Timeline

Good News for Civil Services Aspirants

2015-05-19T17:00:00.004+05:30

UPSC declared that, it is going to release the Civil Services Notification, 2015 on 23/05/2015. Get ready folks!

Conservation of Environment

2014-02-01T13:05:00.004+05:30

Natural resources are the resources that occur in nature. ex: soil, water, air etc.

Ganga action plan started in 1985 to clean river Ganga.

River Ganga starts at Gangotri and joins the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar, West Bengal.

Coliform is human intestinal bacteria and its presence in water indicates contamination by disease causing bacteria.

Three R's to conserve environment : Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.

Sustainable development refers to the use of resources for the current generation without affecting the prospects of the future generations.

Tendu leaves are used to make bidis.

For Bishnoi community of Rajasthan, conservation of forest and wildlife is a religious tenet.

The Government has instituted 'Amrita Devi Bishnoi National Award for Wildlife Conservation' in memory of Amrita Devi Bishnoi who along with 363 others sacrificed life to protect khejri trees in khejri village of Rajasthan in 1731.

Kulhs is a system of canal irrigation in Himachal Pradesh.

Tehri dam is on river Ganga.

Narmada Bachao Andolan is a movement opposing the raising of height of Sardar Sarovar dam on river Narmada.

Global Warming is caused by green-house gases. Carbon dioxide is a green-house gas.

Interesting things to know about chemical reactions

2014-01-31T19:05:00.001+05:30

Chemical reaction is a change in chemical properties of a substance.
Chemical reaction is associated with change in color, state, temperature or release of gas.
Chemical reaction is represented by word-equation or chemical equation.
The substances that change chemically are called reactants. The substances that are formed due to chemical reaction are called products.
Photosynthesis equation (6CO2+6H2O---->C6H12O6+6O2).
Calcium oxide (CaO) is called as quick lime.
Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) is called slaked lime.
Slaked lime is used to white wash the walls. Slaked lime reacts with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to form calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate is called limestone. Limestone is heated to obtain quicklime.
There are 5 types of chemical reactions: combination reaction, decomposition reaction, displacement reaction, double displacement reaction and redox reaction.
In combination reaction, a single product is produced from two or more reactants.
In decomposition reaction, a single reactant produces two or more products.
In displacement reaction, an element displaces another element in the other compound.
In double displacement reaction, exchange of ions of reactants take place.
In redox reactions, one reactant gets oxidized and the other gets reduced.
A precipitate reaction forms precipitate.
In oxidation, the substance either gains oxygen or loosed hydrogen.
In reduction, the substance either looses oxygen or gains hydrogen.
In exothermic reactions, heat is released.
In endothermic reactions, heat is absorbed.
Rusting of iron is due to oxidation.
Corrosion of silver forms a black coat on it. Corrosion of copper forms green coat on it.
Antioxidants prevent oxidation and therefore added to oils and fats to prevent them turning rancid.
Chips packets are filled with nitrogen to prevent chips turning rancid.
Vegetarian products are indicated by a green dot in a green square.
Non-vegetarian products are indicated by a brown dot in a brown square.
Silver Bromide is used in black and white photography.
Law of conservation of mass - mass can be neither created nor destroyed but transforms from one form to the other.

Solar System

2014-01-30T20:38:00.001+05:30

The Solar system is part of Milky Way Galaxy.
The Milky Way Galaxy contains around 200 billion stars.
The Solar System is 4.6 billion years old.
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric theory. According to which the Sun is the center of the Solar System.
The Solar System consists 8 planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are called inner planets.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are called as outer planets.
The inner planets are also called as terrestrial planets.
The outer planets are also called as gas giants.
The outer planets are also called as Jovian planets.
Uranus and Neptune are called as ice giants.
The inner planets and outer planets are separated by asteroid belt.
Inferior planets are the planets that are close to the Sun, compared to the Earth.
Superior planets are the planets that are far from the Sun, compared to the Earth.
Pluto, Makemake and Haumea are dwarf planets. They are located in the Kuiper belt.
Pluto is the largest object of the Kuiper belt. Charon is the largest satellite of Pluto.
Sun is the only star of the Solar System.
Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to the Solar System.
On the orbit, perihelion is the closest point to the Sun. Whereas, aphelion is the farthest point to the Sun.
Mercury is the nearest planet to Sun.
Neptune is the farthest planet to the Sun.
Mercury is the smallest planet and Jupiter is the largest planet of the Solar System.
Mercury has no satellites.
Venus has no satellites and is the hottest planet in the Solar System.
Earth has one satellite and it is moon.
Mars has 2 satellites.
Jupiter has 67 known satellites. Ganymede is the satellite of Jupiter and is the largest satellite of the Solar System.
Saturn is the least dense planet of the Solar System.
Saturn has 62 confirmed satellites. Titan is the largest satellite of the Saturn.
Uranus has 27 known satellites and Titania is the largest satellite of Uranus.
Uranus orbits the Sun on its side.
Neptune has 14 known satellites and Triton is the largest satellite of Neptune.
The long tail of comet composed of gas and dust is called coma.

Current Affairs of January 2014

2014-01-24T16:58:00.002+05:30

Plan to restructure International Cricket Council (ICC)
Plans were drafted to restructure the ICC, after which the executive decision powers go to the cricket boards of India, England and Australia.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) supported the plan and Cricket South Africa (CSA).

RBI notification on withdrawal of currency notes
RBI notified to withdraw all pre-2005 currency notes from 1st April 2014.

Report on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households
The report is popularly known as Report on Inclusive Growth.
The report suggests that each Indian above the age of eighteen will have a bank account by January 2016.
Nachiket Mor is the Chairman of the Committee.

Projections of Indian Economy
The Indian economy is expected to grow 5% in 2013-14 and over 6% in 2015-16.

Housing start-up index
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation to launch housing start-up index, which keeps track of houses constructed across India.
The Rajiv Awaz Yojana is a 2013-22 mission mode programme aimed at eradicating slums and ensuring “equitable cities” in which every citizen has access to basic amenities and decent shelters.

The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2014 (WESP) report
The Indian Economy is projected to grow slower than expected 5.3 % for 2014-15 as per the UN report.

Padma Awards
Padma Vibhushan 2
Padma Bhushan 24
Padma Shri 101
Padma Vibhushan B.K.S.Iyengar, R.A.Mashelkar
Notable Padma Bhushan - Parveena Sultana, Ruskin Bond, J.S. Verma, Vairamuthu, Paes, Dalvir Bhandari, V.N. Kaul, Anita Desai, Pullela Gopichand
Notable Padma Shri - Paresh Rawal, Vidya Balan, Sudarsan Pattnaik, Bansi Kaul, Mallika Srinivasan, P. Kilemsingla, Pratap Govindrao Pawar. Vijay Ghate, Santhosh Sivan, Mohammad Ali Baig, Nayana Apte Joshi, Musafir Ram Bharadwaj, Elam Endira Devi, Rani Karnaa, Ram Mohan, Kalamandalam Sathyabhama, Parveen Tahla, Yuvraj Singh, Dipika Pallikal, Anjum Chopra, Sunil Dabas, Love Raj Singh Dharmashaktu, Mamta Sodha. H. Boniface Prabhu.

Australian Open
Men's - Wawrinka
Women's - Li Na

Olive Ridley Turtles
December to March period is the hatching season of Olive Ridley Turtles. Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles which come up to the surface to breath air for every 45 minutes. Due to mid-level and intense deep trawling, turtles are getting caught in the nets and are unable to reach the surface for breathing, resulting in their death. Some fishermen are chopping the limbs and heads of the turtles to remove them from nets. Some turtles are die being hit by the propellers.

Pamban Bridge
Pamban Bridge is India's first cantilever bridge. It connects Rameswaram with the mainland. 2014 is the year of centenary celebrations of Pamban Bridge.

RBI monetary policy review
The RBI has raised the indicative policy rate by 25 basis points to 8%. Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from the RBI.

Cap on LPG cylinders raised to 12
The annual cap on subsidized LPG cylinders is raised from 9 to 12 per household. Along with it the Direct Benefits Transfer for LPG consumer (DBTL) was also put on hold.

Rise as Sun, Shine as Silk

2014-01-04T10:52:00.001+05:30

Hello World,

http://www.sunsilk.in/

Constitutional Underpinnings - Acts

2013-11-26T16:52:00.001+05:30

The following are the acts of the British, which are significant in the making of the Constitution of India:

The Regulating Act, 1773
The Act of Settlement, 1781
Pitt's India Act, 1784
The Charter Act, 1833
The Charter Act, 1853
The Government of India Act, 1858
The Indian Councils Act, 1861
The Indian Councils Act, 1892
The Indian Councils Act, 1909
The Government of India Act, 1919
The Government of India Act, 1935
The Indian Independence Act, 1947

The Great Indian Bustard

2013-11-26T12:14:00.001+05:30

Courtesy: Wikipedia
The Great Indian Bustard is an endemic bird of India and Pakistan. It is generally found in semi-arid grassland habitat. The bird is on the brink of extinction and is listed as 'Critically Endangered Species' in the IUCN Redlist of threatened species. The loss of habitat and poaching are the prime factors for dwindling down the populations of the bird. There are less than 200 birds in India. Some of the important conservation centres in India are the Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, Solapur, Maharashtra and Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The Rajasthan government has launched a conservation programme called 'Project Great Indian Bustard' on the world environment day, 2013 to save the bird from extinction.

My Letter to my Mother

2013-11-14T22:56:00.000+05:30

Dear Mother,

I'm fine and I know you are also fine as I'm within you. In this letter I want to let you know some classified information which makes me immune to diseases. These secrets are told to me by the God and I'm telling these to you as I may forget (I already forgot some!). Please follow these measures and make me immune.

When I'm in your womb:

Take care about what you take in i.e. food, medicines etc.
Avoid alcohol and smoking.
Be physically active.

After I'm born

Breastfeed me exclusively till the sixth month.
Provide nutritious food to me.
Vaccinate me at regular intervals.
Teach me how to exercise.
Provide me pollution free environment.
Educate me on hygiene.

As you love me more than anyone in the world, I know you would do all these even if I didn't told you. I thank you and dad for providing me this life. I love you mumma and papa.

Yours lovingly,
Oops! I don't have a name yet.

This post is written as part of the "An Immune India" contest by IndiBlogger, sponsored by Dabur Chyawanprash(www.daburchyawanprash.com)

Current Affairs of 12th October 2013

2013-10-12T16:47:00.000+05:30

Phailin

Tropical Cyclone.
Category 5 - very severe (IMD).
Phailin was named by Thailand. Phailin means sapphire.
Helen is the next cyclone, it is named by Bangladesh.

Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel peace prize, 2013 was awarded to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
HQ of OPCW - Hague.
Estb in 1997.
OPCW is the monitoring body of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
CWC is ratified by 189 countries.
EU was awarded the last year's peace prize.

RTI

The SC ruled that the cooperatives are out of the ambit of the RTI Act, 2005.

Misc

AP is known as the rice bowl of India. 44 % of AP is vulnerable to cyclones. Till now, no cyclone hit West Godavari and Vizianagaram districts of AP.

Gold

Bank of Nova Scotia is the biggest bullion importing bank of India.
Gold is one the major contributor for CAD.
Government imposed 10% duty on gold imports.

IIP

Industrial growth for August is 0.6%.
Low growth is due to fall in mining and manufacturing sectors.
Manufacturing sector weighs around 75% of IIP.
Mining sector is around 14 % of IIP.

References

Current Affairs of 5th February 2013

2013-09-20T08:04:00.000+05:30

National
Rohinton Nariman resigned from the post of Solicitor-General. It is the second most senior law official post of the country where Attorney-General of India is the senior most law official post of the country. Solicitor-General is a non-constitutional post.

The DRDO plans to develop Agni-VI with multiple nuclear warheads with target of 6000 km. It is to have three stages with all powered by solid propellants.
Strategic missiles developed by DRDO - Agni-I,II,III,IV and V and submarine-launched K-15 and its land based version Shourya.

Current Affairs of 16th July 2012

2013-09-20T08:03:00.000+05:30

Current Affairs of 16th July 2012

Obama suggested another wave of economic reforms for India

U.S. President Barack Obama suggested another round of economic reforms for India. He indicated that India has limited foreign direct investment (FDI) in many sectors and he particularly stressed the retail sector.

Sushil Kumar to bear the Indian flag in the Olympics

Sushil Kumar, wrestler was chosen by the Indian Olympic Association (IAO) to be the flag bearer of the Indian contingent at the London Olympics.

Current affairs of 27th December 2012

2012-12-27T18:44:00.001+05:30

Defence
The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully tested K-15, underwater missile would be integrated with Arihant, nuclear powered submarine. India became the fifth country to possess underwater missile after China, France, Russia and the U.S. K-15 missile is 10-metres long and weighs six tonnes and can carry nuclear payloads. Arihant is a nuclear powered submarine with 80-MWt reactor using enriched Uranium as fuel and light water as coolant and moderator.
K-4 submarine missile is also under-development and has a range of 3,000 km.

Current Affairs of 20th July 2012

2012-07-20T12:20:00.004+05:30

Chindu Yakshaganam is a dance form of Andhra Pradesh.

Business

Microsoft announced the release of Windows 8 on October 26.
Indian consortium led by the GAIL lost to the Sinopec of China in a bid to a major gas pipeline project in Ghana.
Centre decided to impose 21 % duty on import of power gear.
The PMO announced setting up of a Project Clearance Board under the cabinet secretary to speed up the clearences for infrastructure and energy projects.
Sensex : 17278.85
Nifty : 5242.70
Rupee : 55.12
China to lend $ 20 billion to African countries in the next three years. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the credit pledge in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing.
OECD eased tax info rules to tackle black money.

Source : The Hindu dated 20th July 2012.

Current Affairs of 18th July 2012

2012-07-18T12:45:00.001+05:30

International

The Food and Drug Administration of U.S. approved Truvada, an anti-HIV drug from Gilead Sciences.

Business

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) included renminbi and rupee in its Trade Finance Programme (TFP).

Producer Price Index

RBI has proposed Producer Price Index (PPI) to measure the inflation instead of the present WPI measure.

Sensex : 17,105.30
Rupee : 55.11

National

Saimar, an endangered language

Saimar is a severely endangered language. It is spoken by one of the eighteen groups of the Halam tribe. The language is now spoken by only four persons in Gantachera village, Tripura.
The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is located in Mysore.

Astrosat

India to launch Astrosat, its first satellite dedicated to astronomy. The satellite has five devices on board to study the universe.

Source : The Hindu dated 18th July 2012.

Current Affairs of 17th July 2012

2012-07-17T12:14:00.000+05:30

International

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected as the first woman president of the African Union (AU).
Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed an anti-rebel pact.

Business

The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for the textile sector is extended until the end of the 12th five year plan with an outlay of Rs. 15,886 crore.
The headline inflation for June is at 7.25 %.
International Monetary Fund reduced India's growth projections from 6.8 % to 6.1 % in 2012 and from 7.2 % to 6.5 % in 2013. Whereas the global growth projections were placed at 3.5 % in 2012 and 3.9 % in 2013.
Sensex : 17,103.31
Nifty : 5197.25
Rupee : 55.31

Sport

Jeev Milka Singh, an Indian golfer won the Scottish Open. This is his fourth European tour title win.

Source : The Hindu dated 17th July 2012.

Current Affairs of 28 October 2011

2011-10-28T21:49:00.001+05:30

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah proposed for the withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state. The state government is supporting its proposal by the facts of reduction in violence and enhancement of police strength. Chief of Army staff, General V.K. Singh opposed this proposal as there is continued threat from across the Line of Control (LOC).The Army had maintained that since armed forces operated in hostile environment, both to defend the borders and carry out counter-terrorism operations, they needed powers and legal support to avoid legal action and prosecution while doing their duty. Repealing the Act would, among other things, affect pro-active operations, as the forces would not have the powers to arrest or search any individual or premises, suspected to be indulging in or being used for such activities. Also, they would not be able to use any force to defuse any situation other than in self-defence. It would also take away the forces' power to destroy ammunition dumps and deactivate improvised explosive devices. The demand for roll back of AFSPA is backed by the Annual Report (2010) of the National Crime Records Bureau. According to the report the murder rate in the state is 3.5 per 100000 population which is less than many other states. The murder rate is high in Arunachal Pradesh which is at 6.1. The murder rate of India is significantly lower than the United States of America (USA).

Maharastra with 3114 rape cases topped the list of states in order of registered rape cases. Delhi and Mumbai accounted for one-thirds of the rape cases in the urban areas. However the conviction rate is much less, out of the 94.5% accused only 26.6 % are convicted due to the incapacity of the police investigators and public prosecutors in proving them. The convictions in Dowry death cases are higher at 33.6%.

Chinese scholars have claimed that the one-child policy of China has delayed the population reaching 7 billion by five years. The policy was introduced in 1979. By 2025, India surpasses China as the most populous nation of the world. The policy resulted in a widening gender gap, a rapidly aging society and a shrinking workforce.

Nilgiri langurs are under the threat of extinction due to poaching for preparing medicines in spite of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It is placed in the red list of International Union for conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are found in the southern western ghats between the Coorg hills of Karnataka and Kanyakumari of Tamilnadu.

2011-10-25T11:48:00.000+05:30

Current Affairs

Ports in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh has the third longest coastline in India after Gujarat and Tamilnadu. Gujarat has a coastline of 1600 km with 41 ports. Out of these 1 is major port, 11 are medium ports and 29 are small ports. 15 more port are under consideration. Tamilnadu has a coastline of 1076 km with 20 ports. Out of these 3 is major port, 17 are non major ports. 7 more port are under consideration. Maharastra has a coastline of 720 km with 48 ports. Karnataka has a coastlie of 300 km with 10 ports. Andhra Pradesh has a coastline of 996 km with 15 ports. Out of these 1 is major port and the other 14 are minor ports. Out of these 14 minor ports only 4 are functional. In Ap, four ports are under consideration they are:

Krishnapatnam port in Nellore Dt.
Vanpic port in Guntur-Prakasam Dt.
Gangavaram port in Visakhapatnam Dt.
Machilipatnam port in Krishna Dt.

India is spending only 4-5% on basic infrastructure development. Visakhapatnam-Kakinada coastal region is chosen as the country's first Petroleum,Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region(PCPIR). Second major port in Ap is under consideration at:

Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam Dt.
Ramaiahpattanam in Prakasam Dt.
Duggarajapattanam in Nellore Dt.

ISRO to built a new facility

ISRO to build new rocket manufacturing center and launching pad at Gullelamodu in Krishna Dt.

Current Affairs of 22 September 2011

2011-09-22T14:08:00.001+05:30

National

Interlocutors to submit report by October 12 the panel of three interlocutors appointed by the Union government on Jammu and Kashmir are to submit their report by October 12 to the Home minister. The three interlocutors are Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and M M Ansari.
Sam Pitroda to head the rail modernisation panel. It is to recommend methods to modernise tracks, signalling, rolling stock and stations.

International

1.Rabbani killed
Burhanuddin Rabbani is the chairman of the High Peace council to re conciliate with the Talibans. He was the former President of Afghanistan.
Economy
1.Italy's sovereign debt rating downgraded
Standard and Poor's downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating from A/A-1 to A+/A-1+.
2.Sharad pawar to head GoM on Manufacturing policy.
Currently the manufacturing sector contributes 15-16 per cent of GDP.
Sports
1.Australia bags Warne-Muralitharan test cricket trophy.

Current Affairs of 18 March 2011

2011-03-18T13:01:00.000+05:30

EPFO-Employees Provident Fund Organisation.

Total Provident Fund Subscribers(PF)-5 Crore.

PF interest was hiked to 9.5% from 8.5%
Manufacturing sector contributes 80% of Industrial sector.
Maharatna Status-ONGC, IOCL, SAIL, NTPC.

New norm:A company qualifying for the Maharatna status should have an avg. annual turnover of Rs 20000 crore in the last 3 years, previously this was Rs.25,000 crore.

The Maharatna scheme was launched in December 2009.

A CPSE with an avg. annual networth of Rs.10,000 crore(previously Rs.15,000 crore) and net profit of Rs.2,500 crore(previously Rs.5000 crore) for 3 years in a row.
SEBI

The SEBI allowed listing of securitised debt instruments or certificates on exchanges.
Repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow money from the central bankand reverse repo is the rate at whichbanks park their funds with the central bank.

Repo rate-6.75%; Reverse Repo rate-5.75%.
According to ILO, domestic workers in constitute 4-10% in devoloping countries and 1-2.5 % in developed countries of the total employment.

Current Affairs of 17th March 2011

2011-03-17T14:36:00.000+05:30

Flies comprise 10 per cent of all life on Earth.
Ozone is a trace gas that protects Earth's surface against Sun's ultraviolet radiation.
Earth's figure axis is the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced.
The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 3.3 feet over the course of a year.
Stable iodine if present in the thyroid will prevent absorption of radioiodine by that organ. The dose reduction of 100 per cent is possible if stable iodine is administered before exposure. With administration one hour after exposure, the dose reduction will be 80 per cent if consumed after six hours of exposure stable iodine helps to lower dose to 50 per cent a day after it does not protect at all.
The National Innovation Fund, Ahmedabad (NIF).
Maastricht, is a city in the Netherlands.
Article 21 of the Constitution (right to life and liberty) would apply even to a foreign national staying in India.

Current Affairs of 16 March 2011

2011-03-16T11:18:00.000+05:30

CDFD-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad.
Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi.
G8-World's seven richest coutries and Russia.
France has the world's largest implantation of nuclear reactor-over 50-which supply the country with 80 per cent of ots energy needs.
Mauritius has conferred one of its highest honours, Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and the Key of the Indian Ocean (GCSK), on Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam-considered the father of the nation.

Current Affairs of 15 March 2011

2011-03-16T09:18:00.001+05:30

March 20-World House Sparrow Day. Theme:Chirp for the sparrow!Tweet for the sparrow!
Unleaded petrol releases methyl nitrite.
House Sparrow-Passer domesticus.
Surekha Yadav-Asia's first woman motorwoman.
Essam Sharaf-Egypt's PM.
Mikhail Simonov-Designer of Sukhoi jets.
Jatakas are religious scriptures of Buddhism. There are 547 Jataka tales.
Trepanning/Trepanation/Cranoitomy:Boring a hole into the human skull.
Inventor of Flash memory-Dr.Fujio masuoka.
Homo Sapiens-Wise man/Knowing man (Latin).
Mt.Erebus – Southernmost historically active volcano on Earth in Antarctica.
India has 20 nucear reactors; 18 are indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors and the rest at Tarapur-TAPS-1 and TAPS-2 which are boiling water reactors.
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occured in 1986.
The last tsunami on west coast came in 1945.
The Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) is a six member bloc-Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
Indices of Japan; Nikkei 225 stock average; Topic index.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest automaker.