GENERAL AWARENESS (सामान्य जागरूकता) (عام معلومات)

Idioms and Phrases

2012-01-27T18:49:00.000+05:30

Idioms and Phrases

A dog in the manager: A person who prevents others from enjoying something that is useless to him.

A sitting duck: A person or thing that is an easy target to attack.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush: Having something that is certain is much better than taking a risk for more, because chances are you might lose everything.

A Blessing in Disguise: Something good that isn’t recognized at first.

A Chip On Your Shoulder: Being upset for something that happened in the past.

A Dime a Dozen: Anything that is common and easy to get.

A Doubting Thomas: A skeptic who needs physical or personal evidence in order to believe something.

A Drop in the Bucket: A very small part of something big or whole.

A Fool and his Money are Easily Parted: It’s easy for a foolish person to lose his/her money.

A House Divided against itself cannot Stand: Everyone involved must unify and function together or it will not work out.

A Leopard Can’t Change his Spots: You cannot change who you are.

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned: By not spending money, you are saving money (little by little).

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words: A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.

A Piece of Cake: A task that can be accomplished very easily.

A Slap on the Wrist: A very mild punishment.

A Taste of Your Own Medicine: When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others.

A Toss-Up: A result that is still unclear and can go either way.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words: It’s better to actually do something than just talk about it.

Add Fuel to the Fire: Whenever something is done to make a bad situation even worse than it is.

Against the Clock: Rushed and short on time.

All Bark and no Bite: When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight.

All Greek to me: Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the Greek language would be.

All in the Same Boat: When everyone is facing the same challenges.

An Arm and a Leg: Very expensive. A large amount of money.

An Axe to Grind: To have a dispute with someone.

Apple of My Eye: Someone who is cherished above all others.

As High as a Kite: Anything that is high up in the sky.

At the Drop of a Hat: Willing to do something immediately.

Black and Blue: To beat mercilessly.

Back Seat Driver: People who criticize from the sidelines, much like someone giving unwanted advice from the back seat of a vehicle to the driver.

Back to Square One: Having to start all over again.

Back to the Drawing Board: When an attempt fails and it’s time to start all over.

Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen.

Barking up the Wrong Tree: A mistake made in something you are trying to achieve.

Beat a Dead Horse: To force an issue that has already ended.

Beating around the Bush: Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.

Bend Over Backwards: Do whatever it takes to help. Willing to do anything.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Stuck between two very bad options.

Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: To take on a task that is way to big.

Bite Your Tongue: To avoid talking.

Blood is Thicker Than Water: The family bond is closer than anything else.

Blue Moon: A rare event or occurrence.

Break a Leg: A superstitious way to say ‘good luck’ without saying ‘good luck’, but rather the opposite.

Buy a Lemon: To purchase a vehicle that constantly gives problems or stops runnings after you drive it away.

Close shave: A narrow escape.

Can’t Cut the Mustard: Someone who isn’t adequate enough to compete or participate.

Cast Iron Stomach: Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything.

Charley Horse: Stiffness in the leg/A leg cramp.

Chew someone out: Verbally scold someone.

Chip on his Shoulder: Angry today about something that occurred in the past.

Chow Down: To eat.

Close but no Cigar: To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short.

Cock and Bull Story: An unbelievable tale.

Come Hell or High Water: Any difficult situation or obstacle.

Crack Someone Up: To make someone laugh.

Cross Your Fingers: To hope that something happens the way you want it to.

Cry Over Spilt Milk: When you complain about a loss from the past.

Cry Wolf: Intentionally raise a false alarm.

Cup of Joe: A cup of coffee.

Curiosity Killed the Cat: Being Inquisitive can lead you into a dangerous situation.

Cut to the Chase: Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point.

Dark Horse: One who was previously unknown and is now prominent.

Dead Ringer: 100% identical. A duplicate.

Devil’s Advocate: Someone who takes a position for the sake of argument without believing in that particular side of the argument. It can also mean one who presents a counter argument for a position they do believe in, to another debater.

Dog Days of Summer: The hottest days of the summer season.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch: Don’t rely on it until your sure of it.

Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth: When someone gives you a gift, don’t be ungrateful.

Don’t Put all Your Eggs in One Basket: Do not put all your resources in one possibility.

Doozy: Something outstanding.

Down to the Wire: Something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds.

Drastic Times Call for Drastic Measures: When your are extremely desperate you need to take extremely desperate actions.

Drink like a fish: To drink very heavily.

Drive someone up the wall: To irritate and/or annoy very much.

Dropping Like Flies: A large number of people either falling ill or dying.

Dry Run: Rehearsal.

Eighty Six: A certain item is no longer available. Or this idiom can also mean, to throw away.

Elvis has left the building: The show has come to an end. It’s all over.

Ethnic Cleansing: Killing of a certain ethnic or religious group on a massive scale.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink: Almost everything and anything has been included.

Excuse my French: Please forgive me for cussing.

French Leave: Absence without permission.

Feeding Frenzy: An aggressive attack on someone by a group.

Field Day: An enjoyable day or circumstance.

Finding Your Feet: To become more comfortable in whatever you are doing.

Finger lickin’ good: A very tasty food or meal.

Fixed in Your Ways: Not willing or wanting to change from your normal way of doing something.

Flash in the Pan: Something that shows potential or looks promising in the beginning but fails to deliver anything in the end.

Flea Market: A swap meet. A place where people gather to buy and sell inexpensive goods.

Flesh and Blood: This idiom can mean living material of which people are made of, or it can refer to someone’s family.

Flip the Bird: To raise your middle finger at someone.

Foam at the Mouth: To be enraged and show it.

Fools’ Gold: Iron pyrites, a worthless rock that resembles real gold.

French Kiss: An open mouth kiss where tongues touch.

From Rags to Riches: To go from being very poor to being very wealthy.

Fuddy-duddy: An old-fashioned and foolish type of person.

Full Monty: This idiom can mean either, “the whole thing” or “completely nude.”

Funny Farm: A mental institutional facility.

Get Down to Brass Tacks: To become serious about something.

Get Over it: To move beyond something that is bothering you.

Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed: Someone who is having a horrible day.

Get Your Walking Papers: Get fired from a job.

Give him the Slip: To get away from. To escape.

Go Down Like a Lead Ballon: To be received badly by an audience.

Go for Broke: To gamble everything you have.

Go Out on a Limb: Put yourself in a tough position in order to support someone/something.

Go the Extra Mile: Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand.

Good Samaritan: Someone who helps others when they are in need, with no discussion for compensation, and no thought of a reward.

Graveyard Shift: Working hours from about 12:00 am to 8:00 am. The time of the day when most other people are sleeping.

Great Minds Think Alike: Intelligent people think like each other.

Green Room: The waiting room, especially for those who are about to go on a tv or radio show.

Gut Feeling: A personal intuition you get, especially when feel something may not be right.

Haste Makes Waste: Quickly doing things results in a poor ending.

Hat Trick: When one player scores three goals in the same hockey game. This idiom can also mean three scores in any other sport, such as 3 homeruns, 3 touchdowns, 3 soccer goals, etc.

Have an Axe to Grind: To have a dispute with someone.

He Lost His Head: Angry and overcome by emotions.

Head Over Heels: Very excited and/or joyful, especially when in love.

Hell in a Handbasket: Deteriorating and headed for complete disaster.

High Five: Slapping palms above each others heads as celebration gesture.

High on the Hog: Living in Luxury.

Hit the Books: To study, especially for a test or exam.

Hit the Hay: Go to bed or go to sleep.

Hit the Nail on the Head: Do something exactly right or say something exactly right.

Hit the Sack: Go to bed or go to sleep.

Hocus Pocus: In general, a term used in magic or trickery.

Hold Your Horses: Be patient.

Icing on the Cake: When you already have it good and get something on top of what you already have.

Idle Hands are the Devil’s Tools: You are more likely to get in trouble if you have nothing to do.

If it’s not one Thing, it’s another: When one thing goes wrong, then another, and another...

In Like Flynn: To be easily successful, especially when sexual or romantic.

In the Bag: To have something secured.

In the Buff: Nude.

In the Heat of the Moment: Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment.

In Your Face: An aggressive and bold confrontation.

It Takes Two to Tango: A two person conflict where both people are at fault.

It’s a Small World: You frequently see the same people in different places.

Its Anyone’s Call: A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict.

Ivy League: Since 1954 the Ivy League has been the following universities: Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Harvard.

Jaywalk: Crossing the street (from the middle) without using the crosswalk.

Joshing Me: Tricking me.

Keep an Eye on Him: You should carefully watch him.

Keep body and soul together: To earn a sufficient amount of money in order to keep yourself alive.

Keep your chin up: To remain joyful in a tough situation.

Kick the Bucket: Die.

Kitty-corner: Diagonally across. Sometimes called Catty-Corner as well.

Knee Jerk Reaction: A quick and automatic response.

Knock on Wood: Knuckle tapping on wood in order to avoid some bad luck.

Know the Ropes: To understand the details.

Last but not least: An introduction phrase to let the audience know that the last person mentioned is no less important than those introduced before him/her.

Lend Me Your Ear: To politely ask for someone’s full attention.

Let Bygones be Bygones: To forget about a disagreement or argument.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: To avoid restarting a conflict.

Let the Cat out of the Bag: To share a secret that wasn’t suppose to be shared.

Level playing field: A fair competition where no side has an advantage.

Like a chicken with its head cut off: To act in a frenzied manner.

Liquor someone up: To get someone drunk.

Long in the Tooth: Old people (or horses).

Loose Cannon: Someone who is unpredictable and can cause damage if not kept in check.

Make no Bones About: To state a fact so there are no doubts or objections.

Method to My Madness: Strange or crazy actions that appear meaningless but in the end are done for a good reason.

Mumbo Jumbo: Nonsense or meaningless speech.

Mum’s the word: To keep quiet. To say nothing.

Nest Egg: Savings set aside for future use.

Never Bite the Hand that Feeds You: Don’t hurt anyone that helps you.

New kid on the block: Someone new to the group or area.

New York Minute: A minute that seems to go by quickly, especially in a fast paced environment.

No Dice: To not agree. To not accept a proposition.

No Room to Swing a Cat: An unusually small or confined space.

Not Playing with a Full Deck: Someone who lacks intelligence.

Off on the Wrong Foot: Getting a bad start on a relationship or task.

Off the Hook: No longer have to deal with a tough situation.

Off the Record: Something said in confidence that the one speaking doesn’t want attributed to him/her.

On Pins and Needles: Anxious or nervous, especially in anticipation of something.

On the Fence: Undecided.

On the Same Page: When multiple people all agree on the same thing.

Out of the Blue: Something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs.

Out on a Limb: When someone puts themself in a risky situation.

Out on the Town: To enjoy yourself by going out.

Over my Dead Body: When you absolutely will not allow something to happen.

Over the Top: Very excessive.

Pass the Buck: Avoid responsibility by giving it to someone else.

Pedal to the metal: To go full speed, especially while driving a vehicle.

Peeping Tom: Someone who observes people in the nude or sexually active people, mainly for his own gratification.

Pick up your ears: To listen very carefully.

Pig in a Poke: A deal that is made without first examining it.

Pig out: To eat alot and eat it quickly.

Pipe Down: To shut-up or be quiet.

Practice Makes Perfect: By constantly practicing, you will become better.

Pull the plug: To stop something. To bring something to an end.

Pulling Your Leg: Tricking someone as a joke.

Put a sock in it: To tell noisy person or a group to be quiet.

Queer the pitch: Destroy or ruin a plan.

Raincheck: An offer or deal that is declined right now but willing to accept later.

Raining Cats and Dogs: A very loud and noisy rain storm.

Ring Fencing: Separated usual judgement to guarantee protection, especially project funds.

Rise and Shine: Time to get out of bed and get ready for work/school.

Rome was not Built in one Day: If you want something to be completely properly, then its going to take time.

Rule of Thumb: A rough estimate.

Run out of steam: To be completely out of energy.

Saved by the Bell: Saved at the last possible moment.

Scapegoat: Someone else who takes the blame.

Scot-free: To escape and not have to pay.

Sick as a Dog: To be very sick (with the flu or a cold).

Sitting Shotgun: Riding in the front passenger seat of a car.

Sixth Sense: A paranormal sense that allows you to communicate with the dead.

Skid Row: The rundown area of a city where the homeless and drug users live.

Smell a Rat: To detect someone in the group is betraying the others.

Smell Something Fishy: Detecting that something isn’t right and there might be a reason for it.

Son of a Gun: A scamp.

Southpaw: Someone who is left-handed.

Spitting Image: The exact likeness or kind.

Start from Scratch: To do it all over again from the beginning.

The Ball is in Your Court: It is your decision this time.

The Best of Both Worlds: There are two choices and you have them both.

The Bigger they are the Harder they Fall: While the bigger and stronger opponent might be alot more difficult to beat, when you do they suffer a much bigger loss.

The Last Straw: When one small burden after another creates an unbearable situation, the last straw is the last small burden that one can take.

The Whole Nine Yards: Everything. All of it.

Third times a charm: After no success the first two times, the third try is a lucky one.

Tie the knot: To get married.

Till the cows come home: A long time.

To Make a Long Story Short: Something someone would say during a long and boring story in order to keep his/her audience from losing attention. Usually the story isn’t shortened.

To Steal Someone’s Thunder: To take the credit for something someone else did.

Tongue and Cheek: Humour, not to be taken serious.

Turn a Blind Eye: Refuse to acknowledge something you know is real or legit.

Twenty three skidoo: To be turned away.

Under the weather: Feeling ill or sick.

Up a blind alley: Going down a course of action that leads to a bad outcome.

Use Your Loaf: Use your head. Think smart.

Van Gogh’s ear for music: Tone deaf.

Variety is the Spice of Life: The more experiences you try the more exciting life can be.

Wag the Dog: A diversion away from something of greater importance.

Water Under the Bridge: Anything from the past that isn’t significant or important anymore.

Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve: To openly and freely express your emotions.

When it Rains, it Pours: Since it rarely rains, when it does it will be a huge storm.

When Pigs Fly: Something that will never ever happen.

Wild and Woolly: Uncultured and without laws.

Wine and Dine: When somebody is treated to an expensive meal.

Without a Doubt: For certain.

X marks the spot: A phrase that is said when someone finds something he/she has been looking for.

You are What You Eat: In order to stay healthy you must eat healthy foods.

You can’t Judge a Book by its Cover: Decisions shouldn’t be made primarily on appearance.

You can’t Take it With You: Enjoy what you have and not what you don’t have, since when you die you cannot take things (such as money) with you.

Your Guess is as Good as Mine: I have no idea.

Zero Tolerance: No crime or law breaking big or small will be overlooked.

THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

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The Constitution of India is the second biggest in the world. The biggest constitution is that of Ireland. Indian constitution consists of the Preamble, 24 Parts and 12 Schedules

Preamble

We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens :

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the [unity and integrity of the Nation]

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

Parts

Part 1 The Union and its Territory...Art.( 1-4 )

Part II Citizenship...Art.( 5-11 )

Part III Fundamental Rights...Art.( 12-35 )

Part IV Directive principles of State policy...Art.( 36-51 )

Part IVA Fundamental Duties...Art.( 51A )

Part V The Union...Art.( 52-151 )

Part VI The States...Art.( 152-237 )

Part VII The States in Part B of the first Schedule...Art.( 238 )

Part VIII The Union Territories...Art.( 239-243 )

Part IX Panchayats...Art.( 243-243zg )

Part IX A Municipalities...Art.( 243-243zg )

Part X The Scheduled and Tribal areas...Art.( 244-244A )

Part XI Relations between the Union and the States...Art.( 245-263 )

Part XII Finance, Property, Contracts, and Suits...Art.( 264-300A )

Part XIII Trade, commerce and intercourse within the territory of India...Art.( 301-307 )

Part XIV Services under the Union and the States...Art.( 308-323 )

Part XIVA Tribunals...Art.( 323A-323B )

Part XV Elections..Art.( 324-329A )

Part XVI Special provisions relating to certain classes...Art.( 330-342 )

Part XVII Official Language...Art.( 343-351 )

Part XVIII Emergency Provisions..Art.( 352-360 )

Part XIX Miscellaneous...Art.( 361-367 )

Part XX Amendment of the constitution...Art.( 368 )

Part XXI Temporary, Transitional and special provisions...Art.( 369-392 )

Part XXII Short title, Commencement, authorities text in Hindi and repeals...Art.( 393-395 )

Schedules

There are twelve schedules to Constitution of India, which are effective at present, are given below:

First Schedule: This schedule is about the States and Union Territories of India.
Second Schedule: In this Schedule, provisions made to the President and the Governors of

States, Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People, the Chairman and the

Deputy Chairman of the Council of States, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative

Assembly, the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council of a State, the

Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts and the Comptroller and Auditor-General of

India
Third Schedule: Forms of Oaths or Affirmations are mentioned in this Schedule.
Fourth Schedule: This Schedule specifies the allocation of seats in the Council of States.
Fifth Schedule: Provisions as to the Administration and Control of Scheduled Areas and

Scheduled Tribes are mentioned in this Schedule. The amendment of the schedule is also included

in the Part D of the Schedule.
Sixth Schedule: This Schedule deals with the provisions as to the Administration of Tribal Areas

in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Seventh Schedule: The List I or the Union List, List II or the State List and List III or the

Concurrent List are included in this Schedule.
Eighth Schedule: The 22 languages selected as the official languages of India are mentioned in

this Schedule.
Ninth Schedule: Validation of certain Acts and Regulations is dealt with in this Schedule
Tenth Schedule: Provisions as to disqualification on ground of defection for the Members of

Parliament and Members of the State Legislatures are mentioned in this Schedule.
Eleventh Schedule: This Schedule talks about the powers, authority and responsibilities of

Panchayats
Twelfth Schedule: Powers, authority and responsibilities of Municipalities are defined in this

Schedule.

Countries and their Currencies

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Countries and their Currencies

Country or territory
Currency
Sign

Afghanistan
Afghan afghani
؋

Argentina
Argentine peso
$

Australia
Australian dollar
$

Austria
Euro
€

Bangladesh
Bangladeshi taka
৳

Belgium
Euro
€

Bermuda
Bermudian dollar
$

Bhutan
Bhutanese ngultrum

Indian rupee

Brazil
Brazilian real
R$

Bulgaria
Bulgarian lev
лв

Canada
Canadian dollar
$

Chile
Chilean peso
$

China, People’s Republic of
Chinese yuan
元

Cuba
Cuban convertible peso
$

Cuban peso
$

Czech Republic
Czech koruna
Kč

Denmark
Danish krone
kr

Ecuador
United States dollar
$

None
None

Egypt
Egyptian pound
£ or ج.م

Fiji
Fijian dollar
$

Finland
Euro
€

France
Euro
€

Germany
Euro
€

Ghana
Ghanaian cedi
₵

Greece
Euro
€

Hong Kong
Hong Kong dollar
$

Iceland
Icelandic króna
kr

India
Indian rupee

Indonesia
Indonesian rupiah
Rp

Iran
Iranian rial
﷼

Iraq
Iraqi dinar
ع.د

Ireland
Euro
€

Israel
Israeli new sheqel
₪

Italy
Euro
€

Jamaica
Jamaican dollar
$

Japan
Japanese yen
¥

Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani tenge
〒

Kenya
Kenyan shilling
Sh

Korea, North
North Korean won
₩

Korea, South
South Korean won
₩

Kuwait
Kuwaiti dinar
د.ك

Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstani som

Libya
Libyan dinar
ل.د

Malaysia
Malaysian ringgit
RM

Maldives
Maldivian rufiyaa
ރ.

Mexico
Mexican peso
$

Myanmar
Myanma kyat
K

Nepal
Nepalese rupee
₨

Netherlands
Euro
€

New Zealand
New Zealand dollar
$

Norway
Norwegian krone
kr

Pakistan
Pakistani rupee
₨

Palestine
Israeli new sheqel
₪

Jordanian dinar
د.ا

Poland
Polish złoty
zł

Russia
Russian ruble
руб.

Saudi Arabia
Saudi riyal
ر.س

Singapore
Brunei dollar
$

Singapore dollar
$

South Africa
South African rand
R

Spain
Euro
€

Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan rupee
Rs

Sudan
Sudanese pound
£

Sweden
Swedish krona
kr

Switzerland
Swiss franc
Fr

Tajikistan
Tajikistani somoni
ЅМ

Thailand
Thai baht
฿

Turkey
Turkish lira
TL

Uganda
Ugandan shilling
Sh

United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates dirham
د.إ

United Kingdom
British pound^[C]
£

United States
United States dollar
$

Uzbekistan
Uzbekistani som

Vatican City
Euro
€

Venezuela
Venezuelan bolívar
Bs F

Zimbabwe
Botswana pula
P

British pound^[C]
£

Euro
€

South African rand
R

United States dollar
$

Zimbabwean dollar^[L]
$

Countries and their Parliments

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Name of Parliments and Countries

S.No.	Country	Name of Parliment
1	Afghanistan	Hal-o-Aqad (National Assembly)
2	Albania	People's Assembly
3	Algeria	National People's Assembly
4	Angola	National People's Assembly
5	Argentina	National Congress
6	Australia	Federal Parliament (House of Representatives and Senate)
7	Austria	National Assembly
8	Bahamas	General Assembly (House of Assembly and Senate)
9	Belize	National Assembly
10	Benin	National Revolutionary Assembly
11	Bhutan	Tshogdu (National Assembly)
12	Bolivia	National Congress
13	Botswana	National Assembly
14	Brazil	National Congress
15	Britain	Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords)
16	Bulgaria	Narodno Subranie (National Assembly)
17	Cambodia (Kampuchea)	National Assembly
18	Canada	Parliament (House of Commons and Senate)
19	Cape Verde	People's National Assembly
20	China, Mainland	National People's Congress
21	China, National	Yuan (National Assembly)
22	Colombia	Congress
23	Cuba	National Assembly of People's Power
24	Denmark	Folketing
25	Egypt	People's Assembly
26	France	National Assembly
27	Germany	Bundestag (Lower House) and Bundesrat (Upper House)
28	Guyana	National Assembly
29	Hungary	National Assembly
30	Iceland	Althing
31	India	Parliament (LoK Sabha and Rajya Sabha)
32	Indonesia	People's Consultative Assembly
33	Iran	Majis
34	Iraq	National Assembly
35	Ireland	Oireachtas of National Parliament (Dail Eireann, House of Representatives and Seanad Eireann, Senate)
36	Israel	Knesset
37	Japan	Diet
38	Jordan	National Assembly
39	Kenya	National Assembly
40	Korea (North)	Supreme People's Assembly
41	Korea (South)	National Assembly
42	Kuwait	National Assembly
43	Laos	People's Supreme Assembly
44	Liberia	National Assembly
45	Libya	General People's Congress
46	Madagascar	National People's Assembly
47	Malaysia	Parliament (Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara)
48	Maldives	Majlis
49	Mongolia	Great People's Khural
50	Mozambique	People's Assembly
51	Myanmar (Burma)	Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly)
52	Nepal	National Panchayat
53	Netherlands	Staten General
54	New Zealand	Parliament (House of Representatives)
55	Norway	Storting
56	Papua New Guinea	National Parliament
57	Poland	Sejm
58	Romania	Grand National Assembly
59	Russia	Supreme Soviet
60	Senegal	National Assembly
61	Seychelles	People's Assembly
62	Somalia	People's Assembly
63	South Africa	House of Assembly
64	Spain	Cortes
65	Sudan	National Assembly
66	Suninam	Staten
67	Sweden	Riksdag
68	Switzerland	Federal Assembly (Nationairat and Standerat)
69	Syria	People's Council
70	Tunisia	Grand National Assembly
71	U.S.A.	Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
72	Vanuatu	Representative Assembly
73	Venezuela	National Congress
74	Vietnam	National Assembly
75	Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo)	National Legislative Council
76	Zambia	National Assembly

Useful toll free numbers

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Airlines Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Indian Airlines – 1800 180 1407

Jet Airways – 1800 22 5522

SpiceJet – 1800 180 3333

Air India — 1800 22 7722

KingFisher – 1800 180 0101

Automobiles Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Mahindra Scorpio – 1800 22 6006

Maruti – 1800 111 515

Tata Motors – 1800 22 5552

Windshield Experts – 1800 11 3636

Banks Toll Free Phone Numbers :

ABN AMRO – 1800 11 2224

Canara Bank – 1800 44 6000

Citibank – 1800 44 2265

Corporatin Bank – 1800 443 555

Development Credit Bank – 1800 22 5769

HDFC Bank – 1800 227 227

ICICI Bank – 1800 333 499

ICICI Bank NRI – 1800 22 4848

IDBI Bank – 1800 11 6999

Indian Bank – 1800 425 1400

ING Vysya – 1800 44 9900

Kotak Mahindra Bank – 1800 22 6022

Lord Krishna Bank – 1800 11 2300

Punjab National Bank – 1800 122 222

State Bank of India – 1800 44 1955

Syndicate Bank – 1800 44 6655

Cell Phones Toll Free Phone Numbers :

BenQ – 1800 22 08 08

Bird CellPhones – 1800 11 7700

Motorola MotoAssist – 1800 11 1211

Nokia – 3030 3838

Sony Ericsson – 3901 1111

Computers/IT Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Adrenalin – 1800 444 445

AMD – 1800 425 6664

Apple Computers – 1800 444 683

Canon – 1800 333 366

Cisco Systems – 1800 221 777

Compaq – HP – 1800 444 999

Data One Broadband – 1800 424 1800

Dell – 1800 444 026

Epson – 1800 44 0011

eSys – 3970 0011

Genesis Tally Academy – 1800 444 888

HCL – 1800 180 8080

IBM – 1800 443 333

Lexmark – 1800 22 4477

Marshal’s Point – 1800 33 4488

Microsoft – 1800 111 100

Microsoft Virus Update – 1901 333 334

Seagate – 1800 180 1104

Symantec – 1800 44 5533

TVS Electronics – 1800 444 566

WeP Peripherals – 1800 44 6446

Wipro – 1800 333 312

xerox – 1800 180 1225

Zenith – 1800 222 004

Couriers/Packers & Movers Toll Free Phone Numbers :

ABT Courier – 1800 44 8585

AFL Wizz – 1800 22 9696

Agarwal Packers & Movers – 1800 11 4321

Associated Packers P Ltd – 1800 21 4560

DHL – 1800 111 345

FedEx – 1800 22 6161

Goel Packers & Movers – 1800 11 3456

UPS – 1800 22 7171

Education Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Edu Plus – 1800 444 000

Hindustan College – 1800 33 4438

NCERT – 1800 11 1265

Vellore Institute of Technology – 1800 441 555

Amity University NCR Delhi – 1800 110 000

Healthcare Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Best on Health – 1800 11 8899

Dr Batras – 1800 11 6767

GlaxoSmithKline – 1800 22 8797

Johnson & Johnson – 1800 22 8111

Kaya Skin Clinic – 1800 22 5292

LifeCell – 1800 44 5323

Manmar Technologies – 1800 33 4420

Pfizer – 1800 442 442

Roche Accu-Chek – 1800 11 45 46

Rudraksha – 1800 21 4708

Varilux Lenses – 1800 44 8383

VLCC – 1800 33 1262

Home Appliances Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Aiwa/Sony – 1800 11 1188

Anchor Switches – 1800 22 7979

Blue Star – 1800 22 2200

Bose Audio – 1800 11 2673

Bru Coffee Vending Machines – 1800 44 7171

Daikin Air Conditioners – 1800 444 222

DishTV – 1800 12 3474

Faber Chimneys – 1800 21 4595

Godrej – 1800 22 5511

Grundfos Pumps – 1800 33 4555

LG – 1901 180 9999

Philips – 1800 22 4422

Samsung – 1800 113 444

Sanyo – 1800 11 0101

Voltas – 1800 33 4546

WorldSpace Satellite Radio – 1800 44 5432

Hotel Reservations Toll Free Phone Numbers :

GRT Grand – 1800 44 5500

InterContinental Hotels Group – 1800 111 000

Marriott – 1800 22 0044

Sarovar Park Plaza – 1800 111 222

Taj Holidays – 1800 111 825

Insurance Toll Free Phone Numbers :

AMP Sanmar – 1800 44 2200

Aviva – 1800 33 2244

Bajaj Allianz – 1800 22 5858

Chola MS General Insurance – 1800 44 5544

HDFC Standard Life – 1800 227 227

LIC – 1800 33 4433

Max New York Life – 1800 33 5577

Royal Sundaram – 1800 33 8899

SBI Life Insurance – 1800 22 9090

Mattresses Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Kurl-on – 1800 44 0404

Sleepwell – 1800 11 2266

Investments/Finance Toll Free Phone Numbers :

CAMS – 1800 44 2267

Chola Mutual Fund – 1800 22 2300

Easy IPO’s – 3030 5757

Fidelity Investments – 1800 180 8000

Franklin Templeton Fund – 1800 425 4255

J M Morgan Stanley – 1800 22 0004

Kotak Mutual Fund – 1800 222 626

LIC Housing Finance – 1800 44 0005

SBI Mutual Fund – 1800 22 3040

Sharekhan – 1800 22 7500

Tata Mutual Fund – 1800 22 0101

Paints Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Asian Paints Home Solutions – 1800 22 5678

Berger Paints Home Decor – 1800 33 8800

Teleshopping Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Asian Sky Shop – 1800 22 1800

Jaipan Teleshoppe – 1800 11 5225

Tele Brands – 1800 11 8000

VMI Teleshopping – 1800 447 777

WWS Teleshopping – 1800 220 777

Travel Toll Free Phone Numbers :

Club Mahindra Holidays – 1800 33 4539

Cox & Kings – 1800 22 1235

God TV Tours – 1800 442 777

Kerala Tourism – 1800 444 747

Kumarakom Lake Resort – 1800 44 5030

Raj Travels & Tours – 1800 22 9900

Sita Tours – 1800 111 911

SOTC Tours – 1800 22 3344

UPS :

APC – 1800 44 4272

Numeric – 1800 44 3266

Indian Railways :

Indian Railway General Enquiry 139

Indian Railway Central Enquiry 139

Indian Railway Reservation 139

Others Important Helplines :

Consumer Helpline – 1800 11 4000

loreal garnier – 1800 223 000

KONE Elevator – 1800 444 666

Indane – 1800 44 51 15

Aavin – 1800 44 3300

Pedigree – 1800 11 2121

Kodak India – 1800 22 8877

Domino’s Pizza – 1800 111 123

World Vision India – 1800 444 550

Telecom Monitoring Cell – 1800 110 420

Tribes in India

2011-08-03T19:33:00.000+05:30

Abhor	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Abujmaria	Known variously as Abudjamadis, Abujmariya and Hill Maria, these tribes are found in the geographically inaccessible areas of Abujhmar Mountains and Kutrumar Hills in the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh. They speak a Dravidian language called Abujmaria. The Hill Maria tribes are considered as a sub-group of the Gonds, who are historically the most important group of original Indian tribes.
Adivasika	These are forest dwellers found mainly in Northern Kerala, near Calicut.
	These tribes inhabit the Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts of Gujarat and are believed to be the descendants of the Rajputs who married Bhil women. The name "Girasia" refers to the Rajput and other landholders living in the Gujarat and Rajasthan regions. Their language, also known as Adivasi Girasia, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bhil subgroup.
Adivasi Girasia
Adiyan	Also known as Eravas, these people are found in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Ahirs	These people are the traditional dairymen caste of Uttar Pradesh.
Aka	These tribes are found mainly in the Andaman Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and also in parts of Assam. The Aka people are so named for a black, sticky paint they use on their faces. They used to speak Aka (now an extinct language) on the Andaman Islands and Aka Lel, a dialect of Nisi, in Assam. The Aka people in Assam celebrate the Nechido Festival every year on the first day of November.
Alars	Also known as Chathans or Chatans, these tribes are found in the Kerala-Palghat region. They speak Alarand Malayalam.
Amindivi	: These tribes are found in Lakshadweep.
Amri Karib	: Known by different names like Mikir, Manchati, Mikiri, Karbi, these tribes are found in the Mikir and Rengma Hills of Assam. They speak Amri, a dialect of Mikir.
Anal	These tribes are found in Manipur.
Angami:	These tribes are found in Kohima, the capital of Nagaland.
Ao	The Ao tribe is found in the Mokokchung District of Nagaland. The main festivals of the Aos are Moatsuand Tsungremmong celebrated during the first week of May and August, respectively.
Apatani	These tribes, also described as Apa, are found south of the Tibetan border in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Their language is also known as Apatani. These tribes are renowned for their cultivation, especially the Terraced rice fields, which are located along the sides of the valleys.
Arnatas	Also known as Aranadan and Eranadans, these tribes are found in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. They speak Aranatan and Malayalam.
Asurs	These tribes are found in Bihar and West Bengal.
Awadhi	Known by different names like Abadi, Abohi, Ambodhi, Baiswari, Kojali and Kosali, these people are found in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Uttar Pradesh. They speak in Awadhi, which is a dialect of Hindi.
Badaga	Also known as Badag, Badagu, Badugu and Vadagu, these tribes are found in the Nilgiri and Kunda Hills of Tamil Nadu. Their language is also called Badaga. The name "Badaga", meaning "northerner," was given to this group during the Middle Ages when they migrated from the Mysore plains to the Nilgiri Hills in southern Tamil Nadu.
Bagri	These tribes are found mainly in western India, in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. They are an Indo-Aryan people, and their language is also called Bagri.
	These tribes are now found in Kachi Koli in Pakistan and are known by other names like Kachi Koli, Kuchikoli, Vaghri and Vagari. They speak Bajania, a dialect of Koli.
Bajania


Bakarwals	These are the nomadic tribes of Kashmir
Baiga	Known by names like Baigai, Bega and Bhumia, these people are found in Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Their language is also known as Baiga.
Banchharas	These tribes are found in Madhya Pradesh.
Bangni	The Bangni (also known as the Dafla or the Nishi) inhabit the hills of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Their native language, Nisi, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family.
Bangri	These tribes are located mainly in the states of Haryana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi. Their language, Bangaru, is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family.
Banjaras	Known by different names in different places like Lamani, Lambadi, Bangala, Banjori, Banjuri, Gohar-Herkeri, Goola, Gurmarti, Kora, Labhani Muka, Lambara, Lavani, Lemadi, Lumadale, Sugali, Tanda, Vanjari, Waji, Gormati and Singali, these tribes are mainly concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kamataka, Orissa and West Bengal. Their common language is Lamani.
Barda	These tribes are found in Gujarat.
Bavacha	These tribes are found in Gujarat.
Barel	The Barels are considered to be the sub-group of Bhils. They speak Barel language.
Bathudi	The Bathudis live primarily in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Kendujhargarh and Balasore in the state of Orissa. Most Bathudis are bilingual, speaking their native language, Bathudi and Oriya.
Bauria	The Baurias are also considered as a sub-group of Bhils. Their language is also known as Bauria.
Beda	These tribes are found in Ladakh
Bedia	These tribes are found in Madhya Pradesh
Bettakurubas	These tribes are found in Karnataka
Bhadrawahi	These tribes are located predominantly in Jammu and Kashmir
Bhils	The Bhils are considered as the third largest and most widely distributed tribal groups in India. The name "Bhil" was probably derived from the word villu or billu, which in most Dravidian languages is the word for "bow." The bow has long been a characteristic weapon of the Bhil because the tribesmen always carry their bows and arrows with them. The Bhil tribes inhabit some of the most remote and inaccessible areas of India.There are two divisions of Bhils: the Central or "pure" Bhils, and the Eastern or Rajput Bhils. The Central Bhils live in the mountain regions in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. They are known as the connecting link between the Gujaratis and the Rajasthanis and are one of the largest tribal communities of India. They speak Bhili, which is an Indo-Aryan language. The Bhils are known to have fought against the Mughals, Marathas and the British.
Bhilala	The Bhilala are located in several states in western central Indian but mainly in the districts of Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar of Madhya Pradesh. Their language, also called Bhilala, is a sub-group of the Bhil language, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. The Bhilala are considered as nobility among the Bhil, since they are the direct descendants of the Rajput chiefs who took the daughters of the Bhil chieftains to be their wives.
Bhim	These are the tribes found mainly in the eastern state of Tripura.
Bhinjwari	The Binjhwaris or the Binjhals, live in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal. Although their native language is Binjhwari, many of these people also speak Chhattisgarhi.
Bhotia	: Known by names like Lahuli, Tinan, Lahauli, Rangloi and Gondla, these tribes are found in Himalayan Mountain ranges of Himachal Pradesh. They speak in Lahuli and Tinan.
Bhutia	These are Buddhists tribes found in Assam, along the border with Tibet and in Nepal. They are also known by the names Lhasa, Dalai, Pohbetian and Tebilian. They speak Tibetan.
Birhor	These tribes are found in the Hazaribagh, Singbhum and Ranchi districts of Bihar and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal.
Bison Horn Maria	These are a small tribal group located mainly in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra and also in parts of Madhya Pradesh. The designation "Bison Horn Maria" is derived from a distinctive headdress worn at marriage dances and adorned with the horns of now extinct wild bison. Many scholars believe that the Bison Horn Maria is part of the Gond tribe, while others consider them to be an earlier indigenous tribe assimilated by the Gonds.
Bombas	These are the Nomads inhabiting the rugged hills of Kashmir.
Boro (Bodo)	These tribes are found in Assam.
Braj Bhakha	These tribes are located mainly in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Their language,Braj Bhasha, is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family.
Bunde Soligas	These tribes are found in Karnataka.
Chakmas	Also known as Takam, these tribes are found in Assam, Meghalya, Tripura, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh. They speak Chakma language.
Chamars	These tribes are known by different names like Chamari, Chambhar Boli and Chambhari. These are found in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Their language is known as Chamari.
Chameali Pahari	The Chameali Pahari tribes are primarily located in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Changs	These tribes are found in the Tuensang District of Nagaland.
Chang-Pas	These are the tribes found in the northern upland valleys of the Indus River in Jammu & Kashmir. They speak in Tibetan dialect.
Charan	These tribes are found in Gujarat.
Chekhasang	Chekhasang and Pouchry Tribes are found in the Phek District of Nagaland. Chakhesang culture and customs are quite different from the other Naga tribes. There are evidences of the existence of head-hunting among the villagers in the ancient days.
Chenchus	Known variously as Chenchucoolam, Chenchwar, Chenswar and Choncharu, these tribes are found primarily in the state of Andhra Pradesh and also in parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa. Their native language (also called Chenchus) belongs to the Dravidian language family. Many also speak Telugu.
Cheros	These tribes, which claim to be the descendants of the Rajputs, are found in Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and are primarily concentrated in Palamau, Shahabad, Champaran, and other surrounding districts. The Chero speak a language that is also called Chero.
Chettier	Chettier is the Hindu fishermen caste of Tamil Nadu.
Chola Naickans	Also known as Chola Naikar, these tribes are found mainly in the Nilambur jungle in Kerala. They speakCanarese, a dialect of Kannada.
Dafla	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Damarias	These tribes are found in Rajasthan.
Deori	These tribes live along the Brahmaputra River and are primarily located in the states of Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. They speak a Tibeto-Burman language that is also called Deori. The Deori are one of the four divisions of the Chutiya people group and are also related to the Eastern Bodo-Garo.
Dhodia	The Dhodia are located in the extreme southeastern districts of Gujarat, in the hilly regions south of the Tapi River and in Dadra & Nager Haveli. The Dhodia are the highest ranking tribe and the third largest tribal group in Gujarat. They speak Dhodia, a Bhil language.
Dhurwa	These tribes are forest dwellers found mainly in the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh and Koraput district of Orissa. They are considered as a sub-group of the Gond, the largest tribal group in India. They speak Parjiin three dialects.
Dimasa	These are Proto-Austroloid tribes found in Meghalaya and Mizoram.
Dog-Pa	Also known as Srin, Shrin and Brog-Pa, these tribes are found in Jammu and Kashmir. Their language is known as Shrin.
Dogris	These tribes are known by various names like Dogri-Kangri, Dhogaryali, Dogari, Dogri Jammu, Dogri Pahari, Tokkaru and Dogri-Kangra. They are mainly concentrated in Jammu and Kashmir between the Ravi and Chenab Rivers. Many Dogris also live in Pakistan. The Dogris are a hardy people, divided into several castes and sects. Their language is known as Dogri-Kangri.
Dorli	The Dorli, a sub-group of the Gonds, are concentrated in the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh. Some also live in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Their language is also called Dorli.
Dubla	The Dubla live primarily in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan. They speakDubla, a Bhil language that belongs to the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. The Dubla tribe contains twenty sub-groups, of which the Talavias have the highest social rank.
Eravallan	These tribes are found in Kerala.
Gaddi	Known by names like Bharmauri Bhadi, Pahari Bharmauri, Panchi Brahmauri Rajput, Gaddyal and Gadi, these tribes are found in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Their language is also known as Gaddi.
Galong	These tribes, also known as Gallong, Gallo, Galo and Adi-Galo, live in Assam, along the Tibet border area. Their language is also known as Galong.
Gamit	These tribes are found in Karnataka.
Gamti	This is one of the Bhil tribes that live mainly in the Surat and Broach districts of Gujarat, India. Among the Bhil, the word gamta means "headman," possibly giving the Gamti a feeling of superiority over other Bhil tribes. They speak Gamti, which is one of the Bhil languages.
Garhwali	The Garhwali or the Central Pahari are a hardworking and often isolated people who are primarily located in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Garos	The Garos or Achiks belong to the Bodo family of the Tibeto-Burman race and are found in Meghalaya. They are said to have migrated from Tibet.
Gonds	The Gonds comprise the largest tribal group in India. Historically, the Gonds were the most important group of the original Indian tribes. In the 1500's, several Gond dynasties were established and their rajas or kings ruled like Hindu princes. The Gonds were conquered by the Muslim armies in 1592 but their tribes were not disturbed by the changes in administration.
Gongte	These tribes are found in Manipur.
Gosains	These tribes are found in Madhya Pradesh.
Gotte	These tribes, also known as Podia Koya, are found in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh. Their language is Podia Koya, which is a dialect of Koya.
Gracias	These tribes, known by different names like Garasia, Rajput Girasia, Dungri Grasia and Dhungri Bhili are found in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Their language is known as Garasia.
Gujjars	Known by names like Gujuri, Gujer, Gojri, Kashmir Gujari and Rajasthani Gujuri, these are semi-nomadic tribal people found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their language is known as Gujuri (also called Parimuand Hindki). Some historians believe that the Gujjars were the inhabitants of Georgia (Gurjia) a territory situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the former Soviet Union. They left that area and migrated through central Asia, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, crossed the Khyber Pass and entered the Indian Sub-continent. Several settlements are named after them, e.g. Gujar (Central Asia), Juzrs (Gurjara), Gujrabad, Gujru, Gujristan, Gujrabas, Gujdar-Kotta, Gujar-Garh, Gujarkhan and Gujranwala in Iran and Afghanistan.
Halam	Halam or Malsum tribes are found in Tripura. They originally hailed from one of the branches of Kukis.
Hanjis	These tribes are found along the Jhelum River in the Kashmir valley.
Harauti	The Harautis are located mainly in the Kota area of Rajasthan and also in parts of Madhya Pradesh.
Hilpulayan	These tribes are found in Kerala.
Hmar	These tribes are found in Mizoram.
Ho	The word "ho" means man. These tribes, which are also known as Lanka Kol and Bihar Ho, are found mainly in the Singbhum district of Bihar and theMayurbhanj district of Orissa, besides parts of West Bengal, Bangladesh and Nepal. Their language is also called Ho. These are classified as Caucasian.
Irula	In the Tamil, the name Irula means "people of darkness." These tribes are known by different names likeEravallan, Erukala, Irava, Irular, Irular Mozhi, Iruliga, Iruligar, Korava, Yerukula and Kad Chensu. They are mainly concentrated in Chingleput at the Nilgiri foothills in Tamil Nadu. They are also found in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Their language, Irula, is related to Tamil and Kannada.
Jarawa	(Also known as the Onges) These tribes are found on the Rutland Island and the South Andaman Island. They speak the Jarawa language.
Jarawa
Jatapu	The Jatapu are mainly concentrated in the Srikakulam and Vishkapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Some communities are also found in the states of Tamil Nadu and Orissa. Their original language is called Jatapubut most of the Jatapu speakers have adopted Telugu as their mother tongue.
Jats	These people form the dominant group in Haryana.
Juangs	These tribes are found in the Banspal taluk of the Keonjhar district of Orissa.
Jaunsaris	These tribes are found in Uttar Pradesh.
Kaikadi	The Kaikadis are a small tribal group located mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Their language (also called Kaikadi) is a member of the Dravidian language family.
Kamar	These are the scheduled tribes found primarily in the Raipur and Rewa districts of Madhya Pradesh. Their native language is also called Kamar.
Karbi	These tribes are found in Assam.
Kashtwari	They are located mainly in Jammu and Kashmir. Their language is known as Kishtwari.
Katakari	They are located mainly in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their language is also known as Katkari.
Kathodia	These tribes are found in Dadra & Nager Haveli.
Kattunaickans	These tribes are found in Kerala.
Kawar	The Kawars are primarily located in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra. Their language,Kawari, is an Indo-Aryan language that is believed to be a dialect of Halbi.
Khambas	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Khamtis	Known by various names like Kham-Tai, Hkamti, Khampti, Khamti Shan, Khantis and Tai Kam Ti, these tribes are found in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Myanmar. Their language is described as Khamti.
Khandeshi	They are located mainly in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Their language is also known as Khandesi.
Khasis	These tribes are found in Khasi-Jaintia hills in Meghalaya, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and parts of West Bengal. They are also described by other names like Khasi Paharis, Khuchia, Kassi, Khasa and Khashi. Their language is Khasi. Khasis follow the matrilineal system of lineage.
Khiamungans	These tribes are found in the Tuensang District of Nagaland.
Khirwar	The Khirwar, a sub-group of the Gonds, live in the Sarguja district at the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Some speak the local Hindi dialect in addition to their own language, Khirwari.
Khorkhas	These tribes are found in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kipgen	These tribes are found in Manipur.
Kiutze	These tribes are located mostly near the Myanmar-Tibet border. Their language is known as Rawang.
Koch	These tribes live primarily in the states of Assam and Tripura. Their language, Koch, belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family. In the sixteenth century, the Koch tribes had established a dynasty in the Bihar region, but were driven from power by the Muslims and the Ahoms. Today, they prefer the title Rajbansi, which means "men of royal blood," because of their ruling ancestors.
Kodagu	The Kodagu (also known as the Coorg) live in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka. The word kodagumeans "situated to the west," and their district, Coorg, stands in the ridges of the Western Ghat Mountains. They speak a Dravidian language that is also called Kodagu.
Kadamukudy	These tribes are found in Kadamukudy Island, near Kerala.
Kodavas	The Kodavas are the people living in the Kodagu region of Karnataka, which lies in the Western Ghats.
Kokni	Also known as Kukna, Kanara and Kokna, these tribes are found in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra and in the Dang district of Gujarat. Their language is known as Kukna.
Kolam	Known by the names like Kolamboli, Kulme and Kolmi, these tribes are found mainly inhabit the hills and plains of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. They also live in the Yavatmal, Wardha and Nanded districts of Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh. They speak a Dravidian language called Kolami but can also speak Marathi, Telugu or Gondi. Around the twelfth century, the Kolam served as priests for the Gonds, representing some of their important gods.
Koli	These tribes are found in Dadra & Nager Haveli.
Konyaks	These tribes are found in the Mon district of Nagaland. Konayaks are adept artisans and skilled craftsmen. These tribes are ruled by hereditary chiefs known as Anghs. The most colourful festival of the Konyaks is called Aoling Monyu and it is observed during the first week of April every year.
Koras	These tribes are found in Bihar.
Korku	Known variously as Bondeya, Bopchi, Korki, Kurku and Kuri, these tribes are found in the southern Betul, Hoshangabad and East Nimar districts of southern Madhya Pradesh and Amravati, Buldana and Akola districts of northern Maharashtra. Their language is also known as Korku.
Korwa	The Korwas are one of the scheduled tribes of Central India. They live in the hills, valleys, and forests of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. They speak a Munda language, also called Korwa, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family. There are two very distinct tribes among the Korwas: the Diharia (or Kisan), who are farmers, and the Paharia (or Benwaria), who live in the hills. These two tribes do not inter-marry.
Kota	Kota or Kotta are the tribes found in the Nilgiri Hills of Kotagiri, in Tamil Nadu. Their language is also known as Kota.
Kotwali	These tribes are found in Gujarat.
Koya	The Koyas live in the forests, plains, and valleys on both sides of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Many also live in Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. The language of these tribes is also called Koya and is closely related to Gondi and has been strongly influenced by Telugu.
Kui	Known by various names like Kuy, Kodi, Khond, Khondi, Khondo, Kanda, Kodulu and Kuinga, these tribes are found in the Udayagiri area of Orissa, and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. They are a subgroup of a Dravidian tribe known as the Kond, which literally means "mountaineers." They speak Kui, a Dravidian language.
Kuki	These tribes are found in the Kohima district of Nagaland and parts of Manipur and Assam.
Kulu Pahari	Known by names like Kauli, Kulu Boli, Kulu Pahari, Kulu Pahari, Kullui Pahar, Pahari Kullu, Phari Kulu, Kulvi, Kullui and Kulwali, these tribes are found primarily in Himachal Pradesh. They speak Kului and Hindi.
Kumaoni	These tribes are also known as Kumauni, Kumau, Kumawani, Kumgoni, Kumman and Kunayaoni and are found in Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Nagaland.
Kurichiya	These tribes are found in the forest areas near Calicut, Tellichery and Waynad in Kerala where they were the earliest known inhabitants. They are also found in parts of Tamil Nadu. Their language is called Kurichiya, although many also speak Malayalam. It is said that their name comes from the word kuri, which is the sandalwood that they put on their foreheads and chests.
Kurumba	These tribes are mainly concentrated in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu and also found in parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. They are also known as Kuruba, Kurumban, Kurumvari and Southern Kanares. The Kuruba are considered closely related to the Pallavas of the eighth century. As the Pallava rule declined, the Kuruba's forefathers scattered over a wide area of southern India and became culturally distinct. They speak a Dravidian language that is called Kurumba or Southern Kannada.
Labans	Described variously as Banajaras, Lambadi, Gola, Wanji and Singali, these tribes are found in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal. They speak a language called Lamani.
Labbai	These people are found in Tamil Nadu and claim to be the descendants of Arab traders.
Ladakhi	These tribes are found in Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir.
Lahauli	These tribes are found in Lahaul Valley of Himachal Pradesh.
Lalung	The Lalung tribe lives in the states of Assam and Meghalaya. They are divided into two main sub-divisions: those who live in the hills and those who live on the plains. The two have developed distinctions due to differences in terrain and ecology. The Lalung belong to a race known as the Bodo. According to legend, their ancestors migrated from Tibet and followed the path of the Brahmaputra River south into the hills of Assam. Later, perhaps during the mid-1600's they migrated to the plains.
Lambada	These tribes are known by various names like Lambadi, Lavani, Lemadi, Lumadale, Banjara, Bangala, Banjori, Banjuri, Gohar- Herkeri, Goola, Gurmarti, Kora, Gormati, Singali, Sugalis, Tanda, Vanjara and Wanji. The Lambadas originated in Rajasthan but are now concentrated in Andhra Pradesh. These are also found in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal. They speak Lamani and Telugu.
Lepcha	Known by different names like Rong, Rongke, Rongpa and Nunpa, the people of this tribe are found in Sikkim, Kalimpong district of West Bengal, Nepal and Bhutan. Their language is known as Lepcha.
Lhoba	These tribes, which are found mostly in Arunachal Pradesh, are part of the Lhoba tribe of China. Their language, Lhoba, is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
Lohar	These tribes are found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. They are known by various names such as Gade Lohar, Gaduliya Lohar, Lohpitta Rajput Lohar, Bagri Lohar and Bhubaliya Lohar. Their language is known as Gade Lohar.
Lothas	Lothas are the tribes found in the Wokha district of Nagaland. They are known for their colourful dances and songs particularly Shanta, Tokhu Emong and Pikhuchak.
Lushi	The Lushi (Shenlung) tribes are found in Mizoram and claim Jewish ancestry.
Madiga	These people belong to Andhra Pradesh and are known by different names like Gentoo, Tailangi, Telangire, Telgi, Tengu, Terangi and Tolangan.
Malakaras	The word "Malakkara" means "mighty people of the forests". These tribes, which are also known as Mala Muthas, are found in Kerala. They speak Malamutha and Malayalam.
Malappanackers	These are the tribes found in Kerala. They speak Malappanackan and Malayalam.
Malmis	These tribes are found in Lakshadweep.
Malto	Known as Malti, Maltu, Malpaharia and Rajmahalia, these tribes are found in Rajmahal hills in Northeast Bihar and West Bengal. Their language is also called Malto.
Manipuri Jews	This community sees itself as descendants of the Menashe Tribe (which is considered as one of the 10 lost tribes of Jews). These people have Chinese appearance and they claim that after their forefathers were exiled and enslaved by the Assyrians they somehow escaped from slavery and moved initially to China and later to India. Known as the "Children of Menmasseh," they live on the border of India and Burma, and a majority of them are believed to be Messianic Jews (believers in Jesus Christ -- Yeshua). Their number is estimated to be about 1.2 to 1.5 million. Israelis refer to this people by the name Shinlung or Lushi.
Manjhi	These tribes live mainly in the Gumla district of Bihar and parts of West Bengal and Assam. Their primary language is Manjhi, but they also speak Sadri and Bihari.
Mappilla (Moplas)	These are the Muslim tribes found in Kerala's northern coastal towns and the Lakshadweep Islands off the Malabar Coast. The Laccadive Mappilla are unique in that they have maintained a matrilineal society (line of descent is traced through the women) in spite of their Islamic beliefs.
Maria	The Maria or Muria are a sub-group of Gonds and live in the forests and hills of central India. They live along the Indrawati River, which flows through the Bastar district of Madhya Pradesh. They are divided into two groups: the Maria and the Bison Horn Maria. The two groups have very little contact with each other, except during certain annual festivals.
Mauris	These tribes are found in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mavchi	The Mavchis are a sub-group of Bhils. Their language is also called Mavchi or Mawchi.
Mech	The Mech are mainly found in the forests and hills of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Coochbehar districts of West Bengal and also parts of Assam. They are related to the Bodo and Kachari tribes and speak Bodo, a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
Meithei	These tribes are also known as Mitei, Manipuris, Kathe, Kathi and Ponna, and are found in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, besides Bangladesh and Myanmar. These tribes are of Mongol origin and speak a Tibeto-Burman language called Meithei.
Melacheris	These tribes are found in Lakshadweep.
Meos	These are the rural tribes concentrated in the districts of Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan and in the Gurgaon district in Haryana. They speak in Marwari (Rajasthani).
Mikir	These tribes, which are also known by the names Mikiri, Manchati and Karbi, are found in the Mikir and Rengma Hills of Assam. Their language is called Mikir.
Mina	These tribes are found in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Minicoy	These tribes are found in the Minicoy islands of Lakshadweep.
Mishing	These tribes are found in the Majuli Island of Arunachal Pradesh. They are also known as Miri. They speak Miri, a dialect of Adi.
Mishmi	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Mog	These are the Buddhist tribes found in Tripura, who claim to have originated from
Mog	Arakan.
Mon	These tribes are found in the Ladakh region.
Monpa	Known by different names like Moinba, Monba, Mompa, Momba, Menpa and
	Memba, these tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Tibet. They
	speak a language called Moinba.
Mru	The Mrus are primarily located in the region where the borders of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar intersect. They are concentrated in the Chittagong Hills in Bangladesh, Arakan Yoma district of Myanmar and in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The native language of these tribes is also called Mru.
	These tribes are also known by different names like Mundari, Mandari, Munari, Horo, Mondari and Colh. These are known as Adivasis in Orissa. They are found mainly in southern and western parts of the Ranchi district of Bihar and also in the states of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Tripura and West Bengal and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, besides Nepal and Bangladesh. Their language is calledMundari. Mundas are the most ancient among the tribes of Bihar.
Mundas

Nahari	They are located mainly in the Raipur, Bilaspur, and Sambalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh, as well as parts of Orissa.
Naikda	These tribes are found in Dadra & Nager Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Neethakani	These tribes are found mainly in the Neelwai vilage of Andhra Pradesh.
Nicobarese	These are the people of Mongoloid stock found on the Car Nicobar Island. These tribes are also known as Carand Pu.
Nihal	These tribes are found in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and are also known as Nihali, Nahal, Nahali andKalto.
Nimadi	These tribes are located mainly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Nishi	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Nocte	These are the tribes found in Nagaland and are known by other names like Borduria, Jaipuria, Paniduria, Mohongia and Namsangia.
Noniya Caste	The Noniyas are the traditional earth-workers of Uttar Pradesh.
Ojhas	These tribes are found in Madhya Pradesh.
Onges	These tribes are found on the Southern Andaman Islands, Little Andaman Island and the three small islands to the northeast. They are also known as Jarawas and speak the Jarawa language.
Oraon (Kurukh)	These tribes are found in Bihar and Orissa.
Oriya	These tribes are found mainly in Orissa and parts of Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Andhra Pradesh. They are also known as Odri, Odrum, Ouya, Orissa, Uriya, Utkali, Vadiy and Yudhia.
Padhar	These tribes are found in Gujarat.
Paharis	These tribes are found along the foothills of the Himalayas, mainly in Himachal Pradesh.
Pangwalis	These tribes are found in Himachal Pradesh.
Panika	These tribes live primarily in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh and are divided into two broad groups: the Kabirpanthi and the Sakta.
Paniyan	These tribes are found in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and are also known as Pania and Panyah.
Parhiya	These are mainly found on the hilltop forests of Bihar.
Pardhi	These tribes are known by different names as Bahelia, Chita Pardhi, Lango Pardhi, Paidia, Paradi, Paria, Phans Pardhi, Takankar and Takia. These tribes are found in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their language is also described as Pardhi.
Pauri Bhuiya	These tribes, who are also known Bhuiya, Bhuinhar, Bhuinya, Bhuiyali, Bhumia, Bhungiyas andBhuyan Oriya, are located in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Pawi	These tribes are found in Mizoram.
Phoms	These tribes are found in the Tuensang district of Nagaland.
Poouch	These tribes are found in Jammu & Kashmir. They speak Poochi, Urdu and Dogri languages.
Pramalai Kallar	These tribes are found in Tamil Nadu.
Porja	The Porja (or Konda-Dora) tribes are located in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, and Orissa. They speak a Dravidian language called Konda-Dora, (konda meaning "hill" and dora meaning "leader"). This name was given to them because of their descent from the great Kondh tribe. The Porja are well established as two groups: the Pedda Kondalu and Chinna Kondalu. The Pedda Kondalu have retained most aspects of their traditional culture, however, the Chinna Kondalu group has been heavily influenced by the Telugu.
Purig-Pa	These are people of Tibetan origin found in the Kargil district of Jammu & Kashmir. The people prefer to be culturally and linguistically identified with Tibet, although religiously with Islam.
Rabari	These are semi-nomadic people of Rajasthan.
Rabha	These tribes are found in Assam.
Raji	These tribes are found in Uttar Pradesh. Their language is also known as Raji.
Ralte	These tribes are found in Mizoram.
Reddy	These people are found mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. They are also known by other names like Mukha-Rora, Deddi-Dora and Conta-Reddi.
Rengma	These tribes are found in Tseminyu in the Kohima district of Nagaland. The Rengmas celebrate the popular festival of Ngada every year in November.
Riang	The Riangs are primarily located in the Deotamura ranges of eastern and central Tripura. Some tribes also live in Assam. These are considered as the second largest tribe of Tripura and the first inhabitants there. They speak a Baric language that is also called Riang.
Saharia	The Saharia or Sor live primarily in the state of Madhya Pradesh. They are also found in the hills of the Ganjam district of southern Orissa, as well as in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam. They speak a Munda language that belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family.
Sangtams	These tribes are found in the Tuensang District of Nagaland.
Santhals	These tribes are found in Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, West Bengal and Assam, besides Bangladesh and Nepal. They are also known by other names like Hor, Har, Satar, Santhali, Sandal, Sangtal, Sentali, Samtali and Santhial. They speak Santhali. They are considered as the largest tribe in India. The basis of Santhal religion is the belief that they are totally surrounded by bongas or spirits and frequently are visited by deceased ancestors.
Saurashtras	Saurashtrians are mostly silk weavers and silk thread merchants, originated in the Saurashtra region (present day Gujarat, and parts of Maharashtra) in Northern India and later settled in Madurai and spread to Trichy, Salem, Kumbakonam and other surrounding areas of Tamil Nadu few centuries ago. Their native language, also known as Sourashtra, is a pre-Gujarati language, which shows many archaic features of Gujarati and at the same time shows influence of other Aryan languages like Konkani and Marathi and of Dravidian Telugu and Tamil.
Sema	Semas are considered to be the martial tribe among the Nagas. These tribes are concentrated in the Zunheboto district of Nagaland. Tuluni is one of the most important festivals observed by the Sema tribe in the second week of July every year.
Sentenelese	These are the tribes found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Sherdukpen	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Sherpa	The Sherpa are a Himalayan people living primarily in eastern Nepal. A few of them, however, live in the mountains of the bordering Indian state of Sikkim and in the larger hill towns of the state of West Bengal. The Sherpa language is a dialect of Tibetan, thus it is a part of the Tibeto-Burman language family.
Shin	These people are found in the Dras Valley and Gurais area in Kishenganga Valley in northern Kashmir. They speak in an Indo-Aryan language called Shina.
Shompens (Shom Peng)	These tribes live on the Great Nicobar Island. Their language is also described as Shom Peng.
Siddis	These tribes are found in Goa.
Singpho	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Solung	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Sondwari	These are the tribes found mainly in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Sourastras	Described by various names such as Saurashtra, Saurashtri and Patnuli, these tribes are found in parts of Tamil Nadu. Their spoken language is described as Saurashtra.
Subernabaniks	They represent the rich merchant classes of West Bengal. The Subernabanik women are famous for their beauty. According to legends, the Subernabaniks originated in the princely kingdom of Oudh, near Bengal, during the reign of King Adisura about 1000 AD.
Tadvi Bhil	They live in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan. Their language, known as Dhanka, belongs to the Bhil subgroup of the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. The name Tadvi literally means "one who taps the palm tree" and is used to refer to all forest tribes.
Tagin	This tribe is found in Assam. They speak a language, which is also called Tagin. Some also speakDafla or Nisi as a trade language.
Tangsa	These are the tribes found in Nagaland and in Myanmar. They are known by various names likeRangpan, Tasey and Chem Chang. Their language is Naga and Tangsa.
Tharu	These tribes are found in the northwest of Bihar and speak Tharu, a dialect of Bhojpuri.
Toda	These are the hill tribes of Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) who are very indigenous to this area. These people, who are also known as Todi orTuda, claim to be the direct descendants of the Aryans. According to some researchers, this tribe has links with the Sumerian people of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. Their language is also known asToda. Today, almost 3000 Todas live in the Blue Mountains.
Totos	These tribes are found in West Bengal.
Tripuris (Tipera)	These tribes are primarily concentrated in the plains of Tripura and are indigenous to this area. They are the largest tribe in the state, and their land once extended over much of Bengal, Assam and northern Myanmar.
Tulu	These are fair-skinned people who are found mainly in Mangalore and South Kannara districts of Karnataka. They speak a Dravidian language, also called Tulu, which lacks a script.
Ullada	These tribes are found in Kerala.
Urali	These tribes are found in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These are also known by the names Oorazhi andUrli and speak the Urali language.
Usipi	The Usipis are located predominantly in Assam and Tripura. Their language, Usipi (also known as Kok Barok), is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The Usipis are commonly characterized as Garo.
Varli	These tribes are found in Dadra & Nager Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Wagdi	The Wagdis are considered as a sub-group of Bhils. The Wagdi language, also called Wagdi, belongs to the Bhil branch of the Indo-Aryan language family.
Wancho	Known by different names like Naga Wancho, Banpara Naga and Joboka, these tribes are found in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. They speak Naga and Wancho languages.
Wars	These tribes primarily inhabit the districts East of Meghalaya. They belong to the Proto-Austroloid Mon-Khmer race.
Wattal	These tribes are found in Jammu & Kashmir.
Yanadi	The Yanadi are dark skinned short-stature people found mainly in the Nellore and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh. They speak Yanadi, which belongs to the Telugu language family. They are divided into two groups: the Manchi Yanadi, which belongs to the small superior class and the Challa Yanadi. The two groups seldom inter-marry.
Yeravas	These tribes are found in Karnataka.
Yerukala	The Yerukala live primarily in the Godivari district of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They speak Sankara-Yerukala, a Southern Dravidian language that is distinctly related to Tamil. Many of the Yerukala also speak Telugu. These tribes are also known by the namesYarukula, Yerukla, Erukala and Koraya.
Yimchungers	These tribes are found in the Tuensang District of Nagaland.
Zakhring	These tribes are found in Arunachal Pradesh.
Zanskaris	These are the Buddhist tribes, ethnically similar to Tibetans, found in the Zanskar Mountains in the Leh-Ladakh and Kargil-Purik areas of Jammu and Kashmir. They speak Zanskari, a language related to Tibetan.
Zemi Naga	The Zemi Nagas or Zeliang are the tribes found in the Upper Barak Valley of Assam and parts of Manipur and Nagaland. They speak Naga and Zeme (Zoliang) languages.

FIRST IN THE WORLD

2011-07-25T09:31:00.018+05:30

Field	Person
The First person to land on the moon	Neil A. Amstrong (U.S.A)
The First to launch search Satellite or "artificial moon"	U.S.S.R.
The first man to enter space	Late Maj. Yuri Gagarin (USSR)
The first woman cosmonaut in the world	Valentina Tereshkova
The first Woman Astronant pilot	Lt.Col.Eileen Marie Collin (US)
The first person to float in space	Alexei Leonav (Russia)
The first American astronaut (2nd in world) to floatin space	Edward White
The first Russian cosmonaut to make two space flights	Late Col. Vladimir Komarov
The first American astronaut to make two space flights	Gordon Cooper (U.S.A.)
The first manned space ship longest stay in space for 11 days	Apollo - 7 (U.S.A.)
The first manned spaceship to space flight round the moon	Apollo - 8 (U.S.A.)
The first space craft to leave solar system	Pioneer - II (U.S.A.)
The first country to launch a cosmic space rocket towards moon	U.S.S.R.
First crew transfer between orbiting space ships	Soyuz-4 and Soyuz-5 (U.S.S.R.)
The first man to stay long in space	Valery Ryumin
The first space shuttle	Columbia (U.S.A.)
The first woman to command a space shuttle mission (Columbia)	Eileen Collins (U.S.A.)
The first tourist to space	Dennis Tito (U.S.A.)

FIRST IN INDIA - WOMEN

2011-07-25T09:27:00.000+05:30

Field	Person
First Prime Minister	Mrs. Indira Gandhi
First Chief Minister of State	Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani
First Minister	Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit
First Central Minister	Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
First Speaker of Lok Sabha	Mrs. Shanno Devi
First Governor of a State	Mrs. Sarojini Naidu
First President of Indian National Congress	Dr. Annie Besant
First Indian President of Indian National Congress	Mrs.. Sarojini Naidu
First President of UN General Assembly	Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit
First Muslim to sit on the throne of Delhi	Razia Sultan
First to swim across the English Channel	Mrs. Arti Shah
First to climb Mount Everest	Bachhendri Pal
First to circumnavigate (sail round the world)	Ujwala Rai
First IAS Officer	Anna George Malhotra
First IPS Officer	Kiran Bedi
First Advocate	Cornelia Sorabji
First Judge of a High Court	Anna Chandi
First Judge of Supreme Court	Ms M. Fathima Beevi
First Chief Justice of a High Court	Ms. Leila Seth
First Doctor	Kadambini Ganguli
First editor of English newspaper	Dina Vakil
First Chief Engineer	Mrs. P.K. Thresia
First to receive a Sena Medal	Constable Bimla Devi (88 BN of CRPF) - 1990
Youngest to Climb Mount Everest	Dicky Doima (19) from Manali - 1993
First to climb Mount Everest two times	Santosh Yadav (ITBF Officer) - 1993
First Magistrate	Mrs. Omana Kunjamma
First to win Nobel Prize	Mother Theresa
First to be crowned Miss India	Reita Fariq
First to be crowned Miss Universe	Sushmita Sen
First to be crowned Miss World	Reita Faria
First DGP	Kanchan Chowdhry Bhattacharya

FIRST IN INDIA - MEN

2011-07-25T09:24:00.000+05:30

Field	Person
First Indian to swim across the English Channel	Mihir Sen
First to Climb Mount Everest	Tenzing Norgay
First to climb Mount Everest without Oxygen	Phy Dorjee
First Indian to join I.C.S. (I.C.S. now IAS)	Satyendra Nath Tagore
First Indian to get Nobel Prize	Rabindra Nath Tagore
First Indian in Space (first Indian cosmonaut)	Sqn. Ldr. Rakesh Sharma
First British Governor General	Warren Hastings
First Governor General of Free India	Lord Mountbatten
First and the last Governor General of free India	C. Rajagopalachari
First President of India	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
First Vice-President of India	Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
First Muslim President of India	Dr. Zakir Hussain
First Sikh President of India	Giani Zail Singh
First Prime Minister	Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru
First Speaker of Lok Sabha	G.V. Mavlankar
First Chief Justice of India	Justice H.L. Kania
First President of Indian National Congress	W.C. Bannerjee
First Indian to become member of Viceroy's Executive Council	Lord S.P. Sinha
First Indian to become President of International Court of Justice	Dr. Nagendra Singh
First Emperor of Moghul Dynasty	Babar
First Field Marshal	S.H.F.J. Manekshaw
First Indian Commander-in-Chief of India	Gen. K.M. Cariappa
First Chief of the Army Staff (Indian)	Sinhji
First Chief of the Naval Staff (Indian)	Vice Admiral R.D. Katari
First Chief of the Air Force Staff (India)	Subroto Mukherjee
First Indian in British Parliament	Dada Bhai Nauroji
First Indian recipient of Victoria Cross (highest award before independence)	Khudada Khan
First Indian to circumnavigate the globe	Lt. Col K.S. Rao
First Indian to reach the South Pole	Col J.K. Bajaj (1989)
First Indian to make a solo air flight	JRD Tata
First Indian to visit England	Raja Rammohan Roy (1832)
First Indian Member of House of Lords (British)	Lord S.P. Sinha
First Bar-at-Law	J.M. Tagore
First Chairman of Rajya Sabha	Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1952 - 62)
First Indian Test Cricketer	K.S. Ranjitsingh
First Air Marshall	Arjan Singh
First Judge to face impeachment in the Lock Sabha	Justice V.Ramaswami (1993)
Fastest Shorthand writer	Dr. G.D. Bhist (250 wpm)

Mineral Resources in India

2011-07-23T20:38:00.001+05:30

Mineral Belt	Location	Minerals found
North Eastern Peninsular Belt	Chota Nagpur plateau and the Orissa plateau covering the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.	Coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, copper, kyanite, chromite, beryl, apatite etc. Khullar calls this region the mineral heartland of India and further cites studies to state that: 'this region possesses India's 100 percent Kyanite, 93 percent iron ore, 84 percent coal, 70 percent chromite, 70 percent mica, 50 percent fire clay, 45 percent asbestos, 45 percent china clay, 20 percent limestone and 10 percent manganese.'
Central Belt	Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.	Manganese, bauxite, uranium, limestone, marble, coal, gems, mica, graphite etc. exist in large quantities and the net extent of the minerals of the region is yet to be assessed. This is the second largest belt of minerals in the country.
Southern Belt	Karnataka plateau and Tamil Nadu.	Ferrous minerals and bauxite. Low diversity.
South Western Belt	Karnataka and Goa.	Iron ore, garnet and clay.
North Western Belt	Rajasthan and Gujarat along the Aravali Range.	Non-ferrous minerals, uranium, mica, beryllium, aquamarine, petroleum, gypsum and emerald.

INDUSTRIES IN INDIA

2011-07-23T20:16:00.002+05:30

Cotton Textiles
Mumbai, Sholapur, Nagpur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Indore; Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore, Kanpur and Kolkata.

Jute Textiles
West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, U.P. and M.P.

Silk Textiles
Asom, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Orissa, U.P., M.P., W. Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Punjab.

Woolen Textile
The chief centres of woollen textiles are Punjab, U.P., Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal.

Sugar Industry
U.P., Bihar and some centres are there in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Punjab.

Cement Industry
Jharkhand, M.P., Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, U.P. and Orissa have some factories also.

Paper Industry
West Bengal, Maharashtra, U.P., Bihar, Orissa, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

Iron and Steel Industry
Jamshedpur, Bokaro (Jharkhand), Bhilai (Chattisgarh), Durgapur, Hirapur, Kulti, Burnpur (West Bengal), Rourkela (Orissa), Bhadrawati (Karnataka), Rourkela (Orissa) and Neyveli (Tamil Nadu).

Leather Industry
Chennai, Agra, Kolkata, Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai, Deonaar, Deevaghat.

Aluminium
Alwaye (Kerala), Muri (Jharkhand), Hirakud (Orissa), Renukoot (U.P.), Bailur (W. Bengal), Koyna Mettur (Tamilnadu) and Hirakud (Orissa).

Matches
Bareilly, Kolkata, Chennai, Gwalior and Hyderabad.

Photo Film Industry
Ootacamund (Tamil Nadu).

Glass
Ferozabad, Shikohabad, Bahjoi, Naini, Haorah, Bangalore and Belgaon.

Chemical Industry
Delhi, Pimpri, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Rishikesh, Bangalore and Amritsar.

Rubber-Goods Industry
Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ballabhgarh, Shahaganj, Chamanacheri and Ambatoor.

Locomotive Industry
Chittaranjan (West Bengal), Varanasi in U.P., Perambur (Tamil Nadu).

Automobile Industry
Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Jamshedpur, Pune and Gurgaon.

Antibiotic Industry
Rishikesh, Pimpri and Delhi.

Aircraft Manufacturing Industry
Bangalore, Kanpur, Nasik, Koraput and Hyderabad.

Fertilizers Industry
Durgapur, Kanpur, Foolpur (Uttar Pradesh), Haldia, Namrup, Rourkela, Vadodara, Barauni, Vishakhapatnam, Gorakhpur, etc.

Plastic Industry
Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Kanpur, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.

Petro-Chemical Industry
Vadodara and Mumbai, Bongaigoan, Assam

River System in India

2011-07-18T20:58:00.002+05:30

River System In India

Rivers flowing into Bay of Bengal	Rivers flowing into Arabian Sea	Rivers flowing into inner part of India
Meghna River Basin Brahmaputra River Basin Ganges River Basin West Bengal Coastal Rivers Mahanadi River Basin Godavari River Basin Andhra Pradesh Coastal Rivers Penner River Basin Kaveri River Basin Tamil Nadu Coastal Rivers	Karnataka Coastal Rivers Kerala Coastal Rivers Coastal rivers of Goa Maharashtra Coastal Rivers Tapi River Basin Narmada River Basin Mahi River Basin Sabarmati River Basin Indus River Basin	Ghaggar River in Haryana, Rajasthan Musi River at Hyderabad, India Samir River, India/ Gujarat

River	Origin	Drainage sq km Length	Remarks
Indus	Tibet, near Manasarovar.	3,21,290 709 in India	Jhelum,Cenab, Ravi, Beas & satlej are well known tributaries
Jhelum	Verinag at the Pir Panja	28,490	It flows through Kashmir valley and Wular lake
Chenab	Himachal mountains near Kulu	26,755 1180 km	It is the largest of Indus tributaries Chandra and Bhaga are 2 head streams.
Ravi	Rohtang pass	5,937 725 km
Beas	Beas Kund near Rohtang	25,900 470 km	It joins satluj near Harike
Satluj	Rakas lake	24,087 1050 km	Bakra dam and Gobind sagar lake on it.
Ganga	Gangotri	8,61,404 2525 km	Main head streams Bhagiradhi and Alakananda meet at Allahabad It is known as padma in Bangladesh
Yamuna	Yamnotri	3,59,000 1376 km	It meets Ganga at Allahabad. Delhi, Mathura and Agra are situated on its banks. Chambal, betwa & ken are important tributaries
Damodar	Chotanagpur Plateau	22,000 541 km	Formerly known as Sorrow of Bengal.
Brahmaputra	100 km South east of Manasarovar	2,40,000 2900 km	Before entering in India it is known as Tsang-po. It crosses Assam Himalayas as Dihang. Frequent floods occur.
Mahanadi	Sihawa range	857 km	The largest dam Hirkud is built across this river
Godavari	Nasik	312812 1465 km	It is the 2nd largest River system in India & Known as Dhakshina Ganga
Krishna	Mahabaleswar	258,948 1400 km	2nd largest east flowing river. Important tributaries Bhima, Tungabadra, Koyana , Khataprabha
Cauvery	Brahmagir range	87900 800 km	Cauvery basin is the most developed in terms of power and irrigation.
Narmada	Amarkantak,MP	98,796 1300 km	It is the longest west flowing river
Tapti	Betul, MP	65145 724 km	It is the 2nd largest west flowing river

The rivers of India play an important role in the lives of the Indian people. The river systems provide irrigation, potable water, cheap transportation, electricity, and the livelihoods for a large number of people all over the country. This easily explains why nearly all the major cities of India are located by the banks of rivers. The rivers also have an important role in Hindu mythology and are considered holy by all Hindus in the country. Seven major rivers along with their numerous tributaries make up the river system of India. Most of the rivers pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal; however, some of the rivers whose courses take them through the western part of the country and towards the east of the state of Himachal Pradesh empty into the Arabian Sea. Parts of Ladakh, northern parts of the Aravalli range and the arid parts of the Thar Desert have inland drainage. All major rivers of India originate from one of the three main watersheds:

» The Himalaya and the Karakoram ranges

» Vindhya and Satpura ranges and Chotanagpur plateau in central India

» Sahyadri or Western Ghats in western India

Indus River System

The Indus River originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet. Although most of the river's course runs through neighboring Pakistan, a portion of it does run through Indian territory, as do parts of the courses of its five major tributaries, listed below. These tributaries are the source of the name of the Punjab region of South Asia; the name is derived from the Persian words Punj ("five") and aab ("water"), hence the combination of the words (Punjab) means "five waters" or "land of five waters".

Beas

The Beas originates in Beas Kund, lying near the Rohtang pass. It runs past Manali and Kulu, where its beautiful valley is known as the Kulu valley. It joins the Sutlej river near Harika, after being joined by a few tributaries. The total length of the river is 615 .

Chenab

The Chenab originates from the confluence of two rivers, the Chandra and the Bhaga, It is also known as the Chandrabhaga in Himachal Pradesh. It runs parallel to the Pir It enters the plains of Punjab near Akhnur and is later joined by the Jhelum. It is further joined by the Ravi and the Sutlej in Pakistan.

Jhelum

The Jhelum originates in the south-eastern part of Kashmir, in a spring at Verinag.

Ravi

The Ravi originates near the Rotang pass in the Himalayas and follows a north-westerly course. It turns to the south-west, near Dalhousie, and then cuts a gorge in the Dhaola Dhar range entering the Punjab plain near Madhopur. It flows as a part of the Indo-Pakistan border for some distance before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab river.

Sutlej

The Sutlej originates from the Rakas Lake, which is connected to the Manasarovar lake by a stream, in Tibet. It enters Pakistan near Sulemanki, and is later joined by the Chenab. It has a total length of almost 1500 km.

The Brahmaputra River System

The Brahmaputra originates in the Mansarovar lake, also the source of the Indus and the Satluj. It is slightly longer than the Indus, but most of its course lies outside India. It flows eastward, parallel to the Himalayas. Reaching Namcha Barwa (2900m), it takes a U-turn around it and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh and known as dihang. The undercutting done by this river is of the order of 5500 metres. In India, it flows through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, and is joined by several tributaries. Every year during the rainy season, the river overflows its banks, causing widespread devastation like floods in Assam and in Bangladesh.Unlike other north Indian rivers the Brahmaputra is marked by huge deposits of silt on its bed causing it to rise. The river also shifts its channel frequently.

The Narmada River System

The Narmada or Nerbudda is a river in central India.It forms the traditional boundary between North India and South India, and is a total of 1,289 km (801 mi) long. Of the major rivers of peninsular India, only the Narmada, the Tapti and the Mahi run from east to west. Its total length through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat amounts to 1,312 kilometres (815 mi), and it empties into the Arabian Sea in the Bharuch district of Gujarat. It also forms the 'Dhuadhar Falls'where the river plunges over steep rocks.

The Tapti River System

The Taapti is a river of central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with the length of around 724 km, It rises in the eastern Satpura Range of southern Madhya Pradesh state, before emptying into the Gulf of Cambay of the Arabian Sea, in the State of Gujarat. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The principal tributaries of Tapi River are Purna River, Girna River, Panzara River, Waghur River, Bori River and Aner River. car is the rivers food.

The Godavari River System

The river with second longest course within India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh (Old) Ganga or the Dakshin (South) Ganga. The river is about 1,450 km (900 mi) long. It rises at Trimbakeshwar, near Nasik and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in Maharashtra around 380 km distance from the Arabian Sea, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. At Rajahmundry, 80 km from the coast, the river splits into two streams(Vasista which flows to Narsapur & Gautami which flows to other side pasarlapudi) thus forming a very fertile delta. Like any other major rivers in India, the banks of this river also has many pilgrimage sites, Nasik, Triyambak and Bhadrachalam, being the major ones. It is a seasonal river, widened during the monsoons and dried during the summers. Godavari river water is brownish. Some of its tributaries include Indravati River, Pranahita (Combination of Penuganga and Warda), Manjira, Bindusara and Sabari kinnerasani. Some important urban centers on its banks include Nasik, Bhadrachalam, Rajahmundry and Narsapur. The Asia's largest rail-come-road bridge on the river Godavari linking Kovvur and Rajahmundry is considered to be an engineering feat.

The Krishna River System

The Krishna is one of the longest rivers of India (about 1300 km in length). It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The traditional source of the river is a spout from the mouth of a statue of a cow in the ancient temple of Mahadev in Mahabaleshwar. Its most important tributary is the Tungabhadra River, which itself is formed by the Tunga and Bhadra rivers that originate in the Western Ghats. Other tributaries include the Koyna, Bhima, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and Dudhganga rivers. In 2009 River Krishna has seen the worst hit floods in 100 years

The Kaveri River System

The Kaveri is one of the great rivers of India and is considered sacred by the Hindus. This river is also called Dakshin Ganga. The headwaters are in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and from Karnataka through Tamil Nadu. It empties into the Bay of Bengal. The source of the river is Talakaveri(Kodagu District) located in the Western Ghats about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. it has many tributaries including Shimsha, Hemavati River, Arkavathy, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Lokapavani, Bhavani, Noyyal and Famous Amaravati.the dam constructed for the river is KRS(Krishna Raja Sagara) by the Highness of Mysore through the well known engineer Bharata Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, which is located in Mandya district and this river is serving as water of life for South Indians.

The Mahanadi River System

The Mahanadi River Delta in India is a basin of deposit that drains a large land mass of the Indian subcontinent into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial valley is wide and relatively flat with a meandering river channel that changes its course. The Mahanadi River flows slowly for 560 miles (900 km) and has an estimated drainage area of 51,000 square miles (132,100 square km). It deposits more silt than almost any other river in the Indian subcontinent.

PROTECTED AREAS IN INDIA

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PROTECTED AREAS IN INDIA

1. National Parks

1. India currently has 96 national parks, with plans to expand it to 166

2. Oldest National Park: Jim Corbett National Park (1935)

3. Newest National Park: Chandoli National Park, Maharashtra (2004). Part of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve

2. Wildlife Sanctuary

1. India has over 500 wildlife sanctuaries

2. Among these are 28 Tiger Reserves governed by Project Tiger

3. Biosphere Reserves

1. Protect larger areas of natural habitat than National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries

2. Often include one or more National Parks inside the Reserve

3. Includes buffer zone that are open for nominal economic use

4. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna in the Reserve but also to habiting human communities and their ways of life

5. There are 15 Biosphere Reserves in India

6. 7 of the 15 are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves

4. Reserved Forests and Protected Forests

1. Declared by the state governments (unlike Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks)

2. These are forested lands where human activity (like hunting, logging, grazing etc) may be permitted on a sustainable basis

3. The key difference between Reserved Forests and Protected Forests is that in Reserved Forests explicit permission is required for such activities whereas in Protected Forests such activities are permitted unless explicitly prohibited

5. Village Forests and Panchayat Forests

1. Forested lands administered by a village or a panchayat on a sustainable basis

2. The flora, fauna and habitat are accorded some degree of protection by the community

6. Private Protected Areas

1. Regions owned by an individual or an organization not affiliated to the government

2. Not legally protected by the government; however, NGO’s and land trust help in conservation

3. Most private protected areas before Independence were used as royal hunting grounds by the Princely States; they were absorbed as Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks following Independence

4. Prominent Private Protected Areas managed by the Wildlife Trust of India include

1. Siju-Rewak Corridor (Garo Hills, Meghalaya): a protected migration corridor between the Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rewak Reserved Forest. Caters to Bengal Tiger, Clouded Leopard and Himalayan Black Bear

2. Tirunelli-Kudrakote Corridor (Kerala): a protected migration corridor for India’s largest elephant population between the Tirunelli Reserved Forest and the Kudrakote Reserved Forest

7. Conservation Areas

1. Large, well-designated areas where landscape conservation is undergoing, and contains different kinds of constituent protected lands as well as privately owned lands

2. These were primarily part of a joint Indo-US project on landscape management and protection. The project ran from 1996 to 2002

BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN INDIA

S. No.	Reserve	Established	State	Notes
1	Gyan Bharti Reserve	2008	Gujarat	Largest Biosphere Reserve in India
2	Amarkantak	2005	Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh
3	Agasthyamalai	2001	Kerala, Tamil Nadu	UNESCO World Heritage Site Protects the tiger, Asian Elephant, Nilgiri Tahr Home of the Kanikaran, one of the oldest surviving ancient tribes in the world
4	Kanchanjunga	2000	Sikkim
5	Pachmarhi	1999	Madhya Pradesh	Notified in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves Leopard, wild boar, muntjac deer, gaur, chital deer, sambar, Rhesus Macaques
6	Dehang-Debang	1998	Arunachal Pradesh
7	Dibru-Saikhowa	1997	Assam
8	Simlipal	1994	Orissa	Notified in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves
9	Gulf of Mannar	1989	Tamil Nadu	World Network of Biosphere Reserves Coral Reefs Sharks, Dugongs, Dolphins, Sea Turtles
10	Sunderbans	1989	West Bengal	World Network of Biosphere Reserves UNESCO World Heritage Site (1997) Largest Mangrove forest in the world Home of the Royal Bengal Tiger
11	Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve	1989	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	Nicobar scrubfowl, Nicobar long-tailed Macaque, Saltwater crocodile, Giant Leatherback Sea Turtle, Reticulated Python, Giant Robber Crab
12	Manas	1989	Assam
13	Nanda Devi	1988	Uttarakhand	World Network of Biosphere Reserves UNESCO World Heritage Site
14	Norkek	1988	Meghalaya	World Network of Biosphere Reserves
15	Nilgiri	1986	Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka	World Network of Biosphere Reserves Tiger, Asian Elephant, Nilgiri Tahr Under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage Site

ENDANGERED SPECIES IN INDIA

Critically Endangered

ü Jenkin’s Shrew

ü Malabar Large-spotted Civet: Kerala, Karnatka

ü Namdapha Flying Squirrel: NE India

ü Pygmy Hog (wild pig): Assam

ü Salim Ali’s fruit bat: Tamil Nadu

ü Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat: Karnataka, Assam

ü Sumatran Rhinoceros: NE India

Other important endangered species

ü Asiatic lion

ü Asiatic Black bear

ü Desert Cat

ü Great Indian Rhinoceros

ü Golden Leaf Monkey (Golden Langur)

ü Kashmir Stag

ü Lion-tailed Macaque

ü Nilgiri Leaf Monkey

ü Indian Elephant

ü Nicobar Shrew

ü Nilgiri Tahr

ü Red Panda

ü Wild Water Buffalo

ü Woolly Flying Squirrel

SPECIAL CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN INDIA

All wildlife conservation efforts are implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Forests unless otherwise noted

Project Tiger

ü First established in 1972 in the Jim Corbett National Park

ü First tiger census in 1972 reported existence of only 1827 tigers. By the 1990s tiger population rose to 3500; however, by 2008 it had dropped to 1411.

ü By 2005, entire population Sariska Tiger Reserve had been wiped out

ü Re-population of Tiger Reserves started in 2008 when Sariska Tiger Reserve received two tigers via a translocation scheme

ü 41 Tiger Reserves covering an area over 37000 sq km

ü Cover the following tiger habitats

Ø Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit

Ø North-east Conservation Unit

Ø Sunderbands Conservation Unit

Ø Central Indian Conservation Unit

Ø Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit

Ø Western Ghat Conservation Unit

ü Largest Tiger Reserve is the Nagarjuna-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. Established in 1982, it suffers from a poor density of tiger population attributed to left-wing extremism

Project Elephant

ü Launched in 1992

ü Latest Elephant Reserve is Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnatka (2010/11)

ü Currently there are 25 Elephant Reserves covering a land area 58000 sq km

Largest Elephant Reserve is the Mysore Elephant Reserve in Karnataka (2002)

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN INDIA

ü India is home to about 60-70% of the world’s biodiversity
ü India has about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian and 6.0% of flowering plant species
ü India contains 172 (around 2.9%) of the world’s threatened species
ü Famous mammals in Indian wildlife: Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Indian Rhinoceros, Wild Asian Water Buffalo etc
ü Large-scale conservation efforts now underway
ü Protected areas in India cover 4.5% of territory
Recent extinctions
ü Indian/Asian Cheetah
ü Javan Rhinoceros
ü Sumatran Rhinoceros
ü Pink-headed duck
ü Himalayan Quail

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA

ü The Indian telecommunication industry is the third largest in the world

ü It is the second largest in terms of wireless connections

ü India is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world

ü Tele-density in India is around 45%

ü In Sep 2009, Government announced the availability of Mobile Number Portability from Dec 2009. MNP would allow users to retain their phone number even if they changed service providers

History of telecommunications in India

ü Telegraph facilities in India were first introduced between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850

ü In 1953, work was started on telegraph lines connecting Calcutta, Agra, Peshawar, Bombay and Madras

ü The first Telegraph Act was enacted in 1854

ü Telegraph facilities were opened to the public in 1855

ü The first telephone exchange in India was opened in Calcutta in Jan 1882. Exchanges were also established in Bombay and Madras in the same year

ü The pioneer of telegraph and telephones in India was Dr. William O’Shaugnessy from the Calcutta Medical College

ü Telecommunications in India today is governed by the Indian Telegraph Act 1885

Further development of telecommunications

ü 1902: first wireless telegraph between Saugor Islands and Sandheads (West Bengal)

ü 1913-1914: first automatic telephone exchange established in Simla

ü 1927: first radio telegraph system between India and UK with beam stations at Khadki and Daund (Maharashtra)

ü 1960: first subscriber trunk dialing (STD) introduced between Kanpur and Lucknow

ü 1979: first optical fibre system commissioned at Pune

ü 1980: first satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad (Andhra Pradesh)

ü 1985: first mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis in Delhi

GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

1. Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

1. TRAI is an independent regulator established in 1997 to regulate the communications sector in India

2. It consists of a Chairperson and two members

3. Objectives of TRAI include

1. To provide policies on communications in India

2. Manage licenses for telecommunications

3. Efficiently manage available spectrum

4. Ensure compliance with provisions

2. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)

1. It is government-owned service provider operating in New Delhi, Bombay, Thane

2. It was established in 1986

3. Headquarters in New Delhi

4. MTNL launched India’s first 3G mobile services in 2008

5. In 2004, MTNL established a fully owned subsidiary Mahanagar Telephones Mauritius Limited (MTML) for providing basic, mobile and long-distance operations in Mauritius

6. MTNL functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

3. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)

1. Established in 1986

2. It is India’s largest telecommunications company in long-distance, enterprise data and internet services

3. Headquarters in Bombay

4. It has the world’s largest network of submarine cables, by means of its subsidiary Tyco Global Network

5. VSNL was renamed as Tata Communications in 2008

4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

1. Established in 2000 by corporatization of the commercial services of the Department of Telecom

2. Headquarters in New Delhi

3. It is India’s oldest and largest communications service provider

4. It operates in every major city except Bombay and New Delhi, which are run by the MTNL

5. Functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

IMPORTANT PLAYERS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA

Company	Headquarters	Key people	Notes
Bharti Airtel	New Delhi	Sunil Mittal	Largest mobile phone company in India
Reliance communications	Bombay	Anil Ambani	Largest optical fibre network in India
Vodafone Essar	Bombay (Global HQ: London)	Marten Pieters	Vodafone is the largest mobile phone company in the world
BSNL	New Delhi	Kuldeep Goyal	India’s largest telecommunications company
Idea Cellular	Bombay	Kumar Mangalam Birla
Tata Teleservices	Bombay	Ratan Tata	Tata Indicom, Tata Docomo (with NTT Docomo of Japan) and Virgin Mobile (Virgin Group, UK)
Aircel	Madras	Gurdeep Singh	Venture between Maxis Communications (Malaysia) and Apollo Hospitals
MTNL	New Delhi	RSP Sinha
Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile)	Bombay	Sandip Basu
Sistema Shyam	New Delhi	Vsevolod Rosanov Vitaly Savelyev	Venture between Sistema (Russia) and Shyam Telelink

THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN INDIA

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IMPORTANT SERVICES OF THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN INDIA

1. Speed Post

1. Introduced in 1986

2. Provides express service for letters and documents

3. Offers a money-back guarantee under which the postal fee will be refunded in case of delay in delivery

2. Logistics Post

1. Introduced in 2008

2. Applicable for sending parcels and large consignments

3. No weight limit

3. Postal Life Insurance

1. Launched in 1884

2. Initially conceived as a welfare measure for the employees of the Post & Telegraph Department

3. Currently open to Central, state and local government employees, banks, PSUs and government-aided educational institutions

4. Savings Bank

1. Launched in 1882

2. Interest is completely tax free

ELECTRICITY/POWER IN INDIA

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ELECTRICITY/POWER IN INDIA

ü India has an installed power generation capacity of 155,000 MW

ü The total demand for power is expected to cross 950,000 MW by 2030

ü The government plans to add about 78,000 MW of installed generation capacity by 2012

ü Main sources of power in India include thermal power, hydro power and nuclear power

ü Private sector contributes around 13.5% to total power generation

ü The per capita power consumption in India is 612 kWh

ü Only 44% of rural households have access to electricity

ü The Government of India is working towards the objective of ‘Power for All by 2012′

ü Transmission of electricity is defined as bulk transfer of power over a long distance at a high voltage, usually 132 kV or more

ü Transmission in the country is divided into five regional transmission systems:

Ø Northern region (HQ Delhi): largest in area

Ø North eastern region (Shillong): Highest hydro:thermal power ratio (1:1)

Ø Eastern region (HQ Kolkata)

Ø Southern region (HQ Bangalore)

Ø Western region (HQ: Nagpur)

ü The interconnected transmission system within each region is called the Regional Grid. The establishment of a National Grid has been planned

ü Power transmission is handled by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL)

ü Four of the five Regional Grids now operate as a synchronous grid (western, northern, eastern and north eastern). The Southern Grid is connected to the synchronous grid separately through HVDC links

ü Each Regional Grid functions under a Regional Load Despatch Centre. Additionally, a National Load Despatch Centre has been established in New Delhi to coordinate efforts to establish the National Grid

Power distribution

ü Transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in India reach 33%

ü Losses include technical losses such as unplanned lines, overloading, and commercial losses such as theft, pilferage etc

ü The Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP) was initiated in 2001 to bring down T&D losses below 15%

ü Power distribution is the responsibility of State Electricity Boards (SEBs)

ü The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) is the second largest power generating utility in India, after the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKINGS IN POWER SECTOR

All entities function under the Ministry of Power unless otherwise noted

National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)

§ The NTPC is the largest power generating utility in India. Its installed generation capacity is around 30,000 MW

§ It was established in 1975 and is headquartered in New Delhi

§ It has 18% of national installed capacity but contributes 28% of national power generation

§ It has 15 coal-based and 7 gas-based power generating plants

§ The largest coal based plant is the Talcher-Kaniha plant in Angul, Orissa (3000 MW)

§ The largest gas based plant is the Dadri plant in Uttar Pradesh (817 MW)

§ The NTPC has forayed into hydro power projects as well. Hydro projects under implementation by the NTPC are

§ Koldam in Himachal Pradesh (800 MW)

§ Loharinag Pala in Uttarakhand (600 MW)

§ Tapovan Vishnugarh in Uttarakhand (520 MW)

National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC)

ü The National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd. (NHPC) is a Mini Ratna enterprise responsible for developing hydro power in India

ü It was established in 1975 and is headquartered in Faridabad

ü The NHPC has completed 13 hydro power projects worth installed capacity of 5000 MW and is in the process of implementing 11 more projects

ü The largest hydro plant is the Indira Sagar across the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh (1000 MW).

ü The Subansiri (Lower) project across the Subansiri river in Assam is the largest hydroelectric project undertaken in India.Expected to complete in 2010, it will have an installed capacity of 2000 MW

Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL)

ü The Nuclear Power Corporation of India is responsible for generation of nuclear power in India. The NPCIL is the only power utility company in India that uses nuclear energy

ü The NPCIL was established in 1987 and is headquartered in Mumbai

ü The NPCIL functions under the Department of Atomic Energy (Ministry of Science and Technology)

ü The NPCIL operates 17 nuclear power plants with an installed capacity of 4120 MW. Additionally it has five reactors under construction with capacity of 2660 MW

ü The NPCIL also operates a 10 MW wind power project at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu (site of upcoming nuclear project)

Power Grid Corporation Ltd. (PGCIL)

ü The Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd is one of the largest power transmission utilities in the world

ü It was established in 1989 and is headquartered in New Delhi

ü The PGCIL is a Navaratna enterprise

ü The PGCIL conducts about 45% of India’s electricity on its power lines. It has over 71,500 km of transmission network circuitry

ü The PGCIL operates five Regional Grids (see above). It is also working towards establishing a National Grid in India

Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (REC)

ü The Rural Electrification Corporation aims to finance and promote rural electrification projects in the country

ü It was established in 1969 and is headquartered in New Delhi

ü The REC provides loans to SEBs and state power utilities for investment in rural electrification schemes

ü The REC is the nodal agency for the implantation of the RGGVY

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

All policies and programmes fall under the Ministry of Power unless otherwise noted

National Electricity Policy

ü Launched in 2005

ü The objectives of the Policy include

Ø Provide access to electricity to all households by 2010

Ø Power demand to be fully met by 2012. Energy and peaking shortages to be overcome

Ø Supply of reliable and quality power at affordable rates

Ø Minimum lifeline consumption of 1 unit per household per day by 2012

Ø Per capita availability of electricity to be increased to over 1000 units by 2012

Ø Financial turnaround and commercial viability of electricity sector

Ø Protection of consumer’s interests

ü The Policy also required the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to frame a National Electricity Plan every five years, which covered

ü The Policy seeks to address multiple issues including the following

Ø Rural electrification

Ø Power generation, transmission and distribution

Ø Recovery of cost and subsidies

Ø Technology development and R&D

Ø Power sector reforms including private sector participation

Ø Energy conservation

Ø Renewable energy sources

ü In order to implement the policy, the RGGVY scheme was launched by the Rural Electrification Corporation

ü See here for full policy document

Rural Electrification Policy

ü Launched in 2006

ü Objectives include

Ø Provision of access to electricity to all households by 2009

Ø Quality and reliable power supply at reasonable rates

Ø Minimum household consumption of 1 unit per household per day by 2012

ü As per the Policy, all state governments were required to prepare and notify a Rural Electrification Plan to achieve the Policy goals

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)

ü The RGGVY was launched in 2005 to implement the National Electricity Policy

ü The RGGVY is implemented by the REC

ü The RGGVY provides 90% Union Government subsidy for rural electrification projects including

Ø Rural Electricity Distribution Backbone (REDB): The REDB is to act as the primary infrastructure for the distribution of electricity in rural areas. Each Block to have at least one 33/11 kV or 66/11 kV substation

Ø Village Electrification Infrastructure (VEI): at least one distribution transformer in each village

Ø Decentralised Distributed Generation (DDG) Systems: these systems are to act as stand-alone power generation and distribution mechanisms where supply from the grid is not possible or not cost-effective

ü The RGGVY provides for free connection to all households below the poverty line

ü The Scheme says that there shall be no discrimination in the hours of supply between urban and rural areas. This should help in development of rural industries, health care and education facilities

ü The Scheme targets the electrification of 125,000 un-electrified villages

CONVENTIONAL ENERGY IN INDIA

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CONVENTIONAL ENERGY IN INDIA

ü Conventional sources of energy contribute about 67% of India’s power production

ü Conventional sources include coal, oil and natural gas

ü Thermal energy (coal, oil, gas) is the largest energy source in India

COAL ENERGY IN INDIA

ü India has the fourth largest reserves of coal in the world (behind USA, Russia and China)

ü India is the world’s third largest consumer and fourth largest producer of coal

ü Coal mining in India began at the initiative of Governor General Warren Hastings at Raniganj (West Bengal) in 1774

ü The East India Company set up M/s Sumner and Heatly for coal mining purpose

ü Coal mining was nationalised in 1971 (coking coal) and 1973 (non-coking coal). Only the Tata Iron and Steel Company and Indian Iron and Steel Company were exempt

ü Coal in India is under the purview of the Ministry of Coal

Important coal mines

Coal mine	Location	Operator	Notes
Singareni	Pranahita-Godavari valley (Andhra Pradesh)	Singareni Collieries Company Ltd	Jointly owned by AP govt. (51%) and Union govt. (49%)
Neyveli	Tamil Nadu	Neyveli Lignite Corporation
Raniganj	West Bengal	Bharat Coking Coal Limited
Jharia	Jharkhand	Bharat Coking Coal Ltd	Produces bituminous coal suitable for coke, Most of India’s coal comes from Jharia, Largest supplier of prime coke coal used in blast furnaces in India, Jharia is famous for a coal field fire that has burnt underground for nearly a century
Talcher	Orissa	Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd
IB Valley	Sambalpur, Orissa	Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd
Korba	Chattisgarh	Southeastern Coalfields Ltd
Wardah	Maharashtra	Western Coalfields Ltd

Ultra Mega Power Projects

ü Scheme launched by the government to meet National Electricity Policy stipulation of ‘Power for All by 2012′

ü The Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) scheme envisions adding 100,000 MW of installed capacity by 2012

ü This involves construction of super large power plants each of capacity 4000 MW or more. The UMPP power plants will use coal as fuel

ü The nodal agency for implementing the UMPP scheme is the Power Finance Corporation Ltd

List of UMPP projects

Project location	State	Type of project (coal source)	Awarded to
Sasan	Madhya Pradesh	Pit-head (local)	Reliance Power
Akaltara	Chhattisgarh	Pit-head (local)
Tilaiya	Jharkhand	Pit-head (local)	Reliance Power
Mundra	Gujarat	Coastal (imported)	Tata Power
Krishnapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	Coastal (imported)	Reliance Power
Girye	Maharashtra	Coastal (imported)
Tadri	Karnataka	Coastal (imported)

Coal India Ltd. (CIL)

ü Established 1975, headquarters Kolkata

ü CIL is the largest coal miner in the world. It contributes about 85% of India’s coal production

ü Largest corporate employer and second largest employer in India (after Indian Railways)

ü Second largest owner of land in India (after the Indian Railways)

ü Functions under the Ministry of Coal

ü CIL is a Navaratna company

ü CIL has successfully bid for two coal mines in Mozambique and is in the process of formalising the process

ü CIL has eight subsidiaries:

Ø Central Mine Planning & Design Institute, Ranchi

Ø Eastern Coalfield Ltd, Asansol (West Bengal)

Ø Northern Coalfields Ltd., Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh)

Ø Southeastern Coalfields Ltd, Bilaspur (Chattisgarh)

Ø Western Coalfields Ltd, Nagpur

Ø Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, Sambalpur (Orissa)

Ø Central Coalfields Ltd, Ranchi

Ø Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, Dhanbad (Jharkhand)

Neyveli Lignite Coporation Ltd. (NLC)

ü Established in 1956, headquarters Chennai

ü Functions under the Ministry of Coal

ü Lignite has only about 70% carbon and so produces less energy, but burns without coking and has low ash content

ü The NLC operates the nation’s largest open pit lignite mines

ü NLC operates thermal power plants in addition to three large mines. The Neyveli Thermal Power Stations are India’s first and only lignite fired thermal power stations

ü The Neyveli mines are located on a huge ground water aquifer. The NLC supplies this sweet water is supplied to Chennai city

OIL AND NATURAL GAS IN INDIA

ü India has total crude oil reserves of 775 million metric tonnes and natural gas reserves of 1074 billion cubic metres

ü The primary sources of natural gas in India are the offshore platforms on the western coast. Other sources include onshore fields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and lesser quantities in Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Rajasthan

ü The largest oil fields in India are the Bombay High offshore fields. Bombay High contributes about 38% of domestic production and 14% of national consumption

ü The largest natural gas reserves have been found to be in the Krishna-Godavari basin. This discovery was made by Reliance Industries in 2002

ü The largest petroleum refinery in India is located at Jamnagar (Gujarat). It is owned by Reliance Petroleum Ltd

ü The oldest petroleum refinery is at Guwahati. It was established in 1962 with assistance from Romania

ü Part of the natural gas produced in Maharashtra is fed into the HBJ national pipeline. Gas from other sources is usually used locally

ü The primary markets for petroleum and natural gas in India include power generation, industrial and domestic fuels, tea plantations, and non-energy applications such as manufacture of fertilizers and petrochemicals

ü The first discovery of oil in India was in Digboi, Assam in 1889

ü Oil and natural gas comes under the purview of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Strategic petroleum reserves

ü Government has decided to set up 5 million metric tonnes of crude oil reserves to ensure energy security. These strategic reserves will be in addition to existing storages at the oil companies

ü These storage facilities are to be established at Mangalore, Vishakapatnam and Padur (near Udipi, Karnataka)

ü Proposed strategic reserves to be under Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Oil Industry Development Board

ü The proposed sites are located in the east and west coasts so that they are readily accessible to refineries through marine route

ü The strategic reserves are to be in underground rock caverns, which are considered to be the safest means of storing hydrocarbons

ü The strategic crude oil reserves are expected to be operational by 2012

Important foreign exploration & production projects of Indian companies

Project	Location	Type	Executor
Rakhine	Myanmar	Natural gas	ONGC, GAIL
Sakhalin	Far east Russia	Oil, gas	ONGC
Tomsk	Western Siberia, Russia	Oil	ONGC
Lan Tay	Vietnam	Gas	ONGC
Farsi	Iran	Gas	ONGC, OIL, IOCL
Western Desert	Iraq	Oil	ONGC (contract to be renegotiated)
Eastern Syria	Syria	Oil	ONGC
MTPN	Congo	Oil	ONGC
North Ramadan	Egypt	Oil	ONGC
North East Mediterranean Deepwater Concession (NEMED)	Egypt	Gas	ONGC
Campos Basin	Brazil	Oil	ONGC
Mansarovar Energy Project	Colombia	Oil	ONGC
San Cristobal Project	Venezuela	Oil	ONGC
Muglad Basin	Sudan	Oil	ONGC
Greater Nile Oil Project	Sudan	Oil	ONGC
Block Shakti	Gabon		OIL, IOCL
Sirte Basin	Libya		OIL, ONGC, IOCL
Ghadames Basin	Libya		OIL, IOCL
Niger Delta	Nigeria		OIL, IOCL
Messila Basin	Yemen		OIL, IOCL

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)

ü Established 1956, headquarters Dehradun

ü The ONGC contributes 77% of India’s oil production and 81% of natural gas production

ü The ONGC is the highest profit making corporation in India (USD 5 billion). It is also the largest Indian company in oil exploration

ü ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has a presence in 16 countries esp. in Latin America, Africa, Middle East, CIS and the Far East

ü OVL’s first overseas oil exploration project was the Rostam and Raksh oil fields in Iran

ü OVL’s first major oil find was the LanTay and LanDo oil fields in Vietnam

ü Functions under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Oil India Ltd (OIL)

ü OIL is Asia’s oldest petroleum and natural gas company

ü Established 1889, incorporated 1959. Headquarters Noida

ü The predecessor of OIL made the first oil discovery in India 1889

ü OIL’s operations are mostly concentrated in the northeast

ü Functions under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL)

ü It is India’s largest natural gas company

ü Established 1984, headquarters New Delhi

ü GAIL commissioned the 2800 km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) natural gas pipeline in 1991

ü GAIL set up north India’s only petrochemical at Pata (Uttar Pradesh) in 1999

ü Functions under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH)

ü Established in 1993, office in New Delhi

ü Acts as an advisory and regulatory body for oil and gas exploration and production in India

ü Objectives of the DGH include

Ø Promote sound management of oil and natural gas resources

Ø Develop balanced regard for environment, safety, technology and R&D

ü The DGH is responsible for implementation of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), production sharing contracts for oil and gas discoveries, and monitoring and review of reservoir performance of producing fields

ü Functions under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Petroleum refinement

ü There are three public sector enterprises and two private enterprises in petroleum refinement: Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Reliance Petroleum and Essar Oil

ü Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is the largest in petroleum refinement and distribution. It accounts for 47% of petroleum products and 40% of refining capacity

ü The IOCL is also the largest commercial enterprise in India

Refinery	State	Operator	Notes
Digboi	Assam	Indian Oil	India’s oldest refinery (1901)
Guwahati	Assam	Indian Oil	First public sector refinery
Barauni	Bihar	Indian Oil
Koyali	Gujarat	Indian Oil
Haldia	West Bengal	Indian Oil
Mathura	Uttar Pradesh	Indian Oil
Panipat	Haryana	Indian Oil
Jamnagar	Gujarat	Reliance	Largest refining complex in the world
Manali	Tamil Nadu	Indian Oil (Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd)
Bombay High	Maharashtra	Bharat Petroleum
Kochi	Kerala	Bharat Petroleum
Vishakapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	Hindustan Petroleum
Vadinagar	Gujarat	Essar Oil

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

2011-07-13T19:38:00.001+05:30

NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

ü Nuclear energy contributes about 4.1% of power generation in India. The share of nuclear energy is expected to reach 9% by 2035

ü Currently, there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW

ü The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur, Maharasthra. The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai

ü Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam

ü The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India

Nuclear power plants in India

Power station	State	Type	Capacity (MW)
Kaiga	Karnataka	PHWR	660
Kakrapar	Gujarat	PHWR	440
Kalpakkam	Tamil Nadu	PHWR	440
Narora	Uttar Pradesh	PHWR	440
Rawatbhata	Rajasthan	PHWR	740
Tarapur	Maharashtra	BWR, PHWR	1400

Nuclear power projects under construction

Power station	State	Type	Capacity (MW)
Kaiga	Karnataka	PHWR	220
Rawatbhata	Rajasthan	PHWR	440
Kudankulam	Tamil Nadu	WER	2000
Kalpakkam	Tamil Nadu	FBR	500

Availability of nuclear materials

ü Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world. Canada, which has the second largest reserves, is the largest exporter of Uranium

ü India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1% of world availability)

ü The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand. Uranium is extracted in the form of “Yellow Cake”

ü However, Thorium is widely available in the world. Worldwide, Thorium is about three times as abundant as Uranium

ü India has about 25% of the world’s reserves of Thorium

ü In India, Thorium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

ü The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep 2008 has increased India’s opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp. Uranium)

ü India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008), the US (Sep 2008), the EU (Nov 2009), Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)

Department of Atomic Energy

ü The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister. The Department was established in 1958

ü The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India, including nuclear power and nuclear research

ü The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) functions under the DAE. The Commission was established in 1948, but moved to the Dept. of Atomic Energy in 1958

ü The Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary

India’s three-stage nuclear power programme

ü Due to limited availability of Uranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export, India has had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals

ü Subsequently, India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as well as thorium

ü Stage I Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor: the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-239 as a by-product

ü Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor: uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-232 as fuel and produces Uranium-233

ü Stage III Advanced Heavy Water Reactor: would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as fuels. Currently under development at the BARC

GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY

All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise noted

Heavy Water Board

ü Established 1969, headquarters Mumbai

ü Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O)

ü Operates six heavy water plants in the country:

Ø Kota (Rajasthan)

Ø Baroda (Gujarat)

Ø Hazira (Gujarat)

Ø Thal (Maharashtra)

Ø Talcher (Orissa)

Ø Manuguru (Andhra Pradesh)

Ø Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)

ü India is the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy water

ü India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003

Nuclear Fuel Complex

ü Established 1971, location Hyderabad

ü Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the country

ü Also responsible for manufacture of reactor core components

ü The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor components)

Uranium Corporation of India Ltd

ü Established 1967, headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand)

ü Responsible for extraction and processing of uranium

ü Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants

ü All five uranium mines are located in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand

Ø Jaduguda mine – oldest mine, commissioned 1967

Ø Bhatin mine

Ø Narwapahar mine – latest mine, commissioned 1995

Ø Turamdih mine

Ø Banduhurang mine – only open pit uranium mine

ü India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium

Indian Rare Earths Ltd

ü Established 1950, headquarters Mumbai

ü Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands

ü It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use in nuclear industry

ü Operates four mineral extraction units

Ø Aluva (Kerala)

Ø Chavara (Kerala)

Ø Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu)

Ø Chatrapur (Orissa)

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

ü Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957. Located in Mumbai

ü It is India’s first and primary nuclear research facility

ü Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research)

ü Developed Dhruva reactor (1985) – largest research reactor in the country

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR)

ü Established 1971, located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai)

ü Site of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), the first reactor in the world to use Plutonium (70%) Uranium (30%) Carbide fuel. The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site

ü Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996, the only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel

ü Currently, construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress

Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC)

ü Established 1977, located Kolkata

ü Operates the first cyclotron in India

ü Provides protons, deuterons, alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in the country

Institute for Plasma Research

ü Established 1986, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat

ü Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy

ü The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science

ü It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India

ü The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989. A tokamak is a magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power

ü The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France. Expected to be operational by 2016, the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants

TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

Reactor	Fuel	Moderator	Coolant	Notes
Pressurised water reactor (PWR)	Enriched uranium	Light water (demineralised water)	Light water	PWR, BWR and Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers, submarines etc PWR is the oldest, most widely used reactor for power generation In PWR, the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures
Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)	Natural uranium	Heavy water (D2O)	Heavy water	Uses natural unenriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel
Boiling water reactor (BWR)	Enriched uranium	Light water	Light water	Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple, uncomplicated design Lower risk, longer lifetime than PWR
Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR)	Enriched Uranium, Plutonium Also, non-fissile Uranium-238	No moderator	Liquid metal (usually liquid Sodium)	Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonium and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by capturing fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238, no moderator is required
Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR)	Thorium	Heavy water, Amorphous carbon	Boiling water	Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA

2011-07-13T19:36:00.000+05:30

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA

ü Renewable energy in India currently contributes around 7.7% of total electricity generation in the country. The installed capacity is around 13,000 MW

ü India was one of the first countries in the world to establish a separate ministry for non-conventional energy resources (1980s). however, progress has been slow

ü Renewable energy in India comes under the purview of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

ü The largest contributor to renewable energy in India is Tamil Nadu (about 33%), largely from wind power

ü India ranks first in the world (along with USA) in annual solar power generation. It also ranks fifth in wind power generation

SOLAR POWER IN INDIA

ü India (along with USA) ranks number one in solar power generation in the world. However, it still only contributes about 0.4% of total electricity generation in the country

ü India’s high population density and high solar insolation provide an ideal combination for solar power in India.

ü Solar insolation is a measure of the solar energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is usually expressed in W/sq.m

ü In 2009, the Government unveiled a plan to generate 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020. Under the plan solar powered equipment and applications would be mandatory in all government buildings

ü Presently, solar power is primarily advocated in villages for water pumps, replacing the millions of diesel powered water pumps. Since the villages are not integrated into the power grids, stand-alone solar units are especially helpful

ü About 35,000 sq km of the Thar Desert has been set aside for solar power projects

Annual insolation

ü With about 300 clear sunny days per year, India has among the highest solar insolations in the world

ü India receives about 600 TW of solar energy on its land area every year.

ü The daily average solar insolation is 4-7 kWh/sq m, which is far more than current total energy consumption

ü With such a high solar insolation, even with just 10% conversion efficiency, solar energy will be thousand times greater than electricity demand by 2015

ü Rajasthan receives the highest annual solar radiation and the north eastern states receive the least

ü 35,000 sq km of Thar Desert has been set aside for solar energy. The first solar power project in the area is under construction by Astonfield Solar Pvt Ltd. It is expected to be commissioned in 2010

Applications and Challenges

ü Solar power is primarily used in stand-alone applications in rural areas, which are not connect to the power grid

ü Solar power is used for rural electrification, for water pumping, harvest processing, refrigeration of produce, water heaters etc

ü The biggest challenges to the growth of solar power in India include

Ø Prohibitive cost: solar power is still prohibitively expensive, especially the manufacture of photovoltaic cells that convert light energy into electrical energy.

Ø Land scarcity: large scale solar energy generation requires large areas of land dedicated to the installation of solar photovoltaic panels. This could be challenging in urban areas with high population densities

WIND POWER IN INDIA

ü India has the fifth largest installed wind power generation capacity in the world

ü Wind power accounts for about 6% of total electricity generation in the country (about 11,000 MW). It is expected that a further 6000 MW of installed capacity will be added by 2012

ü Tamil Nadu contributes the maximum wind power generation (about 4000 MW)

ü Suzlon Energy, based in Pune, is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in Asia and the fifth largest worldwide

ü Among the advantages of wind power include the short gestation periods and increasing reliability and performance of wind turbines

Wind power in various states

State	Capacity	Main wind farms	Notes
Tamil Nadu	4301 MW	Tirunelveli Dist.	Muppandal wind farm is largest in Asia, Tamil Nadu generates maximum wind power in India
Maharashtra	1942 MW	Satara Dist.
Gujarat	1565 MW	Kutch dist. Rajkot dist.
Karnataka	1340 MW	Chitradurga dist Gadag dist

Challenges

ü Challenges faced by wind power include greater capital cost than conventional energy sources, noise produced by rotor blades, television interference etc

ü Wind power is also restricted geographically and is not usually feasible in urban areas

BIOFUELS IN INDIA

ü Biofuel development in India is primarily focused on Jatropa plant seeds

ü The Jatropa curcas is a flowering plant whose seeds contain about 35% oil. This oil can be processed to obtain high quality biodiesel for use in regular diesel engines

ü The use of Jatropa for biodiesel generation has multiple benefits

Ø Jatropa is easily grown in dry and non-agricultural lands, thereby allowing villagers to use non-farmland for income generation

Ø It reduces the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. This is especially important because India needs to import a vast majority of fossil fuels from abroad

Ø Since Jatropa is carbon-neutral is helps the country achieve better carbon emissions targets

Ø Since no producing farmland is needed for Jatropa (unlike corn or sugarcane ethanol or palm oil diesel), it is considered the best option for biodiesel generation

Ø Jatropa has no known negative impact on the production of food crops. Other biodiesel crops (like corn ethanol) have caused serious price increases in basic food crops since they take up valuable agricultural land

Application of biodiesel

ü Biodiesel based on Jatropa already meets EU norms for biodiesel quality, without any extra processing

ü Jatropa biodiesel has been used as aviation fuel on an experimental basis by Air New Zealand in 2008

ü The Indian Railways has started using Jatropa biodiesel to power its diesel engines on an experimental basis. Currently, the diesel locomotives in the Tanjore-Nagore, Trichy-Lalgudi-Dindigul-Karur sections run on a blend of Jatropa and diesel oil

GOVERNMENT BODIES IN RENEWABLE ENERGY

All bodies function under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy unless otherwise noted

Solar Energy Centre (SEC)

ü Established 1982, located Delhi

ü The SEC serves as an interface between the Government and institutions and industries for the development of solar energy

ü Functions of the SEC include

Ø Research and development

Ø Technology evaluation, testing and standardisation

Ø Advisory and consultancy services

Centre for Wind Energy Technology (C-WET)

ü Established 1998, location Chennai

ü The C-WET serves as the technical focal point for wind power development

ü Functions of the C-WET include

Ø Offer services and solutions for wind power harnessing

Ø Research and development

Ø Testing and evaluation

Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy (SSS-NIRE)

ü Currently under construction

ü Location Kapurthala (Punjab)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)

ü Established 1987, located New Delhi

ü The main objective of the IREDA is to provide financial support to projects and schemes for electricity generation using renewable sources

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

All schemes implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy unless otherwise noted

National Policy on Biofuels

ü Approved in Dec 2009

ü Implemented by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

ü Salient features of the policy include

Ø By 2017, 20% of diesel consumption to be met by biofuel blends (includes bioethanol and biodiesel)

Ø Biodiesel production to be taken up in waste/non-agricultural lands

Ø Biodiesel plantations on community/government waste lands to be encouraged. Plantations on agricultural lands to not be encouraged

Ø Minimum Support Price (MSP) to be announced for biodiesel oil seeds

Ø No taxes or duties to be levied on biodiesel

Ø National Biofuel Coordination Committee chaired by the Prime Minister to be created. Biofuel Steering Committee to be chaired by Cabinet Secretary to also be created

Remote Village Electrification Programme (RVEP)

ü The RVEP is a programme that aims to provide electricity for remote villages through renewable sources

ü The programme covers those remote villages and hamlets which are not covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). These are usually remote areas where grid connectivity is either not feasible or not cost effective

ü The RVEP is a component of the Rural Electrification Policy, which seeks to provide electricity to all households by 2009

ü The scheme covers multiple technologies for electrification of these remote areas

Ø Small hydro power plants

Ø Biomass power generation

Ø Vegetable oil based engines

Ø Biogas based engines

Ø Solar energy

National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP)

ü Established in 1982

ü Aims to facilitate setting up of family type biogas plants

ü The objectives of the NBMMP include

Ø Provide fuel for cooking purposes and organic manure to rural households through family type biogas plants

Ø To mitigate drudgery of women and reduce pressure on forest resources

Ø To improve sanitation in villages by linking sanitary toilets with biogas plants

ü The programme is implemented by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in conjunction with state governments

ü A total of 3.93 million family type biogas plants have been set up in the country against an estimated potential of 12 million

Akshay Urja Shops

ü The Akshay Urja Shops is a programme to establish commercial shops for sales and service of renewable energy devices and systems

ü So far 297 Akshay Urja Shops have been established in various states

ü The programme initially started as the Aditya Solar Shops and covered only solar power but has now been expanded to include all renewable energy (and name change accordingly)

ü The primary objective of the scheme is to make renewable energy products easily available and provide after sales service and repair

ü The scheme provides financial assistance to entrepreneurs for establishment of shops by means of loans and grants

HYDRO POWER IN INDIA

2011-07-13T19:33:00.000+05:30

HYDRO POWER IN INDIA

ü India has one of the world’s largest potentials for hydro electric power. The hydro power potential in India is around 84,000 MW at 60% load factor (installed capacity 148,000 MW). However, less than 20% of this has been harnessed so far

ü Currently, hydro power contributes about 24% of total installed generation capacity in the country

ü The oldest hydro electric power plant in Asia is the Sidrapong Hydel Power Station in Darjeeling. Its installed capacity was 130 kW and was commissioned in 1897

ü The largest hydro electric power project in India is the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border). Located across the Subansiri river, the project is currently under construction and is expected to be commissioned in 2012

ü The Brahmaputra river basin has the largest possible capacity for hydro power in India (66,000 MW)

ü The advantages of hydro power include

Ø Non polluting

Ø Long life of projects

Ø Low cost of operation and maintenance

Ø Ability to start and stop quickly to meet load demand

Ø Much higher efficiency than thermal power

Possible hydro power generation by river basins

River basin	Potential installed capacity (MW)
Indus Basin	33,832
Ganges Basin	20,711
Brahmaputra Basin	66,065
Central Indian River System	4152
Western flowing rivers of peninsular India	9430
Eastern flowing rivers of peninsular India	14,511
Total	148, 701

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC)

ü Established 1975, headquarters Faridabad

ü The NHPC functions under the Ministry of Power

ü Primary objective of the NHPC is to plan and promote efficient development of hydroelectric power in the country

ü The NHPC has also diversified into other energy sources such as geothermal, wind, tidal etc

ü The NHPC has been conferred Mini Ratna Category I status by the Ministry of Public Enterprises

ü In addition to executing 13 projects in India, the NHPC has also commissioned two projects in Nepal and Bhutan

ü Currently, 11 hyrdo power projects are under construction in India by the NHPC

Important Hydro Power Projects

S. No.	Project	River	State	Capacity
1	Baira Siul	Baira, Siul, Bhaledh (all tributaries of Ravi)	Himachal Pradesh	180 MW
2	Chamera I	Ravi	Himachal Pradesh	540 MW
3	Chamera II	Ravi	Himachal Pradesh	300 MW
4	Dhauliganga	Dhauliganga (tributary of Sharda)	Uttarakhand	280 MW
5	Dulhasti	Chandra (tributary of Chenab)	Jammu and Kashmir	390 MW
6	Indira Sagar	Narmada	Madhya Pradesh	1000 MW
7	Loktak	Loktak lake	Manipur	90 MW
8	Omkareshwar	Narmada	Madhya Pradesh	520 MW
9	Rangit	Rangit	Sikkim	60 MW
10	Salal	Chenab	Jammu and Kashmir	690 MW
11	Tanakpur	Sharda	Uttarakhand	120 MW
12	Teesta V	Teesta	Sikkim	510 MW
13	Uri I	Jhelum	Jammu and Kashmir	480 MW
14	Baglihar	Chenab	Jammu and Kashmir (Doda dist.)	450 MW
15	Nathpa Jhakri	Sutlej	Himachal Pradesh	1530 MW

Hydro Power Projects under construction

S. No.	Project	River	State	Capacity	Expected Commissioning
1	Chamera III	Ravi	Himachal Pradesh	230 MW	2010
2	Chutuk	Suru	Jammu and Kashmir (Kargil dist.)	44 MW	2011
3	Kishanganga	Kishanganga (tributary of Jhelum)	Jammu and Kashmir (Baramullah dist.)	330 MW	2016
4	Nimmo Bazgo	Indus	Jammu and Kashmir (Leh dist.)	45 MW	2010
5	Parbati II	Parbati	Himachal Pradesh	800 MW	2013
6	Parbati III	Parbati	Himachal Pradesh	520 MW	2010
7	Sewa II	Sewa (tributary of Ravi)	Jammu and Kashmir (Kathua dist.)	120 MW	2009
8	Subansiri (Lower)	Subansiri	Arunchal Pradesh	2000 MW	2012
9	Teesta III	Teesta	West Bengal (Darjeeling dist.)	132 MW	2011
10	Teesta IV	Teesta	West Bengal (Darjeeling dist.)	160 MW	2011
11	Uri II	Jhelum	Jammu and Kashmir (Baramullah dist.)	240 MW	2011

Policy on Hydro Power Development

ü The Policy on Hydro Power Development was launched 1998

ü The main objectives of the Policy include

Ø Meeting current targets for capacity addition

Ø Accelerating use of hydroelectric potential at a faster pace

Ø Promoting small and mini hydro electric projects

Ø Strengthening the role of PSUs/SEBs for taking up new hydro projects

Ø Increasing private investments

ü The nodal agency for implementing the Policy is the Ministry of Power

ROAD NETWORKS IN INDIA

2011-07-13T18:20:00.001+05:30

ROAD NETWORKS IN INDIA

ü With over 3.3 million km of roadways, India has the third largest road network in the world (behind USA and China)

ü India has about 65,500 km of National Highways, 130,000 km of State Highways and 4.67 million km of District Roads and 2.65 million km of rural and urban roads

ü India has the highest density of highways in the world (0.66 km of highway per sq km of territory)

ü India’s road networks carry nearly 65% of freight traffic and 85% of passenger traffic in the country

ü Traffic on roads is growing at about 7-10% per annum while number of vehicles is growing about 12% per annum

Grand Trunk Road

ü The Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) is one of the oldest and longest roads in the Indian subcontinent

ü It runs from Sonargaon (near Dhaka) in Bangladesh to Peshawar in Pakistan, covering a distance of 2500 km

ü In India, it runs through Kolkata, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Delhi, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar

ü The stretch between Kolkata and Kanpur is designated NH-2, the stretch between Kanpur and Delhi NH-91, and between Delhi and Wagah NH-1

ü The Grand Trunk road was commissioned by Sher Shah Suri in the 16^th century to connect Agra with Sasaram (Bihar). It was later expanded by the British to run from Bengal to Peshawar

ü The Grand Trunk Road is now part of the Golden Quadrilateral project

TYPES OF ROAD NETWORKS

National Highways

ü The National Highways are the primary long distance roadways in India

ü There is about 65,500 km of National Highways in India, of which about 200 km have been designated as Expressways

ü The National Highways constitute only 2% of total roadways in India, but carry about 40% of the total traffic

ü The longest National Highway in NH-7, which runs from Varanasi to Kanyakumari (about 2369 km). The shortest National Highway is NH-47A, which runs from Ernakulam to Kochi Port (about 6 km)

ü The Leh-Manali Highway is the highest highway in the world (average elevation of about 5000 m). It connects Leh in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) with Manali in Himachal Pradesh. The Highway passes through some of the highest mountain passes in the world including Rohtang La, Baralacha La, Lachulung La and Tagland La

National Expressways

ü National Expressways make up about 200 km of the National Highways network

ü The major difference between Highways and Expressways in India, is that the latter have controlled access (i.e. entry and exit only at certain specific locations)

Expressway	Connected cities	Length	Notes
Western Expressway	Mumbai suburbs	25 km
Eastern Expressway	Mumbai-Thane	23 km
Sion Panvel Expressway	Mumbai suburbs	25 km	12 lanes expressway (6 in each direction)
National Expressway 1	Ahmadabad-Vadodara	90 km	First Expressway in India, Part of Golden Quadrilateral
Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway	Delhi-Gurgaon	28 km	Part of Golden Quadrilateral
Mumbai-Pune Expressway	Mumbai-Pune	93 km	Part of Golden Quadrilateral India’s first 6 lane, concrete, high-speed, tolled, access controlled Expressway

State Highways

ü State Highways refers to the highways laid and maintained by the state governments

ü These State Highways usually connect important cities, towns, district headquarters within the State, and with important places in other states

ü They also link important cities of a state with the National Highways and State Highways of neighbouring states

ü There is about 130,000 km of State Highways in India

ü State Highways are designated SH

District Roads

ü District Roads are important roads within a district connecting areas of production with their markets

ü They also connect the towns with each other and with State and National Highways

ü District Roads also connect Taluka headquarters with District headquarters in various regions of a state

ü There is about 4.7 million km of District Roads in India

ü District Roads are administered by the state governments

Rural and urban roads

ü Rural and urban roads (especially rural) form the largest chunk of road networks in India: about 2.65 million km

ü Rural roads are essential for transporting agricultural produce and products of small scale industries to their markets in villages, towns and cities

ü In order to facilitate the development of rural roads, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) has been established

ü Rural and urban roads are administered by the concerned local governments (Panchayats, Municipal Corporations etc)

POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES

National Highways Development Project (NHDP)
ü The NHDP is a project to upgrade, rehabilitate and widen major highways in India to a higher standard
ü The project was commissioned in 1998
ü The NHDP builds on existing National Highways and improves them to better standards
ü The NHDP is being implemented in a phased manner consisting of seven phases.
ü The NHDP consists of two important components
Ø Golden Quadrilateral: This is Phase I of the NHDP. The Golden Quadrilateral connects New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Total length is 5846 km. It was completed (to a large extent) in 2003
Ø North-South East-West Corridor: This is Phase II of the NHDP. The NSEW Corridor connects Srinagar with Kanyakumari and Silchar (Assam) with Porbandar (Gujarat). Total length is 7300 km. It is currently under construction. The North-South and East-West corridors meet at Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh)
ü The NHDP is implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in the North East Region
ü Programme approved in 2009
ü Implemented by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
ü The programme aims to provide connectivity to all state capitals and district headquarters in the North East region
ü The programme includes upgrading of other stretches of National Highways and state highways considered critical for economic development
Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
ü Launched 2000
ü Implemented by Ministry of Rural Development
ü The PMGSY is a nationwide plan to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages
ü The goal of the PMGSY is to provide connectivity to all villages
Ø With a population of at least 1000 by 2003
Ø With a population of at least 500 by 2007
Ø In hill states, tribal and desert area villages with population of at least 500 by 2003
Ø In hill states, tribal and desert area villages with population of at least 250 by 2007
ü In order to monitor the implementation of the programme, the Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) developed the Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting Scheme (OMMAS), which has grown to become one of the largest computer database in India
Central Road Fund
ü Established in 1998
ü The primary objective of the Fund is to provide financing to meet the challenges of accelerated funding requirement of road development projects
ü To support the Fund, an additional duty of Rs 0.50 per litre was levied on petrol and high speed diesel
ü Of this revenue, 50% goes for development of rural roads, and the other 50% for development of National Highways and other roads
GOVERNMENTAL BODIES
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
ü Established 1988, headquarters New Delhi
ü The NHAI is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways in India
ü The NHAI is currently implementing the NHDP
ü Functions under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
National Institute for Training of Highway Engineers (NITHE)
ü Established 1983, located Noida
ü The NITHE is the apex training institute for training highways and bridge engineers in the country
ü The objectives of the NITHE include
Ø Impart training to engineers
Ø Assist other organisations in developing their own training institutions
Ø Promote cooperation and knowledge exchange in the field of highway engineering between engineers in India and abroad
ü The NITHE also conducts training programmes for engineers from other Central and state government departments, PSUs and private enterprises
ü Functions under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Central Road Research Institute (CRRI)
ü Established 1948, location New Delhi
ü Functions under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science of Technology
ü The primary objective of the Institute is to provide research, technical and consultancy services in the areas of highways engineering, bridge engineering, geotechnical engineering, and traffic and transport planning

RAILWAYS IN INDIA

2011-07-13T18:19:00.000+05:30

RAILWAYS IN INDIA

ü The railway network in India is the fourth largest in the world

ü India’s railway network transports over 6 billion passengers and 350 million tonnes of freight annually

ü Railways in India traverse the length and breadth of the country, with about 7000 stations and total route length of over 63,000 km. About 28% of the route length has been electrified

History of railways in India

ü The first railway line in the Indian subcontinent was established in Madras in 1836. The first line was established near Chintadripet Bridge on an experimental basis. In 1837, a 3.5 mile line was commissioned between Red Hills and the stone quarries at St Thomas Mount

ü The regular first train in India was operationalised in 1851 for localised hauling of canal construction material in Roorkee

ü Two railways companies – the Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) and the East Indian Railway (EIR) were created in 1853 to construct and operate experimental railway lines near Bombay and Calcutta respectively

ü The first passenger train service in India was inaugurated between Bombay (Bori Bundar) and Thane in 1853

ü In 1923, both the GIPR and the EIR were nationalised

ü Upon Independence in 1947, forty two separate railway systems in India were amalgamated into a single unit christened the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways thus became one of the largest railway networks in the world

ü Railway zones were established in 1951

The Indian Railways

ü The Indian Railways is the state-owned railway company of India, which owns and operates most of India’s rail transport

ü The Indian Railways was formed in 1947 by the amalgamation of 42 disparate railway networks

ü The Indian Railways functions under the Ministry of Railways

ü The Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest commercial employers with over 1.4 million employees

ü The Indian Railways operates both long distance and suburban rail services

Railway zones

ü The Indian Railways is divided into 16 zones, which are further subdivided into divisions

ü The Kolkata Metro, although owned and operated by the Indian Railways, is part of any zone

ü Each of the 16 zones is headed by a General Manager. Divisions are headed by Divisional Railway Managers

ü The oldest railway zone is the Southern Railways, established in Apr 1951

Technical details of railways in India

ü The Indian Railways uses four gauges

Ø Indian Broad Gauge: 1676 mm (5ft 6in). This is the most widely used gauge in India. It is broader than the international Standard Gauge (1435 mm i.e. 4ft 8.5in)

Ø Meter Gauge: 1000 mm (3ft 3.5in)

Ø Narrow Gauge: 762 mm (2ft 6in)

Ø Narrow Gauge: 610 mm (2ft)

ü Project Unigauge was launched in 1980 to convert all portions of track to broad gauge

ü Narrow gauge is presently used on Kalka-Simla Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

ü Almost all electrified sections of track use 25,000 V AC traction through overhead catenaries

ü Exceptions to this include

Ø Mumbai section, which uses 1500 V DC traction

Ø Kolkata Metro which uses 750 V DC, delivered via third rail

Suburban railways

ü Suburban railways are currently operational in Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur

ü The New Delhi Metro, Kolkata Metro and Chennai MRTS have their own dedicated track

ü Suburban trains handling passenger traffic usually use Electric Multiple Units (EMU)

ü The oldest underground railway network in India is the Kolkata Metro, commissioned in 1984. The second underground network, the Delhi Metro, started operations in 2002

Special railways in India

ü There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the Indian Railways

Ø Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus), Mumbai

Ø Mountain railways of India

ü The Mountain Railways of India consists of three separate railway systems i.e. the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Simla Railway

ü Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Ø It is a 2ft narrow gauge railway

Ø Operates between Siliguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal

Ø Built 1889-1891. Added to UNESCO World Heritage List 1999

ü Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Ø Uses a 3ft 3 3/8 in metre gauge

Ø Connects Mettupalayam with Ooty in Tamil Nadu

Ø Only railway in India to use rack-and-pinion system

Ø Has the highest railway gradient in India (average of 4%, at places as high as 8%)

Ø Added to UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005

ü Kalka-Simla Railway

Ø It is a 2ft 6in narrow gauge railway

Ø Operates between Kalka in Haryana and Shimla in Himachal Pradesh

Ø Added to UNESCO World Heritage List 2008

ü Konkan Railway

Ø The Konkan Railway runs along the Konkan coast of India, between Mangalore in Karnataka and Mumbai in Maharashtra. It was opened in 1998

Ø The Konkan Railway introduced India’s first Roll on Roll off (RORO) freight service in 1999, which allows trucks to be transported on flatbed trailers

ü Kashmir Railway

Ø The Kashmir Railway, also known as Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link (JUSBRL) is intended to connect to Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country by means of railways

Ø Currently under construction, the project is expected to complete in 2017. The first phase of the project, between Jammu and Udhampur was completed in 2005

Ø When completed the Kashmir Railway will connect Jammu with Baramulla, a distance of 345 km

Ø The entire project has been divided in four legs or phases

§ Leg 0: Jammu-Udhampur (53 km). Completed Apr 2005

§ Leg 1: Udhampur-Katra (25 km). Expected completion 2012

§ Leg 2: Katra-Qazigund (148 km). Expected completion 2017

§ Leg 3: Qazigund-Baramulla (119 km). Completed Oct 2009

Ø The route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subject to extreme temperatures and inhospitable terrain

Ø The Kashmir Railway has the highest railway bridge in India: 77m over the Tawi river in the Jammu-Udhampur section.

Ø When the Kashmir Railway is completed, the Chenab Bridge will be the highest railway structure in the world (359 m above river bed), making it taller than the Eiffel Tower

Notable facts about the Indian Railways

ü The Palace on Wheels is India’s first luxury train. It was launched in 1962. It travels from New Delhi to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra

ü The Fairy Queen, built in 1855, is the world’s oldest steam engine still in active use. It currently operates a special tourist service from New Delhi to Alwar in Rajasthan, to the Sariska Tiger Reserve

ü The Lifeline Express, commissioned in 1991, is India’s mobile hospital train run by the Impact India Foundation, in collaboration with the Indian Railways and the Ministry of Health

ü The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time in the Indian Railways. It covers a distance of 3745 km about 75 hours

ü The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India, having a maximum operating speed of 150 kmph

ü The Kharagpur Railways Station has the world’s longest railway platform (1072 m)

International rail links

ü India has rail links with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh

ü India-Pakistan rail links

Ø Samjhauta Express: Amritsar (Punjab, India) – Lahore (Punjab, Pakistan)

Ø Thar Express:
Munabao (Rajasthan, India) – Khokhrapar (Sindh, Pakistan)

ü India-Bangladesh rail links

Ø There are two freight links between India and Bangladesh. However there is no passenger rail link

Ø Mahishasan (West Bengal, India) – Shahbazpur (Bangladesh)

Ø Radhikapur (West Bengal, India) – Birol (Bangladesh)

ü India-Nepal rail links

Ø Raxaul (Bihar, India) – Sirsiya (Parsa, Nepal)

Ø Jaynagar (Bihar, India) – Khajuri (Dhanusa, Nepal)

Private railways in India

ü Although the Indian Railways enjoys a near monopoly on rail transport in India, a few private railways do exist

ü Private railways are also owned and operated by companies for their own purposes such as harbours, ports, steel mills, mines etc

ü Private railways in India are principally for freight and not for passenger transport

ü The Bombay Port Trust, Madras Port Trust and Calcutta Port Trust all run their own broad gauge lines

ü The Tatas operate furnicular railways (inclined railways) at Bhira and Bhivpuri Road in Maharashtra

ü The Kutch Railway Company, a joint venture between the Gujarat government and private companies is in the process of building a Gandhidham-Palanpur railway line

Civil Aviation

2011-07-13T18:15:00.000+05:30

ü The Indian civil aviation sector handles about 414,000 passengers every month. Annual passenger traffic growth is about 20%

ü Civil aviation in India falls under the purview of the Ministry of Civil Aviation

ü Civil aviation is regulated under the Aircraft Act 1934 and Aircraft Rules 1937

ü The oldest airport in the country is the Nagpur airport

ü The oldest airline in India was Tata Airlines, founded in 1932. It was re-named as Air India in 1946

ü The first airline service in India was by Tata Airlines in 1932, flying mail from Karachi to Bombay

ü The first international air service was by Air India in 1948, between Bombay and London

All governmental bodies listed below function under the Ministry of Civil Aviation

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

ü Headquarters New Delhi

ü The DGCA is the governmental body that regulates civil aviation in India

ü The DGCA is the nodal agency for implementing the 1944 Chicago Convention on civil aviation. The Chicago Convention established the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an agency of UN in charge of regulating international air travel

ü Its functions include

Ø Registration of civil aircraft

Ø Licensing of pilots and air traffic controllers

Ø Formulation of standards of air worthiness for civil aircraft

Ø Certification of aerodromes

Ø Conducting investigations into accidents/incidents involving civil aviation

Ø Coordination of ICAO matters

Ø Supervision of flying schools

Ø Keeping a check on aircraft noise and engine emissions

Ø Promoting indigenous design and manufacture of aircraft

Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS)

ü Established 1978, headquarters New Delhi

ü The BCAS was formed to coordinate, monitor, inspect and train personnel in civil aviation security matters

ü The primary function of the BCAS is to establish the standards and measures with respect to civil aviation security at domestic and international airports in the country

Commission on Railway Safety (CRS)

ü The erstwhile Railway Inspectorate (formed in 1883) was re-named the Commission on Railway Safety in 1961

ü Headquarters Lucknow

ü The functions of the CRS include

Ø Inspect new railways and determine their fitness for public carriage of passengers

Ø Make periodical and other inspections of railway and rolling stock

Ø Investigate accidents/incidents related to the Railways

ü The Commission on Railway Safety functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation because of the desire to have a railways inspection authority independent of the Railway Board

National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL)

ü Established 2007. Headquarters Delhi/Mumbai

ü The NACIL was formed as a holding company for the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines

ü It is currently the largest airline operator in India

Airports Authority of India (AAI)

ü Formed in 1995, headquarters New Delhi

ü The AAI was formed by merging the International Airports Authority of India and the National Airports Authority

ü The AAI operates and manages 126 airports in India. These include 12 international airports, 89 domestic airports and 26 civil enclaves

ü The main functions of the AAI include

Ø Control and management of Indian airspace

Ø Development and operation of international and domestic airports and civil enclaves

Ø Provision of communication, navigational and visual aids for flying (like Radar, ILS etc)

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA)

ü Established 1985, located Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh)

ü The main objective of the IGRUA is to improve flight training standard in civil aviation and to provide flight training to selected candidates

LIST OF IMPORTANT WEBSITES

2011-07-08T20:22:00.001+05:30

LIST OF IMPORTANT WEBSITES

· ALLAHABAD BANK

· ANDRA BANK

· BANK OF BARODA

· BANK OF INDIA

· BANK OF MAHARASHTRA

· CANARA BANK

· CAREER IN INDIAN AIR FORCE

· CAREER IN INDIAN ARMY

· CAREER IN INDIAN NAVY

· CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA

· CORPORATION BANK

· DENA BANK

· EMPLOYMENT NEWS

· Govt. of India Web Directory

· INDIAN BANK

· INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK

· NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council)

· NATIONAL DEFENCE ACADEMY

· Official Website of Government of India

· ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE

· PUNJAB AND SIND BANK

· PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

· Railway Recruitment Boards in India

· RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

· Right to Information

· SARKARI NAUKRI (Blog)

· STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION

· STATE BANK OF INDIA

· SYNDICATE BANK

· UCO BANK

· UNION BANK OF INDIA

· UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

· UNITED BANK OF INDIA

· UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION

· VIJAYA BANK

· WIKIPEDIA

POPULAR QUOTATIONS TO REMEMBER

2011-07-08T18:54:00.000+05:30

POPULAR QUOTATIONS TO REMEMBER

Hey Ram. — Mahatma Gandhi
Swarajya is my birth right. — Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Aram Haram Hai. — Jawahar Lal Nehru
“We have now to fight for peace with the same courage and determination as we fought against aggression.” — Lal Bahadur Shastri
“……the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light. For that light represented living truth.” —Jawahar Lal Nehru
Jai Jawan Jai Kishan. — Lal Bahadur Shastri
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan — Atal Behari Vajpayee
Truth and non-violence are my God. — Mahatma Gandhi
Jan Gan Man Adhinayak Jai Hey. — Rabindra Nath Tagore
Dilli Chalo. — Subhash Chandra Bose
Give me blood and I Promise you freedom - Subash Chandra Bose
And all the men and women merely players. — Shakespeare (As You Like It)
Sweet are the uses of adversity, which like a toad, ugly and Venomous. Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. — Shakespeare (As You Like It)
Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. — Milton
Et Tu, Brute ! — Shakespeare (Julius Ceaser)
Good Government is no substitute for self Government. — Morley
Death is the end of life, ah why should life all labour be. — Alfred Tennyson
Full many a gem of purest ray serene, the dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear. — Thomas Gray
And fools, who came to scoff, Remained to pray. — Oliver Goldsmith
“…Seditious fakir striding half-naked up the steps of the Viceroy’s palace there to negotiate and parley on equal terms with the representative of the King Emperor.” — Winston Churchill
“Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this (Mahatma Gandhi) ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” — Einstein
“Whom the Gods love die young.” — Byron (Don Juan)
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” — Unknown Latin Proverb
“For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” — Pope
“A single step for a man–a giant leap for mankind.” — Neil Armstrong
“Thank God, I have done my duty.” — Admiral Nelson
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and Sweat.” — Winston Churchill
“Man is by nature a political animal.” — Aristotle
“To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” — Isaac Newton
Eureka! Eureka! — Archimedes
“Let a hundred flowers bloom and let a thousand schools of thought contend.” — Mao Tsetung
“Frailty, thy name is woman.” — Shakespeare (Hamlet)
“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.” — Shelley (To a Skylark)
“To maintain a fault known is a double fault.” — John Jewel
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty”—that is all. Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” — Keats
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” —Bacon
“Knowledge is power.” — Francis Bacon
“There is no future in any job, the future lies in the man who holds the job.” — G.W. Crane
“Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage.” — Jean Anovilh
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” — George Orwell
“If it were not for hopes, the hearts would break.” —Thomas Fuller
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to wake mistake.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Hate the sin, love the sinner.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.” — Jawaharlal Nehru
“The only alternative to co-existence is co-destruction.” — Jawaharlal Nehru
“History is moving and it will tend toward hope, or tend toward tragedy.” — George W. Bush
“All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope.” — Sir Winston Churchill

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