IB ACIO Grade II flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Article 32

The right to constitutional remedies, allowing citizens to move the Supreme Court directly for enforcement of Fundamental Rights; called the heart and soul of the Constitution by Dr Ambedkar.

42nd Amendment Act

Passed in 1976, it added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble and is often called the Mini-Constitution for its wide-ranging changes.

Tropic of Cancer in India

The 23.5° N latitude passes through eight Indian states, from Gujarat in the west to Mizoram in the east, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Indian Standard Time meridian

IST is based on the 82.5° E longitude, which passes near Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh; IST is UTC+5:30 and is the same across the whole country.

RBI establishment

The Reserve Bank of India was set up on 1 April 1935 under the RBI Act, 1934, nationalised in 1949, and is headquartered in Mumbai.

Successive percentage change

If a value changes by a% and then by b%, the net change is a + b + (ab/100) percent; for two successive discounts, the net discount uses the same formula.

Compound interest formula

For principal P, annual rate R% and time T years, amount = P(1 + R/100)^T and compound interest = amount − P; for half-yearly compounding, halve R and double T.

Train crossing a platform

Time taken = (length of train + length of platform) / speed. When crossing a pole or a person, time = length of train / speed, with units converted consistently.

Work together formula

If A alone finishes a job in x days and B alone in y days, working together they finish it in xy/(x + y) days, provided their rates add linearly.

Volume of a cone

Volume = (1/3)πr²h, where r is the base radius and h is the perpendicular height; the curved surface area is πrl, with l the slant height.

Probability of independent events

For two independent events A and B, P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B); for mutually exclusive events, P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B).

Syllogism validity rule

A conclusion follows only if it is true in every Venn diagram that satisfies the given premises; a single counter-diagram makes the conclusion invalid.

Circular seating arrangement

Fix one person as a reference, then arrange the remaining people clockwise or anticlockwise; unless stated, clockwise and anticlockwise orders are treated as different arrangements.

Statement and assumption

An assumption is an unstated premise taken for granted in a statement. If negating a candidate assumption makes the statement meaningless, that assumption is valid.

Blood relation notation

In family-tree diagrams, a vertical line means parent–child and a horizontal line means siblings or marriage; gender must be inferred from the words used, not from names.

Coding-decoding alphabet positions

Letters are numbered A=1 to Z=26; reverse coding uses A=26 to Z=1. Test the proposed rule on every given example before applying it to the question.

Subject-verb agreement with or

With 'either … or' and 'neither … nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it; with 'and', a plural verb is used unless the two nouns form one idea.

Articles a, an, the

Use 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour, a university), and 'the' for unique nouns or nouns already mentioned.

Active to passive voice

The object becomes the subject, the verb becomes a form of 'be' plus the past participle, and the original subject follows 'by', e.g., 'She wrote a letter' becomes 'A letter was written by her'.

Affect versus effect

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is usually a noun meaning a result. 'Principal' means head or main, while 'principle' means a rule or belief.

Idiom: burn the midnight oil

It means to study or work late into the night. Other common idioms: 'let the cat out of the bag' (reveal a secret) and 'a bolt from the blue' (a sudden shock).

One-word substitution: altruist

An altruist is a person who cares for the welfare of others; a philanthropist donates to good causes; a misanthrope hates mankind; ephemeral means short-lived.

Prepositions of time

Use 'in' for months and years, 'on' for days and dates, 'at' for exact times; use 'since' with a point of time and 'for' with a duration.

Intelligence Bureau

The IB is India's domestic intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs; it does not handle external intelligence.

Research and Analysis Wing

R&AW is India's external intelligence agency, created in 1968 after the intelligence failures of the 1962 and 1965 wars; it reports to the Cabinet Secretariat.

National Investigation Agency

The NIA was set up under the NIA Act, 2008, after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, to investigate terror-related offences across states without special state permission.

Border guarding forces

The BSF guards the India–Pakistan and India–Bangladesh borders; the ITBP guards the India–China border; the SSB guards Nepal and Bhutan borders; Assam Rifles guards the Myanmar border.

National Security Council

The NSC is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the National Security Adviser and Deputy NSA; it advises on matters of national security and strategic interests.

FATF

The Financial Action Task Force sets global standards to combat money laundering and terror financing; India is a member and has undergone mutual evaluations.

Précis length rule

A précis should be about one-third of the original passage, written in the third person as a continuous paragraph, without examples, direct speech or personal opinion.

Essay structure

A good essay has an introduction stating the thesis, body paragraphs each developing one idea with examples, and a conclusion that restates the thesis without new points.

Formal letter format

A formal letter contains the sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject line, salutation, body, complimentary close and signature, in that order.