting the total mango and wheat market as a whole.

Introduction of GI

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.

Guinness world record for Assam youth

A youth in Assam has earned the distinction of entering the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the longest scratch art piece.

''It took me 12 hours from eight pm in the evening to complete the piece measuring 20.30 metres in length and 1.4 metres in width,'' Apuraj Barooah said.

An award from the Guinness authorities along with a certificate was presented to Barooah for his effort in London on 9^th July.

Jack Brockman of the Guinness World Records, said, ''We are happy Barooah has achieved the record for the longest scratch art piece. His piece contains 40 pictures of world folk dances including the famous Bihu dance of Assam.''

Brockman said, ''All the criteria were examined in the presence of some 45 people and we are proud of him.''                   

Scratch art or scratchboard art is a technique where drawings are created using sharp knives and tools for etching into a thin layer of white China clay which is coated with black ink.

Sometimes other coloured layers are used to add variation in colour to the piece, but Barooah has developed the interesting new process which he named "Bromide Scratch Art".

This involves scratching bromide paper with a razor blade to reveal reds, oranges, yellows and whites beneath the exposed black face of the paper, he says.

Barooah said in London he was presented with a ceremonial hand-woven scarf to be worn around neck.

The piece depicted a landscape with fold dancers from 40 countries including India, UK, USA, Spain, Italy, China, Australia, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, France and Thailand.

Domestic Tourism

In Population Census of India urban population is classified by population size and not by tier i.e Class I (Population 100,000 & above), Class II ( Population 50,000 – 99,999), Class III (Population 20,000 – 49,999), Class IV (Population 10,000 – 19,999), Class V (Population 5,000 – 9,999) and Class VI (Population Less than 5000).

The current Tourism Policy of the Government was formulated in 2002 after detailed interactions with the industry associations, concerned Ministries & Departments of Central Government, State Governments and other stakeholders. As per this policy, domestic tourism is to be major driver of tourism growth in India.

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India undertakes various activities for promotion of Domestic Tourism. These activities are mainly aimed at increasing awareness about tourism destinations and products, promoting tourism within the country with focus on areas like the North East Region and Jammu & Kashmir and promoting events having tourism potential. Social Awareness Campaigns are also launched to sensitise stakeholders and the general public about issues pertaining to hygiene and cleanliness as well as the importance of good behaviour towards tourists.

The Ministry of Tourism also provides Central Financial Assistance to States / Union Territories for organising Fairs, Festivals and Tourism related events.

The Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) in India increased from 563 million in 2008 to 740 million in 2010.

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