General Studies Test – 11

• The mesosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere among these all options.
• Among all layers of the earth's atmosphere Exosphere is the outermost layer.
• The mesosphere is the third layer of the atmosphere, directly above the stratosphere and directly below the thermosphere.
• In the mesosphere, temperature decreases as altitude increases.

•  Dipa Karmakar won India's first-ever gold medal at the Asian Championships with a total score of 13.566 in the women's vault final.

Key Points

• The event took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 26, 2024.
• South Korea's Kim Son Hyang secured the silver medal, and Jo Kyong-byol secured the bronze.
• Prior to Dipa's gold, Indian gymnasts won four bronze medals at the continental championships.
• Notable bronze medalists include Ashish Kumar (men's floor exercise in 2006) and Pranati Nayak (women's vault in 2019 and 2022).
• Dipa Karmakar is the first Indian female gymnast to compete in the Olympics, achieving a fourth-place finish in the women's vault at Rio 2016.
• She also won the women's vault gold medal at the 2018 FIG World Cup in Mersin, Turkey, becoming the first Indian to win gold at an international gymnastics competition.
• Despite her win, Dipa finished 16th in the all-around category with a score of 46.166 and did not secure a Paris 2024 Olympics quota for India in gymnastics.

• Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the IPL 2024 T20 Championship.
• KKR bowled out Sunrisers Hyderabad for a total of 113 in the final held in Chennai.
• Venkatesh Iyer's half-century and Andre Russell's 3-wicket haul were pivotal in leading KKR to victory.
• This win marked KKR's third IPL title, with previous wins in 2012, 2014, and now 2024.
• Sunil Narayan was named the Most Valuable Player of the Season.
• Sunil Narayan was also the highest run-scorer for KKR in the 2024 IPL season

• K2 is also known as Mount Godwin Austen and locally it is known as Dapsang or Chogori is the world's second-highest peak.
• K2 is located in the Karakoram Range.
• It was given the symbol K2 because it was the second peak measured in the Karakoram Range.
• The world's highest mountain peak is Mount Everest.

• Mangrove forests are found in the lands near the coastlines in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world.
• The roots of mangroves are developed to be exposed to air as the marshy swamps restrict the intake of oxygen.
• A mangrove forest is at the intersection of land and sea, and they support a wealth of life from flora to fauna to people
• The tree species can tolerate high salt-concentrated water.
• They have stilt roots/breathing roots called pneumatophores that help them adapt to harsh conditions.

• The Baitarni River in Odisha, India, originates from the Gonasika hill.
• Gonasika is a sacred place located in the Keonjhar district of Odisha.
• The river Baitarni flows through several districts of Odisha before eventually joining the Bay of Bengal.
• It holds religious significance for devotees and is an important water resource in the region.

• The 15th Indian Census (2011 Census) was conducted in two phases-house listing and population enumeration.
• The Indian Census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India.
• The responsibility of conducting the decennial Census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The Government of India decided in May 1949 to initiate steps for developing a systematic collection of statistics on the size of the population, its growth, etc.
• The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings.
• The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011.
• Of the 1.21 billion Indians, 833 million (68.84%) live in rural areas while 377 million stays in urban areas.

Wangala Festival of Meghalaya

• It is the most popular festival among the Garos of Meghalaya, India. Hence, Option 4 is correct.
• Wangala Festival is a harvest festival held in honor of Saljong, the Sun-god of fertility.
• The celebration of the Wangala Festival marks the end of a period of toil, which brings the good output of the fields.
• It also signifies the onset of winter.
• Also known as a 100 drums festival, Wangala Festival is the occasion when the tribals offer sacrifices to please their main deity Saljong - the Sun God.
• It is generally celebrated for two days and sometimes continues for even a week.
• The ceremony performed on the first day is known as "Ragula" is performed inside the house of the chief. The second day is known as "Kakkat".
• People young and old dressed in their colorful costumes with feathered headgears dance to the tune of music played on long oval-shaped drums.
• This is the occasion to relax and for days the hills and valleys echo with the extraordinary beat of drums.
• The popular dance forms are performed during the festival, itself has certain subtle variations, the main motif being a queue of two parallel lines - one of the men and other of women clad in their festive fineries.

• Samudra Gupta court poet and minister Harisena composed the Allahabad pillar Inscription or Prayag Prasasti.
• The Pillar was an Asokan Pillar erected by Asoka six centuries before him.
• This Inscription is a eulogy of Samudra Gupta and mentions the conquests of Samudra Gupta and the boundaries of the Gupta Empire.
• As per this inscription, Samudra Gupta defeated 9 kings in the North, 12 Kings in the South, reduced all the Atavika states to vassalage.
• Allahabad Prasasti, composed by Harishena, does not bear any date and for this reason, historians have presumed that it was composed probably before the Ashwamedha Yajna performed by Samudragupta.

• The partition of Bengal was announced by the then Viceroy Lord Curzon on 19 July 1905.
• Bengal was partitioned on 16 October 1905.
• Swadeshi movement was launched to protest the partition of Bengal.
• In 1905, the "Bang Bhang" movement started in the whole country in protest against the partition of Bengal.
• After political opposition, Lord Hardinge reintegrated Bengal on 12 December 1911.

Tropic of Cancer

• The Tropic of Cancer is also known as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead.
• This occurs on the June solstice when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent.
• In India Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 States: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

• Regulating Act of 1773
• ​This act is of great constitutional importance as:
• (a) It was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India.
• (b) It recognized, for the first time, the political and administrative functions of the Company.
• (c) It laid the foundations of central administration in India.

Ibrahim Lodi was killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

The First Battle of Panipat:-

• It was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi Kingdom in 1526.
• It took place in north India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate.
• This was one of the earliest battles involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery in the Indian subcontinent which were introduced by Mughals in this battle.
• Babur's guns proved decisive in battle, firstly because Ibrahim lacked any field artillery, but also because the sound of the cannon frightened Ibrahim's elephants, causing them to trample his own men.

Famous ruler chronologically are-

• Babur (1526 - 1530), Humayun (1530 - 1540), Akbar (1556 - 1605), Jehangir (1605 - 1627), Shah jahan (1628 - 1658), Aurangzeb (1658 - 1707).

• The East India Company forces led by Robert Clive engaged Siraj-Ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey.
• Siraj-Ud-Daulah was the Nawab of Bengal.
• Siraj was enraged by the widespread abuse of trade privileges by EIC authorities.
• The battle of Plassey in 1757 was brought on by EIC's continued wrongdoing against Siraj-Ud-Daulah.
• About 160 kilometres north of Calcutta, close to the little settlement of Plassey (Palashi), the forces came together on the banks of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River.
• On June 23, 1757, the Battle of Plassey was fought.
• Robert Clive's army of 3,000 troops destroyed Siraj-Ud-army Daulah's of 50,000 warriors, 40 cannons, and 10 war elephants.
• In 11 hours, the battle was over, and Siraj-Ud-Daulah fled after losing.