GK COMPLETE STUDY NOTES ON IMPORTANT POSTS | INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA

Attorney General is the first law officer of the country and the legal advisor to the government. He is appointed by the President of India under Article 76 of the Indian Constitution. He serves office at the pleasure of the President. The first Attorney General of India was M. C. Setalvad. The current (15th) Attorney General is K K Venugopal. The qualification for appointment as an Attorney General is same as eligibility for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Solicitor General is the second law officer of the country. It is not a constitutional post but a statutory one. The first Solicitor General of India was C. K. Daphtary and the current Solicitor General is Ranjith Kumar.

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is the auditor of the government. He is appointed by the President on recommendation of the Prime Minister under Article 148 of the Constitution. He holds office for a 6 year term or till the age of retirement, whichever is earlier. The first CAG of India was Narahari Rao and the Present CAG is Rajiv Mehrishi.

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is established under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 to provide free legal aid to people who cannot afford legal services and to conduct Lok Adalats for speedier justice. The seniormost judge of the Supreme Court, after the Chief Justice of India, becomes the Chairman of NALSA. The first Chairman of NALSAR was Justice SP Bharucha.

Central Vigilance Commission was established as a one-member body to address government corruption. It was established on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee. Currently, the Commission comprises of one Chief Vigilance Commissioners and two other commissioners. N Srinivas Rao was the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India. The present Chief Vigilance Commissioner is K V Chowdhary.

Finance Commission is constituted under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. The tenure of a Finance Commission is 5 years. The first Finance Commission was constituted in 1951 with K C Neogy as the Chairman. The current Finance Commission is the 14th Finance Commission for the term 2015-2020. The Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission is N K Singh.

Law Commissions are constituted by the Government from time to time to recommend legislative reforms and clarify and consolidate a branch of law which the government feels is necessary.

The first Law Commission of India was chaired by Lord MaCaulay. The first Law Commission of Independent India was established in 1955 with the then Attorney General, M.C Setalvad as the Chairman. The 20th Law Commission submitted its report in 2015. Justice D.K Jain and Justice A.P Shah served as the Chairman of the 20th Law Commission. The 21st Law Commission has been constituted in September 2015 for a term of three years.

Planning Commission was set up in March, 1950 through a Cabinet Resolution. It was responsible for preparing the Five Year plans in India with the first five year plan being launched in 1951. However, with effect from 1 January 2015, Planning Commission has been replaced by NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). The institution will serve as a ‘Think Tank’ of the Government. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of NITI Aayog. The Prime Minister is responsible for choosing a Vice-Chairman. As of January 2018, Dr. Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Amitabh Kant is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.

FSSAI has been constituted under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. As on January 2018, the Chairman of FSSAI is Preeti Sudan. Pawan Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSSAI.

National Green Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body created under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 to adjudicate on environment cases. The tribunal comprises of both judicial and expert members. The National Green Tribunal has 5 benches across India (4 + 1 principal bench in New Delhi)

The First Chairperson of NGT was Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta and the present Chairperson is Justice Swatanter Kumar.

Indian armed forces consist of three services – Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The President is the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces. The armed forces are supported by paramilitary forces like Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard, Special Front Force. Indian Armed Forces and Paramilitary forces come under the Ministry of Defense. Assam Rifles is the oldest paramilitary force in India.

Additionally, India also has central armed police forces such as Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo- Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). These fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) was formed in 1958 with the amalgamation of the Technical Development Establishment (TDE) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organization (DSO) to undertake research and development in the field of defence.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was set up in 1969 with headquarters in Bangalore. Vikram Sarabhai is popularly known as the father of Indian Space Programme. He played an important role in establishment of ISRO. Satish Dhawan was the Chairman of ISRO after whom the Satish Dhawan Space Centre has been named. It is located in Sriharikota.

1975 - Indian launched its first experimental satellite, Aryabhatta.

1978 – India launched Bhaskara –I to collect information on India’s land, water, forest and ocean resources.

2008 - Indian successfully launched Chandrayana -1 into the Moon’s orbit on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It is an unmanned space mission to carry out the physical and chemical mapping of the moon.

Various kinds of sciences

Science	Subject
Acoustics	Study of sound waves
Botany	Study of plants
Anatomy	Study of structure of animal/ human body
Ornithology	Study of birds
Entomology	Study of insects
Etymology	Study of the origin and history of words
Virology	Study of viruses
Zoology	Study of animal life
Mycology	Study of fungi and fungal diseases
Seismology	Study of earthquakes
Histology	Study of issues
Orology	Study of mountains
Cytology	Study of structure and functions of cells

 

Important Scientific Discoveries and Innovations

Invention / Discovery	Inventor
Computer	Charles Babbage
Aeroplane	Wright Brothers
Dynamo	Michael Faraday
Gramophone, Electric Lamp	Thomas Elva Edison
Printing	Press J. Gutenberg
Steam Engine	James Watt
Typewriter	C. Soles
Television	John Logie Baird
Shorthand	Issac Pitman
Revolver	Samuel Colt

Medical Discoveries / Innovations

Discovery / Invention	Inventor
Antibiotic / Penicillin	Alexander Fleming
Blood Group	Landsteiner
Vaccine for Small Pox	Edward Jenner
Vaccine for Cholera, Rabies Vaccine	Louis Pasteur
Polio Vaccine	Jonas Salk
Blood Circulation	William Harvey

Important Instruments

Instrument	Use
Cryometer	Measures extremely low temperatures
Periscope	Used in submarine to view objects above sea level
Galvanometer	Measures electric current
Sphygmomanometer	Measures blood pressure
Pyrometer	Measures extremely high temperatures
Barometer	Measures atmospheric pressure
Anemometer	Measures velocity and direction of wind

S.I Units

Quantity	S.I Unit
Frequency	Hertz
Electric Current	Ampere
Pressure	Pascal
Force	Newton
Work/Energy	Joule
Magnetic Field Intensity	Tesla / Weber
Distance travelled by light in one year	Lightyear
Wavelength of light	Angstrom
Electric Resistance	Ohm

Common Acids

Acid	Found in
Acetic Acid	Vinegar
Lactic Acid	Sour Milk
Citric Acid	Citrus fruits like lemon, oranges
Butyric Acid	Rancid Butter
Maleic Acid	Apple
Oxalic Acid	Tomota
Ascorbic Acid	Amla
Formic Acid	Red ants
Carbonic Acid	Aerated drinks

Nutrients required by human body
Human body requires proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins to function efficiently. It also requires salts like iodine, potassium etc. in small quantities. Deficiency of necessary nutrient can cause several diseases –

Nutrient	Disease caused by Deficiency
Vitamin A	Night-Blindness
Vitamin B	Beriberi
Vitamin C	Scurvy
Vitamin D	Rickets
Iodine	Goitre
Haemoglobin (Iron)	Anaemia