IGNITING MINDS ` 125/-
/ignitingmindsmagazine
Volume.01
| Issue.10 | August 2016
Monthly Educational Magazine
RNI No: TELENG/2015/65077
“Inspired by a great soul Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM”
Sky Is No Limit AT 16, SUSHMA VERMA IS YOUNGEST PHD SCHOLAR THE MOON / UNDERSTANDING ITS PHASES
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ASPIRING TO BECOME A BANK PROBATIONARY OFFICER ?
SALUTING IRON LADY OF MANIPUR
Dear readers Editor Nagasri Nampally +91 8885053541
Consultant Editor Venu K.Kodimela
Assistant Editor Sam B Arackal
Director Vamshikrishna Parlapally +91 9160777888
Design Team Dharmendher.B +91 9700104157 Sarath Chandra Y V +91 9989636399
Space exploration is a fascinating subject for all. Young and old alike are curious to understand space, cosmos, and the life beyond. The urge for the knowledge on stars, galaxies, celestial bodies, extraterrestrials are curious elements that work in favour of space exploration. Realizing its importance, our national space organization ISRO is offering a platform for educational institutions where students can build small satellites and become future space scientists. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” said Neil Armstrong when he stepped his foot on the Moon. The ISRO’s collaboration with Indian universities and educational institutions is a small step that would ignite the minds of students to set new records in space. We are sure that these students would leave their imprint on national and global space agencies in the coming years. In this issue we highlight the role of Indian students in developing satellites while trying to make India a space hub. Apart from this you can also be in touch with us on social media – facebook/ ignitingmindsmagazine. Do give us your feedback and suggestions.
Advisors Priya Iyengar Mr. Anil Kumar Siddu Dr Y. Naveen Kumar
Office Address: H No: 1-4-160/1/12, Plot No. 12 Maniksai Enclave, Sainikpuri, Hyderabad, Telangana, India - 500094, Feedback or Queries: +91 8885053541
Happy reading, Igniting Minds team
Printed, Published & Owned by Nampally Nagasri Printed at Bandla Print Solutions, Plot .No. A - 22/1, Road No. 14, I.P, Nacharam, Hyderabad - 500076
Sunday
Events Calendar (September) * Newspaper Carrier Day
Monday
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Tuesday
*Teachers’ Day (Dr Radhakrishnan’s 05 Birthday)
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* Respect Day, * Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day.
* World Pharmacists Day, * Comic Book Day.
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* Gymnastics Day, * International Eat An Apple Day. *Video Games Day
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* International Rabbit Day,
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*Programmers’ Day, *Defy Superstition Day *Read a Book Day.
Wednesday
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*Punch Day,
*Sanchayika Day, * International Cross-Cultural Day, *Buy a Book Day
07 * International Literacy
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08
*V-J Day
Saturday
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*Skyscraper Day.
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* Hindi Divas.
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*World Tourism Day,
* World Heart Day, * Green Consumer Day, * International Day of Peace
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*National Nutrition Week, * Calendar Adjustment Day
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Day, * World Physical Therapy Day,
Friday
Thursday
* Hot Cross Bun Day, *No News is Good News Day
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15 * Greenpeace Day.
* Telangana Language Day
*Swap Ideas Day
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16
* Ozone Day
*International 17 Country Music Day
* Business Women’s Day
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* Restless Legs Awareness Day
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*Punctuation Day,
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* International Coffee Day.
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*Ask A Stupid Question Day, * International Translation Day.
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Birthday Calendar (September) * Dabhai Nooraji (Freedom Fighter 04 1825 – 1917)
*Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Former President 05 of India, 1888–1975)
* Vinoba Bhave (Advocate of non violence - 1895 – 1982) 11
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*Amala Akkineni (Film actress, 1968)
* Shabana Azmi (Actress, 1950)
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*Paulo Freire (Educator and Philos19 opher, 1921-1997)
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* Satish Dhawan (Aerospace Engineer, 1920 – 2002)
* Manmohan Singh (Former Prime Minister of India 1932), * Dev Anand (Film actor-1923)
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* Bhagat Singh * Syed Mujtaba Ali (Author 1904-1974) *Yashwant Sinha (1932)
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* Jwala Gutta (Badminton player 1983)
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*Bhaktivedanta Swami (Spiritual teacher, 1896 – 1977) 08 01
* Pawan Kalyan (Film Actor – 1971)
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* Shrikant Jichkar 14 (Politics 1954-2004)
*Asha Bhonsle (Singer, 1933)
* Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (Engineer, 15 1860-1962)
* Kaloji Narayana Rao
09 (Poet -1914 –2002)
(Freedom Fighter 1907 – 1931),
*Akkineni Nageswara Rao (Film actor, 1923 – 2014) 20
* Gurazada Apparao (Poet,1862-1915)
* Mata Amritanandamayi (Spiritual leader -1953)
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* Lata Mangeshkar (Playback Singer-1929)
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* P.B. Sreenivas (Singer, 1930 – 2013)
* Mehmood Ali (Actor)
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* M. S. Subbulakshmi (Vocalist 1916 – 2004)
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*Ramdhari Singh Dinkar(Poet, 1908 – 23 1974)
*Hrishikesh Mukherje (Film Director, 30 1922 – 2006)
*Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of 17 India, 1950)
*Bhikaji Rustom Cama (1861 – 1936) 24
*C R Rao (Mathematician, 1920),
*Jaggi Vasudev (Philanthropist, 1957)
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*Yelavarthy Nayudamma (Chemical Engineer, 1922 - 1985)
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Cover Story
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Sky is no Limit Indian students have set their sights high. They are venturing into uncharted territory where no student has gone before space exploration .........
Life Skills
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What is Communication? The word communication comes from the Latin ‘communicare’ meaning “to share or transmit, “It is one of the easiest .........
Contents Motivational Story
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At 16, Sushma Verma is youngest PhD scholar The child prodigy from Lucknow was discovered at the age of two and admitted to class IX at the age of five. Since then, she has smashed many ..........
Handwriting
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Seven Wonders of Writing Observe the Coincidence! Letter ‘w’ stands for writing and wonder too. It’s no wonder that writing is a wonder...........
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Parenting Parenting Children with mild Developmental Disabilities
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Science
Health & Nutrition
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How to make the most out of a balanced diet? The Moon/ Understanding Its Phases
Awards 32 Brave Hearts Ashok Chakra Award It is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action ..........
Pride of India 40 Saluting Iron Lady of Manipur Mahatma Gandhi resorted to Sathyagrah to protect the rights of Indians in South Africa...
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sPORTS
Who in the world is not interested in staying healthy, fit, and live longer? ..........
Career 34 Awareness Aspiring to become a Bank Probationary Officer?
Brazil Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. It forms an enormous triangle on the eastern.........
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Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement was the next major milestone after the Salt Satyagraha in the history ..........
A fter the Civil Services, the Bank Probationary Officer posts are much sought after in the country...........
Country
History
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Cool Inventions & Guinness World 50 Records Brain Gym 52 Current Affairs
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Olympic According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC.,.......... | IGNITING MINDS â—†
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Cover story
Sky is no limit Indian students have set their sights high. They are venturing into uncharted territory where no student has gone before – space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organization is collaborating with academic institutions as part of its Small Satellites project for a decade. Today the students design, fabricate, test and deliver small satellites to the premier space agency for the launch.
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ndia has made its mark in exploration of space. Through its launch vehicles, the Moon and the Mars probe, ISRO has proved that it is second to none. It is launching satellites into space at a fraction of cost what NASA spends on its projects. As the space agency is looking for more launches, it is teaming up with students to meet challenges on the space exploration front. In fact, it is providing a career launch pad for the students.
Collaboration with academic institutions ISRO has influenced educational institutions by its activities like making satellites for communication, remote sensing and astronomy. The launch of Chandrayaan-1 has triggered the interest of universities and institutions to venture into space technology. Underscoring the importance in critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, reusable thermal-protection system, and re-entry mission management, ISRO has given many educational institutions a chance to make experimental satellites. Since 2009, seven such student satellites have been launched by ISRO.
Market is for Lightweight satellites Today, the demand is for lightweight satellites. They are in demand as they can be lifted easily. ISRO Chairman, A S Kiran Kumar offers students the opportunity to design light-weight experimental satellites. To develop satellites, it is important to know about payloads. Every satellite carries a payload that comprise detectors, electronics and associated algorithms.
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The Seven Student Satellites Launched By ISRO
with a model of Some of the team members TH SA YABAMASAT
SATHYABAMASAT Thenano satellite was developed by Sathyabama University, Chennai to collect data on greenhouse gases, water vapour, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen fluoride. The satellite was launched on June 22, 2016.
SWAYAM
of College of Swayam was developed by students Engineering, Pune (CoEP).
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Developed by College of Engineering, Pune, under the technical guidance and support from ISRO, the satellite demonstrated passive attitude stabilization in polar low Earth orbit using a permanent magnet along the direction of Earth’s magnetic field and two pairs of hysteresis rods, each pair mounted along two axes mutually perpendicular with respect to axis of the magnet. The other objective is to characterize the 434-438 MHz amateur HAM band for low Earth orbit. This was launched on June 22, 2016.
Jugnu Designed and developed by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur under the guidance of ISRO, Nanosatellite Jugnu weighing 3 kg aims to prove the indigenously developed camera system for imaging the Earth in the near infrared region and test image processing algorithms. Jugnu also has the functional capability to evaluate GPS receiver for its use in satellite navigation. Besides, it also tests the indigenously developed MEMS based Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) in space. Jugnu was launched on Oct. 12, 2011.
Jugnu
SRMSAT Weighing 10.9 kg, this nanosatellite was developed by the students and faculty of SRM University, Chennai in 2011 to address the issue of pollution and global warming by monitoring carbon dioxide and water vapour levels.
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YOUTHSAT This is a mini satellite with a lift-off mass of 92 kg. It was a joint Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite mission which saw the participation of students from different universities at graduate, post graduate and research scholar level. Two out of three payloads on the satellite are Indian and one is Russian. Its objectives are to investigate the composition of upper surface of the earth, carry out experiments related to energy of the earth’s crust, and to understand the dynamics of the earth surface. PSLV – C16 was used as the launch vehicle for the satellite on April 20, 2011.
STUDSAT STUDSAT was the first pico-satellite of India, and the smallest satellite developed in 2010 by a group of seven engineering colleges from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Weighing 1 kg, its primary objective was to encourage research by establishing a communication link between the satellite and ground station.
ANUSAT This was the first satellite built by an Indian university under ISRO’s guidance, to demonstrate the technologies related to message store and forward operations. Store and forward is a telecommunications technique in which information is sent to an intermediate station, kept there, and sent to the final destination other intermediate station later. Designed, developed and integrated at Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Anna University, the satellite weighs 40 kg and was launched on Apr. 20, 2009.
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Can Universities or Institutions Partner With ISRO to Develop Satellites? Yes, they can join hands with ISRO for satellite development under the following options: ◆ Development of payloads: Under this option, university or institution can develop payload and is launched with ISRO’s satellite along with other payloads. Educational institutions can propose that the payloads developed by them should be launched with ISRO’s small satellites. After the launch ISRO acquires the payload data and sends it to the universities for further analysis. ◆ Satellite design and fabrication: Under this option, universities get technical guidance from ISRO to design, fabricate and test the satellite bus and payload. The bus supports payload functions. Universities need to deliver the integrated spacecraft to ISRO for launch. ISRO also provides them with some of the required material. Finally, the design is tested by ISRO. To become a space exploration powerhouse universities and institutions need to develop indigenous lightweight satellites. Aspiring students partnering with ISRO in space science will be a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and emerging space exploration partnership with the United States.
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Life Skills
Important aspects in Communication ❶ ACTION: The transmission of information from one person to another through the use of symbols and their accompanying meaning. ❷ INTERACTION: The exchange of information between two (or more) individuals through the symbols and their accompanying meaning
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION? Syed Faisal Hussain MBA-H.R
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he word communication comes from the Latin ‘communicare’ meaning “to share or transmit, “It is one of the easiest word but difficult to explain or even express, years of research found it’s an art of conveying message effectively by taking positive feedback. Broadly speaking, there are three types of communications – verbal, non verbal, and written. According to a research conducted by the New York University, non verbal communication plays a major role in conveying the real message to the intended receiver. The research also says that one can make or break message in just first seven seconds. This can also be referred to as silent message or body language. ❶ ❶ Verbal: We use our tongue to articulate. Example: face to face or video call. ❷ Written: Writing in the form of letters, documents, email, chats, texts, reports. ❸❸ Non-Verbal: Body language-gestures, postures, signs, signals or any visual aid.
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❸ MEANING CONSTRUCTION: The process by which two or more individuals arrive at supposedly shared (or common) meanings or understandings for symbolic actions.
Communication Style Communications styles and each has his or her own unique characteristics of communicating with others. Communications styles have a great deal to-do with one’s personality and typically are complementary to each person’s personality style. Each is basically self-explanatory and describes a particular way that people communicate and are perceived. 1. Outspoken/Direct 2. Quite/Reserved 3. Thoughtful/Analytical 4. Friendly/Unassuming
Tips to speak Reading: 30 Minutes daily When you read, read it loud. Follow the pause for example, stop for 3 seconds at full stops and 2 seconds at comma, semicolon & colon, one can find the difference in first week itself. While reading one can record their tone, could help to evaluate by yourself.
1.Pay attention when you read and read as if it really matters. Most people read in the same way that they watch television, i.e. get distracted, passive way. Reading takes effort and you must make the effort, Do three things: A. Pay attention B. Pay attention & C .Pay attention 2. Stop talking to yourself when you read. People talk to themselves in two ways: A. Vocalizing- which is the actual moving of your lips as you read. B. Subvocalizing -which is talking to yourself in your head as you silently read. 3. Choose something that is interesting to you - This is clear. In fact, if you are really interested in a topic, you will probably be able to understand texts that would normally be too difficult for you.
Listening: 30 Minutes Practice daily L –LOOK (Look at the speaker while listening.) I – Inquiry (Check whether it is for you?) S – Summarize (If it’s for you, understand what is being said.) T – Take Notes (Take notes for important elements of conversation.)
❶ Paraphrase the message to the speaker in order to confirm your understanding. Explain that by putting the message in your own words. ❷ Repeat the message to help you remember what was said. Person’s satisfaction that you have heard his or her message correctly; you ensure that you not only are listening but really understand what was said. ❸ Probe for missing information. Explain that by requesting or asking questions, you find out any information that may have been missing in the communications or that you need or want.
E – Emphasize (Put yourself in speaker shoe, when you do it remove the one you’re wearing.)
❹ Clarify any points that you might not completely understand. Explain that this also ensures that you have heard exactly what the other person intended to communicate.
N – Neutralize (Focus on Content not physical aspects of the speaker.)
❺ Remember the important points of the message for future.
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant!” | IGNITING MINDS ◆
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Success Story
At 16, Sushma Verma is youngest PhD scholar
The child prodigy from Lucknow was discovered at the age of two and admitted to class IX at the age of five. Since then, she has smashed many records and wants to pursue medicine when she turns 17 next year.
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Sushma Verma was just five when she was directly enrolled in class IX in 2005. When she was seven, she got listed in the Limca Book of Records for being the ‘youngest student’ to pass class X. She was 13 when she completed her graduation and at the age of 15, she has created yet another record by finishing MSc. She not only cleared the course with flying colours, but also topped the class in the first, second and third semesters in spite of being the youngest in the class. Most of her classmates were at least eight to nine years older than her.
Her talent was discovered when she recited the Ramayana at a school function at the age of two. Her brother Shailendra, who is also a prodigy, had cleared class 10 at the age of nine and became the youngest science graduate at the age of 14. She would often read her brother’s books and took training from her teachers to solve the problems quickly. She aspires to become a doctor but her age came in between her dreams and her CPMT results were withheld because she was under age. As she couldn’t pursue the medical course due to age constraints, she thought of finishing her PhD till she turns 17.
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► Tej Bahadur Verma picks up his daughter from the college when she finished her graduation.
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Sushma with her family
Young Sushma Verma posing with her classmates in high school.
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Science
The Moon Understanding Its Phases The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite and was formed 4.6 billion years ago around some 30–50 million years after the formation of the solar system. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The first unmanned mission to the Moon was in 1959 by the Soviet Lunar Program with the first manned landing being Apollo 11 in 1969.
Stats Circumference at Equator: 10,917.0 km Diameter: 3,475 km Mass: 73,476,730,924,573,500 million kg (0.0123 x Earth) Orbits: The Earth Average Distance from Earth: 384,400 km Length of Orbit: 27.3 Earth days Surface Temperature: -233 to 123 °C Gravity: 1.622 m/s² Age: 4.527 billion years
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he half of the Moon that points toward the Sun looks bright because it is lit by sunlight. The Moon appears to change shape because we see different amounts of the lit part as the Moon orbits Earth. When the Moon is between Earth and the Sun, the lit side is hidden from us. As it moves around Earth, more and more of the lit side comes into view. Then it begins to disappear again.
Why does it change its shape every night? The answer is the moon is a world in space, just as Earth is. Like Earth, it’s always half illuminated by the sun. In other words, the round globe of the moon has a day side and a night side. From our earthly vantage point, as the moon orbits around Earth, we see varying fractions of its day and night sides. These are the changing phases of the moon.
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The primary key to understanding moon phases is to think about the whereabouts of the sun. After all, it’s the sun that’s illuminating and creating the day side of the Moon. Its phases depend on the sun. They depend on where the moon is with respect to the sun in space. Another key to understanding moon phases is to remember that, like the sun and all the planets and stars, the moon rises in the east and sets in the west each and every day. It has to. The rising and setting of all celestial objects is due to Earth’s continuous spin beneath the sky. Also, remember that the moon takes about a month (one “month”) to orbit the Earth. Although the moon rises in the east and sets in the west each day (due to Earth’s spin), it’s also moving on the sky’s dome each day due to its own motion in orbit around Earth. The moon’s orbital motion can be detected in front of the stars from one night to the next. It’s as though the moon is moving on the inside of a circle of 360 degrees. Thus the moon moves about 12 degrees each day. And remember that the moon’s orbital motion is toward the east. Each day, as the moon moves another 12 degrees toward the east on the sky’s dome, Earth has to rotate a little longer to bring you around to where the moon is in space. Thus the moon rises, on average, about 50 minutes later each day. The later and later rising time of the moon causes our companion world to appear in a different part of the sky at each nightfall for about two weeks. Then, in the couple of weeks after full moon, you’ll find the moon rising later and later at night.
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It takes 29.5 days for the Moon to orbit Earth.
Facts about the Moon Dark side myth In reality, both sides of the Moon see the same amount of sunlight however only one face of the Moon is ever seen from Earth this is because the Moon rotates around on its own axis in exactly the same time it takes to orbit the Earth, meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The side facing away from Earth has only been seen by the human eye from spacecraft.
Rise and fall of tides There are two bulges in the earth due to the gravitational pull that the Moon exerts; one on the side facing the Moon, and the other on the opposite side that faces away from the Moon, The bulges move around the oceans as the Earth rotates, causing high and low tides around the globe.
Drifting away from the Earth The Moon is moving approximately 3.8 cm away from our planet every year. It is estimated that it will continue to do so for around 50 billion years. By the time that happens, the Moon will be taking around 47 days to orbit the Earth instead of the current 27.3 days.
G-force on the Moon The Moon has much weaker gravity than Earth, due to its smaller mass, so you would weigh about one sixth (16.5%) of your weight on Earth. This is why the lunar astronauts could leap and bound so high in the air.
First spacecraft This was a Soviet craft, which was launched from the USSR. It passed within 5995 km of the surface of the Moon before going into orbit around the Sun.
Moon Walkers The first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969 was Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission, while the last man to walk on the Moon in 1972 was Gene Cernan on the Apollo 17 mission. So far, 12 American males have set foot on the Moon.
No atmosphere This means that the surface of the Moon is unprotected from cosmic rays, meteorites and solar winds, and has huge temperature variations. The lack of atmosphere means no sound can be heard on the Moon, and the sky always appears black.
Quakes rock the Moon These are caused by the gravitational pull of the Earth. Lunar astronauts used seismographs on their visits to the Moon, and found that small moonquakes occurred several kilometers beneath the surface, causing ruptures and cracks. Scientists think the Moon has a molten core, just like Earth.
Future Missions NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon to set up a permanent space station. Mankind may once again walk on the Moon in 2019, if all goes according to plan.
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Handwriting
Seven Wonders of Writing Observe the Coincidence! Letter ‘w’ stands for writing and wonder too. It’s no wonder that writing is a wonder. As world has seven wonders, Writing too. If your handwriting is being appreciated by other, it means you are observing all the essential factors of standard writing. ❶ You are holding your writing instrument with three fingers following proper TRIPOD GRASP. ❷ All the letters are legible. ❸ The connections are exactly maintained. ❹ The middle, upper and lower zones of the lower case letters is properly maintained. ❺ Spaces among the letters, words and sentences are exactly applied. ❻ The letters are properly slanted in 60* angle. ❼ All the middle and upper zone letters are maintained perfectly on the baseline. If your handwriting is not up to the mark, it can be easily cross checked or rectified with the above mentioned factors.
Let us work on the fundamental factors of handwriting. 1. Poor/ Bad Postures: It is quite common that most of the students, though they are good at all the lettering, joining the letters, zones ete., Only because of poor postures they spoil the legibility of handwriting. It is highly recommended to hold the writing instrument with three fingers – Thumb, Index and middle fingers. And place the middle finger always below the writing instrument. Thumb and Index fingers from either side of the instrument, without overlapping each other.
2. The lettering: Never let your letters look like some other letter. Especially with n looking like h, r like s, a like u, b like f, e like c, ete., Correct them separately and create words with these letters.
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Y.Mallikarjuna Rao Director, National Handwriting Academy
‘Spacing’ is one the key areas of meat presentation. Especially among the letters of a word. Always make sure that medium and uniform spacing is maintained among all the letters of a word. Connect them right: Illegible connections are to be checked on priority basis. Just because people don’t connect the letters to each other, elders oppose cursive style. Maintain right slant (60*) uniformly to all the letters of the text.
It is also highly recommended to maintain proper zones – middle, upper and lower zone letter. One should maintain middle and upper zone letter in 1:2 ratio. Similarly, middle and lover zone letters one also to be maintained in 1:2 ratios
All the middle and upper zone letters are to be maintained perfectly on the “BASELINE”. Only because the letters are slightly below the baseline or above it, entire beasty of the writing is spoiled.
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Parenting
Parenting children
with mild developmental disabilities
C
oping and dealing with a child who has a developmental difficulty requires patience, understanding and firm inner resilience, which is why it is referred to as being relatively difficult. It takes us time to understand the nature of our child’s barriers to growth and then help them. But, what about a situation where we probably do not understand fully that our child is facing genuine barriers to growth? What about when we attribute their problem behavior to their personalities and miss out on recognizing a mild form of a developmental disturbance? Let us ponder over these possibilities.
Sadia Saeed Raval Inner Space
WHAT ARE MILD DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES? There are recognized developmental difficulties such as
Learning Disability: Here, educational achievement in the areas of reading, writing, verbal comprehension and mathematics is below age appropriate levels and the child’s ability.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The child is troubled by symptoms of hyperactivity, excessive motor movements, restlessness, impulsivity, concentration difficulties and difficulty sustaining attention.
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Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Here, Here, there are deficits in social interaction, reciprocation, communication difficulties and motor difficulties. Mild difficulties, simply put, are milder manifestations of the same. I will cite a few examples of differences in symptoms here – A child with a moderate learning difficulty would face obvious difficulties in reading and make several mistakes. One with mild difficulties may just be very slow to read and ponder over quite a few words even if he doesn’t make as many mistakes. A child with ADHD may run around and climb up and down chairs excessively, he may be very loud and restless, or may run away from his chair if asked to sit. One with a milder form of ADHD may simply fidget and squirm continuously instead of getting up from the seat.
The important question is –
Children with pervasive spectrum disorders such as Autism or Asperger’s Disorder may be averse to eye contact, almost completely disinterested in social interaction, may engage in repetitive hand flapping or walking on tiptoe etc. Those with milder forms would probably make better eye-contact and even interact with others to some degree. However, they may not understand differences between behavioral expectations at home and school, or make jerky motor movements even if they are not as unusual.
It is almost natural for us to think that the child is intentionally engaging in those behaviors, that ‘he is lazy and so is reading slowly, that he wants to waste time or does not want to study. After all, he still manages to read most of the content accurately!
How many of these milder symptoms are recognized and understood as part of the developmental disability that the child cannot help manifesting? Plenty of food for thought…
WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF THESE BEHAVIORS ARE NOT RECOGNIZED AS SYMPTOMS? We could hold the child responsible for the behavior
‘She is naughty, wishes to irritate me and loves watching the expression on my face and so keeps squirming in her seat even if I ask her not to over and over’. ‘He just doesn’t listen and is as loud outside as he is at home. He knows he isn’t supposed to behave like that, but still does it.’ Our frustration and helplessness at such behaviors is because we want to help the child and we care for him/her. However, sadly, we can unknowingly falter at the very first step. Attributing these behaviors to the children themselves and their personalities could completely overshadow the possibility that they probably can’t help it too; that he is trying to read as hard as he can and is very frustrated at not being able to do so! Failure to think about this possibility has several negative consequences, the most important of which are highlighted below:
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Roadblock to Intervention This is the most direct consequence of the above. We do not recognize the difficulty; we do not look for any remedial or therapeutic help. The child continues to face problems in day to day life because of the developmental difficulties.
Emotional Turmoil due to the Disturbance When the children themselves understand that they are in some way ‘different’ than most others around, it creates ground for emotional turmoil. They wonder, for example, why others can read easily and they can’t, why they get very restless while nobody around does. These questions could create psychological discomfort and eventually, a lowering of self-esteem. This is difficult to endure. However, there is one thing that could hurt them tremendously from within, something that they may or may not express directly. That one thing is described below.
Distress due to Parental Reactions and Messages This is a very potent source for immense psychological distress. No child likes to be thought of as ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’ by the parents. Listening to reactions such as, ‘just WHY don’t you listen to me??’, ‘you are so embarrassing!!’, ‘why do you like troubling me’ or describing the child as ‘lazy’, ‘irresponsible’, ‘naughty’, ‘dull’ can hurt your child very bad. Why? Because the child tries hard but cannot help these behaviors.
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A child with mild autism may for example be confused about why he always ends up being loud in outside places when mom has asked him not to. A child with mild ADHD is already troubled about why she feels restless. Over and above that, they feel “accused” or “blamed” by their parents and family. They are probably thinking, “everyone around thinks I am doing this on purpose. Only I know I am not. What do I do now?” This makes them feel unsupported and lonely, like they’ve been left alone to fight their battle. They are already troubled because of their symptoms. Over and above that, they may begin to hold themselves responsible for their parents’ unhappiness. This could be devastating for them, which they could express through sadness and withdrawal or anger and opposition.
WHAT THEN CAN BE DONE? Widen your Knowledge Base Read up about developmental disturbances in childhood. Knowing more about the disturbances and their symptoms is of enormous help, both for prompt identification and remediation of difficulties and for preventing successfully the psychological ill-effects described above.
Pay close attention to the Problem Behavior Observe your child closely when he/she displays the problem behavior. Notice their facial expressions and body language. Also pay close attention to the situations in which the problem behavior occurs. For example, perhaps your child is probably spending several hours over one chapter even a day or two before the examination. Ask yourself why he would “choose” to do that. Or he is probably being ridiculed at by his friends for being loud at outside places. Why still, would he “choose” to do that?? Asking these questions will redirect your thoughts and give you fresh perspective.
Finally, talk to your child Pick out a time when both you and your child are relaxed. Gently ask him about the problem behavior. Children are anxious that they will be ‘judged’ to be ‘bad’. Allay this fear in them. Tell them that you are talking to them not to judge them but to understand them. Ask them how they feel about the problem behavior. With time, they will open up to you, helping you identify any symptoms that need attention. Hold their hands because it is your support that they need the most.
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Homeschooled 17-year-old girl makes it to MIT In an age where scoring cent percent marks in class 10 or 12 has become a norm, unschooled Malvika Raj Joshi from Mumbai has proved that “merit” has more weightage than “marks.” Malvika Raj Joshi, a 17 year old from Mumbai is a classic example of how ‘merit’ is more important than ‘marks’. Breaking the rat race of school academics and unburdening the expectations of top scores, Malvika Joshi has still proved her credentials. Malvika doesn’t have a class X and XII certificate and for this reason she was rejected by our esteemed IITs. Her mother pulled her out of school 4 years ago and since then she has been home schooled. However due to her three medals (two silver and one bronze) at International Olympiad of Informatics, prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) accepted her on scholarship where she will be pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Programming. MIT has a provision where it accepts applications from students who are medal winners at various Olympiads (Maths, Physics and Programming) and thus Malvika secured a position at MIT. On this, a very happy Malvika said “When I started unschooling, that was 4 years back, I explored many different subjects. Programming was one of them. I found programming interesting and I used
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to give more time to it than to other subjects, so, I started liking it at that time“. One of the major factors for Malvika to take the unconventional path was her mother who pulled her out of school when she was in class VII studying at Dadar Parsee Youth Assembly School in Mumbai. Malvika was a bright student and was doing extremely well in academics. “We are a middle class family. Malvika was doing well in school but somehow I felt that my children (she has younger daughter Radha) need to be happy. Happiness is more important than conventional knowledge. I was working with an NGO that takes care of cancer patients. I would see students who are in 8th or 9th standard being affected by cancer. It affected me deeply and I decided that my daughters need to be happy“, says her mother Supriya talking about her decision. Igniting Minds team wishes Malvika Joshi, a very bright future and all the best for her endeavours. Here is a girl who is not a product of the system, but despite it and is making us proud!
Moral story
Crows in the Kingdom
O
ne day Emperor Akbar and Birbal were taking a stroll in the palace garden. It was a pleasant summer morning and there were plenty of crows playing around the pond. While watching the crows, a strange question struck Akbar. He wondered how many crows were there in his kingdom. Since Birbal was accompanying him, the Emperor asked him this question. After a moment’s thought, Birbal replied, “There are ninety-five thousand four hundred and sixty-three crows in the Kingdom”.
Amazed by his quick response, Akbar tried to test him again, “What if there are more crows than you answered?” Without hesitating Birbal replied, “If there are more crows than my answer, then some of them are visiting from other neighboring kingdoms”. “And what if there are less crows”, Akbar asked. “Then some crows from our Kingdom have gone on holiday to other places”.
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Health & Nutrition
How to make the most out of a balanced diet?
W Mukta Agrawal Senior Nutritionist “INLIFE Healthcare”
ho in the world is not interested in staying healthy, fit, and live longer? Everyone can nod in agreement answering this question. Hold on, as all depends on how you make most of a balanced diet.
Those who want to attain the blissful experience of staying in shape let them start with eating ‘clean’ and healthy diet. Indeed this wise decision is to not just to make you healthy, but it has an important aim to avoid developing health problems and resultant hospitalization that causes financial burden on families. This usually happens to people who are fond of junk food which are high in sodium, deficient in proteins and fiber. That is why exactly one needs to be informed and must have knowledge on healthy eating habits. Let us discuss what are healthy eating habits? Why not take a pledge for eating ‘clean’. Perhaps this will be the wisest choice you are going to make as this involves enhancing your health and avoiding health issues. According to experts healthy eating means “following a healthy diet that comprise selecting copiously of lean meats, eggs, root vegetables, fruits, whole grain, and dairy products.” In the same vein, one should also avoid wrong food habits that are sugar rich, with high content of saturated fats, and sodium which are the products of fast food joints. This includes full calorie beverages, treated snacks like fries and crackers which are sodium rich. Having discussed on healthy and unhealthy food habits, let us turn our attention on body building with the help of a healthy diet.
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A liking for Indian nourishments is gaining ascendency in the backdrop of unhealthy food habits prevailing in the country as a result of western values. The moot question is. “Can Indian nourishments provide the right nutrition for an athlete or a weight lifter as fuel for their training or arduous exercises?” Indian athletes have understood the importance of Indian diet idea to stay in shape, and they are adhering to it religiously. A fiber rich Indian diet is important for weight loss goal as well as for muscle building. Indian diets have the right balance of nutrients and minerals that gives adequate oomph for athletic shows. Let us discuss more into the requirements of Indian body builders.
Essential Tips for Bodybuilder We are what we eat. Therefore eat right with the following tips.
muscle mass. Vitamin E, B and C are all antioxidants that take care of the leftover that is produced in the body due to strength working out. Coming back to Indian diet that emphasize on consuming fruits and vegetables in sufficient quantities as it has the right amount of vitamins and minerals. Yet again, other than right intake ensure that the fruits and vegetables are clean.
Balanced diet Western diets focus on low carbohydrate and high protein diet for muscle building. But the fact lies in having a balanced meal that has some good iron, with which your body absorbs energy from carb, protein, and fat during exercise.
Carbs Indian meals are rich in carbs. Up to 40-50 % of your total calorie intake should come from multifaceted carbohydrates nourishments. At the same time, one should be careful to avoid simple carbohydrates like sugar and refined foods like Maida. Instead consume carb calories through whole grains, fragmented wheat, red/ brown rice, oats, jaw (barley) etc.
Protein For those who are starters in body building, good protein is recommended. The prescribed quantity is at least 30– 35 % of calories from proteins. Still it all depends on your movement level as well as your body heaviness when it comes to actual amount.
Fats The fact about fat is: 10- 20 % of our calories should come from fats. Consuming olive oil, or coconut oil, rice bran oil or other such ghee and butter make sense. Include also healthy nuts, fish oil and avocados for better results.
Vitamins Micro nutrients matter a lot for health. Vitamin E, Vitamin B and Vitamin C are a few decisive vitamins that help in attaining | IGNITING MINDS ◆
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Awards
Brave Hearts Ashok Chakra Award It is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is awarded for the “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice” other than in the face of the enemy. The decoration may be awarded either to military or civilian personnel. It replaced the British George Cross.
Origins The medal was established on January 4, 1952 as the “Ashoka Chakra or Ashok Chakra, Class I” as the first step of a three-class sequence of non-combatant bravery decorations. In 1967, these decorations were removed from the “class-based” system and renamed as the Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra. Until now 57 members have been awarded with Ashok Chakra Award. The first award winner was Naik Nar Bahadur Thapa in 1952. Prior to Independence, 17 Indians were awarded the British George Cross or its precursors. The George Cross and its precursors were equivalent to the Ashoka Chakra.
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Eligibility ◆ Officers, men and women of all ranks of Army, Navy and Air Force, of any of the Reserve forces, of the Territorial Army, Militia and of any other lawfully constituted forces. ◆ Members of the nursing services of the armed forces. ◆ Civilians from all walks of life and members of police forces including Central para-military forces and railway protection force.
Award Winners Ashok Chakra Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami (Posthumous), 9 PARA (Special Force)
Kirti Chakra Subedar Mahendra Singh, Sena Medal, 9 PARA (Special Force) Sepoy Jagdish Chand (Posthumous), 546 DSC Platoon
Shaurya Chakra
◆ Naik Kheem Singh Mehra, 21 KUMAON ◆ Sepoy Dharma Ram (Posthumous), 1 Rashtriya Rifle (MAHAR)
Youngest Recipient Neerja Bhanot, flight purser for Pan Am, became the youngest recipient of India’s highest peacetime award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra in 1987. She was shot dead while saving hundreds of passengers on board a US-bound Pan Am plane which terrorists had hijacked it to Karachi airport on September 5, 1986.
◆ Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik (Posthumous), Sena Medal, 41 Rashtriya Rifle (PARA) ◆ Major Praphul Kumar Bhardwaj, 12 PARA (Special Force) ◆ Major Anurag Kumar, 9 PARA (Special Force) ◆ Major Sandip Yadav, 55 Rashtriya Rifle (Armed) ◆ Lieutenant Harjinder Singh, 3 KUMAON ◆ Naik Satish Kumar (Posthumous), 21 Rashtriya Rifle (Guards)
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Career Awareness
Aspiring to become a Bank Probationary Officer?
A
fter the Civil Services, the Bank Probationary Officer posts are much sought after in the country. According news reports, 80,000-odd officers and staff of public sector banks including State Bank of India are going to retire within next two years. The PSU banks have been announcing vacancies in different parts of the country. Hence, it is a golden opportunity for the unemployed to make a career in banking sector. The officers undergo training in various fields like marketing, accounting, loans, advances and recovery to understand the nuances in the financial sector. They have to strike a balance between the perfect services provided to their customers as well as the well-being of the staff.
Eligibility Criteria Educational Qualifications: Candidate should graduate from any discipline from a recognized University or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central government. Those who are in the final year/ semester of their graduation can also apply provisionally subject to the condition that, if called for interview, they will have to produce proof of having passed the graduation exam as on prescribed date. General candidates and others should score 60 percent or more marks in class XII and 55 percent or more marks in graduation or post graduation. For SC/ST/PWD candidates the eligibility is 55 percent or more marks in class XII and 50 percent or more marks in graduation or post graduation.
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Age Limit: Not below 21 years and not above 30 years as on prescribed date. Relaxation in the Upper Age Limit ◆ 3 years in the case of OBC candidates. ◆ 5 years in the case of: i) SC/ST candidates. ii) Ex -servicemen (in cluding Emergency Commissioned Officers/Short Service Commis sioned Officers) provided applicants have rendered at least five years continuous military service. ◆ 10 years for VH/OH (Gen); 13 years for VH/OH (OBC) and 15 years for VH/OH (SC/ ST) candidates.
Selection Procedure Phase I Preliminary Examination: Time 2 Hrs. (combined) Candidates will be called for an objective type examination. The examination will consist of: ◆ Reasoning Ability Test ◆ Quantitative Aptitude ◆ General Awareness/Computer Knowledge ◆ English Language Note: Question paper will be in bilingual form i.e. in Hindi and English except the test of English language.
Phase II Main Test: Time 3 Hrs. (combined) This will be an Objective and Descriptive type examination. The objective type examination of two hours duration will consist of: ◆ Test of Reasoning ◆ Data Analysis and Interpretation ◆ Marketing Knowledge ◆ Test of English Language Note: The Descriptive type examination will be a test of English knowledge - Time 60 Minutes.
Phase III Group Discussion & Interview: Qualifying candidates will be called for Group Discussion and Interview. They have to secure 40 percent (35 percent for SC/ST/PWD) aggregate marks i.e. Group Discussion and Interview put together to be eligible for selection.
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Marks in Phase II and Phase III will be aggregated and arranged in the descending order for candidates who have qualified in both the tiers and depending on the vacancies. Selection will be made from the top merit ranked candidates in each category and candidates have to pass both in Phase I and Phase II for final selection.
How to Apply All applications for the post will be registered online. The candidates are required to go to any CBS branch of State Bank of India and pay the amount of fees and get receipt from the branch. The candidates are required to apply online through website. No other means or mode of application is accepted.
Career Prospects The candidates have an ample opportunity to grow if they excel in their field of operation. ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Probationary Officer Deputy Manager Manager General Manager Regional Manager Chief General Manager
Emoluments Selected candidates will be on probation for a period of two years. Presently, the starting basic pay is Rs 27620/ in the scale of Rs.23700-980/7-30560-1145/2-32850-1310/7-42020 applicable to Junior Management Grade Scale-I. They are also eligible for Dearness Allowance (DA), Special Allowance, House Rent Allowance (HRA) and City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) as per rules in force from time to time.
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History
Quit India Movement
T
he Quit India Movement was a major milestone after the Salt Satyagraha in the history of Indian independence struggle. It was a civil disobedience movement launched in August 1942 with Gandhiji’s call for immediate independence. It is also known as the Bharat Chodo Andolan or the August Kranti.
This historical movement played out in the backdrop of World War II. The British government entered India in the war unilaterally and without consultation with the Indian people. This angered Indians terribly. In March 1942, faced with an increasingly dissatisfied sub-continent, only reluctantly participating in the war, the British government sent a delegation to India under Stafford Cripps, in what came to be known as the Cripps’ Mission. The purpose of the mission was to negotiate with the Indian National Congress a deal to obtain total co-operation during the war, in return of progressive devolution and distribution of power from the crown and the Viceroy to elected Indian legislature. The talks failed because they did not address the key demand of a timetable of self-government and of definition of the powers to be relinquished. It offered only limited dominion-status that was wholly unacceptable to the Indian movement.
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On July 14, 1942, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence from Britain and massive civil disobedience. On August 8, 1942, the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee. The British, already alarmed by the advance of the Japanese army to the India/Burma border, responded the next day by imprisoning Gandhi at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. All the members of the Congress Party’s National Leadership were arrested and imprisoned at the Ahmednagar Fort. Due to the arrest of major leaders, a young and till then relatively unknown Aruna Asaf Ali presided over the AICC session on August 9, and hoisted the flag. Later, the Congress party was banned. These actions only created sympathy for the cause among the population. Inspired by Gandhiji’s “Do or Die” speech, ordinary men and women jumped into the movement, despite lack of direct leadership. Large-scale protests and demonstrations were held all over the country. Workers remained absent and strikes were called. Not all the demonstrations were peaceful. At some places bombs exploded, government buildings were set on fire, electricity was cut, and transport and communication lines were severed. The British swiftly responded with mass detentions. A total of over 100,000 arrests were made nationwide, mass fines were levied, and demonstrators were subjected to public flogging. Hundreds of resisters and innocent people were killed by police and army fire. Many national leaders went underground and continued their struggle by broadcasting messages over clandestine radio stations, distributing pamphlets, and establishing parallel governments.
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The entire Congress leadership was cut off from the rest of the world for over three years. Gandhiji’s wife, Kasturba Gandhi, and his personal secretary, Mahadev Desai, died in a short space of months, and Gandhi’s own health was failing. Despite this, Gandhi went on a 21-day fast and maintained a superhuman resolve to continue his resistance. Although the British released Gandhiji on account of his failing health in 1944, he kept up the resistance, demanding the complete release of the Congress leadership. By early 1944, India was mostly peaceful again, while the entire Congress leadership was incarcerated. The movement died down, and when the British granted independence on August 15, 1947, they cited revolts and growing dissatisfaction among Royal Indian Armed Forces during and after the war as the driving force behind Britain’s decision to leave India. However, the political experience gained by the Indian people through activities such as the Quit India movement laid the foundation for the strongest enduring tradition of democracy and freedom in post-colonial Africa and Asia.
Modi campaign Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad’s birthplace at Bhabra village in Madhya Pradesh on August 8. The visit marks the start of the government’s ’70 Saal Azaadi, Yaad Karo Kurbani’, a 15-day campaign to commemorate India’s struggle for freedom from colonial rule.
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Pride of India
Saluting Iron Lady of
Manipur
M
ahatma Gandhi resorted to Sathyagrah to protect the rights of Indians in South Africa and later during freedom movement to awaken masses against colonial rule. After India gained Independence, the spirit of Sathyagrah motivated a single woman to express her resentment against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act in north eastern India. The 16-year hunger strike attracted national and international attention towards violation of civil rights in Manipur.
What Triggered Hunger Strike? Irom Sharmila Chanu is a civil rights activist from Manipur. What acted as a trigger for her to begin fast on November 2, 2000, at the age of 28 was the killing of 10 civilians by the Indian Army at a bus stop in Malon, a town near Imphal. The killings of an 18-year old National Child Bravery Award winner invited criticism from all quarters. Neither police case nor arrests were made after the incident. Proclaiming a fast, Irom Sharmila Chanu demanded the repeal of AFSPA as applicable in the North Eastern India. “There was no other means to stop further violations by the armed forces against innocent people. I thought that peace rally and inquiry commissions would be meaningless. So I stepped into the breach to change the situation,” Sharmila recalls her decision to go on hunger strike.
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Her Arrest and Release
The Legacy
Her fasting had a snowballing effect. Sensing trouble, the government charged her with an attempt to commit suicide and put her behind bars. Suicide is considered a criminal offence under the Indian law inviting maximum imprisonment of one year. As she was not convicted, Sharmila was released from judicial custody in 2000. However, she was forcibly fed by a tube attached to her nose to keep her vital organs healthy at the Manipur Prison Hospital.
Her release will definitely re-ignite the debate over the AFSPA enforced in ‘disturbed’ areas of the country. Although mainstream news didn’t give adequate coverage to her, Sharmila’s 16-year non-violent protest will reignite the determination required to fight for the right causes. Let us salute this Iron Lady of Manipur.
On August 19, 2014, Sharmila was ordered to be released. The Manipur East Sessions Court declared that authorities had failed to prove that Sharmila had intended to commit suicide and termed her hunger strike was a ‘political demand through lawful means.’ As her fast drew more supporters and sympathisers, the National Human Rights Commission declared that she was a “Prisoner of Conscience”.
Ends Fast, Decides to Enter Politics On July 26, 2016, Sharmila made a dramatic announcement by declaring that she would end her fast on August 9. She expressed her desire to a lead normal life and contest elections in Manipur.
Awards & Honours On the International Women’s Day in 2014, she was declared as the top woman icon of India by MSN Poll voters. In 2007, Sharmila was awarded Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. This award is given to a person who gives an outstanding support in the promotion of democracy, peace, and human rights. The Asian Human Rights Commission awarded her a lifetime achievement award in 2010 for her non-violent struggle. She also won the Rabindranath Tagore Peace Prize and the Sarva Gunah Sampannah “Award for Peace and Harmony”. Sharmila was nominated to the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize by a Guwahati-based woman’s organization, the North East Network. She was awarded the Gwangju prize for Human Rights on May 18, 2007. In December 2011, Pune University announced a scholarship programme for 39 female Manipuri students to take degree courses in honour of Irom Sharmila Chanu.
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Country
BRAZIL Continent: South America
Official name: Federal Republic of Brazil
Form of Government: Democratic federal republic Capital: Brasilia Population: 183,888,841 Official language: Portuguese Money: Real Area: 3,286,470 square miles (8,511,965 square kilometres) Major mountain ranges: Serra do Mar, Serra do Espinhaco Major rivers: Amazon, Sao Francisco, Prime Minister: Dilma Rousseff (1947)
Parana, Tocantins
Geography Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. It forms an enormous triangle on the eastern side of the continent with a 4,500-mile (7,400-kilometre) coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. It has borders with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. The Brazilian landscape is very varied. It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world’s largest jungle, in the north. But there are also dry grasslands (called pampas), rugged hills, pine forests, sprawling wetlands, immense plateaus, and a long coastal plain. Northern Brazil is dominated by the Amazon River and the jungles that surround it. The Amazon is not one river but a network of many hundreds of waterways. Its total length stretches 4,250 miles (6,840 kilometers), making it the longest river on Earth. Thousands of species live in the river, including the infamous piranha and the boto, or pink river dolphin.
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Southeastern Brazil was once completely covered with dense forest. Now it is the country’s industrial capital, home to Brazil’s biggest cities: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It covers only 11 percent of the country but houses 43 percent of its population.
People & Culture Most Brazilians are descended from three ethnic groups: Red Indians, European settlers (mainly from Portugal), and Africans. Starting in the 19th century, waves of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan added to this mix. This diversity of cultures has created a rich religious, musical, and culinary culture. Brazilians are soccer crazy, and their country has produced some of the best players. The most famous of all is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. Brazil has won the World Cup soccer finals five times, more than any other nation.
Famous Celebrities:
History
* Bruno Junqueira, Felipe Massa (Race Car Driver)
Until recently, scientists thought Brazil was first settled by Asians about 10,000 years ago. But new evidence shows there were people living there at least 32,000 years ago. Some experts think they may have arrived from islands in the Pacific Ocean.
* Ronaldo , Neymar , Pele , Ronaldinho (Soccer Player)
* Anitta, Gusttavo Lima , Astrud Gilberto (Singer) * Paulo Coelho (Author)
Brazil was added to the map of the world during the great European explorations in the late 15th century led by Portugal and Spain. When Europeans first reached the coast of Brazil, the country was home to about 30 million indigenous people.. Today, only about 300,000 remain, living primarily in Brazil’s remotest places. In 1789, Brazilians tried to kick out their Portuguese rulers. The rebellion was soon put down, but it started a movement toward independence. By 1822, Brazil was a sovereign nation. Kings of Portuguese blood ruled until 1888, when military leaders and landowners expelled the king, and Brazil became a federal republic.
Government & Economy Brazil is a federal republic with a president, a National Congress, and a judiciary. From 1888 until recently, the country struggled with democracy. But in 1985, the military government was peacefully removed, and by 1995, Brazil’s politics and economy had become fairly stable. Brazil has many different soils and climates, so it can produce a great variety of crops. Its agricultural exports include sugarcane, latex, coffee, cocoa beans, cotton, soybeans, rice, and tropical fruits. Brazil is also South America’s most industrial nation, producing chemicals, steel, aircraft, and cars.
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Best Places to Visit in Brazil Foz do Iguacu
One of the world ’s most stunning natural wonders, Iguazu Falls is a series of m agnificent waterfalls lo cated on the Igua zu River, straddling the bo rder between Br azil and Argentina. The fa lls in and of them selves are a breathtaking sp ectacle, but thei r beauty is all the more enha nced by the surro unding lush forest teem ing in exotic wild lif e. The gateway to the fa lls on the Brazilia n side is Foz do Iguaçu, a big and reasonab ly safe city by Brazilian stan dards.
Rio de Janeiro
ated and earth more anim on n io at in st de rn There is no ted in southeaste de Janeiro. Loca o Ri an th h g ut tin ci So ex city of is the most visited iro ne Ja de o Ri Brazil, ndmarks, s mountains, la ou m fa its to e is America du Rio de Janeiro rnival festival. Ca d an s s he or rb ac be est ha the world’s larg of e on on the situated ns that include natural attractio s ou m fa surrounded by ains and rcovado mount Co d an af e rlo Th Suga d Ipanema. Copacabana an the beaches like ormous Christ mark is the en ain. nt city’s iconic land ou ovado m sitting atop Corc ue at st er em Rede e largest in re are among th he ns io at br le Carnival ce stumes, dancing, brant parades, co vi ith w , ld or w e th . and street parties music, fireworks
Facts about Brazil ■ Brazil is the largest country in South America. ■ The name Brazil comes from a tree named brazilwood. ■ It is called Brasil in Portuguese, the official language spoken in Brazil. ■ Portugal claimed the land of Brazil in the year 1500. Independence was declared in 1822. ■ Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world by both land area and population.
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Recife
because of its enice of Brazil” “V e th ed am Nickn the capital bridges, Recife is d an s ay w er at w and numerous e of the largest co state and on bu am rn Pe ast. e co th of eastern on Brazil’s north s tie ci nt rta po most im islands and rests with many fo l ca pi tro id Situated am ination because pular tourist dest po a is fe ci Re s, river brant culture. beaches and vi n, w to d ol ic or ury, of its hist g the 17th cent tch colony durin Du a as w oric fe st ci hi Re an the more evident th is th is re he w and no ings still remain. any colonial build district where m
Christ the Re
deemer
Perched atop th e 710 meter (2,3 30 feet) high pe Corcovado Peak ak of , the statue of “C ris to Redentor” stan with arms outstre ds tched, gazing se renely out over city. Constructio the n of the statue be gan in 1922 durin heyday of the Ar g th e t Deco movemen t, and the concre and soapstone te statue is consid ered the largest designed in the statue genre in the wor ld. Most visitors vertical cog train take a to reach the base of the summit.
Amazon River 00 miles) the Amazon At approximately 6,400 km (4,0 r in the world, just River is the second longest rive the largest river slightly shorter than the Nile, and r 3,000 recognized by volume. The Amazon has ove are still being species of fish and new species is covered by half of discovered. The Amazon Basin Although a tenth the planet’s remaining rainforests. ion living species of the world’s estimated 10 mill le tours are more live in the Amazon rainforest, jung damp, buzzing, about the boating upriver into the ally spotting animals. oppressive ambience than actu
■ In Brazil they drive on the right-hand side of the road. ■ Brazil covers 3 time zones. ■ The Amazon River flows through Brazil, it is the 2nd longest river in the world (after the Nile). ■ There are around 2500 airports in Brazil. ■ Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Brazil with the national team consistently among the best in the world, winning the World Cup a record 5 times.
Brasilia
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Sports
A Long Way from Olympia to the Rio 2016 Olympics The first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC as per the history records. Dedicated to the Olympian gods on the ancient plains of Olympia, they continued for nearly 12 centuries. Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of “Pelops”, the founder of the Olympic Games. The 1896 Games featured the first Olympic marathon, which followed the 25-mile route run by the Greek soldier who brought news of a victory over the Persians from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. Fittingly, Greece’s Spyridon Louis won the first gold medal in the event. In 1924, the distance would be standardized to 26 miles and 385 yards.
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India at the Olympics India sent its first athlete to the Olympics for the 1900 games, but an Indian national team did not compete at the Olympics until 1920. Ahead of the 1920 Olympics, Sir Dorab Tata and Governor of Bombay George Lloyd helped India secure representation at the International Olympic Council, enabling it to participate in the Olympic Games. India then sent a team to the 1920 Olympics, comprising four athletes, two wrestlers, and managers Sohrab Bhoot and A H A Fyzee. The Indian Olympic movement was then established during the 1920s: some founders of this movement were Dorab Tata, A.G. Noehren (Madras College of Physical Education), H.C. Buck (Madras College of Physical Education), Moinul Haq (Bihar sports associations), S. Bhoot (Bombay Olympic Association), A.S. Bhagwat (Deccan Gymkhana), and G.D. Sondhi (Punjab Olympic Association); Lt. Col H.L.O. Garrett (from the Government College Lahore and Punjab Olympic Association) and Sagnik Poddar (of St.Stephen’s School) helped organise some early national games; and prominent patrons included Maharajas and royal princes Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, Ranji of Nawanagar, the Maharaja of Kapurthala, and the Maharaja of Burdwan. In 1923, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and in Feb 1924 the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) were held to select a team for the Paris Olympics. The Indian delegation at the Paris Olympics comprised seven athletes, seven tennis players and team manager Harry Crowe Buck. In 1927, the provisional Indian Olympic Committee formally became the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)--its main tasks were to promote the development of sports in India, choose host cities for the national games, and send teams--selected from the national games--to the Olympics. Thus, at the 1928 national games, it selected seven athletes to represent India at the next Olympics, with G. D. Sondhi as manager for the Olympic team. By this time, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) had also been established and it sent a hockey team to the Olympics. The national hockey team and additional sportspersons were similarly sent to the Olympic Games in 1932 (four athletes and one swimmer) and 1936 (four athletes, three wrestlers, one Burmese weight-lifter), along with three officials headed by team manager Sondhi.
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From 1948 onward, because of the Indian Olympic Association’s wider outreach, India began sending delegations of over 50 sportspersons representing several sports – each selected by its sports federation – to the Olympics. The delegation was headed by a chef-de-mission.
Individual and Team Winners India has won 9 gold medals, 7 silver and 12 bronze medals, a total of 28 medals in 31 Olympics Games. Men’s hockey team dominated the sporting arena by winning eight gold medals so far. Between 1928 and 1980, the hockey team won 8 gold medals (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980). The hockey team won silver in men’s hockey in 1960 but managed to clinch bronze medals in 1968 and 1972. But after 1980 Moscow Olympics, it failed to snatch a single medal. In the 1900 Paris Olympics, Norman Pritchard won silver medals in the 200m and the 200m hurdles. In the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, the hockey team won gold medal while Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won a bronze in men’s wrestling freestyle bantamweight category. In 1996, Leander Paes won a bronze in tennis. In 2000 and 2004 and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (shooting – double trap) won bronze and silver medals respectively. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won gold in the Men’s 10 metre air rifle event becoming the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. Vijender Singh got the country’s first medal in boxing with his bronze medal in Middleweight category.
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The 2012 Summer Olympics saw an 83-member Indian contingent participating in the games and setting a new best for the country with a total of six medals. Wrestler Sushil Kumar became the first Indian with multiple individual Olympic medals (bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver at the 2012 Olympics) since Norman Pritchard in 1900. Saina Nehwal won bronze medal in badminton while pugilist Mary Kom became the first Indian woman to win a medal in boxing with her bronze medal finish in Women’s flyweight category. Yogeshwar Dut, a freestyle wrestler, won the bronze medal in the 60 kg category.This was upgraded to silver in August this year after silver medalist Besik Kudukhov failed in the dope test.
The Rio 2016 Olympics The Rio 2016 Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 3 to August 21 this year. From India, P V Sindhu won silver medal in Badminton in women singles while Sakshi Malik bagged a bronze in women’s freestyle 58 category.
Gold Medals
9
Silver Medals
8
Bronze Medals
11
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Transit Elevated Bus drives over the traffic
t is a unique way to tackle traffic problem in any metropolitan city. Instead of looking for subways, flyovers, or other measures, Chinese are going ahead with the Transit Elevated Bus, a giant bus that drives above multiple lanes like a new breed of highway monster.
We’re not entirely sure how the darn thing is supposed to drive in the thick of chaotic city traffic. With a chassis that towers multiple feet above normal cars and requiring just enough patch of ground to accommodate its tires, however, it does seem like a feasible, albeit somewhat complicated, solution. You can think of the Transit Elevated Bus as a double-decker electric bus without the lower deck. That’s because the lower section serves as a moving tunnel that will allow other cars to pass through, while also giving it the ability to drive over cars without running them over. It measures 72 x 25 x 16 feet (length x width x height), with room inside to transport up to 300 passengers at a time, all while traveling at speeds of up to 37 mph. The Transit Elevated Bus is currently undergoing its inaugural test run in the Qinhuangdao, Hebei province of China.
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s s e s d n r n o i c e u G rld R wor
1,007
Dancing Robots break new record
Robots deployed in different fields have proved their mettle. Now, they are busy setting their own world record on the dance floor! During the Qingdao Beer Festival in Shandong, which took place on July 29, the country put up a dance performance that left many in awe. The dance performed by 1,007 red and white robots helped China to bag a new Guinness World Record for “Most robots dancing simultaneously.” The identical “QRC-2” robots (43.8 cm) were controlled by a single mobile phone device. The performance lasted 60 seconds. Some of the robots were disqualified after falling over or when they stopped dancing before the minute was up. The robots and performance were organized by Chinese robotics firm Ever Win Company. This feat almost doubles the previous record of 540 dancing robots set earlier this year by another Chinese firm UBTECH Robotics Corp.
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Brain Gym 1. Friends ! can you tell what is common in all these six Cinemas?
2. Spokes
3. Scrabble
CLUE 1. A figure that branches from a single root. 2. Being nothing more than specified. 3. Start in a job or pay to do a particular piece of work. 4. A barn for cows. 5. Rise or move forward. 6. Ask for or request earnestly.
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Previous Brain Gym Answers 1. All are Mughal emperors. 2.
3. 1. HEIR, 2. RIDE, 3. HIDE, 4. HER, 5. RID, 6. DIE, 7. RED & 8.HE. 4. Pattern Number 2. 5. 1. Different writing on the board. 2.Bird outside is missing. 3. Less teeth of the boy. 4. Teacher’s eyes are closed. 5. His stick is smaller. 6. His moustache is less thick. 7. Girl is not smiling. 8. Flower vase is missing on the table.
5. Find Eight Differences in Both the Pictures. 4. Looking at the change of patterns, tell, what comes in Blank - Change to ‘Guess the next pattern...’
Current Affairs Gujarat distributes two crore LED Bulbs under UJALA
The distribution of 2 crore LED bulbs has led to an annual energy savings of 259 crore kWh, which is equivalent to lighting up 5 lakh Indian homes for an entire year. Besides, Gujarat has also benefitted from daily CO2 emission reduction of 5000 tonnes.
Aishwaryaa Dhanush is UN Women’s Advocate for Gender Equality
CRPF decides to appoint P V Sindhu as Commandant
The force has moved a formal proposal in this regard to the Union Home Ministry. After getting required sanctions, Sindhu will be honoured and presented the rank badges and camouflage combat fatigues of the CRPF at a ceremonial event.
Padma Sachdev gets Saraswati Samman for year 2015
Sachdev, who is the first women poet in Dogri language, has been a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971 for her poetry book ‘Meri Kavita Mere Geet’.
World’s first self-driving taxis launched in Singapore World’s first self-driving taxi service was launched in Singapore on August 25. With this, Singapore became the first country in the world to launch such service, beating Uber Technologies Inc by mere days to public road tests of a technology that could revolutionize the transport industry.
India ranks 77th in World Disaster Risk Index
With this, Aishwaryaa joins the esteemed list of Farhan Akhtar, Sania Mirza, Emma Watson, Nicole Kidman and Anne Hathaway, who have teamed up with UN Women to work for gender equality and the empowerment of women.
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The World Risk Index is an integral part of the report as it ranks 171 countries according to the risk of becoming a victim of a disaster as a result of natural hazards such as floods, cyclones, or earthquakes.
ISRO successfully test-fires Scramjet rocket engine
World’s biggest aircraft Airlander 10 makes maiden voyage in Britain This flight of the 92-metre ship, nicknamed the Flying Bum for its shape, lasted for about half an hour. The aircraft completed a series of flight manoeuvres and landed safely.
South India’s first Children’s Court opens in Hyderabad The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on August 28 successfully test launched the Supersonic Combustion Ramjet engine, called Scramjet, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.
Bombay High Court allows entry of women inside Haji Ali Dargah First Children’s Court was inaugurated in Hyderabad on August 25. It is also the first Children Court in South India. Goa and Delhi have already got their child friendly court.
Maharashtra, Telangana sign pact to resolve long standing river water dispute The Bombay High Court on August 26 ruled that women should be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali Dargah set in the heart of Mumbai. The 15th century dargah of the Sufi saint, Haji Ali Shah, is located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the southern part of Mumbai.
Telangana and Maharashtra government on August 23 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to start work on three barrages- Tummidi Hatti on Pranhita River, Medigadda on Godavari River and Chanaka-Korata on Painganga River.
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Sakshi Malik named brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padaoa Sakshi Malik, the woman wrestler who won the bronze medal at 2016 Rio Olympics in the 58 kg category, was named as Haryana’s brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign.
India stands at 7th position among 10 wealthiest countries As per the rankings in New World Wealth Report 2016, India is the seventh richest country in the world with a total individual wealth of $5.6 trillion. The United States topped the list with total individual wealth held at $48900 billion.
Telangana government proposes to create 17 new districts
Creation of new districts was proposed by the Telangana government in order to minimise the hassle for people in commuting to the district headquarters and to enhance the efficiency of the administration in the newly created state.
Sports News
Man Kaur, 100-year-old athlete from India, wins Gold Medal at Masters Games
Indian badminton player P V Sindhu wins silver in women’s singles badminton event at Rio Olympics Sindhu also became the second Indian female shuttler to win an Olympic medal after Saina Nehwal’s Bronze medal at 2012 Summer Olympics at London.
Kaur from Chandigarh, the only female competitor in her age category at the competition for older athletes, took a minute-and-a-half to cross the finish line in Vancouver.
Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt’s London Olympics bronze medal upgraded to silver Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics was upgraded to silver on August 30, 2016. The medal was upgraded after second-place finisher late Besik Kudukhov of Russia was stripped off his medal for failing a dope test.
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Sports News Sri Lankan cricketer Tillakaratne Dilshan announces retirement
Regarded as one of the most innovative batsmen of the modern game, Dilshan invented the scoop, which has come to be known as a dilscoop, in which a batsman hits the ball behind the keeper.
Sania Mirza, Monica Niculescu won Connecticut Open doubles title
In the final clash, the Indo-Romanian team defeated the UkrainianTaiwanese pair of Kateryna Bondarenko and Chuang Chia-Jung, 7-5, 6-4. It was Mirza’s 39th title of her illustrious career and seventh in 2016.
Gujarat to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup
Germany wins gold in women’s football event at Rio Olympics
The Kabaddi World Cup matches will be held in The Arena by TransStadia, upcoming state-ofthe-art stadium in Ahmedabad. The tournament will take place from October 7 and will conclude on October 22. 2016.
Germany is now one of only three women’s teams to win both the Olympics and World Cup. Germany failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2012 but won the bronze the last three times they played, in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
Sania Mirza becomes World No 1 in ATP Women’s Doubles Tennis rankings
She topped list after teaming up with new partner Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic. Sania recently ended her partnership with Martina Hingis after three Grand Slam victories and 11 WTA doubles titles together.
Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin becomes the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin claimed the bronze in the taekwondo event in the 57kg category. She is already the first Iranian woman to ever win a bronze medal at the 2015 Taekwondo World Championship in May 2015. | IGNITING MINDS ◆
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