SAPTARSHI: OUR WORLD ,OUR VIEWS

WBCS History Optional

2019-06-12T15:44:00.001+05:30

Many of you have asked me to provide a complete guidance video for History Optional for WBCS Examination. Here goes the first part of the video. Here I have outlined the strategy for getting more marks in History. This video will be immensely helpful for Main 2019 as well as for the examinations to be held in the next years.
Link to the video
https://youtu.be/zQBYParStEU

To get my book 'Make It BIG', Click on the link below
https://amzn.to/2X0bRnn
List of books I recommend for History

1) Early India: A Concise History Paperback - By D.N.Jha
https://amzn.to/2KbuRJE

2)India's Ancient Past Paperback –
by R.S. Sharma
https://amzn.to/2Kb9N64

3) Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - 1 By Satish Chandra
https://www.amazon.in/Medieval-India-Sultanat-Mughals-Delhi-1206-1526/dp/8124112673/ref=sr_1_13?crid=33WEHOAPQ893O&keywords=satish+chandra+a+history+of+medieval+india&qid=1560256126&s=gateway&sprefix=SATISH+%2Caps%2C347&sr=8-13

4)Medieval India Old Ncert History Text Book 1990 By Satish Chandra
https://amzn.to/2X05Gjb

5)Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals- Mughal Empire (1526-1748) - 2
https://www.amazon.in/Medieval-India-Sultanat-Mughals-1526-1748/dp/812411269X/ref=sr_1_6?crid=33WEHOAPQ893O&keywords=satish+chandra+a+history+of+medieval+india&qid=1560256126&s=gateway&sprefix=SATISH+%2Caps%2C347&sr=8-6

6) A New Look at Modern Indian History Paperback – 2018
by B. L. Grover
https://www.amazon.in/New-Look-Modern-Indian-History/dp/9352534344/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2H3XXHJGIOOJM&keywords=grover+and+grover+modern+history&qid=1560256384&s=gateway&sprefix=grover+and+gr%2Caps%2C340&sr=8-2

7) Swadeshi Movement in Bengal 1903-1908 Paperback – 2011
by Sumit Sarkar
https://amzn.to/2KJh10f

8) India's Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 Paperback – 9 Aug 2016
by Bipan Chandra
https://amzn.to/2F0ggfW

9)Mastering Modern World History Paperback – 2014
by Norman Lowe
https://amzn.to/2F1SSi0

My Book for UPSC Interview is a bestseller-Time To Grab It Now

2019-01-08T21:17:00.000+05:30

My book 'Make It BIG-Cracking Government Interviews In Corporate Style' has already been hailed as the best available book on interview and personality development. With more than 66 reviews on Flipkart and 29 reviews on Amazon, this is perhaps the most talked about book on cracking Government Interviews. So if you want to clear your UPSC Interview, give yourself the treat to prepare with this book of mine. The links to get the book are given below

1) Amazon Link-https://amzn.to/2SGWR8w

2) BlueRose Link- https://bluerosepublishers.com/product/make-big-cracking-government-interviews-corporate-style/

3) Shopclues Link-https://www.shopclues.com/make-it-big-cracking-government-interviews-in-corporate-style-140444754.html

4) Flipkart Link- Out of stock on Flipkart after selling more than a thousand copies already.

Will be replenished soon.

You Can Now Buy My Book On Interview and Personality Development Here

2018-08-15T22:24:00.002+05:30

My Book Has Been Launched

2018-08-15T22:21:00.000+05:30

2018-08-02T23:21:00.002+05:30

Books to Kickstart Your Preparations

2017-12-05T11:53:00.002+05:30

Here is the 3rd video of my Vlog on the books to kickstart your prep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmWgbWs_Pqw

A NEW VIDEO BLOG TO OFFER SUPPORT

2017-11-28T12:07:00.003+05:30

Hi guys. Hope you are doing well.I have started a new video blog to keep the things going.
https://youtu.be/dLBsaJcGvBI

Hello guys...

2015-12-09T21:08:00.002+05:30

I'm back.It took me nearly 5 years to make a comeback here.The hectic work schedule that I have rarely allows me to sit and write something for the aspirants.But with continuous emails from the followers asking me to resume posting here, I thought of making a comeback.Will be interacting with you periodically with new ideas.Hope to meet you again.

2010- AT A GLANCE PART 2

2010-12-27T00:01:00.003+05:30

▪The 8th ASEAN-India Summit was held at Hanoi, Vietnam on October 30, 2010.

▪Malaysia is the second largest trading partner for India within ASEAN, and India is the largest trading partner for Malaysia in South Asia, excluding

China

. Bilateral trade between the two countries is now estimated at $ 10.5 billion, and this has doubled in the past five years.

▪India and its old military partner

Russia

will soon ink a deal to jointly develop an advance stealth fighter.

India

and

South Korea

have struck a deal to finalise an agreement on civil uses of nuclear energy. This was a major success for India during the PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh’s Asia tour.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appointed a high-level committee headed by a former Comptroller and Auditor General, V.K. Shunglu, to go into allegations of corruption related to the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in October 2010.

Liberhan Commission submitted report to the Prime Minister : The Justice Liberhan Commission, which probed the sequence of events that led to the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Inflation turns negative for first time since 1977-78 : The annual rate of inflation (wholesale price index) turned negative and stood at -1.61 % for the week ended 6 June 2009.

The first commercial landing of the Airbus A380, the largest aircraft of the world, took place at the newly inaugurated Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

Former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.He was the first Dalit Chief Justice of

India

and will be the first Dalit heading NHRC.NHRC was headless for over a year.

India

's Export-Import (Exim) Bank has given a loan of $5 million to Burkina Faso to start its first call center with 400 positions. Burkina Faso is also part of India's flagship project - Pan African e-network project. Previously, India also approved the setting up of a tomato processing factory through a line of credit of $15 million in

Burkina Faso

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad, Hyderabad was declared the World’s Best Airport under the 5 to 15 million passengers category by Airports Council International (ACI). This is the first time that an Indian airport will be featured among the top airports of the world.

International Conference on Biodiversity in relation to food and human security was held in Chennai.

Anti-government protests broke out in Kyrgyzstan and its President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has reportedly left the country and Prime Minister Usenov resigned, clearing the way for the Opposition to form its own government. A “Cabinet of people’s trust” has been headed by Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva.

China

is building a new airport near Mount Everest, to be called ‘Peace Airport’ in Xigaze prefecture in

Tibet

The Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was held in Washington

The President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and a high-level delegation were killed when the president’s Tu-154 passenger jet carrying 97 people crashed as it was approaching a Russian airport in the city of Smolensk.

The annual ministerial meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held in Paris with Economy and Trade Ministers from 40 countries, representing 80 per cent of the world economy attended. India, Russia, Brazil ,China, Indonesia and

South Africa

have been invited to participate as observers.

The Conservative leader David Cameron took over as Prime Minister and his Liberal Democrat counterpart Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister in the

Britain

’s first post-war coalition government.

The two-day G-20 summit or the meeting of the heads of the world’s major industrialised powers was held in Toronto, Canada.

Guinea

, the West African country is holding in its first free election since independence in 1958.

Julia Gillard was sworn in as

Australia

’s first woman Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd was toppled as the leader of the ruling Labour party.

Argentina

became the first country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support reveals that there are more ‘MPI poor’ people in eight Indian states (421 million in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) than in the 26 poorest African countries combined (410 million).

Ms. Rosa Otunbayeva (59), the first woman President in Central Asia was sworn in

Kyrgyzstan

During the sidelines of a summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec) in Astana, Kazakhstan, the three countries Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus signed a declaration to launch a customs union as a first step towards forming a broader EU-type economic alliance of former Soviet states.

2010- AT A GLANCE PART 1

2010-12-26T21:15:00.000+05:30

G-15 summit was held at Tehran on 16-17 May.
* Bangladesh handed over Ranjan Daimary of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland to India. The group was responsible for serial bombing in Assam in 2008.
* National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Myannmar’s democracy leader Aung San Sui Kyi was abolished after deadline to re-register as a political party was over.
* EU-IMF provide a $ 1 trillion rescue package to the Greece to resolve its debt crises.
* Pakistan successfully test fired two short range ballistic missiles, Shaheen I( range 650 Km) and Ghazani (range 290 Km) capable of carrying nuclear war heads and striking Indian cities.
Naxalites killed 47 people in a landmine blast between Dantewada and Sukma in Chattisgarh.
* Test fire of nuclear capable Agni-II missile was successfully carried out from Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa on 17th May. Agni II has a range of 2000Km. It is 20m long two stage solid propelled ballistic missile. It was developed by Advanced System Laboratories alongwith DRDO & Bharat Dynamics Ltd.
* Supreme Court in a recent judgement upheld a rule that allows the adjustment of reserved category candidate SC/ST/OBC against their quota seats even if they manage to qualify an examination for govt services on merit.
* National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is the monitoring authority for the Right to Education Act which became effective from April 1, 2
England won 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating Australia. The tournament was held at South Africa. Kevin Pieterson of England has been declared as Player of the Tournament.
* Australia won 2010 Women’s World Twenty20 Cricket tournament defeating New Zealand.
* India and South Korea were declared joint winner of 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, after suspension of the final match due to heavy rains.India’s Sardar Singh has been declared as Best Player of the Tournament. Australia won the Bronze medal. The tournament was held at Ipoh (Malaysia). India had won the tournament earlier in 1985, 1991, 1995 & 2009.
* China won Thomas Cup ( Men’s Badminton) defeating Indonesia.
* In the World Youth Boxing Championship, held at Baku, Azerbaijan, India won 1 Gold & 1 Silver. Gold medal was won by Vikas Krishan and Silver medal was won by Shiva Thapa.
* India won bronze medal in the 2nd Asian Paragliding Championship held at Nishiewa, Japan.
* World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retained his title after defeating Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the World Chess Championship 2010. Vandana Shiva has been awarded Sydney Peace Prize 2010 for her work in the field of social justice.
Gita Gopinath an Indian origin associate professor at Harvard Univ has been appointed a full professor, the first Indian woman in the Institution’s history to ge given this appointment.
* Former Vice President of India, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died.
* Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA 2010. She became the first ever muslim American Miss USA. She is of Lebanese muslim descent.
* Singer Christina Aguilera was named Ambassador against hunger by the United Nations World Food Programme.
* Rushanara Ali became first person of Bangladesh origin to be elected to the British Parliament.
* David Cameron elected Prime Minister of Britain. Nick Clegg became the Dy Prime Minister. Britain gets first coalition govt since World War-II. It is between Conservative and Liberal Democrats.
* Justice S H Kapadia sworn as new Chief Justice of India.
* Hari S Bhartia elected as President of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for 2010-11.
* Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world in a yatch. Belgium became the Europe’s first country to ban burqa.
* Pakistan’s National assembly passed a bill that takes away the President’s power to dissolve parliament, dismiss a elected government and appoint the three services Chiefs. Pakistan’s parliament passes 18th amendment which was later signed by Presient cutting President’s powers.
* USA and Russia signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty(START) that allowed a maximum of 1550 deployed overheads, about 30% lower than a limit set in 2002. The treaty was signed in the Progue Castle.
* Emergency was imposed in Thailand.
* Nuclear Security Summit held at Washington.It was a 47 nation summit wherein P.M. announced setting up of a global nuclear energy centre for conducting research & development of design systems that are secure, proliferation resistant & sustainable.
* PM visit USA & Brazil, a two nation tour. He attended Nuclear Security Summit in USA & India- Brazil-S.Africa(IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China(BRIC) summit in Brasilia (Brazil).
* 16th SAARC Summit held in Bhutan in 28-29 April. The summit was held in Bhutan for the first time. It is the silver jubilee summit as SAARC has completed 25 years. The summit central theme was ‘Climate Change’. The summit recommended to declare 2010-2020 as the “Decade of Intra-regional Connectivity in SAARC”. The 17th SAARC summit will be held in Maldives in 2011.
* Uninque Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now known as Aadhaar. It’s Chairman is Nandan Nilekani. It will assign 16 digit identification number to all residents in India.
* NTRO- National Technical Research Organisation. The organization came to limelight after allegation of phone tapping of politicians.
* Indian navy commissioned India’s first indigenously built stealth warship ‘ INS Shivalik’. The other stealth warship to be built are named as ‘INS Sahyadri’ and INS Satpura’.
* Right To Education Act is notified and will become a legally enforceable from 1 April 2010. Key features of RTE Act are : All children in 6-14 age group must get free and compulsory eduction; No child shall be held back,expelled or required to pass a board examination till Class VIII; There must be 25 % reservation for poor children even in private & minority schools; There must be one teacher for every 30 students; A child rights commission will look into violations of the RTE law.
* Govt start Census 2011. It is the 15th Census. It is in two phase. The first phase is called –House listing & Housing Census and the second phase is called decadal headcount which will be held in Feb 2011. The Registrar General of India is C Chandramouli.
IPL3 season won by Chennai Super Kings defeating Mumbai Indians.
* Youth Olympics Games 2010 to be held in Singapore in Aug 2010.
* World Youth Championship was held at Baku, Azerbaijan.
* Lawn tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
* ‘Jumbo’ chosen as 2011 World Cricket Cup Mascot.
* World Kabbadi Cup 2010- India defeated Pakistan to won World Cup Kabbadi 2010 held at Ludhiana.
* Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship defeating Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist for the consecutive third time.
India became the 7th largest shareholder in World Bank.
* Government approved disinvestment of 20% of share in SAIL in this financial year.
2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the best first Book was awarded to Glenda Guest for the novel ‘Siddon Rock’. Rana Dasgupta won Commonwealth Writers Prize for best Book 2010 for book ‘Solo’.
* Carl Zeiss wildlife conservation award was won by Joydip Kundu.
* Amitav Ghosh won the Dan David Prize alongwith Margaret Atwood for ‘Rendition of the 2oth century’.
2010 Commonwealth Writers Prize for the best first Book was awarded to Glenda Guest for the novel ‘Siddon Rock’. Rana Dasgupta won Commonwealth Writers Prize for best Book 2010 for book ‘Solo’.
* Carl Zeiss wildlife conservation award was won by Joydip Kundu.
* Amitav Ghosh won the Dan David Prize alongwith Margaret Atwood for ‘Rendition of the 2oth century’.
Gorumara National Park, Jalpaigudi has been declared the best among the 235 national parks & sanctuaries in the country by the MOEF.
International congress of Mathematicians will be hosted by India for the first time in August 2010 at Hyderabad. The congress has been held once every four years since 1897except the breaks during two world wars.
* Government will opened four new campuses for the IIMC(Indian Institute of Mass Communication) at Nagpur, Kochi, Jammu and Aizawl.
* Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Derjeeling become first zoo in the country to install infrared night vision cameras in the enclosures housing endangered snow leopard.
Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra was sworn in as Judge of Supreme Court of India. She became the 4th women judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court of India.
* Justice S H Kapadia will be next Chief Justice of India.
* Mukul Sangma shown in as Meghalaya Chief Minister
* Govt launched National Mission for Empowerment of Women aimed at inter-sectoral convergence of all pro- women programmes.
* Constitution 108th Amendment Bill 2008 commonly known as women’s reservation bill was passed by Rajya Sabha by 186 in favour 1 against 39 abstained (Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 233). The bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats on the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years on a rotational basis. It was first introduced in 1996. Sharad Joshi, an independent MP is the only MP which cast vote against the bill. In the present Lok Sabha, there are 59 women MPs out of 543 MPs. Total MLAs in 29 state assemblies in India are 4093.
Govt amends Anti Hijacking Act 1982. It now provides for death sentence to the hijackers.
India became 1st country in the world to have a ‘manoeuvrable’ supersonic cruise missile, when it successfully test fired 290 km range Brahmos missile.
Australia won World Hockey Cup 2010 defeating Germany. India ranked at 8th place.
* India won six gold medal in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held at Delhi.
* Rajan Bharti Mittal appointed President FICCI.
* Major Dimple Singla became first women army officer in the country who has been sentenced to imprisonment for corruption.
* Bhubneshwar Kalita has been choosen as the Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent at Commonwealth Games 2010.
* Cricketer Kapil Dev has been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
* Former Supreme Court judge P V Reddy appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
* Lt Gen V K Singh appointed as new Army Chief.
* Sonia Gandhi appointed head of National Advisory Council. NAC advice the govt on policy matters, monitor flagship programmes and prepare the ground for other pro-poor legislatures.
* Lyricist Javed Akhtar, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Dr Ram Dayal Munda, Dr Balchandra Mungekar and Kannada Actress B Jayashree are among other persons nominated to Rajya Sabha.
* Austrian base jumper Felix Baumgartnar will became the first person to leaps from the edge of space at a height of 37 km above earth’s surface. He become the first man to break the speed of sound hitting a top speed of about 11000km/hr. He will jump on 11 April 2010.
* Katie Spotz became the youngest person to complete a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
* Girija Prasad Koirala, Nepal Ex Prime Minister died. He was 5th time Nepal PM.
192 year old Presidency College of Kolkatta (India’s oldest college) converted into Presidency University. It became 18th state university in West Bengal.
* Railways started ‘Maharajas Express’ from Kolkatta to Delhi. It is a tourist train having stoppage at Gaya, Varanasi, Bandhavgarh, Gwalior, Khajuraho and Agra.
Constitution 112th Amendment Bill 2009 seeks to amend following clauses of Article 243T of the Constitution that provides for reservation of seats for SC & ST and also for women in Urban Local bodies : a) In clause (2) for the word ‘one third’, the word ‘one half’ shall be substituted, b) In clause (3) the word ‘one third’ , the word ‘one half shall be substituted.
European Union summit was held in Brussels. EU & IMF decided to giving support to Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control. EU President is Herman Van Rompuy.
Kirit Parikh committee , set up to review petro pricing regime, submit its recommendation. Its major recommendation are to deregulate the prices of petrol & diesel as per market prices, reduce the subsidy on LPG.
* India signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the UK, which became the 8th country to enter into such a pact, since the lifting of atomic trade embargo in 2008.
* Govt set up a panel under the Chairmanship of former Justice B N Srikrishna which would consider the demand for splitting Andhra Pradesh.
* India and Denmark signed a social security pact which will relieve their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
Constitution 111th Amendment – Proposes to incorporate a new Part ( Part IX B) in the Constitution so as to provide for legal framework to regulate the functioning of cooperative societies. A new Article ( Article 43 B) is also proposed to be inserted in Part IV of the Constitution (Directive Principles of State Policy) for the States to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning of cooperative societies.
* Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009 commonly known as Nuclear Liability Bill will be introduced by Govt in Parliament in Winter session 2010. The draft bill aims at limiting the liability of a nuclear plant operator to Rs. 300 crore in the eventuality of an accident. The bill provides for the penalty to be paid by the operator and not the supplier companies which would mainly be American in this case. India has entered into civil nuclear cooperation agreement with eight countries so far.
* 11th South Asian Games 2010 : Held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from 29 Jan to 8 Feb. Originally scheduled to take place in 2009, but due to general elections in Bangladesh, the games were held in 2010. This was the third time that the Dhaka hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times. 8 countries participated in the games in 23 different sports, including T20 cricket, which was introduced for the first time in SAG. The 8 countries included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. 1The logo of the games was ‘Kutumb’, a flying doel , which is the national bird of Bangladesh. The mascot of the games featured a magpie robin, which was holding the torch to begin the games. The final medal tally include : India - 1st place with 90 G 55 S 29 B Total 174, Pakistan- 2nd place with 19 G 25 S 36 B Total 80, Bangladesh- 3rd place with 18 G 23 S 56 B Total 97.
11th World Hockey Cup 2010- To be held in Delhi, India. This is 2nd WHC which India is hosting. India also hosted the WHC in 1982 at Mumbai. 12 countries participated in the tournament. WHC is held in the years between two summer Olympics. First WHC was held at Barcelona in 1971. Pakistan has won the cup four times, Netherland three times, Germany two times, India & Australia once each. India won the WHC in 1975.
* Sachin Tendulkar became first player in the world to score a double century in ODI (One day International). He scored 200 (Not out) against South Africa.
* Commonwealth Shooting Championship was held in New Delhi in Feb 2010. India stood at first place with 35 Gold 25 Silver.
* Govt appointed R S Pandey as its mediator for talk with NSCN(IM) in Nagaland to carry forward the peace process.
* Former Justice P V Reddy will be appointed as Chairman, Law Commission of India.
* Ram Baran Yadav, Nepal President visit India in Feb 2010. It was the first visit by Yadav to any foreign country after taking over as Nepal’s President. Yadav is the first President of Nepal since monarchy ended in 2008. India extended $ 250 million soft line of credit to Nepal.
* Rajinder Singh became first non-white and also first Asian member of the right wing British National Party, after it amended its constitution to allow black and Asian to be its member.
* Amitabh Bachan became the brand ambassador of Gujarat state.
* Amnesty International, the global human right organization has appointed Salid Shetty as its next Secy General from June 2010. He will be the first Indian to head the organization.
* Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol become the first Indian bollywood actors to ring the opening bell of the world’s biggest stock exchange’ NASDAQ’.
* Rajiv Satav appointed President, Indian Youth Congress.
* Katrina Kaif awarded with 2009 Excellence in Performing Arts Award established by ASSOCHAM.
* M H Hussain, famous painter accepted citizenship of Qatar.
Planning Commission grant special category status to the Bundelkhand region comprising 9 distt of Uttar Pradesh and 15 distt of Madhya Pradesh for the irrigation projects. Under special category status, state govt can seek 90 % grant assistance from the centre and 10 % as loan.
* Govt revises base year for the calculation of National Income from 1999-2000 to 2004-2005. The GDP for 2009-10 will be Rs. 55,74,449 crore and the fiscal deficit for the corresponding period will be 6.4 %.
* Capital Control – Foreign capital inflows in the form of loans and equity that are allowed in a restricted form are said to be controlled. The capital inflows include foreign borrowings by Indian corporate and businesses, NRI deposits and portfolio flow from institutional investors into the stock market. Loans to Govt and short term trade credit are also included. India had control on both capital account transactions as well as on current account with the local currency fixed by the Central Bank. In 1991, rupee was first made convertible on the current account. In 1994, Govt allows foreign portfolio investments.
* Govt will replace Benchmark Prime Lending System (BPLR) with Base rate system from 1 April 2010 to make bank lending more transparent. It provided for minimum rate for all types of loans for banks.
ttarakhand became first state in the country to ban the cultivation of Bt Brinjal ( Country’s first Genetically Modified food crop). Bt Brijnal is a genetically modified crop which has a special gene- Cry1AC, inserted to make it poisonous to pests. GM Crops resists pests and give better yields as well as nutrition. Bt Brinjal is developed in India by Mahyco company. GM foods are derived from organisms whose DNA has been modified through genetic engineering.
* Present life expectancy of life at birth in India is 63.4 yrs. The highest expectancy of life is in Australia of 81.4 yrs, 81 yrs for France and 79.3 yrs for England.
* World Cancer Day – 04 Feb
Australian Open 2010 : Women’s Single- Serena William defeated Justin Henin. It is Serena’s 5th Australian Open title. It is also Serena’s 12th Grand Slam title equaling the record of Billie Jean King. Men’s Single- Roger Federer(Swiss) defeated Andy Murray(Britain). It is Federer’s 4th Australian Open title. It is Federer’s 16th Grand Slam title. Mixed Double – Laender Paes (India) & Cara Black (Zimbabwe) defeated Ekterina Makasova & Jaroslav Levinsky. It is Paes’s 11th Grand Slam title
97th Indian Science Congress held at Tiruvananthapuram in Jan 2010. The theme of this year congress was ‘ Science & Technology of 21st Century- National Perspective’.
50th anniversary of creation of LASER is being celebrated in 2010. Theodore Maiman constructed the first LASER in May 1960. LASER stands for Light Amplification for Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Charles H Townes was father of MASER.
Lee Myung Bak, South Korea President was the Chief Guest at 2010 Republic Day Parade.
Shiv Shankar Menon is appointed as National Security Advisor.
* Vikram Srivastava appointed as Director General of CRPF(Central Reserve Police Force).
* Ranjit Kumar Bhatia appointed as Director General of ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Police).

Coming back

2010-09-06T23:19:00.001+05:30

Coming back with the blog soon.Stay tuned.

NREGA- AN ASSESSMENT PART 1

2010-01-15T16:55:00.000+05:30

Independent India has to acknowledge the critical role the NREGA has played in providing a measure of inclusive growth. It has given people a right to work, to re-establish the dignity of labour, to ensure people’s economic and democratic rights and entitlements, to create labour intensive infrastructure and assets, and to build the human resource base of our country. For the first time, the power elite recognises the people’s right to fight endemic hunger and poverty with dignity, accepting that their labour will be the foundation for infrastructure and economic growth. The entitlements paradigm is still to be established in many States in the country. Second generation issues like the expansion of the categories of permissible works needs to be taken up with labour and the deprived continuing to be the central focus. The improvements must be to strengthen, not divert from these basic tenets. In the midst of the current economic slowdown, there is enough evidence that this kind of commitment can work to help reduce the slowdown.

The political class would do well to understand that the most important solution is an assertion of its will to respond to people’s voices. The many wise, creative, and innovative initiatives emerging from theory and practice have a future only if they are owned by the people and implemented with justice. The NREGA can give people an opportunity to make the entire system truly transparent and accountable. Properly supported, people’s struggles for basic entitlements can, in turn, become the strongest political initiative to strengthen our democratic fabric.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY- 2009 AT A GLANCE

2009-12-29T02:36:00.000+05:30

November 2009

NASA signs agreement with ISRO for use of Indian satellite oceansat-2(19th Nov 2009) US space agency NASA has signed an agreement with ISRO to use data from Indian satellite Oceansat-2, for various American agencies for research activities, including weather forecasting. Launched on September 23, 2009 using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota, Oceansat-2 is designed to provide service continuity for operational users of the Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) instrument on Oceansat-1.

Scientists Create Bacteria that Light Up Around Landmines (16th Nov 2009) A stunning 87 countries around the world are still littered with undetonated landmines, and their impact is devastating. Thousands of people are killed or injured by mines every year, and they pose a grave threat to ecosystems and wildlife. But an unexpected solution may be on the way--scientists have developed a special kind of bacteria that actually begins to glow in the presence of landmines. Scientists produced the bacteria using a new technique called BioBricking, which manipulates packages of DNA. The bacteria are then mixed into a colorless solution, which forms green patches when sprayed onto ground where mines are buried. The bacterial stew can also be dropped via airplane in extremely sensitive areas. Then, only a few hours after it's sprayed or dropped, the bacteria begins to glow green if it's next to an undetonated explosive. This, of course, would be an invaluable asset in the ongoing quest to rid nations like Somalia, Bosnia, and Cambodia of their atrocious, deadly minefields. Scientists are especially optimistic about the bacteria because the solution is cheap and easy to mass produce.

"Significant" Moon Water Released by NASA Crashes (13th Nov 2009) In October, NASA crashed a two-ton rocket and the SUV-size LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) into the permanently shadowed crater Cabeus on the moon's South Pole. The crashes were part of an effort to kick up evidence of moon water. The LCROSS team took the known near-infrared light signature of water and compared it to the impact spectra LCROSS near-infrared recorded after the probe had sent its spent rocket crashing into the moon. They have good fits with each other. Additional support for moon water came from LCROSS's ultraviolet spectrometer, which detected energy signatures associated with hydroxyl, a byproduct of the breakup of water by sunlight.

New ocean forming in African desert (5th Nov 2009)

Geologists have confirmed that the African continent is being torn in two, forming a new ocean. An international collaboration has shown that a 35 mile long rift in the Afar region of the Ethiopian desert, which opened in 2005, is likely to be the beginning of a new sea. The recent study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, brings together seismic data from the formation of the rift, showing that it is driven by similar processes to those at the bottom of oceans.

Snow on Mt. Kilimanjaro to melt in twenty years (3rd Nov 2009)

Scientists at the Ohio University predicted that the ice sheets of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain peak, will melt in the next twenty years due to global warming. The ice that was present in 1912 gradually decreased by 85% by 2000, and by 2007 another 26% of the amount in 2000. This was the first time that the volume of the ice in Kilimanjaro was measured. The tests were conducted by Lonnie Thompson, a professor at Ohio University.

October 2009

Scientists report discovery of 32 new exoplanets (20th Oct 2009)

With help from the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), scientists have reported the discovery of 32 new exoplanets. The latest batch of exoplanets announced comprises not less than 32 new discoveries. Including these new results, data from HARPS have led to the discovery of more than 75 exoplanets in 30 different planetary systems.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry to India-born scientist (October 7 2009)

Three Americans won 2009 Nobel Prize and one among them is India-born. They are Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath. Ramakrishnan is India-born American and Ada Yonath is Israeli. They were awarded with Nobel Prize in chemistry for mapping ribosomes. It is the protein-producing factories within body cells, at the atomic level.

NASA telescope discovers giant ring around Saturn (October 7 2009)

The Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered the biggest but never-before-seen ring around the planet Saturn, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced. The thin array of ice and dust particles lies at the far reaches of the Saturnian system and its orbit is tilted 27 degrees from the planet's main ring plane, the laboratory said. Although the ring dust is very cold — minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit — it shines with thermal radiation.

September 2009

13-year-old Indian to address UN climate change summit (September 21 2009)

A 13-year-old Indian girl from Lucknow, Yugratna Srivastava has won the honour to address US President Barack Obama, President Hu Jintao of China and other world leaders on behalf of the world's three billion youth and children. The UN summit that Yugratna would address is part of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's campaign to bring about a fair and ratifiable green house gas reduction agreement at this year's Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. "World leaders must recognise the energy and potential which lies in children and youth. This age group is just like flowing rivers and they make their own way in the direction in which they march," said Yugratna, a lively, committed and very passionate teenager.

May 2009

Largest ever telescope launched from French Guiana ( May 15 2009)

Ariane 5 rocket, the world's largest telescope was launched on May 15 from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to investigate the origins of the universe. The Herschel telescope was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) at a cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.49 billion). The main objective of the telescope is to determine how the stars and galaxies are formed in the universe. The Physicist Albrecht Poglitsch, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, worked on the development of Herschel's instruments. The stars are comprised of gas and dust, a mix that makes it impossible to see into the star itself with light. Herschel's strength is to enable a look into the gas-dust clouds. The primary mirror of the Herschel telescope is 3.5 meters in diameter, more than four times larger than those of previous infrared space telescopes and almost one and a half times larger than the Hubble space telescope. Herschel will tap into previously unexplored wavelengths and examine phenomena that had been out of reach for other observatories. The telescope will begin to carry out its three-and-a-half-year mission in about a month.

First face transplant patient in US shows face ( 6th May 2009)

Five years ago, Connie Culp, 46-year-old woman in a shotgun blast left a ghastly hole in the middle of her face. Five months ago, she received a new face from a dead woman. She stepped forward to show off the results of the nation's first face transplant, and her new look was a far cry from the puckered, noseless sight that made children run away in horror. Culp's expressions are still a bit wooden, but she can talk, smile, smell and taste her food again. Her speech is at times a little tough to understand. Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in big folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating her new muscles.

UK scientists to develop Swine Flu vaccine (4th May 2009)

As the world is getting ready to fight against Swine Flu (H1N1 virus), researchers from all over the world have stepped up to build a vaccine to fight the scary disease.

A team from National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in Hertfordshire had started their work for developing a vaccine against the H1N1 virus. The researchers aim to drill a hole in hen's egg, considered for growing up flu viruses. The process involves injecting a small amount of virus into each egg. The scientists are using two different techniques for the process.

The first one is 'reverse genetics', where scientists take the H and the N surface proteins from the H1N1 virus and mix them with a laboratory virus known as PR8. This leads to a creation of a harmless hybrid virus, which can be used for the vaccine.

The second technique involves injecting both the H1N1 and PR8 viruses into eggs and allowing the hybrid strain to be created through a natural re-assortment of their genes. The vaccine will work by dodging the immune system into it has been infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus so that it creates antibodies against it. The researchers hope that the first seed strain of H1N1 swine flu vaccine will be ready in three to four weeks. It will then take another four or five months for vaccine manufacturers to produce the vaccine in bulk.

April 2009

PET bottles potential health hazard (29th April 2009)

Wagner, a lead researcher stated, “Drinking water from PET plastic bottles is harmful to human health”. It has a higher probability of drinking estrogenic compounds (which affects reproductive hormones) through water. He analysed 20 samples of mineral water. Nine samples came out of glass bottles, nine were bottled in PET plastic and two were in cardboard. The specialised yeast, which change colour in the presence of estrogen like compounds, revealed estrogenic activity in seven of the nine plastic bottles (and both cardboard samples), and compared with just three of the nine glass ones. The levels of these compounds in the water were surprisingly high.

ISRO launches RISAT-2 (20th April 2009)

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launched a revolutionary spy satellite RISAT-2. It is designed by the Israeli Aerospace Industries. It can take images through the thickest cloud cover, rain and snow or fog conditions during night and day or even of the hundreds of winding mountain valleys. It will be used extensively for purposes like mapping, managing natural disasters and surveying the seas, it can also see through camouflage like cloth or foliage used to conceal camps or vehicles. It will enable India to keep a watch on terror camps, military installations across boundaries, missile sites and suchlike. It should also help keep track of ships at sea that could pose a threat. The RISAT will reduce India's dependence on foreign suppliers like Ikonos for satellite imagery.

MARCH

Discovery Crew Returns Home From ISS

The Discovery space shuttle crew returned home to the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Sunday(29/3/09) after completing a 12-day mission.

Discovery landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:14 p.m. Saturday(28/3/09), after traveling more than 5.3 million miles. Its crew delivered solar arrays to help power the International Space Station and science experiments taking place there. The astronauts completed three space walks, lasting more than six hours each, to install, repair, and maintain equipment for the station.

The STS-119 flight marked the first trip to space and the first spacewalks for former science teachers Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold. Both are now NASA astronauts. The flight was Discovery's 36th trip to space. It marked the 125th space shuttle mission and the 28th shuttle trip to the space station.

Internet Crime Up 33 Percent, FBI Reports

Internet-based crime increased by 33 percent last year, making 2008 the biggest year ever for reported cybercrime incidents, according to an Internet Crime Complaint Center annual report.

The ICCC, a nonprofit organization run by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center dedicated to monitoring online fraud, issued a report Monday showing that fraud losses incurred from cybercrime reached a total of $264.6 million in 2008, compared to $239.1 million the previous year, Reuters reports. Losses in recent years pose a sharp contrast to cybercrime losses of $18 million in 2001.

"2009 is shaping up to be a very busy year in terms of cybercrime," said John Kane, director of the National White Collar Crime Center based in Richmond, Va., and the report's author, to Reuters.

Adobe, Facebook partner to create Flash developer tools

Adobe has partnered with one of the most popular social networking Web sites, Facebook, to give developers a new set of tools to create applications.

The applications will use Adobe's Flash platform and the new ActionScript 3 Client Library for Facebook the two companies developed together. The client library is a free open source programming language that supports Facebook application programming interfaces (APIs) including Facebook Connect.

Microsoft to discontinue Encarta

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O) is to exit its Encarta encyclopedia business later this year after losing ground over the years to freely available reference material on the Internet on web sites like Wikipedia.

"People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past," the software maker said in a notice posted on its MSN website.

Microsoft, which axed 5,000 jobs earlier this year to cut costs and warned profit and revenue would fall over the next two quarters, said it would stop selling Encarta software products by June. Encarta websites worldwide, except Encarta Japan, would be discontinued on October 31 and Encarta Japan will cease after December 31, the company said.

OBAMA TO RESTORE STEM CELL RESEARCH FUNDING

US President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order reversing Bush administration restrictions on Federal funding for stem cell research. He said that he would ensure that all research on stem cells would be conducted ethically and with rigorous oversight.

This move would be in line with Mr Obama's campaign vow to restore funding to embryonic stem cell research.This development impressed scientists who have long campaigned for the Bush policy to be overturned, but will likely be condemned by conservative right-to-life groups.

Mr Bush barred Federal funding from supporting work on new lines of stem cells derived from human embryos in 2001, allowing research only on a small number of embryonic stem-cell lines which existed at that time.He argued that using human embryos for scientific research - which often involves their destruction - crossed a moral barrier and urged scientists to consider other alternatives. Embryonic stem cells are primitive cells from early-stage embryos capable of developing into almost every tissue of the body.

INDIA TO SEND SUN MISSION ADITYA IN 2012

After the successful launch of the moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now gearing up for a mission to the sun. The proposed sun mission christened as "Mission Aditya", is aimed at unraveling the secrets of the sun. G Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian space agency ISRO, announced that, the agency is ready with its new space programme to explore the corona of the Sun in 2012.

"Mission Aditya" will find out answers for how and why solar flares and solar winds disturb the communication network and play havoc with electronics on the earth. It will also uncover the mysteries surrounding the sun's corona that create geomagnetic field disturbances on the earth and often damage man-made satellites and spacecraft moving in the sky under intense sunlight.

Though the sun mission of ISRO has been on the cards for quite some time now, it got a boost after the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1. The success of the Aditya Mission will provide vital clues to ISRO to protect its satellites and spaceware from being damaged by hot winds and flares ejected out of the sun's corona.

INDIAN-AMERICAN SCIENTIST VIVEK PAI CREATES TOP WEB TECHNOLOGY

The researchers' team led by Indian American scientist Vivek Pai has developed a revolutionary way to expand internet access around the world. The team of Princeton University computer science researchers created a new efficient data storage system called HashCache which got listed as one of the top emerging technologies of the year in scientific magazine, Technology Review. The scientific magazine is being published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

HashCache claims to store information more efficiently than current methods. The newly created data-caching system is expected to expand web use in developing regions around the world by making internet access more affordable. The new data storage system increases the possibilities of expanding internet facility across the poorer regions as it is very affordable. Compared to RAM, HashCache is capable of storing more information from frequently visited web sites on a local hard drive thereby enabling direct data access. Vivek Pai explained that by increasing the efficiency of internet data transfer, HashCache can reduce the cost of maintaining a hard drive.

FEBRUARY 2009

INDIAN SCIENTISTS TO CLONE PASHMINA GOAT

A team of scientists from Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana is working on a project to clone the famous pashmina goat. A success in this direction is expected to give boost to the dwindling trade in pashmina wool. The project is under a World Bank aided project known as National Agriculture Innovation Project.

The project 'Value Chain on Zone Free Cloned Embryos Production and Development of Elite Germ Plasma Pashmina' hopes to change the pashmina production scenario in the state. A six-member team will use somatic cells of the goat to clone the cell to produce new pashmina goat. Scientists will use a hand-guided cloning technique and the four-phased project will run for next three years.

NASA'S KEPLER MISSION TO BEGIN QUEST TO FIND PLANETS HOSTING LIFE

NASA's Kepler spacecraft is all set to begin its maiden journey in search for worlds that could potentially host life. The spacecraft is scheduled to blast-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida aboard a Delta II rocket on March 5, 2009. Kepler is the first mission with the ability to find planets like Earth. The mission will study rocky planets that orbit sun-like stars in a warm zone where liquid water could be maintained on the surface that is believed to be essential for the formation of life.

The mission will spend three-and-a-half years in the space. It will survey more than 100,000 sun-like stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of our Milky Way galaxy. It is expected to find hundreds of planets of the size of earth and larger, at various distances from their stars.

ISRO TO USE HOME-GROWN CRYOGENIC ENGINE FOR GSLV LAUNCH

The India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will use an indigenously developed cryogenic engine to launch the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Reports say that IRSO will undertake the launch operation in July this year. The use of home-grown cryogenic engine to put GSAT-4 into orbit will end India's dependency on Russia. India has been importing the cryogenic engines from Russia since 1991. So far, India has launched five GSLV rockets. But now ISRO has developed its own cryogenic engines and all the tests have been completed successfully, the source added.

The launch of GSAT-4 communication satellite using an indigenously developed cryogenic engine will provide internet connectivity in remote villages. The ISRO is also considering to use the GSLV for the Chandrayaan-II mission scheduled for 2012. Earlier, ISRO used PSLV to launch Chandrayaan-I.

JANUARY 2009

WORLD'S FIRST INTERNET CAR RADIO UNVEILED

The Australian researchers have developed a new internet car radio for the first time which enables the users to access 30,000 stations including online broadcasts and AM and FM stations from all round the globe. The internet car radio developed by Melbourne-based online radio aggregator miRoamer was launched in prototype form at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. miRoamer has signed a deal with German-based Blaupunkt which is one of the largest producers of car radios in the world.

Under the new deal, Blaupunkt will produce internet radios which will be fitted in latest models by car manufacturers such as Ford, Holden, Mercedes, BMW and Audi. The internet radio will also be sold separately for those who want to install it in their cars. It is very imperative that radio lovers will prefer internet car radio to traditional broadcasters as it offers a huge number of stations from all over the world. The new product is expected to be launched in the US and Europe in the second half of 2009. In more ways than one, the internet car radio is going to revolutionise the way people listen to radio.

MOTOROLA UNVEILS CELLPHONE MADE FROM RECYCLED WATER BOTTLES

Motorola has unveiled a new kind of mobile phone called MOTO W233 Renew which is made from recycled plastic water bottles. According to the handset manufacturing company, MOTO W233 Renew is also a carbon neutral phone. The company is said to have collaborated with Carbonfund.org to manufacture the new mobile phone. Interestingly the container that holds the phone is also made from recycled material.

In order to uplift its recycling program for mobile phones and accessories, Motorola has also entrusted another postage-paid box with the MOTO W233 Renew which can be used by customers to mail their old phones back to the company for recycling. The postage-paid box is also made from recycled paper, claimed Motorola.

The new MOTO W233 Renew offers nine hours of talk time with ChrystalTalk technology and has messaging capabilities. The new mobile handset from Motorola is expected to be launched at the 2009 International CES in Las Vegas. The phone will be available in the market by the first quarter of 2009.

MOTO W233 Renew has been designed for eco-conscious consumers as well as for those who loves to make phone calls. The recycling program of Motorola is ready to accept any mobile phone or accessory for recycling which it feels will help to recover valuable materials for reuse that will reduce environmental impact.

UK DOCTORS DELIVER CANCER-PROOF BABY

The first British baby genetically selected to be free of a breast cancer gene has been born. She grew from an embryo screened to ensure it did not contain the faulty BRCA1 gene, which passes the risk of breast cancer down generations.

According to the sources of University College Hospital in London the mother, a 27-year-old Londoner, and her little girl were in very good condition. Women in three generations of the father's family have been diagnosed with the disease in their 20s, including his mother, grandmother, sister and cousin.

A girl born with the altered BRCA1 gene have a 50-80% chance of developing breast cancer - but screening can prevent this. The technique used is known as Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which involves taking a cell from an embryo at the eight-cell stage of development, when it is around three-days old, and testing it.

The treatment follows the green-signal given by Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority in 2006, which said doctors could test for 'susceptibility genes' such as BRCA1. A properly functioning BRCA1 protein helps stop cancer before it starts but faulty genes greatly increase the risk of cancer.

BRCA1 and a related version of another gene, BRCA2, account for around 5% of breast cancer.

SONY TO LAUNCH WORLD'S LIGHTEST 8-INCH NOTEBOOK PC

In a bid to capture the rapidly growing market for ultra-portable personal computers, Sony Corp of Japan decided to launch 8-inch notebook PC which is considered to be one of the lightest laptops in the world. The new Sony Vaio PC will have Microsoft Corp's Windows Vista operating system. Windows Vista operating system incorporated in Sony laptops will support all the software programs found in full-sized notebooks.

While revealing the plan, Sony said that the new notebook weighs only 1.4 pounds and it is as thin as a mobile phone. The notebooks will available for pre-orders and were released in the market in the first week of February 2009. the Sony notebook is priced at about $900, setting itself apart from Netbooks.

The Red Planet Of Mars May Have Life On It

NASA, the space agency of USA, may be ready to announce alien microbes living below the Martian soil are the cause of a methane haze surrounding the Red Planet of Mars.

Researchers from around the world have shown a greater interest in the Red Planet, as possible traces of water and ice dust have raised hopes of discovering signs of life on or underneath the planet's surface. Even though methane is created on Earth by volcanoes, scientists haven't found any active volcanoes on the Red Planet.

In addition, it seems NASA researchers found high levels of methane in the same regions as water vapor clouds, which are absolutely necessary for life. The study was conducted during a seven year examination of the planet.

INDIAN SCIENTISTS CONDUCT ANTI-WARMING EXPERIMENT IN ANTARCTIC OCEAN

A group of scientists from India and Germany jointly conducted an anti-warming experiment in Antarctic Ocean. It is believed that the experiment may find out a possible solution to on-going global warming crisis. The scientists began their experiment by scattering iron powder on hundreds of square kilometres of the Antarctic Ocean. The iron powder will fertilize the growth of phytoplankton which will eventually remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and take it deep under the ocean surface.

The technology of iron fertilization is likely to stop global warming at a very little cost. About six tonnes of iron are to be scattered on 300 sq km of sea. The group of scientists which left Cape Town on board the Polarstern on January 7 includes thirty Indian and 18 from other nations. The tiny organism called phytoplankton can eliminate carbon dioxide which is the main greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. The technology used by the Indian and German scientists can be path-breaking one in curbing global warming which stands out to be a major threat to mankind.

Important Personalities, New Appointments and Who's Who: 2009

2009-12-29T02:04:00.000+05:30

1. Farah Pandit of Kashmiri-origin was appointed special representative of the Obama administration to reach out to the Muslim world. She was appointed by Secretary of State to interact with Muslims across the globe. She was a senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. She also served on the National Security Council and with USAID on assistance projects for Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Born in 1968, Farah belongs to a business family of Kashmir. Her father, Muhammad Anwar Pandit, is originally from Sopore. Her mother, a doctor is from Srinagar city. In early 70s Farah's parents shifted to United States and stayed in Boston, where her father continued his business.

2. Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik took charge as the 19th chief of the India Air Force from Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, who demitted office on May 31. An alumnus of Sainik School, Satara, and the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Air Chief Marshal Naik saw action in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. He was decorated with the Param Vishist Seva Medal and the Vishist Seva Medal.

3. Amal Allana was appointed as chairperson of the National School of Drama (NSD) for a second term on June 15,2009. Allana, an alumnus of the NSD, is the daughter of Ibrahim Alkazi, the founder of the NSD. She joined NSD in 2005 as the chairperson. She has directed several plays, including “Aadhe Adhure”, “The Exception and the Rule”, “Khamosh, Adalat Jari Hai”, “Ashadh Ka Ek Din”, “Mahabhoj”, “King Lear”, “Himmat Mai” and “Begum Barve”. She was awarded many honours, including awards from the Delhi Natya Sangh (1994), Sahitya Kala Parishad (1996), Czech TV for the tele-play “Wapsi” (1983) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction (1998).

4. Punjab National Bank Chairman and Managing Director K. C. Chakrabarty succeeded T. S. Narayanasami who was superannuated Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of India on May 31,2009.

5. Distinguished journalist and political commentator Harish Khare was appointed as the media adviser to the Prime Minister on June 20,2009. He replaced Deepak Sandhu, who was shifted to the Central Information Commission as its member. Harish Khare will hold the rank of a secretary to the government of India. Prior to this appointment, Khare, was the Chief of Bureau and senior associate editor at The Hindu. He also worked as the resident editor of the Times of India, Ahmedabad. Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank took oath as the fifth chief minister of Uttarakhand along with three ministers on June 28. Replacing B C Khanduri as the chief minister, Nishank was Health Minister in his cabinet. A sitting legislator from Thalisen constituency, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank is a strong leader from Garhwal and is known to be close to the RSS.

6. Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam was appointed solicitor general on June 15, the second most important law officer of the country after the attorney general. From the petrol pump scam case to the inquiry commission into Graham Staines murder, he had ample opportunity to render valuable assistance to the Supreme Court as amicus curiae. At the same time, he represented the Centre in high-voltage cases like Bihar assembly dissolution, defreezing of London bank accounts of Bofors case accused Ottavio Quattrocchi and the cash-for-query scam. 51-year-old Subramaniam was additional solicitor general during 2004-09.

7. Vice-Admiral Nirmal Kumar Verma was appointed country’s next Chief of Naval Staff. He will take charge from Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who retires from service on August 31. Born on November 14, 1950, Vice-Admiral Verma, currently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command, has, during his long and distinguished 39 years of service, commanded aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

8. Senior advocate and former Solicitor General Goolam E Vahanvati was appointed the new Attorney General of Indiafor a period of three years. He became the first Muslim to hold the post of Attorney General of India. G E Vahanvati succeeded Milon Banerjee, who had held the Attorney General’s post in the last government. He and all other law officers had put in their papers on May 29,2009 to make way for a fresh team.

9. Timothy J Roemer was nominated as the next US Ambassador to India. A former US lawmaker and a member of the 9/11 Commission, Roemer is currently head of a Washington-based think tank. He is considered close to President Barack Obama and was among the first few Democrat leaders to support Obama in his run for US Presidency.

10. Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), C B Bhave was elected chairman of the Asia- Pacific Regional Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) at the 34th Annual Conference of IOSCO being held at Tel Aviv, Israel. IOSCO is recognised as the international standard setter for securities markets. The Organisation’s wide membership regulates more than 90% of the world’s securities markets and IOSCO is the world`s most important international cooperative forum for securities regulatory agencies.

11. Seven-time member of Lok Sabha Karia Munda was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha on June 8. The tradition of having the Deputy Speaker from the Opposition was began in 1977, the very year Karia Munda entered the Lok Sabha. Munda was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha from Khunti in Jharkhand on BJP ticket.

12. One of the most influential figures in modern pop culture, Michael Jackson, died of a sudden cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles on June 25,2009. Jackson, known as 'King of Pop' by fans and often derided as 'Whacko-Jacko' by the media, was 50. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, US. I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song were his biggest hits album. His 1982 album Thriller remains the world's best-selling record of all time. Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5. He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad. Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards. Michael Jackson popularised a dance technique called the moonwalk or backslide. Moonwalk presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward while actually moving backward. The dance move gained widespread popularity after being performed by Michael Jackson during his song ‘Billie Jean’ on the March 25, 1983. He published autobiography ‘Moon Walk’ in 1988. The book was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list.

13. Sri Lankan Army killed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam chief Velupillai Prabakaran with at least 18 top leaders including Pottu Amman, B. Nadesan and S. Pulithevan in an intense battle on May 18,2009. Prabhakaran founded LTTE on a culture of suicide attacks and had developed an aura of invincibility. He was the prime architect of the bloody 30-year civil war, and was responsible for the assassinations of several political leaders including India's Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in1991 and Sri Lankan President Premadasa in1993.

14. A 1973 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, Ashok Chawla was appointed Finance Secretary in the Government of India. Ashok Chawla hold various important portfolios in the field of economy, Industry, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Oil and Natural Gas, Insurance and infrastructure. He also worked as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. Also he was given Additional charge of the Department of Financial Services since May 1,2009.

15. 1975 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre H. S. Brahma took the charge of Secretary, Union Ministry of Poweron May 12,2009. He was earlier Special Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

16. 1971 batch IAS officer of Andhra pradesh cadre J S Sarma took the charge of the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on May 14,2009. He succeeded Nripendra Misra who superannuated on March 22. After Nripendra Misra’s retirement AK Sawhney, the senior-most member in Trai had been acting as the TRAI chairman. TRAI is an independent regulator for all issues relating to telecom and broadcasting. The salary and emoluments for the TRAI chairman's position was recently increased to Rs 3 lakh per month, who holds a three-year term as the industry regulator.

17. Madhu Kannan was appointed managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on May 11,2009 by its board. Prior to his appointment, he was a managing director (corporate strategy) with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch based in New York. Kannan also held various senior roles across businesses at the NYSE Euronext. The post of CEO was lying vacant ever since its managing director, Rajnikant Patel, resigned abruptly in August 2008.

18. Pascal Lamy was reappointed director-general of World Trade Organisation. The General Council, on 30 April,2009 endorsed reappointment of Lamy for a second term of four years. He was elected unopposed for the post as none of the WTO's 153 member states put forward another candidate by the deadline of December 31, 2008. A French political advisor and businessman Pascal Lamy had worked as European Commissioner for Trade. He is also Honorary President of Paris-based think tank Notre Europe.

19. Leader of African National Congress (ANC), Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma took oath as fourth President of South Africasince the end of apartheid. He was administered the oath by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Pius Langa in front of Father of the Nation for the New South Africa and first black president Nelson Mandela and 30 Heads of States and Governments on May 10,2009 in Pretoria. Jacob Zuma, a self-taught man who fought the apartheid regime from inside South Africa and spent 10 years in prison in Robben Island along with Mandela succeeded outgoing President Kgalema Motlanthe. Jacob Zuma was the head of the ANC’s internal security wing during the struggle against apartheid. The election held in April 2009, his party ANC polled 65.9 per cent of the votes and narrowly missed getting the two-thirds majority in parliament.

20. Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) Madhav Kumar Nepal sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav as second Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on May 25,2009. Earlier he received 359 votes out of the 601-member Constituent Assembly and was declared winner. Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and senior congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba proposed Madhav Kumar Nepal’s name while CPN-UML chairman Jhalanath Khanal and 21 other Constituent Assembly members supported it. The UCPN (Maoists) boycotted the election announcing they would not support the government. The CPN (unified) and the Janata Dal also boycotted the House. He replaced first Maoist prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda who had resigned on May 4, following a row over the tenure of Army chief General Rookmangud Katawal.

21. Sister Mary Prema was declared new superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa. German-born nun Mary Prema replaced Sister Nirmala Joshi, who was re-elected for the third time on 13 March,2009 but she requested to be relieved of her duties due to ailing health. Miss Joshi has led the congregation since 1997, after the death of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. Missionaries of Charity (MoC)was established in Kolkata in 1950 by Mother Teresa. She was awarded Nobel Peace prize in 1979. MoC is a Roman Catholic religious order comprising of over 4500 sisters in 133 countries.

22. The government of India appointed Hardeep Singh Puri as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He succeed Nirupam Sen, whose term ended March 31,2009. A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Hardeep Singh Puri served as India’s ambassador to Brazil and prior to his new appointment, he was as secretary (economic affairs) in the external affairs ministry.

23. Horst Koehler was reelected as the President of Germany by a single vote for a second five year term on May 23,2009. The 1224-seat assembly members and state representatives of the country's 16 state legislatures, who include local television celebrities and sports stars, voted in a secret ballot. He had the backing of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the opposition Free Democrats. Horst Koehler received 613 votes while his opponent the center-left Social Democratic Party candidate Gesine Schwan secured 503 votes. Horst Koehler had been managing director of the International Monetary Fund between 2000 and 2004.

24.The ‘Time’ magazine has published Time 100 list of the World's Most Influential People’ in the category of political leaders, celebrities and academicians among others in the May 11,2009 annual Time 100 issue. World's Most Influential People list was prepared by magazine's editors and it was different from popular choice in TIME. com's online poll. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani (31st) and Oscar winning Indian music director A R Rahman (59th) made it to the list. Democratic senator Edward Kennedy and British premier Gordon Brown made it to the first and second spot respectively. US secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the eighth place, Pakistan army chief Ashfaq Kayani is sitting pretty at the 19th position, just a spot ahead of President Barack Obama. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and media celebrity Oprah Winfrey also placed on the list. Sri Lankan performer in the ‘O Saya’ song of Slumdog Millionaire, Maya Arulpragasam placed 43rd.

25. The U.S. State Department's security director Gregory Starr was appointed new U.N. security chief overseeing the world body's far-flung security operations. Starr was given responsibility of protecting more than 285 U.S. embassies and consulates overseas as well as 100 domestic facilities. He replaced David Veness of Britain who resigned in June 2008 over the December 2007 truck bombing at U.N. offices and another building in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. staffers and injured 40 others.

WORLD-INTERESTING FACTS

2009-12-21T12:27:00.000+05:30

The Atacama desert, along the Pacific Ocean in Chile, is the driest place on Earth. Prior to a freak storm in 1971, no rain whatsoever had fallen on the desert in 400 years.
The Dasht-e Lut Desert in central Iran, which is about 62,000 square miles in size, has never been inhabited by humans, and no traces of animal or plant life have been found in it.
The weight of ice on Antarctica has depressed the continent's land so far that most of it lies below sea level. The Bentley Trench, the lowest point, is 2,538 metres below sea level. However, Antarctica is also known as the world's highest continent. The continent's ice surface averages over 2,000 metres above sea level.
The Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas is. It is about 160 kilometres east of Hope and extends 65 kilometres farther south
The only populated continental land south of 40° South Latitude is cold Patagonia, the southern tip of South America. On the other hand, most of Europe, Asia, and two-thirds of North America are north of 40° North Latitude
In 1852, the first official calculation of the height of Mount Everest was performed. All six measurements that were made were different. Averaging the six results (between 28,990 feet and 29,026 feet), the result was 29,000 feet exactly. Unwilling to publish a figure that just looked like an estimate, the people who made the calculation arbitrarily added 2 feet to the value, giving a value of 29,002 fee
Three of the world's ten longest rivers have their source in China, and three more have their source in Mongolia
Because of Iceland's geographical isolation from mainland Europe, no human beings ever set foot on Iceland until mediaeval times. The first humans to arrive on Iceland were Irish explorers, who arrived no later than 795 A.D. They established a colony, but it didn't last. By the time the Vikings arrived eighty years later and established a permanent settlement, only a few hermits remained
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth's surface bounded by land, at about 1,300 feet below sea level. The water in the Dead Sea has no outflow. As water evaporates, minerals are left behind, so that the Dead Sea now has 25% salt content.
The world's largest island is Greenland (2,131,600 km²). It is almost three times as large as the world's second-largest island, New Guinea (790,000 km²)
The Nile is the only river in the world that has its source near the equator and from there flows into a temperate zone
The Grand Canyon was not seen by a white man until May 29, 1869, when it was entered by the geologist John Wesley Powell
Istanbul is the only city that resides on two continents, namely Europe and Asia.
Antarctica's ice sheet holds 90% of the world's fresh water. This ice sheet is up to 2,000 metres deep in places and covers almost the entire continent.
The Eastern side of the Panama Canal connects to the Atlantic Ocean and the Western side of the canal to the Pacific, not the other way around.
The coldest place in the Earth's lower atmosphere is usually not over the North or South Poles, as might be expected, but over the Equator. The tropopause, the boundary between the two lowest layers of the atmosphere, varies in height from an average of only 9 kilometres above the two poles to 18 kilometres over the Equator. Air temperature steadily decreases up to the top of the tropopause. So, temperatures often fall as low as -80°C high over the equator, whereas over the poles they rarely fall below -55°C
The Sahara Desert, while it is the largest desert in the world, is not the largest sand desert in the world. Most of the Sahara consists of rock. The largest sand desert in the world is the Great Arabian Desert, or Rub-al-Khali, in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Dasht-e Lut Desert in central Iran, which is about 62,000 square miles in size, has never been inhabited by humans, and no traces of animal or plant life have been found in it
Niagara Falls is slowly eroding. As millions of gallons of water rush over the falls every minute, the underlying rock is being worn away, causing the falls to recede at the rate of one to two feet per year. Since their formation some 12,000 years ago, the falls already have withdrawn seven miles upstream. At the present rate, they would meet up with Lake Erie (about twenty miles from their present site) within the next 35,000 years.
The world's largest freshwater lake without any islands is Bernard Lake, in Ontario, Canada, about 60 kilometres south of North Bay. It is an oval-shaped lake about 8 kilometres long by 2 kilometres wide.
The world's largest billboard is 300 metres long and 45 metres high. It is in southeast China, overlooking the Yangtze River at Chongqing. However, this area is so continually foggy that no-one has advertised on it since 1998, so China has decided to tear it down.
The Wright Brothers did not fly the first manned airplane. On August 14^th, 1901, a man named Gustav Albin Whitehead (born Weisskopf), flew a plane around half a mile (800 metres). However, without documentation such as photographs to support his claim, there was significant scepticism about his claim and it was not taken seriously.
The weight of ice on Antarctica has depressed the continent's land so far that most of it lies below sea level. The Bentley Trench, the lowest point, is 2,538 metres below sea level. However, Antarctica is also known as the world's highest continent. The continent's ice surface averages over 2,000 metres above sea level.
The lowest mountain in the world is Mount Wycheproof in Victoria, Australia, with a summit just 140 feet above the surrounding plains

KNOW INDIA: STATE- UTTAR PRADESH

2009-12-21T11:50:00.001+05:30

With a population of over 190 million people,it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity.
To get an idea of its massive size, the state of Uttar Pradesh is ten times as large as the nation of Belgium

. The Gangetic Plain composes about 75% of this area
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and fifth largest state of India. Only five countries of the world, China, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and India itself have populations larger than that of Uttar Pradesh. Kanpur is the largest city of Uttar Pradesh and as per the 2001 census six cities of Uttar Pradesh, namely, Agra, Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi have population of over million.
After independence, the state was renamed Uttar Pradesh ("northern province") by its first chief minister, Govind Ballabh Pant.
Sucheta Kripalani served as India's first woman chief minister from October 1963 until March 1967, when a two-month long strike by state employees caused her to step down
Uttar Pradesh is bounded by Uttarachal and Nepal in north, Madhya pradesh and Chattisgarh in south, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi in west and Bihar and Jharkhand in east.
Kanpur is the largest shoe-manufacturing centre in the country.
Uttar Pradesh is home to largest number of Small Scale industrial units in the country, with 12% of over 2.3 million units.
British pop legend Cliff Richard was born in U.P
Adolf Hitler, the Chancellor of Germany, was so impressed by Dhyan Chand's( A Resident of UP) performance in the Berlin Olympic hockey-finals that he offered to elevate 'Lance Naik' Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany; Chand had declined the offer
Pilibhit is known for its wood-flutes and wooden footwear (Khadaon),Flutes are exported to Europe, America and other countries
The Britishers gave it the name of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. In 1935 the name was shortened to "United Provinces". After Independence, the States of Rampur, Banaras and Tehri-Garhwal were merged with United Provinces. The name merged with United Provinces. The name of the United Provinces was changed to Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009 PART 3

2009-12-17T13:39:00.000+05:30

Indo-Russia Summit 2009 was held in Moscow

The international Coordinating Committee of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO has included three biosphere reserves , Nokrek (Meghalaya), Simplipal (Orissa) and Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves during 2009.

India

and

Afghanistan

have decided to establish a new dialogue architecture to further improve bilateral ties and bring renewed focus to rebuilding and restoration of the war-ravaged country.
The two sides agreed to set up an India-Afghanistan Partnership Council that will consist of seven groups.

A towering bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi, made by an Indian sculptor, was unveiled in Leicester , cementing the city’s reputation as ``Little India” and bringing to a happy end a two-year row that nearly scuppered the project

The six-year British military occupation of

Iraq

ended a month ahead of schedule, amid conflicting claims whether it was worth the cost and loss of lives.

Kazakhstan

will supply over 2,000 tones of uranium to India for its existing nuclear plants. Both sides are negotiating the price.

India

is ready to buy about $10 billion (around Rs. 50,000 crore) of International Monetary Fund bonds

The African National Congress (ANC) has registered a massive win in South Africa’s general election, the fourth since the end of apartheid in 1994. With 65.9 per cent of the vote in the hybrid proportional electoral system, it has won 264 seats in the 400-seat parliament. The ANC Party President: Jacob Zuma

This UN convention was signed in 1972. The convention recognizes about 850 sites all over the world as World Heritage sites and protects them.

Director General of UNESCO: Koichiro Matsuura

Turkey

and

Armenia

have adopted a roadmap to normalize ties after years of hostility which saw the two countries closing their borders in 1993. The two nations, which share a bitter history since the killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, took the step following intensive mediation by

Switzerland

The ICC has formed a five-member panel to look into the concerns of the Board of Control for Cricket in India about the ‘whereabouts’ clause in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code. The panel includes former Test captain Anil Kumble, BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan and ICC’s Principal Adviser I.S. Bindra.

The government will upgrade the inflation indices to better represent economic reality.The upgrade will include a better representation for services and will also change the base year from 1993-94 to 2004-05.

It became the first state in the country to bring in reservations based on economic backwardness. Rajasthan Governor Shailendra Kumar Singh finally approved the Bill, which provides 5% reservation to Gurjars and three other communities, besides 14% reservation to the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs).

The establishment of the Armed Forces Tribunal, an exclusive court for the members of the Army, Navy and the Air Force will enhance their confidence and trust levels in the system of dispensation of justice in relation to their service matters. Hence, it marks an important milestone in the history of the armed forces in

India

The UPA government raised reservation for women at all tiers of the panchayat raj system from 33 to at least 50 per cent.The Cabinet also cleared the proposal to amend Article 243(D) of the Constitution for the purpose. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has been directed to draft a bill for making the amendment.

The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to set up seven Indian Institutes of Management in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the establishment of a permanent research base at Larsemann Hills region in East Antarctica during the XIth Five Year Plan period at a total cost of Rs.287 crore to meet the logistic and scientific objectives.

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is used extensively for the operational monsoon rainfall activity prognosis in India through diagnostic and modeling efforts. The actual rainfall over any region however depends on the local conditions and factors.

China

’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off a grand ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of its Navy. The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949, with nine warships and 17 boats obtained after a unit of the Kuomintang’s second coastal defence fleet defected to the PLA.A total of 21 naval vessels from 14 countries including India and delegations from 29 countries will join the parade. INS Mumbai and INS Ranveer, the guided missile corvette INS Khanjar and the tanker INS Jyoti are participating in the review. Pakistani warships also are taking part.

The Arab League summit opened in Doha, capital of Qatar, amid rifts within the Arab ranks which were widened during the 22-day Gaza war.

A grand ceremony celebrating Tibet’s first Serfs Emancipation Day was held in front of the Potala Palace in the Tibet Autonomous Region

India

and Bangladesh have renewed the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Travel for two more years. The bilateral agreement which was to expire on March 31 is for the use of waterways for commerce and keeping river routes navigable. The protocol, signed in 1972, is renewed every two years. Both countries allow each other four points as ports of call to ferry goods.

A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready to put in orbit Israeli satellite RISAT in the first week of April.The vehicle, PSLV-C12, will also deploy a mini-satellite called Anusat, built by Anna University, Chennai. RISAT is a radar-imaging satellite used for remote-sensing. It can take pictures of the earth 24 hours of the day, through rain and cloud. The satellite has already reached Sriharikota from Israel.Anusat, an amateur communications satellite weighing 38 kg, was integrated at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai, of Anna University. This is the second time that the ISRO will be putting in orbit a satellite from Israel. On January 21, 2008, a PSLV deployed in orbit Tecsar, also a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite.

Soldiers broke into an unoccupied presidential palace on Monday and took it over in a symbolic show of force after

Madagascar

’s Opposition leader called on the army to arrest the President.Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana has stepped down and transferred power to the military.

The number of internet users worldwide is expected to touch 2.2 billion by 2013 and

India

is projected to have the third largest online population by then, according to a report by technology and market research firm Forrester Research. Globally, there were about 1.5 billion internet users in 2008. The number of internet users In Indian was estimated to be 52 million in 2008.

INS Arihant, India’s nuclear-powered submarine, will be fitted with India’s own K-15 ballistic missiles that can be launched from under water. The K-15 missiles, which are already under production, can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. They have a range of 700 km. They are 10.4 metres tall and weigh 6.3 tonnes each.

High-profile Information Technology expert and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani took charge as Chairman of the newly created Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) and promised to roll out the first set of unique identification numbers within 12-18 months.

India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine will be launched at Vishakapatnam for trial on July 26.The top-secret ‘Advanced Technology Vessel’ (ATV) project will re-induct India into the exclusive club of five countries that operate nuclear submarines, called silent killers for their extensive ability to remain under water because of nuclear-powered engines unlike the diesel electric versions that have to come up to recharge their batteries and thus stand a greater chance of being spotted.

Chief Justice of

India

K. G. Balakrishnan has named Justice B. Sudershan Reddy of the Supreme Court as the chairman of the three-member panel set up by the Rajya Sabha to look into the issue of impeachment proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court.

Jagadis Chandra Bose (1858-1937), arguably the first ‘modern’ scientist to have emerged from India. This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of J.C. Bose, who made seminal scientific discoveries and technological inventions at the world level, in two s eemingly unconnected areas of science and technology — electromagnetism and plant physiology. This was unique for a modern scientist.In 1895, Bose successfully demonstrated in public in colonial Calcutta the wireless transmission of electromagnetic waves.

Mahatma Gandhi’s personal belongings were bought for $1.8 million (Rs. 9.3 crore) by industrialist Vijay Mallya, who said he “bid for the country” at the auction after last-ditch attempts by

India

to stall the sale fell through.

Forty years ago on March 3, 1969, Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, the country’s first superfast passenger train, was flagged off from Howrah station. At the time of its inception 40 years ago, it was the fastest mode of transport on land to travel between the country’s political and cultural capitals – New Delhi and Kolkata.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for NTT Docomo, Japan, to subscribe to and acquire 27 per cent of the equity (about 110 crore shares) in Tata Teleservices and acquire 20.25 per cent of the equity (about 38 crore shares) in Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and convert it from an operating company into an operating-cum-holding company. These would result in an FDI inflow of about Rs. 12,924 crore and about Rs. 949 crore respectively

Smile Pinki, the tale of an Uttar Pradesh girl and her fight against the social stigma of a cleft lip, won the Oscar award for Best Documentary (Short). Directed by Emmy award-winning Megan Mylan, the film was shot in Mirzapur and Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh.

The Planning Commission recommended mahanavratna status to Bhel, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil, NMDC, Power Grid Corporation, REC and SAIL.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be conducting major operational exercises for eight days across the southern peninsula, including over key offshore installations on the east coast, and the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands in the south-west. Called ‘Dakshin Prahar 09’ (Southern Attack) the exercises are being coordinated by the Thiruvananthapuram-headquartered Southern Air Command (SAC).

India’s second humanoid robot, which was formally unveiled during Quark 2009, the ongoing three-day technical festival, at BITS Pilani Goa campus on the first day of the festival, was the cynosure of all eyes.Acyut 2’s predecessor, Acyut 1, India’s first humanoid robot, was showcased at the RoboGames 2008 in San Francisco last year and it managed to get the sixth position among 30 to 32 countries that participate in the games.

Terror-hit Mumbai now has a message of peace for the world. The Global Vipassana Pagoda, the largest stone dome in the world built without supporting pillars, was inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The Union government named Kiran Karnik chairman of Satyam Computer Services.
It also expanded the “serious fraud” probe to cover 325 firms and 25 individuals related to the Hyderabad-based IT major and family members of its former chairman B. Ramalinga Raju.

S. S. N. Moorthy took over as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) following the retirement of N. B. Singh

K.C. Verma, the Internal Security Adviser to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, will be the next chief of country’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The river has again found mention in the list of the worst polluted ones drawn up by the Central Pollution Control Board.According to the latest status of water quality in India-2007 released by the Board, the Yamuna’s water quality at Okhla and Nizammudin bridges has been described as the worst affected.

The World Bank has developed a new Investment Climate Index to help identify the key challenges and bottlenecks to be overcome in attracting business investment.Having identified 46 variables descriptive of the business environment in the 16 States, the researcher grouped them into three categories: inputs, infrastructure and institutions.

Radha Vinod Raju, a senior IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, has been appointed the first Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

The Centre has decided to accede to confer the status of classical languages on Kannada and Telugu. This follows the recommendation of the Committee of Linguistic Experts set up by the government.

The Union government ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to probe the scam in Satyam Computer Services in view of the grave nature of the economic offences committed by the Hyderabad-based IT major.Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is a multidisciplinary body with officials from various government arms having expertise in finance, capital market, accountancy, forensic audit, taxation, law, information technology, company law, customs and income tax. It is headed by Mr. Ajay Nath.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed an agreement with the Mizoram government for execution of 460 mega watt Kolodyne Stage II Hydro Electric Project on the Kolodyne river in Sahia and Lawngtlai districts of Mizoram. It will be the NTPC’s first hydro power project in the northeast and the second in the country after the 800 mega watt Koldam hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh. The NTPC is currently building the 750 mega watt Salakati thermal power project in lower

Assam

Allen Stanford, a Texan billionaire is best known for sponsoring the $1 million West Indies Twenty20 last year. He has now gone into hiding, even as US authorities are investigating him for defrauding investors and running a Bernard Madoff style ponzi scheme.

Terrorism and legal matters — including the implementation of the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and its Additional Protocol and the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters —are high on the agenda of the SAARC Foreign Ministers’ conference scheduled to be held in Colombo on February 27 and 28.

A material known as lonsdaleite has displaced diamond as the "world's hardest material".

U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan is Richard Holbrooke. He had earlier visited Pakistan and interacted with its entire leadership, including the President, Prime Minister, army chief and head of the Inter Services Intelligence.
Mr. Holbrooke’s brief, according to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is to bring about greater political cohesion between the Pakistani and Afghan leadership as the

U.S.

sought to lead the ‘war on terrorism’ in the region.

Iran

has successfully placed into orbit its first domestically made satellite, using an indigenous launcher.The Safir-2 rocket carried into space the satellite, named Omid (hope).

Iran

’s Press TV said the Safir-2 rocket was an upgraded version of Safir-1, which had been tested earlier.

“Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention” which is being hosted by Chennai from January 7 to 9, is the biggest ever coming together of Persons of Indian Origin and NRIs, the convention is expected to attract 1,500 delegates

Russian turbofan engines that will power the indigenous intermediate jet trainer (IJT) are scheduled to arrive here on Sunday. With stability tests and acceptance test procedures completed, the three AL-55I engines, designed and developed by Russia’s NPO Saturn, were airlifted from Zhukovsky, near Moscow. These are to be fitted on the IJT’s Prototype Trainer One (PT1).

The Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (the National Population Stabilisation Fund) will focus on involving the civil society in ‘responsible parenthood strategy’, called ‘Prerna’. Prerna is a monetary incentive strategy aimed at pushing up the age of marriage of girls and delay the birth of the first child in the interest of health of young mothers and infants, particularly among those living below the poverty line, where child marriage and early motherhood is highly prevalent.
The couple become eligible for monetary reward if the girl is married at the age of 19, has her first child after she is 21 years, and the gap between the first and the second child is 36 months. It is also important that the parents undergo sterilisation after the second child.

Iraqi voters went to the polls to elect representatives for 440 seats in 14 out of total of 18 provinces in Iraq. More than 14,400 candidates including 3,900 women are contesting the provincial polls.

The United States endorsed China’s move to patrol the Gulf of Aden and saw it as part of an international effort to deal with piracy in the region.

Reliance Petroleum (RPL) announced commissioning of its only-for-exports oil refinery in a SpecialEconomicZone at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
The commissioning of the 580,000 barrels a day (29 million tonnes a year) capacity refinery by RPL, a unit of Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries, will make Jamnagar the biggest oil refining hub in the world.

Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed, on his maiden visit to India after being elected to the top job, has invited Indian Industry to pick up stakes in

Maldives

government-owned industries in the areas of electricity, construction, water, sanitation, transport and fisheries.

Reliance Infrastructure has emerged as the sole bidder for the 135 km greenfield Eastern Peripheral Expressway project covering Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis being offered by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The project would entail an investment of Rs. 2,676 crore and involves construction of greenfield six lane expressway with access control highway connecting Faridabad-Noida-Gaziabad-Sonepat which will also act as bypass to Delhi with a concession period of 20 years.

Ministry of Environment and Forests has agreed in principle to the construction of the Renuka Dam in Himachal Pradesh. The Dam, on the Giri River, will offer a storage capacity of 542 million cubic meters of water and an installed capacity of 40 MW of power and will supply Delhi with an additional 275 MGD of water.

Environmental clearance has been granted to the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Power project in the border State of Arunachal Pradesh. The Lower Subansiri Hydropower project envisages the setting up of eight hydropower units of 250 MW each on the lower reaches of river Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Subansiri district

ICICI Bank has named Chanda Kochhar as the successor of K V Kamath to the post of CEO and Managing Director; she was instrumental in setting up and scaling up the retail business for ICICI bank.

NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul scripted history by becoming the first Asian to preside over the House of Lords which, coincidentally, witnessed an absorbing debate on the Mumbai terror attacks and Sachin Tendulkar’s match-winning century against England. Conferred the Peerage in 1996 and honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1983, Lord Paul (77) is one of the most famous entrepreneurs of Indian origin based in Britain. He is the founder of Caparo, a U.K.-based multinational steel and engineering group, with an annual turnover of £1.5 billion.

Ricardian equivalence, is an economic theory which suggests that it does not matter whether a government finances its spending with debt or a tax increase, the total level of demand in an economy will be the same. It was proposed, and then rejected, by the 19th century economist David Ricardo. Germany is perhaps the only country that is well-placed to raise taxes to fight the current recession. Spending packages enacted by it to fight slumps in the 1970s produced little but new debt. Since then the prevailing wisdom has been that they do not work. Governments that boost spending in bad times rarely reduce it back later. When people see that debts, and thus taxes, are heading up they tend to save more rather than spend. So, the demand stays the same; thus bringing in Ricardian equivalence

Slovakia

becomes the 16th country to adopt the Euro. The Euro was launched exactly 10 years ago. Slovakia abandoned its currency, koruna and adopted the Euro.

Slovakia

's PM is Robert Fico.

Six Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered missile cruiser, will take part in a joint naval exercise with the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea by January end.
Called “INDRA,” the exercise is part of the biennial India-Russian Naval exercises programme. It is aimed at boosting cooperation between the two navies in maritime law, anti-piracy operations, counter-terrorism and drug smuggling.
The first exercise was held in 2003, and according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the current exercise will involve a number of live-fire drill.

The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich, an unprecedented action that sets up a State Senate trial on whether he should be thrown out for abuse of power, including allegations that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Russia

has cut natural gas supplies to neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday after talks on gas prices for 2009 fell through.Russia’s gas monopoly Gazprom said it had halted deliveries to

Ukraine

following the expiry of the 2008 contract.

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was among the seven international personalities was honoured on the occasion of 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an Award.

European investors face billions of dollars losses in the wake of disclosure of "Ponzi" scheme run by Bernard Madoff, now being investigated by the American authorities. A ponzi scheme is a type of securities fraud where the promoter makes some sort of false or misleading statement about an investment (often including a guaranteed high rate of return) and pays off older investors with newer investors money. Madoff's investment funds was run mainly through its Optimal Strategic US Equity fund.

CURRENT AFFAIRS 2009 PART 2

2009-12-15T20:24:00.003+05:30

India defeated Syria by 5-4 (penalty shootout) in the finals on August 31, 2009 to win the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament 2009.Goal-keeper Subroto Paul, who saved three penalties to become India’s savior, was awarded the man of the match of the final.

India

won this cup two times, 2007 & 2009.

Dr. Madhavan Nair, Chief of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is elected as the new President of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)

Air Marshal Sumit Mukerjee is the new Air Officer Commanding –in-Chief of Southern Air Command of India. He is the only pilot in the history of IAF to have commanded units with the Mig-21,Mig-23U, Mig-25, Mig-27 and Mig-29 aircraft

India

achieved a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate 6.1% during April-June 2009

Fiji

has been expelled from the Commonwealth after failing to announce plans to hold elections in 2010

Irina Bokova, Bulgarian diplomat is the new director of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, (UNESCO)

Ford Figo is the much anticipated small car for India, was unveiled in Delhi by Ford Motor Company

Churchill Brothers won the Durand Cup 2009 by defeating Mohan Bagan in the final.

Yugratna Srivastav, a 13 year old girl addressed the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York

Yukio Hatoyama will be named the 93rd Prime Minister of Japan

Juan Martin del Potro of

Argentina

battled back to beat five-times champion Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in the final to win the US Open 2009

Kim Clijsters won the US Open womens trophy. She beat 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 7-5, 6-3, in the final.She became the first unseeded woman to win the US Open and the first mother to win a major title since 1980.

Pankaj Advani became the second Indian after Geet Sethi to win the World’s Billiards Championship

Churchill Brothers, Goa won their maiden IFA shield Football tournament
.They beating local giant Mohun Bagan 2-0

Transparency International has released their annual corruption index, and has ranked China as 79th and India 84th out of 180 countries. The evaluation of the extent of corruption is based on opinion from country experts – resident and non-residents – and business leaders. The corruption index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption in a country. New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and

Switzerland

are the top five least corrupt nations.

Dolphin is now India’s national aquatic animal. The decision was taken following a suggestion by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the new status for the dolphin would help save the rare freshwater species from disappearing from the country’s aqua map.

India

successfully launched a cluster of six European micro-satellites into low-earth orbit after deploying its 960 kg remote sensing satellite Oceansat-2 in the polar sun-synchronous orbit. Of the six micro-satellites, four are from Germany and one each from Switzerland and Turkey, with a combined weight of 20 kg. The first four tiny spacecraft, named Cubsats, are educational satellites from European universities weighing around 1 kg and developed to perform technology demonstration in space. The other two spacecrafts are named Rubin-9.1 and Rubin-9.2 weighing 8 kg each, are primarily used for the automatic identification system for maritime applications.

The Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the Bandra Worli sea link in Mumbai. It is India’s first sea bridge.The 5.6 kilometers long cable-stayed bridge has been designed to allow for speedy road travel between Bandra and Worli. It costs Rs. 50 to take a trip on the link, and will cost Rs. 75 for a round trip. It would be nothing compared to the Rs 100 crore per year that the link will save in the vehicle operating cost alone. The link is equipped for traffic monitoring, emergency support and an automated toll system. The construction of the sea link would save people's time

In the Satyam Computers bidding process, three huge companies namely Tech Mahindra, Engineering L&T, and Wilbur Ross had participated. Tech Mahindra has won in the Satyam bid by paying Rs. 1757 crore and now has 31% stake in Satyam. Tech Mahindra will pay Rs 58 per share; L&T had offered to pay of 49 Rs per share and so lost out.

Golden whistle for Indian Hockey umpire (10th Nov 2009) Satinder Kumar has become the first Indian umpire to get the golden whistle from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for officiating in 100 matches. Satinder is the 29th international umpire to get the honor, Hockey India said in a statement. Satinder umpired in his 100th match at the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in Invercargill, New Zealand yesterday.

Maradona fined and banned for foul-mouthed tirade (16th Nov 2009)FIFA's disciplinary body has dished out a two month ban to Argentina's coach Diego Maradona, punishing him for the tirade after this team grabbed a spot in the 2010 finals in South Africa. Apart from the ban effective from Nov 15 to Jan 15, 2010, the body also slapped a fine of 25,000 Swiss francs ($24,600) on the football legend

Three Americans won 2009 Nobel Prize and one among them is India-born. They are Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath. Ramakrishnan is India-born American and Ada Yonath is Israeli. They were awarded with Nobel Prize in chemistry for mapping ribosome. It is the protein-producing factories within body cells, at the atomic level.

2009 MAIN EVENTS AT A GLANCE PART 1

2009-12-12T15:18:00.000+05:30

Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council.

The Czech Republic takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union^[4] from France

Slovakia adopts the Euro as its national currency, replacing the Slovak koruna

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the world's first openly lesbian head of government

The first trial at the International Criminal Court is held. Former Union of Congolese Patriots leader Thomas Lubanga is accused of training child soldiers to kill, pillage, and rape

Morgan Tsvangirai is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe following the power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe signed in September, 2008

The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in Bissaau

Albania and Croatia join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing nearly 300 and injuring more than 1,500

The Fourth East Asia Summit is postponed after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declares a state of emergency in Bangkokand surrounding areas

Sweden assumes the presidency of the European Union

July 22 – The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurs over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean; it is figured to be the most widely observed total eclipse in human history.

The 35th G8 summit is held in L'Aquila, Italy

Bolivia becomes the first South American country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves

Iceland's national parliament, the Althingi, votes to pursue joining the EU

As a step toward total independence from the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland assumes control over its law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural resources. Greenlandic becomes the official language

An 8.3-magnitude earthquake triggers a tsunami near the Samoan Islands. Many communities and harbors in Samoa andAmerican Samoa are destroyed, and at least 189 are killed.

At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the G-20 will assume greater leverage over the global economy, replacing the role of the G-8, in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008

The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro

The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law

December 7 – December 18 – The UNFCCC's United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 conference is held in Copenhagen, Denmark

FINALLY IT IS OVER...

2009-11-08T01:59:00.001+05:30

Hi friends,

Finally the day has arrived when after getting up in the morning I don't have to make plans on what I am going to study today.Really had a wonderful sleep last night after finishing the final paper of the Main Examination.I will be heading towards North-East tomorrow to chill out for a week or so.So logged in to say Hello to all of you.

By the way the last paper of mine was Animal Husbandry and Vet Science.The first paper was full of general questions and there were some 5, 10 or 15 mark questions alongside a few 30 markers.However the second paper was a bit tough.I have answered all the questions in both the papers but not sure how much they are going to like it.As there were so many general questions,I could not write any stereotyped answers.Rather I had to recollect whatever I had read so far and put them in one package to write down the answers.

So this is how I am rating my performance in the exam this year.

GS- POOR

ESSAY- VERY GOOD

OPTIONAL I-GOOD( ITS UP TO THEM TO ADD THE WORD "VERY" :)

OPTIONAL II- NOT SURE WHETHER VERY GOOD OR VERY BAD.THE MARKS SHOULD BE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 150 TO 350.ITS A LONG MARGIN YOU SEE...

Anyways, a few suggestions for those who are planning to appear in 2010.

Stop conventional studies right now and try to build up a wide knowledge base which should not necessarily be book based.You should be an avid follower of channels like Discovery,Nat Geo or an avid readers of various magazines like Readers Digest,Yojana,India Today,Kurukshetra,Science TODAY.Try to take maximum benefits from internet as well.
Do not mug up.Rather try to have an analytical view on every topic.Develop certain new ideas and that can be done only when you think beyond the conventional ways.
Do not leave any topic in the optionals.It is tough but believe me it is going to do magics for you.Even if you can not have concrete knowledge on every topic, try to have at least some basic ideas.And that can be done only when you start preparations for the Main exam early.What about starting it right now?
Do not worry about the Preliminary exam.Intensive study for two months solely oriented towards Prelims will suffice the purpose.Your objective should be long term and for that you have to start preparing for Main ASAP.
Try to finish at least one optional from Main point of view by March.Once you are done with that, you can concentrate on Prelims.

Enough Gyaan for today.Hehehehe.Anyways, once I am back,I'll be joining my job after a long break of around 3 months.I'm missing my job,my work place and my people.Will be updating this blog at regular intervals then and will keep you posted about some interesting incidences, which are very much common in our job profile.Moreover,you will be getting tips from some IAS officers and state civil servants as well in this blog very soon.I have talked to them and they will be posting here their views on this exam.Just give me a few more days or weeks.

By the way, don't forget to pray for my result.Need your wishes big time.

Take care all of you and have a wonderful time.Study well.Signing off now...

Saptarshi.

HISTORY OPTIONAL - DAY 4

2009-10-30T11:39:00.000+05:30

Hi folks,

After the history optional, just one thing I can say is that I am relieved.Except some unheard names in the map question, the entire paper was pretty ok.In fact after coming to know that the pub ad or pol sc and geo papers were extremely tough,I was bit of hopeless.In fact this year I had read almost the entire syllabus and in the process the only thing happened was that I could not remember a single word that I had studied.But believe me once I saw the questions, things suddenly started getting well.Indeed the only change they have made in the paper is that they have split the long questions.So the questions which earlier carried 60 marks now were of 30 marks only.This made the paper a bit lengthy.But at least manageable.In fact certain questions I was expecting this year like Vietnam war or Russian revolution and it clicked.Moreover, this time there were certain straight forward questions which I have not seen in the earlier years.So there was change.But it was not bad.Anyways, I am giving the questions here in short.

PAPER I

SECTION A

1.MAP-- Sorry, its gonna take so much time to write the 20 names... :)
2.ACCOUNTS OF GRAECO-ROMAN AND CHINESE IN CONSTRUCTING INDIAN HISTORY AND THEIR CORROBORATION BY CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.
3.A>APPROACHES TO UNDERSTAND VEDIC RELIGION
   B>USE OF GOLD COINS BY THE COMMONERS IN GUPTA AGE
4.REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN SOUTH INDIAN TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE

SECTION B
5. SHORT NOTES
A>INDIAN FEUDALISM IN EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA
B>M.B.TUGHLAK AS AGRARIAN INNOVATOR
C>SULH-I-KUL
D>POPULATION OF MUGHAL INDIA
6.A> DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE OF CHOLA VILLAGE ASSEMBLIES
  B>KALHANA'S VIEW ON HISTORY
7.A>FACTORS BEHIND EXPANSION OF URBAN ECONOMY IN DELHI SULTANATE.
  B>AKBAR AS A PROMOTER OF TECHNOLOGY.
8.A>CONTRIBUTIONS OF AMIR KHUSRAU AND BARANI IN INDO-PERSIAN LITERATURE.
B>MAJOR REASON BEHIND LATE 17TH CENTURY CRISIS WAS NOT AURANGZEB'S RELIGIOUS POLICY-,BUT ECONOMIC- EXPLAIN.

I ANSWERED 1,3,5,6,8. LET;S SEE.... :)
Can't type any more.Will be uploading the paper II soon.see ya.

DAY 2-ESSAY PAPER

2009-10-24T18:29:00.000+05:30

Here are the questions

Globalism vs Nationalism
Health services in India
"India is a soft state"
Traditional handicrafts
Good friends make good neighbors

I answered the first one.I think I did well.Lets see...

UPSC GENERAL STUDIES PAPER I AND II, 2009-1ST DAY

2009-10-23T23:10:00.000+05:30

Hi guys

The first day was disastrous.At least for me.I could not do much in the second paper though did very well in the first paper except the short notes.Here are some of the questions in short

paper I

Safety of railways
Corruption in Indian polity
Two bizarre ,unheard comments to explain in modern India
Wetlands
importance of coastal lands
Domestic violence act
Functions of Indian Meteorological Department
Status of urbanization in India
Folk dances of India
India's achievements in sports in 2008-09
Hindustani and carnatic classical musical styles
Yashpal committee report
Paper II
India's strategic interest in South Asia
China's Peaceful Rise
Indo Russian defence ties
India's soft and hard power strategies
NSG and India
Gilgit Baltistan Empowerment
Arihant
NSAB
NEPAD
Ethnic conflicts in S Asia
Sino Myanmar Relation
Geopolitics and Geostrategy
Indo Bhutan trade relation
India's priority amidst global financial crisis
Doha Round-analysis
Do India need World Bank
FTA with ASEAN
Biosignatures
Bioinformatics
GFP
Hubble Space Telescope
DNA Fingerprinting
NanoTech
Graphene
Optical Frequency Comb
Tele Medicine
Artificial Sun
Vegetable Gold
Liquid Breathing
P-8A Poseidon
Biometric ATM
EVA

Stats questions were very easy.

Now you submit comments on the standard of the question.

Criminalization of Politics

2009-10-13T18:01:00.001+05:30

After 62 years of India’s independence the lives of commoners have not changed much than under Britishers. The benefits of independence have reached only few, thus creating islands of few ultra rich people surrounded by vast sea of utterly poor. The rich people in nexus with those in power are getting favourable laws enacted to suit their ends. Those in power are shamelessly enjoying 5-star luxuries all at tax payer’s expense, while more then 50 million are starving to death. The criminalization of politics, executive & judiciary is almost complete. The corruption has spread its tentacles far & wide, there is corruption from womb to tomb, from maternity hospital to grave yard. The injustices mated out, the atrocities perpetrated by public servants are worse than Britishers. The biggest confounding factor in the political environment of business is criminalization of politics: people with criminal backgrounds becoming politicians and elected representatives. Around 20% of the members of the current Lok Sabha have criminal cases pending against them. The charges in several of these cases are of heinous crimes such as murder, robbery, kidnapping, and not just violation of Section 144, or something similar.

It is well known that all parties take the help of criminal elements to dominate the election scene in India. But this process is influencing the mind and the will of the people both to gain the majority to rule the country according to their will. The system of democracy is now changing into the dictatorship of some. Because the democracy of India are now in hands of the criminal who are not capable any way to hold the post if legislature.

Components:-

(1) Muscle Power:-

The influence of muscle power in Indian politics has been a fact of life for a long time. As early as in 1977, the National Police Commission headed by Dharam Vira observed: ``The manner in which different political parties have functioned, particularly on the eve of periodic election, involves the free use of musclemen and ‘Dadas’ to influence the attitude and conduct of sizable sections of the electorate. The Panchayat elections, like other elections in the recent past, have demonstrated once again that there can be no sanity in India as long as politics continues to be based on caste and

Gangsterism.

The politicians are thriving today on the basis of muscle power provided by criminals. The common people who constitute the voters are in most cases too reluctant to take measures that would curtail the criminal activities. Once the political aspect joins the criminal elements the nexus becomes extremely dangerous. Many of politicians chose muscle power to gain vote bank in the country, and they apply the assumption that, if we are unable to bring faith in the community then we can generate fear or threat to get the power in the form of election.

(2) Money Power:-

The elections to Parliament and State Legislatures are very expensive and it is a widely accepted fact that huge election expenditure is the root cause for corruption in India. A candidate has to spend lakhs of rupees to get elected and even if he gets elected, the total salary he gets during his tenure as an MP/MLA will be meagre compared to his election expenses. How can he bridge the gap between the income and expenses? Publicly through donations and secretly through illegal means. The expenditure estimation for an election estimated as Rs 5 per voter as election expenditure, for 600 million voters, and calculation of all the expenses in a general elaction estimated around Rs 2,000 crore. Then there is the period between elections. This requires around Rs 250 crore. Then there are state elections and local elections. All told, the system has to generate around Rs 5,000 crore in a five year cycle or Rs 1,000 crore on average each year. Where is this money to come from? Only criminal activity can generate such large sums of untaxed funds. That is why you have criminals in politics. They have money and muscle, so they win and help others in their party win as well.

Reasons Of This Criminalization:-

(1) Vote Bank:-

The political parties and independent candidates have astronomical expenditure for vote buying and other illegitimate purposes through these criminals or so called goondas. A politician’s link with them constituency provides a congenial climate to political crime. Those who do not know why they ought to vote comprise the majority of voters of this country. Therefore majority of the voters are manoeuvrable, purchasable. Most of them are individually timid and collectively coward. To gain their support is easier for the unscrupulous than the conscientious.

We have long witnessed criminals being wooed by political parties and given cabinet posts because their muscle and money power fetches crucial votes. Elections are won and lost on swings of just 1% of the vote, so parties cynically woo every possible vote bank, including those headed by accused robbers and murderers. Legal delays ensure that the accused will die of old age before being convicted, so parties virtuously insist that these chaps must be regarded as innocent till proved guilty.

(2) Corruption:-

In every election all parties without exception put up candidates with a criminal background. Even though some of us whine about the decision taken by the parties, the general trend is that these candidates are elected to office. By acting in such a manner we fail to realize that the greatest power that democracy arms the people is to vote incompetent people out of power.

Independence has taken place through a two-stage process. The first stage was the corrupting of the institutions and the second stage was the institutionalization of corruption. As we look at the corruption scene today, we find that we have reached this stage because the corrupting of the institutions in turn has finally led to the institutionalization of corruption. The failure to deal with corruption has bred contempt for the law. When there is contempt for the law and this is combined with the criminalization of politics, corruption flourishes. India is ranked 66 out of 85 in the Corruption Perception Index 1998 by the German non-government organization Transparency International based in Berlin. This means that 65 countries were perceived to be less corrupt than India and 19 were perceived to be more corrupt.

(3) Loop Holes In The Functioning Of Election Commission:-

The Election Commission must take adequate measures to break the nexus between the criminals and the politicians. The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly. Too much should not be expected, however, from these disclosures. They would only inform people of the candidate’s history and qualifications, but not prohibit them from casting their votes, regardless, in favour of a criminal.

For the past several general elections there has existed a gulf between the Election Commission and the voter. Common people hardly come to know the rules made by the commission. Bridging this gap is essential not only for rooting out undesirable elements from politics but also for the survival of our democratic polity. This is an incremental process, the rate of success of which is directly proportional to the increase in literacy rate in India. The electorate have made certain wrong choices in the past, but in the future national interest should guide them in making intelligent choices.

(4) Denial Of Justice And Rule Of Law: -

Criminalization is a fact of Indian electoral politics today. The voters, political parties and the law and order machinery of the state are all equally responsible for this. There is very little faith in India in the efficacy of the democratic process in actually delivering good governance. This extends to accepting criminalization of politics as a fact of life. Toothless laws against convicted criminals standing for elections further encourage this process. Under current law, only people who have been convicted at least on two counts be debarred from becoming candidates. This leaves the field open for charge sheeted criminals, many of whom are habitual offenders or history-sheeters. It is mystifying indeed why a person should be convicted on two counts to be disqualified from fighting elections. The real problem lies in the definitions. Thus, unless a person has been convicted, he is not a criminal. Mere charge-sheets and pending cases do not suffice as bars to being nominated to fight an election. So the law has to be changed accordingly.

Legal Threads:-

(1) Vohra Committee:-

12 bombs blasts that shook Bombay on 13 march 1993, had involved the collaboration of a diffuse network of criminal gangs, police and customs officials as well as their political

Patrons, a commission were institutes to investigate the so-called nexus. The report by N.N.Vohra found such deep involvement of politicians with organised crime all over India that it was barred from publication. Here Vohra observes "the various crime syndicate/mafia organisations have developed significant muscle and money power and established linkage with governmental functionaries, political leaders and other to be able to operate with impunity. As highlighted by the Vohra Committee Our elections involve a lot of black money and it is this use of black money in elections which has also brought about the criminalization of politics. After all, the story of the Hawala scam started by the police stumbling to the Jain diaries in their effort to trace the money received by the Kashmir militants. The scam brought out the linkage between the corrupt businessmen, politicians, bureaucracy and the criminals. The 1993 Bombay blasts which took away the life of 300 people was made possible because RDX could be smuggled by allegedly bribing a customs official with Rs.20 lakhs. Some 15 years ago Vohra committee submitted its report to curb criminalization of politics but the fact is that no application in this way is being made. This was mentioned in the petition submitted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and President of India on 16th may that- “The subject of criminalisation of politics is one that concerns the entire nation closely. It is deeply disturbing that on the one hand, our polity is tolerant of ‘fake encounters’ (summary executions) of alleged criminals and terrorists, while our highest representative body – Indian Parliament – harbours people caught red-handed in acts of human trafficking, and convicted on charges of abduction and suspected murder.”

(2) Supreme Court’s Judgement:-

The Supreme Court judgment of May 2, 2002 mandated that candidates disclose their criminal antecedents, if any, as also their financial and educational background. The Election Commission had proposed amendment of statutory rules and the format of nomination papers, to give effect to this judgment of the Supreme Court. The Apex Court judgement to check corruption among public servant is a welcome step. No law should provide protective shield to the corrupt public official and the court has rightly held that no prior sanction of competent authority would be required to prosecute them. With this order, 93 MPs and 10 ministers in Manmohan Singh's ministry are under the scanner on various criminal charges. This is appalling. It is ironical that the executive and legislatures who make and implement policies and guidelines for the development are themselves acting as stumbling block in the development of the nation. The role of Supreme Court becomes very important here. The Apex Court as custodian of constitution should take all necessary steps to strengthen democracy in the country. The legislature and executive have been complaining about the Supreme Court’s intervention on their domain, but it becomes imperative in such kind of unwanted situation. The Supreme Court of India upheld a PIL which made it mandatory for everyone seeking public office to disclose their criminal, financial and educational history. It was a way to ensure that the voters knew the important details about their “honourable” leaders, and steamed them were indeed.

Some of the parties would be able to draw advantage from the Supreme Court order because they have had less opportunity to indulge in crime and corruption. They would have a greater chance of watching candidates of other parties squirm and suffer in agony. Some others might be happy because they already have efficient watchdog systems and batteries of lawyers in place that would permit them to file counter-affidavits and challenge nominations of opposing candidates within hours of their being filed.

(3) Right To Information Act And Criminalization Of Politics:-

The Court held that the right to information - the right to know antecedents, including the criminal past, or assets of candidates - was a fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and that the information was fundamental for survival of democracy. In its Judgement of May 2, 2002, it directed the Election Commission to call for information on affidavit from each candidate seeking election to Parliament or the State Legislature as a necessary part of the nomination papers on: Whether the candidate has been convicted / acquitted / discharged of any criminal offence in the past - if any, whether the candidate was accused in any pending case of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more, and in which charge was framed or cognisance taken by the court of law. If so, requires the details thereof; the assets (immovable, movable, bank balance, etc.) of a candidate and of his/her spouse and that of the dependents; liabilities, if any, particularly of any overdue of any public financial institution or Government dues; educational qualifications of the candidate. The Right to Information Act 2005 is a historical Act that makes Government officials liable for punishment if they fail to respond to people within a stipulated timeframe. Many public servants are leading luxurious lifestyles, beyond the legal sources of their income. Many public servants are filing false affidavits about their annual income, wealth details to Election Commission of India / Vigilance Commission / other authorities, as the case may be. These authorities are not properly verifying these affidavits. Many scams, scandals are coming to light day in & day out, politicians are accusing each other of involvement in scams. Whereas, the said authorities are keeping mum, as if those affidavits filed by tainted public servants are true. The tainted public servants are not even providing full, right information to public as per RTI Act, lest the truth come out.

This seen is very normal now a day that some public servants, caught red-handed during luxurious spending, they easily say that it is at their political party’s expense or their well wisher’s expense. However no entries are found in the account books of said parties to that respect. The law forbids public servants from accepting gifts, hospitality, favours beyond the value of rupees one hundred (Rs. 100 ) , as it may be a form of bribe. But one may ask all these under RTI. Right to Know is an inherent attribute of every person. Right to know differs only in one sense with right to information. Right to know is a natural right and right to information is a provision given by government to its people. Natural rights do not have any value legally until they are legally considered. Hence right to know as such implied in the freedom of speech and expression which is a legally considered right must have to be given a special value. Right to information as such will bring transparency of the government activities and allow the people to find remedies for those things by which they suffered.

SHORT NOTES

2009-10-10T19:00:00.003+05:30

TRACK I AND TRACK II DIPLOMACY: The term "track-one diplomacy" refers to official governmental diplomacy, or "a technique of state action, [which] is essentially a process whereby communications from one government go directly to the decision-making apparatus of another". [2] Thus, track-one diplomacy is conducted by official representatives of a state or state-like authority and involves interaction with other state or state-like authorities: heads of state, state department or ministry of foreign affairs officials, and other governmental departments and ministries. Track-one diplomacy may also be referred to as "first track" or "first tier" diplomacy. These official diplomatic efforts can be distinguished from unofficial interactions, which may involve conflict resolution specialists, private citizens, non-governmental organizations, or businesses. Such unofficial interactions are referred to as "Track II Diplomacy" In the metaphor of track one and track-two diplomacy, each type of diplomatic effort proceeds along a different track, just as separate trains might follow different tracks.

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually by leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian region. EAS meetings are held after annualASEAN leaders’ meetings. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The official languages of the organisation are Arabic, English and French.On August 5, 1990, 45 foreign ministers of the OIC adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam to serve as a guidance for the member states in the matters of "human rights" in as much as they are compatible with the Sharia, or Quranic Law

Most favoured nation (MFN) is a status awarded by one nation to another in international trade. It means that the receiving nation will be granted all trade advantages — such as lowtariffs — that any other nation also receives. In effect, a nation with MFN status will not be treated worse than any other nation with MFN status. In the United States, MFN is calledpermanent normal trade relations.The members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which include all developed nations, must accord MFN status to each other. Exceptions allow for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas and customs unions. Together with the principle of national treatment, MFN is one of the cornerstones of WTO trade law.

Structural unemployment is long-term and chronic unemployment arising from imbalances between the skills and other characteristics of workers in the market and the needs of employers.It involves a mismatch between workers looking for jobs and the vacancies available, even though the number of vacancies may be similar to the number of unemployed people. In this case, the unemployed workers lack the needed skills, or are in a different geographical region to the vacancies.

The Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World ,dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution.

Frictional unemployment involves people in the midst of transiting between jobs, searching for new ones; it is compatible with full employment. It is sometimes called search unemploymentand can be voluntary. New entrants (such as graduating students) and re-entrants (such as former homemakers) can also suffer a spell of frictional unemployment.

The Mau Mau Uprising of 1952 to 1960 was an insurgency by Kenyan peasants against the British colonialist rule. The core of the resistance was formed by members of the Kikuyu ethnic group, along with smaller numbers of Embu and Meru. The uprising failed militarily, though it hastened Kenyan independence and motivated Africans in other countries to fight against colonial rule.

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by Hutus under theHutu Power ideology.

Idi Amin Dada commonly known as Idi Amin, was the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles, in 1946, and eventually held the rank of Major General and Commander of theUgandan Army. Amin took power in a military coup in January 1971, deposing Milton Obote.

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or OAPEC is a multi-governmental organization headquartered in Kuwait which coordinates energy policies in Arab nations, and whose main stated purpose is developmental.

The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, and hence the worldwide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties. Universal Postal Union's headquarters are located in Berne, Switzerland.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas in developing countries, yet only 4% of official development assistance goes to agriculture.

Rogue state is a term applied by some international theorists to states considered threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.

Euro Control:International norms for vehicular pollution control.Euro I,II,III exist.In India Bharat I.II,III are in use.

Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane in the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six Member countries namely, India, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which aretourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region.

A computer virus ( VITAL INFORMATION RESOURCES UNDER SIEGE) is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability. A true virus can only spread from one computer to another (in some form of executable code) when its host is taken to the target computer; for instance because a user sent it over a network or the Internet, or carried it on a removable medium such as a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer.

Repo rate is a discount rate at which a central bank repurchases government securities from the commercial banks, depending on the level of money supply it decides to maintain in the country's monetary system. To temporarily expand the money supply, the central bank decreasesrepo rates (so that banks can swap their holdings of government securities for cash), to contract the money supply it increases the repo rates. Alternatively, the central bank decides on a desired level of money supply and lets the market determine the appropriate repo rate.

The Simla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan on July 3, 1972.It followed from the war between the two nations in the previous year that had led to the independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh. The agreement laid down the principles that should govern their future relations.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT) is a treaty to limit the spread (proliferation) of nuclear weapons, opened for signature on July 1, 1968. There are currently 189 countries party to the treaty, five of whichhave nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and France (also permanent members of the UN Security Council).Only four recognized sovereign states are not parties to the treaty: India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea.