General Knowledge (Set-VII)

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is the largest metals trading center in the world. Located in London, United Kingdom, the LME specializes in the trading of industrial metals, including aluminum, copper, zinc, nickel, and lead. It serves as a global hub for metals price discovery and risk management through futures and options trading.

The first protocol to ban the emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere was established in the Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987. This international treaty aimed to phase out the production and use of substances that deplete the ozone layer, primarily CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals. The protocol has since been amended multiple times to include additional chemicals and stricter controls.

The largest producer of lac in India is the state of Jharkhand. Jharkhand accounts for a significant portion of India’s lac production, followed by other states like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

One of the leading producers of asbestos in the world is **Russia**. Russia has historically been the largest producer of asbestos, particularly chrysotile asbestos, accounting for a significant portion of global production. Other major producers have included countries like **Kazakhstan, China,** and **Brazil** (although Brazil banned asbestos mining in 2017).

The smallest island country in the Indian Ocean is the Maldives. The Maldives is an archipelago of 26 atolls made up of over 1,000 coral islands and is known for its small land area and low elevation.

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns states that the marginal product of a factor input initially rises with its employment level, but after reaching a certain level of employment, it starts to fall.

This principle suggests that as more units of a variable input (like labor) are added to a fixed input (like capital), the additional output from each new unit of input will eventually decline.

The Harmattan wind is also known as the “Doctor wind.” It is a dry and dusty trade wind that blows from the Sahara Desert over the West African subcontinent, typically during the winter months. The wind is called the “Doctor” because it helps lower humidity and can reduce the spread of diseases by drying up damp areas.

The National Income of India was first estimated by Dadabhai Naoroji in the 19th century. He made an early attempt to calculate India’s national income in his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (published in 1901), where he examined the economic conditions of India under British rule. Later, in 1931, Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao provided a more formal and systematic estimate.

The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere. It is found roughly 15 to 35 kilometers (9 to 22 miles) above Earth’s surface and plays a crucial role in absorbing and blocking most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

The **Great Barrier Reef** is located in the **Coral Sea** of the **Pacific Ocean**, off the northeastern coast of **Australia**. It stretches along the coast of Queensland and is the world’s largest coral reef system.