From June 2014

Your Weekly Dose of Current Affairs (#1)

Starting this week, we will collate the news items from India and across the globe which we think are important and then present them to you in a succinct form. This ‘Weekly Dose of Current Affairs’ should help you in acing the GK section present in various competitive exams. Lets get started!

1. N Srinivasan appointed ICC Chairman

N. Srinivasan was confirmed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual conference in Melbourne. Srinivasan became the BCCI President in 2011 but was ordered by the Supreme Court to step aside in relation to the illegal betting scandal in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League

More Details: Reuters

2. Gujarat’s Rani-ki-Vav gets UNESCO World Heritage Status

Rani-ki-Vav has been approved as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in Doha. The site based in Patan, is a complex example of a stepwell with 7 storeys of ornamented panels. It was built in the 11th century during the Solanki period by Queen Udaymati. There are currently 30 World Heritage Sites in India. Rani-ki-Vav will be the 31st such site.

More Details: Indian Express, UNESCO

3. Kerala to host the 35th National Games

The 35th National Games will be held from Jan 31 to Feb 14 next year. The announcement was made by the Indian Olympic Association President, N. Ramachandran while the countdown clock was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal

More Details: The Hindu

4. Tamil Nadu government launches ‘Amma Pharmacy’ to provide low-cost medicine

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched 10 Amma Pharmacies which will sell quality medicines at a fair price. The other initiatives of the government are ‘Amma Canteen’, ‘Amma Mineral Water’ and ‘Amma Salt’.

More Details: The Hindu

5. Maharashtra State Cabinet approves reservation for Marathas and Muslims

The Maharashtra government has approved a proposal to reserve 16% of government jobs and seats in educational institutes for Marathas and 5% for Muslims. The Marathas will be given reservation under a new category called ‘economically and socially backward category’ (ESBS). The government relied on the report of the Narayan Rane committee to clear the proposal for the Maratha community

More Details: The Indian Express

6. Air India joins the Star Alliance group

Air India has joined the Star Alliance group which consists of 26 airlines including Lufthansa, Air Canada and Thai Airways. The announcement was made by the Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathy Raju. The other global airline alliances are Oneworld and Skyteam.

More Details: The Hindu

7. Google hosts I/O 2014 Keynote

Google’s 2 day conference for developers focused heavily on the company’s efforts to spread the Android OS beyond smartphones into watches, cars and homes as well. A new platform called ‘Android One’ was launched that will enable manufacturers to build cheap smartphones in emerging markets. The company also showed off a preview of the next version of Android called L with a new look called ‘Material Design’.

More Details: Forbes

8. CCI imposes fine on Thomas Cook and Sterling Holiday Resorts

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed Rs. 1 crore penalty on Thomas Cook and Sterling Holiday Resorts for carrying out certain market purchases relating to the deal before seeking the CCI’s approval. The Rs. 870 crore deal involving merger of Sterling Holiday Resorts with Thomas Cook has already been cleared by the CCI.

More Details: The Hindu

9. AK Dubey appointed as new Coal India Chairman

The Government has appointed additional secretary A.K. Dubey as the new chairman of Coal India following the resignation of S. Narsing Rao. S. Narsing Rao is set to take charge as Principal Secretary to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

More Details: The Economic Times

10. EIL and NBCC granted Navratna Status

Engineers India Limited (EIL) and National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) were conferred the Navratna status by the Department of Public Enterprises. This upgraded status will provide the companies with more financial and operational autonomy.

More Details: Financial Express

Verbal

Verbal Ability: Decoding the Fact, Inference and Judgement Questions

The Fact, Inference and Judgement section came as a bolt from the blue in the 2006 CAT paper catching many students by surprise. Of course, those were the days when the CAT paper was unpredictable and the mystery element made solving the exam all the more fun. OK, enough of the nostalgia. Let’s move on to the definitions, shall we?

Definitions:

Fact: This deals with information which can be easily verified. Usually these are present in the form of figures, statistics, etc. without any opinion attached. Thus, if a statement is easily verifiable, it can be easily identified as a fact.

Inference: This is a logical conclusion usually based on facts. They are conclusions drawn about the unknown, on the basis of the known.

Inference = Fact + Conclusion drawn on the basis of the fact

Judgement: A judgement, as the name suggests, is an expression of opinion. The opinions usually imply approval or disapproval of persons, situations, etc.

A judgement closely resembles an inferences and this is where a CAT candidate usually makes an error mistaking one for the other. The main difference between both is that in an inference, the conclusion is usually easily and logically derivable from the fact. This is not the case in a judgement which is more of an opinion on the fact.

Examples:
To make things clearer let’s move on to some examples. Here’s one from CAT 2006:

Question:
1. According to all statistical indications, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has managed to keep pace with its ambitious goals.
2. The Mid-day Meal Scheme has been a significant incentive for the poor to send their little ones to school thus establishing the vital link between healthy bodies and healthy minds.
3. Only about 13 million children in the age group of 6 to 14 years out of school.
4. The goal of universalization of elementary education has to be a pre-requisite for the evolution and development of our country.
(1) IIFJ (2) JIIJ (3) IJFJ (4) IJFI (5) JIFI

Solution:
Let’s go through each statement
The first statement is as blatant an inference as there can be. The first part of the sentence i.e. ’According to all statistical indications’ is the fact on which the second part of the sentence is inferred. This statement says that on the basis of a fact, the conclusion can be drawn that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has managed to keep pace with its ambitious goals. Thus, this can easily be marked as an inference.
The second statement is a judgement as the statement clearly indicates an approval of the Mid-day meal scheme. Also, this doesn’t seem to be based on any fact in the statement. Hence, this can be marked as a judgement
The third statement is again obviously a fact as this is a statistic which can easily be verified.
The fourth statement is a judgement as the words ‘has to be a pre-requisite’ indicate an opinion about something.

Let’s look at another question from CAT 2006:

Question:
1. We should not be hopelessly addicted to an erroneous belief that corruption in India is caused by the crookedness of Indians
2. The truth is that we have more red tape – we take eighty-nine days to start a small business, Australians take two.
3. Red tape leads to corruption and distorts a people’s character.
4. Every red tape procedure is a point of contact with an official, and such contacts have the potential to become opportunities for money to change hands.
(1) JFIF (2) JFJJ (3) JIJF (4) IFJF (5) JFJI

Solution:
The first statement is a judgement. The words ‘we should not’ clearly indicates an opinion of the person.
The second statement is a fact as the entire statement can be verified easily.
The third statement is again a judgement. Red tape leads to corruption indicates an opinion and is not based on any fact in the statement.
The fourth statement is an inference. The first part of the statement is the verifiable part and the second part of the statement is derived/inferred from the first part.

Strategy:
An easy strategy for dealing with FIJ questions is as follows:

1) Identify the facts among the statements. These are the easiest to find. Ensure that the entire statement should be verifiable
2) Eliminate the answer options where the statement found is not a fact
3) Identify the easy inferences or judgements among the remaining sentences
4) Eliminate the answer options again based on the ones which don’t fit

This is the easiest and the fastest way of solving the questions.

Improve your Productivity: The Pomodoro Technique

Pomodoro Technique
Pomodoro Technique

Procrastination is the worst, isn’t it? As Leo Babauta says, “It lurks behind us constantly, insinuating itself into the crevices of our mind, intimating its will through malevolent hints and obscure looks and barely audible whispers and glancing allusions”. Here is a time-tested method to alleviate it.

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is one of the more popular time management hacks in use today. Developed in the late 1980’s by Francesco Cirillo, the technique works by splitting time into 30 minute chunks. Each 30 minute period has a 25 minute working period and a 5 minute break. The 25 minute interval is known as a pomodoro, Italian for tomato. Additionally, after 4 such ‘pomodoros’, there is a 15 minute break. The objective is to complete the task in short bursts with maximum focus. This is based on the idea that frequent breaks can help improve mental agility.

What are the steps in implementing the technique?

There are 5 basic steps in implementing the technique:

1. Decide on what task you want to do
2. Set the timer to 25 minutes
3. Work on the task at a stretch for the entire 25 minutes
4. Take the mandatory break of 5 minutes
5. After 4 such pomodoros, take a break of 15 minutes

How to Pomodoro?

There are 2 ways to do this. One is simply use a stopwatch or a countdown timer and time it up to 25 minutes and so on. However, the easier way would be to download the apps related to this. This would provide you with better functionality and control over various settings. The ones recommended are ‘Clockwork Tomato‘ and ‘Pomodoro Timer‘. Similarly, there are a lot of apps in the Apple App Store as well (Pomodoro Timer).

Recording the Tasks

As per the technique, the tasks to be performed have to be planned and prioritized by using a ‘to-do’ list. The estimated time for completion of the task is marked alongside. As the individual pomodoros are completed, the task is ticked off, thus, recording the effort spent. A general review of the pomodoros done in a given day would help in tracking the productivity.

Conclusion

This technique has its fair share of critics who argue that the system is too regimented and inflexible. However, if one needs a systematic way of ticking off the ‘to-do’ list, then this technique may be the perfect one for you! :)

How I answered a CAT question without solving

A shop stores x kg of rice. The first customer buys half this amount plus half a kg of rice. The second customer buys half the remaining amount plus half a kg of rice. Then the third customer also buys half the remaining amount plus half a kg of rice. Thereafter, no rice is left in the shop. Which of the following best describes the value of x.

1) 2 ≤ x ≤ 6
2) 5 ≤ x ≤ 8
3) 9 ≤ x ≤ 12
4) 11 ≤ x ≤ 14
5) 13 ≤ x ≤ 18

If you are reading this, just try and solve this question. I am pretty sure you will get the correct answer.

Here is the solution:
If we go in the reverse sequence,
Left: 0, gave: 0.5 + 0.5 = 1
1 + 0.5 = 1.5 * 2 = 3
3 + 0.5 = 3.5 * 2 = 7
Hence x = 7

But when I was in the exam hall and looked at this question, without thinking, I marked 5 ≤ x ≤ 8. Because, I had solved ‘Puzzles to Puzzle you’ by Shakuntala Devi while growing up. Have a look at puzzle no. 12 from her book.

Something for the Marmalade

A little girl I know sells oranges from door to door. One day while on her rounds she sold 1/2 an orange more than half her oranges to the first customer. To the second customer she sold 1/2 an orange more than half of the reminder and to the third and the last customer she sold 1/2 an orange more than half she now had, leaving her none. Can you tell the number of oranges she originally had? Oh, by the way, she never had to cut an orange.

Answer: 7

Surprisingly, I found a similar question in a Mensa Puzzle book by Dr. Abbie F. Salny

You’ve bought your weekly egg supply at the local farm store. The first morning you have company for breakfast and use half the eggs plus one-half an egg. The next morning you use one-half of what’s left plus one-half an egg. The third morning you use one-half of what’s left plus one-half an egg, and on the fourth morning, you’re down to one solitary egg, so you make a French toast. In all this cooking, you’ve never had one-half an egg to carry over to the next day. How many eggs did you buy originally?

Answer: 15 (Slight variation from Shakuntala Devi’s question but the method of solving remains the same)

Hence, we recommend solving not only questions from CAT specific books, but also solving a lot of puzzles. They develop your logical skills, and tolerance level. And who knows, your exam might have a question lifted from one such book!